Yatagarasu

[1] The word means "eight-span crow"[2] and the appearance of the great bird is construed as evidence of the will of Heaven or divine intervention in human affairs.

This great crow was sent from heaven by Takamimusubi as a guide for legendary Emperor Jimmu on his initial journey from the region which would become Kumano to what would become Yamato (Yoshino and then Kashihara).

There is a slight difference between the traditions in the two books; for example, the crow returned to Emperor Jimmu and reported to him that his brother Isoshiro was rebellious.

After that, in Nihon Shoki, the merit was worked, and the descendants of Yatagarasu became the lords of Katsuno (Kazuno no Tomori no Agatanushi), and the root was Katsuragi Kokuzo.

In the Nihon Shoki, the Kinshi ("golden kite") saved Emperor Jimmu in his battle with Naganohiko during his eastern expedition.

In China, the three-legged crows have appeared in books since the Former Han period (3rd century BCE), and have been depicted on artifacts found in the tombs of kings.

If in the Korean peninsula, it is depicted on a burial mound in the area where Goguryeo (1st–6th century BC) once stood (present-day North Korea).

In the Japanese myth of the "Eastern Expedition", Yatagarasu is said to have served as a guide for Emperor Jimmu as he attempted to advance from the Seto Inland Sea to the Kinki region.

[7] Therefore, guided by Yatagarasu, they decided to attack from the vicinity of the present-day Shingu, largely bypassing the Kii Peninsula, and then went through Yoshino to Kashihara, where they established the Yamato Imperial Court.

In the reign of Emperor Kōrei, a hunter named Chiyokane, who was chasing wild boar in the mountains, was led by a crow to a large tree.

According to Shinsengumi Roku, the Yatagarasu is an incarnation of Kamotaketsunumi no Mikoto, the great grandson of Emperor Takehito, who later became the ancestor of the Kamo no Agatonushi.