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Descent of the Heavenly Grandchild

Descent of the Heavenly Grandchild

Released Saturday, 1st August 2020
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Descent of the Heavenly Grandchild

Descent of the Heavenly Grandchild

Descent of the Heavenly Grandchild

Descent of the Heavenly Grandchild

Saturday, 1st August 2020
Good episode? Give it some love!
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Finally, the Heavenly Grandchild makes their descent to the earthly realm!  Thus begins the story of the main thrust of our story, with the royal line of sovereigns now in the archipelago--though we are still a few generations from the "first" ruler.

This episode we will follow the Divine Descendant down to earth, along with their retinue, and see just who they meet along the way.

For more go to: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-22

Rough Transcript

Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is episode 22:  The descent of the Heavenly grandchild.

So this episode we are going to talk about the descent of the Heavenly Grandchild—that is, the legendary ancestor of the Japanese sovereigns.  We’ll go over his descent from Heaven to the earth, below, and how he set up shop in the archipelago.  This is going to introduce a few different characters—some we may remember from previous episodes but some new ones as well.  And we’ll see several “just so” type stories that explain different things about how the world is set up.

I’ll also be going over some of my own thoughts, reading through this, and how we really seem to have several different stories, all woven into one for an attempt at consistency.

But before we really get started on this episode—in fact, the next couple episodes—a quick content warning:  It is very clear that the authors of the Chronicles had a different moral compass than we may have today.  Despite what we know or can suss out from bits and pieces about female rulers and chieftains—even the figure of Amaterasu no Ohomikami herself ruling the High Plain of Heaven—the authors of the Chronicles were working from a worldview that had already largely succumbed to patriarchal ideas about gender roles and norms.  We’ve already seen it in the way Izanami is blamed for speaking first when they went around the pillar of Heaven, and then later becomes a terrible monster that is responsible for death in the world.

As we go through the Chronicles, it will not be uncommon for our so-called “heroes” to treat women in ways that listeners may find objectionable.  From disbelieving women to not respecting their requests to shaming them for their appearance, it is all on display, even if there are often consequences for it.  Then there is the tendency for men to often “give away” their daughters, as though they were little more than possessions.  These are stories through the lens of the 7th and 8th centuries and they hold some of the same biases, despite the clear indication of strong, powerful women even contemporaneous to the publishing of the Chronicles themselves.

Really, at times it is somewhat incredible that this is what the Chroniclers decided would be the things to leave in the narrative in order to make the royal family look good.  In some cases, there are clear moral lessons embedded in the stories that may make them somewhat redeemable, but in others it is enough for the Chroniclers that this is the Heavenly lineage, and therefore it is only natural that others would bow and submit to them.  Just think about the treatment of Ohokuninushi and the gods of Izumo. 

There were also different ideas of what was consider erotic, lewd, and improper.  This can lead to descriptions that we may consider much more risqué than they did at the time.

So please keep that in mind as we continue these stories.

Alright, now when we last left off, Ohokuninushi had ceded the land to the Heavenly Descendant, and so now it was time for Oshihomimi to claim the earthly realm.  However, in all the time that they had been working on subduing the land of the Central Reed Plains—at least 11 years, if not longer—Oshihomimi, son of Amaterasu Ohomikami, had taken to wife Yorozu Hata Toyo Akitsushi Hime, aka Takuhata Chihi Hime, the older sister of Omohikane and daughter of Takami Musubi.  Her name, by the way, may give a hint to Oshihomimi’s interest in her, as it implies she is the princes of myriad bolts of silk, which were often used as currency and thus indicated someone of great wealth—unsurprising given who her father is supposed to have been.

Together, Oshihomimi and Takuhata Chichi Hime had children, and among them was one whom they named Ame-nigishi Kuni-nigishi, Amatsu Hiko Hiko hono Ninigi no Mikoto, more commonly known simply as Ninigi—much of his name is actually made up more of qualifiers and title, rather than actual name, as is quite common in these stories.

