, also known as , is a
warrior
A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste.
History
...
god
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
in
Japanese mythology. Also known under the epithet Katori Daimyōjin () after his shrine in northern
Chiba Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...
(historical
Shimōsa Province
was a province of Japan in the area of modern Chiba Prefecture and Ibaraki Prefecture as well as the bordering parts of Saitama Prefecture and Tokyo (the parts that used to be located east of the lower reaches of the old Tone River prior to the ...
),
Katori Jingū, he is often revered alongside
Takemikazuchi (the god of
Kashima Shrine), with whom he is closely associated. He is the general of Amaterasu and regarded as a legendary ancestor of the
Mononobe clan,
and like Takemikazuchi is one of the tutelary deities of the
Fujiwara clan
The was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...
.
Name
One theory interprets the ''futsu'' (
Old Japanese
is the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language, recorded in documents from the Nara period (8th century). It became Early Middle Japanese in the succeeding Heian period, but the precise delimitation of the stages is controversial.
Old Ja ...
: ''putu'') in Futsunushi's name as an
onomatopoeic sound of a sword swinging and cutting something.
A connection with the term ''furu'' ('to shake') has also been proposed.
''Nushi'' (OJ: ''nusi''), meaning 'master' or 'ruler', is derived from a contraction of the
possessive particle ''no'' and ''ushi'' (OJ: ''usi''), of the same meaning.
The name ''Iwainushi'' (
historical orthography: いはひぬし, ''Ihahinushi''; OJ: ''Ipapinusi'') meanwhile is a contraction of ''iwai no ushi'' (斎之大人), 'master of worship'.
Mythology
Parentage
A variant account of
Izanagi
Izanagi (イザナギ/伊邪那岐/伊弉諾) or Izanaki (イザナキ), formally referred to with a divine honorific as
, is the creator deity (''kami'') of both creation and life in Japanese mythology. He and his sister-wife Izanami are the ...
and
Izanami
, formally referred to with the honorific , is the creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother-husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial ...
's begetting of various gods (''
kamiumi'') cited in the ''
Nihon Shoki
The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...
'' states that when Izanagi killed the newborn fire god
Kagutsuchi (whose birth caused the death of his wife Izanami), the drops of blood from his
sword
A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
congealed to form the rocks by the heavenly river (天の安河, ''ame no yasukawa'') from which Futsunushi was born. The blood which dripped from the sword's
hilt ring then turned into two gods named Mikahayahi-no-Kami (甕速日神) and Hihayahi-no-Kami (樋速日神); Mikahayahi is here identified as Takemikazuchi's parent. Another variant meanwhile states that Kagutsuchi's blood spurted out and transformed into two gods named Iwasaku-no-Kami (磐裂神) and Nesaku-no-Kami (根裂神). Their children, the male Iwatsutsunoo-no-Kami (磐筒男神) and the female Iwatsutsunome-no-Kami (磐筒女神), begat Futsunushi. This is the version followed in the main narrative of the work's second volume.
Likewise the ''
Kogo Shūi'' identifies Futsunushi as the son of Iwatsutsunome.
Subjugation of the land
''Nihon Shoki''

Both Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi are closely associated with the 'transfer of the land' (''
kuni-yuzuri
The was a mythological event in Japanese prehistory, related in sources such as the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki''. It relates the story of how the rulership of Japan passed from the earthly ''kami'' (''kunitsukami'') to the ''kami'' of Heav ...
'') myth cycle, which relates how the deities of
Takamagahara (the 'Plain of High Heaven') sent various messengers down to earth, to
Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni (the 'Central Land of Reed-Plains,' i.e. the land of Japan), in order to demand that its inhabitants submit to their rule.
