Once upon a time, there were two brothers called Umisachihiko and Yamasachihiko. Umisachihiko was adept at fishing, and Yamasachihiko was a gifted hunter. One day, the brothers exchanged the tools of their trade, and Yamasachihiko set off to go fishing in the sea. But then, he dropped a fish hook into the water. Yamasachihiko dove to the bottom of the ocean seeking the fishhook when he came across the Palace of the Dragon King. There, he would meet and wed a princess named Toyotama-hime. Yamasachihiko lived in the ocean for a time; however, he decided before long to return to land. He received an orb filled with spiritual power, and together with the fish hook, brought it back to the surface.

Toyotama-hime, that princess of legend, is enshrined at Wakasa-hime Shrine. As she was a princess of the seas, people prayed to her for safe maritime journeys and offered her magnificent “Funadama,” protective boat-shaped effigies. Wakasa-hime Shrine used to be located next to Wakasahiko Shrine, where Yamasachihiko is honored, hand in hand with him, like husband and wife. However, Wakasa-hime Shrine would later be moved to its current location.

In this place, there is a treasure — one that is the key to unraveling the myth. That treasure is a framed placard that reads “Onyu Shrine.” It indicates that a shrine called “Onyu” once stood here, deifying someone known as “Onyu Myojin.” That is why this area was called “Onyu” in ancient times, even in Wakasa, which we now know as Fukui Prefecture. Onyu Myojin, the god who ruled over this land since antiquity, is rooted in this very soil.

However, someone from the outside world came to Onyu Myojin’s sacred land; someone who, through marriage, would eventually become blended into its foundation. Who in the world could it have been? It was none other than Yamasachihiko, who had come from the old capital in Nara. How does that make you feel?

We want to draw your attention to the narrator of this story. Narratives are constructed by the governments of their era. In this way, if we think of Nara to be “the government,” then Wakasa is beholden to Nara. Therefore, from Nara’s perspective, Wakasa — the sea country — becomes Toyotama-hime. Viewed from Wakasa-hime Shrine’s perspective, Yamasachihiko indeed came from the outside world. Thus, according to this story, Nara and Wakasa became bound to one another, just like Yamasachihiko and Toyotama-hime.
Yamasachihiko is also known as Wakasahiko. One more myth remains at Wakasahiko Shrine. Now, let us journey there.