Notebook. Slides 35 & 36. Condensed Visual Classroom Guide to Daikokuten Iconography in Japan. Copyright Mark Schumacher, 2017.
Functional Affinities Between Ōkuninushi & Daikokuten (Links jump to Kakugakuin University's Encyclopedia of Shinto)
The conflation of Ōkuninushi 大国主神 with Daikokuten 大黒天 in Japan’s Edo era (1603-1867) was a late and artificial development, one engineered by Izumo Shrine
出雲大社 (Shimane Prefecture) to piggyback off Daikokuten’s widespread popularity and thereby raise funds for the impoverished shrine. Prior to the late 17th century,Ōkuninushi was mostly unknown among clerics and commoners. Why? Because his mythology appeared almost solely in Japan’s oldest text, the Kojiki 古事記 (Recordsof Ancient Matters; 712 CE) – and the Kojiki lingered in obscurity until its importance was “rediscovered” by Motoori Norinaga 本居宣長 (1730-1801). Ōkuninushi also
appeared in the Nihon Shoki 日本書紀 (Chronicles of Japan; 720 CE), but this latter work omitted nearly all of his mythology. In other words, Ōkuninushi (an Izumo deity)
was largely ignored until the mid-17th century, when the priests of Izumo Shrine began to aggressively conflate him with Daikokuten. Why Ōkuninushi? It is a relevant
question, for Izumo Shrine’s main deity in medieval times was Susano-o 須佐之男, not Ōkuninushi. In classical Japanese mythology, Ōkuninushi is one of Susano-o’s
descendants and the undisputed leader of the earthly deities. What caused Izumo’s clerics to conflate Ōkuninushi with Daikokuten? I cannot say with certainty. My
guess is that it sprang primarily from Ōkuninushi’s close familial ties with Ōmononushi 大物主命 (kami of Mt. Miwa). Ōmononushi had been invited to Mt. Hiei in the 7th
or 8th century. By the early 14th century, he had fused with Daikokuten (another important Mt. Hiei deity). See Slide 35. In similar fashion, Izumo's 17th-century
conflation strategy undoubtedly involved preexisting affinities between Daikokuten and Ōkuninushi, along with some inventive thinking by Izumo authorities. Various
affinities (incidental and major) are presented below. For a review of Izumo’s successful fusion (confusion) of Ōkuninushi and Daikokuten, see Yijang Zhong (2012).

