Japanese Mythology · deity

Konohanasakuya-hime

木花咲耶姫
also: Konohanasakuya-hime · Konohanasakuya-hime
deityflowersblossomearthbeauty

The 'Flower-Blossom' goddess of the earthly realm, daughter of Ōkuninushi, who marries the descending heavenly prince Ninigi and bears the imperial ancestor Hooroni.

Konohanasakuya-hime, from Hokusai, One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji — Konohanasakuya-hime
Konohanasakuya-hime · Created by Katsushika Hokusai during the Edo period . · undated · Wikimedia Commons (institution in source file) · CC BY-SA 4.0
The account

Who they are

Konohanasakuya-hime ('Blossoming of the Wood-Flower') is the goddess of flowers and the earthly realm, a daughter of the island god Ōkuninushi [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. When the heavenly prince Ninigi descends to the middle land (Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni), she is the first earthly bride he takes; from their union is born (in the genealogy) the line that leads to the imperial ancestor Hooroni [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. She embodies the fertile, blossoming earth that the heavenly line is sent to rule. Her name is a poetic compound evoking the flowering of a tree (wood + flower + blossom). [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗[S2]S2 · *Nihon Shoki* ('Chronicles of Japan', 720 CE) — PRIMARY TEXT (annalistic + mythographic) — (translation: G. Cameron, 1968; see Internet Arch
Worth knowing
  • Daughter of the island god Ōkuninushi [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗.
  • First earthly bride of the descending prince Ninigi [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗.
  • Her name poetically fuses 'wood,' 'flower,' and 'blossom' [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗.
Uncertainties & variants
  • Her exact parentage (daughter of Ōkuninushi vs. a local mountain deity) and the precise genealogy to Hooroni vary between the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗[S2]S2 · *Nihon Shoki* ('Chronicles of Japan', 720 CE) — PRIMARY TEXT (annalistic + mythographic) — (translation: G. Cameron, 1968; see Internet Arch.
Relationships (6)

Connections

5 rows · 6 recorded edges — identical notes are grouped

Family & kinship

PARENT_OFIzanagi — Izanagi is a parent of the high deity born in the creation sequence.[S1] [S2]
PARENT_OFIzanami — Izanami is a parent of the high deity born in the creation sequence.[S1] [S2]
SIBLING_OFAmaterasu · Susanoo — Siblings among the high deities born of the creator pair.[S1] [S2]
PARENT_OFŌkuninushi — Ōkuninushi is the parent of the flower goddess Konohanasakuya-hime.[S1] [S2]

Partners

PARTNER_OFNinigi — Ninigi marries the earthly bride Konohanasakuya-hime.[S1] [S2]
Local graph

Their corner of the divine world

View
hierarchical — generations top → bottom, partners side by side
Overlays
FocusKonohanasakuya-himeJapanese
JAPANESE · 21♥♥♥Kusanagi-no-Tsu…Yasakani no Mag…Yata no KagamiAme-no-NubokoAme-no-UzumeAmenominakanushiInariIzanagiIzanamiTakamimusubiKotohikoneKushinada-himeNinigiŌkuninushiSarutahikoTakemikazuchiYamata-no-OrochiYamato TakeruAmaterasuKagutsuchiKonohanasakuya-h…SusanooTsukuyomiToyotama-himeHooroni (Ōyahata)
zoom 2.34× · medium
  • parentage
  • marriage ♥

far = primordials · medium = all · close = detail — scroll/pan, click a deity to focus

Myths featuring Konohanasakuya-hime

1 story

The Descent of Ninigi (Tenson Kōryō)

The heavenly prince Ninigi, grandson of Amaterasu, is sent down from Takamagahara to take rule of the middle land (Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni) [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. His descent (Tenson Kōryō) alights at Takachiho in Hyūga (Kyūshū) [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. Guided by the crossroads god Sarutahiko, he is confronted by Ōkuninushi's side (the Kuniyurinshi), after which the land is yielded [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗. Ninigi takes the earthly bride Konohanasakuya-hime and later the heavenly bride Toyotama-hime (Amaterasu's daughter); their son Hooroni (Ōyahata) is the ancestor of the emperors [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗[S2]S2 · *Nihon Shoki* ('Chronicles of Japan', 720 CE) — PRIMARY TEXT (annalistic + mythographic) — (translation: G. Cameron, 1968; see Internet Arch. The 'birth at sea' of Hooroni (Toyotama-hime giving birth in a hut at sea, whence the sea is born) is part of this descent narrative [S1]S1 · *Kojiki* ('Records of Ancient Matters', 712 CE), trans. Basil Hall Chamberlain (1882/1933) — PRIMARY TRANSLATION — https://sacred-texts.com/Open source ↗.

READ THE STORY →

Artworks

Depictions

Konohanasakuya-hime, from Hokusai, One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji — Konohanasakuya-hime
Konohanasakuya-hime · Created by Katsushika Hokusai during the Edo period . · undated · Wikimedia Commons (institution in source file) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Konohanasakuya-hime · undated
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