Discovering the Region Where Japan Began
The prefectures of Shimane and Tottori are Japan’s hub of ancient mythology.
One of the main pillars of Japan’s rich religious and spiritual landscape is Shinto, an animistic religion indigenous to Japan that enshrines a pantheon of deities. Among these deities, the sun goddess Amaterasu is considered one of the most important because she brings light to the world and her descendants, Japan’s imperial family, are head of the country to this day.
Amaterasu’s descendants did not always rule Japan, however.
According to the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki (or Nihongi), Japan’s oldest written records of history and mythology, a god called Okuninushi was once charged with maintaining the earthly realm. One day, Amaterasu decided that she wanted her descendants to control this realm, so she sent messengers to speak with Okuninushi and his sons.
After some time, Okuninushi agreed to pass control of the land to Amaterasu’s bloodline. In exchange, he was granted a grand palace in which he could retire.
The grand palace from this legend still stands today in Shimane Prefecture’s city of Izumo.
Izumo Taisha Shrine, which is dedicated to Okuninushi, is such a powerful site that locals sometimes claim its presence is the reason why Shimane has some of the fewest earthquakes in Japan. The shrine is also considered a center of en-musubi, a divine force that creates favorable chance encounters in friendship, work relationships, and romance.
Okuninushi is the god of en-musubi, but he is not the only one who determines relationships.
Every year during the tenth month of the lunar calendar, it is said that millions of Shinto deities will leave their shrines throughout Japan and travel to Izumo Taisha. Here, they will spend time eating, drinking, and deciding what kinds of relationships people will form in the next year.
Most of Japan traditionally calls this month Kannazuki, the month of no gods, but Shimane calls this time Kamiarizuki, the month of gods. During this time and throughout the year, people pray at Izumo Taisha to attract the power of en-musubi into their lives.
Where in Japan are We?
It is estimated that about one third of the Shinto mythology detailed in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki took place in Shimane and Tottori. These two prefectures make up the San’in Region, an area located north of Hiroshima Prefecture along the southwestern Sea of Japan.
As of 2023, Shimane and Tottori are the most rural prefectures in the country, with a combined population of about 1.3 million people (compared to Tokyo’s population of about 12 million).
Izumo Taisha is perhaps the most famous site related to Shinto mythology in the San’in Region, but it is not the only one. Travelers to Shimane and Tottori can devote an entire trip to discovering the settings of some of Japan’s oldest legends.
Inasanohama Beach
Located within walking distance of Izumo Taisha, this is a sacred shore where Amaterasu’s messengers first descended from the heavens. This is also the place where Kamiarizuki begins.
On a fall night (usually sometime in November when converted to the solar calendar), priests of Izumo Taisha light ceremonial fires and hold a quiet prayer to welcome the arriving deities. Then, they will make their way back to the shrine, escorting the deities to their lodgings.
Although crowds of people observe the ceremony and pray at the shrine afterwards, the atmosphere of this event is quiet and reverent. No one wants to be too loud for fear of disturbing the deities in their work.
Outside of Kamiarizuki, Inasanohama Beach is one of Izumo’s most beloved sunset spots. Every evening, locals and visitors alike gather to enjoy the sea and watch the sun sink behind Bentenjima, an enormous rock with a small shrine built into its side.
Hakuto Beach and Hakuto Shrine
Visitors flock to Hakuto Beach during the summer for swimming and beautiful sunsets, but there is usually always someone here even outside of the summer because this is the site of the love story between Okuninushi and Yagami-hime.
According to legend, there was a once white rabbit living on the Oki Islands. One day, he called to the sharks in the ocean and proposed a challenge, “Line up and I’ll count you! Then we’ll see if there are more rabbits or more sharks.”
The sharks did as the rabbit suggested, and he quickly bounded over the sea on their backs. He did not count them, however, because his true intention was to reach the mainland.
Just before the rabbit reached the shore of what is now Tottori Prefecture, he turned to the sharks and snidely revealed that he had tricked them. Enraged, a shark tore off the rabbit’s skin and left him on the shore of the mainland in agony.
Soon, a group of brother deities appeared. They were on their way to visit the beautiful Yagami-hime and vie for her hand in marriage.
The rabbit called to the deities and begged them for help. Cruelly, the deities told the rabbit that if he bathed in the ocean and then stood in the wind, his skin would heal. This, however, only caused the rabbit more pain.
After the brother deities had left, Okuninushi, the youngest brother, appeared carrying everyone’s luggage.
Again, the rabbit called for help. Okuninushi, kinder than his brothers, told the rabbit to bathe in fresh water and then dry himself with cattails. This soothed and healed the rabbit’s skin and caused his white fur to grow back.
As Okuninushi continued on his way, the rabbit called after him that Yagami-hime would refuse the proposals of all the brother deities and choose Okuninushi instead. Indeed, this is what came to pass.
Hakuto Beach is said to be the place where the white rabbit first reached the mainland. The nearby Hakuto Shrine honors the white rabbit and creates a place where visitors can pray to find their soulmates.
Mt. Sanbe and Mt. Daisen
If one looks at a map of the Shimane Peninsula, it almost looks like part of the land is attached to the prefecture with ropes. The Izumo no Kuni Fudoki, an ancient record of local geography, customs, and legends, explains how the land came to be this way.
Legend tells that long ago, a deity called Yatsukamizuomizunu thought that the land surrounding the Izumo Domain was too small, so he took some unused land from across the ocean and pulled it to him. Then, he fastened the new land to the old by driving stakes into the ground, which eventually became the tallest mountains in the San’in Region: Mt. Sanbe and Mt. Daisen.
These two mountains are beloved today for their stunning views, networks of hiking trails, and ski slopes.
More to Discover
Local tourism associations in Shimane and Tottori have been working hard to translate legends into multiple languages and spread the word about all there is to see in rural Japan. Next time you travel to the land of the rising sun, why not travel off the beaten path and see where Japan’s most ancient history and culture began?
Sources
- The Kojiki: An Account of Ancient Matters, by Yasumaro No O, translated by Gustav Heldt
- The Nihongi, by Yaumaro No O, translated by William George Aston
- Izumo city official travel website
- GaijinPot Travel
- Travel Japan, Japan National Tourism Organization
- A Guide to the Mysteries of the Kojiki, Seiji Tarao and the Ancient Izumo Kingdom Research Society
