Myths about Ra

This Japanese myth recounts the partnership between the benevolent deity Okuninushi and the dwarf god Sukunabikona, who arrived on a wave in a tiny boat. Together, they traveled across the Japanese archipelago, developing agriculture, establishing the arts of medicine, and taming wild beasts to make the land habitable. Their collaborative efforts laid the physical and spiritual foundations of...

This myth tells of the young god Onamuchi, later known as Okuninushi, who flees to the underworld to escape his murderous brothers. There, he falls in love with Suserihime, the daughter of the storm god Susanoo, who subjects Onamuchi to a series of deadly trials. After escaping with Suserihime and Susanoo's sacred treasures, Onamuchi is chased to the gates of the underworld, where Susanoo...

Banished from the heavenly realms, the storm god Susanoo descends to the Hii River in Izumo, where he encounters an elderly couple weeping over the impending sacrifice of their eighth daughter, Kushinadahime, to the monstrous eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi. Susanoo devises an ingenious trap, requesting the brewing of highly refined eightfold sake to lure the beast into a drunken...

Following his violent outbursts and banishment from the High Celestial Plain, the tempestuous storm god Susanoo descends to Earth at Mount Sentsu in the historical province of Izumo. There, he encounters an elderly couple and their daughter, Kushinadahime, who is about to be sacrificed to the monstrous eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi. Through cleverness and divine prowess, Susanoo slays...

When the sun goddess Amaterasu hid inside the Heavenly Rock Cave, plunging the entire universe into absolute darkness, the heavenly deities devised a plan to lure her out. The physically strongest kami, Ame-no-Tajikarao, stood concealed by the cavern's entrance, waiting for the perfect opportunity to act. When Amaterasu peeked out in curiosity, Tajikarao grabbed her hand, hauled her out, and...

When the sun goddess Amaterasu locked herself in the heavenly rock cave Ama-no-Iwato, she cast the entire cosmos into complete darkness and despair. The millions of Shinto deities gathered in the dry riverbed to devise a plan, but no strategy worked until the clever dawn goddess, Ame-no-Uzume, overturned a wooden tub near the cave's entrance and began a wild, comical, and highly suggestive...

When the sun goddess Amaterasu hid herself in the Heavenly Rock Cave out of grief over her brother Susanoo's wild behavior, the world was plunged into complete darkness. Desperate to bring light back to the universe, eight million Shinto deities gathered at the quiet, gravelly riverbed of Ama-no-Yassugawara. Led by the wise god Omoikane, they devised a brilliant, festive plan to pique her...

Following his horrific journey to Yomi, the land of the dead, to retrieve his deceased wife Izanami, the creator god Izanagi flees back to the living world. Overwhelmed by the spiritual contamination and filth of the underworld, he bathes himself in the sacred waters of the Tachibana River. This acts of ritual purification, known as misogi, cleanses his body and gives birth to many crucial...

Following the tragic death of his beloved wife Izanami, the creator god Izanagi journeys into the dark underworld of Yomi to retrieve her. Breaking a sacred vow of trust, he gazes upon her decomposing form, triggering her fury and a terrifying chase back to the mortal world. To save humanity and himself, Izanagi seals the boundary between life and death at Yomotsu Hirasaka with a massive...

In Japanese mythology, the creator god Izanagi journeys to the dark underworld of Yomi to rescue his deceased wife, Izanami. After breaking a sacred vow by looking upon her decayed form, he is forced to flee from her wrath and a terrifying army of hags and thunder deities. Reaching the boundary of the underworld at Yomotsu Hirasaka, Izanagi repels his monstrous pursuers by throwing three...