Izanami

Izanami (イザナミ, Izanami) is a recurring important character revolving the Megami Tensei series. In later adaptions, she is more often portrayed alongside with Izanagi. Izanami later plays an important role in Persona 4.

History
Izanami-no-Mikoto is the primordial Shinto Mother Goddess and sister/wife to Izanagi-no-Mikoto. She helped stir the oceans on the Bridge of the Heavens, and settled down with Izanagi on Earth on their island Onogoro. On their first marriage ceremony she made the mistake of speaking to Izanagi first, so the ritual had to be repeated. After the second ceremony she gave birth to various deities. But then she gave birth to Hi-no-Kagutsuchi the Deity of Fire, and died from the severe burns of the flames. When she perished, she went to Yomi, the Land of the Dead. Izanami ate from the furnace of Hell, and went to petition the deities of the Netherworld to let her go. She made her husband promise not to look at her, but Izanagi did anyway and was greeted by the sight of a rotting corpse with the Eight Thunders protruding from her body. Ashamed by Izanagi's indescretion, she sent the Hags of Hell, the Thunders and an army of demonic warriors after him. Izanagi sealed the entrance to Yomi with a boulder, and Izanami cried, "Why did you do such a thing to me?! You betrayed me!! Remove this boulder this instant or I'll kill 1000 of your subjects everyday!" Izanagi countered, "For every 1000 you kill, 1500 shall be born in their place!" and thus their marriage was over. She became the Yomotsugami, the Goddess of the Land of the Dead.

Appearances

 * Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei: Supporting Character
 * Digital Devil Story 2: Warrior of the Demon City: Supporting Character
 * Megami Tensei: Supporting Character
 * Shin Megami Tensei II: Cameo
 * Shin Megami Tensei NINE
 * Persona 2: Innocent Sin: Priestess Arcana
 * Persona 2: Eternal Punishment: Priestess Arcana
 * Persona 4: Antagonist

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
Yumiko Shirasagi is in fact the reincarnation of Izanami. After witnessing Akemi Nakajima's secret activities to using computer programmings to summon out Loki, Yumiko was set to be sacrificed to Loki, despite Nakajima's plead for her to stay away. When she arrives at school the following day, she is captured by the brainwashed students of the school and is overpowered when Loki summons himself into the material world. During the resulting battle, she hears Izanami's voice and is temporarily possessed by Izanami, who wounds Loki and opens a portal to Asuka for her, Nakajima, and Cerberus to escape though. Izanami instructs the dying Yumiko to have Nakajima to take her corpse to Izanami's grave so that she can be revived. When Nakajima arrives and places Yumiko on the grave, Izanami appears before him, telling him to clash together the two orbs given to him by Yomotsu-Shikome when the time is right. Shortly after, Loki appears, having followed Nakajima with the aid of Ohara. Izanami attempts to fight off Loki, but is overpowered. She is saved when Nakajima summons Hinokagutsuchi from the orbs and slays Loki. Izanami then returns Nakajima to his home, warning him about Ohara's summoning of Seth, but keeps Yumiko with her so that she can teach her how to use her powers.

Digital Devil Story 2: Warrior of the Demon City
Keeping with the ending of the first novel, Izanami sends Nakajima back to his home, but keeps Yumiko with her to teach her how to use her powers. After Izma Feed, Ohara, and Seth begin moving along with their plans, Izanami allows Yumiko to return to the physical world to aid Nakajima after Yumiko hears her mother's voice as Ohara kills her and the rest of her family. Much later in the story, Nakajima visits Izanami in her tomb, hoping to receive something that would allow him to fight Seth, who at this point has possessed the unborn child of Ohara and Loki, and attached himself to Yumiko, hoping to use the Magnetite from Yumiko to summon himself into the world, appearing as a large tower of demon flesh. Izanami gives Nakajima her robe, explaining that it was actually Izanagi's robe, and will bring out Nakajima's latent power as well as allow him to fly and face Seth. After giving him the robe, Izanami fades into the afterlife, as the robe was the only thing keeping her in the realm of the living.

Persona 4
Izanami plays an important role in Persona 4 (it can be argued that she is the game's true antagonist). Intrigued by humanities' true desire, Izanami takes the form of a human, and bestowed various people their latent powers of invoking Personas. Izanami believed, that by observing the ones who have awakened would carry out humanities' true desire.
 * Music: "霧" (kiri, lit. fog) and "The Genesis"

Disguising as an Attendant working in the Moel Gas Station of Yasoinaba, Izanami awakened Tohru Adachi, Taro Namatame, and finally, the Protagonist' potential of invoking Personas. It is unknown exactly how many humans Izanami awakened, however, she implies that many have been awakened by her.

