Who Is Konohana-no-Sakuyabime (Konohanasakuya-hime)?
The flower goddess who gave birth in flames
Konohana-no-Sakuya-bime
Konohana-no-Sakuyabime (Konohana-no-Sakuya-bime) is a goddess in the Kojiki, the daughter of the mountain god Ōyamatsumi and the wife of Ninigi. Her true name is Kamuatatsuhime, and as her name ("blossoms of the trees") suggests, she is seen as a symbol of beauty like flowers in bloom.
Ninigi met her at Cape Kasasa and proposed, and she married him with her father's permission. But because she became pregnant after just one night, Ninigi suspected the child might not be his. So she built a large hall with no doors, sealed it with earth, and said, "If this is the child of a heavenly god, it will be born safely," then set it on fire. Inside the blazing flames, she gave birth to three sons: Hoderi, Hosuseri, and Hoori.
In later times she came to be regarded as the goddess of Mount Fuji, and she is enshrined at Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha and other shrines.
