1 These opening sentences of the “ Nihongi” have been justly condemned by modern Shinto scholars such as Motowori and Hirata as an essay of the Chinese rationalistic type, which has been awkwardly prefixed to the genuine Japanese traditions. Hiratamentions two Chinese works named fF fy and = =, a, as among the originals from which the author of the “ Nihongi” borrowed these ideas. See Satow’s “Revival of Pure Shinto,” pp. 19 and 51 (reprint), “Japan Asiatic Society’s Transactions,” 1875, Appendix. I take this opportunity of referring the reader to this treatise, which is much the most instructive and accurate work that has yet appeared on-the ancient Japanese religion and mythology. No serious student of this subject can afford to neglect it.
The corresponding passage of the “ Kiujiki” (vzde Index) is as follows:— “ Of old, the original essence was a chaotic mass. Heaven and Earth had not yet been separated, but were like an egg, of ill-defined limits and con- taining germs. Thereafter, the pure essence, ascending by degrees, became thinly spread out, and formed Heaven. The floating grosser essence sank ‘heavily, and, settling down, became Earth. What we call countries were along. It might be compared to the floating of a fish which sports on the surface of the water. Now Heaven was produced first, and Earth after- wards.”
2 Motowori points out that hence has. no meaning here. It is inserted clumsily to make it appear as if there were some connection between the Chinese essay which precedes and the Japanese tradition which follows. The author is-fond of this word and frequently brings it in without much meaning.
~ THE AGE OF THE Gops. 3 became transformed into a God, and was called Kuni-toko- 1, 2.1 tachi no Mikoto.* [The character ®& is used owing to the extreme dignity of this Deity. For the others the character (pp is used. Both are read Mikoto. This rule ts followed below."
Next there was Kuni no sa-tsuchi no Mikoto,‘ and next Toyo-kumu-nu no Mikoto,’ in all three deities.’
* The marginal references are to the Shukai edition of the original.
* This distinction is, of course, an invention of the persons who committed the myths to writing, and it is by no means consistently adhered to even in the “ Nihongi ”.
The passage in italics is from what is called the “ Original Commentary,” for which see introduction.
* Land-of-right-soil-of-augustness, i.e. his augustness the true soil of th land. Sa, which I have rendered “right,” is a mere honorific. Tsuchi is written with a Chinese character which means “ mallet,” but it must be taken here as put phonetically for tsuchi, land or soil.
® Rich-form-plain-of augustness. The meaning of many of the names of the gods is obscure, and. these renderings must be accepted with caution. Compare the notes to Chamberlain’s “ Kojiki,” where much attention has been given-to this subject. It may be remarked that there is great and inextricable confusion as to the early deities between the various. ancient authorities, the -“ Kojiki,” the “ Kiujiki,” the “ Kogojiui,” the various docu- ments quoted in the “ Nihongi,” and the “ Nihongi ” itself.
* The Chinese = jit? means simply three deities. But the interlinear Kana has mi-bashira no Kami, ie. Deities, three pillars, hashira or bashira being the usual auxiliary numeral (like our head of cattle, sail of ships, etc.) for gods in the ancient literature. Historical Shinto has no idols, but does not this use of the word hashira suggest a time when the gods of Japan were wooden posts carved at the top into a rude semblance of the human countenance, such as are seen at this day in many savage lands? In Corea, closely related to Japan, there are gods of thiskind. The mile-posts there have their upper part fashioned into the shape of an idol, to which some pompous title is given, and at a village not far from Séul, on the Wénsan road, I have seen a group of a dozen or more of these pillar-gods, set up, I was told, as guardians to the inhabitants during an epidemic of small-pox.
The word Kami, deity, has a very wide application in Japanese. It means primarily upper, and hence nobles, the sovereign, gods, and generally any wonderful or mysterious thing. The leopard and wolf are Kami, the peach with which Izanagi put to flight the thunders which pursued him in the land of Yomi, etc. See Hirata’s interesting remarks translated by Satow in “ Revival of Pure Shinto,” “ } AQS.2.3” ‘p.. 42“Geprine): The Aino ideas regarding Kamui are very similar. See Batchelor in cee POV Pte ip. Ee: ww 4 NIHONGI.
