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the kojiki
Part 3 - Amaterasu, the Sun-Goddess, and the Storm-God
INVESTITURE OF THE THREE DEITIES, THE ILLUSTRIOUS AUGUST
CHILDREN
At this time His Augustness the Male-Who-Invites greatly
rejoiced, saying: "I, begetting child after child, have at my final begetting
gotten three illustrious children." With which words, at once jinglingly taking
off and shaking the jewel-string forming his august necklace, be bestowed it on
Amaterasu, the Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity. saying: "Do Thine Augustness
rule the Plain-of-High-Heaven." With this charge he bestowed it on her. Now the
name of this august necklace was the August-Storehouse-Shelf deity. Next he said
to His Augustness Moon-Night-Possessor: "Do Thine Augustness rule the Dominion
of the Night." Thus he charged him. Next he said to
His-Brave-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness: "Do Thine Augustness rule the
Sea-Plain."
THE CRYING AND WEEPING OF HIS IMPETUOUS-MALE-AUGUSTNESS
So while the other two deities each assumed his and her rule
according to the command with which her father had deigned to charge them, the
Storm-God, His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness, did not assume the rule of the
dominion with which he had been charged, but cried and wept till his eight-grasp
beard reached to the pit of his stomach. The fashion of his weeping was such as
by his weeping to wither the green mountains into withered mountains, and by his
weeping to dry up all the rivers and seas. For this reason the sound of bad
deities was like unto the flies in the fifth moon as they all swarmed, and in
all things every portent of woe arose. So the Great August deity the
Male-Who-Invites said to His Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness: "How is it that,
instead of ruling the land with which I charged thee, thou dost wail and weep?"
He replied, saying: "I wail because I wish to depart to my deceased mother's
land, to the Nether Distant Land." Then the Great August deity the
Male-Who-Invites was very angry and said: If that be so,, thou shalt not dwell
in this land, and forthwith expelled him with a divine expulsion. So the great
deity the Male-Who-Invites dwells at Taga in Afumi.
THE AUGUST OATH
So thereupon His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness said: if that
be so I will take leave of the Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity, and depart."
With these words he forthwith went up to Heaven, whereupon all the mountains and
rivers shook, and every land and country quaked. So the
Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity, alarmed at the noise, said: " The reason of
the ascent hither of His Augustness my elder brother is surely of no good
intent. It is only that he wishes to wrest my land from me." And she forthwith,
unbinding her august hair, twisted it into august bunches; and both into the
left and into the right august bunch, as likewise into her august head-dress and
likewise on to her left and her right august arm, she twisted an augustly
complete string of curved jewels eight feet long, of five hundred jewels, and,
slinging on her back a quiver holding a thousand arrows, and adding thereto a
quiver holding five hundred arrows, she likewise took and slung at her side a
mighty and high sounding elbow-pad, and brandished and stuck her bow upright so
that the top shook, and she stamped her feet into the hard ground up to her
opposing thighs, kicking away the earth like rotten snow, and stood valiantly
like unto a mighty man, and, waiting, asked: "Wherefore ascendest thou hither?"
