Creation Myth
In the Japanese creation myth, the first deities which came into existence, appearing at the time of the creation of the universe, are collectively called Kotoamatsukami.
Later, the seven generations of kami, known as Kamiyonanayo ("Seven Generations of the Age of the Gods"), emerged, following the formation of heaven and earth.
The first two generations are individual deities called hitorigami, while the five that followed came into being as male/female pairs of kami: brothers and sisters that were also married couples. In this chronicle, the Kamiyonanayo comprise 12 deities in total.
In contrast, the Nihon Shoki states that the Kamiyonanayo group was the first to appear after the creation of the universe, as opposed to the Kamiyonanayo appearing after the formation of heaven and earth. It also states that the first three generations of deities are hitorigami (individual deities) and that the later generations of deities are pairs of the opposite gender, as compared to the Kojiki's two generations of hitorigami.
Read more about this topic: Japanese Mythology
Famous quotes containing the words creation and/or myth:
“Man is a masterpiece of creation if for no other reason than that, all the weight of evidence for determinism notwithstanding, he believes he has free will.”
—G.C. (Georg Christoph)
“To get time for civic work, for exercise, for neighborhood projects, reading or meditation, or just plain time to themselves, mothers need to hold out against the fairly recent but surprisingly entrenched myth that “good mothers” are constantly with their children. They will have to speak out at last about the demoralizing effect of spending day after day with small children, no matter how much they love them.”
—Wendy Coppedge Sanford. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, introduction (1978)