, also known as or Inadahime among other names, is a goddess (''
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 ...
'') in
Japanese mythology
Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of year ...
. She is one of the wives of the god
Susanoo
__FORCETOC__
Susanoo (; historical orthography: , ) is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory charac ...
, who rescued her from the monster
Yamata no Orochi
, or simply , is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/ serpent.
Mythology
Yamata no Orochi legends are originally recorded in two ancient texts about Japanese mythology and history. The 712 AD transcribes this dragon nam ...
.
Name
The goddess is named 'Kushinadahime' (櫛名田比売) in the ''
Kojiki
The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperi ...
'', while the ''
Nihon Shoki'' variously names her 'Kushiinadahime' (奇稲田姫), 'Inadahime' (稲田姫), and 'Makamifuru-Kushiinadahime' (真髪触奇稲田媛).
'Inadahime' may be translated either as "lady / princess (''
hime'') of Inada", with "Inada" (稲田) here being understood as the name of a place in
Izumo Province
was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province is in the Chūgoku region.
History
During the early Kofun period (3rd century) this region was independent a ...
(part of what is now the town of
Okuizumo
is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Nita District, Shimane, Nita District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan.
It was formed on March 31, 2005 from the merger of the towns of Nita, Shimane, Nita and Yokota, Shimane, Yokota.
As of March 1, 2017, ...
(formerly
Yokota) in
Nita District,
Shimane Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamag ...
), or "lady / princess of the rice fields" (''inada'' literally translated means "rice field" or "rice paddy"). The element ''kushi'' (
Old Japanese
is the oldest attested stage of the Japanese language, recorded in documents from the Nara period (8th century). It became Early Middle Japanese in the succeeding Heian period, but the precise delimitation of the stages is controversial.
Old Ja ...
: ''kusi'') meanwhile is usually interpreted as the adjective meaning "wondrous"; it is homophonous with the word for "
comb
A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since Prehistory, prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlemen ...
" (櫛), which features in her story in both the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Shoki''.
The epithet ''makamifuru'' (lit. "true-hair-touching"), found in a variant account cited in the ''Shoki'', is understood as a stock epithet or ''
makurakotoba'' associated with the word "comb".
The ''
Fudoki
are ancient reports on provincial culture, geography, and oral tradition presented to the reigning monarchs of Japan, also known as local gazetteers. They contain agricultural, geographical, and historical records as well as mythology and ...
'' of Izumo Province meanwhile gives the name of the goddess as 久志伊奈太美等与麻奴良比売命, commonly read as 'Kushiinada-Mitoyomanurahime-no-Mikoto'. One theory interprets the name to mean roughly "princess of the wondrous rice fields (''kushi-inada'') soaking wet (''manura'')
ndoverflowing with water (''mitoyo'', here understood as an epithet meaning "water-abundant")".
Mythology
The slaying of the Yamata no Orochi

In the ''
Kojiki
The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperi ...
'' and the ''
Nihon Shoki'', the god
Susanoo
__FORCETOC__
Susanoo (; historical orthography: , ) is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory charac ...
, after his banishment from the heavenly realm
Takamagahara, came down to earth, to the
land of Izumo, where he encountered an elderly couple named
Tenazuchi and
Ashinazuchi, both children of the mountain god
Ōyamatsumi. They told him of a monstrous creature from the nearby land of
Koshi known as the
Yamata no Orochi
, or simply , is a legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/ serpent.
Mythology
Yamata no Orochi legends are originally recorded in two ancient texts about Japanese mythology and history. The 712 AD transcribes this dragon nam ...
("eight-forked serpent") that had devoured seven of their eight daughters. Upon hearing this, Susanoo agreed to kill the serpent on condition that they give him their sole surviving daughter, Kushinadahime, to be his wife.
The version recounted in the ''Nihon Shoki''
's main narrative is as follows (translation by
William George Aston
William George Aston (9 April 1841 – 22 November 1911) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat, author and scholar-expert in the language and history of Japan and Korea.
Early life
Aston was born near Derry, Ireland.Ricorso Aston, bio notes/ref> He di ...
):
After defeating the serpent, Susanoo built a palace or shrine for Kushinadahime in a place called Suga - so named because Susanoo felt refreshed (''sugasugashi'') upon arriving there - and made her father Ashinazuchi its head (''obito''), giving him the title 'Inada-no-Miyanushi-Suga-no-Yatsumimi-no-Kami' (稲田宮主須賀之八耳神 "Master of the Palace of Inada, the Eight-Eared Deity of Suga"). On that occasion, he composed a song in ''
tanka
is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature.
