is the Shinto

Shinto

or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

 kami

Kami

is the Japanese word for the spirits, natural forces, or essence in the Shinto faith. Although the word is sometimes translated as "god" or "deity", some Shinto scholars argue that such a translation can cause a misunderstanding of the term...

 ("god; deity") of knowledge and agriculture, represented in Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology

Japanese mythology is a system of beliefs that embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculturally based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon comprises innumerable kami...

 as a scarecrow

Scarecrow

A scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.-History:In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan...

 who cannot walk but has comprehensive awareness.

Names

Kuebiko (久延毘古, literally "long stretch help old") had an alternate name of Yamada-no-sohodo (山田之曾富騰, literally, "mountain paddy-field's once wealth rise"), with sohodo transcribing sōdo (案山子 "scarecrow", also pronounced sōzu or kakashi).

The traditional etymological explanations are Kuebiko from kuzue-biko (崩え彦 "disabled prince") and Yamada no Sohodo meaning "someone left soaking wet from standing guard over mountain rice fields", a euphemism for scarecrow".

Mythology

The (ca. 712) Kojiki

Kojiki

is the oldest extant chronicle in Japan, dating from the early 8th century and composed by Ō no Yasumaro at the request of Empress Gemmei. The Kojiki is a collection of myths concerning the origin of the four home islands of Japan, and the Kami...

 ("Record of Ancient Matters") has the earliest reference to Kuebiko in the myth of Ōkuninushi ("Great Land Master"). When Ōkuninushi was at Cape Miho in Izumo

Izumo Province

was an old province of Japan which today consists of the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province is in the Chūgoku Region.- History :It was one of the regions of ancient Japan where major political powers arose...

, a small kami arrived in a boat. Nobody knew his name, but a toad

Toad

A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin , short legs, and snoat-like parotoid glands...

 suggested asking Kuebiko, who revealed the god was a scion of the goddess Kami-musubi (神産巣日) named Sukuna-bikona (少彦名神). In Basil Hall Chamberlain

Basil Hall Chamberlain

Basil Hall Chamberlain was a professor of Tokyo Imperial University and one of the foremost British Japanologists active in Japan during the late 19th century. He also wrote some of the earliest translations of haiku into English...

's translation,

Then the toad spoke, saying: "As for this, the Crumbling Prince will surely know it." Thereupon [the Deity Master-of-the-Great-Land] summoned and asked the Crumbling-Prince, who replied, saying: "This is the Little-Prince-the-Renowned-Deity, the august child of the Deity-Producing-Wondrous-Deity." … So [the Deity here] called the Crumbling Prince, who revealed the Little-Prince-the-Renowned-Deity, is what is now [called] the scarecrow in the mountain fields. This Deity, though his legs do not walk, is a Deity who knows everything in the Empire.

Many cultures have knowledge deity

Knowledge deity

A knowledge deity is a deity in mythology associated with knowledge, wisdom, or intelligence.-Australian Aboriginal mythology:* Jar'Edo Wens, deity associated with earthly knowledge and physical might-Celtic mythology:...

 myths. Kuebiko is paralleled by two other Japanese kami of widsom: Fukurokuju

Fukurokuju

In Japan, Fukurokuju is one of the Seven Lucky Gods in Japanese mythology. It has been theorized that he is a Japanese assimilation of the Chinese Three Star Gods embodied in one deity. Most related in appearance to the Chinese star god Shou, he is the God of wisdom and longevity...

 and Omoikane

Omoikane (Shinto)

Omoikane is a Shinto god of wisdom and intelligence. His name means "serving one's thoughts."A heavenly deity, identified as a child of Taka-mi-musubi-no-kami, who is always called upon to "ponder" and give good counsel in the deliberations of the heavenly deities. Appears to have descended from...

.

Modern usages

In the present day, Kuebiko is worshipped as the god of agriculture or scholarship and wisdom. The Kuebiko Shrine (Kuebiko jinja 久延彦神社), which is a subordinate shrine (massha

Setsumatsusha

and , also called are small or miniature shrines having a deep historical relationship with a more important shrine or with the kami it enshrines, and fall under that shrine's jurisdiction. The two terms used to have legally different meanings, but are today synonyms...

) of Ōmiwa Shrine

Ōmiwa Shrine

, also known as , is a Shinto shrine located in Sakurai, Nara, Japan. The shrine is noted because it contains no sacred images or objects because it is believed to serve Mount Miwa, the mountain on which it stands. For the same reason, it has a , but no . In this sense, it is a model of what the...

 in Sakurai, Nara

Sakurai, Nara

is a city in Nara, Japan.As of 2007, the city had an estimated population of 63,321 with a density of 630.01 persons per km². The total area is 98.92 km².The city was founded on September 1, 1956....

, is dedicated to this deity.

Kuebiko is a wise scarecrow at Lake Hylia in the video game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

is an action-adventure video game developed by Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development division for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It was released in Japan on November 21, 1998; in North America on November 23, 1998; and in Europe on December 11, 1998...

.

Kuebiko is the name of a 2011 agricultural art exhibit, "Because he stands all day outdoors, he knows everything", to be held at Kimito

Kimito

Kimito is a former municipality of Finland. On January 1, 2009, it was consolidated with Dragsfjärd and Västanfjärd to form the new municipality of Kimitoön...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

.

In Astronomical naming conventions

Astronomical naming conventions

In ancient times, only the Sun and Moon, a few hundred stars and the most easily visible planets had names. Over the last few hundred years, the number of identified astronomical objects has risen from hundreds to over a billion, and more are discovered every year...

, 10725 Sukunabikona

10725 Sukunabikona

10725 Sukunabikona is a main-belt asteroid discovered on November 22, 1986 by K. Suzuki and T. Urata at Toyota. The name refers to a Shinto kami deity, see Kuebiko.- External links :*...

 is an asteroid belt

Asteroid belt

The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...

discovered in 1996.