Ōmononushi
Ōmononushi is a kami in Japanese mythology associated with Mount Miwa in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. He is closely linked in the Imperial [house of Japan|imperial] myth cycle recorded in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki with the earthly kami Ōkuninushi ; indeed, the latter text treats 'Ōmononushi' as another name for or an aspect - more precisely, the spirit or mitama - of Ōnamuchi.
Ōmononushi's chief place of worship is Ōmiwa Shrine located at the foot of Mount Miwa, which serves as the shrine's object of worship ; he is thus also known as Miwa-no-Ōkami or Miwa myōjin. In addition, he is also enshrined in some other shrines such as Ōsugi Shrine in Ibaraki Prefecture. The deity of Kotohira Shrine in Kotohira, Kagawa Prefecture, popularly known as Konpira Daigongen, is also currently identified with Ōmononushi.
Name
The name 'Ōmononushi' is translated either as 'Great Thing Master' or 'Great Spirit Master'. The deity is also given the name 'Yamato-no-Ōmononushi-Kushimikatama-no-Mikoto' in the Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko no Kanʼyogoto, a ritual declaration delivered by the governor or kuni no miyatsuko of Izumo Province at the imperial court upon his appointment.A passage in the Fudoki of Harima Province meanwhile refers to a deity worshiped at Misaka Shrine in the village of Shijimi in Minō District known both as 'Yatokakesu- / Yatokakasu-Mimoro-no-Mikoto' and 'Ōmononushi-Ashihara-no-Shiko'.
Mythology
Ōmononushi and Ōkuninushi
Ōmononushi first appears in the narrative of the god Ōkuninushi's pacification and development of the terrestrial world, Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni.When Ōkuninushi, the descendant or the son of the god Susanoo, took upon himself the monumental task of developing Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, a dwarf named Sukunabikona appeared from beyond the sea and became his partner. However, after a time Sukunabikona left Ōkuninushi and went to the 'eternal land'. As Ōkuninushi was lamenting Sukunabikona's departure, another god "illuminating the sea" appears before Ōkuninushi, promising to aid him in his task if he will worship him. Ōkuninushi, in accordance with the god's wish, then enshrined him in Mount Mimoro in the land of Yamato. While this god is yet unidentified at this point in the Kojiki, the version of the myth found in the Nihon Shoki has this deity explicitly identify himself as Ōnamuchi's kushimitama and sakimitama. Indeed, this same passage lists 'Ōmononushi' as one of the various names for Ōnamuchi.
A variant version of the myth of Ōnamuchi's cession of Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni to the gods of the heavenly realm Takamagahara found in the Shoki treats 'Ōmononushi' as a name for Ōnamuchi after he left the physical realm to govern the unseen world of the spirit. In this story, Ōnamuchi-as-Ōmononushi along with his son Kotoshironushi ascends to Takamagahara to swear fealty to the heavenly kami. As a reward, the primordial deity Takamimusubi gives Ōmononushi his daughter Mihotsuhime to be his wife and then sends him back to earth with "the eighty myriads of deities" to become the guardians of the goddess Amaterasu's descendants, the Japanese imperial house.
In the Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko no Kanʼyogoto, Ōnamochi, after relinquishing his authority over the land, attaches his nigitama in an 'eight-hand mirror', which he then enshrined in Miwa under the name 'Yamato-no-Ōmononushi-Kushimikatama-no-Mikoto' to serve as a patron of the imperial house along with his children, who he installed in various shrines in the Yamato area.
Isukeyorihime (Isuzuhime)
The Kojiki relates that when Kamuyamato-Iwarebiko, the great-grandson of Ninigi, was searching for a wife, he was told about a woman named Seyadatarahime who bore a daughter after she was impregnated by Ōmononushi, who took the form of a red arrow and struck her genitals while she was defecating in a ditch. Iwarebiko wooed this daughter, named Hototatara-Isusukihime or Himetatara-Isukeyorihime, and took her as his wife.While the main narrative of the first volume of the Nihon Shoki first describes this daughter, there named Himetatara-Isuzuhime, as the offspring of the god of Ōmiwa in agreement with the Kojiki, it is then immediately followed by an alternative account which portrays her as the child of the god Kotoshironushi and the goddess Mizokuhihime - also known as Tamakushihime - conceived after Kotoshironushi transformed himself into a gigantic wani and had intercourse with her. Likewise the main narrative in the third and fourth volumes refer to her as the daughter of Kotoshironushi rather than Ōmononushi.
