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First published: April 12, 2022
Last updated: May 11, 2025
The webmaster is currently translating the Reikai Monogatari (Tales of the Spirit World) and would like to share it with you.
The webmaster may be mistaken in his translation despite his best efforts to make it as accurate as possible. Therefore, HE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OF THIS TRANSLATION. Your understanding would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
The Reikai Monogatari
Volume 2[1]: Volume of the Ushi ("Ox")[2] in the Reishu-taiju ("Spirit the master, flesh the servant")[3] series
Author: Onisburo Deguchi
The webmaster's note:
[1] ^ Publication data:
- Dictated at the Shoun-kaku Hall in Ayabe, Kyoto.
- Dictated on October 26-31, Taisho 10 (1921) as well as November 1-4, 6 and 8-9, Taisho 10 (1921) - a total of 13 days.
- Dictated by Mr. Toyoji Toyama, Ms. Haruko Katoh, Mr. Shigeo Sakurai and Mr. Masaharu Taniguchi.
- First edition issued on January 27, Taisho 11 (1922).
[2] ^ The first sign of the Japanese eto ("sexagenary cycle") zodiac. Each series of the Reikai Monogatari (except the Tensho-chizui series) consists of 12 volumes bearing the corresponding names of the following 12 zodiac signs:
- ne ("rat")
- ushi ("ox")
- tora ("tiger")
- u ("hare")
- tatsu ("dragon")
- mi ("serpent")
- uma ("horse")
- hitsuji ("sheep")
- saru ("monkey")
- tori ("rooster")
- inu ("dog")
- i ("boar")
[3] ^ The series of the Reikai Monogatari is shown in the table below:
| Series | Volumes | No. of Books |
|---|
Reishu-taiju
("Spirit the master, flesh the servent") | 1-12 | 12 |
Nyoi-hosshu
("Cintamani," or "Wish-fulfilling gem") | 13-24 | 12 |
Kaiyo-banri
("Thousands of miles of seas and
oceans") | 25-36 | 12 |
Shashin-katsuyaku
("Outstanding performance as a
living shrine of the Kami") | 37-48 | 12 |
Shinzen-biai
("Truth, good, beauty and love") | 49-60 | 12 |
Sanka-somoku
("Mountains, rivers, plants and trees") | 61-72 | 14(*) |
| (*) Volumes 64 Parts 1 & 2, as well as the Nyumoki ("Onisaburo's Mission in Mongolia") included. |
Tensho-chizui
("Auspicious signs of the Mizu-Spirit
in heaven and on earth") | 73-81 | 9 |
| Total | 81 | 83 |
|
Table of Contents
Foreword
Introductory Notes
General Remarks
Part 1: Chaos in the Shinkai (Realm of Divinities)
Chapter 1: The Deployment of Both Offensive and Defensive Forces 〔51〕
Chapter 2: The Second Coming of Evil Deities 〔52〕
Chapter 3: The Emergence of Miyama-hiko 〔53〕
Chapter 4: The Divine Masumi Mirror 〔54〕
Chapter 5: The Origin of the Black Death 〔55〕
Chapter 6: Moses and Elijah 〔56〕
Chapter 7: The Divine Heavenly and Earthly Mirrors Set Against Each Other 〔57〕
Chapter 8: Jealousy and Enmity 〔58〕
Part 2: Right and Wrong, Good and Bad
Chapter 9: Festivals on Mount Tacoma I 〔59〕
Chapter 10: Festivals on Mount Tacoma II 〔60〕
Chapter 11: A Japanese Raccoon Dog's Clay Boat 〔61〕
Chapter 12: Spies' Brilliant Performance 〔62〕
Chapter 13: The Wasp-House 〔63〕
Part 3: Developments in Divine Battles
Chapter 14: The Quintessence of Mercury 〔64〕
Chapter 15: Wild Game and Other Food of the Mountains 〔65〕
Chapter 16: Best-Laid Plans 〔66〕
Chapter 17: The Martyrdom of Saga-hime 〔67〕
Chapter 18: The Scheme to Spread Disinformation to Cause a Rift in the Rival Camp 〔68〕
Chapter 19: The Aftermath 〔69〕
Part 4: The Tokoyo no Kuni (Land of Eternity)
Chapter 20: A Suspicious Love Letter 〔70〕
Chapter 21: To the Tokoyo no Kuni 〔71〕
Chapter 22: Kototama-wake no Mikoto's Ingenious Strategy 〔72〕
Chapter 23: Tatsuyo-hime's Extraordinary Wisdom 〔73〕
Chapter 24: Complete Disappearance 〔74〕
Chapter 25: A Futon Quilt Tunnel 〔75〕
Chapter 26: Short-Tailed Albatrosses [1] 〔76〕
Chapter 27: A Mummy on the Lake 〔77〕
Part 5: Divine Love and Benevolence
Chapter 28: A Battle on Mount Koh-haku 〔78〕
Chapter 29: A Maiden Angel 〔79〕
Chapter 30: The Toyoh (Ten-Luminary or Ten-Sphere) Flag 〔80〕
Chapter 31: A Painful Hand Grip 〔81〕
Chapter 32: Kototama-wake no Mikoto's Return to the Castle 〔82〕
Chapter 33: Like a Pheasant Risking Life and Limb for Its Chicks in the Burning Fields 〔83〕
Chapter 34: A Righteous Kami's Participation in the Divine Work 〔84〕
Chapter 35: Divine Treasures on Mount Nankoh 〔85〕
Chapter 36: A Tragedy on Mount Koh-haku 〔86〕
Chapter 37: A Tragedy on Mount Choh-koh 〔87〕
Chapter 38: Joy in Heaven and on Earth 〔88〕
Part 6: Worship of Divine Spirits
Chapter 39: The Jewel of Venus 〔89〕
Chapter 40: Divine Revelations on the Mount 〔90〕
Chapter 41: Festivals at 16 Shrines 〔91〕
Chapter 42: The Origin of Japanese Armor 〔92〕
Chapter 43: A False Accusation 〔93〕
Chapter 44: Devil Wind, Love Wind 〔94〕
Part 7: The Moral Principles of Heaven and Earth
Chapter 45: The Commandments of Heaven and Earth 〔95〕
Chapter 46: A Violation of the Commandments of Heaven and Earth 〔96〕
Chapter 47: The Descent of an Angel to the Earthly Taka-ama-hara 〔97〕
Chapter 48: Deliberations on the Commandments of Heaven and Earth 〔98〕
Chapter 49: Fickleness 〔99〕
Chapter 50: A Steel Halberd 〔100〕
Appendix: Poems on the First Pilgrimage to Mount Takakuma
Foreword
This Reikai Monogatari is a collection of various stories about what my spirit and soul witnessed in the yukai ("realm of stray souls") and the shinkai ("realm of divinities") of the Spirit World while leaving behind my flesh in the physical realm not only when I underwent rigorous ascetic practices on the Kami's orders for a week from February 9, Meiji 31 (1898) to February 15 of the same year (by the lunar calendar), but also when I was instructed by the Kami to go through the weeklong ascetic training of lying motionless on the floor at home upon my return from the discipline on Mount Takakuma. In the Spirit World, everything transcends time and space, and there is no distinction between near and far, small and large or light and dark. Events of all ages and places in the Spirit World appear on the same plane with one another in my spiritual eyes, so I found clues to those events and used them to dictate the Reikai Monogatari to my scribes, with my main focus on providing easy-to-understand descriptions for readers as much as possible.
Some of those who are unfamiliar with how the Spirit World works may laugh off my Reikai Monogatari as a childish fairy tale. Others may ridicule it as a quixotic comical story. Still others may dismiss it as pure fantasy or consider it an allegory. But I'm fine with any criticism. The thing is that my dictation will serve its purpose if people read the Reikai Monogatari at least once to get even a slight glimpse into how the Spirit World works and what deities, gods and other celestial beings do there.
This Volume 2 of the Reikai Monogatari can be summarized by the divine battles on Mount Zion, the enactment of the Laws of Heaven and Earth by the Great Kami Kunitokotachi no Mikoto (dubbed the "Kokuso" [2]), and the Kami Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto[3]'s violation of the Rules of Heaven and Earth and her ensuing banishment to the yukai. Anyone skeptical of this volume can read it as a fairy tale or cheap novel. I would be truly gratified if you would read it even a little to transform yourselves spiritually.
Ushitora no Konjin [4] made an impassioned world-saving declaration for the first time when he became one with Foundress Nao Deguchi, who would lay the foundations for a divine age as a John Soul, to say through her words, "The time has come for the reign of Ushitora no Konjin to burst into full bloom as plum blossoms in the three major realms of the Spirit World at the same time. Ushitora no Konjin will sit on Mount Sumeru [5] and protect the three major realms of the Spirit World as Kimon no Konjin [4]." What an eloquent and solemn speech of the Kami that was! The part "... burst into full bloom ... in the three major realms of the Spirit World at the same time" absolutely constitutes great words of divine love and mercy that energize all creation in the universe and provide every creature on earth with a key to resigning themselves to the Divine Will.
Whenever the author reads these divine words, he is awestruck by the enormous work and lofty aspirations of the infinite and absolute Great Original God with no beginning or end. They make him feel as if the moon of tathata shone on the sea surface of his mind and the sun of mercy governed the world equitably all at once to break the darkness in its every corner.
Kunitokotachi no Mikoto describes the warp thread of the grand design of the universe clearly and perfectly with "... burst into full bloom... in the three major realms of the Spirit World at the same time" and ends his sentence with the shortened phrase "plum blossoms." It is as if the Supreme Kami opened a white folding fan to create a cool breeze, with the fan sticks unified (fastened together) with the small plum-blossom rivet. The way he tells the truth about the exercise of the infinitely large and small divine authority eclipses attempts by any scholar or sage.
Then the revelation says, "Ushitora no Konjin will sit on Mount Sumeru and protect...." What a great expression of Kunitokotachi's divinity that also is! What an excellent piece of prose! The passage is far beyond human knowledge or wisdom. In addition, the August Kami's possession of Foundress Nao resulted in his merciful admonishment of not only heavenly and earthly deities, but also various kinds of buddhas and individual human beings in the three major realms of the Spirit World, i.e. the shinkai, the yukai and the genkai ("physical realm"), along with his kind display of what the future will look like. This is an unprecedented event of all time.
It is natural that the Omoto Shin'yu is hard for secular people to understand because it is revealed by a great august kami like Kunitokotachi no Mikoto. Therefore, his revelation is susceptible to misunderstanding. This is something the author has always had on his mind; he has yearned to interpret part of the Omoto Shin'yu to make the August Kami's will known to the public for as long as almost around 23 years, although the shinkai has prohibited him from engaging in any publicity activities until just recently. For this reason, it is till then that the author has never clarified the significance of even the slightest language of the Shin'yu.
On September 8 this year by the lunar calendar, the author suddenly received divine orders to publicize what the Kami had revealed to him about the workings of the Spirit World in February, Meiji 31 (1898), so he made up his mind to disclose the tales of the Spirit World that he had kept to himself for 24 years. But he could not write freely since he had eye trouble and a headache this spring, and when he forced himself to write, he quickly complained of such an excruciating pain in his eyes and head that he could not do anything. This was a source of great concern for him, but on the morning of September 18, ten days after his receipt of the divine orders, an additional message from the Kami came to him, saying, "Thou need not write. The Kami will use thy mouth to dictate. Invite four believers - Toyoji Toyama, Haruko Katoh, Shigeo Sakurai, and Masaharu Taniguchi - to have them take dictation of divine words that will come out of thy mouth."
The Kami gave me the final push to give dictation of the Reikai Monogatari by secluding myself at the Shoh Un-kaku Hall in Namimatsu, Ayabe to act as a medium of divine revelations. The workings of the Spirit World that I had kept to myself for 24 years finally burst into full bloom as plum blossoms in the three major realms of the Spirit World. An auspicious wind blew to give off a lovely scent of evergreen pine trees, raising the curtains of divine dramas whose story lines may be so surreal, illusory, dreamy or celestial as to leave readers with their mouths agape. The still and limpid waters of the Shirase River, the Yura River running under the Otonase Bridge, the Wachi River and the Kambayashi River converge into the central Kokumo River, a tributary of which flows through the Roh Shoh River along the tree-lined river bank named Namimatsu. This is where I followed the Kami's orders to start dictating the Reikai Monogatari to four scribes, with all five of us filled with motivation and joy, in the study at the newly built Shoh Un-kaku Hall at the foot of Mount Hongu.
In November by the solar calendar, or on October 9 by the lunar calendar, Taisho 10 (1921)
At Shoh Un-kaku Hall, penned by Zuigetsu [6] Onisaburo Deguchi
 Kunitokotachi no Mikoto, creater of Earth's spirit world
Explanatory Notes
- Volumes 1 through 4 of the Reikai Monogatari concern stories prior to the descent of His Augustness Izanagi no Mikoto and Her Augustness Izanami no Mikoto from Heaven. Volume 4 is the first book to detail the forced resignation of Kunitokotachi no Mikoto, creator of the Earth's spirit world. It is in Volume 6 that His Augustness Izanagi no Mikoto and Her Augustness Izanami no Mikoto descend to the Middle Land of Reed-Plains from Heaven. Readers are therefore advised not to overly narrow the scope of their interpretation to the current Omoto religion when reading the Monogatari. For example, the term "Holy Land of Jerusalem" never refers to Ayabe. This is what the Great Master Zuigetsu (Onisaburo Deguchi) warns especially about, so readers might want to keep it in mind. To sume up, what they need most is probably to read the Monogatari literally and straightforwardly like a "newborn baby."
- However, history repeats itself as they say. The Monogatari provides tales that date from 60 or 70 million years ago, but no matter how irrelevant they may seem to us, we might end up startled and panicky if we are caught off guard by something unexpected as though a bird took flight at our feet.
- While we are aware that Volume 1 of the Monogatari has come under fire from various critics since its release, readers will not understand it in the least simply reading Volume 1 or 2. We ask them to put their criticism aside and waint until all the remaining volumes are published. The Omoto Shin'yu also says, "The end crowns the work." We think it imprudent of readers to make critical remarks about the Monogatari based solely on their partial glimpse into it. We fear that this may result in a major obstruction of the Divine Work.
- Poems composed by deities appear in various parts of Volume 2 and its succeeding volumes. They were all chanted in a language commonly used in the age of the gods, but they are incomprehensible to us in this modern era. Therefore, they are specially translated into contemporary Japanese. For example, Chapter 23 "Tatsuyo-hime's Extraordinary Wisdom" of Volume 2 observes the Kami Tatsuyo-hime recite humorous and comical poems. The following is an excerpt of those poems written in divine words vs. contemporary Japanese words, as unraveled by the Great Master (Onisaburo Deguchi):
 A Poem Recited by Tatsuyo-hime (Vol. 2). Source: The Aizen-en
The above poem in kana syllables:
(e.g.) Contemporary Japanese vs. (Ancient Japanese)
Kototama wake no kami san wa (Kototomo oko yo kamu somo ho)
Koshi no tokoyo e tsukai shite (Kosu yo tokoyo i tsukoi sute)
Michi ni taorete koshi o ori (Mitsu i tohorete kosu yo oi)
Koshi ni noserare koshi itamu (Kosu i nosorore kosu itomu)
Koshi no kuni demo koshi nukashi (Kosu yo kushi demo kosu nukosu)
Koshinuke kami to warawa reru (Kosunuku kamu yo warowo reru)
Hito no koto nara nantomo nai (Huto yo koto noro nomutoyo noi)
Koshi ya kamaya sen koshi ya kamaya sen koshi ya kamaya sen koshi ya kamaya sen (Kosu kamoyo senu kosu kamoyo senu kosu kamoyo senu kosu kamoyo senu)
English translation of the above poem:
The Kami Kototama-wake
Was dispatched to the ancient [7] Land of Eternity [8],
Collapsed on the path with his lower back hurt,
Felt a pain in his lower back after he was carried on the palanquin,
Also had a lower backache in the ancient Land,
Was laughted at as a kami petrified with fear (= a cowardly kami),
Was all right with everything else, and
Was fine with his lower back, fine with his lower back and fine with his lower back.
- We editors hear that the kanji characters for numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 100, 1,000 and 10,000 (Fig. 1) were expressed as the numeric characters (Fig. 2) in the age of the gods.
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|  |
Fig. 1 |
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Fig. 2 |
- We would like to share a mystical story we have recently heard with readers for their reference.
In the past, the following characters appeared on the worm-eaten round wooden pillars of the five-story pagoda on the premises of the Todaji Temple in the acient southern capital of Nara:
Note: Words that come after the numeric kanji characters, namely those that begin with the kanji  ("add up") and go down from it, were added by the Great Master Zuigetsu.
| 9 9 5 1 | These numbers are added up (24) to become a 4th-day moon rising from the nishi ("20" or "west"). |
| 1 5 1 1 | These numbers are added up (8) to become a divine site in the 8-island nation. |
| 0 5 0 6 | These numbers are added up (11) to herald the beginning (1) of the age of the gods (10). |
| 1 3 1 1 | These numbers are added up (6) to become a whole wide world (6). |
| 2 1 6 1 | These numbers are added up (10) to become a kami (10). |
| 1 1 1 1 | These numbers are added up (4) to become 4 souls. |
| 3 1 6 1 | These numbers are added up (11) to become the kami of the earth (11). |
| 1 0 1 1 | These numbers are added up (3) to become 3 Great Kami. |
| 0 0 0 | These jewels are added up (3) to become 3 souls. |
But no one was able to read the above characters, let alone understand their meanings. Kukai (his posthumous title: Kobo Daishi), a high Buddhist priest in those days, read them as follows:
We asked the Great Master Zuigetsu about Kukai's interpretation, and he quickly let us know what the Buddhist priest meant. The enigmatic characters that appeared on the round wooden pillars of the five-story pagoda total  ("77" = 24 + 8 + 11 + 6 + 10 + 4 + 11 + 3). For the horizontal (= Fig. 3 (A)) or the vertical (= Fig. 3 (B)), the number is always 77 when read from right to left, left to right or from top to bottom, bottom to top. In other words, the top is aligned with the bottom.
The number is the pronoun of  , with  signifying "fulfillment (or completion, achievement, etc.),"  representing "God" and also signifying "land" - hence, the "fulfillment of divine kingdom" altogether according to the Great Master Zuigetsu. Hidden in the number are  , or three jewels/souls. Simply put, the Mizu Soul is concealed (Note: Japanese "3" is pronounced "mitsu" = "mizu"). Kobo Daishi knew it all along but kept it undisclosed purposely.
The Great Master read the numeric characters as follows:
This seems like a mysterious and intriguing anecdote that suggests the coming of the time when the light of the Moon will be shed on spiritual darkness in all realms of the Spirit World to establish a divine reign.
On January 6, Taisho 11 (1922) At Ryugu-kaku Hall, written by editors
Everything, sweet or sour, comes out of the anus, eluding it like a fart. Conceited farts with a stupid look on their faces have their butt hairs pulled out (= get completely caught off guard) and have their eyebrow hairs counted (= have their minds read and made fun of). They may brand the Reikai Monogatari as nonsense, a product of foxes and raccoon dogs (both of which play tricks on humans), but the author does not care. They lock themselves in a lavatory to hide steamed buns stuffed with sweet bean jam (= something good) for themselves alone and eat them up, which goes against the code of samurai chivalry. Samurai are known to keep their word, but those farts go back on their word, making all kinds of lame excuses not even worth snot. They pick on the Reikai Monogatari like they pick their noses. Still, the author encourages people to read the Reikai Monogatari at least once even if it may fluster or confuse them because it is an authentic work of Zuigetsu that is free from falsehood or fabrication. Anakashiko (Amen), Anakashiko (Amen).
General Remarks
I think I need to give you a broad outline of what kami, gods and deities wear in the divine kingdom because it would be quite time-consuming to describe how celestial beings are dressed each time they appear in the Reikai Monogatari. Generally speaking, noble deities like the Kami Kuniharutachi no Mikoto (another name for Kunitokotachi no Mikoto) mostly wear silk clothes, with their upper garments being solid purple, lower garments pure white and middle garments solid crimson. The Kami Kunihirotachi no Mikoto (another name for Susanowo no Mikoto) wears a solid blue upper garment, a red middle garment and a solid white lower garment. The Kami Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto (another name for Waka-hime-gimi no Mikoto) wears a light blue upper garment with various kinds of beautiful patterns. In fact, her upper, middle and lower garments are mostly twelve-layered ceremonial kimonos with pine, plum and other patterns. Deities like the Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and Oh Daru-hiko wear silk clothes, notably a solid black upper garment, a red middle garment and a solid white lower garment. Other divine generals wear plain clothes that come in various colors like blue, red, scarlet, light blue, white, yellow and navy blue, depending on their ranks, and those clothes are all differentiated by cloth type such as silk, linen and cotton.
Kanmuri court caps also come in many different shapes with varying lengths of ei back pieces raised vertically and looping slightly back down at the top. They are reserved for yatsuoh monarchs, yatsugashira governors and other higher-ranking deities. Lower-ranking servant-kami wear eboshi caps, hitatare court robes or kariginu informal robes. Female kami mostly wear myoe women's robes in blue, red, yellow, white, purple and other colors; their hakama pleated skirts also come in those five colors. Furthermore, divine generals wear kanmuri caps and ketteki robes with unstitched open sides, all of which are black clothes. Divine soldiers wear flat sedge hats, have their robe hems rolled up short and have their wrists and ankles tied with purple strings. This makes them look quite valiant and dignified. Details could go on ad infinitum, but the above gives a broad overview of deities' attire prior to the Kami Kuniharutachi no Mikoto's forced resignation as supreme ruler of the Earth's divine world.
Celestial beings' clothes in the Divine Kingdom have undergone gradual changes with the elapse of time, and a great many kami have appeared who wear divine garments quite similar to formal dresses worn by modern-day people in the physical realm. A myriad divine angels in the Konjin Tengu realm, the lowest stratum of the Kingdom of Divine Angles, wear a variety of today's vogue clothes when they engage in divine activities.
Evil deities in the Kingdom of Wicked Kami also wear a variety of clothes depending on their ranks. These clothes are identical to those worn by the Great Kami and other good divinities, and evil deities wear them to hide their true identities. Therefore, a quick glance from your spiritual eyes can fail to tell good kami from bad ones.
Deities of the utmost goodness have an extremely thick spiritual aura shrouding their divine bodies, making them shine dazzlingly, whereas evil deities have quite a thin spiritual aura with no luster. That is one of the few clues with which to distinguish between good and evil. Nevertheless, powerful evil deities such as Yatsuoh Daijin and Tokoyo-hime have a relatively thick and highly lustrous spiritual aura like that of divinities in the Kingdom of Good Kami, and this makes it hard to tell the difference between good and evil deities.
I also witnessed spirits and souls wearing clothes in many different colors during my expedition to the yukai ("realm of stray souls"). This is because those beings were outfitted with various colored clothes that matched the severity of their sins and/or crimes. Not all beings in the yukai are ghosts or anything of that sort, however. Also residing in the yukai are those spirits and souls whose physical bodies still exist and work in the genkai ("material realm"). They tend to lead a miserable life day and night as they are affected by the yukai-derived pain and suffering. The way humans can break free of such pain and suffering is to worship the Kami, do good deeds to help all people, serve the public good as much as possbile and receive divine blessings to purify themselves of their sins while they are in the genkai.
When I look at the spirits of humans still living in the genkai, I find that their spiritual bodies are identical in shape to their material bodies. Anyone can learn to make a clear distinction between the spirits of the living and those of the dead. The former has their spiritual body wrapped all over in a round spiritual aura, whereas the latter has the head area of their spiritual body pointed like a steep mountain and wears a triangular spiritual aura down only to the waist from the top - in other words, they wear no spiritual aura from the waist down to the feet. This is the basis for the popular belief in Japan that ghosts have no legs. Additionally, the spirits of virtuous humans have such a thick, big and piercingly dazzling spiritual aura that they can manage others well. People with an impressive aura like that are only a few in modern times, and this makes it impossible to find what is known as "people of great stature." Nowadays people's spiritual auras have gradually thinned, emitting no luster; even some of them remain in tatters and void of authority as if they were identical to auras worn by the spirits of evil deities. I have encountered numerous occasions where I find the spiritual aura of someone with serious illness the thinnest with its head part shaping slightly like a steep mountain. Whenever I visit someone with serious illness, I judge the possibility of their survival by how thick/thin their spiritual aura is and how round/angular their head aura is. My judgment has always proved right. If an invalid has a thick and lustrous aura, they will get quite well again no matter how much a great doctor has given them up as hopeless. By contrast, an invalid whom a doctor of international acclaim or an expert assures of their survival will invariably die as long as their spiritual aura has become slightly triangular or as thin as paper.
Therefore, such a seriously ill person will have a thicker and less triangular aura quickly and end up spared their life if they receive chinkon ("quieting the soul") from someone of divine virtue, apologize to the Great Kami and chant the kototama of the Amatsu Norito ("Heavenly Norito Prayer") in a clear and harmonious voice. Those who were saved this way will be suddenly stripped of their spiritual auras by the Heavenly Kingdom and will be sent to the yukai right away if they forget the Kami's great blessing.
I have met a great many people, and I use this experience to first check how thick/thin the spiritual auras of new people I may meet. Some of the people I met before gradually acquired thicker auras and healthier physical bodies later thanks to the blessings of their devotion to particular faiths. Others, by contrast, thinned their God-given auras due to their opposition to the Kami or obstruction of other people; of them, I also found many whose round auras became slightly angular. I treatd such people kindly in any way I could and preached the way of faith to them. But many people like that were skeptical about the way of the Kami, got my kind advice wrong and protested loudly against it instead. This makes me acutely aware that there is nothing to do about the intrinsic nature of each individual spirit or soul.
O
The divine name "Oh Kuniharutachi no Mikoto" refers to the Guardian Kami of the Whole Wide Universe, whereas the godly name "Kuniharutachi no Mikoto" simply mentions the guardian kami of the Earth's divine-spiritual world. It is based on this celestial truth that I differentiate between those two names during my dictation.
Kunihirotachi no Mikoto and Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto were the first deities to take the human form to engage in divine activities. Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto was born from the breath of Kuniharutachi no Mikoto, or the Kokuso ("Progenitor of the Earth"), as he inhaled the essence of the Sun and the Moon and exhaled the sacred air. Similarly, Kunihirotachi no Mikoto was born from the essence of the Moon. They were both kami in the human shape. Since then a distinction has been made over time between two types of humans: those in the divine line who were born from the iki ("water and fire" = "breath") of kami, and those who were born from humans in the line of Adaru-hiko (Adams) and Eba-hime (Eve), the progenitors of humans. The former (humans in the direct divine line who were born directly from the iki of kami) and the latter (humans in the line of Adaru-hiko and Eba-hime) are significantly different in character. Humans born from the Kami's direct iki have black hair like lacquer while descendants of humans born from Adaru-hiko and Eba-hime have red hair. Both Adaru-hiko and Eba-hime were originally direct lineal descendants of the Great Kami, but in the beginning of the world they disobeyed His orders and committed taishu-reiju ("body over spirit" or "flesh the master, spirit the servant") sins, naturally differentiating themselves from the other type of humans.
Nowadays, however, almost all kinds of races have degenerated into taishu-reiju or "revere the body, disparage the mind" souls. The Divine Kingdom has currently found it hard to distinguish one race from the others, and this has eventually prompted it to campaign for the most reasonable truth: racial equality.
O
The Great Kami Pangu Shionaga-hiko, a direct descendant of the Great Sun God, is a human-shaped deity who descended to the Earth from the Solar Kingdom. The Great Sun God, i.e the Kami Izanagi no Mikoto, was caught off guard so much that he let Shionaga-hiko slip through his fingers and descend to what is now a northern part of China. He is a mild-mannered righteous kami.
Meanwhile, the Kami Mahesvara Oh Kuni-hiko is a valiant human-shaped kami who descended to the Earth from the planet Uranus. Both Shionaga-hiko and Oh Kuni-hiko were originally honorable deities residing in the sphere of good gods, but as they settled on the Earth permanently over an extended period of time, they were unconsciously possessed by ghostly vibrations and evil spirits (e.g. evil dragons, foxes and ogres) emanating from the taishu-reiju evil energy that had filled the Earth since Adaru-hiko and Eba-hime disobeyed heavenly orders. As a result, Shionaga-hiko and Oh Kuni-hiko naturally started acting like evil deities. This further exacerbated the chaos on the Earth like turbid water, with foul and filty energy permeating it. Thus, the world degenerated into a vulgar pandemonium of rampant fiends and cannibals going on the rampage and doing whatever they pleased.
Yatsuoh Daijin Tokoyo-hiko is a kami born from the iki ("water and fire" = "breath") of the Great Kami Pangu and retains the spirit-soul of the Tokoyo no Kuni ("Land of Eternity," usually referring to "North America" but sometimes simply to "foreign land"). Tokoyo-hime is a daughter of Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto and wedded Yatsuoh Daijin as his queen. She became attuned to the spirit of Yatsuoh Daijin and wound up resorting to more unscrupulous means than did her husband in a bid to hold the world in the palm of her hand. Her spirit has remained in the Tokoyo no Kuni even today, where she has continued to hatch global reishu-taiju plots without letting up on her attempts to do evil at full throttle.
Therefore, any guardian deity of a particular land who is possessed by the spirit of Tokoyo-hime has been plotting to fulfill her objectives even today. Yatsuoh Daijin Tokoyo-hiko has been possessed and protected by Yatsugashira Yatsuo ("Eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent"), an evil entity born from the spirits of Adaru-hiko and Eba-hime while Tokoyo-hime by Kimmoh-kyubi Hakumen no Akko ("White-faced evil fox with nine blonde tails"). Likewise, the Kami Mahesvara has been possessed and protected by Rokumen-happi no Jaki ("Six-faced, eight-armed ogre"). Deities in the divine line of Ushitora no Konjin Kunitokotachi no Mikoto, those in the line of the Great Kami Pangu, and those in the line of the Kami Mahesvara wage a major three-way battle in the Earth's spirit world. The Reikai Monogatari is one of a kind in that it details their fighting scenes and other stories about the spirit world.
Having dictated the Reikai Monogatari to my scribes up to this very moment, I took an inadvertent glance at the Daily Taisho Nichinichi strewn beside me, which showed me that today is October (10th month) 10, Taisho 10 by the lunar calendar, with the clock striking 10 a.m. Today, which marks the completion of Volume 2 dictations, is an auspicious day when we are scheduled to welcome the Three Most August Deities to the Shoh Un-kaku Hall and have them enshrined in the new altar for the first time. I feel like this could be a part of the workings of the divine world.
To add to the above, I intend to provide Volume 3 of the Monogatari with a broad overview of how deities in the lines of the Great Kami Pangu (Shionaga-hiko), the Kami Mahesvara (Oh Kuni-hiko) and Ushitora no Konjin (Kunitokotachi no Mikoto) become entangled with one another, how the world unfolds, culminating in the forced retirement of Kunitokotachi no Mikoto, the Progenitor of the Earth's spirit world, and what those deities do to achieve incredible feats. It would serve the author's purpose if readers would peruse the Monogatari and develop an interest in exploring the spirit world.
Oh, kamunagara tamachihaemase [9]
October (10th month) 10, Taisho 10 (by the lunar calendar) at 10:10 a.m.
At Shoh Un-kaku Hall, penned by the author
(NOTE) Kuniharutachi no Mikoto, Toyokuni-hime no Mikoto, Kunihirotachi no Mikoto, Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto and Konohana-hime no Mikoto in this volume are the names I have provisionally used on the orders of the Divine Kingdom. But I think that a perusal of the Monogatari will allow readers to naturally identify their true divine names.
Part 1: Chaos in the Shinkai (Realm of Divinities)
Chapter 1: The Deployment of Both Offensive and Defensive Forces 〔51〕
The defense at the Dragon Palace Castle has been fortified by several valiant and formidable servant-kami to make it an impregnable fortress. This gives slight reassurance to the Golden Bridge if it faces another attack from evil deities. The enemy forces, however, are aware that they can gain a competitive edge by first establishing a base on Mount Zion when they threaten the Dragon Palace Castle and the Earthly Taka-ama-hara. Commanding officers in the enemy forces include Bohfuri-hiko, Takatora-hime, Takekuma-wake, Komayama-hiko and Arakuma-hiko. While Mount Zion is quite a small hill from today's geographical perspective, it is a towering divine peak in the shinkai (realm of divinities). In fact, the site is a critical hub for kami, gods and other divinities to implement the Grand Design on a global scale. For this reason, those kami who occupy Mount Zion earliest will clinch victory.
Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime have learned about their forces' plan to occupy Mount Zion and are thus preparing to deploy military equipment so that they can torment the divine forces and retaliate against them for the humiliating defeat in the last battle. Tokiyo-hiko got wind of the evil deities' military maneuvers, could not overlook the gravity of the situation and reported it to the Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto secretly. The Angel lost no time in mobilizing 16 commanding officers (Magane-hiko, Tanigawa-hiko, Taniyama-hiko, Miyabi-hiko, Yasuyo-hiko, Makoto-hiko, Okuyama-hiko, Iwakusu-hiko, Hirotaru-hiko, Kamikura-hiko, Kagawa-hiko, Hanateru-hiko, Oh Daru-hiko, Michitsura-hiko, Azuma-wake, and Hanamori-hiko) under him and their respective divine troops and leading them to Mount Zion earlier for a fight with the evil deities. Each of the 16 commanding officers immediately manned the important posts on Mount Zion with their respective divine troops. Thus, the divine forces secured impregnable positions but kept vigilant watch. The Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto dispatched Magane-hiko and his troops to the start of a northern trail up the mount to encamp them there, dispatched Azuma-wake and his troops to the start of an eastern trail up the mount to encamp them there, dispatched Iwakusu-hiko and his troops to the start of a western trail up the mount to encamp them there, and dispatched Oh Daru-hiko and his troops to the start of a southern trail up the mount to encamp them there. This way the divine forces braced themselves for any possible attack from the enemy forces by shoring up their defenses. They built the most magnificent shrine on the holy site located in the middle of the summit of Mount Zion, where the Utsushi Kuni no Mitama (Honorable Gem Ball of the Manifest Land) had appeared before, to worship heavenly and earthly deities. They selected Miyabi-hiko to serve and take care of the shrine. At this time, the three evil commanding officers of Bohfuri-hiko, Takatora-hime and Takekuma-wake wanted to take over Mount Zion under the banner of the Great Kami Pangu Shionaga-hiko. Takatora-hime launched an attack from the south, Bohfuri-hiko from the east, and Takekuma-wake from the west. The evil enemy troops had no option but to close in on the divine forces en masse from the three directions as the rugged northern path prevented them from moving forward.
As described above, Mount Zion was firmly protected by the 16 most loyal and bravest commanding officers led by Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto. But Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto was deeply concerned that if the evil army occupied Mount Sinai, where the spirit of that divine gem was secretly enshrined, the divine army would fail to achieve the desired goal at the last minute. She quickly appointed Yashima-wake as chief commander, who in turn led eight other deities, namely, Yashima-hiko, Yashima-hime, Koguruma-hiko, Koguruma-hime, Mototeru-hiko, Umewaka-hiko, Tamae-hime, and Kamiyama-hiko to Mount Sinai to protect the spirit of the divine jewel.
Mount Zion and Mount Sinai are such critical hubs that victory or failure by either side exerts a tremendous impact on the Kami's grand design. For this reason, good and evil deities, whether they be friends or foes, fought by exhausting all different kinds of secret shape-shifting tricks. The author will provide a brief outline of how the evil combatants worshipping Shionaga-hiko adapted versatilely to the changing environment while struggling to devise cunning schemes prior to the start of the battles on both mountains.
(Dictation taken by Masaharu Taniguchi on October 26 by the solar calendar, or September 26 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 2: The Second Coming of Evil Deities 〔52〕
Bohfuri-hiko, whose former incarnation was Takekuma, and Takatora-hime, who was Kotsune-hime reincarnated, desired to subvert the current regime on the instructions of Yatsuoh Daijin Tokoyo-hiko as ringleader to restore the divine reign of the Great Kami Pangu Shionaga-hiko and displace Ushitora no Konjin Kuniharutachi no Mikoto from the Earth. Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime's vengefulness became much more intense than when Takekuma was still alive. Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime assumed the false names of Miyama-hiko and Kuniteru-hime, respectively, to deceive the divine army under the commander in chief Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto.
