Ōkuninushi
Ōkuninushi, also known as Ōnamuchi or Ōnamochi among other variants, is a kami in Japanese mythology. He is one of the central deities in the cycle of myths recorded in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki alongside the sun goddess Amaterasu and her brother, the wild god Susanoo, who is reckoned to be either Ōkuninushi's distant ancestor or father. In these texts, Ōkuninushi is portrayed as the head of the kunitsukami, the gods of the earth, and the original ruler of the terrestrial world, named Ashihara no Nakatsukuni. When the heavenly deities headed by Amaterasu demanded that he relinquish his rule over the land, Ōkuninushi agreed to their terms and withdrew into the unseen world, which was given to him to rule over in exchange. Amaterasu's grandson Ninigi then came down from heaven to govern Ashihara no Nakatsukuni and eventually became the ancestor of the Japanese imperial line.
Ōkuninushi is closely associated with the province of Izumo in western Japan; indeed, the myth of his surrender to the gods of heaven may reflect the subjugation and absorption of this area by the Yamato court based in what is now Nara Prefecture. Aside from the Kojiki and the Shoki, the imperially-commissioned gazetteer report of this province dating from the early 7th century contain many myths concerning Ōkuninushi and related deities. Myths which feature Ōkuninushi are also found in the Fudoki of other provinces such as those of Harima. He is also known for his romantic escapades with a number of goddesses which resulted in many divine offspring, including the gods Kotoshironushi and Takeminakata.
He is enshrined in many Shinto shrines throughout Japan, with the Grand Shrine of Izumo in Shimane being the most famous and preeminent of these. The sectarian group Izumo Taishakyō based in this shrine considers Ōkuninushi as its central deity and main focus of worship. He was also syncretized with the deity Daikokuten under the synthesis of Buddhism and Shinto prevalent before the Meiji period.
Name
Ōkuninushi is referred to by the following names in the Kojiki:- Ōnamuji-no-Kami なむぢ Ohonamuji; Old Japanese: Opo – The god's original name
- Ashihara-Shikoo – Used in three instances in the narrative proper
- Ōkuninushi-no-Kami – One of two new names later given to Ōnamuji by Susanoo; used as the god's default name in the subsequent narrative
- Utsushikunitama-no-Kami – Another name bestowed by Susanoo
- Yachihoko-no-Kami – Used exclusively in the story of Ōkuninushi wooing Nunakawahime of Koshi
- Izumo-no-Ōkami – Used in an anecdote in the annals of Emperor Suinin
- Ōkuninushi-no-Kami
- Ōmononushi-no-Kami – Originally an epithet for the deity of Mount Miwa in Nara Prefecture. While seemingly portrayed as a distinct entity in the Kojiki, the Shoki depicts the two as essentially being the same entity, with Ōmononushi being Ōkuninushi's aspect or spirit
- Kunitsukuri Ōnamuchi-no-Mikoto
- Ashihara-Shikoo
- Yachihoko-no-Kami
- Ōkunitama-no-Kami
- Utsushikunitama-no-Kami
As the first two characters of 'Ōkuninushi', 大国, can also be read as 'Daikoku', the god was conflated with the Buddhist divinity Daikokuten and came to be popularly referred to as Daikoku-sama.
Genealogy
In the Kojiki, Ōnamuji / Ōkuninushi is the son of the god Ame-no-Fuyukinu and his wife, . The text thus portrays him as a sixth-generation descendant of the god Susanoo.The Nihon Shoki
Mythology
In the ''Kojiki''
The White Hare of Inaba
Ōkuninushi first appears in the Kojiki in the famous tale of the The White Hare of Inaba. Ōnamuji's elder brothers, collectively known as the yasokami, were all suitors seeking the hand of Yagamihime of the land of Inaba in marriage. As they were travelling together from their home country of Izumo to Inaba to court her, the brothers encounter a rabbit, flayed and raw-skinned, lying in agony upon the Cape of Keta. Ōnamuji's brothers, as a prank, instructed the hare to wash itself in the briny sea and then blow itself dry in the wind, but this only made the hare's pain worse.Ōnamuji, acting as his brothers' bag-carrier, then finds the hare. Upon being asked what happened, the hare explains that it came from the island of Oki across the sea and tricked a number of wani into forming a bridge for it to cross. But before the hare had completely gotten ashore to safety, it gloated about having tricked them; in retaliation, the last wani in line then grabbed it and tore off its fur. Ōnamuji then advised the hare to wash itself in fresh water and then roll in the pollen of cattail grass. Upon doing so, the hare recovered from its injuries. In gratitude, it predicts that Ōnamuji will be the one to win the princess.