Etymology
Originally, in the time of the ''Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short poem ...
'' form later held to be the root of Japanese ''
waka'' poetry:
:
The child born to Susanoo and Kushinadahime is variously identified as
Yashimajinumi in the ''
Kojiki
The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperi ...
'' and Ōnamuchi (
Ōkuninushi) in the ''Shokis main account.
Variants

While most accounts identify the headwaters of the river Hi in Izumo (肥河 / 簸之川, ''Hi-no-Kawa'', identified with the
Hii River in modern
Shimane Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamag ...
) as the place where Susanoo descended, one variant in the ''Shoki'' instead has Susanoo arriving at the upper reaches of the river E (可愛之川 ''E-no-Kawa'') in the province of
Aki (identified with the
Gōnokawa River in modern
Hiroshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama Prefecture to the ...
). In this version, Inadahime - whose name is given here as 'Makamifuru-Kushiinadahime' (真髪触奇稲田媛) - is not yet born when Susanoo slew the Yamata no Orochi.
A legend associated with
Yaegaki Shrine
, formerly known as , is a Shinto shrine in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan.
History
The gods ''Susanoo
__FORCETOC__
Susanoo (; historical orthography: , ) is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of t ...
in
Matsue, Shimane Prefecture claims that Susanoo hid Kushinadahime in an "eightfold fence" (''yaegaki'') in the forest within the shrine's precincts during his battle with the Yamata no Orochi.
In the Izumo ''Fudoki''

A legend recorded in the Izumo ''
Fudoki
are ancient reports on provincial culture, geography, and oral tradition presented to the reigning monarchs of Japan, also known as local gazetteers. They contain agricultural, geographical, and historical records as well as mythology and ...
'' concerning the township of Kumatani (熊谷郷) in
Iishi District (part of the modern city of
Unnan
is a city located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The city belonged to Ohara District, which dissolved in 2004 after Unnan was established.
The modern city of Unnan was established on November 1, 2004, from the merger of the towns of Daitō, ...
in Shimane) relates that Kushinadahime - as 'Kushiinada-Mitoyomanurahime' - passed through the area while she was about to give birth. The township's name is said to come from her exclamation: "How deep and well hidden (''kumakumashiki'') this valley (''tani'') is!"
In the Hōki ''Fudoki''
An excerpt claimed to be from the now-lost ''Fudoki'' of
Hōki Province
was an old province of Japan in the area that is today the western part of Tottori Prefecture. It was sometimes called . Hōki bordered on Inaba, Mimasaka, Bitchū, Bingo, and Izumo Provinces.
The ancient capital was in the area that i ...
(modern western
Tottori Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the least populous prefecture of Japan at 570,569 (2016) and has a geographic area of . Tottori Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the west, Hir ...
) relates that Inadahime fled to Hōki and hid in the mountains when the Yamata no Orochi was about to devour her. The province's name (originally ''Hahaki'') is here said to be derived from her cry for help: "Mother, come!" (''haha kimase'')
Worship

As with other Shinto ''kami'', Kushinadahime is venerated at many shrines across Japan, usually together with her husband Susanoo but also sometimes by herself or with other (related or unrelated) deities. Some examples of Shinto shrines which enshrine her are as follows.
*
Inada Shrine in
Okuizumo
is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Nita District, Shimane, Nita District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan.
It was formed on March 31, 2005 from the merger of the towns of Nita, Shimane, Nita and Yokota, Shimane, Yokota.
As of March 1, 2017, ...
,
Shimane Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamag ...
:This shrine enshrines Kushinadahime as its main deity, with Susanoo and
Ōyamatsumi serving as auxiliary deities. Near the shrine is the Ubuyu-no-Ike (産湯の池, lit. "Birth-Bath Pond"), a pond claimed to be the place where Kushinadahime received her first bath (''ubuyu'') after being born, and a
sasa Sasa may refer to:
People
* Saša, a given name
* Genjū Sasa (1900–1959), Japanese film director and critic
* Sa'sa'a bin Sohan (598–666), a companion of Imam Ali revered by Shia Muslims
* Sasa (politician), special envoy to the United Nation ...
bamboo grove that is said to have grown out of the bamboo
spatula (''hera'') that was used to cut the newborn Kushinadahime's
umbilical cord
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord (also called the navel string, birth cord or ''funiculus umbilicalis'') is a conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta. During prenatal development, the umbilical cord is physiolog ...
known as the Sasa-no-Miya (笹の宮).