1. INCIDENTAL. The 13th-C Japanese text Chiribukuro 塵袋 (p. 30 online) says Ōkuni 大国 and Daikoku 大黒 can BOTH be pronounced DAIKOKU. Says Iyanaga
Nobumi (email exchange, 2017): “This may represent a possible conflation of the two deities, but it was more likely simple wordplay, without much implication.”
2. INCIDENTAL. Early 14th-C. Japanese text Miwa Daimyōjin Engi 三輪大明神緣起 (p. 29 online) equates the Miwa deity (Ōmononushi) with Daikokuten. Ōmononushi is
one of Ōkuninushi’s many alternative names. It must be noted that medieval texts rarely used these names or other names found in Japan’s classical mythologies.
Instead of referring to Ōmononushi, for example, medieval documents most often referred to Miwa Daimyōjin 三輪大明神 or Sannō Gongen 山王権現. The supreme
sun goddess Amaterasu, moreover, was most often rendered in medieval texts as Tenshō Daijin 天照大神. Writes Iyanaga Nobumi (email exchange, 2017): “Today’s
standard usage of classical names was only established in the Meiji era (1868-1912), although the practice was already common in the Edo era (1603-1867).”
3. INCIDENTAL. Both are associated with snakes. Early images of Mahākāla/Daikokuten (M/D) are often adorned with snakes or with M/D standing atop a snake (seeSlide 7). Both the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki say the true form of Ōmononushi (aka Ōkuninushi) is a snake. See Kojiki, Book 2, Ch. 66, Philippi, p. 203-204.
4. INCIDENTAL. Both are landlord deities. Ōkuninushi is the original landlord of all Japan, whereas M/D was associated with India’s earth goddess (Pṛthivī 地天) in thewritings of central-Asian monk Huìlín 慧琳 (737-820). See T.54.2128.366b14-17. In the 11th-C. Japanese text Daikoku Tenjin Hō [T.21.1287.0355b13], Daikokuten is
portrayed as a manifestation of the earth deity Kenrō Jiten 堅牢地天. Asks Iyanaga Nobumi (email exchange, 2017): ”Was Kenrō Jiten conceived as male or female?
Unclear, but the Japanese compiler of this 11th-C. text (monk Jingai 神愷) likely considered the deity as male.” In the early 14th-C. Japanese text Keiran Shūyōshū
渓嵐拾葉集, Daikokuten unequivocally appeared to Saichō 最澄 (767–822; founder, Japan’s Tendai school) as an old man [T.76.2410.0634b06]. See Slides 35 & 36.
5. INCIDENTAL. Both are associated with the underworld. M/D is a chthonian deity. He was sometimes assimilated to Kālāratri (J = Kokuanten 黒暗天), the consort ofKing Yama (J = Enma 閻魔), the lord of the underworld, the world of the dead. Moreover, the flesh-eating female Ḍākinīs (Slide 33) are part of M/D’s retinue. In the
Womb World Mandala, the Ḍākinī demonesses are placed close to King Yama. On the other hand, Ōkuninushi retires to the land of shades (yūkai 幽界) -- theinvisible realm, the world of the unseen – after ceding the land to the heavenly deities. See Y. Zhong, pp. 26-27 for details on Ōkuninushi’s role in the unseen realm.
6. INCIDENTAL. Both have short-sized assistants. Śiva (aka M/D) is served by dwarf-like sprites known as Gaṇa (Slide 9), while Ōkuninushi is assisted in building(taming) the land by a midget deity known as Sukunahikona 少名毘古那 (aka Sukunabiko 少名彦), translated as “Little Name Lad.”
7. INCIDENTAL. Both are associated with theft. M/D is lord of those who steal one’s vital life essence or one’s physical wealth (Slide 10), while Ōkuninushi tames theland with the powerful tools he steals from Susano-o 須佐之男 (i.e., the sword of life, the bow-and-arrow of life, and the heavenly speaking cither).
8. MAJOR. Both carry a big sack. In the Kojiki, Ōkuninushi carries his brothers’ belongings in a sack during their journey to Inaba.
9. MAJOR. Both are associated with rats / mice. M/D’s messenger is a rat (Slides 38-39). In the Kojiki, a mouse saves Ōkuninushi’s life (Book 1, Page 35). For English
version, see Kojiki, Book 1, Ch. 23, Philippi, p. 98. The “major” affinities mentioned in items #8 and #9 were employed by Edo-era scholars to explain the conflation of
the two deities. See, for example, the Japanese text Kiyū Shōran 嬉遊笑覧 by Kitamuta Nobuyo 喜多村信節 (1783-1856).
10. To borrow from Faure, p. 267: “We never obtain a neat structure à la Lévi Strauss (1908-2009), but an entangled knot that leaves us confused and bewildered. The
networks of associations and permutations determine a field of potentialities, within which a precise and composite image becomes fixed.”

Notebook. Slides 35 & 36. Condensed Visual Classroom Guide to Daikokuten Iconography in Japan. Copyright Mark Schumacher, 2017.
aa

Miwa Daimyōjin Engi
Origins of the Great Bright Miwa Deity

Quotes from Anna Andreeva’s The Karmic Origins of the Great Bright Miwa Deity,
Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 65, No. 2, 2010, pp. 273-296aaWrites scholar Anna Andreeva (pp. 266-267) about the text
Miwa Daimyōjin Engi 三輪大明神緣起 (Origins of the Great
Bright Miwa Deity), dated 1318 CE:

p. 275. In “The Age of the Gods” section of the Nihon Shoki it says, “Ōnamuchi no Mikoto 大己貴命
spoke to Tenshō Kōtaijin 天照皇大神 [Amaterasu] and said, ‘Now, where do you wish to live?’ She
replied, ‘I wish to live on Mt. Miwa in the Land of Yamato 大和.’” We therefore know that the descent of
the Miwa Deity happened in the age of the gods.

