Ame no Hiboko

Japanese: 天日槍 - あめのひぼこ

A prince of Silla who appears in the legends of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki. According to the Kojiki, he appears as Ame-no-Hiboko, but is also known as Umihiboko and Ame-no-Hiboko. The legend goes as follows: When the sun shines on her genitals, a woman gives birth to a red jewel. When Ame-no-Hiboko obtains it, the red jewel transforms into a woman, so he takes her as his wife. The woman flees back to Naniwa (Osaka City) in her native Japan, so Ame-no-Hiboko pursues her. However, he is unable to enter Naniwa, and instead stays in Izushi, Tajima, where he marries Maetsumi, the daughter of Tajimamatao, and has an offspring (his descendant is Empress Jingu). The Nihon Shoki states that he came to Japan in the third year of Emperor Suinin's reign, and tells of his visits to Harima, Awaji (both in Hyogo Prefecture), Yamashiro (Kyoto Prefecture), Omi (Shiga Prefecture), Wakasa (Fukui Prefecture), and Tajima. The legend of Ame-no-hiboko appears in various configurations in fragments of the Harima no Kuni Fudoki and Chikuzen no Kuni Fudoki, and is thought to have spread to various regions at an early stage. Ame-no-hiboko is said to have brought with him several sacred treasures, both of which suggest a connection with Izushi Shrine in Tajima (Izushi Town, Hyogo Prefecture). The basis of the legend is thought to have been formed by fusing the ancestor legend of the clan that worships Izushi Shrine with a sun worship that uses a spear as a ritual implement, and the legends of immigrant clans from various regions. <References> Mishina Akihide (ed.), Research on the Nihon Shoki, Vol. 3

(Kazuhiko Seki)

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

Japanese:

『古事記』『日本書紀』の伝承に登場する新羅の王子。『古事記』によれば天之日矛とみえ,他に海檜槍,天日桙とする。その伝承の内容は次のとおりである。性器に日が当たり,女が赤玉を生む。天日槍がそれを手に入れると赤玉は女と化したので妻とする。女は祖国日本の難波(大阪市)へ逃げ帰ったので天日槍はそれを追う。しかし難波へは入れず,但馬出石にとどまり,多遅摩俣尾の娘前津見を娶り,子孫をつくる(後裔に神功皇后)。『日本書紀』は渡来時期は垂仁3年とし,播磨,淡路(以上兵庫県),山背(京都府),近江(滋賀県),若狭(福井県),そして但馬への歴訪を語る。天日槍伝承は『播磨国風土記』や『筑前国風土記』逸文などにも多様な構成でみえ,早い段階から各地に浸透したと考えられる。天日槍は数種の神宝を招来するが,ともに但馬の出石神社(兵庫県出石町)とのかかわりを示唆している。伝承の基礎は出石神社を奉斎する一族の始祖伝承に,矛槍を祭具とする太陽信仰,各地の渡来系氏族伝承が融合し,形成されたものと考えられる。<参考文献>三品彰英編『日本書紀研究』第3冊

(関和彦)

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