à Âkuninushi (; historical orthography: , ), also known as à Â(a)namuchi (Oho(a)namuchi) or à Â(a)namochi (Oho(a)namochi) among other variants, is a kami (divine figure) in Japanese mythology. He is one of the central deities in the myth cycle recorded in the () and the (720) alongside the sun goddess Amaterasu and her brother, the wild god Susanoo, who is reckoned to be either à Âkuninushi's distant ancestor or father. In these texts, he is portrayed as the head of the kunitsukami (gods of the earth) and the original ruler of the lush terrestrial world, .
In an event called the kuni-yuzuri, the amatsukami (heavenly deities), led by Amaterasu, demanded that à Âkuninushi relinquish his rule over the land. He agreed to their terms and withdrew into the , which was given to him to rule over in exchange.
The next event was the Tenson KÃ Ârin: Amaterasu's grandson Ninigi descended from heaven to govern Ashihara no Nakatsukuni and became the ancestor of the Imperial House of Japan.
à Âkuninushi is closely associated with the Izumo Province (now Shimane Prefecture) in western Japan; indeed, the myth of his surrender to the amatsukami may reflect the subjugation and absorption of this area by the Yamato Kingship based in what is now Nara Prefecture. Aside from the and the Shoki, the imperially-commissioned gazetteer report () of this province, dating from the early 7th century, contain many myths concerning à Âkuninushi (there named 'à Âanamochi') and related deities. Myths which feature à Âkuninushi or deities equated with him are also found in the of other provinces, such as those of Harima (now southwestern Hyà Âgo Prefecture). He is also known for his romantic escapades with several goddesses, which resulted in many divine offspring, including the gods Kotoshironushi and Takeminakata.
He is enshrined in many shrines throughout Japan, with the Izumo-taisha in Shimane being the most famous and preeminent. The sectarian group Izumo-taishakyo, based at this shrine, considers à Âkuninushi its central deity and main focus of worship. He was also syncretized with the Buddhist deity Daikokuten in the shinbutsu-shà «gà  system prevalent before the Meiji era.
à Âkuninushi is referred to by the following names in the :
In the , the god is mainly referred to as à Â(a)namuchi-no-Kami (; hist. orthography: ; OJ: Opo(a)namuti) or à Â(a)namuti-no-Mikoto (). One variant cited in the text lists the same alternate names for à Âkuninushi as those found in the , most of which are written using different characters.
The name à Â(a)namuchi or à Â(a)namochi is also used in other texts. The of Izumo Province, for instance, refers to the god both as à Âanamochi-no-Mikoto (大穴æÂÂå½) and as Ame-no-Shita-Tsukurashishi-à Âkami (æÂÂé 天ä¸Â大ç¥Â, "Great Deity, Maker of All Under Heaven"). The of Harima Province meanwhile uses à Ânamuchi-no-Mikoto (大æ±Âå½); a god found in this text known as Iwa-no-à Âkami (ä¼ÂÃ¥ÂÂ大ç¥Â, "Great Deity of Iwa") is also identified with à Âkuninushi.
As the first two characters of 'à Âkuninushi', 大å½, can also be read as 'Daikoku', the god was conflated with the Buddhist divinity Daikokuten (MahÃÂkÃÂla) and came to be popularly referred to as Daikoku-sama (大é»Âæ§Â, ã ãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂãÂÂã¾).
In the , à Ânamuji / à Âkuninushi is the son of the god Ame-no-Fuyukinu (天ä¹Âå¬衣ç¥Â) and his wife, (åºå½èÂ¥æ¯Â売). The text thus portrays him as a sixth-generation descendant of the god Susanoo.
The <nowiki/>'s main narrative meanwhile depicts him as the offspring of Susanoo and Kushinadahime, although a variant cited in the same text describes à Ânamuchi as Susanoo's descendant in the sixth generation (in agreement with the ).
à Âkuninushi (as à Ânamuji) first appears in the in the famous tale of The White Hare of Inaba. à Ânamuji's elder brothers, collectively known as the yasokami (å «åÂÂ祠'eighty deities', 'eighty' probably being an expression meaning 'many'), were all suitors seeking the hand of Yagamihime (å «ä¸Âæ¯Â売) 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 (æ°Âå¤Âå Keta no saki, identified with Hakuto Coast in Tottori Prefecture). à Ânamuji'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.
à Ânamuji, 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 (Ã¥ÂÂéÂÂ, the term may mean either 'shark' or 'crocodile') 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. à Ânamuji 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 à Ânamuji will be the one to win the princess.
à Ânamuji's brothers, furious at having been rejected by Yagamihime, then conspired to slay him. They first bring à Ânamuji to the foot of Mount Tema in the land of Hà Âki and compelled him, on pain of death, to catch a red boar (in reality a boulder heated red-hot and rolled down the mountain by them). à Ânamuji was burned to death upon grabbing the rock, but his mother, , went up to heaven and petitioned the primordial deity Kamimusubi for aid. Kamimusubi dispatched two clam goddesses, Kisagaihime (ð§ÂÂè²Âæ¯Â売) and Umugihime (è¤è²Âæ¯Â売), who then restored à Ânamuji to life as a handsome young man.
The brothers next tricked à Ânamuji 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 à Âyabiko-no-Kami (大å±Âæ¯Âå¤ç¥Â) in the land of Ki. à Ânamuji's brothers caught up with him as he was escaping, but he eluded their grasp by slipping through a fork of a tree.
