Susanowa (Susa-nš-wo)

In the Shinto creation story we hear about several of the different deities that both Izanami and Izanagi parented or that forced their way out of Izanami’s body like Susanowa did. Susanowa, also spelled Susa-ns-wo, was born from Izanami’s nose and was given control of the sea. He is thought of as an evil god, which makes sense since Japan is an island that in its history has been devastated by several storms, hurricanes and even tsunamis. Susanowa is Amaterasu brother but has also parented several children with her, which is similar to other religions like Hinduism and the ancient religions of greek, roman, and egyptian. There are two main stories about Susanowa, one is how he was banished from the heavens after committing a great offense against his sister and spouse Amaterasu. The other is after he was banished and wondering the earth he found the 8 headed snake, Koshi, after defeating him Susanowa got the sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, which would go along with Amaterasu’s mirror to become one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan. I found it interesting to find another sea god that was thought of as “evil” or bad since most religions sea god is thought to be easily angered or vengeful. For example the Greek god Poseidon was usually thought to be angry or if not respected to be vengeful.

japanese imperial regalia.

A version of Susanowa