Emperor Jimmu

“ Thus having subdued all opposing forces and brought the country into subjection, Prince Jimmu established himself in a palace built for him at Kashiwara in the province of Yamato. This is usually regarded by Japanese historians as the beginning of the empire, and the present era50 is reckoned from this establishment of a capital in Yamato. From the record of the length of the reigns of the several emperors contained in the Kojiki, and the Nihongi, and later books, the date of the accession of the Emperor Jimmu is fixed at 660 b.c. ”

“ APPENDIX B IMPERIAL RESCRIPT TO THE ARMY AND NAVY
The Army of this country, in ancient times, stood from generation to generation under the supreme command of the Emperor. More than two thousand five hundred years have passed since the time when the Emperor Jimmu suppressed the barbarian tribes of the central provinces, and established himself on his Imperial Throne. The expedition was under the supreme command of the Emperor himself, and was composed of warriors of Otomo and Mononobe, the most illustrious warrior-clans of the day. ”

“ The emperor was busy in Kyūshū in reducing to subjection the tribes of the Kumaso who inhabited the southern portion of the island. Up to this time these restless tribes had given much trouble to the empire and expeditions were constantly needed to keep them in order. They were unquestionably of a kindred race with the Japanese who accompanied the Emperor Jimmu into the Main island. The empress, afterward known as Jingō-Kōgō and the faithful prime-minister Take-no-uchi64 were at their temporary palace at Kashihi. The empress in an interview on the campaign became divinely possessed. ”

“ The fifth son of the Emperor Jimmu was nominated by him as the successor, and it is probable that older sons were living and passed over, and that the throne was inherited in part by nomination even in this its first transfer.
Some writers on Japanese history profess to see in the pantheon of Japan, pictured in the Kojiki and Nihonki, nothing more than a collection of distinguished personages who lived and labored and contended in the country before the historic period, thus bringing deified men and women down to earth again. ”

“ Japanese national history begins with the expedition led by the Emperor Jimmu, at a date which a loose chronology fixes at 660 b.c. This is the earliest over-sea operation unconnected with deities and myths.
Jimmu, who, according to the legends, was the grandson of the Sea Deity’s daughter, led an expedition eastward from Mount Takachiho, and eventually found himself on the shores of the Inland Sea, and here built a fleet, by means of which he reached Naniwa (Osaka) , and consolidated the empire.
For the next seven or eight centuries the nation was forming ”

“ These emigrants seem to have belonged to the more refined branch of the great Mongolian stock. This hypothesis is borne out by our mythology, which divides itself into two cycles, one centring at Idzumo and the other at Kyûshû, and which tell us how the great-grandfather of the first great emperor Jimmu descended from heaven on to the peak of the mountain Takachiho in Hyûga in Kyûshû. Accompanied by his brother, he started from this spot on his march of conquering migration to Yamato, fighting and subduing on his way tribes who on the continent were once his kith and kin. ”

“ These deities fell out and fought, with the result that the younger subdued the elder by the aid of the deity of the sea, whose daughter he had married. The victor's son, Ugayafukiaezu, also married a daughter of the marine deity and had four sons, Itsuse, Inahi, Mikenu, and Iwarehiko, of whom the fourth and youngest afterward became the Emperor Jimmu. ”

“ THE TSUCHI-GUMO In ancient Japan there was a class of men to whom the epithet "Tsuchi" (earth-spiders) was applied. Their identity has been a subject of much controversy. The first mention made of them in Japanese annals occurs in connexion with the slaughter of eighty braves invited to a banquet by the Emperor Jimmu's general in a pit-dwelling at Osaka.* The Records apply to these men the epithet "Tsuchi-gumo," whereas the Chronicles represent the Emperor as celebrating the incident in a couplet which speaks of them as Yemishi. ”

