Heroic with Grace

Legendary Women of Japan

Chieko Irie Mulhern

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317468677
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Economia
• Subtopic: Finanza pubblica

This work presents the lives and times of eight prominent Japanese women who epitomize the tragedies and triumphs of eight characteristically female roles. In examining the lives of the mythological Empress Jingu, Jito Tenno (645-702), Murasaki Shikibu (970s-1000s), Tomoe Gozen (12th century), Hojo Masako (1157-1225), Hani Motoko (1873-1957), Takamine Hideko (b.1924) and Ariyoshi Sawako (1931-1984), the contributors provide a mosaic of Japanese history and culture that encompasses issues of women's status in various stages of Japanese history, the social climate conducive to positive female roles, the concept of Japanese womanhood in relation to the male hero types of each age and the popular need for strong female figures.

1

EMPRESS JINGŪ
The Shamaness Ruler

MICHIKO Y. AOKI

IT TAKES two genealogical tables to trace the lineage of Empress Jingū, daughter of Prince Okinaga Sukune and Katsuraki Takanuka. Her paternal line is impressive enough, for she is a sixth-generation descendant of the ninth emperor, Kaika. Her maternal line, however, can boast more mystical origins delineated in a fairy tale-like story.

The Legend in Japanese History

Long ago in the Korean Kingdom of Silla, a low-born woman was taking a nap by a pond. Suddenly a rainbow-colored shaft of sunlight penetrated the warm place between her loins. A low-born man witnessed this strange phenomenon and kept secret watch over the woman. In due time she gave birth to a red jewel. The man asked for and was given the jewel, which he hung around his waist. One day Ame no Hiboko charged him with using his ox as a pack animal and intending to eat it afterward. To buy his way out of the predicament, the low-born man offered the jewel to the prince.

At Prince Hiboko’s bedside, the red jewel turned into a beautiful maiden. He made her his formal wife. She waited on him attentively until he grew disdainful and flung abusive words at her. “I was born of the sunlight, so I shall go to my parent’s country,” she said. She crossed the sea in a small boat and settled in Naniwa (present Osaka) in the Land of the Rising Sun. Prince Hiboko tried to follow his wife, but the god of the Naniwa Narrows would not let him pass. He landed in Tajima Province and married a local woman.

Hiboko’s great-great-grandson Tajimamori became a legend in his own right: at the command of the eleventh emperor Suinin, Taji-mamori sailed to the south seas in search of the “ever shining citrus,” believed to be an elixir of immortality; ten years later he accomplished his mission and returned, only to find his sovereign already dead; the loyal emissary died of grief in front of the imperial tomb. Tajimamori’s brother married his own niece and sired Katsuraki Takanuka, the mother of Empress Jingū.

Jingū married the fourteenth emperor in the second year of his reign. Chūai was a nephew of Emperor Seimu (13th) and a son of the legendary Prince Yamato Takeru. Chūai had already taken two consorts and sired sons. One boy posed no threat to Jingū, because his mother was merely a daughter of a local magistrate. The other consort, Princess Ōnakatsu (Great Intermediary; possibly a powerful shama-ness), however, was of noble birth so that her two sons, the princes Kagosaka and Oshikuma, were eligible to ascend the throne.

One month after their marriage, Jingū and Chūai moved to Tsunuga, a port town on the coast of the Sea of Japan in the region called Koshi (Land Beyond). There Chūai built a temporary palace overlooking a beach fringed with thick pine groves and named it Kehi no miya (the present site of Kehi Shrine in Fukui Prefecture). While in Tsunuga, he succeeded in bringing the chief(s) of Awaji Island to his side and established miyake (royal granary land or territory directly controlled by the imperial house). Then he headed south on a hunting tour (a euphemism for “tour of inspection,” which could also mean “tour of pacification”) and reached Kii Province. He was staying at Tokorotsu Palace when his deputies in the western provinces sent a report that the Kumaso (Recalcitrants) in Tsukushi (present Kyushu) were rebelling and refused to pay tribute to the central Yamato state that year. Chūai immediately set out on a chastising campaign against the Kumaso. He sailed with his fleet toward the port town of Anato (present Shimonoseki at the southwestern tip of the Main Island), after dispatching a message to Jingū in Tsunuga.

Jingū embarked for Anato to join her husband at the harbor of Toyora. At the strait called Nuta (probably the present Wakasa Bay, known for its fishing industry), Jingū performed divination aboard her ship. A great many snappers assembled around her ship, and Jingū sprinkled rice wine over them. The fish became drunk and floated on the water, thus giving the local fishermen a great catch, which they called “the gift from Our Wise Sovereign.” Within two months of her arrival, Jingū and her husband moved into their new residence, Toyora Palace of Anato.

