Watatsumi ( or ?) was a legendary Japanese dragon and tutelary water deity. In Japanese mythology, watsumi kami ( ?, "great Watatsumi god") is another name for the sea deity Ry jin ; and the Watatsumi Sanjin ( ?, "Three Watatsumi gods") ruling the upper, middle, and lower seas were created through the divine progenitor Izanagi's ceremonial purifications after returning from Yomi "the underworld".