The age of the gods, part two神代下

The son of Amaterasu Omikami, Masakaakatsukachihayahi Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto, married Takuhatachijihime (栲幡千千姫), the daughter of Takamimusubi no Mikoto, and she bore Amatsuhiko Ninigi no Mikoto (天津火瓊瓊杵尊). So the imperial ancestor (皇祖) Takamimusubi no Mikoto poured out his love upon the child and raised him high. At last he wished to set up the imperial grandson Amatsuhiko Ninigi no Mikoto as lord of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni.

But that land had many gods that glowed like fireflies, and many evil gods that were noisy as flies. The grasses and the trees could all speak as well.

So Takamimusubi no Mikoto called together the eighty gods and asked them, "I wish to have the evil demons of Ashihara no Nakatsukuni struck down and quieted. Whom should I send? You gods, do not hide what you know."

They all said, "Ame no Hohi no Mikoto is the finest of the gods. Will you not try him?"

He bowed to the words of the many and sent Ame no Hohi no Mikoto to quiet the land. But this god flattered Onamuchi no Kami, and for three years he still sent back no word. So he next sent that god's son Osobi no Mikuma no Ushi (大背飯三熊之大人) — he is also called Takemikuma no Ushi (武三熊之大人). He too followed his father instead, and in the end sent back no word.

So Takamimusubi no Mikoto gathered the gods again and asked whom he should send. They all said, "Amewakahiko (天稚), the son of Amatsukunitama (天國玉), is a stout man. You should try him."

Then Takamimusubi no Mikoto gave Amewakahiko the bow Ame no Kagoyumi (天鹿兒弓) and the arrow Ame no Hahaya (天羽羽矢), and sent him down. This god also was not loyal. As soon as he arrived he married Shitateruhime (下照姫), the daughter of Utsushikunitama (顯國玉), and he stayed on to live there, and said,

"I too wish to rule Ashihara no Nakatsukuni." In the end he sent back no report.

Then Takamimusubi no Mikoto thought it strange that no word came back for so long, and he sent a nameless pheasant to spy. The pheasant flew down and perched on the top of the yutsu katsura tree planted before Amewakahiko's gate.

Then Amanosagume (天探女) saw it and said to Amewakahiko, "A strange bird has come and perched on the top of the katsura tree."

Amewakahiko took the Ame no Kagoyumi and the Ame no Hahaya that Takamimusubi no Mikoto had given him, shot the pheasant and killed it. The arrow pierced through the pheasant's breast and came up before the seat of Takamimusubi no Mikoto.

Then Takamimusubi no Mikoto looked at the arrow and said, "This is the arrow I gave to Amewakahiko long ago. Blood has stained it. Perhaps he has been fighting the gods of the land."

He took the arrow and threw it back down. The arrow fell and struck Amewakahiko on the breast. Amewakahiko had just made the offering of the new grain and was lying at rest. The arrow struck him and he died at once. This is why the people of the world say that the arrow which comes back is to be feared.

Shitateruhime, the wife of Amewakahiko, wailed and wept, and the sound of her grief reached heaven. Amatsukunitama heard the sound of her weeping and knew that Amewakahiko was already dead. He sent a swift wind to lift the body up to heaven, and there he built a mourning house and laid the body in it.

He made river geese the head-bearers (持傾頭者) and the broom-bearers (持帚者), and made sparrows the pounding women, and for eight days and eight nights they wept and sang songs of grief.

Before this, while Amewakahiko was in Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, he was a close friend of Ajisukitakahikone no Kami (味耜高根神). So Ajisukitakahikone no Kami went up to heaven to mourn him. The face and bearing of this god were just like Amewakahiko as he had been in life.

So the kinsmen and the wife and children of Amewakahiko all said, "Our lord is still alive." They caught at his robe and his sash and pulled at him, rejoicing and wailing by turns.

Then Ajisukitakahikone no Kami grew angry and said, "By the way of friendship it is right that friends mourn for one another. So I did not shrink from the defilement, and came from far off to grieve. Why do you mistake me for the dead man?"

He drew the sword he wore, Obakari (大葉刈), and cut the mourning house down. It fell and became a mountain. This is Moyama (喪山), which stands today above the Aimi river in the land of Mino (美濃國). This is why the people of the world hate to mistake the living for the dead.

After this Takamimusubi no Mikoto gathered the gods again and chose one to send to Ashihara no Nakatsukuni. They all said, "Futsunushi no Kami, the son borne by Iwatsutsuno'o and Iwatsutsunome, who are the children of Iwasakunesaku no Kami, would be good."

At that time there was Mikahayahi no Kami, son of Itsunoohashiri no Kami (稜威雄走神), a god who dwelt in the Ama no Iwaya; and Hinohayahi no Kami, son of Mikahayahi no Kami; and Takemikazuchi no Kami, son of Hinohayahi no Kami. This god came forward and said, "Is Futsunushi no Kami alone a man, and am I not a man?" His words and his spirit were fierce.

So he was joined to Futsunushi no Kami and sent to quiet Ashihara no Nakatsukuni.

The two gods came down to the little shore of Itasa (五十田狹) in the land of Izumo. They drew a sword ten hands long, planted it upside down in the ground, sat astride its point, and asked Onamuchi no Kami,

"Takamimusubi no Mikoto wishes to send down the imperial grandson to rule this land as its lord. So he has first sent us two gods to drive out the evil ones and quiet the land. What is your mind? Will you withdraw?"

Then Onamuchi no Kami answered, "I shall ask my son, and after that I shall reply."

At that time his son Kotoshironushi no Kami had gone out to the cape of Miho (三穗) in the land of Izumo, and was taking his pleasure in fishing. Some say he was taking his pleasure in hunting birds. So the envoy Inasehagi (稻背脛) was put aboard the Morotabune (諸手船) of Kumano and sent to him, to carry the command of Takamimusubi no Mikoto to Kotoshironushi no Kami and to ask what answer he would give.

Then Kotoshironushi no Kami said to the envoy, "The heavenly god now sends down this command to ask us. My father should obey and withdraw. I too cannot refuse him." Then he made a fence of eightfold green brushwood in the sea, trod on the side of his boat, and withdrew.

The envoy came back and reported. So Onamuchi no Kami told the two gods what his son had said. "The son I trusted has already withdrawn. So I too shall withdraw. If I were to hold the land against you, all the gods within it would surely hold it with me. Now that I obey and withdraw, who would dare not to submit?"

Then he gave the two gods the broad spear on which he had leaned when he quieted the land, and said, "With this spear I brought my work of rule to its end. If the heavenly grandson uses this spear to rule the land,

it will surely be at peace. Now I shall go and hide myself away in the eighty bends that fall short of a hundred." When he had said this, he hid himself away.

Then the two gods struck down the demons that would not submit, and at last reported that their task was done.

Then Takamimusubi no Mikoto covered the imperial grandson Amatsuhiko Ninigi no Mikoto with the Matokoofusuma (眞床追衾) and sent him down. The imperial grandson left the Ama no Iwakura, pushed apart the eightfold clouds of heaven, and with awful majesty cleft his way and cleft it again, and came down from heaven to the peak of Takachiho in So (襲) of Himuka (日向).

