à Âmononushi (; historical orthography: Ohomononushi) is a kami in Japanese mythology associated with Mount Miwa (also known as Mount Mimoro) in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture. He is closely linked in the imperial myth cycle recorded in the Kojiki (ca. 712 CE) and the Nihon Shoki (720 CE) with the earthly kami à Âkuninushi (à Ânamuchi); indeed, the latter text treats 'à Âmononushi' as another name for or an aspect - more precisely, the spirit or mitama - of à Ânamuchi.
à Âmononushi's chief place of worship is à Âmiwa Shrine located at the foot of Mount Miwa, which serves as the shrine's object of worship (shintai); he is thus also known as Miwa-no-à Âkami (, 'Great Deity of Miwa') or Miwa (Dai)myà Âjin (). In addition, he is also enshrined in some other shrines such as in Ibaraki Prefecture. The deity of Kotohira Shrine (Kotohira-gà «) in Kotohira, Kagawa Prefecture, popularly known as Konpira Daigongen (), is also currently identified with à Âmononushi.
The name 'à Âmononushi' (; historical orthography: ãÂÂãÂȋÂÂã®ã‹ÂÂ, Ohomononushi; Old Japanese: Opomo<sub>2</sub>no<sub>2</sub>nusi) is translated either as 'Great Thing Master' (after a literal translation of the characters used in his name) or 'Great Spirit Master' (with mono being taken as meaning 'spirit' or 'supernatural entity'). The deity is also given the name 'Yamato-no-à Âmononushi-Kushimikatama-no-Mikoto' (Ã¥ÂÂ大ç©主æ«Âð¤ÂÂçÂÂå½, lit. 'Great Master of Things / Spirits, the Wondrous Awe-Inspiring Spirit (tama) of Yamato') in the Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko no Kanüyogoto (åºé²å½é ç¥Âè³Âè©Â, 'Congratulatory Words of the Chieftain of Izumo'), a ritual declaration (norito) delivered by the governor or kuni no miyatsuko of Izumo Province at the imperial court upon his appointment.
A passage in the Fudoki of Harima Province (modern Hyà Âgo Prefecture) meanwhile refers to a deity worshiped at in the village of Shijimi in Minà  District (modern Miki City) known both as 'Yatokakesu- / Yatokakasu-Mimoro-no-Mikoto' (å «æ¸æ¡ÂæÂÂé Â御諸å½) and 'à Âmononushi-Ashihara-no-Shiko(o)' (大ç©主è¦åÂÂå¿Â許(ä¹Â); Ashihara-no-Shikoo 'Ugly Man / Young Warrior of the Reed Plains' is used in the Kojiki and the Shoki as another name for à Âkuninushi).
à Âmononushi first appears in the narrative of the god à Âkuninushi's pacification and development of the terrestrial world, Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni.
When à Âkuninushi (also known as à Ânamuchi), the descendant (so the Kojiki) or the son (Nihon Shoki) of the god Susanoo, took upon himself the monumental task of developing Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, a dwarf named Sukunabikona appeared from beyond the sea and became his partner. However, after a time Sukunabikona left à Âkuninushi and went to the 'eternal land' (常ä¸Âå½, tokoyo no kuni). As à Âkuninushi was lamenting Sukunabikona's departure, another god "illuminating the sea" appears before à Âkuninushi, promising to aid him in his task if he (à Âkuninushi) will worship him. à Âkuninushi, in accordance with the god's wish, then enshrined him in Mount Mimoro (Mount Miwa) in the land of Yamato. While this god is yet unidentified at this point in the Kojiki, the version of the myth found in the Nihon Shoki has this deity explicitly identify himself as à Ânamuchi's (the default name of à Âkuninushi in this text) kushimitama and sakimitama (, 'wondrous spirit' and 'lucky/auspicious spirit', respectively). Indeed, this same passage lists 'à Âmononushi' as one of the various names for à Ânamuchi.
A variant version of the myth of à Ânamuchi's cession of Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni to the gods of the heavenly realm Takamagahara found in the Shoki treats 'à Âmononushi' as a name for à Ânamuchi after he left the physical realm to govern the unseen world of the spirit. In this story, à Ânamuchi-as-à Âmononushi along with his son Kotoshironushi ascends to Takamagahara to swear fealty to the heavenly kami. As a reward, the primordial deity Takamimusubi gives à Âmononushi his daughter Mihotsuhime (ä¸Âç©Â津姫) to be his wife and then sends him back to earth with "the eighty myriads of deities" to become the guardians of the goddess Amaterasu's descendants, the Japanese imperial house.
In the Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko no Kanüyogoto, à Ânamochi (à Âkuninushi), after relinquishing his authority over the land, attaches his nigitama (Ã¥ÂÂéÂÂ, 'gentle spirit') in an 'eight-hand mirror' (å «å«é¡ yata no kagami), which he then enshrined in Miwa under the name 'Yamato-no-à Âmononushi-Kushimikatama-no-Mikoto' to serve as a patron of the imperial house along with his children, who he installed in various shrines in the Yamato area.
The Kojiki relates that when Kamuyamato-Iwarebiko (also known as Emperor Jimmu), the great-grandson of Ninigi (Amaterasu's grandson who came down from heaven to govern Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni after it was surrendered by à Âkuninushi), was searching for a wife, he was told about a woman named Seyadatarahime (å¢å¤ÂéÂÂå¤Âè¯æ¯Â売) who bore a daughter after she was impregnated by à Âmononushi, who took the form of a red arrow and struck her genitals while she was defecating in a ditch. Iwarebiko wooed this daughter, named Hototatara-Isusukihime (å¯Âç»å¤Âå¤Âè¯ä¼Âé Âé Âå²Âæ¯Â売) or Himetatara-Isukeyorihime (æ¯Â売å¤Âå¤Âè¯ä¼Âé Âæ°Âä½ÂçÂÂæ¯Â売; an altered form of the name which omits the taboo word hoto 'genitals'), and took her as his wife.
