Hime-tatara-isuzu hime (媛蹈鞴五十鈴媛) is a Japanese mythological figure, a female deity (goddess), appeared in the Nihon Shoki, the (first) empress of Japan of the Emperor Jinmu who is the legendary first Emperor of Japan. She corresponds to Hime-tatara-isuke-yori hime (比売多多良伊須気余理比売) in the Kojiki.
Although details change in various records, her parents are described as a deity (her father), and a daughter of an influential person in the Yamato Province (her mother). She is said to have married Emperor Jimmu and given birth to the second Emperor, Suizei.
Depiction by Kojiki and Nihon Shoki
Birth
According to the Kojiki, when Kamu-yamato-Iwarebiko (Emperor Jimmu) was searching for a wife, he was told about a woman named Seya-datara-hime (勢夜陀多良比売) who bore a daughter after she was impregnated by Ōmono-nushi (the 'Great Deity of Miwa'). Ōmono-nushi had taken the form of a red arrow and struck Seya-datara-hime's genitals while she was defecating in a ditch.
The future emperor wooed this daughter, named Hoto-tatara-Isusuki-hime (富登多多良伊須須岐比売) (also known as Hime-tatara-isuke-yori hime (比売多多良伊須気余理比売), an altered form of the name which omits the word hoto (ホト, "female genitals")), and took her as his wife.
Like the Kojiki, the main narrative of the first volume of the Nihon Shoki first describes Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime as the offspring of the god of Ōmono-nushi. However, the Nihon Shoki also contains an alternative story which portrays her as the child of the god Kotoshiro-nushi (事代主神) and the goddess Mizoku-hime (溝樴姫) - also known as Tamakushi-hime (玉櫛姫) - conceived after Kotoshiro-nushi transformed himself into a gigantic wani and had sex with her. Likewise, the main narrative in the third and fourth volumes of Nihon Shoki refers to her as the daughter of Kotoshiro-nushi rather than Ōmono-nushi.
Her house was located on the Sai River and near Sai-jinja Shrine, near Mount Miwa.
Marriage with Emperor Jimmu
According to the Nihon Shoki and other sources, Iwarehiko (later Emperor Jimmu) left the Land of Himuka and made an expedition to the east, and after many battles, established his government in the Yamato region. Iwarehiko built the Palace of Kashiwara in modern-day Kashihara at the foot of Mount Unebi and ascended to the throne as the first Emperor.
Prior to his accession to the throne, Iwarehiko needed to have a consort worthy of being the first Empress. Ōume-no-mikoto, a vassal of Iwarehiko, suggested Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime as a candidate for his wife. According to the Kojiki, Ōkume-no-mikoto explains the story of Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime's birth to Iwarehiko and tells him that she deserved to be his rightful wife. In the Kojiki, there is another story in which Iwarehiko and Ōkume-no-mikoto witnessed seven women on the shore of the Sai River and selected a wife from among them.
Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime had a notable poetic exchange with them, and then Jimmu stayed the night at her house.
According to the Nihon Shoki, their marriage took place on September 24 of the year before his accession. Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime became Empress when Emperor Jimmu ascended the throne in the following year, 660 BC.
After the death of Emperor Jimmu
According to the Nihon Shoki, Emperor Jimmu died at the age of 127. Although there are differences in details, the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki describe a succession struggle that occurred among his children after his death.
Before he left for the eastern expedition from the "Land of Himuka", Iwarehiko had married Airatsu-hime (吾平津媛) and they had child. However, these children were reduced to the status of bastards when Iwarehiko made Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime the rightful Empress. When Emperor Jimmu died, his bastard son, Tagishi-mimi, wanted to succeed to the throne himself.
In the Kojiki, Tagishi-mimi took the widowed Empress Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime as his wife and tried to assassinate the legitimate children of Emperor Jimmu and Empress Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime. Aware of his plans, Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime wrote two poems to her children to warn them of the danger.
Learning of the plot from their mother's poems, the legitimate sons attacked Tagishi-mimi first and defeated him. Kan-nunakawa-mimi no mikoto (神渟名川耳命, or 神沼河耳命), who played the most active role in the attack, succeeded his father and ascended to the throne as the second emperor, Emperor Suizei. According to the Nihon Shoki, Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime took the title of "Empress Dowager".
Emperor Suizei took Princess Isuzuyori-hime (五十鈴依媛命) as his consort. Isuzu-yori-hime was Hime-tatara-isuzu hime's younger sister and Emperor Suizei's aunt. Other versions of this story claim that Kawamata-hime (Kawamata-bime, 河俣毘売) or Ito-ori-hime (糸織媛) became Emperor Suizei's consort.
