大山祇

大山祇

Japanese

Kanji in this term
大	山	祇
おお Grade: 1	やま Grade: 1	み Jinmeiyō
kun’yomi

Etymology

Originally a compound of 大 (ō, “great”) +‎ 山 (yama, “mountain”) +‎ つ (tsu, Old Japanese possessive particle) +‎ 神 (mi, “god, spirit”).[1][2]

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [o̞ːja̠ma̠t͡sɨᵝmʲi]

Alternative forms

• 大山津見, 大山積

Proper noun

大山祇 (hiragana おおやまつみ, rōmaji Ōyamatsumi, historical hiragana おほやまつみ)

1. (mythology, Shinto) the kami of the mountains, brother of Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo

Usage notes

Often followed by an epithet, such as の命 (no mikoto, “august, the venerable”) or の神 (no kami, “the god”).[1][2]

This spelling appears to be the most common.

Synonyms

• 大山積命 (おおやまつみのみこと) (Ōyamatsumi no Mikoto)
• 大山積神 (おおやまつみのかみ) (Ōyamatsumi no Kami)

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN