Sumiyoshi Sanjin

Sumiyoshi Sanjin (住吉三神) is the collective name for the three deities Sokotsutsu-no-O-no-Mikoto, Nakatsutsu-no-O-no-Mikoto, and Uwatsutsu-no-O-no-Mikoto, recorded in the Kojiki (712 CE) and Nihon Shoki (720 CE). They are sea deities born when Izanagi returned from the Land of Yomi and performed purification. They are widely venerated as deities of maritime safety and of waka poetry. According to the Kojiki upper scroll on purification, when Izanagi purified at Awakihara in Tachibana-no-Odo, the three deities emerged from the depths (Sokotsutsu), the middle waters (Nakatsutsu), and the surface (Uwatsutsu). The Nihon Shoki Empress Jingu scroll records that the Sumiyoshi triad delivered an oracle to the empress for the Silla expedition and guarded the sea-route, situating the triad as the core deities of the three-Korea expedition narrative. The Engishiki (927 CE) lists Sumiyoshi Taisha among the Myojin Taisha. Principal shrine: Sumiyoshi Taisha in Osaka.