*
Yaegaki Shrine
, formerly known as , is a Shinto shrine in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Japan.
History
The gods ''Susanoo
__FORCETOC__
Susanoo (; historical orthography: , ) is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of t ...
, in
Matsue, Shimane Prefecture
:Kushinadahime is one of this shrine's deities alongside Susanoo, Ōnamuchi (Ōkuninushi) and Aohata-Sakusahiko (one of Susanoo's children recorded in the Izumo ''Fudoki''). As mentioned above, shrine legend claims that Susanoo hid Kushinadahime in the wooded area within the shrine's precincts known as Sakusame Forest (佐久佐女の森 ''Sakusame no mori'') during his battle with the Yamata no Orochi.
*
Susa Shrine in
Izumo, Shimane Prefecture
:This shrine's deities are Susanoo, Kushinadahime, Tenazuchi and Ashinazuchi.
Located in the former township of Susa (須佐郷), a place closely associated with Susanoo; indeed, a legend recorded in the Izumo ''Fudoki'' states that Susanoo himself enshrined his spirit here.
The shrine's priestly lineage, the Susa (or Inada) clan (須佐氏 / 稲田氏), were considered to be Susanoo's descendants via his son Yashimashino-no-Mikoto (八島篠命, the ''Kojiki''
's Yashimajinumi)
or Ōkuninushi.
*
Suga Shrine in
Unnan
is a city located in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. The city belonged to Ohara District, which dissolved in 2004 after Unnan was established.
The modern city of Unnan was established on November 1, 2004, from the merger of the towns of Daitō, ...
, Shimane Prefecture
:This shrine is claimed to stand on the site of the palace Susanoo built after defeating the Yamata no Orochi and enshrines Susanoo, Kushinadahime, and their son Suga-no-Yuyamanushi-Minasarohiko-Yashima-no-Mikoto (清之湯山主三名狭漏彦八島野命, i.e. Yashimajinumi).
*
Kushida Shrine
Beppyo shrines
is a Shinto shrine located in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Dedicated to Amaterasu and Susanoo, it is said to have been founded in 757. The Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival is centred on the shrine.
See also
*List of Shinto shrin ...
(櫛田宮 ''Kushida-gū'') in
Kanzaki,
Saga Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of 809,248 (1 August 2020) and has a geographic area of 2,440 km2 (942 sq mi). Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasa ...
:Dedicated to Susanoo, Kushinadahime, and
Yamato Takeru. Legend claims that the shrine was founded by Yamato Takeru's father
Emperor Keikō, who visited the area and enshrined these three deities. A
camphor tree
''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel.
Description
''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern ...
in the shrine grounds is said to have grown out of a ''
koto
Koto may refer to:
* Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group
* Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument
* Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana
* Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women
* ...
'' that the emperor buried in the ground.
*
Kushida Shrine
Beppyo shrines
is a Shinto shrine located in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Dedicated to Amaterasu and Susanoo, it is said to have been founded in 757. The Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival is centred on the shrine.
See also
*List of Shinto shrin ...
(櫛田神社 ''Kushida-jinja'') in
Imizu
270px, Tonami-yotaka festival held in June
is a city located in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 93,447 in 37,734 households and a population density of 850 persons per km². Its total area was .
Geography
Im ...
,
Toyama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to th ...
:This shrine, claimed to have been founded by
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 wa ...
, enshrines Susanoo and Kushinadahime as its principal deities.
*
Yasaka Shrine
Kanpei-taisha
, once called , is a Shinto shrine in the Gion District of Kyoto, Japan. Situated at the east end of Shijō-dōri (Fourth Avenue), the shrine includes several buildings, including gates, a main hall and a stage. The Yasaka shrine i ...
in
Gion,
Higashiyama,
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...
,
Kyoto Prefecture
*
Hiromine Shrine
is a Shinto shrine located in Himeji. It is one of the three main shrines of the Gion cult alongside Yasaka Shrine, and Tsushima Shrine. Until the Muromachi period the shrine was perceived as highly prestigious, on par with Kumano Taisha, but l ...
in
Himeji
260px, Himeji City Hall
is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 525,682 in 227,099 households and a population density of 980 persons per km². The total area of the city i ...
