Prince Yamato Takeru, sometimes called Yamatodake, is perhaps one of the most famous characters in the Chronicles, and almost certainly not a real figure. At the very least not a single figure—he may be a conglomeration of various individuals and the stories of their feats. And yet that hardly matters as his legend is enough.

Before we get into everything, though, a quick language lesson. Yamato Takeru’s name is given as O’usu, meaning “little mortar”. His twin brother is Ō’usu, meaning big mortar. Of course, to most English speakers—and even many Japanese—the difference between these two names, today, is minimal. Originally, they were likely something like Wo’usu and Opo’usu, which at least provides greater distinction, but in modern Japanese it is just the difference of a short “o” sound v. a long “o” sound—that is long as in how long you hold the vowel, not in its actual sound. A short “o” is just like it seems, but a long “o” is like saying “o” twice, but without any stops in between. This works in Japanese because it works on a morae system, where each sound takes rouhgly the same amount of “time” to say, whereas English breaks on syllables, instead. For more on how this looks, you can look into Japanese On, or Onji, used to count sounds for Japanese poetry.

Now this episode we cover roughly three parts of Yamato Takeru’s life: His early childhood and the admonition of his brother, his campaign in the west, against the Kumaso and his return trip, and then his trip out east to subdue the Emishi. Of these, I’ll provide a map of the eastern campaign—the campaign west does not have as many details, and those we have are more contradictory.

Dramatis Personae

Ōtarashi Hiko - Also known as Keikō Tennō. He is the sovereign, and Yamato Takeru’s father. In the Kojiki, he is a passive figure, ruling from Yamato and sending Yamato Takeru out to fight and conquer the land. In the Nihon Shoki he is much more active, but not, it seems, in the stories about Yamato Takeru, himself. In many ways, there is little to concretely connect the lives of Yamato Takeru and Ōtarashi Hiko beyond the assertion that they are father and son. There is even information that would seem to indicate that Ōtarashi Hiko married Yamato Takeru’s great-granddaughter. I mean, sure, we know that they liked to keep it in the family, but that seems more than a little ridiculous. This is furthered by the fact that Yamato Takeru is often referred to with words that seem to otherwise be reserved for a sovereign, as are his wives. Finally, there is the fact that Chūai Tennō, aka Tarashi Nakatsu Hiko, the 14th sovereign, was Yamato Takeru’s son, and not descended from Waka Tarashi Hiko, aka Seimu Tennō, the 13th sovereign. But we’ll talk more about that, later.

Prince O’usu, aka Yamato Takeru - The “Little Mortar” prince, also named Yamato no Oguna. Our main protagonist. He is shown to have a special relationship with Yamato Hime, of Ise Shrine, and he defeats his enemies often with trickery and deceit as much as his raw strength. He is shown as arrogant and prideful, even defeating various deities, not just the local human chieftains. His feats are often given with supernatural and epic detail, while at the same time eschewing many of the more mundane details that would help us to better place the action in context. This is part of what makes his tale seem so fanciful, even in the midst of this period of oral history.

The appellation “Takeru”, sometimes rendered simply as “Take”, is found in many places throughout the chronicles, even in the names of various sovereigns. The character used for this is 「武」, which is also pronounced “BU” and means “martial”, as in the words “bugei” or “budō” (martial arts). We see it in the forms of “Kumaso Takeru” and “Izumo Takeru”, indicating that it was much more of a title, indicating a strong warrior, and not simply a name.

Prince Ō’usu - Yamato Takeru’s twin brother. He was probably the second one out of the womb, thus gaining the term “Ō”, or “Big” in his name vice Yamato Takeru’s “O”, or “Little”. Second out meant he was “higher” in the womb, according to the ancient theories, and thus he would have been considered the senior prince.

He was disobedient, and when he was sent to go bring back the two most beautiful women of Mino for his father he tried to swap them out, and keep them for himself. Later, he refused to come to inner, which was a ceremonial slap in the face to his father. The Kojiki claims that he was killed by Yamato Takeru, ambushed in a privy, but in the Nihon Shoki he was sent t o govern Mino, likely as punishment for his cowardice when he would not take his troops to subdue the East.

