Susanō-no-mikoto

Susanō-no-mikoto

Susanō-no-mikoto She is one of the three most precious gods,Mihashira-no-uzu-no-miko, born with Amaterasu-ōmikami and Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto. He is portrayed in various charactors, sometimes as a malevolent god, and sometimes a heroic god, and is known for defeating the Yamata-no-orochi.

Name (In the Kojiki)

Susanō-no-mikoto (須佐之男命)

Takehaya-Susanō-no-mikoto (建速須佐之男命)

Name (In the Nihon shoki)

Susanō-no-mikoto (素戔男尊)

Susanō-no-mikoto (素戔嗚尊)

Gender

Male god

Mythology

Kojiki

Nihon Shoki

Izanagi-no-mikoto's misogi and the Mihashira-no-uzu-no-miko

After escaping from Yomi, Izanagi-no-mikoto did a misogi at Awakihara to wash off the kegare of Yomi. 12 gods were born from the clothing he took off. When he bathed in the river, two gods of calamity emerged from the kegare, and also, three gods correcting calamity were born too. He then purified himself at the bottom, the middle and the surface of the river, and the three Wadatsumi gods and three Sumiyoshi gods were born.

At the last, when Izanagi-no-mikoto washed his left eye, Amaterasu-ōmikami was born, and Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto when he washed his right eye, Susanō-no-mikoto when he washed his nose, were born too. These three gods are called Mihashira-no-uzu-no-miko, meaning the three precious children. Izanagi-no-mikoto told Amaterasu-ōmikami to rule Takamagahara, Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto to rule Yoru-no-osukuni, and Susanō-no-mikoto was to rule Unahara.

However, Susanō-no-mikoto refused to go rule Unahara and cried out loud. This caused storms to rage, trees to die, and evil spirits to fill the world. Izanagi-no-mikoto questioned Susanō-no-mikoto, but since he answered that he wanted to go to Ne-no-katasukuni, where his mother Izanami-no-mikoto is, Izanagi-no-mikoto purged Susanō-no-mikoto.

Afterward, Izanagi-no-mikoto confined himself in the Kakuri-no-miya in Taga in Awaji.

Ukei of Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto

Susanō-no-mikoto, before going to Ne-no-katasukuni, thought he would visit Takamagahara to see his sister, Amaterasu-ōmikami, to say farewell. But this caused the mountains and rivers to rage, and the land to tremble, so Amaterasu-ōmikami thought that Susanō-no-mikoto came to invade Takamagahara and met him armed. Susanō-no-mikoto said that they should have an ukei, to clear himself of suspicion.

First, Amaterasu-ōmikami washed Susanō-no-mikoto's Totsuka-no-tsurugi with the water of Ame-no-manai and chewed it. From her breath, the three goddesses were born. Then, Susanō-no-mikoto chewed Amaterasu-ōmikami's magatamas, and from his breath, five male gods were born.

Susanō-no-mikoto said that, since gentle goddesses were born from his sword, he won the trial and proved innocent and he was able to enter Takamagahara.

Iwato-gakure

Susanō-no-mikoto, was allowed to enter Takamagahara, got himself carried away and ran riot. The gods made complaints to Amaterasu-ōmikami but she didn't punish her brother. But at the last, when Amaterasu-ōmikami had Kamumiso weaved in a weaving shop, Susanō-no-mikoto threw in a skinned horse through the roof. In the chaos, a weaver accidentally got struck by a shuttle and died.

Amaterasu-ōmikami was terribly grieved for this event, and she shut herself inside a cave called Ama-no-iwato. Without Amaterasu-ōmikami, the god of the sun, the world plunged into darkness, and suffered various calamities. The troubled gods of the heavens gathered and talked about what they should do.

The gods led by Omoikane-no-kami performed various rituals. At the last, they were able to pull out Amaterasu-ōmikami from the cavern, and light was restored to the world.

Susanō-no-mikoto, who caused this incident, was expelled from Takamagahara, after his belongings were taken away and his nales and beard were cut.

