In Japanese mythology the tree is associated with several gods and is thought to be the one to which gods descend, as shown in the stories of "Kojiki" about Kiji no nakime, who was sent to Amenowakahiko by Amaterasu Omikami, and Yamasachihiko, who lost his elder brother's fishhook and ended up at the palace of the ocean god.
日本神話において桂と関わる神は複数おり、例えば『古事記』からは、天神から天若日子のもとに使わされた雉の鳴女や、兄の鉤をなくして海神の宮に至った山幸彦が挙げられる如く、桂は神が降り立つものとされていた。