ABSTRACT
Shinto grew out of a mixture of year-round agricultural ceremonies and ancestral rites. It was the product, primarily, of a culture based on rice – the Japanese staple diet. The three principal texts that came to incorporate the central traditions of Shinto are the Kojiki, the Nihonshoki, and the Engishiki. Others such as the more poetic Manyoshu and the historical records known as the Shoku Nihongi, the Kogo Shui, and the Sendai Kuji were supplementary but also later in their composition. This chapter examines the role of Izanagi-no-ikoto and Izanami-no-mikoto. It narrates the return of the pair to discuss the matter with the heavenly kami, who in turn order them back to their work of love. The chapter focuses on some of the features of the mythology which should illustrate how fundamentally different it is from Indo-European mythology.
