 In Japanese poetry, the word "azusa yumi" functions as a makurakotoba ("pillow word", a kind of epithet).The story is told in Japanese mythology that a golden bird perched on the bow of Emperor Jimmu, the great-grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, and the first human ruler of Japan.This was seen as an extremely good omen; Jimmu's bow developed the power to dispel evil by the mere plucking of its string.