Okuninushi

• Japanese: 大国主命 (Oo-kuninushi-no-mikoto)

Ôkuninushi-no-mikoto (lit. roughly "Great Lord of the Land") is a mythological figure prominent in the Kojiki and strongly associated with Izumo.

A particularly famous myth in which he appears involves his father-in-law Susano-o firing a whistling arrow into a field, asking Ôkuninushi to retrieve it, and then setting the field aflame, trapping Ôkuninushi within it. The latter encounters a mouse, who helps him retrieve the arrow; having completed the task, Susano-o allowed him to leave the field unharmed.

Ôkuninushi had a number of wives or consorts, including Suseribime (a daughter of Susano-o), Yamato Totohi Momoso, and Takiri-hime no Mikoto, by whom he had a child, Aji-shiki-taka-hikone no Kami.

References

• David Lu, Japan: A Documentary History, 7-8.