Read, reflect, pray
Kojiki: Hitokotonushi on Mount Katsuragi
Kojiki · Story 21 of 22
葛城山の一言主大神
A royal party meets its mirror.
English translation of this site’s published story summary and reading notes. This is a selected reading guide, not a complete translation of the ancient chronicle.
Story summary
When Emperor Yūryaku climbs Mount Katsuragi, a party dressed exactly like his appears on the opposite mountain. Asked who they are, they answer in the same way. When the emperor and attendants ready their bows, the others do likewise.
Asked to reveal his name, the counterpart identifies himself as Katsuragi’s Hitokotonushi. Hearing that he announces good and ill alike in a single word, the emperor realizes for the first time that a deity has appeared.
In awe the emperor offers swords, bows, arrows, and other possessions, which the deity receives. As the emperor returns, Hitokotonushi sees the party off. Even the Lower Book, concerned with the human world, preserves a direct encounter between ruler and deity.
Reading note
The Upper Book is not the only book in which deities appear. Hitokotonushi appears in the Lower Book’s account of Emperor Yūryaku.
Connected figures
Names and relationships in a chronicle may differ from later traditions. Each figure’s introduction identifies its sources.
Sources and edition (1)
English explanations on this page were prepared by Inori no Mori from the cited text and its Japanese explanations. They are not an official translation or a prescribed liturgy.