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vol. vii.]

vol. i. sect. xiii.

45

to depart to my deceased mother's[1] land, to the Nether Distant Land.”[2] Then the Great August Deity the Male-Who-Invites was very angry and said : “If that be so, thou shall not dwell in this land,”[3] and forthwith expelled him with a divine expulsion. So the Great Deity the Male-Who-Invites dwells at Taga[4] in Afumi.[5]

[SECT. XIII.—THE AUGUST OATH.]

So thereupon His-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness said : “If that be so, I will take leave[6] of the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Deity, and depart.” [With these words] he forthwith went up to Heaven, whereupon all the mountains and rivers shook, and every land and country quaked. So the Heaven-Shining-Great-August Deity, alarmed at the noise, said : “The reason of the ascent hither of His Augustness my elder brother[7] is surely no good intent.[8] It is only that he wishes to wrest my land from me.” And she forthwith, unbinding her august hair, twisted it into august bunches; and both into the left and into the right august bunch, as likewise into her august head-dress and likewise on to her

  1. ↑ The Japanese authorities simply read “mother.” But the character 妣, which is used in this place, specially designates a mother who is deceased.
  2. ↑ I.e., Hades. The translation follows Motowori's explanation of the original term Ne-no-kata-su-kuni, which is obscure.
  3. ↑ I.e., say the commentators, “in this realm of ocean which I granted to thee as thy domain.” Probably, however, this is reading into the text more than it was meant to contain.
  4. ↑ Derivation unknown.
  5. ↑ From aha-umi, “fresh sea,” i.e., “lake.” The province of Afumi was doubtless so called from Lake Biha which occupies a great portion of its surface. It is also known as Chiku-tsu-Afumi, i.e., “the Nearer Afumi,” in contradistinction to Toho-tsu-fumi (in modern pronunciation Tōtōmi), i.e., “Distant Afumi,” a province further to the East. The modern pronunciation of Afumi is Ōmi.
  6. ↑ The English locution “to take leave” exactly represents the Chinese character here used which, from having the sense of “asking permission,” has come to mean “bidding adieu.”
  7. ↑ He was her younger brother. But see what is said on the subject of names expressive of relationship on p. xxxvii of Introduction. The phonetic characters 那勢 are used to represent 兄 “elder brother.”
  8. ↑ Literally “heart,” here and elsewhere.

sup. vol. x.—16

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