In the spring of the eighth year of Chūai’s reign, he decided to cross the strait to Tsukushi Island and start an all-out offensive against the Kumaso. A man came to his court volunteering to be his pilot. The seaman displayed a sakaki(evergreen pulled out with roots) on the stern of his boat; on its branches he hung a few strings of jewels, a bronze mirror, and an iron sword. Guided by this pilot, Chūai sailed to Tsukushi. At one point of their sea journey, Chūai’s ship became immobile. The emperor pleaded with local deities to release his ship and appointed one of his followers to serve them as a priest. Thereupon his ship was freed to proceed on its way.

Jingū’s boat experienced a similar difficulty. When it entered the Bay of Kuki, the tide became too low to carry the boat forward. Chūai’s pilot came over and made ponds stocked with fish and birds. When Jingū saw them sporting, her anxiety was eased. Then the high tide came, and her ship made it into the harbor of Na (present Hakata), the seaport on the northern tip of Tsukushi.

In autumn Chūai summoned his generals for a war council. That night Jingū was visited by a dream, or she fell into a trance. A deity appeared to her and said, “Why should the emperor worry about the Kumaso not surrendering to him? The Kumaso have little to offer. It is not worth your while to raise an army against them. There is a better land called Silla, which lies on Mukatsu (the other side of the ocean). There you can find treasures in plenty, for Silla is a rich country full of marvelous things dazzling to the eye—gold, silver, and bright-colored jewels…. If you worship me with proper offerings, I shall see to it that Silla will yield. Your soldiers will not even have to draw their swords. Victory is yours. In return, I merely claim as offerings your husband’s ship and the rice field which he has acquired from a chieftain of Anato.”

Chūai could not believe what he heard from his wife. He at first dismissed her story as a fanciful dream. But on second thought, he climbed to the top of a nearby hill to have a look. Even from that vantage point, he could see nothing in the great seas. He therefore concluded that if his wife really heard the voice of a god suggesting that she persuade him to give up his ship and the rice field, it must be a treacherous god.

Jingū again fell into a trance, and the indignant voice of the slighted god was heard coming through Jingū’s lips: “I see this land of Silla lying outstretched like a reflection of heaven on the water. How can you say that I promise what does not exist, accusing me of deception?” Finally, the angry god announced, “Since you disbelieved my words, you shall not have this land by any means. However, your wife—I shall call her empress from now on—has just become pregnant. The child she bears will one day secure that land.”

Chūai was still unable to believe the voice. He refused to change his policy of pacifying the Kumaso by military means. As far as he was concerned, his mission was a legacy from his father, Prince Yamato Takeru (the Brave of Yamato), who had come to Tsukushi before Chūai was born and quelled the recalcitrant Kumaso for the Yamato state by killing Kumaso Takeru, the powerful chieftain of his day. Now Chūai had to do the same in honor of his father—such was his sense of mission and reasoning. He mustered a large army of soldiers and attacked the Kumaso. The battle was fierce, and Chūai lost many of his men. But the outcome did not prove to be decisive, and he returned empty-handed.

Early in the following year, Chūai suddenly fell ill and soon died. Since he was only fifty-one years old, the people whispered, “Perhaps he met such an early death because he had not acted according to the god’s will.” There were also rumors that he was fatally struck by a Kumaso arrow. Jingū sent her great uncle Takeuchi back to Anato with Chūai’s remains for a secret burial, and she personally took command of the Yamato forces. Now empress of the Yamato state by the god’s will, Jingū had to amend the sins of her husband and comply with the god’s wish. Also, it was necessary for her to cleanse her person of the defilement caused by his death. She ordered her councillors to perform purification rituals in repentance of transgressions against the deities.

On the most auspicious day of the third moon, Jingū entered the newly constructed purification hall. She asked Takeuchi to play the koto (translated variously as zither, lute, or harp), and Nakatomi, the minister of rituals, to interpret the god’s oracle. In a hypnotic state induced by the sound of the string instrument, Jingū asked for the name of the god in whose honor she wished to make offerings and erect shrines. For seven days and seven nights she continued her prayer while abstaining from all the pleasures of this world. When the eighth day dawned, a voice was heard identifying the deity as the goddess who resided in the Isuzu Shrine of Watari in the Land of Divine Wind, Ise. “My name is Princess Mukatsu (the Other Side of the Ocean),” announced the voice.

