Editing Susanoo-no-Mikoto (section)

== Mythology ==
=== Parentage ===
The {{Transliteration|ja|[[Kojiki]]}} ({{circa|712}} CE) and the {{Transliteration|ja|[[Nihon Shoki]]}} (720 CE) both agree in their description of Susanoo as the son of the god [[Izanagi]] and the younger brother of [[Amaterasu]], the goddess of the [[sun]], and of [[Tsukuyomi]], the god of the [[moon]]. The circumstances surrounding the birth of these three deities, collectively known as the {{nihongo|"Three Precious Children"|三貴子|Mihashira-no-Uzunomiko, Sankishi}}, however, vary between sources.

*In the {{Transliteration|ja|Kojiki}}, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo came into existence when Izanagi [[Misogi|bathed]] in a river to purify himself after visiting [[Yomi]], the underworld, in a failed attempt to rescue his deceased wife, Izanami. Amaterasu was born when Izanagi washed his left eye, Tsukuyomi was born when he washed his right eye, and Susanoo was born when he washed his nose. Izanagi then appoints Amaterasu to rule {{nihongo3|the "Plain of High Heaven"|高天原|[[Takamagahara]]}}, Tsukuyomi the night, and Susanoo the seas. Susanoo, who missed his mother, kept crying and howling incessantly until his beard grew long, causing the mountains to wither and the rivers to dry up. An angry Izanagi then "expelled him with a divine expulsion."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Ritual poetry and the politics of death in early Japan|last=Ebersole, Gary L., 1950-|isbn=0-691-07338-4|location=Princeton, N.J.|oclc=18560237|year = 1989}}</ref><ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj018.htm Section XI.—Investiture of the Three Deities; The Illustrious August Children.]</ref><ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj019.htm Section XII.—The Crying and Weeping of His Impetuous-Male-Augustness.]</ref>
*The main narrative of the {{Transliteration|ja|Nihon Shoki}} has Izanagi and Izanami procreating after [[Kuniumi|creating the Japanese archipelago]]; to them were born (in the following order) Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, the 'leech-child' [[Hiruko]], and Susanoo. Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi were sent up to heaven to govern it, while Hiruko – who even at the age of three could not stand upright – was placed on the {{nihongo|'Rock-Camphor Boat of Heaven'|天磐櫲樟船|Ame-no-Iwakusufune}} and set adrift. Susanoo, whose wailing laid waste to the land, was expelled and sent to the netherworld ([[Ne-no-Kuni]]).<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=18}}</ref> (In the {{Transliteration|ja|Kojiki}}, Hiruko is the couple's very first offspring, born before the islands of Japan and the other deities were created; there he is set afloat on a [[reed boat|boat of reeds]].)
*A variant legend recorded in the {{Transliteration|ja|Shoki}} has Izanagi begetting Amaterasu by holding a [[bronze mirror]] in his left hand, Tsukuyomi by holding another mirror in his right hand, and Susanoo by turning his head and looking sideways. Susanoo is here also said to be banished by Izanagi due to his destructive nature.<ref name="Aston20">{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=20}}</ref>
*A third variant in the {{Transliteration|ja|Shoki}} has Izanagi and Izanami begetting Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Hiruko, and Susanoo, as in the main narrative. This version specifies the Rock-Camphor Boat on which Hiruko was placed in to be the couple's fourth offspring. The fifth child, the fire god [[Kagutsuchi]], caused the death of Izanami (as in the {{Transliteration|ja|Kojiki}}). As in other versions, Susanoo – who "was of a wicked nature, and was always fond of wailing and wrath" – is here expelled by his parents.<ref name="Aston20" />

=== Susanoo and Amaterasu ===
[[File:Tôzan - Tsuba with the Sun Goddess Amaterasu and Her Brother Susano-ô - Walters 51244.jpg|thumb|Sword guard ({{Transliteration|ja|[[Japanese sword mountings#Tsuba|tsuba]]}}) depicting Susanoo meeting Amaterasu in Takamagahara]]
Before Susanoo leaves, he ascends to Takamagahara, wishing to say farewell to his sister Amaterasu. As he did so, the mountains and rivers shook and the land quaked. Amaterasu, suspicious of his motives, went out to meet him dressed in male clothing and clad in armor, but when Susanoo proposed a trial by pledge ({{Transliteration|ja|[[ukehi]]}}) to prove his sincerity, she accepted. In the ritual, the two gods each chewed and spat out an object carried by the other (in some variants, an item they each possessed).

