Ōyamatsumi


Ōyama-tsumi or Ohoyama-tsumi, also Ōyama-tsumi-mi'oya-no-mikoto, is a god of mountains, sea, and war in Japanese mythology. He is an elder brother of Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo. His other names are Watashi-no-Ōkami and Sakatoke.

Genealogy

Kojiki genealogy

In the Kamiumi of the Kojiki, Ōyama-tsumi was born between Izanagi and Izanami. With the female deityKaya-no-hime, also known as No-zuchi, he fathered eight deities:Ame-no-sazuchi, female deity and spiritKuni-no-sazuchi, male deity and spiritAme-no-sagiri, female deity and spiritKuni-no-sagiri, male deity and spiritAme-no-kurado, female deity and spiritKuni-no-kurado, male deity and spiritOhoto-mato-hiko, male deityOhoto-mato-hime, female deity
He also rendered several offspring without a mother:Kamu'ō-ichi-hime or Nigihayahi ) and Uka-no-mitama.
In later genealogical traditions -- particularly some medieval Shinto charts that represent variant passages of the Nihon Shoki, but importantly not in the Kojiki, nor the main Nihon Shoki narrative themselves -- Ashinazuchi, also known as 足摩乳命 or 足名槌命 ) and Tenazuchi, also known as 名槌命 were siblings fathered by Ōyamatsumi. In the Kojiki, Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi are simply introduced as an elderly married couple living in Izumo with their last surviving daughter. In the Kojiki, no parentage is given for them. This discrepancy stems from hhe Kojiki and Nihon Shoki primarily being political documents and them not vaing been completely harmonized. Furthermore, medieval Shinto schools reworked genealogies heavily.

Nihon Shoki genealogy

However, in the Nihon Shoki, Ōyama-tsumi is supposed to be born when Izanagi slashed his child, Kagutsuchi.
The child of Ōyama-tsumi from his first wife Kaya-no-hime, the deity Ame-no-sagiri has a daughter, Tohotsumachi-ne, and the eighth descendant of the male deity Ōkuninushi, the male deity Ame-no-hibara-ōshinadomi, from their union gave birth to the male deity, To'otsuyama-sakitarashi, who is the descendant of Ōyama-tsumi.
There is not much written about Ōyama-tsumi, and children associated with him appears at times. As for the myth of Yamata-no-orochi, Susanoo's wife, Kushinada-hime, and her twin parents, the male deity Ashinazuchi and female deity Tenazuchi, are known and claimed to be the children of Ōyama-tsumi.
Afterwards, the lineage falls together with his descendants of his half-brother Susanoo, with the union of Ōyama-tsumi first daughter, Kamu'ō-ichi-hime, between them gave birth to Ōtoshi (or Toshigami) and Uka-no-mitama. Then, Susanoo's union with Ōyama-tsumi granddaughter, Kushinada-hime, gave birth to the male deity Yashimajinumi. Then Yashimajinumi married Ōyama-tsumi's daughter Konohachiru-hime, from their union gave birth to the male deity Fuwanomojikunusunu/ Fuwanomodjikunusunu. Fuwanomojikunusu is the husband of Hikawa-hime, the daughter of the male deity Okami, from their union gave birth to the male deity Fukafuchi-no-Mizuyarehana.
Then, Fukafuchi-no-Mizuyarehana married Ame-no-tsudohechine and from their union gave birth to Omizunu/ Omidzunu. Then, Omizunu/ Omidzunu married the female deity Futemimi, who is the daughter of the deity Funozuno and from their union gave birth to the male deity Ame-no-Fuyukinu. Ame-no-Fuyukinu married the female deity, who is the daughter of the male deity, from their union gave birth to the male deity Ōkuninushi, the sixth generation grandson of Ōyama-tsumi. These are recorded from a book called the "Origin of the Great Shining Deity Awaga" at Awaga Shrine in Awaga, town of Santō, Asago, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.
In the myth of Tenson Kōrin, the descent of Amaterasu's grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto from Heaven to Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, Ninigi has encountered Ōyama-tsumi's daughter Ko-no-hanasakuya-hime, - the kami of Mount Fuji, Ōyama-tsumi has offered both Ko-no-hanasakuya-hime and her older sister Iwanaga-hime. Then, when Ninigi sends back Iwanaga-hime only by her ugly appearance, which in return has angered Ōyama-tsumi and said, "The reason why I gave together with Iwanaga-hime aside from her sibling Ko-no-hanasakuya-hime was because I made a pledge that the heavenly grandson would be eternal like a rock, but she was sent back and the life expectancy of the heavenly grandson was shortened."
His most important shrine, Ōyamazumi Shrine, is located on Ōmishima.