These were pure males spontaneously developed by the operation of the principle of Heaven.
In one writing it is said:*—‘‘ When Heaven and Earth began, a thing existed in the midst of the Void Its shape may not be described. Within it a Deity. was sponta- neously produced, whose name was Kuni-toko-tachi no Mikoto, also called Kuni-soko-tachi* no Mikoto. Next there was Kuni no sa-tsuchi no Mikoto, also called Kuni no sa-tachi® no Mikoto. Next there was Toyo-kuni- nushi" no Mikoto, also called Toyo-kumu-nu’ no Mikoto, Toyo-ka-fushi-no * no Mikoto, Uki-fu-no-toyo-kahi’ no Mikoto, Toyo-kuni-no' no Mikoto, Toyo-kuhi-no" no Mikoto, Ha-ko-kuni-no” no Mikoto, or Mi-no” no Mikoto.”
In one writing it is said:—‘* Of old, when the land was young and the earth young, it floated about, as it were float- ing oil. Atthistimea thing was produced within the land, in shape like a reed-shoot when it sprouts forth. From this there was a Deity developed, whose name was Umashi- ashi-kabi-hiko-ji *no Mikoto. Nextthere was Kuni no toko- tachi no Mikoto, and next Kuni no sa-tsuchi no Mikoto.”’
1 The principle of Heaven is the same thing as the Y6 or male principle . of Chinese philosophy. This again is no part of the old tradition.
* These quotations are usually referred to as part of’the “ Néhowsi. They were, in my opinion, added at a somewhat (but not much) later date. They afford some indication of the mass of written literature which existed on this subject * In Japanese sora, to be distinguished from ame or ama, the heaven or firmament, which was regarded as a plain, as in the expression takama no hara, the plain of high heaven.
+ Soko means bottom. » Tachi means stand 1% Mino is written with characters which suggest the derivation see-plain. But mi is more probably a honorific, to be rendered “august.”
14 Sweet-reed-shoot-prince-elder. There is some doubt about the precise signification of the word ii here rendered elder. It is the same root which we have in chichi father; wo-ji, uncle; oro-chi, serpent, and tsutsu or tsuchi, which is found in many names of gods. It is probably little more than a mere honorific.
THE AGE OF THE Gops. 5 -In one writing it is said:—‘‘ When Heaven and Earth were in a state of chaos, there was first of all a deity,’ whose name was Umashi-ashi-kabi-hiko-ji no Mikoto. Next there was Kuni-soko-tachi no Mikoto.”
In one writing it is said:—‘‘ When Heaven and Earth began, there were Deities produced together, whose names were, first, Kuni-no-toko-tachi no Mikoto, and next Kuni no sa-tsuchi no Mikoto.’” It is further stated:—‘‘ The names of the Gods:which were produced in the Plain of High. Heaven were Ama no mi-naka-nushi’ no Mikoto, next Taka-mi-musubi* no Mikoto, next Kami-mi-musubi * no Mikoto.”’ | In one writing it is said:—‘‘ Before Heaven and Earth were produced, there was something which might be com- pared to a cloud floating over the sea. It had no place of attachment for its root. In the midst of this a thing was generated which resembled a ‘reed-shoot when it is first produced in the mud. This became straightway trans- formed into human’ shape and was called Kuni no toko- tachi no Mikoto.”
In one writing it is said:—‘‘ When Heaven and Earth began, a thing was produced in the midst of the Void, which resembled a reed-shoot. This became changed into a God, who was called Ama no toko-tachi® no Mikoto. There was next Umashi-ashi-kabi-hiko-ji no Mikoto.” It is further stated:—‘‘ There was a thing produced in the midst of the Void like floating oil, from 1 Lit. a Divine man.
2 Heaven-of-august-centre-master. The Pole-star god, according to O’Neill. Vide “ Night of the Gods,” pp. 535, 536.
* High-august-growth. “ Personifications of highly abstract ideas are not unknown in myths of savages. The South Sea islanders have personified ‘the very beginning,’ and ‘space.’” Lang’s “ Myth, Religion, and Ritual,” Vol. I., p. 196. It is not quite clear whether this is the same as the Musubi or Musubu no Kami, a god who unites lovers, and to whom the rags hung on trees by the roadside are offered.
