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40-521: The kami (spirit) generally associated with Mount Miwa is Ōmononushi ( 大物主 ) ( Ōmono-nushi-no-kami ), a rain kami. However, the Nihon Shoki notes that there was a degree of uncertainly when it came to naming the principal kami of Mount Miwa, but he is often linked to Ōkuninushi . Mount Miwa was first described in the Kojiki as Mount Mimoro ( ( 三諸山 ) ). Both names were in common use until

80-483: A toponym (an old place name in the Nara region) whose precise purport is unclear. '-no-Mikoto' is an honorific, indicating divinity, nobility, or royalty. Among his other names were: Wakamikenu no Mikoto ( 若御毛沼命 ) , Kamu-yamato Iware-biko hohodemi no Mikoto ( 神日本磐余彦火火出見尊 ) and Hikohohodemi ( 彦火火出見 ) . The Imperial House of Japan traditionally based its claim to the throne on its putative descent from

120-831: A Japanese pendant to the Chinese imperial title Tiān-dì (天帝), and gave several of them including Jimmu their posthumous names . Prior to this time, these rulers had been known as Sumera no mikoto / Ōkimi . This practice had begun under Empress Suiko , and took root after the Taika Reforms with the ascendancy of the Nakatomi clan . Both the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki give Jimmu's name as Kamu-yamato Iware-biko no Mikoto ( 神倭伊波礼琵古命 ) or Kamu-yamato Iware-biko no Sumeramikoto ( 神日本磐余彦天皇 ) . Iware indicates

160-476: A direct descendant of the sun goddess, Amaterasu via the side of his father, Ugayafukiaezu . Amaterasu had a son called Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto and through him a grandson named Ninigi-no-Mikoto . She sent her grandson to the Japanese islands where he eventually married Konohana-Sakuya-hime . Among their three sons was Hikohohodemi no Mikoto , also called Yamasachi-hiko , who married Toyotama-hime . She

200-460: Is a clear effort to strengthen Yamato authority by identifying and linking their lineage to the established worship surrounding Mount Miwa. In Nihon Shoki , Book XIV, under Emperor Yūryaku year 7 (purportedly 463 A.D.), it is recorded that the emperor expressed the desire to get a glimpse of the deity of Mount Mimoro (Mount Miwa) and ordered a man known for his brute strength, named Chiisakobe Sugaru ( 少子部蜾蠃 ) to go capture it. (A scholium in

240-541: Is marked as National Foundation Day on February 11. There is no evidence to suggest that Jimmu existed and is regarded by most modern scholars as a legendary figure. Jimmu is recorded as Japan's first ruler in two early chronicles, Nihon Shoki (721) and Kojiki (712). Nihon Shoki gives the dates of his reign as 660–585 BC. In the reign of Emperor Kanmu (737–806), the eighth-century scholar Ōmi no Mifune retroactively designated rulers before Emperor Ōjin as tennō ( 天皇 , "heavenly sovereign") ,

280-499: Is said to have ascended to the throne of Japan. Upon scaling a Nara mountain to survey the Seto Inland Sea he now controlled, Jimmu remarked that it was shaped like the "heart" rings made by mating dragonflies , archaically akitsu 秋津. A mosquito then tried to steal Jimmu's royal blood but since Jimmu was a god incarnate Emperor, akitsumikami ( 現御神 ) , a dragonfly killed the mosquito. Japan thus received its classical name

320-491: Is the first verifiable historical figure in the imperial lineage. The dates of Jimmu reigning from 660 BC to 585 BC are improbable. According to Dr. Lu, the year 660 BC was probably selected by the writers of Nihon Shoki to put the founding of Japan on a kanoto-tori year. However, the stories of Jimmu may reflect real events of the mid to late Yayoi period. According to historian Peter Wetzler, Jimmu's conquest of Osaka and Nara may reflect an actual event. Still,

360-616: The Nihon Shoki of Emperor Jimmu states that his armed forces defeated a group of Emishi ( 蝦夷 , 'shrimp barbarians' ) before his enthronement. The Emishi were an ethnic group who lived in Honshu , particularly the Tōhoku region. In Yamato, Nigihayahi , who also claimed descent from the Takamagahara gods, was protected by Nagasunehiko. However, when Nigihayahi met Jimmu, he accepted Jimmu's legitimacy. At this point, Jimmu

