Japan Heritage story
Awaji: the first island in Japan's creation myth
『古事記』の冒頭を飾る「国生みの島・淡路」
Japan's oldest history book, the Kojiki, opens with the gods creating the islands of Japan, and Awaji comes first. Behind the myth are the ama, sea people who brought metal, made salt and sailed for the early rulers.
Key facts
- Theme
- Ancient burial mounds, Sea and waterside, Food and sake
- Era
- Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, Azuchi-Momoyama, Edo
- Region
- Kansai, Shikoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 『古事記』の冒頭を飾る「国生みの島・淡路」
- Official subtitle in Japanese
- ～古代国家を支えた海人の営み～
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 兵庫県（淡路市，洲本市，南あわじ市）
The story
In the Kojiki's creation myth, the gods Izanagi and Izanami stir the ocean with a jewelled spear. Brine drips from its tip and forms Onokoro island, where they marry and give birth to the islands of Japan. The first is Awaji, the largest island in the Seto Inland Sea, lying just off the old heartland of Kinai.
Archaeology hints at why. Awaji has given up 21 bronze bells and 14 bronze swords, mostly near the shore, including the seven Matsuho bells, all found with their clappers. From the 1st century the Gossa-Kaito site made iron tools for over 100 years, and from the 3rd century people boiled seawater for salt. The Nihon Shoki remembers Awaji's ama, sea people who rowed and fought for the rulers.
What to see
- Gossa-Kaito site: an early iron-making village in the hills of northern Awaji.Google Maps 五斗長垣内遺跡 (opens in a new tab)
- Matsuho bells: bronze bells from before the common era, among the island's most famous finds.
- Okinoshima tombs: a tiny island of tombs facing the Naruto strait, resting place of fishing people.
- Salt-making sites: places where people improved clay salt pots over the centuries.
Plan your trip with the Hyogo prefecture guide and see more history and heritage.
Good to know
- Read the Kuniumi myth before you go; much of the island's story hangs on it.
- The Naruto strait is famous for fast tides, which shaped the lives of Awaji's sea people.
- A car makes it easier to link sites spread across the island.
Questions travellers ask
Why is Awaji called the island of creation?
In the Kojiki's Kuniumi myth, Awaji is the first island the gods Izanagi and Izanami gave birth to.
Who were the ama of Awaji?
Sea people skilled in sailing and salt making. The Nihon Shoki records them rowing and fighting for the early rulers.
Where it comes from
More heritage stories from the same area
- Ako: the town that made Japan's finest salt
- Awa, home of indigo: the blue that dyed all of Japan
- Inaba and Tajima: landscapes made by the Sea of Japan wind
- Itami and Nada: the birthplace of Japan's clear sake
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Tamba-Sasayama: a castle town in a folk song
- The Kanmon Strait: retro ports on both shores
- The Shikoku pilgrimage: 88 temples around an island
- The Silver Carriage Road: 73 km to Hyogo's mines
- The Six Ancient Kilns: pottery born and raised in Japan
Local foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.