Sarutahiko Ōkami

Sarutahiko's name consists of an etymologically obscure element, Saruta, which is traditionally transcribed with kanji that suggest the meaning "monkey-field" as a sort of double entendre, followed by the Classical Japanese noun hiko "a male child of noble blood, a prince." Thus, Sarutahiko Ōkami's embellished name could be roughly translated into English as "Great God, Prince Saruta." Many variant pronunciations of his name exist, including Sarudabiko and Sadahiko. Although it is usually not written, the Japanese genitive case marker, -no, is often suffixed to his name in speech when it is followed immediately by one of his honorific titles, such as Ōkami or Mikoto. Anthropologist Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney lists three factors that identify Sarutahiko as a monkey deity: saru means "monkey", his features "include red buttocks, which are a prominent characteristic of Japanese macaques", and as macaques gather shellfish at low tide, the Kojiki says his hand got caught in a shell while fishing and "a monkey with one hand caught in a shell is a frequent theme of Japanese folktales". ==Title==

Sarutahiko has the distinction of being one of only seven kami to be honored with the title Ōkami () or "Great Kami"; the other six are Izanagi, Izanami, Michikaeshi (also known as Yomido ni sayarimasu ōkami (?) who is the kami of the great rock used by Izanagi to obstruct the way to Yomi, and thus, preventing emergence of evil spirits from the Underworld), , Inari, and Amaterasu. Sarutahiko and Inari appear to be the only Ōkami from the kunitsukami, or earthly kami, the others being Amatsukami (heavenly deities). Although there is some other Daimyōjin and Daigongen, most of them appeared later in the History of Japanese Religion, such as Hachiman (deification of Empress Jingu, Emperor Ojin and maybe Takeuchi no Sukune, as a successful head of state) or Hindu deities, the meaning of Daimyōjin appear to be a little different from Ōkami, the latter being obviously more ancient. ==References in music==

The name of this deity appears incorrectly spelled as "Sarundasico" in Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly. ==See also==