Kojiki (Chamberlain, 1882)/Section 17

by Ō no Yasumaro

[Sect. XVII.—The August Expulsion of His-Impetuous-Male-Augustness.]

Thereupon the eight hundred myriad Deities took counsel together, and imposed on His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness a fine of a thousand tables,^[1] and likewise cut his beard, and even caused the nails of his fingers and toes to be pulled out, and expelled him with a divine expulsion. Again he begged food of the Deity Princess-of-Great-Food.^[2] Then the Princess-of-Great-Food took out all sorts of dainty things from her nose, her mouth, and even her fundament, and made them up into all sorts [of dishes], which she offered to him. But His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness watched her proceedings, considered that she was offering up to him filth, and at once killed the Deity Princess-of-Great-Food. So the things that were born in the body of the Deity who had been killed were [as follows]: in her head were born silkworms, in her two eyes were born rice-seeds, in her two ears was born millet,^[3] in her nose were born small beans,^[4] in her private parts was born barley,^[5] in her fundament were born large beans.^[6] So His Augustness the Deity-Producing-Wondrous-Ancestor^[7] caused them to be taken and used as seeds.

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1. I.e., “an immense fine,” The student should consult Motowori’s elaborate note on this passage in vol. IX. pp. 1–5 of his Commentary. Tables of gifts are mentioned in Sect. XXXVII. Note 7 and Sect. XL. Note 13.
2. Oho-ge-tsu-hime-no-kami. This personage (but without the title of “Deity”) has already appeared in Section V. (Note 8) as the alternative personal name of the Island of Aha.
3. Panicum Italicum.
4. Phaselous Radiatus.
5. Or less probably “wheat.”
6. Soja Glycine.
7. Kami-musu-bi-mi-oya-no-mikoto, the same deity as the one mentioned at the beginning of these “Records” under the shorter title of Kami-musu-bi-no-kami. (See Sect. I. Note 6.)