Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto

Japanese: 饒速日命 - にぎはやひのみこと

The ancestor of the Mononobe clan. The Mononobe clan was a powerful clan that formed the Yamato Imperial Court through military and religious services, and traces of their appearance remain in the figure of Nigihayahi no Mikoto, who appears in the legend of Emperor Jimmu's Eastern Expedition. According to the Nihon Shoki, Nigihayahi is said to be the son of a heavenly god, and descended to Yamato on Ame-no-Iwafune before Emperor Jimmu, married Nagasunehiko's sister, Mito-no-Hime, and gave birth to Kami-no-Matane-no-Mikoto. Nagasunehiko worshipped Nigihayahi as a heavenly god and tried to show his loyalty, so Jimmu asked for proof, and Nagasunehiko revealed it by showing him Nigihayahi's sacred treasures, but Nigihayahi submitted to Jimmu and destroyed Nagasunehiko instead. The expression Soramitsu Yamato no Kuni, which appears in the Manyoshu, is said to have been uttered when Nigihayahi descended from heaven. Another story is found in the Sendai Kuji Hongi, which was created in the early Heian period, which states that Nigihayahi was the same as Ame-no-Hoakari-no-Mikoto, the ancestor of the Owari clan, and that he was bestowed with ten sacred treasures by the god of heaven and descended to Kawachi Province (Osaka Prefecture), from where he moved to Yamato Province (Nara Prefecture). As the ruler of this country, Nigihayahi once had an older legend than the ancestor of the Imperial family.

(Tsutomu Saijo)

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

Japanese:

物部氏の祖神。物部氏は軍事と祭祀をもって大和朝廷を構成した一大雄族で,その面影は神武東征の伝承に登場するニギハヤヒノミコトの姿に痕跡をとどめている。『日本書紀』によると,ニギハヤヒは天神の子とされ,神武天皇より先に天磐船に乗って大和に天降り,長髄彦(ナガスネヒコ)の妹三炊屋媛と結婚して可美真手命を生んだ。ナガスネヒコがニギハヤヒを天神と崇めて忠誠を尽くそうとしたので,神武がその証拠を求めたところ,ナガスネヒコはニギハヤヒの神宝を見せてそれを明かしたが,ニギハヤヒは神武に帰順して逆にナガスネヒコを滅ぼしたという。『万葉集』に出てくるソラミツヤマトノクニという表現は,ニギハヤヒが天降るときに発したとされる。平安初期に作られた『先代旧事本紀』には別の伝えがあり,ニギハヤヒは尾張氏の祖神天火明命に同じで,天神から10種の神宝を授けられて河内国(大阪府)に天降り,そこから大和国(奈良県)に移ったと記している。ニギハヤヒは,この国の支配者として,かつては天皇家の祖神よりも古い伝承を持っていた。

(西條勉)

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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