400-575: The Emishi were harassing the borderlands. The emperor summoned their leader named Ayakasu, and threatened the ringleaders of the ruffians with death. Whereby Ayakasu and the others entered Hatsuse-gawa (upper stream of Yamato River , sipped its water, and facing towards Mount Mimoro (Mt. Miwa), swore allegiance unto their descendants to the Yamato court. Yamato leaders often ruled from palaces near sacred mountains, and built burial mounds around them, as it

440-569: The imperial cult that formed following the Meiji Restoration . In 1873, a holiday called Kigensetsu was established on February 11. The holiday commemorated the anniversary of Jimmu's ascension to the throne 2,532 years earlier. After World War II , the holiday was criticized as too closely associated with the "emperor system." It was suspended from 1948 to 1966, but later reinstated as National Foundation Day . Between 1873 and 1945 an imperial envoy sent offerings every year to

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480-687: The 2600th anniversary of Jimmu's ascension and built a monument to Hakkō ichiu despite the fact that all historians knew Jimmu was a mythical figure. In 1941 the Japanese government charged the one historian who dared to challenge Jimmu's existence publicly, Tsuda Sōkichi . Since after World War II , when the prohibition on questioning the Kojiki and the Nihongi was lifted, documentary research in China and archaeological research in Japan has undermined much of

520-442: The Chinese alchemist and explorer Xu Fu , a hypothesis supported by certain traditions in Japan and regarded as possible by some modern scholars. The Yayoi period , during which significant changes in Japanese metallurgy and pottery occurred, started around the time of his supposed arrival. However, the legend of Xu Fu's voyage also has numerous inconsistencies with the linguistic and anthropological history of Japan. ‡ not in

560-646: The Dragonfly Islands, akitsushima ( 秋津島 ) . According to the Kojiki , Jimmu died when he was 126 years old. The Emperor's posthumous name literally means "divine might" or "god-warrior". It is generally thought that Jimmu's name and character evolved into their present shape just before the time in which legends about the origins of the imperial dynasty were chronicled in the Kojiki . There are accounts written earlier than either Kojiki and Nihon Shoki that present an alternative version of

600-461: The arrow and placed it by the floor, whereby it transformed into a fine youth, who wound up marrying her. The girl child then born was named Hoto-tatara-i-susuki-hime (or Hotota-tara-i-susugi-hime), hoto being an old word for a woman's private parts. Book V in the Nihon Shoki adds the following episode. Suijin's aunt, the aforementioned Yamato-to-to-hi-momoso-hime , was later appointed

640-408: The codices writes the identity of the god of this mountain is said to by Ōmononushi ( 大物主神 ) by some sources, and Uda-no-sumisaka ( 兔田墨坂神 ) ). Sugaru thereby climbed the mountain and captured and presented it to the emperor. But Yūryaku neglected to purify himself (by religious fasting, etc.) so that the great serpent made thunderous noise and made its eyes glare. The frightened emperor retreated to

680-531: The consort or wife of Ōmononushi (Mount Miwa). The kami however, would only appear to her at night, and the princess pleaded to reveal his true form. The kami warned her not to be shocked, and agreed to show himself inside her comb box ( kushi-bako ( 櫛箱 ) ) or toiletry case. The next day she opened the box and discovered a magnificent snake inside. She shrieked out in surprise, whereby the deity transformed into human form, promised her payback for shaming him so, and took off to Mount Mimoro (Mount Miwa). The princess

720-587: The country was crippled by pestilence and subsequent mayhem, the emperor consulted the gods. The god Ōmononushi (whom some sources to the chronicle identify with the Mount Miwa deity) spoke through the mouth of an elder princess of the imperial house named Yamato-to-to-hi-momoso-hime (daughter of 7th emperor Emperor Kōrei and Sujin's aunt) and revealed himself to be the deity residing in the borders of Yamato on Mount Miwa, and promised to bring end to chaos if he were properly worshipped. The emperor propitiated to

760-516: The dates and many of the details are fictitious. Historian Kenneth G. Henshall stated that Jimmu's conquest may also reflect a time when the Yayoi people from continental Asia immigrated in masses starting from Kyushu and moving eastward during the Yayoi period . Some scholars suggest that there may have been a real person behind Jimmu. He could have been a local ruler who conquered the area near Kashihara after 62 BC . Some scholars believe he

