Okuninushi

The Great Lord of the Land

Domain: Nation-Building, Medicine & Marriage
Alignment: Neutral Good
Element: Earth
Relics of Power: Sword and Bow of Susanoo

Speak with Okuninushi

The People

People

Japanese

Region

Japanese archipelago

Period

c. 500 BC – present

The kami of Shinto have been worshipped in Japan since time immemorial, in thousands of shrines across the archipelago. The imperial family claims direct descent from the sun goddess Amaterasu, and the cult coexists with Buddhism brought from the mainland. Festivals (matsuri) and purification rites keep these beliefs alive to this day.

Matsuri fill the streets with processions of portable shrines (mikoshi), drums, and dances. The great shrine of Ise, dedicated to Amaterasu, is rebuilt every twenty years, and at hatsumode millions visit the shrines at New Year to ask for blessings.

The Sacred Scrolls

Lord of the land of Izumo and builder of the nation, Okuninushi developed the world and taught medicine and agriculture to humankind. A descendant of Susanoo, he survived countless ordeals to become the great kami of the land. He is also revered as a deity of good marriage and happy bonds. As The Great Lord of the Land, this deity occupies a position of supreme prestige in the japoneses pantheon. Their domains over Nation-Building, Medicine & Marriage reflect ancestral cosmic order maintained across millennia. In classical iconography, they are depicted with an aura of unshakeable majesty and sacred attributes that inspired reverence in emperors and peasants alike. Their influence extended beyond earthly boundaries, governing fates and harmony between the visible and invisible worlds. For ancient devotees, contemplating their essence was to understand the very fundamental forces of nature and human existence.

Sacred Symbols

The land of Izumo, the white hare, little Sukunabikona and the grand shrine

Divine Lineage

Descendant of Susanoo; aided by the dwarf kami Sukunabikona in building the world.

The Legendary Myth

When his eighty jealous brothers killed him twice, Okuninushi was revived by the gods' compassion and fled to Susanoo's underworld.

Legends & Deeds

A celebrated secondary legend preserved in the oral traditions of the japoneses recounts the journey when Okuninushi intervened directly in the lives of mortals.