Jimmu was the legendary first emperor of Japan . Jimmu was
supposedly the great-great grandson of the sun-goddess Amaterasu
, and thus his descendants, the ensuing emperors of Japan , were
considered living gods who were divinely ordained to rule.
According to the Nihon Shoki , Jimmu reigned from 660 "Jimmu"
means "divine warrior." According to the Nihon Shoki, Jimmu's
personal name was Hikohohodemi, and he was born in 711 BC, the
fourth son of Hikonagisataugayafukiahezu, a living god and
great-grandson of Amaterasu. Jimmu's mother was Tamayori, a
daughter of the sea god. At the age of fifteen Jimmu was made
heir to the throne of a small kingdom in western Japan. A few
years later, he married Ahiratsu, a princess from the the
district of Ata in province of Hiuga, and made her his queen and
consort. One day, when he was 45 years of age, Jimmu gathered
his brothers and sons and declared that he had been divinely
ordained to conquer a fertile land to the east. His brothers and
children agreed, so Jimmu mounted a