Ama-no-Ukihashi- Japanese LocationLocation · Landmark"Floating Bridge of Heaven"
Also known as: 天浮橋, 天の浮橋, and Ame no Ukihashi
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Description
Suspended between Takamagahara and the formless sea below, this is where Izanagi and Izanami stood when they thrust the jeweled spear into the primordial waters, stirring until brine dripped from its tip and coagulated into the first island.
Mythology & Lore
The Floating Bridge of Heaven
The Kojiki describes a bridge floating without visible support between the High Plain of Heaven and the primordial ocean below. No land existed yet. Only water, and above it, this structure spanning the void.
Izanagi and Izanami stood upon the bridge and looked down at the swirling waters. They thrust the jeweled spear Ame-no-Nuboko into the chaos below and stirred. When they drew the spear back up, brine dripped from its tip and coagulated into Onogoro, the first island. The solid world began as salt falling from a spearpoint on a bridge in the sky.
On the coast of Kyoto Prefecture, a narrow sandbar called Amanohashidate extends across Miyazu Bay. Viewed from an elevation while bending over and looking between one's legs, the sandbar appears to rise into the sky. The locals call it the bridge of heaven.
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