Izanami - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Izanami is a goddess of both creation and death in Japanese mythology. She is said to have died giving birth to one of her children {who Izanagi killed due to the grief of losing his beloved} and was sent to Yomi, the land of the dead. Izanagi, her husband, came down to Yomi to bring her back to earth. While she Izanami was in Yomi, she felt hungry and ate the fruit. After eating the fruit, she turned into one of the undead, a rotting, maggot-infested pile of flesh. When Izanagi arrived, she would not step out from the shadows and told her husband to go back to earth. Izanagi tried to persuade her to come back with him and she agreed if she could take a rest in her bedchambers, forbidding Izanagi to enter. Izanagi, anxious to return to earth, snuck into her chambers and, taking his comb from his hair, lit it on fire, showing him her rotting body. Izanami woke up and seeing him, became enraged. Izanagi fled from the underworld and sealed the way with a giant rock. Izanami then became known as the Shinigami, the goddess of death. Izanami vowed to kill 1,000 people everyday, and Izanagi vowed to create 1500 every day.

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Japanese Mythology & Folklore

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