*Both the {{Transliteration|ja|Kojiki}} and the {{Transliteration|ja|Nihon Shoki}}'s main account relate that Amaterasu broke Susanoo's {{nihongo|ten-span sword|十拳剣 / 十握剣|[[Totsuka-no-Tsurugi|totsuka no tsurugi]]}} into three, chewed them and then spat them out. [[Munakata Taisha|Three goddesses]] – Takiribime (Tagorihime), Ichikishimahime, and Tagitsuhime – were thus born. Susanoo then took the strings of {{Transliteration|ja|[[magatama]]}} beads Amaterasu entwined in her hair and round her wrists, likewise chewed the beads and spat them out. Five male deities – Ame-no-Oshihomimi, Ame-no-Hohi, Amatsuhikone, Ikutsuhikone, and Kumano-no-Kusubi – then came into existence.<ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj020.htm Section XIII.—The August Oath.]</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=35}}</ref>
*A variant account in the {{Transliteration|ja|Nihon Shoki}} has Amaterasu chew three different swords she bore with her – a ten-span sword, a {{nihongo|nine-span sword|九握剣|kokonotsuka no tsurugi}}, and an {{nihongo|eight-span sword|八握剣|yatsuka no tsurugi}} – while Susanoo chewed the {{Transliteration|ja|magatama}} necklace that hung on his neck.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=37}}</ref>
*Another variant account in the {{Transliteration|ja|Shoki}} has Susanoo meet a {{Transliteration|ja|kami}} named {{nihongo|Ha'akarutama|羽明玉}} on his way to heaven. This deity presented him with the {{Transliteration|ja|magatama}} beads used in the ritual. In this version, Amaterasu begets the three goddesses after chewing the {{Transliteration|ja|magatama}} beads Susanoo obtained earlier, while Susanoo begets the five gods after biting off the edge of Amaterasu's sword.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=38}}</ref>
*A third variant has Amaterasu chewing three different swords to beget the three goddesses as in the first variant. Susanoo, in turn, begat six male deities after chewing the ''magatama'' beads on his hair bunches and necklace and spitting them on his hands, forearms, and legs.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=39}}</ref>

[[File:MET 12 37 84.jpg|thumb|left|Necklace of ''magatama'' beads]]

[[File:Origin of the Cave Door Dance (Amaterasu) by Shunsai Toshimasa 1889.jpg|260px|thumb|Amaterasu emerges from the Heavenly Rock Cave (Shunsai Toshimasa, 1887)]]
Amaterasu declares that the male deities were hers because they were born of her necklace, and that the three goddesses were Susanoo's.<ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj021.htm Section XIV.—The August Declaration of the Division of the August Male Children and the August Female Children.]</ref> Susanoo, announcing that he had won the trial,{{efn|Because (A) in the ''Kojiki'', the children borne by Amaterasu but fathered by him were female; or (B) in the ''Shoki'', the children borne by him but mothered by Amaterasu were male.}} thus signifying the purity of his intentions, "raged with victory" and proceeded to wreak havoc by destroying his sister's rice fields, defecating in her palace and flaying the 'heavenly piebald horse' (天斑駒, ''ame-no-fuchikoma''), which he then hurled at Amaterasu's loom, killing one of her weaving maidens.<ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj022.htm Section XV.—The August Ravages of His Impetuous-Male-Augustness.]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |year=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-7800-0 |page=79}}</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=40}}</ref> A furious Amaterasu in response hid inside the [[Ama-no-Iwato]] ("Heavenly Rock Cave"), plunging heaven and earth into total darkness. The gods, led by [[Omoikane (Shinto)|Omoikane-no-Kami]] (思金神), eventually persuade her to come out of the cave, restoring light to the world.<ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj023.htm Section XVI.—The Door of the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling.]</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=42}}</ref> As punishment for his misdeeds, Susanoo is thrown out of Takamagahara:<ref name="ChamberlainXVII">Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj024.htm Section XVII.—The August Expulsion of His-Impetuous-Male-Augustness.]</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=45}}</ref>

[[File:Guimet Haniwa 01.JPG|thumb|110px|6th century ([[Kofun period]]) [[Haniwa]] depicting a warrior wearing the male ''mizura'' hairstyle, in which the hair is parted into two bunches or loops]]
{{blockquote|At this time the eight-hundred myriad deities deliberated together, imposed upon Haya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto a fine of a thousand tables of restitutive gifts, and also, cutting off his beard and the nails of his hands and feet, had him exorcised and expelled him with a divine expulsion.<ref>Translation from {{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |year=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-7800-0 |pages=85–86}} Names (transcribed in [[Old Japanese]] in the original) have been changed into their modern equivalents.</ref>}}

*A fourth variant of the story in the ''Shoki'' reverses the order of the two events. This version relates that Susanoo and Amaterasu each owned three rice fields; Amaterasu's fields were fertile, while Susanoo's were dry and barren. Driven by jealousy, Susanoo ruins his sister's rice fields, causing her to hide in the Ama-no-Iwato and him to be expelled from heaven (as above). During his banishment, Susanoo, wearing a [[Straw hat|hat]] and a [[Mino (straw cape)|raincoat]] made of straw, sought shelter from the heavy rains, but the other gods refused to give him lodging. He then ascends to heaven once more to say farewell to Amaterasu.

{{blockquote|After this, Sosa no wo no Mikoto said:—'All the Gods have banished me, and I am now about to depart for ever. Why should I not see my elder sister face to face; and why take it on me of my own accord to depart without more ado?' So he again ascended to Heaven, disturbing Heaven and disturbing Earth. Now Ame no Uzume, seeing this, reported it to the Sun-Goddess. The Sun-Goddess said:—'My younger brother has no good purpose in coming up. It is surely because he wishes to rob me of my kingdom. Though I am a woman, why should I shrink?' So she arrayed herself in martial garb, etc., etc.<br />
Thereupon Sosa no wo no Mikoto swore to her, and said:—'If I have come up again cherishing evil feelings, the children which I shall now produce by chewing jewels will certainly be females, and in that case they must be sent down to the Central Land of Reed-Plains. But if my intentions are pure, then I shall produce male children, and in that case they must be made to rule the Heavens. The same oath will also hold good as to the children produced by my elder sister.'<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=50}}</ref>}}

