The true identity of the Sumiyoshi Sanjin is the three kami of purification belonging to Izanagi-no-Mikoto, appearing in the first volume of the Kojiki (Age of the Gods). When Izanagi returned from Yomi (the underworld) and performed misogi (purification) at Ahagihara in Himuka of Tsukushi, he submerged himself in seawater to cleanse his body. From three different depths, three deities were born: recorded as 'Sokotsutsu-no-o-no-kami, Nakatsutsu-no-o-no-kami, Uwatsutsu-no-o-no-kami' in the Kojiki, and as 'Sokotsutsu-no-o-no-Mikoto, Nakatsutsu-no-o-no-Mikoto, Omotetsutsu-no-o-no-Mikoto' in the Nihon Shoki. The orthographic difference between 'Uwa' (upper) in the Kojiki and 'Omote' (surface) in the Shoki is one basis for the later interpretation of 'tsutsu' as layers of water. Simultaneously, the three Watatsumi kami (Sokotsu, Nakatsu, Uwatsu Watatsumi) were born, making Sumiyoshi and Watatsumi a paired dual structure—bottom = Sokotsutsu/Sokotsu Watatsumi; middle = Nakatsutsu/Nakatsu Watatsumi; surface = Uwatsutsu/Uwatsu Watatsumi. This tripartite structure is common to both texts. The etymology of 'Tsutsu' has not been academically resolved. Major theories are listed alongside each other: ① Star theory — 'Tsutsu' is an archaic word for 'star' (hoshi); it deifies the three central stars of Orion (ancient name 'Miboshi') as navigational stars for ancient seafaring clans. However, this is a modern theory advocated by Hoei Nojiri in "Japanese Stars" (1936), and there are no direct supporting primary texts from early folklorists like Orikuchi or Yanagita; treating it as the 'accepted folkloric theory' is academically inaccurate. ② Tsu (port) theory — 'Tsu' is a particle meaning 'of', and the second 'tsu' means 'port/sea route', an interpretation from Orikuchi's lineage; ③ Tsuchi phonetic change theory — 'Tsu' is a particle, and 'chi' is an honorific spirit suffix (akin to Orochi or Nozuchi); ④ Tsutsu-ro theory — 'Tsuchi' equals 'tsuji' meaning sea route; ⑤ Ship spirit theory — ancient ship spirit worship enshrined at the bottom of a boat; ⑥ Tsutsu toponym theory — derived from Tsutsu at the southern tip of Tsushima, the origin of seafaring clans; ⑦ Literal tube theory — using bamboo tubes as a yorishiro (vessel). Listing multiple theories is academically accurate, and it is particularly imprecise to refer solely to the 'star theory' as the accepted view. The Empress Jingu legend is the most important narrative in the history of Sumiyoshi Sanjin worship. According to the Nihon Shoki, when Empress Jingu became possessed after Emperor Chuai's death, the Sumiyoshi kami delivered an oracle: "Conquer Silla, a land filled with gold and silver. If you worship us three deities, Silla and Kumaso will submit." They protected her maritime expedition (subjugating Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo), and upon her return, a second oracle commanded: "Enshrine our Aramitama (rough spirit) in Yamada village of Anato (Nagato)" — this became the origin of the Shimonoseki Sumiyoshi Shrine. Enshrining the Nigimitama (gentle spirit) in Settsu became the origin of Sumiyoshi Taisha. The structure of jointly enshrining Empress Jingu and Sumiyoshi Sanjin originated here, establishing the unique four-hall structure of Sumiyoshi Taisha. However, the dating of the Empress Jingu chronicles is heavily debated by scholars, and treating the legendary date (211 AD) as historical fact requires extreme caution—archaeologically, it is pointed out as potentially reflecting events from the 4th century onwards. Sumiyoshi Taisha, the head shrine (2-9-89 Sumiyoshi, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka), is the Ichinomiya of Settsu Province, one of the Twenty-Two Shrines (Middle Seven Shrines), and a former Kanpei-taisha. Its official history dates its founding to the 11th year of Empress Jingu's regency (211 AD) on the first Day of the Hare in the Month of the Hare — a legendary date without archaeological proof. Its four main halls have a unique layout: the First, Second, and Third Halls line up vertically (facing west, toward the sea), while the Fourth Hall sits south of the Third, forming an L-shape. The First Hall enshrines Sokotsutsu-no-o, the Second Nakatsutsu-no-o, the Third Uwatsutsu-no-o, and the Fourth Empress Jingu. "Sumiyoshi-zukuri" is considered the oldest style in shrine architectural history, characterized by a gabled roof, cypress bark thatch, and red and white walls. The current main halls were built in 1810 and are all designated National Treasures. The steeply arched red Sorihashi (Taiko Bridge) is the iconic visual symbol of the Sumiyoshi faith, frequently appearing in ukiyo-e, paintings, and waka poetry. There are over 2,300 branch shrines nationwide (the official number from Sumiyoshi Taisha, whereas Wikipedia undercounts at ~600). The distribution is concentrated along coastlines, ports, the Seto Inland Sea, Kyushu, and northern Japan, proving it to be the most vital faith for fishermen, shipping merchants, and navy personnel from ancient to modern times. The "Three Great Sumiyoshi" and ancient shrine dispute: ① Sumiyoshi Taisha (Osaka) = Settsu Ichinomiya, Nigimitama, Head Shrine; ② Sumiyoshi Shrine (Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi) = Nagato Ichinomiya, Aramitama, site of Empress Jingu's return oracle; ③ Sumiyoshi Shrine (Hakata, Fukuoka) = Chikuzen Ichinomiya, self-proclaimed "Japan's First Sumiyoshi-gu", oldest theory identified with Ahagihara. Additionally, Hon-Sumiyoshi Shrine in Kobe is based on an influential Edo-period theory by Motoori Norinaga (1764-1798) identifying Settsu's Sumiyoshi village as the ancient "Nanakura's Long Strait". Academically, the "first Sumiyoshi" cannot be determined, with each shrine claiming primacy based on its own legends. In ancient and medieval times, it was customary for Japanese envoys to Sui and Tang China to pray at Sumiyoshi Taisha before departing. The "Tosa Nikki" (Ki no Tsurayuki, 935) also notes prayers for maritime safety to the Sumiyoshi deities. In Heian-period waka by poets like Izumi Shikibu, Ki no Tsurayuki, and Ono no Komachi, Sumiyoshi frequently appears, positioning the kami at the head of the "Three Deities of Waka". In the medieval and early modern periods, the Noh play "Takasago" featured the "Pines of Sumiyoshi and Takasago" as a symbol of marital harmony and longevity, often performed at shrine weddings. The Noh play "Sumiyoshi Mode" is another masterpiece representing this faith. The rice-planting ritual (Otaue Shinji), a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, is Sumiyoshi Taisha's most representative festival, sanctifying the entire rice-farming cycle from planting to harvest. As a samurai faith from the medieval to Edo periods, they garnered reverence from warrior clans like the Minamoto due to Empress Jingu's Sankan Seibatsu legends. During the Muromachi and Sengoku periods, Sumiyoshi Taisha received immense veneration from the shipping industry in the Seto Inland Sea, Settsu, and Izumi, actively participating in both commercial and military affairs as the guardian of maritime traffic in Osaka Bay. Today, visits by the Maritime Self-Defense Force, merchant ships, fishermen, and shipping businesses remain robust. It is one of Osaka's premier spots for New Year's visits, Shichi-Go-San, and shrine weddings. Affectionately called "Sumiyoshi-san" in the Kansai region, the Sumiyoshi Sanjin are a national divine presence offering wide-ranging blessings for maritime protection, safety at sea, poetry, scholarship, marital harmony, safe childbirth, and business prosperity. The 2,300 branch shrines, known as Sumiyoshi Shrine, Sumiyoshi-sha, Sumie Shrine, or Sumiyoshi Jinja, line Japan's coastlines and ports, forming the backbone of an uninterrupted maritime faith from ancient times to the present day.

