Yomi
Yomi or Yomi-no-kuni is the Japanese word for the land of the dead. According to Shinto mythology as related in Kojiki, this is where the dead go in the afterlife. Once one has eaten at the hearth of Yomi it is (mostly) impossible to return to the land of the living. Yomi is most commonly known for Izanami's retreat to that place after her death. Izanagi followed her there and upon his return he washed himself, creating Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto in the process. This realm of the dead seems to have geographical continuity with this world and certainly cannot be thought of as a paradise to which one would aspire, nor can it appropriately be described as a hell in which one suffers retribution for past deeds; rather, all deceased carry on a gloomy and shadowy existence in perpetuity, regardless of their behavior in life. Scholars believe that the image of Yomi was derived from ancient Japanese tombs in which corpses were left for some time to decompose. The kanji that are sometimes used to transcribe Yomi actually refer to the mythological Chinese realm of the dead called Diyu or Huángquán, which appears in Chinese texts as early as the eighth century BCE. This dark and vaguely defined realm was believed to be located beneath the earth, but it was not until the Han dynasty that the Chinese had a clearly articulated conception of an underworld below in contrast with a heavenly realm above. The characters are jukujikun, i.e. were used without regard to the actual meaning of the word Yomi, which is unknown. With regard to Japanese mythology, Yomi is generally taken by commentators to lie beneath the earth and is part of a triad of locations discussed in Kojiki: Takamahara, Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni located on earth, and Yomo-tsu-kuni (黄泉国) or Yomi-no-Kuni located underground. Yomi has also often been associated with the mythological realm of Ne-no-kuni, also known as Ne-no-Katasukuni. Yomi is ruled over by Izanami no Mikoto, the Grand Deity of Yomi. According to Kojiki, the entrance to Yomi lies in Izumo province and was sealed off by Izanagi upon his flight from Yomi, at which time he permanently blocked the entrance by placing a massive boulder at the base of the slope that leads to Yomi. Upon his return to Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, Izanagi noted that Yomi is a "polluted land". This opinion reflects the traditional Shinto association between death and pollution. Later Susanoo takes this position over.
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