The two then perform the ''ukehi'' ritual; Susanoo produces six male deities from the ''magatama'' beads on his hair knots. Declaring that his intentions were indeed pure, Susanoo gives the six gods to Amaterasu's care and departs.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=48}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none; text-align: center;"
! !!   scope="col" style="width: 160px;" |''Kojiki''!! scope="col" style="width: 160px;" |''Nihon Shoki''<br />(main text) !! scope="col" style="width: 150px;" |''Nihon Shoki''<br />(variant 1) !! scope="col" style="width: 160px;" |''Nihon Shoki''<br />(variant 2)!! scope="col" style="width: 160px;" |''Nihon Shoki''<br />(variant 3)!! scope="col" style="width: 160px;" |''Nihon Shoki''<br />(variant 4)
|-
! scope="row" | Goddesses<br />(in order)
| 1. Takiribime-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(多紀理毘売命)</small><br />2. Ichikishimahime-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(市寸島比売命)</small><br />3. Tagitsuhime-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(多岐都比売命)</small> || 1. Tagorihime<br /><small>(田心姫)</small><br />2. Tagitsuhime<br /><small>(湍津姫)</small><br />3. Ichikishimahime<br /><small>(市杵嶋姫)</small> || 1. Okitsushimahime<br /><small>(瀛津島姫)</small><br />2. Tagitsuhime<br />3. Tagorihime || 1. Ichikishimahime-no-Mikoto<br />2. Tagorihime-no-Mikoto<br />3. Tagitsuhime-no-Mikoto || 1. Okitsushimahime-no-Mikoto, a.k.a. Ichikishimahime-no-Mikoto<br />2. Tagitsuhime-no-Mikoto<br />3. Tagirihime-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(田霧姫命)</small>|| -
|-
! scope="row" | Born when Amaterasu
| Broke Susanoo's ten-span sword into three and chewed them || Broke Susanoo's ten-span sword into three and chewed them || 1. Ate her ten-span sword<br />2. Ate her nine-span sword<br />3. Ate her eight-span sword || 1. Bit off the upper part of Susanoo's ''magatama'' beads<br />2. Bit off the middle part of the beads<br />3. Bit off the lower part of the beads || 1. Ate her ten-span sword<br />2. Ate her nine-span sword<br />4. Ate her eight-span sword||Ate her ten-span sword
|-
! scope="row" | Gods<br />(in order)
| 1. [[Ame-no-oshihomimi|Masakatsu-Akatsu-Kachihayahi-Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto]]<br /><small>(正勝吾勝勝速日天之忍穂耳命)</small><br />2. [[Ame no Hohi|Ame-no-Hohi-no-Mikoto]]<br /><small>(天之菩卑能命)</small><br />3. [[Amatsuhikone|Amatsuhikone-no-Mikoto]]<br /><small>(天津日子根命)</small><br />4. [[Ikutsuhikone|Ikutsuhikone-no-Mikoto]]<br /><small>(活津日子根命)</small><br />5. [[Kumanokusubi|Kumano-no-Kusubi-no-Mikoto]]<br /><small>(熊野久須毘命)</small> || 1. Masaka-Akatsu-Kachihayahi-Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(正哉吾勝勝速日天忍穂耳尊)</small><br />2. Ame-no-Hohi-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(天穂日命)</small><br />3. Amatsuhikone-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(天津彦根命)</small><br />4. Ikutsuhikone-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(活津彦根命)</small><br />5. Kumano-no-Kusuhi-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(熊野櫲樟日命)</small> || 1. Masaka-Akatsu-Kachihayahi-Ame-no-Oshihone-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(正哉吾勝勝速日天忍骨尊)</small><br />2. Amatsuhikone-no-Mikoto<br />3. Ikutsuhikone-no-Mikoto<br />4. Ame-no-Hohi-no-Mikoto<br />5. Kumano-no-Oshihomi-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(熊野忍蹈命)</small> || 1. Ame-no-Hohi-no-Mikoto<br />2. Masaka-Akatsu-Kachihayahi-Ame-no-Oshihone-no-Mikoto<br />3. Amatsuhikone-no-Mikoto<br />4. Ikutsuhikone-no-Mikoto<br />5. Kumano-no-Kusuhi-no-Mikoto || 1. Kachihayahi-Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(勝速日天忍穂耳尊)</small><br />2. Ame-no-Hohi-no-Mikoto<br />3. Amatsuhikone-no-Mikoto<br />4. Ikutsuhikone-no-Mikoto<br />5. Hi-no-Hayahi-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(熯之速日命)</small><br />6. Kumano-no-Oshihomi-no-Mikoto, a.k.a. Kumano-no-Oshikuma-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(熊野忍蹈命, 熊野忍隅命)</small>|| 1. Masaka-Akatsu-Kachihayahi-Ame-no-Oshihone-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(正哉吾勝勝速日天忍穂根尊)</small><br />2. Ame-no-Hohi-no-Mikoto<br />3. Amatsuhikone-no-Mikoto<br />4. Ikumetsuhikone-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(活目津彥根命)</small><br />5. Hihayahi-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(熯速日命)</small><br />6. Kumano-no-Ōsumi-no-Mikoto<br /><small>(熊野大角命)</small>
|-
! scope="row" | Born when Susanoo
| 1. Chewed the strings of ''magatama'' beads entwined in Amaterasu's left hair bunch<br />2. Chewed the beads entwined in Amaterasu's right hair bunch<br />3. Chewed the beads on the vine securing her hair<br />4. Chewed the beads wrapped around Amaterasu's left wrist<br />5. Chewed the beads wrapped around Amaterasu's right wrist || Chewed the strings of ''magatama'' beads entwined in Amaterasu's hair and wrists||  Chewed his necklace of ''magatama'' beads || Bit off the end of Amaterasu's sword || 1. Chewed the ''magatama'' beads entwined in his left hair bunch and spat them on the palm of his left hand<br />2. Chewed the beads entwined in his right hair bunch and spat them on the palm of his right hand<br />3. Chewed the beads of his necklace and laid them on his left forearm<br />4. Laid the beads on his right forearm<br />5. Laid the beads on his left foot<br />6. Laid the beads on his right foot||1. Chewed the ''magatama'' beads entwined in his right hair bunch and laid them on the palm of his left hand<br />2. Chewed the beads entwined in his right hair bunch and laid them on the palm of his right hand
|}