The origin of Gokoku

Susanō-no-mikoto, expelled from Takamagahara, was hungry and asked Ōgetsuhime-no-kami for food. Ōgetsuhime-no-kami served Susanō-no-mikoto some delicious dishes.

However, Susanō-no-mikoto begun to grow suspicious, and peeped how Ōgetsuhime-no-kami was cooking. He saw Seeing Ōgetsuhime-no-kami pulling various foods from within her nose, mouth and anus, so he killed her in anger.

The dead Ōgetsuhime-no-kami turned into five kinds of grains and silkworm, and Kamumusubi-no-kami collected these grains. It is said that this is the origin of gokoku and sericulture.

Slaying Yamata-no-orochi

Susanō-no-mikoto, expelled from Takamagahara, descended to Izumo. There, he found a chopstick drifting down the river, thought there are people upstream and went to see. He found an elderly couple, Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi, crying with their daughter, Kushinadahime, in between and asked why they are crying. Ashinazuchi answered that the two had 8 daughters, but the 8 headed and 8 tailed monster, Yamata-no-orochi, comes to eat their daughters every year, and it will be eating their last daughter soon.

Susanō-no-mikoto, who became to love Kushinadahime, offered to take down the Yamata-no-orochi, on condition that he can marry her, and the couple accepted this offer. Susanō-no-mikoto changed Kushinadahime into a comb and wore it in his hair. And also, he told Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi to make a hard liquor and fill 8 barrels with it.

Then, the Yamata-no-orochi came, and it dunked each of it's heads into the barrels to drink. As the Yamata-no-orochi got drunk and started to sleep, Susanō-no-mikoto chopped up the Yamata-no-orochi with his Totsuka-no-tsurugi. When he cut the Yamata-no-orochi's tail, his sword got chipped. He wondered why and saw what is insideto find a sword in the tail.

Susanō-no-mikoto presented the sword to Amaterasu-ōmikami in Takamagahara. This sword is the Ame-no-murakumo-no-tsurugi, which will become one of the three Imperial Regalias.

Yakumo upwelling

After defeating the Yamata-no-orochi, Susanō-no-mikoto came to Suga, looking for a place to build his palace. There, he said that he felt refreshed when he came here and built a palace to live here with Kushinadahime.

When he built the palace, clouds upwelled. Seeing this, Susanō-no-mikoto composed a poem. Yakumo are upwelling, it is a cloud like an eightfold fence upwelling in Izumo. Building an eightfold to have my new wife stay in the house. That eightfold fence. This is said to be the first waka.

Susanō-no-mikoto and Kushinadahime gave birth to Yashimajinumi-no-kami. And also, Susanō-no-mikoto begot Ōtoshi-no-kami and Ukanomitama-no-kami between Kamuōichihime. And Susanō-no-mikoto's sixth-generation descendant is Ōkuninushi-no-kami.

The visit of Ōnamuchi-no-kami

Ōnamuchi-no-kami, running from his brothers, Yaso-gami, came to Susanō-no-mikoto's home in Nenokatasu-no-kuni. There he met Suseribime-no-mikoto, Susanō-no-mikoto's daughter, and the two fell in love with each other at their first sight. Suseribime-no-mikoto told Susanō-no-mikoto that a great god has come, introducing Ōnamuchi-no-kami, and Susanō-no-mikoto answered, that is a "Ashiharashikō".

Susanō-no-mikoto let Ōnamuchi-no-kami in his home, but told him to stay the night in a muroya full of snakes. Suseribime-no-mikoto gave Ōnamuchi-no-kami the 'hire of snakes', and told him to wave it three times if he is attacked by snakes. Ōnamuchi-no-kami did as he was told and was able topass the night safely. The next day, Susanō-no-mikoto told Ōnamuchi-no-kami to stay in a room full of centipedes and bees, but once again Suseribime-no-mikoto gave Ōnamuchi-no-kami the 'hire of centipedes and bees' and was able to pass the night.

