Nihongi

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

The selection published here is from the very beginning of the Nihongi, from the first of two scrolls describing, as book I is titled, “The Age of the Gods.” It describes the origin of the very first deities (kami) and the creation of the Japanese islands. In beginning with the creation of the world, the Nihongi differs from Chinese models such as the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian). Notably, the ruling family of Japan derived its authority, at least in part, from its divine ancestry—which also connected it with the other powerful clans in Japan. This helps explain why such a work of “history” should have so much mythology in it, and that mythology is what led to its use as a text of religious cosmology.

What is odd and interesting about the Nihongi is how it incorporates alternate versions of events into the text. These alternate versions are introduced with “In one writing it is said:—….” These alternate versions are one of the main reasons that the text of the Nihongi is so hard to read, as they interrupt the main flow of the story. The chronology is further complicated in that the end of each alternate version is not clearly indicated in the text. It is also unclear exactly how many variant histories there were, as any source texts were chopped up to put each relevant variation after the corresponding main myth. Up to eleven variants have been calculated for one section of a myth.

This initial portion of the Nihongi can be divided into two sections: the first, consisting of the first twenty-four paragraphs, covers the earliest genealogies of the gods; the second section covers Izanagi and Izanami’s creation of the Japanese islands and the major deities of the Japanese pantheon.

A Chaotic Mass Like an Egg

The main narrative of the Nihongi starts by describing the chaos before creation. In and Yo are the Japanese readings for yin (dark, damp, female) and yang (bright, dry, male), the opposing essences from Chinese cosmology. Yin and yang initially exist in a chaotic egg-shaped mix—a description that comes from the Huainanzi, a Chinese text from the second century bce. There is no creator deity that makes creation from this chaos—instead, the natural opposition of yin and yang cause them to separate. The lighter material forms heaven, and the heavier material forms the earth. Even so, the earth is still chaotic and not completely formed at this time. The text gives an image of how the unformed earth looked: There is a roiling ocean, and the land floats freely upon this ocean, like a fish.

At the border between heaven and earth, deities spontaneously arise and appear. The first is Kunitokotachi (“no Mikoto” being an honorific for deity names), who appears out of something that looks like a reed shoot. Kunitokotachi is followed by Kuni-no-satsuchi and Toyokumunu. All are described as “pure males,” indicating that they exemplify yang. The reference to “the operation of the principle of Heaven” as the origin indicates that their generation was completely natural, spontaneous, and unforced.

In One Writing It Is Said

The first variant version of the creation myth is introduced with the characteristic phrase. In this version, the creation of the first three deities is still spontaneous, and Kunitokotachi is still the first deity to appear—however, what generated Kunitokotachi is now described as something beyond description. Kunitokotachi is also given an alternate name of Kunisokotachi, showing that the alternate myths have been modified to be closer to the main text version. Kuni-no-satsuchi is still the second deity, but the third deity is listed as Toyokuninushi, who is given seven alternate names (Toyokumunu being one of them).

These alternate names, when they appear in the text, might indicate that another clan genealogy is being incorporated into the official history. While at the time of the composition of the Nihongi the ruling clan claimed descent from Amaterasu, the sun goddess, other clans also claimed descent from important and powerful deities. Both the Nihongi and Kojiki incorporate these other deities into family trees and alliances, reflecting the royal lineage’s relations with other clans. While these clans might have been able to trace their lineage back to one of these early gods, Amaterasu was depicted as having an unsurpassed quality befitting the ancestress of the ruling house, although that is more evident in the Kojiki than in the Nihongi.

The second alternate creation myth does not describe the creation of heaven, starting instead with when the earth was young and unformed. The very first deity to emerge from the reed shoot is named Umashiashikabihikoji. In this version Kunitokotachi (Kuni-no-tokotachi here) is the second deity to appear, followed by Kuni-no-satsuchi. Toyokumunu does not appear. The third variant is like the second, except the name Kunisokotachi is given for Kunitokotachi, and this account does not extend to the third generation of deities.

