Japan's Earthly Rulers
Ninigi-no-Mikoto, the First Ruler
Accompanied by a team of trusted kami-retainers, Ninigi-no-Mikoto leaves Takama no Hara for good. The new Ruler chooses the Island of Tsukushi (the modern-day Kyūshū Island) on Earth as his government’s headquarters. The Palace of Takachihō is built in Hyūga to accommodate Ninigi and his entourage. A new lineage of rulers is about to be established, but Ninigi and his descendants’ rules are involved in a succession of human mistakes, sibling rivalries, family malfunctioning and delusions of love between them and the tribes they rule, who are already populating Earth.
Sarutabiko no Okami and Uzume, on their first encounter at the intersection of the Eight-forking Road
Uzume no Mikoto, the Goddess of Mirth and one of the retainers of Ninigi, meets Sarutabiko, the leader of Earthly Gods when the group is about to cross the intersection of the Eight-forking Road, which was chosen by Ninigi to reach Ashihara no Nakatsukuni. Sarutabiko no Ōkami, the Great God Prince of Monkey Field, was mistakenly thought by the team to be trying to obstruct the new Rulers’ passage and Uzume is sent to talk to him to negotiate a truce. She exposes her breasts and charms Sarutabiko, who falls in love with her at first sight. Eventually they get married and live a blissful life together forever thereafter. Sarutabiko is officially and popularly the most prevalent kami in Japan. This popularity could be due to the fact that he was the first on Earth to offer himself as a guide to the Heavenly Ruler and served him loyally thereafter, reflecting the reverence of the Japanese people for their Emperor. Sarutabiko is worshipped in no less than 2,000 shrines across the country and is regarded as the divinity of roads, travelers and guidance. He is believed to be seven shaku tall (approximately 2.1 metres); his hair, beard and eyebrows are silver-grey; his skin is reddish; he has rudy eyes and a nose twice the length of his middle finger.
Hyūga was chosen by Ninigi because it was where Izanagi, his great-grandfather was consecrated during his misogi purification when he returned from Yomotsu no Kuni. It is believed that the waterfall of the Takachihō Gorge was his cleansing agent. This scenic spot was formed thousands of years ago after a massive volcanic eruptions in the nearby Mt. Aso. The hot lava from the volcano flooded down the Gokase River and carved some sheer rock cliffs. Some cliffs stand heavenward and appear like pillars of a huge palace; others look like ladies’ folding fans. Misogi is a Japanese ascetic practice of ritual purification, related mainly to Shintō religion. Water-Misogi can be compared to dousing practices of other religions and is usually conducted by standing long hours under a waterfall, bathing in a river or sea. Many groups practise Misogi today inside and outside Japan. The ritual is defined by leaders of the groups speaking out invocations or prayers that are believed to activate the spirits. The followers pray along invoking the Kamis to purify their souls. Misogi is also used today in some forms of martial arts, to prepare the mind for training and to learn how to develop the core power.
Waterfalls of Takachiho Gorge, located in the Kyushu Island
Ninigi no Mikoto and his wife, Sakuya Hime
Ninigi marries Sakuya Hime (the Princess of Mountain Flower), the beautiful daughter of his uncle, Ōyamatsumi no Mikoto, the Deity of Mountains. His choice enraged the elder sister, Iwanaga Hime (the Princess of Long Rock), who curses Ninigi by shortening the lives of the people on Earth, who would thereafter wither and die like blossoms on the trees; instead of having a lifespan like the rocks, had he chosen her. Sakuya Hime gives Ninigi three male heirs, but not before her temper almost kills them all in a fire she started during the delivery of her babies. Fortunately, mother and babies came out unharmed after their hut burned down. It is said that this scene inspired the first episode of Season 1 of the Game of Thrones, the American fantasy drama television series. Queen Daenerys Targaryen, the mother of the three dragons, came unhurt with her hatched dragon-babies from the ashes of the blazed funeral pyre of her deceased husband Khal Drogo.
Hohodemi-no-Mikoto, the Second Ruler
The third son of Ninigi and Sakuya, Hohodemi no Mikoto, aka Yama no Sachihiko (the Gifted Prince of the Mountains) becomes the second Ruler of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni. Nevertheless, karma punished the gifted Hunter, who was neither the first, nor the second claimant for the coveted throne. By using the magic tide-controlling beads, he overawed his brothers to swear allegiance to him. His wife is Toyotama Hime (the Princess of Bountiful Soul), his second-cousin and daughter of Ōwatatsumi no Mikoto, the Deity of Oceans. To give birth to her baby, Toyotama metamorphoses into a sea monster (a giant crocodile), her birth-shape.
Toyotama returns to the sea disgruntled, as her husband no longer finds her attractive. She pleads with her little-sister Tamayori Hime to go to the land to look after her baby.
Ugayafukiaezu-no-Mikoto, the Third Ruler
Udo-Jingu, located at the top of Mt. Ahira in Hyuga
The baby-son of Hohodemi and Toyotama is named Ugayafukiaezu, which means Unfinished Cormorant-Feather Thatching, as his mother gave birth to him inside a cabin built with cormorant feather thatch roof, which was unfinished. In an unpredictable turning of the fortunes, Ugayafukiaezu marries his aunty Tamayori and they have four sons. Ugayafukiaezu was buried at the top of Mount Ahira in Hyūga. His chief shrine is the Udo-Jingū, a building of small structure, built inside a large cave by the seaside. The shrine is a symbolic replacement for the thatched-roof hut.
As Toyotama abandoned Ugayafukiaezu at birth, she knew she could not feed him; therefore, she left behind her breasts, which are the two visible protuberances in the rock wall of the cave. The legend of Toyotama Hime’s last appearance as wani (crocodile), survived through the extinct crocodile genus Toyotamaphimeia machikanensis of approximately eight metres long that lived in Japan 400,000 years ago.