This false Miyama-hiko (Bohfuri-hiko) had a docile, mild-tempered and steadfastly honest wife-kami named Tamano-hime. Lamenting that her husband's behavior was in violation of the ways of heaven and earth, Tamano-hime often tearfully remonstrated with him and encouraged him to go back to the path of virtue.
However, Miyama-hiko would not lend an ear to even a single word of his wife's advice. He was simply meeting with false Kuniteru-hime (Takatora-hime) time after time to work out many different evil plans. Tamano-hime was so distressed by her failure to get her husband to turn over a new leaf that she left a farewell note and drowned herself in the Red Sea. This made Miyama-hiko happy insteand because the obstructor of his ambitions perished, and he continued to work with false Kuniteru-hime to fulfill his first ambition.
Kuniteru-hime married Kosugi-hime, the most cunning deity working under her, to Miyama-hiko as his legitimate wife. Kosugi-hime was such a crafty woman that she feigned ignorance of Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime's evil plot while searching for clues to it. Deep down, however, Kosugi-hime already made up her mind to divulge their nasty plan to Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto confidentially and was preparing to take revenge on them in case they should enrage her most. Nothing, alas, is more frightening in the world than women's wrath.
Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime were suspicious of Kosugi-hime's uneasy expression on her face and asked Taka-hime, her lady-in-waiting, to find out about what was on her master's mind.
At one time Taka-hime followed Kosugi-hime to a beautiful hill. They went up there, and while taking a walk, they had fun picking figs along the way. The two female deities put some weeds on the hilltop and sat there together, enjoying a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains.
"There are a lot of kami in the world, but none of them are happier than you," Taka-hime said, her tone trying to read Kosugi-hime's mind. "You and your husband are getting along well. You two are so loving and affectionate with each other. I really envy you."
Taka-hime stared at Kosugi-hime, waiting patiently for her master's response to her honeyed words. Kosugi-hime believed what Take-hime told her because she trusted her waiting maid. Dropping her voice without reserve and looking around, Kosugi-hime cupped her hands over Taka-hime's ear and whispered so that she could confide Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime's evil and atrocious plan to her waiting maid with an outpouring of fury.
"I can totally understand your anger. I really feel for you," Taka-hime responded, hastily covering her forehead with her kimono sleeves to shed crocodile tears.
"I will fully support you even if it costs my life," Taka-hime added fake-tearfully, her tone sounding loyal. "I will sever you from your husband to ensure you have peace of mind. Just feel free to tell me anything from now on."
Kosugi-hime appeared smart, but she actually let her guard down and fell deeply into Taka-hime's trap.
Dirty-minded, Taka-hime revealed all the secrects about Kosugi-hime including what was on her mind to Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime. They were genuinely shocked to hear it and reminded themselves to be careful with even small things like that before embarking on a great enterprise. That was why they asked Taka-hime to drive out her master with a clever stratagem. Thus, Taka-hime won their favor, was selected for an important position, and joined their conspiracy. This worked as a catalyst for the ensuing three-way endeavors made by Bohfuri-hiko, Takatora-hime and Taka-hime in a bid to implement their common conspiracy. Incidentally, Takatora-hime had a respectable husband named Sarutobi-hiko.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on October 27 by the solar calendar, or September 27 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 3: The Emergence of Miyama-hiko 〔53〕
The kami most trusted by the Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and Masumi-hime was (authentic) Miyama-hiko no Mikoto. He was a commanding officer with both wisdom and courage. He always attended every joint chiefs of staff meeting and advised Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto on all the recommended military operations. All the divine staff at the Dragon Palace Castle had slightly heard about Miyama-hiko no Mikoto, a trusted staff officer for Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, but none of them had ever seen him in the flesh. Nonetheless, before anyone was aware, his reputation as a wise and brave kami had spread widely across the world, along with Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto's extraordinary valor.
Wicked Bohfuri-hiko learned about Miyama-hiko no Mikoto's mysterious identity and began to call himself "Miyama-hiko no Mikoto." Similarly, Takatora-hime, a reincarnation of Kotsune-hime, began to call herserlf "Kuniteru-hime," the wife-deity of Miyama-hiko no Mikoto. Authentic Miyama-hiko no Mikoto kept himself hidden in the Rocky Mountains on the secret orders of Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and Masumi-hime to spy on the evil army. At this time, Okano-hime aboard her heavenly bird ship came to the Dragon Palace Castle as an envoy of Miyama-hiko.
"The Rockies have been besieged by Bohfuri-hiko, Takatora-hime and other evil combatants," Okano-hime tipped Masumi-hime off. "Miyama-hiko had a narrow escape, and he's holed up ever since. You should lead reinforcements to the Rockies right away."
"I'm a frail woman," Masumi-hime replied, her tone quite suspicious. "But then you're pushing aside Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and begging me to lead additional troops to the battle field. I really don't know what to make of this."
Masumi-hime quickly reported the whole matter to Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto. The name Miyama-hiko no Mikoto as mentioned by Okano-hime was totally false, and it was actually Bohfuri-hiko's snare.
Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto was skeptical about what was written in this personal letter claiming the Rockies under siege by the evil army and the imminent danger of Miyama-hiko no Mikoto. She reported it to Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, who instantly saw through the enemy's fraudulent scheme. That was because he knew from a divine revelation that authentic Miyama-hiko no Mikoto had already left the Rockie Mountains, built a second camp on Mount Antai east of the mountain range, and departed for another battle. This mysterious deity's migration from the Rockies was marked by his erection of rock monuments made in his image and also in his different retainers' shapes at his fort on the mountain chain.
 (Upper) The photo of Miyama-hiko's rock monument (red circle) and his retainers' monuments as published in the first print of Volume 2 of the Reikai Monogatari (Lower) The current state of the rock monument made in Miyama-hiko's image (in Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture)
 (Left) The divine statue of Maitreya, which was dicovered near Miyama-hiko's rock monument, and Onisaburo Deguchi. They are exactly the same height! (Right) The current state of the Maitreya statue (in Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture)
Meanwhile, each of those kami-officials who heard about the impending danger facing Miyama-hiko as he was stationed on the Rockie Mountains led their divine soldiers toward the mountain range without a moment's delay to rescue the embattled kami. At that time Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime were lying in ambush on the mountain side so that they could proclaim themselves to be Miyama-hiko and Kuniteru-hime respectively and deceive many good kami-officials into joining their evil forces.
"The Dragon Palace Castle has already fallen into the hands of Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime," Miyama-hiko (Bohfuri-hiko's false name) said, misleading the good kami-officials there with clever words. "Let us all scramble to reclaim the Dragon Palace Castle and save Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto and her servant-kami."
With this statement, Miyama-hiko plotted to attack the Dragon Palace Castle again instead.
At this time a loud voice reverberated, "Real Miyama-hiko is here!"
The voice came from Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, who appeared at the foot of the Rockies, together with authentic Miyama-hiko from Mount Antai.
Shocked in disbelief that their conspiracy was foiled, Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime quickly scraped up their dispersing soliders and vanished into the westerly sea. Thus, the evil kami's plot turned out to be a complete fiasco.
Those commanding officers of the divine army who had believed Bohfuri-hiko to be real Miyama-hiko and joined his evil forces totally came to their senses. They apologized to Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto for their blunder and ignorance before they accompanied Miyama-hiko to Mount Antai for another battle. At this time the Rockie Mountains had already been occupied by Bohfuri-hiko. But the rock statues of Miyama-hiko and his retainers invariably breathed fire, wreaking havoc on Bohfuri-hiko's evil army. Eventually, Bohfuri-hiko had to desert the Rockies and retreat to Mount Kijoh, where he would join Takatora-hime's camp.
A wintry blast!
A dog is barking at and chasing
the straw raincoat on the wall.
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on October 27 by the solar calendar, or September 27 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 4: The Divine Masumi Mirror 〔54〕
Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto deployed the brave kami from the Dragon Palace Castle, i.e. Oh Daru-hiko, Hanateru-hime, and Michitsura-hiko, to Mount Fuyoh for protection. This mountain was where Konohana-hime no Mikoto was enshrined, and it was also known as Mount Fuji.
Mount Fuji is the greatest mountain in Japan, China and India, no matter where you look at it.
The peak of Mount Fuji spends half a day gazing at you through a train window.
Miyama-hiko, Kuniteru-hime and Taka-hime caused clouds and fog to soar to the top of Mount Fuyoh. They asked for an opportunity to see Oh Daru-hiko, but he had already left for distant Mount Antai on a divine mission from Konohana-hime no Mikoto. That was why Hanateru-hime had Michitsura-hiko take Oh Daru-hiko's place to receive the visitors.
"We have a big secret," Miyama-hiko and the two other deities said with a meaningful look. "Keep the neighboring kami away from you."
Michitsura-hiko agreed to their request and kept the neighboring kami away as he led them into a room, asking, "What's the sercret?"
"Both the Dragon Palace Castle and the Earthly Taka-ama-hara have already been closely besieged, and they are on the brink of collapse," Miyama-hiko said in a hushed voice. "Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto had a narrow escape, has taken refuge on Mount Wanshou and is planning to make a second attempt. But Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and Masumi-hime have already submitted to Bohfuri-hiko and are about to invade Mount Wanshou as generals of the evil army. Now is the time to save the Taka-ama-hara from this imminent crisis. Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto has given us the order to leverage the talent and ingenuity of Oh Daru-hiko, who should come to Mount Wanshou as commander-in-chief, to turn the tables on them and console the Great Kami. Would you obey or disobey her order?"
Miyama-hiko looked at Michitsura-hiko with a scowl and started edging his way toward the host deity while gripping the hilt of his sword with determination.
Hanateru-hime and Michitsura-hiko heard the whole conversation and felt so ill at ease that they immediately had Toyo-hiko board a heavenly bird ship and visit Oh Daru-hiko on Mount Antai to update him on the circumstances. Oh Daru-hiko lost no time in going to Mount Fuyoh with Toyo-hiko from the western sky. Oh Daru-hiko grew increasingly suspicious about Miyama-hiko's revisit to Mount Fuyoh because he had already met with Miyama-hiko on Mount Antai and got the whole picture. Consequently, Oh Daru-hiko went to the mountaintop shrine worshipping Konohana-hime no Mikoto and beseeched her for divine revelation.
Oh Daru-hiko seemed determined to do something based on Konohana-hime no Mikoto's revelation. He kept Hanateru-hime, Toyo-hiko and the other kami on Mount Fuyoh for defense and left for Mount Wanshou with Miyama-hiko and his company. On Mount Wanshou was Kidzuki-hime, a reincarnation of Oni-hime who had changed into an evil denizen of Lake Baikal, was beautifully dressed to disguise herself as Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto. She thanked Oh Daru-hiko for bothering to come to Mount Wanshou from afar and gave him the order to recapture the Earthly Taka-ama-hara and the Dragon Palace Castle.
Crawling out and jumping
Earthworms and gigantic columns of clouds.
Oh Daru-hiko took out the Masumi Mirror that had secretly been bestowed on him by Konohana-hime no Mikoto at the time of his departure, and reflected Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto in the Mirror. Much to his surprise, what had until then looked like a graceful and dignified Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto shape-shifted into a ferocious black dragon hailing from Lake Baikal. This dragon was the ruin of what Oni-hime once was. It caused black clouds in the northeastern sky and fled out of sight. Much to Oh Daru-hiko's surprise again, Miyama-hiko and Kuni-hime shape-shifted into Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime respectively when he reflected them in the Mirror. Bohfuri-hiko was Takekuma reincarnated, and Takatora-hime was Kotsune-hime, i.e. the evil fox with nine blonde tails, reincarnated. Likewise, Taka-hime shape-shifted into on old raccoon dog.
Oh Daru-hiko worshipped heaven and lay prostrate on the earth, joining his hands towards Mount Fuyoh to give thanks for the vast and boundless blessings of the Kami. Meanwhile, Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime ran around in every direction and went to great lengths to figure out ways to destroy Oh Daru-hiko and seize the Masumi Mirror from him. The evil deities' escape made Mount Wanshou quite a desolate wilderness. Left alone, Oh Daru-hiko stamped his feet loudly and roared, thereby suppressing his anger. He quickly got on his bird ship and returned to Mount Fuyoh.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Katoh on October 27 by the solar calendar, or September 27 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 5: The Origin of the Black Death 〔55〕
Takekuma and Kotsune-hime, both of whom had turned into evil spirits inhabiting the Dead Sea, were reincarnated as Bohfuri-hiko and Takatora-hime, respectively. To follow through on their initial objectives again, they assumed the divine names of Miyama-hiko no Mikoto and Kuniteru-hime as they enjoyed a considerable reputation in the divine realm, and continued their desperate efforts to employ all kinds of tricks to outsmart various kami officials belonging to the kingdom of good deities. Concerned that some kami officials might not be able to tell true Miyama-hiko no Mikoto from false Miyama-hiko no Mikoto, genuine Miyama-hiko no Mikoto renamed himself 'Kototama-wake no Mikoto' on Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto's divine orders and kept other kami officials in the dark about his name change. Similary, Kuniteru-hime changed her name to 'Kototama-hime.' The author would like to point out in advance that Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Kototama-hime as described below are authentic Miyama-hiko no Mikoto and authentic Kuniteru-hime, and that Miyama-hiko and Kuniteru-hime are genuine Bohfuri-hiko and genuine Takatora-hime.
On a moonlit night
I go out into the garden to gaze at the moon
Shining light on yellow and white chrysanthemums and coloring them identically.
Having inhabited the side of Mount Choh-haku since old times were two divine commanders with wisdom, virtue, and valor, known as Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and Sakura-hime. Having inhabited the side of Mount Choh-haku since old times were two divine commanders with wisdom, virtue, and valor, known as Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and Sakura-hime. Their direct reports included Toyoharu-hiko and Taketora-hiko, both of whom were long awaiting the appearance of divine messengers while taking full control of their divine work, assembling a myriad kami officials to observe the trends of the world, restoring their energy and arming themselves with potential power. They were kami in the line of Kuniharutachi no Mikoto, and they had descended here from Jupiter as its essence. Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto feared that vindictive false Miyama-hiko, false Kuniteru-hime, Onitake-hiko (former incarnation: Onikuma), Kidzuki-hime and others would obviously mobilize evil troops in various regions to throw the world into disarray again despite the current temporary peace and safety in the Divine Kingdom. Observing the momentum of the evil forces resurging, Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto considered many different divine meaures to annihilate those evil troops and rid the world of such anxiety. Against this backdrop, he climbed Mount Choh-haku, accompanied by Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Takitsu-hiko, and gave Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and Sakura-hime an invitation to the Earthly Taka-ama-hara. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto obeyed this divine order, kept Toyoharu-hiko and Taketora-hiko at the divine camp on Mount Choh-haku for defense, and showed his readiness to take up a post as commanding officer in the Earthly Taka-ama-hara.
At this time false Miyama-hiko and and his gang of evil deities found out about kototama-wake no Mikoto's visit to Mount Choh-haku and sent countless wicked ogres, evil dragons and venomous snakes there to attack and torment Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto from all sides. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto was a divine commander with wisdom, virtue and valor, but the evil deities' strategies were so artful that he could not do anything about them. He was simply in dire straits along with Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
False Miyama-hiko and false Kuniteru-hime detonated the black gem ball that had sunk into the Dead Sea, generating evil energy around the mountain. This evil energy changed into billions, nay, trillions of gods of plagues, possessing each soldier in Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto's divine army and tormenting them with a high fever. The whole divine army was stricken by this disease-causing energy, and numerous soliders collapsed and died. This pathogenic energy gradually spread in all directions to the four corners of the world, culminating in the emergence of the germs that caused the plague (Black Death).
Unable to stand the ghastly sight of the divine army, Sakura-hime pleaded with Jupiter in the firmament for help and chanted the Kamigoto norito prayer sonorously. At this time a leafy branch of the sakaki tree (Cleyera japonica; an evergreen sacred to Shinto, like hyssop in the Bible) came down to her from Jupiter. Sakura-hime felt elated by this godsend from the firmament and gave thanks for it. She then let a divine spirit possess and dwell in the leafy sakaki branch before she swung it to the left, to the right and to the left again. Suddenly a wind blew from the east, dispersing the evil energy that had engulfed Mount Choh-haku far away and making it vanish into thin air towards the Rocky Mountains. In no time were the divine troops brought back to life, with their energy becoming a hundred times as great as normal. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the boundless divine providence. He entrusted the god-given leafy sakaki branch to Toyoharu-hiko to protect Mount Choh-haku along with Taketora-hiko. After that, Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and Kototama-wake no Mikoto left the mountain to visit the Earthly Taka-ama-hara.
(Dictation taken by Masaharu Taniguchi on October 28 by the solar calendar, or September 28 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 6: Moses and Elijah 〔56〕
Kototama-wake no Mikoto obeyed Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto's orders and went on a mission to search for Iwataka-hiko, a brave general under Unabara-hiko no Mikoto, somewhere in the direction of the Sea of Okhotsk and invite him back to the Taka-ama-hara.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto got on a heavenly ship made of rock-solid camphor trees and ventured forth on the raging ocean in the extremely cold air. Iwataka-hiko was absolutely delighted to hear about the divine orders. It was a great honor for him to be given such gracious orders from the two prominent kami. However, his area was infested with the largest number of evil deities, and he could not afford to leave the area for the Taka-ama-hara at any moment. Numerous wicked dragon-deities were smack in the middle of preparing to seize the Sea of Okhotsk from every direction. That was why he was thinking about having to decline the divine edict. The evil army's occupation of any corner of this area would make it difficult to maintain peace at the Dragon Palace Castle or the Earthly Taka-ama-hara as a whole. He was determined to hide in the sea and fight it out with all his might for the Great Kami. Feeling guilty of having to refuse the divine edict, he decided to send Takitsu-hiko, one of his subordinate commanding officers, to the Taka-ama-hara in his place. The above was what he said to Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
"Your words of reason and justice are clear, and rightly so," Kototama-wake responded with heartfelt thanks. "I will go back to report your profound sincerity to the Great Kami." At this time a loud noise like a hundred thunderclaps coming all at once roared, leading to the emergence of a giant kami pushing his way through dark clouds towards the two deities. The sky got swarmed by a myriad evil dragons and wicked ogres in a flash, and the giant kami swung around the iron club he held in his hands to beat them freely before he leisurely descended to the ground.
"There are signs of evil spirits about to throw the earthly world into a major disorder," the giant kami solemnly said to Iwataka-hiko. "I have descended to the ground on the Heavenly Kami's orders to support the Earth's divine rule and work with Kuniharutachi no Mikoto to put heavenly institutions in place on earth."
This kami would later be reincarnated as Moses and set all the divine rules and regulations. His name was Amaji-wake no Mikoto, and he was tentatively called 'Tendoh-boh.'
Clouds and fog began to rise above the western sea from afar. Among them appeared a scintillating jewel in the air, with its rays of light brightening heaven and earth. The jewel traversed the continents and fell into the Sea of Okhotsk, raising a plume of water and creating a whirlpool on the sea surface. Emerging from the mountain-like waves was a giant kami. His name was Ame no Mamichi-hiko no Mikoto, or provisionally called 'Temma-boh.'
Temma-boh was the kami who shape-shifted into the scintillating jewel and submerged himself in the sea on Kuniharutachi no Mikoto's orders and remained on standby for His future mission during the separation of Heaven and Earth. The Divine Kingdom was undergoing one chaotic situation after another as it was rife with evil deities and wicked ogres. Deities in general, whether they be right or wrong, good or evil, were at a loss for what to do. That was why Temma-boh made his appearance to preach all the verities of the universe and disclose the divine law of causation to many different kami in heaven and on earth. Temma-boh would be later reincarnated in the material world to admonish divine spirits living in human bodies against wrongdoing through his prophecies and warnings. This reincarnated kami is known as Elijah.
The emergence of the two giant kami encouraged Kototama-wake no Mikoto. He felt as though he were floating on air. Kototama-wake no Mikoto, Takitsu-hiko, Tendoh-boh, and Temma-boh made a welcome return to the Dragon Palace Castle. This enabled the Will of the Great Kami to permeate throughout Heaven and Earth.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on October 28 by the solar calendar, or September 28 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 7: The Divine Heavenly and Earthly Mirrors Set Against Each Other 〔57〕
The Angel Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto had the Angel Amaji-wake no Mikoto guard the Dragon Palace Castle, had the Angels Ame no Mamichi-hiko no Mikoto and Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto guard the Earthly Taka-ama-hara, had Takitsu-hiko guard Mount Kanran, and had Tokiyo-hiko guard the Golden Bridge. It was only then that Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto felt freed from solicitude about the future. She rode a horse with wings named Kin'ryu (Golden Dragon). Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto rode a horse with wings named Gin'ryu (Silver Dragon). Masumi-hime rode a horse with wings named Kongoh (Diamond). Konohana-hime no Mikoto, who appeared from Mount Fuyoh, rode a swift and splendid horse with wings. The four deities soared high into the air as they were accompanied by a huge following of servants. They flew towards the Island of Takasago (Taiwan) and descended on Mount Niitaka (Mount Yushan, the highest peak in Taiwan).
As high as to Heaven,
The scent wafts,
Plum blossoms.
This divine Island of Takasago is a sacred site where a portion of Kuniharutachi no Mikoto's Izu Soul has been secretly kept deep inside. It is also a key venue for the Kami's Program where deities with a genuine portion of the Soul of the Divine Kingdom have assembled and will assemble forever. This is based on the Kami's profound consideration in that He will selectively use the souls of the deities inhabiting the holy island when His reign is fulfilled. Therefore, this island has been surrounded by raging waves so that evil deities or wicked ogres cannot infiltrate into it imprudently. With the Laws of Heaven and Earth becoming a dead letter, evil gods invaded the Ilha Formosa right after the forced resignation of the Supreme Kami Kuniharutachi. Almost 70 percent of the islanders, namely the deities with a genuine portion of the Soul of the Divine Kingdom, were totally defiled by the evil gods' taishu-reiju ("body over spirit" or "flesh the master, spirit the servant") and wakoh-dohjin ("divine light dimmed to mingle with the dust-filled secular world") stratagems. But the remaining 30 percent of them have hitherto retained the Soul of the Divine Kingdom as is, lying hidden in the island and biding their time as strict and impartial gods. Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto arrived at this centrally located Mount Niitaka; she gathered numerous good kami to reveal to them some confidential information about the grand design of the Divine Kingdom.
Here Mamichi-hiko no Mikoto, the righteous guardian kami of this island, broke stones and rocks to take a clear purple-blue-tinged jewel out of them, and presented it to Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto with profound reverence. This jewel is a prized treasure to be designated as the Land Soul of a certain country when the Kami's reign is fulfilled.
Next, Kushitama no Mikoto dived into the sea, picked up the birth gem of the Sun from the seabed, and presented it to Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto. This jewel promotes an easy delivery when a human kami is born. Any human kami born while affected by the dignity and virtue of this gem has the purest reishu-taiju body and soul. Then, Magane-hiko went down to the valley, took out a crystal jewel, and presented it to Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto. This gem is a divine rarity that purifies women of menstrual defilement. After that, Takekiyo-hiko dug the clay soil on the mountainside to remove a yellow jewel and presented it to Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto with profound reverence. This is a precious stone that emits divine power to drivey away a malignant disease when a human kami is attached by it. Hayasui-wake followed suit by hitting the top of the cave quietly with a golden hammer three times, which broke apart the huge rock to let a flame soar into the sky. The flame quickly turned into a crimson jewel in midair as it ran to the north, south, east and west of the universe at full speed, breathing fire and vapor, causing thunder and lightning, and wiping out the ghostly energy in an instant. This ball rouge grew beautiful, and Hayasui-wake had many women in front of him hold it reverentially and present it to Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto. It is a divine treasure that breathes fire at some times, discharges water at other times, and uses fire and water to purify Heaven and Earth of chaos.
Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto and her party rode their horses with wings, soared over the sea, and headed for the Earthly Taka-ama-hara. Meanwhile, Onitake-hiko, the ghost of Onikuma shape-shifted at the yachimata (eight-way crossroads) in the intermediate world, and Daija-hiko had been lying in ambush to block the return of Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto and seize the divine treasure from her. Aware of the two evil spirits, she first thought that the time might have come for her to use the crimson jewel, but then she gave it a second thought and decided to do something different.
"I can use this crimson jewel only once," muttered Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto. "Quite a pity to use it for the small fry. This should be enough to destroy them."
Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto took the Heavenly Masumi Mirror out of her bosom and quickly pointed it at Onitake-hiko and other evil soldiers. They instantly shape-shifted into black dragons or evil ogres and fled towards the Ural Mountains helter-skelter.
The Heavenly and Earthly Masumi Mirrors,
Shining over the sky and the ground,
Has forced the evil crooked spirits to flee.
Waka-zakura-hime no Mikoto and her party returned safely to the Earthly Taka-ama-hara. And this jewel was ensconced secretly in the depths of the lake on the Ryugu Island. It was the Earthly Masumi Mirror that had previously been conferred on Oh Daru-hiko by Konohana-hime no Mikoto. The Kami's revelation about the Heavenly and Earthly Mirrors set against each other refers to these two divine mirrors. It was also decided that the five divine jewels would be protected by two deities, i.e. Unabara-hiko no Mikoto and the Kami Kuni no Mihashira.
(Additional Remarks) The event mentioned above led to the practice among goddesses and ladies in succeeding generations of wearing ornamental jewel-embellished hairpins or strings of jewels as necklaces to ward off wrongdoing, pursue happiness or have smart babies.
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on October 28 by the solar calendar, or September 28 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 8: Jealousy and Enmity 〔58〕
Kototama-wake no Mikoto followed orders from the Angels Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto to perform a divine mission with Amaji-wake no Mikoto and Ame no Mamichi-hiko no Mikoto. They were tasked with propagating the Great Kami's decree in the world, whereas Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto was appointed as chief administrator of the divine rule in the Earthly Taka-ama-hara.
At this time there was a good kami named Taketoyo-hiko in the Land of Eternity. He rushed to lead many deities to Kototama-wake no Mikoto to join and support his divine mission. Taketoyo-hiko did his utmost to serve Kototama-wake no Mikoto. Also appearing from the Land of Eternity was Onikumo-hiko, who hastened to lead a throng of deities to the Earthly Taka-ama-hara to assist kamikuni-wake no Mikoto in administering the divine rule. Onikumo-hiko was provided with two assistants as he participatd in the governance: Yone-hiko flanking him on the left and Oka-hiko flanking him on the right. Extremely jealous of Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto's good reputation, Onikumo-hiko had Yone-hiko and Oka-hiko do a background check on the Mikoto all the time. Yone-hiko and Oka-hiko were impressed by the Mikoto's integrity, lack of self-serving ambition and considerable stature as an unrivalled divine commander endowed with the three virtues of wisdom, benevolence and valor. The two assistants also admired the Mikoto's wholehearted dedication to serving the Great Kami and his full commitment to the divine rule. Meanwhile, they were thoroughly disgusted with Onikumo-hiko's craftiness, treachery and burning ambition for power. Disinclined to remonstrate with their master even once and desirous of abandoning him to directly serve Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto, they pleaded with Hanamori-hiko to mediate between them and the Mikoto so that they could obey him as his subordinates.
Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto responded to Hanamori-hiko that he would grant the two servants' wish if he got Onikumo-hiko's approval just in case. Well aware that Onikumo-hiko would never approve it, and that Yone-hiko and Oka-hiko had already drifted apart from their master, Hanamori-hiko recommended them as retainers for the Mikoto without telling Onikumo-hiko anything about the Mikoto's reply.
Onikumo-hiko was enraged by his servants' defection to Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto, thinking that the Mikoto and Hanamori-hiko were attempting to eliminate him. Therefore, he decided to conspire with Taketoyo-hiko from the Land of Eternity to eliminate Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and Hanamori-hiko so that he could usurp the Mikoto's authority to preside over the divine reign in the Taka-ama-hara. But Taketoyo-hiko used all the words he could think of to persuade Onikumo-hiko that it would be wrong of him to engage in the conspiracy. Taketoyo-hiko's efforts went down the drain, however. Onikumo-hiko became increasingly defiant and rejected Taketoyo-hiko's impassioned plea before he ended up seeing the good kami from the Land of Eternity as a sworn enemy.
To show his resolve, Onikumo-hiko stood before Kototama-wake no Mikoto and denounced Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and Hanamori-hiko roundly and slanderously. He even used deceitful words to warn Kototama-wake no Mikoto that the two deities were preparing to commit treason. Kototama-wake no Mikoto tried empathizing with both sides. He was also aware of Onikumo-hiko's ambition. That was why he was taking great pains to find a mutually beneficial solution to the dispute. Deep down he was agonizing over whether he should seize this moment to determine who was right or wrong lest trouble befall the holy sanctuary and over whether he should offer Onikumo-hiko a suitable post to allow him to work in harmony with the other side. However, no kami on either side was able to understand Kototama-wake no Mikoto's true intention, and they started quarreling with each other about who was right or wrong. Onikumo-hiko eventually lost his influence and was ousted from the Earthly Taka-ama-hara as he shapeshifted into an evil ogre and fled in the east.
Onikumo-hiko escaped to Mount Kijoh, where he joined forces with Kuniteru-hime to map out a strategy for destroying Kototama-wake no Mikoto and finally occupying the Earthly Taka-ama-hara. Delighted by the presence of the powerful ally, Kuniteru-hime began to make various preparations by working with false Miyama-hiko to raise an evil army from all directions.
There was a kami named Kiyokuma. He was a follower of Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and assisted him in administering the divine governance. He got the word that Onikumo-hiko fled to Mount Kijoh, and that he was plotting to rebel against the divine authorities. Kiyokuma joined the evil kami's cause and communicated with him secretly. After all, Kiyokuma was an avaricious deity. He chose to side with Onikumo-hiko to gratify his own desire, which he thought would not be fulfilled as long as he remained an aide to incorruptible Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto. However, Kototama-wake no Mikoto saw through Kiyokuma's ulterior motive in the Kami's eye. This made Kiyokuma feel so uncomfortable being with the Mikoto that he acted on his own initiative to flee to Mount Kijoh, where he joined Miyama-hiko's evil army as a staff officer.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Katoh on October 28 by the solar calendar, or September 28 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Part 2: Right and Wrong, Good and Bad
Chapter 9: Festivals on Mount Tacoma I 〔59〕
On one occasion, Kototama-wake no Mikoto obeyed the divine orders to lead Miyabi-hiko, Taniyama-hiko, Tanigawa-hiko and many other officers from the divine army to the top of Mount Tacoma and have Miyabi-hiko perform the sacred ritual of appeasing the local Land Soul. Taniyama-hiko and Tanigawa-hiko also joined the divine ceremony by performing great purification rituals and chanting norito prayers respectfully. Eighty myriads of kami congregated to attend the grand and imposing festival. This made the entire universe perfectly clear without a single cloud in the sky. Words failed to express what a cheerful sight it was.
Hayatora-hiko, Hayatora-hime, Karatama-hiko, and Shimada-hiko, all four of whom served Kototama-wake no Mikoto, were secretly in touch with Kuniteru-hime and Tano-hime. These four deities had basked in the profound kindness of Kotama-wake no Mikoto, who had often delivered them from danger, and as such, the august kami was their benefactor. With the successful completion of the celebration, the Kototama-wake no Mikoto party descended the mountain and went to the seashore, when the four deities appeared with many others before the party, offering it some delicacies of the local mountains, fields, rivers and seas to invite it to their beach banquet. The reason for their invitation was that they were so delighted by Kototama-wake no Mikoto's successful completion of the ceremony to pacify the local Land Soul that they saw it as a cause for celebration and were holding the banquet at the beach to give thanks to the gods and reward the deities in charge for their hard work.
Pleased by the sincere intention of Hayatora-hiko and the other deities, Miyabi-hiko communicated it to the other kami in charge, with the help of Taniyama-hiko and Tanigawa-hiko. Those kami were so elated at the invitation that they went to the open space at the beach to join the banquet. They went all out to celebrate the occasion. Some of them drank themselves unconscious while others sang or danced. Still others danced in ecstasy as if they were amused.
Small sparrows,
Perching behind bamboo leaves,
Begin to dance.
At this time Hayatora-hiko, Hayatora-hime, Karatama-hiko and Shimada-hiko drew themselves up and requested Kototama-wake no Mikoto to grant them an audience with him. They further requested Miyabi-hiko to notify Kototama-wake no Mikoto of their intention to invite him to their beautiful shrine and entertain him with some delicacies of the local mountains, fields, rivers and seas. Kototama-wake no Mikoto entered the shrine without thinking too much. There he talked about all sorts of things and thanked Hayatora-hiko and others for their kindness. After that, he went into a room looking comfortable and was taking a rest. Suddenly, a black plume of smoke rose into a corner of the sky, followed by a big skyrocketing pillar of fire with a deafening explosion, which triggered a rain of rocks and the ensuing grand spectacle. This marked the start of the eruption of a major volcano known as Mount Etna.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto was fascinated by the spectacle. Seizing the moment when he let his guard down, Hayatora-hiko and Karatama-hiko threw poison into a cup and pretended not to know it.
"Have a sip first," the two deities said as they poured some boiled water into the poisoned cup and served it to Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
Not questioning their offer, the Mikoto was sipping his plain hot water, when Tokino-hime came running breathlessly to grab the cup and drank it up at once. Her face paled instantly, and she started writhing in pain before she vomited a large amount of venous blood and collapsed at the scene. The Mikoto, having also taken at least a small mouthful of the poisoned water, was unable to speak a word, and he was quickly leaving his seat to escape from the room. Hayatora-hiko and the three other kami followed the Mikoto so that they could catch and hide him to prevent their dirty trick from being divulged.
With the fiery eruption,
The evil kami offered,
Some poisoned hot water.
As mentioned earlier, all the other kami were too drunk to stand up. Kototama-wake no Mikoto tried making gestures to make the deities around him aware that he was poisoned and could not utter a word, and that Tokino-hime writhed in agony and collapsed. He even use his ingenuity to make various facial expressions when trying to get through to the deities. However, they could not understand what the Mikoto meant and believed that he was simply frolicking and dancing under the influence of alcohol. They even staggered to their feet to copy the Mikoto's many different mannerisms by doing things in sync with him like waving their hands or covering their mouths with their hands. The Mikoto's impatience, alas, was more than we can imagine.
Hayatora-hiko, Karatama-hiko and the other rebellious retainers were in front of all the guests and therefore had to be biding their time until they got an opportunity to capture Kototama-wake no Mikoto and hide him somewhere.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto, unable to utter a word no matter how impatient he might be, decided against his will to flee towards the Ryugu Island all alone. Even brave and dauntless kami like the divine army's commanding officers and soldiers lost their minds due to the alcohol and could not come to the rescue of their general in such an emergency situation. Miyabi-hiko, Taniyama-hiko and Tanigawa-hiko did not drink at all and instead remained vigilant about Kototama-wake no Mikoto's personal safety. To follow him to the Ryugu Island safely, they were about to rise to their feet, when some staggering drunkards around them - too intoxicated to stand up - grabbed them by the arms or legs. Those drunkards never let them go, saying that it would be rude to a myriad gods not to drink sake rice wine at an auspicious banquet like this, and that the three deities should take time to relish the rice wine. The sober kami were quite eager to tell the drunken deities about Kototama-wake no Mikoto's predicament to sober them up, but they could not speak the truth as Shimada-hiko and Hayatora-hime kept watch on them and never moved away from their side. This was why they used allegories, chanted allegorical poems or made hand gestures to let the drunken deities realize Hayatora-hiko and the others' conspiracy and Kototama-wake no Mikoto's plight. However, all the drunkards were too drunk to realize that, and they followed suit and enjoyed chanting poems as they gazed at the three deities' movements. They even jumped to the conclusion that the sober kami would do a funny dance, so they took the three kami by the arms and legs, led them to the center of the banquet hall and tossed them into the air in celebration. Their merrymaking and inability to take a hint just irritated the three sober kami.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto overcame all difficulties and narrowly escaped to the Ryugu Island, where he was protected by the local earthly deities. At long last, he succeeded in returning to the Dragon Palace Castle. The underground of this Ryugu Island is formed with a large amount of gold. The island corresponds to the continent of Australia in today's geography, hence another name the Kanmuri-jima (Crown Island).
