Susanoo-no-Mikoto

Susanoo-no-Mikoto
Susanoo-no-Mikoto
God of the sea, storms, and fields.
	Susanoo slaying Yamata no Orochi, woodblock print by Utagawa Kuniyoshi
Other names	Takehaya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto (建速須佐之男命); Haya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto (速須佐之男命, 速素戔嗚尊); Take-Susanoo-no-Mikoto (武素戔嗚尊); Kamu-Susanoo-no-Mikoto (神素戔嗚尊, 神須佐能袁命); Kushimikenu-no-Mikoto (櫛御気野命); Mutō-no-Kami (武塔神); Gozu Tennō (牛頭天王);
Japanese	須佐之男命, 素戔嗚尊, 素盞嗚尊, 須佐乃袁尊, 須佐能乎命
Major cult center	Susa Shrine; Yaegaki Shrine; Suga Shrine; Kumano Taisha; Susanoo Shrine [ja]; Hikawa Shrine; Yasaka Shrine; Hiromine Shrine; Tsushima Shrine;
Texts	Kojiki; Nihon Shoki; Izumo Fudoki; Sendai Kuji Hongi;
Genealogy
Parents	Izanagi (Kojiki); Izanagi and Izanami (Nihon Shoki);
Siblings	Amaterasu; Tsukuyomi; (and others);
Consort	Kushinadahime; Kamuōichihime; Samirahime;
Children	Munakata goddesses; Ōtoshi; Ukanomitama; (and others);

Susanoo (スサノオ; historical orthography: スサノヲ, 'Susanowo'), often referred to by the honorific title Susanoo-no-Mikoto, is a kami in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory characteristics (both good and bad), being portrayed in various stories either as a wild, impetuous god associated with the sea and storms, as a heroic figure who killed a monstrous serpent, or as a local deity linked with the harvest and agriculture. Syncretic beliefs of the Gion cult that arose after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan also saw Susanoo becoming conflated with deities of pestilence and disease.

Susanoo, alongside Amaterasu and the earthly kami Ōkuninushi (also Ōnamuchi) – depicted as either Susanoo's son or scion depending on the source – is one of the central deities of the imperial Japanese mythological cycle recorded in the Kojiki (c. 712 CE) and the Nihon Shoki (720 CE). One of the gazetteer reports (Fudoki) commissioned by the imperial court during the same period these texts were written, that of Izumo Province (modern Shimane Prefecture) in western Japan, also contains a number of short legends concerning Susanoo or his children, suggesting a connection between the god and this region.

In addition, a few other myths also hint at a connection between Susanoo and the Korean Peninsula.^[1]

^ Weiss, David (2022). The God Susanoo and Korea in Japan's Cultural Memory: Ancient Myths and Modern Empire. London, United Kingdom. ISBN 978-1-350-27118-0. OCLC 1249629533.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[1] Weiss, David (2022). The God Susanoo and Korea in Japan's Cultural Memory: Ancient Myths and Modern Empire. London, United Kingdom. ISBN 978-1-350-27118-0. OCLC 1249629533.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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