Anyway, Oshihomimi must have decided that he still didn’t want to leave home, and so he suggested that his son go in his place, and everyone found this acceptable.  After all, Ninigi wasn’t just the descendant of Amaterasu, but he was the descendant of both Amaterasu AND Takami Musubi.  This is important of course because, if you haven’t already picked up on it, this is the Heavenly Grandchild who would become the mythical ancestor of the royal line of Japan, and it is through their connection to these two deities that the sovereigns of Yamato claimed their legitimacy.  In fact, in some stories this legitimacy is almost entirely through Takami Musubi, and Oshihomimi is barely given a mention, but by the 8th century the royal line was an admixture of the two deities.  Takami Musubi was a clearly important in the early court rituals—one of eight kami that were enshrined around the sacred rice field before the Daijou-sai—the great food offering ritual conducted as part of the enthronement ceremonies for a new sovereign. Takami Musubi, as a fertility deity, is considered the chief god of that festival, followed by the food deity, Ohomike.  There are other familiar deities in the festival, such as our friend from Izumo, Kotoshiro Nushi, but interestingly Amaterasu is nowhere to be found.  This has led some scholars to conclude that the Daijou-sai rite must have been codified before Amaterasu was seen as one of the ujigami of the Yamato court.

Again, as I’ve mentioned in the past, a lot of these stories and variations appear to have been retconned over the years as contemporary understanding and political realities changed.

Alright, so where were we?  Oh, yes, the Heavenly Grandchild, Ninigi, grandson to both Amaterasu and Takami Musubi, was now being sent down to take possession of the earthly realm and the islands of Japan.  It is said in preparation of him going down, Takami Musubi took the green coverlet off of the dais where he would recline, and put it around his grandson’s shoulders—a tradition that is remembered in the Daijosai, where a similar coverlet is laid out as a place for the ancestral kami during the ceremony.

Amaterasu’s gifts to Ninigi may be a little more well-known by those familiar with Japanese history: these are the jewels, the mirror, and the sword, known as the three regalia.  Though there were other symbols of sovereignty that came and went over the centuries, these three have been central since at least the 8th century.

The jewels were magatama, or comma-shaped jewels, found in Japan since Jomon times.  Magatama are often used as spiritual symbols, amulets, and charms, and show up again and again in these early stories.  These particular magatama were hung on the tree that was used to lure Amaterasu out of the Heavenly Rock Cave.

The mirror was also from that same incident.  The mirror was the 8-fold mirror that was hung in the branches of the tree, which reflected Amaterasu’s light and made her curious enough to look out of the cave.

Finally, the sword was the sword that Susanowo had found in the tail of Yamata no Worochi—the sword later known as Kusanagi.

These three treasures, or regalia, remain the symbols of the Japanese royal line even to this day.  Even as we may argue about whether they are actual originals or not, their symbolic importance remains.

And as we’ve already seen, symbols of authority like these were hardly unique to Yamato.  Izumo seems to have had its own regalia, handed over to Yamato as part of their submission.  It may be that these items were simply one lineage’s regalia, elevated as that lineage became the rulers of the entire archipelago.  Certainly, all three such items are found as prestige goods in burials across Japan, and they would have been recognizable as such by most people.

Having given Ninigi these symbols of authority, the kami then put together a retinue for him.  There are various names, but perhaps the most important are five names in particular:

              Ame no Koyane, ancestor of the Nakatomi

              Futodama, the Ancestor of the Imbe

              Ame no Uzume, ancestor of the Sarume

              Ishikoridome, ancestor of the mirror makers, the Kagamizukuri no Muraji, and said to have made the mirror that Ninigi had been given

and…

              Tamaya, ancestor of the jewel-makers, aka the Tamanoya no Muraji, and likewise responsible for the jewels that had helped lure Amaterasu out of the Heavenly Rock Cave and which now resided in the possession of Ninigi.

These are said to be the five heads of the powerful court families of Yamato.  The Nakatomi, Imbe, and Sarume were all closely connected with religious ceremonies and important rites.  Likewise the mirror and jewel makers provided the requisite ritual components.  All of these deities also are included as part of the story of the Heavenly Rock Cave—in fact, this whole section seems tied to the Amaterasu side of the story, and possibly even later additions.