(Dictation taken by Masaharu Taniguchi on October 29 by the solar calendar, or September 29 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 10: Festivals on Mount Tacoma II 〔60〕
At the Dragon Palace Castle was Tano-hime, a courtier of Kototama-wake no Mikoto. She worked faithfully on the surface and waited on him hand and foot all the time. Tano-hime had actually sneaked into the court as a spy for false Kuniteru-hime (i.e. Takatora-hime).
Tano-hime had won the great trust of the deities working at the Dragon Palace Castle regarding its internal affairs and had therefore amassed considerable influence over those deities. Tano-hime proposed that festivals be held on Mount Tacoma, and her proposal was accepted. The Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto instructed Kototama-wake no Mikoto, who had returned to the Castle, to perform rites. At this time, Tano-hime stepped forward before Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, softened her facial expression, and uttered all the honeyed and flattering words she could think of for him.
"As the saying goes, 'Strike while the iron is hot,'" Tano-hime suggested, her tone smooth. "Given the timing of our planned festivals on Mount Tacoma, you should perform your rites with us at the same time. This will benefit both you and us."
Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto responded that he would first consult the Great Kami about Tano-hime's proposal to decide whether or not to adopt it. He left his seat and went deeper down the hallway to visit Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto [10]. As a proxy for the Great Kami, she was delighted to quickly approve the proposal. Meanwhile, Tano-hime used clever words to persuade some commanding officers at the Dragon Palace Castle to prepare for a feast right away as it was allowed to be held after the festivals. All the personnel at the castle - the rank-and-file and officers alike - were in favor of the feast. The whole castle became excited and began preparing for the festivals, with Tano-hime unanimously appointed to oversee the entire menu for the feast. The solemn festivals were peformed in front of the divine altar. After they were over, the worshippers and priests gathered to socialize with one another, which in turn gave way to the naorai feast where the meals which had been prepared earlier were served to all the kami present, along with the rice wine and food which had been offered to the Great Kami during the festivals and which were distributed from Him afterwards.
Umewaka-hiko and Masateru-hiko stood at the seat of honor and praised Kototama-wake no Mikoto for his achievement. They also extolled the efforts made by Tano-hime to coordinate arrangements for the festivals. Furthermore, Ume-hiko thanked her for her significant contribution to arranging for the festivals, and the rites requested by Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto at the same time. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and all the other kami in the castle applauded in approval. In the meantime, Tano-hime took out a poisonfeather bird feather and started dipping it into all the soup bowls to be served one by one. Kamijima-hiko, monitoring the situation, asked Yoshiko-hime to taste the soup. The moment she ate it, Yoshiko-hime vomited venous blood and began writhing in pain. Shocked at the sight, several kami near her made a fuss about the need to get some water or medicine for her. Yoshiko-hime pointed to the soup and pressed her mouth with her hand while suffering from the pain. But those kami did not know what she meant. They leapt to the conclusion that she was asking for some more soup. They took a soup bowel, pried open her mouth and forced the soup into it. This further intensified her suffering. It was at this moment that Kototama-wake no Mikoto returned from the Ryugu Island after his narrow escape. He pressed his mouth with his hand to warn others about the soup. But the kami around him thought that he was asking for the soup, so they placed a soup bowl on the serving table and deferentially offered it to him.
The instant Kototama-wake no Mikoto took the soup bowl in his hand, he poured the soup over some plants and trees in the garden. They were fast giving off smoke and blighted. This made the deities at the scene aware of the Mikoto's warning about the atrocity committed by Tano-hime, and they hurried to catch her. However, Tano-hime had already gone out of sight with the wind.
There appeared Tokino-hime, who had finally recovered from the water poisoning, along with Miyabi-hiko and several other deities. All of them came back to the castle, looking spaced out as if their buttocks were sucked by soft-shelled turtles. Everyone gaped at them, and their jaws remained dropped on the floor. We should be really careful about what we eat and drink.
Surprised at the sight, Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto immediately chanted norito prayers before the divine altar. The moment he finished offering prayers to the Great Kami, Kototama-wake no Mikoto, Tokino-hime and Yoshiko-hime recovered completely from their respective illnesses in a flash as though they were wiped off.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on October 29 by the solar calendar, or September 29 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 11: A Japanese Raccoon Dog's Clay Boat 〔61〕
False Kuniteru-hime (real name: Takatora-hime) planned to incite Tokoyo-hime, a kami enjoying great fame and influence, to achieve her own objective. This Tokoyo-hime was the third daughter of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and also a most ambitious kami official. Kuniteru-hime was aiming to remove Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Kototama-hime, the darlings of the Dragon Palace Castle, to take over their positions. At first, Kuniteru-hime and false Miyama-hiko intended to visit the Tokoyo no Kuni (Land of Eternity) to greet Tokoyo-hime and take her back to the Dragon Palace Castle, but they decided to send their subordinates - Maga-hiko and Maga-hime - instead for fear that the Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and Kototama-wake no Mikoto would detect their true identities as absolute anathema to those Mikotos. Before implementing their plot, Kuniteru-hime and Miyama-hiko had Maga-hiko and Maga-hime meet with Tokoyo-hime's mother (Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto) to set the stage for pulling Tokoyo-hime's strings to fulfill their goal.
Tokoyo-hime was on her way to the Dragon Palace Castle for the first time in a long time as she was accompanied by Maga-hiko, Maga-hime and many other kami officials. She approached the foot of the Golden Bridge while wishing for a safe return to the castle. However, she was so overwhelmed by the divine power and might emanating from the bridge that she could not cross it easily. Tokoyo-hime had to tie her personal letter to one leg of a crow to let Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto know that she had reached the approach to the Golden Bridge. Her mother instructed her servants to send a new golden boat to pick her up. Tokoyo-hime arrived at the Dragon Palace Castle without a hitch and presented Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto with a variety of delicacies arranged on the eight-legged ritual table. The Mikoto was delighted by the first mother-daughter reunion [11] in a long time and spent the whole night talking about all kinds of things with her daughter, who in turn updated her on the details of the Land of Eternity. They enjoyed their encounter and chats about curious topics as if they were enveloped in a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere under spring sunshine. On the following day, numerous kami officials and servants were assembled quickly to hold a welcome party for Tokoyo-hime. They scrambled to make their appearance at the party and celebrated their smooth meeting with the guest of honor.
Meanwhile, Tokoyo-hime made a request to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto that her mother float a golden boat on the Jordan River once to allow her to enjoy boating with several kami officials. Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto readily granted her daughter's request, instructing various kami officials and servants to start making preparations for the boating.
They enjoy feasting and boating on the Jordan River,
But none of them are taking to a boat of teachings.
Today's Jordan River is not so wide. Its water flow is not clean but turbid. By contrast, the Jordan River in the divine world flows gently, and its water is clean. It is as wide as the Yangtze River in today's China. This is what the Jordan River looks like in the divine world. Numerous golden boats were prepared. Across the upper stream of the river was that glittering Golden Bridge with its image reflected on the water surface as magnificently as if many drums were lined up. Those boats were arranged to surround Tokoyo-hime as the guest of honor, and the kami officials and servants aboard them were intoxicated by rare wines and prized delicacies, taking turns to sing, dance and perform music entertainingly. It was nothing less than uninhibited merrymaking and extravagant spending.
The uninhibited, bottomless merrymaking
Has damaged the bottoms of the boats.
As this time, most of the kami officials and servants working at the Dragon Palace Castle went out and joined the celebration. Every Tom, Dick and Harry indulged in boating. This made Kototama-wake no Mikoto feel uneasy for some reason, and he himself shied away from the boating crowd.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto caught sight of him. "Looks like you're not happy about Tokoyo-hime's first return to the castle in a long time," she said, her tone displeased. It was just then that Maga-hiko showed up and treated Kototama-wake no Mikoto with the utmost courtesy to take him to Tokoyo-hime at her request. Kototama-wake no Mikoto could not think of any reason for declining the invitation and therefore joined the boating crowd with Tokiyo-hiko and Tokiyo-hime. Many kami officials and servants were delighted by the Mikoto's appearance on the riverbank, giving him a round of applause. At this time Maga-hiko proposed that the Mikoto board his new golden boat. But with a sense of foreboding, the Mikoto was reluctant, for some reason, to get into Maga-hiko's boat. Maga-hiko pressed him to board it, and there were no seats left in all the other boats as they were filled with kami officials and servants. Kototama-wake no Mikoto had to get into Maga-hiko's boat and used a pole to push it forward towards the middle reaches of the river. Maga-hiko, seeing his boat coming closer to Tokoyo-hime's large boat, abandoned his boat and jumped into hers. Maga-hiko's boat carrying Kototama-wake no Mikoto looked sturdy on the surface, but it was actually a brittle clay boat as depicted in Japanese folktales about a raccoon dog's boat made of clay. In other words, it was a false earthen boat plated with gold foil. The Mikoto's boat dissolved and sank in no time. He was struggling to escape from the jaws of death while drowning in the water and sinking deeper. All the surrounding kami could do was gape in utter amazement and shout loudly. At this time Tokiyo-hiko, who was also aboard the clay boat, narrowly swam to the riverbank as he was a skillful swimmer.
Also in the clay boat was Tokiyo-hime, who sacrificed herself for Kototama-wake no Mikoto by diving into the raging waves and grabbing him by the hair before she splashed her way through the stream to the nearest bank. This completely thwarted Kuniteru-hime's conspiracy.
Having finished boating, Tokoyo-hime got back to the Dragon Palace Castle with several kami officials and servants.
Tokoyo-hime met with Kototama-hime and Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and uttered various words to make the next false accusation:
"I was impressed by Tokiyo-hime's chivalrous spirit and courage when she staked her life on saving Kototama-wake no Mikoto without paying attention to her husband Tokiyo-hime. But there's something very fishy about them when you see it from a different angle."
Slashing one kami after another,
The tongue sword,
Is simply frightening.
From then on Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto remained deeply suspicious of Kototama-wake no Mikoto, although his wife-kami, Kototama-hime, did not believe Tokoyo-hime's words. This incident led to the building of high, awkward, emotional barriers between Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto/Tokoyo-hime and Kototama-wake no Mikoto/Kototama-hime.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Katohh on October 29 by the solar calendar, or September 29 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 12: Spies' Brilliant Performance 〔62〕
Tokoyo-hime won the great trust of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, used various ways to have many kami officials and servants in the castle put their confience in her, acquired an unparalleled reputation, and culminated in becoming the darling of the kami society at the Dragon Palace Castle. Therefore, Tokoyo-hime's every word and deed took control of the kami officials and servants, and her prestige and admiration were touted in all quarters.
By contrast, the prestige of Kototama-wake no Mikoto, Kototama-hime, Tokiyo-hiko and Tokiyo-hime suffered a complete setback due to the evil deities' scathing accusation. Tokoyo-hime shared her true motive behind the conspiracy with Maga-hiko and Maga-hime, both of whom in turn communicated it and all the other secrets to Miyama-hiko and Kunitru-hime. Tokoyo-hime and her cabal plotted to steadily take over the leadership of the Dragon Palace Castle, and they seemed pressed for time in making that happen.
Tokoyo-hime's biggest pain in the neck was Kototama-wake no Mikoto and his kami aides. For this reason, Maga-hiko and Maga-hime decided to use Fuji-hime and Yaho-hime as shikome spies to lead Kototama-wake no Mikoto to the path of evil. (Shikome spies refer to those mean-hearted women who honey-trap their enemies into corruption.)
At one time, Kototama-wake no Mikoto was in bed with a cold moaning and groaning. Fuji-hime used honeyed words to approach and nurse him. She was decked out in her finest clothes when she took care of the Mikoto to arouse his interest in her. He never dreamed that Fuji-hime was a shikome spy. She assisted him in getting out of bed and going to the bathroom by holding his hand for support. When he got out of the bathroom, he felt so dizzy that he was about to fall down on the floor. Not knowing what to do, he leaned on Fuji-hime's shoulder. She screamed for help. Maga-hiko, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation in a room, showed up at the scene.
"You are absolutely dirty-minded holding Fuji-hime from behind like that," Maga-hiko accused Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
Maga-hiko ran away from the scene at once and reported it to Tokoyo-hime in exaggerated and embellished details. This made Tokoyo-hime fly into a rage, and she invited Fuji-hime to interrogate her about the exact particulars of the incident.
Fuji-hime started speaking her mind tearfully. "I have kept quiet about everything until today. But now that you uncovered it, I'm totally speechless. To tell the truth, I have always been threatened by the Mikoto to have an affair with him even though I knew I had been cheating on my husband. It is completely my oft-repeated sin to have blindly followed the Mikoto's orders."
With these words, Fuji-hime burst out crying loudly. This made Tokoyo-hime happy. I've got it! Deep down her inner self was jumping for joy, but she kept a gloomy face all along when she appeared before Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto to update her mother on Kototama-wake no Mikoto's extramarital affair exaggeratedly. Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto was enraged to hear that. She assembled some kami officials and gave them a full account of the incident. The whole group was reaching a consensus on the treatment of Kototama-wake no Mikoto: his expulsion from the Dragon Palace Castle. Kototama-hime strove to prove her husband's innocence sobbingly. Sakura-hime also rushed to the scene and testified in tears that the Mikoto was innocent. These goddesses' testimonies enabled Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto to pardon Kototama-wake no Mikoto for his alleged crime. Nevertheless, the cloud of suspicion continued to hang over the Mikoto even afterwards. Tokoyo-hime's slanderous accusation against him intensified to such an extent that a wide variety of kami officials and servants ended up doubting his sincerity and behavior, whispering something about him into one another's ear. This was how the Mikoto's bad reputation spread like an oozing oil leak not just to the castle but to the world over as well.
Not knowing what to do with his anguish, Kototama-wake no Mikoto was strolling alone aimlessly, when he heard a woman's scream from behind a pine tree. He rushed towards the voice, wondering what was going on. The moon in the sky was engulfed in dark clouds, so it was a night with dim moonlight and no starlight. A quick glance told the Mikoto that Yaho-hime fell down on the ground and was writhing in pain. Given the gravity of her agony, he could not bear to leave her in the lurch. He decided to save her from the excruciating pain at any cost, and he took Yaho-hime's hand to help her up. But she raised a sad cry for help. All of a sudden a figure appeared from behind a pine tree. It was that evil deity - Maga-hiko.
"I got you again, you brute!" shouted Maga-hiko.
The moment Kototama-wake no Mikoto took Yaho-hime's hand and held her under his arm, Maga-hiko shone his light on the Mikoto and accused him of committing marital infidelity. Maga-hiko hauled the Mikoto off and thrusted him forward in front of Tokoyo-hime. She feigned ignorance even though deep down she was wild with joy as her scheme worked well. She sat face to face with Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Yaho-hime and started questioning them relentlessly about the alleged facts. Kototama-wake no Mikoto responded to it by telling the truth in detail. Maga-hiko, however, shook his head in disbelief.
"That's not it. I got the compelling evidence," Maga-hiko slandered the Mikoto angrily. "The Mikoto attempted to rape Yaho-hime to satisfy his base desire. Ask her about the details."
Yaho-hime was a partner in crime, after all. She asserted that what Maga-hiko said was true.
She began weeping and passionately pleaded, "Dismiss me from my service this very day. I've been raped by the Mikoto lots of times until now."
Some kami officials and servants in the castle gathered here and felt sorry for the Mikoto's future, wondering what evil spirit had possessed this virtuous kami originally unrelated to infidelity. Tokoyo-hime proceeded with Maga-hiko and Yaho-hime into the innermost hall, where they were granted an audience with Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and where they distorted the facts about the incident and blasted Kototama-wake no Mikoto exaggeratedly for his misdeeds day and night. Greatly troubled by the whole affair, Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto assembled some kami officials and discussed the matter. The whole group reached their decision to throw the Mikoto into a wasp-house.
What would, alas, become of the fate of Kototama-wake no Mikoto?
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on October 29 by the solar calendar, or September 29 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 13: The Wasp-House 〔63〕
Kototama-wake no Mikoto fell into the trap laid by the Tokoyo-hime ring and ended up thrown into the wasp-house. Carpenter bees, hornets, paper wasps, scoliid wasps and other evil spirits came attacking him day and night, threatening to sting him with their tail needles.
Kototama-hime, inspired by the spirit of a female golden dragon, made a wasp-scarf, snuck to the wasp-house under cover of darkness and sent the scarf to her husband. Kototama-wake no Mikoto waved the scarf to repel evil wasps as they were attacking from all directions. But tens of thousands of evil wasps were on the constant lookout for a chance to attack the Mikoto. They flocked outside the wasp-house, and whenever he was off his guard even a little, they entered the house right away to sting him. Therefore, Kototama-wake no Mikoto could not sleep at all. At this time, Tayori-hiko and Nakasaki-hiko coaxed Kojima-wake to come with them, and the three kami went outside the wasp-house. There they rebuked the Mikoto for his misconduct, i.e. adultery, and pressed him to mend his ways. They tried intimidating him into handing his wasp-scarf over to them as a gesture of penitence.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto provided elaborate details to maintain his innocence. But the three deities did not believe him, and they wound up speaking harshly, seeing red and insulting him with frequent verbal abuse. The mortified Mikoto simply had to droop his head and hold back tears of indignation. At this time Tokoyo-hime appeared in front of the wasp-house and hurled abuse at Kototama-wake no Mikoto. She also told him to show remorse at once, resign his post and flee to the Land of Eternity. Kototama-wake no Mikoto prayed to Heaven. ...Please make a judgment about right and wrong. If I'm wrong, end my life. If Tokoyo-hime is wrong, punish her here and now to clear my suspicion.... At this time the Mikoto heard a voice of the Kami out of nowhere, and he waved the wasp-scarf at Tokoyo-hime as instructed by the divine voice. She abruptly began shuddering with chills and the ensuing fever, fell down on the spot and went through pain and suffering.
Tokoyo-hime's collapse shocked Kojima-wake, Tayori-hiko and Nakasaki-hiko. They placed her on a palanquin, carried it on their shoulders to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, and gave her a full account of how her daughter ended up in pain and suffering. Tokoyo-hime's health deteriorated every moment. She started frothing at the mouth and finally vomited venous blood in agony. Wakazakura-hime saw this as diabolical revenge taken by Kototama-wake no Mikoto and got so mad that she prayed to the Great Kami that He would mete out justice to the Mikoto.
Meanwhile, Kototama-hime looked on with an amused smile as the kami officials around Tokoyo-hime were surprised and confused. Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and other kami officials prostrated themselves before the grand altar and chanted norito prayers. They spent five days and nights praying for Tokoyo-hime's recovery. However, their day and night prayers did not work at all, and Tokoyo-hime was on the brink of death.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto put on a grim expression, stood in front of the wasp-house, and shouted to Kototama-wake no Mikoto, "Your vengeful ghost is causing Tokoyo-hime's suffering. Repent your sins right away, cure her illness, and apologize to the Kami of Heaven and Earth."
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto solemnly branded Kototama-wake no Mikoto as the culprit. But he gave no heed to her remark, letting it slide off him like water off a duck's back. At this time a loud scream blared from the room where Tokoyo-hime was. Several flustered kami officials rushed to the room, only to find that Tokoyo-hime had already breathed her last with her body cold all over. This made Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto question the divine will, and she immediately asked Kuniharutachi (= Kunitokotachi) no Mikoto for the truth.
"The wrong cannot beat the right. The Kami helps the good and punishes the wrong," Kuniharutachi no Mikoto declared solemnly. "Tokoyo-hime belongs to the wrong. Kototama-wake no Mikoto is a righteous kami. Thou swiftly make Kojima-wake go in front of Kototama-wake no Mikoto to apologize to him."
Kojima-wake could not tell whether this oracle was right or wrong, and his mind wandered as if he lost his bearings. But he had no reason to disoby the Great Kami's orders, and he finally gave in and apologized to Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Kototama-hime for his previous misunderstanding and insolence.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto replied, "I got a 'not guilty' verdict. No personal grudges."
Immediately afterwards, the Mikoto offered his apologies towards Heaven, resulting simultaneously in the instant resuscitation of Tokoyo-hime.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and other kami officials suggested that Tokoyo-hime apologize to Kototama-wake no Mikoto. However, the stubborn Tokoyo-hime rejected their suggestion. Then she began suffering pain again, frothing at the mouth and vomiting blood just as she did earlier.
Stubborn as she was, Tokoyo-hime finally yielded to their suggestion, personally showed up in front of the wasp-house, and kowtowed to Kototama-wake no Mikoto in apology. This pacified his anger at once, allowing Tokoyo-hime to recover completely from her illness. The Mikoto was rescued from the wasp-house and reinstated in his former sacred position on the recommendation of several kami officials,
Tokoyo-hime was expelled from the Dragon Palace Castle for having masterminded this incident and eventually fled to the Land of Eternity. Her malicious intent remained virtually unchanged, however. She continued to work persistently to re-ensnare Kototama-wake no Mikoto and her wife Kototama-hime in the various traps she had planned to set for them by infiltrating shikome spies into the castle all the way from the Land of Eternity. She seemed to be racing against time to hatch one plot after another.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on October 30 by the solar calendar, or September 30 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Part 3: Developments in Divine Battles
Chapter 14: The Quintessence of Mercury 〔64〕
Tayori-hiko and Nakasaki-hiko planned to make a beautiful garden to console Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. This was why they led many kami to the upper reaches of the Jordan River and collected huge rocks from there to make a large stone garden at the Dragon Palace Castle. Suddenly, Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto had a convulsive seizure and a terrible stomachache. Shocked by the sight, some kami officials gathered around her. They did all they could to treat her, such as praying to Heaven or administering medicine to her, but nothing worked. At this time Kojima-wake stepped forward before Kototama-wake no Mikoto and requested him to ask the divine world for an oracle about why Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto was seriously ill. This took Kototama-wake no Mikoto by great surprise. He immediately chanted the Kamigoto norito prayer to seek divine guidance.
The Heavenly Kami's revelation said as follows:
"In the upper reaches of the Jordan River is a dark brown rectangular and eboshi-headgear-shaped spiritual stone. It was dug out and brought back to the castle. Then it was ensconced on the dirty ground, and many rocks were heaped up over it. The Spirit of Mercury cannot stand the heavy load, and to let various kami officials know about it, the Spirit has caused Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto the illness as a warning. Remove all those rocks swiftly, cleanse the spiritual stone with the Golden Water, build a holy temple to enshrine it, and her illness will be cured in no time. Meanwhile, Nakasaki-hiko is the one who dug out the spiritual stone. He is also the one who defiled it. He was supposed to incur the wrath of Mercury, but the onus has been on Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto because she is the principal kami supervising him. Therefore, other deities need to humbly apologize to the Kami of Mercury and worship it with reverence."
Kojima-wake was greatly awed and humbled by the divine revelation, and he ensured that the Kami's orders were carried out accordingly. Mysteriously, Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto was cured of her illness and suffering as if they were wiped off when the spiritual stone was purified with water and respectfully enshrined at the holy temple.
The Jordan River used to be wide and deep with fresh and clear spring water flowing gently like crystals because this eboshi-headgear-shaped spiritual stone, the quintessence of Mercury, was in the upper reaches of the river. However, since the spiritual stone was dug out, earth and sand from the mountaintop had drifted into and filled the river, turning it into a stream of muddy water. And Nakasaki-hiko got deranged and threw himself into the Jordan River. His spirit shape-shifted into an evil serpent, and when it drifted into the Dead Sea, it further shape-shifted into an evil ogre. It was decided that the Shrine of Water, the holy temple dedicated to the quintessence of Mercury, should be worshipped day and night especially with Kototama-wake no Mikoto serving as chief priest.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto regained her health temporarily when the spiritual stone was enshrined. Soon afterwards, however, she occasionally became ill and lay in bed. Here Tokoyo-hime wrote a personal letter, tied it to one leg of a hawk eagle, and released the bird to report something to Mamichishiru-hiko. This kami was the first son of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. He changed color the moment he read the personal letter. The infuriated deity entered the Dragon Palace Castle, assembled Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto, Hanamori-hiko, Magane-hiko, Kojima-wake and other kami, and discussed something with them. The results of their discussion were reported to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. She got stark raving mad to hear the report.
Facing Kototama-wake no Mikoto, Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto demanded harshly, "I hear you have the ultimate ambition of usurping my authority by tormenting or cursing me with the enshrined spiritual stone from Mercury. There are ample reasons to doubt your feelings. If you are ever sincere and wish to dispel the doubt, destroy the Shrine of Mercury at once, discard the spiritual stone, the object of worship, on the ground and smash it to pieces as a gesture of your sincerity."
Many servant-kami gathered at the scene, unanimously pressing Kototama-wake no Mikoto to destroy the shrine and smash the object of worship to pieces.
Outnumbered by those deities, Kototama-wake no Mikoto choked back his tears, pleaded with Heaven, gave thanks to the spiritual stone, raised it above his head respectfully, and flung it down on the beautiful lawn. This devout kami must have gone through a heartbreaking pain at that moment. Suddenly, the spiritual stone caused a whirlwind with its balls of wind hitting Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto as she was standing on the tall building. She was blown off the building to the ground below. She injured her hipbones and could not move freely. She was in agony. Many servant-kami swarmed around her, cared for her, and carried her into the innermost hall. They wasted no time in nursing their master with all their hearts and souls. It took a while for Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto to recuperate slightly enough to resume her divine missions. And yet she eventually became a cripple and felt pain when walking.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto cut a branch off a plum tree with eight-petal blossoms in the garden, made a stick from it, and presented it to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. This was the origin of elderly people using walking sticks. Fearing the power of the Kami, Kototama-wake no Mikoto cut a huge rock, built a beautiful stone shrine from it, and enshrined the spiritual stone in there eternally as a servant-kami of the Deity Tsukiyomi no Mikoto.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Katohh on October 30 by the solar calendar, or September 30 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 15: Wild Game and Other Food of the Mountains 〔65〕
Kototama-wake no Mikoto had a self-indulgent younger brother named Mototeru-hiko. This kami was resentful about Kototama-wake no Mikoto's priority of his divine missions and the world of gods over his parents and siblings.
Looking out far over the sky in my homeland,
I'm wondering what has become of my mother, whom I left behind in my home country.
Mototeru-hiko had a liking for wild game and other food of the mountains. He used iron from Mount Ame no Kaguyama to make a variety of weapons. He also made numerous hunting arrows. He took those weapons to Mount Odaigahara, where he confined himself, to hunt bears, deer, wild boars, hares and the like inhabiting large or small valleys. He took the greatest pleasure in doing so. And a servant-kami named Ibuki-hiko accompanied Mototeru-hiko everywhere to assist his master in hunting wild game and other food of the mountains.
Takekuma-wake and his many evil deities such as Yasokuma, Ashikuma and Kumae-hime had holed up on Mount Ibuki to bide their time. They also pushed their way to Mount Odaigahara to hunt wild game and other food of the mountains at scale. They spent the whole day searching for prey but ended up catching nothing, not even a single animal. That was because they followed the paths that Mototeru-hiko had followed just a little earlier to hunt all the wild game, large or small, using his considerable experience. Yasokuma and other subordinate kami changed directions and crossed the mountain to retry hunting wild game and other food of the mountains. There they found Ibuki-hiko shooting hunting arrows hard to aim for wild game and other food of the mountains. Yasokuma and other subordinate kami gave Ibuki-hiko various kinds of treasures to ingratiate themselves with him so eagerly that he ended up betraying Mototeru-hiko and plotting to kill his master with his hunting arrows. Driven by his greed, Ibuki-hiko finally took sides with Yasokuma.
Mototeru-hiko was unaware that Ibuki-hiko had changed his tune and therefore had this attendant accompany him to Mount Hinode as usual. There Mototeru-hiko shot hunting arrows at the swarming wild boars. Ibuki-hiko also pretended to shoot arrows at those boars before he abruptly turned around and shot arrows at his master incessantly. Taken aback, Mototeru-hiko hid behind the enormously thick-trunked Japanese cedar for protection from the arrows. At this time Yasokuma and other evil deities appeared from all directions, shooting arrows at Mototeru-hiko vigorously. The embattled kami was left with nowhere to turn, got a dozen arrows stuck in his body, and collapsed on the spot.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto was in the Dragon Palace Castle. When he learned that his brother was in danger, he immediately got on a heavenly bird ship and raced off toward Mount Odaigahara. He waved various scarfs at Ibuki-hiko, Yasokuma and other evil deities at once, and the evil army caused dark clouds to flee like crazy to Mount Ibuki, the hideout of Takekuma-wake.
Mototeru-hiko sustained serious injuries and ended up critically ill in bed.
"Thou shall reform thy dissolute ways," warned Kuniyo-hime, the mother of Mototeru-hiko, with tears rolling down her face. "Have great faith in the Kami, join divine missions with thy brother, and the Great Kami's grace will heal thy illness instantly."
His mother's plea appealed to Mototeru-hiko's sincerity and aroused a sense of piety in him for the firs time. For months thereafter, he had endured the pain and suffering and prayed to the Great Kami in heaven and on earth. This enabled him to recuperate from his illness and repent his sins. He stopped pursuing the pleasure of hunting wild game and other food of the mountains to join tough divine missions, accompanied Kototama-wake no Mikoto as an assistant, and achieved great success in propagating divine teachings to countries around the world.
The evil kami Ibuki-hiko fled together with Yasokuma to Mount Ibuki temporarily, where Ibuki-hiko was still gasping for air when a white-feathered arrow flying out of nowhere hit him. The ill-fated kami fell from the top of the mountain and perished. He ended up turning into an evil ogre of Mount Ibuki.
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on October 30 by the solar calendar, or September 30 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 16: Best-Laid Plans 〔66〕
Kototama-wake no Mikoto was completely cleared of the charge against him. He was able to get out of the wasp-house again and took part in a divine mission. However, the deeply skeptical Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto had a suspicious mind about Kototama-wake no Mikoto day and night, thinking that he had an nasty ambition deep inside his heart. In addition, Kojima-wake, Tayori-hiko and other factional members were so perturbed that they seized every opportunity to take a rebellious attitude toward Kototama-wake no Mikoto on his divine mission, obstructed him in various ways, and kept on criticizing him. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and his lower deities also agreed with Kojima-wake and ended up rejecting Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
Dark clouds of suspicion are covering some kami,
But there is no point in doing anything about it,
Given the era when even the Sun gets clouded.
Therefore, Kototama-wake no Mikoto teamed up with the Chief Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and Masumi-hime to temporarily leave the Dragon Palace Castle with Amaji-wake no Mikoto and Ame no Mamichi-hiko no Mikoto for the City of Rome. There he hid himself in the palace of Hanazono-hiko, the principal kami of the local land, to bide his time. Meanwhile, kami officials like Yashima-hiko, Mototeru-hiko and Masateru-hiko gathered together in Rome to disseminate the teachings of Amaji-wake no Mikoto and Ame no Mamichi-hiko no Mikoto in all directions. This brought those kami officials an excellent reputation that would eventually spread far and wide to the Dragon Palace Castle.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto was so surprised to hear about the reputation that she had Kojima-wake, Tayori-hiko, Yasukawa-hiko and other kami officials take the relics of Kototama-wake no Mikoto to the bank of the Jordan River, set them ablaze from all directions, and burn them up.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto, meanwhile, appeared in the City of Moscow, assembled a number of kami officials, and propagatd the decree of the Heavenly Kami. At this time, Kojima-wake, Tayori-hiko and Yasukawa-hiko showed up as express messengers of Hanazono-hiko in Rome, accompanied by numerous others, urging Kototama-wake no Mikoto to lose no time in returning to Rome.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto left for Rome with Yashima-hiko and arrived at Hanazono-hiko's holy shrine. Tired of waiting, the Kojima-wake party entered the shrine, where Kototama-wake no Mikoto was, drew themselves up and straightened their postures.
"We are divine messengers coming all the way down here," the Kojima-wake party said. "We are entrusted by Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto with an important mission. They say you have assembled various kami officials and others, thereby enjoying growing influence in this locale day by day. We think you have the intention of occupying the Earthly Taka-ama-hara to seize power in the future. You must obey Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's orders to desert this place and return to the Dragon Palace Castle so you can repent your sins and join the divine work on her orders. Or else you will face punishment."
The Kojima-wake party held the hilts of their formidable Tsumugari Swords and closed in on Kototama-wake no Mikoto from three directions to get his response. Kototama-wake no Mikoto was dumbfounded by Kojima-wake and the others' arrogant and insolent attitude while finding Kojima-wake's boastful and condescending negotiation style with his shoulders squared so funny that he rolled with laughter.
Kojima-wake got enraged with his face blushed and said, "Are you making fun of the messengers of the Great Kami? This is intolerable. Brace yourself."
The Kojima-wake party unsheathed their swords and slashed at the Kototama-wake no Mikoto from three directions.
Sighing deep down but opening their eyes wide in anger,
The hammy actors are monkeying around in the stupid farce.
To get out of here and prepare to fight back, Kototama-wake no Mikoto deliberately wrote a misleading letter to the effect of his surrender and handed it to Kojima-wake.
"Go back to the Dragon Palace Castle right away," Kototama-wake no Mikoto said tactfully. "And I'll break up the divine army, take care of what needs taking care of, and join you later."
Kojima-wake glowed with joy and wore a triumphant look as if he were a conquering hero. He and the other two high-spirited ringleaders took along their many henchmen back to the Dragon Palace Castle.
The three deities walked with a swagger and stood before Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto with a smug look on their faces.
"We've won a great victory thanks to the divine power of the Great Kami," said Kojima-wake and the others, their tone confident. "Kototama-wake no Mikoto will soon be returning here feeling crestfallen. Here's his written apology."
The elated trio proudly presented the sealed letter of apology to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. She opened it with delight and started reading it. It said, lo and behold, that Kototama-wake no Mikoto would never return to the Dragon Palace Castle, and that he urged Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto to search her soul, get rid of her jealousy, calm down again, and repent of her sins from the heart. It further said that he would be willing to come back to the castle if she dispelled all the misunderstanding and punished Tokoyo-hime, Kojima-wake, Maga-hiko, Maga-hime and other kami officials, thereby forcing through reforms according to his wishes. This letter ended with quite a strong warning that if Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto should disobey Kototama-wake no Mikoto's words, he and his deities would solidify their base in Rome, open a new Earthly Taka-ama-hara and build a Dragon Palace Castle there on the Heavenly Kami's orders, and compete with her for a climactic showdown.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto suddenly went pale. She raised her voice in anger when she tore apart the letter and clutched its ripped pieces in her hands. Then she threw them at Kojima-wake's face, rebuking him for making the terrible blunder as a divine messenger like the proverbial envoy who was sent on a mission but never returned.
Kojima-wake and the other kami officials never dreamed that Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto would react like that. They scratched their heads with unexpected disappoinment and withdrew from her presence into a corner of the room, fearing whether she would dismiss them from their posts in the future.
Outraged, Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto ordered Kojima-wake, Tayori-hiko and Yasukawa-hiko to lead many divine troops to attack and harass Kototama-wake no Mikoto. He had no choice but to confront them by deploying Hanazono-hiko, Mototeru-hiko, Masateru-hiko and Yashima-hiko on the front line of defense.
(Dictation taken by Masaharu Taniguchi on October 30 by the solar calendar, or September 30 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 17: The Martyrdom of Saga-hime 〔67〕
Kototama-wake no Mikoto had no intention of rebelling against Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto in the first place. But he deliberately wrote the rebellious letter and handed it to the envoy Kojima-wake to show the Mikoto's subordinate deities his commitment to restoring peace and order to the world in turbulent times.
My thread of life,
Why would I ever mind losing it?
