The Gods Izanagi and Izanami on the Floating Bridge of Heaven from the series "An Illustrated History of Japan" by Utagawa Hiroshige, circa 1847-1852Honolulu Academy of Arts
The "Floating Bridge of Heaven" ("Ame no Uki Hashi") is an important part of the Japanese creation myth. According to the Kojiki ("A Record of Ancient Affairs"), the first gods summoned two divine beings into existence – the male essence Izanagi ("The Male who Invites" /  伊邪那岐) and the female essence Izanami ("The Female who Invites" /  伊邪那美命). These two beings were given the task of creating the first land masses on earth.  Taking the jeweled spear they were given, the two divine beings stood on the Floating Bridge of Heaven and stirred the sea with the jeweled spear, creating a vortex. Drops of salty water falling from the spear formed the first island, whereupon the divine beings descended from the Bridge to the earth below.There’s a lot more (the Kojiki is a great tale, one of the world’s first soap operas), but for now let’s get back to how this relates to…Aikido.