Oyamatsumi-no-Kami

Oyamatsumi-no-Kami is a kunitsukami (earthly kami) documented in the *Kojiki* (*Records of Ancient Matters*, 712 CE) and *Nihon Shoki* (*Chronicles of Japan*, 720 CE). He is the mountain deity born during the divine creation by Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto, and serves as a universal designation for the kami of mountains. He occupies a pivotal position in classical genealogy as the father of Konohanasakuya-Hime and Iwanaga-Hime, and thus the father-in-law of the heavenly grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto.

In the *Kojiki* account of the kami creation, Izanagi and Izanami are said to have given birth to "the mountain kami, called Oyamatsumi-no-Kami." During the descent of the heavenly grandson, Ninigi-no-Mikoto sought his daughters in marriage. When Ninigi rejected Iwanaga-Hime for her inferior appearance and accepted only Konohanasakuya-Hime, Oyamatsumi-no-Kami pronounced a divine decree: "the lifespan of the heavenly deity's child shall be as brief as the flower of the tree." A parallel account appears in the *Nihon Shoki*.

Oyamatsumi-no-Kami is the ancestor of an extensive divine lineage. His daughters include Konohanasakuya-Hime, through whom he connects to the imperial line descending to Emperor Jinmu, and other offspring such as Kanayamahime (the wild-field kami), Ashinazuchi, and Tenazuchi—the latter two being the parents of Kushinada-Hime, wife of Susanoo-no-Mikoto. Oyamatsumi Grand Shrine in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture (chief shrine of Iyo Province) stands as the principal shrine of mountain deities nationwide. Other major centres of his worship include Mishima Taisha in Shizuoka and Umemiya Taisha in Kyoto. Oyamatsumi Grand Shrine occupies a strategic position on Seto Inland Sea shipping routes; from the medieval period onward it received the patronage of the military class, and its collection of armour and swords is designated as national treasure and important cultural property.