Tsumatsu-hime (抓津姫神)
Tsumatsu-hime is a goddess in Japanese mythology. Her name is written in Japanese as 都麻都比賣命, 爪津姫神, or 津姫神.
Tsumatsu-hime is a daughter of Susanoo (the god of storms and the sea), and has an elder brother, Isotakeru no Kami, and a younger sister, Oyatsu-hime. The word 'Tsuma' means lumber used to construct buildings.
It is said that Tsumatsu-hime, together with her brother, Isotakeru no Kami, and sister, Oyatsu-hime, governs wood culture and is worshipped as the goddess of wooden buildings.
"Nihonshoki" (Chronicles of Japan)
The fifth addendum to chapter eight in the first volume of the "Nihonshoki" mentions Tsumatsu-hime in the following passage. Susanoo said, "There is gold and silver in the islands of Karakuni (considered to be a part of present-day Korea), so it is not good that the country controlled by my children doesn't have any ships." Then, he pulled out some hairs of his beard and scattered them, and then, they turned into cedars. He continued pulling out some hairs from parts of his body. The hairs he picked from his chest turned into hinoki (Japanese cypresses), the hairs he picked from his buttocks turned into maki (Japanese yew pines), and his plucked eyebrows turned into camphor trees. After that, he decided on the use of each tree and suggested, "Cedars and camphor trees should be used for making ships, Japanese cypresses should be used for constructing palaces, Japanese yew pines should be used for coffins when the body is buried. Everyone should join together to sow seeds of many trees used for these various purposes and grow many more trees." Around this time, he had a son, Isotakeru, and two daughters, Oyatsu-hime and Tsumatsu-hime. These three gods contributed to sowing seeds and growing trees all across the nation, and then they moved to Kii Province (the southern part of present-day Mie and Wakayama Prefectures) where they were enshrined. After that, Susanoo finally entered Ne-no-kuni (underworld) via Kumanarinotake. According to the above passage, Japanese cedars grew from Susanoo no Mikoto's beard, Japanese cypresses from his chest hair, and camphor trees from his eyebrows. Then, the three children of Susanoo no Mikoto learned how to use each tree from him and visited every mountain in the country to plant these seeds.
"Sendai Kujihongi" (Ancient Japanese History)
The "Chigi hongi" (Original Record of Earthly Deities), which is chapter four of the "Sendai Kujihongi," a text that appeared in the Heian period but whose authenticity is disputed, says as follows:
Susanoo had a son, Isotakeru and two daughters, Oyatsu-hime and Tsumatsu-hime. These three gods contributed to sowing seeds and growing trees all across the nation, and then they moved to Kii Province where they were enshrined. Susanoo and Amaterasu made a pledge to prove their sincerity (...) His next child was a son named Isotakeru, also called Oyahiko no Kami. After Isotakeru, he had two daughters, Oyatsu-hime and Tsumatsu-hime. These three gods were enshrined in Kii Province, which means the Kinokuni no Miyatsuko (governor or ruler of Kii Province) worshiped them devoutly as deities.
Main shrines where Tsumatsu-hime is enshrined
Tsumatsuhime-jinja Shrine
Itakiso-jinja Shrine (in an auxiliary shrine)
Mefu-jinja Shrine (Matsue City) (enshrined with other deities)
Tsumayama-jinja Shrine