800-500: The first priest of the shrine, Ōtataneko  [ ja ] declares himself the son born between the god and Ikutama yori-hime (or Ikudama-yori-bime). However, in the Kojiki , Ōtataneko  [ ja ] identifies himself as the great-grandson ( Ōtataneko  [ ja ] and Iku-tama-yori-bime begat Kushi-mikata, who begat Iikatasumi, who begat Takemikazuchi who begat the priest Ōtataneko  [ ja ] ). Kojiki tells how it became known Ikutama yori-hime

840-491: The god but the effects were not immediate. Later, the same god appeared in a dream to and instructed him to seek out a man named Ōtataneko  [ ja ] ( 太田田根子 ) , said to be the child of the god, and to install him as head priest of his cult. Subsequently, normal order was restored and crops no longer failed. Ōtataneko  [ ja ] would become the ancestor of the Miwa clan . The Nihon shoki records that

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880-578: The imperial court. The court settled them around the Mount Miwa area at first, but they would chopped down its trees, or make great hollers and frightened the villages. So their numbers were scattered and settled in five provinces, and they became the ancestors of the Saeki clans (Recorded in Nihongi Book VII, Emperor Keikō year 51 (purportedly 121 A.D.). Much later in time, during Emperor Bidatsu year 10 (581 A.D.), Nihon Shoki , Book XX),

920-399: The information in both the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. No evidence has been found for Jimmu's existence, except the mention in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki . Today most modern scholars agree that the traditional founding of the imperial dynasty in 660 BC is a myth and that Jimmu is legendary. Emperor Sujin's historicity is considered possible by historians, while Emperor Kinmei

960-582: The mountain. Japanese cedar ( Cryptomeria , jp. sugi ) grows all over the mountain and is considered a holy tree. Kami Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 542932124 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:55:41 GMT Emperor Jimmu Emperor Jimmu ( 神武天皇 , Jinmu-tennō )

1000-514: The oldest and more primitive of its kind in Japan, dating to pre-history. The very mountain itself is designated sacrosanct, and today's Ōmiwa Shrine still considers the mountain to be its shintai , or kami-body. The kami residing on Mount Miwa was judged the most powerful by the Fujiwara clan , and consequently palaces and roads were built in the vicinity. The Nihon Shoki , Book V, (Chronicle of Emperor Sujin , 10th emperor) records that when

1040-478: The palace, and had the snake released in the hill. He gave the hill a new name, Ikazuchi ("thunderbolt") . Records say that Yamato Takeru 's sword Kusanagi was later placed in the keeping of the Atsuta Shrine , and that Takeru also presented a number of Emishi ("barbarians") hostages he quelled to the same shrine. The priestess however found them rowdy and mannerless, and so she handed them over to

1080-587: The phrase to Emperor Jimmu. For the 1940 Kigensetsu celebration, marking the supposed 2,600th anniversary of Jimmu's enthronement, the Peace Tower was constructed in Miyazaki . The same year numerous stone monuments relating to key events in Jimmu's life were erected around Japan. The sites at which these monuments were erected are known as Emperor Jimmu Sacred Historical Sites. In 1940 Japan celebrated

1120-446: The reign of Emperor Yūryaku , after which Miwa was preferred. Mimoro has been held to mean something like "august, beautiful" ( mi ) and "room", or "hall" ( moro corruption of muro ). The current kanji ( 三 ) ( mi ) and ( 輪 ) ( wa ) are purely phonetic. It has also been written ( 三和 ) , another a phonetic spelling with the same pronunciation. Religious worship surrounding Mount Miwa has been deemed

1160-411: The remaining hemp thread to the shrine in the mountain, and that was how they discovered the visitation was divine. The Kojiki also records another divine birth from an earlier period (under Emperor Jimmu ). It tells how a maiden named Seya-datara was squatting in the toilet when the god transformed into the shape of a red-painted arrow and poked her in her privates. In astonishment, she picked up

1200-630: The southern part of Kyūshū in modern-day Miyazaki Prefecture . They moved eastward to find a location more appropriate for administering the entire country. Jimmu's older brother, Itsuse no Mikoto, originally led the migration, and led the clan eastward through the Seto Inland Sea with the assistance of local chieftain Sao Netsuhiko  [ ja ] . As they reached Naniwa (modern-day Osaka ), they encountered another local chieftain, Nagasunehiko ("the long-legged man"), and Itsuse

