Amatsu-Kume-no-Mikoto

Amatsu-Kume-no-Mikoto is a heavenly kami recorded in the *Kojiki* (Records of Ancient Matters, 712 CE) and *Nihon Shoki* (Chronicles of Japan, 720 CE). He was one of the five attendant kami who accompanied the heavenly grandchild's descent, serving alongside Ame-no-Oshi-Hi-no-Mikoto as a martial deity who guarded the path of Ninigi-no-Mikoto.

In the account of the heavenly grandchild's descent in the *Kojiki*, he is described taking up the stone quiver of heaven, the pommel-sword of the heavens, the heavenly wave-breaking bow, and arrows, standing before Ninigi-no-Mikoto in service and protection. He is positioned as a deity of vanguard and escort during the descent. He also appears in the account of the Emperor Jinmu's eastern conquest as the ancestral deity of the Kume corps, whose members sang the Kume song—a martial hymn of praise.

According to the *Shinsen Shōjiroku* (815 CE), he is identified as the ancestral deity of the Kume-no-Atai clan. Standing as a martial counterpart to Ame-no-Oshi-Hi-no-Mikoto, who became the ancestral deity of the Ōtomo clan, Amatsu-Kume-no-Mikoto became the founding deity of the Kume clan. The Kume song, sung during the eastern conquest, was preserved in the *Kojiki* as a battle hymn of the Kume corps who followed the campaign.

Shrine veneration is distributed across the ancestral territories of the Kume clan, including Kume-no-Miagata Shrine (Kashihara, Nara) and Kume Hachiman Shrine (Matsuyama, Ehime). When Kashihara Grand Shrine was established in the Taishō period as the site of Emperor Jinmu's enthronement, Amatsu-Kume-no-Mikoto was remembered as a deity associated with the Kume song tradition. He has been venerated as the ancestral deity of an ancient military clan and remains an object of martial arts rituals.