Author
note: The Kojiki (Record of Ancient Matters) is the oldest
chronicle ever produced in Japan, compiled in the years 711-12 CE by the court
noble Ō no Yasumaro at the request of the Empress Genmei, who reigned 707 to
715 CE. It begins with the creation of
the world, describing the actions of the gods and goddesses as they create the
earth and society, then it connects these myths to the earliest history of the
Japanese nation. Among the most
important of these stories is the tale of Izanami and Izanagi, the first gods to
descend to earth. After giving birth to
countless things, the goddess Izanami dies and goes to the underworld, but her
bereaved partner Izanagi follows her there, much like Orpheus followed Eurydice
into Hades in Greek mythology. In the
following retelling, the prominent Japanese feminist poet Hiromi Ito and her
collaborator/translator, the bilingual poet Jeffrey Angles, retell the famous
Izanami and Izanagi myth in a way that follows the Kojiki closely;
however, they ascribe motivations to actions never completely explained in the
original while also expanding on a handful of suggestive details in the
plot. The original ends with an
explanation of why people are born and die; however, Ito and Angles see the
tale as something more—a complicated, archetypal family drama that describes
not only the world’s first primordial passions, jealousies, enmities, and
disappointments, but also the ways those complicated tangles of feelings shape
the world.
At
the beginning of the world, the god Izanagi and the goddess Izanami, who were
both brother and sister, husband and wife, stood in the High Field of Heaven
and used their jeweled spears to stir the primordial swirl of water below. As
they pulled their spears back up, drops of salty water fell from them and
congealed to became islands, and thus the earth was formed.
The
couple descended to earth and began to propagate.
The
couple had sex, and Izanami gave birth.
Izanami
gave birth to a malformed lump that was set adrift on the water.
The
couple had sex, and once again, Izanami gave birth.
Izanami
gave birth to an ugly island.
The
couple had sex, and once again, Izanami gave birth.
Izanami
gave birth to an island filled with beauty.
And
the couple kept having sex, and Izanami kept giving birth.
Izanami
gave birth to another island.
Izanami
gave birth to another island.
Izanami
gave birth to a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, a seventh and an eighth island.
Izanami
continued to have sex with Izanagi and gave birth over and over, the islands
flowing from her loins like rain flowing from heaven.
And
when the land was done, the couple had sex and Izanami gave birth to the gods.
Izanami
gave birth to the god of great matters.
Izanami
gave birth to the god of rocky terrain.
Izanami
gave birth to the goddess whose home stood upon a great rock.
Izanami
gave birth to the god of entrances.
Izanami
gave birth to the god of thatch.
Izanami
gave birth to the god of rooves.
Izanami
gave birth to the god of wind.
Izanami
gave birth to the god of the sea.
Izanami
gave birth to the god of estuaries.
Izanami
gave birth to the goddess of river mouths.
Izanami
gave birth to the god of foam upon the sea and the goddess of foam upon the
waves.
Izanami
gave birth to the god of the watershed of heaven and the goddess of the
watershed of earth.
Izanami
continued to have sex with Izanagi and gave birth over and over, the gods and
goddesses flowing from her loins like rain flowing from heaven.
And
when these gods were born, Izanami gave birth to the god of fire, who was so
hot that he burned her vagina, which swelled and blistered and turned black
from the flame.
Izanami
fell terribly ill, but even so, she continued to give birth.
Izanami
vomited. Her vomit became the god and goddess of metal ore.
Izanami
defecated. Her shit became the god and goddess of clay.
Izanami
pissed. Her urine became the god and goddess of gushing water and growth.
Izanami
was still creating when death claimed her, and she sank into Yomi, the dark realm that lies beyond the veil of this
world.
Distraught
by the death of his beloved wife and sister, Izanagi wailed. You who’ve given birth
to fourteen islands, to thirty-five gods and goddesses, how awful that you
should die while this monstrous child lives!
And
after crawling around her corpse, pulling his hair, and gnashing his teeth,
Izanagi buried her on top of a mountain between two provinces, so she could
rest halfway between heaven and earth, between one land and another.
Still,
Izanagi was not content. Izanagi withdrew his sword and sliced off the head of
his own son, the fire god, who had caused his wife so much suffering.
