Before he left, however, Susanoo went to say goodbye to his sister Amaterasu, with whom he regularly quarreled.Īmaterasu was suspicious of his sincerity, and Susanoo challenged her to a contest to prove it. Following this realization, Izanagi proceeded to banish his son, a sentence that Susanoo accepted.
It soon became apparent that Susanoo was too stormy to remain in the highly-ordered Heavens. Izanagi set these three gods at the head of the heavenly bureaucracy and selected Susanoo as its guardian. It was during this cleansing ritual that Izanagi inadvertently gave birth to three new and powerful kami: Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and Tsukuyomi, the moon god, were born from his eyes, and Susanoo, the god of storms and seas, was born from his nose. After blocking the entrance to prevent her escape, Izanagi went to a nearby hot spring and cleansed himself of Yomi’s impurities. Izanagi fled from Yomi, where he had gone to retrieve his wife. Susanoo is a very popular kami, and appears in many important Shinto myths. Outside of his marriage, Susanoo has had countless consorts and children by other women and kami. Included in their number is Kushinada-hime, his first (and most prominent) wife who bore him five children: Kushiinada-hime, Inada-hime, Makami-furu-kushi’inada-hime, Yashimajinumi, and Okuninushi, the god of magic. His family varies greatly depending from tale to tale, and as such he has many wives and children. Susanoo is the son of Izanagi, the ancestor of all kami, and is a sibling of both Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and Tsukuyomi, the moon god. Yaegaki Shrine, at Matsue, Shimane Prefecture. Hikawa Shrine, at Saitama, Saitama Prefecture
Tsushima Shrine, at Tsushima, Aichi Prefecture Yasaka Shrine, at Higashiyama, Kyoto Prefecture Susa Shrine, dedicated to both him and his wife, at Izumo, Shimane Prefecture Kumano Taisha, his most important shrine, at Matsue, Shimane Prefecture Susanoo’s own shrines are plentiful and popular. This blade eventually found its way to the Japanese Imperial Family and is now kept at Amaterasu’s shrine at Ise. After drawing it from the corpse of Orochi, he gave it to his sister as a sign of penance. Susanoo wielded the famed sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the Grass-Cutter, also known as Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, the Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds. In what is now his most famous feat, he fought and slew the fearsome eight-headed dragon, Yamata-no-Orochi, killing it with his famed ten-span sword, a Totsuka-no-Tsurugi.Īs the son of Izanagi, he holds dominion over spirits of thunder, lighting, storms, winds, and the sea. Despite this seeming moral ambivalence, he remains one of Japanese mythology’s most celebrated heroes. Like many storm, wind, and sea kami who serve under him, Susanoo can be both benevolent and malevolent. The seas surrounding South Japan-where many of his shrines are located-reflect these attributes. Susanoo is a tumultuous deity at heart, and his chaotic moods and disheveled appearance are direct reflections of his status as the god of storms.
Older translations of his name include Susano-o, Susa-no-O, Susano’o, and Susanowo. Besides Susanoo, the most common spelling is Susan’o. Historically his name has been the subject of multiple English translations due to the double o’s that appear at the end of his name this large number of translations reflect a lack of standardized Romaji in the period after the Meiji Restoration (1868). Each of these can be translated as "the Great God Susanoo." Because of his association with Kumano Shrine in Shimane Prefecture, he is also 熊野家都御子神 (Kumano Ketsumiko no Kami), the Great God/Caretaker of Kumano. The spellings and forms of Susanoo’s name are varied in both Japanese and English. His fight with the dragon Orochi led to the creation of the sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, one part of Japan’s sacred regalia. A powerful and boisterous guardian kami, Susanoo’s moods are often as temperamental as his actions are chaotic. Susanoo-no-Mikoto is the Japanese god of the sea and storms. Susanoo is a popular kami with numerous shrines, and he also holds an important position as the guardian of the entrance to Yomi, the Land of the Dead.
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