à Ânamuji was told to seek out Susanoo, who dwelt in the underworld of Ne-no-kuni to obtain wise counsel. There he met Susanoo's daughter, , with whom he shortly fell in love. Upon learning of their affair, Susanoo imposed four trials on à Ânamuji:
After Susanoo was lulled to sleep, à Âkuninushi 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, bringing down his palace around him. Susanoo then pursued them as far as Yomotsu Hirasaka, the slopes at the border of the underworld. As the two were fleeing, Susanoo grudgingly gave his blessing to à Ânamuji, renaming him and .
Using Susanoo's weapons, Ã Âkuninushi defeats his wicked brothers and becomes the undisputed ruler of the terrestrial realm, Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, the 'Central Land of Reed Plains'.
à Âkuninushi 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 (who had become à Âkuninushi's chief wife), eventually went back to Inaba, leaving her newborn child wedged in the fork of a tree. The child was thus named 'Ki(no)mata-no-Kami' (æ¨俣ç¥Â, from ki (no) mata "tree fork").
à Âkuninushi â in this section of the narrative given the name Yachihoko-no-Kami (å «åÂÂçÂÂç¥Â, "Deity of Eight Thousand Spears") â then wooed a third woman, Nunakawahime (沼河æ¯Â売) of the land of Koshi, singing the following poem:
Nunakawahime answers him with another song, which goes in part:
Upon learning of her husband's dalliance with Nunakawahime, Suseribime became extremely jealous. Feeling harassed, à Âkuninushi prepares to leave Izumo for Yamato. Suseribime then offers à Âkuninushi a cup filled with sake, begging him (also via song) to stay with her. à Âkuninushi and Suseribime were thus reconciled.
In addition to these three goddesses, à Âkuninushi also took three other wives and had children by them: Takiribime-no-Mikoto (å¤Âç´ÂçÂÂæ¯Â売å½), one of three goddesses born when Susanoo and Amaterasu held a ritual pact (ukehi) to prove Susanoo's innocence long ago, Kamuyatatehime-no-Mikoto (ç¥Âå±Â楯æ¯Â売å½), and Torimimi-no-Kami (é³¥è³ç¥Â), also known as Totori-no-Kami (é³¥åÂÂç¥Â).
When à Âkuninushi 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. à Âkuninushi asked the stranger his name, but he would not reply. A toad then told à Âkuninushi to ask Kuebiko (习延æ¯Âå¤), a god in the form of a scarecrow who "knows all things under the heavens." Kuebiko identifies the dwarf as Sukunabikona-no-Kami (å°ÂÃ¥ÂÂæ¯Âå¤é£ç¥Â), a son of Kamimusubi. At Kamimusubi's command, à Âkuninushi formed and developed the lands with Sukunabikona at his side. Eventually, however, Sukunabikona crossed over to the "eternal land" (常ä¸Âå½, tokoyo no kuni) beyond the seas, leaving à Âkuninushi without a partner. As à Âkuninushi lamented the loss of his companion, another god appears, promising to aid à Âkuninushi in his task if he will worship him. à Âkuninushi then enshrined the deity â identified in a later narrative as à Âmononushi-no-Kami (大ç©主ç¥Â) â in Mount Mimoro in Yamato in accordance with the latter's wish.
After a time, the gods of Takamagahara, the 'High Plain of Heaven', declare that à Âkuninushi's realm, Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, must be turned over to their rule. Amaterasu decrees that Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto (天å¿Âç©Âè³å½), 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 (天è©æ¯Âå½) was then sent, but ended up currying favor with à Âkuninushi and did not report for three years. The third messenger, Ame-no-Wakahiko (天èÂ¥æÂ¥åÂÂ), ended up marrying (ä¸Âç §æ¯Â売), à Âkuninushi'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, 's brother and Ame-no-Wakahiko's close friend Ajisukitakahikone () is furious at being mistaken for the dead god (whom he resembled in appearance) and destroys the mourning house where the funeral was held.
The heavenly deities then dispatch the warrior god Takemikazuchi-no-Kami (建御éÂ፴Â), who descends on the shores of Inasa (ä¼Âé£ä½Âä¹Âå°Âæµ Inasa no ohama) in Izumo. à Âkuninushi tells Takemikazuchi to confer with his son Kotoshironushi-no-Kami (äºÂ代主ç¥Â), 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 à Âkuninushi has any other sons who ought to be consulted, another son, Takeminakata-no-Kami (建御åÂÂæ¹ç¥Â), 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, à Âkuninushi relinquishes his control of the land. Making a final request that a magnificent palace â rooted in the earth and reaching up to heaven â be built in his honor, he withdrew himself into the "less-than-one-hundred eighty-road-bendings" (ç¾ä¸Â足堫åÂÂå°æ momotarazu yasokumade, i.e. the unseen world of the spirit) and disappeared from the physical realm.
à Âkuninushi indirectly appears in a narrative set during the reign of Emperor Suinin.
Prince Homuchiwake (æÂÂæºåÂÂæ°Âå½), Suinin's son with his first chief wife Sahohime (çÂÂç©Â姫å½, also Sawajihime), was born mute, unable to speak "[even when his] beard eight hands long extended down over his chest" until he heard the cry of a swan (or a crane), at which he babbled his first words. A servant named Yamanobe no à Âtaka (山辺大é¶Â) was dispatched to seize the bird, which he pursued across long distances until he finally caught it in the river-mouth of Wanami (Ã¥ÂÂé£ç¾Âä¹Âæ°´é Wanami no minato) 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 (futomani), which revealed Homuchiwake's condition to have been due to a curse (tatari) laid by the "great deity of Izumo" (åºé²大祠Izumo-no-à Âkami, i.e. à Âkuninushi). 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 (known today as the Hii 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.