PROVISIONAL TRANSLATION(December 2018)
Only significant errors of English in the translation
have been corrected––the content will be checkedagainst the original Japanese for accuracy at a later
date.

The Legend of a Noble Adrift: A Legend from the Kumano Region and theStructure of Its Mentality

HASHIMOTO Masayuki

Many legends and folk tales have been passed down to this day in the Kumano region of southern
Mie prefecture. Upon request of the Institute of Shinto Studies of Kogakkan University, the author
conducted research on the legends and folk tales of the Kumano region from 2005 to 2006. Its
research result was organized as the index of legends and folk tales and was published in Kōgakkanronsō. As a result, it was understood that most of the legends and folk tales passed down in Kumano
fall into a general narrative type of legends and folk tales. 1
Many legends from Kumano have been handed down by all generations such as hana no iwayaof Izanami included in the Nihonshoki, a legend of Emperor Jinmu included in both the Nihonshoki
and Kojiki (when these two texts are mentioned together, they are referred to as the Kiki), and alegend of the medieval era, Oguri Hangan. Why have so many legends remained in Kumano?
This research was a consideration of this question, especially two compelling legends: Jofuku andEmperor Jinmu found in Hadasu-machi and Kijima-machi of Kumano city. These two are very
popular legends with long histories. Why have these legends been mainly handed down in
Kumano? The time interval between the ancient mythologies or legends and those passed down tothe present is very large. Therefore, due to the limit of methodology, we should be very careful tointerpret myths and legends of the past through the current tradition. And yet, comparison
between the myths and legends kept in the classical literature and what have been passed downfrom generation to generation in Kumano to this day suggests a certain common thread in both.
However, such commonality is fundamentally different from factuality of events such as Jofuku’s
visit and Emperor Jinmu’s expedition to the east. The factuality of those events cannot be provedby the legends that have remained. What kind of commonality recognized in these legends is? Thisessays examines the resemblance of the structure of deep consciousness that shapes the legends
and systemizes them.
The author thinks that such structure of consciousness is embedded in legends. It has
influenced legends throughout ages and has been expressed in the form of the legends of Jofuku
and Emperor Jinmu. With this idea in mind, this article explores the structure of consciousness
through analyzing the legends of Jofuku and Emperor Jinmu mainly passed down to Sudasu andKijima of Kumano city. The result of this analysis and exploration will be meaningful for
examining the legend of Emperor Jinmu documented in the Kiki. Considering such study of theKiki, this article presents the author’s tentative theory, which develops based on the structure ofconsciousness embedded in the legends of Kumano.
First, the contents of the legends of Emperor Jinmu and Jofuku documented in the classics are
1

THE AUTHOR is faculty member in the Department of Contemporary Japanese Society at Kōgakkan University.
This chapter was originally published in Japanese in Kōgakkan University Shintō kenkyūjo kiyō, 2008.