Still,
Izanagi was not content. Izanagi decided to do what no god nor mortal had ever
done before. He decided to travel to Yomi to bring her back.
Izanagi
walked across provinces.
Izanagi
walked across rivers and streams.
Izanagi
walked across mountains and fields.
Izanagi
walked across plains covered in evergreens.
Izanagi
walked and walked until he reached the gently sloping road leading to Yomi.
Izanagi
walked down the gently sloping road, deeper and deeper, lower and lower, until
he came to a great hall. There, he found the door that forms the boundary
between this world and the next.
From
the opposite side of the door, Izanami heard her beloved husband and brother
calling out to her.
Dearest
wife! Dearest sister! Please come back. You haven’t finished giving birth.
You’ve
given birth to many islands, many gods, and many goddesses, but there’s still a
lot to do. Come! Come back with me!
Izanami
appeared at the door and spoke.
Dearest
husband! Dearest brother! I can’t believe it! Here you are, asking me to return
so I can give birth again. Seeing you, I remember!
I
remember what it feels to have sex and give birth!
I
remember what it is to give birth and give birth and give birth some more.
But
then her voice grew dark. You’re too late. I’ve eaten here in this dark land. The
food from this place taints everyone and holds us captive.
Izanagi
became despondent.
Dearest
wife! Dearest sister! Is that true? You can’t return?
Izanami
responded.
Dearest
husband! Dearest brother! Let me speak to the gods here, but whatever you do, don’t
look at me in the meantime. Promise me.
Izanagi
promised.
And
upon hearing his vow, Izanami retreated beyond the door.
Izanagi
waited for Izanami to return.
Izanagi
waited and waited.
Izanagi
waited and waited and waited.
Izanagi
thought about the promise he had made.
Izanagi
waited and waited and waited and waited.
Izanagi
began to think his promise had been a mistake.
What
was she doing? Who was she with?
Izanagi’s
irritation and frustration grew until he could wait no more.
Izanagi
grew so impatient that he pulled out the great wooden comb he wore in his hair,
lit it on fire, and opened the forbidden door.
And
there she was.
Izanami.
But
not his Izanami.
Her
body had turned into a horrible, horrifying, heaving mass of maggots.
And
as if that wasn’t enough, eight gods of thunder were filling her, penetrating
her, and taking what was
left of her rotten, decomposing corpse.
Her
head was filled with great thunderbolts. She moaned in ecstasy.
Her
breast was filled with fiery thunderbolts. She moaned in ecstasy.
Her
belly was filled with black thunderbolts. She moaned in ecstasy.
Her
vagina was filled with jagged thunderbolts. She moaned in ecstasy.
Her
left hand was filled with young thunderbolts. She moaned in ecstasy.
Her
right hand was filled with earth-striking thunderbolts. She moaned in growing ecstasy.
Her left leg was filled with thunderbolts
that would split most peoples’ eardrums. She
moaned in growing, mounting ecstasy.
Her
right leg was filled with thunderbolts that would knock most people to the
ground. She moaned in growing, mounting, overwhelming
ecstasy.
Thunderbolts
rushed through her, filling her, penetrating her, taking her rotten,
decomposing, moaning corpse.
At
the sight of the eight gods of thunder penetrating her, Izanagi recoiled in
horror.
You’re
not my wife! You’re not my sister! You’re not the venerable ancestor of all of
the islands, gods, and goddesses!
Izanami
shouted back.
Don’t
you recognize me, my husband and brother? I’m the same Izanami you’ve loved for
all these years. I’m the same Izanami that had sex with you over and over
again, who suffered the pains of childbirth to create all the islands, gods,
and goddesses that populate the earth. Now that I’m taking what little love I
can find here in this dark world, are you really going to abandon me?
Izanagi
grew frightened and fled.
Izanami
pursued him and shouted.
I
gave birth to the world! And still you shame me!
You
shame me before the gods of Yomi!
You
shame me before all of the islands and gods and goddesses I created!
You
shame me before the world I created!
I
curse you. I curse the islands I gave birth to!
I
curse the gods and mortals that walk their surface!
I
curse the world beneath your feet!
As
Izanagi fled, Izanami summoned several foul-looking women from the land of Yomi
and sent them chasing after him.
