Hoori

Hoori (火折尊, Hoori no Mikoto), also known as Hikohohodemi no Mikoto (彦火火出見尊), is a figure in Japanese mythology, the third and youngest son of Ninigi-no-Mikoto and the blossom princess Konohanasakuya-hime. He is one of the ancestors of the Emperors of Japan as the grandfather of Emperor Jimmu. He is also known as Yamasachi-hiko (山幸彦).

For other uses, see Hoori (disambiguation).

Mythology

Hoori's legend is told in both the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki. Hoori was a hunter, and he had an argument with his brother Hoderi, a fisherman, over a fish-hook that Hoori had forced his elder brother to lend him and had lost. Hoderi claimed that Hoori should give back the fish-hook, for he refused to accept another one (due to the belief that each tool is animated and hence unique). Hoori then descended to the bottom of the sea to search, but was unable to find it. Instead, he found Toyotama-hime, the daughter of the sea god, Ryūjin. The sea god helped Hoori find Hoderi's lost hook, and Hoori later married Toyotama-hime.

Hoori lived with his wife in a palace under the sea for three years, but after that Hoori became home-sick and wished to return to his own country. His brother forgave him after he returned the hook, and Toyotama-hime gave birth to a son named Ugayafukiaezu. During the time when Toyotamahime was giving birth to her child, she had Hoori swear not to attempt to see her real figure. But he broke his promise and discovered her true form was a dragon (specifically a wani). She was ashamed and returned to her father, never to return. Ugayafukiaezu married Toyotama-hime's sister, Tamayori-hime, who brought him up, and she gave birth to Emperor Jimmu, who was the first Emperor of Japan. Hoori reigned in Takachiho, Hyuga Province for 560 years.

Hoori is often associated with both his parents and his wife. He is worshiped mainly as a god of cereals or grain. In Japanese mythology, it was said that the ho (火) part of his name meant fire, but etymologically, it is a different character pronounced ho (穂), which refers to crops, particularly rice. Ori (折り, to bend) indicates a crop that is so rich, it bends under its own weight. His alias Hohodemi means many harvests.

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