 The "God
of Iron"
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The "God of Iron" has a shrine in Yasugi, called KANAYAKO Shrine which
is located near the WAKO museum. To those people who don't know their
history, or their legends, the first God of iron and steel was Susanoo
and the second, Okuninushi's son, Ajisuki.
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He had over 44 shrines dedicated to him in this area as far back as
the early 8th century. He is the God of the Hoe and the Plow and is often
called the "God of the Golden Plow." He is mainly of importance in the
Izumo no Kuni Fudoki. The name Ajisuki is often shortened to "Azuki."
This god is thought to have been the son of Okuninushi no Mikoto. There
is however, the idea that he was the son of the ruler of Japan and sent
to Izumo as the representative of the Emperor. Okuninushi adopted him
to further good relations with the Yamato people.
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The legends say that Ajisuki could not speak and only cried. This went
on for some time until he was cured by the kind treatment of Okuninushi.
His condition was probably due to his not understanding the language of
the people of Izumo (as we all know, the Izumo dialect is rather difficult
for other people to understand).
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Ajisuki was very good at farming and when we think about this, we must
suppose that he was from some country which was noted for that. Korea
was such a coutry and many of those people came to the Izumo Area and
became loyal followers of Okuninushi. Their ideas were very good and were
accepted by the Izumo people, even though the new comers were not liked
very much. The study of the history of the gods of Japan has really increased
my interest in the entire culture of this area! I am one of the most ardent
fans of Izumo no Kuni and its wonderful culture and people!
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