Izanami vs Kagutsuchi

Female primordial deity who created the Japanese islands and kami with Izanagi. After dying in childbirth, she became goddess of death and ruler of Yomi.

Izanami died giving birth to the fire god Kagutsuchi. Grief-stricken, Izanagi followed her to Yomi but fled when he saw her decaying form. She swore to kill 1,000 people each day.

Izanami-no-Mikoto is the female half of the creating pair. With Izanagi she births the islands and a long catalogue of kami. The birth of **Kagutsuchi**, the fire kami, burns her and she dies. Death does not remove her from the story. It changes her office. She becomes a ruler of **Yomi**, the land of the dead, and a goddess who can no longer be looked at in the light.

The fire god whose birth killed his mother Izanami, triggering Izanagi's descent to Yomi and the eternal separation of life and death. From his death came many kami.

Kagutsuchi was born last among the kami created by **Izanagi** and **Izanami**. His fiery body burned Izanami fatally during childbirth. Grief-stricken and enraged, Izanagi decapitated Kagutsuchi with his sword. From the fire god's blood and body sprang numerous deities, including mountain gods, thunder gods, and the sword Futsu-no-Mitama.

**Kagutsuchi** (also called Homusubi, "fire-starter") occupies a tragic but pivotal position in Japanese creation mythology. His birth marked the end of the age of creation and set in motion the separation between the realms of life and death that defines Shinto cosmology.