Yamato Takeru
Yamato Takeru | |
---|---|
Spouse | Miyazu-hime, Futajiiri-hime |
Issue | Emperor Chūai |
Father | Emperor Keikō |
Mother | Harima no Inabi no Ōiratsume |
Yamato
The story of his life and death are told principally in the Japanese chronicles in Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720), but also mentioned in Kogo Shūi (807) and some histories like the Hitachi no Kuni Fudoki (常陸国風土記) (721). One of his sons became Emperor Chūai, the 14th Emperor of Japan.
His history is uncertain but based on the chronicles his life can be calculated.[citation needed] He was born circa 72 and died in 114. Details are different between the two books, and the version in Kojiki is assumed to be loyal to the older form of this legend.
Legendary narrative
Prince Takeru slew his elder brother Prince Ōusu (大碓皇子, Ōusu no Miko). His father, the emperor Keikō, feared his brutal temperament. To keep him at a distance, the father sent him to Izumo Province, today the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture, and then the land of Kumaso, today Kumamoto Prefecture. However, Takeru succeeded in defeating his enemies, and in the latter case, he achieved this by cross-dressing as a maid attendant at a Kumaso drinking party to get close to the chieftain and stab him to death. One of the enemies he defeated praised him and gave him the title Yamato Takeru, meaning The Brave of Yamato. But Emperor Keikō's mind was unchanged.
Keikō sent Yamato Takeru to the eastern land whose people disobeyed the imperial court. Yamato Takeru met his aunt Princess Yamato-hime, the highest priestess of
The story above is found in the Kojiki. In the Nihonshoki version, the father and Yamato Takeru keep a good relation. Prince Takeru was also a god slayer who killed many evil deities, including the deity of the pass of Ashigara.
According to traditional sources, Yamato Takeru died in the 43rd year of Emperor Keiko's reign (景行天皇43年).[1] The possessions of the dead prince were gathered together along with the sword Kusanagi; and his widow venerated his memory in a shrine at her home. Some time later, these relics, including the sacred sword were moved to the current location of Atsuta Shrine.[2]
Yamato Takeru is believed to have died somewhere in Ise Province. According to the legend, the name of
Worship
Owing to the legend of Yamato Takeru's death, he is worshiped as Otori-sama (The Great Bird). Otori shrines exist throughout Japan, and every November a festival is held on a day of the Rooster known as Tori no Ichi, literally "Market of the Bird". Worshipers pray for prosperity and vendors sell charms on shrine grounds known as kumade, which are miniature rakes adorned with auspicious objects like Maneki-neko or rice. Hanazono Shrine and Otori Shrine in Asakusa, Tokyo are famous for their large-scale Tori no Ichi. Larger Tori no Ichi can span multiple days and are referred to numerically as Ichi no Tori, Ni no Tori etc.
Comparative legends
Anthropologist C. Scott Littleton has described the Yamato Takeru legend as "Arthurian"[3] due to some structural similarities with the King Arthur legend. Common points include the use of two magic swords, of which the first validates the authority of the hero; the leadership role of a war band; the death to an enemy after giving up the sword to a female figure; a transportation to the after world; and others.[4] Littleton proposed that both legends descend from a common northeast Iranian ancestor.[5]
Shrines to worship
In popular culture
- One of the feats of Yamato Takeru was recounted in the "Grasscutter" volume of Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was transferred to the Atsuta Shrine.
- The second book of Noriko Ogiwara's The Jade Trilogy, Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince, is a retelling of Yamato Takeru's legend. The novel follows Oguna, a.k.a. Prince Ousu, one of the two main protagonists.
- Yamato Takeru is seen in a dream in the epilogue to "The Golden Princess", one of the Novels of the Change. The sword itself is the major plot point.
- In the Digimon Adventure series, two of the main characters are brothers, and their names are a reference to Yamato Takeru: Yamato Ishida and Takeru Takaishi.
- In the infamous OVA Garzey's Wing, the protagonist suspects the involvement of Yamato Takeru in various supernatural events, causing him to awkwardly and inexplicably invoke the full name "Yamato Takeru no Mikoto" from time to time. This is especially confusing to western viewers as Yamato Takeru does not appear in the plot.
- Yamato Takeru is a boss within the video game Shin Megami Tensei IV, fought within the Chaos route of the game. In the Law route, he is discovered at death's doorstep, and dies soon after.
- Yamato Takeru also appears in Persona 4 and its enhanced remake, Persona 4 Golden. There, Yamato Takeru functions as the evolved form of the initial Persona of the final teammate, Naoto Shirogane, replacing Sukuna-Hikona.
- In One Piece, a character named Yamato appears who wields a weapon called Takeru.
- In the 2023 video game Fate/Samurai Remnant, Yamato Takeru is Miyamoto Iori's Servant, belonging to the Saber Class.
