Who Are the Kumaso Takeru the Elder / Kumaso Takeru the Younger (Kumaso brothers)?
The brothers who gave Yamato Takeru his name
Kumaso-Takeru
The Kumaso Takeru brothers are, in the Kojiki, two powerful brothers in the west who refused to obey the emperor. They are regarded as chieftains of the people living in southern Kyushu.
The brothers built a new hall surrounded by three rings of soldiers and held a feast to celebrate its completion. Prince Ousu, disguised as a young girl, slipped into the feast and was seated between them. When the party was at its height, he first stabbed the elder brother, then chased the fleeing younger brother down to the foot of the hall's stairs. The younger brother said, "In the west there is no one stronger than the two of us, but in Yamato there is a man greater than we are," and, taking from their own name, offered the prince the name "Yamato Takeru."
The Kojiki says the name Yamato Takeru was a gift from these brothers. In the Nihon Shoki, their people's name is written with different characters, as "Kumaso."
Episodes featuring this character3
NEWEpisode 8
Japan's Greatest Hero, Disguised as a GirlYamato Takeru and the Kumaso Brothers
Kojiki Book II, Episode 8. Prince Ousu carries out his father's order to the letter—and the terrified Emperor Keiko sends him off to the far west. Disguised as a girl in his aunt's robe, the boy slips into the Kumaso Takeru brothers' feast. The name his dying enemy gives him: Yamato Takeru.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 9
The Sword I Gave My Friend Was WoodYamato Takeru and Izumo Takeru
On his way home from the west, Ousu (Yamato Takeru) befriends the hero of Izumo, then kills him with a hollow wooden sword. Back in the capital, his father sends him straight off to conquer the east. In front of his aunt, the boy cries for the first time, and she gives him a real sword and a tightly tied pouch.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 13
Home Was Just Over the MountainsThe Death of Yamato Takeru
Gravely ill, Yamato Takeru reaches the plain of Nobono. There he sings a farewell song to his homeland, Yamato, and entrusts his father's cord to his son before he dies. He then becomes a great white bird and flies away, and his family chases it across paddies, bamboo stubble, sea and rocky shore, singing as they go. This is the final chapter of Book II.
19 pages