“ It is only for a brief space that I have come.' Thereupon the Sun-Goddess, standing opposite to Sosa no wo no Mikoto, swore an oath, saying:—'If thy heart is pure, and thou hast no purpose of relentless robbery, the children born to thee will surely be males.' When she had finished speaking, she ate first the ten-span sword which she had girded on, and produced a child which was called Oki-tsu-shima-bime. ”

“ Then Ama-terasu no Oho-kami took the curved jewels of Yasaka gem, and having made them float on the true-well of Heaven, bit off the heads of the jewels and blew them away. The Deity which was produced from amidst her breath was called Ichiki-shima-hime no Mikoto. This is the Goddess who dwells in Oki-tsu miya. Again, a Deity was produced from amidst her breath when she bit through and blew away the middle parts of the jewels. This Deity was called Ta-gori-hime no Mikoto. It is she who dwells in Naka-tsu miya. ”

“ And when he came to contend with his younger sister at the Even Pass of Yomi, Izanagi no Mikoto said, 'It was weak of me at first to sorrow and mourn on account of a relation.'
Then said the Road-wardens of Yomi, 'We have a message for thee, as follows: 'I and thou have produced countries. Why should we seek to produce more? I shall stay in this land, and will not depart along with thee.' At this time Kukuri [145] -hime no Kami said something which Izanagi no Mikoto heard and approved, and she then vanished away. ”

“ Then Sosa no wo no Mikoto descended from Heaven and proceeded to the head-waters of the River Hi, in the province (I. 50.) of Idzumo. At this time he heard a sound of weeping at the head-waters of the river, and he therefore went in search of the sound. He found there an old man and an old woman. Between them was set a young girl, whom they were caressing and lamenting over. Sosa no wo no Mikoto asked them, saying:—"Who are ye, and why do ye lament thus?" The answer was:—"I am an Earthly Deity, and my name is Ashi-nadzuchi. ”

“ This is why people at the present day avoid using a single light at night, and also avoid throwing away a comb [103] at night. Izanagi no Mikoto was greatly shocked, and said: 'Nay! I have come unawares to a hideous and polluted land.' So he speedily ran away back again. Then Izanami no Mikoto was angry, and said: 'Why didst thou not observe that which I charged thee? Now am I put to shame.' So she sent the eight Ugly Females of Yomi [104] (Shikome, called by some: Hisame) to pursue and stay him. Izanagi no Mikoto therefore drew his sword, and, flourishing it behind him, ran away. ”

“ His wife's name was Inada no Miya-nushi Susa no yatsu-mimi. This Deity was just then pregnant, and the husband and wife sorrowed together. So they informed Sosa no wo no Mikoto, saying:—'Though we have had born to us many children, whenever one is born, an eight-forked serpent comes and devours it, and we have not been able to save one. We are now about to have another, and we fear that it also will be devoured. ”

“ Then he inquired of the female deity, saying:—"In thy body is there aught formed?" She answered, and said:—"In my body there is a place which is the source of femineity." The male deity said:—"In my body again there is a place which is the source of masculinity. I wish to unite this sourceplace of my body to the sourceplace of thy body." Hereupon the male and female first became united as husband and wife.
Now when the time of birth arrived, first of all the island of Ahaji was reckoned as the placenta, and their minds took no pleasure in it. ”

“ When the Sun-Goddess came to shut herself up in the Rock-cave of Heaven, all the Gods sent the child of Kogoto Musubi, Ama no Koyane no Mikoto, the ancestor of the Nakatomi no Muraji, and made him recite a liturgy. Hereupon Ama no Koyane no Mikoto rooted up a true Sakaki tree of the Heavenly Mount Kagu and hung upon its upper branches a mirror of eight hands, made by the ancestor of the mirror-makers, Ono-kori-dome, a child of Ama no Nukado ”

“ Now Oho-na-mochi no Mikoto and Sukuna-bikona no Mikoto, with united strength and one heart, constructed this sub-celestial world. Then, for the sake of the visible race of man as well as for beasts, they determined the method of healing diseases. They also, in order to do away with the calamities of birds, beasts, and creeping things, established means for their prevention and control. [287] The people enjoy the protection of these universally until the present day. ”

