Amaterasu vs Susanowo, who will control the Land?
The waters of Ame no Manai, the True Well of Heaven
When Susanowo – the God of the Storms – goes to visit Amaterasu – the Sun Goddess and his big sister – in Takama no Hara to bid her farewell, as he was joining their mother Izanami in the Underworld, Amaterasu does not believe that he went to see her in good faith. To prove her wrong, Susanowo proposes a contest. They should both bear children and the one who produces the largest number of children, is telling the truth. Amaterasu lifts Susanowo’s sword from his sheath and washes it in the Ame no Manai (the True Well of Heaven) before munching it and breaths three female deities. Susanowo takes half of the jewel Magatama decorating her hair and washes it too in the waters of Ame no Manai. He produces five male deities in a breath, after munching the jewel. A long argument ensues between the siblings, as Susanowo claims victory, whilst Amaterasu contradicts him, arguing that because the five boy deities were produced from a utensil that belonged to her, they should be considered her children. The senior kamis are going to decide who is the winner. Until them, Susanowo is allowed to stay in Takama no Hama. Nonetheless, he causes havoc by bullying her sister and tries to destroy her realm.
Angry and incensed Amaterasu goes into seclusion inside the cave Ama no Iwato (the Cave of Heaven), causing calamity to the people on Earth, as they are deprived of sunlight and energy. Slowly but progressively, every living creature on Ashihara no Nakatsukuni starts to die. There is total chaos on Earth. The eighty myriad kami tries everything to bring her out of the cave; to no avail. The solution proposed by the Deity of Wisdom, Omoikane is to generate lots of noise outside of the cave to entice Amaterasu’s curiosity. Uzume-no-Mikoto, better known as a woman who revels in her sensuality or the Goddess of Mirth is put in charge to run the show. She performs in front of an audience of eighty myriad kami shaking her hips suggestively and stripping off her clothes. The plan worked and Amaterasu was pulled out of the cave, which was then sealed with a shimenawa to stop it from being opened again.
The entrance to the Ama no Iwato cave
Ama no Yasugawara Shrine
Ama no Iwato is an open cave situated in Takachihō, Miyazaki Prefecture. The cave cannot be approached and photography is prohibited but it can be seen from the observation deck found behind the shrine’s main building. The shrine with the same name was built around 9th century on the opposite side of the River Iwato to preserve the memory of the myth. A short walk down the road from the cave is a smaller and simpler shrine inside another cave, known as Ama-no-Yasukawara. This is said to be the cave where the kamis met to discuss the plan to entice Amaterasu out of hiding.
Despite being worshiped as a Shintō Kami, Uzume no Mikoto is an irreverent goddess. The dance she performed to allure Amaterasu out of Ama-no-Iwato has been discussed by Western scholars more than any other theme of the Mythology of Japan. This dance is said to have founded the Japanese ritual dance – Kagura – originally called Kamukura or Kamikura.
Kagura began as a sacred dance performed only at the Imperial Court by shrine maidens, who were supposedly descendants of Uzume. Over time, a number of more popular versions were developed and those forms that involve storytelling or re-enactment of fables have shaped into the Noh theatre. Kabuki, the classical Japanese dance-drama has also its origins traced back to Kagura. Considered to be as well, a sacred artistic rite performed when making an offering to the Kamis, Kagura is nowadays performed in festivals, where a Kami is invited to occupy the sacred area and is worshiped with performances of music and dance.
Uzume no Mikoto, the Goddess of Mirth dancing in front of the Ama no Iwato cave, stripping off her clothes
Mount Kagu or Kaguyama, the sacred mountain, is located in the Nara Basin
Mount Kagu or Kaguyama is a small hill situated in the southeast corner of the Nara Basin, approximately 40 km from Ōsaka City. It is considered to be a sacred place since ancient times and together with two other small hills nearby (Mount Unebi and Mount Miminashi) form what is called Yamato Sanzan (three mountains of Yamato). The god leading the plot to bring Amaterasu out of her seclusion, Omoikane, a wiseman and skilled in divination, requested to be brought to him from Mt. Kagu a stag shoulder, a hahaka wood, a sakaki tree, a climbing spindle plant to decorated Uzume’s hair and a bouquet of bamboo grass leaf she held in the hand whilst dancing. Mt Kagu is one of the kami-nabi; that is, a sacred place where kamis reside or descend to Earth. Animals and plants indigenous to Mt. Kagu influence the outcomes of actions, as they are favoured by the Kamis.
'Many clouds arise: The clouds which come forth (are) a manifold fence: For the husband and wife to retire within, They have formed a manifold fence: Oh! that manifold fence!'
