Japanese Mythology & Deities
Major Gods in the Chronicles (25)
~ The god who turned into a good god after being exiled from the high heavens
Susanoo has a diverse personality. He is first portrayed as a petulant young man, then as an unpredictable, violent boor who causes chaos and destruction before becoming a monster, showing his violent side in the high heavens. When he descends to Izumo, his character changes dramatically and becomes a heroic figure.
The word "Susa" in the name of the deity means "storm" or "stormy weather", and it is believed that the behaviour of Susanoo in the high heavens shows the damage caused by storms. There is a theory that it is the same root as "advance" and means to do things with vigour, another theory that it is associated with Susa, which is in the middle reaches of the Kobe River in western Izumo, and another theory that Susanoo is a deification of the chieftain of a country, ‘Susa-go’.
First, through the misogi of Izanagi, he is born the youngest brother of Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, and as one of the three noble children is ordered to rule over the sea, but he is continually crying out for his mother. From there, he goes to visit his sister Amaterasu in the high heavens, but there, too, he commits acts of treason and is banished by the gods of the high heavens, who strip his fingernails and pluck out his beard.
After this terrible ordeal, Susano-no-mikoto quickly transformed himself into a good deity, subdued the Yamata-no-orochi serpent, and ruled the Land of Izumo where in between the high heavens and the land of dead.
須佐之男（すさのおの）は多彩な性格を有している。彼は、最初は小心者の青年として描かれ、次に、怪物になる前に混乱と破壊を引き起こす予測不可能な暴力的な無作法者として描かれ、高天原では凶暴な一面を見せる。出雲へ降りると一転して英雄的な性格となる。
神名の「すさ」は、‘荒れすさぶ‘の意として嵐の神、暴風雨の神とする説や高天原での須佐之男（すさのおの）の行いは暴風雨の被害を示すとする、「進む」と同根で’勢いのままに事を行う‘の意、とする説、出雲西部の神戸川中流にある須佐に因むとする説、須佐之男（すさのおの）は須佐郷の族長を神格化したものとするがある。
まず、伊邪那岐命（いざなぎ）の禊によって、天照大御神(あまてらす)と月読命(つくよみ)の弟として生まれ、三貴子の一人として海原の統治を命じられるが、いつまでも母恋しさに泣き叫ぶ。そこから高天の原の姉・天照大御神(あまてらす)を訪ねるが、そこでも悪逆非道の限りをつくし、高天の原の神々から爪を剥がされ、髭を抜かれて追放される。
このあまりにも過酷な試練をへたのち、須佐之男命（すさのおのみこと）は、たちまち善神に変じて、八岐大蛇（やまたのおろち）を鎮め、出雲国（＝葦原中国・あしはらのなかつくに）を治めるのである。
