I enjoy the
Japanese creation myth. There’s an innocence to it that makes it endearing.
Whereas many creation myths are visceral, even violent (especially when it
comes to sex) the Japanese myths adopts a childlike purity. Izanagi (the male
god) and Izanami the (female goddess) approach sex in its simplest (almost
mechanical) form with innocent curiosity. The observe the differences between
their two bodies, and wonder what would happen if they joined together.
The result,
of course, is giving birth to the kami (spirits), gods, and goddesses that make
up the Japanese pantheon. And shortly after these acts of creation, death move
into the myth. Fire burns Izanami to the point she dies, then passes into the
underworld. It’s interesting how the use of fire in this myth contrasts that of
the Prometheus myth, focusing specifically on the dangers of fire, yet fire
itself is not malicious. It was not fire’s intention to kill its mother, simply
a natural consequence.
Like fire,
the underworld—The Land of Night—to which Izanami passes is not evil in itself,
it is simply another realm where the dead go. It’s fascinating that the
Japanese pair the introduction of death and the underworld into their creation
myth, showing the dichotomy that is a carryover from the Chinese creation myth:
balance. The Yin and Yang are very much present in this myth, showing the
duality of all things: male and female, life and death, elemental opposition,
etc.
The duality
is emphasized at the end of the myth, as well when Izanami will kill 1000
people a day, and Izanami will cause 1000 to be born.
But I got a
little ahead of things. See, Izanami is dead, in the underworld, but that’s not
an insurmountable barrier. Like many mythologies, there’s a passage that allows
for the living to go and visit the dead in the underworld. And Izanagi, feeling
heartbroken over Izanami’s death, decides to go and rescue her from the
underworld.
Unfortunately,
she ate some food while down there, and so has become part of the underworld.
This is not a new concept in mythology, either. The myth of Persephone and
Hades has the exact same concept, while the Bible has the reverse, expelling
people for eating. The concept of appetite being tied to death is long in
mythology, nearly a universal concept.
But, back
to Izanagi as he makes his way to his wife. When he arrives, he sees her, and
the attraction is gone. She ate the food of the underworld, becoming part of
it, and her body decayed. She repulsed him. Now, I know people are supposed to
look at inner beauty instead of the outward, but I’m with Izanagi on this one.
No dead people. Necrophilia is a hard and fast rule.
Too bad he
had to deal with a woman scorned, now. It turns out that the underworld does
have the fury of a woman scorned, and she sent the Night Spirit to get him and
drag him back. Fortunately, dead people have to follow some rules, so Izanagi
caused some grapes and bamboo shoots to grow, which the Night Spirit had to eat.
There are
other instances in mythology where mythological figures—most notably faeries—demonstrate
OCD behaviors such as what the Night Spirit does. It’s a compulsion imposed
upon them, and a reflection of the idea of fate, yet humanity does not have
these same compulsions (more on this later).
So, Izanagi
escapes, and the two former lovers have their little argument. She’ll kill 1000
people a day, he’ll cause 1000 to be born. This rounds out the balance idea,
which is really central to Japanese culture. As I’ve talked about before, the
creation method and the creation myth as a whole is a microcosm for the entire
culture. And it’s no different for the Japanese, who are placing ideas of
balance and family life at the heart of their culture, as well as an implicit
modesty as seen by how they treat the issue of sex, even though it’s vital to
the creation process.