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overviewed, from which some basic questions to examine in this essay are clarified.
Emperor Jinmu A (the Kojiki vol.2, Shinchō Nihon kotenshūsei)When Kamiyamatoiwarehiko no mikoto [Emperor Jinmu] arrived at the village of
Kumano, a large bear appeared. So, he immediately pretended to be dead. Also, his army
did the same and put their body down on the earth.
Emperor Jinmu B (the Nihonshoki, vol.3, Shōgakukan shinpen nihon koten bungakuzenshū)
The Emperor arrived at the village of Kami of Kumano. Here he embarked in the rockboat of Heaven, and leading his army, proceeded onwards by slow degree. In the midst of
the sea, they suddenly met with a violent wind, and the Imperial vessel was tossed about.
Then Ina-hi no Mikoto exclaimed and said:-“Alas! my ancestors were Heavenly Deities,
and my mother was a Goddess of the Sea. Why do they harass me by land, and why
moreover do they harass by sea?” When he had said this, he drew his sword and plunged
into the sea, where he became changed into the God Sabi-mochi. Mike Irino no Mikoto,also indignant at this, said:-“My mother and my aunt are both Sea-Goddesses: why do theyraise great billows to overwhelm us?” So treading upon the waves, he went to the Eternal
Land. The Emperor was now alone with the Imperial Prince Tagishi-mimi no Mikoto.
Leading his army forward, he arrived at Port Arazaka [Arasakatsu] in Kumano, where he
put to death the Tohe of Nishiki. At this time the Gods belched up a poisonous vapor, fromwhich everyone suffered. For this reason the Imperial army was again unable to exert itself.
(One year prior to the imperial enthronement, June) [English citation: Nihongi vol.1, W. G.
Aston: 114-115]
The description about Emperor Jinmu’s arrival in Kumano in the Kojiki is simple; thus, the useful
information about this essay is little. However, one noteworthy thing is that the large bear appeared
and the Emperor did “oe.” “Oe” means that he was in the condition of suspended animation. In
other words, Emperor Jinmu was in a temporal state of apparent death. This is noted here. On theother hand, the Nihonshoki contains detailed information, which is summed as follows:(1) The Emperor arrived at the village of Kami of Kumano, embarked in the rock-boat ofHeaven, and lead his army onwards.
(2) In the sea, they met with a violent wind, and the Imperial vessel was tossed about.
(3) In the storm, Ina-hi no Mikoto plunged into the sea, where he became changed into the
God Sabi-mochi. Mike Irino no Mikoto treaded upon the waves and went to the EternalLand.
(4) After this, Emperor Jinmu led his army forward with the Imperial Prince Tagishi-mimi no
Mikoto and arrived at Arasakatsu (Nishiki no ura) in Kumano.
(5) There the Emperor put to death the Tohe of Nishiki, but due the Gods’s poisonous vapour,the Emperor and his army ended up dong “oe.”What we should pay attention to here is that before arriving at Arazakatsu (Nishiki no ura), theEmperor and his party encountered a wind storm and drifted. From the viewpoint of the context
of the story, this episode can be understood as one of the trials to overcome for Emperor Jinmu inorder to be enthroned as the first emperor. However, from the viewpoint of the legend of Kumano,2there seems to be a different meaning. This will be examined in detail later. Next, the author would
like to pay attention to the fact that both Ina-hi no Mikoto and Mike Irino no Mikoto plunged into
the sea. Lastly, we should not miss that the Emperor and his party did “oe.” The fact that the twoof Kiki narrate a state of suspended animation would be because this has much to do with thefollowing narrative about the sword brought by Takakuraji; however, like the narrative about drift
on the sea, from the viewpoint of the legend of Kumano, this seems to have another meaning.
The contents of the legend of Jofuku is overviewed. This legend was already documented as old
as in the Taiheiki vol. 26 “a slander of a monk and servant of the shogun Naoyoshi Ashikakaga anda matter of the first Qin emperor,” a Buddhist text Sangokudenki, vol.1 “the first Qin emperor sought
the elixir of life.” However, in those texts, the legend of the arrival in Kumano is not found. The
appearance of the legend of Kumano began to be found after the Edo period. Jofuku A “Kumanosōsō yurai zōshūshō,” Kumano hayatama Taisha komonjo kokiroku (Osaka: Seibundō, 1971):
According to the Goreigenhongi about Jofuku, in November of the 72nd year of theemperor Kōrei’s era, the ship from Qin arrived in Chikushi. When the ship encounteredthe violent wind on the sea, it arrived in Kumano.
As for “Kumano sōsō yurai zōshūshō,” according to a commentary of Kumano hayatama Taisha
komonjo kokiroku, it is the compilation of old documents on the origin of Kumano Sanzan (threemajor shrines of Kumano) by someone named Takano and was completed in July 1721 (year 6 of
the Kyouhou era). The legend of Jofuku found in this text is a citation from the Goreigenhongi written
prior to “Kumano sōsō yurai zōshūshō.” It can be thought that the legend that Jofuku landed on
Kumano was formed already at least around the Kyōhō era. Also, “Saiyūki” of Nankei Tachibana’s
Tōzaiyūki (Zokuhen vol.3, Yūhōdōbunko), which was completed during 1795-1798 (7-10 years of
the Kansei era) states:
The place where Jofuku left his boat and landed on for the first time is the village called
Hadasuas far as 67 ri from Shinguu. According to elders of this village, Jofuku arrived byhis boat at Yaganoiso of Hadasu on the last day of the year and lived around there for awhile. Then, he moved to somewhere near Three Shrines of Kumano to live.
This tells us that the legend that Jofuku had landed on Hadasu existed during the Kansei era.
Although these texts do not provide much information about the legend of Jofuku, according to“Kumano sōsō yurai zōshūshō,” saying, “after drifting on the sea, we arrived at the beach of
Kumano,” it can be thought that after they drifted on the sea, they must have arrived at Kumano.
Also, “Kumano sōsō yurai zōshūshō” states that Jofuku “always respects the deities,” while the
Tōzaiyūki states that “the offspring of Jofuku became leading figures of Kumano and continued toflourish. These show that Jofuku was quite respected in Kumano. One further point of the Tōzaiyūkithat elderly people passes down the story that Jofuku arrived on the last day of the year is verysuggestive when we think about how Jofuku was respected in that place.
Thus, the contents of the legends of Emperor Jinmu and Jofuku, which are recorded in thewritten texts including the Kiki, “Kumano sōsō yurai zōshūshō,” and Tōzaiyūki, have been examined.
These are very different legends but there is resemblance or common thread in terms of key eventsof the story line.
(A) Emperor Jinmu, Jofuku, and their parties came beyond the sea. (This is commonly foundin the Kiki and “Kumano sōsō yurai zōshūshō.”)3

