In many ways Japan traces its "founding" as a nation to the story of Iware Biko--aka the Sovereign Jimmu--and the establishment of his court in the central land of Yamato in the Nara Basin.  This is the story of how Iware Biko is said to have marched from Southern Kyushu east to the eventual central land, where the first true capitals of Japan would be located.

For more go to: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-25

Rough Transcript

Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo’s Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is Episode 25:  The Heavenly Grandson on the March.

Before I get into it, I want to address something that has been coming up in the text, and that is a pronunciation issue.  We have already discussed that the “H” sound we often hear in modern Japanese wasn’t a part of the old Japanese phonology.  It was “P” or “B”, depending on whether or not it was voiced or unvoiced.  However, over time that “P” sound became more like an “H” sound in many instances. So we have “Pimiko” becoming “Himiko”, “Pime” becoming “Hime”, and “Piko” becoming “Hiko”.  In some cases it goes even a step further, so that “Ipa” becomes “Iha” becomes “Iwa” and “Kapa” becomes “Kaha” and eventually “Kawa”.  So for everyone who has wondered why the particle “Wa” is spelled with the character for “Ha”, I think you have your answer.

In previous episodes, I referred to Jimmu Tenno as IHare Biko, as I was using John Bentley’s transliteration, but the more I think about it, I’m going to try to stick with the more common pronunciation, where I can find it.  In this case, that appears to be Iware Biko, so we’ll go with that and I’ll put more about this in the blog post at Sengokudaimyo.com/podcast.  Just realize that “Hiko” and “Biko” are just different pronunciations of the same title.

This episode we are going to get into the story of how Ninigi’s great-grandson left Kyushu and marched north to take his place in Yamato, which was considered the center of the archipelago.  In many ways, we can consider this the actual founding myth of Yamato and the royal lineage.

Now according to Nihon Shoki, this is the point where we transition from myth, the Age of the Gods, to so-called history.  Up to this point in the narrative we’ve had no dates, just stories and the genealogies that give us a basic framework.  But now the Chronicle starts to transition, providing actual dates.  Of course, we can see on the face of them that these dates are completely fictitious.  After all, the first date we are given is 667 BCE.  This would put us in the Early Yayoi Period.

As you may recall, the Yayoi period was originally thought to have started around 300 BCE or so, though more recently we’ve pushed that back to about 800 or 900 BCE, but that is just the beginnings of rice cultivation in the archipelago.  In the 7th century BCE, the Korean peninsula had just entered its middle Mumun bronze age period, and China was in the Summer and Autumn period of the Eastern Zhou.  This is still some 300 years from the Korean peninsula’s iron age.

On the archipelago at this point, there were various settlements, but nothing resembling a consolidated state like these stories would suggest.  And of course, the kofun that we see identified as their burial places are much too late.  There is even question as to when writing even started in Japan, meaning that all of this would have been transferred through the ages as oral history, which can be remarkable but is unlikely to provide clear, accurate dates.

That said, one could argue that there are kernels of truth to the stories.  Yayoi culture did start in Kyushu and work its way up to the rest of the peninsula, and perhaps there was some memory of this.  Some of the Kyushu theory proponents might suggest that this proves that Yamatai was in Kyushu, and all of the rest of these stories take place after that, detailing the move from the Yamatai to Yamato.  Perhaps these were stories from various states or other polities—or perhaps even stories from the Korean peninsula—which were then grafted onto the story of the royal household of Yamato. Whatever the actual truth, I’m going to continue to treat this as myth, at least for now, but it is myth that helps build up to our actual history.

So let’s dig in, shall we?

When last we left the Kyushu lineage, Ugaya Fukiaezu had married his aunt, Tamayori Hime, and they had at least four sons.  This included Itsuse, Inahi, Mikerino or Mikenu, and Sano, who was later called Kamu Yamato Iware Biko no Mikoto—or just Iware Biko, aka Prince Ihare.  Of course, they’ve already gone and spoiled the ending—guess which one of these four we’ll be focused on?  If you guessed Iware Biko—ding! Ding! Ding!—you are correct!

Now even though he was the youngest son, Iware Biko was made the heir to the throne, or Crown Prince, at 15 years of age.  He married Ahira tsu Hime of Ata—Ahira also being the name of the mountain where his father was supposedly buried.  Ahira Hime was the younger sister of Ata no Wobashi no Kimi, who would appear from his title to be a local lord of some kind.  The two of them had two sons—Tagishi Mimi and Kisu Mimi.