As
Izanagi fled, he pulled a grapevine that he had used to tie up his hair, and he
threw it to the ground. From it emerged an entire vineyard. Some of the women
who were hungry for earthly delights paused to pull the grapes from the vines
to eat.
As
Izanagi fled, he shouted.
Take
that, you dirty, dirty, old, wrinkled wench!
Your
birthing days are over!
You’ll
never give birth again!
You’ll
never give birth again even if you try!
All
you’ll ever do is bleed!
But still, Izanami continued to pursue him
with the foul-looking women.
As
Izanagi fled, he pulled the bamboo comb that held the bundles of hair by his
temples in place, and he threw it to the ground. From it emerged an entire
grove of bamboo. Some of the foul-looking women who were hungry for earthly
delights paused to pull up the bamboo shoots to eat.
As
Izanagi fled, he shouted.
Take
that, you foul-smelling wench!
Your
breath stinks!
Your
spit stinks!
Your
blood stinks!
Your
hair stinks!
Your
vagina stinks!
Everything
about you stinks!
But still, Izanami continued to pursue him
with the foul-looking women. This time, however, she was joined by her eight
partners—the gods of thunder—and their armies.
As
Izanagi fled up the slope from Yomi, he grabbed three peaches from the trees growing
there. Placing his faith in this fruit, known since the beginning of the time
to ward off demons, Izanagi threw them, shouting at Izanami the whole time.
Your hair has fallen out!
Your teeth have fallen out!
Your breasts are shriveled up!
Your vagina is so loose it’s a
wonder your uterus doesn’t fall right out!
The peaches embedded themselves in her
rotting corpse. All of the other gods and armies ran away except for Izanami. But
still she continued to pursue him.
Izanami
grew closer.
Izanami
grew closer and closer.
Izanami
grew so close that Izanagi could smell the stench of her rotten flesh, the
stench of her breath, the stench of her hair, the stench of her spit, the
stench of her blood, the stench of her hair, and most of all, the stench of her
vagina.
Not
knowing what else to do, he rolled a giant boulder to block the path out of Yomi into the mortal world. The
boulder was so large that not even one thousand of the strongest men could
possibly move it. In fact, the boulder is so large that it still sits there today,
in exactly the same place between the two realms of existence.
From
the opposite sides of the boulder, the two shouted at one another.
Izanagi
shouted to Izanami, your beauty is gone!
You’re
nothing but a horrifying corpse!
You’re
nothing but rotten flesh!
You’ll
never give birth again!
You’re
of no use to me or the world any longer!
Izanami
shouted back at Izanagi, who are you to talk?
Your
cock is useless!
Your cock won’t stand up!
Your cock is the most pathetic, shriveled
up thing in the world!
Your cock will never produce
anything ever again!
Your cock has lost all its
procreative power!
Your cock is useless to me!
Izanagi
recoiled. Was this really happening?
Izanami continued to shout.
Your chest is the flattest one in
the world!
Your beard is the patchiest one in
the world!
Your eyes are the yellowest,
cloudiest ones in the world!
Your mouth is the most foul-smelling
one in the world!
Your cock is the most shriveled,
miniscule, miserable, and powerless one in the world!
Your cock will never create a thing!
Ever!
I know how to make you pay.
Every day, I’ll reach from out from beyond the
grave and strangle one thousand miserable mortals from your land.
I’ll
keep this up until all mortals have perished at my hands.
I’ll
keep this up until the very end of time itself.
Horrified,
Izanagi responded in the only way he could think of.
You
say that every day, you’ll reach out and strangle one thousand mortals.
Well
then, I’ll take on your sex.
Every
day, I’ll give birth to one and a half thousand people.
I’ll
keep this up until mortals spread to the ends of the earth you’ve created.
I’ll
keep this up until the very end of time itself.
And
with this, Izanami left the boulder at the boundary between worlds and walked
to a stream to purify himself.
And
so it began.
This
is the reason that every day, a large number of mortals die.
And
this is the reason that every day, an even larger number of mortals is born
into the world to replace them.
Just
as Izanagi had predicted, mortals continued to be born.
And
just as Izanagi had predicted, those mortals spread to the very ends of the earth.
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