Well, so this episode we move on from Susano’o to another kami of Izumo fame—Ōnamuchi, perhaps more commonly known today by one of his other primary names, Ōkuninushi. His names generally translate to something like “The Great Land Master”, “The Great Name Holder”, or similar. This episode we’ll focus on the stories from the Kojiki and the Izumo Fudoki, mostly in relation to his early life and conflict with the other Kami of Izumo, from the story of the famous White Rabbit of Inaba to his run-in with Susano’o. We’ll go over the well-known tales and also talk about some of the other stories of what we know about him.

These stories re clearly mythical, but there seem to be elements of a deeper memory buried in them. Clearly there were no talking animals—a rabbit here, and a mouse there—but the locations and connections that the stories make may demonstrate some connections from ancient memory, so it will be interesting to lay them atop what we’ve come to learn about Izumo, when we eventually get there. For now, enjoy the stories and we’ll see where they lead us.

For those reading along at home, I highly recommend checking out the Japanese Historical Text Initiative by the University of California at Berkeley, https://jhti.berkeley.edu. They have many of the early histories with both Japanese and English translation, including the surviving Fudoki.

And for those wonder, “what is a dump stat?”—no, it has nothing to do with Japanese history, but you can find information on it here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DumpStat.

As for hachi and mukade:

• CW: Insects. Lots of insects. To see some of the larger insects found in Japan, check out this article in Tofugu: https://www.tofugu.com/japan/japanese-insects/

• And here’s a photo (we’ll let you click to see if it you want) of those hornets in Japanese shochu.

Yeah… these aren’t just annoying bees and creepy-crawlies. There is a reason that insects are a go-to monster for Japanese myths and legends. There are even warnings about them posted on various trails, right alongside warnings about wild boar and poisonous snakes.

References

• Torrance, R. (2016). The Infrastructure of the Gods: Izumo in the Yayoi and Kofun Periods. Japan Review, (29), 3-38. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44143124

• Ō, Yasumaro, & Heldt, G. (2014). The Kojiki: An account of ancient matters. ISBN978-0-231-16389-7

• Carlsqvist, Anders (2010). The Land Pulling Myth and Some Aspects of Historic Reality.  Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 37/2: 185-222. Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture. Accessed 4/22/2020 at https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/3016

• Aoki, Michiko Yamaguchi (1997). Izumo Fudoki. Association for Asian Studies.  Published by the Japanese Historical Text Initiative of the University of California at Berkeley at https://jhti.berkeley.edu/NIJL%20gateway.html

• Chamberlain, B. H. (1981). The Kojiki: Records of ancient matters. Rutland, Vt: C.E. Tuttle Co.  ISBN4-8053-0794-3

• Aston, W. G. (1972). Nihongi, chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN0-80480984-4

• Philippi, D. L. (1968). Kojiki. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN4-13-087004-1