Together they lived in a palace at Takachiho, but it wasn’t enough for Iware Biko, and as he reached 45 years of age, he had an idea.  After all, hadn’t his ancestor been given all of this island chain to rule?  And here they were, stuck in the southernmost end of it.  Surely there was a better place from which to rule the entire land?

Indeed, Iware Biko had heard about just such a place.  It was in the center of the land, surrounded by mountains on all side.  Not only that, but stories told of a previous Heavenly descendant who had descended there in a Heavenly Rock Boat, so it must have something going for it.

And so he gathered up an armada and he headed out.  They would have sailed from Himuka, in Southern Kyushu, up along the eastern coastline, and through the Hayasuhi Gate, also known as the Bungo Channel, between Kyushu and Shikoku.  The name of this channel is the “Rapid Sucking Gate”, and it is thought that this is because of its rapid tides.  It was here that the armada is approached by a fisherman – not just any fisherman, but, in fact, an earthly deity named Utsu Hiko, the Rare Prince.  Just as Sarutahiko had been waiting for Ninigi, so was Utsu Hiko waiting for Iware Biko, and he agreed to be Iware Biko’s guide .  The Divine Descendant had a pole made of shihi, or chestnut, wood, and he had it given to Utsu Hiko, providing him a new name, Shihine Tsu Hiko—the Prince of Shihine, or Shihi Root.

With their guide, they continued their journey, arriving at their first stop:  Tsukushi.

Alright, so I can already hear some confused looks out there, because you may remember that I said Tsukushi refers to Kyushu, and Himuka is in Kyushu.  So didn’t they just go from Kyushu to Kyushu?

Well, yes, technically.  However, Tsukushi was also the name, specifically, for northern Kyushu, and you can still find the word hidden in the names of the old provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo, literally “Front” and “Back” Tsukushi, but it also seems to have encompassed the area later known as Toyo Province, and eventually divided up in Buzen and Bungo, for which the Bungo Channel is so named. 

Northern Kyushu was certainly more connected with Yamato in the Kofun period, and was part of any major trade route between Yamato and the mainland, so it should be little wonder that the name of the northern region became shorthand for the entire island, since that’s no doubt how most people thought of Kyushu at the time.  This also makes even more sense if Southern Kyushu was seen as culturally distinct and outside of the Yamato polity for much of their history.

Ihare and his fleet arrived in Usa, in Tsukushi—in modern Oita prefecture—where they were met by the Chieftains of Usa:  Usa tsu Hiko and Usa tsu Hime.  As with Utsu Hiko, word had apparently preceded the armada, and they had set up an entire temporary structure for Iware Biko and threw him a banquet.  And apparently if we’ve learned anything, it isn’t a real banquet until somebody gets married.  Of course, Iware Biko was already married, and in this case he ended up playing matchmaker with Usa tsu Hime and Ame no Tane no Mikoto, one of the ancestors of the Nakatomi clan.

Now, I should probably point out that just because Usa tsu Hiko and Usa tsu Hime are paired male-female titles, it doesn’t mean that they were necessarily married.  They were likely related, but even that isn’t definitively known.  But then again, this whole section is still highly suspect so I wouldn’t put too much stock in it, anyway.

After feasting and resting, the Kojiki tells us they stayed in Tsukushi for another year, specifically shacking up at the Okada Palace.  However, the other sources suggest they passed through Oka harbor, but continued on up the archipelago until they came to the land of Aki, staying at the Ye Palace—I assume named for the Ye river, aka the Gounokawa, which we talked about in regards to Susanowo and which winds its way up through the mountains, emptying out into the Japan Sea at the port of Goutsu.  Again, the Kojiki describes this adventure in a somewhat leisurely timeframe, with a 7 year hiatus in Aki before they proceed, while the Nihon Shoki and the Kujiki suggest a mere three months—from the 12th to the 3rd month, effectively wintering in Aki before moving on to their next stop, building a temporary palace at Takashima in Kibi—the modern prefecture of Okayama.

Here, Iware Biko held up and prepared his army to fight, spending three years as they readied their provisions—though the Kojiki, once again draws this out even further, for a total of 8 years.  Of course, while the Kojiki throws out these kinds of things, its writers don’t even bother to try to put an actual year to the events happening.

It’s unclear just what their preparations looked like that took them that long, given that they already had their armada and were on the march. 

Still, once they had prepared, they were back underway, sailing east out of Kibi for the land of Yamato.  It is here that that Kojiki inserts the story about meeting their guide, but it is differnet.  It calls him Udo Hiko, and it adds he was riding around on a turtle.  Furthermore, just as in the previous story, Iware Biko hands him a pole, called here “Sawo”, and so his name in the Kojiki is Sawone-tsu Hiko.

