Changes

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

*''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 province|Izumo]].

Ôkuninushi-no-mikoto (lit. roughly "Great Lord of the Land") is a mythological figure prominent in the ''[[Kojiki]]'' and strongly associated with [[Izumo province]] and the [[Izumo Shrine|Grand Shrine at Izumo]]. While the ''Kojiki'' articulates the creation of the land by [[Izanami]] and [[Izanagi]], Ôkuninushi is also strongly associated with the creation of the islands of Japan, and according to the ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'' is said to have handed them off to, or placed them under the protection of, the Sun Goddess, [[Amaterasu]]. He is also considered a god of marriage and of other forms of linked fates, including interpersonal relationships in general. Ôkuninushi is also associated with the deity [[Daikoku]].

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.

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.

==References==

==References==

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

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

[[Category:Deities]]

[[Category:Deities]]