Kagu-tsuchi
Kagu-tsuchi or Kagutsuchi (カグツチ), also called Kagutsuchi no kami (迦具土の神), Hinokagutsuchi (火之迦具土), or Homusubi (火産霊), is the kami of fire in Japanese mythology.
Mythology
Kagu-tsuchi's birth burned his mother Izanami, causing her death. His father Izanagi, in his grief, beheaded Kagu-tsuchi with his sword, Ame no Ohabari (天之尾羽張), and cut his body into eight pieces, which became eight volcanoes. The blood that dripped off Izanagi's sword created a number of deities, including the sea god Watatsumi and rain god Kuraokami.
Kagu-tsuchi's birth, in Japanese mythology, comes at the end of the creation of the world and marks the beginning of death.[1] In the Engishiki, a source which contains the myth, Izanami, in her death throes, bears the water god Mizuhame, instructing her to pacify Kagu-tsuchi if he should become violent. This story also contains references to traditional fire-fighting tools: gourds for carrying water and wet clay and water reeds for smothering fires.[1]
See also
During World War Two, an American B-29 bomber group, "The 40th Bombardment Group", was nicknamed the "Kagu-Tsuchi Group". They participated in the fire-bombings of Tokyo.
- Kojin, kami of fire, the hearth, and the kitchen
- Kagu-tsuchi in popular culture
Notes
References
- Ashkenazy, Michael. Handbook of Japanese Mythology. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003.
- Bock, Felicia G., trans. Engi-shiki: Procedures of the Engi Era. ASU Center for Asian Studies (Occasional Paper #17).
External links
- Kagutsuchi, Encyclopedia of Shinto
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