Hiko-kuni-fuku aimed at Hani-yasu-hiko, hit him in the breast, and killed him. His troops lost courage and retreated. They were consequently pursued and driven in rout to the north of the river. More than half had their heads cut off, and of dead bodies there was a plentiful overflow. Therefore that place was named Hafu-sono.[1]
Again the troops fled in fear and their excrements were voided on their breeches. So they took off their armour and ran. Knowing that they could not escape, they bowed their heads to the ground, and said, "Our Lord." Therefore the men of that time called the place where the armour was taken off "Ka-wara,"[2] and the place where the breeches were defiled they called Kuso-bakama[3] It is now called Kusuba, which is a corruption of this word.
(V. 13.) Moreover the place where they bowed their heads was called A-gimi.[4]
After this Yamato-toto-hi-momo-so-bime no Mikoto became the wife of Oho-mono-nushi no Kami. This God, however, was never seen in the day-time, but came at night. Yamato-toto-hime no Mikoto said to her husband:—"As my Lord is never seen in the day-time, I am unable to view his august countenance distinctly; I beseech him therefore to delay a while, that in the morning I may look upon the majesty of his beauty." The Great God answered and said:—"What thou sayest is clearly right. To-morrow morning I will enter thy toilet-case and stay there. I pray thee be not alarmed at my form." Yamato-toto-hime no Mikoto wondered secretly in her heart at this. Waiting until daybreak, she looked into her toilet-case. There was there a beautiful little snake,[5] of the length and thickness of the cord of a garment. Thereupon she was frightened, and uttered an exclamation. The Great God was ashamed, and changing suddenly into human form, spake to his wife, and
- ↑ Afureru is "to overflow," sono means garden. Hafu is more probably for hafuri, sacrifice.
- ↑ An old word for "armour."
- ↑ "Excrement-breeches."
- ↑ Our Lord. See above.
- ↑ This is one of numerous evidences of serpent-worship in Ancient Japan. The interlinear Kana for snake is worochi, where the last syllable is a honorific.
