Futodama () or Futotama 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 traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of years of contac ...

, claimed to be the ancestor of

Inbe clan Inbe clan (忌部氏; 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. According ...

, 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: , ), often referred to by the honorific title Susanoo-no-Mikoto (), is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese im ...

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

Ama-no-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 w ...

, causing the world to plunge into darkness. After almost a year of chaos, Omoikane and the other gods came up with a plan to get her out. Futodama 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 '' Ama ...

were tasked with performing a

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

. After

Amaterasu , often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (''kami'') of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () ...

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 t ...

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

. In the ''

Kogo Shūi is a historical record of the Inbe clan of Japan written in the early Heian period (794–1185). It was composed by (斎部広成) in 807 using material transmitted orally over several generations of the Imbe clan, Inbe clan. Background Histor ...

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

Family

In the ''

'', Futodama is recorded as the son of

Takamimusubi Takamimusubi (高御産巣日, lit. "High Generative Force") is a Creator deity, creation deity in Japanese mythology, who was the second of the Kotoamatsukami, first beings to come into existence. It is speculated that Takamimusubi was origin ...

, and brother of

Takuhadachiji-hime , is a deity that appears in the creation story of the "Kojiki" and "Nihon Shoki." She is the daughter of the god Takamimusubi and younger sister of Omoikane.https://archive.today/20230406174104/https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=97 ...

and Ame-no-Oshihi-no-Mikoto.

Worship

Futodama is believed to be enshrined at Awa shrine, where there is a festival to the kami every year on August 10. He is also enshrined at Amatsu Shrine alongside

Ninigi is a deity in Japanese mythology. (-no-Mikoto here is an honorific title applied to the names of Japanese gods; Ninigi is the specific god's name.) Grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, Ninigi is regarded according to Japanese mythology as the ...

and

. The ''

Engi Shiki The is a Japanese book of 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 Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of the ''Engishi ...

'' 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 Provinces of Japan, province of Japan in the area of southern Osaka Prefecture. It bordered on Kii Province, Kii to the south, Yamato Province, Ya ...

Popular culture

Futodama appears as a demon in the Japanese

role playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as 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, eith ...

Shin Megami Tensei IV is a role-playing video game, role-playing video game developed and published 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 connect ...

''.

References

{{Inbe Faith Shinto Japanese gods Inbe clan Amatsukami