Shiotsuchi no Oji - Shiotsuchi no Oji

An old man who appears in Japanese mythology. He is also called Shiotsutsun Oji and Shiotsuchi no Kami, and "Shiotsuchi" means the god who governs the tides. In the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki myths, he shows the way to the land of the sea god by carrying the grandson of heaven, Yamasachihiko, in a bamboo basket, and in the "Jinmu Sokui Zai Ki" he tells the emperor in Hyuga about the existence of Yamato, which is surrounded by the blue mountains. In one volume of the Nihon Shoki, he is also called Kotokatsukunikatsukami of Kasasa Misaki, who was asked by the descended grandson of heaven, "Is there a country?" and answered, "Yes, there is a country." From these, we can see that this god had the spiritual power to teach about the existence of foreign lands and other worlds, and how to get there. Considering that all of the scenes in which the deity appears are in Hyuga Province (Miyazaki), and that the close relationship between the bamboo products used at the Imperial Court and the Hayato people can be seen mainly in the Hayato Ceremonies, it is assumed that this deity was originally a sea deity worshipped by the Hayato people.

[Yoshii Iwao]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

日本神話に出てくる老翁。塩筒老翁(しおつつのおじ)、塩椎神(しおつちのかみ)ともいい、「シオツチ」とは潮流をつかさどる神の意である。記紀神話では、天孫・山幸彦(やまさちひこ)を竹製の籠(かご)に乗せて海神の国への道を教え、また「神武(じんむ)即位前紀」では、日向(ひむか)にある天皇に青山(せいざん)の四周する大和(やまと)の存在を教える。また『日本書紀』一書では、降臨した天孫に「国ありや」と問われて「国あり」と答えた笠狭御崎(かささのみさき)の事勝国勝神(ことかつくにかつかみ)の亦名(またのな)としている。これらから、この神が異国や他界の存在、さらにそこへの交通を教示する霊能をもっていたことがわかる。出現の場面がすべて日向(ひゅうが)国（宮崎）であり、宮廷で使用される竹製品と隼人(はやと)との密接な関係が隼人司式(はやとのつかさしき)を中心にみられることを考えると、この神は本来隼人が信奉した海神であろうと推定される。

［吉井　巖］

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