Who is Susanoo? Guide to the Japanese Storm God
Susanoo is the storm god of Shinto and one of the most turbulent figures in Japanese mythology. He is the brother of Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and their conflict drives much of the earliest layer of the tradition. He was banished from heaven for tormenting her. In exile, he killed the eight-headed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi, found the sacred sword Kusanagi in its tail, married the woman he had just saved, and founded a dynasty at Izumo. Susanoo is not the villain of the Japanese tradition. He is the god of what happens when order breaks down - sometimes catastrophically, sometimes heroically, and always with consequences.
Key Takeaways
- Susanoo (also spelled Susano-o, Susa-no-O, or Susanowo) is the Shinto god of storms, the sea, and (in some traditions) the underworld.
- His full name is Take-Haya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto; the meaning is debated but often glossed as “the impetuous male.”
- He is the son of the creator Izanagi (born from his nose during his purification) and the brother of Amaterasu (sun) and Tsukuyomi (moon).
- His tormenting of Amaterasu drove her into the cave of heaven; he was subsequently banished from Takamagahara (the high plain of heaven).
- In exile in the land of Izumo, he killed the eight-headed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi to save the maiden Kushinada-hime, whom he then married.
- From the serpent’s tail he pulled the sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi, which he gave to Amaterasu; it became one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan.
- He founded a dynasty at Izumo. His descendants include Okuninushi, the god who built the land of Japan and whose worship centres on the Izumo Taisha, one of Japan’s oldest shrines.
Who is Susanoo?
Susanoo is the storm god of Shinto and one of the three great kami born from Izanagi’s purification. He rules (or was originally given) the seas, though his mythology takes him through many other domains.
Definition - Susanoo
The Japanese storm god of Shinto. Susanoo is the son of Izanagi (born from his nose), brother of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, slayer of the eight-headed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi, and founder of the Izumo lineage. His full name is Take-Haya-Susanoo-no-Mikoto, often glossed as “the impetuous male.”
The Japanese tradition preserves Susanoo as a figure of contradiction. He is destructive but also creative. He weeps ceaselessly for his mother Izanami (whom he never met, since she died before he was born) but goes on to become the founder of a great lineage. He is banished from heaven for causing his sister’s cave-hiding but goes on to perform one of the tradition’s heroic feats in his exile. He is not evil in the Japanese conception. He is the storm - and storms clear as much as they destroy.
The birth of Susanoo
Susanoo was born, along with Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, during Izanagi’s purification after returning from the underworld. Izanagi had descended to Yomi to retrieve his wife Izanami and had returned unable to save her. He purified himself in a river. From his left eye came Amaterasu. From his right eye came Tsukuyomi. From his nose came Susanoo.
Izanagi divided the world among the three. Amaterasu received the heavens. Tsukuyomi received the night. Susanoo received the seas.
Susanoo was not satisfied. He wept ceaselessly for his mother Izanami, whom he had never seen, and refused to take up his role. His weeping was so violent that it caused the mountains to wither and the rivers to dry. Izanagi, angered, banished him. Susanoo asked to visit his sister Amaterasu in heaven before going into exile. Read the tale of Izanami in Yomi the underworld.
Susanoo and Amaterasu: the tormenting
Susanoo’s visit to Amaterasu began peacefully but became catastrophic.
Amaterasu, unsure of her brother’s intentions when he approached her realm with his storm-power raging, prepared for war. Susanoo protested peaceful intent. They tested each other by producing children from each other’s possessions - Amaterasu produced five male kami from Susanoo’s sword, Susanoo produced three female kami from Amaterasu’s jewels. Susanoo claimed victory on the grounds that his kami were female (which he read as a sign of his pure heart).
He then began to behave badly. He broke down the boundaries of Amaterasu’s rice paddies. He filled her sacred hall with excrement. Finally he killed one of her weaving-maidens by throwing a flayed piebald horse through the roof of her weaving-hall while she was working. Amaterasu, appalled, retreated into the cave Ame-no-Iwato and sealed the entrance.
The world went dark. The other kami eventually coaxed her out (see the guide to Amaterasu). Once she was out, they demanded punishment for Susanoo. He was fined heavily (his beard was cut, his fingernails and toenails were pulled out), and he was banished from heaven forever. Read the story of Susa-no-o’s exile.
Yamata-no-Orochi: the eight-headed serpent
In exile, Susanoo descended to the land of Izumo, on the western coast of Honshu. There he encountered an elderly couple weeping beside a river. They told him that a monstrous eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent called Yamata-no-Orochi came each year and devoured one of their daughters. Seven daughters had already been eaten. The last one, Kushinada-hime, was about to be taken.
Susanoo agreed to fight the serpent in exchange for Kushinada-hime’s hand in marriage. He first transformed her into a comb and stuck her in his hair for safekeeping. Then he prepared his trap.
He had the couple brew eight vats of very strong sake and place them on a platform surrounded by a fence with eight gates. The serpent arrived. Each of its eight heads went through a gate and began drinking one of the vats. The serpent quickly became drunk and fell asleep. Susanoo cut off each of the eight heads. As he was cutting the serpent’s tail, his sword hit something and chipped. He cut the tail open and found inside a great sword: Kusanagi no Tsurugi, “the grass-cutting sword.”