“ This child was the father of the first Emperor of [379] Japan, Jimmu Tenno.2 The Mikados were therefore descended from the sun-goddess Ama-terâsu and the Dragon-king of Ocean, the “Abundant Pearl Prince”.
When engaged pacifying the land, Jimmu followed a gigantic crow3 that had been sent down from heaven to guide him. He possessed a magic celestial cross-sword and a fire-striker. His two brothers, who accompanied him on an expedition across the sea, leapt overboard when a storm was raging so that the waves might be stilled. They were subsequently worshipped as gods. ”

“ We must come down for six hundred years from the days of Jimmu to find an emperor who made any history worth the telling. In truth, a mist of fable lies over all the works of these ancient worthies, and in telling their stories we can never be sure how much of them is true. Very likely there is sound history at the bottom, but it is ornamented with a good deal that it is not safe to believe. ”

“ Hearing that the descendant of heaven was about to arrive, he forthwith raised an army with which to make an attack. But having seen from afar the might of the imperial army, he was afraid, and did not dare to oppose it. Therefore he has secretly placed his troops in ambush, and has built for the occasion a new palace, in the hall of which he has prepared engines. It is his intention to invite the emperor to a banquet there, and then to do him a mischief. ”

“ In the end he crossed Sumi-Zaka with the stronger troops, and, going round by the rear, attacked them from two sides and put them to the rout, killing their chieftains, Shiki the elder, and the others.
Third month, 7th day. The emperor made an order, saying: "During the six years that our expedition against the East has lasted, owing to my reliance on the majesty of Imperial Heaven, the wicked bands have met death. It is true that the frontier lands are still unpurified, and that a remnant of evil is still refractory. But in the region of the Central Land there is no more wind and dust. ”

“ JAPANESE GOD OF THUNDER.
Whatever may be the actual fact, Jimmu Tenno is popularly believed to have been a real person and the first emperor of Japan. He is deified in the Shinto religion, and in thousands of shrines dedicated to him the people worship his spirit. In one official list of mikados he is named as the first. The reigning Emperor refers to him as his ancestor, from whom he claims unbroken descent as the 123rd member of this dynasty. ”

“ Miki In no no Mikoto, also indignant at this, said: "My mother and my aunt are both sea-goddesses; why do they raise great billows to overwhelm us?" So, treading upon the waves, he went to the Eternal Land. The emperor was now alone with the imperial prince, Tagishi-Mimi no Mikoto. Leading his army forward, he arrived at Port Arazaka in Kumano (also called Nishiki Bay) , where he put to death the Tohe of Nishiki. At this time the gods belched up a poisonous vapor, from which every one suffered. For this reason the imperial army was again unable to exert itself. ”

“ The emperor summoned him and then inquired of him, saying: "Who art thou?" He answered and said: "Thy servant is a country-god, and his name is Utsuhiko. I angle for fish in the bays of ocean. Hearing that the son of the heavenly deity was coming, therefore I forthwith came to receive him." Again he inquired of him, saying: "Canst thou act as my guide?" He answered and said: "I will do so." The emperor ordered the end of a pole of Shihi wood to be given to the fisher, and caused him to be taken and pulled into the imperial vessel, of which he was made pilot. ”

“ A battle was engaged, and Itsuse no Mikoto was hit by a random arrow on the elbow. The imperial forces were unable to advance against the enemy. The emperor was vexed, and revolved in his inmost heart a divine plan, saying: "I am the descendant of the sun-goddess, and if I proceed against the sun to attack the enemy, I shall act contrary to the way of heaven. Better to retreat and make a show of weakness. Then, sacrificing to the gods of heaven and earth, and bringing on our backs the might of the sun goddess, let us follow her rays and trample them down. ”

“ One of these brothers was Kamu-Yamato-Iware-Biko, who (the other having died before him) is accounted the first human emperor of Japan—the first Mikado. The posthumous name of Jimmu Tennō was given to him more than fourteen centuries after the date which the historians assign for his decease.
Henceforth Yamato, which had scarcely been mentioned before, and the provinces adjacent to it, become the centre of the story, and Izumo again emerges into importance. A very indecent love-tale forms a bridge which unites the various fragments; of the mythology ”

