Oto Tachibana Hime (弟橘媛) --- A woman who sacrificed herself for her husband

At Yokosuka's Hashirimizu Shrine, there is a monument related to the "King Arthur-like" Yamato Takeru...

Yamato Takeru, Japanese folk hero, noted for his courage and ingenuity, who may have lived in the 2nd century AD.  His tomb at Ise is known as the Mausoleum of the White Plover.  The legendary son of the legendary 12th emperor Keikō, Yamato Takeru was supposedly responsible for expanding the territory of the Yamato court.  He subdued two uncouth Kumaso (barbarian) warriors by cleverly disguising himself as a woman and, at a banquet in his honour, killing them while they were drunk.  He cut away the burning grass of a fire set by the Ainu tribesmen with the miraculous sword "Kusanagi" and escaped.  His adventures ended on the plains of Tagi, where he was stricken with illness and, according to legend, changed into a white plover and disappeared from the world.

Here it is:

The monument is in the shape of a ship's rudder, and it is said to offer protection and safety to those who make their living by sailing on the unpredictable and dangerous waves of the ocean ..... and the figure shown in the metal plate picture is: Oto Tachibana Hime ..... who, back in the legendary days, was the wife (or concubine) of Yamato Takeru...

So, here is the story .....  Yamato Takeru, deployed on one of his barbarian-bashing military campaigns, was returning on a ship (along with his retinue) crossing Tokyo Bay from the Chiba-side to the Kanagawa-side (Yokosuka) ..... and then a huge storm occurred, which threatened to sink the ship and drown everyone aboard ..... until, that is, when Oto Tachibana Hime jumped into the sea, offering herself to the ocean god ..... at which point, everything calmed down, and Yamato Takeru & Co. made safe landfall at Yokosuka's small (but important) Hashirimizu Bay....

           














This legendary story about female sacrifice & loyalty, as well as offering good luck for mariners, has been taken up by Hashirimizu Shrine, which has become a popular "power spot" in Yokosuka, selling charms and amulets to a host of visitors ..... Of note, the shrine, and its story, was also inspirational to the Japan Imperial Navy, which erected a large stone monument (endorsed with calligraphy from Russo-Japan War hero, Admiral Togo, and others) at a spot overlooking Tokyo Bay....