Okami (淤加美神, Okami-no-kami) in the ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'', or 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 ...

'': or , is a legendary Japanese dragon and

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

deity of rain and snow. 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 ...

, the sibling progenitors

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 ...

gave birth to the islands and gods of Japan. After Izanami died from burns during the childbirth of the fire deity Kagu-tsuchi, Izanagi was enraged and killed his son. Kagutsuchi's blood or body, according to differing versions of the legend, created several other deities, including Kuraokami.

Name

The name Kuraokami combines ''kura'' 闇 "dark; darkness; closed" and ''okami'' 龗 "dragon tutelary of water". This uncommon kanji ''(o)kami'' or ''rei'' 龗, borrowed from the

Chinese character Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...

''ling'' 龗 "rain-dragon; mysterious" (written with the "rain"

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

雨, 3 口 "mouths", and a

phonetic Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds or, in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians ...

of ''long'' 龍 "dragon") is a

variant Chinese character Chinese characters may have several variant forms—visually distinct glyphs that represent the same underlying meaning and pronunciation. Variants of a given character are ''allographs'' of one another, and many are directly analogous to allog ...

for Japanese ''rei'' < Chinese ''ling'' 靈 "rain-prayer; supernatural; spiritual" (with 2

巫 ''Wu'' () is a Chinese term translating to "shaman" or "sorcerer", originally the practitioners of Chinese shamanism or "Wuism" (巫教 ''wū jiào''). Terminology The glyph ancestral to modern is first recorded in bronze script, where it could ...

"shamans" instead of a "dragon"). Compare this 33-stroke 龗 logograph with the simpler 24-stroke variant 靇 ("rain" and "dragon" without the "mouths"), read either ''rei'' < ''ling'' 靇 "rain prayer; supernatural" or ''ryō'' < ''long'' 靇 "sound of thunder", when used for ''ryo'' < ''long'' 隆 reduplicated in ''ryōryō'' < ''longlong'' 隆隆 "rumble; boom". Marinus Willem de Visser (1913:136) cites the 713 CE '' Bungo

Fudoki are ancient reports on provincial culture, geography, and oral tradition presented to the reigning monarchs of Japan, also known as local gazetteers. They contain agricultural, geographical, and historical records as well as mythology and ...

'' 豊後風土記 that ''okami'' is written 蛇龍 "snake dragon" in a context about legendary

Emperor Keikō , also known as and , was the 12th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Keikō's all ...

seeing an ''okami'' dragon in a well, and concludes, "This and later ideas about Kura-okami show that this divinity is a dragon or snake."

Grafton Elliot Smith Sir Grafton Elliot Smith (15 August 1871 – 1 January 1937) was an Australian-British anatomist, Egyptologist and a proponent of the hyperdiffusionist view of prehistory. He believed in the idea that cultural innovations occur only once and ...

provides a

Trans-cultural diffusion In cultural anthropology and cultural geography, cultural diffusion, as conceptualized by Leo Frobenius in his 1897/98 publication ''Der westafrikanische Kulturkreis'', is the spread of culture, cultural items—such as ideas, fashion, styles, rel ...

ist perspective.

The snake takes a more obtrusive part in the Japanese than in the Chinese dragon and it frequently manifests itself as a god of the sea. The old Japanese sea-gods were often female water-snakes. The cultural influences which reached Japan from the south by way of Indonesia — many centuries before the coming of Buddhism — naturally emphasized the serpent form of the dragon and its connection with the ocean. (1919:101)

Lineage

In the

, he is the father of female deity Hikawa-hime (日河比売, or Hikaha-hime) married Susanoo's grandson, the male deity Fuwanomojikunusunu (布波能母遅久奴須奴神, or Fuhanomojikunusunu) and from their union gave birth to the male deity Fukafuchi-no-Mizuyarehana (深淵之水夜礼花神). Fukafuchi-no-Mizuyarehana is the great-grandfather of the male deity Ōkuninushi (大国主神). Then, the great-grandson of Ōkuninushi, Mikanushi-hiko (甕主日子神) married Hinarashi-hime (比那良志毘売), who is the daughter of Okami, sister of Hikawa-hime. From the union of Mikanushi-hiko and Hinarashi-hime gave birth to the male deity Tahirikishimarumi (多比理岐志麻流美神).

