Long before the physical realm of mortals took its modern shape, the universe existed as a chaotic soup of formless potential. From this primordial mist, the first generation of deities arose, eventually leading to the divine couple Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto. Together, they turned the formless ocean into solid islands and birthed the land of Japan and the spirits that governed it. However, the tragic passing of Izanami following the birth of the fire god Kagutsuchi left Izanagi in deep mourning. Driven by grief, Izanagi journeyed to Yomi-no-Kuni, the shadowy underworld of the dead, in a desperate attempt to retrieve his beloved wife. Upon his return, bearing the impurities of the land of the dead, Izanagi sought purification. He travelled to a pristine river mouth in Tsukushi, bathing himself in the refreshing waters to wash away the taint of death. From this grand act of ritual purification, three of the most powerful and influential deities in the Shinto pantheon were born, known collectively as the Mihashira-no-Uzunomiko, the Three Noble Children. As Izanagi washed his left eye, the radiant Amaterasu-Omikami, the Goddess of the Sun and the Universe, came into being, shining with an incomparable luster. Next, as he washed his right eye, Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, the enigmatic God of the Moon, emerged to govern the silver tides of the night. Finally, when Izanagi washed his nose, a roaring storm erupted, and from the rushing wind and water arose Susanoo-no-Mikoto, the wild and untamed Kami of the Sea and Storms. Izanagi, marveling at the splendor of his children, divided the cosmos among them. Amaterasu was granted the dominion of Takamagahara, the High Plain of Heaven, where she would rule over the celestial realm and bathe the universe in her warm, life-giving light. Tsukuyomi was tasked with the night sky, and Susanoo was given authority over the vast, turbulent oceans and the powerful storms that swept across the earthly horizons.
Yet, while Amaterasu accepted her celestial duty with grace and Tsukuyomi quietly retreated into the shadows of the night, Susanoo-no-Mikoto refused to rule his allotted domain. Instead of tending to the vast oceans, he wept and howled continuously, expressing an overwhelming grief that echoed across the cosmos. His tears were not silent; they were tempestuous gales and torrential rains that flooded the valleys, withered the green forests of the mountains, and caused the rivers and seas to dry up in bizarre, unnatural droughts. The earthly world, known as the Central Land of Reed Plains, fell into ruin, and the whispering voices of countless evil spirits began to propagate like flies in the gathering darkness. Izanagi-no-Mikoto, deeply troubled and angered by his youngest son's destructive neglect of duty, summoned Susanoo to explain himself. Susanoo, his hair disheveled and eyes wild like the churning seas, confessed that his heart was not in the oceans but with his deceased mother, Izanami-no-Mikoto, in the distant subterranean realm of Ne-no-Kuni. He wept because he wished to join her in the underworld rather than rule the realm of the living. Incensed by this stubborn rebellion and the cosmic damage it had wrought, Izanagi declared that Susanoo could no longer remain in the celestial or earthly spheres. He banished Susanoo, ordering him to leave the realms of light forever. Before departing for the dark underworld, however, Susanoo decided that he must ascend to the High Plain of Heaven. He claimed his only intention was to bid a final farewell to his sister, Amaterasu-Omikami. But his naturally violent disposition and immense spiritual pressure meant that his journey would be far from peaceful.