(B) These parties encountered a violent wind on the sea and after drifting, they landed on
Kumano. Commonly found in the Nihonshoki and “Kumano sōsō yurai zōshūshō.”)(C) The main characters either die or get in a state of suspended animation at a place where
they landed. (Commonly found in the Kiki. Note that although this is not included in“Kumano sōsō yurai zōshūshō,” but “Kumano sōsō yurai zōshūshō” has a premise that
Jofuku passed away in Kumano.)
These features are also found more less in the legends of Emperor Jinmu and Jofuku which havebeen passed down in present day Kumano. In short, these are the main core of the two legends
which have been handed down by all generations. With this in mind, let us examine further thecontents of these two legends existent today that the author conducted research on. The object toexamine here are five different kinds of the legends which the author selected from Kii Kumano-shi
no minzoku vol.12 in order to investigate the legends and folk tales of Kumano.
Hadasu chou, Kumano city
I Hadasu, the story about the place name (the legend of Jofuku)
II Jofuku no miya, the story about the place name (the legend of Jofuku)
III Kamadokoro, the story about the place name (the legend of Jofuku)
Nikijimachō, Kumano city
IV Tōjinzuka, the origin of tsuka (the legend of Chen Yun)
V Okagmibama, the origin of the place name (the legend of Emperor Jinmu)
These four among five fall into the legend about the origin of a place name; however, from adifferent perspective, these four are also about the legend that both Jofuku and Emperor Jinmu
arrived in Kumano. Also, for IV, the legend of Tōjinzuka can be understood as a variation of thelegend of Jofuku in terms of the contents. The author would like to point out that whether it is thelegend of Jofuku or Emperor Jinmu, these are basically the legends about a stranger who came to
Kumano from somewhere outside Kumano. In this respect, these legends are fundamentally
identical. Moreover, those strangers are the retainer of the first Qin emperor and the Japanese firstemperor. In short, the main characters of these legends are all strangers as well as nobles. This is
the most important commonality of these legends when we think about the structure ofconsciousness deeply embedded in those legends. (These main characters are called “nobles” when
they are referred to as a whole.) In my view, this commonality specifies the framework of the entire
legend. In other words, these legends, despite different main characters, have been shaped by the
support of the similar structure of consciousness in essential. While being aware of thecommonality between the legends of Jofuku and Emperor Jinmu, let us further examine each of
the five legends and clarify some considerations.
Jofuku I
Because Jofuku from Qin came to Hadasu and lived here, it is called “hata-sumi (Qin-live),”which later changed to Hadasu and remained as it is to this day. (Kii Kumano-shi no minzokusōgō minzoku chōsa hōkokusho 12, March 1981).
According to this, the place name of Hadasu is the variation of the word “hatasumi,” which means
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that Jofuku came to this place and settled down. In Hadasu, a stone monument regarded as Jofuku’s
tomb and a small shrine where Jofuku is enshrined remain to this day. A component to be extracted
from this legend is only that “Jofuku came to Hadasu and lived here;” however, the fact that
“Jofuku’s tomb” has been preserved in this place implicitly means that Jofuku passed away in thisplace.
Jofuku II
In old times, a man named Jofuku from Qin was ordered by the first Qin emperor to search
for an elixir of life, and a dozen of ships set sail; however, they encountered a violent windand had a tough time. Soon, only Jofuku’s ship drifted to Yaga. At that time, there were
only three houses in Hadasu, and three figures Yohachi, Fumikichi, and Saburobei ran tohelp them. However, a crew was foreigners and did not understand Japanese. They built atemporary hose nearby and took care of them by taking turn. Jofuku began to making
potteries and to teach pottery to those three. Thus, this place came to be called kamadokoroor kamayashiki (Ibid.).
It is Jofuku III that contains almost the same content with this latter half.
Jofuku III
A fishing village of Hadasu, Kumano is a port to which Jofuku from Qin drifted seeking
the elixir of life. Because Jofuku set up a pottery furnace 2 chō far toward east from there
and began to teach pottery to villagers, this place came to be called kamadokoro or kamayashiki(Ibid.).
In this version, the names of three villagers Yohachi, Fumikichi, and Saburobei appearing in“Jofuku no miya” are not found but recorded just as villagers. Yet the point that Jofuku driftedashore on Hadasu is common. These is the legend of Jofuku passed down to Hadasu, while “IV
Toujinzuka” contains the content which can be thought to be a variation of the legend of Jofuku.
4th legend: Tōjinzuka, the origin of tsuka (the legend of Chen Yun) IV
In old times, by the order of the Qin first emperor, the ship ofChen Yun who set sail tosearch for the elixir of life which was believed to exist in Japan, drifted ashore on Nigishima.
It is said that he passed away on this land and that what is called tōjinzuka is the tomb which
was built for the repose of his soul.
(Ibid.)
This narrative has no name of Jofuku and is aboutChen Yun. About a man calledChen Yun, it is
not recorded in the Shiki which contains the legend of Jofuku; thus, it is uncertain how the nameofChen Yun has been passed down. However, the main structure of this legend is that the figure
drifted to Japan seeking the elixir of life during the period of the Qin first emperor. This can be
regarded as a variation of the legend of Jofuku. Therefore, this legend is included in the group of
the legend of Jofuku.
The important common elements of these four versions of the legend are summed up:

