Nunakawa-hime legend handed down in the land of jade
Some signboards saying 'Hime no Kuni' or 'Nunakawa no Sato,' the land of Nunakawa-hime princess, and statues of a princess in ancient clothes catch our attention in the city of Itoigawa. They are associated with Nunakawa-hime (a local female deity in the Hokuriku Region), who was figured in Kojiki (Japan's oldest extant chronicle) and connected with the Itoigawa Region. According to the legend, she was not only clever but peerless in beauty. Hearing about her, Okuninushi-no Mikoto (one of the Shinto deities) from Izumo (the present Shimane Prefecture) came all the way to marry her. The happily married couple bore a son, who became the main deity worshipped in Suwa-taisha Shrine in Shinano (the present Nagano Prefecture). The jade beads which are said to have been given to Okuninushi-no Mikoto by Nunakawa-hime are still enshrined in Izumo-taisha Shrine. This romantic legend, whether it is true or not, allows us to imagine that there might have been exchanges between the Itoigawa Region and the Izumo Region in ancient times or that Nunakawa-hime might have been the personification of the Hime-kawa River, which produced jade.
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