Deities
Izanagi
Japanese Deities
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Izanagi, the male of the primordial creator pair, is with his partner and sister Izanami the parent of the islands of Japan and of many of its kami. Standing on the floating bridge of heaven, the two stirred the brine below with a jewelled spear and formed the first land, then descended to it and, through their union, gave birth to the islands and to a host of deities. When Izanami died in giving birth to fire, Izanagi followed her into the land of the dead to bring her back, broke the taboo against looking upon her decayed form, and fled the underworld with the polluted dead in pursuit, sealing its entrance behind him. It is from the great purification that Izanagi then performed, washing away the defilement of the land of the dead, that some of the highest kami were born, Amaterasu the sun from his left eye, Tsukuyomi the moon from his right, and the storm-god Susanoo from his nose. That episode is the mythic charter of misogi, purification by water, which remains a central Shinto practice.
Facts
Cult
Principal Cult CentreIzanagi is enshrined at Izanagi-jingu on Awaji Island, traditionally regarded as one of the oldest shrines in Japan and identified in the Kojiki as the place of his retirement after completing the creation of the land. 2 Attributes and IconographyIzanagi is conventionally depicted as a bearded, robed male figure holding the Ame-no-nuboko, the jeweled spear he and Izanami used to stir the primordial brine, an image drawn directly from the Kojiki's account of the two deities standing on the floating bridge of heaven. 2 Worship and PracticeThe misogi purification he performed after fleeing the underworld is reenacted today by worshippers who submerge themselves in cold water, especially beneath waterfalls, before major Shinto rites, a practice tracing its charter directly to this episode. 3 Sources
Textual NoteThe Kojiki and Nihon Shoki disagree about what became of him afterward: the Kojiki has him retire to a shrine at Taga in Omi province, while the Nihon Shoki offers a differing account in which he ascends to dwell in heaven, a divergence typical of the two chronicles. 2 Attributions
Mythic AssociationFrom the great purification he performed after fleeing the land of the dead, washing away its defilement, the highest kami were born: Amaterasu the sun from his left eye, Tsukuyomi the moon from his right, and the storm god Susanoo from his nose, the mythic charter of misogi, purification by water. 1 Mythic AssociationWhen Izanami died giving birth to fire, Izanagi followed her into the land of the dead to bring her back, but broke the taboo against looking upon her decayed form and fled with the polluted dead in pursuit, sealing the entrance to the underworld behind him. 2 Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 History
Historical NoteWith his partner and sister Izanami he stirred the brine below with a jewelled spear from the floating bridge of heaven to form the first land, then descended to it and gave birth to the islands and to a host of kami. 1 Origins
Origin of the NameHis name is generally read as he who invites, paired with Izanami, she who invites, both drawn from the verb izanau, to invite, reflecting the opening of the creation myth in which each deity formally invites the other before their union. 3 Function
Domain / Function Domain / Function Attestation
Era of Attestation Veneration TodayActively venerated in a living tradition 1 HistoricityNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 1 Position Profile
Key TextThe Kojiki recounts that after returning from Yomi, the land of the dead, Izanagi purified himself by bathing at the mouth of the Tachibana river in Himuka, and from this washing Amaterasu was born from his left eye, Tsukuyomi from his right eye, and Susanoo from his nose. 2 Practice
LineageThe Kojiki names three of Izanagi's most important offspring, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi and Susanoo, as born not through union with Izanami but from his own act of ritual purification after returning from the underworld, washing his left eye, right eye and nose respectively. 2 Learn More
The Maker of the Islands
Izanagi (Izanagi-no-Mikoto) is, with his spouse Izanami, one of the primordial creator kami of Japanese myth as told in the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720). Standing on the floating bridge of heaven, the pair stir the brine below with a jewelled spear, and from the drops that fall from its tip they form the first island; descending to it, they marry and give birth to the islands of Japan and to a host of kami, the great cosmogony of the Japanese tradition.
Izanagi's story continues beyond the creation of Japan into one of Shinto's most vivid myths. Grieving his wife Izanami's death after she bore the fire-kami Kagutsuchi, Izanagi follows her into Yomi, the land of the dead, but breaks her plea not to look at her and sees her body already decayed and crawling with maggots; horrified, he flees, pursued by furious underworld spirits and finally by Izanami herself, and seals the entrance to Yomi with a great boulder, ending their marriage. Returning to the world of the living, Izanagi purifies himself by bathing in a river, and from this act of purification, misogi, are born three of Shinto's most important kami: Amaterasu, goddess of the sun, from his left eye; Tsukuyomi, god of the moon, from his right eye; and the storm-god Susanoo from his nose, so that the sun, moon and storm of the Japanese cosmos all trace their origin to this single act of ritual cleansing.
Yomi, Purification, and the Birth of the Great Kami
The most consequential episode follows Izanami's death in giving birth to the fire-kami. Izanagi journeys to Yomi, the land of the dead, to bring her back, but breaks the injunction not to look upon her and, seeing her decayed and defiled, flees, sealing the entrance with a great rock as she pursues him, a myth that establishes the separation of the living from the dead and the pollution (kegare) of death, ideas central to later Shinto.
On his return Izanagi purifies himself in a river, and from this first act of ritual misogi, purificatory washing, are born the highest kami: from his left eye Amaterasu, the sun-goddess and ancestress of the imperial line; from his right eye the moon-kami Tsukuyomi; and from his nose the storm-kami Susanoo. That the chief deities are produced by an act of cleansing makes Izanagi the mythic source of the Shinto concern with purity and renewal.
Correspondences & Relations
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Izanagi directly: "century, 1700 to 1750, showing the god Izanagi and the goddess Izanami, the primal creator pair of Shinto myth."
This source names Izanagi directly: "collection API record for "The God Izanagi and Goddess Izanami," a hanging scroll by Nishikawa Sukenobu (Japanese, 1671 to 1750), ink and color on paper, Edo period, 18th century, 1700 to 1750."
This source names Izanagi directly: "General reference article on Izanagi, consulted 2026-08-11."
This source names Izanagi directly: "Izanami joined Izanagi on the floating bridge of heaven to stir the primeval brine into the first island, and the two descended, married by circling a great pillar in opposite directions, and bore..."
Source KojikiDonald L. Philippi (translator) This source names Izanagi directly: "Kobayashi Eitaku showing Izanami and Izanagi, the paired creator deities of Japanese Shinto mythology, using a sacred spear to stir the primordial ocean and create the islands of Japan."
This source names Izanagi directly: "of the three noble children born to Izanagi."
Children
Susanoo is born from the nose of the creator Izanagi during Izanagi's purification after returning from the land of the dead.
Source KojikiDonald L. Philippi (translator) Tsukuyomi is born from the right eye of the creator Izanagi, as his sister Amaterasu, the sun, was born from the left.
Source KojikiDonald L. Philippi (translator) Depicted In
Married To
Izanami and her husband and brother Izanagi stirred the first sea into being and gave birth to the islands of Japan and to a host of kami.
Source KojikiDonald L. Philippi (translator) Related To
Same Figure, Narrative Entry
Worshipped In
Sources
1. Shinto: A History
Helen Hardacre, Oxford University Press, 2017misogi and creationView the Source 2. Kojiki
Donald L. Philippi (translator), University of Tokyo Press, 1968Kojiki, Bk 1View the Source 3. Encyclopedia of Shinto (Shinto Jiten)
Kokugakuin University, Kokugakuin University, 2006Entry "Izanagi"; Kojiki, book 1View the Source Encyclopedia of Religion
Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005View the Source Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
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