Many societies have creation myths explaining their origins. The Japanese accounts regarding the creation of earth and the arrival of human society began to be archived in the eight century C.E., the early chroniclers had been exposed to Chinese writings on the subject and were likely influenced by Chinese founding myths. There are significant differences in the Japanese approach, which places more emphasis on the role that nature deities played than on sage-kings. The Japanese account also linked the creation of Japanese islands with appearance of the imperial line. The Japanese believed when Heaven and Earth first parted, there were these "Three Deities" that proceeded to perform the commencement of creation; yin and yang then developed; and the Two Spirits (Izanami and Izanagi) became the ancestors of all things.
