Empress Jingū

Empress Jingū (Okinagatarashihime-no-Mikoto / Keながたたりashihime-no-Mikoto) appears in the middle scroll of the *Kojiki* and in the *Nihon Shoki* as the consort of Emperor Chūai and mother of Emperor Ōjin. She is widely venerated as a guardian deity of martial fortune, safe childbirth, and child-rearing. From the medieval period onward, within the framework of Hachiman devotion, she has been enshrined as one of the three Hachiman deities—alongside Emperor Ōjin and the deity Hime—at Hachimangu shrines throughout Japan.

In the *Kojiki*, the account of Emperor Chūai records that after the emperor died having disregarded an oracle from the three Sumiyoshi deities, Empress Jingū, pregnant and guided by a proclamation from the Great Sumiyoshi Deity, undertook a campaign against Silla. Upon her return, she gave birth to Emperor Ōjin in Tsukushi. The *Nihon Shoki* provides a more detailed account, describing how she suppressed the rebellion of Prince Oshikuma and established Emperor Ōjin as heir, serving as regent for sixty-nine years and consolidating her role as the mother who preserved the imperial succession. Her name also appears in founding traditions (*engi*) recorded at Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine and Usa Grand Shrine, connected to the veneration of the fierce manifestations (*aratama*) of the three Sumiyoshi deities.

Her lineage is traced through her father Keながatasukunenushi-no-Ō (or Okinagasukunenushi-no-Ō), her mother Kasuga-no-Takakahibe-Hime, and her husband Emperor Chūai. Her son was Emperor Ōjin (Honden-Wakenoōmikoto). The *Kojiki* and *Nihon Shoki* repeatedly record that the statesman Takenouchi-no-Sukune assisted her throughout the campaign and the succession. A sister deity, Yodohime-no-Mikoto, is transmitted in tradition and serves as the enshrined kami at Yodo-Hime Shrine in Saga Prefecture. In the imperial genealogy, she stands as a rare figure—the mother-consort who became regent and effectively preserved imperial authority between Emperor Chūai and Emperor Ōjin.

The primary center of her veneration is Usa Grand Shrine (Usa City, Ōita Prefecture), where she is enshrined as one of the three Hachiman deities alongside Emperor Ōjin and the deity Hime. At Sumiyoshi Grand Shrine (Sumiyoshi Ward, Osaka), she is the principal enshrined kami of the Fourth Sanctuary, worshipped with the three Sumiyoshi deities. She is also venerated at Nagato Sumiyoshi Shrine (Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi), where she is enshrined with the fierce manifestations of the three Sumiyoshi deities. Among major Hachiman and Sumiyoshi shrines—including Kehi Grand Shrine (Tsuruga, Fukui), Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine (Kamakura, Kanagawa), Hakozaki Shrine (Fukuoka), and Miyaji-Dake Shrine (Fukutsu, Fukuoka)—she is petitioned for martial fortune, safe childbirth, child-rearing, and safe maritime travel.