結 Musubi 日本語

Legendary

The Eastern Campaign of Yamato Takeru

Reign of Emperor Keiko · 13 stops

The sword, the grass fire, the wife who walked into the sea, and the white bird. The most widely told journey of them all.

01 Sano Shrine02 Miyazaki Jingu03 Tsuno Shrine04 Tateiwa Shrine05 Okada-gu06 Take Shrine (E-no-miya)07 Koshima Shrine08 Hiraoka Shrine09 Ono Shrine10 Kamayama Shrine11 Kamikura Shrine12 Yatagarasu Shrine13 Kashihara Jingu01 Kehi Jingu02 Isasumi Shrine01 Ise Jingu, Naiku0102 Kusanagi Shrine0203 Yaizu Shrine0304 Hashirimizu Shrine0405 Tachibana Shrine0506 Yoshida Shrine0607 Ou Shrine0708 Sakaori-no-miya0809 Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine0910 Atsuta Jingu1011 Mount Ibuki1112 Nobono Shrine1213 Otori Taisha1301 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

    Ise Jingu, Naikuいせじんぐう ないくう

    Mie Ise

    The swordBefore setting out he visited his aunt Yamatohime, who gave him the sword Ame-no-Murakumo and a fire-striker pouch to open in danger.

  2. 02

    Kusanagi Shrineくさなぎじんじゃ

    Shizuoka Shizuoka

    The grass fireTrapped in a burning field, he cut the grass away with the sword and lit a counter-fire. From that day it was called Kusanagi, the grass-cutter.

  3. 03

    Yaizu Shrineやいづじんじゃ

    Shizuoka Yaizu

    The burnt harbourThe other claimant to the fire story, and the origin given for the place name Yaizu, 'the burnt harbour'. The Kojiki sets the episode in Sagami, the Nihon Shoki in Suruga.

  4. 04

    Hashirimizu Shrineはしりみずじんじゃ

    Kanagawa Yokosuka

    The crossingThe strait to Kazusa turned violent. His consort Ototachibana-hime stepped into the water in his place, and the sea grew calm.

  5. 05

    Tachibana Shrineたちばなじんじゃ

    Chiba Mobara

    The relicsHer comb and robe washed ashore on the Boso side. He gathered them, raised a mound, and planted a tachibana tree over it.

  6. 06

    Yoshida Shrineよしだじんじゃ

    Ibaraki Mito

    Hitachi campThe hill of Misumiyama, where he is said to have quartered his troops and taken command himself. A spring in the precinct is called Asahi-no-izumi.

  7. 07

    Ou Shrineおおうじんじゃ

    Ibaraki Itako

    The effigyA quiet old shrine said to predate Kashima. Local tradition has him carving a wooden image of himself here and leaving it as a stand-in.

  8. 08

    Sakaori-no-miyaさかおりのみや

    Yamanashi Kofu

    The linked verseHe asked in verse how many nights had passed since Tsukuba; the old fire-keeper answered in verse. Japan renga is traced to that exchange.

  9. 09

    Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrineきたぐちほんぐうふじせんげんじんじゃ

    Yamanashi Fujiyoshida

    Facing FujiLooking up at the mountain from Kai, he is said to have declared that Fuji should be climbed from the north, and raised a shrine where the great torii now stands.

  10. 10

    Atsuta Jinguあつたじんぐう

    Aichi Nagoya

    The sword laid downHe left the sword with his wife Miyazu-hime and went on to Ibuki without it. After his death she enshrined it here.

  11. 11

    Mount Ibukiいぶきやま

    Shiga / Gifu Maibara

    The woundHe went up bare-handed against the god of the mountain, and came down with the illness that killed him.

  12. 12

    Nobono Shrineのぼのじんじゃ

    Mie Kameyama

    DeathHe died here within sight of the road home to Yamato. The adjoining tumulus is designated as his tomb.

  13. 13

    Otori Taishaおおとりたいしゃ

    Osaka Sakai

    The white birdHis spirit rose from the grave as a white bird and came to rest here. Overnight, the story goes, a forest grew around it.

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.