Sarutahiko/Sarudahiko/Sarutabiko Ōkami (猿田毘古大神／猿田彦大神;Japanese pronunciation:[sa.ɾɯ.taꜜ.çi̥.ko][1]) is a deity of theJapanese religion ofShinto; he is the leader of the earthlykami.Norito also mentions him with the titleDaimyōjin (大明神, great bright god, or greatly virtuous god) instead ofŌkami (大神, great god). Sarutahiko Ōkami was the head of thekunitsukami[2] and in theJinnō Shōtōki is said to have been the ancestor ofOtanomikoto.[3]
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Sarutahiko Ōkami is seen as a symbol ofMisogi, strength and guidance, which is why he is the patron ofmartial arts such asaikido.[4] He is enshrined atTsubaki Grand Shrine inMie Prefecture; first among the 2000 shrines of Sarutahiko Ōkami, Sarutahiko Jinja inIse, Mie; andŌasahiko Shrine inTokushima Prefecture, andSarutahiko Shrine in Mie Prefecture. In theNihon Shoki, he is the one who meetsNinigi-no-Mikoto, the grandson ofAmaterasu, the Sun goddess, when he descends fromTakama-ga-hara.[5] He is depicted as a towering man with a large beard, jeweled spear, ruddy face, and long nose. At first he is unwilling to let Ninigi pass until persuaded byAme-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, the kami of dance and the arts, whom he later marries.[6][7] Even Sarutahiko was regarded as the "god who illuminates the sky and the earth" in Ise, and was worshiped by local believers as thesun god (personification of sun) beforeAmaterasu.
He, Ame-no-Uzume and their children subsequently created theSarume clan [ja] (猿女の君) clan along with an order of female court and religious dancers.[8][9][10] It was the origin ofKagura andNoh. Other descendants includes the Ujitoko clan from Ise province. According to Kojiki, he went in Ise where a giant clam trapped his hand onIsuzu river at Azaka, thus he drowned. But strangely, Sarutahiko was considered byUeshiba Morihei as a kind of god of the cosmic life: the god of Aiki. According to O-Senseï, the practice ofAikidō was practice ofMisogi purification itself ("and thus, like Sarutahiko standing ofAme-no-Ukibashi, standing between Heaven and Earth, being one with the Universe, and so achieving peace with the world, the next step being World Peace itself")[citation needed]
Sarutahiko's name consists of an etymologically obscure element,Saruta, which is traditionally transcribed withkanji that suggest the meaning "monkey-field" as a sort of double entendre, followed by theClassical Japanese nounhiko "a male child of noble blood, a prince."[11] Thus, Sarutahiko Ōkami's embellished name could be roughly translated into English as "Great God, Prince Saruta." Many variant pronunciations of his name exist, including Sarudabiko and Sadahiko. Although it is usually not written, the Japanese genitive case marker,-no, is often suffixed to his name in speech when it is followed immediately by one of his honorific titles, such asŌkami orMikoto.[citation needed]
AnthropologistEmiko Ohnuki-Tierney lists three factors that identify Sarutahiko as amonkey deity:saru means "monkey", his features "include red buttocks, which are a prominent characteristic of Japanese macaques", and as macaques gather shellfish at low tide, theKojiki says his hand got caught in a shell while fishing and "a monkey with one hand caught in a shell is a frequent theme of Japanese folktales".[12]
Sarutahiko has the distinction of being one of only sevenkami to be honored with the titleŌkami (Japanese:大神) or "Great Kami"; the other six areIzanagi,Izanami,Michikaeshi (also known as Yomido ni sayarimasu ōkami (?) who is the kami of the great rock used by Izanagi to obstruct the way to Yomi, and thus, preventing emergence of evil spirits from the Underworld),Sashikuni [ja],Inari, andAmaterasu. Sarutahiko and Inari appear to be the only Ōkami from thekunitsukami, or earthly kami, the others beingAmatsukami (heavenly deities). Although there is some other Daimyōjin and Daigongen, most of them appeared later in the History of Japanese Religion, such as Hachiman (deification of Empress Jingu, Emperor Ojin and maybe Takeuchi no Sukune, as a successful head of state) or Hindu deities, the meaning of Daimyōjin appear to be a little different from Ōkami, the latter being obviously more ancient.[citation needed]
The name of this deity appears incorrectly spelled as "Sarundasico" inPuccini's operaMadama Butterfly.[13]
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