Ame-no-Wakahiko is the failed heavenly envoy in the Japanese myth of transferring the Central Land of Reed Plains to the descendants of the heavenly deities. His story is not a simple hero’s journey. He abandons his commission, kills the bird sent to question him, and dies when his own arrow is hurled back from heaven. The funeral that follows introduces a second theme: the danger of mistaking resemblance for identity.
Where the story appears
The episode is preserved in the Kojiki, compiled in 712, and in the Nihon Shoki, completed in 720. Both works tell how the heavenly deities seek authority over Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, the “Central Land of Reed Plains.” They preserve related but not identical accounts, so details from one should not silently be used to fill the other.
A second envoy from heaven
After the first envoy, Ame-no-Hohi, fails to report back, the gods select Ame-no-Wakahiko. They give him a heavenly bow and arrows and send him down to learn why the land has not submitted. Instead, he marries Shitateru-hime, a daughter of Ōkuninushi, and remains below. In the Kojiki, eight years pass without a report.
The pheasant messenger
The heavenly assembly sends a pheasant named Nakime to question the silent envoy. The bird perches near his gate and delivers the message. A woman in Ame-no-Wakahiko’s household interprets the pheasant’s cry as ominous and urges him to shoot. He kills Nakime with one of the heavenly arrows entrusted to him for his mission.
The returning arrow
The arrow passes through the pheasant and reaches the heavenly riverbank. Takamimusubi recognizes it, sees blood on the shaft, and casts it back with a conditional declaration: if Ame-no-Wakahiko struck an evil being, the arrow should miss; if his heart is disloyal, it should kill him. The arrow descends through its earlier path and pierces the sleeping envoy. The Kojiki presents this as an origin for sayings about the danger of a returning arrow.
Retribution, not a random accident
Ame-no-Wakahiko is not punished merely for falling in love on earth. He retains divine weapons, refuses his assigned duty, does not report for years, and kills the messenger sent to obtain an answer. The returned arrow turns his own entrusted authority into the instrument that tests him. That structure makes the episode a story about failed office and accountability as much as personal ambition.
The mourning house
His wife’s lament reaches heaven, and his family descends to mourn. In the Kojiki, birds receive ceremonial roles in a mourning house and the rites continue for eight days and eight nights. The Nihon Shoki offers variant arrangements, including an account in which the body is carried to heaven. These differences reveal active funeral traditions rather than one frozen script.
Ajishiki-takahikone and the broken funeral house
Ajishiki-takahikone comes to offer condolences. Because he closely resembles the dead Ame-no-Wakahiko, the mourners embrace him and mistake him for the deceased restored to life. He is enraged at being confused with a polluted corpse, draws his sword, and cuts down or kicks apart the mourning house. Shitateru-hime then sings a verse that identifies her brother.
What the story contributes to the land-transfer myth
The heavenly mission does not succeed through Ame-no-Wakahiko. New envoys must be chosen, and the narrative proceeds toward negotiation with Ōkuninushi and the transfer of rule. His failure lengthens the process and shows that heavenly origin alone does not guarantee obedience. The envoy must still act, report, and remain answerable for the power he carries.
Sources and further reading
- Kojiki, Chamberlain translation, the mission and returning-arrow episode
- Kokugakuin University, entry on Ame-no-Wakahiko
- Nihon Shoki, Aston translation, variant account of Ame-no-Wakahiko
- Kojiki, trans. Gustav Heldt, Columbia University Press