Shinatsuhiko (Kojiki: 志那都比古神 - Long Blowing Lad,[1] Nihon Shoki: 級長津彦命) is a Japanese mythological god of wind (Fūjin). Another name for this deity is Shinatobe, who originally may have been a separate goddess of wind.[2]
The Nihon Shoki stated that Shinatsuhiko was born after Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto created the great eight islands of Japan.[3] After these lands were completed, Izanagi blew at the morning mists that obscured them and these became Shinatsuhiko, God of the Wind. A Shinto liturgical text or ritual incantation called norito addressed the god in this masculine name while a different name - Shinatobe - was ascribed to what is presumed to be his feminine version.[4] [5] Some sources also called the wind deities Ame no Mihashira (pillar of Heaven) and Kuni no Mihashira (pillar of the Earth/Country) according to the belief that the wind supported the sky. It is noted that these names preceded Shinatsuhiko and Shinatobe.
The Ise Grand Shrine contains temples, the Kaze-no-Miya (wind shrines), that hold betsugū (detached shrines) which enshrine the Shinatsuhiko-no-Mikoto and Shinatobe-no-Mikoto.[6] In Yūtō, Shizuoka, the Oki-jinja Shrine is also dedicated to Shinatsuhiko-kami and his wife Shinatsuhime-kami.[7]