=== Susanoo and Ōgetsuhime ===
The ''Kojiki'' relates that during his banishment, Susanoo asked the goddess of food, [[Ōgetsuhime]]-no-Kami (大気都比売神), to give him something to eat. Upon finding out that the goddess [[Dema Deity|produced foodstuffs]] from her mouth, nose, and rectum, a disgusted Susanoo killed her, at which various crops, plants and seeds spring from her dead body.<ref name="ChamberlainXVII" /> This account is not found in the ''Nihon Shoki'', where a similar story is told of Tsukuyomi and the goddess [[Ukemochi]].<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=32}}</ref>

=== Slaying the Yamata no Orochi ===
[[File:Susanoo rescues Kushinada Hime by Toyohara Chikanobu 1886.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Susanoo rescues Kushinada Hime ([[Toyohara Chikanobu]])]]
After his banishment, Susanoo came down from heaven to Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni (葦原中国, the 'Central Land of Reed Plains', i.e. the earthly land of Japan), to the land of [[Izumo Province|Izumo]], where he met an elderly couple named Ashinazuchi (足名椎 / 脚摩乳) and Tenazuchi (手名椎 / 手摩乳), who told him that seven of their eight daughters had been devoured by a monstrous serpent known as the [[Yamata no Orochi]] (八俣遠呂智 / 八岐大蛇, "eight-forked serpent") and it was nearing time for their eighth, [[Kushinadahime]] (櫛名田比売; also called Kushiinadahime, Inadahime, or Makami-Furu-Kushiinadahime in the ''Shoki'').

Sympathizing with their plight, Susanoo hid Kushinadahime by transforming her into a [[comb]] (''kushi''), which he placed in his hair. He then made the serpent drunk on strong [[sake]] and then killed it as it lay in a drunken stupor. From within the serpent's tail Susanoo discovered the sword Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (天叢雲剣, "Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven"), also known as [[Kusanagi]]-no-Tsurugi (草薙剣, "Grass-Cutting Sword"), which he then presented to Amaterasu as a reconciliatory gift.<ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj025.htm Section XVIII.—The Eight-Forked Serpent.]</ref><ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=52}}</ref>

[[File:11.36845-Utagawa Kuniteru I-Museum of Fine Art Boston.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Susanoo kills the Yamata no Orochi ([[Kuniteru|Utagawa Kuniteru]])]]{{blockquote|[Susanoo-no-Mikoto] said to Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi-no-Kami:<br />
"Distill thick wine of eight-fold brewings; build a fence, and make eight doors in the fence. At each door, tie together eight platforms, and on each of these platforms place a wine barrel. Fill each barrel with the thick wine of eight-fold brewings, and wait."<br />
They made the preparations as he had instructed, and as they waited, the eight-tailed dragon came indeed, as [the old man] had said.<br />
Putting one head into each of the barrels, he drank the wine; then, becoming drunk, he lay down and slept.<br />
Then Haya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto unsheathed the sword ten hands long which he was wearing at his side, and hacked the dragon to pieces, so that the Hi river ran with blood.<br />
When he cut [the dragon's] middle tail, the blade of his sword broke. Thinking this strange, he thrust deeper with the stub of his sword, until a great sharp sword appeared.<br />
He took this sword out and, thinking it an extraordinary thing, reported [the matter] and presented [the sword] to Amaterasu-Ōmikami.<br />
This is the sword ''Kusa-nagi''.<ref>Translation from {{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |year=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-7800-0 |pages=89–90}} Names (transcribed in [[Old Japanese]] in the original) have been changed into their modern equivalents.</ref>}}

[[File:Mt.Sentsuzan.jpg|thumb|[[Mount Sentsū]] as seen from [[Okuizumo, Shimane|Okuizumo]] with the Hii River in the foreground]]
Amaterasu later bequeathed the sword to [[Ninigi]], her grandson by Ame-no-Oshihomimi, along with the mirror [[Yata no Kagami]] and the jewel [[Magatama#Yasakani no Magatama|Yasakani no Magatama]]. This sacred sword, mirror, and jewel collectively became the three [[Imperial Regalia of Japan]].

