Susano on Earth

In my last post I talked about Susano, god of the sea, and the mischief he enacted on his sister Amaterasu. As punishment for his actions, Susano was cast out of heaven and banished to the earth.

Once on earth, Susano’s nature changed (which seems fitting, since the mood of the sea often changes). Susano was something of a villain while in heaven - but on earth, the god became a hero. Here are a few examples.

At some point after his banishment, Susano came across a girl and her family along the road. The girl’s parents told him that a monstrous creature had eaten the girl’s seven sisters, and that it was coming for her as well. Susano agreed to stop the monster, provided he was allowed to marry the girl.

When her parents agreed, Susano sent them away and turned the girl into a comb. He tucked the comb into his hair to keep her safe. Susano then prepared eight tubs of wine and waited for the monster’s appearance. An eight-headed snake soon arrived. It headed for the wine and promptly gorged itself. (Who knew snakes were such lushes?) The serpent fell asleep, leaving Susano a perfect opportunity. The sea god chopped of the monster’s heads, winning the hand of the girl - along with something else.

Within the monster’s tail, Susano found a sword called Kusanagi. The important thing to know about Kusanagi is that it grants its wielder the ability to single-handedly defeat armies. (The Major in Ghost in the Shell is named for this sword - no wonder she’s so awesome!) Susano made a gift of Kusanagi to the Imperial family. We’ll talk about the continued adventures of this sword a little more when we discuss Yamato-Takeru.

Apparently finding swords in snakes’ tails is normal, because Susano slew another eight-headed serpent (also common, I guess?) and found another sword. He gifted it to his sister Amaterasu in hopes of ending their feud. This sword also found its way into the hands of the royal family, because Amaterasu gave it to her grandson when she sent him to rule over the earth.

There are many other tales of Susano’s adventures on earth, though none are as detailed as the ones we’ve discussed so far. One story involves Susano stopping a deadly plague - which is not something sea gods are normally seen doing. Another story has Susano conquering Korea, a country with which Japan has historically had a love/hate relationship. (Korea and Japan often traded with one another, and many foreign ideas - for instance, Buddhism - entered Japan through Korea. However, the two countries were at war several times, and Korea was invaded by Japan more than once throughout history.)

At any rate, it seems clear that the Susano seen on earth is far different from the one in heaven. Perhaps Izanagi did him a favor when he banished him!

Thoughts? I’d love to hear them! Post below or email me. I’ll see you guys next time, when we continue Japanese mythology with a post about Inara/Inari and the deity’s messengers - the Kitsune!