The Story of Owatatsumi - Episode 1: The Foundation of Watatsumi-no-Miya

This is a completely original KAMIYO special episode that fills the “void” left unrecorded in the history books of Japanese mythology.

We weave the hidden, true tale of the gods here.

Welcome to the abyssal world of Japanese mythology.

Prologue: The Birth of the Sibling Gods Governing the Water Realm

The ritual of the Birth of the Gods (Kamiumi) performed by Izanagi and Izanami had stirred a tremendous torrent of life across heaven and earth.

From that fierce act of love, Owatatsumi-no-Kami, the supreme god who presides over the great oceans, raised his first cry, as has already been told.

However, almost simultaneously with the birth of Owatatsumi-no-Kami, two crucial gods were brought forth to completely govern the realm of water.

They were the male god who presides over the boundaries where rivers pour into the sea, the “water gates” (minato), named Hayaakitsuhiko-no-Kami, and his counterpart, the goddess Hayaakitsuhime-no-Kami.

“Oh, my beautiful siblings.”

Swaying his deep blue robes, Owatatsumi-no-Kami spoke solemnly to the newly born pair of gods.

“I shall pacify the abyss of the endless ocean and rule the waters that are the mother of all creation. You two shall carry the impurities of the land out to the sea, and pacify the raging water gates where the tides intersect. Only when we three water gods unite our strength will the water realm of this Oyashima (Great Eight Islands) attain eternal tranquility.”

Hayaakitsuhiko-no-Kami and Hayaakitsuhime-no-Kami nodded deeply and answered powerfully.

The raging currents and the silent deep sea.

Having divided their respective duties, the gods of the water realm departed for the domains they were meant to rule.

Owatatsumi-no-Kami headed for the bottom of the sea, where not even light could reach.

It was a world of absolute darkness and crushing water pressure, a realm no one had yet conquered.

Chapter 1: The Pacification of the Raging Water Gates, Hayaakitsuhiko-no-Kami

Parting ways with Owatatsumi-no-Kami, Hayaakitsuhiko-no-Kami descended to the mouth of the most massive river connecting the land of Oyashima to the sea—the water gate (minato).

It was an extremely chaotic boundary where muddy waters carved from the land and raging waves surging from the sea clashed violently.

Fresh water and saltwater repelled each other, swirling into vortexes, baring their fangs to swallow anyone who approached.

“To think the intersection of the power of the land and the power of the sea could be this fierce. However, with my Yang energy, I shall pacify this raging boundary.”

Hayaakitsuhiko-no-Kami forcefully stirred a violent whirlpool with the circular blades held in both his arms.

The robust divine energy radiating from his body powerfully suppressed the raging water’s surface.

Following his command, the fierce currents flowing from the river softened their momentum, pouring into the sea as a single, orderly stream, much like a great serpent obediently bowing its head.

Through his power, “order” was born at the boundary of land and sea.

However, to completely purify the land’s impurities and defilements carried by the river’s waters, his power alone was not enough.

Chapter 2: The Embrace of Deep Compassion, Hayaakitsuhime-no-Kami

Beyond the water flow ordered by Hayaakitsuhiko-no-Kami, in a deeper domain connecting to the open ocean, his counterpart goddess, Hayaakitsuhime-no-Kami, waited quietly.

“The flow ordered by my brother god, I shall surely receive it.”

Letting her thin robes flutter in the sea breeze, Hayaakitsuhime-no-Kami wore a smile filled with compassion.

Her role was not to suppress with rigid force.

It was to envelop and swallow everything using her soft, Yin energy.

When she spread her arms toward the sea, the muddy streams pushed out from the water gate and all the impurities that flowed from the earth were sucked into her bosom.

“Let any impurity be returned to the pure tide within my womb.”

Through the boundless embrace of Hayaakitsuhime-no-Kami, the impurities were drawn to the bottom of the deep sea and purified without a trace.

The water’s surface at the gate, which had been clashing violently, miraculously transformed into a calm stillness, beginning to sparkle beautifully as it reflected the sunlight.

Thus, through the perfect coordination of the sibling gods, the water gate serving as the entrance to the water realm established eternal tranquility.

