Ōmononushi-no-Kami

Great kami of Mt. Miwa. Appears to Iku-tama-yori-hime as an unseen nightly visitor; she pins a thread to his garment which leads through a keyhole to Mt. Miwa, revealing his serpent form. Their child is Kushimikatamatsumi.

Children

• Kushi-mikata-no-Mikoto

Domains

• mountain tutelage miwa
• sake brewing
• pestilence pacification

Powers

• Shapeshift into snake or red arrow

Epithets

• 大物主神 japanese · Ōmononushi-no-Kami'Great Deity Master of Things/Spirits' — great kami of Mt. MiwaKojiki, Book 1; Nihon Shoki (primary)
• 三輪明神 japanese · Miwa-Myōjin'Bright Deity of Miwa' — his enshrined title at Ōmiwa-jinjaŌmiwa-jinja shrine tradition (secondary)
• 倭大物主櫛甕魂命 japanese · Yamato-Ōmononushi-Kushimikatama-no-MikotoFull ceremonial name of the Miwa deity in the Nihon ShokiNihon Shoki, Sujin chronicle (primary)

Relations

• lover: Iku-tama-yori-bimeUnseen nightly-visitor union with the mortal woman; their son is Kushimikatamatsumi (already linked as child).Kojiki II (Sujin chapter), the Mt. Miwa spindle-thread tale (Ōmononushi as nightly visitor to Ikutamayori-bime) (primary)

Sources

• existence: Kojiki, Sujin chapter (primary); Nihon Shoki, Sujin 7-8 (primary)
• identification: Kojiki — identified with Ōkuninushi's nigi-mitama (gentle-spirit) aspect (primary)