Then the imperial grandson went about in this way. From the floating bridge of heaven at Hifutagami (日二上) he stood upon Ukishimaritaira, and from Hitao he went on through the barren and empty land seeking a country, until he came to the cape of Kasasa (笠狹) at Nagaya in Ata (吾田).

In that land there was a man who called himself Kotokatsu Kunikatsu Nagasa (事勝國勝長狹). The imperial grandson asked, "Is there a country here or not?" He answered, "There is a country here. Take your pleasure in it as you wish."

So the imperial grandson went in and stayed there. In that land there was a beautiful woman, and her name was Kashitsuhime (鹿葦津姫).

The imperial grandson asked the woman, "Whose daughter are you?"

She answered, "I am the child born when a heavenly god married Oyamatsumi no Kami."

The imperial grandson then loved her, and in a single night she was with child. The imperial grandson did not believe it, and said, "Though I am a heavenly god, how could a man make a woman with child in a single night? What you carry cannot be my child."

So Kashitsuhime was angry and full of resentment. She built a room with no door, went inside it to live, and made this oath. "If what I carry is not the seed of the heavenly grandson, let it burn away. If it is truly the seed of the heavenly grandson, the fire will not harm it."

She set fire to the room and burned it. The child who came out at the end, when the smoke first rose, was named Honosusori no Mikoto (火闌降命). The next child, who came out drawing back from the heat, was named Hohodemi no Mikoto (火火出見尊). The child born after him was named Honoakari no Mikoto (火明命). There were three children in all.

Long afterward Amatsuhiko Ninigi no Mikoto died. He was buried in the mountain tomb of E (可愛) in Himuka of Tsukushi.

Another account says: Amaterasu Omikami gave this command to Amewakahiko. "Toyoashihara no Nakatsukuni is the land where my child shall be king. But I fear there may be gods there who harm and rage and do violence. So you shall go first and quiet it." Then she gave him the Ame no Kagoyumi and the Ame no Makagoya (天眞鹿兒矢), and sent him down.

Amewakahiko received the command and came down. He married many daughters of the gods of the land, and for eight years he sent back no report.

So Amaterasu Omikami called Omoikane no Kami and asked why he did not come. Omoikane no Kami thought upon it and said, "It would be well to send a pheasant first and ask him."

She followed that god's plan and sent a pheasant to look. The pheasant flew down, perched on the top of the yutsu katsura tree before Amewakahiko's gate, and cried out, "Amewakahiko, why have you sent back no report in these eight years?"

There was a god of the land whose name was Amanosagume. She saw the pheasant and said, "A bird with an evil cry is on this tree. You should shoot it."

Amewakahiko took the Ame no Kagoyumi and the Ame no Makagoya that the heavenly god had given him, and shot at once. The arrow pierced through the pheasant's breast and came at last to the place where the heavenly god was.

The heavenly god looked at the arrow and said, "This is the arrow I gave to Amewakahiko long ago. Why has it come now?" Then the heavenly god took the arrow and laid a curse upon it, saying, "If he shot with an evil heart, let harm come upon Amewakahiko. If he shot with a quiet heart, let him be unhurt." Then the arrow was thrown back down.

The arrow fell and struck Amewakahiko high on the breast. By this he died at once. This is why the people of the world say that the arrow which comes back is to be feared.

Then the wife and children of Amewakahiko came down from heaven, took up the coffin and carried it up, and in heaven they built a mourning house, laid him in it and wept.

Before this, Amewakahiko was a close friend of Ajisukitakahikone no Kami. So Ajisukitakahikone no Kami went up to heaven to mourn him, and wept aloud.

The form of this god was of itself just like Amewakahiko. So the wife and children of Amewakahiko saw him and rejoiced, and said, "Our lord is still alive." They caught at his robe and his sash and would not let go.

Then Ajisukitakahikone no Kami grew angry and said, "My friend has died, and so I came to mourn him. Why do you mistake a dead man for me?" He drew a sword ten hands long and cut the mourning house down. The house fell and became a mountain. This is Moyama in the land of Mino. This is why the people of the world hate to be mistaken for the dead.

Then the shining bearing of Ajisukitakahikone no Kami was fair and bright, and it lit the space between two hills and two valleys. So those gathered at the mourning sang. Some say this. Shitateruhime, the sister of Ajisukitakahikone no Kami, wished to let the people know that the one who lit the hills and the valleys was Ajisukitakahikone no Kami, and so she sang.

"Amenaruya Ototanabata no Unagaseru Tama no Misumaru no Anatama haya Mitani futa watarasu Ajisukitakahikone (阿妹奈屡夜 乙登多奈婆多廼 汚奈餓勢屡 多磨廼彌素磨屡廼 阿奈陀磨波夜 彌多爾輔柁和柁邏須 阿泥素企多伽避顧禰)"

She sang again.

"Amasakaru Hinatsume no Iwatarasuseto Ishikawa Katafuchi Katafuchi ni Amihariwatashi Meroyoshi ni Yoshiyorikone Ishikawa Katafuchi (阿磨佐箇屡 避奈菟謎廼 以和多邏素西渡 以嗣箇播箇柁輔智 箇多輔智爾 阿彌播利和柁嗣 妹慮豫嗣爾 豫嗣豫利據禰 以嗣箇播箇柁輔智)"

— Both songs set down sounds only, and are not turned into meaning.

These two songs are now called hinaburi (夷曲). Then Amaterasu Omikami

took the sister of Omoikane no Kami, Yorozuhatatoyoakitsuhime no Mikoto (萬幡豐秋津媛命), and joined her to Masakaakatsukachihayahi Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto as his consort, and would have sent him down to Ashihara no Nakatsukuni.

Then Kachihayahi Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto stood on the floating bridge of heaven, looked down and said, "That land is not yet quiet. It is a badly tilted and ill-favored country, and there is no need of it." So he went back up and told in full why he would not go down.

So Amaterasu Omikami sent Takemikazuchi no Kami and Futsunushi no Kami again, to go first and drive the evil ones out. The two gods came down to Izumo and asked Onamuchi no Kami, "Will you give this land to the heavenly gods or not?"

He answered, "My son Kotoshironushi has gone to the cape of Mitsu to shoot birds and take his pleasure. I shall ask him and then reply."

A man was sent to ask him. He answered, "What the heavenly gods ask for, how should we not give?" So Onamuchi no Kami reported his son's words to the two gods.

The two gods then went up to heaven and reported, saying, "Ashihara no Nakatsukuni is now wholly quiet."

Then Amaterasu Omikami gave this command. "If it is so, I shall now send my child down." But while she was about to send him down, the imperial grandson was already born, and he was named Amatsuhiko Ninigi no Mikoto. Then one spoke and said, "Let this imperial grandson go down in his place."

So Amaterasu Omikami gave Amatsuhiko Ninigi no Mikoto three treasures: the curved jewel of Yasakani, the mirror Yata no Kagami, and the sword Kusanagi. And she sent with him Ame no Koyane no Mikoto, the high ancestor of the Nakatomi, and Futodama no Mikoto, the high ancestor of the Inbe, and Ame no Uzume no Mikoto, the high ancestor of the Sarume, and Ishikoridome no Mikoto, the high ancestor of the Kagamitsukuri,

and Tamanoya no Mikoto (玉屋命), the high ancestor of the Tamatsukuri — gods of five departments in all — and made them serve him.

