Susanoo

Susanoo (スサノオ, Japanese pronunciation: [sɯ̥.sa.noꜜː]; historical orthography: スサノヲ, 'Susanowo'), often referred to by the honorific title Susanoo-no-Mikoto ([sɯ̥.sa.noꜜː no mʲi.ko.to]), is a kami in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial line, he is a multifaceted deity with contradictory characteristics, being portrayed in various stories either as a wild, impetuous god associated with the sea and storms, as a heroic figure who killed a monstrous serpent, or as a local deity linked with the harvest and agriculture. Syncretic beliefs of the Gion cult that arose after the introduction of Buddhism to Japan also saw Susanoo becoming conflated with deities of pestilence and disease.
Susanoo, alongside Amaterasu and the earthly kami Ōkuninushi (also Ōnamuchi) – depicted as either Susanoo's son or scion depending on the source – is one of the central deities of the imperial Japanese mythological cycle recorded in the Kojiki (c. 712 CE) and the Nihon Shoki (720 CE). One of the gazetteer reports (Fudoki) commissioned by the imperial court during the same period these texts were written, that of Izumo Province (modern Shimane Prefecture) in western Japan, also contains a number of short legends concerning Susanoo or his children, suggesting a connection between the god and this region.

Name
Susanoo's name is variously given in the Kojiki as 'Takehaya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto' (建速須佐之男命), 'Haya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto' (速須佐之男命), or simply as 'Susanoo-no-Mikoto' (須佐之男命). -no-Mikoto is a common honorific appended to the names of Japanese gods; it may be understood as similar to the English honorific 'the Great'. He is meanwhile named in the Nihon Shoki as 'Susanoo-no-Mikoto' (素戔嗚尊), 'Kamu-Susanoo-no-Mikoto' (神素戔嗚尊), 'Haya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto' (速素戔嗚尊), and 'Take-Susanoo-no-Mikoto' (武素戔嗚尊). The Fudoki of Izumo Province renders his name both as 'Kamu-Susanoo-no-Mikoto' (神須佐能袁命) and 'Susanoo-no-Mikoto' (須佐能乎命). In these texts the following honorific prefixes are attached to his name: take- (建/武, "brave"), haya- (速, "swift"), and kamu- (神, "divine").
The susa in Susanoo's name has been variously explained as being derived from either of the following words:…