Japanese PantheonRealm
Izumo Province
The earthly domain granted to Susanoo after his exile from heaven, where he slew the eight-headed serpent Yamata no Orochi.
About Izumo Province
Susanoo's exile country
Izumo province is where the storm god Susanoo, thrown out of heaven, kills Yamata no Orochi, finds Kusanagi in the tail, and marries Kushinada-hime. The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki locate the eight-headed serpent in the Hi river country. Okuninushi's later cycle is the same landscape. Izumo Taisha is the cult house; the province is the narrative ground. The imperial chronicles need Izumo as the earth that must cede to the sun line.
On the map
Izumo Province among other places of the Japanese Pantheon.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Kojiki (Yamata no Orochi)
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
Coordinates mark where the myths place a site, or where the tradition locates it today. Mythic realms are left off the map or marked as symbolic placements.
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