4 Divine-august-growth. This corresponds nearly with the Kojiki myth. ° 5 The Chinese character is J\, which the interlinear Kana coolly renders by Kami, deity.
i 6 NIHONGI.
which a God was developed, called Kuni toko-tachi no Mikoto.”
The next Deities who came into being were Uhiji-ni' no Mikoto and Suhiji-ni no Mikoto, also called Uhiji-ne no . Mikoto and Suhii-ne no Mikoto.
The next Deities which came into being were Oho-to nochi no Mikoto and Oho-to mahe no Mikoto.
One authority says Oho-to no he no Mikoto, otherwise called Oho-to-ma-hiko no Mikoto’ and Oho-to-ma-hime no Mikoto. Another says. Oho-tomu-chi no Mikoto and Oho-tomu-he no Mikoto.
The next Gods which came into being were Omo-taru no Mikoto and Kashiko-ne no Mikoto, also called Aya-kashiko-ne no Mikoto, Imi kashiki no Mikoto, or Awo-kashiki-ne no Mikoto, or Aya-kashiki no Mikoto.°* The next Deities which came into being were Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto.* One writing says:—‘‘ These two Deities were the children of Awo-kashiki-ne no Mikoto.”
One writing says:—‘‘ Kuni no toko-tachi no Mikoto produced Ame kagami no Mikoto, Ame kagami ne Mikoto produced Ame yorodzu no Mikoto, Ame yorodzu ' The names of these two Deities are of doubtful meaning. According to the Chinese characters Uhiji should mean mud-earth, and Suhijisand-earth. Ni or ne is a honorific particle. Vzde Chamberlain’s “ Kojiki,” p. 17.
* These names are somewhat obscure. Oho-to means great door or house; nochi, after, and mahe, before. He, is place; toma, a coarse kind of mat; tomu, wealthy; and chi, ground. The other elements of these names have occurred above.
’ Omo-taru means face-pleasing, and Kashiko, awful. Ne is a honorific suffix; aya, an interjection like our ah! Imi means avoidance, religious abstinence, taboo. Kashiki is probably only another form of Kashiko, awful.- Awo is green.
* Izana is the root of a verb izanafu, to invite; gi, a masculine, and mi, a feminine termination. These two names may therefore be rendered male- who-invites and female-who-invites. But it may be suspected that this is, after all, merely a volks-etymologie, and that Iza or Isa is simply the name of a place, na being another form of no, the genitive particle. Isa is known to Japanese myth. We shall find an Isa well in Heaven spoken of below. There are two places called Isa in Hitachi, and an Isa no Jirja in Idzumo.
Tue Ace or THE Gops. 7 ' no Mikoto produced Aha-nagi no Mikoto, and Aha-nagi no Mikoto produced Izanagi no Mikoto.” ’. These make eight Deities in all. Being formed by the mutual action of the Heavenly and Earthly principles, they were made male and female.? From Kuni no toko-tachi no Mikoto to Izanagi no Mikotoand Izanami no Mikoto are called the seven generations of the age of the Gods.* 2 This sentence is obviously from the pen of a student of Chinese philosophy.
3°The eight Gods specially worshipped by the Jingikwan, or Department of the Shinto Religion in the Yengi period—go1-922—were Taka-mi-musubi no Kami, Kami-mi-musubi no Kami, Tama-tsume musubi no Kami, Iku musubi no Kami, Taru musubi no Kami, Oho-miya no me no Kami, Mi Ketsu Kami, and Koto-shiro-nushi no Kami.
For the sake of comparison the Kiujiki scheme of the generations of early Deities is herewith added. It will still further exemplify the confusion of these traditions.
“Therefore a God was developed in the Plain of High Heaven whose name was Ame - yudzuru - hi- ame no sa- girl kuni-yudzuru-tsuki kuni no heaven transfer sun heaven right mist land transfer moon land of sa- girino Mikoto, who was produced alone. After him were born two right mist generations of companion Gods and five generations of mated Deities. These make up what is called the seven generations of the Gods.