I'm committed to lighting the path of truth.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, having already been half in doubt about Kototama-wake no Mikoto's feelings and behavior, read his letter and thought that he was truly rebelling against her. She ordered the Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto to subdue the rebellious kami. At this time Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto declined to sally forth due to his illness, shut himself in his room with its door tightly closed, and cut off communication with other kami officials to wait for the moment of truth.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto had no alternative but to order Kojima-wake to subdue Kototama-wake no Mikoto. Kojima-wake swiftly obeyed her order, appointed Tayori-hiko and Yasukawa-hiko as commanding officers, and supervised many divine troops to attack the insurgent army relentlessly. Kototama-wake no Mikoto was in a terrible predicament as he was sandwiched between the onslaught by Kojima-wake's divine army on the one hand and an assault by the evil army of Miyama-hiko and Kuniteru-hime, both of whom were subordinates of Tokoyo-hime, on the other hand.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto had a stronghold in Rome where Hanazono-hiko and Oh Shima-hiko were entrusted with the supervision of the local divine army. He also delegated Masateru-hiko and Mizogawa-hiko to take control of the divine army in Moscow. This enabled him to engage in clandestine activities with Mototeru-hiko by posing as someone else to take ingenious divine actions while gathering intelligence about both the Kojima-wake army and the Tokoyo-hime army. Against this backdrop, Kototama-wake no Mikoto went to Saga-hiko, who held a strong position on Mount Bombay, and used every word to persuade him to join the current battle.
The Mikoto had once saved Saga-hiko's life from danger, so Saga-hiko naturally owed the Mikoto a favor that should be returned by following the Mikoto's orders obediently. However, Saga-hiko and other kami officials in general had already been given a strong warning by Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto that said: "Kototama-wake no Mikoto has an overweening ambition. He's in Rome leading a revolt against our divine army. Anyone siding with him will face severe punishment." This warning kept Saga-hiko, just like everyone else, trembling with fear. Moreover, Tayori-hiko, who had come to Saga-hiko earlier to convey a message of the divine army to him, was lying in ambush and ready to destroy Kototama-wake no Mikoto when he showed up.
Having never dreamed that such a plot was underway, Kototama-wake no Mikoto entered the inner hall as encouraged by Saga-hiko to take a rest and instructed him to work out a plan for a defensive fight. But he had already drifted apart from his lifesaver and collaborated secretly with Tayori-hiko. Kototama-wake no Mikoto's fate was hanging by a thread. Saga-hime, the wife of Saga-hiko, cut across right in front of Kototama-wake no Mikoto from his side while he was strolling in the garden, dropped a piece of paper from her bosom on purpose, and scurried off into the hall.
The Mikoto quickly picked up the folded paper while wondering what it was and opened it up to find the letter saying, "Tayori-hiko and Saga-hiko are plotting to kill you at any moment. Escape from the back gate right away." He was slightly lost in thought, when he heard an eerie scream from the inner hall. That was because Saga-hime committed suicide. She thought that she would go against Saga-hiko's wishes if she saved the Mikoto, so she chose to lay down her life to remain faithful to her husband. The whole camp on Mount Bombay was thrown into an uproar. Saga-hiko lost his head about the unnatural death of his wife, shouted like crazy, and assembled other deities. His voice hit Kototama-wake no Mikoto's ears clearly.
All the commanding officers on Mount Bombay gathered towards the voice of Saga-hiko, who was in such a panic that he was oblivious to the presence of Kototama-wake no Mikoto. Seizing this moment, the Mikoto wore clothes to disguise himself and calmly threaded his way through the bewildered crowd to the front gate. The moment he got out of the gate, he joined Mototeru-hiko, who had been expecting his older brother, and they escaped safely towards Moscow.
Moscow was heavily guarded by Masateru-hiko and Mizokawa-hiko. At this time Kusaka-hime, the older sister of Tayori-hiko, disguised herself and entered Moscow. There she posed as an express messenger of Kototama-wake no Mikoto and said so to Masateru-hiko to meet with him. Then she conveyed to him the Mikoto's message to the effect that the Mikoto was in trouble with Saga-hiko and Tayori-hiko on Mount Bombay, that the Mikoto's whole army was on the verge of destruction, and that the Mikoto requested Masateru-hiko and Mizokawa-hiko to lead their entire forces to rescue the Mikoto and his deities.
Masateru-hiko had Mizokawa-hiko defend Moscow and hurried to lead his subordinates to Mount Bombay. Moscow was being well defended by Mizokawa-hiko's divine army, when Tanekuma-hiko, a subordinate of Kuniteru-hime, showed up and asked Mizokawa-hiko for a meeting with him as an express messenger of Hanazono-hiko. Not knowing that Tanekuma-hiko was a spy for Kuniteru-hime, Mizokawa-hiko agreed to his request, believing him to be an express messenger of Hanazono-hiko, and asked about the purpose of his visit. Tanekuma-hiko conveyed Hanazono-hiko's message that Rome would fall at any moment, that Oh Shima-hiko was killed in battle, and that Mizokawa-hiko should leave Moscow at once and command his whole army to rescue Hanazono-hiko in Rome.
Mizokawa-hiko was quick to believe Tanekuma-hiko's words, so he emptied Moscow of his army and left for Rome right away. The reality was that the morale of Rome was so high that no enemy was found there. Heading for Mount Bombay on his rescue mission, Masateru-hiko saw Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Mototeru-hiko along the way. This made Masateru-hiko acutely aware that he had been taken in by Kusaka-hime. He decided to stop attacking Mount Bombay and rushed back to Moscow, worrying about his local comrades' encampment.
Meanwhile, it was only after Mizokawa-hiko had arrived in Rome that he learned the actual circumstances. He regretted being completely deceived by the enemy spy, and he was furious at it. Mizokawa-hiko also worried that Moscow might be in danger and hurried to bring his army back to the city, which had already fallen in the hands of Tayori-hiko, with Kusaka-hime performing well as a commanding officer, by the time Kototama-wake no Mikoto, Masateru-hiko, Mizokawa-hiko and others returned.
Tanekuma-hiko, a deity under Kuniteru-hime's command who had deceived Mizokawa-hiko to occupy Moscow, seized full control of the empty city and launched a concerted attack on it using numerous evil soldiers. By this time the fortress in Moscow had already been occupied by Tayori-hiko and Kusaka-hime. But Tayori-hiko, unable to recognize Kuniteru-hime's evil army when he looked at Tanekuma-hiko's soldiers, fought with them tooth and nail as he mistook them for Kototama-wake no Mikoto's deities. Then appeared Kototama-wake no Mikoto's army with the Mikoto acting as commander-in-chief and Masateru-hiko and Mototeru-hiko urging the divine army to fire ammunition from behind Tanekuma-hiko in the well fought battle. Tanekuma-hiko was under attack by both armies and gave in to death at last, and his entire army was virtually eradicated. At the same time, Mizokawa-hiko's army attacked Tayori-hiko and Kusaka-hime's army from the side and fought well.
Tayori-hiko witnessed the death of Tanekuma-hiko and believed that the ill-fated deity was destroyed by friendly reinforcements from the Dragon Palace Castle. He sang a victory song and shouted cheers repeatedly, and the whole fortress was filled with a battle cry. However, Tayori-hiko was astonished to find that Mizokawa-hiko started a violent attack from the side, and the embattled deity's evil army did all they could to fight back in that direction. This made them negligent in achieving military preparedness against Kototama-wake no Mikoto's divine army.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto was emboldened by the evil army's unpreparedness, which he regarded as a godsend. He moved forward with glee and had his army fire ammunition in unison near Tayori-hiko's occupied territory. Flabbergasted and at a loss for what to do, Tayori-hiko and Kusaka-hime got on dark clouds and quickly shape-shifted into a dragon and a fox respectively as they were fleeing in all directions. At this time Divine Grace smiled exclusively on Kototama-wake no Mikoto's divine army.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on October 31 by the solar calendar, or October 1 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 18: The Scheme to Spread Disinformation to Cause a Rift in the Rival Camp 〔68〕
Tayori-hiko, Yasukawa-hiko and Kusaka-hime escaped in all directions for a brief period as they lost the battle in Moscow. They eventually set up camp in Peter, where they planned to work with the Dragon Palace Castle's divine army to capture Moscow. As a result, they were mobilizing those military forces in Peter to make another attempt.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto considered Rome already safe and had Oh Shima-hiko, a commanding officer and strategist under Hanazono-hiko, defend Moscow. Then he made up his mind to work with Mototeru-hiko, Masateru-hiko and Mizokawa-hiko to directly subdue the evil army. With Oh Kawa-hiko, Togawa-hiko and Takaya-hiko acting as commanders of their respective units, the divine forces attacked the evil army from all directions to defeat them. Kojima-wake, Tayori-hiko and other enemy deities saw the divine army as formidable, communicated with Maga-hiko and Maga-hime, and sought the help of Tokoyo-hime as generalissimo to smash the divine forces at a stroke.
Tokoyo-hime built a castle on Mount Takao, mobilized numerous members of the evil army there, and plotted to work with Tayori-hiko in Peter to launch a pincer attack on Kototama-wake no Mikoto. To play a dirty trick on the Mikoto, Kojima-wake and the Tayori-hiko faction, both of whom were also secretly in touch with the evil army, decided to seek the army's assistance to beat their enemy. Meanwhile, Kototama-wake no Mikoto was about to march into Peter, when Yasokuma, Ashikuma, Kumae-hime and others, who had fled to Mount Ibuki, attacked on the Mikoto's divine army from three sides to annihilate them as those evil officers joined Tokoyo-hime's evil army to avenge their defeat on Mount Oh Daigahara. Commanding officers Masateru-hiko and Mizokawa-hiko of the divine army moved forward with Oh Kawa-hiko, Togawa-hiko and Takaya-hiko so carelessly that they were besieged by the enemy, deprived of all their strength and taken captive, with the other three officers killed in the battle. Kototama-wake no Mikoto closed in on Mount Takao with Take-hiko, a commanding officer, while giving Mototeru-hiko full authority to attack Mount Ibuki. Mount Takao was where Tokoyo-hime was holed up with Iwakura-hiko, a valiant devil, acting as a mastermind and Sugi-oka, Ebisu-hiko, Yama-hiko and Dankuma as commanding officers. Their morale was boosting significantly. Kototama-wake no Mikoto rushed towards the front of Mount Takao at full speed while Take-hiko, towards the back of the mountain. At this time someone was secretly cutting across Kototama-wake no Mikoto's army unit to head for Mount Takao. They became so suspicious of him that they captured and harshly questioned him, saying, "Why are you cutting across this army unit?" The truth was that he was a spy for Kuniteru-hime.
The Mikoto's army unit took a confidential letter out of this spy's bosom and opened it. It read: "Rome has already fallen into the hands of Kojima-wake. There is no need to worry about our future. You take care of the enemy swarming to Mount Takao for a while, and I will send reinforcements soon to destroy Kototama-wake no Mikoto from behind." The Mikoto questioned the authenticity of the message and wondered if it might be the enemy's trap.
"We captured another enemy spy just now," said Take-hiko as his rear army unit approached Kototama-wake no Mikoto. "We strictly vetted him and found this secret letter from his bosom. I submit it to you so you can make a judgment about it."
The evil deities' scheme,
No matter how clever it might be,
Was seen through by Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
The Mikoto hurried to open the secret letter and read it.
"Moscow is already about to fall into the hands of the friendly army. You defend the army unit on Mount Takao and support them for a while, and I will move to Mount Takao as reinforcements right away to wipe out the enemy in front and rear."
The above was what the letter said. The spy purposely had himself captured by Take-hiko as he acted according to Kuniteru-hime's stratagem.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto met with Take-hiko and other commanding officers before he finally got Take-hiko and his army unit to double back. The Mikoto divided his divine army into two major units: the Mikoto's unit and Take-hiko's unit. He had the former head for Rome while the latter for Moscow. Iwakura-hiko and other officers fired ammunition on the divine army from behind the moment they saw Kototama-wake no Mikoto retreat. Seized with fear, the Mikoto's divine army scattered in all directions. Take-hiko had a close call and hurried to inform Mototeru-hiko, who was rushing to Mount Ibuki, about the imminent danger of Moscow and Rome as well as the unknown whereabouts and circumsances of Kototama-wake no Mikoto. Mototeru-hiko hastened to ease the encirclement of Mount Ibuki and head for Rome immediately. Yasokuma's army unit on Mount Ibuki took advantage of this opportunity to fire ammunition from behind. This caused great damage to Mototeru-hiko's divine army. Mototeru-hiko had a narrow escape. The confidential messages about Rome and Moscow in imminent danger were part of Kuniteru-hime's scheme to spread disinformation to cause a rift in the rival camp. In fact, both Rome and Moscow remained safe like an impregnable fortress.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Katoh on October 31 by the solar calendar, or October 1 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 19: The Aftermath 〔69〕
Kototama-wake no Mikoto narrowly returned to Rome with Mototeru-hiko and Take-hiko. The city still remained heavily guarded by Oh Shima-hiko. Commanding officers gathered here over time and discussed the possibility of holding the castle in Moscow to wage a protracted battle. The situation was still volatile, given the formidable enemy forces in Peter. Those officers worked out a secret plan to storm the Dragon Palace Castle and the Earthly Taka-ama-hara in droves to occupy both of them. To this end, the divine troops would first need to destroy the castle in Peter. Morale was very high in their Rome headquarters as if nothing in the universe could beat them.
However, Kototama-wake no Mikoto did not really mean to rebel against Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. He simply intended to show his divine power and awaken Kojima-wake and other kami officials to the right path. It was out of this sincerity that the Mikoto had engaged with Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's army. That was why he saw no point in continuing the battle aimlessly and inflicting more casualties on his and the enemy's armies. Meanwhile, the Miyama-hiko/Kuniteru-hime group was biding their time. Should an internal conflict occur, it would reduce friendly forces, which the Mikoto thought would never be a smart move. He only held a military exercise in the latest fight to test the enhanced combat capabilities of his deities. He already decided, deep down, to end the fighting as soon as possible, assist Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, and devote himself to the Kami's missions. But Hanazono-hiko and other kami officers remained fired up to fight it out to the bitter end as they failed to grasp Kototama-wake no Mikoto's true motive.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto was doubtful about Kototama-wake no Mikoto's sincerity, thinking that he would raise the standard of revolt persistently to achieve his ambition. She newly appointed Mamichi-hiko, Kamikura-hiko and Hanateru-hiko as commanding officers and dispatched them to Rome. She was also so impressed by Tokoyo-hime's great feat that she pardoned her daughter, who had been expelled to the Land of Eternity, and allowed her to return to the Dragon Palace Castle again.
Tokoyo-hime regained the trust of the public at the Dragon Palace Castle. She was intrinsically so perverse, cunning and shrewd that she was convinced of her inability to beat Kototama-wake no Mikoto's forces. Therefore, she was plotting to suggest that Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto forgive Kototama-wake no Mikoto temporarily and allow him to return to the Dragon Palace Castle so that she could removing him from office when the time was ripe.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto was aware that the Kototama-wake no Mikoto group was a force to be reckoned with, and sent Hanamori-hiko to Rome to communicate her recommendation that the Kototama-wake no Mikoto group promptly renew their allegiance to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. Hanamori-hiko, accompanied by many kami officials, got on a heavenly bird ship and arrived in Rome before he had a secret audience with Kototama-wake no Mikoto and conveyed Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's message to him. Kototama-wake no Mikoto was delighted to receive her sacred recommendation as he had already made up his mind to support her. He promised to immediately abandon Rome and Moscow and return to the Dragon Palace Castle so that he could work hard to carry out Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's orders. He wrote a personal letter and handed it to Hanamori-hiko.
Hanamori-hiko got back to the Dragon Palace Castle with his kami officials in a flash. There he reported to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto on Kototama-wake no Mikoto's heartfelt allegiance and presented his personal letter to her.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto assembled his entire divine army, made his true intention known to them, and instructed all of them to return to the Dragon Palace Castle without delay. This enraged Hanazono-hiko, Mototeru-hiko, Take-hiko and Oh Shima-hiko so much that they denounced the Mikoto for slyly changing his tune, attempted to rebel against him, and ended up disobeying him while pressing their demand that the divine army remain firmly committed to defending Rome and Moscow. Kototama-wake no Mikoto secretly fled Rome under cover of night for Peter, where Sugishima-hiko, a messenger of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, showed up earlier and had already reported to his master on Kototama-wake no Mikoto's submission as mediated by Tokoyo-hime. Masateru-hiko and Mizokawa-hiko, who had been taken hostage in Peter, were released. At this time a myriad of messengers from the Dragon Palace Castle greeted Kototama-wake no Mikoto very politely as they were dressed up in their best clothes. The Mikoto returned to the castle amid hearty cheers.
Hanazono-hiko and other officers, who once refused to obey Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, finally became aware of Kototama-wake no Mikoto's profound divine consideration and resumed acting in concert with him. This brought their dissension to a happy end. Even afterwards, obedient Hanazono-hiko and Oh Shima-hiko continued to stay in Rome and Moscow respectively to defend those cities.
(Dictation taken by Masaharu Taniguchi on October 31 by the solar calendar, or October 1 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Part 4: The Tokoyo no Kuni (Land of Eternity)
Chapter 20: A Suspicious Love Letter 〔70〕
Kototama-hime, the wife of Kototama-wake no Mikoto, was the fifth daughter of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto just as Tokoyo-hime was her third daughter. Kototama-wake no Mikoto's return to the Dragon Palace Castle cleared up the clouds of suspicion about him inside the castle and resulted in his happy reunion with his wife, his mother-in-law, and his sister-in-law. Wicked and cunning Tokoyo-hime celebrated the occasion on the surface. Various other officers in the castle also offered their heartfelt congratulations on the peaceful settlement. The Dragon Palace Castle remained extremely tranquil and safe - at least for a while.
Tokoyo-hime won the full trust of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and her subordinate officers, and Tokoyo-hime's clout increased day by day. Kototama-wake no Mikoto, meanwhile, could not redeem the same trust as he had enjoyed before. He came to be disdained as a rebellious general by a wide range of high- and low-ranking kami officials there. But Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and Masumi-hime, in whom Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto had great confidence, secretly worked so hard for Kototama-wake no Mikoto that his reputation began to turn for the better as time elapsed. This culminated in the Mikoto's reinstatement as manager of divine missions, allowing him to join forces with Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto, who remained appointed to oversee the divine rule at the Dragon Palace Castle. These two kami got along quite well like a close married couple. Tokoyo-hime chose Maga-hiko and Maga-hime again for her top aides, and they thought up various ways to ruin the credibility of Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto regained his popularity as days went by, and at last kami officials around Tokoyo-hime came to sense her craftiness. However, Kojima-wake, Tayori-hiko, Yasukawa-hiko, Take-hiko and other factional members had great trust in Tokoyo-hime. Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto also finally became aware of Tokoyo-hime's cunning nature, with her confidence in her daughter going down much more than before.
At long last the Kototama-wake no Mikoto group and the Tokoyo-hime group appeared here. But the Tokoyo-hime group was vastly outnumbered by and much weaker than the Kototama-wake no Mikoto group. This difference made Tokoyo-hime acutely aware that her plot would likely fail. Thinking that she should bide her time to achieve her aim, Tokoyo-hime concealed her annoyance and asked Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto with a pleasant smile for a leave of absence and her return to the Land of Eternity on the pretext of an emergency breaking out in her home country. Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto had something on her mind, so she quickly granted her daughter's request. Tokoyo-hime confided a secret plan to Kojima-wake, Tayori-hiko, Yasukawa-hiko and others when she took Maga-hiko and Maga-hime along with her and publicly returned to the Land of Eternity.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto had enjoyed a rising popularity since Tokoyo-hime left the Dragon Palace Castle. To damage the Mikoto's reputation, Tayori-hiko and Yasukawa-hiko summoned Kazuko-hime, a dazzling beauty, to the castle and had her serve Kototama-wake no Mikoto. Kazuko-hime was a dedicated servant who was extremely attentive in looking after her master. Her sincerity pleased the Mikoto so much that he brought her on all of his official trips.
On one occasion there was a letter lying in the castle. Yasukawa-hiko quickly picked it up and put it into his bosom, and then he handed it to Kojima-wake straight away. Kojima-wake read the letter before he presented it to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. It turned out to be a love letter sent to Kototama-wake no Mikoto by Kazuko-hime. It said something to the effect that Kazuko-hime held a grudge against Kototama-wake no Mikoto for his coercive misconduct after they had several affairs, that she apologized for violating the Commandments of Heaven, and that she would throw herself into the Jordan River to atone for her sin. This astonished Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, who in turn showed the letter to Kototama-hime privately.
Kototama-hime lamented her husband-kami's misconduct and decided to admonish him by sacrificing herself to death. Never dreaming of his wife-kami's plan, Kototama-wake no Mikoto was lying in bed comfortably in his room. At the dead of night a strange shadow quietly opened the hinged door and entered the room. The Mikoto gave it a casual glance and found that it was none other than Kototama-hime. He pretended to be sound asleep for a while to monitor what his wife was up to. Kototama-hime sat upright at his bedside, whispered something in his ear, and bowed to his lying body three times before she left the room at once. Suspicious of her behavior, Kototama-wake no Mikoto jumped up and tiptoed to follow her. She stood on the bank of the Heavenly Water Spring, worshipped Heaven and Earth, and clasped her hands together to chant the Kamigoto norito prayer. The moment she finished the prayer, she was about to throw herself into the spring. The appalled Mikoto suddenly held his wife back from behind and asked her for details. Kototama-hime told him in tears about the love letter that Kazuko-hime had dropped.
"You must be possessed by a demon because you have a foul heart that has threatened to ruin your regained popularity," Kototama-hime asserted. "I'm doing this from my heart as your wife in a desperate bid to vicariously apologize to the kami of heaven and earth for your sins with my own death so that you will mend your ways and turn over a new leaf."
His wife's impassioned plea came to Kototama-wake no Mikoto as a bolt from the blue. He was speechless with his mouth agape. Meanwhile, the disappearance of Kototama-hime threw the whole castle into disorder. To search for her, Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto came over here, and he was slightly relieved to find the two deities. He pacified them before taking them back to the castle.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto questioned Kototama-wake no Mikoto about his misconduct. Her questioning took various kami officials around her by surprise. At this time, Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto was so perceptive that he secretly beckoned Yasukawa-hiko over and admired him with a pat on the shoulder.
"We're absolutely amazed by your elaborate plot. You and us are on the same page," Kamikuni-wake confided to Yasukawa-hiko. "We've been struggling day and night to destroy Kototama-wake no Mikoto's credibility. But we're so stupid by nature we never dreamed of a fiendish plot like yours. From today on we'll revere you as a guru and serve you as your subordinates."
Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto's flattery gave Yasukawa-hiko a swelled head. He wore a conceited look on his face as if he were bragging about his skill.
"Actually, Kazuko-hime is one of my spies," Yasukawa-hiko said, his tone boastful. "Kototama-wake no Mikoto never did anything wrong. I had Kazuko-hime write a love letter and drop it in the castle on purpose. But I trusted you and revealed this secret, so you also trust me and keep quiet about it."
Yasukawa-hiko asked Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto to make absolutely sure that he remained silent about this matter. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto immediately changed color, twisted Yasukawa-hiko's arms, and bound them behind his back. Then the righteous kami hauled the mastermind off to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and told her everything about Yasukawa-hiko's confession.
Thus, Kototama-wake no Mikoto was completely cleared of the groundless suspicion. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto assembled various kami officials to discuss the culpability of the crime commited by Yasukawa-hiko and Kazuko-hime and eventually ordered the offenders to be deported from the castle. Upon deportation, Yasukawa-hiko quickly joined Kuniteru-hime at the fortress on Mount Kijoh.
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on October 31 by the solar calendar, or October 1 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 21: To the Tokoyo no Kuni 〔71〕
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto sent Tokoyo-hime away to the Land of Eternity. Given their family ties, however, the head of the Dragon Palace Castle was slightly prone to dote on her daughter.
Tokoyo-hime built a city at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and gradually exerted a greater influence over the region. The passage of time allowed her power and popularity to spread to wider areas. While showing off her authority, Tokoyo-hime sweet-talked Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto with beautiful and flowery words into restoring her confidence in her daughter. She collected various bits and pieces of fake information about Kototama-wake no Mikoto and his wife Kototama-hime, their psychology and behavior before she used her secret messengers to frequently convey that disinformation to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, who bent an ear to her daughter's words again and ended up believing them.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto temporarily suspected Kototama-wake no Mikoto of having an affair with Kazuko-hime when her love letter was found in the Dragon Palace Castle. But Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto's perceptiveness uncovered Yasukawa-hiko and others' conspiracy and allayed Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's suspicion of Kototama-wake no Mikoto. Deep down, however, she was highly skeptical of her son-in-law and kept watch over him with her half-doubtful eyes.
Yasukawa-hiko was incited by Tokoyo-hime to engineer a joint conspiracy with Kojima-wake and his cabal. Their collusion went totally unnoticed.
A year or two later, an official messenger of Tokoyo-hime paid a visit to the Dragon Palace Castle and respectfully presented Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto with a letter that said as follows:
"With her divine rule thriving, Tokoyo-hime is planning to build a holy shrine dedicated to the divine spirits of heaven and earth. It would be quite discourteous to make this request, but we sincerely ask you to attend a ceremony to enshrine those spirits. Should you be unable to grant our request, we would have no choice but to ask you to send Kototama-wake no Mikoto on your behalf. He needs to mend his evil ways and serve you from the heart. This will require various divine measures so that he can prove himself as your top aide. In other words, Kototama-wake no Mikoto's attendance would be like killig two birds with one stone."
The letter was rationally written to make itself sound convincing.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto was elated by the message of the letter. She thought that Tokoyo-hime had already reformed herself enough and was no longer a source of worry, and that the only thing on her mind was the way Kototama-wake no Mikoto thought and acted. She decided that she would send him to the ceremony and have Tokoyo-hime mend his ways. This was why she called Kototama-wake no Mikoto over and brief him on his mission to the Land of Eternity.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto suspected that the whole thing might be Tokoyo-hime's conspiracy. Coincidentally, Mototeru-hiko returned to the castle after having gathered intelligence about the actual state of affairs in the Tokoyo no Kuni. He secretly warned the Mikoto never to let his guard down because the ceremony was a trap set by Tokoyo-hime.
As a result, Kototama-wake no Mikoto declined the invitation to the enshrinement ceremony on the grounds of his illness. This made Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto change color.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime auspicious occasion," she said, raising her voice in anger. "But you're using your illness to refuse to attend the ceremony. That's tantamount to disobeying my orders. You must be up to no good."
Here Kototama-hime could not help working with Tatsuyo-hime and Mototeru-hiko to come up with various secret countermeasures before she recommended those divine actions to Kototama-wake no Mikoto for protection against possible danger.
Mototeru-hiko sneaked out of the Dragon Palace Castle and hid himself at the Heavenly Eight-Way Crossroads to map out many different plans. Unable to decline Wazakura-hime no Mikoto's orders, Kototama-wake no Mikoto made up his mind to leave for the Land of Eternity. His entourage included Kojima-wake, Matsuyo-hime, Tatsuyo-hime, Takejima-hiko, and other kami officials. Kuniyo-hime, the mother of Kototama-wake no Mikoto, took out varous types of scarfs and gave them to her son as he was about to set out on his mission.
"These scarfs are our family treasures," Kuniyo-hime said in tears. "Think of them as me and carry them deep in your bosom when you go out."
That was how she bid tearful farewell to her son. Kototama-wake no Mikoto and his entourage got on a finely-woven bamboo ship and arrived in the Land of Eternity safely. Right before their eyes was a large forked road that should lead to the capital of the Tokoyo no Kuni at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. The moment they were about to reach the road, Tatsuyo-hime was seized with a sudden illness, fell down on the ground, and groaned in agony.
Tatsuyo-hime was a beloved daughter of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, so Kojima-wake and the other deities were deeply shocked and bewildered by her condition, and devoted themselves to taking care of her. She actually feigned illness as part of her ingenious strategy. Not even glancing at what was happening to her, only Kototama-wake no Mikoto hurried his steps to the forked road, chose the left path, and charged headlong in that direction.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on November 1 by the solar calendar, or October 2 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 22: Kototama-wake no Mikoto's Ingenious Strategy 〔72〕
For some reason, Kototama-wake no Mikoto ignored Tatsuyo-hime's sudden illness, dashed to the wider left path at full speed, and reached the crimson palace where Mino-hiko lived. There the Mikoto worked with Mototeru-hiko to make various plans for contingencies. Kojima-wake and the other lower-ranking kami officials were so preoccupied with Tatsuyo-hime's sudden illness that they used every means to care for her, consigning the Mikoto to oblivion. For all their efforts, Tatsuyo-hime did not recover from her illness easily, and hours went by to no avail.
At this time Kojima-wake was so confused that he tumbled into the valley next to him, hit his lower back, and screamed in pain on the valley floor. Meanwhile, Matsuyo-hime looked after Tatsuyo-hime, and Takejima-hiko went down the valley and devoted his energy to nursing Kojima-wake. Tatsuyo-hime complained of ever-worsening agony.
Takejima-hiko carried Kojima-wake on his back and just barely crawled up the valley at last. He was bewildered by the two ailing deities holding his hands atop the valley. At that precise moment, Tatsuyo-hime made a full recovery as if she did a complete 180, and then burst into loud laughter.
Kojima-wake's face twisted in a grimace of pain. He received all kinds of treatment before he was finally able to walk with a stick. Only then was Takejima-hiko shocked to realize that Kototama-wake no Mikoto had disappeared, and he called out the Mikoto's name with the loud shout "Hey! Hey!" His voice echoed over the mountains as if it were destroying them. However, no one heard even the faintest voice of Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
Kojima-wake walked with a stagger using his stick, albeit at a snail's pace. This made things go hopelessly slowly. He was quick to instruct his attendants to carry him on a palanquin, and they soon arrived at the forked road. At this time the Kojima-wake party was lost in thought for a while about which path Kototama-wake no Mikoto had trodden.
Tatsuyo-hime recommended time and again that the party choose the right path, but they were still at a loss as to which way to go.
After a group discussion, Takejima-hiko and Matsuyo-hime took the right path while Kojima-wake and Tatsuyo-hime followed the left path and casually passed by Mino-hiko's palace.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto waited until he saw Kojima-wake's palanquin go past the crimson palace. Then he spent a leisurely time meeting with Mototeru-hiko and Mino-hiko before he gave them a viable action plan. Shortly afterwards, the Mikoto stopped Kojima-wake's palanquin from behind with the loud shout "Hey! Hey!"
"Where the hell have you been, Mikoto?" Kojima-wake groaned as he crept out of the palanquin. "You deserted seriously ill Tatsuyo-hime. You left us behind to act independently. This is so inconsiderate and absolutely outrageous."
Kojima-wake criticized the Mikoto while holding his waist. Kototama-wake no Mikoto laughed heartily and then violently swore, "Tatsuyo-hime deserves that critical illness because she is usually very conceited. I hope she collapses on the way and dies so she can fall prey to birds and beasts. But 'ill weeds grow apace,' as the saying goes. I just can't figure out why she is still alive and strong."
Not knowing what Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Tatsuyo-hime were actually thinking, Kojima-wake got upset and flew into a rage.
"You nefarious villain, Kototama-wake no Mikoto!" Kojima-wake shouted as he rose to his feet. "I'm now going to punish you on behalf of Heaven. You'll be sorry."
At that very moment, Kojima-wake's lower backache was gone right away, and Kototama-wake no Mikoto fell down on the path and died.
Kojima-wake clapped his hands in prayer and thanked Heaven, muttering, "I'm definitely awestruck by the Kami. Swift is Heaven's retribution."
Tatsuyo-hime hurried to care for Kototama-wake no Mikoto. At this time, Kojima-wake angrily said, "He is an evil and immoral kami strongly hoping for your death in a ditch. How could you be taking care of your enemy? You have no obligation to do that."
"Divine Providence with the utmost virtue and love is beyond your knowledge," Tatsuyo-hime rebuked as she drew herself up and faced Kojima-wake solemnly. "Your language is the Devil's whisper. Reform yourself right now and apologize to Kototama-wake no Mikoto. Otherwise, I would go back to the Dragon Palace Castle and tell Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto about your impious sin."
Kojima-wake prostrated himself on the ground like a flat spider and apologized for his past conduct. Kototama-wake no Mikoto, who was lying down on the path, never developed an illness and collapsed on the ground. It was actually his ingenious strategy to make Kojima-wake put the Mikoto in the palanquin and carry it on his shoulder.
Kojima-wake obeyed Tatsuyo-hime's strict orders and carried the palanquin on his shoulder, even though there were many lower-ranking deities who specialized in carrying palanquins on their shoulders. He begrudgingly moved forward with faltering steps, getting out of step with the other bearers, like a sheep being led to the slaughterhouse.
After a while the palanquin reached a crossroads. Taking the right road, Takejima-hiko and Matsuyo-hime also came here and saw Kojima-wake again. All three of them congratulated one another on their safety and good health.
Seizing this moment, Tatsuyo-hime gave Takejima-hime the order to carry the palanquin on his shoulder.
"This is my strict order," Tatsuyo-hime said. "You need to be a rear palanquin bearer. Carry this covered litter on your shoulder to send Kototama-wake no Mikoto to Tokoyo-hime."
Takejima-hiko was upset by Tatsuyo-hime's order. But he could not ignore it and ended up carrying the palanquin on his shoulder. Takejima-hiko and Kojima-wake, the two forced palanquin bearers, looked disatisfied as if Acala on the cooking stove was hit with a burning pile by the guardian deities of the three jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha).
(Dictation taken by Masaharu Taniguchi on November 1 by the solar calendar, or October 2 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 23: Tatsuyo-hime's Extraordinary Wisdom 〔73〕
Kojima-wake and Takejima-hiko were begrudgingly carrying Kototama-wake no Mikoto's palanquin on their shoulders while making a displeased face as if a monkey ate a sour persimmon or a child swallowed a bitter pill. Their inner discontent and grumbling must have been growing exponentially. The palanquin finally approached a steep uphill slope. The two deities were going up the slope, sweating profusely. Matsuyo-hime was helping the palanquin move forward by pushing Takejima-hiko's rear poles from behind. Tatsuyo-hime was such a humorous kami official that she clapped her hands in delight as she saw this situation from behind, imitated varous funny hand movements, and improvised the following ditty while stomping her feet:
The kami Kototama-wake no Mikoto,
Was sent to the koshi (distant) Land of Eternity,
Collapsed on the path and hurt his koshi (back),
Was carried on the koshi (palanquin) and was suffering from pain in his koshi (back),
Dislocated his koshi (back) also in the koshi (distant) Land of Eternity,
Was mocked for being a koshi nuke (petrified; chicken-hearted) kami,
That is fine with me because it is his business,
I do not care about koshi, I simply do not care.
Hearing Tatsuyo-hime's teasing ditty, the party of Kojima-wake and the others burst into laughter while having a hard time walking up the slope. They rolled around laughing so much that they could not take even a step forward as their feet felt heavy. They got stuck here and ended up bending down and splitting their sides with laughter. Out of the palanquin came the excited voice of Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
Despite repeated calls for the matsu no yo (world of pines; much-awaited world),
The mappo no yo (latter days of this world; sinful age) has come instead to bear the palanquin,
Poor Kojima-wake and Takejima-hiko,
Their lower backs must be hurting,
Tatsuyo-hime, the source of my anger, might collapse,
But that is fine with me because it is her business,
I do not care about koshi, I simply do not care.
The Mikoto's ditty infuriated Kojima-wake and Takejima-hiko the moment they heard it to the point where they threw away the palanquin into the valley.
The palanquin tumbled down the valley and smashed to pieces. Kojima-wake and the other deities cheered loudly, clapping their hands in applause and dancing a jig of joy.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto harnessed the divine power of the various scarfs he had had in his bosom to keep himself from even the slightest injury. He leisurely climbed up the valley and appeared before the party of Kojima-wake and the other kami. Tatsuyo-hime cussed out the Mikoto. These two deities started a big argument and escalated it into a hand-to-hand fight. This argument was totally fixed by the two deities. Not knowing their true intention, Kojima-wake, Takejima-hiko and the others intervened in the dispute between the two to protect Tatsuyo-hime from injury, and battered Kototama-wake no Mikoto from both sides. Tatsuyo-hime and Kototama-wake no Mikoto randomly called each other the worst names imaginable, fighting harder than like cats and dogs. The whole party gradually approached the capital of the Land of Eternity. Tokoyo-hime had many of her servant kami welcome the Kototama-wake no Mikoto party. Then came two palanquins. Kototama-wake no Mikoto got into one while Tatsuyo-hime got into the other. Kojima-wake and Takejima-hiko ordered those servant kami to shake the palanquin carrying the Mikoto front and back, side to side, or move it up high above their heads and occasionally move it down low towards the ground to give the Mikoto a hard time. He did nothing but feel almost dizzy. By the time he arrived at Tokoyo-hime's palace, Kototama-wake no Mikoto had been exhausted from the violent pitching and rolling and had been so thirsty as to crave for water desperately. An attendant of Tokoyo-hime filled a golden bowel with water and offered it to the thirsty Mikoto. At this time Tatsuyo-hime got out of the palanquin and looked at what they were doing.