This Sawone tsu Hiko or Shihine Tsu Hiko—They are said to be the ancestors of the Yamato no Atahe or the Yamato no Miyatsuko—which would seem to make them chieftains of Yamato, which is to say the actual province within the larger Yamato state.

However it happened, it was from there that Iware Biko and his entourage continued to Naniwa, modern Osaka, and continued up river until they came to the port of Shiradate in Kusaka. From there they tried to take the road to Tatsuta, which modern maps would appear to correspond to the Ikaruga area where Nigi Hayahi supposedly came down from Heaven.  However, the road was narrow, and the army was forced to march single file.  That would have put them in an extremely vulnerable position, spread out over a great distance and if they met with any resistance they wouldn’t be able to bring their full force to bear.  So Iware Biko ordered the army to pull back and try another route.  This time they went up the side of Mt. Ikoma.

As they reached the top of Kusaka Hill, however, they met with the forces of Nagasune Biko,Chieftain of Tomi, who claimed to be fighting on behalf of his nephew, Umashimaji, son of Nigi Hayahi.

I find this fascinating for a few reasons, chief among them is that this is the first time that anyone has actually resisted the Heavenly Task.  Up to this point in the narrative, everyone had more or less just rolled over for the Heavenly Grandson and his progeny.  Now, not only are there other people inconveniently living in the land where Iware Biko had chosen as the best place to rule from, but they weren’t just going to hand it over.

There is a thought that this whole conflict was designed to mirror the conflict in the 7th century, between the Tenji and Temmu dynasties.  That, too, was an armed conflict between different lines of the same  lineage, and so perhaps this was written so as to legitimize Temmu’s own rebellion and, effectively, usurpation of power.  I know we keep bringing this up and I promise that we’ll get to it, eventually.  It is definitely one of the things that really intriques me and really forms the political basis for much of what happens in the Nara period.

Of course, it also doesn’t hurt that Iware Biko’s story also emphasizes the natural supremacy of the royal line, with the ancestors of other noble lineages submitting themselves to the rulership of the line of the Heavenly Grandson. 

So here, at the hill of Kusaka, the forces of Iware Biko were arrayed against the forces of Nagasune Biko.  Since this is already a fictional account, we can’t exactly draw conclusions based on when it was actually happening.  However, we know that the western forces could make no headway against their opponents.

Eventually, Iware Biko’s own brother, Itsuse, was struck in the elbow with an enemy arrow, and Iware Biko’s forces withdrew.  They set up a temporary fortification using their shields to create a wall, but the enemy did not pursue.

Iware Biko thought long and hard about his loss.  After all, it couldn’t have anything to do with his brilliant strategy of “charge up the nearest hill”.  No, instead, Iware Biko determined that the flaw of this plan was not that he had tried to attack a well defended position, climbing up and over the mountains to do so, or some similar tactical error.  No, the issue was that they were marching west to east and therefore they were attacking into the sun, and thus they were effectively attacking against Amaterasu.   As long as the enemy had Amaterasu on their side, it would do no good to attack.

It is telling that this isn’t just a matter of attacking into the sun.  If that were the case, one assumes that Iware Biko could have just waited until the afternoon, but it would appear that this specifically had to do with attacking towards the East, where the sun rises.  Of course, by the time the Chronicles were being put together, eastwas also the direction of Ise—though of course, Ise Shrine wouldn’t be founded for some time yet, even in the timeline of the Chronicles.  One could explain this away as Mt. Miwa, where the Chronicles claim Amaterasu was originally enshrined, along with Miwa no Kami, Ohomononushi.   That said, the name that the Japanese would eventually settle on for their own country, Nihon, seems to include a connotation that the Origin of the Sun was in the East, where the sun rises.

This also puts me in mind of the idea of directional taboos, known as kata-imi.  The idea that certain directions were unlucky some or all of the time, and therefore to succeed one would need to approach from a different direction, which might necessitate a longer course that allows a person—or an army—to avoid the prohibited direction.

Normally, as part of the yin-yang science that was imported from China, these directional taboos often had to do with things like timing—what day it was, and various other calendrical and astrological calculations.    In this case, though, it is clear that it is personal—the ties between Iware Biko and Amaterasu.  It isn’t something that can just be done on another day.  And this is why Iware Biko loaded his troops back on their ships and sailed south.  The goal appears to have been to sail down around the Kii Peninsula and to approach Yamato from the south.

