Kamimusubi- Japanese PrimordialPrimordial"Divine Creative Force"

The Three Creators

When heaven and earth first separated from chaos, three gods appeared in the High Plain of Heaven. Ame-no-Minakanushi came first. Takamimusubi followed. Kamimusubi came last. The Kojiki calls them the Zōka Sanshin, the Three Deities of Creation. All three arose as hitorigami, solitary gods without consorts or parents. Then all three concealed themselves from the visible world.

The name Kamimusubi contains musubi, the force by which things come into existence. Kamimusubi appeared, set creation in motion, and withdrew. Nothing else is recorded of this primordial moment.

Shell and Clam

Kamimusubi's withdrawal was not permanent. When Ōkuninushi was killed by his jealous brothers, who crushed him with a heated boulder on Mount Tema, his mother appealed to the heavenly gods. Kamimusubi responded. From the High Plain of Heaven, the primordial creator dispatched Kisagai-hime, the clam goddess, and Umugihime, the cockle goddess. The two gathered Ōkuninushi's shattered remains and applied shell-scrapings mixed with clam juice to his body. He came back to life.

Kamimusubi's connection to Ōkuninushi ran deeper still. Sukunabikona, Kamimusubi's own child, was so small he fell through his parent's fingers and dropped from heaven to the terrestrial world. There he found Ōkuninushi and became his companion in the work of building and ordering the land. The two gods traveled together, establishing agriculture and medicine. When the work was finished, Sukunabikona crossed the sea to Tokoyo no Kuni, the Eternal Land, and did not return. Ōkuninushi grieved.