Nara | Was Emperor Jimmu Xu Fu?

Discover the legend of Japan's founding emperor at Kashihara Shrine. This is the site where Emperor Jimmu ascended the throne, and today it serves as the shrine dedicated to him, the founding father of Japan. According to legend, Emperor Jimmu lived to the age of 127, and his life is steeped in myth. It is said that he was the youngest child of the mountain deity Hikohohodemi and the sea goddess's sister, Tamayorihime. Originally residing in Miyazaki Prefecture, he once told his brother that Miyazaki was not the center of Japan and set out to find it. This journey is famously known as the Jimmu Eastern Expedition. The center he discovered was in Kashihara, Nara. Another theory suggests that Emperor Jimmu was actually Xu Fu, who settled in Japan with young boys and girls. The similarities between the Jimmu Eastern Expedition and Xu Fu's settlement have intrigued historians, prompting further investigation. Speaking of Kashihara Shrine, it was initially built near Emperor Jimmu's tomb during the late Edo period. In 1922, the government funded the construction of the shrine, designed by Itō Chūta, a significant figure in Japanese architecture. While studying abroad was popular at the time, Itō chose to explore China, India, and Turkey, dedicating his life to researching traditional Japanese and Asian architecture. During the shrine's construction, over 70,000 trees were used, with more than 20,000 donated from across Japan. The shrine's grounds expanded to 1.22 million square meters, and over a million volunteers participated in the project. In addition to Kashihara Shrine, Itō Chūta also designed Heian Shrine and the now-demolished Jian Tan Taiwan Shrine. He believed that the transition from Western stone architecture to Eastern wooden architecture was significantly influenced by India. This belief is reflected in the Indian-inspired design of Tsukiji Honganji Temple. 📍Address: 〒634-8550 Nara Prefecture, Kashihara City, Kume-cho 934 🚗 Accessible via Kintetsu Kashihara Shrine Station, a 10-minute walk away.