accordingly went again round the pillar, the male Deity from the left,[1] and the female Deity from the right. When they met, the male Deity spoke first and said:—"How pretty! a lovely maiden!" The female Deity next answered and said:—"How pretty! a lovely youth!" Thereafter they dwelt together in the same palace and had children, whose names were Oho-yamato no Toyo-aki-tsu-shima, next the island of Ahaji, next the island of Iyo no futa-na, next the island of Tsukushi, next the triplet islands of Oki, next the island of Sado, next the island of Koshi, next the island of Kibi-no-ko. The country was accordingly called the "Great-Eight-Island Country."
In one writing it is said:—"The two Deities Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto stood in the midst of the mist of Heaven, and said:—'We wish to find a country.' So they thrust down the jewel-spear of Heaven, and groped about till they found the island of Ono-goro. Then they drew back the spear and rejoiced, saying:—'Good! there is a country!'"
In one writing it is said:—"The two Deities Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto sat in the Plain of High Heaven, and said:—'There must surely be a country.' So with the jewel spear of Heaven they scraped together the island of Ono-goro."
In one writing it is said:—"The two Deities Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto spoke to one another, saying: — 'There is something resembling floating oil. In the midst of this there is perhaps a country.' So they (I. 10.) took the jewel-spear of Heaven and groping about formed with it an island which was called Ono-goro."
In one writing it is said:—"The female Deity spoke first and said:—'How pretty! a handsome youth!' Now it was considered unlucky that the female Deity should have spoken first. Accordingly they went round again,
- ↑ Hirata says that as the left is superior to the right, and the man to the woman, it is proper that the man should go round from the left, and the woman from the right. He strongly condemns the Kojiki version of the story which reverses this order. The notion of the superiority of the left is really Chinese.