Humiliated Susanowo is banished from Takama no Hara. He descends to Earth and goes in the direction of the Hii River, where he meets the beautiful Princess Kushinada. He wants to marry her, but her hand has a price. The God of Storms has first to exterminate Yamata no Orochi, an eight head, eight tail behemoth monster. Using intelligence and courage for the first time in his life, Susanowo outsmarts the serpent by alluring it with sakê (rice wine) and kills it. He finds the sword Murakumo-no-Tsurugi concealed in one of the tails of the monster. Rightfully, Susanowo marries Kushinada and builds a palace in Suga, Izumo no Kuni for her. When the palace was ready, he composed a song in tanka (short poem) form, later held to be the root of the Japanese waka poetry:
The Hii River, located in Shimane Prefecture
Located in the Shimane and Tottori prefectures, the Hii River gave origin to the legend of Yamata no Orochi. The river flooded frequently, damaging rice paddies. Kushinada-hime, Susanowo and Yamata-no-Orochi can be seen as a metaphor for the rice fields, the rescuer and the floods, respectively; and for the rescuer’s attempts to protect the rice fields. The Eight-Forked-Head Serpent – Yamata no Orochi legend became the subject of one of the most famous kagura performances in present-day Japan. One of the alleged pieces of the monster’s tail is enshrined in the Orochi Shrine, located in Shimane Prefecture. A pit in the grounds of Yagushi Shrine called Tsubogami is thought to be the remains of one of the eight vats used by Susanowo to store sakê to allure the monster. Nowadays, it is covered with stones and is fenced to stop people approaching it. Allegedly, whenever someone touches the pit, they anger the gods, who make the earth to rumble and lightning flash across the skies. Kushinada-Hime is venerated in Yaegaki Shrine in the city of Matsue, where she supposedly hid herself from Yamata no Orochi.
The Izumo Province was an old province of Japan, which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. Sometimes called Unshū, it is believed that at one time the Japanese islands were controlled from Izumo. The unification of the Yamato Court was achieved over a long period of time, both through negotiation with powerful local families and through military conquests. ‘The Transfer of the Land’ is the title of this chapter in Kojiki, and it is its mythical version. Only after the fall of Izumo, which retained its ancient political and religious authority for a considerable length of time, was this unification achieved. Izumo is an area known today as the ‘realm of gods and land of myths’.
Susanowo and Kushinada settle in Suga and govern the land from there. Though, Amaterasu believes this right to be hers. After diplomatic attempts to persuade the descendants of Susanowo to pass the control of the land to her fail, Amaterasu resorts to more drastic measures. Takemikazuchi, a warrior is chosen to approach Ōkuninushi-no-Mikoto, the son of Susanowo and Kushinada, who took charge of the family’s affairs after his father’s death. Takemikazuchi should give him an ultimatum to bow to Amaterasu’s authority. The warrior physical strength and braveness is renowned as single handed, he was able to tame Ōnamazu (Giant Catfish), the behemoth creature who caused massive earthquakes in the land. He was also reputed for his loyalty to the Sun Goddess. Takemikazuchi and Takeminakata, the second son of Ōkuninushi fight at the Inasa no Hama Beach. Unfortunately for Takeminakata, his opponent is a much stronger and a better fighter. Upon his defeat, Ōkuninushi and his family agree to give the sway of the country to Amaterasu and swear allegiance to her.
Today, sumō is a form of heavyweight wrestling, in which a wrestler wins a bout by forcing his opponent outside a marked circle or by making him touch the ground with any part of his body except the soles of his feet. Each of the ring-entering ceremonies is a Shintō purification ritual (the reason why lots of salt, the purification agent is used), and every newly promoted yokozuna (the highest rank in sumō) performs his first ring-entering ceremony at the Meiji Shrine in Tōkyō. The canopy that hangs over the ring is modelled after the roof of a Shintō shrine, indicating that the ring itself is a holy place.
Izumo Taisha - the Great Shrine of Izumo
Izumo Taisha, the Great Shrine of Izumo, is situated at the foot of the sacred Yakumo and Kamiyama hills. It is the oldest Shintō shrine of Japan and hosts, at least, fifteen major festivals each year. Its beautiful complex of buildings nestled in a virgin forest is always bustling with pilgrims. Every year, from the 10th to the 17th day of the 10th lunar month (falls usually in November), the eighty myriads Kamis from across the country gather at Izumo Taisha for a meeting. Hence, the 10th lunar month is known as Kamiarizuki (the month when the Kami are present) in Izumo and Kannazuki (the month without Kami) everywhere else in Japan.
When Ōkuninushi was young, he was known as Ōnamuji-no-Mikoto (His Augustness the Great Name Possessor). His name was changed to the ‘The Master of the Great Land’ after he consolidated Japan. As a reward for his allegiance, Amaterasu grants him the shrine of Izumo Taisha as his permanent dwelling, where he retreats to govern the unseen world (yūkai). He is today worshipped as the god of en-musubi, the creator of connections (en) that people make with others throughout their lives, from family and loved ones to friendships and acquaintances.
Begotten by Kamimusuhi-no-Mioya-no-Kami (the Goddess of Birth), one of zōka sanshin (the three Kami of Creation), the miniscule Deity Sukuna-Hikona-no-Mikoto was skilled in the arts of healing sickness and averting calamities from men and animals. His not so impressive size was compensated by the huge amount of wisdom he carried inside his head and by his enormous disposition to help people with their health matters. He had heard from a distant village the altruistic work Ōkuninushi and his family were engaged in Suga and thought of joining their enterprise with his unique skillset. The first practice of the therapy called Shiatsu (finger pressure) in Japan is attributed to Sukuna-Hikona. Shiatsu originated in Japan from traditional Chinese medicine and uses touch, comfortable pressure and manipulative techniques to adjust the body’s physical structure and to balance its energy flow. Though, it has never been recognised as a branch of the medicine, patients reported Shiatsu therapies to help them to cope better with their cancer and its treatments. After providing great assistance to Ōkuninushi, Sukuna-Hikona climbed up a millet stalk and sprang off Cape Kumano, passing to Tokoyo-no-Kuni (Eternal Land). He is worshiped in Sukuna-Hirona Shrine located in Ōsaka City, Dosho-Machi, known today as the town of medicine.