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Jimmu is recorded as Japan's first ruler in two early chronicles,Nihon Shoki (721) andKojiki (712).[2]Nihon Shoki gives the dates of his reign as 660–585 BC.[2] In the reign ofEmperor Kanmu (737–806),[4] the eighth-century scholarŌmi no Mifune retroactively designated rulers beforeEmperor Ōjin astennō (天皇; "heavenly sovereign"), a Japanese pendant to the Chinese imperial titleTiān-dì (天帝), and gave several of them including Jimmu theirposthumous names. Prior to this time, these rulers had been known asSumera no mikoto (皇尊, "divine highness") orŌkimi (大君, "great lord"). This practice had begun underEmpress Suiko, and took root after theTaika Reforms with the ascendancy of theNakatomi clan.[10]
Both theKojiki and theNihon Shoki give Jimmu's name asKamu-yamato Iware-biko no Mikoto (神倭伊波礼琵古命) orKamu-yamato Iware-biko no Sumeramikoto (神日本磐余彦天皇).[11]Iware indicates atoponym (an old place name in the Nara region) whose precise purport is unclear.[12] '-no-Mikoto' is an honorific, indicating divinity, nobility, or royalty.
Among his other names were:Wakamikenu no Mikoto (若御毛沼命),Kamu-yamato Iware-biko hohodemi no Mikoto (神日本磐余彦火火出見尊) andHikohohodemi (彦火火出見).
The story of Jimmu seems to rework legends associated with theŌtomo clan (大伴氏), and its function was to establish that clan's links to the ruling family, just as those ofSuijin arguably reflectMononobe tales and the legends in Ōjin's chronicles seem to derive fromSoga clan traditions.[15] Jimmu figures as a direct descendant of the sun goddess,Amaterasu via the side of his father,Ugayafukiaezu. Amaterasu had a son calledAme no Oshihomimi no Mikoto and through him a grandson namedNinigi-no-Mikoto. She sent her grandson to the Japanese islands where he eventually marriedKonohana-Sakuya-hime. Among their three sons wasHikohohodemi no Mikoto, also calledYamasachi-hiko, who marriedToyotama-hime. She was the daughter ofRyūjin, the Japanese sea god. They had a single son calledHikonagisa Takeugaya Fukiaezu no Mikoto. The boy was abandoned by his parents at birth and consequently raised byTamayori-hime, his mother's younger sister. They eventually married and had four sons. The last of these, Hikohohodemi, became Emperor Jimmu.[16]
Depiction of a bearded Jimmu with his bow and the golden kite. This 19th-century artwork was painted byTsukioka Yoshitoshi.Painting of Jimmu by Renzō Kita in 1940
According to the chroniclesKojiki andNihon Shoki, Jimmu's brothersItsuse no Mikoto,Inahi no Mikoto, andMikeiri no Mikoto were born inTakachiho, the southern part ofKyūshū in modern-dayMiyazaki Prefecture. They moved eastward to find a location more appropriate for administering the entire country. Jimmu's older brother, Itsuse no Mikoto, originally led the migration, and led the clan eastward through theSeto Inland Sea with the assistance of local chieftainSao Netsuhiko [ja]. As they reached Naniwa (modern-dayOsaka), they encountered another local chieftain,Nagasunehiko ("the long-legged man"), and Itsuse was killed in the ensuing battle. Jimmu realized that they had been defeated because they battled eastward against the sun, so he decided to land on the east side ofKii Peninsula and to battle westward. They reachedKumano, and, with the guidance of athree-legged crowYatagarasu (八咫烏;lit.'eight-span crow'), they moved toYamato. There, they once again battled Nagasunehiko and were victorious. The record in theNihon Shoki of Emperor Jimmu states that his armed forces defeated a group ofEmishi (蝦夷;lit.'shrimp barbarians') before his enthronement.[17] TheEmishi were anethnic group who lived inHonshu, particularly theTōhoku region.
In Yamato,Nigihayahi, who also claimed descent from the Takamagahara gods, was protected by Nagasunehiko. However, when Nigihayahi met Jimmu, he accepted Jimmu's legitimacy. At this point, Jimmu is said to have ascended to the throne of Japan. Upon scaling a Nara mountain to survey the Seto Inland Sea he now controlled, Jimmu remarked that it was shaped like the "heart" rings made by matingdragonflies, archaicallyakitsu (秋津).[18] A mosquito then tried to steal Jimmu's royal blood but since Jimmu was a god incarnate Emperor,akitsumikami (現御神), a dragonfly killed the mosquito. Japan thus received itsclassical name the Dragonfly Islands,akitsushima (秋津島).
According to theKojiki, Jimmu died when he was 126 years old. The Emperor'sposthumous name literally means "divine might" or "god-warrior". It is generally thought that Jimmu's name and character evolved into their present shape just before[19] the time in which legends about the origins of theimperial dynasty were chronicled in theKojiki.[4] There are accounts written earlier than eitherKojiki andNihon Shoki that present an alternative version of the story. According to these accounts, Jimmu's dynasty was supplanted by that ofŌjin, whose dynasty was supplanted by that ofKeitai.[20] TheKojiki and theNihon Shoki then combined these three legendary dynasties into one long and continuous genealogy.
