from THE LIVING LABYRINTH by Jeremy Taylor (1998)
In the Japanese tradition the first man and woman are called Izanagi and Izanami. They came from the same Divine Demi-urge that brought forth all the gods and goddesses of the world. Because they appeared together from the first, they are referred to as brother and sister. Yet as it happened, when Izanagi and Izanami came into being the Great Demi-urge let it be known that they should marry and fill the earth with their children. This news disturbed and shocked all the gods and goddesses, and they foresaw that those children would grow so numerous and uncontrollable as to devour the entire earth. And was their fear unfounded?
But it was the will of the Divine Demi-urge that Izanagi and Izanami should marry. The only hope left to the gods and goddesses was that the marriage should not be consummated. And so when the nuptial preparations were made, the gods went into council with the brother, Izanagi, and the goddesses went into council with the sister, Izanami.
The gods, as they were dressing Izanagi for the wedding, advised him that he should be very, very careful on his first night of lovemaking with his new bride. With long faces they told him that beneath Izanami�s belly she hid another mouth. Her vagina was full of sharp teeth. He should avoid thrusting his penis in there, or she would bite it off, and he would die a horrible and painful death. The gods gave him bitter looks. The girl just could not help herself. She could not keep from that terrible biting. The gods gnashed their teeth and shook their heads.
At the same time, the goddesses, while preparing Izanami for her wedding, told her with sad faces that Izanagi, her bridegroom had a penis that grew and grew. Under no circumstances should she open herself and let it in. Once inside, the penis would swell and grow so large as to tear her apart. Even if he didn�t want to hurt her, he couldn�t help doing so. The goddesses wept and shook their heads.
And so after the wedding ceremony, Izanagi and Izanami came together cautiously. They were quite timid in the darkened marriage chamber. Izanami kept her hands down in front of her vagina, so to divert this huge penis when it came. Izanagi was afraid of those sharp teeth in that mouth. And he put out his knee to poke around there first before trying his sensitive penis. In the dark his knee encountered her long manicured fingernails�ah, teeth�and he withdrew it in relief. Izanami felt the large knee with her hands. It was big�as big and hard as a watermelon. She could never take it in and survive. She fended it off with her hands. And so the marriage was not consummated.
Days and weeks passed, and these two learned to work together, to build a dwelling, to till the land and to use fire. One day they had their clothes rolled up while planting rice seedlings, rising and stooping in rhythm, in a sort of dance, and then the Creator touched them with passion right there in broad daylight, and they made love with their eyes wide open. Just so the chain of human life began.