Kuyebiko was the Shinto scarecrow god. Originally he functioned as the protector of the rice fields, a task assigned him by his father Inari the rice god.
He was considered to be incarnate in all scarecrows and eventually came to be considered as a divinitory deity who knew everything that transpired under the heavens.
The leap from being the god of scarecrows to divinitory deity came about because of the never- closing eyes of scarecrows. Continue reading
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FUNADAMA – Shinto goddess of ships and boats. Like Toyota she was a daughter of the sea god Watatsumi. (Remember, I mostly go by the Kojiki and the Nihongi, the earliest written accounts of Shinto myths. Those two books refer to the humanoid Watatsumi as the god of the sea. Ryujin the dragon god of the sea came from later traditions. )
Sailors, fishermen and all travelers by sea, river or lake would pray to her Funadama for protection and there is still a Continue reading
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IZANAGI AND IZANAMI – These two parents of most of the rest of the deities in Shinto myths always need to be mentioned in one entry. Before life on Earth existed the two of them stood on Ukihashi, the floating bridge between Earth and Takamagahara, the High Plain of Heaven where the gods lived. From there they stirred the primordial juices here on Earth with a jeweled spear and created the Japanese islands and a shrine still stands on Onokoro, the tiny island that legend held was the first landmass created by the duo.
Their first coupling spawned either one slug-like creature or all of the demons and monsters in Shinto mythology (accounts vary). Beginning with their second mating the woman, Izanami, began giving birth to Continue reading
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KONOHANA – Also called Sengen-Sama, Konohana was the goddess of flowers and cherry blossoms and
is the wife of the god Ninigi.That god had come to Earth from Takamagahara, the High Heavenly Plain, at the command of his grandmother, the sun goddess Amaterasu.
Konohana’s father, the mountain god Ohoyama, offered Ninigi a choice between Konohana and his other daughter, Ihanaga, the goddess of stone which endures for ages.
If Ninigi had Continue reading
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SARUTAHIKO – The god who guards the floating bridge between the Earth and the heavenly realm of the gods, Takamagahara (“High Plain of Heaven”). He is depicted as a giant wielding the jeweled spear that once belonged to his father Izanagi and which Izanagi used to stir the primordial broth on Earth as he and his wife Izanami were preparing to begin creation.
Sarutahiko is considered the god of pathways and crossroads, both real and symbolic. He took his sentry duties so seriously that he once even tried to bar the way of the god Ninigi and his retinue when he was Continue reading
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KAGATSUCHI – The Shinto god of fire, also called Omasubi (“starter of fire”). He was the last-born child of the Continue reading
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TSUKUYOMI – Also spelled Tsukiyomi. The moon god and ruler of the night. In the Nihongi he is the son of both Izanami and Izanagi. In the Kojiki he is said to have been born from Izanagi’s right eye and in a third tradition supposedly sprang from a mirror in Izanagi’s right hand.
A prominent myth about him says that once he was being entertained by Ukemochi the goddess of Continue reading
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UZUME – This daughter of the gods Izanagi and Izanami was the goddess of dancing, a skill that served her in good stead in two major Shinto myths. When the sun goddess Amaterasu had hidden herself away in a cave, Uzume danced naked as part of the plot concocted by the god of wisdom Omoigane to lure Amaterasu back out into the world.
In the other major myth Uzume is part of the retinue of the god Ninigi when Amaterasu sends him down to rule over ancient Japan. Their descent was blocked by Sarutahiko, the god who guards Ukihashi, the floating bridge between Continue reading
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INARI – The Shinto rice god. His wife was the goddess Ukemochi and when she was slain by the moon god he married Mitama, the goddess of agriculture. His son was the scarecrow and divination deity Kuyebiko. There are even versions of Shinto myths in which Saki is said to be Inari’s daughter and the goddess of the intoxicating drink Saki like Dionysus is the god of wine in Greek myths.
Inari often roamed the rice fields of Earth, sometimes in the form of a fox, his familiar animal. This connection between the rice god and foxes came from the way foxes often Continue reading
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SUSANOWO – The Shinto storm god. He is appropriately depicted as an impetuous, ill-tempered god and was often at odds with his sister the sun goddess, Amaterasu. In the Nihongi he is the son of both Izanagi and Izanami but in the Kojiki he is born from Izanagi’s nose as a sneeze.
At one point he was seriously over-stepping his authority in a fit of anger. In some versions he was angry over his sister Amaterasu being the Chief Deity in the Shinto pantheon instead of him, in others he was angry because his mother the goddess Izanami could never return from Yomi, where she was now fated to rule over the dead forever. At any rate he was Continue reading
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