While most accounts place Susanoo's descent in 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]]), with the ''Kojiki'' specifying the area to be a place called Torikami (鳥髮, identified with [[Mount Sentsū]] in eastern Shimane), one variant in the ''Shoki'' instead has Susanoo descend to the upper reaches of the river E (可愛之川, ''E-no-kawa'') in the province of [[Aki Province|Aki]] (identified with the [[Gōnokawa River]] in modern [[Hiroshima Prefecture]]). Kushinadahime's parents are here given the names Ashinazu-Tenazu (脚摩手摩) and Inada-no-Miyanushi-Susa-no-Yatsumimi (稲田宮主簀狭之八箇耳); here, Kushinadahime is not yet born when Susanoo slew the Yamata no Orochi.<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=55}}</ref>

The ten-span sword Susanoo used to slay the Yamata no Orochi, unnamed in the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Shoki''<nowiki/>'s main text, is variously named in the ''Shoki''<nowiki/>'s variants as Orochi-no-Aramasa (蛇之麁正, 'Rough [and] True [Blade] of the Serpent'),<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=56}}</ref> Orochi-no-Karasabi-no-Tsurugi (蛇韓鋤之剣, 'Korean (''Kara'') Sword of the Serpent' or 'Flashing Sword of the Serpent'),<ref name="Aston57">{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=57}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sesko |first1=Markus |title=Legends and Stories around the Japanese Sword 2 |year=2012 |publisher=Lulu.com |page=23 |isbn=978-1-300-29383-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lSr1AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23}}</ref> and Ame-no-Haekiri-no-Tsurugi (天蝿斫剣, 'Heavenly Fly Cutter', also Ame-no-Hahakiri 'Heavenly Serpent (''haha'') Cutter').<ref name="Aston57" /><ref name="KogoShui" /> In the ''[[Kogo Shūi]]'' it is dubbed Ame-no-Habakiri (天羽々斬, also Ame-no-Hahakiri).<ref name="KogoShui">{{cite book |last1=Inbe |first1=Hironari |last2=Katō |first2=Genchi |last3=Hoshino |first3=Hikoshiro |title=Kogoshui. Gleanings from Ancient Stories |year=1925 |publisher=Zaidan-Hojin-Meiji-Seitoku-Kinen-Gakkai (Meiji Japan Society) |page=24}}</ref> This sword is said to have been originally enshrined in [[:ja:石上布都魂神社|Isonokami Futsumitama Shrine]] in [[Bizen Province]] (modern [[Okayama Prefecture]]) before it was transferred to [[Isonokami Shrine]] in [[Yamato Province]] (modern [[Nara Prefecture]]).

=== Susanoo in Soshimori ===
[[File:History of Korea-576.png|thumb|Pre-Later Silla at its height in 576]]
A variant account in the ''Shoki'' relates that after Susanoo was banished due to his bad behavior, he descended from heaven, accompanied by a son named Isotakeru-no-Mikoto (五十猛命), to a place called 'Soshimori' (曽尸茂梨) in the land of Shiragi (the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Korean]] kingdom of [[Silla]]) before going to Izumo. Disliking the place, they crossed the sea in a boat made of clay until they arrived at Torikami Peak (鳥上之峯, ''Torikami no mine'') by the upper waters of the river Hi in Izumo.<ref name="Aston57" />

=== The palace of Suga ===
After slaying the Yamata no Orochi, Susanoo looked for a suitable place in Izumo to live in. Upon arriving at a place called Suga (須賀 / 清), he declared, "Coming to this place, my heart is refreshed (''sugasugashi'')." He then erected a palace there and made [[Waka (poetry)|a song]]:

{{blockquote|[[Man'yogana]] (''Kojiki''): 夜久毛多都　伊豆毛夜幣賀岐　都麻碁微爾　夜幣賀岐都久流　曾能夜幣賀岐袁<br />
[[Old Japanese]]: yakumo<sub>1</sub> tatu / idumo<sub>1</sub> yape<sub>1</sub>gaki<sub>1</sub> / tumago<sub>2</sub>mi<sub>2</sub> ni / yape<sub>1</sub>gaki<sub>1</sub> tukuru / so<sub>2</sub>no<sub>2</sub> yape<sub>1</sub>gaki<sub>1</sub> wo<br />
[[Modern Japanese]]: yakumo tatsu / izumo yaegaki / tsumagomi ni / yaegaki tsukuru / sono yaegaki o<br />}}

[[Don Philippi|Donald L. Philippi]] (1968) translates the song into English thus:

{{blockquote|The many-fenced palace of I<small>DUMO</small><br />
Of the many clouds rising—<br />
To dwell there with my spouse<br />
Do I build a many-fenced palace:<br />
Ah, that many-fenced palace!<ref>{{cite book |last1=Philippi |first1=Donald L. |title=Kojiki |year=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-7800-0 |page=91}}</ref>}}

The ''Kojiki'' adds that Susanoo appointed Kushinadahime's father Ashinazuchi to be the headman of his new dwelling, bestowing upon him the name 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'). With his new wife Kushinadahime, Susanoo had a child named Yashimajinumi-no-Kami (八島士奴美神). He then took another wife named Kamu-Ōichihime (神大市比売), the daughter of [[Ōyamatsumi]], the god of mountains, and had two children by her: [[Toshigami|Ōtoshi-no-Kami]] (大年神), the god of the harvest, and [[Ukanomitama]]-no-Kami (宇迦之御魂神), the god of agriculture.<ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj026.htm Section XIX.—The Palace of Suga.]</ref><ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj027.htm Section XX.—The August Ancestors of the Deity-Master-of-the-Great-Land.]</ref>

The ''Shoki''<nowiki/>'s main narrative is roughly similar: Susanoo appoints Ashinazuchi and Tenazuchi to be the keepers of his palace and gives them the title Inada-no-Miyanushi. The child born to Susanoo and Kushiinadahime in this version is identified as Ōnamuchi-no-Kami (大己貴神, the ''Kojiki''<nowiki/>'s [[Ōkuninushi]]).<ref>{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=54}}</ref>

After having thus lived for a time in Izumo, Susanoo at length finally found his way to Ne-no-Kuni.

