| Izanami-no-Mikoto | |
|---|---|
Primordial goddess of creation and death | |
 Searching the Seas with the Tenkei (天瓊を以て滄海を探るの図, Tenkei o motte sōkai o saguru no zu). Painting by Kobayashi Eitaku, 1880-90 (MFA, Boston). Izanagi with the spear Amenonuhoko to the right, Izanami to the left. | |
| Other names | Izanami-no-Kami (伊弉冉神) Izanami-no-Mikoto (伊邪那美命) Yomotsu Okami (黄泉津大神) Chishiki no Okami (道敷大神) |
| Japanese | 伊邪那美 |
| Major cult center | Taga Taisha |
| Texts | Kojiki, Nihon Shoki, Sendai Kuji Hongi |
| Gender | Female |
| Region | Japan |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | None (Kojiki, Nihon Shoki) Aokashikine-no-Mikoto (Shoki) Awanagi-no-Mikoto (Shoki) Omodaru and Ayakashikone.[1] |
| Siblings | Izanagi |
| Consort | Izanagi |
| Children | Amaterasu Tsukuyomi Susanoo Hiruko Kagu-tsuchi (and others) |
| Part of a series on |
| Shinto |
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Izanami (イザナミ), formally referred to with the honorific Izanami-no-Mikoto (伊弉冉尊/伊邪那美命, meaning "She-who-invites" or the "Female-who-invites"), is the creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother-husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the formation of heaven and earth. Izanami and Izanagi are held to be the creators of the Japanese archipelago and the progenitors of many deities, which include the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the storm god Susanoo. In mythology, she is the direct ancestor of the Japanese imperial family. In Shinto and Japanese mythology, Izanami gave humans death, so Izanami is sometimes seen as a shinigami.[2][3]
- ^ "Encyclopedia of Shinto - Home : Kami in Classic Texts : Omodaru, Ayakashikone". eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
七会awas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ 河野信子編 (1995). 女と男の時空. Vol. 1. 藤原書店. p. 115. ISBN 978-4-89434-022-0.