Okuninushi-no-Okami is the foremost of the kunitsukami (earthly deities) recorded in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, the deity who governed the Central Land of the Reed Plains. When pressed by Amaterasu's envoys to yield the land, Okuninushi declared: 'If my dwelling be built — with stout pillars rooted in the rock-bed below and roof-tree raised high to the Plain of High Heaven, just as the dwelling of the heavenly grandchild — then I shall hide myself away.' In return, the magnificent palace was built — the origin of Izumo Taisha. Okuninushi continues to be enshrined as the principal deity, venerated nationwide as the god of bonds and good fortune.

The Izumo Kokuso are the hereditary high-priest family of Izumo Taisha, the oldest continuous priestly lineage in Japan. Until the 80th generation they were a single line descending from Amenohohi-no-mikoto, but in the Nanboku-cho period they split into the Senge and Kitajima families. When the office passes to a new generation, the 'Hitsugi Shinji' (fire-succession rite) is performed at the Sankaden hall of Kumano Taisha, where the new Kokuso brings back fire kindled there to succeed to the office — an ancient custom continuing to this day. They have served as the core of Izumo Taisha's rituals throughout history.