Some of the stories even give more specific instructions, including a tradition that basically sets up the mirror as a stand-in for Amaterasu’s spirit—a practice continued across Japan, today, where a mirror may be set up outside of the shrine as a representation of the sun goddess.  The gods and worship of Ise Jingu are basically then laid out – but as with so many things, this seems to conflict with later stories about Ise and its founding, and is likely a later addition to the story.

There is also one other point of interest as they are preparing the details for Ninigi before he and his retinue descend.  You see, some of the stories seem to give the regalia—particularly the mirror—to Oshihomimi, Ninigi’s father.  In fact, in those stories, Ame no Koyane and Futodama are sent down to set up a shrine area and are attached to him.  This leaves the curious question if there weren’t some story where Oshihomimi, the son of Amaterasu, was the founder of some lineage—perhaps a line of chieftains—other than the royal lineage.  Was Ninigi always descended from Oshihomimi?  It certainly seems odd the way that he is told to go down and he just stops and suggests that his kid be sent in his place, you know?  But if there are stories that would give a different interpretation, they are lost, or at least buried in the various other tales, which is why this whole period is murky and cannot be relied upon as an accurate historical source, but can only give us impressions of things that might have happened.

Okay, so there they were:  Ninigi had his mandate, he had the symbols of authority, he had his posse to back him up.  It was finally time for him to head down.  There was just one last problem.  As soon as they began to set out, they found a shining deity situated in the crossroads between Heaven and Earth.  This deity was tall—almost at least seven feet, though one account says more like 7 fathoms—more like 42 feet.  His nose was also extremely long—somewhere between 2 and 5 feet; quite the Pinocchio-vibe going on in their description.  This nose sat beneath a pair of red eyes like giant mirrors.

I would note, too, that when I say this was a “shining deity” we aren’t talking Hikaru Genji style poetic euphemisms, but literally shining—they say that he illuminated both the earth and the heavenly plain.  Not only that, though, but we also get this other curious detail, for the light shone forth not just as some sort of aura, but it specifically issued forth from his mouth and his posterior.  Yeah, so, there’s an image for you.  Tall, long nose, red eyes, and light shooting out both ends. 

Unsure just who this was and what he was doing at the crossroads, and with all of the deities there to accompany Ninigi down, they decided to send Ame no Uzume forward to inquire as to what was going on.  As the Chronicles put it, despite her graceful appearance, she was considered the most able to subdue him.

And so she approached this bright, shining deity with red eyes and long nose with her breasts exposed and her skirts shuffled down to below her navel.  And in such a manner—quite similar, in fact, to the dance she had performed at the entrance to the Heavenly Rock Cave—she appeared to mock him.

The shining deity at the crossroads was apparently confused at this, and asked her just what it was she was doing.  And so she informed him that she was a forerunner for the Heaven’s grandchild, who was descending down to earth.  At that point the great deity then explained that he was, in fact, waiting for the Divine descendant—he was Saruta Hiko and he was waiting to welcome this very person, as he was offering his services as a guide.

At this, Ame no Uzume asked him just where they would go, and Saruta Hiko noted that the Heavenly Grandchild would go to Kushifuru Peak in Takachiho, in Himuka, while he, Saruta Hiko, would go to the Isuzu River in Sanada of Ise.

And to top it off—in one of those ever so mysterious leaps of divine kami-logic—since Ame no Uzume had been the one to discover who he was, it would be her job to accompany him to Ise.

And thus it was that Ninigi and his retinue made their way to Himuka Province, in Tsukushi, aka Kyushu—and we’ll get to that in a bit—while Saruta Hiko and Ame no Uzume headed to the province of Ise.

So once again we are struck with what appears to be a deficit of details.  The encounter as I just told it to you is roughly the canonical version, but of course, this wouldn’t be the Chronicles without some debate over just what was going on.  While officially Saruta Hiko was the guide for Ninigi’s descent, some scholars believe that at the heart of this encounter lay a few other interpretations.  One of them is that Saruta Hiko was actually opposing the descent of Ninigi, and as an earthly kami he was using shamanic powers and spells to prevent the party’s descent.  In this interpretation, Saruta Hiko was not originally willing to give up his land, and he had to be persuaded to step aside and allow Ninigi’s descent.  To that end, Ame no Uzume, herself the quintessential representation of a divine shamaness, was then performing a counter-ritual to suppress Saruta Hiko’s interference, which she was clearly able to do.  But let’s take a look at the description of her and how it compares to other things we know.

