Sun, Moon and Sea
As could be expected, Izanagi went on to purify himself after recovering from his descent to Yomi. As he undressed and removed the adornments of his body, each item that he dropped to the ground formed a deity. Even more gods came into being when he went to the water to wash himself. The most important ones were created once he washed his face:
- Amaterasu (incarnation of the sun) from his left eye,
- Tsukuyomi (incarnation of the moon) from his right eye, and
- Susanoo (incarnation of storms and ruler of the sea and storms) from his nose.
Izanagi went on to divide the world between them with Amaterasu inheriting the heavens, Tsukuyomi taking control of the night and moon and the storm god Susanoo owning the seas. In some versions of the myth, Susanoo rules not only the seas but also all elements of a storm, including snow and hail, and, in rare cases, even sand.
Read more about this topic: Japanese Mythology
Famous quotes containing the words moon and/or sea:
“No, they are dark and wrinkled and hairy,
caves of the Moon . . .——— And when a
dark humming fills us, a
coldness towards life,
we are too much women to
own such unwomanliness.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“Generation on generation, your neck rubbed the windowsill
of the stall, smoothing the wood as the sea smooths glass.”
—Donald Hall (b. 1928)