''Kojiki''

The c. 680 CE ''

'' transcribes Kuraokami Kami with

man'yōgana is an ancient writing system that uses Chinese characters to represent the Japanese language. It was the first known kana system to be developed as a means to represent the Japanese language phonetically. The date of the earliest usage of t ...

as 闇淤加美 "dark o-ka-mi god". In the ''Kojiki'' version of this myth, Izanagi killed Kagutsuchi with his giant sword, and the blood subsequently created eight ''

kami are the Deity, deities, Divinity, divinities, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirits, mythological, spiritual, or natural phenomena that are venerated in the traditional Shinto religion of Japan. ''Kami'' can be elements of the landscape, forc ...

'' "gods; spirits". The final two generated from blood that dripped off the hilt onto Izanagi's fingers were Kuraokami and Kuramitsuha Kami 闇御津羽神 "dark mi-tsu-ha god".

Then His Augustness the Male-Who-invites, drawing the ten-grasp sabre that was augustly girded on him, cut off the head of his child the Deity Shining-Elder. Hereupon the names of the Deities that were born from the blood that stuck to the point of the august sword and bespattered the multitudinous rock-masses were: the Deity Rock-Splitter, next the Deity Root-Splitter, next the Rock-Possessing-Male-Deity. The names of the Deities that were next born from the blood that stuck to the upper part of the august sword and again bespattered the multitudinous rock-masses were: the Awfully-Swift-Deity, next the Fire-Swift-Deity, next the Brave-Awful-Possessing-Male-Deity, another name for whom is the Brave-Snapping-Deity, and another name is the Luxuriant-Snapping Deity. The names of the Deities that were next born from the blood that collected on the hilt of the august sword and leaked out between his fingers were: the Deity Kura-okami and next the Deity Kura-mitsuha. All the eight Deities in the above list, from the Deity Rock-Splitter to the Deity Kura-mitsuha, are Deities that were born from the august sword.

Basil Hall Chamberlain Basil Hall Chamberlain (18 October 1850 – 15 February 1935) was a British academic and Japanologist. He was a professor of the Japanese language at Tokyo Imperial University and one of the foremost British Japanologists active in Japan during ...

notes, "The etymology of both these name is obscure. ''Kura'', the first element of each compound, signifies 'dark'." Another ''Kojiki'' section listing ancestors of Ōkuninushi 大国主 "great country master" says Okami Kami's daughter Hikaha Hime 日河比売 "sun river princess" had a daughter Fukabuchi no mizu Yarehana 深淵之水夜礼花 "deep pool water lost flower".

The Deity Fuha-no-moji-Ku-nu-su-nu ... wedded Princess Hikaha, daughter of the Deity Okami, and begot a child: Water-Spoilt-Blossom-of-Fuka-buchi. This Deity wedded the Deity Ame-no-tsudohe-chi-ne, and begot a child: the Deity Great-Water-Master. This Deity wedded the Deity Grand-Ears daughter of the Deity Funu-dzu-nu, and begot a child: the Deity Heavenly-Brandishing-Prince-Lord. This Deity wedded the Young-Princess-of-the-Small-Country, daughter of the Great-Deity-of-the-Small-Country, and begot a child: the Deity Master-of-the-Great-Land.

Nihongi

The c. 720 CE ''

'' writes Kuraokami with kanji as 闇龗 "dark rain-dragon". In the ''Nihongi'' version, Izanagi killed Kagutsuchi by cutting him into three pieces, each of which became a god: Kuraokami, Kurayamatsumi (闇山祇) "dark mountain respect", and Kuramitsuha 闇罔象 "dark water-spirit". This ''mitsuha'' 罔象 is a variant of ''mōryō'' 魍魎 "demon; evil spirit" (written with the "ghost radical" 鬼). Kurayamatsumi is alternately written Takaokami 高靇 "high rain-dragon". De Visser says, "This name is explained by one of the commentators as "the dragon-god residing on the mountains", in distinction from Kura-okami, "the dragon-god of the valleys".

At length he drew the ten-span sword with which he was girt, and cut Kagu-tsuchi into three pieces, each of which became changed into a God. Moreover, the blood which dripped from the edge of the sword became the multitudinous rocks which are in the bed of the Easy-River of Heaven. This God was the father of Futsu-nushi no Kami. Moreover, the blood which dripped from the hilt-ring of the sword spurted out and became deities, whose names were Mika no Haya-hi no Kami and next Hi no Haya-hi no Kami. This Mika no Haya-hi no Kami was the parent of Take-mika-suchi no Kami. Another version is: "Mika no haya-hi no Mikoto, next Hi no haya-hi no Mikoto, and next Take-mika-tsuchi no Kami. Moreover, the blood which dripped from the point of the sword spurted out and became deities, who were called Iha-saku no Kami, after him Ne-saku no Kami, and next Iha-tsutsu-wo no Mikoto. This Iha-saku no Kami was the father of Futsu-nushi no Kami."
One account says: "Iha-tsutsu-wo no Mikoto, and next Iha-tsutsu-me no Mikoto. Moreover, the blood which dripped from the head of the sword spurted out and became deities, who were called Kura o Kami no Kami, next Kura-yamatsumi no Kami, and next Kura-midzu-ha no Kami.