Then, Susanō-no-mikoto shot a narikabura into a field and ordered Ōnamuchi-no-kami to fetch it. As Ōnamuchi-no-kami got in the field, Susanō-no-mikoto set the field on fire. Ōnamuchi-no-kami, surrounded by flames, was helped by a mouse, found a hole in the ground, and he was able to hide in it until the fire went out. The mouse also brought him the narikabura. Susanō-no-mikoto thinking that Ōnamuchi-no-kami had already died went to see in the field, to find him alive.

Susanō-no-mikoto let Ōnamuchi-no-kami in his house, took him to a large room and ordered him to pick the lice from his hair. However, what was in his hair were centipedes, so he chewed the nuts of muku and red clay, given to him by Suseribime-no-mikoto, and spit them out. Susanō-no-mikoto, misunderstanding that Ōnamuchi-no-kami was chewing the centipedes, thought that Ōnamuchi-no-kami was such an innocent man and fell asleep.

Ōnamuchi-no-kami thought that it was a good chance to get away, and tied Susanō-no-mikoto's hair to the tarukis in the room and blocked the door with a ihobiki-no-iwa. Then Ōnamuchi-no-kami stole Susanō-no-mikoto's Iku-tachi, Iku-yumi and Ame-no-norigoto, escaped carrying Suseribime-no-mikoto on his back. However, the Ame-no-norigoto brushed against a tree, making the earth to rumble, waking Susanō-no-mikoto up. Though, Ōnamuchi-no-kami was able to get away while Susanō-no-mikoto untied his hair.

Susanō-no-mikoto chased Ōnamuchi-no-kami to Yomotsu-hirasaka but stopped chasing there. Susanō-no-mikoto grudgingly shouted and told Ōnamuchi-no-kami, to use the Iku-tachi and Iku-yumi to drive away his brothers to become "Ōkuninushi" and take Suseribime-no-mikoto as his lawful wife, and then build a palace on the foot of the mountain of Uka.

Ōnamuchi-no-kami expelled the Yaso-gami using the Iku-tachi and Iku-yumi, and became Ōkuninushi-no-kami.

The cult of Gion

The cult of Gion is a religious faith of Susanō-no-mikoto and Gozu-tennō. Gozu-tennō is a god with an unclear origin, introduced by Onmyōji, servants of Onmyōdō. Gozu-tennō is said to be a guardian god of Jetavana. Gozu-tenno is believed to bring epidemics and disasters, but eventually people started to believe that enshrining the god respectfully will ward off calamity. While this change in belief Gozu-tennō eventually became to be seen as the same as Susanō-no-mikoto, since Susanō-no-mikoto is a malevolent god expelled from the heavens. The cult of Gion spread all around the country, mainly from the Gion-sha in Kyōto.

However, in the separation of Shinto from Buddhism, holding Buddhist rituals in shrines were forbidden, shrines were no longer able to enshrine Gozu-tennō, influenced by Buddhism. As a result, many of the Gion-shas and Gozu-tennō-shas dedicated to Gozu-tennō changed their enshrined deities to Susanō-no-mikoto.

The cult of Hikawa

The cult of Gion is a religious faith of Susanō-no-mikoto, seen around the Kanto region, considering the Hikawa shrine in Saitama city as head shrine. It is unclear how the Hikawa shrine was established, but it is said that in the 3rd year of Emperor Kōshō's reign, Susanō-no-mikoto's devided spirit was received from Izumo. The area around Hikawa shrine was reclaimed by the Izumo tribe who came from Izumo, and the name"Hikawa" was named from the Hikawa river in Izumo.

In another theory, it is said that the Hikawa god was a water god of Minuma, the large wetland that existed in the area until the Edo period, and as the religious faith of Susanō-no-mikoto was introduced, it merged with the faith of the Hikawa god.

Related shrines

These are some shrines those enshrine Susanō-no-mikoto.

Susa shrine

Located in Izumo city, Shimane prefecture.

Seen as the head shrine of main shrine of Susanō-no-mikoto. Enshrines Susanō-no-mikoto.

