Roots of Japan

The Kojiki and Nihon shoki—Japan's oldest extant historical texts—both begin with myths. 

In these myths, Miyazaki Prefecture is treated as the birthplace of the first emperor. Visiting ancient ruins and historic sites allows you to familiarize yourself with the settings seen by the people from the age of myths. 

In the beginning, a male and female pair of deities named Izanagi and Izanami created the Earth and numerous other deities. However, Izanami died of her wounds after giving birth to the fire god Kagutsuchi-no-kami. 

Izanagi visited the land of the dead to try to recover his wife, but startled to see that she had already he escaped back to earth and washed his now-polluted body at Misogi ("purification") Pond in Awakigahara. 
As he did so, he produced the sun goddess Amaterasu, the moon god Tsukuyomi, and the god who rules the seas, Susano'o.

Pining for his dead mother, Susano'o, the ruler of the seas, cried in such a loud voice and raged so violently day and night that both heaven and earth shook His sister the sun goddess Amaterasu became frightened and hid herself in a cave called Amanoiwato. As a result, the world was covered in darkness. 

In consternation, the deities consulted with one another at Amanoyasugawara. They began to put on a grand banquet outside of Amanoiwato, and danced and laughed in loud voices before the cave entrance. Thinking the ruckus outside strange, Amaterasu opened the portal to the cave a bit. At that insant, Tajikara' o—a deity who prided himself on his strength-grabbed and drew her outside. 

In this way, he was able to restore light to this world. 

One day, Amaterasu ordered her descendent Ninigi to pacify the Earth. 

Ninigi set out with another deity named Amenouzume. They pushed their way through and parted the clouds, and eventually descended to Mt. Kushifuru at Takachiho in Hyūga Province on Kyushu. Both Takaharu Town and Takachiho Town in Miyazaki Prefecture have legends claiming that each is the place to which this heavenly grandson descended. 

Now landed upon the Earth, Ninigi encountered a beautiful woman named Konohanasakuya-hime.

Falling for her with one look, Ninigi asked her father Oyamatsumi for her hand in marriage. In he response, Oyamatsumi visited with his elder daughter Iwanaga-hime. But Ninigi sent back Iwanaga, who was not as pretty as her sister.

Angered, Oyamatsumi said, “Despite having been given a life that should last long, owing to this the lives of this child of the heavenly deity and his descendents will be short." 

Ninigi and Konohanasakuya-hime produced imperial princes. They were Umisachihiko, who lived in the seas, and Yamasachihiko, who lived in the mountains.

One day, the two exchanged their tools. Yamasachihiko set out on the ocean, but he lost his precious fish hooks. When he began crying on the seashore, the deity Shiotsuchi-no-kami came and took him to Watatsumi Shrine where he encountered the sea god's daughter Toyotama-bime.

Three years later, the sea god gathered fish together and sent them in search of the fish hooks. The deity taught Yamasachihiko an incantation to recite when returning the hooks, gave him a wondrous jewel for controlling the tides, and sent him home.

When Yamasachihiko recited the incantation and returned the hooks, Umisachihiko became poor. Now jealous of Yamasachihiko, he attacked him. However, Yamasachihiko used his wondrous jewel to overcome Umisachihiko and the latter became his brother's servant.

One day, Toyotama-bime visited Yamasachihiko. She was with child and close to giving birth.
Yamasachihiko quickly went to work on building a delivery room, thatching the roof and walls with cormorant feathers found along the seashore.

However, before he could complete it she was ready to give birth. Yamasachihiko peeked on his wife in the delivery room through a crack in the wall, and therein saw an enormous crocodile writhing about.

Toyotama gave birth without incident, but embarassed at having been seen in her natural form she abandoned the child and returned to the sea.
This prince was named Ugayafukiaezu.

Ugayafukiaezu's son Iharebiko would set out from Takachiho in Hyūga Province to find a place where he could govern the country in peace.

For long years, he headed eastward. When he tried to go toward the land of Yamato, his forces were attacked by the local ruling family and his elder brother Itsuse died.

Following this, Iharebiko worked hard to conquer Yamato and eventually at Kashiharanomiya he took the throne as Japan's first emperor.