Izanagi and Izanami

Divine Couple | Shinto

The divine couple who stirred the ocean and created the first islands; after Izanami’s death Izanagi descends to Yomi (the underworld) to retrieve her and flees in horror; his purification creates the sun, moon, and storm. Their eternal opposition — life against death, sealed by a boulder at Yomotsu Hirasaka — is the cosmological foundation of all Shinto ritual.

Parallels: Orpheus and Eurydice (Greek), Osiris and Isis (Egyptian), Inanna’s descent (Sumerian) See also: Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Susanoo, Yomi no Kuni