Ra myths and legends

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Okuninushi and Sukunabikona Cooperating to Build and Cultivate the Islands

⛩️ Japanese MythologyIzumo Taisha, Shimane, JapanOkuninushi • Sukunabikona • Kamimushubi

This Japanese myth recounts the partnership between the benevolent deity Okuninushi and the dwarf god Sukunabikona, who arrived on a wave in a tiny boat. Together, they traveled across the Japanese archipelago, developing agriculture, establishing the arts of medicine, and taming wild beasts to make the land habitable. Their collaborative efforts laid the physical and spiritual foundations of...

Susanoo Chasing Okuninushi but Ultimately Blessing His Union with Suserihime

⛩️ Japanese MythologyYomotsu Hirasaka, Shimane, JapanOnamuchi (Okuninushi) • Suserihime • Susanoo-no-Mikoto

This myth tells of the young god Onamuchi, later known as Okuninushi, who flees to the underworld to escape his murderous brothers. There, he falls in love with Suserihime, the daughter of the storm god Susanoo, who subjects Onamuchi to a series of deadly trials. After escaping with Suserihime and Susanoo's sacred treasures, Onamuchi is chased to the gates of the underworld, where Susanoo...

Yamata no Orochi Drinking the Sake and Falling into a Deep Stupor

⛩️ Japanese MythologyHii River, Izumo, Shimane, JapanSusanoo-no-Mikoto • Yamata no Orochi • Kushinadahime

Banished from the heavenly realms, the storm god Susanoo descends to the Hii River in Izumo, where he encounters an elderly couple weeping over the impending sacrifice of their eighth daughter, Kushinadahime, to the monstrous eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi. Susanoo devises an ingenious trap, requesting the brewing of highly refined eightfold sake to lure the beast into a drunken...

Susanoo Banished from Heaven, Descending to the Earthly Land of Izumo

⛩️ Japanese MythologyMount Sentsu, Shimane, JapanSusanoo-no-Mikoto • Amaterasu-Omikami • Kushinadahime

Following his violent outbursts and banishment from the High Celestial Plain, the tempestuous storm god Susanoo descends to Earth at Mount Sentsu in the historical province of Izumo. There, he encounters an elderly couple and their daughter, Kushinadahime, who is about to be sacrificed to the monstrous eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi. Through cleverness and divine prowess, Susanoo slays...