Family tree
See also
- Yamato Takeru (TV series)
- Yamato Takeru (film)
Notes
- ^ There are two ways this name is transcribed: "Ika-gashiko-me" is used by Tsutomu Ujiya, while "Ika-shiko-me" is used by William George Aston.[36]
References
- Otori Shrine, English.
- Morris, Ivan, The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan, Secker & Warburg, London, 1975 (p. 1-14, Chapter 1 Yamato Takeru)
- Ponsonby-Fane, Richard Arthur Brabazon. (1953). Studies in Shinto and Shrines. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 470294859
- Littleton, C.S. Some Possible Arthurian Themes in Japanese Mythology and Folklore. 1983.
- Littleton, C.S. Yamato-takeru: An "Arthurian" Hero in Japanese Tradition. 1995.
- Citations
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1953) Studies in Shinto and Shrines, p. 433.
- ^ Ponsonby-Fane, p. 434.
- ^ Littleton, C.S. (1983).
- ^ Littleton, C. S. (1995), p. 262.
- ^ Littleton, C. S. (1995).
- ^ Philippi, Donald L. (2015). Kojiki. Princeton University Press. pp. 104–112.
- ^ Atsushi, Kadoya; Tatsuya, Yumiyama (20 October 2005). "Ōkuninushi". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ISBN 978-1-136-90376-2. Retrieved 2020-11-21.
- ^ Atsushi, Kadoya (21 April 2005). "Ōnamuchi". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ a b The Emperor's Clans: The Way of the Descendants, Aogaki Publishing, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 9780231049405.
- ^ Atsushi, Kadoya (28 April 2005). "Kotoshironushi". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ Sendai Kuji Hongi, Book 4 (先代舊事本紀 巻第四), in Keizai Zasshisha, ed. (1898). Kokushi-taikei, vol. 7 (国史大系 第7巻). Keizai Zasshisha. pp. 243–244.
- ^ Chamberlain (1882). Section XXIV.—The Wooing of the Deity-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears.
- ^ Tanigawa Ken'ichi 『日本の神々 神社と聖地 7 山陰』(新装復刊) 2000年 白水社 ISBN 978-4-560-02507-9
- ^ a b Kazuhiko, Nishioka (26 April 2005). "Isukeyorihime". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Archived from the original on 2023-03-21. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ a b 『神話の中のヒメたち もうひとつの古事記』p94-97「初代皇后は「神の御子」」
- ^ a b 日本人名大辞典+Plus, デジタル版. "日子八井命とは". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-06-01.
- ^ JSTOR 26652947.
- ^ a b "Visit Kusakabeyoshimi Shrine on your trip to Takamori-machi or Japan". trips.klarna.com. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
- ^ ISBN 9780674017535.
- ^ a b c Ponsonby-Fane, Richard (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Ponsonby Memorial Society. p. 29 & 418.
- ^ ISBN 9780520034600.
- ^ 『図説 歴代天皇紀』p42-43「綏靖天皇」
- ^ a b c d e Anston, p. 144 (Vol. 1)
- ISBN 978-0-520-91036-2.
- ^ Tenri Journal of Religion. Tenri University Press. 1968.
- ^ Takano, Tomoaki; Uchimura, Hiroaki (2006). History and Festivals of the Aso Shrine. Aso Shrine, Ichinomiya, Aso City.: Aso Shrine.
- ^ Anston, p. 143 (Vol. 1)
- ^ a b c d Anston, p. 144 (Vol. 1)
- OCLC 11917421.
- ^ ISBN 9780524053478.
- ^ a b c "Kuwashi Hime • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
- ^ a b c Anston, p. 149 (Vol. 1)
- ^ Louis-Frédéric, "Kibitsu-hiko no Mikoto" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 513.
- ISBN 978-0-8021-5058-5.
- ISBN 9780524053478.
- ^ a b c d Shimazu Norifumi (March 15, 2006). "Takeshiuchi no Sukune". eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 9780722225394.
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- ISBN 978-0-8108-7872-3.
- ^ "Mimakihime • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
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- ^ ISBN 978-0-8108-7872-3.
- ^ "Sahobime • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ Toyo Bunko. 1974. p. 63. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
- ^ a b "Yasakairihime • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2023-11-28.
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- ^ Toyo Bunko. 1974. pp. 63–64. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
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- ^ Brown Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 253; Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki, pp. 95-96; Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du japon, p. 10.
- ISBN 9780824830359.
- ^ ISBN 9781930782013.
- ^ ISBN 9780415306539.
- ^ Aston, William George. (1998). Nihongi, p. 254–271.
- ^ a b Aston, William. (1998). Nihongi, Vol. 1, pp. 224–253.
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{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Nunasoko Nakatsuhime • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2023-11-18.
- ^ Aston, William. (1998). Nihongi, Vol. 1, pp. 254–271.
External links
- English Wikisource has original text related to this article: The Story of Prince Yamato Take
- Bank of Japan 1000 yen note 1945 prince Yamato Takeru