“ The wani, too, inhabits the sea and not rivers, and is plainly a mythical creature.
Satow and Anderson have noted that the wani is usually represented in art as a dragon, and Toyo-tama-hime (see Index) , who in one version of the legend changes into a wani, as her true form, at the moment of child-birth, according to another changes into a dragon. Now Toyo-tama-hime was the daughter of the God of the Sea. This suggests that the latter is one of the Dragon-Kings familiar to Chinese (see Mayers' Manual, p. 142) and Corean fable who inhabit splendid palaces at the bottom of the sea. ”

“ Thus in the Vedic hymns, the sun, the sky, and the earth are severally considered, sometimes as natural objects governed by particular gods, and sometimes as themselves gods who generate and control other beings. ”

“ I have met with a lovely youth." The male deity was displeased, and said:—"I am a man, and by right should have spoken first. How is it that on the contrary thou, a woman, shouldst have been the first to speak? ”

“ Hereupon the two Gods stood on the floating bridge of Heaven, and plunging down the spear, sought for land. Then upon stirring the ocean with it, and bringing it up again, the brine which dripped from the spear-point coagulated and became an island, which was called Ono-goro-jima. The two gods descended, dwelt in this island, and erected there an eight-fathom palace. [52] They also set up the pillar of Heaven."
Then the male Deity asked the female Deity, saying:—"Is there anything formed in thy body?" ”

“ Hence [5] it is said that when the world began to be created, the soil of which lands were composed floated about in a manner which might be compared to the floating of a fish sporting on the surface of the water.
At this time a certain thing was produced between Heaven and Earth. It was in form like a reed-shoot. Now this (I. 2.) [6] became transformed into a God, and was called Kuni-toko-tachi no Mikoto. ”

“ It should be remembered, too, that the Japanese suppose many ailments, such as toothache and children's convulsions, to be owing to mushi, and these are no doubt to be included in the hafu mushi no wazahahi. Hirata remarks that it is the opinion of the men of the Western Ocean that by examining ringworm (called in Japanese ta-mushi, i.e. rice-field insect) , itch and other diseases under a microscope, it would appear that they are due to the presence of exceedingly small insects. It would also appear, he says, from a work recently published, that the human body is full of such animalcules. ”

“ I have already eaten of the cooking-furnace of Yomi. [101] Nevertheless, I am about to lie down to rest. I pray thee, do not thou look on me.' Izanami no Mikoto did not give ear to her, but secretly took his many-toothed comb and, breaking off its end tooth, [102] made of it a torch, and looked at her. Putrefying matter had gushed up, and maggots swarmed. ”

“ Matsurigoto, government, is derived from matsuri, worship. It was they who recited the Harahi or purification rituals. ↑ Futo-dama, big-jewel. ↑ Imi-be or imbe is derived from imi, root of imu, to avoid, to shun, to practise religious abstinence, and be, a hereditary corporation. The original function of the Imibe will be understood from the following extract from a Chinese book written not long after the Christian Epoch:—"They (i.e. the Japanese) appoint a man whom they call an 'abstainer.' He is not allowed to comb his hair, to wash, to eat meat, or to approach women. ”

“ By beasts wild beasts are meant. In addition to the real injuries caused by them, we must remember that in Japan all manner of imaginary effects are attributed to the enchantments of foxes and badgers. ”

“ Perhaps if we imagine the staff of one of our dockyards in which the director and officials should be drawn from the governing class, the artisans being serfs, and the whole having a more or less hereditary character, we shall have a tolerable idea of a Be. ”

“ Neither is inappropriate as applied to the moon. ↑ This name is written indifferently Sosa no wo and Susa no wo. The accepted derivation refers Susa to Susamu, a verb which means "to be impetuous." Hence the "Impetuous Male" of Chamberlain's and Satow's translations. I am disposed to prefer a derivation suggested by the "Idzumo Fudoki," a very old book, which states:—
"Village of Susa. Nineteen ri due west of the Town-house of the district. Kamu Susa no wo no Mikoto said:—'This is only a small country, but it is a Kuni-dokoro (local capital?) . ”

“ The reed boat recalls the Accadian legend of Sargon and his ark of rushes, the Biblical story of Moses as an infant and many more, for which the curious reader may consult the late {{subst:al|John O'Neill}}'s "Night of the Gods," p. 410. ↑ Hirata says that as the left is superior to the right, and the man to the woman, it is proper that the man should go round from the left, and the woman from the right. He strongly condemns the Kojiki version of the story which reverses this order. The notion of the superiority of the left is really Chinese. ”