As they left modern Osaka Bay and entered the Kii Channel, they put in, it is said, at Yamaki, which would seem to be near modern Wakayama city.  Iware Biko’s brother, Itsuse, was continuing to worsen.  Though they don’t go into great detail, one can imagine that even an arrow to the elbow, though not immediately fatal, would have had a high likelihood for infection back in those ancient times.  Itsuse seems to have realized that the curtain was drawing closed on his act in this play, but he wasn’t going to go quietly.  It is said he struck a manly pose, and one can imagine him spouting some inspiring words to the troops, like a character in one of Shakespeare’s plays.  Spirit and grit and divine lineage will only take you so far, though, and he eventually passed away.  This was at the Field of Blood—Chinu—and the port was called Wo-no-Minato—or the Manly Port—for his efforts.  The chronicles tell us that they buried him at Kamayama, and then moved on from there.

By the way there are some versions of the story that have Itsuse, as the older brother, leading the campaign east, with Iware Biko picking up the banner after his brother dies fighting Nagasune Biko. 

Now, whether or not they stopped for a full burial, kofun and all, is not stated, but given the amount of time it takes to raise a tomb mound, you would think they would have continued on.  Today, there is a Kamayama Shrine dedicated to Itsuse since at least the time of the Engi Shiki, and they say he was buried somewhere in that area.  There is also a 6th or 7th century Kamayama Kofun in the north of Wakayama, but they use a different spelling for Kamayama than do the chronicles, and I did not immediately see a link between it and Itsuse.  Of course since this whole episode is a myth, any tomb identified would be specious, anyways.

Moving on from Kamayana, Iware Biko’s troops went to Nagusa, where they attacked and killed Nagusa no Tobe—the Nagusa Chieftain. Bentley notes that this specific title, “Tohe” or “Tobe”, appears to be specifically a feminine title.  A similar title, Tome, is found in the Harima Fudoki, and it shows up several more times in this section. 

The Nihon Shoki suggests that they crossed moor of Sano towards Kumano, but then had some slow going on the ocean.  In fact, it was going so slowly, that Iware Biko’s two remaining brothers—who, with Iware Biko and Itsuse were also descended from the Sea God—seem to have been offended, and railed against the sea, which blew them back with violent winds.  Finally, one of his brothers drew his sword and plunged into the sea, while the other one was so indignant that he stepped off the boat and walked across the waves to the Eternal Land.  This left only Iware Biko and his son, Tagishi Mimi, but the seas must have calmed down, because they eventually reached their destination.

Now I don’t know about you, but this seems a bit of an extreme reaction to bad weather.  It does put me in mind of the custom of the abstainers, or Jisai—those who would fast and abstain from various activities, such as bathing, etc., in order to bring good luck to a journey.  If successful, they would be well rewarded, but if misfortune found them, the abstainer would be blamed, and could even be put to death.  It also brings up images of human sacrifices to gods of the waters—could that be what was going on?  Could this represent the brothers sacrificing themselves to calm the winds and the waves?  It would certainly seem more noble than them just nope’ing out because they were frustrated.

And so with the wind and waves pacified, the armada continued.  They arrived at the Port of Arazaka, aka Nishiki Bay, where they once again subdued the locals, defeating Nishiki no Tobe, and proceeding on the village of Kumano.

While they were there, the troops saw a bear, or “kuma”, moving in and out of the forest around Kumano, until it finally disappeared from view.  Shortly after this, Iware Biko and his troops felt faint and lost consciousness.  Some have suggested that the bear was some kind of shaman, and the other Chronicles blame a poisonous vapor, vomited up by evil deities.  Either way, Iware Biko and his troops were fast asleep, like Dorothy and her friends in a field of poppies.

All might have been lost, except that there was a man who lived in Kumano who was known as Takakuraji—possibly because of his many tall storehouses.  In some of the stories this Takakuraji is none other than Ama no Kagoyama, the son of Nigi Hayahi and Ame no Michi Himi, and thus a great grandson of Amaterasu, which could explain the next part.  You see, Takakuraji had a dream, and in the dream Amaterasu had summoned Takemikazuchi.  You may recall that we met Takemikazuchi when he went down to pacify Izumo.  Well, Amaterasu wanted him to go back down and finish chastising the land, since clearly it was still in disorder.  After all, weren’t there people standing in the way of the Heavenly Task?  Takemikazuchi took one look at the situation, and suggested that all it needed was his sword, Futsu no Mitama—aka Sajifutsu no Kami, or else Mikafutsu no Kami.  And so he sent his sword down into one of Takakuraji’s storehouses and told him to take the sword to Iware Biko  so that he could use it to complete his heavenly task.

