Editing Emperor Jimmu (section)

==Legendary narrative==
[[File:Portrait-Emperor-Jimmu-by-Tsukioka-Yoshitoshi-1880.png|thumb|left|350px|upright=2.5|''Emperor Jimmu'', [[ukiyo-e]] by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi]] (1880)]]
[[File:Emperor-Jinmu-from-series-Mirror-of-Famous-Generals-of-Great-Japan.png|thumb|Emperor Jimmu, from the first National Census book 1920 in Japan]]
In [[Japanese mythology]], the [[Age of the Gods]] is the period before Jimmu's accession.<ref>Nussbaum, "''Jindai''" at {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC| p. 421|page=421}}.</ref>

The story of Jimmu seems to rework legends associated with the {{Nihongo|[[Ōtomo clan]]|大伴氏}}, and its function was to establish that clan's links to the ruling family, just as those of [[Suijin]] arguably reflect [[Mononobe]] tales and the legends in Ōjin's chronicles seem to derive from [[Soga clan]] traditions.<ref>Jacques H. Kamstra, [https://books.google.com/books?id=NRsVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA66 ''Encounter Or Syncretism: The Initial Growth of Japanese Buddhism,''] Brill 1967 pp. 69–70.</ref> Jimmu figures as a direct descendant of the sun goddess, [[Amaterasu]] via the side of his father, [[Ugayafukiaezu]]. Amaterasu had a son called [[Ame-no-oshihomimi|Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto]] and through him a grandson named [[Ninigi-no-Mikoto]]. She sent her grandson to the Japanese islands where he eventually married [[Konohanasakuya-hime|Konohana-Sakuya-hime]]. Among their three sons was [[Hikohohodemi no Mikoto]], also called [[Yamasachi-hiko]], who married [[Toyotama-hime]]. She was the daughter of [[Ryūjin]], the Japanese sea god. They had a single son called [[Hikonagisa Takeugaya Fukiaezu no Mikoto]]. The boy was abandoned by his parents at birth and consequently raised by [[Tamayori-hime (mother of Jimmu)|Tamayori-hime]], his mother's younger sister. They eventually married and had four sons. The last of these, Hikohohodemi, became Emperor Jimmu.<ref>Nussbaum, "''Chijin-godai''" at {{Google books|p2QnPijAEmEC| p. 111|page=111}}.</ref>

===Migration===
{{Main|Jimmu's Eastern Expedition}}
[[File:Emperor Jimmu.jpg|thumb|Depiction of a bearded Jimmu with his bow and the golden kite. This 19th-century artwork was painted by [[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi]].]]
[[File:Tennō Jimmu image 01.jpg|thumb|Painting of Jimmu by Renzō Kita in 1940]]

According to the chronicles {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Kojiki]]}} and {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Nihon Shoki]]}}, Jimmu's brothers [[Itsuse no Mikoto]], [[Inahi no Mikoto]], and [[Mikeiri no Mikoto]] were born in [[Takachiho, Miyazaki|Takachiho]], the southern part of [[Kyūshū]] in modern-day [[Miyazaki 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 the [[Seto Inland Sea]] with the assistance of local chieftain ''{{ill|Saonetsuhiko|lt=Sao Netsuhiko|ja|椎根津彦}}''. As they reached Naniwa (modern-day [[Osaka]]), 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 of [[Kii Peninsula]] and to battle westward. They reached [[Kumano Region|Kumano]], and, with the guidance of a [[three-legged crow]] {{Nihongo|[[Yatagarasu]]|八咫烏|4={{lit|eight-span crow}}}}, they moved to [[Yamato Province|Yamato]]. There, they once again battled Nagasunehiko and were victorious. The record in the {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Nihon Shoki]]}} of Emperor Jimmu states that his armed forces defeated a group of {{nihongo|''[[Emishi]]''|蝦夷|4={{lit|shrimp barbarians}}}} before his enthronement.<ref name="Iwate">{{cite web|url=http://www.iwate-np.co.jp/sekai/sekaiisan/sekaiisan6.htm|script-title=ja:朝廷軍の侵略に抵抗|language=ja|publisher=[[Iwate Nippo]]|date=September 24, 2004|access-date=March 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303180753/http://www.iwate-np.co.jp/sekai/sekaiisan/sekaiisan6.htm|archive-date=March 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Emishi]] were an [[ethnic group]] who lived in [[Honshu]], particularly the [[Tōhoku]] 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 mating [[dragonfly|dragonflies]], archaically {{Nihongo|2=秋津|3=akitsu}}.<ref>[https://www.kusuyama.jp/culture/tombo-dragonfly/ メンテナンス中<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> A mosquito then tried to steal Jimmu's royal blood but since Jimmu was a god incarnate Emperor, {{nihongo|''akitsumikami''|現御神}}, a dragonfly killed the mosquito. Japan thus received its [[Names of Japan|classical name]] the Dragonfly Islands, {{nihongo|''akitsushima''|秋津島}}.

[[File:Tomb of Emperor Jimmu, haisho.JPG|thumb|right|''Unebi Goryō'', the mausoleum of Emperor Jimmu in [[Kashihara, Nara|Kashihara City]], [[Nara Prefecture]]]]

According to the {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}}, Jimmu died when he was 126 years old. The Emperor's [[posthumous 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<ref>Kennedy, Malcolm D. A History of Japan. London. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1963.</ref> the time in which legends about the origins of the [[Imperial House of Japan|imperial dynasty]] were chronicled in the {{Lang|ja-latn|[[Kojiki]]}}.{{sfn|Aston|1896|pp=109–137}} There are accounts written earlier than either {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}} and {{Lang|ja-latn|Nihon Shoki}} that present an alternative version of the story. According to these accounts, Jimmu's dynasty was supplanted by that of [[Emperor Ōjin|Ōjin]], whose dynasty was supplanted by that of [[Emperor Keitai|Keitai]].<ref>Ooms, Herman. ''Imperial Politics and Symbolics in Ancient Japan: the Tenmu Dynasty, 650–800''. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2009</ref> The {{Lang|ja-latn|Kojiki}} and the {{Lang|ja-latn|Nihon Shoki}} then combined these three legendary dynasties into one long and continuous genealogy.

The traditional site of Jimmu's [[grave (burial)|grave]] is near [[Mount Unebi]] in [[Kashihara, Nara|Kashihara]], [[Nara Prefecture]].<ref name="kunaicho">[[Imperial Household Agency]] (''Kunaichō''): [http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/ryobo/guide/001/index.html 神武天皇 (1)]; retrieved August 22, 2013.</ref>

[[File:Kashihara M6522.jpg|thumb|The inner prayer hall of [[Kashihara Shrine]] in [[Kashihara, Nara]], the principal shrine devoted to Jimmu]]