Hash-Inau-uk Kamui

Hash-Inau-uk Kamui (also Hashinau-uk Kamui or simply Hash-uk Kamui) is the Ainu "kamui" ("goddess") of the hunt. She protects hunters and guides them to game. She is sometimes called Isosange Mat ("Bringing-down-game Woman") and Kamui Paseguru ("Potent Kamui").

Depiction

Hash-Inau-uk Kamui is depicted as a woman with long hair who wields a bow and arrows, who often carries a child on her back. She is accompanied by, or sometimes appears in the form of, a small bird, which shows hunters the way to game. She is also represented by the aconite plant, with which Ainu hunters poisoned their arrows.Ashkenazy, Michael. "Handbook of Japanese Mythology". Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003. 161]

Mythology

Hash-Inau-uk Kamui is a deity of great importance to the Ainu, who historically subsisted largely on hunting, fishing, and gathering. She was born from the fire-producing drill, and is sometimes said to be the sister of Kamui Fuchi, the hearth goddess, or of Shiramba Kamui, god of vegetation. Hunters worshipped her to assure a successful hunt, and fishermen to ensure a full catch. She is also invoked to aid in childbearing.

Notes

References

*Ashkenazy, Michael. "Handbook of Japanese Mythology". Santa Barbara, California: ABC-Clio, 2003.
*Etter, Carl. "Ainu Folklore: Traditions and Culture of the Vanishing Aborigines of Japan". Chicago: Wilcox and Follett, 1949.
*Munro, Neil Gordon. "Ainu Creed and Cult". New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.