"There is no need to offer that gorgeous bowl filled with the precious water to the koshi nuke (chicken-hearted) kami," Tatsuyo-hime said, grabbing the bowl from the side. "I'm really thirsty. I should be the one to drink this water. Muddy water is enough for the koshi nuke kami."
Instead of drinking the water, Tatsuyo-hime threw it at Matsuyo-hime. Her sleeve caught fire and emitted smoke. With the heat making her writhe in agony, Matsuyo-hime jumped into the moat to put out the fire and just barely crept back out of the moat. Kami officials were so shocked by the sight that they ran to Matsuyo-hime to have her change into new clothes, care for her, and console her. Kototama-wake no Mikoto nagged Tatsuyo-hime about her obstinate and self-assertive behavior. Tatsuyo-hime kept ridiculing the Mikoto, saying, "koshi nuke, koshi nuke." This made his blood boil. He grasped the hilt of his sword and threatened to put Tatsuyo-hime to the sword. Kojima-wake and Takejima-hiko came between the two deities and exhausted their vocabularies to act as mediators, culminating in the successful settlement of this dispute. The whole contention was actually a farce created by Tatsuyo-hime out of consideration for Kototama-wake no Mikoto to save him from being poisoned.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Katohh on November 1 by the solar calendar, or October 2 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 24: Complete Disappearance 〔74〕
A majestic and stylish temple was built in the capital of the Tokoyo no Kuni (Land of Eternity) to enshrine and worship heavenly and earthly deities. Tokoyo-hime performed a ceremony as chief priest, and Kototama-wake no Mikoto assisted her as deputy priest along with other kami officials. The solemn ceremony finally came to an end, shortly giving way to a naorai feast of offerings to the Kami, such as rice wine, delicacies from the mountains and sea, and fruit and vegetables, which were distributed to the spiritual benefit of worshippers and priests. Tokoyo-hime took the seat of honor, and a myriad other kami officials also took seats one after another. Even the vast place for group worship in front of the altar was filled to capacity as if there were no room to stand a gimlet on its end.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto was invited to sit next to Tokoyo-hime as an important guest from the Dragon Palace Castle. At this time Tatsuyo-hime changed color and talked to Tokoyo-hime while looking askance at the Mikoto.
"It is an insult to me to let that koshi nuke (chicken-hearted) kami take the seat of honor," Tatsuyo-hime argued. "I'm a daughter of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. I ask you to switch my seat with his."
Tatsuyo-hime's request made the whole participants feel ill at ease and infuriated Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
"It is extremely presumptuous of a mere goddess like you to try to take my seat of honor," the Mikoto said. "Just return to your lowest seat, and serve and entertain me."
Thus, a conflict flared up again between the two deities.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto finally met Tatsuyo-hime halfway and gave her his seat of honor. At this time delicacies from the mountains and sea were served in front of the kami officials. Tokoyo-hime addressed all the deities present, celebrating the successful completion of the festival and going into detail about why the naorai feast was held.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto returned Tokoyo-hime's courtesy by greeting the congregation politely as a representative of the Dragon Palace Castle. The time finally came for the participants to start wining and dining. At this time Tatsuyo-hime saw a variety of sumptuous meals in front of the Mikoto and angrily said, "A koshi nuke kami like the Mikoto does not deserve the delicacies from the mountains or sea" as she knocked over all the meals on the table before him. And she took some tasty frog-shaped bread out of her bosom.
"Here is a mummified frog," Tatsuyo-hime said. "That is more than enough for you."
Before she finished saying so, the violent goddess had already squeezed the bread into the Mikoto's mouth. A blue flame rose from the hot soup that had been knocked over from the meals in front of the Mikoto. Tokoyo-hime and her subordinate deities were off their guard around Tatsuyo-hime as they were aware that she and the Mikoto were at odds with each other like cats and dogs.
The feast ended without a hitch. The participants went back to their respective living rooms. As the guest of honor, Kototama-wake no Mikoto was offered to go to bed in the most beautiful living room of the penetralia. Kojima-wake and Takejima-hiko served the Mikoto at his bedside as attendants for his protection. The Mikoto had such a terrible lower backache that he told the two attendants to massage his lower back until midnight. Kojima-wake and Takejima-hiko were so exhausted that they started snoring loudly, when Tatsuyo-hime came in and ordered them to take a rest in a different room. The two attendants were happy to enter the room on her orders, and fell fast asleep, having fun in a dream world.
Meanwhile, Tatsuyo-hime armed Kototama-wake no Mikoto and secretly let him escape from the building through the back gate under cover of darkness. Waiting with bated breaths outside the gate were Mototeru-hiko and his many attendants. The Mikoto got into the portable shrine they had prepared for him as they fled towards the north. Suddenly, a voice was heard from the peneralia. This woke up some kami officials, and they rushed to the scene, suspiciously wondering what was breaking out.
At this time Tatsuyo-hime shouted at the top of her voice, "I almost got killed by Kototama-wake no Mikoto just now. I fought tooth and nail for my strength as a goddess, and the Mikoto used up all his energy. He ran away but slipped down the stairs, and now he is drowning in this deep moat. You folks come here to pick him up and save him."
Not knowing that Kototama-wake no Mikoto had secretly fled the scene, the kami officials ran hither and thither, and took boats out on the water in the moat to search it. For all their efforts, they ended up empty-handed, without recognizing even the slightest shadow of the Mikoto.
The fruitless outcome of the search astonished Kojima-wake, Takejima-hiko, and Matsuyo-hime. They tilted their heads to one side and heaved a sigh, saying, "We have no idea how to report the whole thing to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto."
Then came an urgent message: "Kototama-wake no Mikoto worked with Mototeru-hiko to lead his divine army and run away."
Tokoyo-hime, Kojima-wake and many other kami attendants scattered in all directions to launch a massive search for the whereabouts of Kototama-wake no Mikoto. For all their efforts, they ended up empty-handed, without recognizing the slightest shadow of the Mikoto. What would his fate be?
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on November 1 by the solar calendar, or October 2 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 25: A Futon Quilt Tunnel 〔75〕
Kototama-wake no Mikoto fled the castle under cover of darkness. The room he had stayed in was completely empty, giving it quite a miserable look as the damage was done. Not a single kami attendant was spared from being dispatched in all directions. Meanwhile, Tokoyo-hime assembled her kami officials, and since they were suspicious of Tatsuyo-hime's behavior, they questioned her about many different things. But she calmly hummed to herself no matter what their questions were, doing nothing but evade them by feigning ignorance.
Saruyo-hiko, a highly influential kami at the Tokoyo Castle, pressed Tatsuyo-hime for clarification, saying, "You are responsible for losing our cherished gem during your sleep. Just tell Tokoyo-hime the truth right away and confess its whereabouts in detail."
Tatsuyo-hime persisted in playing innocent, composed poems filled with the term neru (e.g. sleep, twist, cannot), made weird gestures, and danced to the poems amusingly and frantically, swaying her bottom from side to side.
Tatsuyo-hime's poems read as follows:
The long trip made Kototama-wake no Mikoto tired enough to fall fast neru (asleep),
The amateur masseurs neru (twisted) his shoulders,
Takejima-hiko neru (twisted) his lower back,
They neru (slept) and neru (slept) innocently,
Their eyes nearly popped out of their heads when they woke up from neru (sleep),
Not having a neru (clue) as to his whereabouts, they had to meekly accept the situation,
The logic they chopped did not neru (work),
This made me so disgusted that I neru (twisted) my bottom,
No matter how much they neru (chop) logic, I neru (cannot) say anything about it,
The kami Kototama-wake no Mikoto,
May be neru (reluctant) to go back to the Dragon Palace Castle,
When I am neru (asked) about where he is,
I neru (cannot) answer it because I do not know,
When I gazed at the beds the two kami had used,
I found that a neru (tunnel) of the futon quilt was open in either bed,
They simply neru (slept) too much,
I neru (cannot) figure out,
What the kami in the Land of Eternity think or feel,
They might want to leave no stone unturned in their search for the Mikoto,
And neru (sleep) a hundred, nay a thousand times,
Whenever I am neru (asked) about anything,
I do nothing but neru (sleep), totally unaware of what is going on around me,
I do nothing but neru (sleep), totally unaware of what is going on around me.
Tatsuyo-hime danced into the peneralia. Staring at her aghast, Tokoyo-hime finally cleared her mind of doubt.
The Tokoyo Castle was virtually empty, with most guard commanders away on duty to track down Kototama-wake no Mikoto. Suddenly, a battle cry was heard at the foot of the castle. Tokoyo-hime climbed to the higher level of the building and glared down at its premises, when, lo and behold, she saw Mototeru-hiko leading numerous divine soliders and ordering them to surround the castle in serried ranks as they were poised to open fire.
Tokoyo-hime was in such a tight spot that she dispatched Tatsuyo-hime as a military envoy to Mototeru-hiko's divine army to make peace with them at once. Tatsuyo-hime stood before Mototeru-hiko, looked at each other, and conveyed Tokoyo-hime's message to him with a smile.
Mototeru-hiko wrote a letter about peace negotiations and had Tatsuyo-hime deliver it to Tokoyo-hime. The gist of the letter was:
"Abandon your castle right away and retreat to the Ural Mountains."
Mototeru-hiko's message put Tokoyo-hime in an even tighter spot. She was swift to cause black clouds and made a clean getaway high in the northeastern sky as she shape-shifted into Kimmoh-happi no Akko (evil fox with eight blonde tails).
Mototeru-hiko made a triumphant entry into the Tokoyo Castle. All the soldiers in Tokoyo-hime's divine army surrendered to Mototeru-hiko. He held a banquet to recognize the hard work of various kami officials and attendants. At this time, Takekuma-hiko and Yasukuma, valorous devils working under Tokoyo-hime, were holed up in the southern Rockies. They were enraged to know about the fall of the Tokoyo Castle and Tokoyo-hime's ensuing escape. To reverse the whole situation, they disguised themselves as lowly kami on purpose and sneaked near the foot of the castle to wait for a chance to strike back.
At this time, Mototeru-hiko let his guard down and passed out cold, completely naked. Takekuma-hiko and Yasukuma stormed the castle and beat Mototeru-hiko's subordinate deities with hammers. The kami officials and attendants at the Tokoyo Castle, who had hitherto obeyed Mototeru-hiko, stood up en masse and assaulted him from all directions. These kami pretended to get drunk from the beginning; they actually had some water to act like they were drunkards. Mototeru-hiko was flabbergasted, and this sobered him up quickly. He ran through the back gate for his life, swam the moat nakedly with his shivering limbs paddling in the water, and vanished into the north. What will become of the fate of Mototeru-hiko?
In the meantime, Mototeru-hiko's divine army got startled to sober up and fled in all directions.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on November 1 by the solar calendar, or October 2 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 26: Short-Tailed Albatrosses 〔76〕
It was actually all Tokoyo-hime's magic that she looked as if she had been put in a tight spot by Mototeru-hiko's attack, had shape-shifted into Kimmoh-happi Hakumen no Akko (White-faced evil fox with eight blonde tails), and had ridden a cloud to flee to the Rockies. She still lurked in the innermost part of the castle. She was dressed up and leisurely appeared before Tatsuyo-hime, Takekuma-hiko and others. Takekuma-hiko was overjoyed at the sight as if his master rose from the dead. Many kami officials and attendants were also excited to see her, shouting for joy. The whole castle was enveloped into a festive mood as if dead trees blossomed at once. By contrast, Kojima-wake, Takejima-hiko and Matsuyo-hime were deep in thought, even going pale and sighing in despair, about how to apologize to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto for this failure. Tatsuyo-hime could not help laughing at their absurdly serious behavior. And again she began reciting funny poems and dancing to them.
Tatsuyo-hime's poems read as follows:
Takejima-hiko's face looks
As if Yama (the Great Judge of Hell) had eaten incense powder.
What makes him look so discontented?
Is he in Hell or the Western Paradise?
Or perhaps he is at the Tokoyo Castle.
He should invite a Jizo (guardian deity of children)
And have them pour him a drink.
A quick glance at the kami Kojima-wake
Tells that he looks like
An unripe gourd, a dried gourd,
A morning gourd, a wax gourd, a pumpkin
Or a slightely twisted pumpkin.
This place is not a vegetable garden
But he is a tsukune imo (Japanese yam) sighing in despair.
After much soul-searching,
He is acutely aware that his sin built on a tsukune (pile) of lies
Has heta (awfully) humiliated himself,
And that he is better off playing no heta (dirty) tricks.
Pity his best-laid plans
had gone awry.
He is a real ahoh-dori (albatross; literally 'stupid-bird')
Which has to grin and bear its own good-for-nothingness.
There is a time when roasted beans might flower.
This mess originated from his own bad karma.
What comes around goes around before his eyes
No matter how much he is angry and taking out on everyone,
That is none of my business.
It does not matter whether or not he can save face
Or if his shaved head might split open.
It is he who is good for nothing.
He had better eat two meals instead of three
And suck his thumb when he sleeps.
Dusk, dusk, dusk, dusk, and pronto.
Run back to the Dragon Palace Castle pronto.
Once he is back there, the kami at the Dragon Palace Castle
Will hit him in the head - a hilarious story.
Now matter how much he will be laughted at,
Don't get mad, Kojima-wake.
Just laugh and grow fat.
Look forward to a time of good fortune in life.
Turn over a new leaf this time.
Dusk, dusk, dusk, dusk, and pronto.
Several kami used all the words they could think of to console Kojima-wake and Takejima-hiko as they gazed at the two deities' concerned expression on their faces. Tokoyo-hime gave the worried kami plenty of rarities and courteously thanked them for their hard work. She gave Tatsuyo-hime a beautiful jewel. She also handed her younger sister a variety of treasures so that she could bring them back to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto as an offering. The four deities decided to return to the Dragon Palace Castle, traversed distant mountains, seas and rivers, and finally made it to the castle. Tatsuyo-hime had no qualms about appearing before Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, presented her with the various treasures brought back from Tokoyo-hime, and detailed the failure of Kojima-wake and Takejima-hiko amusingly. The last part infuriated the Mikoto.
"Kojima-wake and the other two deities," she warned bluntly. "Come to me right away!"
The three kami were petrified with fear as if a mouse were cornered by a cat. They were burying their heads in their trembling hands like fleas or lice. Kototama-hime felt so sorry for their plight that she strove for every means available to appease the angry Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. Meanwhile, Tatsuyo-hime composed funny poems. Kototama-hime danced like crazy to those poems using her eccentric hand movements in a bid to make the Mikoto roar with laughter and thereby ease the tension among the deities.
Tatsuyo-hime's poems read as follows:
They are like a toad being chased by a big snake.
If they had known that something like this would happen,
They would not have taken part in that mission.
They were deceived by this or that,
Were at the mercy of the unruly kami,
And were bothered by Mototeru-hiko,
Who argued with them about good and evil,
Suspecting them unjustly as they suspected him unjustly.
They brown-nosed the evil deities from the Land of Eternity,
Who were as cunning as always.
They even swayed their bottoms from side to side to the point of dislocating their koshi (lower backs).
They had their koshi (palanquin) snatched away but later bore it on their shoulders.
The kami on the koshi (palanquin),
Told them off harshly,
And made them massage his koshi (lower back),
As they koshi'ed (traversed) their country to the Dragon Palace Castle with a koshi nuke (chicken-hearted) expression on their faces.
When they returned,
They looked down in the dumps or terrified before the Lord of the Castle.
They were little cuckoos going through the dreadful experience,
Without taking a rest,
As they were all dragged to this place.
They could not think up an excuse,
And Tatsuyo-hime helped them save face,
Quite enthusiastically,
As she returned to the castle.
They were hiding and weeping.
This is what is called cuckoos deep in the mountains,
Singing cuckoo cuckoo with their cuckoo (foolish) faces.
They were hiding their faces but sticking out their butts,
Which they were able to squeeze like this.
What oh aho (big idiots) they were as they went overboard,
Uttering aho (idiot, caw) and aho at dawn
In a jocular tone of voice.
Please forgive them for what they did.
Two, nay three, heads are better than one,
But these three deities
Are far from better despite their advancing age.
Their invisible wisdom
Lacks a backbone unlike Wakazakura-hime's supple lower back.
Babbling on aimlessly
Is much worse than saying nothing at all.
The three monkeys flew out of their land,
Were kaku'ed (put) to shame in the Land of Eternity,
And again kaku'ed (scratched) their embarrassed heads upon their return
Like a saru (monkey) having fallen off a tree.
Instead of gazing at the sky and crying,
They would be better off saru'ing (leaving) here.
Dusk, dusk, dusk, dusk, and pronto.
The kototama (mystical power believed to reside in spoken words) of those poems calmed Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's anger at the three deities, who would be forgiven by her for their failure to capture Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Katoh on November 1 by the solar calendar, or October 2 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 27: A Mummy on the Lake 〔77〕
Mototeru-hiko narrowly escaped naked from the Tokoyo Castle. He wove thatch, sedge, straw and other plants to make a hat and a rain cape. He fled safely to Mino-hiko's red mansion and knocked on its gate. At that time Tatekuma-wake, the chief guard, was closely keeping the gate with several other guards. Mototeru-hiko at the gate looked shabby because of his disguised looks, his face covered with mulberry juice as well as his hat and rain cape. The very sight of him made Tatekuma-wake believe that a down-and-out evil kami showed up. Tatekuma-wake chided Mototeru-hiko angrily and denied him entrance through the gate.
"I'm a comdrade of Mino-hiko," said Mototeru-hiko. "Please tell it to Mino-hiko right away."
"Get out of here quickly," Tatekuma-wake ordered in disbelief, his tone harsh.
The guard kami would not lend an ear no matter how much Mototeru-hiko explained. Then the shabby-looking deity hit on an idea.
"To tell the truth, I'm a wandering kami," Mototeru-hiko declared as he began reciting the next poems by Tatsuyo-hime's example:
I escaped from the Tokoyo Castle
With nothing on - going stark naked.
I'm wearing this mino (rain cape) and hat, only to feel the end of my mino (body).
Why are you refusing to let me see your master?
Is the guard deity at the mansion
A mino-mushi (bagworm) without knowing his place?
To you, I probably look like
A down-and-outer or pauper,
But don't overlook me cuz I'm an awesome kami.
Not knowing his refusal will backfire on himself,
The kuma (bear) deity at the gate
Is trying to drive me away for no reason.
My body has been dimmed like this,
But moto (originally), it teru-hiko'es (lights up).
When it casts light, it will instantly
Brighten up the crimson mansion.
Mino-hiko will soon be sorry
To suffer serious consequences
With a crying face, which I feel is a pitiful sight.
I'm fine if he doesn't want to see me.
Be careful not to get flabbergasted later.
Be careful not to get flabbergasted later.
Mototeru-hiko danced to those poems over and over again.
Tatekuma-wake was teasing the wandering kami in jest, feeling what a mysterious guy he was. Aware of the loud noise at the gate, Mino-hiko stood up, got out of his room, and fixed his gaze on the guest. He was confused by the wandering kami's face. It looked somewhat familiar to him despite its strange color. His voice also sounded slightly familiar to him. He was not quite sure what was going on, but allowed the guest inside the gate anyway.
The moment the wandering kami entered the gate, he said to Mino-hiko, "I'm Mototeru-hiko. My army was defeated at the Tokoyo Castle, and all the soldiers dispersed in every direction. I narrowly escaped death and fled all the way here at last."
Mototeru-hiko's full account of his plight took Mino-hiko by surprise. The mansion owner lay prostrate on the ground and apologized to Mototeru-hiko for Tatekuma-wake's discourtesy. He hurried to take his guest to the innermost palace where the wandering kami was wined and dined with a sumptuous feast and was dressed in new attire. Mino-hiko had Mototeru-hiko take the seat of honor while sitting upright to the left of his guest. He asked an assistant to call for Tatekuma-wake, and the chief guard presented himself before his master. Tatekuma-wake was surprised by the presence of the highly respectable kami in the seat of honor and gazed at him suspiciously. Pointing to the seat of honor, Mino-hiko told Tatekuma-wake that this kami was the wanderer he had met earlier at the gate. A long, good look at him made Tatekuma-wake finally realize that he was none other than Mototeru-hiko. The chief guard quickly knelt on the floor and prostrated himself to apologize for his rude behavior.
After much secret deliberation with Mino-hiko, Mototeru-hiko went to Lake Superior with Minato-hiko, a mansion servant, to disguise himself as a boatman so that he could check deities who would come and go, win supporters over to his side, and gather intelligence on the enemy situation.
Tokoyo-hime divided her army into smaller groups to thoroughly search for the whereabouts of Kototama-wake and Mototeru-hiko in all directions. Saruyo-hiko appeared here just now as he was running after Kototama-wake no Mikoto. To cross this lake, he told Minato-hiko to get a boat ready for him. The boatman started rowing his boat right away. The boat sailed near the center of the lake, when a storm raged suddenly with high waves about to engulf the boat. Saruyo-hiko went deathly pale and shuddered with horror. By contrast, Minato-hiko remained calm and unperturbed, humming a tune. He then talked to Saruyo-hiko about the rumor going around that the Tokoyo Castle fell again because of kami commanders named Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Mototeru-hiko, and that Tokoyo-hime went to the Dragon Palace Castle. Feeling extremely uneasy, Saruyo-hiko told the boatman to return the boat to the lakeside. The wind grew stronger and stronger, and the waves grew higher and higher. Saruyo-hiko lost his cool and ordered the boatman to go back time and again. Minato-hiko, however, kept his cool completely and rowed the boat further and further northwards.
"I have been waiting for you to come here, posing as a lowly boatman," Minato-hiko said as he straightened himself and faced Saruyo-hiko. "To tell the truth, I'm a staff officer for Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Mototeru-hiko. If we got back southwards now, we would be in for an attack by Kototama-wake no Mikoto keeping his numerous divine warriors on standby to destroy us. If we headed northwards, we would also be in for an attack by Mototeru-hiko on the north bank of the lake with his divine warriors kept on standby to destroy us. These two generals have assigned commanding officers from their armies to the north, south, east and west of this lake. Security is so tight that even ants would not stand a chance of crawling out. I have something to tell you. They say even a chance acquaintance is a divine ordinance. You and I are in the same boat. Or better yet, why don't we take a suicidal dive into this lake, instead of being humiliated for rashly choosing to stay alive against the intention of most male deities? Also, you will be mortified if you play dirty to cling to your life but get caught as a prisoner. It will be a disgrace not just to you. It will be a big disgrace to Tokoyo-hime as well. Just prepare yourself."
Minato-hiko's tough questioning made Saruyo-hiko cry aloud effeminately - in a crafty move - as he reached the end of his rope, and put his palms together to beg for his life."
"I'm willing to grant your wish," Minato-hiko said, his face beaming with joy. "If you grant one of my wishes."
"While there is life, there is hope," Saruyo-hiko replied. "If you save my life, I'll never disobey your order, even a tall one like climbing a mountain while doing a handstand."
Minato-hiko ordered, "Take off your clothes, dive in this lake, and strip yourself naked."
A piercingly cold wind was blustering over this already frigid lake. But thinking that his life was more important, Saruyo-hiko removed his clothes dutifully on Minato-hiko's orders. He quickly began to shiver with cold like a jelly ghost or grandchild of a temblor, and finally breathed his last with his limbs frozen, turning into a complete mummy. Minato-hiko loaded this mummy into the boat and headed back to the boarding point as a gift for Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on November 2 by the solar calendar, or October 3 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Part 5: Divine Love and Benevolence
Chapter 28: A Battle on Mount Koh-haku 〔78〕
Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Mototeru-hiko chanted the Kamigoto norito prayer to the mummy of Saruyo-hiko and breathed on it both in front of and behind the frozen body. In a flash Saruyo-hiko's body temperature steadily increased, bringing him back to life - just barely.
Saruyo-hiko was astonished to see Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Mototeru-hiko right before his eyes, and did nothing but plead with them to save his life and forgive his sin. The Mikoto valued benevolence and righteousness so much that he saved the life of the resurrected kami, wrote a letter, and told him to hand it over to Tokoyo-hime.
Saruyo-hiko obediently accepted the Mikoto's orders and thanked the heroes for the great favor done for him when saving his life. After that, the resurrected kami with the character "monkey" in his name returned to the Land of Eternity, wagging his tail in delight.
The Mikoto's letter read as follows:
"Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Mototeru-hiko have led numerous brave and dauntless commanding officers and soldiers to Lake Superior and its surrounding areas for encampments. They are poised to occupy the Tokoyo Castle in great numbers. Tokoyo-hime, mend your ways quickly, repent your sins, and turn over a new leaf with all your heart. Otherwise, I will raise a heavenly army to annihilate you."
Saruyo-hiko escaped from the jaws of death. He bowed his head and bent down before he fled southward, wagging his tail. The Kototama-wake no Mikoto camp on the shore of Lake Superior had Minato-hiko protect the local area as the Mikoto and Mototeru-hiko went on a distant expedition together to head for Mount Koh-haku, where there were two kami priests: Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime.
These two kami priests were commanders guarding Mount Koh-haku.
The evil army of Tokoyo-hime and her fellow conspirators attacked and damaged Mount Koh-haku. Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime were already held hostage and locked up in a dug cave.
At this time Kototama-wake no Mikoto sensed the presence of the righteous kami priests from some white clouds rising above the peak. A closer look found Komayama-hiko, a kami working under Tokoyo-hime, besiege Mount Koh-haku. Kototama-wake no Mikoto took up a position on the south side of the mountain, and Mototeru-hiko took a detour from the west to go behind the north side of the mountain. This way the two kami attached Mount Koh-haku both in front and in the rear. Komayama-hiko was caught off guard by the powerful army's surprise attack behind him and suffered an unexpected defeat. He just barely scuttled away as his entire army was almost completely routed and fled in all directions.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Mototeru-hiko climbed Mount Koh-haku from the south and north sides, respectively. They smashed the door of the cave, from which some white clouds were rising, to resuce the two kami held captive.
Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime thanked Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Mototeru-hiko for saving their lives, became the Mikoto's vassals at their earnest request, and dedicated their fort on Mount Koh-haku to him.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto designated the fort as his base by appointing Arakuma-hiko as commanding officer in charge while sending Mototeru-hiko to Rome and Moscow as a scout to get information about how his friendly forces were doing.
Mount Koh-haku, located at the northern end of the Land of Eternity, was one of the most important sites where the Kami would implement divine measures to reign over the world.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on November 2 by the solar calendar, or October 3 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 29: A Maiden Angel 〔79〕
Kototama-wake no Mikoto ruled Mount Koh-haku and its surrounding areas with mercy and benevolence according to the will of the Kami. This allowed a wide variety of deities to sing the praises of peace and live in comfort, culminating in a glorious reign that deserved the phrase "heaven on earth". The Mikoto's influence and popularity were in the ascendant. Arakuma-hiko, abetted by his wife Arakuma-hime, inwardly bided his time to entrap the Mikoto, to whom he had been deeply indebted, to take back his place from the great ruler. Arakuma-hiko sent an envoy on a secret mission to the Tokoyo Castle to seek the aid of Tokoyo-hime in destroying his lifesaver.
Komayama-hiko, who had fled after the crushing defeat, prepared to fight a battle and launched a frenzied attack on Mount Koh-haku. Kototama-wake no Mikoto ordered Arakuma-hiko to go on the defensive. However, Arakuma-hiko had already been in touch with the enemy force.
Arakuma-hiko had a son named Kiyoteru-hiko, who was a righteous kami. Arakuma-hime heard a widespread rumor that her son was destroyed by Mototeru-hiko in the latest battle that resulted in the enemy's resounding defeat. At this time Mototeru-hiko had come all the way to Mount Koh-haku with his divine enemy as reinforcements after he had completed his tours of Rome and Moscow and heard about an impending danger to the mountain. The rumor about Mototeru-hiko having ruined Kiyoteru-hiko made Arakuma-hime angrier and angrier, and she plotted to ensnare Kototama-wake no Mikoto's divine army on Mount Koh-haku by pretending to lead the army southwards for defense against the enemy force. At this very moment, a female messenger of the Kami appeared riding a dragon-horse in the sky and came down towards the fort on the mountain. She was a young angel with striking beauty. She got off her horse and forced her way closer to where Kototama-wake no Mikoto was seated.
"I'm a messenger of a heavenly kami," the angel said. "Mount Koh-haku is now in imminent danger because of Arakuma-hiko's change of mind. So is your life at any moment. If you believe my words as an angel, you should order me to take command of your whole army."
The angel's words made Kototama-wake no Mikoto deeply suspicious as he trusted Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime so much as to delegate them to take command of his whole army.
"Aren't you an evil kami posing as an angel to deceive me?" the Mikoto responded. "You must be a devil conjured up by the magic of Tokoyo-hime."
Instantly the Mikoto unsheathed his sword and slashed at the female messenger. It was about to cut the angel in two over her head like lightning, when an usual luminosity appeared over her head to break his sword into thirds, with the Mikoto holding nothing but the hilt in his hand. He gaped at the maiden angel in dazed silence.
Facing the Mikoto with a smile, the maiden angel said, "If you don't trust my words, Mount Koh-haku will be destroyed in an instant. I've come to rescue and side with a righteous kami like you from heaven on a heavely kami's orders."
In this way the angel elaborated on the divine will of the heavenly kami. It finally dawned on Kototama-wake no Mikoto that she had been right all along. At that precise moment, things outside the gate got noisy, with high-pitched footsteps approaching the Mikoto. His suspicious glance found Arakuma-hiko dashing closer to the Mikoto's seat while brandishing his metal rod.
"I've come to see you, Kototama-wake no Mikoto," Arakuma-hiko said, his tone intimidating. "Mount Koh-haku has been destroyed almost completely thanks to Tokoyo-hime's strong support, Komayama-hiko's clever strategy, AND me and my wife's change of mind. Your fate is already sealed. Just take your own life here like a man. If you dilly-dally and don't get on with it, regrettably I'll have to crush you to pieces with this metal rod. What do you say to that?"
The moment she saw the sight, the maiden angel, or Kinuko-hime, cut in on them, shouting, "Wait a minute, Arakuma-hiko!" as she glared angrily at him. Her shout was quite harsh for a gracious female messenger of the Kami.
Arakuma-hiko derided her as a wimpy maiden and scoffed at her. "When a large building collapses," said Arakuma-hiko. "Only a single tree can't support the building, let alone what little power a single maiden like you has. Just stay out of my business."
Arakuma-hiko was about to push down Kinuko-hime, when she raised her voice and said, "How dare you pick a fight with an angel? I'll teach you a lesson" as she clasped her hands in prayer. That prompted the immediate descent of brave and dauntless divine officers from the sky, and they surrounded Arakuma-hiko, caught him, and finally made him sit down there. Stunned by this sudden chain of events, the embattled kami asked for help as he confessed all his guilt and returned the power to command the entire armed forces. Arakuma-hime, meanwhile, never dreamed that her husband would become entangled in those events when she fought with Mototeru-hiko tooth and nail in the wilderness at the southern foot of the mountain. At that time, Mototeru-hiko and his army were on the verge of total destruction as they advanced so much as to be closely besieged by the enemy.
Komayama-hiko's evil army gained further momentum and was about enter the fort. Tokoyo-hime's reinforcements let out a battle cry and incited the will to fight; they were a valiant force to be reckoned with. At this time, Kototama-wake no Mikoto ordered the mainden angel to command the entire armed forces. Her sudden emergence encouraged the friendly divine army, which was almost on the brink of despair, and raised their martial spirit a hundred times. The maiden angel waved the golden baton of command to lead the entire armed forces as they charged headlong towards Komayama-hiko's evil army. The enemy troops ran stumbling towards the foot of the mountain in panic like an avalanche with numerous casualties along the way.
Arakuma-hiko cleaned up his act and attacked Tokoyo-hime's reinforcements relentlessly as a commanding officer of the divine army. The maiden angel defeated Komayama-hiko's evil army and then repositioned herself to attack Arakuma-hime from over her head. Taken by surprise, Arakuma-hime lost her head before she ended up surrendering to the maiden angel. The routed kami followed the angel's advice and apologized to Mototeru-hiko for her insolence. This worked well in bringing peace back to Mount Koh-haku and dispersing the enemy troops in all directions.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Katoh on November 3 by the solar calendar, or October 4 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 30: The Toyoh (Ten-Luminary or Ten-Sphere) Flag 〔80〕
Peace reigned again over the Land of Alaska, with Mount Koh-haku as its hub. Tokoyo-hime had infiltrated many spies and operatives into Alaska to occupy it by any means necessary. She had also hatched various plots, and thus no one could afford to let their guard down, even a little.
Kinuko-hime, the maiden angel who had descended to the earth from the sky, was on guard around Kototama-wake no Mikoto. She even went on to serve the Mikoto as a waiting maid and change her name to Terutae-hime so that she could be by his side to protect him from and eliminate contingencies.
Komayama-hiko, a commanding officer under Tokoyo-hime, got wind of Terutae-hime posing as a servant for the Mikoto and reported it to his master without delay. Tokoyo-hime seized this golden opportunity to voluntarily pay a visit to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto at the Dragon Palace Castle.
"Kototama-wake no Mikoto built a fort on Mount Koh-haku and slaughtered the Tokoyo Castle in tandem with the divine armies in Rome and Moscow," Tokoyo-hime asserted, slandering the Mikoto. "To occupy the Dragon Palace Castle, he took a suspicious woman named Terutae-hime for his wife. Since then he has neglected the divine work, let the national land go to ruin, and indulged in drinking and philandering nonstop day and night. He has simply been sunk in debauchery. What is worse, he has rained terrible abuses on his wife Kototama-hime and has been plotting to commit high treason against heaven and earth."
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto believed Tokoyo-hime's words and quickly changed color. She assembled the Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, Masumi-hime, Kototama-hime, Kamikuni-wake and other kami officers to inform them of Kototama-wake no Mikoto's delinquency, and gave them a strict order to destroy him using the divine army.
Kojima-wake and Takejima-hiko were overjoyed at Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's order, welcoming it with open arms. Some kami officers in the castle doubted Tokoyo-hime's words and assembled many kami officials and employees in the great hall to discuss an attack on Mount Koh-haku.
At this time, emerging en masse from back-row seats were Kamiyama-hiko, Murakumo-hiko, Makura-hiko and Takeharu-hiko, all of whom asked Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto for permission to speak.
"Allow us to subjugate the rebels on Mount Koh-haku," the four kami said in unison, their tone calm.
Kojima-wake and Takejima-hiko jumped to their feet and retorted without a pause, "How can small fry like you follow through on this important mission? Give us a small number of reinforcements from the divine army, and we will use mystical tactics to hold Kototama-wake no Mikoto and his deities captive, tie their hands behind their backs, and bring them back to you right before your eyes."
"You were sent to the Land of Eternity, but you lost track of Kototama-wake no Mikoto and his deities," Kamiyama-hiko talked back, scowling at them. "Obviously, they are going to beat you up regardless of your mystical tactics, and you are going to pile shame on top of shame again. Don't waste your time speaking out against us and screwing up the whole thing."
Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, seeing the dispute continue with no end in sight, left the scene and rushed to have an audience with Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto.
"Which kami would you dispatch for the mission?" said Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, seeking her guidance.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto heard his question and tilted her head. She looked slightly lost in thought. At this time Masumi-hime, Kototama-hime, and Tatsuyo-hime unanimously said, "It might be a good idea to dispatch Kamiyama-hiko. He is a loyal and brave kami officer, in addition to being a sincere and honest kami official." Their recommendations were finally accepted.
Kamiyama-hiko, accompanied by his retainers as well as Murakumo-hiko, Makura-hiko and Takeharu-hiko, got on a heavenly ship made of rock-solid camphor trees and soared high in the sky to head for Mount Koh-haku.