Ihoki Iribiko - Another of Ōtarashi Hiko’s children. Very little is said about him other than the fact that he, along with Waka Tarashi HIko and Yamato Takeru, was one of the three sons considered as potential heirs to the throne.

Waka Tarashi HIko - Also known as Seimu Tennō, we’ll talk more about him in the future. Of the three potential heirs, he was the one who would go forward and ascend the throne. It seems odd, then, that we hear of his brother’s accomplishments, not his own.

Yamato Hime - You should remember Yamato Hime from the time of Ikume Iribiko, the previous sovereign. She is credited with the founding of Ise Shrine. Of course, there are some questions about that, and in particular I wonder if this is actually supposed to be the same person. Nihon Shoki dates, which we’ve already discussed are clearly unreliably, well they provide dates that would put Yamato Hime well past her hundredth year by the time she’s helping Yamato Takeru. Again, it is possible that her name is actually a title of some sort, and that there were various women known as “Yamato Hime” who were head of Ise Shrine. Or she could be an insert character to explain Ise Shrine’s founding.

Kumaso Takeru - The Brave(s) of Kumaso. Also known as Kawakami no Takeru. The Kojiki refers to an elder and younger, while the Nihon Shoki makes it seem as though it is just one. The basics of the story remain the same, however.

Ya Nushi Oshio-dake Ogoro - A minor character in our narrative. He is sent down to Ki to perform the rituals that the sovereign would otherwise have done—though it is unclear to me if he got much beyond the southern Nara Basin. More interesting is that his son, Takechi Sukune, seems to be a person of some importance in the court.

Takechi Sukune - The son of Ya Nushi Oshio-dake Ogoro. “Sukune” is a title of significant rank in the court, and this seems to be further emphasized by his relationship with Waka Tarashi Hiko when they both go on “guard” for the court during a weeklong banquet. He is also the one to first go out to the north and the east. It makes me wonder if some of the stories about Yamato Takeru’s campaign weren’t originally part of a story about Takechi Sukune. It is interesting, but not telling, that the characters used for his name, Takechi, are “武内“ (Brave + Inside). That first character is the same as “Takeru”, but then, it is the same character found in so many other names.

Misuki Tomo Mimi Take Hiko - (御友耳建日子) Only mentioned in the Kojiki, and just briefly, in regards to the wooden spear and told to accompany Yamato Takeru on his eastern expedition. He is mentioned as an ancestor of the Kibi no Omi, making me wonder if this might not be another name for Kibi no Take Hiko, another companion of Yamato Takeru, mentioned in the Nihon Shoki.

Ōtomo no Take Hi no Muraji - Another one of the companions of Yamato Takeru. There is little more about him.

Nanatsukahagi - Ancestor of the Kume no Atahe who is said to have traveled with Yamato Takeru everywhere he went, even up to the bitter end.

Susano’o - Broth of Amaterasu, who slayed the eight headed serpent, Yamata no Orochi, and found the sword Ame no Murakumo, later known as Kusanagi.

Miyazu Hime - Ancestor of the Kuni no Miyatsuko of Owari and the fiancée of Yamato Takeru. I can’t help but wonder if she was the daughter of or the actual chieftain of Owari, or at least some part of it, but either way it would seem to speak to more marriage politics. It is also telling that the sword, Kusanagi, would eventually be deposited and kept at Atsuta Shrine, where it (or a copy) is said to be kept event to this day. Atsuta Shrine is near the harbor of modern Nagoya city.

Oto-Tachibana Hime - Yamato Takeru’s “queen” who throws herself into the waters to calm them down at the mouth of Tokyo Bay. Her sudden appearance suggests that she may be a later addition to the stories, or at the very least out of place. This could also be one of those areas where different stories are being merged together. There is another individual, Ō-Tachibana Hime (or, originally, “Opo-Tatibana-pime”), mentioned in the Hitachi Fudoki as Yamato Takeru’s wife. It is said that she came out to see him while he was on campaign. Of course, that was after the incident at Tokyo Bay, so the timeline is still a bit confused.

