Information to enjoy Japan & Japanese culture

◎⼋雲⽴つ 出雲⼋重垣 妻籠に ⼋重垣作れる その⼋重垣を

”Yagumotatsu Izumo yaegaki tsumagomini yaegakitsukureru sono yaegakio”

This is the Japanese oldest 31-syllable Japanese poem (waka: 和歌） written by Susanono Mikoto. This is a summary of this poetry by me.

“This country named Izumo where many clouds well up magnificently. At this Izumo, for my beloved newly-married woman I build a house that has the fences with many layers to protect her, just like many clouds protect the house. And I protect her forever.”

◎⼤和は 国のまほろば 絶たなづく ⻘垣⼭籠れる ⼤和しうるはし

“Yamatowa Kunino mahoroba tatanazuku Aogaki yamakomoreru Yamatoshi uruwashi”

This is one poem in the description of folk history “Kojiki” (the Records of Ancient Matters), written by Yamato Takeruno Mikoto one of the princes of the Keiko Emperor.

A legend says, he died by illness, and then changed the figure to a swan and flew in the sky. This is a summary of this poetry by me.

“Yamato is a mother country, my hometown. The ranges of the calm-shaped mountains I love.

The majestic mountains ranges that form the fences that shine in bright green are there. Yamato surrounded by the wonderful mountains is a really beautiful country.

I love my hometown Yamato, Iʼd like to be home.”

The Keiko Emperor of his father always commanded him to go for the conquest of the traitor far and wide for unification in Japan.　He continued a wonderful heroic fight and really repeated victory.

However, the Emperor of his father continued ordering without giving him rest.

He fell illness in the trip of a long fight at last. And he reached death with the hometown close at hand. At that time, it was that!! this poetry was written.

The thought to the hometown overflows. How would he like his thought to father,,,?

If there was not his activity, this present Japan will never exist.

His soul sleeps in the ancient tomb near ⽩⿃庭園︓the Swan Garden (near Atsuta-Jingu).

さなさし 相模の⼩野に

燃ゆる⽕の ⽕中（ほなか）に⽴ちて問ひし君はも

弟橘媛

Ｓａｎａｓａｓｈｉ Ｓａｇａｍｕｎｏ Ｏｎｏｎｉ

Ｍｏｙｕｒｕｈｉｎｏ Ｈｏｎａｋａｎｉ ｔａｃｈｉｔｅ

ｔｏｈｉｓｈｉ ｋｉｍｉｈａｍｏ

by Ｏｔｏｔａｃｈｉｂａｎａ－ｈｉｍｅ

Yamato takeru was about to cross the ocean in front of his eyes, to Kamakura, in or- der to conquer the enemy.　But it ran high so much. Then, his wife, Ototachibana-hime thought that the anger of God of the sea caused this storm. So she in order to quell the anger, she decided to offer her own body as a human sacrifice to the god. Then she jumped into the sea while her turning around to glance him with a smile. The sea became calm immediately, and he was able to sail across the sea by a ship.

A few years before this tragedy, he was taking a walk with her in the field of Sagamu (Sagami:相模). She took a look some beautiful flowers and wanted to pick up them, then left him for a short time. Suddenly some enemy surrounded them and the enemy set the grass of the field on fire. Then the fire also began to surround them. Then he kept to look for her calling and calling out by name. At last, he found her and endeavored to escape danger while taking her hand, but the force of the fire was getting stronger and stronger. Then he decided to use The Sword:kusanagino- tsurugi (草薙の剣) in order to cut the grass surrounding them, and cut and cut them. And then they could escape danger.

The sword was the special one that Susano no Mikoto ( the younger brother of Amaterasu Omikami, and an ancestor of Yamato-Takeru no Mikoto) had found in the body of Yamatano Orochi ( The dragon that had eight heads and was conquered by Susano no Mikoto at Izumo).

That sword had been what it became one of the three sacred treasures after.

The following is a statement I translated.あなたは あの相模の野の 燃える⽕の中で私の名を呼んで 探して下さった

愛するあなたのためですもの、、、 In the fire of that field of Sagami,

While calling my name out, you looked for me desperately

Because my love is love for you, thereʼs nothing regrettable, even sad. I pray for your continued luck in the fortunes of war.

May God protect you!

⼿⻑（Tenaga : Tenazuchino-mikoto), ⾜⻑（Ashinaga : Ashinazuchino-mikoto)

Tenaga is a woman who has long arms. Ashinaga is a man

who has long legs. You can see and enjoy these statues on a Kajibashi bridge. These photos are presented by Hiro on Hidatakayama-Kanko-Navi.

They are husband and wife, Ashinazuchi is her husband and Tenazuchiis his wife. Please refer to the mythology of this page in which I have described about Susanono- mikoto. Susanono-mikoto, he met an old couple around the river bank of the Izumo country (出雲の国）by chance.

He saw chopsticks flowed from the upper reaches and noticed that a person lived in this area of upper reaches. Because they were extremely disappointing and crying, he asked the reason,

They told him they had to dedicate one by one of their own daughters as a human sacrifice every year to the big snake which had eight heads. A time to give Sakunada- hime of that only daughter to at last had come over that year. The fact was sad,,,.

He listened to it and decided to kill the big snake and exterminated it, and married her.

So, Ashinazuchino-mikoto, Tenazuchino-mikoto are father-in-law mother of Susanono-mikoto.