Suseri-bime (スセリビメ)
Suseri-bime is a deity (Shinto religion) who appears in the Japanese Mythology. She is a daughter of Susano and a legal wife of Okuninushi. Her name is written as 須勢理毘売命 (Suserihime no mikoto) or 須世理毘売命 (Suseribime no mikoto) in "Kojiki" (Record of Ancient Matters) and as 須世理姫 (Suseri-bime) in "Nihon Shoki" (Chronicles of Japan). Wakasuserihime no mikoto, who appears in "Izumo no kuni fudoki" (Fudoki of Izumo Province) as a daughter of Susano no mikoto and a wife of Onamochi no mikoto, is conceived as the same deity.
Descriptions in mythology
Descriptions in the Kojiki are as follows:
Please refer to the mythology of Okuninushi for details.
While living in Nenokuni (the underworld) together with her father Susano no mikoto, she met Onamuji no mikoto (i.e., Okuninushi), who had come from Ashihara no nakatsukuni to Nenokuni in order to escape the pursuing Yasogami (many deities), and married him at first sight. When Suseribime no mikoto introduced Onamuji no mikoto to her father after returning home, her father got him to sleep in the room inhabited by snakes or the room in which there were beans and centipedes. Suseribime no mikoto saved Onamuji no mikoto by giving him 'hire (sash),' a magic tool. Further, when Susano no mikoto ordered Onamuji no mikoto to rid his hair of lice, but actually there were centipedes, she gave nuts and red clay to Onamuji no mikoto and induced him to pretend that he was chewing centipedes. Susano no mikoto then slept at ease. Meanwhile, Onamuji no mikoto bound Susano no mikoto's hair to the pillar of the room and ran away with the Iku-tachi sword, Iku-yumiya bow and Amenonorigoto harp in his hands, with Suseribime no mikoto on his back. As Susano no mikoto couldn't catch up to them, he gave Onamuji no mikoto the name Okuninushi no mikoto and told him that he could make Suseribime no mikoto his legal wife.
Although Okuninushi had married Yakami-hime earlier and had a child, Yakami-hime returned to her parents' home leaving Kinomata no kami behind in awe of the legal wife, Suseribime no mikoto.
Moreover, Suseribime no mikoto was furiously jealous over Yachihoko no kami's (i.e., Okuninushi's) tsumadoikon visit (a system of marriage in which the husband visits the wife at home) to Nunakawa hime, who was in Koshi no kuni. Yachihoko no kami, in her confusion, tried to run away, but Yamato no kuni presented a waka (Japanese poem) urging him not to go, and eventually the two deities harmoniously settled at Izumo-taisha Shrine.
"Izumo no kuni fudoki" only describes the scene of Onamuji no mikoto's tsumadoi visit to Wakasuserihime no mikoto, who was in Namesano-sato, Kando-gun.
Explanation
Her deity name of 'suseri' has the same origin as 'susu' of 'susumu (advance)' or 'susa' of 'susabu (act according to impetus),' and her name means a goddess who pushes forward things aggressively according to impetus. In the mythology, while the passion of this goddess was shown when she saved her husband as he underwent the hardship imposed by her father in Nenokuni, it was also shown when she became furiously jealous over Nunakawa-hime, a partner of her husband's tsumadoi. Some have asserted that such furious jealousy proves the greatness of this goddess.
The story in Nenokuni is a form of mythology called kadaikon (subject marriage), in which a person is subjected to hardship by a marriage partner's father but eventually overcomes it with the advice or help of a marriage partner. It is believed that Onamuji successfully became the real Okuninushi only after he overcame this hardship with her help and made Suseri-bime his legal wife.
Norinaga MOTOORI asserts that 'Hayasasura-hime residing in Nenokuni Sokonokuni,' who appears in Oharae no Kotoba, is the same deity as Suseri-bime.
Shrines at which Suseri-bime is enshrined
In most cases, she is enshrined along with Okuninushi. With Okami Okisaki-jinja Shrine (Mimukai-no-yashiro Shrine), sessha (an auxiliary shrine) of Izumo-taisha Shrine (Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture) and Meoto-daikokusha Shrine, massha (a branch shrine) of Kasuga-taisha Shrine (Nara City, Nara Prefecture) at the top of the list, she is enshrined at Okunitama-jinja Shrine (Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture), Namesa-jinja Shrine (Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture), Soja-gu Shrine (Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture) and Soja Shrine (Soja City, Okayama Prefecture), etc.