The main narrative of the second volume of the ''Nihon Shoki'' relates that after the failure of the earlier messengers, Ame-no-Hohi and Ame-no-Wakahiko, to perform their mission, the gods of heaven headed by the primordial deity
Takamimusubi decide to send Futsunushi, the son of Iwatsutsuno'o and Iwatsutsunome, as their new emissary. Hearing this, the god Takemikazuchi - here identified as the son of Hihayahi - indignantly protests that he is also a stalwart warrior (''masurao'') like Futsunushi; the gods then agreed to assign him as Futsunushi's companion. The two then make their way to the shores of Itasa (五十田狹之小汀, ''Itasa no ohama'') in the
land of Izumo, demanding that the earthly deity Ōnamuchi (
Ōkuninushi), the ruler of Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, relinquish his authority. At the counsel of his son,
Kotoshironushi, Ōnamuchi agrees to cede the land and withdraws into invisibility. After this, Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi proceeded to slay all those who refused to submit to them. A variant account adds that the two finally dispatched the god of weaving, Takehazuchi-no-Mikoto (建葉槌命), to subdue the last remaining rebel, the star god
Kagaseo (香香背男). With all resistance gone, the two gods went back to heaven to report the success of their mission.
A variant account has Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi putting to death the evil deity Amatsumikaboshi (Kagaseo) in heaven first before they descend to Izumo. The account adds that it was at this time that Iwainushi-no-Kami (possibly another name for Futsunushi), the deity enshrined in
Katori, received the epithet ''iwai no ushi'', 'master of worship.' In this version, Ōnamuchi initially refuses the demand of the two envoys. After Futsunushi goes back to Takamagahara to report, Takamimusubi sends him back to Ōnamuchi, this time with promises of rewards should he comply. Ōnamuchi finally accepts their terms and appoints the god of roads and borders, the ''
funato no kami'' (岐神) as his replacement. He then finally disappears into the unseen world. Futsunushi, with the ''funato no kami'' as his guide, then makes his way around Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni, killing those who resisted him and rewarding those who submitted.
Other texts
Two legends from Ou District (意宇郡) of Izumo Province (modern
Yasugi
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 35,965 in 14257 households and a population density of 85 persons per km2. The total area of the city is .
Geography
Yasugi is located ...
,
Shimane Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a ge ...
) recorded in the
Izumo ''Fudoki'' feature Futsunushi.
The ''Fudoki'' of
Hitachi Province
was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of Ibaraki Prefecture.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Hitachi fudoki''" in . It was sometimes called . Hitachi Province bordered on Shimōsa Province, S ...
(modern Ibaraki Prefecture) also refers to a deity named 'Futsu-no-Ōkami' (普都大神) who is often identified with Futsunushi.
The ''kuni-yuzuri'' myth featured in the ''Izumo no Kuni no Miyatsuko no Kanʼyogoto'' (出雲国造神賀詞 "Congratulatory Words of the Chieftain of Izumo"), a ritual declaration (''
norito'') delivered by the province's governor or ''
kuni no miyatsuko
, also read as ''kokuzō'' or ''kunitsuko'', were officials in ancient Japan during the Yamato period who governed provinces called ''kuni''.
Yamato period
''Kuni no miyatsuko'' governed provinces called ''kuni'' (国), although the location, nam ...
'' at the imperial court upon his appointment, has Futsunushi being dispatched with the deity Ame-no-Hinadori-no-Mikoto (天夷鳥命), the son of Ame-no-Oshihomimi, son of the sun goddess
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 () ...
and the Izumo magnate clan's divine ancestor.
Futsunushi is absent in the ''Kojiki'', where the envoys sent by the heavenly ''kami'' are Takemikazuchi and the bird-boat deity
Ame-no-Torifune.
The ''Kojiki''
's ''kamiumi'' myth identifies Takemikazuchi - here given the aliases 'Takefutsu-no-Kami' (建布都神) and 'Toyofutsu-no-Kami' (豊布都神) - as one of three gods born from the blood that fell from the blade of Izanagi's sword (the other two being Mikahayahi and Hihayahi), although the ''kuni-yuzuri'' portion refers to him as the son of the deified sword itself, there given the name Itsu-no-Ohabari (伊都尾羽張).
The Sobataka deity
Sobataka Shrine (側高神社) in Ōkura, Katori is reckoned as the first and most important auxiliary shrine of Katori Jingū. Its deity, whose identity is kept secret since antiquity and thus is known merely as the 'Great Deity of Sobataka' (側高大神 ''Sobataka-no-Ōkami''), is the subject of a legend involving the god of Katori Shrine.
The story relates that the Sobataka deity, acting under the orders of the god of Katori, raided the
land of Mutsu and stole 2,000 horses from the local ''kami''. When the god of Mutsu gave chase, the Sobataka deity drained
Lake Kasumigaura
is the second-largest lake in Japan, located 60 km to the north-east of Tokyo.