In the fourth variant, the first two deities appear not singly, one per generation, but as a pair. Kunitokotachi (again and often as Kuni-no-tokotachi) is paired with Kuni-no-satsuchi, implying that in this version they were considered not two male deities but one male and one female. The next deities to appear are Ama-no-minakanushi, Takamimusubi, and Kamimimusubi.

The fifth variant gives more detail for the generation of Kunitokotachi’s and describes his appearance as predating the creation of heaven and earth. Here he might have functioned as more of a creator deity. In this version, the reed shoot is described as being inside something that resembled “a cloud floating over the sea.” When the reed shoot took human shape, it turned into Kunitokotachi.

In the sixth variant, the first deity, usually named Kunitokotachi, is named Ama-no-tokotachi. His appearance is followed by Umashiashikabihikoji. There is another tradition embedded in this sixth alternate version, which gives the first deity’s name as Kunitokotachi again, while describing the material he appeared from as being like floating oil.

The Next Deities Who Came into Being

These passages return to the main version of the myth. After the third generation, deities are produced in pairs. First are Uhijini and Suhijini, who are also known as Uhijine and Suhijine, possibly reflecting different dialects of Old Japanese. Ohoto-nochi and Ohoto-mahe are next, and like Uhijini and Suhijini, they have similar alternate names. Another version of the myths (introduced as “one authority”) lists the pair as Ohoto-no-he, divided into Ohotomahiko and Ohotomahime. “Hiko” and “hime” indicate that this was a male-female pair, which are not hard to find among deities of shrines in Japan. Yet another version gives their names as Ohotomuchi and Ohotomuhe. In the sixth generation are Omotaru and Kashikone, the latter of which has many names. Most of Kashikone’s names have elements indicating unpleasantness, meaning that these two gods might have formed a benevolent-malevolent deity pair. Like male-female pairs, benevolent-malevolent pairs are not at all uncommon among shrine deities in Japan. The final generation is Izanagi and Izanami, who would produce the Japanese islands and are the most famous deities of Japan. One version lists them as the children of Kashikone (identified through the alternate name Awokashikine).

A new alternate version gives a different, patrilineal account of descent for the first deities: Kunitokotachi fathers Amekagami, and Amekagami fathers Ame-yorodzu, who fathers Ahanagi, who finally fathers Izanagi. The female deities are left out of this lineage, so their names are unclear.

The fourth through seventh generations contain eight deities in all, as each of these four generations consists of a pair. In the main version of the myth in the Nihongi, sexual reproduction has yet to be invented, so each male-female pair is described as appearing spontaneously; they are male and female, since the material of the universe has male and female essences, the yin and yang. (The alternate versions mentioned contradict this statement of nonsexual origins.) The last paragraph of this section introduces the final alternate genealogy, replacing Ohotonochi and Ohotomahe with Tsunoguhi and Ikuguhi.

Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto

This passage begins with Izanagi and Izanami in heaven, contemplating the unformed earth below. They stir the chaotic ocean with a jeweled spear and create an island, Onogorojima, to which they descend. Izanagi and Izanami then perform a courtship ritual, where they pretend not to know each other—possibly to avoid an incest taboo. Izanami, the female, greets the male first, and is chided for it. They perform the ritual of meeting again, with Izanagi speaking first. Having thus established the “proper” gender hierarchy, they then confirm the difference between male and female sexual organs. The two thus become a married pair.

Having established sexual relations with Izanagi, Izanami starts to give birth to the islands of Japan. Ahaji (in modern Japanese, Awaji, an island in the Inland Sea) is the first, but it is not counted as a full child but instead as the placenta. Ohoyamato-no-Toyoakitsu-shima (the Island of Great Yamato—actually an inland region on the island of Honshu near the city of Nara) and the islands of Iyo-no-futana and Tsukushi are born next. Oki and Sado islands, in the Sea of Japan, are twins in this myth, although in reality they are rather distant from each other. The “islands” (again, like Yamato, regions of Honshu and not separate islands) of Koshi, Ohoshima, and Kibi-no-Ko round out the set of eight (as Ahaji is excluded), leading to the name for Japan soon given: “the Great-eight-island country.” It should be noted, however, that in Old Japanese, “eight” merely stood for “many” or “uncountable.”

