Takemikazuchi

Takemikazuchi ( or , "Brave-Awful-Possessing" or "Thunder-God") is a deity in Japanese mythology, considered a god of thunder and sword god. He also competed in what is considered the first sumo wrestling match recorded in mythology.
He is otherwise known as Kashima-no-kami, the chief deity revered of the Kashima Shrine at Kashima, Ibaraki (and all other subsidiary Kashima shrines). In the namazu-e or catfish pictures of the Edo Period, Takemikazuchi/Kashima is depicted attempting to subdue the giant catfish supposedly dwelling at the of the Japanese land-mass and causing its earthquakes. (See image above right).
==Forms of the name==
In the Kojiki the god's name is sometimes written in the full-blown form "Brave-Awful-Possessing-Male-Deity". He also bears the alternate names and 『古事記』text p. 27/ mod. Ja. tr. p.213
In the Nihon shoki different sets of characters are used to represent the name (). Its early translator Aston styled the name simply as Ikazuchi no Kami or "The Thunder-God"., pp.28-9;
Also a more simple notation (建雷命) is employed as well.
==Descriptions in the Kojiki and Nihon shoki==
===Birth of the gods===
In the Kamiumi ("birth of the gods") episodes of the Kojiki, the god of creation Izanagi ("the Male-Who-invites") severs the head of the fire deity Kagu-tsuchi ("Shining-Elder"), whereupon the blood from the "ten-grasp sabre" or "ten-fist sword (Totsuka-no-Tsurugi)" splattered the rocks and gave birth to several deities. The blood from the sword-tip engendered one triad of deities, and the blood from near the base of the blade produced another triad that included Takemikazuchi (here given as "Brave-Awful-Possessing-Male-Deity" by Chamberlain).
The name of the ten-fist sword wielded by Izanagi is given postscripturally as , otherwise known as Itsu-no-ohabari., gives sword as "Itsu-no-o habari" (Accordingly, Takemikazuchi is referred in some passages as the child of Itsu-no-o habari. See next section).
The Nihon shoki gives the same episode in the same general gist, albeit more vaguely regarding this deity. 『日本書紀』上 p.26
===Quelling of the Middle Country===
In the episodes where the gods of the heavenly plains (Takama-ga-hara) contemplate and execute the conquest of the terrestrial world known as Middle Country (Ashihara no Nakatsukuni), Takemikazuchi is one of the chief delegates sent down to subjugate the terrestrial deities (kuni-tsu-kami).
In the Kojiki (Conquest of Izumo chapter), the heavenly deities Amaterasu and Takamusubi decreed that either Takemikazuchi or his father ("Heaven-Point-Blade-Extended") must be sent down for the conquest. Itsu-no-ohabari (who appeared previously as a ten-fist sword) here has the mind and speech of a sentient god, and he volunteered his son Takemikazuchi for the subjugation campaign. Takemikazuchi was accompanied by "Deity Heavenly-Bird-Boat" (which may be a boat as well as being a god)『古事記』text p. 60/ mod. Ja. tr. p.244
The two deities reached the land of Izumo at a place called the , and stuck a "ten-fist sword" (Totsuka-no-Tsurugi) upside-down on the crest of the wave, and sat atop it, while demanding the local god Ōkuninushi ("Master-of-the-Great-Land") to relinquish the Izumo province over to them. Ōkuninushi replied he would defer the decision to his children deities, and would follow suit in their counsel. One of them, Kotoshironushi or Yae-Kotoshironushi ("Eight-Fold-Thing-Sign-Master") who had been out fishing, was easily persuaded to forfeit his authority and retire into seclusion.
The other, Takeminakata ("Brave-August-Name-Firm") would not concede without testing his feats of strength against Takemikazuchi. When the challenger grabbed Takemikazuchi's hand it turned as if into icicle and then a sword, making him cringe. Takemikazuchi then grabbed Takeminakata's hand, crushing it like a young reed,. The challenger, chased to the sea near , asked for clemency on his life, promising to hold himself in exile in that region (in this way, the defeated Takeminakata became chief deity of the Suwa Grand Shrine in Nagano prefecture).
The hand-to-hand bout between the two deities is considered the mythical origin of sumo wrestling.
