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Table illustrating the kami that appeared during the creation of Heaven and Earth according to Japanese mythology.. In Japanese mythology, the Japanese Creation Myth (天地開闢, Tenchi-kaibyaku, Literally "Creation of Heaven & Earth") is the story that describes the legendary birth of the celestial and creative world, the birth of the first gods, and the birth of the Japanese archipelago.
Shinto is a religion native to Japan with a centuries'-long history tied to various influences in origin. [1]Although historians debate [citation needed] the point at which it is suitable to begin referring to Shinto as a distinct religion, kami veneration has been traced back to Japan's Yayoi period (300 BC to AD 300).
A torii gateway to the Yobito Shrine (Yobito-jinja) in Abashiri City, HokkaidoThere is no universally agreed definition of Shinto. [2] According to Joseph Cali and John Dougill, if there was "one single, broad definition of Shinto" that could be put forward, it would be that "Shinto is a belief in kami", the supernatural entities at the centre of the religion. [3]
The history of thousands of years of contact with Chinese and various Indian myths (such as Buddhist and Hindu mythology) are also key influences in Japanese religious belief. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Japanese myths are tied to the topography of the archipelago as well as agriculturally-based folk religion , and the Shinto pantheon holds uncountable ...
In Shinto, Kotoamatsukami (別天神, literally "distinguishing heavenly kami") is the collective name for the first gods which came into existence at the time of the creation of the universe. They were born in Takamagahara, the world of Heaven at the time of the creation. Unlike the later gods, these deities were born without any procreation.
According to the Kojiki, Shinto's genesis gods Izanagi and Izanami were responsible for creating the first land. To achieve this, they received a spear decorated with jewels from the older heavenly gods. [2] The two deities then went to the bridge between heaven and earth, Ame-no-ukihashi, and churned the sea below with the naginata.
The Kojiki portrays Ame-no-Minakanushi as the first god to appear in the heavenly realm of Takamagahara after the emergence of heaven and earth from the primeval chaos: . At the time of the beginning of heaven and earth, there came into existence in Takamanohara a deity named Ame-no-Minakanushi-no-Kami; next, Takamimusubi-no-Kami; next, Kamimusubi-no-Kami.
A creation myth (or creation story) is a cultural, religious or traditional myth which describes the earliest beginnings of the present world. Creation myths are the most common form of myth, usually developing first in oral traditions , and are found throughout human culture.