Yamato Takeru: From Ise to Atsuta

Sent to fight his father's enemies, the prince stops at Ise and grieves: "my father wishes I would die?" Here he meets his aunt Princess Yamato-hime, the highest priestess of Amaterasu. She shows him compassion and lends him a holy sword, Ame no Murakumo no tsurugi, the blade later called Kusanagi. Ise Grand Shrine is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the solar goddess Amaterasu.

訪問のヒント: Ise Grand Shrine is open to visitors; follow the posted rules for the precincts.

In the eastern land, a treacherous lord lures the prince into an open grassland and tries to burn him alive. Takeru discovers that the sword lets him control the wind and turn it in the direction of his swing, and he renames the blade Kusanagi, the "Grass-Cutting Sword", to mark his narrow escape. Yaizu Shrine claims to have been built on the location of this miraculous escape, though the claim rests on shrine tradition.

場所の精度: Yaizu Shrine claims to mark the escape site; the legend itself names no verifiable place.

訪問のヒント: Yaizu Shrine is a working shrine in Yaizu, Shizuoka.

On his way through the eastern lands, Takeru encounters and kills the deity of Ashigara pass. The pass served as the border between Sagami and Suruga provinces, as well as the main entrance to the Kantō region, so a hero conquering the east had good reason to cross it.

場所の精度: The story names the pass but no exact spot; the pin marks Ashigara Pass.

On his return, Takeru marries Miyazu-hime and challenges the god of Mount Ibuki, on the border of Ōmi and Mino provinces. He goes without his sword, and the god curses him with disease; he is believed to have died somewhere in Ise Province, and after death his soul turned into a great white bird and flew away. Mount Ibuki is the highest peak of the Ibuki Mountains, on the border of Shiga and Gifu prefectures.

場所の精度: The tale places the god on the mountain; the pin marks the summit area, a traditional identification.

After the prince's death his possessions were gathered with the sword Kusanagi, and his widow venerated his memory in a shrine at her home. Later the relics and sword were moved to the current site of Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya. Atsuta is the traditional repository of Kusanagi, and Yamato Takeru and Miyazu-hime are among its enshrined gods.

訪問のヒント: Atsuta Shrine is a major shrine in Nagoya, open to visitors.