Kotohikone-no-Mikoto ('Ever-Standing in the Country') is a deity of the earthly realm who, in the Kuniyurinshi episode, serves as a mediator and alliance figure [S1]. He is associated with the marriage/alliance that ties the heavenly line (Ninigi) to the earthly line, and with the yielding of the land by Ōkuninushi [S1]. His exact role—whether a separate deity, a title, or an aspect—varies; in some accounts he is the one who brokers the union and the handover of the regalia [S1][S2]. He is a minor but structurally important figure in the founding myth.