The creation of Tsushima and Iki, as well as many other small islands of Japan, is described as not being through Izanagi and Izanami but merely through the hardening of foam from the water. Tsushima and Iki are in the Sea of Japan, very close to the Korean Peninsula, and served as the gateway to the continent. This part of the myth indicates how the royal court might have viewed this border area. Izanami and Izanagi go on to produce the ocean, rivers, mountains, and plants. The last two are through two deities, Kukunochi, the ancestor of treelike plants, and Kayanohime, the ancestress of grasslike plants.

They Then Together Produced the Sun-Goddess

The birth of the sun goddess is next described, as Izanami and Izanagi decide to create a deity to rule the universe. Oddly, the name of this goddess in the main text is Ohohirume-no-muchi, appearing as variants of Amaterasu only in the alternate texts. This suggests that the royal family did not always count Amaterasu as their main ancestress and also that Amaterasu was combined with other sun deities early in her history. The sun goddess is too radiant to stay on earth and so is sent to heaven to rule from there.

The next child produced is Tsukiyumi or, as he is more commonly known, Tsukiyomi, the moon god. He is sent to heaven to be consort to the sun goddess. Following Tsukiyomi, the leech child is born. The leech child is considered a failure and is sent adrift in a boat.

The third child of this trio is then produced, Sosanowo (more commonly known as Susanoo), a storm god. His behavior, violent and upset, is so destructive that Izanami and Izanagi send him to rule the netherworld. This ends the main version of the creation myth as related in the Nihongi. Izanami and Izanagi have created Japan and deities to rule heaven and the netherworld, and subsequently, as related later, Izanagi retires from the world. This version of the myth is not well known in Japan today—far more famous are the following variants, which describe Izanami’s death and Izanagi’s pursuit of her to the netherworld. It is possible that the main version of the tale in the Nihongi is only as old as the Nihongi itself: The main text of the myth ultimately concludes (beyond the scope of this excerpt) with Izanagi retiring by himself, with no mention of Izanami’s fate.

A variant of the birth of the sun/moon/storms trio is described, where Izanagi alone is responsible for their creation, through the use of mirrors—thought of as magical in early Japan. In this version, Sosanowo is still sent to rule the netherworld as a result of his misbehavior.

Now Izanami no Mikoto Was Burnt by Kagu Tsuchi

Finally, another variant myth is introduced (beginning “After the sun and moon, the next child…”) that describes the death of Izanami once she gives birth to the god of fire. Izanami and Izanagi still produce the sun and moon, the leech child, and then Sosanowo. Sosanowo is sent to the netherworld, but their next child is a boat, in which they abandon the leech child. Here, the birth of Kagutsuchi, the fire god, is mentioned. All the following alternate versions are variants of this story line. In her death spasms, Izanami produces the earth goddess Haniyamahime and the water goddess Midzuhanome. Kagutsuchi weds Haniyamahime, and their child, Wakamusubi, is the source of agriculture and sericulture (silk making, which requires silkworms and mulberry leaves).

Three more variants are introduced. In the first, Izanami gives birth to, along with the earth goddess and water goddess, “the gourd of Heaven.” These three create a set that can control the fire god: The gourd holds the water that can put the fire out, and earth (dirt) can smother a fire. In the next variant, the earth and water goddesses are formed from Izanami’s bodily waste as she dies. Her vomit is also turned into a god, Kanayamahiko, who appears to be a metal deity. The next short variant does not mention any children born to Izanami (or from her body) as she dies. Instead her location of burial is stated, and this story is given as the origin of a local festival.

