She is the undisputed Japaneses Goddess of the underworld(Yomotsu-Kuni, land of the dead)
She was wife to Izanagi, and together they were given the task of bringing life to the world. All was going well until she gave birth to the god of fire(ouch), and she died from her injuries.
Her husband was devastated, and rushed to the gates of the land of the dead to retrieve her.
There are numerous versions of what happened next, but basically he failed to follow one simple request...
...not to look at her until they were back in the land of the living.
He looked, and saw her in her maggoty state of decomposition.....and ran away...
pushing a boulder across the gateway to stop her getting out! Understandably,(in my opinion) Izanami felt rejected and angry....took over as Queen of the underworld, and cried a curse on his creation(mankind). Every day she would claim 1000 souls, and Izanagi swore in return to create 1500.
Thus together they brought the cycle of life and death to mankind.My image is of her standing in the doorway of the underworld, with her back to the land of the living.
