meet him and presented to him beautiful maga-tama[1] of Yasaka jewels. So Sosa no wo no Mikoto took these gems and went up to Heaven. At this time Ama-terasu
Magatama.
no Oho-kami, suspecting that the intentions of her younger brother were evil, prepared war and questioned him. Sosa no wo no Mikoto answered and said:—'Truly the sole reason of my coming is that I wished to see my elder sister face to face, and moreover to present to her these beautiful curved jewels of Yasaka gem. I dare not have any other purpose.' Then Ama-terasu no Oho-kami asked (I. 35.) him again, saying:—'Wherewithal wilt thou prove to me whether thy words are true or false?' He answered and said:—'Let thee and me bind ourselves by an oath. If while we are bound by this oath, the children produced are females, my heart is to be accounted black, but if they are males, it is to be thought red.' So they dug three true-wells of Heaven and stood opposite to one another. Then Ama-terasu no Oho-kami spoke to Sosa no wo no Mikoto and said:—'I am now about to give thee the sword which is in my girdle; do thou give me the curved jewels of Yasaka gem which thou hast.' Having thus covenanted they made a mutual exchange. Then Ama-terasu no Oho-kami took the curved jewels of Yasaka gem, and having made them float on the true-well of Heaven, bit off the heads of the jewels and blew them away. The Deity which was produced from amidst her breath was called Ichiki-shima-hime no Mikoto. This is the Goddess who dwells in Oki-tsu miya. Again, a Deity was produced
↑Maga-tama, curved jewels, are the comma-shaped gems of cornelian or other stones frequently seen in museums in Japan.
