around 25,000 shrines dedicated to him, while Inari has 40,000. The act of establishing a new shrine to a who already has one is called ("dividing the spirit"). As part of this, the is invited to enter a new place, with the instalment ceremony known as a . The new, subsidiary shrine is known as a . Individual are not believed to have their power diminished by their residence in multiple locations, and there is no limit on the number of places a can be enshrined. In some periods, fees were charged for the right to enshrine a particular in a new place. Shrines are not necessarily always designed as permanent structures. Many have messengers, known as or , that generally take animal forms. Inari's messenger, for example, is a fox (kitsune), while Hachiman's is a dove. Shinto cosmology also includes spirits who cause malevolent acts, , a category including , , , , and . Japanese folklore also incorporates belief in the or , unquiet or vengeful spirits, particularly of those who died violently and without appropriate funerary rites. These are believed to inflict suffering on the living, meaning that they must be pacified, usually through Buddhist rites but sometimes through enshrining them as a . Other Japanese supernatural figures include the , animal-like creatures who can take human form. Cosmogony Although the narratives differ in detail, the origin of the and of Japan itself are recounted in two 8th-century texts, Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. Drawing heavily on Chinese influence, these texts were commissioned by ruling elites to legitimize and consolidate their rule. Although never of great importance to Japanese religious life, in the early 20th century the government proclaimed that their accounts were factual. The Kojiki recounts that the universe started with , the separation of light and pure elements (, "heaven") from heavy elements (, "earth"). Three then appeared: Amenominakanushi, Takamimusuhi no Mikoto, and Kamimusuhi no Mikoto. Other followed, including a brother and sister, Izanagi and Izanami. The instructed Izanagi and Izanami to create land on earth. To this end, the siblings stirred the briny sea with a jewelled spear, from which Onogoro Island was formed. Izanagi and Izanami then descended to Earth, where the latter gave birth to further . One of these was a fire , whose birth killed Izanami. Izanagi descended to to retrieve his sister, but there he saw her body putrefying. Embarrassed