Kami of the Kojiki
Hiruko
水蛭子
When the Heavenly Pillar (Ame no Mihashira) was circled on the island of Onogoro, the goddess Izanami spoke first before they united, and because of this Hiruko was born. The two kami placed the child in a reed boat and set it adrift, and it is told that, together with Awashima, born next, it was not counted among their children.
This page introduces the name and the story recorded in the Kojiki.
English pages are the site’s own translations of its Japanese pages. The sources cited are in Japanese. 日本語で読む
Story and genealogy in the Kojiki
When the Heavenly Pillar (Ame no Mihashira) was circled on the island of Onogoro, the goddess Izanami spoke first before they united, and because of this Hiruko was born. The two kami placed the child in a reed boat and set it adrift, and it is told that, together with Awashima, born next, it was not counted among their children.
Source: 國學院大學・青空文庫／武田祐吉校訂・國學院大學
Scenes in the text
Appears in the Kojiki in “The Marriage of the Kami” (first volume) and “The Birth of the Land and the Kami” (first volume). You can trace the relevant passages of the text through the sources below.
Source: 國學院大學・青空文庫／武田祐吉校訂・國學院大學
Ebisu faith at Nishinomiya, and good fortune in daily life
Nishinomiya Jinja, linking it with the myth of Hiruko set adrift, enshrines Ebisu Ōkami as Hiruko no Ōkami (蛭児大神). In the shrine's Ebisu faith, the kami's virtues are presented in connection with fishing, sea transport, commerce, inviting good fortune, and farming. The Kojiki's account of the drifting and the later Nishinomiya tradition of the kami's settling there can be read as stories from different sources.
Source: 西宮神社
An example of a chant (in Japanese)
祓え給い、清め給え、神（かむ）ながら守り給い、幸（さきわ）え給え
Related shrines and temples
Sources (in Japanese)
- 國學院大學「古事記ビューアー・神名データベース「水蛭子」」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 青空文庫／武田祐吉校訂「校註 古事記 〔島々の生成〕」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 國學院大學「古事記ビューアー 二神の結婚」（2026-10-15 確認）
- 西宮神社「西宮神社について」（2026-10-15 確認）