Sumiyoshi (住吉三神) is the generic name for the three Shinto gods Sokotsutsu no O no Mikoto (底筒男命), Nakatsutsu no O no Mikoto (中筒男命), and Uwatsutsu no O no Mikoto (表筒男命).[1] The Sumiyoshi sanjin are regarded as the gods of the sea and sailing. They are sometimes referred to as the Sumiyoshi daijin (住吉大神).

According to Japanese mythology as written in works such as the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, the Sumiyoshi sanjin were born together with the Watatsumi Sanjin (綿津見三神) when Izanagi performed a purification ceremony after returning from Yomi.

The tsutsu part of the names of the three gods has a connection to the planets, and there is a theory suggests the Sumiyoshi sanjin are the deification of the three main stars in the Orion constellation. In the olden days the Orion constellation was used for navigational purposes so it was perhaps for this reason that they were deified. Also, the locations of Tsutsu on Tsushima Island, Tsutsuki on Iki Island, Tsutsuki in Itoshima, Fukuoka prefecture are in the arrangement of these three Orion stars.