Otohiwake-no-Kami

Otohiwake-no-Kami (大戸日別神) is a deity recorded in the Kojiki (712 CE). He is positioned as the third of the six household deities (kataku-rokushin) symbolizing the structure and materials of the home. The name element "Oto" denotes the great gate or doorway of the house, and "Hiwake" denotes the distribution of solar warmth or spiritual force. Commentaries such as the Kamina-ko interpret him as one of the gate deities. According to the Kojiki upper scroll on the deity-birth phase, after Izanagi and Izanami completed land-creation, they produced the six household deities. The order is Iwatsuchibiko, Iwasuhime, Otohiwake, Amenofukio, Oyabiko, and Kazamokutsuwake-no-Oshio, and this deity is the third. In the Kojiki-den, Motoori Norinaga interpreted this deity as having been conflated with Onaobi-no-Kami.