Ninigi-no-Mikoto

Ninigi-no-Mikoto is an amatsukami (heavenly kami) recorded in the *Kojiki* (Records of Ancient Matters, 712 CE) and *Nihon Shoki* (Chronicles of Japan, 720 CE), serving as the central figure of the heavenly descent, or tenson korin. Grandson of Amaterasu-no-Omikami, he was entrusted with the governance of Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni and descended from Takamagahara, the plain of high heaven, to the earthly realm. His formal name is Ama-no-Nikishi-Kuni-Nikishi-Amatsu-Hiko-Hiko-Hono-Ninigi-no-Mikoto.

In the *Kojiki* account of the heavenly descent, Ninigi-no-Mikoto's father, Ama-no-Oshiho-Mimi-no-Mikoto, was initially chosen for the role; the duty was then transferred to Ninigi-no-Mikoto. He descended to 'the high peak of Kushifuru in Hyūga of Tsukushi' bearing the Three Imperial Regalia—the Yata-no-Kagami, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, and Yasakani-no-Magatama—and attended by five divine companions, the deities Omoikane, Ame-no-Koyanade, Futonotama, Ame-no-Uzume, and Tamaoya, along with the warrior deities Ame-no-Oshii and Ame-no-Kushikumade. The *Nihon Shoki* preserves parallel accounts in its section on the age of kami.

Ninigi-no-Mikoto's father was Ama-no-Oshiho-Mimi-no-Mikoto, and his mother Takunahata-no-Chiji-Hime. His grandmother was Amaterasu-no-Omikami. His consort was Konohanasakuya-Hime, with whom he fathered three sons: Hoterashikao-no-Mikoto, Hosuseri-no-Mikoto, and Hoori-no-Mikoto. The grandson of Hoori-no-Mikoto is said to be Emperor Jinmu, establishing Ninigi-no-Mikoto as the ancestral point of the imperial line.

Ninigi-no-Mikoto has been venerated primarily at Kirishima Grand Shrine (*Kirishima Jingu*) in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, as his principal shrine. Other sacred sites associated with him include Takachiho Shrine in the Nishi-Usuki district, Miyazaki Prefecture, and Nitta Shrine in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, many of which lie near locales linked to his descent. Centred in southern Kyushu, devotion to him as an ancestral imperial kami has endured across these regions.