Izanami

According to the Kojiki, Izanami died after giving birth to the fire god Kagutsuchi (also called Homusubi), whose birth severely burned her body. As she lay dying, she continued to give birth to additional deities from her bodily fluids and excretions. Izanami then descended to Yomi, the Japanese underworld, leaving her grieving husband Izanagi behind.

After being sealed in Yomi by Izanagi's boulder, Izanami became the queen of the dead, ruling the underworld with its dark powers. According to the Kojiki, she vowed to kill 1,000 humans each day in retaliation for Izanagi's abandonment, effectively making her the goddess of death. Her transformation from life-giving creator to death goddess represents one of the most dramatic role reversals in Shinto mythology.

Before her fatal injury, Izanami gave birth to the Japanese islands (including Awaji, Shikoku, and Honshu) and numerous kami (deities) associated with natural elements. Her offspring included deities of the sea, wind, trees, mountains, rivers, and plains. After her death and descent to Yomi, she also became the mother of several thunder gods and death-related deities.

Despite Izanami's warning not to look at her in her decayed state, Izanagi lit a torch and saw her rotting corpse covered in maggots and thunder deities. Terrified, he fled Yomi while Izanami, enraged at the broken promise, dispatched demons and thunder gods to pursue him. Izanagi escaped by blocking the entrance to Yomi with a massive boulder, at which point Izanami declared their marriage ended and promised daily death for humanity.