into the province of Shinano. This is a Land of high mountains and profound valleys. Verdant summits are piled up ten thousand fold, so that for men with staff in hand they are hard to ascend. The cliffs are precipitous, and are girt with flying bridges.[1] Many thousand are the hill-ranges, where even with slackened reins the horse makes no progress. Yet Yamato-dake no Mikoto, bursting through the smoke, and braving the mists, distantly crossed Mount Oho-yama. He had already reached the summit when he became hungry and had food on the mountain. The God of the mountain plagued the Prince. He assumed the form of a white deer and stood before him. The Prince, wondering at this, took a stick of garlic, and jerked it (VII. 28.) at the white deer, striking it in the eye and killing it.[2] Here the Prince suddenly lost his way and could find no issue. Then a white dog came of its own accord, and made a show of guiding the Prince. Following the dog, he proceeded on his way, and succeeded in coming out into Mino. Kibi no Take-hiko, coming out from Koshi, met him. Before this when any one crossed the Shinano pass, he inhaled so much of the breath of the Deity that he became ill and lay down. But after the white deer was killed, the travellers who crossed that mountain chewed garlic,[3] and smearing with it men, kine, and horses, preserved them from being affected by the Deity's breath.
Yamato-dake no Mikoto, having returned back again to Ohari, straightway took to wife a daughter of the Ohari House, by name Miyazu-hime, and tarried there until the next month. Here he heard that on Mount Ibuki in Afumi there was a savage Deity. So he took off his sword, and leaving it in the house of Miyazu-hime, went on afoot. When he arrived at Mount Ibuki, the God of the mountain took the shape of a (VII. 29.) great serpent, and posted himself on the road. Hereupon
- ↑ Kake-hashi, a bridge supported on poles driven into the side of a cliff. Common in some mountainous parts of Japan.
- ↑ Ch. K., 213.
- ↑ "Another popular device (in Scotland) for frightening away witches and fairies was to hang bunches of garlic about the farms." "Auld Licht Idylls," by J. M. Barrie.
Dennys, in his "Folk-lore of China," mentions several cases of the use of garlic or onions to keep away evil spirits.