In a narrower sense and officially, Lake Kasumigaura refers to a waterbody with an area of 167.63 km2. In a wider sense, Lake Kasumigaura can also refer ...
using a '
tide-ebbing jewel' (干珠 ''kanju''), allowing the horses to cross over to the other shore. After the horses have safely crossed, the Sobataka deity then used a 'tide-flowing jewel' (満珠 ''manju''), to restore the lake to normal, trapping the pursuer in an island in the middle of the lake known as Ukishima (浮島 'floating island', part of modern
Inashiki,
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,828,086 (1 July 2023) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...
).
Offspring
The deity Ame-no-Naemasu-no-Mikoto (天苗加命), worshiped in Matami Shrine (又見神社) in Katori, is considered to be Futsunushi's son. Ame-no-Naemasu is reckoned as the ancestor of the Katori clan (香取氏), which traditionally served as priests in Katori Shrine. The Katori later assumed the name 'Ōnakatomi' (大中臣) after a grandson of
Ōnakatomi no Kiyomaro, of the influential
Nakatomi (Ōnakatomi) clan, was adopted into the clan.
Worship
Shrines
As the deity of Katori Jingū, Futsunushi also serves as the deity of shrines belonging to the Katori
shrine network (香取神社 ''Katori Jinja''). In addition, Futsunushi is also enshrined in
Kasuga Grand Shrine alongside Takemikazuchi,
Ame-no-Koyane (the divine ancestor of the Nakatomi and Fujiwara clans), and
Himegami, in
Shiogama Shrine in
Miyagi Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...
alongside Takemikazuchi and
Shiotsuchi-no-Oji (the ''kami'' of salt making), in Nukisaki Shrine (貫前神社 ''Nukisaki Jinja'') in
Tomioka,
Gunma Prefecture
is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...
alongside a goddess known only under the generic epithet 'Hime Ōkami' (比売大神), and as an auxiliary deity in
Chiba Shrine in
Chiba City. A number of other shrines throughout the country also enshrine Futsunushi in an auxiliary capacity.
As patron of martial arts
Both Futsunushi and Takemikazuchi were reckoned as eminent war gods (軍神 ''ikusagami'', ''gunjin'') since antiquity. The ''
Ryōjin Hishō'' compiled in 1179 (the late
Heian period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a ...
) attest to the worship of the gods of Katori and Kashima as martial deities at the time of its compilation:
The two ''kami'' have been worshiped by many eminent swordsmen such as
Iizasa Chōisai, the founder of
Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū, and
Tsukahara Bokuden, the founder of
Kashima Shintō-ryū. Indeed, Chōisai was reputed in legend to have developed his swordsmanship style after being taught secrets of strategy by Futsunushi in a dream. Even today, many
kendo
is a modern Japanese martial art, descended from kenjutsu (one of the old Japanese martial arts, swordsmanship), that uses bamboo swords ( shinai) as well as protective armor ( bōgu). It began as samurai warriors' customary swordsmanship ex ...
dōjō in Japan enshrine either or both of these deities.
Under ''shinbutsu-shūgō''
A collection of medieval legends, the ''
Shintōshū'', identifies the Katori deity as a
manifestation of the eleven-faced form of the
bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
Avalokiteśvara
In Buddhism, Avalokiteśvara (meaning "the lord who looks down", International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ), also known as Lokeśvara ("Lord of the World") and Chenrezig (in Tibetan), is a Bodhisattva#Bhūmis (stages), tenth-level bodhisattva associ ...
(
Kannon).
See also
*
Isonokami Shrine
*
Kasuga-taisha
*
Katori Shrine
*
Kuni-yuzuri
The was a mythological event in Japanese prehistory, related in sources such as the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki''. It relates the story of how the rulership of Japan passed from the earthly ''kami'' (''kunitsukami'') to the ''kami'' of Heav ...
*
Mononobe clan
*
Nakatomi clan
*
Takemikazuchi
*
Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū
Notes
References
External links
*http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=54
{{Shinmei shrines
Japanese gods
Japanese mythology
Japanese swords
Shinto
Shinto kami
War gods
Amatsukami