KojikiShintoAncient Myth / ComparativeClassical Japanese / Chinese-style proseShareKojiki 16Basil Hall Chamberlain 1919 - EnglishMoreVersion - 1 availableBasil Hall Chamberlain 1919LanguageEnglishEspañol‹Kojiki 1Kojiki 2Kojiki 3Kojiki 4Kojiki 5Kojiki 6Kojiki 7Kojiki 8Kojiki 9Kojiki 10Kojiki 11Kojiki 12Kojiki 13Kojiki 14Kojiki 16Kojiki 17Kojiki 19Kojiki 20Kojiki 21Kojiki 22Kojiki 23Kojiki 24Kojiki 25Kojiki 26Kojiki 28Kojiki 29Kojiki 30Kojiki 31Kojiki 32Kojiki 33Kojiki 34Kojiki 35Kojiki 36Kojiki 37Kojiki 38Kojiki 39Kojiki 40Kojiki 41Kojiki 43Kojiki 44Kojiki 45Kojiki 46Kojiki 47Kojiki 48Kojiki 49Kojiki 50Kojiki 51Kojiki 52Kojiki 53Kojiki 105Kojiki 55Kojiki 56Kojiki 57Kojiki 58Kojiki 59Kojiki 60Kojiki 62Kojiki 63Kojiki 64Kojiki 65Kojiki 66Kojiki 67Kojiki 68Kojiki 69Kojiki 134Kojiki 71Kojiki 72Kojiki 143Kojiki 74Kojiki 75Kojiki 76Kojiki 77Kojiki 78Kojiki 79Kojiki 151Kojiki 154Kojiki 82Kojiki 83Kojiki 157Kojiki 85Kojiki 86Kojiki 87Kojiki 88Kojiki 162Kojiki 90Kojiki 91Kojiki 92Kojiki 93Kojiki 94Kojiki 95Kojiki 172Kojiki 97Kojiki 98Kojiki 99Kojiki 100Kojiki 101Kojiki 102Kojiki 103Kojiki 104Kojiki 107Kojiki 108Kojiki 109Kojiki 110Kojiki 111Kojiki 112Kojiki 113Kojiki 114Kojiki 115Kojiki 116Kojiki 117Kojiki 118Kojiki 119Kojiki 121Kojiki 205Kojiki 124Kojiki 125Kojiki 126Kojiki 127Kojiki 128Kojiki 130Kojiki 131Kojiki 132Kojiki 133Kojiki 135Kojiki 137Kojiki 138Kojiki 139Kojiki 142Kojiki 144Kojiki 145Kojiki 146Kojiki 147Kojiki 148Kojiki 240Kojiki 150Kojiki 153Kojiki 155Kojiki 156Kojiki 158Kojiki 160Kojiki 161Kojiki 163Kojiki 164Kojiki 165Kojiki 166Kojiki 167Kojiki 168Kojiki 169Kojiki 170Kojiki 171Kojiki 173Kojiki 174Kojiki 175Kojiki 176Kojiki 177Kojiki 178Kojiki 179Kojiki 180›Section XVI: The Door of the Heavenly Rock-dwellingKojiki 16ListenPlay this chapter in spoken English.Save chapterListen to chapter1So thereupon the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity, terrified at the sight, closed [behind her] the door of the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling, made it fast, and retired. Then the whole Plain of High Heaven was obscured and all the Central Land of Reed-Plains darkened. Owing to this, eternal night prevailed. Hereupon the voices of the myriad Deities were like unto the flies in the fifth moon as they swarmed, and a myriad portents of woe all arose. 2Therefore did the eight hundred myriad Deities assemble in a divine assembly in the bed of the Tranquil River of Heaven, and bid the Deity Thought-Includer, child of the High-August-Producing-Wondrous-Deity think of a plan, assembling the long-singing birds of eternal night and making them sing, taking the hard rocks of Heaven from the river-bed of the Tranquil River of Heaven, and taking the iron from the Heavenly Metal-Mountains, calling in the smith Ama-tsu-ma-ra, charging Her Augustness I-shi-ko-ri-do-me to make a mirror, and charging His Augustness jewel-Ancestor to make an augustly complete [string] of curved jewels eight feet [long],--of five hundred jewels, --and summoning His Augustness Heavenly-Beckoning-Ancestor-Lord and His Augustness Great-Jewel, and causing them to pull out with a complete pulling the shoulder [-blade] of a true stag from the Heavenly Mount Kagu, and take cherrybark from the Heavenly Mount Kagu, and perform divination, and pulling up by pulling its roots a true cleyera japonica with five hundred [branches] from the Heavenly Mount Kagu, and taking and putting upon its upper branches the augustly complete [string] of curved jewels eight feet [long],--of five hundred jewels,--and taking and tying to the middle branches the mirror eight feet [long], and taking and hanging upon its lower branches the white pacificatory offerings and the blue pacificatory offerings, His Augustness Grand-jewel taking these divers things and holding them together with the grand august Offerings, and His Augustness Heavenly-Beckoning-Ancestor-Lord prayerfully reciting grand liturgies, and the Heavenly Hand-Strength-Male-Deity standing hidden beside the door, and Her Augustness Heavenly-Alarming Female hanging [round her] the heavenly clubmoss of the Heavenly Mount Kagu as a sash, and making the heavenly spindle-tree her head-dress, and binding the leaves of the bamboo-grass of the Heavenly Mount Kagu in a posy for her hands, and laying a soundingboard before the door of the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling, and stamping till she made it resound and doing as if possessed by a Deity, and pulling out the nipples of her breasts, pushing down her skirt-string usque ad privates partes. 3Then the Plain of High Heaven shook, and the eight hundred myriad Deities laughed together. Hereupon the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity was amazed, and, slightly opening the door of the Heavenly Rock-Dwelling, spoke thus from the inside: "Methought that owing to my retirement the Plain of Heaven would be dark, and likewise the Central Land of Reed-Plains would all be dark: how then is it that the Heavenly-Alarming-Female makes merry, and that likewise the eight hundred myriad Deities all laugh?" Then the Heavenly-Alarming-Female spoke saying: "We rejoice and are glad because there is a Deity more illustrious than Thine Augustness." While she was thus speaking, His Augustness Heavenly-Beckoning-Ancestor-Lord and His Augustness Grand-jewel pushed forward the mirror and respectfully showed it to the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity, whereupon the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity, more and more astonished, gradually came forth from the door and gazed upon it, whereupon the Heavenly-Hand-Strength-Male-Deity, who was standing hidden, took her august hand and drew her out, and then His Augustness Grand-jewel drew the bottom-tied rope along at her august back, and spoke, saying: "Thou must not go back further in than this!" So when the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity had come forth, both the Plain of High Heaven and the Central-Land-of-Reed-Plains of course again became light. ‹Previous chapterKojiki 14Next chapterKojiki 17›Similar passagesBy tradition and source labelFind similarCompare selectedCompare with similarAsk Deep ThoughtSelect passages to search for parallels.Tap any verse to select it, then compare selected passages or ask Deep Thought. Public domain in the United States