Shinto teachings through myth

I finally got my books back this week after moving from Ireland back to the US, so this topic has been sitting unfulfilled for months. A few months ago, I mentioned a helpful book on Shinto that covers the Shinto kami in a helpful way. The book goes into further detail about the role of myth in Shinto teachings, and one particular example was very helpful to me in understanding Shinto teachings, so I wanted to pass it along: the story of Izanami and Izanagi.

According to the Kojiki, Izanagi and Izanami are the two kami in Shinto that are credited with making the islands of Japan. Some time after this is done, they give birth to other kami, until Izanami is killed giving birth to the kami of fire. Izanagi is very distraught over this and seeks her out in the underworld (called “Yomi”) but when he finds her, he’s horrified to see she her flesh is rotten and maggot-infested. He screams and runs out of the underworld, with Izanami angrily chasing him. Finally he escapes and rolls a boulder over the entrance to the underworld, at which time Izanami threatens to kill 1,000 people a day. Izanagi replies that he’ll create 1,500 in turn.

Dr. Reader in his book, points out how this myth exemplifies certain principles in Shinto:

• The elements of birth, death and emotions here reflect the same principles in life we all experience.
• The premature death of Izanami, and the terrible distress it brings, reflect the Shinto belief that death is a spiritually traumatic event that disrupts the natural order of things. Hence the need for purification.
• Likewise, the fact that Izanami appears before her former husband in such a miserable state emphasizes the negative view of death in Shinto.
• Also in Shinto, it’s widely held that recently departing spirits have difficulty letting go, and can be dangerous, which is reflected in Izanami’s attempt to drag her husband into the underworld with her.
• Izanagi’s rolling of the boulder over the entrance to the underworld shows how Shinto seeks to draw a clear-cut line between the worlds of the living and dead.
• The threat of death by Izanami and response by Izanagi shows how life triumphs over death, and that he and his descendants (the pantheon of kami) will strive to uphold and maintain life, not death.

Later in the book, Dr. Reader mentions the rest of the legend, where Izanagi goes to purify himself after this terrible event, and bathes in the waters of the ocean. This act leads to the birth of many more kami, many of him are well-known like Amaterasu and her brother Susano-o among many others. This is the inspiration behind the famous misogi purification ritual in Shinto.¹

So while myths themselves may seem silly or childish in today’s times, often these myths reflect real spiritual and religious values that sometimes are not conveyed in textbooks alone. I hope to explore this subject more in future posts both for Shinto and for Buddhism.

¹ More on purification and Japanese religion.