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After heaven and earth had been separated, two married kami, Izanagi-no-kami
and Izanami-no-kami, gave birth to the land of Japan and to various kami
of the seas, the rivers, the mountains and the fields. Finally the two
gave birth to three specially revered kami: Amaterasu Omikami, Tsukiyomi-no-kami
and Susanoo-no-kami. They gave necklace of jewel beads to Amaterasu Omikami
and ordered her to govern Takama-no-Hara (the Plain of Heaven), they further
ordered Tsukiyomi-no-kami to govern the night and Susanoo-no-kami to govern
the sea. Susanoo-no-kami, however, went against the will of the married
deities and gave up governing the sea. Instead he ascended to Takama-no-Hara,
and committed outrageous deeds such as destroying the paddy fields and
the weaving house on the Heavenly Plain. Amaterasu Omikami angered by
his behavior and hid herself in the Heavenly Rock Cave called Ama-no-Iwato.
As a result, the world of both heaven and earth became dark, throwing
everything into confusion. The eight million kami got together beside
the river in the Plain of Heaven, debating how to induce Amaterasu Omikami
to come out of the Heavenly Rock Cave. They decided first to make the divine
mirror Yata-no-Kagami and hang it in front of the cave, second, to hold
a joyous festival, and third, to perform the sacred dance and music called
kagura. As a result of this, Amaterasu Omikami emerged from the Heavenly
Rock Cave, illuminating everything with her gentle light. She made heaven and
earth bright again and brought back harmony and order. Susanoo-no-kami
was expelled from the Heavenly Plain to the land of Izumo. There Susanoo-no-kami,
killed a giant snake, the Yamata-no-Orochi, which had been tormenting
the people of Izumo. He extracted a divine sword out of the snake's tail
and presented it to Amaterasu Omikami. This sword is one of the three
imperial regalia. |