Then she gave this command to the imperial grandson. "The land of the fresh rice ears of Ashihara, of the fifteen hundred autumns, is the land where my descendants shall be kings. You, my imperial grandson, go and rule it. Go. The prosperity of the imperial throne shall have no end, as long as heaven and earth endure."

Then, while he was about to go down, the one who ran ahead came back and reported. "There is a god who stands at the eight-forked crossroads of heaven. His nose is seven hand-spans long, and his back is more than seven feet long" — it should say seven fathoms — "and his mouth and his hindparts shine bright. His eyes are like the Yata no Kagami, and they glow red like a red ground-cherry."

A god of the train was sent to ask him. There were eight hundred thousand gods, but none could outstare him and ask. So the command went out to Ame no Uzume alone. "You are one who can outstare others. Go and ask him."

Ame no Uzume then bared her breast, pushed the band of her skirt below her navel, and stood facing him, laughing aloud.

Then the god of the crossroads asked, "Ame no Uzume, why do you do this?"

She answered, "Who is it that stands thus in the road where the child of Amaterasu Omikami is to pass? I make bold to ask."

The god of the crossroads answered, "I heard that the child of Amaterasu Omikami is coming down now. So I waited here to meet and serve. My name is Saruta no Okami (猿田大神)."

Then Ame no Uzume asked again, "Will you go before me, or shall I go before you?"

He answered, "I shall open the road first."

Ame no Uzume asked again, "Where will you come to? Where will the imperial grandson come to?"

He answered, "The child of the heavenly gods will come to the peak of Kushifuru at Takachiho (高千穗槵觸之峯) in Himuka of Tsukushi, and I shall come to the upper waters of the Isuzu river at Sanagata in Ise."

Then he said, "It is you who drew me out. So you must see me on my way and bring me there."

Ame no Uzume came back and told what had passed. The imperial grandson then left the Ama no Iwakura, pushed apart the eightfold clouds of heaven, and with awful majesty cleft his way and cleft it again, and came down from heaven. It was as had been promised before. The imperial grandson came to the peak of Kushifuru at Takachiho in Himuka of Tsukushi, and Saruta no Kami came to the upper waters of the Isuzu river at Sanagata in Ise. Ame no Uzume no Mikoto, as Saruta no Kami had asked, went with him at last and saw him on his way.

Then the imperial grandson gave this command to Ame no Uzume no Mikoto. "You shall take for your family name the name of the god you drew out." So he gave her the name Sarume no Kimi. This is why the Sarume no Kimi, both men and women, are all called kimi (君).

高胸 is read takamunasaka. 頗傾也 is read kamushi.

Another account says: The heavenly gods sent Futsunushi no Kami and Takemikazuchi no Kami to quiet Ashihara no Nakatsukuni.

Then the two gods said, "In heaven there is an evil god whose name is Amatsumikaboshi (天津甕星), also called Ame no Kagaseo (天香香背男). We ask leave to strike this god down first, and after that to go down and clear Ashihara no Nakatsukuni."

At this time Iwainushi no Kami (齋主神) was called Iwai no Ushi (齋之大人). This god is now in the land of Katori (楫取) in the eastern country.

Then the two gods came down to the little shore of Itasa in Izumo and asked Onamuchi no Kami, "Will you give this land to the heavenly gods or not?"

He answered, "I doubt that you two gods have come to the place where I am. So I cannot grant it."

Futsunushi no Kami then went back up and reported. Takamimusubi no Mikoto sent the two gods down again, and gave this command to Onamuchi no Kami.

"Now that I have heard what you say, there is deep reason in it. So I command you again, point by point. The seen affairs (顯露之事) that you rule shall be ruled by my grandson. You shall rule the affairs of the gods (神事).

And the Ame no Hisumi no Miya (天日隅宮) where you are to live shall now be built for you. It shall be bound with rope of paper mulberry a thousand fathoms long, tied into a hundred and eighty knots. The rule for building that palace is this. The pillars shall be high and thick, and the boards broad and stout. Fields shall be given you to till. And for your going and coming and your play upon the sea, the Takahashi (高橋) and the Ukihashi (浮橋) and the Ame no Torifune (天鳥船) shall also be built for you. A plank bridge, the Uchihashi (打橋), shall be laid at the Ame no Yasukawa. White shields sewn a hundred and eighty times shall also be made for you. And the one who shall have charge of your rites is Ame no Hohi no Mikoto."

Then Onamuchi no Kami said, "The command and the teaching of the heavenly god are so gracious as this, and so

how should I dare not to obey? Let the imperial grandson rule the seen affairs that I have ruled. I shall withdraw and rule the hidden affairs (幽事)."

Then he commended Funado no Kami to the two gods and said, "This god shall serve and follow in my place. I shall now withdraw." Then he wrapped himself in the auspicious Yasakani and hid himself for ever.

So Futsunushi no Kami took Funado no Kami for his guide, went about everywhere, and cut the land down and quieted it. Those who defied the command were cut down and killed, and those who came over and submitted were praised and favored. The chief of those who came over and submitted were Omononushi no Kami and Kotoshironushi no Kami. They gathered the eight hundred thousand gods at Ame no Takeichi, led them up to heaven, and told how deep their loyalty was.

Then Takamimusubi no Mikoto gave this command to Omononushi no Kami. "If you take a god of the land for your wife, I shall still think your heart far from me. So I now give you my daughter Mihotsuhime (三穗津姫) to be your wife. Lead the eight hundred thousand gods, and guard the imperial grandson for ever." Then he sent him back down.

Then Taokihooi no Kami (手置帆負神), the distant ancestor of the Inbe of the land of Kii, was appointed maker of the rain hats, and Hikosashiri no Kami (狹知神) maker of the shields, and Ame no Mahitotsu no Kami (天目一箇神) worker of metal, and Ame no Hiwashi no Kami maker of the cloth, and Kushiakarutama no Kami (櫛明玉神) maker of the jewels.

Then Futodama no Mikoto was made to hang the thick shoulder cord upon his slender shoulders, and to take the place of the august hands in offering the rites to this god. This began here. Ame no Koyane no Mikoto is the source of all that belongs to the affairs of the gods. So he was made to serve with the divining of futomani.

Takamimusubi no Mikoto then gave this command. "I shall set up the Amatsuhimorogi (天津神籬) and the Amatsuiwasaka (天津磐境),

and worship there for my grandson. You, Ame no Koyane no Mikoto and Futodama no Mikoto, shall take the Amatsuhimorogi, go down to Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, and there too worship for my grandson."

So the two gods were sent down in attendance upon Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto.

Then Amaterasu Omikami took the treasure mirror in her hand, gave it to Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto, and blessed him with these words. "My child, look upon this treasure mirror as you would look upon me. Keep it in the same room and the same hall, and let it be the mirror of worship (齋鏡)."

She commanded Ame no Koyane no Mikoto and Futodama no Mikoto again. "You two gods also shall serve within the hall, and guard him well."

She commanded again. "The rice ears of the sacred garden (齋庭) that I rule in Takamanohara I shall give to my child as well."

And Yorozuhatahime (萬幡姫), the daughter of Takamimusubi no Mikoto, was joined to Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto as his consort and sent down. So while they were in the open sky she bore a child, and he is named Amatsuhiko Ninigi no Mikoto.

Then it was wished that this imperial grandson go down in his father's place. So Ame no Koyane no Mikoto and Futodama no Mikoto and the gods of the several departments were all given to him, and the things he was to wear and to use were given him just as before. After this Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto went back to heaven.