This version of Empress Jingu is read not as an introduction to a historical figure, but as a body that receives divine oracles. In the scene where divine will descends before Emperor Chuai, the empress is not merely a consort, but a vessel through which the voice of the gods passes. In ancient kingship, politics and ritual were not separated. Her decisions were simultaneously military actions and rituals executing divine will. The mythological nature of the Three Han conquest tale is the core of this version. The plot of crossing the sea while pregnant, delaying childbirth with a stone, and returning to give birth to Emperor Ojin seems bizarre from a modern realistic perspective. But viewed as myth, it is the story of a woman carrying a future king in her womb, crossing the outer seas under the protection of the gods. The mother's body itself becomes the ship carrying the nation's future. The sweetfish fishing at Matsura is important as a scene that grounds her myth to the land. Within the large-scale expedition tale, a subtle action of fishing at Tamashima village to divine fortunes is included. Here, Empress Jingu becomes a shamanistic figure reading waterside omens, concurrently with being the protagonist of a maritime military myth. Grand epic and minute folklore overlap in the same person. Empress Jingu in the Hachiman belief is not only the mother of Emperor Ojin but a deity supporting Hachiman's spiritual authority. When the Hachiman god spreads as the protector of the samurai, there is an underlying complex structure of mother and child, oracles and military, maritime transport and national protection. Extracting the empress alone, severing the relationship lines with Hachiman and the three Sumiyoshi deities, halves her power. To visualize this version, an armored queen alone is insufficient. The forest of Kashii, the rough sea, the divine majesty of Sumiyoshi, the prince in her womb, the caught sweetfish, the expedition fleet. By layering these elements, Empress Jingu emerges not as a fighting woman, but as a presence imbued with mythological kingship. In modern diagnoses and articles, Empress Jingu becomes a symbol of the "power to bear a role." Her story resonates strongly when one must accept a massive flow even if undesired, or when one must proceed while holding what must be protected in the womb or heart. However, it requires the honesty to treat her not as a historical fact, but as a deity created by the Kiki myths and shrine beliefs. The terror of Empress Jingu lies in divine will larger than personal emotion passing through her body. One who receives an oracle is simultaneously bound by it. She is not a hero adventuring freely, but an existence pushed forward by the gods and the future of kingship. Including that weight ensures the legend is not merely a tale of victory. The relationship with Emperor Ojin is the most crucial line connecting Empress Jingu to the Hachiman belief. The prince residing in her womb is at the center of the story even before birth. The mother's expedition, the gods' protection, and the birth upon return connect to prepare the sacredness of the Hachiman god. The empress is the entity that carries Hachiman's prehistory within her body. Furthermore, Empress Jingu is a deity that moves locations. Place names like Kashii, Matsura, Sumiyoshi, and Usa hold meaning in the story, each remaining as modern sites of worship. Linking this with YOKAI.JP's place articles allows one to walk the actual geography while reading the myth. There is practical value in adding this page there.

This interpretation shatters the illusion of the "innocent and brave little person" sanitized by later children's literature, restoring his true nature as the "extremely ambitious and cunning trickster" depicted in the original Muromachi *Otogizoushi*. This version of Issun-boshi carves out his destiny not through martial force, but through advanced psychological manipulation (off-board tactics) and amoral scheming. His greatest defining trait is his abnormal "upward mobility." Burdened with the supreme handicap in human society—a height of merely one sun (about 3 cm)—he never abandons his ambition to take a powerful man's daughter as his wife and achieve worldly success. His method of framing the princess using the "rice grain scheme," having her disowned by her father to socially isolate her, and creating a state of complete dependence on him, displays a cold-blooded Machiavellianism that puts modern psychopaths and con artists to shame. Even in his battle with the oni, he does not fight fair and square. He turns the desperate situation of being swallowed whole to his advantage, executing a gruesome internal destruction (assassination technique) by continuously stabbing the oni's internal organs from the safety of its body (stomach and eyeballs) with his needle-sword. Finally, he robs the oni of its treasure, the "Miracle Mallet," using it to rapidly grow his body and ultimately obtain the ultimate social status of a "perfect human man." He represents the darkest and most realistic rags-to-riches hero in Japanese literary history, overturning his inherent, irrational handicaps entirely through intellect, lies, and the plunder of otherworldly power (the oni's treasure).