The God Izanagi and Goddess Izanami

Created in 1725 by the Japanese artist Nishikawa Sukenobu, this colored ink painting depicts the creation myth of Izanagi and Izanami. The work's original title is not recorded, though it bears a signature identifying the creator as Nishikawa Ukyō Sukenobu along with corresponding seals. The piece is executed on a paper scroll that has been mounted as a hanging scroll (kakemono), featuring decorative floral and striped borders around the central image.

While the painting itself dates to the early eighteenth century, the surrounding mounting may represent a later addition. The artwork is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

The painting The God Izanagi and Goddess Izanami by Nishikawa Sukenobu is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Created in 1725, the work is a colored ink painting on paper mounted as a hanging scroll. While the museum is identified as the current location, the provided sources do not specify an accession number or inventory code for the piece.

The original title of the work is not recorded, with the current title being a modern designation. The sources confirm the artwork's presence in the museum's holdings but do not list any specific exhibition history or dates of public display.

The painting depicting the Japanese creator deities Izanagi and Izanami was executed in 1725 by Nishikawa Sukenobu, a Kyoto-based artist renowned for bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women). The work belongs to a hanging scroll (kakemono) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and visualizes the myth of the world's origin as described in the Kojiki and Nihonshoki, focusing on the moment Izanagi raises the heavenly spear and the first island emerges from the salt spray. Sukenobu’s composition shows the pair on the celestial bridge, with Izanami covering her mouth in surprise and Izanagi holding the spear that has just generated the island, while a Sekirei (heron) appears as a fertility symbol.

The piece combines delicate coloration and fine linework, contrasting with Sukenobu’s typical subjects, and bears his signature identifying him as the creator.

The work depicting Izanagi and Izanami has influenced subsequent representations of Japanese creation myths in ukiyo-e and modern visual culture, often cited for its delicate coloration and narrative precision. Scholars highlight its role in shaping the visual language of mythic couples, particularly the motif of the celestial bridge and the emergence of Onogoroshima, which appears in later woodblock prints and scholarly analyses of Edo-period mythological art. The painting's inclusion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection has increased its visibility in Western academic discourse, where it is referenced as an early example of mythological subject matter rendered with ukiyo-e aesthetics.

Its legacy is primarily documented in specialized art history literature focusing on Japanese mythological imagery and the oeuvre of Nishikawa Sukenobu.

Created in 1725 by the Edo‑period painter Nishikawa Sukenobu, this work portrays the mythic pair Izanagi and Izanami. Executed on paper with ink and subtle pigments, the image is part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection. The composition places the two deities on a gently curving path, set against a tranquil sky and water backdrop that lends depth to the scene.