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transferred from Heaven to the suite of the Heavenly Grandson when he descended to this earth. On the same occasion the above Imperial Edict (37) thus continued to Omono-Nushi-no-Kami:
“Henceforth thou shalt guard the Heavenly Grandson against danger by the aid of the Eighty Myriads of Gods under your command.” Then, Ame-no-Oshihi-no-Mikoto, ancestor of the Otomo Family, heavily armed with weapons, and Ame-no-Kushitsu-O-Kume, ancestor of the Kume Family, in joint command, were ordered to descend from Heaven at the head of the Imperial Body Guards.
When the Heavenly Grandson was about to descend, the advance guard returned and gave an alarm, saying:
“There is a strange god at the eight forked cross-ways of Heaven, whose nose and back are seven hand-span broad and some seven feet long, and whose mouth, posterior and especially the eyes awfully resemble a bright eight hand-span mirror.” Then the Gods in the Heavenly Grandson’s suite were to be sent to challenge the monstrous stranger upon the road but not one of the Eight Myriads of Gods was bold enough to do so. Then, by the divine command, Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, the Heavenly Lady of Dauntless Spirit, was sent to confront him, with her waist band lowered below the navel and with her breasts laid bare, and she laughed at him mockingly. The God of the Cross-ways asked, “What do you mean by that?” Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto responded, “Who are you? and why do you obstruct the way during the descent of the Heavenly Grandson to the earthly land?” The God of the Cross-ways replied, “On hearing the news
