Izanami is a primordial Shinto goddess, creator of both life and death. She is the sister and wife of Izanagi, and together they formed the Japanese archipelago and many deities. She died giving birth to the fire god Kagutsuchi, succumbing to severe burns, and descended to Yomi, the land of the dead, where she became its ruler. Izanagi failed to retrieve her after witnessing her decayed form, resulting in the permanent division between the living and the dead. In Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei, Yumiko Shirasagi is her reincarnation. When Loki attacks Yumiko, Izanami’s power awakens, enabling her escape with Akemi Nakajima. After Yumiko dies, Akemi brings her body to Izanami’s grave. Izanami appears and instructs him to summon Kagutsuchi to defeat Loki. Once Loki is defeated, she revives Yumiko and takes her as a student to train her in using her powers. Izanami returns Akemi home but keeps Yumiko with her. After Yumiko’s family is killed, Izanami permits her return to the physical world to assist Akemi. When Akemi seeks help against Seth, Izanami provides him with Izanagi’s robe, unlocking his latent abilities and granting him flight. After giving him the robe, she fades into the afterlife, freed from her tether to the living world. Later, Lucifer travels to Yomi to subdue Izanami, blocking her communication with Yumiko. She eventually breaks through, explaining that Lucifer sealed her power. When Akemi, manipulated by Lucifer, attacks Yumiko with Kagutsuchi, Izanami takes control of Yumiko’s body and kills him. Grief-stricken, Yumiko takes her own life. Izanami, now inhabiting Yumiko’s body, carries Akemi’s corpse westward for burial. In the 1987 Atlus JRPG, Lucifer captures Izanami and imprisons her in the Rotting Sea of Flames. Akemi and Yumiko free her using three orbs: the Orb of Silence, the Orb of Malice, and the Orb of Resolve. In return, Izanami gives them her garments, allowing safe passage through the Sea of Flames to reach Seth. In the Kyuuyaku version, if Akemi brings her a silk thread, she weaves it into an item for the hero of Megami Tensei II. In Megami Tensei II, Izanami’s spirit resides in Belial’s Castle. If the hero retrieves the Revivifying Incense from Moloch’s Temple and brings it to her, she is revived, enabling Izanagi to open the path to Lucifer’s Temple. Izanami appears in other Megami Tensei entries, such as Persona 4, where she is the true mastermind behind the events. She grants individuals the ability to enter the TV World to test humanity’s desire to escape pain by becoming Shadows. After being defeated, she acknowledges that humanity seeks truth and hope instead. Throughout these appearances, Izanami embodies themes of creation, death, and the interplay between human and divine will. Her actions frequently drive central conflicts, and her influence endures through reincarnations and spiritual manifestations.