Princess Ototachibana

Japanese: 弟橘媛 - おとたちばなひめ

The wife of Yamato Takeru no Mikoto, who appears in Japanese mythology. In the Kojiki, she is recorded as Ototachibana Hime. When Yamato Takeru was conquering the eastern provinces, her ship was blocked by the sea god in the Sea of Hashirimizu (Uraga Channel), and she threw herself into the sea to calm the god and allow the ship to proceed. As she sank into the sea, she left a poem for Yamato Takeru, saying, "You stood in the flames of fire in Ono, Sagami, and asked me, too." On his way back from the eastern provinces, when he reached Ashigara Pass (Usui Pass in the Nihon Shoki), Yamato Takeru lamented, "Azumahaya (my wife!)," and it is said that the eastern provinces east of Ashigara were called "Azuma" ever since. In the "Nihon Shoki," Hime is said to have descended from the Hozumi clan, but in the "Hitachi no Kuni Fudoki," she is recorded as Otachibanahime no Mikoto and Empress Tachibana, and is known to have a legend in the Kanto region. There are many shrines around Tokyo Bay that worship Hime, such as Hashirimizu Shrine in Yokosuka City and Tachibana no Ki Shrine in Kawasaki City.

(Keiko Terada)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

日本神話に登場する日本武尊(ヤマトタケルノミコト)の妃。『古事記』には,弟橘比売命と記され,ヤマトタケルの東国平定のとき,走水の海(浦賀水道)で一行の船が海神によって航行を妨げられると,海中に身を投じて海神を鎮め,船を進ませた。海中に没しながら「さねさし相模の小野に燃ゆる火の火中に立ちて問ひし君はも」とヤマトタケルに歌を残したという。東国からの帰路足柄峠(『日本書紀』では碓氷峠)に至って,ヤマトタケルは「あづまはや(わが妻よ!)」と,このことを嘆き,以来,足柄以東の東国は「あづま」と呼ばれたと伝えられる。『日本書紀』では媛を穂積氏の出自とするが,『常陸国風土記』には大橘比売命,橘皇后として記され,関東地方にその伝承を持つことが知られる。横須賀市の走水神社,川崎市の橘樹神社など東京湾付近には媛を祭る神社が多い。

(寺田恵子)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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