is a

shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

of the seashore. He is considered to be the ancestor of the

Azumi people The were a warrior clan and tribe during the Jōmon period in Japan, whose cultures and beliefs are considered to be one of Japan’s earliest sea religions. Their existence dates back to the early 3rd – 7th centuries, when their extensive k ...

. He is worshiped at a number of shrines, including of Kitakyushu, Shika no Umi shrine on

Shika Island is an island in Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. The island is known as the spot where the Gold Seal of the King of Na, a national treasure, was discovered. The island is about 11 kilometres around and connected to the Umi no Nakamichi (road) on th ...

, and of Tsushima. Azumi-no-isora is considered a (lesser) sea deity hired as navigator to bring the emissary

Takenouchi no Sukune or Takeshiuchi no Sukune was a legendary Japanese hero-statesman of the 1st century, and a Shinto kami. He is recorded in Japan's earliest literary texts, the '' Kojiki'' (ca. 712) and the '' Nihon Shoki'' ( 720). Life Takenouchi no Sukune ...

to the Dragon King (i.e., Dragon God,

Ryūjin Ryūjin ( 龍神), which in some traditions is equivalent to Ōwatatsumi, was the tutelary deity of the sea in Japanese mythology. In many versions Ryūjin had the ability to transform into a human shape. Many believed the god had knowledge on ...

) in the late legend regarding the loan of the

tide jewels In Japanese mythology, the two tide jewels, named and , were magical gems that the water deity, Sea God used to control the tides. The earliest pseudo-historical texts record an ancient myth that the presented the tide jewels to his son-in-law ...

Empress Jingū was a legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her husband's death in 200 AD. Both the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Jingū's alleged lifetime. Leg ...

, attested in various foundation myth documents of the Hachiman cult.

Explanatory notes

References

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Japanese gods Shinto kami {{Shinto-stub