Kagu-tsuchi or Kagutsuchi (カグツチ), referred to as Hinokagatsuchi (火之迦具土) in the Kojiki, and Kagutsuchi (軻遇突智) or Homusubi (火産霊) in the Nihon-Shoki, is the kami of fire in Japanese mythology.
Mythology[]
- Kagu-tsuchi's birth burned his mother Izanami, causing her death. His father Izanagi, in his grief, beheaded Kagu-tsuchi with his sword, Ame no Ohabari (天之尾羽張), and cut his body into eight pieces, which became eight volcanoes. The blood that dripped off Izanagi's sword created a number of deities, including the sea god Watatsumi and rain god Kuraokami.
- Kagu-tsuchi's birth, in Japanese mythology, comes at the end of the creation of the world and marks the beginning of death. In the Engishiki, a source which contains the myth, Izanami, in her death throes, bears the water god Mizuhame, instructing her to pacify Kagu-tsuchi if he should become violent. This story also contains references to traditional fire-fighting tools: gourds for carrying water and wet clay and water reeds for smothering fires.