a

The ninth chapter tells the story of the great patriarch ofJapanese Tendai, Saichō 最澄 (767–822), who is faced withthe dilemma of finding a powerful deity willing to become theprotector of Mt. Hiei. He first asks Katte 勝手 and Komori 子守,the deities of Yoshino, who refuse and advise him to ask thegreat kami of the north (i.e., to the north of Yoshino). Saichōthen goes to Mt. Miwa and is at last able to procure anagreement with a powerful kami to be installed on Mt. Hiei.
Saichō is thus credited with establishing strong and flourishingbonds between the deities of Miwa and the Tendai school.
Here, Miwa Daimyōjin Engi makes a powerful claim regarding
the supreme position of the kami of Miwa, whose status must
therefore match that of the deities installed in the two shrines
at Ise and of the protective deities of Mt. Hiei. The Engi
provides a crucial link between the sacred sites of Miwa andHiei by citing the “fact” that Miwa Myōjin manifested itself toSaichō as Daikoku Tenjin 大黒天神 (aka Daikokuten) while
holding a branch of the ayasugi 綾杉 tree. More importantly,
Daikoku Tenjin was one of the deities revered by the Tendai
school, as well as by the Saidai-ji lineage. The remainder ofthe ninth chapter is dedicated to questions and answers
regarding the identity of Daikoku Tenjin, its relation to Miwa
Myōjin, and its efficacy in protecting the state and the emperor
just as well as Amaterasu. One striking feature of thiscomplicated chapter is a reference to a myth of Hindu origin,
namely that of King Kalmāsapāda (Hansoku 班足), who inorder to ascend the throne had to kill a thousand kings andpresent their heads to the god Mahākāla (J = Makakara /Daikokuten). It is understood that Mahākāla—originally agraveyard deity strongly associated with death rites, and byextension with the world of the unseen—is a powerful esotericfigure who came to be venerated in India, China, and Japan,
eventually manifesting itself at Miwa. The last sequence of thissection asserts that Daikoku Tenjin (a manifestation of Miwa
Myōjin) is at least as powerful as Amaterasu in protecting therulers of the country. FOOTNOTE 75: Iyanaga mentions
Kalmāsapāda’s story in relation to esoteric enthronement
rituals (sokui kanjō 即位灌頂) and draws parallels between
Mahākāla’s worship and the veneration of dākinī demonesses
in medieval Japan (Iyanaga 2002, pp. 139–51; and Iyanaga
2003, pp. 150–52).”ap. 275, footnote 99. The Nihon Shoki passage alluded to here actually appears following the account of
the creation of the land of Izumo by Ōnamuchi and Sukunabiko 少名彦 (see Nihon Shoki, Aston 1972,
vol. 1, pp. 60–61). Amaterasu never appears in the original Nihon Shoki text. Ōnamuchi asks amysterious guest where the latter wishes to live. The unknown deity then replies that it wishes to live on
Mt. Mimoro 三諸 [aka Mt. Miwa] in Yamato. Nihon Shoki goes on to explain that this was the origin of the
