Otoshi- Japanese GodDeity"Great Year Deity"
Also known as: 大年神, Ōtoshi, Ōtoshi-no-Kami, and Ōtoshigami
Description
At the turn of the year, the toshigami descends: a harvest deity welcomed into Japanese homes with pine decorations at the door and stacked rice cakes on the altar. Ōtoshi, son of Susanoo, is the divine source, the god whose name means both 'great year' and 'great harvest.'
Mythology & Lore
The Year and the Harvest
Ōtoshi is a son of Susanoo and the grain goddess Kamu-Ōichi-hime. His name carries the word "toshi," which in ancient Japanese meant both "year" and "harvest." The Kojiki records him as the father of a host of kami governing the practical necessities of settled life: gods of the hearth and the gate, the storehouse and the waterways. Through his children, the full working order of a farming household traces back to him.
The Toshigami's Arrival
Ōtoshi is the divine ancestor behind the toshigami, the year deity welcomed into Japanese homes during Shōgatsu. In folk tradition, the toshigami descends from the mountains at the turn of the year, bringing blessings for the coming harvest. Kadomatsu, paired arrangements of pine and bamboo, stand at doorways to guide the deity in. Shimenawa mark the threshold.
Inside, stacked rice cakes called kagami-mochi wait on the household altar as both offering and temporary dwelling for the god. When the kagami-mochi is broken and eaten during the kagami-biraki ceremony days later, the family eats what the god blessed. The deity who governs grain arrives at the year's turning, rests in rice, and leaves the household ready for the season ahead.