Kuninotokotachi no Kami (国之常立神)
Kuninotokotachi no Kami is a god appearing in Japanese mythology. The name is written 国之常立神 in Kojiki (The Records of Ancient Matters) and 国常立尊 in Nihonshoki (Chronicles of Japan). Also known as Kuninosokotachi no Mikoto.
It is a god who appeared during the creation of heaven and earth (Japanese mythology). It was the first god to appear as Kaminoyonanayo (seven generations of the gods' world, The Primordial Seven) in Kojiki, and was the counterpart of Amenotokotachi no Kami, the last of the Kotoamatsu Kami (literally, separate heavenly kami). It is recorded that it was a hitorigami (god without gender) and never appeared in public. In the main body of Nihonshoki, Kuninotokotachi no Mikoto was described as the first god to appear, and that it was a male god. In other Arufumi (supplement volumes of explanatory notes in Nihonshoki), it is also described as the first or second god that appeared. There were no further setsuwa (anecdotes) in either the kiki (the Kojiki and Nihonshoki).
There are various theories regarding the shinmei (name of god), 'Kuninotokotachi,' such as the theory claiming that it describes the appearance of a national toko (alcove, foundation, earth), or that it indicates that the nation will remain standing forever.
Since it was described as the first god to appear in Nihonshoki, as well as the first of the Kaminoyonanayo in Kojiki, it was valued among Shinto theorists as the source god, root god, and original god. In Ise Shinto (a school of Shinto thought established by priests of the Grand Shrine of Ise (Ise no Jingu) in the medieval period), it was considered the root god, along with Ame no Minakanushi no Kami (one of the gods in Japanese mythology) and Toyouke-bime. In Yoshida Shinto, which was influenced by this, Kuninotokotachi no Kami was considered the same god as Ame no Minakanushi no Kami, and was positioned as Daigen-sonshin (root god of the universe). Kuninotokotachi no Kami is viewed as an important god in the various Sect Shinto schools descending from this. For example, in Omoto, the root god, Ushitora no Konjin (the Golden God of the Northeast), was considered the same god as Kuninotokotachi no Kami, and the Hitsuki-shinji reveal which occurred to Tenmei OKAMOTO on June 10, 1944 at the Makata-jinja Shrine in Daikata, Narita City, Chiba Prefecture, was also believed to have been by this god.
It is worshipped as the root god of nation forming and the guardian god of national land, and is enshrined in the following shrines.
Sanno-jinja Shrine (Kanegasaki-cho, Isawa-gun, Iwate Prefecture)
Kurahase-jinja Shrine (Kanegasaki-cho, Isawa-gun, Iwate Prefecture)
Arasawa-jinja Shrine (Minamisanriku-cho, Motoyoshi-gun, Miyagi Prefecture)
Tokura-jinja Shrine (Minamisanriku-cho, Motoyoshi-gun, Miyagi Prefecture)
Sobataka-jinja Shrine (Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture)
Hie-jinja Shrine (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo)
Otori-jinja Shrine (Meguro Ward, Tokyo)
Mitake-jinja Shrine (Otaki-mura, Kiso-gun, Nagano Prefecture)
Yamatsuteru-jinja Shrine (Maibara City, Shiga Prefecture)
Jonan-gu Shrine (Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture)
Tamaki-jinja Shrine (Totsukawa-mura, Yoshino-gun, Nara Prefecture)
Aidono (enshrinement of two or more deities in one building of a shrine) of Kumano-hayatama-taisha Shrine (Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture)
Wakasa-jinja Shrine (Wakasa-cho, Yazu-gun, Tottori Prefecture)
Omura-jinja Shrine (Hidaka-mura, Takaoka-gun, Kochi Prefecture)