Emperor Keikō and Inabi no Ōiratsume of Harima bore twin sons, Ōusu and Wo-Usu. When the young Wo-Usu tore his elder brother apart for disobeying their father, the horrified Keikō dispatched him on military campaigns against the Kumaso and eastern rebels, where he earned the name Yamato Takeru.
Yamato Takeru took Futaji-iri-hime as his consort, and she bore him Tarashi-Nakatsu-Hiko, who would reign as Emperor Chūai, the fourteenth sovereign of Japan.
Yamato Takeru married Miyazu-hime of Owari Province during his eastern campaigns. He left Kusanagi in her keeping before his fatal ascent of Mount Ibuki (Kojiki).
Oto Tachibana-hime accompanied Yamato Takeru as his wife on the eastern campaign, crossing the wild provinces of Musashi and Sagami at his side until the sea at Kazusa Bay demanded her life for his passage.
Yamato Takeru befriended Izumo Takeru and secretly carved a wooden replica to replace his own blade, then proposed a friendly exchange of swords and challenged the disarmed warrior to a duel, cutting him down where he stood.
Yamato Takeru infiltrated Kumaso Takeru's feast disguised as a maiden, drew a sword during the revelry, and stabbed the chieftain — the dying Kumaso Takeru, awed by his killer's daring, bestowed upon him the name Yamato Takeru.
The young prince Wo-Usu (later Yamato Takeru) killed his elder twin brother Ōusu by seizing, dismembering, and discarding his body after Emperor Keikō asked him merely to bring his brother to meals.
Ibuki-no-Kami appeared as a white boar and cursed Yamato Takeru with sickness and ice when the hero arrogantly dismissed it as a mere messenger. The divine curse proved fatal, and Yamato Takeru died in the marshes of Nobono.
Yamato Takeru left Kusanagi with Miyazu-hime before Mount Ibuki. After his death, she enshrined the sword at Atsuta Jingū, where it has remained as one of the Three Imperial Regalia.
Before his eastern campaign, Yamato Takeru visited Yamato-hime at Ise Jingū, where she gave him Kusanagi no Tsurugi and fire-striking tools for protection (Kojiki).
Emperor Keikō dispatched Yamato Takeru on consecutive military campaigns — first against the Kumaso in Kyushu, then against the eastern Emishi — sending the violent prince away from court after his fratricide of Ōusu (Kojiki).
Yamato Takeru wielded Kusanagi no Tsurugi during his eastern campaigns. The sword saved his life by cutting grass to escape a fire trap in Suruga Province, giving it the name Grass-Cutting Sword (Kojiki).
Yamato Takeru left Kusanagi no Tsurugi behind and climbed Mount Ibuki unarmed, where the mountain god appeared as a white boar and cursed him with sickness. He stumbled down the slopes and never recovered, dying at Nobono before his soul took flight as a white bird.
Oto Tachibana-hime spread mats of sedge and silk upon the storm-churned waves and stepped off the ship into the sea, offering her life to calm the waters for Yamato Takeru's fleet — seven days later, her comb washed ashore, the only thing the sea returned.
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