Жапон мифологиясының құдай анасы Изанами

Goddess of Shinto religion

Izanami (イザナミ), formally referred to with the honorific Izanami no Mikoto (伊弉冉尊/伊邪那美命), is the creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the formation of heaven and earth. Izanami and Izanagi are held to be the creators of the Japanese archipelago and the progenitors of many deities, which include the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the storm god Susanoo. In mythology, she is the direct ancestor of the Japanese imperial family.

Her name is given in the Kojiki (c. 712 AD) both as Izanami no Kami (伊弉冉神) and Izanami no Mikoto (伊邪那美命), while the Nihon Shoki (720 AD) refers to her as Izanami no Mikoto, with the name written in different characters (伊弉冉尊). The names Izanagi (Izanaki) 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'.

Izanagi no Mikoto lamented the death of Izanami no Mikoto and undertook a journey to Yomi ("the shadowy land of the dead"). He searched for Izanami no Mikoto and found her. At first, Izanagi no Mikoto could not see her for the shadows hid her appearance. He asked her to return with him. Izanami no Mikoto informed Izanagi no Mikoto that he was too late. She had already eaten the food of the underworld and was now one with the land of the dead. She could no longer return to the living but would try to ask for permission to leave. The news shocked Izanagi no Mikoto, but he refused to leave her in Yomi. While Izanami no Mikoto was sleeping, he took the comb that bound his long hair and set it alight as a torch. Under the sudden burst of light, he saw the horrid form of the once beautiful and graceful Izanami no Mikoto. She was now a rotting form of flesh with maggots and foul creatures running over her ravaged body. Crying out loud, Izanagi no Mikoto could no longer control his fear and started to run, intending to return to the living and abandon his death ridden wife. Izanami no Mikoto woke up, shrieking and indignant, and chased after him. She also sent Yakusa no ikazuchi no kami (demons who are like Raijin) and shikome (foul women) to hunt for Izanagi no Mikoto and bring him back to Yomi. Izanagi no Mikoto burst out of the entrance and pushed a boulder in the mouth of the Yomotsuhirasaka (黄泉津平坂; cavern that was the entrance of Yomi) to create a separation between the world of the living and the world of the dead, as well as separating Izanagi from Izanami. While he bathed, Izanagi gave birth to the sun goddess, Amaterasu, from his left eye, the moon god, Tsukuyomi, from his right eye, and the storm god, Susanoo, from his nose.

Izanami appears as a playable god in the video game Smite. She also, alongside Amaterasu and Susanoo, appears in the video game DKO (Divine Knockout). Izanami is a recurring important character in the Megami Tensei video game series.