# Isetsuhiko

Isetsuhiko-no-mikoto (伊勢都彦命 or 伊勢都比古命) is an obscure Japanese god of the wind who appears in both the Fudoki of Ise Province (surviving only in the form of excerpts found in other writings) and the Fudoki of Harima Province.

## Myths
### Isetsuhiko and Amenohiwake

Two stories about Isetsuhiko appear in the extant fragments of the Ise Fudoki. One excerpt involves his surrender of his land (what would become Ise) to Amenohiwake-no-mikoto (天日別命), who claimed it in the name of the Emperor Jimmu.
   The following is said in the Ise Fudoki:
       The land of Ise was pacified by Amenohiwake-no-mikoto, a twelfth-generation descendant of Amenominakanushi-no-mikoto.
       At the time when Amenohiwake-no-mikoto accompanied the Sovereign (Sumera-mikoto) Kamu-Yamato-Iwarehiko when he set out from the western palace in order to conquer this eastern land, he arrived with the Sovereign in the village of Kumano in the land of Kii. Then, under the guidance of a golden crow, they entered the central land, arriving at Shimotsu-agata in Uda.
       The Sovereign commanded Ōtomo-no-Hiomi-no-mikoto, 'Quickly subjugate the rebellious Nagasune of Ikoma.' He then ordered Amenohiwake-no-mikoto, 'There is a land in the east (lit. 'in the direction of heaven (?)'); pacify that land.'
       He then bequeathed to him a sword as a symbol of his commission (shirushi-no-tsurugi). Upon receiving the command, Amenohiwake-no-mikoto went several hundreds of ri east.
       There was a kami in that area whose name was Isetsuhiko. Amenohiwake-no-mikoto asked him, 'Will you give your land to the Heavenly Grandson?'
       He answered, 'I have sought for this land and have lived here long. I will not obey your command.'
       Amenohiwake-no-mikoto then dispatched troops to kill that god. At once, [Isetsuhiko] gave in out of fear and said submissively, 'I surrender the whole land to the Heavenly Grandson. I will not live in it any longer.'
       Amenohiwake-no-mikoto asked, 'When you leave, how can I be sure [of your departure]?'
       [Isetsuhiko] said, 'Tonight I shall cause the eight winds to blow over the waters of the sea and ride the waves to go east. Thus will I depart.' Amenohiwake-no-mikoto, making ready his troops, kept watch on him.
       Around midnight, a great wind blew from all four directions, creating strong waves shining like the sun、so that both land and sea became bright. Riding upon the waves, [Isetsuhiko] then headed east—whence comes the old saying,
          The land of Ise, of the divine wind, whither waves from eternal Tokoyo repair.
       (The god Isetsuhiko was made to live in the nearby province of Shinano.) Upon taming this land, Amenohiwake-no-mikoto sent word back to the Sovereign. The Sovereign, greatly pleased, ordered the land be called 'Ise' after the god of the land's name and gave it to Amenohiwake-no-mikoto to govern, granting him the village of Miminashi in Yamato as his residence."
   In a certain volume it is said:
       Amenohiwake-no-mikoto, upon receiving the command, immediately went from the village of Kumano to the land of Ise. Killing the unruly kami and punishing the insubordinate, he set mountains and rivers as boundaries and established the districts of the land. Afterwards he sent word back to the palace at Kashihara."

### Isetsuhiko's stone fortress

A second excerpt from the Ise Fudoki relates another legend about the god and the origin of the name 'Ise'.
   It is said in the Ise Fudoki:
       'Ise' derives from the kami residing at Anashi shrine in Iga, Izumonotakeko-no-mikoto (出雲建子命), a son of a (or 'the') kami of Izumo, also known as Isetsuhiko-no-mikoto (伊勢都彦命) and Amenokushitama-no-mikoto (天櫛玉命).
       Long ago, this god made a fortress out of stone and dwelt therein. Abeshihiko-no-kami (阿倍志彦神) came [to conquer it], but he did not prevail and so retreated. This is where [Ise] gets its name.

## In the Harima Fudoki

Isetsuhiko-no-mikoto (伊勢都比古命) is also mentioned in passing in the Fudoki of Harima Province as the son of Iwa-no-ōkami (伊和大神), god of Iwa Shrine, believed to dwell in Iseno (伊勢野, part of modern Hayashida-chō, Himeji City) with his sister, Isetsuhime-no-mikoto (伊勢都比売命).

## Identification with Takeminakata

Since the Edo period, a number of authors - among them the Kokugaku scholar Motoori Norinaga - have attempted to identify Isetsuhiko with the god Takeminakata who briefly appears in the Kojiki, due to perceived parallels between the two deities.
* Isetsuhiko is said to be the son of a god of Izumo Province, with his father being identified in the Harima Fudoki as Iwa-no-ōkami, a god often conflated with Ōkuninushi, Takeminakata's father in the Kojiki. In addition, he is also considered to be a god of the wind like Takeminakata.
* The account of Isetsuhiko's surrender to Amenohiwake shows a thematic similarity to Takeminakata's surrender to Takemikazuchi in the Kojiki, both accounts even ending with the deity in question being sent to exile in Shinano Province. (Note, however, that the detail about Isetsuhiko being going to Shinano was an addition by a later hand.)