,
Hyōgo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, ...
*
Hikawa Shrine in
Ōmiya,
Saitama,
Saitama Prefecture
is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefectur ...
:The ''
ichinomiya
is a Japanese historical term referring to the Shinto shrines with the highest rank in a province. Shrines of lower rank were designated , , , and so forth. ''Encyclopedia of Shinto'' ''Ichi no miya'' retrieved 2013-5-14.
The term gave rise t ...
'' of former
Musashi Province
was a province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki and Yokohama. Musashi bordered on Kai, Kōzuke, Sagami ...
, dedicated to Susanoo, Kushinadahime, and Ōnamuchi. Many of its
branch shrines - concentrated in
Saitama Prefecture
is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefectur ...
and
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
- such as
Akasaka Hikawa Shrine (
Akasaka,
Minato City, Tokyo) or
Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine (
Kawagoe, Saitama) also venerate these three deities, though some either enshrine Susanoo alone or pair him with other gods (e.g.
Azabu Hikawa Shrine in
Moto-Azabu
is a district of Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
The district is home to Zenpuku-ji, a Jōdo Shinshū temple also known as . The embassy of China in Tokyo, and former embassy of Manchuria before World War II, are located in this area.
Moto-Azabu borders ...
, Minato, Tokyo, dedicated to Susanoo and Yamato Takeru).
*
Inada Shrine in
Kasama,
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Tochigi Prefectur ...
:This shrine to Kushinadahime is classified in the ''Jinmyōchō'' (
神名帳, lit. 'Register of Shrine Names') section of the ''
Engishiki
The is a Japanese book about laws and customs. The major part of the writing was completed in 927. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Engi-shiki''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 178.
History
In 905, Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of th ...
'' as a 'notable shrine' or ''
myōjin-taisha'', attesting to its status since antiquity.
The shrine's original site is located some 300 meters northwest of the current location, situated beside a spring-fed pond known as Yoshii (好井). According to legend, Kushinadahime appeared to a child who was drawing water from the spring and asked that shrines dedicated to her, her husband Susanoo, and her parents Tenazuchi and Ashinazuchi be built there.
Kushinadahime and Harisaijo

During the medieval and early modern periods, Susanoo was popularly conflated with the pestilence deity
Gozu Tennō, the god originally worshiped in Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, Hiromine Shrine in Hyōgo Prefecture, and
Tsushima Shrine
is a Shinto shrine in Tsushima, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is the head shrine of a nationwide shrine network of shrines dedicated to the , Centered primarily in the Tōkai region, this network has approximately 3,000 shrines and is the tenth- ...
in Tsushima,
Aichi Prefecture. As Susanoo's consort, Kushinadahime was in turn identified with Gozu Tennō's wife,
Harisaijo (頗梨采女 or 波利采女, also known as 'Harisainyo', 'Barisainyo', or 'Harisai
Tennyo' (頗梨采天女)), the third daughter of the dragon (''
nāga
The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...
'') king
Sāgara. Indeed, while Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto currently enshrines Susanoo, his wives (Kushinadahime, Kamu-Ōichihime, and Samirahime), and his eight children (Yashimajinumi,
I(so)takeru, Ōya(tsu)hime, Tsumatsuhime,
Ōtoshi,
Ukanomitama,
Ōyabiko, and
Suseribime),
its original deities were Gozu Tennō, Harisaijo, and their eight sons, collectively known as the 'Eight Princes' (八王子, ''Hachiōji'').
Legacy
The asteroid
10613 Kushinadahime, discovered in 1997, is named after Kushinadahime.
Kushinadahime was portrayed by
Misa Uehara
(birth name Misako Uehara; 26 March 1937 in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan – 2003) appeared in a few Japanese films from the late 1950s, most notably starring as Princess Yuki in Akira Kurosawa's ''The Hidden Fortress
is a 1958 J ...
in the 1959 film ''
The Birth of Japan''.
Notes
References
See also
*
Susanoo
__FORCETOC__
Susanoo (; historical orthography: , ) is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory charac ...
*
Somin Shōrai
{{Japanese mythology
Shinto kami
Harvest goddesses
Agricultural goddesses
Food goddesses
Love and lust goddesses
Marriage goddesses
Childhood goddesses
Japanese goddesses
Gion faith