So Amatsuhiko Ninigi no Mikoto came down to the peak of Takachiho at Kushihi in Himuka. He went through the barren land from Hitao, seeking a country, and stood upon Ukishimaritaira. Then he called the lord of the land, Kotokatsu Kunikatsu Nagasa, and asked him. He answered, "There is a country here. Take it or leave it as you command."

Then the imperial grandson built a palace there, and took his rest and his pleasure in it. Later he went out to the seashore and saw a beautiful woman.

The imperial grandson asked, "Whose daughter are you?"

She answered, "I am the child of Oyamatsumi no Kami. My name is Kan'atakashitsuhime (神吾田鹿葦津姫), and I am also called Konohana Sakuyahime." Then she said, "I have an elder sister also, Iwanagahime (磐長姫)."

The imperial grandson said, "I wish to take you for my wife. What do you say?"

She answered, "My father Oyamatsumi no Kami is living. I ask that you put the question to him."

So the imperial grandson said to Oyamatsumi no Kami, "I have seen your daughter, and I wish to take her for my wife." Then Oyamatsumi no Kami had his two daughters carry food upon a hundred tables and offer it up.

The imperial grandson found the elder sister ugly, and he did not go near her but sent her away. The younger had a beauty such as the land had not seen. He drew her to him and loved her, and in a single night she was with child.

So Iwanagahime was greatly ashamed, and she laid a curse and said, "If the heavenly grandson had not turned me away but had come to me, the child born would have been long of life, lasting as the rock that stands for ever. Now it is not so, and only my younger sister has been taken. So the child she bears will surely be like the blossom of a tree, which shifts and falls."

Another account says: Iwanagahime was ashamed and full of resentment. She spat and wept and said, "The living people that we see shall wither away, as the blossom of a tree is suddenly gone." This is why the people of the world die young.

After this Kan'atakashitsuhime saw the imperial grandson and said, "I am with child by the heavenly grandson. I cannot bear the child in secret."

The imperial grandson said, "Though I am the child of a heavenly god, how could a man make a woman with child in a single night? It may be that the child is not mine."

Konohana Sakuyahime was deeply ashamed and full of resentment. She built a room with no door and made this oath. "If what I carry is the child of another god, let it come to no good. If it is truly the child of the heavenly grandson,"

it will surely be born whole." Then she went into that room and set the room on fire.

The child born together with the flames, when they first rose, was named Honosuseri no Mikoto (火酢芹命). The child born next, when the fire was at its height, was named Honoakari no Mikoto. The child born after him was named Hohodemi no Mikoto, who is also called Honoori no Mikoto (火折尊).

齋主 is read Iwainushi. 顯露 is read arawani. 齋庭 is read yuniwa.

Another account says: The child born when the flames first shone was Honoakari no Mikoto. The child born next, when the flames were at their height, was Honosusumi no Mikoto (火進命), who is also called Honosuseri no Mikoto. The child born when the flames were drawing back was Honoori Hohodemi no Mikoto.

The fire could harm none of these three children, and their mother took no hurt at all.

The navel cord of the child was cut with a bamboo knife. The bamboo knife that was thrown away became a bamboo grove at last. So that place is named Takaya (竹屋).

Then Kan'atakashitsuhime divined and set apart a field, and named it Sanada (狹名田). With the rice of that field she brewed the Ame no Tamuzake (天甜酒) and tasted it. She also made the rice of the field of Nunata (淳浪田) into cooked rice and tasted it.

Another account says: Takamimusubi no Mikoto wrapped Amatsukuniteruhiko Ninigi no Mikoto (天津國光火瓊瓊杵尊) in the Matokoofusuma, drew open the Ama no Iwato, pushed apart the eightfold clouds of heaven, and sent him down.

Then Ame no Oshihi no Mikoto (天忍日命), the distant ancestor of the Otomo no Muraji (大伴連), led Ame no Kushitsu Okume (天槵津大來目), the distant ancestor of the Kumebe (來目部). He bore the Ame no Iwayuki (天磐靫) upon his back, wore a high and awful armguard upon his arm, held the Ame no Hajiyumi (天梔弓) and the Ame no Hahaya in his hand, carried besides a whistling arrow with eight holes (八目鳴鏑), and girded on a kabutsuchi sword (頭槌釼). He went before the heavenly grandson and came down with him.

They came to the Futagami peak at Kushihi of Takachiho in So of Himuka. From the floating bridge of heaven he stood upon Ukishimaritaira. He went through the barren and empty land from Hitao, seeking a country, until he came to the cape of Kasasa at Nagaya in Ata.

There was a god in that place whose name was Kotokatsu Kunikatsu Nagasa. So the heavenly grandson asked that god, "Is there a country here?" He answered, "There is." Then he said, "I shall give it up as you command."

So the heavenly grandson stayed and lived in that place. That Kotokatsu Kunikatsu no Kami is the son of Izanagi no Mikoto. He is also called Shiotsuchi no Oji (鹽土老翁).

梔 is read haji, and its sound is 之移反. 頭槌 is read kabutsuchi. 老翁 is read oji.

Another account says: The heavenly grandson loved Atakashitsuhime, the daughter of Oyamatsumi no Kami, and in a single night she was with child, and at last she bore four sons.

So Atakashitsuhime took the children in her arms, came forward and said, "How should I rear the children of a heavenly god in secret? So I come to tell you and make it known."

Then the heavenly grandson looked at the children and mocked her, saying, "How fair they are. My princes, were you born because she heard a word of joy?"

So Atakashitsuhime grew angry and said, "Why do you mock me?"

The heavenly grandson said, "I doubted in my heart, and so I mocked you. For though I am the child of a heavenly god, how could a man make a woman with child in a single night? Truly they are not my children."

At this Atakashitsuhime was all the more resentful. She built a room with no door, went inside it to live, and made this oath. "If what I carry is not the seed of a heavenly god, let it die. If it is the seed of a heavenly god, nothing will harm it." Then she set fire to the room and burned it.

The child who came out stamping and crying aloud, when the fire first shone, spoke for himself. "I am the child of a heavenly god. My name is Honoakari no Mikoto. Where is my father?"

The child who came out next stamping and crying aloud, when the fire was at its height, also spoke. "I am the child of a heavenly god. My name is Honosusumi no Mikoto. Where are my father and my elder brother?"

The child who came out next stamping and crying aloud, when the flames were dying down, also spoke. "I am the child of a heavenly god. My name is Honoori no Mikoto. Where are my father and my elder brothers?"

The child who came out next stamping and crying aloud, drawing back from the heat of the fire, also spoke. "I am the child of a heavenly god. My name is Hohodemi no Mikoto. Where are my father and my elder brothers?"

After this the mother, Atakashitsuhime,

came out from the burnt ashes, went forward and said, "The children I bore and my own body have passed through the trial of fire and have taken no hurt at all. Will the heavenly grandson not see it?"

He answered, "I knew from the first that they were my children. But you were with child in a single night, and I feared that some would doubt it. I wished all people to know that these are my children, and to make it plain besides that a heavenly god can make a woman with child in a single night, that you have a divine and wondrous power, and that the children have a spirit above the common. That is why I spoke those mocking words the other day."