Then His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness replied, saying: "I have no evil
intent. It is only that when the Great August deity our father spoke, deigning
to inquire the cause of my wailing and weeping, I said: 'I wail because I wish
to go to my deceased mother's land' -- whereupon the Great-August deity said:
'Thou shalt not dwell in this land,' and deigned to expel me with a divine
expulsion. It is therefore solely with the thought of taking leave of thee and
departing, that I have ascended hither. I have no strange intentions." Then the
Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity said: " If that be so, whereby shall I know
the sincerity of thine intentions? " Thereupon
His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness replied, saying: "Let each of us swear and
produce children." So as they then swore to each other from the opposite banks
of the Tranquil River of Heaven, the august names of the deities that were born
from the mist of her breath when, having first begged
His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness to hand her the ten-grasp saber which was
girded on him, and broken it into three fragments, and with the jewels making a
jingling sound, having brandished and washed them in the True-Pool-Well of
Heaven, and having crunchingly crunched them, the Heaven-Shining-Great deity
blew them away, were Her Angustness Torrent-Mist-Princess, another august name
for whom is Her Augustness Princess-of-the-Island-of-the-Offing; next Her
Augustness Lovely-Island-Princess another august name for whom is Her Augustness
Good-Princess; next Her Augustness Princess-of-the-Torrent. The august name of
the deity that was born from the mist of his breath when, having begged the
Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity to hand him the augustly complete string of
curved jewels eight feet long - of five hundred jewels - that was twisted in the
left august bunch of her hair, and with the jewels making a jingling sound
having brandished and washed them in the True-Pool-Well of Heaven, and having
cruncbingly crunched them, His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness blew them away,
was His Augustness
Truly-Conqueror-I-Conqueror-Conquering-Swift-Heavenly-Great-Great-Ears. The
august name of the deity that was born from the mist of his breath when again,
having begged her to hand him the jewels that were twisted in the right august
bunch of her hair, and having crunchingly crunched them, he blew them away, was
His Augustness Ame-no-hohi. The august name of the deity that was born from the
mist of his breath when again, having begged her to hand him the jewels that
were twisted in her august head-dress, and having crunchingly crunched them, he
blew them away, was His Augustness Prince-Lord-of-Heaven. The august name of the
deity that was born from the mist of his breath when again, having begged her to
hand him the jewels that were twisted on her left august arm, and having
crunchingly crunched them, he blew them away, was His Augustness
Prince-Lord-of-Life. The august name of the deity that was born from the mist of
his breath when again, having begged her to band him the jewels that were
twisted on her right august arm, and having crunchingly crunched them,, be blew
them away was His-Wondrous-Augustness-of-Kumanu. ( Five deities in all.)
THE AUGUST DECLARATION OF THE DIVISION OF THE AUGUST MALE
CHILDREN A.ND THE AUGUST FEMALE CHILDREN
Hereupon the Heavenly Shining-Great-August deity said to
His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness: "As for the seed of the five male deities
born last, their birth was from things of mine; so undoubtedly they are my
children. As for the seed of the three female deities born first, their birth
was from a thing of thine; so doubtless they are thy children." Thus did she
declare the division. So Her Augustness Torrent-Mist-Princess, the deity born
first, dwells in the inner temple of Munakata. The next, Her Augustness
Lovely-Island-Princess, dwells in the middle temple of Munakata. The next, Her
Augustness Princess-of-the-Torrent, dwells in the outer temple of Munakata.
These three deities are of the three great deities held in reverence by the
dukes of Munakata. So His Augustuess Brave-Rustic-Illuminator, child of His
Augustness Ame-no-hohi, one of the five children born afterward. This is the
ancestor of the rulers of the land of Idzumo, of the rulers of the land of
Muzashi, of the rulers of the upper land of Unakami, of the rulers of the lower
land of Unakami, of the rulers of the land of lzhimu, of the departmental
suzerains of the Island of Tsu and of the rulers of the land of Tobo-tsu-Afumi.
The next, His Augustness Prince-Lord-of-Heaven, is the ancestor of the rulers of
the land of Ofushi-kafuchi, of the chiefs of Nukatabe-no-yuwe, of the rulers of
the land of Ki, of the suzerains of Tanaka in Yamato, of the rulers of the land
of Yamashiro, of the rulers of the land of Umaguta, of the rulers of the land of
Kine in Michi-no-Shiri, of the rulers of the land of Suhau, of the rulers of
Amuchi, in Yamato, of the departmental suzerains of Takechi, of the territorial
lords of Kamafu, and of the rulers of Sakikusabe.
THE AUGUST RAVAGES OF HIS-IMPETUOUS-MALE-AUGUSTNESS
Then His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness said to the
Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity: "Owing to the sincerity of my intentions I
have, in begetting children, gotten delicate females. Judging from this I have
undoubtedly gained the victory." With these words, and impetuous with victory,
he broke down the divisions of the rice-fields laid out by the
Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity filled up the ditches, and moreover strewed
excrements in the palace where she partook of the great food. So, though he did
thus, the Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity upbraided him not, but said: "What
looks like excrements must be something that His Augustness mine elder brother
has vomited through drunkenness. Again, as to his breaking down the divisions of
the rice-fields and filling up the ditches, it must be because be grudges the
land they occupy that His Augustness mine elder brother acts thus." But
notwithstanding these apologetic words, he still continued his evil acts, and
was more and more violent. As the Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity sat in her
awful weaving-hall seeing to the weaving of the august garments of the deities,
he broke a hole in the top of the weaving-hall, and through it let fall a
heavenly piebald horse which he had flayed with a backward flaying, at whose
sight the women weaving the heaveijy garments were so much alarmed they died of
fear.