Children
Based on the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki, Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime and Emperor Jimmu had three children: Hiko-yai (日子八井命), Kan-yai-mimi (神八井耳命), and Emperor Suizei. Hiko-yai is only mentioned in the Kojiki, whereas the other two children are mentioned in both texts. Kan-yai-mimi became the founder of the Ō clan (多氏).
Siblings
Himetataraisuzu-hime's mother gave birth to two other children:
- Ama-no-higata-Kushi-no-higata no mikoto (天日方奇日方), alias Kamo-no-kimi - Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime's elder brother. In the Kujiki, he served Emperor Jimmu and became the osu-kuni-no-matsurigoto-mōsu-machigimi (申食国政大夫) [corresponding to Prime Minister].
- Isuzu-yori-hime (五十鈴依媛命) - Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime's sister. She became the Empress of the second emperor, Emperor Suizei.
Various theories about her lineage
In the Nihon Shoki and the Kojiki, although the details of the stories differ, Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime's mother is depicted as the daughter of the influential person (a deity) of the local region (Northern Osaka) and her father is the deity. There is a theory which interprets that by marrying "the child of god" (Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime) as his principal wife, Jimmu, the first Emperor, made use of her in order to legitimize his regime.
The Shoki and Kojiki also depict her maternal family as being people of Mishima (三嶋, 三島) in Settsu (present day Osaka prefecture), and her paternal family being people of Miwa (美和, 三輪, 三輪山) in the Yamato region. These stories suggest the cooperation of several powerful clans in Kinki region. There is also a theory which interprets this marriage as showing that the influential persons of Kawachi province (that is, Yamato and Settsu provinces) might support a foreigner, Iwarehiko (emperor Jimmu), who came from the Himuka (Hyūga province) who marries locally. In addition, another theory interprets that this gain of support through marriage shows the political methods used by Jimmu, with him not only suppressing local powers through military power, but also through conciliatory measures towards those with local influence, as he tried to consolidate his base of control. Finally, there is also an interpretation that this story works to explain how Emperor Jimmu's forces had acquired iron-manufacturing technology.
Grandfather: Mizokuhi of Mishima
In the Nihon Shoki, her mother is said to be the daughter of Mishima no Mizokuhi (三嶋溝杙), although there are some differences in wording. Since there are some historical records in which "-耳神" (literally: god of ears) is added to his name, there is a theory that this suggests Mizukuhi is an object of worship as a divine being. This god (Mizukuhi) also has the names such as Suetsu-mimi-no-mikoto (陶津耳命), Kamo-taketsunumi-no-mikoto (賀茂建角身命) and Yatagarasu (八咫烏), and is considered as the ancestor god of the Kamo clan and Katsuragi-no-kuni-no-miyatsuko (葛城国造, ja) in the genealogy of the Kamo clan.
The place name "Mishima" is thought to be Mishima county in Settsu Province (Northern Osaka prefecture). The Engishiki (927) lists Mishima Kamo-jinja (located at Mishima-e, Takatsuki City) and Mizokui-jinja (Ibaraki City), suggesting that "Mizokuhi of Mishima" was worshipped in this area.
In the Edo period, Motoori Norinaga, a scholar of Kokugaku, interpreted this "mizo (groove)" to refer to a toilet built over a stream of water, and this has become a prevailing view. Eiichi Mitani and others have adopted this theory. There is also a theory that the toilet is strongly related to birth rituals. Kazuo Higo insists a different theory, saying that "mizo" means a ditch in a paddy field. Masayuki Tsugita develops this theory, claiming that Mishima-gun (Mishima county) was an ideal place for rice cultivation and that "Mishima no Mizukuhi" was a farming god.
Mothers: Tamakushi-hime and Seya-datara-hime
Her mother's name is Tamakushi-hime in the Nihon Shoki and Seya-datara-hime in the Kojiki. Both are said to have been known as beautiful women.
Motoori Norinaga identifies Seya (勢夜) as Seno village of Heguri-gun in Yamato Province (Sangō Town of Ikoma County in Nara Prefecture).
Anecdotes of her birth in Kojiki
In the Kojiki, she is said to be the daughter of Ōmono-nushi. His birthplace is Mount Miwa in the Yamato region.
She is said to have originally been named Hoto-tatara-isusuki-hime. It is also said that she was a beautiful woman like her mother.
However, she disliked the word "hoto" (female genitalia) and changed her name to Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime. The dropping of the "hoto" may be related to the word being linked to genitals.
Relation to tatara iron manufacturing
There is a theory that the "tatara" (蹈鞴) part of the name Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime is interpreted in connection with tatara iron manufacturing, indicating iron manufacturing in ancient Japan.
According to Yasunao Kojita, tatara refers to a "tatara furnace", and hoto refers to "fireplace" as well as "female genitalia". In other words, the fact that Emperor Jimmu took Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime (= Hime-tatara-isuke-yori-hime = Hoto-tatara-isusuki-hime) as his wife is interpreted as an indication that the royal family controlled the iron and steel industry. Yutaka Yoshino (Japan Literature Association) states that the name "Hoto-tatara-isuzu-hime" refers to a priestess who served the god of molten ore and the blast furnace.