Jingū was still in a trance, Takeuchi continued to strum the koto strings, and Nakatomi waited, ready to catch whatever words that might come out of Jingū’s lips. The empress asked in her own voice, “Are there any more deities besides this goddess?” Then a different voice spoke through her. “Yes. I am the deity of Oda no Agata, also known as Waka Hirume.” “Are there any more gods to whom we should make offerings?” The answer to Jingū’s question came from her mouth, but this time the voice was masculine: “I am the spirit of Kotoshironushi, who rules in heaven and in the void.” “Are there more?” “I am not certain if there are any more,” the male voice said and fell silent. Nakatomi, who was interpreting the oracles, pondered awhile and said cautiously, “These must be all the answers for now, but there may be more later on.” “We shall wait,” said Jingū in her own voice. Soon they heard another ethereal voice: “There are three gods who have settled at the bottom of the water in Himuka (the Land of the Sun) by the name of Upper, Middle, and Lower Tsutsunowo (Cylinders). They are in charge of every level of the abyss.” “Are there any more?” “Whether or not there are more gods to be worshipped is not known at this moment.” Then there were no more words.

The gods having been identified thus, envoys were promptly dispatched to make proper offerings to them. Jingū appointed a general to be the commander-in-chief of an expeditionary force. The troops attacked the Kumaso, and before long Jingū received news of the Kumasos’ surrender.

In the early summer, Jingū arrived at the town of Matsura in Hinomichi no kuchi (the Path to the Land of the Sun; the area including the present Nagasaki Prefecture and part of Saga Prefecture). It was a thriving fishing village. There Jingū performed divination after partaking of a meal on the bank of a small river in the village of Tamashima (Jewel Island). The empress bent a needle to fashion a fishing hook and made a line with the threads from her garment. She used cooked rice as bait. Hoisting herself nimbly onto the top of a rock in the middle of the river, she held up the fishing line toward heaven and prayed aloud: “I wish to attack Silla and take possession of her treasures. May an ayu fish be caught on this line as an omen if my plan is to succeed, and if I am to bring my troops safely home!” Jingū cast the fishing line into the water. Before long an ayufish was leaping at the end of it. Jingū was now convinced that she must undertake a campaign against Silla according to the god’s command given to her in the first of the divine revelations.

Upon returning to her headquarters at Kashihi Beach (present Hakata), Jingū performed another divination. This time she waded into the sea and loosened her hair, letting it fall into the water. When she lifted her head up, the long hair parted of its own accord in the middle. Jingū bound it up into bunches over her ears in the way men wore their hair. It was now clear that the god wanted her to be dauntless and take on a manly appearance. She donned a masculine attire and summoned her councillors. To the assembly she said: “Mobilizing troops to make war is a grave decision that affects our state and our future. If I entrust the task of this expedition entirely to you, my lords, you alone will have to be held accountable for the outcome of our venture. If it ends in success, fine. Should it fail, however, you will be obliged to take the blame and suffer the consequences. I cannot let that happen. Therefore, I wish to assume full responsibility. Although I am a woman and weaker than men, I will adopt a masculine appearance and character. I expect to receive support from the divine spirits as well as from you. We will declare war. Crossing the strait where towering waves await us, we shall move our fleet to take the Silla treasures. If our expedition proves successful, it will be to your credit, my lords. If it does not, I will take all the blame. Now, please deliberate among yourselves.”

The councillors unanimously voted in favor of her proposal.

On the ninth moon, Empress Jingū ordered various provinces to muster ships and train soldiers in the use of weapons. It was never an easy task to recruit enough men for a campaign. This time Jingū forestalled possible trouble with proper procedures: in invocation of divine help, she sent offerings to the Great God of Miwa in Yamato Province. Thereupon, soldiers began arriving in droves. By divination, the best day for the departure was selected, and Jingū addressed the three full divisions that assembled on the beach. The soldiers were elated when they saw their female leader appear dressed like a man and carrying a battle-ax in her hand.

“As you all know, we are going to war,” the empress began. “I have a few things to say about tactics. Order among the ranks is of critical importance if we are to win the battle. If the drums are beaten to inappropriate time and the flags flutter in confusion, order cannot be preserved. Don’t underestimate the enemies even if they are smaller in number; but don’t be afraid of them either, even if they outnumber us. You must not engage in atrocities: avoid unnecessary killing and spare those who surrender. Follow my instruction faithfully, and I will reward you when the battle is over. But, of course, I must punish you if you show cowardice and flee before your foes.”

After her speech, a god spoke through Jingū: “My gentle spirit will attach itself to the empress’s person and keep her safe; my violent spirit will play the vanguard and lead her troops.” The soldiers responded with a battle cry.

Jingū felt the child in her womb leap. She closed her eyes and prayed for a sign. Before long a voice told her to pick up a narrow stone lying on the beach and to insert it into her loins. She prayed aloud: “Oh, myriad gods of heaven and earth, let my child be born in this land on the day we safely return from this campaign!” She felt stronger and better. The fetus stopped kicking inside her womb. Then she set sail for Tsushima (islands between Japan and the Korean peninsula), stepping stones leading to their u...