結 Musubi 日本語

Mythological

The Eastern Expedition of Emperor Jimmu

Mythic age · 13 stops

From his birthplace in Hyuga to the throne at Kashihara: the founding journey of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki.

01 Sano Shrine0102 Miyazaki Jingu0203 Tsuno Shrine0304 Tateiwa Shrine0405 Okada-gu0506 Take Shrine (E-no-miya)0607 Koshima Shrine0708 Hiraoka Shrine0809 Ono Shrine0910 Kamayama Shrine1011 Kamikura Shrine1112 Yatagarasu Shrine1213 Kashihara Jingu1301 Kehi Jingu02 Isasumi Shrine01 Ise Jingu, Naiku02 Kusanagi Shrine03 Yaizu Shrine04 Hashirimizu Shrine05 Tachibana Shrine06 Yoshida Shrine07 Ou Shrine08 Sakaori-no-miya09 Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine10 Atsuta Jingu11 Mount Ibuki12 Nobono Shrine13 Otori Taisha01 Takahashi Shrine02 Awa Shrine01 Kiyomizu-dera02 Aritama Shrine03 Nihon Shrine04 Omuro Takao Shrine05 Yamizomine Shrine06 Hanazono Shrine07 Sakai-no-Myojin08 Sugafune Shrine09 Kashima Miko Shrine10 Tamura Shrine and Katchu-do11 Shiwahiko and Shiogama Shrine12 Nonodake Hakusan Shrine13 Takkoku-no-Iwaya Bishamon-do14 Tamura Shrine15 Takatsudo Kashima Shrine16 Tamura Shrine01 Omiya Hachimangu02 Kanezawa Hachimangu03 Takkoku-no-Iwaya, cliff Buddha01 Tsurugaoka Hachimangu02 Utsunomiya Futaarayama Shrine03 Shirakawa Barrier04 Atsukashiyama Defence Line05 Chuson-ji
  1. 01

    Sano Shrineさのじんじゃ

    Miyazaki Takaharu

    BirthHeld to be the birthplace of the future emperor, whose childhood name Sano-no-Mikoto the shrine preserves.

  2. 02

    Miyazaki Jinguみやざきじんぐう

    Miyazaki Miyazaki

    The planSite of the palace at Hyuga where, tradition holds, the decision to move east was taken.

  3. 03

    Tsuno Shrineつのじんじゃ

    Miyazaki Tsuno

    PrayerFirst stop after leaving the palace, where prayers were offered for a safe road and fortune in war. Now the ichinomiya of Hyuga province.

  4. 04

    Tateiwa Shrineたていわじんじゃ

    Miyazaki Hyuga (Mimitsu)

    Departure by seaThe harbour of the sailing east. A rock in the precinct is said to be where he sat waiting for the ships.

  5. 05

    Okada-guおかだぐう

    Fukuoka Kitakyushu

    TsukushiA year spent in Tsukushi gathering strength before leaving Kyushu, according to the Kojiki.

  6. 06

    Take Shrine (E-no-miya)たけじんじゃ

    Hiroshima Fuchu

    AkiThe traditional site of the palace in Aki, called Takeri-no-miya in the Kojiki and E-no-miya in the Nihon Shoki.

  7. 07

    Koshima Shrineこうしまじんじゃ

    Okayama Kasaoka

    KibiOne candidate site for the palace of Takashima in Kibi, where provisions were stored and ships built. The Kojiki says eight years, the Nihon Shoki three.

  8. 08

    Hiraoka Shrineひらおかじんじゃ

    Osaka Higashiosaka

    DefeatNear the pass where the advance into Yamato was thrown back by Nagasunehiko, and the emperor's elder brother Itsuse took his mortal wound.

  9. 09

    Ono Shrineおのじんじゃ

    Osaka Sennan

    RetreatThe harbour of Ono-no-minato, where the fleet withdrew after the reading that fighting eastward into the sun had cost them the battle.

  10. 10

    Kamayama Shrineかまやまじんじゃ

    Wakayama Wakayama

    The brother's graveWhere Itsuse-no-Mikoto died of his wound and was buried, according to the Nihon Shoki.

  11. 11

    Kamikura Shrineかみくらじんじゃ

    Wakayama Shingu

    Kumano landingThe rock of Ame-no-Iwatate, climbed after the landing at Kumano. From here the three-legged crow Yatagarasu was sent as guide.

  12. 12

    Yatagarasu Shrineやたがらすじんじゃ

    Nara Uda

    The guideDedicated to the crow that led the army through the Kumano mountains and out into Uda in Yamato.

  13. 13

    Kashihara Jinguかしはらじんぐう

    Nara Kashihara

    EnthronementThe end of the road. Built on the site of the palace of Kashihara, where the chronicles place the enthronement of the first emperor.

None of the shrines described here takes part in this project, and none has been approached. They are written about because the roads they stand on are worth knowing. Coordinates are approximate and unverified — enough to show the shape of a route, not enough to navigate by.