Otataneko Densho

The Nihon Shoki, Book Five, Sujin-tennō chronicle, records that during the reign of Emperor Sujin, an epidemic killed half of the populace. In divination at Kamuasaji-hara, Omononushi-no-Kami revealed that if Otataneko, his descendant, were appointed as the chief priest, the plague would cease. Envoys located Otataneko at Sue-no-mura in Chinu District (modern Sakai, Osaka Prefecture); he declared his father to be Omononushi and his mother Ikutamayoribime, daughter of Suetsumimi. The emperor appointed Otataneko as the priest of Omononushi and Ichishi-no-Nagaochi as the priest of Yamato-no-Okunitama, and the epidemic abated and the harvest recovered.

The episode proceeds through the epidemic, the divination, the dream from Omononushi, the search and finding of Otataneko, his ancestral declaration, the appointment, and the cessation of the plague.

Sue-no-mura in Chinu District (modern Sakai, Osaka Prefecture) is recorded as the place where Otataneko was found. Mount Miwa in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, is the seat of Omononushi. Onaobi Jinja, a subsidiary shrine of Omiwa Jinja, enshrines Otataneko.

Nihon Shoki, Book Five, Sujin-tennō chronicle. Kojiki, Book Two, includes the same narrative as Otataneko-no-Mikoto. The Kokushi Taikei edition of the Nihon Shoki (Keizai Zasshi-sha, 1897-1901, NDL pid/991091) preserves a pre-1945 critical text.