梔 is read haji, and its sound is 之移反. 頭槌 is read kabutsuchi. 老翁 is read oji.

Another account says: Ame no Oshihone no Mikoto married Takuhatachijihime Yorozuhatahime no Mikoto, the daughter of Takamimusubi no Mikoto — one account says she was Chijihime no Mikoto (千千姫命), the child of Hinotohatahime (火之戶幡姫), who was the child of Takamimusubi no Mikoto — and she bore a child, Ame no Hoakari no Mikoto (天火明命), and next she bore Amatsunenigine no Mikoto (天津根火瓊瓊杵根尊). Ame no Kaguyama, the son of that Ame no Hoakari no Mikoto, is the distant ancestor of the Owari no Muraji.

When it came to sending the imperial grandson Hononinigi no Mikoto down to Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, Takamimusubi no Mikoto gave this command to the eighty gods. "In Ashihara no Nakatsukuni the roots of the rocks, the stumps of the trees and the blades of the grass can still speak. By night they clamor like sparks of fire, and by day they swarm like flies in the fifth month." And so on.

Then Takamimusubi no Mikoto gave this command. "Long ago Amewakahiko was sent to Ashihara no Nakatsukuni, and to this day he has not come back. It may be that among the gods of that land there is one who holds him there by force."

Then a nameless cock pheasant was sent down to look. This pheasant came down, saw the millet fields and the bean fields, and stayed there and did not return. This is why the world says that the pheasant stays. So a nameless hen pheasant was sent next. This bird came down, was shot by Amewakahiko, was struck by his arrow, and went up and reported. And so on.

Then Takamimusubi no Mikoto wrapped the imperial grandson Amatsunenigine no Mikoto in the Matokoofusuma, pushed the eightfold clouds of heaven apart, and sent him down. So this god is called Amakuninigishihiko Ninigi no Mikoto (天國饒石火瓊瓊杵尊). The place where he came down is called the peak of Sohoriyama at Takachiho in So of Himuka (添山峯).

Then came the time of his going about. And so on. He came to the cape of Kasasa in Ata, and at last went up to Takeshima (竹嶋) at Nagaya. He looked about that land, and there was a man there whose name was Kotokatsu Kunikatsu Nagasa.

The heavenly grandson then asked him, "Whose country is this?"

He answered, "This is the country where Nagasa lives. But now I give it up to the heavenly grandson."

The heavenly grandson asked again, "Whose daughter is that young woman who has raised an eight-fathom hall above the high crests of the waves, and weaves there with the jewels at her wrists ringing?"

He answered, "They are the daughters of Oyamatsumi no Kami. The elder is called Iwanagahime, and the younger is called Konohana Sakuyahime, who is also called Toyoatatsuhime (豐吾田津姫)." And so on.

The imperial grandson then loved Toyoatatsuhime, and in a single night she was with child. The imperial grandson doubted it. And so on. At last she bore Honosuseri no Mikoto, and next she bore Honoori no Mikoto, who is also called Hohodemi no Mikoto.

When the mother's oath had been proved, he knew at last that they were truly of the imperial grandson's seed. But Toyoatatsuhime bore a grudge against the imperial grandson and would not speak with him. The imperial grandson was troubled at this, and he made a song.

"Okitsumo wa Heniwayoredomo Sanedoko mo Atawanukamoyo Hamatsuchidori yo (憶企都茂幡 陛爾幡譽戻耐母 佐禰耐據茂 阿黨播怒介茂譽 播磨都智耐理譽)" — This sets down sounds only, and is not turned into meaning.

熛火 is read hohobe. 喧響 is read otonabi. 五月蝿 is read sabae. 添山 is read Sohoriyama. 秀起 is read sakidatsuru.

Another account says: Ame no Yorozutakuhatachihatahime, the daughter of Takamimusubi no Mikoto — one account says she was Tamayorihime no Mikoto (玉依姫命), the child of Yorozuhatahime, who was the child of Takamimusubi no Mikoto — this goddess became the consort of Ame no Oshihone no Mikoto and bore a child, Ame no Kihohookise no Mikoto (天之杵火火置瀨尊).

One account says he was Ame no Omimi no Mikoto (天大耳尊), the son of Kachihayahi no Mikoto. This god married Nisakihime (丹舄姫) and she bore a child, Hononinigi no Mikoto.

One account says that Takuhatachihatahime, the daughter of Takamimusubi no Mikoto, bore a child, Hononinigi no Mikoto.

One account says that Ame no Kise no Mikoto married Atatsuhime, and she bore a child, Honoakari no Mikoto, and next Honoyoori no Mikoto (火夜織命), and next Hohodemi no Mikoto.

Another account says: Masakaakatsukachihayahi Ame no Oshihomimi no Mikoto married Ame no Yorozutakuhatachihatahime, the daughter of Takamimusubi no Mikoto, and made her his consort, and she bore a child named Amateru Kuniteru Honoakari no Mikoto (天照國照火明命). He is the distant ancestor of the Owari no Muraji.

Next was Amanigishi Kuninigishi Amatsuhiko Ninigi no Mikoto. This god married Konohana Sakuyahime no Mikoto, the daughter of Oyamatsumi no Kami, and made her his consort, and she bore a child named Honosuseri no Mikoto, and next Hohodemi no Mikoto.

The elder brother, Honosusori no Mikoto, had the luck of the sea (海幸) of himself. The younger brother, Hohodemi no Mikoto, had the luck of the mountains (山幸) of himself.

At first the two brothers said to each other, "Let us try trading our luck." In the end they traded, but neither of them gained by it.

The elder brother repented. He gave back his younger brother's bow and arrows and asked for his own fish hook. But the younger brother had already lost his brother's hook and had no way to find it. So he made a new hook and gave it to his brother. The brother would not take it, and pressed him for the old hook.

The younger brother was troubled at this. He beat out his own sword into new hooks, filled a winnowing basket with them and gave them to him. The brother was angry and said, "If it is not my old hook, I will not take them, however many they are." And he pressed him all the harder.

So Hohodemi no Mikoto was sunk deep in grief and trouble, and he walked along the seashore singing to himself. Then he met Shiotsuchi no Oji. The old man asked, "Why do you grieve here?" He told him the whole matter from beginning to end.

The old man said, "Grieve no more. I shall make a plan for you." Then he made a basket of bamboo with no holes in its mesh, put Hohodemi no Mikoto inside it and sank it in the sea. There was a fair little shore there of itself. He left the basket and walked on, and suddenly he came to the palace of the sea god.

That palace had trim battlements, and shining towers and halls. Before the gate was a well, and over the well stood a yutsu katsura tree with thick branches and leaves.

Then Hohodemi no Mikoto went under that tree. He leaned there and lingered a long while. At last a beautiful woman pushed the door open and came out. She came with a jeweled bowl to draw water. She raised her eyes and saw him, and in her surprise she went back in and said to her father and mother, "There is a rare guest under the tree before the gate."

The sea god spread out eight layers of mats, welcomed him in and seated him. When he was seated, he asked why he had come. Hohodemi no Mikoto told him the matter in full.

The sea god then gathered the fishes great and small and pressed them with questions. They all said, "We do not know. Only Akame (赤女) has had a sore mouth of late and has not come." She was called for all the same, and when her mouth was searched, the lost hook was found there.