Miwa deity, and gives an account of its lineage. [Note Schumacher: The “mysterious guest” is noneother than Ōnamuchi’s alter ego.]app. 248-249. Several important deities were enshrined on Mt. Miwa and in its vicinity. The deityŌnamuchi no Mikoto 大己貴命, the “Great Name Possessor” (also known as Ōkuninushi 大国主, the“Great Land Owner”), was hailed by both Kojiki and Nihon Shoki as a descendant of Susano-o 須佐之男
and creator of the land, or the sub-celestial world. In these records Ōnamuchi often appears
accompanied by a dwarf deity, Sukunabiko 少名彦 (Little Name Lad; aka Sukunahikona 少名毘古那).
Originally the deities of Izumo, these gods were most likely of continental origin. Both Kojiki and Nihon
Shoki include episodes in which Ōkuninushi (in Nihon Shoki, Ōnamuchi) is met by his own spirit arrivingfrom beyond the sea with a request to be enshrined at Mt. Mimoro 三諸 [aka Mt. Miwa] in Yamato,
thereby becoming the deity of Ōmiwa (Ōmiwa no kami 大三輪之神). The deities enshrined on Mt. Miwa
were associated with an early power center in the southern Yamato basin and received special
treatment from the early Yamato rulers. For example, official records mention a deity appearing as amysterious visitor presenting himself to the daughter of a local chieftain, only to reveal his true form as asnake living on Mt. Miwa. This deity, Ōmononushi 大物主 (Great Spirit Possessor), played a central roleat the court of Emperor Sujin 崇神天皇 & was regarded by the Yamato kings as protective but fearsome.
ap. 248, footnote 13. The name Ōnamuchi was recorded in a variety of other ways: Ōanamuji 大穴牟遅,Ōnamochi 大名持, and Ōanamochi 大穴持. This deity, credited with creation of the land, is also
identified by several other names, such as Yachihoko no Kami 八千矛神, Ashihara no Shikoo 葦原醜男,
Ōmononushi, and Ōkunidama no Ōkami 大国魂大神, to list a few.
Bernard Faure, Protectors and Predators, 2015, pp. 50-51. As the protector of Mount Hiei, Daikokuten
was identified with Sannō Gongen 山王権現, that is, the god of Miwa (Ōkuninushi 大国主), who was also
worshiped at Ōmiya 大宮, the western main shrine (Nishi Hongū) of Hie Taisha 日吉大社, located at thefoot of Mount Hiei. The fusion (or confusion) of Daikokuten with Ōkuninushi is traditionally attributed to a
scribal error committed by Kūkai 空海 (774-835) when he wrote the Sino-Japanese name of Mahākāla
(Daikoku 大黒 or Great Black One) as Daikoku 大国 (Great Country; also read as Ōkuni). The alleged
confusion took place much later, however, during the medieval period. At any rate, the fusion of the two
figures would probably have taken place without Kūkai’s “error,” owing to the functional affinities sharedby the two gods. Deliberate or not, the play on words confirmed a preexisting situation. As the “original
landlord” (jishū or jinushi 地主) of Japan, Ōkuninushi—also known as Ōmononushi 大物主, a former
demonic figure (as master of the mono ‘ghosts’)—was indeed predisposed to merge with Daikokuten.

