Tsukuyomi is a moon deity in Japan’s earliest surviving myth collections, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. The name is also written Tsukiyomi. These works preserve different birth stories and give the deity much less narrative attention than Amaterasu or Susanoo.
Birth and place among the kami
In the Kojiki, Tsukuyomi appears when Izanagi washes his right eye during purification after visiting the land of the dead. Amaterasu comes from the left eye and Susanoo from the nose. Nihon Shoki includes other accounts, including birth from a white copper mirror.
The death of the food deity
One Nihon Shoki version says Amaterasu sends Tsukuyomi to visit the food deity Ukemochi. Offended when food is produced from Ukemochi’s body, Tsukuyomi kills the host. Amaterasu then refuses to see Tsukuyomi, explaining the separation of sun and moon. Other versions give the killing to Susanoo.
Gender and interpretation
Tsukuyomi is often treated as male because of grammar, pairing, and later tradition, but the early texts offer little physical description. Claims about a complete personality, marriage, weapon, or organized moon cult often come from later retellings rather than the short ancient passages.