Ugayafukiaezu


Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto is a Shinto kami, and is in Japanese mythology, the father of Japan's first Emperor, Emperor Jimmu.

Nomenclature and story

In the Kojiki, his name appears as, and in the Nihon Shoki as.
Ugayafukiaezu was a child of Hoori, the son of Ninigi-no-Mikoto, who was sent down by Amaterasu to govern the earth , and of Toyotama-hime, a daughter of Ryūjin, the dragon kami of the sea.
Although Toyotama-hime became pregnant at the undersea palace of Ryūgū-jō, she opted not to bear the child in the ocean and decided to head to shore.
On the shore, her parents attempted to build a house in which she could give birth, and attempted to construct the roof with feathers of the cormorant instead of saw grass. However, while they were finishing the roof, she went into labor.
In shame, Toyotama-hime fled, leaving behind her newborn, whom she called Ugayafukiaezu.
Later, when Ugayafukiaezu reached adulthood, he married his aunt, Tamayori-hime, and they had four children: Hikoitsuse, Inai, Mikeirinu, and Hikohohodemi.
Mikeirinu traveled to Tokoyo, the "Everworld", and Inai went into the ocean to be with his mother. The eldest and youngest set forth to rule the land and while they did so together for a time, after Hikoitsuse died, their youngest became the first ruler.