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:

In the Nihon Shoki, the god is mainly referred to as Ōnamuchi-no-Kami なむち Ohonamuchi; OJ: Opo or Ōnamuchi-no-Mikoto. One variant cited in the text lists the same alternate names for Ōkuninushi as those found in the Kojiki, most of which are written using different characters.
The name Ōnamuchi or Ōnamochi is also used in other texts. The Fudoki of Izumo Province, for instance, refers to the god both as Ōanamochi-no-Mikoto and as Ame-no-Shita-Tsukurashishi-Ōkami. The Fudoki of Harima Province meanwhile uses Ōnamuchi-no-Mikoto ; a god found in this text known as Iwa-no-Ōkami is also identified with Ōkuninushi.
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, Sashikuniwakahime. The text thus portrays him as a sixth-generation descendant of the god Susanoo.
The Nihon Shoki's main narrative meanwhile depicts him as the offspring of Susanoo and Kushinadahime, although a variant cited in the same text describes Ōnamuchi as Susanoo's descendant in the sixth generation.

Mythology

In the ''Kojiki''

The White Hare of Inaba

Ōkuninishi first appears in the Kojiki in the famous tale of the 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, Sashikuniwakahime, 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.
After Susanoo was lulled to sleep, Ōkuninushi tied Susanoo's hair to the rafters of the palace and fled with Suseribime, also taking Susanoo's bow and arrows and koto with him. When the couple made their escape, the koto brushed against a tree, awakening Susanoo. The god jumped up and brings down his palace down around him. Susanoo then pursued them as far as the slopes of Yomotsu Hirasaka, the borders of the underworld. As the two were fleeing, Susanoo grudgingly gave his blessing to Ōnamuji, renaming him Ōkuninushi-no-Kami and Utsushikunitama-no-Kami. Using Susanoo's weapons, Ōkuninushi defeats his wicked brothers and becomes the undisputed ruler of the terrestrial realm, Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni.

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:
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.

Ōkuninushi, Sukunabikona and Ōmononushi

When Ōkuninushi was at the Cape of Miho in Izumo, a tiny god riding on the waves of the sea in a bean-pod appears and comes to him. Ōkuninushi asked the stranger his name, but he would not reply. A toad then told Ōkuninushi to ask Kuebiko, a god in the form of a scarecrow who "knows all things under the heavens." Kuebiko identifies the dwarf as Sukunabikona-no-Kami, a son of Kamimusubi. At Kamimusubi's command, Ōkuninushi formed and developed the lands with Sukunabikona at his side. Eventually, however, Sukunabikona crossed over to the "eternal land" beyond the seas, leaving Ōkuninushi without a partner. As Ōkuninushi lamented the loss of his companion, another god appears, promising to aid Ōkuninushi in his task if he will worship him. Ōkuninushi then enshrined the deity - identified in a later narrative as Ōmononushi-no-Kami - in Mount Mimoro in Yamato in accordance with the latter's wish.

The transfer of the land (''Kuni-yuzuri'')

After a time, the gods of Takamagahara, the 'High Plain of Heaven', declare that Ōkuninushi's realm, Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, must be turned over to their rule. Amaterasu decrees that Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto, one of five male deities born during Amaterasu's and Susanoo's ukehi ritual that Amaterasu subsequently adopted as her sons, shall take possession of the land, but Ame-no-Oshihomimi, after inspecting the earth below and deeming to be in an uproar, refuses to go. A second son, Ame-no-Hohi-no-Mikoto was then sent, but ended up currying favor with Ōkuninushi and did not report for three years. The third messenger, Ame-no-Wakahiko, ended up marrying Shitateruhime, Ōkuninushi's daughter with Takiribime. After he did not send word back for eight years, the heavenly deities sent a pheasant to question Ame-no-Wakahiko, which he killed with his bow and arrow. The bloodied arrow, after it flew up to heaven, was thrown back to earth, killing Ame-no-Wakahiko in his sleep. During Ame-no-Wakahiko's funeral, Shitateruhime's brother and Ame-no-Wakahiko's close friend Ajishikitakahikone-no-Kami is furious at being mistaken for the dead god and destroys the mourning house where the funeral was held.
The heavenly deities then dispatch the warrior god Takemikazuchi-no-Kami, who descends on the shores of Inasa in Izumo. Ōkuninushi tells Takemikazuchi to confer with his son Kotoshironushi-no-Kami, his son with Kamuyatatehime, who had gone hunting and fishing in the Cape of Miho. After being questioned, Kotoshironushi accepts the demands of the heavenly kami and disappears. When Takemikazuchi asks if Ōkuninushi has any other sons who ought to be consulted, another son, Takeminakata-no-Kami, appears and challenges Takemikazuchi to a test of strength. Takemikazuchi defeats Takeminakata, who flees to the sea of Suwa in the land of Shinano and surrenders. After hearing that his two sons have submitted, Ōkuninushi relinquishes his control of the land. Making a final request that a magnificent palace – rooted in the earth and reaching up to heaven – be built in his honor, he withdrew himself into the "less-than-one-hundred eighty-road-bendings" and disappeared from the physical realm.

Prince Homuchiwake

Ōkuninushi indirectly appears in a narrative set during the reign of Emperor Suinin.
Prince Homuchiwake, Suinin's son with his first chief wife Sahohime, was born mute, unable to speak " beard eight hands long extended down over his chest" until he heard the cry of a swan, at which he babbled his first words. A servant named Yamanobe no Ōtaka was dispatched to seize the bird, which he pursued across long distances until he finally caught it in the river-mouth of Wanami in Koshi. The captured bird was brought before Homuchiwake, but the prince was still unable to talk freely. In a dream, Suinin heard a god demanding that his shrine "be built like the emperor's palace," at which the prince will gain the power of speech. The emperor then performed divination, which revealed Homuchiwake's condition to have been due to a curse laid by the "great deity of Izumo". Suinin then bade his son to worship at the god's shrine. After going to Izumo, Homuchiwake and his entourage stopped by the Hi River, where a pontoon bridge and a temporary dwelling was built for the prince. Homuchiwake, upon seeing a mountain-like enclosure made of leaves being set up on the river, was finally cured of his muteness and spoke coherently.