First off, in the fashion of the 8th century, the skirt, or mo, would normally have been worn at the natural waistline—no hip-huggers for them!  So to bare her breasts and pull her skirt down below her navel would appear to be quite scandalous to our modern sensibilities, but who knows, perhaps this was not uncommon for certain rituals? Or maybe it is just as it seems: a tactic used to throw Saruta Hiko off his game.

Of course, one can imagine that “discovering” the name of a kami would have been a key role of spiritual diviners.  If there was calamity in a particular area and you wanted to know what kami was behind it, or even if you just wanted to know which kami could best help you with a particular task, it would make sense that you would go to a shaman or medium of some kind, who would perform a ritual to determine just which kami you should propitiate to accomplish your task or to remove the obstacles in your path.  In discovering the names of such deities, the next step would likely be to set up temporary or permanent worship of them so that they would remain appeased.  We can see this play out at various times in the historical record, and occasionally, as in the case of Kitano Tenjin, often to the political benefit of some group or another.

Another theory about Saruta Hiko is that he was originally another sun god, similar to Amaterasu—and they point to the description of him shining out across the Plain of Heaven, Takama no Hara, as well as upon the earth.  Of course, it would not be out of the realm of possibility, given the connection to sun worship found throughout the early Wa placenames and titles that there could have been different sun deities worshipped within the archipelago, just as there are various deities of the harvest, fertility, etc.  However, given that there is only one sun, there would have to have been some kind of reorganization, either by merging various worship practices together or by stripping out some of the solar elements and redefining the roles to better fit the various stories together.  Then again, we have already seen other deities, such as Ajisukitaka Hikone (and, one assumes, his BFF brother-in-law body double, Ame no Waka Hiko) who were said to shine with a great light, so maybe this is just a feature of some kami, it is hard to say.

Today, worship of Saruta Hiko Ohokami continues at Tsubaki Grand Shrine, just a little north of Ise Jingu.  In fact, Tsubaki Grand Shrine lays a claim—based on their records and traditions—of being the oldest shrine in all of Japan, with a purported founding date of 3 BCE.  They are also known as Ise no Kuni Ichi no Miya, or the First, or Number One, Shrine of Ise Province, despite the presence of the perhaps more well known Ise Jingu, the head shrine of the cult of Amaterasu Ohomikami.  Tsubaki Shrine continues to worship Saruta Hiko Ohokami and Ame no Uzume no Mikoto, and they are known for their practices of misogi and chinkon—Shinto spiritual practices.  Saruta Hiko also has a modern connection to the art of Aikido, in that the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba, considered Saruta Hiko a god of Aiki, and if you live on the West Coast of the US you can actually visit a branch shrine in Washington state, at the Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America, which also enshrines the spirit of the North American Continent.

By the way, before we get back to the story of Ninigi, there is another part to the story of Saruta Hiko and Ame no Uzume that we should cover, as the Chronicles generally thought it was important enough to warrant mention.  As we said, Ame no Uzume was attached to Saruta Hiko, and she followed him to Ise.  There is one curious tale in here about how Saruta Hiko was out fishing near Azaka when his hand was trapped by a type of clam called a hirabu—though I can’t help but think of it like one of those giant clams that have been known to snap closed on an unsuspecting diver’s foot.  Unable to escape, the story says he sank or even drowned, and as he did so three spirits were formed, which are today worshiped at the twin shrines of Koazaka and Oazaka.  Of course, being a kami, a little thing like drowning seems to have hardly meant much, or perhaps he was dragged to safety by Ame no Uzume.  Either way, this role as a drowned god—well, not *that* Drowned god—seems to be important to his story, as is a connection to the sea. 

