Kamimusubi

Kamimusubi (神産巣日), also known as Kamimusuhi among other variants, is a kami and god of creation in Japanese mythology. They are a hitorigami, and the third of the first three kami to come into existence (Kotoamatsukami),[1] alongside Ame-no-Minakanushi and Takamimusubi, forming a trio at the beginning of all creation.[2] The name is composed of kami, denoting deity, and musubi, meaning "effecting force of creation".[2]

Kamimusubi
Creation of the world according to the Kojiki, showing the five primordial gods (kotoamatsukami) and the subsequent seven generations of deities (kamiyonanayo)
Other namesKamimusuhi, Kamumusubi
Japanese神産巣日神
TextsKojiki, Nihon Shoki, Izumo-no-kuni Fudoki
Personal information
ParentsNone; self-generated
Children

Mythology

At the time of the creation of heaven and earth, Kamimusubi was in Takamagahara next to Ame-no-Minakanushi and Takamimusubi.

In Kojiki, Kamimusubi is an ancestral god who sits in Takamagahara and assists the gods of Izumo, and is called "Mi-Oya" (honorfic name for ancestor) by other gods.[3] Kamimusubi became the ancestral god of the five grains (progenitors) after Kamimusubi transformed the grains produced from the body of Ōgetsu-hime, the goddess of food, who was killed by Susanoo, the god of storms.[4]

At the beginning of the text, it is said that Kamimusubi is a genderless hitorigami, but when Ōkuninushi is killed by Yasogami(八十神), his mother, Sashikuniwakahime(刺国若比売), makes a request to Kamimusubi. However, here, Kamimusubi is considered a goddess because Kisagaihime and Umugihime were healed by "mother's milk".[3]

Since the Izumo gods are not mentioned in Nihon Shoki, Kamimusubi exists only as a kinematic pair of Takamimusubi.[3]

In Izumo-no-kuni Fudoki, Kamimusubi appears as the ancestor of the Tochi-gami (land gods) who appear as the origin of the name of Shimane Peninsula . Many of the Tochi-gami, such as Kisagaihime and Umugihime, are goddesses, and it is thought that Kamimusubi is the mother goddess in the genealogy of a matriarchal society.[3]

Kamimusubi is considered in many versions to be the mother of Sukunabikona.[4][5] Sukunabikona would later assist Ōkuninushi with the development of the land.[4]

While being an Amatsukami ('Kami of heaven'), Kamimusubi has a strong connection to Kunitsukami ('Kami of land') in Izumo tradition.[4] Because of this, it is also theorized that Kamimusubi was a kami of the Izumo clan.[4]

Analysis

In the early Heian period, Kogo Shūi describes Kamimusubi as the ancestor of the Ki clan.[4]

During the medieval and early modern periods, Motoori Norinaga in his commentary on the Kojiki wrote that Kamimusubi and Takamimusubi are the “First Ancestors of heaven and earth, of the kami, and of all existence”,[6] placing greater importance on them over Ame-no-Minakanushi. This viewpoint challenged the belief of the Watari Priesthood, which was that Ame-no-Minakanushi was more important than Kamimusubi and Takamimusubi because they were created first.[6] His reasoning is that Kamimusubi and Takamimusubi are the two kami of production, and thus:

Each and every thing in the world, from heaven and earth to its manifold beings and phenomena, one and all, came to be from the productive spirit [musubi ] of these two great kami of production, so that even though manifold kami are in the world, it is these [two] kami that are particularly esteemed for the blessed virtue [mimegumi] of their productive spirit. It is they, of all others, which should be worshiped with highest esteem.[6]

Hirata Atsutane describes Kamimusubi and Takamimusubi in a similar way, as the "ultimate natural ancestral kami of human beings",[6] portraying them as "our great natural parent deities", giving birth to Izanagi and Izanami.[6]

Genealogy

There are no records of a spouse for Kamimusubi, but several children are mentioned.