He gave the sword to Amaterasu as a peace offering. She kept it. It became one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan. Kushinada-hime was returned to her form and married Susanoo. Their descendants included Okuninushi, who built the land of Japan. Read Susanoo slays the Yamata-no-Orochi, the tale of the eight-forked serpent, and Okuninushi and the white rabbit of Inaba.
Susanoo at Izumo
Susanoo settled in Izumo. He built a palace at Suga - the first palace in Japan, in the tradition’s account - and lived there with Kushinada-hime. Their descendants ruled Izumo, and the Izumo Taisha shrine (one of the oldest and most sacred Shinto sites) traces its origin to this lineage. Read the tale of the Izumo Taisha.
The Izumo tradition is one of the two great strands of ancient Japanese mythology, alongside the Yamato tradition of Amaterasu and the imperial line. In the mythological history, the Yamato line eventually took control of Japan when the descendants of Susanoo at Izumo were persuaded to yield their sovereignty to the descendants of Amaterasu. This transfer is one of the tradition’s foundational political myths, reflecting the historical unification of Japan under the Yamato court.
Susanoo compared to other storm gods
Susanoo belongs to the widespread category of storm gods.
| Tradition | Storm god | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Susanoo | Storm, sea, banished god | Slayer of Yamata-no-Orochi |
| Norse | Thor | Thunder, defender of Asgard | Kills giants; dies at Ragnarok |
| Greek | Zeus | Sky, thunder, order | Chief god |
| Vedic Hindu | Indra | Storm, war | Slays serpent Vritra |
| Yoruba | Shango | Thunder, kingship | Living religious figure |
| Baltic | Perkūnas | Sky and thunder | Central pre-Christian god |
The parallel with Indra is particularly close. Both are storm gods who kill great serpents - Susanoo slays Yamata-no-Orochi; Indra slays Vritra. Both stories may descend from a common Indo-European storm-god-versus-serpent motif, though the Japanese tradition is not Indo-European and may have developed the pattern independently.
Read the stories
Susanoo appears throughout the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. Some entry points:
- Susanoo Slays the Yamata-no-Orochi
- The Story of Susa-no-o’s Exile
- The Tale of the Eight-Forked Serpent
- Amaterasu Hides in a Cave
- The Creation of Japan by Izanagi and Izanami
- Okuninushi and the White Rabbit of Inaba
- The Tale of the Izumo Taisha
Susanoo is the god the Japanese tradition kept as its representation of turbulence with consequence. He wept, he raged, he was banished, and then he saved a maiden and founded a dynasty. He is not evil in Shinto - he is a full kami, worshipped alongside his siblings, and his descendants gave Japan the Izumo Taisha and much of its early history. His story is what the Japanese imagination trusted with the truth that storms are not only destructive.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Susanoo the god of?
Susanoo is the Shinto god of storms and the sea. His original portion of the world, given to him by his father Izanagi, was the seas. His temperament and mythic activities extend into the underworld, into wild land, and into the making and breaking of boundaries. He is often described as the god of what disrupts, but the tradition treats him as necessary rather than evil.
Why did Susanoo torment his sister Amaterasu?
The tradition preserves this without a fully satisfying explanation. Susanoo may have been reasserting his claim after a magical contest between them; he may have been simply expressing his storm-nature; he may have been genuinely trying to prove something and gone too far. His acts (destroying rice paddies, defiling her sacred hall, killing her weaving-maiden with a flayed horse) escalate over time. Their causes are less well-preserved than their effects.
What is Yamata-no-Orochi?
Yamata-no-Orochi is a monstrous eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent (orochi meaning “great serpent”) who devoured young women each year in the land of Izumo. Susanoo killed it during his exile by getting each of its eight heads drunk on eight vats of strong sake and then cutting the heads off while it slept. From the serpent’s tail he pulled the sacred sword Kusanagi, which became one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan.
What is Kusanagi?
Kusanagi no Tsurugi (“grass-cutting sword”) is one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan. Susanoo pulled it from the tail of the eight-headed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi and gave it to his sister Amaterasu. It was later given to Ninigi as one of the imperial regalia. It is kept, in tradition, at the Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya, and it appears in imperial enthronement ceremonies. Its name “grass-cutting” comes from an episode in the reign of Yamato Takeru, who used it to cut down burning grass around him and escape an ambush.
Is Susanoo still worshipped?
Yes. Susanoo has active shrines throughout Japan, particularly in the western regions historically associated with Izumo. The Yasaka Shrine in Kyoto, one of the most famous shrines in Japan, is dedicated to Susanoo (there in his identification with the Buddhist figure Gozu Tenno). The Gion Matsuri, one of Japan’s most famous festivals, is held at the Yasaka Shrine in his honour each July.
Who are Susanoo’s descendants?
Susanoo’s marriage to Kushinada-hime produced a lineage centred in Izumo. His most famous descendant is Okuninushi (also called Onamuji), who built the land of Japan and is now the principal kami of the Izumo Taisha shrine. The Izumo dynasty was one of the two great pre-imperial lineages in the Japanese mythological tradition, alongside the Yamato line descended from Amaterasu. In the tradition, Okuninushi eventually ceded political authority to Amaterasu’s grandson Ninigi.