This section starts the longest set of variants and subvariants concerning the birth of the fire god and the death of Izanami, and it contains some of the best-known episodes of the myth. Izanami and Izanagi, having produced the islands of Japan, move on to producing the other deities. The god of the wind, the gods of the sea, mountains, rivers, and trees, and the earth goddess are produced. At last, Kagutsuchi’s birth comes to pass; he burns his mother, Izanami, and she dies (“suffered change and departed”). Izanagi, upset at the loss of Izanami, mourns her and produces a deity from his tears. He then takes his sword and cuts Kagutsuchi into three parts. Each part becomes a deity, as does Kagutsuchi’s blood as it drips from the sword. These deities produce named offspring. Two subvariants of the tale differ in the names of the deities formed from Kagutsuchi’s body and blood.

The Land of Yomi

The variant continues with Izanagi following Izanami to the land of Yomi, otherwise known as the netherworld or the land of the dead. Izanami says that she has eaten the food of Yomi and tells Izanagi not to look at her. Izanagi disobeys her and, by the light of a torch made from his comb, sees Izanami’s decaying body. He is frightened and flees. This episode is described as the source of some taboos about torches and combs. Izanami is outraged and sends the hags of the dead to chase after him. To delay them, he turns his headdress into grapes and his comb into bamboo shoots, which the hags eat. Izanami joins the pursuit and catches up to Izanagi at the gateway to the netherworld.

A subvariant is described where Izanagi turns his urine into a river to delay his pursuers. The formatting suggests that the following conclusion belongs to the subvariant. Izanagi blocks the road from the netherworld with a rock and divorces Izanami. Izanami threatens to kill a thousand people a day if he persists in divorcing her, but Izanagi replies that he will, in turn, cause fifteen hundred people to be born each day. Izanagi sheds himself of his polluted garments, all of which become deities. The next two paragraphs are somewhat contradictory: The first suggests that the entrance to the netherworld is not a physical location but the cessation of breathing as one dies; the second, however, gives names for the rock used to block the entrance to the netherworld, suggesting that it does have a physical location.

Izanagi then cleanses himself of the pollution he acquired in visiting the land of the dead, and he creates the major deities of Japan. Washing his body in the various waters, Izanagi produces further deities. Finally, washing his eyes, he produces the sun and moon deities, and washing his nose he produces Sosanowo. This version of the birth of the sun/moon/storms triad is closer to what is found in the Kojiki than the previous versions related above. As before, Sosanowo cries and rages and is banished, although in this tale the reason for Sosanowo’s behavior is that he is mourning Izanami. This ends the first variant about the death of Izanami and the birth of the sun, moon, and storm deities. (A version of the story of Izanagi’s purification is found in the Nakatomi clan’s liturgy for the Grand Purification.)

The succeeding paragraphs introduce two variants about the death of Kagutsuchi, where again different deities are born from the body of the dead fire god. In the second variant, the element of fire is said to be found in rocks and vegetation because of Kagutsuchi’s blood having splashed on them.

Another version of Izanagi’s descent to underworld and his escape is next relayed. In this version, the “thunders” that are feasting on Izanami’s corpse become Izanagi’s pursuers; they are repelled with flung peaches. A final variant of Izanagi’s visit to the underworld is very vague and may have been corrupted. In this version, Izanagi is not chased out after seeing Izanami’s corpse but instead gets into an argument with her about propriety. They divorce, and Izanagi spits at her; the spittle is turned into a deity. Furthermore, Izanagi’s purification also forms a deity. At the entrance to Yomi, Izanami relays her intention to remain in the land of the dead, citing exhaustion with the act of creation. A deity called Kukurihime then has an exchange with Izanagi that is not explained. At this point, Izanagi performs his ablutions. He enters the water three times, creating three deities. Finally, he produces the remaining deities of the world. This ends the variants about Izanagi’s visit to the underworld. Following this, the Nihongi describes how Izanagi turns over the rule of the world to others and retires to a concealed place on the island of Awaji.