Okuninushi- Japanese GodDeity"Great Land Master"

The White Rabbit

Ōkuninushi had eighty brothers, all of whom sought to marry the princess Yakami-hime of Inaba. On their journey to court her, the brothers forced Ōkuninushi to carry their bags as a servant, trailing far behind.

Along the way, the brothers encountered a rabbit on Cape Keta who had been stripped of its fur. The creature had tried to cross from the island of Oki to the mainland by tricking a line of wani into forming a bridge, hopping across their backs while counting them. The last wani realized the deception, seized the rabbit, and tore off its skin. The brothers told the suffering animal to wash in seawater and dry itself in the wind. The salt cracked and blistered its raw flesh.

Ōkuninushi arrived last and found the rabbit writhing in agony. He told it to wash in fresh water and roll on ground spread with cattail pollen. The rabbit recovered and prophesied that Ōkuninushi, not his brothers, would win Yakami-hime. The princess chose the kind youngest brother over all his rivals.

Death and the Root Country

The brothers killed him twice. First they heated a boulder until it glowed red-hot, disguised it as a wild boar, and rolled it down a hillside. Ōkuninushi caught it and burned to death. His mother appealed to the heavenly gods, and the shellfish goddesses Kisagai-hime and Umugai-hime scraped his body together and applied healing shell-salve until he stood restored. Then his brothers wedged him into a split tree that crushed him. Again the goddesses brought him back.

Fleeing, Ōkuninushi descended to Ne no Kuni, the Root Country, seeking refuge with Susanoo. There he met Susanoo's daughter Suseri-hime, and they fell in love at first sight. Susanoo subjected him to deadly tests: a room full of snakes, then a room of centipedes and wasps, then a grass fire in a vast meadow where Susanoo sent him to retrieve a humming arrow. Suseri-hime helped each time: magical scarves that repelled the creatures, and a mouse that showed him a hollow to shelter from the flames.

The Flight from Susanoo

Susanoo ordered Ōkuninushi to pick the lice from his hair. The lice were centipedes. Suseri-hime gave her lover red clay and nuts to chew, so that when he spat them out, it appeared he was crushing and eating the creatures. Susanoo fell asleep.

Ōkuninushi tied Susanoo's hair to the palace rafters, blocked the doorway with a boulder, took Suseri-hime on his back, and fled with Susanoo's divine bow, sword, and koto. Susanoo pursued them but stopped at the boundary between worlds. From there he called out not curses but instructions: use the weapons to defeat the brothers and become ruler of the land. He acknowledged Ōkuninushi as his heir to earthly power.

Sukuna-bikona

With his brothers defeated, Ōkuninushi set about developing the land. A tiny god named Sukuna-bikona arrived on the crest of a wave, riding in a boat made from a bean pod and wearing garments of goose skin. Despite his size, his knowledge of medicine and agriculture was vast. The pair traveled together through the provinces, naming plants and their medicinal uses, teaching techniques for warding off disease.

When Sukuna-bikona departed to the eternal land beyond the sea, Ōkuninushi continued alone. A light appeared on the ocean, and a spirit offered to help if Ōkuninushi would enshrine it on Mount Mimoro. He did, and the ordering of the land was completed.

The Shore at Inasa

Amaterasu decided the earthly realm should be ruled by her descendants. She sent messengers to Ōkuninushi demanding he surrender sovereignty. The first envoy, Ame-no-Hohi, was so charmed by Ōkuninushi that he served him for three years without returning. A second envoy, Ame-no-Wakahiko, defected and married Ōkuninushi's daughter.

The third envoy was Takemikazuchi, the thunder god. He drove his sword into the beach at Inasa and sat on its tip. Ōkuninushi's son Takeminakata challenged him to a contest of strength and was defeated, fleeing to Suwa in Shinano.

Ōkuninushi agreed to transfer the visible realm to Amaterasu's line. In exchange, he would rule the invisible world: spirits, luck, fate, and the bonds between people. The heavenly gods built him a great palace, the prototype of Izumo Grand Shrine, where he would dwell forever.