In another story they say that Ame no Uzume gathered all the fish together and asked which of them would be willing to serve the offspring of the Heavenly deities—which basically meant she was asking them which of them would be willing to be caught and eaten.  Most of them responded as enthusiastically as a pig mascot for a pit barbecue, but the sea cucumber said nothing, and so she took out a small knife and cut its mouth—which is why, or so they say, a sea cucumber has a slit for a mouth.  By the way, if you aren’t familiar with sea cucumbers, or namako, they are a type of sea slug that look like, well, a fleshy cucumber.

So why is all this important, and why did the chroniclers bother with it?  After all, we saw how they just totally skipped over Yatsukamizu Omizunu and his landpulling myth, but they are quite concerned, apparently, with why the sea cucumber has a weird mouth.  Well, much like Hollywood, it is all about connections—in this case the connection between Saruta Hiko, Uzume, and a group of Uzume’s descendants known as the Sarume.  According to the story, their name comes from Saruta Hiko, but they trace their lineage to Ame no Uzume, and this would seem to include their role as spiritual mediums for the court.  They are often credited with early Kagura—the dancing to entertain the gods—as well as traditions that led to Noh and other dance forms.  Also, the Lords of Sarume, the Sarume no Kimi, were women, even after the patriarchy had taken hold of much of the rest of society.

As for all that talk about the fish and sea cucumbers, the Chronicles appear to capture a tradition that the Sarume no Kimi would be responsible for presenting the First Fruits of the tiny province of Shima, the smallest of the ancient provinces, consisting of merely the tip of the peninsula at the mouth of Ise Bay.  These first fruits were customarily varieties of sea food, a tradition that is clearly attested to, elsewhere, but the involvement of the Sarume no Kimi only appears in a few accounts in the Chronicles themselves.  Nonetheless, I believe it is significant that one of the five major clans that accompanies Ninigi down from the Heavenly Plain, and one of the major clans at the Yamato court, was specifically matriarchal in its structure.  Of course, this could just as easily be about gender roles and norms in the court rituals of the day, but even that helps shed insight into the early Japanese court.

But enough of our dalliance here on the shores of Ise and Shima provinces.  We will have plenty of time to address them in later episodes, no doubt.  For now, let us turn our attention back to the path of the Heavenly deity, Hiko Hono Ninigi no Mikoto.  Per the negotiations with Saruta Hiko, he was headed for Tsukushi and the province of Himuka, later known as Hyuuga Province. 

Specifically they say that he took off from the Floating Bridge of Heaven and eventually came to a floating sandbank, from which he then alighted onto one of the peaks of Mt. Takachiho in Himuka province.  From there, he passed through the empty desert land of Sojishi, eventually coming to the Cape of Kasasa in Ata.  In his retinue, he was traveling not just with the ancestors of the five great clans of Yamato, but there are others, including Ame no Oshihi no Mikoto and Amatsu Kume no Mikoto—the latter which, is generally taken to be referring to a Heavenly Army—Ame no Gun or Ame no Gumi.

Of course, once they arrived, they found that most typical annoyance to colonizers everywhere—other people.  Yes, it seems there were already people living in the land, generally represented by a fellow named in the Chronicles something along the lines of Kotokatsu-Kunikatsu Nagasa.  Fortunately, Ninigi merely had to drop a quick humble-brag about his status as the Heavenly Grandchild and Nagasa quickly agreed to turn over everything to him, suggesting he roam throughout the countryside and survey they land.  I’m sure that the large, armed retinue that Ninigi was traveling with didn’t even enter into the conversation.

Ninigi did, in fact, have a look around—in one story going up to the top of a hill to gaze out, which was basically a ritual that we’ve seen elsewhere as “Kunimi”, or “country viewing”, part of a rite that chieftains and other rulers seem to have done as a symbolic acknowledgement of their sovereignty over a territory.  He then had a palace built for himself at the crest of the highest wave—so on the shoreline, but above the high tide mark—with thick, rock-based pillars and tall rafters that were said to go “up to the High Plain of Heaven.”  And it was here that Ninigi rested.

