How Sarutahiko was rebuilt, mark by mark
From the restoration bench — the working notes on Sarutahiko, kept because the process is the proof.
What We Found
The attestation, on the evidence Kojiki and Nihon Shoki (Ninigi's descent) and Philippi, Kojiki set down: 猿田彦. Meaning: "Monkey-field prince".
The figure behind the name: Sarutahiko's mythology centers on the moment when the heavenly line met the earthly kami and found a guide rather than an enemy.
What the Name Carried In
The Blockade at the Heavenly Bridge. When Ninigi prepared to descend from heaven, the earthly kami Sarutahiko stood at the Floating Bridge of Heaven and refused passage. None of the heavenly envoys could persuade him.
Marriage to Ame-no-Uzume. After guiding Ninigi, Sarutahiko married Ame-no-Uzume. Their union symbolized the alliance between heavenly and earthly powers and the role of humor and persuasion in resolving cosmic standoffs.
A spelling that has to carry stories like these is not a label. It is equipment.
Where It Stood Before Us
Tsubaki Grand Shrine in Mie is the head shrine of Sarutahiko. The iconography of crossroads and boundary kami is preserved in shrine statuary, festival costumes, and pilgrimage markers across Japan. The bench inherits all of it — the web temple is the newest site, not the first.
What We Rejected
sarutahiko as the primary form. It survives as the convenience it is; it does not get to lead. The hierarchy is full restoration first, and this name can afford to stand at the top of it.
What We Set Down
Sarutahiko — Tier-2 here means one preserved truth — not less important, just singular. The temple shows it and names it.
For the voice: 'SAH-roo-tah-hee-koh' — the 'r' is a light tap, and all vowels are short.
The temple stands at /sarutahiko/ — the notes above are public in its Scholarly Edition, sources and all.
At a Glance
- Restored name: Sarutahiko
- ASCII form: sarutahiko
- Meaning: "Monkey-field prince"
- Domain of influence: Crossroads, Guidance
- Pantheon: Japanese
- Classification: Tier 2
- Original script: 猿田彦
- Series: The Restoration Files, No. 342 of 437
The File Continues
The temple's founding dispatch tells the name's story; its Resonance File reads the myths into the industries; the blog index holds the whole archive.
Continue the series — previous file: Sarasvatī (read it here) · next file: Satī (read it here).
The Restoration Files are written from the same canonical record as the temples themselves: the lexicon, the lore catalog, the pattern atlas, and the cited scholarly sources. If a file ever disagrees with its temple, the temple is right — tell us, and the file will be corrected.