GENEALOGY OF THE AGE OF THE GODS.
The Heavenly parent, Ame yudzuru hi ame no sa-giri kuni yudzuru tsuki kuni no sa-giri no Mikoto.
IST GENERATION.
Companion-born heavenly Gods. Ame no mi-naka-nushi no Mikoto. heaven middle master Umashi - ashi-kabi hikoji no Mikoto. sweet reed-shoot prince elder 2ND GENERATION.
Companion-born heavenly Gods. Kuni no toko tachi no Mikoto. land eternal stand Toyo-kuni-nushi no Mikoto. rich land master NIHONGI.
In one writing it is said:—‘‘ The gods that were pro- duced in pairs, male and female, were first of all Uhiji ni A Branch. Ame - ya - kudari no Mikoto. heaven eight descend 3RD GENERATION. Heavenly Gods born as mates. Tsuno- gui ~ no Mikoto. horn stake (name of place?)
Iku - gui no Mikoto, his younger sister of wife. live stuke A Branch.
Ame mi kudari no Mikoto. heaven three descend 4TH GENERATION. Heavenly Gods born as mates. Uhiji - ni no Mikoto. mua earth \honorific affix) Suhiji - nino Mikoto, his younger sister or wife. sand earth A Branch.
Ama - ahi no Mikoto. heaven meet 5TH GENERATION. Heavenly Gods born as mates. Oho-toma-hiko no Mikoto. great mat prince Oho - toma - he no Mikoto, his younger sister or wife. great mat place A Branch. Ame ya - wo - hino Mikoto. heaven eight hundred days 6TH GENERATION.
Heavenly Gods born as mates. Awo - kashiki ne no Mikoto. green awful (honorific) Aya-kashiki ne no Mikoto, his younger sister or wife. aa! awful. A Branch. Ame no ya-so-yorodzu-dama no Mikoto. eighty myriads spirits Tue AGE OF THE Gops. 9 no Mikoto and Suhiji ni no Mikoto. Next there were Tsuno-guhi no Mikoto and Iku-guhi no Mikoto, next 7TH GENERATION.
Heavenly Gods born as mates. Izanagi no Mikoto. Izanami no Mikoto, his younger sister or wife.
A Branch. Taka mi - musubi no Mikoto. high august growth Children. Amano omohi-game! no Mikoto. heaven thought-compriser Ama no futo-dama no Mikoto. big jewel Ama no woshi - hi no Mikoto. endure sun Ama no kamu-dachi no Mikoto. goad stand Next there was— Kamu mi musubi no Mikoto. above growth Children. Ame no mi_ ke _ mochi no Mikoto. august food hold Ame no michi ne no Mikoto. road (honorific) - Ame no kami-dama no Mikoto. god jewel Iku-dama no Mikoto. live jewel Next there was— Tsu-haya-dama no Mikoto. port quick jewel Children. Ichi - chi - dama no Mikoto. market thousand jewel Kogoto-dama no Mikoto.
10 NIHONGI.
Omo-taru no Mikoto and Kashiko-ne no Mikoto, and next Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto.”
Izanagi and Izanami on the Floating Bridge of Heaven.
Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto stood on the I. 5 floating bridge of Heaven, and held counsel together, saying: “Is there not a country beneath?”
Ama no ko-yané no Mikoto. child-roof Takechi - nokori no Mikoto. brave milk remnant Next there was— Furu-dama no Mikoto. Shake jewel Children. Saki-dama no Mikoto. first jewel Ama no woshi - dachi no Mikoto. endure stand Next there was— Yorodzu-dama no Mikoto. myriad jewel Child. Ama no koha-kaha no Mikoto.” hard river A number of these Deities are stated to be the ancestors of noble Japanese families. The explanation of the meaning of these names is often Tue AGE OF THE GoDs. II Thereupon they thrust down the jewel-spear of Heaven,' and groping about therewith found the ocean. The brine which very conjectural. Some are probably names of places. Possibly some of the obscurer names are Corean. The “ Seishiroku” speaks of a Corean Sagiri no Mikoto, and other known Corean Deities were worshipped in Japan. The reader will do well to consult here Satow’s “ Japanese Rituals” in “J.A.S.T.,” Vol. VI., Pt. II., p. 120, where he makes the pregnant sug- gestion that the sun was the earliest among. the powers of nature to be de‘fied, and that the long series of gods who precede her in the cosmogony of the “ Kojiki” and “ Nihongi,” most of whom are shown by their names to have been mere abstractions, were invented.to give her a genealogy.