THE DOOR OF THE HEAVENLY ROCK-DWELLING
So thereupon the Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity, terrified
at the sight, closed behind her the door of the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling, made it
fast and retired. Then the whole Plain of High Heaven was obscured and all the
Central Land of Reed-Plains darkened. Owing to this, eternal night prevailed.
Hereupon the voices of the myriad deities were like unto the flies in the fifth
moon as they swarmed, and a myriad portents of woe all arose. Therefore did the
eight hundred myriad deities assemble in a divine assembly in the bed of the
Tranquil River of Heaven, and bid the deity Thought-Includer, child of the
High-August-Producing-Wondrous deity, think of a plan, assembling the
long-singing birds of eternal night and making them sing, taking the hard rocks
of Heaven from the river-bed of the Tranquil River of Heaven, and taking the
iron from the Heavenly Metal-Mountains, calling in the smith Ama-tsu-ma-ra,
charging Her Augtsness I-shi-ko-ri-do-me to make a mirror, and charging His
Augustness Jewel-Ancestor to make an augustly complete string of curved jewels
eight feet long - of five hundred jewels - and summoning His Augustness
Heavenly-Beekoning-Ancestor-Lord and His Augustness Great-Jewel, and causing
them to pull out with a complete pulling the shoulder-blade of a true stag from
the Heavenly Mount Kagu, and take cherry-bark from the Heavenly Mount Kagu, and
perform divination, and pulling up by pulling its roots a true cleyera japonica
with five hundred branches from the Heavenly Mount Kaga, and taking and putting
upon its upper branches the augustly complete string of curved jewels eight feet
long - of five hundred jewels - and taking and tying to the middle branches the
mirror eight feet long, and taking and hanging upon its lower branches the white
pacificatory offerings and the blue pacificatory offering His Augustness
Grand-Jewel taking these divers things and holding them together with the grand
august offerings, and His Augustness Heavenly-Beckoning-Ancestor-Lord
prayerfully reciting grand liturgies, and the Heavenly Hand-Strength-Male deity
standing hidden beside the door, and Her Augustness Heavenly-Alarming-Female
banging round her the heavenly clubmoss the Heavenly -Mount Kagu as a sash, and
making the heavenly spindle-tree her head-dress and binding the leaves of the
bamboo-grass of the Heavenly -Mount-Kagu in a posy for her hands, and laying a
sounding-board before the door of the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling and stamping, till
she made it resound and doing as if possessed by a deity, and pulling out the
nipples of her breasts, pushing down her skirt-string "usque ad privates
partes". Then the Plain of High Heaven shook, and the eight hundred myriad
deities laughed together.
Hereupon the Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity was greatly
amazed, and, slightly opening the door of the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling, spoke thus
from the inside: "Methought that owing to my retirement the Plain of Heaven
would be dark, and likewise the Central Land of Reed-Plains would all be dark:
how then is it that the Heavenly-Alarming-Female makes merry, and that likewise
the eight hundred myriad deities all laugh? "Then the Heavenly-Alarming-Female
spoke, saving: "We rejoice and are glad because there is a deity more
illustrious than Thine Augustness." While she was thus speaking, His Augustness
Heavenly-Beckoning-Ancestor-Lord and His Augustness Grand-Jewel pushed forward
the mirror and respectfully showed it to the Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity,
whereupon the Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity, more and more astonished,
gradually came forth from the door and gazed upon it, whereupon the
Heavenly-Hand-Strength-Male deity, who was standing hidden, took her august hand
and drew her out, and then His Augustness Grand-Jewel drew the bottom-tied rope
along at her august back, and spoke, saving: "Thou must not go back further in
than this"! So when the Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity had come forth, both
the Plain of High Heaven and the Central-Land-of-Reed-Plains of course again
became light.
THE AUGUST EXPULSION OF HIS IMPETUOUS-MALE-AUGUSTNESS
Thereupon the eight hundred myriad deities took counsel
together, and imposed on High-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness a fine of a
thousand tables, and likewise cut his beard, and even caused the nails of his
fingers and toes to be pulled out, and expelled him with a divine expulsion.