So before we get into the next piece of this, let’s talk this through a bit.  So first off, this area, in Miyazaki prefecture and the rest of Southern Kyushu, is covered in shrines, monuments, and land features that are connected to Ninigi and to Amaterasu in general.  Besides Mt. Takachiho, there is a Yasugawa, just like the one in Takama no Hara, and there is even a cave that they claim is the actual Heavenly Rock Cave, which you can go and visit.  There are various other places that appear to fit the narrative given in the Chronicles as well.

On the other hand, it is hard to tell how much of any of that was original, and how much was named after the fact, using clues in the Chronicles to then site various locations that they mention.  Over time, it becomes a chicken and egg problem—and frankly irrelevant for the spiritual significance of these locations.

On the other hand, there are a lot of scholars who question this section, and with good reason.  First off, for all that time that the Heavenly deities spent getting Izumo to capitulate, why wouldn’t they have come down somewhere near there, the land that had been pacified already?  In fact, southern Kyushu is some of the last territory to actually be subdued by the Yamato court before the beginning of the Nara period, and the Kumaso and Hayato who lived in the area are represented as a separate people who would eventually be conquered by Yamato’s armies, but that wasn’t until much later.

Well, based on various scholars’ suggestions, I can think of several things that might be happening.  First off, it is possible that the Kyushu apologists are right, and that Yamataikoku was originally located in Kyushu, but that this story represents part of a tradition reflecting how it would eventually move to modern Yamato in the Kinki region.  I don’t tend to buy that one, for reasons I hope I’ve discussed clearly enough in previous episodes.

It could be possible that the sovereigns of Yamato by the 7th and 8th centuries were not actually the original sovereigns of the Yamato region.  This is a theory that is often pushed forward by proponents of the idea of an invasion by continental horse-riders some time in the 4th or 5th centuries, and that this story represents their coming to the islands and eventually sweeping eastward and taking control, setting up a system of continental elites that displaced or assimilated the Yayoi and early Kofun elites.  Of course, if that were the case, why start along the eastern coast and then go south?  While it is understandable that the Chinese might not fully understand or trust the directions in relationship to Japan, one would imagine that those who were in the islands had at least some idea.  In addition, this theory has largely been debunked by many scholars, though you still find vestiges of it here and there.

It is quite likely that there was a continental connection in Ninigi’s descent to a mountain peak.  Besides making some obvious sense—if you really believe that Heaven is in the sky, then the peak of a mountain would be your closest point—it would be in good company with similar founding myths on the Korean peninsula, where works like the Samguk Yusa make mention of divine rulers coming to earth in a similar fashion.  Given the relatively constant movement of people from the Korean peninsula—including various elites of the Korean kingdoms—into the archipelago it would not be surprising that their stories would influence the stories of the local dynasty, especially as they were often trying to use continental learning to demonstrate their erudition, sophistication, and level of civilization.

It also seems possible that these were local legends of Himuka province that were assumed by the royal line, perhaps after some sort of marriage alliance or even conquest of the area.  The Hayato appear to be more frequently mentioned in the latter part of the Chronicles, but it is possible that these stories were included as part of Yamato’s justification for their causus belli in the region, staking an ancestral claim to territory that was otherwise being occupied by people outside the court, itself. 

And then some scholars point out that this whole story may have been picked up and moved from another part of the archipelago.  After all, “Himuka” is not an uncommon placename, which shouldn’t be surprising as it basically means “facing the sun”—i.e. a “sunny place”—which seems to have been one of the prime designations for a good, sacred space for sun worship.  It even appears as a designation for the holy space at the top of Mt. Miwa—Himuka Shrine.  In addition, “Takachiho” can be translated as “mature, abundant rice ears”, and the name Hononinigi can likewise be translated as being about “abundant rice ears”.  Given what I mentioned earlier about Takami Musubi and their place in the rites of the royal court, it seems reasonable that this whole story may have originated not as the coming of the royal ancestor, but perhaps more importantly as an early harvest ritual, and an allegory about the coming of the spirit of abundance.  If this is the case, then it was only later that the story was specifically placed in southern Kyushu—possibly for reasons that I’ve already mentioned.