Ōtataneko and Ikuhi serve Ōmononushi
Both the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki relate that a series of devastating plagues affected the country during the reign of Emperor Sujin. After performing divination to ascertain the will of the kami, the emperor then received a revelation from Ōmononushi via a dream or an oracle delivered by Yamato-Totohimomosohime, the emperor's grandaunt. In it, Ōmononushi claimed responsibility for the pestilence and announced that it would not stop until he was offered due worship by a man named , who is either his son or his great-great-grandson through a woman named Ikutamayorihime. After was found and appointed to serve Ōmononushi at his shrine, the epidemic ceased. is reckoned to be the ancestor of the priestly clans of Kamo and Miwa.The Shoki adds that Sujin appointed another individual named Ikuhi as the brewer of sake presented as offerings to Ōmononushi. When worship of the deity was conducted at the shrine in Miwa, Ikuhi offered the emperor some of this sacred sake while singing the following song:
A feast was then held at the shrine, after which the emperor sang:
Affair with Ikutamayorihime
The Kojiki follows the account of 's appointment as Ōmononushi's priest with the story of Ōmononushi's affair with Ikutamayorihime.The beautiful Ikutamayorihime was visited night after night by a handsome young stranger who got her with child. Anxious to discover the man's identity, Ikutamayorihime's parents advised her to sew a hemp thread to the hem of the man's garment. The following morning, the yarn was found passing through the keyhole of her chamber door, leading straight to Mount Miwa. Ikutamayorihime and her parents accordingly knew that her lover had been Ōmononushi, the god of the mountain. This legend explains the name 'Miwa' as deriving from the three loops or twists of hemp thread that remained.
Yamato-Totohimomosohime's death
The Nihon Shoki records the following story about Yamato-Totohimomosohime, a daughter of Emperor Kōrei and Emperor Sujin's grandaunt.Yamato-Totohimomosohime became wed to Ōmononushi, but the god visited her only at night and was never seen in the daytime. When she requested to see his true form, he hid in her comb case, where she found him as a small snake. After her alarm caused the snake to flee in shame and anger to Mount Miwa, Yamato-Totohimomosohime in remorse stabs her genitals with a chopstick and dies.
This narrative serves as an origin myth for Hashihaka Kofun at the western foot of Mount Miwa, which is here claimed to be Yamato-Totohimomosohime's tomb. The tumulus, which the story claims to be made of stone from Mount Ōsaka, is said to have been made by men in the daytime and by the gods at night; the stones used in its construction are said to have been transported from the mountain to the mound by workers standing in single file, who passed the stones from hand to hand.
Emperor Yūryaku and the serpent of Mount Miwa
An episode recorded in the Shoki concerning Emperor Yūryaku relates that the emperor, wishing to see the physical form of the god of Mount Miwa with his own eyes, commanded a retainer named Chiisakobe no Sugaru to fetch the deity. Sugaru went up the mountain and captured a large snake, which he presented to the emperor. However, as Yūryaku neglected to ritually purify himself beforehand, the serpent made thunderous noise and its eyeballs flashed. The emperor fled for fear of the snake and ordered it to be returned to Mount Miwa. He then gave the mountain the name 'Ikazuchi', meaning "thunder."A different variant of this story is found in the Nihon Ryōiki. There, Sugaru is commanded to capture the thunder god after Sugaru accidentally walked into the palace while the emperor was making love with the empress. Sugaru then went out and summoned the god to appear before the emperor, at which lightning struck near the temple of Toyura-dera. Sugaru sent for priests to place this lightning in a palanquin, which he then brought before the emperor. The emperor was frightened after the god gave off a brilliant flash of light and had it released at the hill where it fell, which became known as Ikazuchi-no-Oka.
In later mythology
A late 13th century text, the Miwa Daimyōjin Engi, features retellings of two of the above myths concerning Ōmononushi reinterpreted within a Buddhist framework.- The Engi
's version of the narrative of Ōnamuchi's encounter with Ōmononushi identifies the god enshrined in Miwa to be Tenshō Kōtaijin. Indeed, Miwa Daimyōjin, the deity of Mount Miwa, and Kōtaijin, the deity of Mount Kamiji in Ise Province, are treated in the text to be two different earthly incarnations of the same heavenly deity Tenshō / Amaterasu, who in turn is a manifestation of the buddha Vairocana. At the same time, however, the text claims that the shrine in Miwa is superior to that of Ise, in that the Miwa deity's descent to earth occurred during the mythical Age of the Gods, whereas Tenshō Daijin was only enshrined in Ise much later, during the reign of Emperor Suinin. - The story of Ōmononushi's amorous relationship with Ikutamayorihime is here transformed into an origin legend of Daigorin-ji, the Buddhist temple associated with Ōmiwa Shrine during the medieval period.