Attempts on Ōnamuji's life
Ōnamuji's brothers, furious at having been rejected by Yagamihime, then conspired to slay him. They first bring Ōnamuji to the foot of Mount Tema in the land of Hōki and compelled him, on pain of death, to catch a red boar. Ōnamuji was burned to death upon grabbing the rock, but his mother,, went up to heaven and petitioned the primordial deity Kamimusubi for aid. Kamimusubi dispatched two clam goddesses, Kisagaihime and Umugihime, who then restored Ōnamuji to life as a handsome young man.The brothers next tricked Ōnamuji into walking onto a fresh tree log split open and held apart by a wedge, and snapped it shut, killing him a second time. His mother revived him once again and bade him to seek refuge with the god Ōyabiko-no-Kami in the land of Ki. Ōnamuji's brothers caught up with him as he was escaping, but he eluded their grasp by slipping through a fork of a tree.
Ōnamuji and Suseribime
In Ki, Ōnamuji was told to seek out Susanoo, who dwelt in the subterranean realm of Ne-no-Katasu-Kuni, the "Land of Roots", to obtain wise counsel. There he met Susanoo's daughter Suseribime, with whom he shortly fell in love. Upon learning of their affair, Susanoo imposed four trials on Ōnamuji:- Susanoo first invited Ōnamuji to his palace and had him sleep in a room full of snakes. Suseribime aided Ōnamuji by giving him a magical scarf which protected him.
- The following night, Susanoo had Ōnamuji sleep in another room full of centipedes and bees. Suseribime again gave Ōnamuji a scarf that repelled the insects.
- Susanoo shot an arrow into an enormous meadow and had Ōnamuji fetch it. As Ōnamuji was busy looking for the arrow, Susanoo set the field on fire. A field mouse showed Ōnamuji a hole that he could hide in and also brought him the arrow.
- Susanoo, upon discovering that Ōnamuji had survived, summoned him back to his palace and had him pick the lice and centipedes from his hair. Using a mixture of red clay and nuts given to him by Suseribime, Ōnamuji pretended to chew and spit out the insects he was picking.
Ōkuninushi's affairs
Ōkuninushi begins the monumental task of creating and pacifying Ashihara no Nakatsukuni. In accordance with their previous betrothal, he marries Yagamihime and brings her to his palace, but she, fearing Suseribime, eventually went back to Inaba, leaving her newborn child wedged in the fork of a tree. The child was thus named 'Kimata-no-Kami'.Ōkuninushi – in this section of the narrative given the name Yachihoko-no-Kami – then wooed a third woman, Nunakawahime of the land of Koshi, singing the following poem:
Nunakawahime answers him with another song, which goes in part:
File:Ōkuninushi asks the toad.jpg|thumb|left|190px|Ōkuninushi asking a toad and the scarecrow god Kuebiko about the newly-arrived Sukunabikona
Upon learning of her husband's dalliance with Nunakawahime, Suseribime became extremely jealous. Feeling harassed, Ōkuninushi prepares to leave Izumo for Yamato. Suseribime then offers Ōkuninushi a cup filled with sake, begging him to stay with her. Ōkuninushi and Suseribime were thus reconciled.
In addition to these three goddesses, Ōkuninushi also took three other wives and had children by them: Takiribime-no-Mikoto, one of three goddesses born when Susanoo and Amaterasu held a ritual pact to prove Susanoo's innocence long ago, Kamuyatatehime-no-Mikoto, and Torimimi-no-Kami, also known as Totori-no-Kami.