Takakuraji awoke form his dream and went into his storehouse.  Sure enough, just as he had seen in the dream, there was the sword, Futsu no Mitama.  Takakuraji took this sword and found Iware Biko and his men still asleep.  As soon as Takakuraji presented the sword, however, Iware Biko awoke from his slumber, and he immediately commenced striking down all of the unruly deities of the Kumano mountains.  With the unruly deities thus subdued, his men awoke.

With his army once again awake and ready to move, Iware Biko and his army attempted to move inland through the mountains, but it doesn’t take much imagination to understand what happened next—they found themselves hopelessly lost, and they were making no headway forward.  And so Amaterasu, or possibly Takami Musubi, depending on the chronicle, sent down a giant crow—the Yatagarasu.  This crow would lead Iware Biko and his troops through the mountains and eventually to the central land of Yamato.

There isn’t much more description of the crow, but tradition often associates it with the Yang-wu, the Chinese sun crow.  It has three feet and is usually depicted as living in the sun.  What better creature to lead a descendant of the Sun Goddess through the mountains then a sun crow?

Iware Biko sent Hi no Omi—whose name literally translates to “Minister of the Sun”—to follow the Yatagarasu with the grand army through the mountains.  Hi no Omi was one of the ancestors of the Ohotomo—the house of the royal guards—so it makes some sense that they would be shown taking the lead.

This march would have taken several days—possibly a week or more—until they came to the headwaters of what would be known as the Yoshino river.  They came across several men, many of whom are described as “men with tails”—though what kind of tails it isn’t explained.  I should caution that while this may sound like an ancient Furry subculture, the tails were likely metaphorical and meant to indicate wild men, living in the mountains and not under the sway of any particular state.  No doubt there were still plenty of independent communities tucked away in the mountains and valleys, even during Himiko’s time.  Evidence suggests that the members of the central polity considered them to be wild and bestial.

In a later part of the account, men with tails would also be styled with another name:  Tsuchigumo.  Literally “earth spiders”, this epithet is thought to have referred to the belief that these outsiders lived in caves, or possibly pit buildings, which had been popular since Jomon times but were in the process of being replaced.  Still, this answer seems less than satisfactory given that pit-style houses continuedto be used by at least the common people up into the Nara period.

Finally, they found their way—or perhaps more appropriately “pierced”—there way to Uda.  For helping to find a path through the mountains—though, to tell the truth, it seems that Yatagarasu, that giant sun crow, deserved most of the credit—Hi no Omi was given another name:  Michi no Omi—the minister of the road or path.

This area is known as Uda no Ukashi, and it was governed by two brothers.  As they approached, the Yatagarasu was sent ahead as a messenger, to summon the chieftains of the area to submit to Iware Biko and his forces.  The elder brother fired a hummingbulb arrow at the sun crow, forcing him to turn back.   Where the arrow, the kaburaya, came to rest is said to be known as Kaburazaki.  After that, the elder brother raised troops and went out to meet Iware Biko in battle, but as soon as he caught a glimpse of Iware Biko’s army, he knew it would be impossible, and so he devised a new strategy.

It must have been around this point that the Younger brother and co-chieftain of Ukashi made his way to Iware Biko and submitted himself and his men.  He then told Iware Biko that his brother had ill intentions towards him. 

As it turns out, the Elder Ukashi had decided to set a trap.  He built a temporary palace, much as had been built in Tsukushi, just as Iware Biko and his troops were leaving.  This was no honor, however.  As soon as Ihare Hiko entered the hall, the trap would be sprung.  Learning of all of this, Iware Biko traveled into the village of Ukashi as thought to meet with the Elder Brother.  Sure enough, there was a temporary structure that Iware Biko was invited to enter and rest, no doubt with promises of a banquet soon to come.  Instead of entering, however, Iware Biko and his troops forced the Elder Brother into the building himself.  Sure enough, the trap was sprung and the Elder Brother’s deceit was revealed, and he was crushed.

Iware Biko had the Elder Brother removed from the trap and promptly executed.  His head was cut off and Iware Biko’s aremy hacked him to bits.  His blood seeped into the fields, and that place was called Uda no Chihara.

