page_title: Japanese mythology
section_title: First Emperor Jimmu
hierarchical_section_title: Japanese mythology / Cosmogony / Origins of Japan and the kami / First Emperor Jimmu
caption_attribution_description: 日本語: 万物雛形画譜
context_page_description: Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of years of contact with China, Korea, Ainu, and Okinawan myths are also key influences in Japanese mythology.
  Japanese myths are tied to the topography of the archipelago as well as agriculturally-based folk religion, and the Shinto pantheon holds countless kami.
  Two important sources for Japanese myths as they are recognized today are the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. The Kojiki, or "Record of Ancient Matters," is the oldest surviving account of Japan's myths, legends, and history. Additionally, the Shintōshū describes the origins of Japanese deities from a Buddhist perspective.
  One notable feature of Japanese mythology is its explanation of the origin of the Imperial Family, which has been used historically to assign godhood to the imperial line.
  Note that Japanese is not transliterated consistently across all sources.
context_section_description: The tale of first Emperor Jimmu is considered the origin of the Imperial family. Emperor Jimmu is considered to be the human descendant of Amaterasu the Sun goddess. His ascension to the throne marked the "Transition from Age of the Gods to Human Age". After taking control of Yamato province, he established the imperial throne and acceded in the year of kanototori (conventionally dated to 660 B.C.). At the end of the seventh century, the Imperial court finally moved from where Emperor Jimmu was said to have founded it in Yamato.
  The importance of this myth in particular is that it establishes the origins, and the power, of the Japanese imperial family as divine. Although some scholars believe that the myths found in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki are meant to give authority to the imperial family, others suggest that the myths in the Nihon Shoki and Kojiki are unique accounts meant to give authority to the mythic histories in themselves. The Nihon Shoki and Kojiki have varying accounts of the mythic history of Japan, and there are differences in the details of the origins of the imperial family between the two texts. The Yamato Dynasty still has a role as a public symbol of the state and people, according to the current constitution of Japan.
caption: Ninigi otokawa, great-grandfather of Jimmu Tennō
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