What do Inari and Susanoo have in common?

They share no domain in this atlas: Inari holds rice, fertility, prosperity, foxes, industry, while Susanoo holds storms, sea, chaos, heroism.

Which traditions do they belong to?

Both belong to the Japanese Pantheon.

Side by side

Inari vs Susanoo

Inari and Susanoo are recorded in a parent-and-child line within the Japanese Pantheon.

At a glance

Japanese Pantheon

tradition

Japanese Pantheon

rice, fertility, prosperity, foxes, industry

domains

storms, sea, chaos, heroism

fox, rice, jewel, sword

symbols

sword, storm, dragon

Inari Okami

also called

Susanoo-no-Mikoto

Where they meet

shared symbolssword

Where they part

Inari alone

rice, fertility, prosperity, foxes, industry

Susanoo alone

storms, sea, chaos, heroism

How each was worshipped

Inari

Cult sites: Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, Thousands of fox-gated branch shrines.

Festivals: Hatsu-uma, Inari festival days in early February.

Foxes, vermilion gates, and a wish for the harvest or the shop. Merchants keep a small Inari. The cult is rice and money, not moonlight poetry.

Susanoo

Cult sites: Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, Hiromine and other Gion-line shrines, Izumo as the wild brother of the sun.

Festivals: Gion Matsuri, Susanoo festivals at Yasaka.

Storm, sword, and the eight-headed serpent. Gion's month-long parade is plague-exorcism dressed as spectacle. He is worshipped as a settler of chaos, not as a polite rice god.

Inari

Japanese Pantheon

Kami of rice, fertility, agriculture, industry, and prosperity. One of the most popular kami in Japan. Associated with foxes (kitsune) as messengers.

Inari's origins are complex and layered with multiple traditions. One account holds that Inari descended from the heavens when rice was first cultivated in Japan. Another tradition identifies Inari with the kami Uka-no-Mitama, born from the union of Susanoo and a mountain goddess. Over centuries, Inari absorbed elements from Buddhism and folk belief, becoming a uniquely syncretic deity.

**Inari Okami** is one of the most widely worshipped kami in Japan, presiding over rice, fertility, tea, sake, agriculture, industry, and general prosperity. Inari's gender is fluid—appearing as male, female, or androgynous depending on the shrine and tradition—reflecting the deity's encompassing nature.

Read the full Inari entry

Susanoo

Japanese Pantheon

God of storms, sea, and chaos. Brother of Amaterasu. Initially wild but later heroic. Famous for slaying the eight-headed dragon Yamata no Orochi.

Born from Izanagi's nose during purification. Exiled from heaven for his violence, he descended to Earth where he became a hero, slaying the dragon Yamata no Orochi.

**Susanoo-no-Mikoto** embodies the raw, untamed power of storms and the sea. Born from Izanagi's nose during his purification ritual, Susanoo was assigned to rule the ocean realm. However, his nature was wild and tempestuous, and his refusal to accept his duties set in motion one of Shinto mythology's most dramatic sagas.

Read the full Susanoo entry

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How each was worshipped

Inari

Cult sites: Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, Thousands of fox-gated branch shrines.

Festivals: Hatsu-uma, Inari festival days in early February.

Foxes, vermilion gates, and a wish for the harvest or the shop. Merchants keep a small Inari. The cult is rice and money, not moonlight poetry.

Susanoo

Cult sites: Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, Hiromine and other Gion-line shrines, Izumo as the wild brother of the sun.

Festivals: Gion Matsuri, Susanoo festivals at Yasaka.

Storm, sword, and the eight-headed serpent. Gion's month-long parade is plague-exorcism dressed as spectacle. He is worshipped as a settler of chaos, not as a polite rice god.