Meanwhile, Kototama-wake no Mikoto had a peaceful life at the fort atop Mount Koh-haku as he was served by Terutae-hime as an attendant. He climbed the hill with Arakuma-hiko, Arakuma-hime, Mototeru-hiko and other brave officers to admire the moon. It was an indescribably spectacular night view as there was not a speck of cloud in the sky with almost all stars keeping out of sight.
Just then, a dark shadow began to appear in the southeastern sky and gradually drew nearer. Everyone there fixed their gaze on it to try to identify what it was, when all of a sudden they heard a loud noise. They found that it came from the heavenly ship made of rock-solid camphor trees. This ship boasted a divine flag with a toyoh (ten-luminary or ten-sphere) symbol dyed in red on a white rectangular cloth. It took a while before the ship descended on the fort premises. The Kamiyama-hiko party was aboard the ship.
At this time, Terutae-hime shape-shifted into a white cloud for an unknown reason and returned to the the world of the Moon by further shape-shifting into a long and thin rainbow-like entity.
Arakuma-hiko welcomed the Kamiyama-hiko party, courteously thanked them for coming from afar, and asked what brought their delegation to Mount Koh-haku.
"I'm a direct messenger of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto," Kamiyama-hiko declared in a dignified manner. "I must not tell anything until I finish meeting with Kototama-wake no Mikoto." His meaningful reply was followed by an order that said, "Take us to the Mikoto at once."
For some reason, Arakuma-hiko showed a proud smile when he informed the Mikoto of the Kamiyama-hiko party's request to meet with him.
The Mikoto accepted the visitors' request right away, showed the Kamiyama-hiko party to the living room, and asked about the purpose of their visit.
Kamiyama-hiko said, "An emergency has come up. I beg you to shun the other kami near you."
At the visiting deity's request, Kototama-wake no Mikoto shunned the other kami near him and hurried to ask, "What is the emergency?"
(Dictation taken by Masaharu Taniguchi on November 3 by the solar calendar, or October 4 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 31: A Painful Hand Grip 〔81〕
Kamiyama-hiko, putting a decisive look on his face, made a sudden request to Kototama-wake no Mikoto, saying, "I hear you have a beautiful angelic wife. I beg you to allow us to have an audience with her."
"That is weird," the Mikoto replied. "As you know, my wife is at the Dragon Palace Castle."
"Who wouldn't know it?" Kamiyama-hiko demanded angrily. "We'd like to meet your second wife. You've kept it a secret, yet no secret but will come to light. Your relationship with her has already spread throughout the Dragon Palace Castle like wildfire. Are you trying to trick us?"
Extremely perplexed, the Mikoto said, "I don't think I have a second wife as you claim I do. When I lost a battle on Mount Koh-haku and faced an imminent crisis, a maiden angel came down from the sky to rescue me. She also remained by my side to protect me. I think Tokoyo-hime heard about this from others and mistook her for my second wife. If you don't believe me, I'll call her over here now and dispel your doubts."
The Mikoto quickly rose to his feet and entered a room calling, "Terutae-hime, Terutae-hime." But no response came, and not a shadow was seen here and there. The puzzled Mikoto called her name differently this time, saying, "Maiden angel Kinuko-hime, Kinuko-hime." Yet again, not a sound was to be heard, nor did any response come from her. The Mikoto ordered Arakuma-hiko to carry out a thorough search of the maiden angel's whereabouts, but he could not find her anywhere.
The Mikoto had to go back to the living room and replied to the Kamiyama-hiko party, "I wonder what's become of the maiden angel. She was with me until just now. No matter how loudly I shouted her name, she didn't respond. I searched every inch of the castle, but I couldn't see even her shadow."
"I'm so jealous of you because you are flanked by two heavenly maiden-like wives," Kamiyama-hiko said with a grin. "Stop teasing us, and just let us meet her soon."
Often wearing a derisive smile on his face, Kamiyama-hiko pressed the Mikoto for action. This baffled the Mikoto greatly. Here came Mototeru-hiko, who opened the door to enter the closed room.
"I apologize for interrupting you," Mototeru-hiko reported to the Mikoto, his face going pale. "Something very alarming has arisen."
The Mikoto asked, "What's going on?"
"Terutae-hiko turned into a white cloud just now and returned to the Gekkyu-den (Moon Palace)."
Kototama-wake no Mikoto was completely taken aback, and unintentionally, he was about to rise to his feet.
At this time Kamiyama-hiko held the Mikoto's sleeve and demanded, "Wait a minute. Your trick is old already. We can't be fooled by that dirty trick. Mend your ways with your whole heart, and come right out with the truth."
Kamiyama-hiko's questioning became increasingly aggressive. Makura-hiko, Murakumo-hiko, and Takeharu-hiko stood up all at once, grasping the hilts of their swords and displaying anger all over their faces.
"You rotten evil ringleader," said the angry swordsmen as they closed in on Kototama-wake no Mikoto from three directions. "We'll teach you a lesson!"
Kamiyama-hiko raised his voice in anger, "Hand over your second wife Kinuko-hime to me. Bring your third wife Terutae-hime right here. Are you trying to cheat us messengers from the Dragon Palace Castle with your smooth talk? I'll put you to the sword, you rude bastard!"
Kamiyama-hiko also grasped the hilt of his sword, bristled with rage, and moved in for the kill together with his deities from four directions. The Mikoto was at a loss for how to dispel the doubts. Feeling rushed and desperate, he took out of his bosom the various scarfs given by Kuniyo-hime and waved them to the left, to the right, and to the left again. In an instant, sweet music was heard from the sky, and a maiden entered the room without a hitch even though the door remained closed, and prostrated herself before the Mikoto.
"She must be Terutae-hime," Kamiyama-hiko said, his face smug. "Now that you've conjured her up, conjure up Kinuko-hime too, to dispel our doubts."
The deeply embarrassed Mikoto gave in to Kamiyama-hiko's unreasonable demand by waving the scarfs to the left, to the right, and to the left again, just as he had done before. In an instant, sweet music was heard, and many heavenly maidens appeared on the spot to take the hands of the four deities and dance with them wildly. With their hands taken by the maidens, they stiffened up all over and fell to the ground. This cleared their suspicion, and they apologized profusely for their insolent attitude.
Makura-hiko and Murakumo-hiko became so weak as to say, "Those heavenly maidens held our hands in an iron grip. They are way too much, however beautiful they may be. Mikoto, how can you tame monsters like that?"
The deities looked into the Mikoto's eyes with surprise and awe.
The Mikoto replied, "Your suspicion was completely cleared, and that is mutually beneficial for both sides. I will now take you to the innermost hall to extend our heartfelt thanks for your coming from afar."
The Mikoto got up to lead the way, when Kamiyama-hiko held him back, saying, "Wait for a while. I have something to tell you."
The four deities raged in unison, "Now we are coming to the crucial point. Respond to our request first. Only then will we be happy to be wined and dined."
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on November 3 by the solar calendar, or October 4 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 32: Kototama-wake no Mikoto's Return to the Castle 〔82〕
Kamiyama-hiko drew himself up and straightened his posture, saying angrily and uncompromisingly, "I have something to tell you as a direct messenger of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. For what reason have you deployed large divine armies in Rome and Moscow, set up a camp on this Mount Koh-haku, and not returned to the Dragon Palace Castle for so long? It is incumbent upon you to disband the divine armies in Rome and Moscow, abandon this fortress, and return to the Castle so you can dispel the doubts of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto."
"I understand what Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto really means," replied Kototama-wake no Mikoto. "But evil deities are now rampant in the world, and their influence is to be reckoned with. It is to defend the Earthly Taka-ama-hara that we have hitherto mobilized the divine armies in Rome and Moscow and have built the fortress on this mountain to assemble divine troops. However wise Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto may be, she is, alas, innately a female kami. She can be relatively imprudent and deeply skeptical, and she always trusts wicked and cunning kami like Tokoyo-hime to the point of finally upending the divine rule. That is as clear as day. I anticipated this potential scourge, and in fact I have been working hard with the Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and Masumi-hime to provide against emergencies. What have the thoughtless female kami and her mob to do with that?"
The Mikoto got up angrily to leave there and rush into another room, when Kamiyama-hiko pulled a dagger out of his inside robe pocket and stripped himself to the waist to commit harakiri. Makura-hiko and the two other deities followed suit quickly by stripping themselves to the waist and getting ready to cut open their stomachs with their daggers.
The very sight appalled the Mikoto and prompted him to stop them, saying, "Wait for a while, you folks. Don't do anything rash."
The four kami demanded angrily, "Then we ask you to go back to the Dragon Palace Castle without delay."
Not knowing how to respond, the Mikoto was lost in thought with a heavy sigh.
"I cannot explain myself to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto when I get back to the castle," Kamiyama-hiko continued, his tone determined. "I will end my life here bravely with the other kami to take responsibility for this."
The four deities reverse-gripped their daggers and tried again to commit harakiri all at once.
At this time Kototama-wake no Mikoto thought that he had been enduring many different hardships in the frigid, windy Arctic region for the sole purpose of saving the world, but that right before his eyes were some loyal kami officials trying to take their own lives - the horrible sight he could not overlook. He was caught in an indescribably painful predicament, wondering what to do about it.
"I will grant Kamiyama-hiko's request and go back to the castle promptly," the Mikoto made up his mind and declared his firm decision.
The four kami were so elated that they stopped short of committing suicide. This allowed the dust to settle. Resigned to that decision, the Mikoto started preparing to go back to the castle with the Kamiyama-hiko party, and in the process, invited Mototeru-hiko into a room where he privately told Mototeru-hiko the whereabouts of Kiyoteru-hiko, along with his long-awaited plans to marry his sister Sueyo-hime to Mototeru-hiko and have them team up with Tokiyo-hiko so that they could cross the strait and build a city in the north of Mount Choh-koh.
Thus Kototama-wake no Mikoto appointed Mototeru-hiko and Arakuma-hiko as general and commanding officer, respectively, and tasked them with defending Mount Koh-haku. Afterwards, he boarded a heavenly ship made of rock-solid camphor trees and returned to the Dragon Palace Castle with the Kamiyama-hiko party, greeted with a festive welcome.
The whole castle was suddenly filled with excitement, and nothing apparently made the castle personnel happier than the Mikoto's return. It was as if spring sunshine brightened and embellished the castle. The only exception was Tokoyo-hime from the Tokoyo Castle, who was sulkier than usual for some reason.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto immediately entered the innermost part of the castle to have an audience with Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. She was attended by Tokoyo-hime, Tatsuyo-hime, and Masumi-hime. The Mikoto had the courtesy to report his return to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. She exulted at his return and entertained him with a sumptuous feast.
Tokoyo-hime quickly turned her face toward the Mikoto and opened her mouth.
"You were driven into a tight corner when your fort on Mount Koh-haku was on the verge of complete destruction," Tokoyo-hime scoffed at the Mikoto with malicious words. "I bet you owe Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto a deep debt of gratitude for her great mercy because it snatched you from the jaws of death. Just show your appreciation to her right away."
Kototama-wake no Mikoto was so offended that he was about to open his mouth and describe the actual situation on Mount Koh-haku, when Tokoyo-hime butted in and said in a high-handed tone, "A defeated general should not talk of battles, as they say. Hold your tongue."
Tokoyo-hime continued her barrage of harsh words, "You disobeyed the castle's orders and built military camps in Rome and Moscow. But Arakuma-hiko made your deities suffer a crushing defeat, and they fled in all directions. Now they are one and all hopeless, miserable vagabonds under the sun. You need to search your soul about this failure, mend your ways in the future, and strictly obey Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's orders. Also, you should at least partly follow my advice, though I'm a woman."
Kototama-wake no Mikoto contained his anger with a deliberate laugh to weather the storm. What would become of the relationship between the two deities in the future?
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on November 3 by the solar calendar, or October 4 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 33: Like a Pheasant Risking Life and Limb for Its Chicks in the Burning Fields 〔83〕
Mototeru-hiko newly assumed responsibility for the military camp on Mount Koh-haku to rule the whole of Alaska.
Saruyo-hiko, a commanding officer under Tokoyo-hime who had once been saved by Kototama-wake no Mikoto at Lake Superior, abruptly changed his tune and followed Tokoyo-hime's orders. He went to Komayama-hiko's hideout at the foot of Mount Koh-haku, and the two deities hatched yet another plot to occupy the mountain again.
Saruyo-hiko and Komayama-hiko first felt the need to talk Arakuma-hime into cooperating with them, so they used various tricks to meet with her in secret. Arakuma-hime always had a grudge against Mototeru-hiko for having destroyed her son Kiyoteru-hiko. It was nothing short of an endless pain for her to have to respect and serve Mototeru-hiko, her mortal enemy-turned-master. She would often think about sneaking into his bedroom one night and stabbing him to death so that she could take revenge for her son's demise.
It was when Arakuma-hime harbored the resentment that Saruyo-hiko and Komayama-hiko asked her for a secret meeting. Their request made her feel as if she won some really powerful allies.
"Did you love your child?" asked Saruyo-hiko and Komayama-hiko, turning their faces to Arakuma-hime.
"Like a pheasant risking life and limb for its chicks in the burning fields or a crane on a cold night," she cried out with tears running down her cheeks. "Parents' love for their children is strong and selfless. The same goes for me, an aging parent who's been leading an empty life since my most beloved, reliable son in heaven and on earth was killed."
Arakuma-hime broke down and cried bitterly.
The two deities were elated to know that their trick worked. While offering a thin veneer of sympathy, they furtively put some saliva on their eyes, made a crying face, and broke down and cried loudly to feign sadness. Arakuma-hime could not help but join them in crying hard.
Their loud cry prompted Arakuma-hiko to rush to the scene, where he found the three kami in the state described above. He raised his voice and asked, "What's making you so sad in these peaceful times?"
Startled by the voice, the three deities lifted their heads all at once. Arakuma-hiko found Komayama-hiko and Saruyo-hiko, members of the enemy force, on the spot. This infuriated him so much that he shouted at his wife Arakuma-hime.
"Why did you let the male kami into my living room without my permission?" Arakuma-hiko said angrily. "Besides, these two guys are crafty commanding officers of the enemy force. You're acting really suspiciously."
Facing her husband's accusation against her, Arakuma-hime collapsed in tears, saying, "Mototeru-hiko's subordinates destroyed my beloved son Kiyoteru-hiko. It's a great pity I have to respect and faithfully serve Mototeru-hiko, my son's mortal enemy. What have I done to derseve this? They say 'Don't go against the times,' but if it isn't a terrible tragedy, then what is?"
She made the poignant remark in a sad voice. Saruyo-hiko and Komayama-hiko wasted no time in apologizing to Arakuma-hiko for all their rude behavior towards him until then.
"Each of us is resentful of that Mototeru-hiko because his subordinates killed our most beloved only child," said Saruyo-hiko and Komayama-hiko. "We were totally devastated. Since then we have worked hard day and night to figure out ways to take revenge for the killing. You are brave and vigorous, and you got over the loss of your son. You resigned yourself to going with the flow of the times. We really admire the way you dutifully serve your sworn enemy. But no matter how much treasure you have, like gold, silver or jewels, we think nothing compares to your most treasured child between heaven and earth. For all this tragedy, are you still reluctant to avenge your beloved son's death?"
Saruyo-hiko and Komayama-hiko were looking Arakuma-hiko in the face to find out how he would react.
Arakuma-hiko stood silently without responding to their question as he drooped his head in thought. Suddenly, large bean-like tears began to come down from his eyes.
In the past, Arakuma-hiko conspired with Komayama-hiko to destroy Kototama-wake no Mikoto and usurp his position. The crying kami invariably yearned to see his child again just as Saruyo-hiko and Komayama-hiko did, although their relationship changed to one of friend and foe. 'Misery loves company,' as the saying went, led Arakuma-hiko to decide to rebel against Mototeru-hiko and destroy him with Komayama-hiko and others so that he could become chief general of the friendly force and king of Alaska.
Arakuma-hime, meanwhile, prepared to kill Mototeru-hiko before she asked for an audience with him. He granted her request without giving it much thought. When he saw her, he noticed a hint of malice in an ostensible smile she was wearing to feign innocence.
Mototeru-hiko became suspicious of Arakuma-hime's behavior, so he quickly twisted her arms behind her back and firmly tied her to a post. He started interrogating her, but she persisted in denying any wrongdoing. Waiting with bated breath to see what was going on, Arakuma-hiko, Saruyo-hiko, and Komayama-hiko pushed their way through the folding door into Mototeru-hiko's room and in a split second swung their swords down at him.
Mototeru-hiko confronted the three swordsmen, often making sparks fly, but in the end he went down the mountain and fled far away towards Rome. Thus, Mount Koh-haku fell completely into the hands of Arakuma-hiko.
(Dictation taken by Masaharu Taniguchi on November 3 by the solar calendar, or October 4 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 34: A Righteous Kami's Participation in the Divine Work 〔84〕
Tokoyo-hime entered the Dragon Palace Castle and tried every trick in the book to make various kami officials play into her hands with flattery, although most of the kami in the castle remained devoted to Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto. And yet, Tokoyo-hime's evil influence was spreading covertly as if oil were oozing out.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto devised and executed a plan to appoint Hanamori-hiko chief supervisor of the general affairs of the castle. After that, the two kami officials headed east and west, respectively, to recruit righteous deities from around the world.
There was a righteous and brave kami of high repute named Michitaka-hiko in the City of Peter. Kototama-wake no Mikoto sent Murasachi-hiko to Michitaka-hiko to ask the reputed kami to join the Mikoto's friendly force. Murasachi-hiko went into detail about the Great Kami's grand design, and Michitaka-hiko listened respectfully to the divine consideration behind the design, left his palace in Peter, and finally started to work at the Dragon Palace Castle with his wife Yoshiko-hime through Murasachi-hiko.
Before Michitaka-hiko decided to serve at the castle, Kototama-wake no Mikoto had visited him at his palace in Peter and walked him through the grand design of the divine world. Michitaka-hiko, having already made up his mind, was about to head for the castle, when his brother Takakuni-wake showed up to obstruct his departure. This sibling was guzzling alcohol and cursing Michitaka-hiko for his ignorance.
Takakuni-wake turned his face towards Yoshiko-hime, scowled at her, and shouted, "You deserted your husband's palace. You were led astray by some suspicious kami at the Dragon Palace Castle. And you ended up having irrevocable regrets. Why didn't you stop this when you knew the outcome?"
"The divine world is in imminent danger of facing a major crisis," Yoshiko-hime replied. "I could't bring myself to overlook this crisis, and rather I was the one who took the lead in encouraging my husband to join the divine work. You should also get rid of all your greed and throw away all your treasures so you can work hard with us for the divine world."
Yoshiko-hime tried convincing him with many words, but it only added fuel to the fire.
"Female kami and amoral kami are hard to deal with," Takakuni-wake retorted, his tone growing angrier. "I'm talking about you. Women's nonsensical grumbling is not worth paying attention to."
The drunken kami quickly grabbed the liquor glass and threw it at Yoshiko-hime. It was then that Nakakuni-wake ran to hold down Takakuni-wake. Incidentally, Nakakuni-wake was a brave and unrivaled gigantic deity.
Captured by this giant, the drunkard clenched his teeth with resentment, swearing viciously at Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Michitaka-hiko.
"Even if you take my life," shouted Takakuni-wake. "My soul will be born again to destroy your plans."
At this time, Murasachi-hiko softened his facial expression and said to Nakakuni-wake calmly, "First, forgive Takakun-wake, collect yourself, and listen to what I have to say."
Nakakuni-wake followed Murasachi-hiko's advice and loosened his grip on Takakuni-wake before he seated himself quietly. In an instant, the furious drunkard got up and jumped at Nakakuni-wake with a vengeance. Murasachi-hiko grabbed Takakuni-wake by the back hair and pulled him back. After that, Murasachi-hiko made the drunken deity sit upright calmly, soothed his anger, and argued him into silence with a good cause.
"I greatly admire the way you act in good faith when trying hard to protect your ancestors' palace," said Murasachi-hiko. "But the divine world is in imminent danger of breaking apart, and it definitely is a respectable kami's cherished desire to be a martyr to righteousness by sacrificing themselves and abandoning their attachment to all things. I also led a happy and comfortable life with my family at our palace on the coast until just recently, but to achieve the world's ambition, I threw away everything and joined the divine work. I'm sure you will understand why Michitaka-hiko made this decision if you pull yourself together, change your way of thinking, and take an objective view of general trends in the world."
Murasachi-hiko's gentle persuasion made sense to Takakuni-wake for the first time.
Takakuni-wake softened his facial expression and thanked Murasachi-hiko from the bottom of his heart, adding, "You're absolutely right. I'll stay here for a while so I can firmly protect this palace. Please take good care of Michitaka-hiko and the other commanding officers."
The turbulence settled down peacefully, and a sumptuous feast was held. Michitaka-hiko accompanied deities under Kototama-wake no Mikoto to the Dragon Palace Castle.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto was so happy to have the powerful commanding officers that he appointed Michitaka-hiko and Hanamori-hiko to the important posts of determining whether visitors to the castle were right or wrong, good or evil as new security guards at the large front gate of the castle. Meanwhile, Tokoyo-hime had Maga-hiko and Maga-hime remain vigilant about the state of affairs within the castle and spy on Kototama-wake no Mikoto and his subordinates before she returned to the Tokoyo Castle for the present.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Kato on November 4 by the solar calendar, or October 5 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 35: Divine Treasures on Mount Nankoh 〔85〕
Hanamori-hiko and Michitaka-hiko were on guard at the large front gate of the Dragon Palace Castle. An increasing number of deities became deeply concerned about the state of affairs in the world and gathered at the gate from here and there every day to join the divine work. Just then, a kami showed up from the eastern sky, emitting a suspicious light along the way. This kami was named Wakatoyo-hiko. He had once enjoyed a considerable reputation near and far as a great captain in the Tokoyo no Kuni (Land of Eternity) through his various initiatives to save the divine world while teaming up with many other kami. However, he incurred the displeasure of the Kami Mahesvara Oh Kuni-hiko, who in turn launched a savage attack on Wakatoyo-hiko. He and his friendly force deserted the Kashiha Castle and fled in all directions. He had a narrow escape himself. To achieve his initial objective at any cost, Wakatoyo-hiko tried to assemble his scattered and disappeared army officers at any cost, but the fall of the Kashiha Castle thwarted his efforts. That was why he came all the way to the Earthly Taka-ama-hara to serve as a vassal of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto as he heard about her appearance in the Earthly Taka-ama-hara to start on the Kami's plans to establish a divine rule in the world. Michitaka-hiko and Hanamori-hiko doubted Wakatoyo-hiko's intention at a glance and reported it to Kototama-wake no Mikoto. The Mikoto was quick to ask Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto to check whether he was a good kami or an evil one. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto took Wakatoyo-hiko to a vast hall where the suspicious kami was subjected to rigorous scruitny. It detected numerous evil deities secretly possessing him. He was seated upright in the shrine dedicated to the Great Kami and had his possessing deities examined by Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto. Suddenly, the possessing spirits manifested themselves and flew up and down and to and fro. A long-nosed goblin, a wild fox, an evil snake, a racoon dog and other stray spirits popped out one after another, which numbered a total of several dozen, nay several hundred. These numerous evil spirits were devils under Miyama-hiko and had possessed Wakatoyo-hiko to try to infiltrate deeply into the Dragon Palace Castle. The thorough examination unmasked the true identities of all those wicked spirits, prompting them to flee in all directions.
Wakatoyo-hiko came to his senses as the bad spirits were exorcised out of him. As a righteous kami, he began serving at the Dragon Palace Castle. Kototama-wake no Mikoto put Hanamori-hiko in charge of divine affairs by letting Wakatoyo-hiko succeed him as a gatekeeper. Since then Michitaka-hiko and Wakatoyo-hiko had stood close guard at the large front gate of the castle. The new guard gradually won the trust of Kototama-wake no Mikoto to such an extent that he was allowed to attend the Mikoto's closed-door military meetings.
Wakatoyo-hiko visited the Heavenly Taka-ama-hara on the Mikoto's secret orders. There he succeeded in persuading Takateru-hime no Mikoto, a most influential goddess in heaven, with all the words he could find to descend to the Dragon Palace Castle. Takateru-hime no Mikoto was welcomed by various kami at the castle and was courteously treated to a feast. After that, she was granted an audience with Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, where she provided the head of the castle with details of the chaotic situation in heaven and stressed the crucial need to purify the earth first if a true heavenly kingdom were to be built and ruled in heaven.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto understood what Takateru-hime no Mikoto intended to say, and the two deities agreed to join the divine work based on their mutual view that the Heavenly Taka-ama-hara and the Earthly Taka-ama-hara should work together. At this moment, Oh Maga-hiko, who had secretly stalked Takateru-hiko no Mikoto from the Ame no Yachimata (Eight-Way Crossroads; Intermediate State between Heaven and Hell), appeared on the scene.
"I've heard all about your secret plans," Oh Maga-hiko said to the two deities. "I'm going to report to Yatsuoh Daijin on every detail of your plans so he can destroy them completely. Don't regret it."
The moment he finished saying the above, Oh Maga-hiko vanished into a dark cloud and headed swiftly for the eastern sky. Fearing that the evil kami might divulge secrets about the divine operation, the two female deities went into the penetralia, asked Masumi-hime to join their discussion, and locked the door from inside. After much deliberation, they invited Kototama-wake no Mikoto and gave him the secret measures of the divine world.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto traveled incognito over a long distance to Mount Nankoh, as he was led by Takateru-hime no Mikoto and was accompanied by Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto, Hanateru-hime, Kami-hime, Umewaka-hiko, Hiroteru-hiko, Akitaru-hiko, Murasachi-hiko, and the five other commanding officers including Wakatoyo-hiko. At this moment, the Oh Maga-hiko group was lying in ambush in the Ame no Yachimata. They took with them numerous vassals, mobilized a large number of evil ships made of rock-solid camphor trees, and launched a frenzied attack on Takateru-hime no Mikoto's party from the sky in a bid to overturn their heavenly ship made of rock-solid camphor trees.
Takateru-hime no Mikoto and the others rushed to change their course towards the north, turned back the way they came, and circled around in the eastern sky. After that, they soared high for the northeast and finally reached Mount Nankoh.
Mount Nankoh was a spiritual mountain that had concealed a variety of divine treasures from heaven above, and which had been filled with many different holy articles to be used to usher in the Age of the Maitreya Kami. Takateru-hime no Mikoto inspected those treasures one by one and entrusted all of them to Kototama-wake no Mikoto. Then she returned to heaven temporarily as accompanied by Wakatoyo-hiko. The Kototama-wake no Mikoto party kept their mouths completely shut about the whole thing and returned safely to the Dragon Palace Castle. Kototama-wake no Mikoto concealed the holy articles from Mount Nankoh again somewhere in the castle while denying all the other kami the slightest access to them.
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on November 4 by the solar calendar, or October 5 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 36: A Tragedy on Mount Koh-haku 〔86〕
Mototeru-hiko lost the battle on Mount Koh-haku. He mobilized his subordinate officers in the divine army and fled far away to Rome, where they were stationed for a while. Mototeru-hiko left for Moscow and got to Mount Choh-koh, where Kiyoteru-hiko was holed up. There he met with Kiyoteru-hiko and Sueyo-hime and went into detail about the outrageous rebellion staged by Arakuma-hiko and his comrades. As stated above, Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime were Kiyoteru-hiko's father and mother.
To reprimand his father and mother for their wanton savagery and get them to mend their ways, Kiyoteru-hiko sent his attendants on a heavenly bird ship to the fort on Mount Koh-haku to deliver his confidential letter to his parents. The letter read as follows:
"My father and mother, both of you kami betrayed Kototama-wake no Mikoto despite the great debt of gratitude you owed to him for saving your lives. I admonish you for the unreasonable misconduct you committed when you violated the Laws of Heaven and Earth and forgot the noble and divine cause. I got married to Sueyo-hime, the sister of the merciful Kototama-wake no Mikoto, and I'm currently on Mount Choh-koh. Repent of your sins right away, cut off ties with Tokoyo-hime, apologize to the Mikoto for your rude behavior until now, and show your loyalty to him at once. If the Mikoto does not forgive you for that, I beg you to quickly take your own lives."
Arakuma-hiko and his wife Arakuma-hime were pleased to read their son's confidential letter because he was safe and doing well. They were also shocked and saddened to know what he meant. The two deities felt torn between two options: acting on their most beloved son's advice and submitting to Kototama-wake no Mikoto only to be subdued by the powerful Tokoyo-hime or obeying Tokoyo-hime only to be abandoned by their most beloved son. They agonized so much over what to do that Arakuma-hiko ended up sick and unable to move, whereas Arakuma-hime was greatly distressed to find her husband weakening day and night, tormenting herself with the thought of her son's advice as if she had swallowed a hot iron in her throat. Komayama-hiko was casting a suspicious gaze at the pitiful couple and visited Arakuma-hime's living room.
"I've been watching you two for some time," Komayama-hiko said. "But there are a lot of things that don't make sense to me. If you dote on your son and disobey Tokoyo-hime's orders, I'll rush to make a detailed report to her at the Tokoyo Castle so she can accuse you of treason and punish you."
Komayama-hiko changed color and pressed the couple for a reply. At this very moment, a beautiful kami aboard a heavenly bird ship high in the sky came down to visit the fort on Mount Koh-haku. He was a second messenger from Mount Choh-koh. Arakuma-hime pacified Komayama-hiko, went out to the drawing room herself, and received a confidential letter from the second messenger. She opened it and read the following:
"My dear parents, I sent out my attendants earlier to get you to reform yourselves and pledge allegiance to Kototama-wake no Mikoto. But they haven't been back for quite some time. This makes me feel you probably didn't follow my advice. It would break my heart to punish you on behalf of heaven because I'm your flesh and blood, but at the same time I would just have to do it for the divine work. I'm simply agonizing about which option to choose. Oh, God! Put loyalty first, and I will lose filial piety. Put filial piety first, and I will lose loyalty. Which of them should I shed floods of tears for? Eventually, though, the divine work must prevail. I will throw away my filial affection for you, lead the divine army right away as a proxy of heaven, and destroy you in spite of all the good things you've done for me. Forgive me for being undutiful to you."
Arakuma-hime went into a room the moment she finished reading the second letter. There she unsheathed her dagger in a bid to take her own life, when Komayama-hiko rushed to open the door, shouting, "Don't do anything rash!" Then he wrenched the dagger from her.
"The commander-in-chief has been bedridden for such a long time that he will soon lose his post as supreme ruler of Mount Koh-haku," Komayama-hiko continued. "Besides, suppose you had a quick temper and committed suicide with a sword here now, who could defend this castle? Mototeru-hiko fled, but he could mobilize his divine army to strike back at any moment. I don't think you're a shallow thinker. I got angry before and said I'd punish you, but that's not really what I meant. I just wanted to strengthen your resolve. In an emergency like this, it would be quite cowardly of you to surrender to the enemy out of your affection for your son or commit suicide with your sword to get away from the suffering. This shouldn't be an option for you because you're a commander capable of both good and evil."
Komayama-hiko tearfully remonstrated with Arakuma-hime. All of a sudden her bedridden husband got up.
"I've listened to your whole conversation," said Arakuma-hiko. "There's nothing we can do about it now. We're going to abandon our moral principles and sacrifice our parental affection so we can pledge our allegiance to Tokoyo-hime. Just steel yourself to meet your fate, Arakuma-hime."
Her husband's harsh demand made Arakuma-hime weep bitterly, rending her heart like crazy. She began to struggle, saying, "Kill me! Save me from my pain!"
Seeing what was happening, the first and second messengers got on their heavenly bird ships and soared high in the northwestern sky to head back for Mount Choh-koh.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on November 4 by the solar calendar, or October 5 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 37: A Tragedy on Mount Choh-koh 〔87〕
At the fort on Mount Choh-koh, Kiyoteru-hiko, Sueyo-hime and Mototeru-hiko were waiting for the return of the dispatched messengers from Mount Koh-haku. Then the first and second envoys flew through the sky and landed back on the mountain top all at once.
Kiyoteru-hiko, waiting anxiously to hear about how things were going over there, showed the messengers into his living room right away. They reported that Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime grew more rebellious, that Tokoyo-hime was putting intense pressure on the married couple, that Komayama-hiko would not easily obey their orders, and that circumstances forced Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime to firmly decide to remain defiant against Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
Kiyoteru-hiko hung his head down in silence for a while. He was lost in thought with a sigh. Sorrow clouded Sueyo-hime's face.
Before long Kiyoteru-hiko suddenly rose to his feet, assembled his officers, and commanded, "Our arch-enemy is on Mount Koh-haku. Get ready to engage it right away."
Responding to Kiyoteru-hiko's orders, his many officers mobilized their vassals without delay, designated relevant departments, and got tens of thousands of heavenly bird ships ready so that they could depart right away at the word of command. Kiyoteru-hiko went into a room amd talked to himself.
"Oh Lord, I would stray from the path of Heaven if I betrayed the benefactor kami who had saved my father and mother," Kiyoteru-hiko said. "But I would also violate the divine providence if I attacked my father and mother, to both of whom I have owed a profound debt of gratitude. And yet the divine cause stays glittering like the Sun and Moon. Oh my dearest parents, forgive me for being your unfilial son."
Kiyoteru-hiko was doing nothing but shed tears. Sueyo-hime, having witnessed the whole event, rushed to him and pulled him by the sleeve.
"My beloved husband, you're so firm in your resolve you probably won't change your mind no matter how hard I try," said Sueyo-hime. "Still, our debt to our parents is higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea, as they say. No matter how much you value the divine cause, killing your blood-related father and mother would be sheer misery even when you take the times as they are. I beg you, my husband, to observe strict neutrality this time to find a solution that will work for both ways."
Indignant at her wife's passionate plea, Kiyoteru-hiko got up and said, "Now that I've made up my mind as a male kami, I'll follow through with my original intention. As a female kami, you'd better keep quiet and stay away."
Before finishing his words, Kiyoteru-hiko shook off his wife's sleeve and began preparing to depart for a battle. Sueyo-hime immediately entered a room where she reverse-gripped her dagger, cut her throat with it, and collapsed on the spot. Kiyoteru-hiko was startled by a strange noise, so he ran into the room where, lo and behold, he saw his wife covered with blood and writhing in agony.
At this ghastly sight Kiyoteru-hiko quickly unsheathed his long sword for an uknown reason, stripped himself to the waist, gazed absently at the blade for a while. Suddenly, he made up his mind, reverse-gripped his sword, and was about to thrust open his abdomen from left to right, when Mototeru-hiko sneaked up to Kiyoteru-hiko on tiptoe, wrested the long sword from him, and told him off for his misbehavior.
Just then a heavenly bird ship made of rock-solid camphor trees appeared in the sky with a thunderous roar. Getting off the ship after it landed on the ground was Umewaka-hiko, a messenger dispatched from the Dragon Palace Castle. He walked briskly at once, without being shown in, into the inner room to convey the Great Kami's message to Kiyoteru-hiko.
Kiyoteru-hiko was surprised by the messenger's sudden visit. He hurried to sit up straight and take a more serious attitude. After that, he showed Umewake-hiko to the seat of honor and told him that he was ready to heed the Great Kami's message as he withdrew into the background.
Umewake-hiko took out a letter from the inside pocket of his jacket respectfully, offered it above his head and opened it, and then read it out to Kiyoteru-hiko as follows:
Arakuma-hiko, Arakuma-hime, Komayama-hiko and others are spies for Tokoyo-hime. Their base is on Mount Koh-haku, and their ultimate goal is to occupy the Dragon Palace Castle. I hereby command you to let Mototeru-hiko defend Mount Choh-koh, spearhead your divine army to attack Mount Koh-haku, and annihilate them and other evil troops.
It was a strict order from Kototama-wake no Mikoto. However, he was a kami of great mercy and benevolence, so deep down he never intended to make Kiyoteru-hiko take revenge on his parents. He only wanted, out of divine consideration, to use Kiyoteru-hiko to mend his parents' ways so that their beloved son could save them. Not knowing about the Mikoto's profound consideration, Kiyoteru-hiko just focused on the divine cause, shook off his tears, and attacked his parents. In the back of his mind he was agonizing more than anyone could swallow red-hot iron. But his mission was such that he could not afford to decline it, and that he rather accepted it deferentially.