Again he begged food of the deity Princess-of-Great-Food. Then the
Princess-of-Great-Food took out all sorts of dainty things from her nose, her
mouth, and her fundament, and made them up into all sorts of dishes, which she
offered to him. But His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness watched her proceedings,
considered that she was offering up to him filth, and at once killed the deity
Princess-of-Great-Food. So the things that were born in the body of the deity
who had been killed were as follows: in her head were born silkworms, in her two
eyes were born rice-seeds, in her two ears was born millet, in her nose were
born small beans, in her private parts was born barley, in her fundament were
born large beans. So His Augustness the Deity-Producing-Wondrous-Ancestor caused
them to be taken and used as seeds.
THE EIGHT-FORKED SERPENT
So, having been expelled, His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness
descended to a place called Tori-kami at the headwaters of the River Hi in the
Land of Idzumo. At this time some chopsticks came floating down the stream. So
His Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness, thinking that there must be people at the
head-waters of the river, went up it in quest of them, when he came upon an old
man and an old woman - two of them - who had a young girl between them, and were
weeping. Then he deigned to ask: "Who are ye?" So the old man replied, saving:
"I am an Earthly deity, child of the deity Great-Mountain-Possessor. I am called
by the name of Foot-Stroking-Elder, my wife is called by the name of
Hand-Stroking-Elder, and my daughter is called by the name of
Wondrous-Inada-Princess." Again he asked: "What is the cause of your crying?"
The old man answered, saying: "I had originally eight young girls as daughters.
But the eight-forked serpent of Koshi has come every year and devoured one, and
it is now its time to come, wherefore we weep." Then he asked him: "What is its
form like?" The old man answered, saving: " Its eyes are like akakagachi, it has
one body with eight heads and eight tails. Moreover, on its body grows moss, and
also chamaecyparis and cryptomerias. Its length extends over eight valleys and
eight hills, and if one look at its belly, it is all constantly bloody and
inflamed." (What is called here akakagachi is the modern hohodzuki.) Then
His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augstness said to the old man: "If this be tby
daughter, wilt thou offer her to me?" He replied, saying: "With reverence, but I
know not thine august name." Then be replied, saving: I am elder brother to the
Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity. So I have now descended from Heaven." Then
the deities Foot-Stroking-Elder and Hand-Stroking-Elder said: "If that be so,
with reverence will we offer her to thee." So
His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness, at once taking and changing, the young girl
into a multitudinous and close-toothed comb which he stuck into his august
hair-bunch, said to the deities Foot-Stroking-Elder and Hand-Stroking-Elder: "
Do you distil some eightfold refined liquor. Also make a fence round about, in
that fence make eight gates, at each gate tie together eight platforms, on each
platform put a liquor-vat, and into each vat pour the eightfold refined liquor,
and wait." So as they waited after having thus prepared everything in accordance
with his bidding the eight-forked serpent came truly as the old man had said,
and immediately dipped a head into each vat, and drank the liquor. Thereupon it
was intoxicated with drinking, and all the heads lay down and slept. Then
His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness drew the ten-grasp saber, that was augustly
girded on him, and cut the serpent in pieces, so that the River Hi flowed on
changed into a river of blood. So when he cut the middle tail, the edge of his
august sword broke. Then, thinking it strange, he thrust into and split the
flesh with the point of his august sword and looked, and there was a great sword
within. So he took this great sword, and, thinking it a strange thing, he
respectfully informed the Heaven-Shining-Great-August deity. This is the
Herb-Quelling Great Sword.
THE PALACE OF SUGA
So thereupon His Swift-Impetuous-.Male-Augustness sought in the
land of Idzumo for a place where he might build a palace. Then he arrived at a
place called Suga, and said:
On coming to this place my august heart is pure" - and in that
place he built a palace to dwell in. So that place is now called Suga. When this
great deity, first built the palace of Suga, clouds rose up thence. Then he made
an august song. That song said:
"Eight clouds arise. The eightfold fence of Idzumo makes an
eightfold fence for the spouses to retire within. Oh! that eightfold fence."
[This difficult song has been rather differently rendered by
Mr. Aston in the Second Appendix to his " Grammar of the Japanese Written
Language." Mr. Aston translates it thus:
Many clouds arise:
The clouds which come forth are a manifold fence:
For the husband and wife to retire within
They have formed a manifold fence:
Oh! that manifold fence!"]
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