The Story of Shinatsuhiko - Episode 3: The Eternal Wind and the Invisible Bond

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: Winter’s Silence and the Slumber of Life

The autumn that dyed Oyashimakuni in golden hues had passed, and the presence of heaven and earth began to quietly grow cold.

Though the sky was high and clear, the sunlight hid its former heat, and the earth was about to be enveloped in a quiet solitude.

The warm wind of spring, the fierce storm of summer, the cool wind of autumn.

Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami and Shinatsuhime-no-Kami had blown down winds without interruption, aiding the pulsation and purification of life.

However, life cannot burn brightly and continue to grow forever. The earth, having fiercely exhausted its power, sought rest.

“Look, my wife. The heat of the earth is receding, and the trees are trying to drop their leaves on their own.”

Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami looked down at the falling-silent earth from high in the sky and spoke quietly.

“Yes. For life to welcome the next spring, a deep and long slumber is necessary. Come, the time has arrived for us to lower the ‘veil of peace’ upon the earth.”

Shinatsuhime-no-Kami nodded with eyes full of compassion.

The two wind gods fluttered their sleeves grandly to the heavens once again to summon the final wind that completes the cycle of the four seasons—the wind of winter.

Chapter 1: The Cold Wind and the Snow of Purification

Whooooosh...

The wind released by Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami became a sharp, cold winter wind that raced across the earth.

It was not a violent destruction like the summer typhoon. It was a severe yet pure wind of relinquishment, meant to detach old leaves from their branches and return them to the ground to enrich the soil.

The trees dropped their leaves to become mere skeletons, and the beasts hid themselves deep within their holes to hibernate.

From above that, Shinatsuhime-no-Kami softly blew down a gentle breath.

Then, the moisture in the sky crystallized in the cold wind, becoming countless white snowflakes fluttering down to the earth.

Snow is a white, warm blanket to prevent the earth’s heat from escaping into the harsh, cold wind. Her wind gently gathered the snow, thickly covering the seeds and roots of plants sleeping at the bottom of the soil to protect them from the freezing chill.

“This is good. The stagnation of heaven and earth has frozen, and life has entered a quiet slumber.”

Looking across Oyashimakuni dyed in pure white, Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami let out a sigh of relief.

Sprouting in spring, purifying impurities in summer, bearing fruit in autumn, and sleeping in winter.

The wind gods born from Izanagi’s breath had, for the first time here, accomplished the “circulation of the four seasons”—the breathing of heaven and earth—in its perfect form.

Chapter 2: A Throne Named the Vast Sky

The winter sky was so quiet it seemed to absorb all sound.

Unlike Owatatsumi-no-Kami, who built a magnificent palace at the bottom of the sea, these wind gods had no fixed shrine, nor a dazzling throne.

Their dwelling place was always the vast sky, and due to their nature of never knowing how to stay still, they never built a tangible palace.

“My husband. We have no place to return to... but do you not feel lonely?”

Shinatsuhime-no-Kami suddenly asked, nestling close to her husband’s blue robes upon a snow cloud.

Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami smiled gently at his wife’s question and stroked her soft hair.

“What are you saying? Is this endlessly expanding vast sky not our very throne? And above all, you are always by my side. As long as your gentle wind blows alongside mine, I am never lonely, no matter what sky I am in.”

Even without a tangible palace, their presence had already reached every corner of Oyashima.

The rustling of waves, the dance of snow, the fragrance of flowers. Their invisible presence, as the very behavior of great nature, had etched a firm proof into heaven and earth.

Chapter 3: A Promise to the Humans of the Future

While looking down at the snowfields, Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami suddenly cast his thoughts to the far future, the eternal time when the era of gods would transition to the era of humans.

“Eventually, the day will come when this Oyashima will be overflowing with countless humans, just as our father and mother desired. They will sow seeds in the earth and live upon its harvest.”

“Yes. At that time, the wind we blow will become a blessing to them, but also a terrifying disaster.”

It was just as Shinatsuhime-no-Kami said.

To the existence known as humans, a raging storm is an object of terror that snatches everything away, while a gentle wind becomes a messenger of blessing promising a bountiful harvest. Pacifying the wind and praying to the wind would surely become their greatest earnest desire to survive amidst great nature.

“Though we are formless gods, we shall surely answer their prayers. Eventually, humans will enshrine us in the mountains that are the paths of the wind.”

In Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami’s eyes, the scenery of the future, a thousand or two thousand years ahead, was clearly reflected.

In the era after the time when trees, wind, and stones were all gods had come to an end. The sight of people building magnificent shrines with sincere prayers to quell the disasters of great winds, dedicating dances in hopes of a bountiful harvest.

“As long as the voices of those prayers reach us, we shall never become a storm that only rages. Together with you, we shall surely protect and guide the humans gently.”

Chapter 4: The Bridge Connecting Heaven and Earth

“I am glad... We, the gods of the wind, can become an ‘invisible bridge’ connecting heaven and earth, and gods and humans.”

Shinatsuhime-no-Kami was deeply moved by her husband’s powerful promise and leaned into his chest.

Repeating destruction and rebirth, governing the fierce yet beautiful rhythm of heaven and earth, they resolved to stay close even to the “history of humans” that would eventually be born.

The single gust of breath exhaled by Izanagi merely to “break free from silence” had passed through the two extremes of fierceness and gentleness to achieve great harmony, finally reaching the “eternal circulation of love and blessing.”

The strong wind opens the path, and the gentle wind nurtures life.

As long as this absolute law exists, the future of Oyashimakuni will never be closed off.

Chapter 5: Two Winds Dancing Together in the Sky

“Now, shall we go, Shinatsuhime? Our mission has no end. When the snow melts, we must once again blow the spring wind that awakens life.”

Shinatsuhiko-no-Kami stood up powerfully and reached out toward the beyond of the heavens.

Shinatsuhime-no-Kami also smiled beautifully and took his hand.

“Yes, my husband. As long as heaven and earth continue, let us go together, anywhere.”

Entwining their robes, the two gods danced up into the sky above Oyashimakuni, which shone in silver.

In the wake of their flight, the cold winter air cleared beautifully, and the sunlight piercing through the breaks in the clouds divinely illuminated the snowfields.

The invisible chain of the gods’ love enveloped this world boundlessly deep and beautiful.

Two winds, racing through the sky of the Age of Gods.

The eternal breath they blow down pushes the epic history of the gods’ creation even further forward, guiding the world to the stage of a new myth—the birth of the next great lives: the gods of mountains, fields, and fire.