Nakisawame-no-Kami

Nakisawame-no-Kami is a heavenly goddess recorded in Kojiki (712 CE) Upper Volume. The deity-making passage states, "Then Izanagi-no-Mikoto wept; from his tears arose Nakisawame-no-Kami. She dwells at the foot of the trees of Une on Mount Kagu." The goddess takes form from Izanagi-no-Mikoto's grief when Izanami died from the burns received when she gave birth to Kagutsuchi. While not central to a major narrative, her unusual origin story, in which a deity arises from tears, is read as a deification of the ritual role of mourning women in ancient practice. Her father is Izanagi-no-Mikoto and her mother is Izanami-no-Mikoto; no consort or children are recorded. Her chief seat is Uneo Tsutamoto Jinja in Kashihara, Nara, identified with the trees of Une on Mount Kagu in the Kojiki text. The shrine is listed in the Engishiki (927 CE) shrine register and is also called Nakisawa Jinja, revered as a deity of rain, longevity and pleas for life.