Okuninushi's Transfer of the Land and Izumo Taisha: From the Sword on Inasa Beach to the God of Unseen Bonds
On Inasa Beach in Izumo, where the waves of the Sea of Japan crash ashore, a huge divine sword is planted blade-up in the sand at dusk. On its tip sits Takemikazuchi, the thunder god sent down from the High Plain of Heaven. Before him stands Okuninushi, the deity who opened the land of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni and taught farming and medicine. This is the myth of the transfer of the land (kuniyuzuri) told in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki.
It is more than a record of victory and defeat. Why did the god who built the land give it up without a war? And what prayers lie behind the great shrine he asked for in return, the origin of Izumo Taisha?
Ancient Izumo and the Making of the Land
Ancient Izumo was a hub of Sea of Japan trade. The bronze swords and bells excavated at the Kojindani site and the bronze hoard at Kamo-Iwakura suggest a significant cultural sphere centered on Izumo. Many scholars think the myth of Okuninushi building the land reflects memories of that region.
Okuninushi’s life is a chain of trials: he saves the white hare of Inaba, survives the murderous jealousy of his brothers, and passes the tests of Susanoo in the underworld. With Sukunabikona he is said to have traveled the land, spreading rice farming and the arts of healing. His many names, including Onamuji, Omononushi and Yachihoko, reflect the many roles he came to hold.
The Pledge: The Visible World and the Unseen World
Amaterasu declares that the earth should be ruled by her descendant and sends envoys. The last and strongest is Takemikazuchi, who plants his sword on the beach and demands an answer. Okuninushi leaves the reply to his two sons. Kotoshironushi yields at once. Takeminakata challenges the thunder god to a contest of strength, loses, and flees to Lake Suwa in Shinano, promising never to leave it. This contest is sometimes said to be the origin of sumo.
Okuninushi then agrees to hand over the land, with one condition: that a shrine be built for him on a great stone foundation with thick pillars, rising high enough to pierce the clouds. In return he will retire to the unseen world and watch over the people. This is the origin of Izumo Taisha. The heavenly descendants govern the visible world, and Okuninushi governs the unseen world of spirits and of the bonds that join people.
A Sky-High Shrine and the Uzu Pillars
A Heian-period textbook, the Kuchizusami, ranks the great buildings of the age as “Kumo-ta, Wa-ni, Kyo-san”: Izumo first, Todai-ji’s Great Buddha Hall second, the Heian palace hall third. The ancient shrine is said to have stood about 48 meters tall. It was long thought to be myth, but in 2000 the remains of a huge pillar, three cedar trunks bound into one about three meters across, were excavated on the shrine grounds, supporting the tradition of a towering building.
Each year in the old tenth month, the gods of Japan are said to gather at Izumo. The month is called Kannazuki elsewhere but Kamiarizuki, the month with gods, in Izumo, and the gods are said to meet to discuss people’s bonds and the next year’s harvest. A story of order made through dialogue and a division of roles, rather than conquest, carries the spirit of harmony through to today.
Enjoy Japanese Culture with Mori no Akari
The Mori no Akari Series offers a Buddhist deities coloring set with color samples as a download edition. The product name in the store appears in Japanese.
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References
- Kojiki, ed. Kurano Kenji, Iwanami Bunko
- Nihon Shoki, eds. Sakamoto Taro et al., Iwanami Bunko
- Izumo Taisha Shamusho, ed., Izumo Taisha-shi, 1980
- Miura Sukeyuki, Izumo Shinwa-ron, Kodansha Gakujutsu Bunko, 2019