Then Hohodemi no Mikoto married Toyotamahime (豐玉姫), the daughter of the sea god, and stayed on to live in the sea palace, and three years passed. Though that place was quiet and pleasant, still he longed for his own land. So he sighed deeply from time to time.

Toyotamahime heard it and said to her father, "The heavenly grandson sighs sadly again and again. It may be that he grieves for his own country."

The sea god then received Hohodemi no Mikoto and said to him quietly, "If the heavenly grandson wishes to go back to his own land, I shall send you there." Then he gave him the fish hook he had found, and taught him this. "When you give this hook to your elder brother, call it under your breath majichi (貧鈎), and give it to him after that."

He gave him also the Shiomitsutama (潮滿瓊) and the Shiohirutama (潮涸瓊), and taught him this. "If you dip the Shiomitsutama, the tide will rise at once. Drown your elder brother with it. If your brother repents and prays, dip the Shiohirutama again and the tide will dry of itself. Save him with it. If you press and harass him in this way, your brother will yield of himself."

When he was about to go back, Toyotamahime said to the heavenly grandson, "I am already with child, and the time of birth is not far off. I shall surely come out to the seashore on a day when the wind and the waves are high. I ask you to build me a birth house and wait for me there."

Hohodemi no Mikoto returned to his palace and followed the teaching of the sea god in everything.

Then the elder brother, Honosusori no Mikoto, had already been brought to grief, and he bowed to his guilt of himself and said, "From now on I shall be your player and your servant. I beg you, be kind and let me live."

So he was pardoned at last, as he had begged. That Honosusori no Mikoto is the first ancestor of the Ata no Kimi Obashi (吾田君小橋).

Later Toyotamahime came, just as she had promised, bringing her younger sister Tamayorihime, and made straight for the shore through the wind and the waves. When the time of birth came, she asked, "While I am giving birth, do not look at me."

The heavenly grandson could not hold back. He went in secret and looked. Toyotamahime was giving birth, and she had turned into a dragon. She was deeply ashamed and said, "If you had not shamed me, the sea and the land would have been joined, and never cut off from one another. Now that you have shamed me, how shall we bind the ties of love and kinship?"

She wrapped the child in grass, left it on the shore, closed the road of the sea and went straight away. So the child was named Nagisatake Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto (波瀲武鸕鷀草葺不合尊).

Long afterward Hohodemi no Mikoto died. He was buried in the tomb on the mountain of Takaya in Himuka.

Another account says: The elder brother, Honosuseri no Mikoto, was good at winning the luck of the sea, and the younger brother, Hohodemi no Mikoto, was good at winning the luck of the mountains.

Then the brothers wished to trade their luck with each other. So the elder brother took his brother's lucky bow, went into the mountains and looked for game, but he never saw so much as a dry footprint of a beast. The younger brother took his brother's lucky hook, went into the sea and fished, but he caught nothing at all, and in the end he lost the hook.

Then the elder brother gave back his brother's bow and arrows and pressed him for his own hook. The younger brother was troubled at this, and he made hooks from the sword he wore, filled a winnowing basket with them and gave them to his brother. The brother would not take them, and said, "I still want my own lucky hook."

Hohodemi no Mikoto did not know where to seek it, and he only grieved and sang to himself. He came to the seashore and wandered there, sighing. Then an old man came suddenly and called himself Shiotsuchi no Oji. He asked, "Who are you? Why do you grieve in this place?"

Hohodemi no Mikoto told him the matter in full. The old man took a black comb from his bag and threw it on the ground, and it turned into a grove of five hundred bamboos. He took that bamboo and made a rough basket of coarse mesh, put Hohodemi no Mikoto inside it and threw it into the sea. One account says that a katama (堅間) with no holes in its mesh was used as a float, and that Hohodemi no Mikoto was tied to it with a thin cord and let sink. The katama is what is now a bamboo basket.

Then at the bottom of the sea there was a fair little shore of itself. He went along the shore, and suddenly he came to the palace of Toyotama, the sea god. That palace had high and splendid walls and gates, and towers grand and fair. Outside the gate was a well, and beside the well was a katsura tree. He went under the tree and stood there.

After a long while a beautiful woman came, whose face was the fairest in the world, and many attendants followed her.

She came out from within and was about to draw the clear water with a jeweled jar. She looked up and saw Hohodemi no Mikoto, and in her surprise she went back and said to her father the god, "Under the tree by the well before the gate is a noble guest. His frame and his features are not common. If he came down from heaven, he would bear the stain of heaven. If he came from the earth, he would bear the stain of the earth. Truly he must be the fair and wondrous one of the empty sky."

Another account says: An attendant of Toyotamahime drew water with a jeweled jug, but could not fill it. She looked down into the well, and there was the laughing face of a man upside down in it. She looked up, and a fair god was leaning against the katsura tree. So she went back in and told her king.

Then Toyotama sent someone to ask, "Who is the guest? Why has he come here?"

Hohodemi no Mikoto answered, "I am the grandson of a heavenly god." Then he told at last why he had come.

The sea god came out, bowed and welcomed him, brought him in and comforted him kindly. Then he gave him his daughter Toyotamahime to wife. So he stayed and lived in the sea palace, and three years passed.

After this Hohodemi no Mikoto sighed again and again. Toyotamahime asked him, "Does the heavenly grandson wish to go back to his own country?" He answered, "I do."

Toyotamahime then told her father the god, "The noble guest who is here wishes in his heart to go back to the upper country (上國)."

The sea god then gathered all the fishes of the sea and asked them to find the hook. One fish answered, "Akame has had a sore mouth for a long time." Some say she was the red sea bream. "It may be that she swallowed it."

So Akame was called, and when her mouth was looked at, the hook was still in it. It was taken and given to Hohodemi no Mikoto. Then he was taught this. "When you give the hook to your elder brother, lay a curse on it and say, 'The root of poverty, the beginning of famine,

the bottom of misery,' and give it to him after that. And when your elder brother crosses the sea, I shall surely raise a swift wind and great waves, and let him be drowned and troubled."

Then Hohodemi no Mikoto was set upon a great crocodile and sent home to his own country.

Before this, when they were about to part, Toyotamahime had said to him quietly, "I am already with child. I shall come out to the seashore on a day when the wind and the waves are strong. I ask you to build me a birth house and wait for me there."

After this Toyotamahime came, just as she had said. She told Hohodemi no Mikoto, "I shall give birth tonight. I ask you not to look at me."

Hohodemi no Mikoto did not listen. He lit a fire upon his comb and looked. Toyotamahime had turned into a great bear-crocodile eight fathoms long, crawling and winding along. She was bitterly shamed, and she went straight back to her home in the sea. She left her younger sister Tamayorihime behind to rear the child.

The child is called Nagisatake Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto because the birth house on that shore was thatched wholly with cormorant feathers, and the child was born while the ridge was not yet joined. That is why he was named so.

上國 is read uwatsukuni.

Another account says: Before the gate there was a fine well, and over the well stood a katsura tree with a hundred branches. So Hohodemi no Mikoto leapt up into that tree and stood there.

Then Toyotamahime, the daughter of the sea god, came with a jeweled bowl in her hand to draw water, and she saw the shadow of a man in the well. She looked up, and in her surprise she dropped the bowl. The bowl broke, but she did not look back at it and went in again.

She said to her father and mother, "I saw a man in the tree by the well. His face is very fair and his bearing is calm. He is surely no common man."

