SARUDAHIKO

also spelled Sarutahiko, in Japanese mythology, an earthly deity who offered himself as a guide to the divine grandchild Ninigi, when he descended to take charge of the earth. His brilliance while he waited on the crossroad was so great it reached up to heaven, and the goddess Amenouzume was sent down to inquire who he was and why he waited there. The two are often associated together in folk art. Sarudahiko is popularly worshipped among Shinto followers as a god of the crossroads, as an example of loyal service to the emperor, and as an embodiment of male sexuality. He is depicted as having a red face, a huge protruding nose (which is of phallic significance), and large round eyes.