Futodama () is a god in

Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of year ...

, claimed to be the ancestor of

Imbe clan Imbe clan (also spelled Imibe clan or Inbe clan) was a Japanese clan during the Yamato period. They claimed descent from Futodama. The Inbe clan originally had a religious function by preparing and taking care of offerings. Overview As the ...

, whose characteristics are believed to reflect the functions of the clan as court ritualists.

Name and etymology

The god is known as Ame-no-Futodama-no-Mikoto () or Futodama (, ) for short. His name is speculated to mean great gift or offering.

Myths

After

Susanoo __FORCETOC__ Susanoo (; historical orthography: , ) is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory charact ...

accidentally killed one of Amaterasu's attendants in her weaving hall, she got upset and locked herself in

Amano-Iwato is a cave in Japanese mythology. According to the '' Kojiki'' (''Records of Ancient Matters'') and the '' Nihon Shoki'', the bad behavior of Susano'o, the Japanese god of storms, drove his sister Amaterasu into the Ama-no-Iwato cave. The land ...

causing the world to plunge into darkness, so Omoikane and other gods came up with a plan to get her out. Futodama and Amenokoyane were tasked with performing a

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout history ...

. After

Amaterasu Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the '' Koji ...

left the cave, Futodama used a

shimenawa are lengths of laid rice straw or hemp rope used for ritual purification in the Shinto religion. vary in diameter from a few centimetres to several metres, and are often seen festooned with —traditional paper streamers. A space bound by ty ...

to prevent her from going back to the cave again. This story is said to be the mythical origin of

. In ''

Kogo shūi is a historical record of the Inbe clan of Japan written in the early Heian period (794–1185). It was composed by Inbe no Hironari (斎部広成) in 807 using material transmitted orally over several generations of the Inbe clan. Background H ...

'', Futodama is placed as the leader of the preformed rituals.

Family

Futodama is the child of Takuhatachijihime, and grandchild of

Takamimusubi Takamimusubi (高御産巣日神, lit. "High Creator") is a god of agriculture in Japanese mythology, who was the second of the first beings to come into existence. It is speculated that Takamimusubi was originally the tutelary deity for the Ja ...

. But in many versions he is the son of Takamimusubi and the uncle to

Ninigi is a deity in Japanese mythology. Grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, Ninigi is regarded according to Japanese mythology as the great-grandfather of Japan’s first emperor, Emperor Jimmu. The three sacred treasures brought with Ninigi from ...

Worship

Futodama is believed to be enshrined at

Awa shrine is a Shinto shrine in the Daijingū neighborhood of the city of Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It is one of two shrines claiming to hold the title of '' ichinomiya'' of former Awa Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually ...

. Where there is a festival to the kami every year on August 10. He is also enshrined at

Amatsu Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in the Ichinomiya neighborhood of the city of Itoigawa, Niigata.Kotodamaya.com "Amatsu Jinja" retrieved 2012-10-24. It is one of the three shrines claiming the title of '' ichinomiya'' of former Echigo Province. The ma ...

alongside

and

Ame-no-Koyane Ame-no-Koyane-no-mikoto ( 天児屋命, 天児屋根命) is a ''kami'' and a male deity in Japanese mythology and Shinto. He is the ancestral god of the Nakatomi clan, and Fujiwara no Kamatari, the founder of the powerful Fujiwara clan. An ''Amats ...

. The ''

Engi Shiki The is a Japanese book about laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178. History In 905, Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of th ...

'' lists several shrines to Futodama in

Izumi Province :''The characters ''泉州'' are also used for the name of the Chinese city of Quanzhou''. was a province of Japan in the area of southern Osaka Prefecture. Tango bordered on Kii to the south, Yamato and Kawachi to the west, and Settsu t ...

Popular culture

In the Japanese

role playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

Shin Megami Tensei IV is a Japanese post-apocalyptic role-playing video game developed by Atlus for the Nintendo 3DS. It is part of the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series, the central series of the ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, though no direct story connection exists to ...

Futotama is a level 42 demon. Futotama created other demons when fused, if he is fused with Virtue it creates Israfel. If Futotama is fused with Master Therion it creates Vivian.{{Cite book , url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shin_Megami_Tensei_IV_Strategy_Guide/BJHiCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Futotama , isbn=9781631027192 , title=Shin Megami Tensei IV - Strategy Guide , date=7 November 2015 , publisher=Gamer Guides

References

Shinto Japanese gods