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(i)
(ii)
(iii)

Nobles from abroad (Jofuku and Chen Yun) came to Japan over the sea.
The ship which the nobles were on board encountered a violent wind, was adrift,
and went ashore at Kumano.
A noble passed away at that place and was buried there.

Versions 1 and 2 lack the information of (iii); however, from the presence of the tomb and theshrine, it can be thought that both versions implicitly contain the content of burying. Next, thelegend V which has been passed down to Nigishima, “Ogamibama” about the legend of Emperor
Jinmu.
5th legend: Jinmu V
In old times, when Emperor Jinmu headed to Yamato, he went ashore at Nigishimasato. At
that time, all villagers came to the beach and worshiped Emperor Jinmu; thus, this beach
began to be called ogamibama (worship-beach). (Ibid.)
From this source, further information other than Emperor Jinmu’s arrival in Kumano and thevillagers’ respect for him is not available. In terms of the quantity of information, it is as little as
the Kojiki. There is another source of information which shows the existence of the legend whichcontains more details about the same episode. It is about the origin of the Muroko shrine which
exists in Nigishima to this day, and (Mie ken jinja shi vol. 4, Mie ken shinshokukai, October 1926)
contains the detailed description about it. Upon reading it, we understand that the origin of theshrine itself is one legend about Emperor Jinmu:
Origin 1
During Emperor Jinmu’s expedition to the east, his ship was sailing in the sea of Kumano.
In the midst of the sea, they suddenly met with a violent wind, and both Ina-hi no Mikoto
and Mike Irino no Mikoto plunged into the sea and passed away. The wind and waves
became calm, and the ship kept sailing in order to search for the two deities. Local villagers
mistook the ship for a prey and approached to the ship. They found out that it was a warship.
They were afraid and tried to get back, but the Emperor called the villagers back and said
that the two deities plunged into the sea during the wind storm and that they could not findtheir bodies. The villagers were commanded to look for the bodies together and did theirbest to find them. After the villagers got the bodies and loaded on the ship, they went ashorewith the imperial ship at the beach and buried the bodies on the land. The imperial shipleft to the east. Since then, the villagers worshiped the imperial mausoleum as theirguardian deity and fixed the dates of a festival (May 5 and November 2) (snip) Although
there is no written source about this, this story has been passed down since the old times.
This Muroko shrine is located in Murozaki, the western side of Nigishima bay and enshrines
Emperor Jinmu’s elder brother Inahi no mikoto who became the deity Sabimochikami after
jumping into the sea to commit suicide. Also, in Agosaki, the opposite side of the bay, Akoshi shrine
is located where Mike iri no mikoto is enshrined, who is believed to tread upon the waves and go
to the Eternal Land.
Nigishimasato-chō, which is narrated that Emperor Jinmu came ashore at in the legend of
ogamibama of Jinmu V, is situated deep within Nigishima bay.
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Also, there are rocky areas called Tategasaki and Senjōjiki at the tip of Agosaki cape where
Akoshi shrine is located, and another legend narrates that Senjoujiki is the place of Emperor
Jinmu’s landing. In other words, the legends about Emperor Jinmu are found in the entire area.
The origin of the Muroko shrine provides some interesting matters. First, main events of theorigin are summarized as follows:(1) During Emperor Jinmu’s expedition to the east, in the midst of the sea of Kumano,
they suddenly met with a violent wind.
(2) After both Inahi no Mikoto and Mike Irino no Mikoto’s suicide by jumping into the sea,
the wind became calm, and the imperial ship kept sailing.
(3) Local villagers, who saw it, mistook the ship for a prey, but found out it a warship andtried to get back.
(4) Emperor Jinmu called them back and commanded them to look for the bodies of Inahi no Mikoto and Mike Irino no Mikoto.
(5) The villagers worked hard and found the bodies. They went ashore with the imperial
ship at the beach and buried the bodies on the land.
(6) The imperial ship left to the east.
(7) Since then, the villagers worshiped the imperial mausoleum as their guardian deity and
fixed May 5 and November 2 as the dates of a festival.
(8) Although there is no written source about it, the story has been passed down since theold times.
Many elements here are not included in the Kiki, and it is apparent that these elements were newly
added to the original story in later ages. This should be noted, but it is possible to extract themeaningful information to this article, which can be organized as follows:(a) The imperial ship encountered the violent wind.
(b) Emperor Jinmu landed with local villagers.
(c) Both Inahi no Mikoto and Mike Irino no Mikoto were buried on this land and received
respect from local villagers.
Among these, (c) is not found in the Nihonshoki, and in this respect, it is not impossible to say that
this is a fabrication. The question is why such legend was newly produced. A noteworthy thing isthat a similar legend to this has been passed down, in the form of the origin of the Jirōmyōjin shrine,
to Mikiura-chou of Owase city separated by only a bay from Nigishima. The first part of thelegend is an adaptation of the Nihonshoki and has no value as the primary source. However, thesecond half of it should be noted:
p.11
When the ship was about to pass Shingū, the sea suddenly raged, and the ship was about
to sink. The second son Miki irinu and the third son Inabi lamented, “Our mother andaunt are both Sea-Goddesses. Yet, why do they make us suffer?” (snip) They jumped into
the furious sea one after another. It is said that the second son Miki irinu’s body was washedashore on the beach of Mikiura while the third son Inabi’s body was washed ashore on thebeach of Mikisato. Since then, Miki irinu was enshrined in Mikiura while Inabi wasenshrined in Mikisato as the guardian deity of either village. The shrine in Mikiura began
to be called Jiroumyoujin shrine as the second son Miki irinu was enshrined there. (Miehigashi kishū no minwa, Masahiro Konishi, May 1999).
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These narratives indicate that although it is not known when, but something like that might havebeen actually happened that two princes, who jumped into the sea to commit suicide, were buried
in a proper way and became the object of worship. If that is the case, the legend regarding the two
princes should contain something meaningful to be narrated. While bearing this in mind, when we
look at the points of importance of the legends, which have been examined, there seems to acommon feature.
The points of importance are organized in the form of a chart, based on which the basic structureof the aforementioned legends and its essence are further investigated. (In the chart, ○ signifies
inclusion; ×signifies exclusion; △signifies that it is not narrated as the content, but implicitly
included.) Based on this chart, the features of these legends are examined for each classification
item.

