Yatagarasu

In the Kojiki account Yatagarasu is dispatched by the heavenly kami Takamimusubi to intervene during the migration and military campaign associated with Emperor Jimmu, while the Nihon Shoki gives a variant in which the bird is sent by Amaterasu. In those narratives the crow guides Jimmu's forces eastward toward Yamato, performs reconnaissance (reporting the rebellion of a brother, Isoshiro, in one account), and mediates divine instruction to human agents; later chronicles and genealogical entries record that the bird's merit was rewarded and that descendants associated with Yatagarasu became lords (for example, lords of Katsuno), linking the being to clan lineage and political legitimation.

The name Yatagarasu is glossed as 'eight‑span crow' (with yata conveying largeness), denoting a large auspicious crow rather than a mundane bird. In later Heian sources (for example the Wamyō Ruijushō, c. 930) Yatagarasu is explicitly represented with three legs and thereby becomes associated with the continental three‑legged solar crow motif; however the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki themselves do not mention three legs. Other detailed features such as plumage color or exact size beyond the 'eight‑span/large' gloss are not specified in the provided sources.

Sources consistently describe Yatagarasu's primary functions as divine guidance and messenger‑service: leading Emperor Jimmu on his eastern expedition, being sent from heaven (by Takamimusubi or Amaterasu), conducting reconnaissance and reporting back to the commander (e.g., noting Isoshiro's rebellion), and thereby manifesting the will of Heaven. In regional cults (Kumano) the crow is integrated as a Misaki or servant of Susanoo‑no‑Mikoto and serves as a symbol of Kumano; genealogical traditions identify the bird with or as an incarnation of clan-related deities (e.g., connections to Kamotaketsunumi no Mikoto and Kamo lineage). Some later traditions and continental parallels link the bird to solar symbolism (the three‑legged crow living in the sun).