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 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 rot forever. When one eats at the hearth of Yomi it is impossible to return to the land of the living. view more...