Tagishimimi no Mikoto

Japanese: 手研耳命 - たぎしみみのみこと

A prince of Emperor Jimmu, said to be the first emperor. When Jimmu was in Hyuga, Kyushu, he married Ahirahime (the Nihon Shoki states that he was Ahiratsuhime), the younger sister of the powerful lord Koi no Kimi of Ada (Kagoshima Prefecture). According to the Kojiki, after his father's death, Tagishimimi married his father's second wife, Isukeyorihime, who was the legitimate empress, and plotted to kill his half-brothers in an attempt to take the throne. However, the empress warned the princes of the danger through song, and Tagishimimi was instead killed by his brothers. The Nihon Shoki also includes a similar story, but does not include any mention of Tagishimimi marrying his father's second wife. Tagishi means winding, and mimi is a title that is added to the end of gods and people's names, so Tagishimimi is a fitting name for a villain who is twisted and crooked.

(Mutsuko Mizoguchi)

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

Japanese:

初代天皇と伝えられる神武天皇の皇子。神武が九州の日向にあったとき,阿多(鹿児島県)の豪族小椅君の妹,阿比良比売(『日本書紀』は吾平津媛とする)と結婚して生まれた。『古事記』によると,父の死後,タギシミミは嫡后である父の後妻の伊須気余理比売を妻とし,王位に就こうとして,異母弟たちの殺害を企てた。しかし后が歌によって皇子たちに危険を知らせたのでタギシミミは逆に弟たちに殺されたという。『日本書紀』も同様の話を載せるが,父の後妻を娶るという話題は入っていない。タギシには曲がりくねったという意味があり,ミミは神・人名の語尾につく称辞であるから,タギシミミは,ねじけ曲がった人という悪役にふさわしい名になる。

(溝口睦子)

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