Veneration of Jimmu was a central component of theimperial cult that formed following theMeiji Restoration.[22] In 1873, a holiday calledKigensetsu was established on February 11.[23] The holiday commemorated the anniversary of Jimmu's ascension to the throne 2,532 years earlier.[24] AfterWorld War II, the holiday was criticized as too closely associated with the "emperor system."[23] It was suspended from 1948 to 1966, but later reinstated asNational Foundation Day.[23][25]
Between 1873 and 1945, an imperial envoy sent offerings every year to the supposed site of Jimmu's tomb.[26] In 1890Kashihara Shrine was established nearby, on the spot where Jimmu was said to have ascended to the throne.[27]
Before and duringWorld War II, expansionist propaganda made frequent use of the phrasehakkō ichiu, a term coined byTanaka Chigaku based on a passage in theNihon Shoki discussing Emperor Jimmu.[28] Some media incorrectly attributed the phrase to Emperor Jimmu.[29] For the 1940Kigensetsu celebration, marking the supposed 2,600th anniversary of Jimmu's enthronement, thePeace Tower[30] was constructed inMiyazaki.[31]
That same year, numerous stone monuments relating to key events in Jimmu's life were erected around Japan. The sites at which these monuments were erected are known as Emperor Jimmu Sacred Historical Sites.[32]
In 1940, Japan celebrated the2600th anniversary of Jimmu's ascension and built a monument toHakkō ichiu despite the fact that all historians knew Jimmu was a mythical figure. In 1941, the Japanese government charged the one historian who dared to challenge Jimmu's existence publicly,Tsuda Sōkichi.[33]
Since afterWorld War II, when the prohibition on questioning the Kojiki and the Nihongi was lifted, documentary research in China and archaeological research in Japan has undermined much of the information in both the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki.[34]: 460 No evidence has been found for Jimmu's existence, except the mention in theNihon Shoki andKojiki.[35][2][36] Today most modern scholars agree that the traditional founding of theimperial dynasty in 660 BC is a myth and that Jimmu is legendary.[37]: 15 Emperor Sujin's historicity is considered possible by historians, whileEmperor Kinmei is the first verifiable historical figure in the imperial lineage.[38][39]
The dates of Jimmu reigning from 660 BC to 585 BC are improbable.[40] According to Dr. Lu, the year 660 BC was probably selected by the writers ofNihon Shoki to put the founding of Japan on akanoto-tori year.[41]
However, the stories of Jimmu may reflect real events of the mid to late Yayoi period.[42] According to historian Peter Wetzler, Jimmu's conquest ofOsaka andNara may reflect an actual event. Still, the dates and many of the details are fictitious.[43] HistorianKenneth G. Henshall stated that Jimmu's conquest may also reflect a time when theYayoi people from continental Asia immigrated in masses starting fromKyushu and moving eastward during theYayoi period.[44]
Some scholars suggest that there may have been a real person behind Jimmu. He could have been a local ruler who conquered the area nearKashihara after62 BC.[34]: 460 Some scholars believe he was present inMiyazaki during the first century BC while others say he was there during the third or fourth century AD. Nevertheless, there is a high probability that there was either a foreign or indigenous dynasty in the vicinity ofMiyazaki Prefecture during theKofun period.[34]: 592
According toLouis Frédéric, he may have been a fusion of emperorsSujin andKeitai.[45] The Japanese historian Ino Okifu identifies Emperor Jimmu with the Chinese alchemist and explorerXu Fu, a hypothesis supported by certain traditions in Japan and regarded as possible by some modern scholars.[46][47] TheYayoi period, during which significant changes in Japanese metallurgy and pottery occurred, started around the time of his supposed arrival.[48][49] However, the legend of Xu Fu's voyage also has numerous inconsistencies with the linguistic andanthropological history of Japan.[47]
^* Kitagawa, Joseph (1987).On Understanding Japanese Religion, p. 145, atGoogle Books: "emphasis on the undisrupted chronological continuity from myths to legends and from legends to history, it is difficult to determine where one ends and the next begins. At any rate, the first ten legendary emperors are clearly not reliable historical records."
^Britannica Kokusai Dai-Hyakkajiten article on "Hakkō ichiu".
^Dower, John W.,War Without Mercy: Race & Power in the Pacific War, faber and faber, 1993 p. 223.
^Peace Tower (平和の塔,Heiwa no Tō; originally called the "Hakkō Ichiu Tower" 八紘一宇の塔Hakkō Ichiu no Tō or the "Pillar of Heaven and Earth" 八紘之基柱Ametsuchi no Motohashira)
^Brown, Delmer M.; Hall, John Whitney; McCullough, William H.; Jansen, Marius B.; Shively, Donald H.; Yamamura, Kozo; Duus, Peter (1988).The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge University Press. p. 102.ISBN978-0-521-22352-2.
^Liu, Hong. The Chinese Overseas: Routledge Library of Modern China. Taylor & Francis (2006).ISBN0-415-33859-X.
^abMajor, John S. (1978). "Christy G. Turner II, 'Dental Evidence on the Origins of the Ainu and Japanese.' Science 193 (3 091976):911–13. Marvin J. Allison, 'Paleopathology in Peru'. Natural History 88.2 (2, 1978):74–82".Early China.4:78–79.doi:10.1017/S0362502800005988.S2CID163764133.
^Lee, Khoon Choy Lee. Choy, Lee K. (1995). Japan – between Myth and Reality: Between Myth and Reality. World Scientific publishing.ISBN981-02-1865-6.
^Face to Face. The Transcendence of the Arts in China and Beyond – Historical Perspectives (1st ed.). Lisbon, Portugal: Faculdade de Belas Artes. 2014. pp. 17–18.ISBN978-989830049-2.
^Philippi, Donald L. (2015).Kojiki. Princeton University Press. pp. 104–112.
^abKazuhiko, Nishioka (April 26, 2005)."Isukeyorihime". Encyclopedia of Shinto. Archived fromthe original on March 21, 2023. RetrievedSeptember 29, 2010.
