Yatsuka Mizuomi Tsuno no Mikoto

Japanese: 八束水臣津野命 - やつかみずおみつののみこと

A god who appears in the Izumo no Kuni Fudoki. As the land of Izumo was small, he cut off the remaining land from other places one after another, attached ropes to them, pulled them far out to sea, and tied them firmly. This is called the "Kunibiki myth," and this is how the present-day Shimane Peninsula was created. This myth is known for being extremely accurate to the actual geography, but according to the description, it also has the aspect of a legend of giants on a large scale, as the Yumigahama Peninsula stretching from the coast toward the peninsula is likened to a rope, and Mount Hoki is likened to a stake to which the rope is tied. The "omitsu" in the name of this god means "flood," and the idea that this god created the Shimane Peninsula is thought to reflect the history of the peninsula's formation, in which the Shimane Peninsula was originally a series of islands lined up offshore, and was connected to the mainland by the repeated flooding of the Hii River and the accumulation of sediment carried by other rivers flowing into the Sea of Japan. In addition, the central documents, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, say that the name Izumo was given by Susanoo-no-Mikoto, but the Izumo Fudoki states that this god was the one who named it, and along with his work of pulling the land, it seems that he was highly regarded in Izumo as a god of land creation.

(Noritaka Kanda)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

『出雲国風土記』にみえる神。出雲の国が狭いというので,次々とよその土地の余っている所を切り取って,綱をつけて海上はるかに引き寄せてきて,しっかり繋ぎとめたという。これは「国引き神話」と呼ばれており,こうしてできたのが今日の島根半島ということになる。この神話はあまりにも実際の地理に即していることで知られているが,その記述によれば,海岸から半島目がけて伸びている弓ケ浜半島を綱に見立て,そしてその綱を結びつける杭に伯耆大山を見立てるなど,スケールの大きな巨人伝説としての側面も持っている。この神の名の「おみつ(=オミズ)」とは「大水」つまり洪水のことであり,この神が島根半島を作ったというのは,島根半島がもともと沖合いに並ぶ数個の島であり,それが斐伊川の度重なる氾濫をはじめ,その他日本海へ注ぐ諸河川の流し込む土砂の堆積によって本土と繋がったという,半島形成の歴史をも反映していると考えられる。また中央の文献である『古事記』『日本書紀』では,出雲という国名を,素戔嗚尊の命名によるとしているが,『出雲風土記』ではこの神を命名者としており,国引きの業とも併せ,出雲現地では国土創造の神として厚く遇されていたことが思われる。<参考文献>神田典城『日本神話論考』

(神田典城)

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