Chapter 3: The Reunion of the Three Gods and the Departure to the Abyss

Having witnessed the pacification of the water gate, Hayaakitsuhiko-no-Kami and Hayaakitsuhime-no-Kami glided across the now-silent sea surface, reuniting with Owatatsumi-no-Kami who waited offshore.

“A magnificent deed, my siblings. Thanks to you, the path connecting Oyashima and the sea has been cleansed.”

Owatatsumi-no-Kami proudly commended the two gods.

“Owatatsumi-no-Kami. We have completely pacified the surface waves and the boundary. Next, at last, is the abyss, the main pillar of the sea.”

At Hayaakitsuhiko-no-Kami’s words, Owatatsumi-no-Kami nodded deeply.

“Indeed. To maintain the tranquility of the water gate, we must create an unshakable cornerstone of order at the very bottom of the sea itself. Come, let us go together. To the absolute darkness where we must build our temple.”

The three water gods exchanged glances and kicked off the sea surface simultaneously.

Onward, to the untrodden abyss.

The sacred descent of the gods who govern the water realm had finally begun.

Chapter 4: Descent into the Deep Blue

Splash...

When Owatatsumi-no-Kami cast his body from the surface of the sea, the ocean swirled grandly as if to welcome its new lord, guiding him down to the water’s depths.

As the water grew deeper, the light of the sun was lost, and the world was dyed in a cold, heavy ultramarine.

The presence of living creatures grew sparse, leaving only an overwhelming “silence” and “crushing pressure.”

“What a dark, and yet rich world.”

Owatatsumi-no-Kami murmured to himself, looking at his surroundings.

The darkness was not a terror. It was a vast cradle to which he must now bring order and color by his own hands.

The lapis lazuli divine light emitting from his body gently illuminated the darkness.

Drawn to that sacred radiance, seaweed swayed, and nameless, microscopic lives began to dance like falling snow.

Behind him, Hayaakitsuhiko-no-Kami and Hayaakitsuhime-no-Kami followed quietly, as if supporting his majesty.

He slowly planted his feet upon the earth of the ocean floor.

It was the massive bedrock that supported the nation of Oyashima from beneath.

Upon this vast, untouched wasteland, he had to build a paradise equal to the principles of heaven and earth, one that would never decay.

“To build my royal capital, I must seek out the ‘Navel of the Sea,’ where the tides circulate best and life springs forth.”

Chapter 5: Encounter with the Old Man of the Tide, Shiotsuchi-no-Kami

At that moment, the tide behind Owatatsumi-no-Kami swirled with an unnaturally swift speed.

Riding the ocean current, a single god revealed his form.

An old god with a long white beard fluttering in the waves, clad in garments woven from seabird feathers and seashells.

He was Shiotsuchi-no-Kami, the guide who knew everything about the ebb and flow of the ocean’s salt and led the path of the currents more accurately than anyone else.

“Well, well, the new King of the Sea. Are you searching for the location of your underwater capital yourself?”

Shiotsuchi-no-Kami prostrated himself respectfully before Owatatsumi-no-Kami.

Though he is a god who remains by the seashore, his knowledge extends to all phenomena of the sea, from the ocean floor to the water’s surface.

He is the god who would later become the most important messenger connecting the palace to the outside world.

“Old man, what is your name?”

“I am called Shiotsuchi. The one who deciphers the logic of the tides. I wish to guide you to the finest land, so that your majesty’s reign may prosper for eternity.”

Owatatsumi-no-Kami saw the deep wisdom dwelling in the back of the old god’s eyes and nodded.

“Very well. Shiotsuchi, guide me. To the center of the sea, where life blooms most beautifully.”

Shiotsuchi-no-Kami grinned and struck the ocean current with his staff.

Instantly, an invisible path in the sea was carved open, and with Owatatsumi-no-Kami and Shiotsuchi-no-Kami at the vanguard, the gods advanced into the even deeper abyss at a tremendous speed.

Awaiting them ahead was a confrontation with the ferocious beasts who had ruled the dark seas since ancient times, and the creation of the most beautiful paradise in the history of heaven and earth.

In the wasteland of the ocean floor where even light could not reach, the eternally undecaying “Watatsumi-no-Miya” was about to be born.

The curtain on a sacred and epic history surrounding the dominion of the open ocean had now been raised.