The Story of Shinatsuhiko - Episode 1: And Shinatsuhime-no-Kami

This is a completely original KAMIYO special episode that fills the “void” left unrecorded in the history books of Japanese mythology.

We weave the hidden, true tale of the gods here.

Welcome to the abyssal world of Japanese mythology.

Prologue: The Unleashed Pure “Motion”

Born from the great breath of Izanagi, the Wind God, Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami, was brought forth, and Oyashimakuni was freed from the curse of absolute silence.

The air that had settled like sediment was swept away, the trees played the song of rustling leaves, and the clouds began to sail across the firmament.

As has already been told in the main story, “motion” and “sound” were born into the world for the first time, and all creation began to breathe.

However, the power of a god in the early stages of creation was a pure and even violently intense energy, still knowing no refinement.

The wind of Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami, meant to awaken life, was far too young and far too mighty.

His pure joy, seeking to make his presence known to every corner of the earth, eventually transformed into a raging whirlwind that shook the entirety of Oyashimakuni.

It was a blessing, but at the same time, the beginning of a “terror” that mercilessly reaped the still shallow-rooted lives.

Chapter 1: The Storm of Solitude

Whooooosh!!

Every time Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami raced through the heavens, a sharp roar tearing through the atmosphere echoed across heaven and earth.

The blue robes he wore were the raging storm itself, and when his feet kicked the ground, a gust of wind arose as if to gouge out the earth.

“Oh! Look! The sea swells, and the mountains tremble! This is my power; this is the pulsation of heaven and earth!”

He raised a voice filled with joy, attempting to shake all creation even more violently.

However, Great Nature could not withstand his overwhelming power of “motion” and began to scream.

The young trees, freshly brought forth by the Ame-no-nuboko (Heavenly Jeweled Spear), unable to endure the strong winds, were cruelly snapped, and the flowers scattered their petals before bearing seeds. The sea surface, which Owatatsumi-no-Kami was supposed to have pacified, surged madly, becoming rough waves that scraped away the coastal lands.

“...Why? Why does life not respond to my wind and grow robustly?”

Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami stood motionless in mid-air, looking down at the desolate scene.

He merely wanted to give the breath of life to the world. However, his power was far too rigid and forceful.

No one could approach him; he was entirely alone, deep in solitude, at the center of the giant storm he had created. The young Wind God was made to painfully realize that pure power could sometimes repel all things.

Chapter 2: The Sigh of Silence, Shinatsuhime-no-Kami

“Your wind is far too direct, and far too strong.”

Through the center of the raging storm, passing through its fiercest wall of wind, rang out a cool, refreshing voice like the chiming of a bell...

When Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami turned around in surprise, standing there was a single goddess, clad in robes that rippled as if harboring the atmosphere itself, much like his own.

Only around her, the wind was unbelievably calm.

The quiet, gentle “sigh of lingering resonance” left behind after Izanagi forcefully exhaled. Or the “gentle breeze” that visits after a fierce wind has blown through, softly caressing all things.

Born from that soft, Yin spirit, another god of the wind.

The counterpart to Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami: Shinatsuhime-no-Kami.

“You are...”

“I am Shinatsuhime. One who traverses the skies of this Oyashima, just like you. If your wind is meant to ‘awaken’ life, my wind is meant to ‘nurture’ life.”

Gently swaying her pale pink and light green robes, Shinatsuhime-no-Kami quietly approached the raging male god.

In time with her steps, the violently raging storm gradually softened its momentum, like an infant soothed by its mother.

Chapter 3: The Encounter of the Hard and the Soft

Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami felt a sense of awe toward the goddess before his eyes, who had so effortlessly calmed his power.

“To parry my rigid wind so easily... Shinatsuhime, is my power only meant to destroy the world?”

At Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami’s question, the goddess smiled gently and shook her head.

“No. Without your powerful Aramitama (rough spirit), the heavy stagnation filling heaven and earth could not be swept away, nor could the thick clouds be parted to deliver the sun’s light to the earth. However, beyond the door pried open by force, gentle guidance is necessary.”

Shinatsuhime-no-Kami softly took his hand.

Her hand was as soft, and as warm, as a spring breeze.

“You shall create the powerful updrafts for birds to soar in the sky. I shall blow the gentle breezes for flowers to quietly pollinate. We shed dead leaves with strong storms, and encourage new sprouts with gentle winds. Only when the hard and the soft, the two winds intersect, does the world begin to breathe correctly.”

At those words, the fog of solitude lying deep within Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami’s chest beautifully cleared away.

He deeply understood what he had been lacking.

Chapter 4: The Wind of Joined Wings, an Eternal Vow

“Shinatsuhime. Your soft wind is the only guidepost that calms my raging soul and leads to the true circulation of life. Please, become my wife, and govern the skies of this Oyashima together with me.”

Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami respectfully knelt in the midst of the vast sky and sought an eternal vow from the goddess.

“Yes, gladly. My husband. I shall always stay close behind your strong wind.”

The moment Shinatsuhime-no-Kami smiled back and the two gods took each other’s hands.

A beautiful and epic vortex of wind, unlike anything anyone had ever seen, was born in the heavens.

It was not a raging storm bringing destruction. It was a sacred air current achieving great harmony, where the powerful Yang spirit of the male god and the gentle Yin spirit of the goddess perfectly melted together.

When they danced through the heavens, the strong wind carried the clouds, and the soft wind following it gently let the rain—the blessing from heaven—fall upon the earth.

The raging ocean recovered its regular swells of waves, and the nearly broken trees, receiving the blessed rain and gentle wind, began to forcefully take root once again.

At this point, Oyashimakuni had attained the true “Wind.”

Chapter 5: The Promise of the Age of Gods

“Look, my wife. The earth, the mountains, are trembling with the joy of life.”

The two gods drew close, flying across the skies above Oyashima side-by-side like birds sharing wings.

In the wake of their blowing breeze, trees sprouted lushly, and vibrantly colored flowers bloomed in full glory all at once. Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami blew away the old husks, and Shinatsuhime-no-Kami carried the seeds of life far away along with the fragrance of the flowers.

It was the refreshing yet warm spring wind brought to the world for the first time—the “Kunpu” (balmy breeze).

Watching the spectacle from the ground, Izanagi and Izanami also deeply rejoiced at the healthy growth of the earth and the birth of the beautiful two wind gods.

“We shall govern the breathing of this country for eternity. Sometimes becoming a raging typhoon to sweep away stagnation, and sometimes becoming an autumn wind bringing harvest to bless the earth.”

Shinatsuhime-no-Kami nodded gently to Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami’s powerful vow.

In later eras, these two wind gods would be enshrined together at the sacred “Tatsuta Taisha” shrine, gathering immense faith from humans as absolute guardian deities who pacify wind disasters and bring bountiful harvests.

However, that is a story for the far future.

For now, there was only the trajectory of two beautiful, newly-bound winds racing across the azure sky of the Age of Gods (Kamiyo).