Kagutsuchi’s Family Tree

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Family

• Izanagi(parent),Izanami(parent),Amaterasu(sibling),Awashima(sibling),Ebisu(sibling),Kukunochi(sibling),Ogetsu-hime(sibling),Oyamatsumi(sibling),Shinatsuhiko(sibling),Susanoo(sibling),Tsukuyomi(sibling)— Marriage · Miraculous

  Izanagi and Izanami, the divine couple who shaped the islands of Japan, brought forth a host of kami — Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo among the greatest, alongside Kagutsuchi whose birth killed Izanami, the mountain lord Ōyamatsumi, Shinatsuhiko, Kukunochi, Ōgetsu-hime, Ebisu, and Awashima.

  ⚠ The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki disagree on whether Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo were born to both Izanagi and Izanami or emerged from Izanagi's purification alone.

• Ha-yama-tsu-mi(child),Hara-yama-tsu-mi(child),Kura-yama-tsu-mi(child),Masaka-yama-tsu-mi(child),Odo-yama-tsu-mi(child),Oku-yama-tsu-mi(child),Shigi-yama-tsu-mi(child),To-yama-tsu-mi(child)— Miraculous

  When Izanagi cut Kagutsuchi's body into eight pieces, each fragment became a mountain deity — Masaka-yama-tsu-mi from the head, Odo-yama-tsu-mi from the chest, Oku-yama-tsu-mi from the belly, Kura-yama-tsu-mi from the left hand, Shigi-yama-tsu-mi from the right hand, Ha-yama-tsu-mi from the left foot, Hara-yama-tsu-mi from the right foot, and To-yama-tsu-mi from the genitals.

• Hihayahi(child),Mikahayahi(child),Takemikazuchi(child)— Miraculous

  Mikahayahi, Hihayahi, and Takemikazuchi were born from the blood of Kagutsuchi that collected at the guard of Izanagi's sword when he slew the fire god (Kojiki).

• Iwasaku(child),Iwatsutsuno-o(child),Nesaku(child)— Miraculous

  Iwasaku, Nesaku, and Iwatsutsuno-o were born from the blood of Kagutsuchi that dripped from Izanagi's sword when he slew the fire god, each emerging as a rock- or root-splitting deity in the Kojiki's account.

• Haniyasuhime(spouse),Wakumusubi(child)— Consort

  In the Nihon Shoki, Kagutsuchi and Haniyasuhime (earth goddess) unite and produce Wakumusubi, a food deity from whose body silkworms and the five grains emerge.

• Kuramitsuha(child),Kuraokami(child)— Miraculous

  When Izanagi struck down Kagutsuchi, the fire god's blood ran down the sword-hilt and pooled on the rocks below — from that blood sprang Kuraokami, dragon of rain, and Kuramitsuha, spirit of mountain streams.

Slain by

• Izanagi

  Izanagi slew his son Kagutsuchi with the sword Totsuka-no-Tsurugi in grief and rage after the fire god's birth killed Izanami.

Slew

• Izanami

  Kagutsuchi's fiery birth burned Izanami from within, causing the first death among the kami. This event in the Kojiki marks the origin of mortality in Japanese mythology.

Associated with

• Izanagi,Totsuka-no-Tsurugi

  Izanagi drew the ten-span blade Totsuka-no-Tsurugi and slew his own son Kagutsuchi in grief and fury after the fire god's birth killed Izanami. From the blood streaming down the sword and from Kagutsuchi's sundered body, new deities were born.

• Ashihara no Nakatsukuni

  Kagutsuchi's dismembered body became the volcanic mountains of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, shaping the landscape of the middle realm from the slain fire god's flesh and bone.