Children

Family tree
Susanoo[9][10] Ōyamatsumi[11]
Ashinazuchi[12]TenazuchiKonohanachiruhime[13]
Kushinadahime[14]
Yashimajinumi[13]
Kagutsuchi[15]
Kuraokami[16]
Hikawahime[17]Fuha-no-Mojikunusunu[18]
Fukabuchi-no-MizuyarehanaAme-no-TsudoechineFunozuno
Sashikuni OkamiOmizunuFutemimi
Sashikuni WakahimeAme-no-Fuyukinu[19][20]Takamimusubi
Futodama
Nunakawahime Ōkuninushi[21]
(Ōnamuchi)[22]		Kamotaketsunumi no Mikoto
Kotoshironushi[23] Tamakushi-hime Takeminakata Susa Clan[24]

JAPANESE
EMPERORS
711–585 BC

Jimmu
660–585 BC(1) 		Himetataraisuzu-hime[25]Kamo no Okimi
632–549 BC

Suizei
581–549 BC(2)		 Isuzuyori-hime Hikoyai Kamuyaimimi
d.577 BC		Miwa clan Nunasokonakatsu-hime
  • Pink is female.
  • Blue is male.
  • Grey means other or unknown.
  • Clans, families, people groups are in green.

See also

References
  1. Gibney, Frank. Britannica International Encyclopedia. TBS-BRITANNICA. OCLC 704151705.
  2. Breen, John; Teeuwen, Mark (2013). Shinto in History: Ways of the Kami. p. 55. doi:10.4324/9781315027890. ISBN 9781136826979.
  3. Miura, Sukeyuki (2016). Fudoki no Sekai『風土記の世界』. Japan: Iwanamishoten. pp. 161–177. ISBN 9784004316046.
  4. "Encyclopedia of Shinto詳細". 國學院大學デジタルミュージアム (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-09-24.
  5. Ashkenazi, Michael (2003). Handbook of Japanese Mythology. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576074671.
  6. Sasaki, Kiyoshi. "Amenominakanushi no Kami in Late Tokugawa Period Kokugaku". Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics. Kokugakuin University. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  7. "Encyclopedia of Shinto: Kami in Classic Texts: Amenokoyane". Kokugakuin University. Establishment of a National Learning Institute for the Dissemination of Research on Shinto and Japanese Culture. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
  8. Tanaka. Kashima Daiguji Keizu, Shokeifu「鹿嶋大宮司系図」『諸系譜』. Vol. 1. Japan.
  9. Atsushi, Kadoya (10 May 2005). "Susanoo". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  10. "Susanoo | Description & Mythology". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  11. Kaoru, Nakayama (7 May 2005). "Ōyamatsumi". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  12. Fr?d?ric, L.; Louis-Frédéric; Roth, K. (2005). Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press reference library. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01753-5. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  13. "Encyclopedia of Shinto - Home : Kami in Classic Texts : Yashimajinumi". eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp.
  14. "Encyclopedia of Shinto - Home : Kami in Classic Texts : Kushinadahime". eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp.
  15. "Kagutsuchi". World History Encyclopedia.
  16. Ashkenazi, M. (2003). Handbook of Japanese Mythology. Handbooks of world mythology. ABC-CLIO. p. 213. ISBN 978-1-57607-467-1. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  17. Chamberlain, B.H. (2012). Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters. Tuttle Classics. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4629-0511-9. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  18. Herbert, J. (2010). Shinto: At the Fountainhead of Japan. Routledge Library Editions: Japan. Taylor & Francis. p. 402. ISBN 978-1-136-90376-2. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
  19. Philippi, Donald L. (2015). Kojiki. Princeton University Press. p. 92.
  20. Chamberlain (1882). Section XX.—The August Ancestors of the Deity-Master-Of-The-Great Land.
  21. Atsushi, Kadoya; Tatsuya, Yumiyama (20 October 2005). "Ōkuninushi". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  22. Atsushi, Kadoya (21 April 2005). "Ōnamuchi". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  23. Atsushi, Kadoya (28 April 2005). "Kotoshironushi". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
  24. Tanigawa Ken'ichi 『日本の神々 神社と聖地 7 山陰』（新装復刊） 2000年 白水社 ISBN 978-4-560-02507-9
  25. Kazuhiko, Nishioka (26 April 2005). "Isukeyorihime". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
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