Izanagi

Name

His name is given in the Kojiki (c. 712 AD) both as Izanagi-no-Kami (伊邪那岐神) and Izanagi-no-Mikoto (伊邪那岐命), while the Nihon Shoki (720 AD) refers to him as Izanagi-no-Mikoto, with the name written in different characters (伊弉諾尊).

The names Izanagi and Izanami are often interpreted as being derived from the verb izanau (historical orthography izanafu) or iⁿzanap- from Western Old Japanese 'to invite', with -ki / -gi and -mi being taken as masculine and feminine suffixes, respectively. The literal translation of Iⁿzanaŋgî and Iⁿzanamî are 'Male-who-invites' and 'Female-who-invites'.

Shiratori Kurakichi proposed an alternative theory which instead sees the root iza- (or rather isa-) to be derived from isao (historical orthography: isawo) meaning 'achievement' or 'merit'.

The etymological origin of the verb is suggested to be a precursor to the Middle Korean lemma yènc- meaning 'to place/put on [the top of]' reconstructed as *yenc-a (place-INF) in Old Korean.

Mythology

In the Kojiki

The Kojiki portrays Izanagi and his younger twin sister Izanami as the seventh and final generation of deities that manifested after the emergence of the first group of gods, the Kotoamatsukami, when heaven and Earth came into existence.

Receiving a command from the other gods to solidify and shape the Earth (which then "[resembled] floating oil and [drifted] like a jellyfish"), the couple use a jewelled spear to churn the watery chaos. The brine that dripped from the tip of the spear congealed and turned into an island named Onogoro (淤能碁呂島). The two descended to the island and, setting up their dwelling, erected a 'heavenly pillar' (ama no mihashira) on it. Izanagi and Izanami, realizing that they were meant to procreate and have children, then devised a marriage ceremony whereby they would walk in opposite directions around the pillar, greet each other and initiate intercourse. After Izanami greeted Izanagi first, Izanagi objected that he, the man, should have been the first to speak. True enough, the first offspring that resulted from their union, the 'leech-child' Hiruko, was considered imperfect and set adrift on a boat of reeds. Izanagi and Izanami then also begat the island of Awa (淡島 Awashima), but this too was not counted among their rightful progeny.

Izanagi and Izanami then decided to repeat the ritual, with Izanagi greeting Izanami first. This time, their union was a success, with Izanami giving birth to some of the various islands that comprise the Japanese archipelago (with the notable exceptions of Shikoku and Hokkaido), which include the following eight islands (in the following order):

Awaji-no-Ho-no-Sawake (淡道之穂之狭別島)

The double-named island of Iyo (伊予之二名島 Iyo-no-Futana-no-Shima, modern Shikoku)

The triple islands of Oki (隠伎之三子島 Oki-no-Mitsugo-no-Shima)

Tsukushi (筑紫島, modern Kyushu)

Iki (伊伎島)

Tsushima (津島)

Sado (佐度島)

In the Nihon Shoki

While the first generations of kami including Izanagi and Izanami are implied in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki's main narrative to have manifested independent of each other, one variant cited in the Shoki instead describes them as the offspring of Aokashikine-no-Mikoto (青橿城根尊), another name for the goddess Ayakashikone-no-Mikoto, of the sixth of the first seven generations of gods. Another variant meanwhile portrays Izanagi as the offspring of a deity named Awanagi-no-Mikoto (沫蕩尊) and the fifth-generation descendant of the primordial deity Kuninotokotachi-no-Mikoto.

In the Shoki's main narrative, the couple first begets the following eight islands after performing the marriage ceremony (in the following order):

Awaji (淡路洲), which "was reckoned as the placenta, and their minds took no pleasure in it"

Ōyamato-Toyoakitsushima (大日本豊秋津洲)

The double-named island of Iyo (伊豫二名洲)

Tsukushi (筑紫洲)

Oki (億岐洲) and Sado (佐度洲), born as twins

Koshi (越洲), what is now known as the Hokuriku region

Ōshima (大洲), identified with the island of Suō-Ōshima in Yamaguchi Prefecture

Kibi-no-Kojima (吉備子洲), identified with the Kojima Peninsula in southern Okayama Prefecture (formerly the province of Kibi)

Both Ōshima and Kibi-no-Kojima are not reckoned among the eight great islands in the Kojiki, instead being identified as being born after them. The other remaining islands, such as Tsushima (対馬島) and Iki (壱岐島), are said to have been produced by the coagulation of the foam in sea water (or freshwater).

In Tenrikyo

In Tenrikyo, Izanagi-no-Mikoto is one of the Ten Aspects of God's Providence (十全の守護, jūzen no shugo).