JofukuⅡ
１Main char
Jofukuacter
２shipwreck○
３Arrival at○
Kumano４Arriver’s death (suspend △ed animation)
５worship/b○
urial

Jofuku Ⅲ

Chen Yun● JinmuⅤⅣ

Origin ①

JofukuChen Yun●

Jinmu

Jinmu

×

○

×

○

○

○

○

○

△

○

×

○

△

○

○

○

Regarding a main character as the classification item 1, if a proper noun is discarded, all main
characters are commonly noble strangers who came from outside. From a viewpoint of the study
on mythologies and legends, all of these legends hold a same structure. Next, the classification item
2 is not narrated in Version A: The legend of Emperor Jinmu of the Kojiki, Jofuku II, Jofuku III,and Jinmu V. This should be kept in mind; however, Jofuku A contains the phrase suggesting that
he and his party experienced the furious sea. Therefore, it can be thought that this legend implicitly
includes the event of shipwreck or drifting. Also, Jinmu B of the Nihonshoki, Jofuku II, Chen Yun
IV, origin 1 explicitly narrate the drifting due to the violent wind. Considering these, theclassification item 2 is also an important element. Needless to say, as these legends are centered in
Kumano, the arrival in Kumano as the classification 3 is common in all of the legends.
Thus, despite a small issue of the item 2, contents of the items 1 through 3 almost completely
correspond to each other. This has been pointed out in the case of each legend in this essay, but its
commonality is apparent upon taking an overview of the entire legends. A basic feature of thelegend of Jofuku and Emperor Jinmu can be summarized as follows:8Basic structure 1: The essential feature of these legends is that nobles of foreign countries
encounter a violent wind on the sea and arrived in Kumano.
The next question is how we should understand the classification items four and five, which are
the arriver’s death (or apparent death) and worship/burial. As there are some differences in termsof the contents of these items, it is important how to interpret them. We would like to carefully
examine them. Let us begin with the item 4. Each legend corresponds to each other in terms of thefact that death or apparent death is narrated; however, the concrete content of each greatly differsfrom that of each legend. First, in legends of Jinmu A and B, it is Emperor Jinmu and his party
that are in a state of apparent death. On the other hand, in the case of the legend Jinmu V, theEmperor’s death or suspended animation is not found at all. Similarly, whereas origin 1 includes
an incident that both Inahi no mikoto and Mikeiri no mikoto were drowned, Emperor Jinmu
himself did not confront death. Similarly, Inahi no mikoto and Mikeiri no mikoto are not narrated
relating to Kumano in Jinmu A and B. Such difference is also recognized in terms ofworship/burial, the classification item five. While the ancient legend of Emperor Jinmu does notnarrate the burial of the dead and worship after that, new legends rather explicitly narrate it. Thus,
regarding the legend of Emperor Jinmu, there is a huge gap between the ancient legend of the Kiki
and the new ones. Let us explore this issue by examining the legend of Jofuku.
When we regard the legends of Jofuku A, I, II, III, and Jofuku’s variation Chen YunIV as one
group, if implicit element is included, the awareness about the arriver’s death, worship toward thedead, and prayer for their repose is clearly recognized in the entire group. Specifically, Chen YunIV
contains the elements of all classification items, which possibly indicates the most basic structureof the legend of Jofuku. If this is relevant, the legend of Jofuku basically consists of the following
structure:
(I)
(II)
(III)
(IV)

