twisted in the right august bunch [of her hair], and having crunchingly crunched them, he blew them away, was His Augustness Ame-no-hohi.[1] The august name of the Deity that was born from the mist [of his breath] when again, having begged her to hand him the jewels that were twisted in her august bead-dress, and having crunchingly crunched them, he blew them away, was His Augustness Prince-Lord-of-Heaven.[2] The august name of the Deity that was born from the mist [of his breath] when again, having begged her to hand him the jewels that were twisted on her left august arm,[3] and having crunchingly crunched them, he blew them away, was His Augustness Prince-Lord-of-Life.[4] The august name of the Deity that was born from the mist [of his breath] when again, having begged her to hand him the jewels that were twisted on her right august arm, and having crunchingly crunched them, he blew them away, was His-Wondrous-Augustness-of-Kumanu.[5] (Five Deities in all.)
[Sect. XIV.—The August Declaration of the Division of the August Male Children and the August Female Children.]
Hereupon the Heavenly Shining-Great-August-Deity said to His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness: “As for the seed[6] of the five male Deities born last, their birth was from things of mine; so undoubtedly they are my children. As for the seed of the three female Deities
- ↑ Ame-no signifies “of Heaven” or “heavenly.” The syllables hohi are incomprehensible.
- ↑ Ama-tsu-hiko-ne-no-mikoto.
- ↑ Or “hand.”
- ↑ Iku-tsu-hiko-ne-no-mikoto.
- ↑ This god does not seem to be known by any other name, but is conjectured by Hirata to be identical with Ame-no-hohi, the second of these divine brothers. Kumanu, or less archaically Kumano, is said to he, not the well-known Kumano in the province of Kishiu, but a place in Idzumo near Suga (see Sect. XIX, Notes 1 and 2). The name is written with the characters 熊野, “bear moor.” The native commentators however interpret it as a corruption of Komori-nu, 隱野, “the moor of retirement,” on account of a tradition preserved in the “Chronicles” of Izanami (the Female-Who-Invites) having been interred at the Kishiu Kumano.
- ↑ I.e., the origin.