Hikawa shrine

Saitama city, Saitama prefecture.

Enshrines Susanō-no-mikoto, Kushinadahime-no-mikoto and Ōnamuchi-no-mikoto.

Yasaka shrine

Kyōto city, Kyōto prefecture.

Enshrines Susanō-no-mikoto, Kushinadahime-no-mikoto, Yashimajinumi-no-kami, Isotakeru-no-kami, Ōyahime-no-kami, Tsumatsuhime-no-kami, Ōtoshi-no-kami, Ukanomitama-no-kami, Ōyabiko-no-kami and Suseribime-no-mikoto.

Kanasana shrine

Located in Kamikawa town, Kodama district, Saitama prefecture.

Enshrines Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Tsurugi shrine

Echizen town, Nyū district, Fukui predefecture.

Enshrines Susanō-no-mikoto.

Tsushima shrine

Located in Tsushima city, Aichi prefecture.

Enshrines Takehayasusanō-no-mikoto.

Nunakuma shrine

Located in Fukuyama city, Hiroshima prefecture.

Enshrines Ōwatatsumi-no-mikoto and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Hinomisaki shrine

Located in Izumo city, Shimane prefecture.

Enshrines Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Sada shrine

Located in Matsue city, Shimane prefecture.

Enshrines Sadamiko-no-ōkami, Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Hitachi-no-kuni Soshagū

Located in Ishioka city, Ibaraki prefecture.

Enshrines Izanagi-no-mikoto, Ōkuninushi-no-mikoto, Susanō-no-mikoto, Ninigi-no-mikoto, Ōmiyahime-no-mikoto and Furu-no-ōmikami.

Suga shrine

Located in Unnan city, Shimane prefecture.

Enshrines Susanō-no-mikoto, Kushinadahime and Suganoyuyamanushiminasarohikoyashima-no-mikoto.

Yaegaki shrine

Located in Matsue city, Shimane prefecture.

Enshrines Susanō-no-mikoto, Kushinadahime, Onamuchi-no-mikoto and Aohatasakusahiko-no-mikoto.

Susanō-no-mikoto is also enshrined in many shrines around Japan, such as in Gion shrines, Yasaka shrines, Suka shrines and Hikawa shrines.

Related gods

Izanagi-no-mikoto

Mihashira-no-uzu-no-miko were born in Izanagi-no-mikoto's misogi.

Izanami-no-mikoto

In Nihon shoki, Susanō-no-mikoto's mother.

Kushinadahime

Susanō-no-mikoto's lawful wife.

Kamuōichihime

Susanō-no-mikoto's wife.

Amaterasu-ōmikami

Susanō-no-mikoto's sister. One of the Mihashira-no-uzu-no-miko, born in Izanagi-no-mikoto's misogi.

Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto

Susanō-no-mikoto's brother. One of the Mihashira-no-uzu-no-miko, born in Izanagi-no-mikoto's misogi.

Tagirihime-no-mikoto

Born in the ukei of Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Ichikishimahime-no-mikoto

Born in the ukei of Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Takitsuhime-no-mikoto

Born in the ukei of Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Amenōshihomimi-no-mikoto

Born in the ukei of Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Amenohohi-no-mikoto

Born in the ukei of Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Amatsuhikone-no-mikoto

Born in the ukei of Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Ikutsuhikone-no-mikoto

Born in the ukei of Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Kumanokusubi-no-mikoto

Born in the ukei of Amaterasu-ōmikami and Susanō-no-mikoto.

Ōtoshi-no-kami

Susanō-no-mikoto and Kamuōichihime's child.

Ukanomitama-no-kami

Susanō-no-mikoto and Kamuōichihime's child.

Suseribime-no-mikoto

Daughter of Susanō-no-mikoto. Ōkuninushi-no-kami's wife.

Ōkuninushi-no-kami

Susanō-no-mikoto's sixth-generation descendant. In Nihon shoki, a child of Susanō-no-mikoto and Kushinadahime.