7. Nihon Shoki I — 7
1Ame-kuma-bito carried all these things and delivered them to Ama-terasu no Oho-kami, who was rejoiced, and said:—'These are the things which the race of visible men will (I. 28.) eat and live.' So she made the millet, the panic, the wheat, and the beans the seed for the dry fields, and the rice she made the seed for the water-fields. Therefore she appointed a Mura-gimi of Heaven, and forthwith sowed for the first time the rice seed in the narrow fields and in the long fields of Heaven. That autumn, drooping ears bent down, eight span long, and were exceedingly pleasant to look on.
2Moreover she took the silkworms in her mouth, and succeeded in reeling thread from them. From this began the art of silkworm rearing."
3Upon this Sosa no wo no Mikoto made petition, saying:—"I will now obey thy instructions and proceed to the Nether Land. Therefore I wish for a short time to go to the Plain of High Heaven and meet with my elder sister, after which I will go away for ever." Permission was granted him, and he therefore ascended to Heaven.
4After this, Izanagi no Mikoto, his divine task having been accomplished, and his spirit-career about to suffer a change, built himself an abode of gloom in the island of Ahaji, where he dwelt for ever in silence and concealment.
5Another account says:—"Izanagi no Mikoto, his task having been accomplished, and his power great, ascended to Heaven and made report of his mission. There he dwelt (I. 29.) in the smaller palace of the Sun." (By smaller palace is meant the palace of a prince.)
6Now at first when Sosa no wo no Mikoto went up to Heaven, by reason of the fierceness of his divine nature there was a commotion in the sea, and the hills and mountains groaned aloud. Ama-terasu no Oho-kami, knowing the violence and wickedness of this Deity, was startled and changed countenance, when she heard the manner of his coming. She said (to herself):—"Is my younger brother coming with good intentions? I think it must be his purpose to rob me of my kingdom. By the charge which our parents gave to their children, each of us has his own allotted limits. Why, therefore, does he reject the kingdom to which he should proceed, and make bold to come spying here?" So she bound up her hair into knots and tied up her skirts into the form of trowsers. Then she took an (I. 30.) august string of five hundred Yasaka jewels, which she entwined around her hair and wrists. Moreover, on her back she slung a thousand-arrow quiver and a five-hundred-arrow quiver. On her lower arm she drew a dread loud-sounding elbow-pad. Brandishing her bow end upwards, she firmly grasped her sword-hilt, and stamping on the hard earth of the courtyard, sank her thighs into it as if it had been foam-snow, and kicked it in all directions. Having thus put forth her dread manly valour, she uttered a mighty cry of defiance, and questioned him in a straightforward manner. Sosa no wo no Mikoto answered and said:—"From the beginning my heart has no been black. But as in obedience to the stern behest of our parents, I am about to proceed for ever to the Nether Land, how could I bear to depart without having seen face to face thee my elder sister? It is for this reason that I have (I. 31.) traversed on foot the clouds and mists and have come hither from afar. I am surprised that my elder sister should, on the contrary, put on so stern a countenance."
7Then Ama-terasu no Oho-kami again asked him, saying:—"If this be so, how wilt thou make evident the redness of thy heart?" He answered and said:—"Let us, I pray thee, make an oath together. While bound by this oath, we shall surely produce children. If the children which I produce are females, then it may be taken that I have an impure heart. But if the children are males, then it must be considered that my heart is pure."
8Upon this Ama-terasu no Oho-kami asked for Sosa no wo no Mikoto's ten-span sword, which she broke into three pieces, and rinsed in the true-well of Heaven. Then chewing them with a crunching noise, she blew them away, and from the true-mist of her breath Gods were born. The first was named Ta-gori-bime, the next Tagi-tsu-bime, and the next Ichiki-shima-bime, three daughters in all.
9After this Sosa no wo no Mikoto begged from Ama-terasu no Oho-kami the august string of 500 Yasaka jewels which was entwined in her hair and round her wrists, and rinsed it in the true-well of Heaven. Then chewing it with a crunching noise, he blew it away, and from the true-mist of his breath there were Gods produced. The first was called Masa-ya-a-katsu-kachi-hayabi-ama no oshi-ho-mimi no Mikoto and the next Ama no ho-hi no Mikoto. This is the ancestor of the Idzumo (I. 32.) no Omi, and of the Hashi no Muraji. The next was Ama-tsu hiko-ne no Mikoto. He was the ancestor of the Ohoshi-kafuchi no Atahe, and of the Yamashiro no Atahe. The next was Iku-tsu-hiko-ne no Mikoto, and the next Kumano no kusu-bi no Mikoto—in all five males.
10Then Ama-terasu no Oho-kami said:—"Their seed was in the beginning the august necklace of 500 Yasaka jewels which belonged to me. Therefore these five male Deities are all my children." So she took these children and brought them up. Moreover she said:—"The ten-span sword belonged to thee, Sosa no wo no Mikoto. Therefore these three female Deities are all thy children." So she delivered them to Sosa no wo no (I. 33.) Mikoto. These are the deities which are worshipped by the Munagata no Kimi of Tsukushi.