Sokotsuwatatsumi-no-Kami

Sokotsuwatatsumi-no-Kami (底津綿津見神) is a sea deity recorded in the purification chapter of the Kojiki (712 CE). He is the first deity to emerge in the water-bottom during Izanagi's purification and stands as the senior of the Watatsumi triad. He governs the sea-bottom layer and is understood as overlapping with the deity who presides over the sea palace. According to the Kojiki upper scroll on purification, "when he washed at the water-bottom, the deities born were Sokotsuwatatsumi-no-Kami; next Sokotsutsu-no-O-no-Mikoto". When Izanagi purified at Awakihara in Tachibana-no-Odo in Tsukushi, the Watatsumi triad and the Sumiyoshi triad emerged in paired form across the bottom, middle, and surface waters; he stands at the lowest layer. Father: Izanagi (a deity born of purification). Sibling deities: Nakatsuwatatsumi-no-Kami, Uwatsuwatatsumi-no-Kami. The Watatsumi-no-Kami who presides over the sea palace in the Yamasachihiko / Umisachihiko narrative is interpreted as the collective body of the Watatsumi triad. Principal shrine: Shiga Umi Shrine in Fukuoka.