deity by the right, they went round the pillar of the land separately. When they met together on one side, the female (I. 6.) deity spoke first and said:—"How delightful! I have met with a lovely youth." The male deity was displeased, and said:—"I am a man, and by right should have spoken first. How is it that on the contrary thou, a woman, shouldst have been the first to speak? This was unlucky. Let us go round again." Upon this the two deities went back, and having met anew, this time the male deity spoke first, and said:—"How delightful! I have met a lovely maiden."
Then he inquired of the female deity, saying:—"In thy body is there aught formed?" She answered, and said:—"In my body there is a place which is the source of femineity." The male deity said:—"In my body again there is a place which is the source of masculinity. I wish to unite this sourceplace of my body to the sourceplace of thy body." Hereupon the male and female first became united as husband and wife.
Now when the time of birth arrived, first of all the island of Ahaji was reckoned as the placenta, and their minds took no pleasure in it. Therefore it received the name of Ahaji no Shima.[1]
Next there was produced the island of Oho-yamato no Toyo-aki-tsu-shima.[2]
Here and elsewhere 日本 (Nippon) is to be read Yamato.[3]
(I. 7.) Next they produced the island of Iyo no futa-na,[4] and next the island of Tsukushi.[5] Next the islands of Oki and Sado
- ↑ "The island which will not meet," i.e. is unsatisfactory. Ahaji may also be interpreted as "my shame." The characters with which this name is written in the text mean "foam-road." Perhaps the true derivation is "millet-land." Cf. Ch. "Kojiki," p. 21.
- ↑ Rich-harvest (or autumn)-of- island.
- ↑ Yamato means probably mountain-gate. It is the genuine ancient name for the province which contained Nara and many of the other capitals of Japan for centuries, and it was also used for the whole country. Several of Mikados called themselves Yamato-neko. It is mentioned by the historian of the Later Han dynasty of China (A.D. 25-220) as the seat of rule in Japan at that time. (See above, p. 1.)
- ↑ Now called Shikoku.
- ↑ Now called Kiushiu.
