Shinatsuhiko (シナツヒコ)
Shinatsuhiko is a deity (Shinto religion) who appears in Japanese Mythology. His name is written as 志那都比古神 (Shinatsuhiko no kami) in the Kojiki (The record of Ancient Matters) and as 級長津彦命 (Shinatsuhiko no mikoto) in the Nihonshoki (Chronicles of Japan) respectively. When enshrined, his name is also written as 志那都彦神 (Shinatsuhiko no kami).
According to the story of kamiumi (birth of deities) described in the Kojiki, he was born between Izanagi and Izanami and he is a deity of wind. In the 6th issho (a book quoted in Nihonshoki) quoted in the section of kamiumi in the Nihonshoki, it is described that a deity named Shinatobe no mikoto, whose other name was Shinatsuhiko no mikoto, was born from Izanami's breath when he blew off the morning mist and he became the deity of wind. When enshrined, Shinatobe is also written as 志那戸辨命 (Shinatobe no mikoto).
His deity name 'Shina' means 'long breath.'
Ancient people conceived that wind must be generated by a deity's breath. While wind is indispensable for rice farming, a violent wind such as typhoon causes serious damage to people. Therefore, the deity of the wind was enshrined at various places for the purpose of pacifying a violent wind.
Shinatobe who appears in the Nihonshoki is seen as goddess in some cases and is deemed as Shinatsuhiko's elder sister or wife at some temples. In his book "Kojikiden" (Commentaries on the "Kojiki"), Norinaga MOTOORI cited KAMO no Mabuchi's view that although they were originally a pair of deities, they came to be seen as the same deity in later years. Although the enshrined deities of Tatsuta Taisha Shrine (Ikoma gun, Nara Prefecture) are Amenomihashira no mikoto and Kuninomihashira no mikoto, Amenomihashira no mikoto and Kuninomihashira no mikoto are identified with Shinatsuhiko no kami and Shinatsuhime no kami respectively in its shrine history or in Norito (Shinto prayer). Shinatsuhiko no kami is a male deity and Shainatsuhime no kami is a female deity.
At Ise jingu Shrine, there exist Kazahinominomia, betsugu (an auxiliary shrine) of Naiku (inner shrine) and Kazenomiya, betsugu of Geku, and both of them enshrine Shinatsuhiko no mikoto and Shinatobe no mikoto. Although Kazahinominomia was originally called 'Kase-jinja Shrine,' it was given the shrine name of 'Kazahinominomia' by Imperial proclamation since it was believed that a deity of Kase-jinja Shrine generated Kamikaze (divine wind) during Genko (Mongol invasion attempts against Japan).
Because he is a deity of the wind, he is also worshipped as a deity of navigation.
He is also worshipped as a deity who cures a cold because 'a cold (風邪)' shares same pronunciation and the same roots with 'wind (風).'