Using her identity as an attendant of the gas station, Izanami spread rumors regarding the urban legend of the Midnight Channel. As the Midnight Channel reflects the images of the viewers' desires, Izanami believed that this would make her understand better about humanity's wishes. However, Adachi, one of the awakened ones, uses his powers for murder, and carries out the belief of humanities' insecurities, leading Izanami to believe that what humanity actually wishes is a world of oblivion and stillness, and thus she subjects to overrun the world with Shadows. Acknowledging Adachi's plans, Izanami created the god of fog, Ameno-sagiri, and later, the Midnight Channel.

Izanami begins to set her plans in motion; upon the Protagonist' first meeting with Izanami, taking the identity of the Moel Gas Station Attendant, Izanami takes an interest within the Protagonist's potential, and decides to give his latent talent of invoking a Persona a little push via a handshake. In actuality, Izanami plans to use the Protagonist as a catalyst to awaken the potential of invoking Persona of those close to him, so they could carry out her plans.

After the Protagonist' first interaction with the Gas Attendant, Izanami visits the Protagonist in his dream. In there, Izanami taunts the Protagonist's wish to reach the truth, but asks him to follow her if he truly wishes to seek the truth. Izanami's plans of using the Protagonist eventually was a success. In the events of Normal Ending however, the Protagonist's Wild Card ability and his determination is something she did not foresee. Ignoring the urges of killing Taro Namatame, the wrong suspect of the murders, allows the Investigation Team to eventually find out the true culprit: Tohru Adachi.

In the events of the True Ending, after defeating Tohru Adachi and defying Ameno-sagiri's plans to overrun the world with Shadows, the Protagonist manages to find out the Attendant's true identity as Izanami, and upon realizing the Protagonist's determination of seeking the truth and stopping her from carrying out her plans again, Izanami chastises the Protagonist's persistence to seek the truth, and tells him that she shall await the Protagonist's defeat in the "other world". Izanami's reality within the Midnight Channel, Yomotsu Hirasaka, derives from a place taken from the Japanese mythology of Izanagi and Izanami. It also takes on the appearance of traditional Japanese Shinto Shrines.

In the Protagonist's final confrontation with Izanami, she faces the party with her goddess form, but it was eventually revealed to be a fabricated appearance when the Protagonist uses the Orb of Sight, an item given by Igor to shine upon the truth. Having her facade taken away, Izanami reveals her true form as Izanami-no-Okami, a rotting, death-ridden being. Izanami-no-Okami later sends the Protagonist's comrades to the underworld, and finally, the Protagonist himself. As the Protagonist is about to give up, he hears the voices of his friends, encouraging him.

Accumulating the bonds and powers of the Social Links he had forged thus far, the Protagonist channels the powers to his initial Persona, Izanagi, transmogrifying Izanagi to his true form, Izanagi-no-Okami. Bemused by the Protagonist's powers, Izanami-no-Okami repeatedly attacks the Protagonist, but is surprised to see the Protagonist enduring all her attacks. Angrily asking how the will of so few could defy a divine will, the Protagonist ultimately summons Izanagi-no-Okami, ending Izanami with one powerful attack, known as "Myriad Truths"

Upon Izanami's defeat, Izanami exclaims that she will not interfere with humanity anymore. She encourages them to live and face their own decisions, but cannot guarantee their happiness, and fades away.

Despite Izanami's antagonistic nature, she truly wishes for humanity's happiness, as evident that she later congratulates the Investigation Team for discovering the truth, as well as defeating her.

Battle Quotes

 * Knowledge of the truth is not everything. Yet drunk with truth, you exceeded your role and became too involved... Now, learn for yourselves whose wrath you have brought down!
 * Then come, sinful sons of man!
 * You cannot atone so easilly for your foolish pride in stepping into the realm of the gods...
 * Can you not understand? It is impossible to defeat me!
 * You understand nothing, I see... ignorant mortals!
 * Well then...allow me to show you my full splendour!
 * I...am a god. I'll teach you the truth of your miniscule existances.
 * You cannot defeat me with strength alone. Soon, you will understand.
 * The stage is already set for your demise... I'll end your lives here!
 * The time has come for us to end this.
 * What's the matter? Did you intend to defeat me with such feeble strength?
 * Goodbye...accept the reality of your death.
 * It's unfortunate that our battle must end this way...
 * Are you done already? Then let me release you from your suffering!
 * How can your powers rival mine?!
 * Impossible...can the wishes of so few suprass the will of all mankind?!
 * Why...why don't you understand? It's impossible for humans to grasp the truth with their own hands...