astronomy

Japanese creation myth

Japanese creation myth is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Japanese creation myth rather than just read about it. In short: In Japanese mythology, the Tenchi-kaibyaku (天地開闢; 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. This story is described at the beginning of the Kojiki, the first book written in Japan (712), and in the Nihon Shoki (720).

Key takeaways

Japanese creation myth belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Japanese creation myth to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Japanese creation myth from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In Japanese mythology, the Tenchi-kaibyaku (天地開闢; 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. This story is described at the beginning of the Kojiki, the first book written in Japan (712), and in the Nihon Shoki (720). Both form the literary basis of Japanese mythology and Shinto; however, the story differs in some aspects between these works.

Myth At the beginning the universe was immersed in a beaten kind of matter (chaos) in the shape of an egg, sunk in silence. Later there were sounds indicating the movement of particles. With this movement, the light and the lightest particles rose but the particles were not as fast as the light and could not go higher. Thus, the light was at the top of the Universe, and below it, the particles formed first the clouds and then Heaven, which was to be called Takamagahara (高天原; "High Plain of Heaven"). The rest of the particles that had not risen formed a huge mass, dense and dark, to be called Earth. When Takamagahara was formed, a small plant was formed and from this small plant the first three gods appeared:

Ame no Minakanushi (天之御中主神, Lord of the August Center of Heaven) Takamimusubi (高御産巣日神, Exalted Generative Force) Kamimusubi (神産巣日神, Sacred Generative Force). Then these gods:

Umashiashikabihikoji (宇摩志阿斯訶備比古遅神, Elderly Prince Reed-Shoot) [1]Ame no Tokotachi (天之常立神, Ever-Standing Heaven) These five deities, known as Kotoamatsukami, appeared spontaneously, did not have a definite sex, did not have partners (hitorigami) and went into hiding after their emergence. These gods are not mentioned in the rest of the mythology.

Kamiyonanayo

Then two other gods arose:

Kuni no Tokotachi (国之常立神, Eternally Standing Land) Toyokumono (豊雲野神, Abundant Clouds Moor) These gods also emerged spontaneously, did not have a defined sex, did not have a partner, and hid at birth. Then, five pairs of gods were born (for a total of ten deities), each pair consisting of a male deity and a female deity:

Uhijini (宇比地邇神) and his younger sister-wife Suhijini (須比智邇神), Tsunugui (角杙神) and his younger sister-wife Ikugui (活杙神), Ōtonoji (意富斗能地神) and his younger sister-wife Ōtonobe (大斗乃弁神), Omodaru (於母陀流神) and his younger sister-wife Ayakashikone (阿夜訶志古泥神) and Izanagi (伊邪那岐神) and his younger sister-wife Izanami (伊邪那美神) All deities from Kuni no Tokotachi to Izanami are collectively called Kamiyonanayo (神世七代; "Seven Divine Generations"). Following the creation of Heaven and Earth and the appearance of these primordial gods, Izanagi and Izanami went on to create the Japanese archipelago (Kuniumi) by stirring the ocean with a spear, then the matter that dripped off of the spear solidified and became an island, and they also gave birth to a large number of gods (Kamiumi). One of these gods being Amaterasu (the sun goddess of the Shinto religion).

See also Creation myth Tenrikyo creation myth

References

Bibliography Chamberlain, Basil Hall (2008). The Kojiki: Japanese Records of Ancient Matters. Forgotten Books. ISBN 978-1-60506-938-8. Retrieved 9 February 2011. "Génesis del mundo y aparición de los primeros dioses" [Genesis of the world and appearance of the first gods] (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-11-10. Toneri, Prince. Chronicle of Japan, Volumes 1 and 2. Retrieved 2025-08-10. Benjamin Wai-ming Ng, The Yijing Principles in the Japanese Creation Myth: A Study of the Jindai-No-Maki (‘Chapters on the Age of the Gods’) in the Nihon Shoki (‘The Chronicles Of Japan’), Literature and Theology, Volume 37, Issue 2, June 2023, Pages 132–141, https://doi.org/10.1093/litthe/frad007 Takeshi, Matsumae. “Origin and Growth of the Worship of Amaterasu.” Asian Folklore Studies, vol. 37, no. 1, 1978, pp. 1–11. JSTOR, Accessed 9 Dec. 2024, https://doi.org/10.2307/1177580

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Japanese creation myth

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Japanese creation myth claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Japanese creation myth before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Japanese creation myth ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Japanese creation myth

In research: Japanese creation myth appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Japanese creation myth in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Japanese creation myth is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Creation myths, Japanese mythology, Religious cosmologies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Japanese creation myth outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Japanese creation myth in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Japanese creation myth means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Japanese creation myth out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Japanese creation myth in simple terms?

Why does Japanese creation myth matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Japanese creation myth?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Japanese creation myth.