A noble from oversea
Encountered a violent wind and reached ashore in Kumano
A noble passed away in Kumano
Local villagers of Kumano buried a noble and had a memorial service for the repose

The features of the legend of Jofuku emerge from the combination of this structure and theaforementioned basic structure one. Apparently, the essence of the legend of Jofuku is the narrativeof a noble’s wreck and the repose of his soul.
As for the prior scholarly opinion, Masao Shimada pointed out that a view that a tomb called
Jofuku’ in Shingū city is regarded as a tomb of a foreigner, who had arrived in Kumano, due tothe drift or something else has long existed in the Kumano region. He strictly criticized such a view.
Furthermore, Shimada examined the route of transmission of the legend of Jofuku from his own
unique viewpoint and discussed a possibility that the nobilities, who accompanied an emperor’svisit to Kumano, tried to identify Kumano as the Enchanted Land by their knowledge of conceptsof Taoist immortality. However, his argument is very subjective lacking validity: “There is aworldly element typical to Japanese folk tales in respect of adding a human-like tomb to the story.
To characterize Jofuku as a superhuman indicates the feeling of the nobilities of the Heian period.”
I cannot help but say that his argument is not at all persuasive. At present, the legend of Jofuku
cannot trace back any further than the early modern times in terms of literal sources; thus, there is
no proof that the nobles accompanying the emperor’s visit to Kumano brought the legend of
Jofuku to Kumano. Similarly, the legends of Jofuku, which have remained in Hadasu andNigishima, do not indicate any trace of the concepts of Taoist immortality.
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In the first place, in the case of examining the formation and development of this kind of legend
whose literal sources are scarce, nonetheless, it should be carefully investigated. Therefore, a useful
method for this type of study is to do research on similar legends extensively, to extract the common
structure embedded in them, and to explore such consciousness that shapes and supports thoselegends. This essay adapts this method and attempts to examine the common structure in question.
Considering the result, the very view that Shimada criticized as a popular version of Kumano
contains the certain truth. In short, it can be imagined that the legend of Jofuku found in Kumanois the story, which symbolically achieved a legendary status, of many foreigners’ death due to wreck.
If that is the case, the link between this type of legend from Kumano and the concepts of Taoist
immortality is in fact secondary.
Outside the bay of Hadasu and Nigishima, there is Kumano-nada Sea where the Black current
washes ashore. Agozaki cape, which Emperor Jinmu is believed to have landed at, is the place
where a chain of desolate mountains called three thousand six hundred ridges stretches to cliffs ofKumano-nada Sea. It is easily imagined that there must have been many victims of a shipwreck
not only during a season of typhoon but also throughout four seasons. Some victims who weredrowned in the sea were washed ashore while some were narrowly saved. However, those who had
a narrow escape from death could not return to their home and must have lived their life here.
Local people of Kumano must have been witnessing these victims more than a thousand years. In
the deep layer of memory extracted from the legend of Jofuku, an afterimage of the scene, which
local people kept seeing, exists. The formation of this legend needs to be overviewed from the sideof Kumano again. We should understand that many incidents of shipwreck, which were witnessedby local people of Kumano, have been passed down as the afterimage of the people’s memory, andthat such afterimage shaped a conciseness to produce the legend.
From this viewpoint, we can understand the difference between the ancient and new versions of
the legend of Emperor Jinmu, which is the topic to be examined next. Moreover, the author thinksthat the aforementioned memory of shipwreck was not enough to produce the legends. In orderfor the memory to achieve a legendary status, there must be another factor which triggered theformation of legendary. Such factor shold be linked to certain faith practiced in Kumano. Thisessay ends with this exploration.
Let us begin with the legend of Emperor Jinmu. In reference to the organization of Jofuku IIV, the differences between the ancient and new versions are organized as follows:

