Inori no Mori祈りの杜working title

Kami (Shinto deity)

Izanami no Ōkami

伊邪那美大神いざなみのおおかみ

An illustration of Izanami no Ōkami created for this site
An original illustration made for this site.

In the Kojiki, she is the goddess who, together with Izanagi no Kami, gives birth to the islands and many kami. She stands at the center of the story of the country's beginnings and is depicted as a being deeply connected with the birth of nature and of life.

This page introduces myths and the faith handed down at individual shrines, with their sources. Descriptions of divine virtues are explanations within religious faith and do not guarantee the outcome of any prayer. We do not set uniform rules for the traditions or customs of individual shrines and temples.

English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む

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A kami of the birth of the land and of the kami

In the Kojiki, she is the goddess who, together with Izanagi no Kami, gives birth to the islands and many kami. She stands at the center of the story of the country's beginnings and is depicted as a being deeply connected with the birth of nature and of life.

Source: 國學院大學

Faith in wishes for long life and bonds

At Taga Taisha she is enshrined together with Izanagi no Ōkami and revered as a kami of long life, the forming of bonds, and warding off misfortune. Rather than seeing her only through the scenes in Yomi, we also introduce faith in her as a parent kami who gives birth to life.

Source: 多賀大社

The birth of the fire kami and Yomi

The Kojiki records a story in which she dies after giving birth to the kami of fire and passes to the land of Yomi. Her parting from Izanagi no Kami, who followed her there, is a scene in a myth that speaks of the boundary between life and death, and we do not treat it as an actual event.

Source: 國學院大學

An example of a chant (in Japanese)

祓え給い、清め給え、神（かむ）ながら守り給い、幸（さきわ）え給え

Related shrines and temples

Sources (in Japanese)