“ Miss Mori interjected abruptly, startling even Ken. She seemed to be lecturing directly to Tam. "We all know our Emperor today is directly descended from him. In fact, he is precisely the one hundred and twenty-fourth emperor after Jimmu. Japan and the Imperial line were born simultaneously, and every Japanese is related to him. We are a monoracial state." ”

“ All these tribes intend to give battle to the emperor, and thy servant is anxious in his own mind on his account. It were now good to take clay from the heavenly mount Kagu and therewith to make heavenly platters with which to sacrifice to the gods of the heavenly shrines and of the earthly shrines. If after doing so thou dost attack the enemy, they may be easily driven off. ”

“ Also make sacred jars and therewith sacrifice to the gods of heaven and earth. Moreover pronounce a solemn imprecation. If thou doest so, the enemy will render submission of their own accord."
The emperor received with reverence the directions given in his dream, and proceeded to carry them into execution. Now Ukeshi the younger again addressed the emperor, saying: "There are in the province of Yamato, in the village of Shiki, eighty Shiki bandits. Moreover in the village of Taka-wohari (some say Katsuraki) there are eighty Akagane bandits. ”

“ Why should we remain for a long time in one place? By so doing we could not have control over emergencies!" So he removed his camp to another place.
Eleventh month, 7th day. The imperial army proceeded in great force to attack the Hiko of Shiki. First of all the emperor sent a messenger to summon Shiki the elder, but he refused to obey. Again the Yata-garasu was sent to bring him. When the crow reached his camp it cried to him, saying: "The child of the heavenly deity sends for thee. ”

“ The historical records of the Japanese relate that Jimmu, accompanied by an elder brother, Prince Itsuse, started from their grandfather's palace on Mount Takaclicho. They marched with a large number of followers, a horde of men, women, and children, as well as a band of armed men. On landing in Japan, after many years wandering by sea and land, they had serious conflicts with the native tribes. They eventually succeeded in overcoming all opposition and in conquering the country, so that Prince Jimmu was enabled to build a palace and set up a capital, Kashiha-bara, in Yamato. ”

“ Out of the custom of extreme reverence toward the deities grew abhorrence for impurity in any form, so that separate huts came to be built for the bodies of the dead or for women at times of parturition, and [9] if any man came in contact with an unclean object, he bathed in a river to purify himself.
Naturally, little distinction existed between religion and government, between shrine and palace. At the completion of his work of conquest, Jimmu erected a building at Kashiwabara, in which he deposited the three insignia, and in which he himself resided and personally governed the empire. ”

“ Prince Jimmu, or whoever was the foreign ruler who conquered and founded an empire in Japan, must have been a bold, enterprising, and sagacious man. The islands he subdued were barbarous, and he civilized them; the inhabitants were warlike and cruel, and he kept them in peace. He founded a dynasty which extended its dominion over Nagato, Izumo, and Owari, and still has representatives in rulers whose people are by far the most progressive dwellers in the East. ”

“ At any rate, Jimmu was now lord of the land, and built himself a capital city at Kashiwabara, near the [Pg 10] site of the modern Kioto, from which he governed the wide realms that the sword had made his own. The gods were thanked for their aid by imposing religious ceremonies, and the people rejoiced in the peace that had come upon the land. The soldiers who had followed the hero to victory were amply rewarded, and his chiefs made lords of provinces, for the control over which they were to pay in military service. Thus early a form of feudal government was established in Japan. ”

“ At any rate, Hiuga, as the region in which he dwelt was called, was not likely to serve the ends of a party of warlike invaders, there being no part of Japan less fertile. So, as the story goes, Jimmu, being then fifty years old, set out to conquer some richer realm. He had only a few followers, some being his brothers, the others his retainers, all of them, in the language of the legends, being kami, or gods. Jimmu was righteous; the savages were wicked, though they too had descended from the gods. These savages dwelt in villages, each governed by a head-man or chief. ”