While the main narrative of the first volume of the Nihon Shoki first describes this daughter, there named Himetatara-Isuzuhime (åªÂè¹Âé´äºÂÃ¥ÂÂé´åªÂ), as the offspring of the god of à Âmiwa (i.e. à Âmononushi) in agreement with the Kojiki, it is then immediately followed by an alternative account which portrays her as the child of the god Kotoshironushi and the goddess Mizokuhihime (æºÂ樴姫) - also known as Tamakushihime (çÂÂæ«Â姫) - conceived after Kotoshironushi transformed himself into a gigantic wani and had intercourse with her. Likewise the main narrative in the third and fourth volumes refer to her as the daughter of Kotoshironushi rather than à Âmononushi.
Both the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki relate that a series of devastating plagues affected the country during the reign of Emperor Sujin. After performing divination to ascertain the will of the kami, the emperor then received a revelation from à Âmononushi via a dream (Kojiki) or an oracle delivered by Yamato-Totohimomosohime (Ã¥ÂÂ迹迹æÂ¥ç¾襲姫å½), the emperor's grandaunt (Shoki). In it, à Âmononushi claimed responsibility for the pestilence and announced that it would not stop until he was offered due worship by a man named (æÂÂå¯Âå¤Âå¤Âæ³¥å¤å½ / 大ç°ç°根åÂÂ), who is either his son (Shoki) or his great-great-grandson (Kojiki) through a woman named Ikutamayorihime (æ´»çÂÂä¾Âæ¯Â売 / æ´»çÂÂä¾ÂåªÂ). After was found and appointed to serve à Âmononushi at his shrine, the epidemic ceased. is reckoned to be the ancestor of the priestly clans of Kamo (é´¨å Kamo no Kimi) and Miwa (ç¥Âå / ä¸Â輪å Miwa no Kimi).
The Shoki adds that Sujin appointed another individual named Ikuhi (æ´»æÂÂ¥) as the brewer of sake presented as offerings to à Âmononushi. When worship of the deity was conducted at the shrine in Miwa, Ikuhi offered the emperor some of this sacred sake (') while singing the following song:
A feast was then held at the shrine, after which the emperor sang:
The Kojiki follows the account of 's appointment as à Âmononushi's priest with the story of à Âmononushi's affair with Ikutamayorihime.
The beautiful Ikutamayorihime was visited night after night by a handsome young stranger who got her with child. Anxious to discover the man's identity, Ikutamayorihime's parents advised her to sew a hemp thread to the hem of the man's garment. The following morning, the yarn was found passing through the keyhole of her chamber door, leading straight to Mount Miwa. Ikutamayorihime and her parents accordingly knew that her lover had been à Âmononushi, the god of the mountain. This legend explains the name 'Miwa' as deriving from the three (mi-) loops or twists (wa) of hemp thread that remained.
The Nihon Shoki records the following story about Yamato-Totohimomosohime, a daughter of Emperor KÃ Ârei and Emperor Sujin's grandaunt.
Yamato-Totohimomosohime became wed to à Âmononushi, but the god visited her only at night and was never seen in the daytime. When she requested to see his true form, he hid in her comb case, where she found him as a small snake. After her alarm caused the snake to flee in shame and anger to Mount Miwa, Yamato-Totohimomosohime in remorse stabs her genitals with a chopstick and dies.
This narrative serves as an origin myth for Hashihaka Kofun (hashi (no) haka means 'chopstick tomb') at the western foot of Mount Miwa, which is here claimed to be Yamato-Totohimomosohime's tomb. The tumulus, which the story claims to be made of stone from Mount à Âsaka (大åÂÂå±±, identified with Mount Nijà  on the border of Nara and Osaka, located 15.3 kilometers (9.5 miles) west of the tomb), is said to have been made by men in the daytime and by the gods at night; the stones used in its construction are said to have been transported from the mountain to the mound by workers standing in single file, who passed the stones from hand to hand.
An episode recorded in the Shoki concerning Emperor Yà «ryaku relates that the emperor, wishing to see the physical form of the god of Mount Miwa with his own eyes, commanded a retainer named Chiisakobe no Sugaru (å°ÂÃ¥ÂÂé¨è¾è Â) to fetch the deity. Sugaru went up the mountain and captured a large snake, which he presented to the emperor. However, as Yà «ryaku neglected to ritually purify himself beforehand, the serpent made thunderous noise (or summoned thunder) and its eyeballs flashed. The emperor fled for fear of the snake and ordered it to be returned to Mount Miwa. He then gave the mountain (or Sugaru) the name 'Ikazuchi' (é·), meaning "thunder."
A different variant of this story is found in the Nihon Ryà Âiki (ca. 822 CE). There, Sugaru is commanded to capture the thunder god after Sugaru accidentally walked into the palace while the emperor was making love with the empress. Sugaru then went out and summoned the god to appear before the emperor, at which lightning struck near the temple of Toyura-dera (modern Kà Âgen-ji in the village of Asuka in Nara Prefecture). Sugaru sent for priests to place this lightning (i.e. the thunder god) in a palanquin, which he then brought before the emperor. The emperor was frightened after the god gave off a brilliant flash of light and had it released at the hill where it fell, which became known as Ikazuchi-no-Oka (é·丠'Thunder Hill').
A late 13th century (Kamakura period) text, the Miwa Daimyà Âjin Engi (ä¸Â輪大æÂÂç¥Âç¸Âèµ·), features retellings of two of the above myths concerning à Âmononushi reinterpreted within a Buddhist framework.
à Âmononushi is the kami of rain.