More on the Japanese Gods

Surendra’s research into Shinto mythology continues (Part 2)

In the last article, Myths of Creation in Japan, I wrote about the antics of the truculent and provocative god of storms and seas, Suzano’o. His sister, the heavenly sun goddess, Amaterasu, had already coped with a good deal of outrageous behaviour from Suzano’o. Eventually, Suzano’o did something that was finally too much for her and Amaterasu locked herself in the Heavenly Rock Cave. This caused heaven and earth to be plunged into darkness. So what did Suzano’o do? Like many of the Shinto legends, this story is both elaborate and extraordinary beyond belief.

An astonishing incident

Suzano’o took the treasured, piebald colt of heaven and skinned it alive. He then dragged the agonised, dying animal up onto the roof of Amaterasu’s palace and made a large hole. Through this, he lobbed the skinned colt. The hole happened to be above Amaterasu’s garment room where a maid was busy weaving some cloth for a robe. As the thrashing colt landed, the loom and weaver were thrown upside down. The large, pointed shuttle of the loom flew out of its track with force and penetrated the vagina of the weaver. This caused her to bleed to death on the spot.

As a result, Amaterasu fled her palace and locked herself in the rock cave. The other gods went to great lengths to entice her out and bring light back to heaven and earth again. Suzano’o did not go unpunished. He was eternally banned from heaven and sent down to remain on earth, also known as the Central Plane of Reeds, forever.

Heroic deed

While wandering in Izumo province, Suzano’o met an elderly couple in deep distress and grief. They told Suzano’o that they had eight daughters but only one, Kushinadahime, was still alive. The others had been eaten by a terrible serpent with eight heads and eight tails. Soon the serpent was due to return and take their only surviving daughter. Suzano’o felt sorry for the elderly couple and volunteered to defeat the serpent… on condition that he could marry Kushinadahime. The aged parents happily agreed.

Suzano’o set about building a large encampment with a surrounding fence. In the fence eight holes were made. Serpents and dragons are very fond of sake. Suzano’o ordered eight large tubs of genshu, strong sake, to be arranged in a circle, one outside each of the holes. The serpent arrived to claim the girl. His eight heads spitting fire were lured by the fragrance of sake. Sticking his heads through the holes in the fence, he drank his fill and fell asleep with each head lying in an empty tub.

Suzano’o arrived with his large, ten-span sword and went around cutting each head off, one by one. He then tackled the eight tails of the serpent. As he did this, a special sword emerged from the serpent’s body. Later, Suzano’o presented this sword to his estranged sister, Amaterasu, in order to make amends. Eventually, through this route, the sword survives today as one of the three treasures of the Japanese Imperial household.

As arranged, Suzano’o married Kushinadahime. They built a palace in Izumo and produced a number of divine offspring. Unlike most love affairs of the Japanese gods, Suzano’o and Kushinadahime seem to have had a stable connection. There are a number of shrines throughout Japan dedicated to Suzano’o, the guardian of seas and storms.

In his later years the founder god of heaven and earth, Izanagi, wanted to retire. Suzano’o was tasked with replacing him as the guardian of the gate to the land of the dead, or Yomi, with which he already had an affinity.

Okuninushi

Okuninushi lived in Izumo with his numerous brothers. As the youngest, he was often teased and oppressed by them. One day, they all heard of a goddess of unrivalled beauty named Yagami-hime who lived in Inaba. Intrigued, the brothers decided to go to see her, hoping that one of them could marry her. Okuninushi was taken along as the porter to carry the luggage. It was very heavy and he soon lagged behind.

The hare of Inaba

When the brothers reached Cape Keta in Inaba they came across a hare. It had been stripped of its fur, and was lying in pain. They advised the hare to soak in seawater and then climb a hill to let the breeze blow it dry. When the hare followed this advice, his agony grew worse as its salty skin cracked in the harsh wind. The hare was on the verge of death when, later, Okuninushi arrived. He told the hare to quickly bathe in a clean river then make a bed of cattail weeds and roll in them. Desperate, the hare did what he was told. He soon felt relief and quickly recovered.

Okuninushi learned that the hare was from Oki Island and had wanted to cross the sea to Cape Keta. The sea was full of sharks so the hare devised a plan. “I think there are more hare than sharks around here,” he told them. The sharks doubted this idea. “If you all lay head to tail from the island to the cape, I will run across and count each one of you.” The sharks agreed and lined up. The hare nimbly jumped from one shark to the next counting loudly. When he came to the last shark, he could not resist boasting, “I wanted to cross the straits and tricked you all,” he laughed. As he jumped away, the last shark caught the hare in its sharp teeth and stripped its fur clean off.

