The Deities of Aso Shrine Two sides: One benign, one malign 阿蘇神社の神々 善と悪の二面性

Official explanation

Twelve deities are enshrined in Aso Shrine. Of the 12, three are of particular importance: Takeiwatatsu no Mikoto, his wife Asotsuhime no Mikoto, and their grandchild Hikomiko no Kami.

Japanese deities typically have a good side and a bad side: they are responsible both for nature’s bounty and for natural disasters. In the case of the deities of Mt. Aso, their good side is expressed in the bountiful rice harvests of the Aso caldera, while their bad side takes the form of destructive volcanic eruptions.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.