or Takeshiuchi no Sukune was a legendary Japanese hero-statesman of the 1st century, and a

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

. He is recorded in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' (ca.

712 __NOTOC__ Year 712 ( DCCXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 712 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era b ...

) and the '' Nihon Shoki'' (

720 __NOTOC__ Year 720 ( DCCXX) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 720 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

Life

Takenouchi no Sukune was supposedly the son of Princess Kagehime, and is said to be grandson to . Descended from

Emperor Kōgen , also known as was the eighth legendary emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Very little is known about this Emperor due to a lack of material available for further verification and study. Kōgen is known as a "l ...

, Takenouchi no Sukune served under five legendary emperors,

Emperor Keikō , also known as and , was the 12th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Keikō's all ...

Emperor Seimu , also known as , was the 13th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Seimu's alleged l ...

Emperor Chūai , also known as was the 14th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Chūai's alleged li ...

, Emperor Ōjin, and Emperor Nintoku, but was perhaps best known for his service as Grand Minister (Ōomi) to the Regent

Empress Jingū was a legendary Japanese empress who ruled as a regent following her husband's death in 200 AD. Both the ''Kojiki'' and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Jingū's alleged lifetime. Leg ...

, with whom he supposedly invaded Korea. While Jingu was regent to her son, Ojin, Takenouchi was accused of treason. He underwent the " ordeal of boiling water" as a way to prove his innocence. In addition to his martial services to these emperors, he was reputedly also a ''saniwa'', or

spirit medium Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spir ...

. He is said to have been the grandson of HIkofutsuoshinomakoto in the Nihon Shoki, where as the Kojiki states that he was the son of Hikofutsuoshinomakoto.

Legacy

Twenty-eight Japanese clans are said to be descended from Takenouchi no Sukune, including

Takeuchi Takeuchi ( ja, 竹内; "within bamboo" or ja, 武内; "warrior household") is a Japanese surname. It is common in west-central Japan, and is pronounced Takenouchi (''Take-no-uchi'') by some bearers. The family claims descent from the legendary her ...

and Soga. He is a legendary figure, and is said to have drunk daily from a sacred well, which helped him live to be 280 years old. He is enshrined as a

Kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

at the

Ube shrine is a Shinto shrine in the Kokufu-cho neighborhood of the city of Tottori in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. It is the ''ichinomiya'' of former Inaba Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on April 21. Enshrined ''kami'' The ' ...

, in the Iwami district of the

Tottori Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Tottori Prefecture is the least populous prefecture of Japan at 570,569 (2016) and has a geographic area of . Tottori Prefecture borders Shimane Prefecture to the west, Hiro ...

and at local

Hachiman shrines In Japanese religion, ''Yahata'' (八幡神, ancient Shinto pronunciation) formerly in Shinto and later commonly known as Hachiman (八幡神, Japanese Buddhist pronunciation) is the syncretic divinity of archery and war, incorporating elements f ...

. His portrait has appeared on the

Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...

, and dolls of him are popular

Children's Day Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honor of children, whose date of observance varies by country. In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...

gifts.

*First convertible silver yen bill (1889-1958) *First five yen bill (1899-1939) *Third five yen bill (1916-1939) *Second one-yen bill (1943-1958) *Second 200 yen bill (1945-1946)

Family

* Father: Yanushioshiotakeogokoro-no-mikoto (屋主忍男武雄心命, ?–?) * Mother: Yamashita no Kage-hime (影媛), sister of Kiinokuni no Miyatsukuko Uzuhiko (Ujihiko) (山下影日売) ** Wife(s): unknown *** Son: Hata no Yashiro (羽田矢代, ?–?), ancestor of the

Hata clan was an immigrant clan active in Japan since the Kofun period (250–538), according to the history of Japan laid out in '' Nihon Shoki''. ''Hata'' is the Japanese reading of the Chinese surname ''Qin'' () given to the State of Qin and the Qin ...

(波多氏). *** Son: Kose no Okara (許勢小柄, ?–?), ancestor of the Kose clan (巨勢氏). *** Son:

Soga no Ishikawa Soga may refer to: People * Soga clan, a Japanese clan of the Yamato period * Soga clan (Sagami Province), a Japanese clan * Soga people, of the Busoga kingdom in present-day Uganda * Machiko Soga, Japanese voice actress * Soga Tokimune, Japa ...

(蘇我石川, ?–?), ancestor of the

Soga clan The was one of the most powerful aristocratic kin groups Uji (clan), (''uji'') of the Asuka period of the early Japanese state—the Yamato period, Yamato polity—and played a major role in the spread of Buddhism. Through the 5th and 7th centur ...

(蘇我氏). *** Son: Heguri no Tsuku (平群木菟, ?–?), ancestor of the Heguri clan (平群氏). *** Son: Ki no Tsuno (紀角, ?–?), ancestor of the Ki clan (紀氏). *** Daughter: Kume no Matio-hime (久米能摩伊刀比売, ?–?) *** Daughter: Nonoiro-hime (怒能伊呂比売, ?–?) *** Son: Kazuragi no Sotsuhiko (葛城襲津彦, ?–?), ancestor of the Katsuragi clan (葛城氏). *** Son: Wakugo no Sukune (若子宿禰)

Artwork

File:Jingu.jpg, Empress Jingū (above) and Takenouchi no Sukune (below) Fishing at Chikuzen File:Takeuchi and the infant emperor.jpg, Minister Takeuchi carrying the infant Emperor Ōjin.
Made by

Utagawa Kuniyoshi Utagawa Kuniyoshi ( ja, 歌川国芳, ; January 1, 1798 – April 14, 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting.Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric ''et al'' (2005). "Kuniyoshi" in He was a ...

File:Empress Jingu and Takenouchi no Sukune Fishing at Chikuzen LACMA M.84.31.260.jpg, Empress Consort Jingū and Takenouchi fish in Chikuzen.
Print of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1876) File:De regent Takeuchi no Sukune-Rijksmuseum RP-P-1958-369.jpeg, The Regent Takeuchi no Sukune.
Print of Totoya Hokkei (1822) File:Daijin Takenouchino Sukune.jpg, Daijin Takenouchi no Sukune by

Tsukioka Yoshitoshi Tsukioka Yoshitoshi ( ja, 月岡芳年; also named Taiso Yoshitoshi ; 30 April 1839 – 9 June 1892) was a Japanese printmaker. Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005)"Tsukoka Kōgyō"in ''Japan Encyclopedia,'' p. 1000. Yoshitoshi h ...

External links

* Encyclopedia of

Biographical note
*

Ukiyo-e image (1883)
* Nippon Kindai Banknot

* Takenouchi no Sukune Meets Dragon King of the Sea, Dallas Museum of Art, bronze sculptur

References

Japanese mythology, Takenouchi no Sukune

Takenouchi no Sukune or Takeshiuchi no Sukune was a legendary Japanese hero-statesman of the 1st century, and a Shinto kami. He is recorded in Japan's earliest literary texts, the '' Kojiki'' (ca. 712) and the '' Nihon Shoki'' ( 720). Life Takenouchi no Sukune ...

Hachiman faith 84 births Year of death unknown {{jmyth navbox long