Note (return) — Chapter II · - SHINTŌ: MYTHS AND RITUAL
Reading edition
Izanami yielded up her life upon the birth of her son, the fire-god; or, as the sacred text declares, she "divinely retired"14 into Hades. From her corpse sprang up the pairs of gods of clay, of metal, and other kami that possessed the potency of calming or subduing fire, for clay resists and water extinguishes. Between the mythical and the liturgical forms of the original narrative there is considerable variation.