And then, no doubt not wishing to join his brother in this gruesome fate, the Younger brother laid out an actual feast, with meat and alcohol, for Iware Biko and his troops.  He also entertained Iware Biko and his troops with song, reciting one—possibly two—songs.  One was about catching a large animal, or possibly a  great whale—no doubt referencing the trap that the Elder brother had laid, and then another one is not so clear, but seems to speaks of the polygamous practices of the time, something that would seem to fit with the Japan since at least the 3rd century.

The next part varies a bit in the different Chronicles, but the Nihon Shoki seems to be the most detailed, so we’ll go with that.  It seems that Iware Biko climbed to the peak of Mt. Takakura in Uda and looked out over the land.  From there he made out numerous enemies on Kunimi Hill, an army of women on Mezaka and an army of men at Wozaka, and charcoal was burning over at the village of Sumizaka.  The army of Shiki the Elder covered the village of Ihare.  According to the Chronicles, there was no way for Ihare and his army to easily march in and take the land.

Iware Biko prayed for guidance and went to sleep.  Sure enough, in a dream, Amaterasu told Iware Biko that he should take earth from within the sacred area of Mt. Kagu, in Asuka, and make platters and jars to sacrifice to the kami of Heaven and Earth—Amatsu Kami, Kunitsu Kami—and then speak an imprecation, or curse upon his enemies.  Iware Biko awoke and decided to do just that.  There was one problem, however—Mt. Kagu was in the Nara Basin, and as we have already established, there were enemy forces guarding the entrances.  And so Iware Biko came up with a ruse.

He had Shihinetsu Hiko put on ragged old garments and disguise himself as an old man, while Ukashi the Younger would do likewise and disguise himself as an old woman—Shihinetsu Hiko’s wife.  Together they would use stealth to get through the hostile forces and to the mountains.

Sure enough, as they walked along the road, praying that this plan would somehow work, the enemy soldiers took one look at the couple dismissed them as harmless, and laughed as they went along their way.  And so they were able to sneak up to the mountain and grab the earth they would need for the sacred clay vessels.

With the sacred vessels prepared, Iware Biko made some divinatory statements—Ukehi—calling for victory.  He made a sweet malt extract without water and made the fish drunk.  He then had a 500 branched Masakaki tree harvested from the upper waters and began to worship the gods.  It is claimed that this was the origin of setting up sacred jars in the royal courtyard as part of the court’s ritual observances.  Similarly, Iware Biko next decided to celebrate a public festival to the High God of Heaven, Takami Musubi no Mikoto.  He appointed Michi no Omi as Izu Hime, the Sacred Princess.  Later comentators note that this position was usually a woman—as indicated by the title of “Hime”—and found at Ise, Kamo, and Kasuga.  Therefore they suggest that in this case Michi no Omi was serving in a woman’s role, since they needed a chief officiant.  However, there is no real indication of Michi no Omi’s gender, other than some patriarchal associations with the term “Minister”, so who knows.

More importantly is the fact that this ceremony was set up for Takami Musubi no Mikoto, and not for Amaterasu no Ohokami.  In fact, it seems to be the origin of one of the most important festivals in the royal court, as recorded in the Engi Shiki, where Takami Musubi was the one worshipped.  It isn’t until much later that Amaterasu would be worshipped outside of her shrine in Ise.

With all of the rituals complete, the army finally sallied forth and slew their enemies at Mt. Kunimi.  Iware Biko then composed a song—something he would do several other times.  In fact, I have to wonder if these songs don’t form the primary basis for the stories that the various chroniclers appear to have put together.

Despite their victory at Kunimi, there were still many enemy forces in the Yamato area.  So Iware Biko had his troops build a large muro—generally thought to be a large pit building—in Osaka, in Yamato.  By the way, that isn’t Ohosaka, that “Big Slope” known for their great food and comedic stylings.  This is “Osaka”, which as I’m sure you can hear, is completely different.  Just a short O, Osaka, not the long O of Ohosaka.  All clear?  Good.

Anyway, they put together this building and invited numerous enemies—the Kojiki again refers to them as Men with Tails or Earth Spiders—and offers to treat them to a feast.  As they all gathered in the large building, he stationed his men along the outside edges of the building.  He then sang a song in front of the assembled crowds, but in the song was a code, and as soon as his men heard it they drew their swords and murdered the assembled throngs.

Even then, there were still many enemies in the Nara basin, so next Iware Biko took his army against the dual princes of Shiki.

As before, they sent the Yatagarasu to request the presence of Shiki the Elder, but he refused.  He aimed his bow at the Sun Crow and it flew off.  Then it went to Shiki the Younger, who responded by making an offering to the crow on oak leaf plates, and then agreed to go see Iware Biko.  Once there, he told Iware Biko of the troops his brother had been able to raise.

