Shinto - Creation Myth

Creation Myth

The creation myth of Shinto is recorded in the ca. 712 Kojiki. It is a depiction of the events leading up to and including the creation of the Japanese Islands. There are many translations of the story with variations of complexity.

• Izanagi-no-Mikoto (male) and Izanami-no-Mikoto (female) were called by all the myriad gods and asked to help each other to create a new land which was to become Japan.
• They were given a spear with which they stirred the water, and when removed water dripped from the end, an island was created in the great nothingness.
• They lived on this island, and created a palace and within was a large pole.
• When they wished to bear offspring, they performed a ritual each rounding a pole, male to the left and female to the right, the female greeting the male first.
• They had 2 children (islands) which turned out badly and they cast them out. They decided that the ritual had been done incorrectly the first time.
• They repeated the ritual but according to the correct laws of nature, the male spoke first.
• They then gave birth to the 8 perfect islands of the Japanese archipelago.
• After the islands, they gave birth to the other Kami, Izanami-no-Mikoto dies and Izanagi-no-Mikoto tries to revive her.
• His attempts to deny the laws of life and death have bad consequences.

The islands of Japan are to be considered a paradise as they were directly created by the gods for the people of Japan, and were ordained by the higher spirits to be created into the Japanese empire. Shinto is the fundamental connection between the power and beauty of nature (the land) and the people of Japan. It is the manifestation of a path to understanding the institution of divine power.