Who Is Yamato Takeru (Prince Ousu)?
The great tragic hero of Japanese myth
Yamato-Takeru-no-Mikoto
Yamato Takeru is a hero who, in the Kojiki, is a son of Emperor Keiko. Originally called Prince Ousu, he subdued the Kumaso in the west and the peoples of the eastern lands one after another, making him the most famous warrior hero in Japanese mythology.
After he killed his elder brother, Prince Ousu was feared by his father and sent west to destroy the Kumaso Takeru brothers. Wearing clothes given to him by his aunt Yamatohime, he disguised himself as a young girl, slipped into their feast, and killed them — and they gave him the name "Yamato Takeru." He was then sent east. In the land of Sagamu he was tricked and surrounded by fire, but escaped using the sword Kusanagi and a fire-striker in a bag, both gifts from his aunt. On his way home, however, he left the sword with Miyazuhime and went to face the god of Mount Ibuki, whom he underestimated; struck by icy rain, he grew weaker and weaker. At Nobono he sang a song of longing for his homeland — "Yamato is the finest of lands" — then died and flew away as a great white bird.
Place names said to come from his journey, such as Yaizu, Mie, and Tsuetsuki-zaka, survive across Japan. The sword Kusanagi is said to have later been enshrined at Atsuta Shrine.
Episodes featuring this character6
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 10
Open It Only When You're DesperateKusanagi, the Grass-Cutting Sword
Before heading east, Yamato Takeru receives a sword from his aunt Yamatohime, along with a small pouch she tells him to open only when he's in real trouble. In Owari, he and Miyazuhime promise to marry when he comes back. Then, in the land of Sagamu, the Chieftain lures him into a field with a story about a violent god and sets it on fire. With flames closing in on every side, what saves him is the gift in his aunt's pouch.
19 pages
NEWEpisode 11
The Wife Who Laid Her Mats on the StormOtotachibana-hime and the Sea of Hashirimizu
Trapped by a storm on the Hashirimizu Sea, Ototachibanahime steps down onto the waves so her husband Yamato Takeru can finish his mission. Holding back his grief, the young prince subdues the East, and on a mountain pass on the way home, he cries out three times: "Azuma haya!"
19 pages
NEWEpisode 12
The Invincible Boy Who Angered a MountainYamato Takeru and Mount Ibuki
His eastern campaign over, Yamato Takeru returns to Owari and, as promised, exchanges songs with Miyazuhime and marries her. Leaving his sword in her keeping, he heads for Mount Ibuki barehanded—but one careless boast to a white boar, "I'll kill you on my way back," brings the fury of the mountain itself down on him. Weakened and stumbling, he sets out for home.
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