Iware Biko sent Shiki the Younger, along with two other Chieftains, Kuraji the Elder and Kuraji the Younger, to try to convince Shiki the Elder to put down his arms and submit, but Shiki the elder refused and stood fast against the invading forces.

Therefore, Iware Biko came up with a plan.  He sent forward some of his weaker troops to occupy the Shiki forces, and then moved his more robust troops over to Sumizaka and around.  In this way they were able to flank Shiki’s forces and put them to route, killing Shiki the Elder.

With the Shiki forces dealt with, Iware Biko had only one obstacle left.  Like the final boss battle, he still had to defeat Nagasune Biko.  Nagasune Biko, brother-in-law to the other Heavenly Grandson, Nigi Hayahi, and uncle to Umashimaji, whom he claimed to serve.  Naga Sunehiko, who had previously defeated Iware Biko’s forces at Kusaka Hill and who had killed Iware Biko’s brother, Itsuse.

Nagasune Biko claimed to be serving the son of the Divine Descendant, and then he proclaimed: “There should not be two children of the Heavenly Deity.  I do not know if there is another ruler.”  And using this excuse, he persisted in his resistance and blocked the way for Iware Biko and his forces

Again and again the two forces clashed, but neither side was able to make any headway against the other.  Then, one day, the sky went dark and hail began to rain down from the heavens a brightly shining kite flew down and it dazzled Nagasune Biko’s forces.

This must have brought about a brief cease-fire, because Iware Biko and Nagasune Biko had a chance to talk.  Iware Biko asked Nagasune Biko to prove the case of Nigi Hayahi’s lineage by showing the heavenly regalia.  At this, Nagasune Biko happily brought forward a heavenly feathered arrow and a foot quiver, displaying them proudly.  But then, Iware Biko showed Nagasune Biko his own arrow and quiver, proving that he, too, was of a divine lineage.

Nagasune Biko refused to accept this, however, and he went back to his troops to restart their campaign of resistance.

What happened next varies a little bit.  In some of the stories, Nigi Hayahi came down, and realizing that Nagasune Biko would not accept Iware Biko’s authority, he had Nagasune Biko put to death, and then surrendered the army to Iware Biko.  In the Kojiki, Iware Biko simply smites Nagasune Biko.  And in the Kujiki it is Nigi Hayahi’s son, Umashimaji, the ancestor of the Mononobe, who refuses to go along with his uncle.  He has Nagasune Biko and others executed and then went with those soldiers loyal to him to submit to Iware Biko, presenting him with one of the ten heavenly symbols that had been given to Nigi Hayahi.  After that, he took charge of the Ame no Mononobe and cut down the rest of the opposition.  The Nihon Shoki refers to all of the those who resisted as Tsuchigumo.

Finally, the land was at peace, and Iware Biko and his men could rest.  They retired to the Kashiwara area, specifically in the area of Mt. Unebi, where Iware Biko commanded his officials to build a palace and he began to set up his court.  Though he had married Ahira Hime back in Himuka, in Southern Kyushu, he took another wife in Kashiwara: Hime Tatara Isukeyori Hime, also known as Hime Tatara Isuzu Hime, who would eventually become his royal consort.  With the land subdued, and his palace completed, Iware Biko was raised up, and took his place as the first official sovereign of Yamato.  That was in 660 BCE, according to the Nihon Shoki.  He reigned until his death, in 585 BCE, aged an incredulous 127 years old.  Even if some of the oldest humans ever have lived in Japan, given the times and Iware Biko’s hard run life, forgive me if I don’t take this age at face value.  His mausoleum is said to be at the foot of Mt. Unebi, at or near the location of his palace.

The Coronation of Iware Biko, aka Jinmu, factual or not, has long been important to the story of Japan.  His formal coronation is recorded as 660 BCE,  the second month, the 11th day, and it is from this date that the traditional line of Yamato sovereigns is counted, as is the founding of Yamato, known today as Japan.  Even in the modern age, just as the 4th of July, 1776 is used to mark the founding of the United States of America, the 11th of February, 660 BCE is taken as the founding date of Japan, even though the year is clearly a fabrication.  February 11th is Kenkoku Kinen no Hi—National Foundation Day.   It was originally instituted by the Meiji Government, in the 1870s, as the government was still working to promote the Imperial majesty after more than 250 years under the rule of the Tokugawa shoguns, and continues to be practiced today, though with a more national character.