Yagami-hime

Now healed, the hare told Okuninushi that the beautiful Yagami-hime would not marry any of his brothers. Although he looked like a poor servant, Yagami-hime would only have eyes for Okuninushi. That is exactly what happened. When Okuninushi finally arrived at her palace, Yagami-hime told them all, “I am not interested in any of you except Okuninushi. He is the man I will marry.”

Hearing this, the brothers were enraged. Their jealousy did not abate even after they all arrived back in Izumo, where Yagami-hime followed. The brothers made several attempts to kill Okuninushi. Each time, their mother successfully intervened. Eventually their persistence cautioned the mother to advise Okuninushi to go as far away from his brothers as possible, otherwise, one day, they would succeed in finishing him off.

Suserihime and the Trials of Okuninushi

Okuninushi took off towards the underworld – which must have seemed like a good place to hide. He came across Suserihime, who was living with her father, Suzano’o, near the entrance to the land of the dead. Suserihime and Okuninushi fell in love and decided to get together. (Yagami-hime seems to have been forgotten at this point.) Suserihime and Okuninushi went to get blessings for their relationship from Suserihime’s father, Suzano’o.

As was commonly the case with prospective fathers-in-law, Suzano’o set up a series of trials to test the mettle of Okuninushi. The first was to spend the night in a room filled with venomous snakes. As was also common in such trials, his beloved came to the aid of Okuninushi. She gave him a special scarf that he should wave in the eyes of any snake that tried to bite him. When Okuninushi did this, the snakes became paralysed and Okuninushi stayed safe.

The following night Okuninushi’s trial was in a room full of two of the most feared insects in Japan. They were the large, venomous centipedes, mukade, and giant hornets. Once again, Suserihime gave Okuninushi a magic scarf which immobilised the insects and kept him alive

Suzano’o then took Okuninushi into a big, overgrown field and fired an arrow into the air. Okuninushi had to find it and bring it back. It was summer. When Okuninushi was far off, Suzano’o set the field alight all around him. Tall flames soon surrounded Okuninushi. Just as he was about to give up hope of a way out, a mouse ran up to him. It said, “Once inside, it’s big and hollow, but the entrance is narrow and tight.” Okuninushi realized what the mouse meant. He stomped near the entrance to it’s nest. A large hole opened up and Okuninushi fell in. The flames safely passed and, after some time, the mouse went out and found the arrow. Okuninushi brought the arrow to Susano’o and they went back to his palace together.

Okuninushi was thinking that the trials were over when they went into a large room with Suserihime and sat down. Suddenly, Suzano’o demanded, “Take the lice out of my hair.” Okuninushi started looking through Susano’o’s hair. What he found was not lice but more venomous centipedes! Suserihime went off to help Okuninushi. She came back with sweet, purple muku berries and red clay. Then she whispered in his ear, “Chew these berries and clay. When you spit them out, my father will think you have been chewing up centipedes.” Suzano’o believed exactly that and felt pleased with Okuninushi. Suzano’o became very drowsy and gradually fell asleep.

Escape to a new life

Okuninushi turned to Suserihime, “Now! Let us run off together!” He tied Suzano’o’s long hair to the rafters. Okuninushi then took Suzano’o’s sword, bow and arrows, and harp, and blocked the entrance to the palace with a large boulder. With Suserihime on his back, they fled. But the harp struck a tree. The ground shook and the loud sound woke up Suzano’o. As he jumped up, the roof and the rest of his palace came tumbling down around him.

Suzano’o chased Okuninushi and Suserihime almost into the land of the dead but was unable to catch them. In a change of heart, Suzano’o urged Okuninushi to take his weapons and get rid of his aggressive brothers. Okuninushi was then told to make his relationship with Suserihime legal and build a palace as their new home. From there, Okuninushi should develop and preside over the islands of Japan.

Weathering the storm

Okuninushi was already married to Yagami-hime and they even had a son. When hearing of this, Suserihime was furious with jealousy. Yagami-hime was totally unwilling to confront her rival. Just before the new couple came to Izumo, she left her son in the fork of a tree and went back to her parents’ home in Inaba.

Yagami-hime’s peaceful departure did nothing to assuage Suserihime’s fury. With Yagami-hime gone, Okuninushi had to deal with the brunt of it. At one point, it was too much for Okuninushi and he decided to leave. Hearing this, a friend presented Okuninushi with a poem urging him not to go. Okuninushi decided to ride out the storm with Suserihime and eventually the couple settled. This did not stop Okuninushi from having many other love affairs and fathering numerous children.