Then her father the god heard it and thought it strange. He spread out eight layers of mats, welcomed him in and seated him. When he was seated, he asked why he had come. He told him the matter in full.

Then pity rose in the heart of the sea god, and he called all the fishes with broad fins and narrow fins and asked them. They all said, "We do not know. Only Akame has had a sore mouth and has not come." Some say it was Kuchime (口女) who had the sore mouth. She was called at once, and when her mouth was searched, the lost fish hook was found there.

Then the sea god gave this order. "You, Kuchime, from this time on shall not swallow bait, and you shall not be set before the heavenly grandson." This is why the kuchime fish is not set before the sovereign.

When Hohodemi no Mikoto was about to go back, the sea god said, "The grandson of a heavenly god has come to my poor place. On what day could I forget the joy of my heart?"

Then he offered him, along with the hook, the jewel that makes the tide rise at a thought and the jewel that makes the tide dry at a thought, and said, "Though the imperial grandson be parted from us by eightfold bends, I pray that you will think of us from time to time and not cast us away."

Then he taught him this. "When you give this hook to your elder brother,"

call it majichi (貧鈎), horobichi (滅鈎) and ochiborochi (落薄鈎). When you have said this, give it to him with your hand behind your back, as if throwing it away. Do not hand it to him face to face. If your brother is angry and has a mind to harm you, bring out the jewel of the rising tide and let him be swept away and drowned. If he comes into danger and misery and begs for mercy, bring out the jewel of the ebbing tide and save him. If you press and harass him in this way, he will yield and serve you of himself."

Then Hohodemi no Mikoto took the jewels and the hook and came back to his own palace. He did all as the sea god had taught him, and first gave the hook to his elder brother. The brother was angry and would not take it. So the younger brother brought out the jewel of the rising tide, and the tide rose high and the brother sank in it. He begged and said, "I shall serve you and be your slave. Save me and let me live."

The younger brother brought out the jewel of the ebbing tide, and the tide dried of itself, and the brother was calm again. Then the brother took back what he had said, and told him, "I am your elder brother. How should an elder brother serve his younger brother?"

The younger brother then brought out the jewel of the rising tide. The brother saw it, ran and climbed a high mountain, but the tide covered the mountain too. He climbed a tall tree, and the tide covered the tree too. He had no road left and nowhere to flee. So he bowed to his guilt and said, "I have done wrong. From now on my descendants for eighty generations shall always be your players." Some say, the men who play the dog. "I beg you to pity me."

The younger brother brought out the jewel of the ebbing tide again, and the tide stopped of itself. Then the elder brother knew that his younger brother had divine power, and he bowed at last and served him.

This is why the Hayato, the descendants of Honosuseri no Mikoto, do not leave the side of the emperor's palace wall to this day, and serve there in place of the barking dogs. This is why the people of the world do not exact payment for a lost hook.

Another account says: The elder brother, Honosuseri no Mikoto, was good at winning the luck of the sea, and so he was called Umisachi (海幸). The younger brother, Hohodemi no Mikoto, was good at winning the luck of the mountains, and so he was called Yamasachi (山幸).

Whenever there was wind and rain the elder brother lost his gain, but the younger brother's luck did not fail him even when wind and rain came. Then the elder brother said to the younger, "I wish to try trading my luck with yours." The younger brother agreed, and they traded.

Then the elder brother took his brother's bow and arrows and went into the mountains to hunt game, and the younger brother took his brother's fish hook and went into the sea to fish. Neither of them gained anything, and they came back empty-handed.

The elder brother gave back his brother's bow and arrows and pressed him for his own fish hook. But the younger brother had already lost the hook in the sea and had no way to seek it out. So he made several thousand new hooks and gave them to him. The brother was angry and would not take them, and pressed him hard for the old hook. And so on.

Then the younger brother went to the seashore, and walked slowly there, grieving and singing to himself. There was a river goose caught in a snare and in distress. Pity rose in him, and he loosed it and let it go.

In a little while Shiotsuchi no Oji came. He made a small boat of katama with no holes in its mesh, put Hohodemi no Mikoto aboard and pushed it out into the sea, and it sank down of itself. Suddenly there was a fair road. He followed the road and came of himself to the palace of the sea god.

Then the sea god came out himself and welcomed him in. He spread eight layers of sea lion skins and had him sit upon them, and set out food on a hundred tables, and did all that a host should do.

Then he asked him quietly, "Why has the grandson of a heavenly god come to my poor place?" One account gives this. "My child came the other day and said that the heavenly grandson was grieving on the seashore. I did not know whether it was false or true. Has it indeed been so?"

Hohodemi no Mikoto told the matter from beginning to end. Then he stayed and rested there. The sea god gave him his daughter Toyotamahime to wife.

They were bound together in deep love, and three years passed. When he was about to go back, the sea god called Taime (鯛女), and when her mouth was searched the hook was found there.

He offered this hook to Hohodemi no Mikoto and taught him this. "When you give it to your elder brother, call it thus. 'Ochi (大鈎), susunomichi (踉䠙鈎), majichi (貧鈎), urukechi (癡騃鈎).' When you have said this, give it to him with your hand behind your back."

Then he called the crocodiles together and asked them, "The grandson of a heavenly god is now to go back. In how many days will you bring him there?"

Then each of the crocodiles set the number of days according to its own length. Among them was a crocodile one fathom long, who said of himself, "I shall bring him there within a single day." So the one-fathom crocodile was sent to see him on his way.

He offered him also the two treasures, the Shiomitsutama and the Shiohirutama, and taught him how to use the jewels. He taught him this besides. "If your brother makes a high field, make a low field. If your brother makes a low field, make a high field." So fully did the sea god give his help.

Then Hohodemi no Mikoto came back and did all as the god had taught him. When the younger brother brought out the jewel of the rising tide, the elder brother raised his hands and struggled in the water. When he brought out the jewel of the ebbing tide again, the water stopped and he was calm.

After this Honosuseri no Mikoto grew more ragged by the day, and he grieved and said, "I have become poor." Then he came back and bowed before his younger brother.

Before this Toyotamahime had said to the heavenly grandson, "I am already with child. How should I bear the seed of the heavenly grandson in the middle of the sea? So when the time of birth comes I shall surely go to the place where you are. If you build a house for me on the seashore and wait for me there, that is what I ask.""

So Hohodemi no Mikoto went back to his own land and built a birth house thatched with cormorant feathers. Before the ridge of the house was joined, Toyotamahime came driving a great turtle herself, bringing her younger sister Tamayorihime, and the sea shone as she came. The months of her child were full and the time of birth was near. So she did not wait for the thatch to be joined, but went straight in and stayed there.

Then she said to the heavenly grandson quietly, "I am about to give birth. I ask you not to look at me." The heavenly grandson thought her words strange, and he looked at her in secret, and she had turned into a great crocodile eight fathoms long. She knew that the heavenly grandson had seen what she hid, and she was deeply ashamed and full of resentment.

After the child was born, the heavenly grandson came and asked, "What should the child be called?" She answered, "Let him be called Nagisatake Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto." When she had said this, she crossed the sea and went straight away.

Then Hohodemi no Mikoto made a song.