JinmuＡ

Origin ①

JinmuⅤ

JinmuＢ

Ⅰ

○

○

○

○

Ⅱ

×

○

×

○

Ⅲ ○（Jinmu’s suspended ○（Jinmu’s suspended ×
animation）
animation）○（two princes were drowned）

Ⅳ ×

○

×

×

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A way in which the legend of Emperor Jinmu of the Kiki was formed is a theme to be examined infuture; however, no description about what happened after the death of Inahi no mikoto and Mike
iri no mikoto can be understood as lack of the legend. In other words, the legend of the Kiki without
development of a story that a noble’s body was buried and prayed for the repose of his soul seems
to go nowhere as the legend from the viewpoint of the side of Kumano. It can be viewed that sucha legend is uncomplete without a conclusion. In a word, would not it be the case that such a senseof going nowhere produced a new development such as the origin of the Muroko shrine?
Recently, Sakurai Haruo made an interesting study on a relationship between “Nigishima
festival” held by the Muroko and Akoshi shrines and the legend of Emperor Jinmu. He discusses
the process of the rediscovery of the legend of Jinmu in the festival of Nigishima from the standpointof the festival and points out:
It can be understood that such an origin that is orally transmitted and narrated in particular
was not formed as a forced or casual explanation but was formed as an explanation after
selection of important matters in relation to the structure and symbolic nature of the festival.
Tradition of the festival of Nigishima was introduced as the historical proof for Emperor
Jinmu’s expedition to the East; however, the narrated content is something deep embeddedin the festival, and the question is how to explore this narrative.
This approach to grasp the meaning of selection of the legend of Jinmu in the context of the
Nigishima festival in relation to the structure and symbolic nature of the festival is useful to thisessay. If we examine the issue of selecting tradition from the viewpoint of this essay, i.e., the studyof mythologies and folk tales, cannot a new development in the form of the origin of the Muroko
shrine be understood as so-called rebound or swinging back in response to the sense of being
uncomplete found in the legend of the Kiki? The reason why such a new development took placeis because the structure of consciousness about the legend of shipwreck of Kumano effects on thelegend. The author presents this as a hypothesis to continue to be explored. A question of why
repeated events such as foreigners’ shipwreck and arrival were incorporated into the consciousness
that produced the legend is explored here.
It can be thought that in the depth of consciousness from which a legend, not a mere event, isestablished, a factor to integrate the event into the legend exists in both sides of fact and legend.
What is the factor of the side of legend in order for the accident of shipwreck to achieve a legendary
status? Its clue is embedded in the legend. Let us pay attention again to Nankei Tachibana’s
Tōzaiyūki:
The place where Jofuku left his boat and landed on for the first time is the village called
Hadasu as far as 67 ri from Shingū. According to elders of this village, Jofuku arrived byhis boat at Yaganoiso of Hadasu on the last day of the year and lived around there for awhile. Then, he moved to somewhere near Three Shrines of Kumano to live.
We should not overlook a description that Jofuku arrived by his boat on the last day of December.
The story of a stranger’s visit on the last day of December, i.e., the last day of the year is, needlessto say, a motif found in the theme of “Ōtoshi no kyaku (a visitor of Ōtoshi)” of folktales. Regarding“Ōtoshi no kyaku,” one folktale was collected in a mountain village Ikuseichō of Kumano city.
This motif that to welcome a guest who visits on the last day of the year brings wealth to a host isoften found in similar legends in one form or another. The legend of Kōbōdaishi is one such11

example, and the legend of Kōbōdaishi spreads in almost entire area of the Kumano region. As
long as the author conducted research on it, the total number is as many as eighteen. In otherwords, there are abundant legends of a noble visiting from outside in the Kumano region. The
legend of Jofuku narrated in the Tōzaiyūki is clearly linked with “Ōtoshi no kyaku” and has a featureof a story about a noble visitor from outside. When we reexamine the legends of Jofuku andEmperor Jinmu from this standpoint, we can understand that a noble visitor from outside issignificantly meaningful. In the past, Shigeru Gorai suggested the existence of the view of Kaijōtakai-kan (the next world on the sea) in Kumano in connection with fudaraku-tokai (a form of theascetic practice):
Like those who practiced an open-air burial made a mountain as a sacred site with a viewof the next world at a mountain, it is natural that those who practiced burial at sea held aview of the next world at the sea and considered a place located far across the sea to be Mt.
Fudaraku.
Shigeru Gorai assumed the next world on the sea as the world of the dead; however, a different
side emerges from the viewpoint of the study of mythologies and legends. In other words, if thefaith of fudaraku-tokai and the legends of Jofuku and Jinmu center on “the view of the next worldon the sea,” the relationship of the faith and legends is in fact up and down. This can besummarized as follows:
From Kumano to the other world → Sail to Mt. Fudaraku
Kumanothe next world on the sea

