Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto (鵜葺草葺不合命)[1] is a Shinto kami, and is in Japanese mythology, the father of Japan's first Emperor, Emperor Jimmu.[2]

Ugayafukiaezu
Genealogy
Born735 BC
Died640 BC (aged 95)
ParentsHoori (father)
Toyotama-hime (mother)
ConsortTamayori-hime
Children

Nomenclature and story

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Toyotama-hime giving birth to Ugayafukiaezu by turning herself into a wani in an 1886 illustration

In the Kojiki, his name appears as Amatsuhiko Hiko Nagisatake Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto (天津日高日子波限建鵜葺草葺不合命),[1] and in the Nihon Shoki as Hiko Nagisatake Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto (彦波瀲武鸕鶿草葺不合尊). Basil Hall Chamberlain glossed the Kojiki name as "His Augustness Heaven's-Sun-Height-Prince-Wave-limit-Brave-Cormorant-Thatch-Meeting-Incompletely". 'no Mikoto' here is an honorific, denoting divinity or royalty.

Ugayafukiaezu was a child of Hoori, the son of Ninigi-no-Mikoto, who was sent down by Amaterasu to govern the earth (Ashihara no Nakatsukuni) (believed to be equivalent to Japan), and of Toyotama-hime, a daughter of Ryūjin, the dragon kami of the sea.[2]

Although Toyotama-hime became pregnant at the undersea palace of Ryūgū-jō, she opted not to bear the child in the ocean and decided to head to shore.

On the shore, her parents attempted to build a house in which she could give birth, and attempted to construct the roof with feathers of the cormorant instead of saw grass. However, while they were finishing the roof, she went into labor.

And so just as she was about to give birth, she spoke to her husband, saying:

"When their time draws near, people of other lands all give birth in the form of their homeland. So I will now give birth in my original form. Please, I beg you, do not look at me!"

Now, thinking these words strange, he sneaked up and peered in at her just as she was about to give birth.

She had become an enormous sea beast many arm spans in length that was twisting and slithering around on its stomach.

In shock and fright at the sight of her, he immediately fled far away.[1]

In shame, Toyotama-hime fled, leaving behind her newborn, whom she called Ugayafukiaezu.[1] The roof of the birthing hut had not been completely thatched (fukiaezu) with cormorant feathers (ugaya) when his mother gave birth to him, which explains his name.

Later, when Ugayafukiaezu reached adulthood, he married his aunt, Tamayori-hime, and they had four children: Hikoitsuse, Inai, Mikeirinu, and Hikohohodemi (later Emperor Jimmu).[1]

Mikeirinu traveled to Tokoyo no kuni, the "Everworld", and Inai went into the ocean to be with his mother. The eldest and youngest set forth to rule the land and while they did so together for a time, after Hikoitsuse died, their youngest became the first ruler.[1]

Genealogy

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Ugayafukiaezu is in the Three generations of Hyuga, a time period between Tenson kōrin and Jimmu's Eastern Expedition.[3]

