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Ukanomitama (宇迦之御魂神 – Mighty Soul of Sustenance[1] - Kojiki) (倉稲魂命 - Nihongi) is a kami in classical
Japanese mythology, associated with food and agriculture, often identified with
Inari, the deity of rice.
Name and mythology
The Kojiki identifies Ukanomitama (宇迦之御魂神 Ukanomitama-no-Kami) as the child of
Susanoo by his second wife Kamu-Ōichihime (神大市比売), a daughter of
Ōyamatsumi (大山津見神), the god of mountains. This text portrays Ukanomitama as the younger sibling of the harvest deity
Ōtoshi-no-Kami.[2][3]
A variant account recorded in the Nihon Shoki meanwhile portrays Ukanomitama (here referred to as 倉稲魂命 Ukanomitama-no-Mikoto) as an offspring of
Izanagi and
Izanami who were born when the two became hungry.[4]
The deity's name is understood as being derived from uka no mitama, "august spirit (mitama) of food (uka)".[2][5] While the above texts are silent regarding the deity's gender, Ukanomitama has long been interpreted to be female, perhaps due to association with other agricultural deities such as
Toyouke or
Ukemochi.
^Philippi, Donald L. (2015). Kojiki. Princeton University Press. p. 92.
^Aston, William George (1896). "Book I" . Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. p. 22 – via
Wikisource.
^Philippi, Donald L. (2015). Kojiki. Princeton University Press. p. 621.
^Kaoru, Nakayama (7 May 2005).
"Ōyamatsumi". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
^Frédéric, L.; Louis-Frédéric; Roth, K. (2005).
Japan Encyclopedia. Harvard University Press reference library. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
ISBN978-0-674-01753-5. Retrieved 2020-11-21.