TakuhatachijihimeTakuhatachijihime, the Mother Goddess Who Weaves the Heavenly Grandchild

The key to deeply understanding Takuhatachijihime lies in the fact that she is an "unspoken center". In the main text of the *Kojiki*, she only appears in the lineage explaining the transition from Ame-no-Oshihomimi to Ninigi-no-Mikoto, without speaking a word. Yet, for the protagonist of the Tenson Korin to shift from Ame-no-Oshihomimi to Ninigi, her existence is indispensable. Amaterasu's child does not descend directly; instead, the child born with Takagi-no-Kami's daughter, Yorozuhata-Toyoakitsushi-Hime^[1] descends. By this single sentence, the heavenly grandchild becomes a direct descendant of the sun goddess while simultaneously inheriting the blood of the creator god Takamimusubi.

Therefore, defining her divinity merely with the word "mother" is too narrow. Ame-no-Oshihomimi is established as Amaterasu's child through the *ukehi* and chosen as the prince to rule Ashihara-no-Nakatsukuni. Meanwhile, Takagi-no-Kami issues commands alongside Amaterasu during the pacification, reinforcing heavenly political authority. Takuhatachijihime connects these two authorities through marriage and childbirth, integrating them into the person of Ninigi-no-Mikoto. She is not a god who commands from the front, but acts as the "loom of lineage" establishing the legitimacy of the Tenson Korin.

The strong presence of weaving in her name resonates well with this role. The Kokugakuin University Deity Name Database explains that the "hata" in "Yorozuhata" refers to woven cloth^[2], and that "hata" can also indicate weaving itself. Cloth is not a single thread. Only when the warp and weft intersect and repeat does it become a surface. Takuhatachijihime's function in myth is similar. She layers Amaterasu's lineage and Takamimusubi's lineage, heavenly commands and earthly fertility, the branching lineage of Ame-no-Honoakari and the royal lineage continuing to Ninigi, like a single piece of woven cloth.

The abundance of variant names does not just blur her image; rather, it indicates the thickness of the myth's ancient layers. The database organizes the names appearing in the *Nihon Shoki*, such as Takuhatachijihime, Yorozuhatabime, and Amayorozutakuhatachihatahime^[2], emphasizing that they all share "hata" (cloth/loom) in their names. *Taku* (paper mulberry) evokes the material of cloth, while *chiji* (thousand, thousand) suggests fine layering. Although Yorozuhata and Takuhatachiji may not share exactly the same etymology, the perception of the heavenly grandchild's mother as a "cloth-making woman" is universal.

Furthermore, she simultaneously gives birth to two streams: Ame-no-Honoakari and Ninigi-no-Mikoto. The first part of the Tenson Korin in the *Kojiki* lists Ame-no-Honoakari-no-Mikoto. Next, Hikoho-no-Ninigi-no-Mikoto, two deities^[1], and it is the latter who descends. This order suggests that the Tenson myth is not a monolith, but encompasses multiple clan memories and divine lineages. Because Takuhatachijihime is placed at this branching point, reading her is also reading how the Tenson Korin myth wove multiple lineages together.

Her connection to the Amaterasu faith cannot be overlooked. The database notes that the *Kotai Jingu Gishikicho* describes Yorozuhata-Toyoakitsuhime being enshrined in the same hall as Amaterasu-Sume-Okami^[2], and presents a theory viewing the deity of "Yorozuhata" as a weaving goddess connected to Amaterasu worship. This shows that the mother of the heavenly grandchild was not merely understood as a daughter of Takamimusubi, but was a deity who entered Amaterasu's ritual space. Just as the death of the weaving maiden brought darkness in the Heavenly Rock Cave myth, weaving and the order of the sun are deeply intertwined in Takamagahara.

The rituals at Tsubaki Grand Shrine transfer this divinity to the present space of worship. The shrine explains that it enshrines the principal deity Sarutahiko-Okami, and in the *aidono* (companion shrine), it enshrines Ninigi-no-Mikoto and Takuhatachijihime-no-Mikoto^[3]. Sarutahiko is the god who guides the Tenson Korin, and Ninigi is the descending heavenly grandchild. When the mother goddess is enshrined beside them, the descent is seen not as a mere movement, but as an order passed down like cloth from mother to child, from heaven to earth. Takuhatachijihime has a quiet voice in the story, but she is the goddess who supports the very weave of the Tenson myth.