This episode, we continue with the earthly lives of the Heavenly Descendants, and forgive me for saying this, but they really aren’t great people. Their most redeeming quality appears to be their connection back to Amaterasu and Takumi Musubi, and that’s about it. They aren’t really great husbands, and we get no information on their parenting skills. And their behavior is not necessarily something to model. But these are thought to be the revered ancestors of the royal line.

Of course, as they mess up, they seem to have a family trait of reciting poetry to try to win back the women in their lives. We didn’t include them in the episode, but here you can have a look at them, or at least some translations.

Poem by Ninigi when Atatsu Hime would not speak to him:

憶企都茂幡。
陛爾幡譽戻耐母。
佐禰耐據茂。
阿黨播怒介茂譽。
播磨都智耐理譽。

The sea-weed of the offing—
Though it may reach the shore:
The true couch
Is, alas! impossible.
Ah! ye dotterels of the beach
- from the Nihon Shoki, trans. by Aston

Aston notes that this poem is a regular tanka of 31 syllables, and it would seem to be about the gulf he realized had opened between them. In the original text, you can see how they are using the Chinese characters to represent the sounds, which is where you can see the typical 5-7-5/7-7 meter of a typical tanka.

Konohana Sakuya Hime, besides being associated with Ata and the Hayato, is also believed to be the spirit of Mt. Fuji, and there are numerous shrines to her on the mountain. Photo by author.

Poem by Hiko Hohodemi when Toyotama Hime left and her response:

飫企都鄧利。
軻茂豆句志磨爾。
和我謂禰志。
伊茂播和素邏珥。
譽能據鄧馭鄧母。

Whatever befals me,
Ne’er shall I forget my love
With whom I slept
In the island of wild-ducks—
The birds of the offing.
-from the Nihon Shoki, trans. by Aston

In this tanka, Aston notes that the lines in the translation are almost exactly opposite as those in the translation. So the previous poem in the Nihon Shoki started off with “the sea-weed of the offing” and this starts off with “the birds of the offing.” Order can be tricky in tanka, with some poetic license allowed.

Toyotama Hime then responds:

阿軻娜磨迺。
比訶利播阿利登。
比播伊珮耐。
企弭我譽贈比志。
多輔妬句阿利計利。

Some may boast
Of the splendour
Of red jewels,
But those worn by my Lord—
It is they which are admirable.
- from the Nihon Shoki, trans. by Aston

The response poem is a common trope in Japanese romances. It was typical for a lover to send a poem, or a part of a poem, and for their would-be partner to send a response if there was still interest. In the Nihon Shoki they call these poems “age-uta”, which Aston translates as “complimentary poetry”.

In the Kojiki it is given a little differently, and it is initiated by Toyotama Hime, who sings:

阿加陀麻波。
袁佐閇比迦禮杼。
斯良多麻能。
岐美何余曾比斯。
多布斗久阿理祁理。

Beautiful are the red jewels;
Even their cord seems to sparkle.
But I prefer pearls
For the awesome beauty
Of your pearl-like form
- from the Kojiki, trans. by Donald L. Philippi

Hiko Hohodemi then responds:

意岐都登理。
加毛度久斯麻邇。
和賀韋泥斯。
　伊毛波和須禮士。
余能許登碁登邇。

As long as I have life,
I shall never forget
My beloved, with whom I slept
On an island where wild ducks,
Birds of the offing, came to land.
- from the Kojiki, trans. by Donald L. Philippi

An artist’s depiction of Toyotama Hime. The sea god and his offspring are often believed to be dragons, though the Chronicles specifically refer to her as having the shape of a wani. The association with dragons may be a later, and possibly Chine… — An artist’s depiction of Toyotama Hime. The sea god and his offspring are often believed to be dragons, though the Chronicles specifically refer to her as having the shape of a *wani*. The association with dragons may be a later, and possibly Chinese, influence. On the other hand, we don’t exactly know what a *wani* was, so perhaps a dragon isn’t so far off.

Parturition Huts

As noted in the episode, parturition, or birthing, huts were a thing in various parts of Japan, but they were not universal, and the traditions around them seem to have been very localized. They were used by women going into labor and possibly for other purposes as well. Some appear to have been temporary, and others may have been permanent. They are generally called ubuya, (産屋) though some local words may exist depending on their specific use.

This is the ubuya at Ōbara Jinja (大原神社). The name of this shrine, Ōbara, calls to mind a large stomach or womb (hara), and so it is sought out specifically for pregnancies and birth. Photo from the Fukuchiyama city website. — This is the *ubuya* at Ōbara Jinja (大原神社). The name of this shrine, Ōbara, calls to mind a large stomach or womb (hara), and so it is sought out specifically for pregnancies and birth. Photo from the Fukuchiyama city website.

A hut in Hamamatsu that is said to have served as an ubuya. Photo is in the public domain, and acquired through Wikimedia Commons. — A hut in Hamamatsu that is said to have served as an *ubuya*. Photo is in the public domain, and acquired through Wikimedia Commons.

References

Ō, Yasumaro, & Heldt, G. (2014). The Kojiki: An account of ancient matters. ISBN978-0-231-16389-7
Tonomura, Hitomi (2007). Birth-giving and Avoidance Taboo : Women’s Body versus the Historiography of Ubuya. Nichibunken Japan review : journal of the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, vol. 19, pp 3-45. http://doi.org/10.15055/00000227
Bentley, John. (2006). The Authenticity of Sendai Kuji Hongi: a New Examination of Texts, with a Translation and Commentary. ISBN-90-04-152253
Chamberlain, B. H. (1981). The Kojiki: Records of ancient matters. Rutland, Vt: C.E. Tuttle Co. ISBN4-8053-0794-3
Aston, W. G. (1972). Nihongi, chronicles of Japan from the earliest times to A.D. 697. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN0-80480984-4
Philippi, D. L. (1968). Kojiki. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN4-13-087004-1