Watatsumi

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Watatsumi or Ōwatatsumi ( Japanese ワ タ ツ ミ ( Kojiki : (Ō-) Wata-tsu-mi no (ō-) kami ( 〔大〕 綿 津 見 〔大〕 神 , 海神 ); Nihonshoki : Wata-tsu-mi no mikoto ( 少 童命 , 海神 ))) is the triune kami of the seas and a son of Izanagi and Izanami . Wata means 'sea', tsu is a case particle and mi is derived either from mochi , and then means something like "ruler of the sea" ( Karl Florenz translates as "(great) sea ruler "), or from mi "divine spirit" thus "Divine Spirit of the Sea" and is also part of the name of many other sea kami. The optional prefix means "large".

Kojiki and Nihonshoki say that he was born in his triune form when Izanagi ritually washed (see misogi ) after his return from the underworld ( yomi ) using the Kami Soko-wata-tsu-mi ( 底 津 綿 津 見 神/ 底 津 少 童 命 , ≈ "of the [sea] soil"), Naka-wata-tsu-mi ( 中 津 綿 津 見 神 / 中 津 少 童 命 , ≈ "the [sea] middle") and Uwa-wata- tsu-mi ( 上 津 綿 津 見 神 / 表 津 少 童 命 , ≈ "the surface"), as soon as the three Sumiyoshi Sanjin fell away from him. In its simple form, according to the Kojiki, he was conceived as one of the 33 kami of Izanami and Izanagi, both of whom gave birth after the islands and land masses were created.

His magnificent palace on the seabed ( wata-tsu-mi-no-miya ) is built like the bones of a fish. He lived there with his daughters until they were married. The palace is partially identified with the dragon palace Ryūgū from Japanese sagas and Watatsumi then with the ruling dragon god / king Ryūjin .

As the father of the Toyotama-hime , whom he gave to the Hiko-ho-ho-demi as his wife in his palace, he is also called Toyotama-hiko and is thus also the kami of jewels. He is also the father of Tamayori-hime , aunt and wife of Ugaya-fuki-aezu , who in turn is the mother of Jimmu .

He is worshiped u. a. in the Kiyotaki Shrine in Nikkō , in the Taki-no-miya (a massha of the Tosa Shrine in Kōchi ) and in the Sai-den of the Nibukawakami Shrine in Yoshino County, Nara Prefecture .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ see web link Encyclopedia of Shinto
  2. ↑ 海神 ・ 綿 津 見 . In: Daijirin at kotobank.jp. Retrieved January 10, 2018 (Japanese).
  3. ↑ 竜 宮 伝 説 . In: 日本 大 百科全書 at kotobank.jp. Retrieved June 27, 2018 (Japanese).
  4. ↑ Dragon Palace. In: Kamigraphie. University of Vienna, accessed on June 27, 2018 .