Susanoo or Takehaya Susanoo-no Mikoto ( 須 佐 之 男 命 Susa no o no Mikoto , “the valiant quick, ardent god-husband from Susa”) is the god of the wind , in Japanese mythology the last of the deities that appeared from the water droplets that the first to in the world, the male god Izanagi washed his nose after returning from Yomi-no-kuni (the land of the dead) [1] . It is believed that Susanoo was originally the god of the storm and the water element, then the idea appeared of him as the divine ancestor of the clans associated with Izumo . It is possible that several deities united in his image, since Susanoo was also considered a deity of the land of the dead, in some myths he is a deity of fertility.
Content
Mythology
According to Kojiki , Susanoo was born from the drops of water with which Izanagi washed his nose. From his father, God took possession of the sea. However, Susanoo did not want to take over the government and wanted to retire to his mother’s country, Ne-no katasu kuni . His sobs about it were so strong that they caused drought all over the world. Seeing this, the angry Izanagi expelled Susanoo. Before leaving the country, Susanoo decided to visit his sister, Amaterasu , to whom Izanagi gave heaven. In order to prove to her that he came in peace, he married her and from the things of each other brother and sister gave birth to a number of gods. Then he first defecated in the chamber of the goddess, then destroyed all the boundary signs. The goddess justified the behavior of his brother. Then he peeled the skin from the pinto stallion and threw his sister into the weaving room. Celestial weavers with a fright pricked themselves shuttles in secret places and died. Amaterasu was also frightened, angry and hid in a cave, and the whole world was plunged into darkness. After the gods managed to lure Amateras out, they forced Susanoo to fill a thousand tables with redeeming gifts, cut off his beard, pulled out his nails and drove him out of the sky.
Going down to the ground, Susanoo met an old man and an old woman - the gods Asinazuti and Tenadzuchi. They told Susanoo about their misfortune - earlier they had eight daughters. However, every year the eight-headed snake Yamata no oroti began to appear to them and devour one daughter each. Susanoo asked their last daughter, Kushinadu-hime, to marry him. For this, he taught the old man and the old woman how to defeat the snake. To do this, they made eight barrels of sake and placed them inside the fence with eight gates. After drinking sake, the snake got drunk and fell asleep. Susanoo killed him at this time. In the middle tail of the serpent, he found Tsumugari-no tachi's sword, which he presented to Amaterasu. After that, he settled with his wife in the country of Izumo, in an area called Suga [2] .
Shrines
Izumo-taisha is the oldest and largest Shinto shrine dedicated to the god Susanoo, located in Shimana Prefecture . The height of the main building is 24 meters. At the entrance under the roof there is a huge rope woven from rice straw - shimenava, testifying to the sanctity of the place. This magnificent structure - an example of ancient Japanese architecture - served as a model for many places of worship. Its central column was the prototype of the axial mast during the construction of pagodas. The great sanctuary of Izumo impresses the imagination not with brightness and richness of jewelry, but with strict restraint and simplicity.
According to legend, once a year, gods from all temples in Japan gathered here in the tenth month of the lunar calendar to discuss important matters. Therefore, this month was called the "month without the gods."
This sanctuary is a favorite place for wedding ceremonies, and a large platform in front of the main building often resembles a strange flower garden, on which elegant brides' kimonos bloom with bright colors, shading the strict suits of men.
The birth of the world famous classical theater of Kabuki is also associated with the Izumo shrine. One of his priestesses - Izumo no Okuni - was known as the most skilled performer of sacred dance-prayers - Nembutsu-odori . These performances were a prototype of the famous Kabuki theater. In memory of this, similar performances are held annually at the Izumo Shrine.