Artist Unknown, (The Energy Flow of the Amenonuhoko), Computer Graphics, Endless Loop Gifs
Amenonuhoko is the name given to the spear in Shintoism used to raise the primordial land mass, Onogoro-shima, from the sea.
The Kojiki, the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, was composed by Ō no Yasumaro in the early eighth century at the request of Empress Genmei. The chronicle state the Shinto’s genesis gods Izanagi and Izanami were responsible for creating the first land. To help them do this, they were given a spear decorated with jewels, named Ame-no / nu-hoko (heavenly / jewelled spear) by the older heavenly gods. They churned the sea with the spear. When drops of salty water fell from its tip, the drops formed into the first island, Onogoro-shima.