William George Aston William George Aston (9 April 1841 – 22 November 1911) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat, author, and scholar of the languages and histories of Korea and Japan. Early life Aston was born near Derry, Ireland.Ricorso Aston, bio notes/ref> He disti ...

footnotes translations for these ''kami'' names: Kuraokami "Dark-god", Kurayamatsumi "Dark-mountain-body-god", and Kuramitsuha "Dark-water-goddess". De Visser says Kuramitsuha could be translated "Dark-water-snake", "Valley-water-snake", or "Female-water-snake".Aston (1896:24), in De Visser (1913:136–137)

''Man'yōshū''

The ''

Man'yōshū The is the oldest extant collection of Japanese (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in ...

'' poetry collection mentions an ''Okami'' 於可美 "rain dragon" living on an ''oka'' 岡 "ridge; knoll; hill". Lady Fujiwara, a daughter of

Fujiwara no Kamatari , also known as , was a Japanese politician and aristocrat who, together with Prince Naka no Ōe (later Emperor Tenji), carried out the Taika Reform. He was the founder of the Fujiwara clan, the most powerful aristocratic family in Japan durin ...

, replies to a poem from her husband

Emperor Tenmu was the 40th Emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 天武天皇 (40) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). ''The Imperial House of Japan'', p. 53. He ascended ...

() about an unseasonable snowstorm. Compare Edwin Cranston's translation with that of

Burton Watson Burton Dewitt Watson (June 13, 1925April 1, 2017) was an American sinologist, translator, and writer known for his English translations of Chinese and Japanese literature. Watson's translations received many awards, including the Gold Medal Aw ...

(1986:22), "I told the water god on my hill to let the snow fall. It scattered, and some must have fallen over your way!"

Okami shrines

The diverse Japanese ''kami'' of water and rainfall, such as Suijin 水神 "water god" and Okami, are worshipped at

Shinto shrine A Stuart D. B. Picken, 1994. p. xxiii is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more kami, , the deities of the Shinto religion. The Also called the . is where a shrine's patron is or are enshrined.Iwanami Japanese dic ...

s, especially during times of drought. For instance, Niukawakami Jinja 丹生川上神社 in Kawakami, Nara is a center of prayers for Kuraokami, Takaokami, and Mizuhanome 罔象女. Some other examples of shrines to Okami are: *Okami Jinja () in

Daitō, Osaka file:Daito city-office.jpg, 270px, Daitō City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 118,174 in 57299 households and a population density of 6500 persons per km2. The total a ...

*Okami Jinja () in Minamiaizu, Fukushima *Okami Jinja () in

Hirakata 260px, Hirakata Park is a city in northeastern Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 397,681 in 183075 households and a population density of 6100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Hirakat ...

and Izumisano,

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

*Kuraokami Jinja () in Ichikai, Tochigi *Takaokami Jinja () on Mount Miwa *Takaokami Jinja () in Shōbara, Hiroshima *Kunitsu Okami Jinja () on

Iki Island , or the , is an archipelago in the Tsushima Strait, which is administered as the city of Iki in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The islands have a total area of with a total population of 28,008. Only four (4) of the twenty-three (23) named is ...

In addition, the water-god Takaokami is worshipped at various shrines named Kibune Jinja (), found in places such as

Sakyō-ku, Kyoto is one of the eleven Wards of Kyoto, wards in the Municipalities of Japan, city of Kyoto, Kyoto, Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is located in the northeastern part of the city. History The meaning of ''sakyō'' (左京) is "on the Em ...

and

Manazuru, Kanagawa is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 6,949 and a population density of 1000 persons per km2. The total area of the town is . Geography Located in the southeast of Mo ...

Family tree

References

External links

Kuraokami, Takaokami, Kuramitsuha
Encyclopedia of Shinto

The Serene Dragon {{Japanese mythology (long) Dragon deities Ice and snow deities Japanese dragons Japanese gods Kunitsukami Rain deities Winter deities