Prince Yamatotakeru (日本武尊, やまとたける) (also known as Yamato-dake), originally Prince Ousu (小碓命, おうすのみこと) was a Japanese legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty, son of Keikō of Yamato, a legendary monarch who is traditionally counted as the 12th Tennō or Emperor of Japan. The tragic tale of this impressive figure is told in the Japanese chronicles Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. One of his sons later became Chūai, traditionally counted as the 14th Emperor of Japan.
His historical existence is uncertain but those books date his life to the 4th century AD. Details are different between the two books and the version in Kojiki is assumed to be loyal to the older form of this legend.
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Prince Ousu slew his elder brother Ōusu. (大碓命, おおうすのみこと) His father, the emperor Keikō, feared his brutal temperament. The father plotted to have his son die in battle and sent him to Izumo Province, today the eastern part of Shimane Prefecture and then the land of Kumaso, today Kumamoto Prefecture. But Ousu succeeded in defeating his enemies, in the latter case by cross-dressing as a maid servant attendant at a drinking party (see image left). One of the enemies he defeated praised him and gave him the title Yamatotakeru, meaning The Brave of Yamato. But Emperor Keikō's mind was unchanged.
Keikō sent Yamato Takeru to the eastern land whose people disobeyed the imperial court. Yamatotakeru met his aunt Princess Yamato, the highest priestess of Amaterasu at Ise Grand Shrine (in Ise Province). His father attempted to kill him with his own hands, however Princess Yamato showed him compassion and lent him a holy sword named Kusanagi no tsurugi which Susanoo, the brother god of Amaterasu found in the body of the great serpent, Yamata no Orochi. Yamatotakeru went to the eastern land. He lost his wife Ototachibanahime during a storm, when she sacrificed herself to soothe the anger of the sea god. He defeated many enemies in the eastern land, and legend has it that he and a local old man composed the first renga in Kai Province and their theme was Mount Tsukuba (now in Ibaraki Prefecture). In return he blasphemed a local god of Mount Ibuki, which sits on the border of Ōmi Province and Mino Province. The god cursed him with disease and he fell ill.
According to traditional sources, Yamato Takeru died in the 43rd year of Emperor Keiko's reign (景行天皇43年).[1] The possessions of the dead prince were gathered together along with the sword Kusanagi; and his widow venerated his memory in a shrine at her home. Sometime later, these relics and the sacred sword were moved to the current location of Atsuta Shrine.[2]
Yamato Takeru is believed to have died somewhere in Ise Province. According to the legend the name of Mie Prefecture was derived from his final words. After death his soul turned into a great white bird and flew away. His tomb in Ise is known as the Mausoleum of the White Plover. A statue of Yamato Takeru stands in Kenroku-en in Kanazawa, Ishikawa.
Anthropologist C. Scott Littleton has described the Yamato Takeru legend as “Arthurian”[3] due to some structural similarities with the King Arthur legend. Common points include the use of two magic swords, of which the first one validates the authority of the hero; the leadership role of a war band; the death to an enemy after giving up the sword to a female figure; a transportation to the afterworld, and others.[4] Littleton proposed that both legends descend from a common Northest Iranian ancestor.[5]