Refusing to rule the sea and weeping for his late mother, Susanoo was banished by his father. Before departing he climbed to Heaven to bid his sister farewell—but the mountains and rivers shook, and Amaterasu, suspecting he came to seize her realm, armed herself and met him with a bow.
To prove his innocence, Susanoo proposed an ‘ukei,’ an ordeal of oaths. When Amaterasu chewed and blew out his sword, three goddesses—the Munakata deities—were born; when Susanoo chewed her jewels, five male gods appeared.
The first of these was Ame-no-Oshihomimi, father of the future heavenly grandson Ninigi and ancestor god of the imperial house. His purity seemingly proven, Susanoo exulted—and that triumph would soon turn to reckless violence.