"Okitsutori Kamozukushima ni Waga ineshi Imo wa wasuraji Yo no kotogoto mo (飫企都鄧利 軻茂豆句志磨爾 和我謂禰志 伊茂播和素邏珥 譽能據鄧馭㔁母)"

It is also said that Hohodemi no Mikoto took a woman to be the child's nurse, and set the mother who bathed him, the one who chewed his food, and the one who kept the bathing place, and provided all the several offices and reared him. At that time another woman was used for the while, and the prince was reared at her breast. This is why the people of the world set a nurse to rear a child.

After this Toyotamahime heard that her child was fair and well formed. Her heart was full of tenderness and care, and she wished to come back and rear him, but by right she could not. So she sent her younger sister Tamayorihime to come and rear him. Then Toyotamahime no Mikoto sent a song in answer by Tamayorihime.

"Akadama no Hikari wa ari to Hito wa iedo Kimi ga yosoishi Tautoku arikeri (阿軻娜磨迺 比訶利播阿利登 比鄧播伊珮耐 企弭我譽贈比志 多輔妬句阿利計利)"

— Both songs set down sounds only, and are not turned into meaning.

These two songs, given and answered, are called ageuta (擧歌). 海驢 is read michi. 踉䠙鈎 is read susunomichi. 癡騃鈎 is read urukechi.

Another account says: The elder brother, Honosuseri no Mikoto, had the gain of the luck of the mountains, and the younger brother, Honoori no Mikoto, had the gain of the luck of the sea. And so on.

The younger brother was on the seashore, grieving and singing to himself. Then he met Shiotsutsu no Oji. The old man asked, "Why do you grieve like this?" Honoori no Mikoto answered. And so on.

The old man said, "Grieve no more. I shall make a plan." He made this plan. "The swift steed that the sea god rides is a crocodile eight fathoms long. It stands with its back fin raised at the small gate of Tachibana. I shall lay a plan together with him."

So he took Honoori no Mikoto and went with him to see it. Then the crocodile made this plan. "I can bring the heavenly grandson to the sea palace only after eight days. But the one-fathom crocodile, our king's swift steed, will surely bring him there within a single day. So I shall go back now and have him come out. Ride upon him and enter the sea. When you enter the sea, there is a fair little shore of itself in the midst of it. Go along that shore and you will surely come to our king's palace. Over the well at the palace gate there will be a yutsu katsura tree. Go up into that tree and stay there."

When he had said this, he went into the sea. So the heavenly grandson stayed and waited as the crocodile had told him, and eight days passed. After a long while the one-fathom crocodile came at last. He rode upon it and entered the sea, and followed in everything the teaching of the first crocodile.

Then an attendant of Toyotamahime came with a jeweled bowl to draw water from the well, and she saw the shadow of a man at the bottom of the water and could not scoop the water up. She looked up and saw the heavenly grandson, and went in at once and told her king, "I thought our king alone was surpassing fair. Now there is a guest here who is far fairer still."

The sea god heard it and said, "Let us look at him and see."

Then three seats were spread and he was asked to come in. On the outer seat the heavenly grandson wiped his two feet. On the middle seat he rested his two hands. On the inner seat he sat at ease upon the Matokoofusuma. The sea god saw this, knew that he was the grandson of a heavenly god, and honored him all the more. And so on.

The sea god called Akame and Kuchime and questioned them. Then Kuchime brought the hook out of her mouth and offered it. Akame is the red sea bream, and Kuchime is the mullet.

Then the sea god gave the hook to Hohodemi no Mikoto and taught him this. "When you give the hook back to your elder brother, the heavenly grandson should say, 'You who are the offspring of eighty generations of the children you beget, majichi, sasamajichi.' When you have said this, spit three times and give it to him. And when your brother goes into the sea to fish, the heavenly grandson should stand on the shore and call the wind." To call the wind is to whistle. "If you do this, I shall raise the wind of the deep sea and the wind of the shore, and drive the waves against him, and let him be drowned and troubled."

Honoori no Mikoto came back and followed the teaching of the god in everything. When the day came that his brother went fishing, the younger brother stood on the shore and whistled. Then a swift wind rose suddenly, and the elder brother was drowning and in misery, with no way to live.

He begged his brother from afar and said, "You have lived long in the plain of the sea, and you must have some good art. I beg you, save me. If you let me live, my children for eighty generations will not leave the side of your fence, and shall be your players and your servants."

Then the younger brother stopped his whistling, and the wind also died away. So the elder brother knew his brother's power and wished to bow to his guilt, but his brother had an angry look and would not speak with him.

So the elder brother put on a loincloth, smeared red earth on his palms and on his face, and said to his younger brother, "I have defiled my body in this way. I shall be your player for ever." Then he raised his feet and stamped about, and acted out how he had drowned and suffered.

When the tide first wet his feet he played the foot divination. When it reached his knees he raised his feet. When it reached his thighs he ran in circles. When it reached his waist he held his waist. When it reached his armpits he put his hands on his breast. When it reached his neck he raised his hands and waved his palms. From that time until now this has never been broken off.

Before this, Toyotamahime had come out, and when the time of birth came she asked the imperial grandson. And so on. The imperial grandson did not do as she asked. Toyotamahime was full of resentment and said, "You did not use my words, and you have shamed me. So from now on, when my servants come to your place, do not let them go back. When your servants come to my place, I too will not let them go back."

Then she wrapped the child in the Matokoofusuma and in grass, left him on the shore and went into the sea. This is why the sea and the land do not meet.

Another account says: It is wrong to say that she left the child on the shore. Toyotamahime no Mikoto took him in her arms and went. After a long while she said, "It is not right to keep the seed of the heavenly grandson in the middle of the sea." So she had Tamayorihime carry him out.

When Toyotamahime first parted from him and went away, her words of resentment were bitter. So Honoori no Mikoto knew that they could not meet again, and he made a song to send her. It is given above.

八十連屬 is read yasotsuzuki. 飄掌 is read tabirokasu.

Nagisatake Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto took his aunt Tamayorihime as his consort, and she bore Itsuse no Mikoto (五瀨命), and next Inai no Mikoto (稻飯命), and next Mikeirino no Mikoto (三毛入野命), and next Kan'yamato Iwarebiko no Mikoto (神日本磐余尊). In all she bore four sons.

Long afterward Nagisatake Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto died in the palace of the western isle. He was buried in the tomb on the mountain of Ahira in Himuka.

Another account says: First she bore Itsuse no Mikoto, and next Inai no Mikoto, and next Mikeirino no Mikoto, and next Sano no Mikoto (狹野尊), who is also called Kan'yamato Iwarebiko no Mikoto. The name Sano is the name of his young years. Later he struck down and quieted all under heaven and held the eight islands, and so the name Kan'yamato Iwarebiko no Mikoto was added to him.

Another account says: First she bore Itsuse no Mikoto, and next Mikeno no Mikoto (三毛野命), and next Inai no Mikoto, and next Iwarebiko no Mikoto, who is also called Kan'yamato Iwarebiko Hohodemi no Mikoto.

Another account says: First she bore Itsuse no Mikoto, and next Inai no Mikoto, and next Kan'yamato Iwarebiko Hohodemi no Mikoto, and next Wakamikeno no Mikoto (稚三毛野命).

Another account says: First she bore Itsuse no Mikoto, and next Iwarebiko Hohodemi no Mikoto, and next Inai no Mikoto, and next Mikeirino no Mikoto.