Notebook. Slides 35 & 36. Condensed Visual Classroom Guide to Daikokuten Iconography in Japan. Copyright Mark Schumacher, 2017.
aIMPORTANT EARLY LAND DEITIESa

1. Miwa Deity, aka Ōmononushi no Mikoto 大物主命 (Great
Spirit Possessor), aka Ōnamuchi no Mikoto 大己貴命 (Great
Name Possessor), aka Ōkuninushi no Mikoto 大国主命
(Great Land Owner).
2. Izumo Deity. Both Kojiki and Nihon Shoki include episodes
involving Ōkuninushi (in Nihon Shoki, Ōnamuchi). Both say
he is a descendant of Susano-o 須佐之男 and creator(tamer) of the land.
3. The Miwa kami & Izumo kami are different gods. Scholars
tend to simply & utterly conflate them, but this is not correct.
4. True form of Ōmononushi / Ōnamuchi / Ōkuninushi is that ofa snake and/or arrow. He is both protective and fearsome.
5. When taming the land, the deity was assisted by the midget
kami Sukunabiko 少名彦 (Little Name Lad).
6. Ōyamakui 大山咋神 is the original kami of Mt. Hiei. He is thechild of Ōtoshi no Kami (Kami of Great Harvests). The latteris one of Susano-o‘s many sons. Ōyamakui was also
installed at neighboring Matsu-no-o Shrine 松尾神社 & Kamo
Shrine 賀茂神社. All three shrines shared a common priestly
lineage & ritual connections. Ōkuninushi is Ōyamakui’s
distant relative and undisputed leader of the earthly deities.
7. Ōmiya Gongen 大宮権現 (Great Shrine Avatar) and Sannō
山王 (Mountain King) are other names for the Miwa deity.
The latter was conflated with Daikokuten in the early 14th C.
SAYS IYANAGA NOBUMI (email exchange, 2017): The kamiof Mt. Miwa (Ōmononushi) was very important to the Yamato
dynasty, perhaps even its supreme god before Amaterasu. In
the Kojiki 古事記 (712 CE), Nihon Shoki 日本書紀 (720 CE), andother classical texts, he is represented as a snake, as a deity ofwater & thunder, as a protector of the realm. But he was also a
dangerous kami. One must note that in Japan’s classical myths,
the name Ōmononushi was also one of the different names ofŌkuninushi (deity of Izumo 出雲). Ōkuninushi’s identity
incorporated characteristics from various other deities, including
Miwa’s Ōmononushi. Beliefs in the Miwa kami were “imported”
to Mt. Hiei at an early date (probably before the Nara era).
Saichō was certainly aware of such beliefs & actively venerated
the kami. Named Sannō 山王 (Mountain King) after the god ofChina’s Mt. Tiantai 天台山 (also named Ōmiya Gongen 大宮権現
or Great Shrine Avatar), the Miwa kami became the principal
kami of Sannō Shintō 山王神道 (Tendai Shintō). Daikoku’s
conflation with the Miwa kami in the early 14th C. significantly
elevated Daikoku’s importance in Japan’s religious traditions.

a

SPECULATIVE → DEVELOPMENT PATH OF ŌKUNINUSHI IN JAPAN
a

1.
2.

3.
4.
5.

6.
7.

8.

Mt. Miwa Deity (aka Ōmononushi / Ōnamuchi / Ōkuninushi) is introduced to Mt. Hiei in the 7th or
8th century. The Miwa deity was probably Japan's "supreme" kami in these early years.
Mt. Hiei Deity. The original kami at Mt. Hiei was Ōyamakui 大山咋神. He is, like Mt. Miwa's deity,a descendant of Susano-o 須佐之男, and a fearsome kami who appears as a snake or arrow toimpregnate young virgins. The Yamato court worked hard to appease such deities, who "likely"
had continental [Korean] origins. In the Kojiki (Book 2, Ch. 53, Philippi, p. 178), the Miwa deitytransforms itself into a red arrow & impregnates a beautiful maiden while she is defecating in aditch. The begotten child becomes the wife of Jimmu 神武天皇, Japan’s legendary first emperor.
Saichō 最澄 (767-822) introduces Daikokuten to Mt. Hiei to nourish the new Tendai school. At thetime, Saichō was also certainly aware of the Miwa deity and actively venerated it.
13th-C. Japanese text Chiribukuro 塵袋 (p. 30 online) says both 大国 (Ōkuni) & 大黒 (Daikoku)
can be pronounced DAIKOKU. Most likely wordplay, but may be early attempt to conflate the two.
Early 14th C. Japanese text Miwa Daimyōjin Engi 三輪大明神緣起 equates the Miwa deity(Ōmononushi) with Daikokuten. Although Ōmononushi is another name for Ōkuninushi, the twowere perceived as different gods, the former from Mt. Miwa, the latter from Izumo.
Ōkuninushi remained largely unknown and ignored among the common folk & temple-shrine
community in Japan’s middle ages.
In late 17th century, itinerant preachers of Izumo Shrine aggressively conflated the Miwa deity(Ōmononushi / Ōnamuchi / Ōkuninushi) with Daikokuten to raise funds for their impoverishedshrine. They basically "piggy-backed" off the already popular Daikokuten to drum up money. They
also conflated Ebisu with Kotoshironushi (Ōkuninushi's son). Thereafter, Daikokuten-Ebisu pairingand Ōkuninushi-Kotoshironushi pairing became incredibly popular.
Popularity of Ōkuninushi & Daikokuten skyrocket in Edo era, even rivaling the power of sun
goddess Amaterasu, the supreme kami of Japan’s imperial household. See Yijang Zhong (2012).