‘Hirata conjectures that the jewel-spear (nu-boko or tama-boko) of Heaven was in form like a wo-bashira. Wo-bashira means literally male- pillar. This word is usually applied to the end-posts or pillars of a railing or balustrade, no doubt on account of the shape of the top, which ends in a sort of a ball (the nu or tama), supposed to resemble the glans. That by wo-bashira Hirata means a phallus is clear from his quoting as its equivalent the Chinese expression ive. jewel-stalk, an ornate word for the penis. A Japanese word for this is wo-hashi, or wo-bashi, which contains nearly the same etymological elements as wo-bashira.
A writer quoted in the Tst-sho commentary on the ‘“ Nihongi,” says that the Tama-boko (or nu-boko) is the root of coition.
The late Mr. J. O’Neill, in his “ Night of the Gods” (pp. 31, 37, 67), pro- posed the theory that this spear and other spears of myth “are but symbols of the Earth-axis and its prolongation,” an idea which is worked out with much ingenuity and learning in that remarkable work. At p. 88 he argues that this view is not inconsistent with the phallic interpretation.
There are other indications in the “ Nihongi” and “ Kojiki” of phallic worship -in Ancient Japan, although, ptobably owing to the influence of Chinese ideas of literary propriety, there ‘are fewer than»might have been expected. Vzde Index—Phallic worship.
All travellers in Japan, especially before the Revolution of 1868, must have observed numerous evidences of a phallic cult. The Government have of recent years done their best to suppress this very gross form of nature worship, but it still exists in out-of-the-way places, as has been shown in an interesting Essay by Dr. Edmund Buckley, of the University of Chicago, who has collected’ numerous facts relating to this subject. Dr. Griffis, in his “ Religions of Japan,” has also noticed several evidences of it.
Travelling from Utsunomiya to Nikko, in 1871, I found the road lined at intervals with groups of phalli, connected, no doubt, with the worship. of the Sacred Mountain Nan-tai (male-form), which was visited every summer by Wo-bashira.
12 NIHONGI.
dripped from the point of the spear coagulated and became an island which received the name of Ono-goro-jima.'
The two Deities thereupon descended and dwelt in this island. Accordingly they wished to become husband and wife together, and to produce countries.
So they made Ono-goro-jima the pillar of the centre of the land.?
Now the male deity turning by the left, and the female ® hundreds of pilgrims of the male sex, access to females being at that time rigorously prohibited.
A cave at Kamakura formerly contained scores of phalli carved in stone.
I once witnessed a phallic procession ina town some miles north of Tokio. A phallus several feet high, and painted a bright vermilion colour, was being carried on a sort of a bier by a crowd of shouting, laughing coolies with flushed faces, who zig-zagged along with sudden rushes from one side of the street to another. It was a veritable Bacchic rout. The Dionysia, it will be remembered, had their phalli. A procession of this kind invaded the quiet thoroughfares of the Kobe foreign settlement in 1868, much to the amazement of the European residents.
That there are domestic shrines in the lupanars where these objects of: worship are propitiated by having a small lamp kept constantly burning before them is, perhaps, not to be wondered at.
Is it a mere coincidence that wo-bashira, male pillar, should contain the element hashira which is used as a numeral for deities? See above, De & Some of the Rai-tsui, or thunder-clubs, figured in Kanda’s “ Ancient Stone _ Implements,” Plate VII., are probably phalli. Their size precludes the view that they were used as weapons.
It may be, however, that both the Earth-axis and the phallic interpreta- tions of the nu-boko are too subtle. The Hoko may after all be a spear and nothing more, and the nu or jeriel merely an ornate epithet, as indeed Hirata suggests.