The arrival of Jinmu and Jofuku ← From the view of the next world on the sea to Kumano
In this line of discussion, the faith of fudaraku-tokai and the legends of Emperor Jinmu and Jofuku
are the interactive phenomena, which emerged from a link between Kumano and the faith of thenext world on the sea. These hold a structure as a whole. From the viewpoint like this, “the next
world on the sea” does not merely mean “the world of death” but the place where a noble, who
visits far across the sea, lives. This essay reinterprets “the view of the next world on the sea” of
Kumano that Shigeru Gorai assumed. This is a very important issue if we examine the faith in
Kumano, and the author will continue to explore it further.
In conclusion, the legends of Emperor Jinmu and Jofuku in Kumano have been shaped in thecontext of factual shipwreck and have developed in connection with the faith of “the next worldon the sea.” When we focus on the main development of the legends, despite their great differences,
we come to understand that they fall into the same category of legends holding the common
structure of consciousness. This structure can be grasped as the shape of triangle expressed by thefollowing chart:
Contents of the legends
Structure of Consciousness
Shipwreck (memory of fact)
The view of the next world on the sea (faith of hometown)

12As mentioned before, while exploring this structure, we should also consider the issue of fudarakutokai as the matter of faith in Kumano. When the entire features of the view of the next world on
the sea including fudaraku-tokai, the structure of consciousness in relation to the legend and faith in
Kumano will be clarified further.
If the hypothetical approach of this essay is valid, it is potentially influential upon the study on
Emperor Jinmu’s expedition to the east in the Kiki. At least, from the viewpoint of Kumano, thelegend that the Emperor landed at Kumano suggests greatly different aspects from what the priorscholarly works on the Kiki have revealed. There would be many aspects to be explored. The author,
who has experienced the depth of Kumano through this research, thinks that it is necessary to
examine again the legend of Emperor Jinmu from the perspective of Kumano.
Notes
1. Hashimoto Masayuki, “Kumano chihō no densetsu minwa kenkyū josetsu oyobi sakuin,”
Kōgakkan ronsō 40, no.4 (August 2007).
2. Regarding the identification of “arasakatsu,” there are the following theories, and there isno commonly accepted one.
(a) The theory of Nigishima (Nishikiurakō by Moto’ori Uchito’o)(b) The theory of Taikichō (Kojikiden by Moto’ori Norinaga)(c) The theory of Hamano miya, Shingū city (Nihonshoki tsūshō by Tanikawa Kotosuga)
This essay does not investigate these theories to identify relevant one. What this essay
attempts to explore is a question of why such legend has been formed, namely, theconsciousness of the side of Kumano.
3. The cited source titled Ki’i kumano shi no minzoku is the compiled research result of fieldwork
conducted between 1979 and 1981 by a society for the folklore study of Ōtani University
under the guidance of Shigeru Gorai. This essay owes much to the result of this report.
4. Shimada Masao, “Jofuku denshō seiritsu no kiban,” in Kumano (Tenri: Tenrijihōsha, 1957).
Reprint (Tokyo: Geirinsha, 1974).
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Sakurai Haruo, “Katarareru saishi no yurai to shinwa denshō,” Shinwa shōchō bunka (Tokyo:
Rakurōshoin, 2005).
8. Ibid.
9. Hashimoto, “Kumano chihō no densetsu minwa kenkyū josetsu oyobi sakuin.”
10. Hashimoto, “Kumano chihō no densetsu minwa kenkyū josetsu oyobi sakuin.”
11. Gorai Shigeru, Kumano mōde (Tokyo: Kōdansha gakujutsu bunko, 2003). The first edition(Kyoto: Tankōshinsha, 1967).
Additional remarks
This essay owes part of the research conducted by the author upon request of the Kumano Kodo
Center through Kogakkan University. A special acknowledgement goes to a professor of Kogakkan
University, Motozawa Masashi, who not only accompanied my field research in Kumano but also
provided me photographs of the Muroko and Akoshi shrines for this essay. This essay would nothave been possible without him. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Professor Motozawa
for his support.

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