Umewaka-hiko was excited to learn that his mission was just accomplished. He got on the heavenly bird ship again and headed for the Dragon Palace Castle as it soared high in the azure sky, leaving with Kiyoteru-hiko the kind words that said, "It is your fate to serve Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime as your parents or masters at times and fight with them at other times. You have my sympathy."
At the fort on Mount Koh-haku was a loyal, brave and sincere kami named Oh Tora-wake, who reported to Takatora-hiko. This deity always lamented Arakuma-hiko's evil deeds and thus did all he could, overtly and covertly, to dissuade Arakuma-hiko so that he would repent and reform himself. Oh Tora-wake appeared before Arakuma-hiko and his wife Arakuma-hime as he heard about them getting ready to fight against the divine army. He tried various ways to reason with them, tearfully advising them to think twice about their decision. Nevertheless, Arakuma-hiko looked as if he would not easily consent to it.
"I can't overlook you, Master, and this potential crisis," Oh Tora-wake pleaded. "That's why I'm disobeying your orders as you notice. Now that things have come to this, there's nothing I can do. Goodbye."
The ill-fated deity quickly took out his dagger from the inside pocket of his jacket and stripped himself to the waist. Then he committed hara-kiri and stabbed his throat with his dagger. He collapsed on the spot and breathed his last.
Arakuma-hiko stared at the dead body with scorn. Suddenly, tens of thousands of divine troops aboard heavenly bird ships swarmed above Mount Koh-haku from the northwestern sky, resorting to the aerial dropping of incendiary bombs. This killed Komayama-hiko. Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime got on their heavenly bird ship and took it on the lam towards Rome. Needless to say, those divine troops were led by Kiyoteru-hiko.
The captain of the divine army replaced the enemy deities to protect the fallen Mount Koh-haku, and the whole of Alaska was ruled quite peacefully. Meanwhile, Mototeru-hiko protected Mount Choh-koh, and its surrounding region also witnessed a remarkably peaceful reign. Afterwards, Kiyoteru-hiko did not join a battle on Mount Zion; instead, he held Alaska as his own sphere of influence and stood firm to defend it as his action won approval from Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
(Dictation taken by Masaharu Taniguchi on November 4 by the solar calendar, or October 5 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 38: Joy in Heaven and on Earth 〔88〕
Kiyoteru-hiko lost his most beloved wife but had no time to hold a funeral for her because of the unavoidable, strict order from Kototama-wake no Mikoto. He headed for Mount Koh-haku at once and ended up making a gut-wrenching decision to defeat his father and mother, the very source of his existence. After all, he was not in a position to refuse the Kami's command. Prioritizing the divine cause, Kiyoteru-hiko engaged in the tragic and bloody battle with his family members.
Meanwhile, Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime had a narrow escape by breaking the bloody siege. At that time Kiyoteru-hiko could have destroyed his parents quite easily if he had rushed to launch a follow-up attack on them in hot pursuit. While they were his enemies, he was tied by bonds of parental affection so much that he pretended to look the other way and let them go, seeing them off, worrying about their future, and hoping that they would spend the rest of their lives in peaceful seclusion. That was quite natural, given his filial relationship with them.
Arakuma-hiko never learned his lesson, however. He assembled the defeated troops, advanced to the Castle of Rome, and fought with his back to the wall. But a grim fate awaited him as his strength ran out. He was held captive by Oh Shima-hiko, and together with his wife, was secretly incarcerated for a period of disgraceful days.
Kiyoteru-hiko heard on the grapevine that his parents lost the battle in Rome, were incarcerated, and were leading a hard life. This made him feel uneasy and even agonzied him, plunging him into a solitary, anguished life. His inner agony must have been more intense than anyone could imagine because he was faithful to his master and dutiful to his parents. He sighed when looking up towards the heavens in a rainy morning and sighed again in a windy evening. He could not leave his parents in the lurch, nor could he bear to look on idly. To save them, however, he would need to disobey his master's orders, thereby committing the felony of high treason. He was torn apart at the thought of his parents, his wife and their whereabouts - at the enemy castle as captives or in the afterlife. As their child, he could not harden his heart against them completely, and on impulse, he resolved to fall on his sword to achieve the noble cause of loyalty and filial piety, when an urgent message flew in: "Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime were killed in combat with Oh Shima-hiko in Rome."
Hearing the tragic news, Kiyoteru-hiko felt an irresistible impulse to fall on his sword, resigning himself to the fact that he had nothing to live for as he parted from his parents, to whom he had owed a profound debt of gratitude, and also from his wife. He looked up towards the heavens, lamented his unfortunate circumstances, and wept bitterly. Then he reverse-gripped his dagger, stripped himself to the waist, and stood ready to take his own life, when a bright orb of light fell before his eyes from the heavens, quickly bursting into a beautiful and gentle goddess.
"I'm an angel from the North Star in the Purple Forbidden Enclosure," said the female kami. "The heavenly gods have sympathized with your utmost sincerity arising out of your perfect loyalty and filial piety. That's why they have sent me down here to save you. Wait patiently for the right time in a while, and you will be reunited with your most beloved parents and wife. Never ever doubt my words."
Leaving those words, the angel turned into the bright orb of light again and disappeared into the heavens. The whole event left Kiyoteru-hiko in a dreamy state of mind, keeping him suspicious of the angel's words that made no sense to him. He wondered if his distress finally caused him to go insane or if he cared so much about his parents and wife that his wish might have coagulated into an apparition. He could not help doubting himself. But somewhere at the back of his mind he sensed a ray of hope, which aided him in regaining his composure. He decided to bide his time, albeit uneasily, thinking who could console the souls of his parents and wife if he fell on his sword here.
Kiyoteru-hiko waited and waited for days. The mountains were covered with greenery. Various birds were singing the praises of the spring. Beautiful flowers were in full bloom, giving off a pleasant fragrance. This idyllic scene was gratifying and energizing many different kami to the point where they were dancing like crazy as if enjoying spring in heaven. By contrast, Kiyoteru-hiko's mind clouded further with murky thoughts, and he treated everything he saw and heard as a curse to him, no matter how much the flowers were blooming, the birds were singing or the deities were having great fun. There was no time for his sorrowful tears to dry, and his gloom was only deepening day and night.
Gazing into the sky and heaving a long sigh, Kiyoteru-hiko found tens of heavenly bird ships soaring high in formation and then flying down towards Mount Koh-haku. Each ship boasted a divine flag with a toyoh (ten-luminary or ten-sphere) symbol dyed in red on a white rectangular cloth. The sight gave him a bad headache for fear of yet another strict command from the Dragon Palace Castle.
The heavenly bird ships landed near Kiyoteru-hiko in no time. Getting off them were Kototama-wake no Mikoto, Mototeru-hiko, and Umewaka-hiko, with their countenances full of vigor and energy. Kototama-wake no Mikoto was the first to proceed to Kiyoteru-hiko and thank him courteously. Then the Mikoto straightened himself and sat upright, saying, "I've come to your castle as a messenger of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto to reward your dedication."
The Mikoto instructed his many attendants to carry ornate palanquins from the ships and place them in front of Kiyoteru-hiko.
"And so," the Mikoto continued with a smile. "You have followed through on your loyalty and filial piety, along with the utmost sincerity you have consistently shown in heaven and on earth. This impressed the Great Kami Kuniharutachi so much he decided to bestow rare treasures on you. Please accept them with great deference."
Despite his mounting suspicion, Kiyoteru-hiko thanked the Mikoto and others for their kindness anyway. Appearing out of the forward palanquin was a high-spirited male kami with a beautiful complexion. A closer look identified him as the one Kiyoteru-hiko never expected: His father Arakuma-hiko. The second palanquin opened and ejected his mother Arakuma-hime. Getting out of the third palanquin was Sueyo-hime, his most beloved wife, whom he thought had committed suicide. She quickly took her husband's hands and began shedding tears of joy. Kiyoteru-hiko felt like he was dreaming and did nothing but cry. All four of them cried out in unison with tears of joy running down their faces. They had a happy family reunion. Trees and plants on Mount Koh-haku and the scenery of the sky looked as if they were adding luster to the tearful reunion.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto took out a document from the inside pocket of his jacket and calmly read out the divine command for the four family members:
"Arakuma-hiko and Arakuma-hime shall preside over Mount Choh-koh. And Kiyoteru-hiko shall preside over Mount Koh-haku for all eternity."
A supplementary note:
When Sueyo-hime was about to fall on her dagger in the castle atop Mount Choh-koh, her fidelity to her husband was so impressive that an angel descended from heaven to take her place, thereby saving her life. Since then she had stayed in good shape while serving Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Kato on November 6 by the solar calendar, or October 7 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Part 6: Worship of Divine Spirits
Chapter 39: The Jewel of Venus 〔89〕
Tsuruwaka, a retainer at the Dragon Palace Castle, used to stake his life on protecting the red gem ball, one of the 12 spherical jewels born out of the golden water's quintessence, by fleeing to the Altai Mountains. However, he was ensnared in a nasty trap by Takekuma and his deities, and much to his chagrin, he ended up being cheated out of his gem ball. He lamented it so much that his spirit was coagulated into a red-crested white crane, as described earlier in Volume 1.
The red-crested white crane soared high in the sky day and night, and travelled to the north, south, east and west, crying at the top of its voice. Its emotional plea finally reached the plain of high heaven and spread to Venus. Ikuyo-hime no Mikoto, a spirit emanating from the planet, heard the crane's voice, wondered seriously about it, and asked the crane why it was shouting itself hoarse.
Tsuruwaka replied, "My tactless blunder allowed the enemy to steal my cherished treasure born out of the golden water. I'm at a loss to apologize to Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto. I've made up my mind to search for this jewel at any cost so I can take it to the Dragon Palace Castle and ask them to turn me back into a humanoid deity. To join this once-in-a-lifetime divine work, I've been soaring into the sky and scouring the ground for my gem ball day and night. But I still don't know its whereabouts. I'm so said I just can't help crying for it."
"I'm so sorry to hear that," said Ikuyo-hime. "I'll send out 12 swans to give you precious jewels of the land that are much greater than those born out of the golden water. The treasure the enemy stole from you has sunk into the Dead Sea. Besides, it has been defiled and can't be used for the divine work any more. That's why I'm going to give you the 12 new jewels. With them, return to the Dragon Palace Castle to take credit for the feat."
The moment she finished her words, the female spirit vanished abruptly, turning into a vaporous gas to ascend back to Venus. Tsuruwaka jumped for joy when he saw dove-like swans descending from the sky in no time. But he began wondering what to do as he found it extremely difficult to follow after the 12 swans all by himself. Then a voice was heard from the sky that said, "You need to soar higher in the sky to keep a close watch on the whereabouts of the jewels."
Tsuruwaka, hearing the divine words, felt as if he were being pulled from the sky. He went with the flow and exerted himself to soar as high as he could. At this time the 12 swans, which had dispersed throughout the sky, each descended towards the ground at once, changing into a white ray of light. The 12 rays ascended from the ground into the sky, shining like a rainbow.
Tsuruwaka descended towards the ground, chasing after the light. He found that one of the swans had shape-shifted into a red gem ball. He quickly gulped it down. He flew to another glittering spot on the ground, where he found that the swan there had turned into a white gem ball and gulped it down again. Thus, he bolted down one gem ball after another of 12 different colors such as red, blue, black, purple, and yellow. He gained so much weight that he had to fly at a low altitude before he managed to get back to the middle slope of Mount Fuyoh.
A variety of colorful, resplendent clouds emerged from the middle slope of Mount Fuyoh. Kiyokuni-wake became so suspicious of this spectacle that he bothered to visit the site. And there appeared a noble goddess, who was about to give birth to 12 gem balls.
"What kami are you?" Kiyokuni-wake asked with suspicion.
The goddess replied with facts and added, "Could you deliver these jewels to the Dragon Palace Castle?" This female kami was Tsuruno-hime.
Kiyokuni-wake had an intimate relationship with Tsuruno-hime and married her. They decided to return to the Dragon Palace Castle together to dedicate the jewels to the Great Kami.
The couple, however, lost their divine power shortly after they got married. They gradually became so heavy that they had a hard time just moving a muscle.
Apart from the holy gems, the two deities had their bodies and souls defiled by their marital intimacy. They regretted having lost their divine power and cried loudly.
Their cries reached Oh Mori-wake, the guardian kami of the Altai Mountains, as if they were right in front of him. Oh Mori-wake commanded Takayama-hiko, one of his vassals, to search Mount Fuyoh for the whereabouts of the cries.
Takayama-hiko obeyed his master's order, rushed to pull on a celestial robe of feathers atop Mount Fuyoh, and soared high in the sky. He spotted the two kami crying loudly in front of the 12 gems.
"What are you grieving for when you have those beautiful jewels?" Takayama-hiko said with strong suspicion.
The two kami replied with facts and entreated hesitantly, "Could you take these 12 gems to the Dragon Palace Castle and offer them to Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto?"
Takayama-hiko gave the couple a quizzical look for a moment when he heard their plea, reacting doubtfully and wondering what to do with it. Without uttering a single word, he put on his celestial robe of feathers again and soared high in the sky towards the Altai Mountains.
The two kami were left in a state of despair, with their cries getting louder and louder as if they were about to reach Heaven. This earned the couple the nicknames Nakisawa-hiko (Prince Crying-Weeping) and Nakisawa-hime (Princess Crying-Weeping), respectively.
Takayama-hiko returned to the Altai Mountains and updated Oh Mori-wake on the detailed outcome of his mission.
Oh Mori-wake said, "Don't miss out on this opportunity. Come with me."
Before finishing his words, he had already put on his celestial robe of feathers and headed for Mount Fuyoh. There he agreed to the couple's request, received the 12 jewels, and rushed to visit the Dragon Palace Castle to offer them to the Great Kami.
Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto was elated by the offered jewels. To protect the Land of the Kami with those gems for a thousand years, the Mikoto built a magnificent palace on Mount Zion and enshrined them in it.
Mount Zion was located northeast of the Dragon Palace Castle. It was a fortified holy mountain, a site so important that once it fell into the hands of the evil army, neither the Earthly Taka-ama-hara nor the Dragon Palace Castle would be spared destruction.
Meanwhile, Bohfuri-hiko (posing as false Miyama-hiko) and Takatora-hime (posing as false Kuniteru-hime) dashed mainly towards Mount Zion in a bid to first grab the holy ground and the 12 jewels and then occupy the Dragon Palace Castle and the Earthly Taka-ama-hara. Thus, a battle broke out on Mount Zion.
(Dictation taken by Masaharu Taniguchi on November 6 by the solar calendar, or October 7 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 40: Divine Revelations on the Mount 〔90〕
On Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's divine orders, Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto climbed Mount Zion and performed a ground-breaking ceremony there to purify the holy site where the mother rock for the Utsushi Kuni no Mitama (Honorable Gem Ball of the Manifest Land) had appeared before. Then he built 16 shrines made of plain wood on the center of the holy site, thatched their roofs with cormorant feathers, and decorated their buildings with a variety of rare treasures including gold, silver and other jewels. The shrines looked splendid and graceful like no other, glittering in the morning sun and shining in the evening sun. It was a dazzling sight.
The 12 jewels were each dedicated to their corresponding 12 shrines as objects of worship. At the remaining four shrines, solemn ceremonies were held to enshrine the deities Tsuruno-hime, Oh Mori-wake, Ikuyo-hime no Mikoto, and Himekoso, respectively.
Also built were 32 other large and small constructions including two-storied gates and halls, all of which were made of plain wood with their roofs thatched with hinoki (Japanese cypress) barks and ornamented with chigi (upright X-shaped crossed beams) at each end, katsuogi (log-shaped beams) set perpendicular to ridgepoles at intervals, and others. This was the epitome of divine sublimity. The 16 shrines were added to the 32 constructions to total 48 buildings, where numerous senior officials lived and served the Divine day and night.
As master of religious ceremonies, Miyabi-hiko presided over all divine and ceremonial affairs. Mount Zion remained a magnificent, holy mountain from the outset, and its magnificence was augmented by the addition of the 48 elegant shrine buildings and pavilions.
Meanwhile, Miyama-hiko and Kuniteru-hime, kami working under Tokoyo-hime, were planning to occupy Mount Zion from both east and west by appointing Kitsuki-hime as captain and leading Onikumo-hiko, Kiyokuma and many other evil troops to the holy mountain from Mount Kijoh. Captain Takekuma-wake of separate troops was also plotting to lead Arakuma and Komayama-hiko to Mount Zion from south to capture it. Thus, the three kami finalized the plan to occupy the holy mountain from east, west and south.
It took no time for the Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto to get wind of the evil deities' plot. He fielded Azuma-wake as captain, Kagawa-hiko and Hirodaru-hiko as officers to hold a defensive position at the eastern foot of the mountain. He also mobilized numerous divine troops to the western foot of the mountain for defense, with Iwakusu-hiko taking the helm as captain, Kamikura-hiko and Hanateru-hiko as officers. The southern foot of the mountain was defended by numerous divine troops, with Oh Daru-hiko taking the helm as captain, Okuyama-hiko and Yasuyo-hiko as officers. Magane-hiko and his small divine army unit were stationed at the northern foot of the mountain to brace themselves for an impending attack. The army headquarters atop the mountain was securely defended by Mamichi-hiko no Mikoto, Hanamori-hiko, Tanigawa-hiko, and Taniyama-hiko under the leadership of Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto as commander-in-chief.
The enemy troops swarming from three directions encircled Mount Zion at a great distance, stood ready to fight against the divine army, but delayed opening fire for a long time, realizing that an attack on the impregnable spiritual mountain would be quite an undertaking. Takekuma-wake, captain of the southern evil army, sent out shikome spies to break the impasse in one fell swoop. There was a woman who was tiptoeing across the camp of Captain Oh Daru-hiko of the southern divine army under cover of night. Many rank-and-file members of the divine army were so suspicious of her that they surrounded her from all directions to capture her, and then transferred her to Oh Daru-hiko's camp. There she was stripped naked, which led to the discovery of a confidential letter from her. It looked like a secret message conveyed from Takekuma-wake to Miyama-hiko, an officer of the eastern evil army.
The confidential letter read as follows:
"I will share with you the confidential message I got from Tokoyo-hime: 'We have already come closer to seizing the Dragon Palace Castle. But the enemy has resisted and fought so well that we must not let our guard down easily. We requested that Oh Kuni-hiko send reinforcements, and they have been successful in regaining our strength. This has boosted the morale of our friendly troops. The fall of the castle is imminent. You comrades, just forget about us and go all out to attack and destroy Mount Zion. We will lose no time in slaughtering the castle and subduing commanding officers and others in the Earthly Taka-ama-hara. Seizing the occasion, we will be there to join you.'"
Oh Daru-hiko was striving to defend the Dragon Palace Castle after he had delegated his full authority to command the southern divine army to Yasuyo-hiko and left Mount Zion secretly. Yasuyo-hiko grabbed the confidential letter from the female spy and was quite shocked when he found out what was written. He called Azuma-wake, Magane-hiko and Iwakusu-hiko together to have a clandestine meeting at the mountaintop camp. They were extremely surprised at the confidential letter because they believed that Mount Zion was an impregnable fort that would enable a single soldier to hold ten thousand enemy troops at bay. They reached a decision to bifurcate the divine army into two groups, with one of them cutting its way through the enemy line to help defend the Dragon Palace Castle. Their decision was put forward to Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto. He was mulling over it for a while, and then dared to reject it right away, saying, "Oh Daru-hiko has returned to the Dragon Palace Castle to defend it. There is no need to worry too much. Besides, Masumi-hime, Kototama-wake no Mikoto, Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto, and other wise and courageous officers have defended the castle so securely that no evil deities can penetrate it. The enemy must be playing a dirty trick on us."
The Mikoto's flat refusal made Yasuyo-hiko upset.
"Aren't you concerned about the safety of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto?" Yasuyo-hiko questioned the Mikoto. "That would be redundant indeed if this confidential letter were fake. But security is the greatest enemy. A small group of divine soldiers would be enough to defend this mountain from a host of enemy troops. Should the Dragon Palace Castle fall to the enemy, it would also jeaopardize the Earthly Taka-ama-hara. I'm begging you to send reinforcements to the castle to rescue it from the imminent danger."
Yasuyo-hiko insisted with such determination that he would not act against his will easily.
Magane-hiko, Iwakusu-hiko and Azuma-wake also agreed to Yasuyo-hiko's suggestion. Most subordinate members of the divine army, having heard the rumor about the impending danger of the Dragon Palace Castle, took it seriously and started calling for a quick return to the castle.
Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto was adamantly opposed to their unanimous proposal.
"So, you folks are not about to obey my command," the Mikoto said firmly. "No other option now. But I promise I wouldn't retreat from this mountain even if everyone else did. Also, I have no intention of sending a single solider back to the castle to defend it."
Meanwhile, Miyabi-hiko came before the altar deferentially and prayed for a divine message. In no time did he receive one that said, "Bring the female spy before the altar."
Miyabi-hiko respectfully conveyed the divine message to Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, who in turn commanded Yasuyo-hiko to do exactly what the message said. Accordingly, Yasuyo-hiko brought the female spy before the altar, and then grabbed her and made her sit down on the garden rocks. In a split second, her body started shaking up and down, left and right.
And spontaneously, she owned up and admitted, "I'm a secret agent for Takekuma-wake. What the letter said about the imminent fall of the Dragon Palace Castle is actually a fabrication. It was a cunning plan to damage the morale of your army and disrupt its battle formation." No sooner did her confession end than she collapsed on the ground.
Awed by the power of the Divine and the foresight of Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, the officers and soliders there vowed never to disobey the Mikoto's commands from that moment onward.
The female spy was guarded and escorted near Takekuma-wake's camp by the officers and soliders as Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto had mercy on her.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on November 6 by the solar calendar, or October 7 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 41: Festivals at 16 Shrines 〔91〕
Mount Zion was such an impregnable fort that even a formidable deity would find it a herculean task to conquer it. Kuniteru-hime, an officer in the western enemy camp, conspired with Onikuma-hiko, Kiyokuma and others to grab the holy site.
Meanwhile, a major festival was observed at the divine army headquarters on Mount Zion not only to thank the Kami for divulging the truth about the female spy and saving the divine army from the danger through His divine power and Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto's perceptiveness, but also to celebrate the safety of the divine army as a whole. The festival was arranged in a manner that allowed the majority of the divine soldiers to attend the festival and return to their defensive positions when it was over, and also in a manner that enabled the remaining soldiers to switch places with the first group and attend the mountaintop festival.
A vat filled with eight-fold refined liquor was offered to each of the 16 shrines. Any kami - whoever they were other than enemy commanders or soldiers - was allowed to visit those shrines only on the day of the festival.
There were many women who dressed in a pilgrim's garb. They were beautiful goddesses with pretty faces, and they climbed to the top of Mount Zion one after another. There they attended the holy festival and extolled the infinite majesty of the Kami. At that precise moment, the festivities were performed at the 16 shrines simultaneously. It was usually maidens who were allowed to offer food and sake rice wine to the Kami, but given the male-dominated battlefield, no women had been in sight before the goddesses' arrival. However courageous they may have been, the male deities were having their morale undermined by their inexplicable empty feeling. At a time like this, many a beautiful goddess with refined taste appeared before them, making some of them fascinated, others enchanted, and still others utterly bewitched by the dazzling beauty. The divine commanders and soldiers alike were gawking at the fair maidens vying with one another to show off their charm. This made them completely forget that they were in the battlefield.
Miyabi-hiko talked to beautiful, youngest-looking women among the goddesses, saying, "This is a battlefield now, so there is no maiden here to serve the Kami. If you have faith in the Divine, could you stand up and offer food and sake rice wine right away? Also, if you excel at performing arts, could you stand up and perform sacred music and dance?"
In response to Miyabi-hiko's call, those heavenly nymph-like maidens stood up all at once, offered food and sake rice wine to the Kami, and performed sacred music and dance to entertain Him. The festival ended successfully, and the divine commanders and soldiers alike sat before the altar to have a feast of the food and sake, which had been offered to the Kami, for the spiritual benefit of worshippers and priests. Many maidens threaded their ways through the crowd back and forth to pour the rice wine for everyone. Members of the divine army were getting drunk over time; suddenly, some slurred their words, rolled their eyes, went deaf, had headaches or lost sensation in their limbs while others threw up, had loose bowels, had pains in their stomachs or chests, or even lay writhing in agony, coughing dark blood. Still others rolled around on the floor here and there, moving their hands weirdly to grasp at the air until they eventually collapsed.
All of a sudden, the main halls at the 16 shrines started rumbling, prompting the door of each hall to open naturally, out of which numerous golden kites showed up to fly and dance freely over the feast table. All the agonizing participants made a quick and full recovery, with their injuries and wounds healed. What had until then looked like beautiful curvaceous maidens were actually evil deities shape-shifted, and they instantly turned back into fierce-looking evil ogres, old foxes or venomous snakes as they fled in all directions. This was the outcome of an atrocious plot masterminded by Kuniteru-hime and other evil officers to annihilate the divine army.
Thus, the whole army on Mount Zion was saved from the danger through the divine assistance. It was decided that going forward, no alcoholic drinks or women would be allowed in battlefields.
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on November 6 by the solar calendar, or October 7 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 42: The Origin of Japanese Armor 〔92〕
Takekuma-wake, captain of the southern evil army, was acutely aware that the two ploys devised by Miyama-hiko and Kuniteru-hime had ended up in an epic fail, and that ordinary schemes would serve no useful purposes easily. Therefore, he metamorphosed all his evil troops into tens of thousands of black bears.
Then he used his bears to launch a concerted attack on Azuma-wake's eastern divine army, Oh Daru-hiko's southern divine army, and Iwakusu-hiko's western divine army under cover of darkness, as triggered by their defeaning roars in unison. Taken aback by the attack, the officers and soldiers of the three armies dispersed hither and thither in confusion. This energized Takekuma-wake so much that he ran headlong towards the top of Mount Zion to assault Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto's camp and destroy the 16 shrines. Meanwhile, Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, startled by the surpise attack, retreated into the penetralia and, together with Miyabi-hiko, implored the heavenly deities to save the divine armies.
At this time the 16 shrines were about to be demolished by the many black bears under Takekuma-wake. The door of each main hall swung open naturally, letting thousands, nay tens of thousands of golden kites out. They breathed fire on the throng of black bears while flying about freely.
With their body hair burnt, the tens of thousands of black bears looked like brown bears temporarily, suffering from the heat and writhing in pain. They all fled to the northern snowy mountains, dived into the accumulated snow there, and finally saved themselves from death by fire.
The herds of bears escaping death by fire suffered severe burns. They got stark-naked as the outer layers of their skin came off entirely. They removed snow from the surface and dug holes in the snowy mountains. After that, they hid in the holes to wait for their injuries to be cured. Severe as their burns were, they healed over time. White hair began growing all over the bodies of the animals, chagigng them into white bears.
At the foot of Mount Zion the officers of the eastern, western and southern evil armies finally assembled their scattered soldiers and restored their camps. This encouraged and energized them more than ever before. Takekuma-wake lost many comrades and used Kuniteru-hime's evil army again to make a second attempt. This time he turned the evil soldiers into tens of thousands of tortoises and commanded them to stealthily crawl up the hill to the mountaintop. Those tortoises swarmed the summit and breathed fire in unison, burning down 48 halls and pavilions all at once and even getting closer to consuming the whole divine army. In response, the divine army tried beheading the tens of thousands of tortoises, but they retracted their heads inside the shells at one time. That was why the tortoises did not care at all about how much the divine soldiers beat them or tried killing them. Nothing was heard but the sound of the swords hitting the tortoise shells.
The tortoises rushed to lie on top of one another in heaps and encircled the divine officers to immobilize them. Then the reptiles breathed fierce fire out of their shells like roaring flames, tormenting the divine army.
Meanwhile, Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto gave Miyabi-hiko a divine strategy and sent him to 12 of the 16 shrines, where he put a drop of the sake rice wine dedicated to the Kami into each of the hundreds of earthenware jars. Suddenly, black clouds appeared in the sky, bringing heavy rain into the jars to fill them up in no time. All the rainwater transformed into mellow divine sake with a rich aroma. At this time, tens of mysterious birds appeared out of nowhere and soaked in the jars before flying away somewhere.
The tantalizing aroma of the sake filled the top of the mountain. It wafted to the tens of thousands of tortoises, and they scrambled to stick out their heads and gather in front of the jars. Then they stretched up on their tiptoes, craned their necks, and drank up the sake in the jars to the last drop. Intoxicated, they started dancing around crazily all at once.
The divine officers and soldiers on the mountaintop determined that now was the time to slaughter the evil tortoises because that would be quite hard to do when they were sober. Each divine warrior unsheathed their sword to decapitate the tortoises. Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto interrupted them and commanded them to watch the reptiles go on the drunken rampage.
As per the Mikoto's orders, the divine officers and soldiers just looked on with folded arms. The tortoises were dancing like crazy with increasingly funny hand moves and starting to fight with one another. The scene was hilarious beyond words.
The divine officers and soldiers atop Mount Zion clapped their hands unconsciously and, attracted by the tortoises' funny dance moves, went so far as to sing with them, join their hordes, and dance together like crazy. The poison taken in by the tortoises began spreading throughout their bodies, and some of them coughed dark blood, others collapsed on their backs, and still others writhed in agony. Without a moment's delay, the divine officers and soldiers unsheathed their swords, ripped the reptiles' heads to shreds, and thus destroyed them all. Then the victors stripped the dead animals of their shells and wore them as their armor. This was how warriors started to wear armor to battlefields.
(Dictation taken by Masaharu Taniguchi on November 8 by the solar calendar, or October 9 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 43: A False Accusation 〔93〕
Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto's ingenious strategy as described earlier made Mount Zion so difficult to penetrate and encouraged the divine officers on the three fronts so greatly that the evil army was left with no other option but to retreat.
At that very moment, a secret emissary of Tokoyo-hime showed up. Her message read as follows:
"You folks, never retreat even a step under any circumstances, no matter how adverse they may be. Prolong this battle to blockade Mount Zion and lock up Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and his subordinate officers. I will seize this opportunity to occupy not just the Dragon Palace Castle, but Mount Fuyoh, Moscow, Rome, and the Dragon Palace Island as well."
Miyama-hiko, Kuniteru-hime and Takekuma-wake obeyed Tokoyo-hime's order and had to stay there no matter what. As a result, the divine officers from the Dragon Palace Castle found themselves fighting against heavy odds as they were attacked by the evil troops on Mount Fuyoh, in Rome and Moscow. Informed of the plight of the divine army, the Dragon Palace Castle dispatched Kamikuni-wake, Mototeru-hiko and Magane-hiko to Rome, Moscow and Mount Fuyoh, respectively. Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Hanamori-hiko, acting as co-captains, were assigned to defend the castle; Kototama-wake no Mikoto became involved in internal control, whereas Hanamori-hiko prepared for an enemy attack.
As generalissimo of the three evil armies, Yatsuoh Daijin, the husband of Tokoyo-hime, launched all-out attacks on Mount Fuyoh, Rome and Moscow. Meanwhile, Tokoyo-hime entered the Dragon Palace Castle again with Maga-hiko and Maga-hime, ingratiated herself with Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, and served her mother obediently while feigning innocence. But deep down she was plotting to oust Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Hanamori-hiko to seize control of the castle.
Tokoyo-hime brought in the castle Karako-hime, a beautiful goddess with a glamorous figure hailing from the Tokoyo no Kuni (Land of Eternity), and had her serve Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Hanamori-hiko. Her clear eyes finally captivated Hanamori-hiko. He was so enamored of her that he neglected his important divine duties, eloped with her under cover of darkness, and hid in Tan Shan (Mount Tan), where they continued their life as a common-law couple.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto had little idea what to do with the disappearance of Hanamori-hiko, one of his reliable aides. Sakuragi-hime, the wife of Hanamori-hiko, became stupefied and angry, felt resentment, wept bitterly, and agonized. This drove her mad in the end. Kototama-wake no Mikoto and his subordinate officers were deeply concerned about Sakuragi-hime. They discussed the matter and reached a consensus that she would make a quick full recovery if they searched for her husband's whereabouts, returned him to the castle again, and had him see his wife. Accordingly, they sent out divine soldiers in all directions to look for Hanamori-hiko. The number of soldiers in the castle dwindled away, making the castle defense insufficent.
Sakuragi-hime became increasingly violent and uncontrollable. Kototama-wake no Mikoto was about to stand before Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto to update her on the progress of the battle on Mount Sinai, when Sakuragi-hime ran to embrace him, saying, "There you are, my beloved husband."
The crazy goddess cried, laughed, and pulled the Mikoto's hand towards herself so hard as if it would be torn off when getting back to her living room. Overjoyed to see her plot work like a charm, Tokoyo-hime took an overbearing attitude and shouted in an offensive tone, "Kototama-wake no Mikoto."
"You are always ill-conducted, and everyone at home and abroard has heard ugly rumors about you," Tokoyo-hime asserted. "But swift is Heaven's vengeance. You just disgraced yourself in front of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. You are to blame for Sakuragi-hime's insanity. Hanamori-hiko found out about this, but he was such a docile kami that he resigned himself to his fate and never changed color when he gave Sakuragi-hime to you and ran away from here with Karako-hime. He is never the kind of deity who is so fettered by a woman's plight as to make wrong decisions about important matters. But in this crisis he acted like that. It is all because of your sin. What have you got to say for yourself?"
Tokoyo-hime made unreasonable assertions and used abusive language to change Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's perception of Kototama-wake no Mikoto. But he shifted to a defiant attitude, retorting, "What an outlandish story you are making up. With what evidence are you lashing out at me like that?"
Before the Mikoto finished his sentences, Tokoyo-hime gave him an angry look, pouted, gazed up to the sky for a moment, and pooh-poohed his response.
"Just ask your conscience about the evidence," she said glaring at him.
The deranged Sakuragi-hime, mistaking Kototama-wake no Mikoto for her husband Hanamori-hiko, flew at Tokoyo-hime.
"Why are you hurling abuse at my most beloved husband? I will punish you on his behalf!"
Sakuragi-hime quickly seized Tokoyo-hime by the hair and dragged her around with all her might. Tokoyo-hime screamed for help, and kami officials in the castle rushed to the scene from various spaces as they were taken aback by the scream.
The false accusation brought against Kototama-wake no Mikoto was not easily cleared up, however. He was expelled from the Dragon Palace Castle on Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's strict orders. She believed Tokoyo-hime's slander and kicked Kototama-wake no Mikoto out of the castle. She also decided to summon Hanamori-hiko from Mount Tan and appoint him as chief commanding officer in the castle. She met with Ame no Waka-hiko, and then he headed for Mount Tan to invite Hanamori-hiko back to the castle. Ame no Waka-hiko was a good-looking deity who had supported Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto on several fronts.
Ame no Waka-hiko got on a heavenly bird ship made of rock-solid camphor trees and left for Mount Tan, where he conveyed Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto's command to Hanamori-hiko and urged him to break up with Karako-hime so that he could come back to the castle as soon as possible.
Hanamori-hiko was so delighted by the messenger's words that he came to his senses at once and boarded the heavenly bird ship made of rock-solid camphor trees to get back to the Dragon Palace Castle. There he met with Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto to discuss military secrets.
The castle was under the control of the two kami officials, namely Tokoyo-hime and Hanamori-hiko, and was in a precarious position to face destruction at any moment through Tokoyo-hime's cunning plot.
Ame no Waka-hiko gazed at Karako-hime in rapture the moment he noticed her, and got carried away so much that he ended up holding her hand and taking her to a mountain recess to live together in seclusion. He had been away from the castle ever since.
It was deeply regrettable that Ame no Waka-hiko had been bewitched heart and soul by Karako-hime even though he was blessed with a beautiful wife named Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and eight wonderful children.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on November 8 by the solar calendar, or October 9 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 44: Devil Wind, Love Wind 〔94〕
Kototama-wake no Mikoto had been caught off guard with the groundless accusation, so he was desperate to clear himself of the suspicion and prove his innocence, along with his efforts to get Tokoyo-hime to repent her sins and reform herself. But, alas, he was alone after having been expelled from the castle, and there was nothing he could do about it. To achieve his aim, he made up his mind to flee to Mount Wanshou.
Many kami officials who had sympathized with the plight of Kototama-wake no Mikoto followed him to Mount Wanshou.