=== Planting trees ===
One variant in the ''Shoki'' has Susanoo pulling out hairs from different parts of his body and turning them into different kinds of trees. Determining the use of each, he then gives them to his three children – Isotakeru-no-Mikoto, Ōyatsuhime-no-Mikoto (大屋津姫命), and Tsumatsuhime-no-Mikoto (枛津姫命) – to spread in Japan. Susanoo then settled down in a place called Kumanari-no-Take (熊成峯) before going to Ne-no-Kuni.<ref name="Aston58">{{cite wikisource |author-first= William George |author-last= Aston |chapter= Book I |wslink= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |plaintitle= Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697 |year= 1896 |publisher= Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.|wspage=58}}</ref>

The myth of Susanoo's descent in Soshimori has Isotakeru bringing seeds with him from Takamagahara which he did not choose to plant in Korea but rather spread throughout Japan, beginning with [[Tsukushi Province]]. The narrative adds that it is, for this reason, why Isotakeru is styled Isaoshi-no-Kami (有功之神, 'Meritorious Deity').<ref name="Aston58" />

=== Susanoo and Ōnamuji ===
[[File:天の沼琴 - Ama no Nugoto.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Ōnamuji ([[Ōkuninushi]]) and Suseribime escaping from Ne-no-Kuni ([[Natori Shunsen]])]]
In the ''Kojiki'', a sixth-generation descendant of Susanoo, [[Ōkuninushi|Ōnamuji-no-Kami]] (大穴牟遅神), ends up in Ne-no-Kuni to escape his wicked elder brothers who make repeated attempts on his life. There he meets and falls in love with Susanoo's daughter Suseribime (須勢理毘売). Upon learning of their affair, Susanoo imposes four trials on Ōnamuji:

*Susanoo, upon inviting Ōnamuji to his dwelling, had him sleep in a chamber filled with snakes. Suseribime aided Ōnamuji by giving him a scarf that repelled the snakes.
*The following night, Susanoo had Ōnamuji sleep in another room full of [[centipede]]s and [[bee]]s. Once again, Suseribime gave Ōnamuji a scarf that kept the insects at bay.
*Susanoo shot an arrow into a large plain and had Ōnamuji fetch it. As Ōnamuji was busy looking for the arrow, Susanoo set the field on fire. A field mouse showed Ōnamuji how to hide from the flames and gave him the arrow he was searching for.
*Susanoo, upon discovering that Ōnamuji had survived, summoned him back to his palace and had him pick the lice and centipedes from his hair. Using a mixture of red clay and nuts given to him by Suseribime, Ōnamuji pretended to chew and spit out the insects he was picking.

After Susanoo was lulled to sleep, Ōnamuji tied Susanoo's hair to the hall's rafters and blocked the door with an enormous boulder. Taking his new wife Suseribime as well as Susanoo's sword, ''[[Koto (instrument)|koto]]'', and bow and arrows with him, Ōnamuji thus fled the palace. The ''koto'' brushed against a tree as the two were fleeing; the sound awakens Susanoo, who, rising with a start, knocks his palace down around him. Susanoo then pursued them as far as the slopes of [[Yomotsu Hirasaka]] (黄泉比良坂, the 'Flat Slope of [[Yomi]]'). As the two departed, Susanoo grudgingly gave his blessing to Ōnamuji, advising him to change his name to Ōkuninushi-no-Kami (大国主神, "Master of the Great Land"). Using the weapons he obtained from Susanoo, Ōkuninushi defeats his brothers and becomes the undisputed ruler of Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni.<ref>Chamberlain (1882). [http://sacred-texts.com/shi/kj/kj030.htm SECT. XXIII.—The Nether-Distant-Land.]</ref>

=== Susanoo in the Izumo ''Fudoki'' ===
[[File:Yaegaki Jinja honden hekiga4.jpg|thumb|[[Muromachi period]] wall painting in Yaegaki Shrine ([[Matsue, Shimane|Matsue]], [[Shimane Prefecture]]) depicting Susanoo]]
The ''[[Fudoki]]'' of Izumo Province (completed 733 CE) records the following etiological legends which feature Susanoo and his children:

