Shinatsuhiko is the **wind deity** of Japanese mythology. He is one of the many kami born to Izanagi and Izanami during the episode of land-birthing and kami-birthing, and his name's element "Shina" is said to mean "long breath" (shinaga). As a deity governing wind and rain, he has been deeply venerated since ancient times and is enshrined at Tatsuta Taisha in Nara, as well as at the Kazahinomi-no-Miya (an auxiliary shrine of the Inner Shrine) and the Kaze-no-Miya (an auxiliary shrine of the Outer Shrine) at Ise Grand Shrine.
| Divine role | Wind deity; deity governing wind and rain |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male deity |
| Parents | Izanagi and Izanami — regarded as a deity born during the kami-birthing episode |
| Siblings | Oyamatsumi (deity of the mountains), Kagutsuchi (deity of fire), and the many other kami born during the kami-birthing |
| Consort / paired deity | Shinatsuhime / Shinatobe-no-Mikoto — in an alternate account of the Nihon Shoki, regarded as his wife or as an alternate name for him as a goddess |
| Major sources | Kojiki, Nihon Shoki |
| Origin of the name | "Shina" is said to mean "long breath" (shinaga); thus a deity who governs breath, i.e. wind |
| Blessings | Favorable wind and rain, abundant harvests, warding off misfortune, safe voyages, and more |
| Major shrines | Tatsuta Taisha (Nara); Kazahinomi-no-Miya and Kaze-no-Miya at Ise Grand Shrine (Mie) |
In the Kojiki, after Izanagi and Izanami gave birth to the land, they went on to bear a succession of natural deities in the episode known as the "kami-birthing," during which the wind deity Shinatsuhiko is said to have been born. A distinctive feature is that he is positioned as one of the kami making up the natural world, alongside Oyamatsumi, deity of the mountains, and the deities of the sea and waters. He appears in the tranquil scene of creation that precedes the death of Izanami at the birth of the fire deity Kagutsuchi.
In an alternate account (variant tradition) of the Nihon Shoki, when Izanami exhaled to blow away the morning mist, the wind deity Shinatsuhiko (Shinatsuhiko-no-Mikoto) is said to have been born from that breath. This tradition resonates with the etymological theory that reads the name's "Shina" as "long breath," and it vividly illustrates the ancient sensibility of conceiving of wind as the breath of a deity. The same account also transmits Shinatobe-no-Mikoto, an alternate name for the deity as a goddess.
As a deity governing wind and rain, Shinatsuhiko has been revered as a guardian of agriculture and seafaring. He is especially an object of prayer for calming violent storms such as typhoons and for bringing the winds that yield good harvests. In later ages he was also spoken of as a deity who raises the "divine wind" (kamikaze) to repel foreign enemies, and this belief expanded into linking the power of the wind with the protection of the land.
Shinatsuhiko is the deification of the invisible wind and breath themselves. Formless, ever in motion, filling a place as the faintest current of air or as a presence — these qualities well express a characteristic common to Japan's nature deities: a deity recognized through its "workings" rather than its appearance. He holds together an ambivalence, ripening crops as a benevolent wind while bringing calamity as a storm, and he embodies the ancient awe felt toward the unseen forces of nature.
The central site of worship for the wind deity is Tatsuta Taisha in Nara Prefecture. The shrine enshrines Ame-no-Mihashira-no-Kami and Kuni-no-Mihashira-no-Kami as its principal deities, identified respectively with Shinatsuhiko and Shinatsuhime, and it has long been venerated even by the imperial court as a shrine for "calming the wind." At Ise Grand Shrine, the deities are enshrined under the names Shinatsuhiko-no-Mikoto and Shinatobe-no-Mikoto at the Kazahinomi-no-Miya (an auxiliary shrine of the Inner Shrine) and the Kaze-no-Miya (an auxiliary shrine of the Outer Shrine). All of these are centers of worship where people pray for favorable wind and rain and for abundant harvests.
OyamatsumiThe mountain deity, likewise born during the kami-birthing. The two divide up the natural world between wind and mountain.
Ame-no-UzumeA deity who senses presence and brings it forth as dance and expression. They resonate through perception and expression.
OmoikaneThe deity of wisdom and deliberation. Shinatsuhiko reads signs through intuition, while Omoikane gives them logical articulation, the two complementing each other.
YatagarasuThe guiding deity who leads the way. The presence carried on the wind and the power to indicate direction by sight complement each other.