[SECT. II.THE SEVEN DIVINE GENERATIONS.

]
The names of the Deities that were born next were the Earthly-EternallyStanding-Deity, 1 next the Luxuriant-Integrating-Master-Deity. 2 These two
Deities were likewise [17] Deities born alone, and hid their persons. The
names of the Deities that were born next were the Deity Mud-Earth-Lord next
his younger sister the Deity Mud-Earth-Lady; 3 next the Germ-IntegratingDeity, next his younger sister the Life-Integrating-Deity; 4 next the Deity
Elder-of-the-Great-Place, next his younger sister the Deity Elder-Lady-of-theGreat-Place; 5 next the Deity Perfect-Exterior, 6 [18] next his younger sister
the Deity Oh-Awful-Lady; 7 next the Deity the Male-Who-Invites, next his
younger sister the Deity the Female-Who-Invites. 8
From the Earthly-Eternally-Standing Deity down to the Deity the FemaleWho-Invites in the previous list are what are termed the Seven Divine
Generations.
(The two solitary Deities above [-mentioned] are each called one generation. Of the
succeeding ten Deities each pair of deities is called a generation.) 9

p. 18

Footnotes
17:1 p. 17 Or, the Deity-Standing-Eternally-on-Earth, Kuni-no-toko-tachi-nokami, Conf. Note 10 to Sect. I.
17:2 Toyo-kumo-nu-no-kami. There is much doubt as to the proper
interpretation of this name. The characters
("cloud-moor"), with which
the syllables read kumo-nu are written, are almost certainly phonetic, and the
translator has followed Motowori's view as corrected by Hirata, according to
which kumo is taken to stand for kumu, "integrating," and nu is considered to
be an apocopated form of nushi, "master" (or more vaguely "the person who
presides at or does a thing"). Mabuchi in his "Dictionary of Pillow-words,"
Article Sasutake, argues that the syllables in question should be interpreted in
the sense of "coagulated mud"; out this is less satisfactory.
17:3 p. 18 U-hiji-no-kami and Su-hiji-ni-no-kami. The names of this pair tend
themselves to a variety of interpretations. Motowori's view of the meaning of
the first three syllables in each seems best, if it is founded on the Chinese
characters with which they are written in the parallel passage of the
"Chronicles," and it has therefore been adopted here. Hirata interprets the

names thus: First-Mud-Lord and First-Sand-Lady, and takes ni to be an

alternative form of the Honorific ne found in so many proper names. This
view of the meaning of ni has been followed by the translator. On the other
hand Mabuchi explains the names to mean respectively Floating-Mud-Earth
and Sinking-Mud-Earth. The only thing therefore that is granted by all is that
the names in question refer to the mud or slime out of which the world was
afterwards made. The reader will bear in mind that "younger-sister" and
"wife" are convertible names in Archaic Japanese. (See Introduction p.
XXXVIII.)
17:4 Tsunu-guhi-no-kami and Iku-guhi-no-kami. The interpretation given is
one in which the commentators agree, and which has some probability in its
favour. It must however only be accepted with reservation.
17:5 Oho-to-no ji-no-kami and Oho-to-no-be-no-kami.
17:6 Omo-daru-no-kami. We might also render omo-daru by "perfectface," i.e., perfectly beautiful."
17:7 Aya-kashiko-ne-no-kami. For "awful" we might substitute "venerable."
Hirata, commentating on this name and the seven which precede it, says: Uhiji-ui and Su-hiji-ni are so named from their having contained the germs of
what was to become the earth. Oho-to-no-ji and Oho-to-no-be are so called
from the appearance of the incipient earth. Tsunu-guhi and Iku-guhi are so
called from the united appearance of the earth and the Deities as they came
into existence. Omo-daru and Kashiko-ne are so called from the completion of
the august persons of the Deities. Thus their names were given to them from
the gradual progress [of creation]."
17:8 Izana-gi-no-kami and Izana-mi-no-kami. There is some slight diversity of
opinion as to the literal signification of the component parts of the names of
these the best-known of the Deities hitherto mentioned, though the gist of the
meaning remains unchanged. Motowori would prefer to read Iza-nagi and Iza-a-mi, taking the syllable na as the Second Personal Pronoun "thou,"
and understanding the names thus: "the Prince-Who-Invites-Thee" and the
"Princess-Who-Invites-Thee." It seems however more natural to look
on izana as forming but one word, viz., the Root of the VerbIzanafu, "to
invite." The older native commentators p. 19 mean the same thing when they tell
us thatna is an Expletive. The syllables gi and mi are of uncertain etymology,
but occur in other Archaic words to denote the female and male of a pair. The
appropriateness of the names of these deities will be seen by referring to Sect.
IV.
17:9 For explanatory notes which are printed in small type in the original,
small type is likewise used in this translation.