SAYS IYANAGA NOBUMI (email exchange, 2017): In the 16th-C. Jingi Shūi 神祇拾遺 (Miscellany
Related to Shintō Kami) by Yoshida Kanemitsu 吉田兼滿 (d. 1528), he writes: “In recent years,
Daikoku is worshipped at Ōmiwa Shrine 大神神社. I heard a statue of this deity with three faces wascreated by Saichō, brought here [Miwa Shrine] in the Shōwa 正和 era [1312-1317], and installed as adivine object. People without knowledge venerated it as a manifestation of the Bright [Miwa] Deity. In
reality, the form of this worthy has [only] one face & one body. He represents the appearance ofŌkuninushi carrying his bag on his journey to marry Yagami-hime 八上姫 in Inaba Province 稻葉國.
…….What he wears on his body & head is entirely Japanese garb.” See Slides 16, 17, & 18aaKanemitsu’s theory linking the standing form of Daikoku with Ōkuninushi is interesting. Many scholars
in the Edo era (1603-1867) adopted this theory. Examples include the Kiyū Shōran 嬉遊笑覧
(Laughing Miscellanea on Playful Deeds) by Kitamura Nobuyo 喜多村信節 (1783-1856) & the Shintō
Mondō 神道問答 (Questions & Answers on Shintō) by Saitō Hikomaro 齋藤彦麿 (1768-1854). The
latter tried to refute the theory (see Iyanaga, 2002, p. 343 & p. 512). This is also how Kita Sadakichi 喜
田貞吉 (1871-1939) explained the big bag carried by Daikoku. Although this theory seems plausible,
we cannot simply adhere to it. Why? First, Ōkuninushi myths were mainly described in the Kojiki &largely omitted in the Nihon Shoki. The Kojiki was little known until its “resurrection” by Motoori
Norinaga 本居宣長 (1730-1801). Second, statues of Shintō kami created before the Meiji era (18681912) were rarely named (except Hachiman 八幡).

Notebook. Slides 35 & 36. Condensed Visual Classroom Guide to Daikokuten Iconography in Japan. Copyright Mark Schumacher, 2017.
a

Miwa Deity = Sannō = Daikokutena aŌkuninushi and the Transfer of the Land

Courtesy Iyanaga Nobumi (email, 2017)

Courtesy Kokugakuin University, written by Kobori Keiko

The Miwa deity was venerated as a
powerful protector of Mt. Hiei. The Miwa
deity was also identified as Sannō 山王(Mountain King), the composite namefor Mt. Hiei’s numerous protective kami.
In Japan’s medieval period, Daikoku too
was conflated with Sannō. The early
14th-C. Japanese text Keiran Shūyōshū
渓嵐拾葉集 contains a passage about a
Daikoku icon installed at Mt. Hiei’s
Mandokoro 政所 (Hall of Shaka; see
T.76. 2410 634b3-29). It states: "Whenour exalted founder and master opened
our mountain, the earth trembled in six
ways, and from the lower part of the sky
sprang forth an elderly man. He had thecountenance of the present-day Daikoku
of Mandokoro. This is the Deity of theFirm Earth, Kenrō Chijin 堅牢地神 (seeSlides 35 & 36)……Daikoku is a form of
the Bright Deity of Miwa having
appeared in our country. In his original
body [honji 本地] he is Daikoku. In his
manifested form [suijaku 垂迹] he is
Sannō, that is Daikoku.”

