Tenson Koorin (てんそんこうりん)
<The Advent of the Sun-Goddess’s Grandson>
(Ninigi-no Mikoto: Sun-Goddess’s Grandson)
(Takachiho – The Place where Ninigi descended)
(Takachiho Shrine)
At last, Ninigi-no Mikoto (ににぎのみこと), Sun-Goddess’s Grandson, left his Imperial throne in Takamagahara (たかまがはら) and travelled through piled up clouds to get to Takachiho (たかちほ).
Ame-no Oshihi-no Mikoto (あめのおしひのみこと) and Amatsukume-no Mikoto (あまつくめのみこと) were in the van of a procession to serve Ninigi with Ame-no Iwayuki (あめのいわゆき: baskets for sacred arrows), Kubutsuchi-no Tachi (くぶつちのたち: sacred swards), and Ame-no Hajiyumi (あめのはじゆみ: sacred arrows). Ame-no Oshihi-no Mikoto would become an ancestor of Ootomo-no Muraji (おおとものむらじ: the family in charge of military units) and Amatsukume-no Mikoto would be an ancestor of Kume-no Atai (くめのあたい: the family in charge of another military unit).
Ninigi loved the place he descended, saying, “This place faces ancient Korea, leading to Kasasa-no Misaki (かささのみさき: Kasasa Peninsula). Sun shines here straight forward in the morning and evening. Very good location!” He had his followers dig the holes for pillars deeply enough to reach rock beds and lived in the palace whose ornamental crossbeams were high enough to reach Takamagahara.
This historical incident is called “Tenson Koorin (てんそんこうりん: The Advent of the Sun-Goddess’s Grandson).
Ninigi told Ame-no Uzume-no Mikoto (あめのうずめのみこと) to send off Sarutabiko-no Ookami (さるたびこのおおかみ), who worked for Ninigi when he was descending to Takachiho, because she was the very person who asked Aarutabiko who he was in the first place. He also suggested to her that she call her name after Sarutabiko. Since then, female offsprings of Ame-no Uzume have been called Sarume-no Kimi (さるめのきみ).
(Sarutahiko-no Ookami)
Unfortunately, Sarutahiko was drowned while fishing when he stayed in Azaka (あざか) . He had his hand nipped by a Hirabugai (ひらぶがい: a type of shellfish). According to the three stages of him being drowned, he is called in three different ways – Soko Doku Mitama (そこどくみたま) when he was on the bottom of the water, Tsubutatsu Mitama (つぶたつみたま), and Awasaku Mitama ( あわさくみたま) when the bubbles broke.
(Ame-no Uzume)
Thus, Ame-no Uzume accomplished her mission from Ninigi. As soon as she was back, Ame-no Uzume summoned all kinds of sea creatures and asked them if they would swear they would be loyal to Ninigi. All but one agreed with Ame-no Uzume. Only one stubborn creature called Namako (なまこ: a sea slug) didn’t, which made Ame-no Uzume furious. Uzume screamed, saying, “Why didn’t you agree with me like others? You are about to be punished due to your disloyalty. You don’t need your mouth if you cannot say, “yes,” to your ruler!” Uzume cut Namako’s mouth open wide with her stringed knife! That’s why Namako has a big mouth even now.
(Namako)
Because of this incident, offsprings of Ame-no Uzume-no Mikoto (Sarume-no Kimi) have been given the earliest yields in each season from the sea by their emperors.
