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Concept
Ne-no-kuni
Summary
or Soko-tsu-ne-no-kuni in the Nihon Shoki, also called Ne-no-kata-su-kuni or Haha-no-kuni in the Kojiki, refers to a netherworld in Japanese mythology. It is sometimes considered to be identical to Yomi, another netherworld in the myths as well as Tokoyo-no-kuni. There is no clear consensus on the relationship between these three realms.
The god Susanoo is described as the ruler of Ne-no-kuni. There are differing accounts on how he assumed this position:
According to the Kojiki when Izanagi tasked his children with the rule over the various realms: Amaterasu got the "Plain of the High Heaven" (Takamagahara), Tsukuyomi got the "Dominion of the Night" (Yoru-no-wosu-kuni), and Susanoo got the "Sea Plain". Susanoo ignored this command and kept crying over the loss of his dead mother Izanami, such that his weeping lead to death and destruction. As Susanoo wished, Izanagi expelled him to be near his mother in Ne-no-kata-su-kuni. In the previous episodes about Izanami's death this land is called Yomi.
The Nihon Shoki mentions Ne-no-kuni in passing when describing an episode where Susanoo was banished from Takama-ga-hara for various evil acts he committed, and went to a place called (Soko-tsu-)Ne-no-kuni.
According to the Kojiki when Ōkuninushi visited Ne-no-kuni and insulted Susanoo he was submitted to overcome three ordeals, one being described to sleep in a house infested with snakes, centipedes and wasps. This is sometimes taken as another hint that Ne-no-kuni is a subterranean realm. One explanation of the myth contrasts the trials of Ōkuninushi to a symbolic death through rites of initiation that cause one to become reborn into a new life. In this story, death doesn't pollute, it regenerates. The land of the dead also contains the forces of life, tama.
The Michiae no matsuri norito is an ancient Shinto prayer asking the gods to prevent the evil beings from Ne-no-kuni-Soko-no-kuni to do any harm. The Minatsuki no tsugomori no ōharae (no norito), also short Ōharae no kotoba, which is performed in the great purification (harae) ceremony of the sixth month locates Ne-no-kuni-Soko-no-kuni in the "Great Sea Plain", i.
Official source
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Related concepts (8)
Takamagahara
In Japanese mythology, Takamagahara (高天原, "Plane of High Heaven" or "High Plane of Heaven", also read as Takaamanohara, Takamanohara, Takaamagahara, or Takaamahara), is the abode of the heavenly gods (amatsukami). Often depicted as located up in the sky, it is believed to be connected to the Earth by the bridge Ame-no-ukihashi (the "Floating Bridge of Heaven"). In Shinto, ame (heaven) is a lofty, sacred world, the home of the Kotoamatsukami.
Yomi
Yomi or Yomi-no-kuni is the Japanese word for the land of the dead (World of Darkness). According to Shinto mythology as related in Kojiki, this is where the dead go in the afterlife. Once one has eaten at the hearth of Yomi it is (mostly) impossible to return to the land of the living. Yomi in Japanese mythology is comparable to Hades or Sheol and is most commonly known for Izanami's retreat to that place after her death. Izanagi followed her there and upon his return he washed himself, creating Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto in the process.
Izanami
, formally known as Izanami-no-Mikoto, is the creator deity of both creation and death in Japanese mythology, as well as the Shinto mother goddess. She and her brother-husband Izanagi are the last of the seven generations of primordial deities that manifested after the formation of heaven and earth. Izanami and Izanagi are held to be the creators of the Japanese archipelago and the progenitors of many deities, which include the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the storm god Susanoo.