What is Yomi?
[[Image:Kobayashi Izanami and Izanagi.jpg|thumb|200px|天瓊を以て滄海を探るの図. Painting by Eitaku Kobayashi (Meiji period). [[Izanagi]] to the right; [[Izanami]], ruler of Yomi, to the left.]] '''Yomi''' (黄泉), the [[Japanese language|Japanese]] word for the [[underworld]] in which horrible creatures guard the exits. According to [[Shinto]] mythology as related in [[Kojiki]], this is where the dead go to exist and [[wikt:rot|rot]] forever. When one eats at the hearth of Yomi it is impossible to return to the land of the living. == Overview == Yomi is similar to [[Hades]] or [[Hell]]. In the Shintoist tradition, Yomi is known because [[Izanami]] retreated to that place after her death. [[Izanagi]] followed her there and when he returned, he washed himself, creating [[Amaterasu]], [[Susanoo]], and [[Tsukuyomi]]. (See [[Japanese mythology]].) Yomi is different from [[Christian]] Hell in that all souls go there, no matter their actions in life; and one does not receive [[punishment]] for evils made when alive. It is a dirty and [[pollution|polluted]] place. In Japanese tradition, pollution is usually associated to [[evil]]. By the tradition of [[Kojiki]], Yomi is usually believed to be underground, and its entrance to be located in [[Izumo province]]. There is no knowledge about what happens to the souls when they go to the Yomi, whether they are punished or rewarded for their actions. Yomi is ruled over by [[Izanami]] no Mikoto, the Grand [[Deity]] of Yomi (''Yomotsu-Ōkami'' 黄泉大神). According to [[Kojiki]]. The entrance to Yomi was blocked by [[Izanagi]] when he returned to Earth, using a great [[boulder]] (''Chibiki-no-Iwa'' 千引の岩) at the base of the slope that leads to Yomi (''Yomotsu Hirasaka'' 黄泉平坂). {{Jmyth navbox long}} [[Category:Japanese mythology]] [[Category:Shinto]] [[Category:Afterlife]]