The "transfer of the land" (kuniyuzuri 国譲り) is a term indicating a series of episodes in Kojiki and Nihongi related to thetransfer of the land of Japan to the descendants of the heavenly kami (amatsukami 天津神) by Ōkuninushi, an earthly
kami (kunitsukami 国津神). After Susano-o, the brother of Amaterasu, descended from the heavenly realm to Izumo andslew the great serpent, he married Kushinadahime. Their child (according to the main text of the Nihongi) or grandchild(according to one alternative passage of Nihongi) was Ōkuninushi. Ultimately Ōkuninushi and Sukunahikona worked
together to solidify the Central Land of the Reed Plains (toyoashihara no mizuho no kuni 豊葦原瑞穂の国). However,Amaterasu and Takamimusuhi, wanting the land for their descendants to rule, sent a messenger to Ōkuninushi asking
him to transfer the land. Both Amenohohi, the first messenger sent, and Amewakahiko, the second, took sides withŌkuninushi and did not report back. Amaterasu then conferred with the deities of the High Plain of Heaven and sent
Takemikazuchi accompanied by Amenotorifune (Torinoiwakusufune). Takemikazuchi strongly urged Ōkuninushi totransfer the land, and received the allegiance of Ōkuninushi's son Kotoshironushi, and defeated another of his sons,Takeminakata, who opposed the plan, in a trial of strength. Then Ōkuninushi agreed to transfer the land, giving theunconcealed realm of the Central Land of the Reed Plains to the Heavenly Grandchild (tenson kōrin). Ōkuninushi
retreated to govern the unseen world (yūkai, see kakuriyo) while being eternally enshrined in the Great Shrine (Izumo
Taisha). With this, preparations were complete for the descent of the Heavenly Grandchild. There also exist different
traditions relating to the above events. For example, Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko Kamu Yogoto says that the true
messenger sent down from the High Plain of Heaven was Amenohinatori, the ancestor of Izumo Kokusō. It is now
thought that the episode of the "transfer of the land" as described in Kojki and Nihongi represents a mythical version of
the process of state unification under the Yamato court. This unification was achieved over a long period of time boththrough negotiation with powerful local families and through military conquest. Izumo seems to have retained its ancient
political and religious authority until the very end, and it was only with its fall that final unification was achieved. Thisappears to have happened in the time of the emperors Sujin and Suinin. <end Kokugakuin quote>

Iyanaga adds: The Keiran Shūyōshū’s
account of Daikoku reveals theimportant associations of this deity with
the Earth Deity (represented as an oldman), with Vaiśravaṇa 毘沙門天 (J =Bishamonten), and with Miwa Daimyōjin
三輪大明神. It is interesting to note herethat India’s female deity of the earth,Pṛthivī 地天 (J = Jiten), is replaced witha male god. Pṛthivī is the goddess of theearth as a whole (i.e., the ground on
which plants grow), while the “Old Man”
deity of the earth is more a protector of aplace or a locality. This transformation isprobably due to differing concepts of“earth” and its divinity in India, China
and Japan. (See Slide 36.)

Courtesy Kokugakuin University, written by Nishioka Kazuhiko. See Slides 34 & 35.

Kotoshironushi 事代主命 (aka Ebisu) & Mihotsu Hime no Mikoto 三穂津姫命
According to an "alternative writing" transmitted by Nihongi, Mihotsuhime was the daughter of kami Takamimusuhi, given
in marriage to Ōmononushi (aka Ōkuninushi). In the episode known as the "transfer of the land" (kuniyuzuri 国譲り),
Takamimusuhi warned Ōmononushi that if the latter took a wife from among the earthly kami (kunitsukami 国津神),
Takamimusuhi would consider him to be disaffected. As a result, Takamimusuhi gave his own daughter Mihotsuhime inmarriage to Ōmononushi, charging him to lead the "80 myriad hosts of kami" [八十萬神] and forever protect the imperialline. [E = Section Nine, Version Three, J = Book 2, p. 192] <end quote> NOTE. Kotoshironushi (conflated with “Ebisu” byauthorities at Izumo Shrine in the late 17th C.) is one of Ōkuninushi’s sons. Mihotsuhime is Ōkuninushi’s wife. The twoare enshrined at Miho Shrine 美保神社 in Shimane and elsewhere throughout Japan. Mihotsuhime is a protective
agricultural goddess who safeguards the longevity of the family line. Kotoshironushi (aka Ebisu) is venerated widely as
the kami of fishing and commerce. For more, see this English site. For more on Ōkuninushi, see this English site & thisJapanese site.