The Origin Of Death According To Japanese Mythology

The origin of death according to Japanese mythology is to be found in a curious legend that speaks of the creation of the Japanese state. Despite the influence of ancient Chinese civilization, a very important part of Japanese religion and mythology has its own roots. It also draws on Shinto and Buddhist traditions, as well as popular peasant beliefs.

Conventional Japanese myths are based on  Kojiki and  Nihonshoki . Kojiki literally means “historical archive” and is the oldest recognized chronicle of the myths, legends and history of Japan. The Nihonshoki is the second oldest and narrates the different actions of the deities.

This article deals with the origin of death according to Japanese mythology. Discover this wonderful legend with us.

The legend about the creation of Japan

At the beginning of time, the first Japanese deities created two demigods. A man named Izanigi and a woman, Izanami. These ancestral deities entrusted them with the mission of creating a land so wonderful that it has no comparison with any other planet.

Years later, when they completed the mission imposed by the first gods, they decided it was time to have children. The eight great Japanese islands were born from the union of these two deities.

Harmony reigned in this newly created world. The deities lived happily together with their numerous children until one day Izanami fathered Kagutsuchi, the god of fire . Due to the very complicated birth, the mother spent a long period ill, until she lost her life.

The suffering for the death of his beloved was so devastating that Izanigi, after burying Izanami’s body in the mythical Mount Hiba near Izumo, decided to go in search of his wife to the heart of the kingdom of Yomi, or the land of the dead.

Izanigi began his journey towards the territory of darkness. All the demons he met on his way, however, warned him that Izanami could never accompany him out in normal life. It was indeed impossible to return to the land of the living after eating in the Yomi.

After many months of suffering and adventures, Izanigi finally found his wife in a place where darkness reigned. The woman told him that she could not go back with him because it was too late, he had already eaten the food of the underworld. However, she decided to try to convince the ruling deities of the Yomi to let her go. The only condition for obtaining the approval of the gods was that Izanagi would have to remain outside the palace.

But, as in the myth of Orpheus, he could not resist the temptation to see his wife and, after lighting a flame, he entered the majestic building. Using the light, Izanigi violated the law of darkness of the Underworld and saw his wife’s body transformed into that of a rotting corpse, overflowing with worms. The deities, accompanied by thunder and lightning, emerged from his head and chest.

Faced with this frightening sight, he fled in terror as his bride accused him of humiliating her and chased him throughout the kingdom of Yomi to kill him. After an incessant chase, Izanami managed to pierce her husband’s body with a spear wounding him.

Despite his injuries, he ran relentlessly trying to reach the world of the living and feel the breeze of the wind. Once he reached the boundary between the two worlds, he grabbed the largest stone and closed forever the entrance to the land of darkness.

From inside the cave, Izanami yelled at her husband to let her into the realm of the living, but terrified by what happened, she flatly refused. At this point, the goddess threatened him by telling him that to take revenge she would kill 1000 humans a day. At this point, Izanagi yelled at her: “And then I will give life to 1500 other beings a day”.

Here is the origin of death for the Japanese who, even today after more than 500 years, celebrate their Day of the Dead, or Obon.

The origin of death according to Japanese mythology

The origin of death according to Japanese mythology is part of a millennial past in which myths and religions belonged to the global thought of this ancestral culture.

Today  the sense of community, family and death in Japan has changed a lot and ancient traditions have given way to more Westernized thinking. With us, death is seen as something impure, to be embellished; a subject that is best not to talk about, if not embellishing it with mystifications and ornaments that only serve to distract the mind and cloud the thoughts.

Unlike Western culture, where it is seen as a real taboo, death in Japanese mythology was regarded as something inevitable, while what really matters are the actions performed in life. The pain of the death of a loved one turns into a comforting feeling if you believe that his soul is still among us.