Deities
Toyotama-hime
toh-yoh-TAH-mah-hee-meh
Also Known As Toyotamahime
Japanese Deities
Citation Formats
General Reference
APA Style
BibTeX
Toyotama-hime is a Shinto sea kami, daughter of the sea god Watatsumi and wife of Hoori, Ninigi's son, which makes her Ninigi's daughter-in-law in the genealogy the Kojiki traces down to the first emperor. She comes ashore to give birth in a hut built at the tideline and asks Hoori not to look upon her while the child is born, but he breaks the promise and sees her in her true form, an eight-fathom sea creature given as a wani in the Kojiki and as a dragon in the Nihongi's telling of the same scene. Ashamed at being seen, she returns to the sea and leaves the child, Ugayafukiaezu, to be raised by her younger sister Tamayori-hime, whom Ugayafukiaezu later marries; their son is Emperor Jimmu, so the line to the first emperor runs, on its maternal side, through both sisters. She is worshipped today chiefly in Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyushu, at shrines standing near the shore associated with the legend of her descent from the sea.
History & Origin
Toyotama hime asked her husband Hoori not to look at her while she gave birth, but he broke the promise and saw her transformed into her true dragon like form, upon which she abandoned their newborn son and returned to the sea, sealing the boundary between the human and marine realms in Japanese myth.
Facts
Cult
Principal Cult CentreToyotamahime-jinja at Chiran and Ryugu Shrine on the Satsuma Peninsula, both in Kagoshima Prefecture 1 Attributes and IconographyIn her true form, seen when Hoori breaks his promise not to look at her, Toyotama-hime is an eight-fathom sea creature, given as a wani, a crocodile-like sea being, in the Kojiki and as a dragon in the Nihongi's telling of the same scene. 2 Worship and PracticeBecause of her association with childbirth, Toyotama-hime is petitioned at shrines such as Ryugu Shrine for a safe and easy delivery, a practice that draws directly on the myth in which she herself gives birth on the shore after emerging from the sea. 1 Practice
LineageThe Kojiki names Toyotama-hime a daughter of the sea god Watatsumi, making her the aunt, through her sister Tamayori-hime, of the figure later revered as Japan's first human emperor, Jimmu. 2 Function
Domain / Function Domain / Function Attributions
Mythic AssociationHoori broke his promise not to look and saw Toyotama-hime in her true form as a sea creature while she gave birth, and in shame she returned to the sea. 2 Mythic AssociationThe Kojiki recounts Toyotama-hime's marriage to the hunter Hoori, and her transformation into a dragon or sea creature while giving birth, a true form he glimpsed against her wish and which caused her to leave him and seal the boundary between the sea and land realms. 2 Attestation
Era of Attestation Veneration TodayActively venerated in a living tradition 1 HistoricityNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human being 2 Belief
TheologyPolytheistic: many gods 1 History
Historical NoteThe Kojiki recounts that Toyotama hime, a daughter of the sea god Watatsumi, asked her husband Hoori not to watch her give birth, since she reverted to her true form as a wani, a sea creature, and when he broke his promise and looked, she fled back to the sea in shame, severing contact between the human and marine worlds. 2 Origins
Origin of the NameToyotama joins toyo, abundant or rich, with tama, jewel, giving abundant jewel, with hime, princess, added as the ordinary title for a woman of high standing. 2 Position Profile
Key TextThe Kojiki recounts Toyotama hime, daughter of the sea god, marrying the mortal hunter Hoori and asking him never to look upon her while she gives birth, a taboo he breaks when curiosity overcomes him, seeing her transformed into her true dragon or crocodile form, after which she abandons their newborn son and returns permanently to the sea. 2 Correspondences & Relations
Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
Toyotama-hime's son by Hoori is the father of Emperor Jimmu, so the line to the first emperor runs through her on its maternal side.
Child Of
Daughter of the sea god Watatsumi.
Source KojikiDonald L. Philippi (translator) Married To
Hoori, Deities Married Toyotama-hime after descending to her father Watatsumi's undersea palace.
Source KojikiDonald L. Philippi (translator) Same Figure, Narrative Entry
Worshipped In
Sources
1. Shinto: A History
Helen Hardacre, Oxford University Press, 2017on Toyotama-hime's shrines in Kagoshima PrefectureView the Source 2. Kojiki
Donald L. Philippi (translator), University of Tokyo Press, 1968on the birth at the tideline and Hoori's broken promiseView the Source Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
The atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.