" Spontaneously-congeal-island. Cf. Ch. “ Kojiki,” p. 19. Identified with a small island near Ahaji.
* The “ Kiujiki” mentions a tradition according to which the two gods made the jewel-spear the central pillar of their house.
* The words for male and female are in the original Y6 and In. It greatly excites the indignation of the Motowori and Hirata school to have these Chinese philosophical terms applied to Japanese deities. I cannot help thinking that some early marriage ceremony is adumbrated by this circumambulation. We have the ceremony of divorce further on. ‘The erection of a house is not merely for practical reasons. It appears from several passages that a special building was a necessary preliminary to the consummation of a marriage in proper form.
Ture AGE OF THE Gobs. £3 deity by the right, they went round the pillar of the land separately. When they met together on one side, the female deity spoke first and said:—‘‘ How delightful! I have met with a lovely youth.” The male deity was displeased, and said:—“‘ Iam 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? This was unlucky. Let us go round again.” Upon this the two deities went back, and having met anew, this time the male deity spoke first, and said:—‘‘ How delightful! I have met a lovely maiden.” | 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 source- place of my body to the source-place 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. Therefore it received the name of Ahaji no Shima.’
Next there was produced the island of Oho-yamato no Toyo-aki-tsu-shima.* Here and elsewhere A Ax (Nippon) zs to be read Yamato.’
Next they produced the island of Iyo no futa-na,* and next the island of Tsukushi.? Next the islands of Oki and Sado 1 “ The island which will not meet,” i.e. is unsatisfactory. Ahaji may also be interpreted as “my shame.” The characters with which this name is written in the text mean “foam-road.” Perhaps the true derivation is “ millet-land.” Cf. Ch. “ Kojiki,” p. 21.
3 Yamato means probably mountain-gate. It is the genuine ancient name for the province which contained Nara and many of the other capitals of Japan for centuries, and it was also used for the whole country. Several of Mikados called themselves Yamato-neko. It is mentioned by the historian ofthe Later Han dynasty of China (A.D. 25-220) as the seat of rule in Japan at that time. (See above, p. I.)
4 Now called Shikoku.
* Now called Kiushiu.
i.
14 NIHONGI.
were born as twins. This is the prototype of the twin-births which sometimes take place among mankind.
Next was born the island of Koshi,' then the island of Oho- shima, then the island of Kibi no Ko.
Hence first arose the designation of the Oho-ya-shima * country.
Then the islands of Tsushima and Iki, with the small islands in various parts, were produced by the coagulation of the foam of the salt-water.
It is also stated that they were produced by the coagu- lation of the foam of fresh water.
‘In one writing it is said:—‘‘The Gods of Heaven addressed Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto, say- ing: ‘There is the country Toyo-ashi-hara-chi-i-wo-aki no midzu-ho.* Do ye proceed and bring it into order.’ They then gave them the jewel-spear of Heaven. 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.’ They also set up the pillar of Heaven.”
Then the male Deity asked the female Deity, saying:— ‘Is there anything formed in thy body?” She answered and said:—‘‘ My body has a place completely formed, and called the source of femineity.” The male god said:— “My body again has a place completely formed, and called the source of masculinity. I desire to unite my source of ‘ Koshi is not anisland. It comprises the present provinces of Ettchiu, Echigo, and Echizen.
> These two are not clear. Kibi is now Bingo, Bizen, and Bittchiu. Ko, “child or small,” perhaps refers to the small islands of the Inland Sea.
» The “ Kiujiki” makes the nu-boko or jewel-spear the central pillar of the house which they erected. Eight-fathom is simply a poetical expression for large. There is no special sacredness attached to the number eight.
