Susanoo-no-Mikoto

Susanoo and the water dragon

Susano'o (須佐之男命, Susa-no-O-no-Mikoto, also romanized as Susanoo, Susa-no-O, and Susanowo) in Shinto is the god of the sea and storms.

In Japanese mythology, Susanoo is the brother of Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, and of Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon. All three were spawned from Izanagi, when he washed his face clean of the pollutants of Yomi, the underworld. Amaterasu was born when Izanagi washed out his left eye, Tsukuyomi was born from the washing of the right eye, and Susanoo from the washing of the nose.

Sources tell of long-standing rivalry between Susanoo and his sister. When he was to leave Heaven by orders of Izanagi, he went to bid his sister goodbye. Amaterasu, suspicious, proposed a challenge on the spot: each of them was to transform an object of the other's into people. Amaterasu created three women from Susanoo's sword while he created five men from her necklace. Claiming the men were hers because they were born of her necklace, Susanoo destroyed her rice fields, hurled a flayed pony at her loom, and killed one of her attendants in a fit of rage. Amaterasu, in fury and grief, hid inside Ama-no-Iwato, the "heavenly rock cave," thus effectively hiding the sun for a long period of time.

Though she was persuaded to leave the cave, Susanoo was punished by being banished from Heaven. He descended to the province of Izumo, where he met an elderly couple. Seven of their eight daughters had been devoured by the eight-headed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi and it was about to come for the eighth, Kushinada-hime (櫛名田比売). After the couple promised their daughter's hand in marriage to Susano'o, he agreed to slay Orochi. With the aid of eight bowls of sake (one for each head), Susano'o decapitated the monster once it had fallen asleep.

From one of Orochi's tails, Susanoo pulled out a sword, which he named Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi ("Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven"), later known as the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. The sword was presented to Amaterasu as a reconciliation gift and was later given to her descendant Ninigi along with the Yata-no-Kagami (a mirror) and magatama (sacred jewels) as proof of his divine right to rule.

Izumo

While Amaterasu is enshrined at Ise Shrine, Susano'o is enshrined in Izumo, where he descended when banished from heaven. Izumo is home to the oldest shrines in Japan and is held in the same regard as the most sacred shrine in Japan, Ise Shrine.

Susanoo in works of fiction

He is portrayed in:

• Tokusatsu films such as The Three Treasures (where he was played by Toshiro Mifune) and Yamato Takeru
• The 2003 film Onmyoji II, played by Hayato Ichihara.
• Anime, such as Dark Myth, Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon, Blue Seed, The King of Braves GaoGaiGar where a spaceship is named after him, and Kishin Taisen Gigantic Formula where a gigantic robot is named after him as well as complemented by a sword called Murakumo. *Appears in the Season of Mists storyline in Neil Gaiman's Sandman comic book, claiming his pantheon are adapting for a cadre of new style Gods including Marilyn Monroe, King Kong, and Lady Liberty.
• He also appears in the Sandman spin-off Lucifer.
• Naruto, where Susanoo is the name of one of Itachi Uchiha's technique.
• Orion, a sci-fi/fantasy manga created by Masamune Shirow, as Susano, a god summoned to save the world from ultimate destruction.
• Okami, a PlayStation 2 video game, under the name of Susano, alongside Amaterasu, the protagonist. The two fights Orochi. Susano also wields a katana named Tsukuyomi.
• Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, a Playstation 2 video game, features an item called the "Horn of Susano," which increases an attribute of one of the several playable characters when equipped.
• Golden Sun: The Lost Age, a Gameboy Advance game, features a subplot based on the island city of Izumo, where a man named Susa must save his fiancé, Kushinada from a giant serpent, which he weakens by feeding it sake (Dragonsbane in English). After the main characters defeat it, Susa tells them to check under the monsters tail, where they can find a sword called the Cloud Brand.
• Persona 3, a Playstation 2 video game, features Susanoo as the ultimate form of the fool arcana with a dash in his name, "Susano-o", the pronunciation is the same however.
• He is named in the song Dragón de los Campos (dragon of the fields) of the costarican Power Metal band ANima Impugnis..

See also

• Japanese mythology
• Susanoomon