*The township of Yasuki (安来郷) in Ou District ([[:ja:意宇郡|意宇郡]]) is named such after Susanoo visited the area and said, "My mind has been comforted (''yasuku nari tamau'')."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kurita |first1=Hiroshi |title=標註古風土記 出雲 (Hyōchū Kofudoki: Izumo) |year=1931 |publisher=Ō-Oyakama Shoten |page=36 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSqbfMx0ErgC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries |year=1997 |publisher=Association for Asian Studies, Inc. |translator=Aoki, Michiko Y.|pages=83}}</ref>
*The township of Ōkusa (大草郷) in Ou is said to have been named after a son of Susanoo named Aohata-Sakusahiko-no-Mikoto (青幡佐久佐比古命).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kurita |first1=Hiroshi |title=標註古風土記 出雲 (Hyōchū Kofudoki: Izumo) |year=1931 |publisher=Ō-Oyakama Shoten |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSqbfMx0ErgC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries |year=1997 |publisher=Association for Asian Studies, Inc. |translator=Aoki, Michiko Y.|pages=85}}</ref>
*The township of Yamaguchi (山口郷) in Shimane District ([[:ja:島根郡|島根郡]]) is named as such after another son of Susanoo, Tsurugihiko-no-Mikoto (都留支日子命), declared these entrance to the hills (''yamaguchi'') to be his territory.<ref name="標註古風土記 出雲 Hyōchū Kofudoki: Izumo">{{cite book |last1=Kurita |first1=Hiroshi |title=標註古風土記 出雲 (Hyōchū Kofudoki: Izumo) |year=1931 |publisher=Ō-Oyakama Shoten |page=91 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSqbfMx0ErgC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries |year=1997 |publisher=Association for Asian Studies, Inc. |translator=Aoki, Michiko Y.|pages=95}}</ref>
*The township of Katae (方結郷) in Shimane received its name after Kunioshiwake-no-Mikoto (国忍別命), a son of Susanoo, said, "The land I govern is in good condition geographically (''kunigatae'')."<ref name="標註古風土記 出雲 Hyōchū Kofudoki: Izumo" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries |year=1997 |publisher=Association for Asian Studies, Inc. |translator=Aoki, Michiko Y.|pages=95–96}}</ref>
*The township of Etomo (恵曇郡) in Akika District ([[:ja:秋鹿郡|秋鹿郡]]) is named such after Susanoo's son Iwasakahiko-no-Mikoto (磐坂日子命) noted the area's resemblance to a painted [[Bracer|arm guard]] (画鞆, ''etomo'').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kurita |first1=Hiroshi |title=標註古風土記 出雲 (Hyōchū Kofudoki: Izumo) |year=1931 |publisher=Ō-Oyakama Shoten |pages=159–160 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSqbfMx0ErgC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries |year=1997 |publisher=Association for Asian Studies, Inc. |translator=Aoki, Michiko Y.|pages=109–110}}</ref>
*The township of Tada (多太郷) in Akika District received its name after Susanoo's son Tsukihoko-Tooruhiko-no-Mikoto (衝杵等乎留比古命, also Tsukiki-Tooruhiko) came there and said, "My heart has become bright and truthful (''tadashi'')."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kurita |first1=Hiroshi |title=標註古風土記 出雲 (Hyōchū Kofudoki: Izumo) |year=1931 |publisher=Ō-Oyakama Shoten |pages=160–161 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSqbfMx0ErgC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries |year=1997 |publisher=Association for Asian Studies, Inc. |translator=Aoki, Michiko Y.|pages=110}}</ref>
*The township of Yano (八野郷) in Kando District ([[:ja:神門郡|神門郡]]) is named after Susanoo's daughter Yanowakahime-no-Mikoto (八野若日女命), who lived in the area. Ōnamochi (大穴持命, i.e. Ōkuninushi), also known as Ame-no-Shita-Tsukurashishi-Ōkami (所造天下大神, 'Great Deity, Maker of [[Tianxia|All Under Heaven]]'), who wished to marry her, had a house built at this place.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kurita |first1=Hiroshi |title=標註古風土記 出雲 (Hyōchū Kofudoki: Izumo) |year=1931 |publisher=Ō-Oyakama Shoten |pages=266–267 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSqbfMx0ErgC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries |year=1997 |publisher=Association for Asian Studies, Inc. |translator=Aoki, Michiko Y.|pages=133}}</ref>
*The township of Namesa (滑狭郷) in Kando District ([[:ja:神門郡|神門郡]]) is named after a smooth stone (滑磐石, ''nameshi iwa'') Ame-no-Shita-Tsukurashishi-Ōkami (Ōnamochi) spotted while visiting Susanoo's daughter Wakasuserihime-no-Mikoto (和加須世理比売命, the ''Kojiki''<nowiki/>'s Suseribime), who is said to have lived there.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kurita |first1=Hiroshi |title=標註古風土記 出雲 (Hyōchū Kofudoki: Izumo) |year=1931 |publisher=Ō-Oyakama Shoten |page=270 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSqbfMx0ErgC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries |year=1997 |publisher=Association for Asian Studies, Inc. |translator=Aoki, Michiko Y.|pages=133–134}}</ref>
*The township of Susa (須佐郷) in [[Iishi District, Shimane|Iishi District]] ([[:ja:飯石郡|飯石郡]]) is said to be named after Susanoo, who enshrined his spirit in this place:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kurita |first1=Hiroshi |title=標註古風土記 出雲 (Hyōchū Kofudoki: Izumo) |year=1931 |publisher=Ō-Oyakama Shoten |pages=324–325 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSqbfMx0ErgC}}</ref>
{{blockquote|''Township of Susa.'' It is 6.3 miles west of the district office. The god Susanowo said, "Though this land is small, it is good land for me to own. I would rather have my name [associated with this land than] with rocks or trees." After saying this, he left his spirit to stay quiet at this place and established the Great Rice Field of Susa and the Small Rice Field of Susa. That is why it is called Susa. There are tax granaries in this township.<ref name="Fudoki141">{{cite book |title=Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries |year=1997 |publisher=Association for Asian Studies, Inc. |translator=Aoki, Michiko Y.|pages=140–141}}</ref>}}
*The township of Sase (佐世郷) in [[Ohara District, Shimane|Ōhara District]] ([[:ja:大原郡|大原郡]]) is said to have gained its name when Susanoo danced there wearing leaves of a plant called ''sase'' on his head.<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book |last1=Kurita |first1=Hiroshi |title=標註古風土記 出雲 (Hyōchū Kofudoki: Izumo) |year=1931 |publisher=Ō-Oyakama Shoten |pages=347–348 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSqbfMx0ErgC}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries |year=1997 |publisher=Association for Asian Studies, Inc. |translator=Aoki, Michiko Y.|pages=151}}</ref>
*Mount Mimuro (御室山, ''Mimuro-yama'') in the township of Hi (斐伊郷) in Ōhara District is said to have been the place where Susanoo built a temporary dwelling (御室, ''mimuro'', lit. 'noble chamber') in which he stayed the night.<ref name="books.google.com" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Records of Wind and Earth: A Translation of Fudoki, with Introduction and Commentaries |year=1997 |publisher=Association for Asian Studies, Inc. |translator=Aoki, Michiko Y.|pages=154}}</ref>

