Susanoo

Susanoo was one of the Three Noble Children, alongside Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. In the Kojiki, Izanagi assigned him the sea plain, but Susanoo refused to govern it and wept because he wished to visit his mother, Izanami. His journey to heaven led to a disputed pledge with Amaterasu and destructive actions that eventually brought about his expulsion.

In Izumo, he appeared in a different role. He defeated a monstrous serpent, married Kushinadahime, and established a divine household. Yet his violent behavior continued in other stories, including the killing of a food goddess and the dangerous trials he imposed on Ōkuninushi. These contrasting episodes make Susanoo difficult to define through one role alone. He could threaten the divine order, protect someone from destruction, and exercise authority over other powerful kami.

Susanoo’s strongest attributes come from specific mythic episodes rather than a single collection of permanent emblems.

• Sword: He used a sword to cut Yamata-no-Orochi apart. His sword was also central to the divine pledge with Amaterasu.
• Kusanagi: The remarkable sword he discovered inside the serpent’s tail and presented to Amaterasu. It later entered the imperial regalia tradition.
• Comb: Susanoo transformed Kushinadahime into a comb and placed her in his hair while preparing to face the serpent.
• Eightfold sake: The drink he used to intoxicate Yamata-no-Orochi before killing it. The sake belonged to this particular encounter, not to a permanent personal ritual.

Susanoo and the Heavenly Pledge

Susanoo ascended to heaven to bid Amaterasu farewell. Fearing that he intended to seize her realm, she confronted him armed, and they agreed to test his intentions. Amaterasu broke, rinsed, chewed, and blew out pieces of his sword, producing three goddesses. Susanoo repeated the rite with her jewels, producing five male gods. Amaterasu attributed the daughters to Susanoo and the sons to herself because of whose objects produced them. Susanoo claimed victory, but his conduct soon became destructive.

Susanoo and the Heavenly Rock Cave

After declaring victory, Susanoo destroyed Amaterasu’s rice-field ridges, blocked irrigation channels, and defecated in a sacred first-fruits hall. He then threw a flayed horse through the roof of her weaving hall. A startled weaving woman injured her genitals with a shuttle and died. Amaterasu withdrew into the Heavenly Rock Cave, leaving heaven and earth dark.

The gods performed rites, and Ame-no-Uzume’s provocative dance drew Amaterasu toward a mirror. Ame-no-Tajikarao pulled her outside, restoring light. The gods punished Susanoo with a heavy fine, removed his beard and fingernails and toenails, and expelled him from heaven.

The Death of the Food Goddess

After his expulsion, Susanoo asked the food goddess Ōgetsuhime for a meal. She produced food from her mouth, nose, and rectum and offered it to him. Seeing where it came from, Susanoo considered the food polluted and killed her. Rice, millet, beans, other grains, and silkworms arose from her corpse. Kamimusubi then gathered the products for use as seeds.

Susanoo and Yamata-no-Orochi

At the upper reaches of the Hi River in Izumo, Susanoo encountered a family whose seven daughters had been devoured by the eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi. Only Kushinadahime remained. After her parents agreed to his request to marry her, Susanoo transformed her into a comb and placed her in his hair.

He ordered strong sake prepared at eight drinking places. The serpent drank, became intoxicated, and fell asleep. Susanoo cut it apart, discovering a remarkable sword inside one of its tails when his own blade struck it. He presented the recovered sword, later called Kusanagi, to Amaterasu.

The Palace at Suga

After killing the serpent, Susanoo searched Izumo for a place to settle with Kushinadahime. At Suga, he built a palace. Clouds rose during its construction, and he composed a poem about the clouds, an eightfold fence, and his wife. He appointed Kushinadahime’s father, Ashinazuchi, to serve at the palace. Susanoo and Kushinadahime married, and their son Yashimajinumi became an ancestor in the lineage later leading to Ōkuninushi.

Susanoo’s Trials of Ōkuninushi

Ōnamuchi, later called Ōkuninushi, entered Susanoo’s realm of Ne-no-Katasukuni and met his daughter Suseribime. Susanoo forced him to spend nights among snakes, then centipedes and bees. Suseribime gave him protective items that allowed him to survive.

Susanoo later set a field on fire while Ōnamuchi searched for an arrow, but a mouse showed him a hiding place. With Suseribime’s help, he eventually deceived Susanoo and escaped with her and the god’s possessions. Susanoo called after him, instructing him to overcome his brothers, take the name Ōkuninushi, and rule with Suseribime.

Susanoo and the Forests of Japan

In one Nihon Shoki account, Susanoo transformed hair from his body into useful trees, including species suited to building houses and ships. His son Isotakeru carried tree seeds toward Silla but did not plant them there. He returned to Japan and spread the seeds across the land. His sisters Ōyatsuhime and Tsumatsuhime also took part in the forest-making tradition, which explained the spread of useful trees throughout Japan.

Susanoo was honored at Susa Shrine and Kumano Taisha in present-day Shimane Prefecture. The Izumo Fudoki preserves regional traditions about him, while Kumano Taisha’s religious practices include sacred fire and fire-kindling rituals.

In Kyoto, Yasaka Shrine became an important center of worship associated with Susanoo, Kushinadahime, and their divine children. Its Gion Festival developed from epidemic-related religious observances traditionally traced to 869 CE. Medieval Gion worship also identified Susanoo with Gozu Tennō, a deity associated with pestilence and protection. This identification developed through later religious traditions rather than belonging to his

Nineteenth-century Japanese artists produced striking interpretations of Susanoo’s serpent-slaying story. Around 1840, Utagawa Kuniyoshi depicted Susanoo facing waves where a dragon lurked. In 1885, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi portrayed Susanoo and Inadahime awaiting the eight-headed serpent, focusing on the moment before their confrontation.

The story also survives in Iwami Kagura, a regional performing tradition in western Shimane. Elaborate serpent costumes, masks, music, and movement bring Susanoo’s confrontation with Yamata-no-Orochi to the stage. These performances preserve the story through living theatrical tradition, while shrine worship continues as a distinct form of religious practice.

Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto also reimagines the serpent-slaying myth. Orochimaru manifests an eight-headed serpent that is defeated by Itachi Uchiha’s Susanoo, recreating the legendary confrontation through fictional ninja abilities rather than depicting the original mythological beings.