page_title: Emperor Jimmu
section_title: Migration
hierarchical_section_title: Emperor Jimmu / Legendary narrative / Migration
caption_attribution_description: English: Depiction of a bearded Emperor Jimmu (Jinmu tennô) with his emblematic long bow and an accompanying three-legged crow. Medium: Woodblock print (nishiki-e). Dimensions: Vertical ôban; 37.4 x 25.1 cm (14 3/4 x 9 7/8 in.) 日本語: 月岡芳年『大日本名将鑑』より「神武天皇」。神武天皇の弓の先に止まった金鵄が光を放ち、長髄彦軍の兵の目をくらませている。
context_page_description: According to Shinto religious myth, Emperor Jimmu was the first Emperor of Japan. His accession is traditionally dated as 660 BC. In Japanese mythology, he was a descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu, through her grandson Ninigi, as well as a descendant of the storm god Susanoo. He launched a military expedition from Hyuga near the Seto Inland Sea, captured Yamato, and established this as his center of power. In modern Japan, Jimmu's mythical accession is marked as National Foundation Day on February 11. However, most scholars agree upon that Emperor Kinmei is the first verifiable Japanese Emperor.
context_section_description: According to the chronicles Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, Jimmu's brothers were born in 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 Sao Netsuhiko. 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, and, with the guidance of a three-legged crow, Yatagarasu ("eight-span crow"), they moved to Yamato. There, they once again battled Nagasunehiko and were victorious.
  In Yamato, Nigihayahi no Mikoto, 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 dragonflies, archaically akitsu 秋津. A mosquito then tried to steal Jimmu's royal blood but since Jimmu was a god incarnate Emperor, akitsumikami (現御神), a dragonfly killed the mosquito. Japan thus received its classical name the Dragonfly Islands, akitsushima (秋津島).
  According to the 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 the time in which legends about the origins of the Yamato dynasty were chronicled in the Kojiki. There are accounts written earlier than either Kojiki and Nihon Shoki that present an alternative version of the story. According to these accounts, Jimmu's dynasty was supplanted by that of Ōjin, whose dynasty was supplanted by that of Keitai. The Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki then combined these three mythical dynasties into one long and continuous genealogy.
  The traditional site of Jimmu's grave is near Mount Unebi in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture.
caption: Depiction of a bearded Jimmu with his emblematic long bow and an accompanying three-legged crow. This 19th-century artwork is by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.
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