THE AGE OF THE Gops. 15 masculinity to thy source of femineity.” Having thus spoken, they prepared to go round the pillar of Heaven, and made a promise, saying:—‘‘ Do thou, my younger sister, go round from the left, while I will go round from the right.””, Having done so, they went roundseparately and met, when the female Deity spoke first, and said:—‘‘ How pretty! a lovely youth!” The male Deity then answered and said:—‘‘ How pretty! a lovely maiden!” Finally they became husband and wife. Their first child was the The Leech Child as Yehisu.
leech, whom they straightway placed in a reed-boat and sent adrift.! Their next was the Island of Ahaji. This also was not included in the number of their children. Wherefore they returned up again to Heaven, and fully reported the circumstances. Then the Heavenly Gods divined this by the greater divination. Upon which they instructed them, saying:—‘‘ It was by reason of the woman’s having spoken first; ye had best return thither again.” Thereupon having divined a time, they went down. The two deities ' The leech was identified in after times with the God Yebisu. See Anderson’s Catalogue of Paintings in the British Museum, p. 36. Hirata attempts to show that he was the same as Sukuna-bikona, but is not con- vincing. 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 John O’Neill’s “ Night of the Gods,” fF 16 NIHONGI.
fF 16 NIHONGI.
accordingly went again round the pillar, the male Deity from the left,’ and the female Deity from the ‘right. When they met, the male Deity spoke first and said:— “How pretty! a lovely maiden!” The female Deity next answered and said:—“‘ How pretty! a lovely youth! ” Thereafter they dwelt together in the same palace and had children, whose names were Oho-yamato no Toyo-aki-tsu- shima, next the island of Ahaji, next the island of Iyo no futa-na, next the island of Tsukushi, next the triplet islands of Oki, next the island of Sado, next the island of Koshi, next the island of Kibi-no-ko. The country was accordingly called the ‘‘ Great-Eight-Island Country.”
In one writing it is said:-—‘‘ The two Deities Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto stood in the midst of the mist of Heaven, and said:—‘ We wish to find a country.’
So they thrust down the jewel-spear of Heaven, and groped about till they found the island of Ono-goro. Then they drew back the spear and rejoiced, saying:— ‘Good! there is a country!’”’
In one writing it is said:—‘“ The two Deities Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto sat in the Plain of High Heaven, and said:—‘ There must surely be a country.’ So with the jewel-spear of Heaven they scraped together the island of Ono-goro.”’
In one writing it is said:—“ The two Deities Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto spoke to one another, saying:—‘ There is something resembling floating oil. In the midst of this there is perhaps a country.’ So they took the jewel-spear of Heaven and groping about formed with it an island which was called Ono-goro.”
In one writing it is said:—‘‘ The female Deity spoke first and said:—‘ How pretty! a handsome youth!’ Now it was considered unlucky that the female Deity should have spoken first. Accordingly they went round again, 1 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.
THe AGE OF THE Gops. 17 when the ‘male Deity spoke first and said:—‘‘ How pretty! a lovely maiden!” Postemo cupiebant coire, sed artis nescii erant. Tum erat motacilla’ quae advolavit, atque concussit suum caput et suam caudam. Quod cum vidissent duo Dei, imitati sunt eam, et in hoc modo artem coeundi potiti sunt.
In one writing it is said:—‘‘The two Deities were united and became husband and wife. First of all, the islands of Ahaji and Aha being considered the placenta,” they produced the island of Oho-yamato no Toyo- aki-tsu-shima, next the island of Iyo, next the island of Tsukushi, next, as twins, the islands of Oki and Sado, next the island of Koshi, next Oho-shima, and next Kojima.”
In one writing it is said:—‘‘ First there was born the island of Ahaji, next the island of Oho-yamato no Toyo- aki-tsu-shima, next the island of Iyo no futa-na, next the island of Oki, next the island of Sado, next the island of Tsukushi, next the island of Iki, and next the island of ~Tsushima.”
In one writing it is said:—‘‘ The island of Ono-goro being considered the placenta, there was born the island of Ahaji, next the island of Oho-yamato no Toyo-aki- tsu, next the island of Iyo no futa-na, next the island of Tsu-kushi, next the island of Kibi no ko, next, as twins, the islands of Oki and Sado, and next the island of Koshi.”
In one writing it is said:—‘‘ The island of Ahaji being considered the placenta, there was born. the island of Oho-yamato Toyo-aki-tsu, next the island of Aha, next the island of Iyo no futana, next the triplet islands of Oki, next the island of Sado, next the island of Tsukushi, next the island of Kibi no ko, and next Oho-shima.”’