The Nihon shoki names a different partner for Takemikazuchi in the task of conquering lands of the Middle Country. That partner is Futsunushi (a god who goes unmentioned in the Kojiki in the gods' birth episode as well as this episode)., Chapter:Age of the Gods II, pp.67-70. 『日本書紀』上 p.56-8
Just as Takemikazuchi was chief deity of Kashima Shrine, this Futsunushi was the chief of the Katori Shrine. In the early centuries, when the Yamato rulers campaigned in the Kantō and Tōhoku regions, they would pray to these to war gods for military success, so that subsidiary shrines of the two gods are scattered all over these regions. The enshrinement of the deities at Kashima and Katori is mentioned briefly in the Kogo Shūi (807).
The Nihon shoki account has other discrepancies. The beach where the gods stuck the "ten-fist sword" is here called "Itasa". The chief god of Izumo (Ōkuninushi) is called by the name of Ōanamuchi.Oho-na-mochi in The wrestling match with Takeminakata is missing. In the end, Ōanamuchi/Ōkuninushi gave sign of his obeisance by presenting the broad spear he used to pacified the land with. Jumping to a later passage (after digressing on other matters), the Nihon shoki retells Takemikazuchi and Futsunushi's landing on the beach, this time stating that Ōanamuchi verbally expressed resistance to relinquish his rule, until the heavenly gods promised him palatial residence to recompense his abdication., Chapter:Age of the Gods II, pp.79-80. 『日本書紀』上 p.64-6
Appended to the two passages is mention of a star deity named Amatsu-Mikaboshi who resisted till the end, and whom Takemikazuchi and Futsunushi were particularly eager to vanquish. The latter passage states that the being who subdued the star god, referred to as is enshrined at Katori, hinting that it might be Futsunushi. subscribes to this view However, the earlier passage says a god named was the vanquisher of the star god. 『日本書紀』上 p.64, 58
===Emperor Jimmu's conquest of the East===
Takemikazuchi's sword aided Jimmu in his subjugation of the east. At Kumano, the emperor and his troops were either struck unconscious by the appearance of a bear (Kojiki)『古事記』text p. 77-8/ mod. Ja. tr. p.260-1 or severely debilitated by the poison fumes spewed out by local gods (Nihon shoki)., pp.114-115, p.94-5 But a man named Takakuraji presented a gift of a sword, the emperor awoke, and without him hardly brandishing this weapon, the evil deities of Kumano were spontaneously cut down. When Jimmu inquired, Takkuraji explained that he had a vision in a dream where the supreme deities Amaterasu and Takamusubi were about to command Takemikazuchi to descend to earth once again to pacify the lands, this time to assist the emperor. However, Takemizuchi replied that it would be sufficient to send down the sword he used during his campaigns, and, boring a hole through Takakuraji's storehose, deposited the sword, bidding the man to present it to Emperor Jimmu. That sword bore the names of , , . This sword is the main dedication (goshintai) kept at Isonokami Shrine.
==Commentary==
Takemikazuchi was originally a local god (kuni-tsu-kami) revered by the , and was a god of maritime travel. However, the Nakatomi clan who also has roots in this region, and when they took over control of priestly duties from the Ō clan, they also instituted Takemikazuchi as the Nakatomi clan's ujigami (clan deity). Or so this is the observation by in his Jinja to kodai ōken saishi (1989). He goes on to theorized that the Ō clan was originally , but was usurped by the Nakatomi who were among the "lesser priesthood" (the latter claims descent from ).(zasshi code 66951-07; kyōtsu zasshi code T10-66951-07-1000)
The Nakatomi clan, essentially the priestly branch of the Fujiwara clan, also placed the veneration of the Takemikazuchi/Kashima deity in the Kasuga Grand Shrine in Nara. (The thunder god is one of several gods revered at the grand shrined)
When the expanded control into the easterly dominions, Kashima (Kashima, Ibaraki) became a crucial base. And the Yamato armies and generals prayed to the Kashima and Katori deities for military success against the intransigents in the east, as already mentioned under #Quelling of the Middle Country. In these ways, Takemikazuchi became an important deity for the Yamato dynasty.
==See also==
*Kamiumi
*List of Japanese deities
==Notes==
==Footnotes==
==References==
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*, English translation
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Category:Japanese deities
Category:War gods
Category:Thunder gods