In addition the importance of the year 660 BCE was rather a key component in ensuring that the history of Japan, at the time the chronicles were written, was of sufficient antiquity to conform with Chinese concepts of historical cycles, and it meant that the time was ripe in the late 7th century for another great change.  At one end of the cycle stood Iware Biko, later known as Jinmu, whose posthumous name translates to something like Divine or Godly War.  In completion of the Heavenly Task, he assembled his forces and marched on Yamato, eventually installing himself as the royal sovereign.  On the other side of this historical cycle was Ohoama, aka Tenmu, a sovereign with the posthumous name meaning “Heavenly War”, and who likewise raised forces to come and attack the capital.

In addition, the location for Jinmu’s palace—and the kofun associated with him—was at the foot of Mt. Unebi, which was one of three mountains, including Mt. Kagu and Mt. Miminashi, which made up the Yamato Sanzan.  These three mountains surrounded the Fujiwara Palace, which was started by Temmu towards the end of his reign, and which served as the first permanent Chinese style capital, until it was moved in 710.  Though this move happened before any of our Chronicles were completed, it is reasonable to assume that the stories had already largely taken form during the reign of Temmu and his immediate successors. 

Further along those lines are the commonalities between Jimmu and Temmu’s means of coming to power.  Just as Yamato already had a sovereign through a previous Heavenly line, Tenmu’s nephew sat on the throne during his usurpation.  Both were still legitimate, however—or at least the stories portray them as such.   And both had the help of Amaterasu Ohokami—though admittedly those details seem to be more prominent in the later Nihon Shoki than they are in the Kojiki, where Takami Musubi still takes center stage.  We can see how the story came to be and thus how it may have been seen by its contemporaries.

That is not to say that the Chroniclers came up with all of this themselves.  I suspect that there were a combination of stories, many of them revolving around the origins of various placenames, or possibly from other oral traditions from around the area.  For all I know, there may have been stories about a Prince Ihare, and the various encounters may have come from other stories.  I suspect that the Chroniclers were not making up everything from scratch, but rather fitting what they had to the Truth as they knew it.

Even if we can’t accept these stories as true, there are still plenty of interesting tidbits.  For instance, the various Tobe, which may refer to female chieftains, and then the numerous instances in the text of Elder and Younger chieftains, which seem to point to a common practice of dual leadership.  The assumption is often that these are pairs of brothers, but whether that was regularly the case I couldn’t say, though it seems unlikely.  Of course, as usual gender is often not stated but assumed under a patriarchal model unless explicitly stated otherwise.

We also see a tendency in these stories to designate those who resist the Royal lineage as being not just outsiders, but as other than human.  They are called earth spiders—tsuchigumo—and described as having tails.  This term also appears in other chronicles, such as the Hitachi Fudoki. Hitachi province was far to the east, in modern Ibaraki prefecture, and one of the stories tells about two groups, native to the area, known as the Tsuchikumo and the Yatsukahagi.  It is said that they would dig caves throughout the hills, and this is where they lived.  According to the elders of the area, they would come out at night or after the new settlers had left, and they would help themselves to whatever they needed.  Therefore the local government set up a trap.  While the Tsuchikumo were out in the fields, the Yamato people set a wall of thorn bushes inside the entrance to their cave, and the officer in charge, Kurosaka, then gave the signal for men on horseback to ride in and chase the Tsuchikumo back.  The plan worked remarkably well, and all of the Tsuchikumo were driven into the thorny wall and killed.

This seems to show how the people of Yamato viewed those they called Tsuchikumo—as non-human outsiders who could not be civilized and therefore deserved little more than extermination, possibly subjugation.  Just like with the Hayato, we don’t know just how different these people were from the people of Yamato—were they just other members of the Wa ethnicity that had chosen a different way of life?  Were they the descendants of the old Jomon people, who hadn’t fully adopted the Yayoi agricultural lifestyle?  Or was this just the standard human tendency to dehumanize those who are against us, or just in our way?  We can make some inferences, perhaps, but that’s all they really are.

So there you have it.  The story of Iware Biko, who is widely heralded as the first sovereign of Yamato.  Even though he is supposed to have reigned for many decades after his ascension, it is unquestionably his path to the throne, that is of paramount importance in the chronicles.  Once he comes to the throne, there are a few other stories, which we may get into next episode, but those were really more about others—ancestors to various noble houses—or else it was a pathway to the next sovereign, and the continued lineage of the royal house.

Next episode I expect we’ll dig into some of that and move on with the legendary royal lineage.  We have a few more names to get through before we see anything that might touch on historical fact, and even that is tenuous at best.

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