Amaterasu[4]Takamimusubi[5][6][7]
Ame-no-oshihomimi[4]Takuhadachiji-hime[5][6][7][8][9][10]Ōyamatsumi[11][12]
Ninigi-no-Mikoto[8][9][10][4][13]
(天孫)
Konohanasakuya-hime[11][12]Watatsumi[14][15][16][17]
Hoderi[11][12][18]Hosuseri[11][12]
(海幸彦)
Hoori[11][12][13]
(山幸彦)
Toyotama-hime[14]Utsushihikanasaku [ja][15][16][17][19]Furutama-no-mikoto [ja]
Tensori no Mikoto [ja][18]Ugayafukiaezu[13][20]Tamayori-hime[14]Azumi people[19]Owari clan
Yamato clan)
Hayato people[18]Itsuse[20]Inahi[20]Mikeiri[20]Jimmu[20]Ahiratsu-hime[21]
Imperial House of JapanTagishimimi[22][23][24][21]
  • Red background is female.
  • Green background means groups
  • Bold letters are three generations of Hyuga.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Ō no Yasumaro; Heldt, Gustav (2014). The Kojiki : an account of ancient matters. ISBN 9780231163897.
  2. ^ a b "鵜葺草葺不合命" [Ugayafukiaezu]. Kokushi Daijiten (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2012. OCLC 683276033. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  3. ^ "みやざきの神話と伝承101:概説". 2021-08-04. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  4. ^ a b c Borgen, Robert; Ury, Marian (April 1990). "Readable Japanese Mythology: Selections from Nihon shoki and Kojiki" (PDF). The Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese. 24 (1). American Association of Teachers of Japanese: 61–97. doi:10.2307/489230. JSTOR 489230. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b "万幡豊秋津師比売命 – 國學院大學 古典文化学事業". kojiki.kokugakuin.ac.jp. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  6. ^ a b "Encyclopedia of Shinto - Home : Kami in Classic Texts : Futodama". eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp. Retrieved 2020-11-07.
  7. ^ a b https://archive.today/20230406174104/https://d-museum.kokugakuin.ac.jp/eos/detail/?id=9716
  8. ^ a b "タクハタチヂヒメ". nihonsinwa.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  9. ^ a b "栲幡千千姫命(たくはたちぢひめのみこと)ご利益と神社". xn--u9ju32nb2az79btea.asia (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  10. ^ a b "Ninigi". Mythopedia. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  11. ^ a b c d e Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697, translated from the original Chinese and Japanese by William George Aston. Book II, page 73. Tuttle Publishing. Tra edition (July 2005). First edition published 1972. ISBN 978-0-8048-3674-6
  12. ^ a b c d e "According to the 'Kojiki', the great 8th century A.D. compilation of Japanese mythology, Konohana Sakuya-hime married a god who grew suspicious of her when she became pregnant shortly after their wedding. To prove her fidelity to her husband, she entered a benign bower and miraculously gave birth to a son, unscathed by the surrounding flames. The fire ceremony at Fuji-Yyoshida recalls this story as a means of protecting the town from fire and promoting easy childbirth among women."
  13. ^ a b c "みやざきの神話と伝承101:概説". 2021-08-04. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  14. ^ a b c Akima, Toshio (1993). "The Origins of the Grand Shrine of Ise and the Cult of the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami". Japan Review. 4 (4): 143. ISSN 0915-0986. JSTOR 25790929.
  15. ^ a b "Explore Azumino! - Hotaka Shrine". Explore Azumino!. Japan Tourism Agency. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  16. ^ a b https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/common/001562761.pdf
  17. ^ a b "Mt. Hotaka also have deities enshrined, and these deities are as their tutelaries : JINJA-GAKU 3 | HIKES IN JAPAN". 2020-10-01. Archived from the original on 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  18. ^ a b c Tsugita, Masaki (2001) [1977]. 古事記 (上) 全訳注 [Complete Translated and Annotated Kojiki, Part 1]. Vol. 38. 講談社学術文庫. p. 205. ISBN 4-06-158207-0.
  19. ^ a b "Ofune Matsuri – A Unique Festival in Nagano, Japan! - Festivals & Events|COOL JAPAN VIDEOS|A Website With Information About Travel, Culture, Food, History, and Things to Do in Japan". cooljapan-videos.com. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  20. ^ a b c d e The History of Nations: Japan. Dept. of education. Japan. H. W. Snow. 1910.
  21. ^ a b "Ahiratsuhime • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  22. ^ Norinaga Motoori (2007). The Poetics of Motoori Norinaga: A Hermeneutical Journey. University of Hawaii Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-8248-3078-6.
  23. ^ Gary L. Ebersole (1992). Ritual Poetry and the Politics of Death in Early Japan. Princeton University Press. pp. 108–109. ISBN 0-691-01929-0.
  24. ^ The Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters. Tuttle Publishing. 19 June 2012. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-4629-0511-9.
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