Clearly, Okuninushi could not handle the restrictions of monogamy. In spite of, or, because of this, the widely experienced Okuninushi is seen in Japan as the guardian and supporter of partner relationships. Many couples and singles appeal to Okuninushi for help in this area and pray for his blessings.

Okuninushi’s little helper

As the chosen ruler of the Central Plane of Reeds, Okuninushi wondered how he was ever going to fulfil his role. There were many deities with kingdoms throughout the land and the creation of consensual rule seemed impossible. He went off to the seaside to ponder. As he sat watching the waves, he noticed a small object bobbing in the water. It appeared to be a raft made from potato vines. As it came closer, Okuninushi could see a tiny figure no bigger than a thumb guiding the raft. It was wearing translucent garments made from the wings of moths.

Okuninushi greeted the miniature person but got no response. When it landed on the beach Okuninushi leaned close and it bit him on the cheek. Undeterred, Okuninushi declared his friendship. In an attempt to identify his tiny friend, Okuninushi took it to meet all those he knew. In the absence of anyone recognising him, Okuninushi went to the all-knowing god, who usually took the form of a scarecrow.

This god reported that the mysterious friend was Sukunahikona, the son of one of the most powerful and ancient heavenly gods. In awe, Okuninushi took Sukunahikona on a journey to heaven to see his father. The father confirmed, “That is my little son who was born from between my fingers.” He went on, “Sukunahikona will help you to unify the Central Plane of Reeds. Despite his small stature, he is very capable.”

Sukunahikona combined his knowledge of agriculture and healing with the skills of Okuninushi. They wanted to help the Japanese population to live longer. Sukunahikona was the deity of sake brewing and hot springs. Relaxing in a hot bath at the end of a busy day, with or without a cup of sake, is still an essential requirement followed by nearly all Japanese families. Many believe this contributes to their longevity, as does Okuninushi’s introduction of natural herbs and medicines. Through this approach as helpers, Okuninushi and Sukunahikona unified much of the country under their guidance and leadership. A major project was to spread the successful cultivation of rice throughout the land.

Departure

One day Sukunahikona felt he had sufficiently fulfilled his task of helping Okuninushi. As they had lived as inseparable companions for a very long time, Okuninushi was shocked when Sukunahikona told him of his impending departure. Nonetheless, Sukunahikona climbed to the top of a springy millet stalk. His weight caused it to bend to the ground. As it rebounded Sukunahikona was catapulted into the world of eternity.

Okuninushi worried how he could govern alone. Some parts of the Central Plane of Reeds were still separate. He went back to the beach where he had first encountered Sukunahikona. This time while musing on the waves, another god appeared to help Okuninushi finish off organising Japan. His name was Omononushi. Together they managed to complete the task.

Okunonushi was told to take Omononushi east to Mount Miwa, in Nara prefecture, and bury him there. It turned out that Omononushi was part of Okuninushi’s own being. In order to feel strengthened by extra support, Okuninushi had imagined that another god had come to help him. Now it was time to put him to rest. This concept also reinforces the linking and eventual transfer of rulership from Izumo to Nara.

A shift in power

Okuninushi continued to oversee the Central Plane of Reeds for some time. At some point, Amaterasu, the sun goddess who ruled the Heavens, began to believe that Japan should be ruled by her family. She sent one of her sons to ask Okuninushi to relinquish his rulership. But this son felt so much reverence for Okuninushi that he ended up becoming his servant, without ever returning to let Amaterasu know.

Puzzled, Amaterasu sent another son to find out what had happened but this god had his heart stolen by Okuninushi’s daughter. He ended up building a palace in which they settled down. Without any news, Amaterasu dispatched a green pheasant to investigate but it was killed by one of the sons.

Very frustrated that none of her messengers had returned, Amaterasu decided to send two powerful gods to force Okuninushi to hand over the lands of Japan to her family. When they arrived, Okuninushi insisted they speak to his eldest son about the matter. He was away on a fishing trip but one of the gods tracked him down. The son agreed to hand over the rule of Japan.

When Okuninushi heard this he said, “I will give you the Central Plane of Reeds, as you wish. But in exchange, I want you to build me a great shrine, like Amaterasu’s palace in heaven.” Her family accepted. Amaterasu nominated her grandson, Ninigi as the new ruler. In the western prefecture of Shimane, Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine was constructed. There Okuninushi remains the principle deity and continues to exert his influence on Japan from the invisible realm.