KAMIYO Episode 38: The Misogi at Awagihara — The Defilement of Yomi Clinging to the Body

Prologue: The Chill Under the Sun, the God of Life Eaten Away

Having eternally sealed the boundary between life and death with the Chibiki-no-Iwa (Boulder of Chibiki), Izanagi finally returned alive into the light of the surface.

A brilliant blue sky spread above, and a wind full of vitality swayed the trees.

The breathtakingly beautiful scenery of Oyashimakuni (The Great Eight Islands), which he had created together with Izanami, was right there.

However, even though he was bathed in the sunlight, Izanagi's body was as cold as ice. "Haa... Haa..."

Every time he took a step, the lush green flowers and grass at his feet rustled and withered away, as if struck by a toxic miasma.

The "defilement" he had bathed in within the Yomi-no-Kuni—that absolute realm of death—clung darkly and heavily not only to his divine body but deep within his spirit.

The stench of his wife's putrefying flesh, the presence of death emitted by the Yakusa-no-Ikazuchi (Eight Thunder Gods), and above all, the curse from his most beloved wife to "kill one thousand a day." All of these became a trauma, a binding curse that ate away at the light of his life.

"This is bad... At this rate, the presence of death overflowing from my body will rot this beautiful world. I must quickly, quickly wash away this impure defilement...!"

Dragging his heavy feet, Izanagi began to wander the surface aimlessly in search of pure water.

Chapter 1: Awagihara at the River-mouth of Tachibana in Himuka, Tsukushi

How much time had he continued to walk?

Eventually, Izanagi arrived at a rich land located in the southwest of Oyashimakuni, the land of Tsukushi.

The place he sought refuge was a beautiful waterside where a river poured into the sea, known as Awagihara at the river-mouth of Tachibana in Himuka.

Murmur, murmur...

The highly transparent river water flowed into the sea, sparkling and reflecting the sunlight.

It was the most sacred and pure place in the world, where the clear energy of the mountains flowing from upstream intersected with the purifying power of the vast ocean.

"Oh... If it is here. If it is this pure water, I might be able to wash off the defilement of Yomi possessing my body."

Izanagi fell to his knees by the riverbank and let out a sigh of relief.

More than the joy of returning alive, his sense of responsibility as the creator god—that the harmony of the world must not be destroyed—was what drove him this far.

Chapter 2: The Cast-Off Past, the Birth of Gods from Ornaments

Izanagi stood up and untied the clothing and ornaments that had walked the country of Yomi with him, one by one.

"I have gone to the abominable country of death. What hideous and horrifying things I have seen."

The first thing he threw to the ground was the walking stick he had clung to while walking the dark path.

The moment the stick fell to the ground, Tsukitatsufunato-no-Kami was born from it, a god who blocks disasters on the road.

Next, as he untied the sash wrapped around his waist, Michinonagachiha-no-Kami was born; as he cast off his defiled robes, Tokihakashi-no-Kami appeared; and as he took off his hakama (trousers), Wazurahinoushi-no-Kami came into being.

Furthermore, every time he threw away something he wore, down to his crown and the bracelets on his left and right hands, twelve gods governing boundaries and watersides were born from them.

By casting off all the clothing dyed with the terror and despair of death, Izanagi was liberated from the physical heavy pressure, returning his flesh to a pure "vessel of life."

Chapter 3: The Erupting Grudge of Death, Magatsubi-no-Kami

Now completely unclad, Izanagi quietly stepped into the middle stream of the river. The cool, clear stream enveloped his skin, providing a pleasant stimulation.

"Ah... the water permeates my life..."

He scooped the water with both hands and began to scrub away the defilement of death clinging to his chest, abdomen, and arms.

It was at that moment.

Hiiiiiisssssss!!!

The moment the black, mud-like defilement washed from Izanagi's body touched the water's surface, it emitted a fierce miasma and began to materialize.

It was the crystallization of the intense resentment Izanami had unleashed in Yomi, and the pure malice that filled the country of death.

Before his eyes, the thick black mud transformed into two terrifying gods of disaster—Yasomagatsubi-no-Kami and Oomagatsubi-no-Kami—instantly dyeing the surrounding pure water pitch black.

"What ominity...! To think I had unconsciously harbored such a grudge!"

Izanagi shuddered.

If he could not purify these gods of disaster here, illness, calamity, and unreasonable death would run rampant in the world.

Chapter 4: The Power to Mend, the Birth of Kamunaobi-no-Kami

"I will not let you... I am the lord of the living! I will not let the life of Oyashima be devoured by the despair of the past (Yomi)!"

Izanagi heightened the pure light as a creator god sleeping within him to its absolute limit.

Then, to sever the chain of disaster brought by Magatsubi-no-Kami, and with a prayer to "mend" the world back to its normal state, he powerfully struck the surface of the water.

Fwoooosh...!

At that moment, a dazzling pillar of light rose from the water's surface, and gods who purify disasters were born—Kamunaobi-no-Kami and Oonaobi-no-Kami, as well as Izunome, who possesses the power of a sacred shrine maiden.

The purifying light emitted by the Naobi gods gently enveloped the black miasma of Magatsubi-no-Kami, returning the river water to its original, crystal-clear blue in the blink of an eye.

"Disaster" is born, and the power to "mend" it is born. Izanagi's Misogi (purification ritual) was not a mere washing of bodily dirt, but a grand ritual that gave birth to a new providence in the world: "trial and overcoming."

Chapter 5: The Purification of Mind and Body, and the Final Drop

After the presence of disaster completely vanished, Izanagi dove to the bottom of the river, and then carefully washed himself at every depth—the middle stream, and the surface.

From there, six important gods successively uttered their first cries, including Watatsumi-no-Kami, who governs the sea, and Tsutsunoo-no-Mikoto, who governs the movement of the stars.

Having completely washed away all defilement, Izanagi quietly brought his face above the water's surface.

His body was as light as a feather, and the "spiritual defilement" that had been tightening his chest—his lingering affection for Izanami and his fear of death—had vanished into the vast ocean along with the river's flow.

He was now in the purest, clearest state in the history of creation.

"It is finished... I am finally freed from the yoke of Yomi."

The warm sunlight illuminated Izanagi's purified, beautiful divine body.

 However, only one part of the ritual remained.

The eyes with which he had "seen" the most cruel truth in the Yomi-no-Kuni. And the nose with which he had "smelled" the scent of death.

In other words, only his face above the neck had not yet been washed.

"Now, this is the last of it."

Izanagi scooped plenty of pure water with both hands and quietly closed his eyes.

Little did he know that in the very next moment, the greatest unprecedented miracle to illuminate this world would utter its first cry, as he splashed the sacred water onto his face.