page_title: Ōkuninushi
section_title: Ōnamuji and Suseribime
hierarchical_section_title: Ōkuninushi / Mythology / In the Kojiki / Ōnamuji and Suseribime
caption_attribution_description: English: Ōkuninushi and Suseribime leave the netherworld (Ne-no-Kuni), with Susanoo chasing after them.
context_page_description: Ōkuninushi, also known as Ōnamuchi or Ōnamochi among other variants, is a kami in Japanese mythology. He is one of the central deities in the cycle of myths recorded in the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki alongside the sun goddess Amaterasu and her brother, the wild god Susanoo, who is reckoned to be either Ōkuninushi's distant ancestor or father. In these texts, Ōkuninushi is portrayed as the head of the kunitsukami, the gods of the earth, and the original ruler of the terrestrial world, named Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni. When the heavenly deities headed by Amaterasu demanded that he relinquish his rule over the land, Ōkuninushi agreed to their terms and withdrew into the unseen world, which was given to him to rule over in exchange. Amaterasu's grandson Ninigi then came down from heaven to govern Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni and eventually became the ancestor of the Japanese imperial line.
  Ōkuninushi is closely associated with the province of Izumo in western Japan; indeed, the myth of his surrender to the gods of heaven may reflect the subjugation and absorption of this area by the Yamato court based in what is now Nara Prefecture.
context_section_description: In Ki, Ōnamuji was told to seek out Susanoo, who dwelt in the subterranean realm of Ne-no-Katasu-Kuni (根堅洲国), the 'Land of Roots', to obtain wise counsel. There he met Susanoo's daughter Suseribime (須勢理毘売), with whom he shortly fell in love. Upon learning of their affair, Susanoo imposed four trials on Ōnamuji:
  Susanoo first invited Ōnamuji to his palace and had him sleep in a room full of snakes. Suseribime aided Ōnamuji by giving him a magical scarf which protected him.
  The following night, Susanoo had Ōnamuji sleep in another room full of centipedes and bees. Suseribime again gave Ōnamuji a scarf that repelled the insects.
  Susanoo shot an arrow into an enormous meadow and had Ōnamuji fetch it. As Ōnamuji was busy looking for the arrow, Susanoo set the field on fire. A field mouse showed Ōnamuji a hole that he could hide in and also brought him the arrow.
  Susanoo, upon discovering that Ōnamuji had survived, summoned him back to his palace and had him pick the lice and centipedes from his hair. Using a mixture of red clay and nuts given to him by Suseribime, Ōnamuji pretended to chew and spit out the insects he was picking.
  After Susanoo was lulled to sleep, Ōkuninushi tied Susanoo's hair to the rafters of the palace and fled with Suseribime, also taking Susanoo's bow and arrows and koto with him. When the couple made their escape, the koto brushed against a tree, awakening Susanoo. The god jumped up and brings down his palace down around him. Susanoo then pursued them as far as the slopes of Yomotsu Hirasaka (黄泉比良, the 'Flat Slope of Yomi'), the borders of the underworld. As the two were fleeing, Susanoo grudgingly gave his blessing to Ōnamuji, renaming him Ōkuninushi-no-Kami (大国主神 'Master of the Great Land') and Utsushikunitama-no-Kami (宇都志国玉神 'Spirit of the Living Land'). Using Susanoo's weapons, Ōkuninushi defeats his wicked brothers and becomes the undisputed ruler of the terrestrial realm, Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni (葦原中国, the 'Central Land of Reed Plains').
caption: Ōnamuji and Suseribime escaping from Ne-no-Kuni (Natori Shunsen)
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