Offical site | Okuni Jinja

The kami enshrined at Okuni Jinja is Ōnamuchi-no-mikoto, who is also known as Ōkuninushi-no-mikoto, which means "Great Land Master". In Japanese, that is abbreviated, with love and respect, to Daikoku-sama.

Some time after helping the rabbit, Daikoku-sama was travelling across the islands of Japan on the winds and the clouds, finishing the creation of the land, and he had created many places that were good for people to live in.

The rabbit he had saved came with him on his travels, and one day it pointed out a mountain, saying, "Daikoku-sama, that shining mountain looks marvellous!".

"Yes," said Daikoku-sama, "that is a nice place, surrounded by mountains, rivers, and the sea. It looks like it could be a good place for people to live."
Daikoku-sama flew over to the mountain, and landed on its peak.

"This is a marvellous view," he said. "Water, come forth so that all the lands I can see will be blessed with abundance."

As he spoke, he swung his mallet down, and water sprang from the ground at his feet. This water became a stream, and it flowed down the mountain towards the valley. Around it, the mountain sprang into life, with shoots of trees and grasses pushing their way out of the ground.

These shoots grew rapidly into sturdy trees, competing with each other to grow tallest, and as he watched the whole mountain was clothed in a forest.

"Daikoku-sama swung his mallet again, saying, ""Let a jinja come forth to protect this place!"". The villagers who lived in the foothills came together with a common purpose, and built a jinja on the peak of Mt Hongū at which to venerate Daikoku-sama.

'Let this jinja be called ""Okuni Jinja"", which means ""a beautiful place where kami dwell""', said Daikoku-sama.
Today, this jinja is honoured as Hongū-san Okuiwato Jinja, the inner sanctuary of Okuni Jinja.

The stream flowing from the mountain became an ever-greater river as it descended, and flowed gently through the village in the foothills. The land became lush and fertile, and the rice paddies and fields offered abundant harvests of rice and vegetables.

""This is a blessing from Daikoku-sama,"" said the people, and in their rejoicing they gathered many of the fruits of the harvest and took them to the jinja as thank offerings.

The river carried fertility from the mountains to the sea, and the fish throve, so that the fishermen rejoiced in bountiful catches.

But sometimes storms rose over the sea, and the fishermen's boats out on the open water would be carried away by the great waves.

"Where have the waves carried us? Where on earth are we?"
The fishermen did not know what to do, but the rabbit pointed them to a light in the distance.

The mountain where Daikoku-sama had descended was shining in the darkness.

"That is Mt Hongu of Okuni Jinja. If we use that as a landmark, we will be able to find our way home."
Mt Hongu is a long way from the sea, but it still served as a landmark for mariners.