In one writing it is said:—‘‘ The female Deity spoke first and said:—‘ How pretty! a lovely youth!’ She ' Anglice, wagtail.
2 The Japanese word for placenta is ye or yena. Yeis also Japanese for elder brother. The Kiujiki has in the corresponding passage Jy or elder brother.
Cc It.
18 NIHONGI.
forthwith took the hand of the male Deity, and they at length became husband and wife. There was born to them the island of Ahaji, and next the leech-child.”’
They next produced the sea, then the rivers, and then the mountains. Then they produced Ku-ku-no-chi, the ancestor of the trees, and next the ancestor of herbs, Kaya no hime.' Also called Nudzuchi.
After this Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto con- sulted together, saying:—‘‘ We have now produced the Great- eight-island country, with the mountains, rivers, herbs, and trees. Why should we not produce someone who shall be lord of the universe?” They then together produced the Sun- Goddess, who was called Oho-hiru-me no muchi.’* Called in one writing Ama-terasu no Oho kami.’ In one writing she is called Ama-terasu-oho-hiru-me no Mikoto.° The resplendent lustre of this child shone throughout all the six quarters.° Therefore the two Deities rejoiced, say- ing:—‘‘ We have had many children, but none of them have been equal. to this wondrous infant. She ought not to be kept long in this land, but we ought of our own accord to send her at once to Heaven, and entrust to her the affairs of Heaven.”
At this time Heaven and Earth were still not far separated,’ and therefore they sent her up to Heaven by the ladder of Heaven. They next produced the Moon-god.
1 Ku-ku is evidently for ki-ki, trees. Chi is the same root which we have in the modern chichi, father, and kaya is the name of a kind of rush used for thatching. Nu-dzu-chi, moor-of-father.
2 Universe. In the original, tenka, i.e. that which is under Heaven, subsequently the usual word for the Empire.
6 North, South, East, West, Above, Below.
7 “In the beginning the Heaven, Rangi, and the Earth, Papa, were the father and mother of all things. In those days the Heaven lay upon the ‘arth, and all:was darkness. They had never been separated.”
Maori myth, quoted by Lang, “Custom and Myth,” p45.
THe AGE OF THE GOoDs. 10 Called in one writing Tsuki-yumi' no Mikoto, or Tsvki- yomi no Mikoto.
His radiance was next to that of the Sun in splendour. This God was to be the consort of the Sun-Goddess, and to share in her government. They therefore sent him also to Heaven.
Next they produced the leech-child, which even at the age of three years could not stand upright. They therefore placed it in the rock-camphor-wood boat of Heaven, and abandoned it to the winds. | Their next child was Sosa no wo no Mikoto.?.
Called in one writing Kami Sosa no wo no Mikoto or Haya Sosa no wo no Mikoto.’
This God had a fierce temper and was given to cruel acts. Moreover he made a practice of continually weeping and wailing. So he brought many of the people of the land to an untimely end. Again he caused green mountains to become withered. Therefore the two Gods, his parents, addressed * 1 Yumi means bow, yomi darkness. 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?). Therefore my name shall not be affixed to wood or stone.’ This was accordingly the place where he allowed his august spirit to repose. There were, therefore, established by him the Greater Susa rice-lands and the Lesser Susa rice-lands.”
Susa no wo is therefore simply the “ male of Susa.” It will be remembered that by one Japanese tradition, Idzumo is the home of the Gods, and that several of the legends respecting them relate to this locality. It is, however, probable that the older derivation is really a volks-etymologie, which has given colour to the stories told of this deity. Idzumo is a chief home of the worship of Susa no wo at the present day. His wife’s mother was called Susa no Yatsu-mimi, but it has not occurred to anybody to make her an “impetuous female.” Hirata rejects the modern identification of this God with Godzu Tenno.
3 Kami, deity; haya, quick.
* The character used is that appropriate to a sovereign addressing his subjects.
ae 20 NIHONGI.
Sosa no wo no Mikoto, saying:—‘‘ Thou art exceedingly wicked, and it is not meet that thou shouldst reign over the world. Certainly thou must depart far away to the Nether- Land.” ' So they at length expelled him.