RECORDS OF ANCIENT MATTERS

[SECT. I.THE BEGINNING OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.]

The names of the Deities 1 that were born 2 in the Plain of High Heaven 3 when
the Heaven and Earth began were the Deity Master-of-the-August-Centre-ofHeaven, 4 next the High-August-Producing-Wondrous Deity, 5 next the
Divine-Producing-Wondrous-Deity. 6 These three Deities were all Deities born
alone, and hid their persons. 7 The names of the Deities that were born next
from a thing that sprouted up like unto a reed-shoot when the earth, 8 young
and like unto floating oil, drifted about medusa-like, were the Pleasant-ReedShoot-Prince-Elder Deity, 9 next the Heavenly-Eternally-StandingDeity. 10 [16] These two Deities were likewise born alone, and hid their
persons.
The five Deities in the above list are separate Heavenly Deities.

11

p. 16

Footnotes
15:1 p. 15 For this rendering of the Japanese word kami see Introduction,
pp. xvii-xviii.
15:2 Literally, "that became" ( ). Such "becoming" is concisely defined by
Motowori as "the birth of that which did not exist before."
15:3 In Japanese Takama-no-hara.
15:4 Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami.
15:5 Taka-mi-musu-bi-no-kami. It is open to doubt whether the syllable bi,
instead of signifying "wondrous," may not simply be a verbal termination, in
which case the three syllables musubi would mean, not "wondrous
producing," but simple "producing," i.e., if we adopt the interpretation of the
Verb musubu as "to produce" in the Active sense of the word, an interpretation
as to whose propriety there is some room for doubt. In the absence of certainty
the translator has followed the view expressed by Motowori and adopted by
Hirata. The same remark applies to the following and other similar names.
15:6 p. 16 Kami-musu-bi-no-kami. This name reappears in later Sections under
the lengthened form of ami-musu-bi-mi-oya-no-mikoto, i.e., His Augustness
the Deity-Producing-Wondrous-August-Ancestor, and also in abbreviated
forms.

15:7 I.e. they all came into existence without being procreated. in the manner
usual with both gods and men, and afterwards disappeared, i.e., died.
15:8 Here and elsewhere the character , properly "country" (regio), is used
where "earth" (tellus) better suits the sense. Apparently in the old language the
word kuni (written ), which is now restricted to the former meaning, was
used ambiguously somewhat like our word "land."
15:9 Umashi-ashi-kabi-hiko-ji-no-kami. For hiko here and elsewhere rendered
"prince" see Introduction p. xvi; ji is rendered "elder" in accordance with the
opinion expressed by Motowori and Hirata, who say that it is "an Honorific
designation of males identical with the ji meaning old man."
15:10 Or, the Deity-Standing-Eternally-in-Heaven, Ame-no-toko-tachi-nokami. The translation of the name here given follows the natural meaning of
the characters composing it, and has the sanction of Tanigaha Shisai.
Motowori and Hirata take toko to stand for soko, "bottom," and interpret
accordingly; but this is probably but one of the many instances in which the
Japanese philologists allow themselves to be led by the boldness of their
etymological speculations into identifying words radically distinct.
15:11 This is a note in the original, where such notes are indented, as has also
been clone In the translation. The author's obscure phrase is explained by
Motowori to mean that these Heavenly Deities were separate from those who
came into existence afterwards, and especially from the Earthly-EternallyStanding-Deity (Kuni-no-toko-tachi-no-kami) who in the "Chronicles" is the
first divine being of whom mention is made. These five were, he says,
"separate" and had nothing to do with the creation of the world. It should be
stated that the sentence will also bear the interpretation "The five Deities in
the above list are Deities who divided Heaven" (presumably from Earth;) but
this rendering has against it the authority of all the native editors. As the
expressions "Heavenly Deity" and "Earthly Deity" (lit., "Country Deity" are of
frequent occurrence in these "Records," it may be as well to state that.
according to Motowori, the "Heavenly Deities" were such as either dwelt in
Heaven or had originally descended to Earth from Heaven, whereas the
Earthly Deities were those born and dwelling in Japan.