Kojiki: Toyotama-Hime and Her Son
(translation by Arinwald)
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| Udo-Jingu Shrine where Toyotama-Hime gave birth to Jimmu Tennoh,'s father. The main shrine is located in the cave. |
Hoori's wife, Toyotama-Hime, one day came to meet Hoori, from her mother-country located in the sea, and she declared, "I'm pregnant, and delivery will be soon. I believe I shouldn't deliver a child of a Heavenly God in the sea, thus I came to land to have my baby."
So, she built a hut for her delivery, at the beach, and covered the roof with feathers of the U-Bird, commonly known as cormorants. But she started to go into labour, before the roof was finished, and told her husband: "All foreign people deliver their children in their original form. I, too, will be giving birth to my child, but in my people's natural shape. So-please don't look inside the hut-while I'm having my baby!"
Hearing that, Hoori felt strange, but did peep into the hut, and saw that Toyotama-Hime had changed into a giant crocodile and was crawling around. He was so afraid, seeing her like this, that he ran away.
Toyotama-Hime found out that her husband had looked, and had seen her original shape, and she was ashamed of herself. "I wanted to visit my husband, and have my son away from the sea, but since has seen me like that, I'll never come back here again." So, she left her newborn son there, and returned to her own country, in the sea.
The baby was named Ugaya-Hukiaezu-no-Mikoto, which means "The Prince Born In The Unfinished Hut Made Of U-Feathers".
Even though Toyotama-Hime resented her husband's betrayal, she still couldn't stop loving him. So, he sent her younger sister, Tamayori-Bime, to him, with a love poem, which read: "Red jade shines beautifully, but your white pearl shines with more respect."
Hoori then answered, with this poem: "As long as I live, never shall I forget my wife, with whom I spent those nights, on the Islet Of Birds."
Hoori lived in his Takachiho Palace for 580 years. His grave is located at the west side of Mount Takachiho.
Ugaya-Hukiaezu-no-Mikoto later got married, with his mother's younger sister, Tamayori-Bime, and they had four Princes, named Itsuse-no-Mikoto, Inahi-no-Mikoto, Mike-Numa-no-Mikoto, and Kamu-Yamato-Iware-Biko-no-Mikoto. The youngest Prince Iwarebiko became Jimmu Tennoh, the first Emperor of Japan. Mikenuma sailed away, to Tokoyo-no-Kuni, the Heavenly Utopia over the sea. And Inahi journeyed to his mother's country, Wadatsumi.
Produced by Arinwald
Literary Editing by South-American Published Novelist, and Historian: Arinwald
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