(East Asian mythology)

The dwarf god of Japan. In Shinto mythology ‘the small lord of renown’ was the ally of Okuninushi, son-in-law of Susanowo and King of Izumo. Particularly skilful was Sukuna-biko in medicine and agriculture. Though of minute stature and slow gait, the dwarf god knew everything in the world and travelled everywhere. His disappearance remains unexplained—he seems to have been flung from a stalk of millet into space.

A Dictionary of World Mythology. Copyright © Arthur Cotterell 1979, 1986, 2003. All rights reserved.