Motoori Norinaga and other early modern Kokugaku scholars did not interpret the word "tatara" in Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime to mean a bellows. In their view, the word tatara is a slang term used by blacksmiths and is dismissed from its ties to steelmaking as it is unsuitable for the name of a noble empress. "Some interpret "tatara" as a derivative of "stand", meaning "stood up (surprised by an arrow in the pubic region)" or "had an arrow put up (in the pubic region).
Objects of faith
Emperor Meiji founded the Kashihara Jingu in 1890, where Emperor Jimmu and Hime-tathara-isuzu-hime are enshrined as the main deities.。
Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime also came to be revered as a "Komori Myōjin (子守明神)" because she saved children, and is enshrined as the main deity at Isagawa Shrine (Honkomori-cho, Nara City, Nara Prefecture). In June of every year, the Nitsukawa Shrine holds the "Saegusa Festival" (commonly known as the Yuri festival, 三枝祭, alias ゆり祭り), where Hime-tatara-isuzu-hime is worshipped by offering lilies grown at Mount Miwa.
At the upper reaches of the Sakai River (狭井川), where Himetataraisuzu-hime's parents lived, there is the Sakai Shrine (狭井神社). Here, the main deity is Himetataraisuzu-hime, but also Omononushi (father of Himetataraisuzu-hime according to the Kojiki), Seyadatara-hime (mother of Himetataraisuzu-hime according to the Kojiki), Kotoshirohime (mother of Himetataraisuzu-hime according to the Kojiki) Tamayori-hime, Kotoshironushi (father of Himetataraisukehime according to the Nihon Shoki) are enshrined here.
She is also worshipped at Tsumori Jingu Shrine (Kumamoto Prefecture Kamimashiki District Mashiki Town) and Kosa Shrine (Kosa Town).
Genealogy
Notes and references
Original text of "Nihon Shoki"
The original text of "Kojiki"
Notes
References
Bibliography
- Japanese God Name Dictionary, Jinja-shinpoisha, 1994, 1995 (2nd version), ISBN 4-915265-66-8
- "Mythological Hime Tachi: Another Kojiki", Sankei Shimbun, Sankei Shimbun, 2018, ISBN 978-4-8191-1336-6
- "Nihon no Kami Yomiwake Jiten" (An Encyclopedia of Japanese Gods), Kenji Kawaguchi/editor, Kashiwa Shobo, 1999, 2009 (9th printing), ISBN 4-7601-1824-1
- "Kojiki to Nihon no Kami ga Kunderu Hon" (The Book of Ancient Matters and Understanding Japanese Gods), Kunihiro Yoshida, Gakken Publishing, 2015, ISBN 978-4-05-406340-2
- Illustrated Chronicle of the Emperors of Japan, Edited by Masao Mitobe, Akita Shoten, 1989, ISBN 4-253-00297-8
- "Genealogical Compilation", New Edition, Vol. 1, Upper Section, Divine Emperors (1), edited by Yotohiko Iwasawa, Meisho Shuppan, 1996, ISBN 4-626-01541-7
- "A Genealogical Directory of the Empresses of the Rekishi Era" (Bessatsu Rekishi Yomibon 24, Vol. 27, No. 29, 618), Minoru Sato (ed.), Shinninjin Oraisha, 2002
- "Nihonjinmei Daijiten (Shin-Sen Otona-mei Jiten)" Vol.5, Kunihiko Shimonaka/editor, Heibonsha, 1938, 1979 (reprint edition)
- "Nihon Josei Jinmei Jiten (Dictionary of Japanese Women's Biographies), Popular Edition", edited by Noboru Haga, Yasuko Ichibanghase, Kuni Nakajima, Koichi Soda, Japan Book Center, 1998, ISBN 4-8205-7881-2
- "Dictionary of Japanese Historical Personal Names", Nichigai Associates, 1999, ISBN 4-8169-1527-3
- "Dictionary of Japanese Ancient Clans and Personal Names, Popular Edition", Taro Sakamoto and Kunio Hirano, Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 1990, 2010 (Popular Edition, 1st Edition), ISBN 978-4-642-01458-8
- "Nihon Rekishi Chimei Taikei 30 Nara-ken no Chimei" (Japanese Historical Chimei Compendium 30), Heibonsha, 1981.
- "Kadokawa Japanese Dictionary of Geographical Names 29: Nara Prefecture", Kadokawa Japanese Dictionary of Geographical Names Compilation Committee, Rizo Takeuchi, editor, Kadokawa Shoten, 1990, ISBN 4-04-001290-9
