Do you know the “Myth of the Birth of the Nation”? If not, have you ever heard the names “Izanagi” and “Izanami”?
In Japan, there are many gods enshrined in shrines, as in the phrase “Yaoyorozu no Kami” (the gods of eight million gods). It is said that “Izanagi” and “Izanami” are the birth parents of these gods. The myth of how these two deities came to create and solidify the land of Japan at the behest of the heavenly deities is the “Myth of the Birth of the Nation” written in Kojiki, Japan’s oldest historical book. In this article, we will introduce to you how Japan was created based on this “Myth”.
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Onokorojima, Which “Izanagi” and “Izagami” Created
How was the island of Awaji Island, said to be the beginning of Japan, created?
At the beginning of the myth of the creation of the country, “Izanagi” and “Izanami” were ordered by the god of heaven to create a country, and were given the Ame no Nuboko (the heavenly spear). First, the spear was used to stir the seawater. When the spear was pulled out from the sea, the tide that dripped from the tip of the spear piled up, forming an island called Onokoro Island.
When Izanagi and Izanami landed on the island, they erected a large pillar called “Ameno-mihashira,” and each of the two deities separated to the opposite side of the pillar and circled it, creating islands one after another as they met each other. The first of these islands was Awaji Island.
After Awaji Island, then Shikoku, Oki Island, Kyushu, and finally the entire land of Japan was created.
This is the beginning of the land of Japan as described in the “Myth of the Birth of the Nation”.
Learn More about The Myth of Japan
Many people may have learned for the first time that Awaji Island was the first island created in Japan. And some of you may have become even more interested in the myth of the creation of the country. Come visit Awaji Island and see the mystical sites for yourself!
