(East Asian mythology)
In Shinto mythology the god of rice, sometimes called the ‘food god’, and identified with Uke-mochi, the ‘good genius’. When the latter received the moon god Tsuki-yomi, she furnished for his entertainment the land with ‘boiled’ rice, the sea with fishes, and the mountains with game. But the moon god was displeased because these gifts had come forth from her mouth, and therefore he killed his unfortunate hostess. From the corpse, however, other things grew: plants, cattle, and silkworms.
The origin myth lacks a certain historical validity for sericulture, the Chinese monopoly only being ended in the second century when silkworm eggs were smuggled to Korea. In the idea of universal ferility it does emphasize the fundamental importance of replenishment, of the dying-into-life of the soil.
Every Japanese village contains a shrine dedicated to Inari, as the giver of agricultural prosperity, and in many houses he also receives worship as the bringer of wealth and friendship.
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