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polluted her Festival-Hall by spreading excreta upon the doors of her sacred hall, and while the Goddess was occupied in weaving, Susano-o flayed backwards a living colt and flung it into her sacred hall. Thus one readily sees that the origin of both agriculture and the art of weaving date back to the Divine Age. Susano-o-no-Kami’s misdeeds are styled “heavenly offences” and nowadays we are familiarized with them through the “Ritual of Great Purification” which is recited from time to time by Shinto priests of the Nakatomi Family).
Hereupon Amaterasu-O-Mikami was greatly incensed, and entering into the Heavenly Rock-Cave, closed its door and concealed herself therein. Consequently, the eternal night of darkness or pitch-darkness prevailed, so that no one could discern between the day and the night. Then all the gods were at a loss how to act, for without light no work could be done. Then Takami-Musubi-no-Kami summoned a council of the Eighty Myriads of Gods on the Dry Bed of the Eight-Sand-Bank-River in Heaven, (17) and enquired what emergency-measures should be taken in order to rectify matters. In response Omoikane-no-Kami, the God of Profound Knowledge and Foresight, proposed the following scheme to induce Amaterasu-O-Mikami to return from her hiding place in the Rock-Cave; Futotama-no-Kami was to be appointed to make “nigite,” i.e., offerings of fine cloth in aid of the gods of different callings, and, for example, it was decided that Ishikoritome-no-Kami (Son of Ame-no-Nukado-no-Mikoto and the ancestor of the Kagami-tsukuri or Mirror-Making Family) should construct a mirror, resembling in form