1240-472: The story. According to these accounts, Jimmu's dynasty was supplanted by that of Ōjin , whose dynasty was supplanted by that of Keitai . The Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki then combined these three legendary dynasties into one long and continuous genealogy. The traditional site of Jimmu's grave is near Mount Unebi in Kashihara , Nara Prefecture . Veneration of Jimmu was a central component of

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1280-575: The sun-goddess Amaterasu via Jimmu's great-grandfather Ninigi . In Japanese mythology , the Age of the Gods is the period before Jimmu's accession. The story of Jimmu seems to rework legends associated with the Ōtomo clan (大伴氏), and its function was to establish that clan's links to the ruling family, just as those of Suijin arguably reflect Mononobe tales and the legends in Ōjin's chronicles seem to derive from Soga clan traditions. Jimmu figures as

1320-399: The supposed site of Jimmu's tomb. In 1890 Kashihara Shrine was established nearby, on the spot where Jimmu was said to have ascended to the throne. Before and during World War II , expansionist propaganda made frequent use of the phrase hakkō ichiu , a term coined by Tanaka Chigaku based on a passage in the Nihon Shoki discussing Emperor Jimmu. Some media incorrectly attributed

1360-817: Was a prominent sanctuary for both locals and Yamato kings alike. Six tumuli have been found in the Shiki area at the base of Mount Miwa. These earthen mounds were built between 250 AD to 350 AD, and all display the same keyhole shape and stone chambers found in earlier mounds. However, the tumuli found at Mount Miwa hint at the beginning of a more centralized Yamato state . All six mounds are exceptionally large, twice as large as any similar mounds found in Korea , and contain prolific amounts of mirrors , weapons, ornaments, as well as finely built wood and bamboo coffins. They are as follows, in order of discovery: Religious objects and pottery have also been found on and around

1400-445: Was divinely conceived. The beautiful girl was found to be pregnant, and claimed a handsome being had come to her at night. Her parents, in order to discover the identity of the man, instructed her to sprinkle red earth by her bedside, and thread a hemp cord (or skein) with a needle through the hem of his garment. In the morning, the hemp went through the hole of the door-hook so that only "three loops" ( miwa ) were left. They trailed

1440-414: Was killed in the ensuing battle. Jimmu realized that they had been defeated because they battled eastward against the sun, so he decided to land on the east side of Kii Peninsula and to battle westward. They reached Kumano , and, with the guidance of a three-legged crow , Yatagarasu ("eight-span crow"), they moved to Yamato . There, they once again battled Nagasunehiko and were victorious. The record in

1480-472: Was present in Miyazaki during the first century BC while others say he was there during the third or fourth century AD . Nevertheless, there is a high probability that there was a powerful dynasty in the vicinity of Miyazaki Prefecture during the Kofun period . According to Louis Frédéric , he may have been a fusion of Suijin and Keitai . The Japanese historian Ino Okifu identifies Emperor Jimmu with

1520-491: Was so distraught at this, that she flopped herself on the seat stabbed herself in the pudenda with chopsticks , which ensued in her death. She is supposedly buried at one of the six mounds near Mount Miwa, the Hashihaka ("chopstick-grave") mound . The Kojiki version of this myth describes a union between a woman from the Miwa clan and Ōmononushi, resulting in the birth of an early Yamato king. Scholars note that this

1560-504: Was the legendary first emperor of Japan according to the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki . His ascension is traditionally dated as 660 BC. In Japanese mythology , he was a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu , through her grandson Ninigi , as well as a descendant of the storm god Susanoo . He launched a military expedition from Hyūga near the Seto Inland Sea , captured Yamato , and established this as his center of power. In modern Japan, Emperor Jimmu's legendary ascension

1600-571: Was the daughter of Ryūjin , the Japanese sea god. They had a single son called Hikonagisa Takeugaya Fukiaezu no Mikoto . The boy was abandoned by his parents at birth and consequently raised by Tamayori-hime , his mother's younger sister. They eventually married and had four sons. The last of these, Hikohohodemi, became Emperor Jimmu. According to the chronicles Kojiki and Nihon Shoki , Jimmu's brothers Itsuse no Mikoto , Inahi no Mikoto , and Mikeiri no Mikoto were born in Takachiho ,

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