=== Susanoo, Mutō Tenjin and Gozu Tennō ===
{{See also|Somin Shōrai|Gozu Tennō}}
[[File:Gion Daimyojin.png|thumb|170px|Gion Daimyōjin (Gozu Tennō) from the ''[[Butsuzōzui]]'']]

The [[Shinbutsu shūgō|syncretic]] deity [[Gozu Tennō]] (牛頭天王, "Ox-Headed Heavenly King"), originally worshiped at Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto and at other shrines such as Tsushima Shrine in Aichi Prefecture, was historically conflated with Susanoo. Originally a deity of foreign import (India and Korea have all been suggested as possible origins), Gozu Tennō was widely revered since the [[Heian period]] as a god of pestilence, who both caused disease and cured them.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Yonei |first1=Teruyoshi |title=Gozu Tennō |url=http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/modules/xwords/entry.php?entryID=192 |website=Encyclopedia of Shinto |publisher=Kokugakuin University |access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Rambelli |editor1-first=Fabio |editor2-last=Teeuwen |editor2-first=Mark |title=Buddhas and Kami in Japan: Honji Suijaku as a Combinatory Paradigm |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhaskamijapan00teeu |url-access=limited |year=2003 |publisher=Routledge |pages=[https://archive.org/details/buddhaskamijapan00teeu/page/n48 38]–39|isbn=9780203220252 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Gozu Tennou 牛頭天王 |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/g/gozutennou.htm |website=Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System (JAANUS) |access-date=2020-03-31}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Gozu-Tennō |url=https://www.rodsshinto.com/gozu-tenno |website=rodsshinto.com |access-date=2020-03-30}}</ref>

Gozu Tennō became associated with another deity called Mutō-no-Kami ([[:ja:武塔神|武塔神]]) or Mutō Tenjin (武塔天神), who appears in the legend of [[Somin Shorai|Somin Shōrai]] ([[:ja:蘇民将来|蘇民将来]]). This legend relates that Mutō, a god from the northern sea, embarked on a long journey to court the daughter of the god of the southern seas. On his way he sought lodging from a wealthy man, but was turned down. He then went to the home of a poor man (sometimes identified as the rich man's brother) named Somin Shōrai, who gave him food and shelter. Years later, Mutō returned and slew the rich man and his family but spared Somin Shōrai's house. Some versions of the story have Mutō repaying Somin Shōrai for his hospitality by giving the poor man's daughter a wreath of ''susuki'' (''[[Miscanthus sinensis]]'') reeds that she is to wear while declaring, "[I am] the descendant of Somin Shōrai" (蘇民将来之子孫也, ''Somin Shōrai no shison nari''). By doing so, she and her descendants would be spared from pestilence.<ref name="McMullin">{{cite journal |last1=McMullin |first1=Neil |title=On Placating the Gods and Pacifying the Populace: The Case of the Gion "Goryō" Cult |journal=History of Religions |date=February 1988 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=270–293 |publisher=The University of Chicago Press|doi=10.1086/463123 |jstor=1062279 |s2cid=162357693 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Japan Mail |date=1878-03-11 |publisher=Jappan Mēru Shinbunsha |pages=138–139 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IhJCAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA169}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hardacre |first1=Helen |title=Shinto: A History |year=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=181 |isbn=978-0-19-062171-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Q81DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA181}}</ref><ref name="KotenBungaku">{{cite book |editor1-last=Akimoto |editor1-first=Kichirō |title=日本古典文学大系 2 風土記 (Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei, 2: Fudoki) |year=1958 |publisher=Iwanami Shoten |pages=488–489}}</ref> The deity in this story, Mutō,  is often conflated with Gozu Tennō (who, as his name implies, was born with the head of an ox) in later retellings, though one version identifies Gozu Tennō as Mutō Tenjin's son.<ref name="McMullin" />

The earliest known version of this legend, found in the ''Fudoki'' of [[Bingo Province]] (modern eastern [[Hiroshima Prefecture]]) compiled during the [[Nara period]] (preserved in an extract quoted by scholar and Shinto priest Urabe Kanekata in the ''[[Shaku Nihongi]]''), has Mutō explicitly identify himself as Susanoo.<ref name="KotenBungaku" /> This suggests that Susanoo and Mutō Tenjin were already conflated in the Nara period, if not earlier. Sources that equate Gozu Tennō with Susanoo only first appear during the [[Kamakura period]] (1185–1333), although one theory supposes that these three gods and various other disease-related deities were already loosely coalesced around the 9th century, probably around the year 877 when a major epidemic swept through Japan.<ref name="McMullin" />