Regardless of how they ended up here, it is where we happen to be, and in our story, Ninigi was hanging out in his palace by the sea.  It was while he was there that he apparently noticed couple of women with jewels that clinked and jingled upon their wrists, and he quickly found Nagasa and asked about the quote-unquote “beautiful one”, because, well, I don’t exactly want to say that the Heavenly grandson was shallow, but Ninigi seems to have been about as deep as a kiddie pool after all the children have finished with it.  He was told that the woman’s name was Konohana Sakuya Hime, which roughly translates to the Lady of the Suddenly Blossoming Trees.

Ninigi thought she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, so he went out to talk to her.  He confirmed her name, and learned that her sister was Iwanaga Hime—or Lady of the Length of the Rocks—and they were both daughters of Ohoyatsumi, the mountain deity, one of the direct offspring of Izanagi and Izanami.  With that, Ninigi had just one more question—though it came off as more of a statement:  “I shall make you my wife.  How do you feel about that?” 

Again, these heavenly deities come off just as smooth as dried rayskin.

Well, Sakuya Hime wasn’t going to be quite that impulsive, and she told Ninigi that he really should at least ask her father, first.  And so she took him to their home and introduced him, but of course, Ohoyatsumi was thrilled at the prospect of marrying his daughters off to the Divine Descendant.  He immediately had both of his daughters bring in food and held a feast, during which he gave Ninigi not just Sakuya Hime, but Iwanaga Hime as well.

Well Ninigi seemed pleased with the feast, and with Sakuya Hime, but he took one look at Iwanaga Hime and said “no thank you.”  Apparently she was too ugly in his eyes, and he sent her away, taking Sakuya Hime as his only wife.

Of course, Iwanaga Hime was none too pleased at this, and neither was her father.  They were both embarrassed by the turn of events.  In some of the accounts the spurned Iwanaga Hime then cursed Ninigi and his descendants, but in others it is her father, Ohoyatsumi, who takes the opportunity to confront Ninigi about turning down his offer.

You see, Ninigi should have paid more attention to the princesses’ names than their looks.  Had he taken both of them to wife, then he and his descendants would have endured as long as the rocks, while prospering like the blossoming flowers.  However, since he had only taken Sakuya Hime, then the lives of his descendants would also be like flowers, and their lifespan would be cut short just like the ephemeral, sweet blossoms.

And of course, this explains why, even though descended from immortal kami, the members of the royal line have limited lifespans, just like any other human being.  In fact, in some of the stories, this pronouncement doesn’t just fall on the royal lineage, but on all humanity, everywhere.

The story here is not unique to Japan, and I wonder if it wasn’t a separate story that, once again, was crammed into the narrative by changing out the main protagonist for a member of the royal line—in this case, Hiko Hononinigi no Mikoto.   Though slightly different in character, it is another story addressing man’s mortality, much as the story of Izanmi and Izanagi did during their confrontation at the border of the land of Yomi.  There it was more directly about birth and death, and here they are talking about the span of a life, but it all addresses that deep existential crisis that people around the world face:  Why must it end?

Of course, it does seem that it took a while for the curse to fully take effect.  Ninigi would persevere, according to the chronicles, for another 580 years, give or take, and many of his descendants would likewise be granted lifespans far beyond what one would expect—though as I’ve mentioned before and others have commented, that may be more about making the dates work out properly than anything else, and we’ll see that as we continue.

But for now, let’s take a break.  Ninigi made his way to the earthly realm, and from here on out we are largely following him and his descendants throughout the rest of the Chronicles—or at least, so the Chronicles would have us believe.  Next episode we will look at the stories of some of those descendants, and just what the Chronicles suggest you do when you borrow your brother’s favorite fishhook and then lose it.

Until then, thank you for all of your support.  If you like what we are doing, tell your friends and feel free to rate us on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more—and trust me, we realize that not everyone can during this time—we have information about how you can donate through our KoFi site over at our main website, SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have a few photos, maps, and some more discussion on this episode.  Questions or comments?  Feel free to Tweet at us at @SengokuPodcast, or reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.

That’s all for now.  Thank you again, and I’ll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan.

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