Which figure is the mother of Emperor Jimmu in Japanese myth?

Tamayori-hime is the mother of Emperor Jimmu in Japanese mythology.

She is the daughter of Watatsumi, the sea-dragon deity, and the younger sister of Toyotama-hime. After Toyotama-hime leaves the human world following the birth of Ugayafukiaezu, Tamayori-hime helps care for the child. When Ugayafukiaezu grows up, Tamayori-hime becomes his consort.

The couple have four sons, the youngest of whom is Hikohohodemi, the figure later known as Emperor Jimmu. The Kojiki and Nihon Shoki preserve related but not identical versions of this genealogy, especially concerning Tamayori-hime’s role in raising Ugayafukiaezu and the circumstances of the family’s marriages.

Readers often confuse her with Toyotama-hime because both are daughters of Watatsumi and both are linked to the imperial ancestry. Tamayori-hime is Jimmu’s mother; Toyotama-hime is his grandmother. Another Tamayori-hime, identified as Jimmu’s mother-in-law, appears in Japanese mythological traditions.