Sarutahiko Okami is said to have guided Ninigi-no-Mikoto, grandson of the Sun Goddess, from the High Plain of Heaven down to Takachiho. Known as the deity of "michi-hiraki", who opens the way ahead and leads people in a good direction, he is loved throughout Japan. In this work, I painted him dancing kagura in a moonlit bamboo grove.
Meeting Sarutahiko
I first became aware of Sarutahiko in 2023, when my wife and I visited Ise Grand Shrine to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. Along the way we stopped at Sarutahiko Shrine; I remember thinking, "I've heard that name before," as I put my hands together in prayer.
Some time later, this summer, I learned there was a shrine on Mt. Tengu in Otaru and went to visit. At the summit, the Tengu Hall displays replicas of Sarutahiko masks with tengu faces, and Sarutahiko Okami is also enshrined at Tenguyama Shrine on the summit. It was on that mountain that the wish to paint Sarutahiko was born.
A kagura dance in the mountains, midway through the journey
I drew many rough sketches, wondering how to depict him. A fierce, rather frightening Sarutahiko is a familiar image. Could I paint a different Sarutahiko? I imagined his journey as a guide. On such a long road he must have grown tired and stopped to rest, and it was hardly a journey with inns along the way. What if, taking a breath in the mountains, Sarutahiko danced kagura himself? I kept his bold face, and, with all respect, asked him to dance.
The pose, from Matsumae Kagura
While I was looking for references for the dance, on October 25 I had the chance to attend the ceremony marking the 150th anniversary of Ryugu Shrine in Otaru, where I saw Matsumae Kagura performed. Watching my video of the dance again and again, I found a single moment when the dancer raised his face and leaned forward, and used it as the reference for the pose in this work.
Sarutahiko is also said to have married Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto. In the background I added a shrine maiden playing the flute, but the main figure is, of course, Sarutahiko.
In a moonlit bamboo grove
I wanted an evocative scene: dancing at night beneath moonlight spilling through the bamboo. I hope you will take a close look at this guiding deity, dancing alone on a quiet night.
KOHIKO, painter
