As it tossed and whirled, stray pieces breaking away to and fro, it lit a spark, inspiring existence from what was nothing.
They who came from the void, alone in their first stirrings of life: "hitorigami".
Their name was Ame-no-Minakanushi.
Cloaked in light, they twinkled like a brilliant star, and frolicked in the newborn universe, the high heaven Takama-ga-hara. They knew no more than absolute joy, their every prancing step causing stardust and heavenly bodies to drift and to collide; and all things began to unfold.
Perhaps they saw others like them, those who rose from primordial nothing, but they said not a word and shared not a secret: they only smiled and continued to dance through the cosmos.
They had no belongings, already so complete simply as they were: and yet, inspired by other whispers throughout the universe, they stole a couple newborn stars to call their own. These were but a cluster of seven stars in the sky, loosely associated by lines easily drawn between them.
Ame-no-Minakanushi had no particular name for them, knowing them simply as seven darling points of light, and yet someday, these stars would be called "Ursa Major", the "Big Dipper".
In their path, eventually two more voices took their first breath. Rising from stirring cosmic chaos, these two newborn kami ran to follow their elder sibling. Embodying duality under the unification of all things, their names were Kamimusubi and Takamimusubi.
They began of the same essence, but swiftly began to differ: order and chaos, yin and yang, this and that. They brimmed with fantastic creative power, and under the guidance of Ame-no-Minakanushi, they embodied perfect balance.
Together, the three merrily wandered, crafting solar systems and scattering stars.
Even more kami were born in this wake, not from chaos but now from systematic sense and order. Among them were the generations of beings that gave rise to Izanami-no-Mikoto and Izanagi-no-Mikoto, the kami who together created Earth.
Earth was but a newborn planet, nothing but dust. Its perfect range from a nearby star was just enough to keep it warm, to melt its icecaps to an all-consuming sea.
Intrigued, Ame-no-Minakanushi watched as this dust-speck's potential began to bloom. It was beautiful, a tiny reflection of the universal maelstrom that birthed them. They and their two siblings whispered softly to Izanagi and Izanami, to craft this new world with love and with passion, and to be kind to the new life that would come from their actions.
How wonderful this all would be! So swiftly came the bloom of seaborne life, starting first as single cells only to diversify. At the same time, new kami were born from the shaping of islands, from conflict and from purification.
The universe truly was alive, and that spirit was delightfully embodied by planet Earth.
On a delighted whim, Ame-no-Minakanushi hid themselves away to watch this new world's story begin.
Today, they lay half-awake in joyous absolute.
Prayer and dedication rarely call to them as much as other kami, yet they barely mind, listening for the few who still remember their name. Shining brightly in the sky, they're known by the name "Polaris", holding two smaller stars in a close embrace.
With a joyous smile, they continue to watch each and all things evolve.
Credits
Story, overlay and profile by
Marine, with guidance from personal experiences and what little is historically written about Ame-no-Minakanushi.Star trail photography of Polaris is from here.
Artwork is from here, featured in the mobile game Puzzle and Dragons.
(And that's an incredibly silly source, but it's a beautiful and lore-faithful depiction.)
