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Definition 2024

須佐之男

須佐之男

Japanese

須佐之男 (Susanoo): a scene from a 神楽 ‎(kagura) play where Susanoo slays Orochi, the eight-headed serpent.
Kanji in this term
須 佐 之 男
す
Grade: S 		さ
Grade: S 		の
Jinmeiyō 		お
Grade: 1

Alternative forms

Proper noun

須佐之男 ‎(hiragana すさのお, katakana スサノオ, romaji Susanoo, historical hiragana すさのを)

  1. (Japanese mythology, Shintō) Susanoo, the Japanese god of storms
  2. (poetic) a storm

References

  1. ↑ p. 123日本文化の古層 (Nihon Bunka no Kosō, “The Substrata of Japanese Culture”, in Japanese) by A. Slavic, Mirai-sha, Tōkyō, 1984; ISBN 9784624200459: http://books.google.com/books?id=crirHAAACAAJ
  2. ↑ 神道の本：八百万の神々がつどう秘教的祭祀の世界 (Shintō no Hon: Happyaku-man no Kamigami ga Tsudou Hikyōteki Saishi no Sekai, “The Shintō Book: The World of Esoteric Rituals, Crowded with 8 Million Gods”, in Japanese), Gakken, Tōkyō, 1992; ISBN 9784051060244: http://books.google.com/books?id=mWxrmgEACAAJ

Etymology

Uncertain, with many possible derivations. One of the more compelling explanations is that this is a compound of すさ ‎(susa, “roughness, wildness”, root word unattested in isolation, but found in terms such as 凄まじい ‎(susamajii, “terrible, dreadful”) or 荒む ‎(susamu, “to be wild, to be savage”)) +‎ の ‎(no, possessive particle) +‎ 男 ‎(o, “man”).[1] In this case, the kanji would be ateji.

Another theory is that this may be a compound of 須佐 ‎(Susa, name of a place in Japan, where the god is supposed to have first touched earth) +‎ の ‎(no, possessive particle) +‎ 男 ‎(o, “man”).[2]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [sɯᵝsã̠no̞o̞]

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