Emishi - （蝦夷）Often “Yemishi” prior to the modern Japanese pronunciation. These are the “barbarians” in the northeast. It is unclear if, at this time, they were a single ethnic group. It is clear in later centuries that they were pretty much anyone outside of the Yamato court’s control. Of course, in the early 4th century, pretty much everyone was “outside” the Yamato court’s control. It is quite likely that the term “Emishi” is an anachronism, contemporary to the 8th century, but not the 4th.

Locations

We could go through the Western Campaign against the Kumaso, but there aren’t many details, as I mentioned. There is at least one that we should probably go over though:

Ana Umi - This is the “Sea” that would have made Kojima a real island, back in the day. If you take a look at the area between Kurashiki and Minami Ward (Minami-Ku) you can see how much of that area would have been under water with just slightly higher sea levels (or if the land still wasn’t quite as silted up as it became). As noted in the podcast this is much like the way “Kawachi Bay” silted up over in the area of modern Ōsaka.

The Eastern Campaign

The rest of these will be part of the Eastern Campaign. I put together a general map of Yamato Takeru’s potential route. This episode we will follow the blue route. The assumption here is, of course, largely land based until Tokyo Bay, but it could just as easily have been that the initial troop movements would have been using ships, hugging the coastline. Assuming Miyazu Hime’s home was somewhere near Atsuta Shrine, that would have been on or near the shore, as is Yaizu.

Yamato/Miwa - We should have a good idea of where this is at this point.

Ise Grand Shrine - The sight of the Ise Shrine, where Yamato Takeru gets the sword from Yamato Hime

Owari (Palace of Miyazu Hime) - Yamato Takeru stops at Owari—likely modern Nagoya city. Here is where Yamato Takeru pledges he will marry Miyazu Hime.

Azuma -（東国）Literally the “Eastern Country”, this is the name for the area that we generally think of as the Kantō—primarily the regions around modern Tōkyō, though there wasn’t a firm border and it was more of a general description than a specific country.

Yaizu - （焼津） Known in the Chronciles as Yaketsu. This is thought to be the same place. This is where Yamato Takeru destroyed those who had tried to set the field on fire around him. This is also where the sword, Kusanagi, gets its name.

Hashirimizu - （走水）On the peninsula here you can still visit Hashirimizu Beach. “Hashirimizu” literally means “running water” refers to the fast running water that made the crossing so dangerous.

Awa Harbor - This seems to be the general name for the Tōkyō Bay.

Awa - （安房国）This is the tip of the Bōsō (房総) Peninsula. The peninsula is actually so-named because it combines the name of Awa (安房) and Fusa (総).

Fusa - （総国）This is the country that would later become the provinces of Shimōsa（下総）and Kazusa（上総）—literally “lower” and “upper” Fusa.

Tama no Ura -（玉之浦）Along with Ashi no Ura, it defines a large area of shoreline on the Pacific coast between Shimōsa, up to Kazusa.

Take no Minato -（竹水門）The harbor (“water gate”) where Yamato Takeru encountered the Emishi. Thought to be up somewhere in Tōhoku.

Hitakami -（日高見国）Probably somewhere in Tōhoku, but it is unclear exactly where. It is named as a country, but it doesn’t seem to have been directly preserved in any of the later province names. Later, a place in Hokkaidō would be named “Hidaka” (日高) in memory of this country, but there is no historical connection and the exact location is still a mystery.

We’ll hit the rest of the eastern campaign next episode, but for now, this is it. Thank you for reading and I hope that this has been informative.

References

• Ō, Yasumaro, & Heldt, G. (2014). The Kojiki: An account of ancient matters. ISBN978-0-231-16389-7

• Bentley, John. (2006). The Authenticity of Sendai Kuji Hongi: a New Examination of Texts, with a Translation and Commentary. ISBN-90-04-152253

• Chamberlain, B. H. (1981). The Kojiki: Records of ancient matters. Rutland, Vt: C.E. Tuttle Co.  ISBN4-8053-0794-3

• Aston, W. G. (1972). Nihongi, chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN0-80480984-4

• Philippi, D. L. (1968). Kojiki. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN4-13-087004-1