Chief divine commanders included Azuma-wake, Takamatsu-wake, Kawarabayashi, Tamateru-hiko, Arikuni-hiko, and Moritaka-hiko. Brave and dauntless members of the divine army happened to gather together on the mountain day and night. This reached Tokoyo-hime's ears like lightning. Extremely surprised, she began preparing to attack Mount Wanshou under the command of her husband Yatsuoh Daijin Tokoyo-hiko, and in the process the Dragon Palace Castle fell into her hands. Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and other divine commanders fled to Mount Wanshou, where Kototama-wake no Mikoto was stationed.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto welcomed Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and her divine commanders with courtesy. They united to recapture the castle. Also demonstrated for the first time was Kototama-wake no Mikoto's unsullied integrity as a kami of the utmost honesty.
The development of Mount Wanshou further progressed since the arrival of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. A fortified castle was built with iron walls laid around it to emerge as an impregnable fortress.
At this time, there was a god of war named Momiji-wake. He was a valiant commander with both wisdom and courage. This kami led his many divine troops to the fortress and requested an audience with Kototama-wake no Mikoto. The Mikoto first had Azuma-wake meet with the unexpected visitor to ask about the purpose of his visit. Momiji-wake replied that he was indignant at what he had heard about Tokoyo-hime's cunning plot, and that he volunteered to join forces with Kototama-wake no Mikoto on Mount Wanshou to destroy Tokoyo-hime and allow peace to prevail under the sun. He added that to this end, he would spare no efforts to collaborate with the Mikoto for the divine cause of creating the Age of the Maitreya Kami on earth. Especially praiseworthy was the sincerity shown by Momiji-wake when he offered to team up with Kototama-wake no Mikoto. Azuma-wake was so thrilled to hear it that he updated his commander-in-chief on the details. Momiji-wake was a military kami with a flair for combat operations. Kototama-wake no Mikoto and Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto worked together to appoint Momiji-wake as chief general of Mount Wanshou. The Dragon Palace Castle, meanwhile, had already been occupied by Tokoyo-hime, along with the Earthly Taka-ama-hara and the Mount of Olives, both of which had fallen into enemy hands. Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, supreme commander of Mount Zion, borrowed the Earthly Masumi Mirror from Oh Daru-hiko, who had fled to the mountain, and used it to shine the enemy forces from the mountaintop. Suddenly, hundreds of thousands of huge rocks gushed out of the top of the mountain and flew in the air before they fell like rain towards Miyama-hiko, Kuniteru-hime, Takekuma-wake and other members of the evil army. Shone by the sacred Mirror, Miyama-hiko, Kuniteru-hime and Takekuma-wake revealed their true indentities by instantly metamorphosing into an evil ogre, a monster serpent and an evil fox, respectively, and dispersed towards Mount Kijoh.
Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto appointed Yasuyo-hiko as chief commander and Miyabi-hiko as high priest responsible for administering divine rituals and ceremonies. He also deployed part of his divine army to defend Mount Zion and led the remainig army to the Dragon Palace Castle to recapture it. Magane-hiko headed for the Earthly Taka-ama-hara, and Iwakusu-hiko for the Mount of Olives. Azuma-wake and Oh Daru-hiko went to the castle, where they took out the Earthly Masumi Mirror and shone it over the enemy forces. This was amplified by Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto's chanting of the kamigoto norito prayer to cause an instant, violent storm. The waves ran high like a mountain and almost submerged the castle. Rays of eerie light emerged from Tokoyo-hime's body, and she turned into an evil fox with eight blonde tails. She fled towards the Tokoyo Castle as she caused black clouds. Her subordinate evil soldiers dispersed in many different directions. Thus, the divine army succeeded in regaining control of the Dragon Palace Castle and the Earthly Taka-ama-hara. Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, accompanied by Kototama-wake no Mikoto, Azuma-wake and other officers, returned to the Dragon Palace Castle. It was decided that Mount Wanshou should be defended by Matsutaka-wake, Arikuni-wake and other divine commanders.
Ame no Waka-hiko, meanwhile, remained enamored of Karako-hime. He took her to a mountain recess even after he had abandoned Mount Tan.
"If I can live with you, I won't mind going through toil and trouble at a dilapidated hut in the farthest field, the depth of a mountain, or a den of tigers or wolves."
Declaring the above, Ame no Waka-hiko was living in a small hermitage with Karako-hime like husband and wife for a period of time.
At one time, Ame no Waka-hiko pushed his way into a mountain near his hermitage and came back with a hare he had hunted. Karako-hime was off her guard during her husband's absence from home and was sleeping very well with occasional snores that reverberated through the bedroom. Ame no Waka-hiko secretly looked in at his wife from outside. Karako-hime was gone without a trace, and instead Gimmoh-kyubi Hakumen no Akko (White-faced evil fox with eight silver tails) was slumbering in the bedroom. Ame no Waka-hiko was staggered by the ghastly sight.
"You evil kami," Ame no Waka-hiko shouted angrily. "You took advantage of my absence from home and bit my most beloved Karako-hime to death to satisfy your hunger. And worse yet, you're lying back on the bed and taking a nap. How dare you. I'm going to take revenge for my wife."
Ame no Waka-hiko fit an arrow onto the string of his bow and shot it at the evil fox with a loud clack. But it was too late. Before the arrow reached her, the evil fox had already vanished in a puff of smoke. Her voice as Karako-hime was heard out of nowhere.
"I'm a demon-kami under Tokoyo-hime. I lured Hanamori-hiko away from the Dragon Palace Castle to occupy it. This time I've lured you into the mountain recess to disable your celestial powers. I'm heading back to the Land of Eternity to be awarded a prize for my outstanding performance. You get back to the castle right away to report your epic fail straight out and say you've been bewitched by Karako-hime, you've lost your shirt, and you're back here regretfully and mortified. You'd better bow your head to your wife Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto repeatedly to beg her to forgive the sins you have committed so far."
Her jeering guffaw became fainter as she finished her words. This left Ame no Waka-hiko so enraged that he shot arrows at the voice in the air. They roared down from the sky, almost grazing his shoulders. It really was a close call. From then on he had to wander through many regions and suffer various hardships before he returned to the Dragon Palace Castle dejectedly.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Katoh on November 8 by the solar calendar, or October 9 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Part 7: The Moral Principles of Heaven and Earth
Chapter 45: The Commandments of Heaven and Earth 〔95〕
Kuniharutachi no Mikoto and Toyokuni-hime no Mikoto, both of whom were enshrined in the Earthly Taka-ama-hara (High Heavenly Plain) with the palace posts firmly planted in the bed-rock and the palace cross-beams soaring high, ascribed the uncontrollable, extreme turmoil of the Divine World as the lack of strict laws stipulated for general deities. Thus, they worked with Amaji-wake no Mikoto to enact the Commandments of Heaven and Earth.
Internally, these Commandments consisted of the next five precepts:
Thou shalt:
- Examine thyself,
- Feel ashamed,
- Repent,
- Revere heaven and earth, and
- Awaken to truth.
Externally, these Commandments consisted of the next three moral imperatives:
Thou shalt:
- Strictly observe the way of husband and wife, and maintain a monogamous relationship,
- Serve God, respect thy elders, and show love and affection for all that is, and
- Be strictly forbidden to commit such immoralities as envy, slander, falsehood, larceny, and murder.
Kuniharutachi no Mikoto and Toyokuni-hime no Mikoto also decreed that to propagate the Commandments of Heaven and Earth to the whole wide world, kami authorities at the Dragon Palace Castle and in the Earthly Taka-ama-hara should be the first to keep the Commandments to set an example for other deities to follow and stick closely to. Since then these Commandments had been enforced in an orderly fashion, and the way of husband and wife in particular had been strictly observed.
The Angel Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, Oh Daru-hiko, and other top-ranking kami were so resourceful and flexible in driving away Tokoyo-hime's evil army that the Dragon Palace Castle and the Earthly Taka-ama-hara remained intact in a peaceful reign. Kami officials in general enjoyed the blessings of peace and tranquility, flirted with flowers, appreciated the beauty of the Moon, and performed sacred kagura music and dance to hold a grand celebration for the Kami. This amounted to halcyon days for them.
The Great Kami's Commandments, however, fell short of permeating those distand lands which had not yet achieved peace or stability. Meanwhile, Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto was dressed up in full regalia and visited a public amusement hall to extol the virtues of peace and tranquility in Heaven and on Earth. She was looking on various kami officials with delight from the dais end of the hall. At this time, a handsome young kami in a beautiful long-sleeved kimono stood on the center of the stage and began dancing gracefully to the music.
At this time, a handsome young kami in a beautiful long-sleeved kimono stood on the center of the stage and began dancing gracefully to the music. He was like one red flower standing out in a sea of green vegetation. Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto suddenly went pale and heaved a sigh before she collapsed on the spot.
Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and other divine commanders were shocked to find their leader lying on the floor. They cared for her and carried her to the penetralia, where she was rested on a thick pile of fluffy bedclothes and was nursed intensively. Different kami officials visited her on her sickbed on different occasions and encouraged her to try a variety of medicinal herbs they had gathered from mountains near and far, although she shook her head in denial of them all and became increasingly emaciated day by day. Kami officials continued to do all they could whole-heartedly to cure her illness, but to no avail. At that moment, she seemed to act decisively and asked her deities to stage a kagura music and dance performance for her. They started preparing for it right away and performed kagura music and dance before their leader. Countless maidens began flapping their long sleeves to dance gracefully to the music amid the audience's rapturous cheers and applause that resounded as if reaching to heaven.
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto fixed her engrossed gaze on the kagura music and dance. Then she looked around at the performers and audience, heaved a sigh again, and collapsed on the floor. Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto stopped the performance for fear that her health would deteriorate, and busied himself alone with taking care of her at her bedside.
In the middle of the night, Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto repeated calling in her sleep, "Oh, Tamateru-hiko, Tamateru-hiko."
"What's going on with him?" Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto asked, his tone panicky.
But no reply came from her as she was slumbering peacefully.
Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto invited Tamateru-hiko over here immediately and commanded him to nurse Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. Since then she had made a steady recovery day by day. Tamateru-hiko was appointed to continue to serve his master by her side. She kept him within her reach all the time, on rainy nights or windy days, and cherished him like her most prized possession.
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on November 8 by the solar calendar, or October 9 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 46: A Violation of the Commandments of Heaven and Earth 〔96〕
Ame no Waka-hiko, who had been bewitched by Karako-hime, wandered through many regions, roaming mountains, fields, rivers and the sea. He hurt his legs walking on snowy mornings and frosty evenings. Exposure to the awful weather made him look down and out like a shabby scarecrow in late autumn. He made a ragged appearance as a beggar at the castle under Mount Wanshou and knocked on one of its doors to call kami officials inside.
Someone happened to be knocking on Azuma-wake's door. That knock sounded somewhat different from the ones he usually heard at the door. He stood up himself and opened it to find a lowly wanderer standing right in front of him.
The wanderer looked Azuma-wake in the face and said, "Aren't you Azuma-wake?"
"I don't know who you are," said Taki-hiko, a retainer of Azuma-wake, as he ran to the scene. "But how rude of you to stand at my master's door and call him by name with no honorific title. Get out of here right away, or take this, you asshole!"
Before finishing his words, Taki-hiko hit the wanderer on the head with a club. It missed his fatal spot but blew off his sedge hat.
"You rude bastard!" the wanderer sweared at Taki-hiko harshly, his eyes penetrating.
At last, Azuma-wake realized that the pauper was the ruin of what Ame no Waka-hiko had once been. He apologized for his retainer's insolence, courteously led Ame no Waka-hiko by the hand into the castle under Mount Wanshou, and offered him new divine garb. The kami official, who had looked like a skeleton scarecrow until then, instantly turned into a brave and magnificent commander with plump cheeks. Azuma-wake wrote a letter and asked Taki-hiko to bring it to the Dragon Palace Castle as a messenger.
The letter was directed to Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and read as follows:
Ame no Waka-hiko has come back to Mount Wanshou and will return to the Dragon Palace Castle after taking a rest for a while. We request that you promptly arrange to welcome him.
Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto was the first kami to open this letter. One glance at it was enough to make him extremely happy. His inner self was jumping for joy, thinking that the letter would definitely reassure her. He appeared before Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and reported on the letter from Azuma-wake in detail.
Against his expectations, however, suspicion clouded her face. Tamateru-hiko, who had served his master by her side, suddenly went pale with his lips starting to tremble with fear.
Their unusual reaction made no sense to Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto as he walked away from the place. At that time Taki-hiko briefed the Mikoto on how Ame no Waka-hiko had lived his life until he got back to Mount Wanshou, adding that his wife Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto was acting quite suspiciously. Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto entered a room where he folded his arms and started wondering about the awfully shady relationship between Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto and Tamateru-hiko, given her flustered behavior and his nervous expression. This left Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto agonizing over whether the leader of the Dragon Palace Castle might have committed adultery in violation of the strict Commandments of Heaven and Earth. He was hoping against hope for the contrary.
After a while a commotion broke out inside the castle, with many kami officials and retainers on the move here and there upon Ame no Waka-hiko's return to the castle. Hanamori-hiko stepped forward before Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto and, with a smile on his face, advised the Mikoto to request that Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto come out in person to greet her husband at the door right away.
Hanamori-hiko had already walked back to the path of virtue and strictly complied with the Commandments of Heaven and Earth. As such, he held no grudge whatsoever against Ame no Waka-hiko for having stolen Karako-hime from him. Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto was in such a panic that she wore her pleated skirt backwards and her outer garment inside out as she hurried to greet her husband. In contrast, Tamateru-hiko led the Mikoto by the hand and took care of her as usual when he greeted one of his superiors.
Suddenly, Ame no Waka-hiko raised his clenched fist without saying a word and hit Tamateru-hiko hard with it. Taken aback, Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto tried lifting him in her arms.
"I broke the strict rules," Tamateru-hiko gasped. "And I violated the Commandments of Heaven and Earth. My life is over because of my relationship with you. This is divine punishment from Kuniharutachi no Mikoto. Please forgive me."
Tamateru-hiko offered his heartfelt prayer to the Great Kami before he died suddenly in the castle.
Many other kami officials, who had closely watched the whole event, had a hard time figuring out how to mitigate the awkward silence between Ame no Waka-hiko and Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto.
At that precise moment, Kuniharutachi no Mikoto made his divine appearance, stood before the two high-ranking deities, and gave the following strict order:
"You are felons because you violated the moral imperative of marital fidelity. In accordance with the Commandments of Heaven and Earth, I hereby order Ame no Waka-hiko and Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto to go swiftly to the Yukai (Realm of Stray Spirits) [12] to rule the Court of Yama."
Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto, who had been delegated to rule the Earth and who was destined to take control of divine reign in Heaven, had it coming, suffered a complete reversal of fortune, and was plunged into an abyss of despair, as if a noble flower, which would blossom on a peak higher than heaven in due course, withered into a faded hydrangea with various changes in color like the vicissitudes of life. The two sinful divine leaders ended up sent to the Cauldron of Hell in which they and other nefarious sinners would be boiled and burned on the bottom, only to have to bear the unbearable suffering for thousands of years to come.
(Dictation taken by Toyoji Toyama on November 8 by the solar calendar, or October 9 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 47: The Descent of an Angel to the Earthly Taka-ama-hara 〔97〕
After her defeat at the Dragon Palace Castle, Tokoyo-hime shape-shifted into an evil fox and fled back to the Tokoyo Castle. Then she gave commands to the Rockies, the Urals, Lake Baikal and the Dead Sea in a bid to conspire with Yatsugashira Yatsuo (Eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent) to dominate the world. The water in the Dead Sea boiled abruptly, and instead of going up in the air, it muddied the plains and eventually metamorphosed into evil ogres. The Urals began rumbling at last, changing into an evil dragon known as the Yatsugashira Yatsuo, which in turn spat out a myriad of evil dragon-serpents.
The water in Lake Baikal suddenly turned red. It changed into bloody rain and poured down in all directions. Then Mount Seiun (Blue Cloud), located at the borders of Tibet and India near the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, belched incessant flames. These flames converged into the Kimmoh-kyubi (evil fox with nine blonde tails), which in turn spat out a myriad of evil foxes as they dispersed in all directions.
Kimmoh-kyubi Hakumen no Akko (White-faced evil fox with nine blonde tails), which had been born from the spirits of Adaru-hiko (Adam) and Eva-hime (Eve), rushed down to India and then appeared in the plains at the foot of the Urals. This was the site of a castle for the evil army called the Tokiwa Castle. The king of the castle was King Kunlun, one of the evil dragons spat out by the Yatsugashira Yatsuo. The evil Kimmoh-kyubi fox came from Mount Seiun, showed up before King Kunlun, and quickly shape-shifted into a dazzling beauty. She was loved by the king and finally became his queen. She was named Kunlun-hime (Queen Kunlun).
Kunlun-hime intended to seize control of the Urals and their surrounding areas. She needed to destroy King Kunlun first, and to that end she conspired with King Kiryu (Ogre Dragon), the devil king dwelling in Mount Bucchoh. Korushika, a retainer of King Kunlun, found out about Kunlun-hime's conspiracy and assassinated her under cover of darkness. King Kunlun became aware of King Kiryu's evil scheme and used an evil dragon to approach and attack him. King Kiryu fought tooth and nail. At that moment, Tokoyo-hime's evil army from the Rockies in the Land of Tokoyo, changed into black clouds and was carried by the wind to get closer to Mount Bucchoh. Those clouds massed together to fall from the sky to the ground like rain, and they quickly shape-shifted into ferocious eagles, lions, and wolves to scatter to many different regions, thereby triggering earth-shattering pandemonium. With the world plunged into complete chaos, all the wicked deities started fighting with one another - friends or foes - here and there.
Over the sea were black dragons breathing fire at one another in battle royale, with victory hanging in the balance. A fierce storm was raging, bringing torrential rain of blood like a waterfall. This gave rise to a catastrophic flood that almost engulfed the mountains. In the sky were thousands, nay tens of thousands of monster birds soaring back and forth, right and left with their wings fully spread; some of them crashed with one another in midair and fell on the ground or into the sea. This started fires with plumes of smoke in many different places, scorching almost all high mountains. Earthquakes also broke out, followed by huge tidal waves so powerful as to nearly wipe out heaven and earth.
At that moment, Kuniharutachi no Mikoto appeared in the Earthly Taka-ama-hara and commanded Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto to propagate the rules of Heaven to the Earth. A myriad of kami officials obeyed their supreme leader's order by boarding their heavenly bird ships to travel to many different regions of the world for missionary work. For all their efforts, the local deities never used those heavenly rules, and did nothing but deride them instead. Reluctantly, Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto had to retreat to the Earthly Taka-ama-hara, at least for the time being.
Just then, a splendid goddess gracefully descended to the Earthly Taka-ama-hara from Heaven, accompanied by mellifluous music and numerous attendant-deities. After her arrival she first visited the Dragon Palace Castle and took a rest inside while shape-shifting into an orb of light. Next she changed back into her divine figure and led her attendant-deities to Kuniharutachi no Mikoto's palace in the Earthly Taka-ama-hara.
"This great confusion on earth has an immediate, negative impact on heaven, throwing it into a chaotic state," said the goddess. "Lose no time in making and consolidating things on earth so you can rein in the celestial disarray. I'm Takateru-hime no Mikoto, a divine messenger of the Great Sun Deity."
Kuniharutachi no Mikoto received the divine message with deference and replied to her that he would promptly bring the earthly confusion under control and ensure the safety of the Heavenly Kingdom to fulfill the expectations of the Great Heavenly Deity. This delighted Takateru-hime no Mikoto, and the gratified goddess rode purple clouds to return to heaven, saying that the Great Deity would be quite pleased to hear his reply when she hurried back and reported on her mission.
(Dictation taken by Shichizoh Kurihara on November 8 by the solar calendar, or October 9 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 48: Deliberations on the Commandments of Heaven and Earth 〔98〕
The Commandments of Heaven and Earth were enacted by Kuniharutachi no Mikoto with the assistance of Amaji-wake no Mikoto, and Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto became the first person to go down to the Yukai (Realm of Stray Spirits = Hell) for her violation of the divine rules. Since then stricter compliance had been in place as kami officials remained on their best behavior at the Dragon Palace Castle and in the Earthly Taka-ama-hara.
With the monogamy commandment enacted, an issue was raised against the private life of Hanamori-hiko. Sympathizing with his subordinate's bachelorhood, Kototama-wake no Mikoto proposed that an appropriate wife be selected for Hanamori-hiko to allow the newlyweds to take part in divine missions together. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and other commanding officers discussed his proposal and reached an agreement to dismiss it as unworthy of consideration. They cited the following as the reason for their decision:
It is none other than Hanamori-hiko that led Ame no Waka-hiko and Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto astray. After they fell into the Yukai, their mutual aide (Hanamori-hiko) took a carefree attitude and married a goddess as if nothing had happened. He is hiding something good for himself alone. In this respect, he is nothing less than irresponsible and morally sinful. Simply put, he is naturally required as a kami official to atone for his sins by following his masters to the Yukai to serve them.
Various commanding officers in the castle unanimously supported Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto's view with a round of applause.
"It is actually the wicked and crafty Tokoyo-hime, not Hanamori-hiko, that masterminded the whole incident," Kototama-wake no Mikoto countered, his tone emphatic. "Reform Tokoyo-hime and let her go down to the Yukai first before invalidating Hanamori-hiko's marriage."
Both sides had a heated debate endlessly. At long last, they decided to leave the matter to Masumi-hime's judgment.
"Hanamori-hiko can never ever be allowed to get married," Masumi-hime declared as she gave her verdict.
A myriad of deities were in favor of the goddess' decision.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto asked angrily, "The Commandments of Heaven and Earth should not be applied retroactively to past offenses, should they?"
"They should punish not just past physical offenses," asserted the kami officials. "But past spiritual offenses as well."
"If so, punish me first," Kototama-wake no Mikoto retorted. "I had changed several wives before I became the husband of Kototama-hime. I'm not sure if I committed any spiritual offenses in the past, but I have reliable evidence of my physical violation of the Commandments."
The Mikoto went on to thunder, "How many of you here haven't violated the Commandments?!"
All the kami officials on the spot had shut their eyes to their own offenses and concealed them by feigning ignorance. Kototama-wake no Mikoto saw throught it and uncovered it point-blank. This took the officials by surprise, making them feel so embarrassed as to fall silent, aghast, with their mouths agape. They were all the kind of officials who would hide something good for themselves alone.
Kototama-wake no Mikoto's sensible words stunned the kami officials. They were at a loss to struggle for a way out of this quagmire.
"If your argument is justifiable," continued Kototama-wake no Mikto. "I'll make a big decision. First off, I'll go down to the Yukai (Hell) to face judgment as a sinful kami who has violated the Commandments of Heaven and Earth. All of you are officials of great moral integrity, and I'm absolutely sure the Great Kami will never throw you down to the Yukai. Bye for now. I'm going to kneel before Kunitokotachi no Mikoto to confess and repent my sins. I'll submit to his judgment."
As the Mikoto was excusing himself, the kami officials scrambled to hold him back.
"Losing your temper will get you nowhere. Just wait a while," they said as they stood in his way with their arms spread out wide.
Their reaction was so funny that Kototama-wake no Mikoto almost burst into laughter. He managed to suppress it when he hit on the spirit of the Commandments.
At that moment, Magane-hiko ran over here and persuaded both sides to calm down, saying, "The truth is all the kami officials are more or less the same. We are like-minded colleagues. Just stop in the name of camaraderie."
"The Commandments of Heaven and Earth are impartial to everyone," Kototama-wake no Mikoto responded, shaking off the kami officials. "I'm going to face judgment on my past sins. Don't stop me now."
Just then, Yasuyo-hiko opened his mouth and said nonchalantly, "Just calm down here. One bad apple spoils the barrel. We'd better first slay Tokoyo-hime to eliminate the root of all evil."
"Slaying means killing. The act of killing violates the Commandments of Heaven and Earth, doesn't it?"
"I made a slip of the tongue."
Yasuyo-hiko scratched his head at the Mikoto's pointed remark and retreated.
The sight of their conversation left the many kami officials dumbfounded with their mouths agape.
Just then, a ray of brilliant light was radiated from heaven above, reached the floor in front of the kami officials, and shone there brightly. The light carried a beautiful goddess with an air of dignity, and she sat down gracefully with her legs bent beneath her in the center of the room. She was Kuninao-hime no Mikoto. She turned her face to the kami officials and referred to a consensus Kuniharutachi no Mikoto, who had ascended to Heaven, reached with the heavenly deities on the interpretation of the Commandments just a short while ago.
"Crimes and sins committed before the Commandments went into effect will be overlooked only this time," Kuninao-hime no Mikoto declared, her tone solemn. "Going forward, all the crimes and sins to be committed in the world will be severely punished. Crimes and sins of the soul will also remain perpetually culpable until they are atoned for."
In addition, Kuninao-hime no Mikoto was appointed to succeed Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto as head of the Dragon Palace Castle so that she could stay in the holy sanctuary to rule the Earthly Taka-ama-hara. Against this backdrop, Hanamori-hiko was permitted to marry Kunisaka-hime, also known as Hanamori-hime.
(Dictation taken by Haruko Katoh on November 9 by the solar calendar, or October 10 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 49: Fickleness 〔99〕
Tokoyo-hime's battle cry plunged many different parts of the world virtually into a maelstrom of war, with ominous clouds covering the sky, muddy streams overflowing on the ground, ferocious animals and evil serpents roaring, and acts of aggression intensifying to enormous proportions.
Both the Great Kami Pangu and his subordinate Yatsuoh Daijin exhausted all further solutions to the utter chaos. The Kami Mahesvara Oh Kuni-hiko could not bear to look on idly as the horrors of the maelstrom were unfolding, and strove to suppress them at any cost. Yatsuoh Daijin failed to subdue the riots orchestrated by his wife Tokoyo-hime. At first he thought of her armed uprising as just a small fire affecting a small portion of the world. But the fire raged on more than he had imagined at a speed that could burn up the entire world. Facing the unexpected consequences, Yatsuoh Daijin felt completely at a loss to deal with them. This made him repentant and acutely aware of the need to lead his wife and others to virtue in addressing the global crisis.
Yatsuoh Daijin was at the Tokoyo Castle looking up at the northeastern sky, where he saw a streak of light rising up into the air. His fixed gaze spotted multiple goddesses of peace emerging out of the light. Some of them were playing music on the koto (long Japanese zithers), the fue (Japanese flutes) and other instruments, while others were dancing elegantly, holding fans that bore a sun-shaped red circle in the center. The very sight made Yatsuoh Daijin deeply suspicious, and he reported the matter to the Great Kami Pangu. Then, he hurried to ride a cloud and the wind in a bid to trace the source of the light emanating from the Earthly Taka-ama-hara.
Yatsuoh Daijin landed on the Earthly Taka-ama-hara, accompanied by his many retainers. He called himself Takao-wake and knocked on the door of the Dragon Palace Castle to be granted an audience with a high-ranking kami. Wakatoyo-hiko asked him about the purpose of his visit and was pleased to tell his reply to Kototama-wake no Mikoto. The Mikoto immediately granted Takao-wake an audience with him. The visitor first expressed his gratitude courteously and then begged the Mikoto to disclose divine steps to bring peace to the world. A mere glance at Takao-wake made the Mikoto intuitively aware of his dubious identity. The Mikoto was quick to lead the visitor into the special room designed to judge the true identity of any given kami. In an instant, Takao-wake showed his true colors when he shape-shifted into a large serpent.
"To tell the truth, I'm Yatsuoh Daijin," the serpent was forced to confess.
Still, Kototama-wake no Mikoto acted patiently, thinking that any evil kami can be a good deity as long as they repent and mend their ways, and that it suits the Great Kami's wishes to love thy enemy in light of the Commandments of Heaven and Earth. He forgave the visitor for his past conduct and decided to guide him onto the right path.
"Obey the Commandments of Heaven and Earth right away to get back on the right path, and peace will reign in the world," the Mikoto advised Yatsuoh Daijin earnestly.
Yatsuoh Daijin posing as Takao-wake showed genuine remorse and became excited to seek divine mentorship from the Dragon Palace Castle. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto was appointed to mentor the born-again deity. Takao-wake's retainers also followed suit and decided to get back on the right path by swearing to obey Kuniharutachi no Mikoto's Commandments and commit themselves to holy missions. This gratified Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto so much that he recommended Takao-wake and his retainers to Kuniharutachi no Mikoto via Kototama-wake no Mikoto.
"Ask Kuninao-hime no Mikoto for her judgment," Kuniharutachi no Mikoto ordered, his tone strict.
Takao-wake stepped forward in awe before Kuninao-hime no Mikoto and voiced his conviction in detail.
"Any evil kami can be a good deity again as long as they repent and mend their ways," Kuninao-hime no Mikoto replied. "The best strategy is to put Takao-wake in charge of the Dragon Palace Castle to guide Tokoyo-hime into wholehearted repentance."
Accordingly, Kuninao-hime no Mikoto appointed Takao-wake to a higher post than Kototama-wake no Mikoto so that he could assume his divine responsibilities.
The elated Takao-wake boarded his heavenly bird ship made of rock-solid camphor trees, along with Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto, Kamikuni-hiko and Teru-hiko, to head back for the Land of Tokoyo and reform his wife Tokoyo-hime at the Tokoyo Castle. When he arrived, he saw a horrible nightmare unfolding where the Land of Tokoyo had been enveloped in unsightly, perpetual darkness, with a whole host of disasters striking, and mountains, rivers, plants and trees losing their colors.
Takao-wake asked Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and the other kami officials to take a rest at the Tokoyo Castle, while he himself stood up and paid an immediate visit to the Great Kami Pangu's palace, where he reported to his master that Kuniharutachi no Mikoto's Commandments of Heaven and Earth were the only viable option for a peaceful reign in the world. The Great Kami Pangu kept silent, doing nothing but listen to Takao-wake's advice with a smile on his face. Pangu's lack of comment made Takao-wake grow so impatient that he found it wrong to serve Pangu to achieve his ambitions in the current turbulent times and decided to switch over to Kuniharutachi no Mikoto. He shared his determination with Matsuyama-wake and Oshika-hiko, attendants of the Kami Mahesvara Oh Kuni-hiko, dismissing the Great Kami Pangu as a mere peacetime leader and thus unfit to disentangle the global chaos.
Enraged by Takao-wake's planned defection, Matsuyama-wake and Oshika-hiko commanded, "As an aide to the Great Kami Pangu, you have led many different kami officials and showed your strong commitment to Pangu's worldwide missions so far. But when you heard Kuniharutachi no Mikoto's sermons, you quickly decided to do a 180 on a whim. This makes no sense to us. Why not follow through on your original intention regardless of good or evil? We suspect Kuniharutachi no Mikoto is an evil kami. Take Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto and the others captive and interrogate them right away so they will swear allegiance to the Great Kami Pangu."
Matsuyama-wake and Oshika-hiko took advantage of the Kami Mahesvara Oh Kuni-hiko's authority like the proverbial ass in the lion's skin when giving the condescending order to Takao-wake.
Just then, Tokoyo-hime appeared on the spot, nagged her husband about his disappearance using all sorts of foul language, and asked for Matsuyama-wake's help. The attendant of the Kami Mahesvara agreed at once. This put Yatsuoh Daijin, alias Takao-wake, in such a predicament that he caved in, swerved from his resolution, and worshipped the Great Kami Pangu as supreme leader again. Thus, Yatsuoh Daijin reverted to acting defiantly against Kuniharutachi no Mikoto.
(Dictation taken by Shigeo Sakurai on November 9 by the solar calendar, or October 10 by the lunar calender, Taisho 10 (1921))
Chapter 50: A Steel Halberd 〔100〕
Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto, Kamikuni-hiko and the other kami officials never dreamed that Yatsuoh Daijin would change his mind. Instead, they were putting their energy into preaching Kuniharutachi no Mikoto's teachings as they were surrounded by many of Yatsuoh Daijin's kami officials.
Suddenly, noise broke out in the Tokoyo Castle, with numerous footsteps approaching the visitors from the Earthly Taka-ama-hara. The moment Yatsuoh Daijin opened the door of the guest room, he had a fierce look on his face unlike before, laid his hands on the hilt of his long sword, and closed in on Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto.
"Pledge allegiance to the Great Kami Pangu at once," Yatsuoh Daijin demanded. "Kuniharutachi no Mikoto, the kami you folks worship as the Lord, is responsible for throwing the world into the current total chaos. How can the world ever enjoy a peaceful reign with the Mikoto's roundabout, impractical teachings? The divine measures you folks advocate are playful actions that work only in times of peace. They are stupid steps that can be advocated but must be avoided. Realize your error at once and choose either to become retainers for the Tokoyo Castle or admit defeat and surrender. If you choose neither of them, regrettably I will have to cut you all in two with a single stroke of my sword to celebrate your bloody departure to the other world."
Thus, Yatsuoh Daijin changed his tune and behaved scandalously.
Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto worked hard to convince Yatsuoh Daijin of his error, using every word to drive home to him the divine truth that the world cannot be ruled by coercion or force. However, his passionate advice fell on deaf ears, rolling off Yatsuoh Daijin like water off a duck's back as the sword-bearing lunatic was a principal chief of evil deities with the three kleshas that poison the divinity of kami, i.e. avarice, anger, and stupidity.
"Enough of your useless grumble!" said Yatsuoh Daijin as he stood up, brandishing his sword to kill Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto. Carrying no weapons, the Mikoto and the other good deities had to pray to the Divinity with all their hearts. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto worshipped to heaven with his folded hands and began chanting the Kamigoto norito prayer, when Yatsuoh Daijin stood still with his sword held high above his head and suddenly collapsed on his back. The Tokoyo Castle officials who witnessed the very sight ran around in confusion and quickly reported to Tokoyo-hime on her husband's condition. Tokoyo-hime took a white-hot iron bar along with her to burn Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto to death. The instant she was about to strike him with it, a sudden gale blew from the northeastern sky, flinging her away and slamming her down to the ground. The Tokoyo Castle officials were also blown down en masse. Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto narrowly fled the place with Kamikuni-hiko and his other subordinates, and at long last returned to the Dragon Palace Castle. He reported to Kuninao-hime no Mikoto on Takao-wake's change of mind and the imminent possibility of him leading his evil army to attack the divine castle at any moment.
Here in the Earthly Taka-ama-hara, Kuninao-hime no Mikoto, Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto, Kototama-wake no Mikoto and other commanding officers gathered at the Dragon Palace Castle to discuss ways to defend against an armed rebellion by Yatsuoh Daijin.
Kuninao-hime no Mikoto ordered, "Treat the enemy force, however brutal and evil it may be, with the utmost goodness by trusting the power of the Divinity and observing the Commandments of Heaven and Earth."
The kami officials were provided with a detailed report of what Kamikuni-wake no Mikoto had gone through, and they clenched their fists and ground their teeth with their eyes full of tears of indignation. They unanimously agreed to respond to the enemy force with gentleness, kindness, and sincerity while keeping the Commandments of Heaven and Earth.
Just then, numerous bird ships came thundering from the southwestern sky as they rode on black clouds, and trespassed on the castle compound. Once they descended near the Golden Bridge, evil deities got off and scrambled to cross the Jordan River like raging lions. They stormed the Dragon Palace Castle by breaking through its gate, darted inside with foolhardy courage, and shouted at the top of their voices to meet with Kuniharutachi no Mikoto.
Onikumo-hiko and Kiyokuma were at the head of Yatsuoh Daijin and other evil deities crowding into the castle like a swarm of locusts. This caused an abrupt commotion in the divine fortress. Oh Yashima-hiko no Mikoto held back the flustered kami officials, went to see Yatsuoh Daijin on his own, and solemnly asked him about the purpose of his visit.
Yatsuoh Daijin took an outrageous attitude and stared down at the kami officials.
"I've got nothing to tell trashy deities like you," Yatsuoh Daijin roared, standing firm with his arms folded and his feet set apart. "I need to see Kuniharutachi no Mikoto right away."
Kuniharutachi no Mikoto made a graceful appearance at the scene the instant he heard the roar.
Yatsuoh Daijin demanded angrily, his voice shaky, "I'm here to convey the Great Kami Pangu and the Kami Mahesvara's commands to you. You proclaim yourself to be Kuniharutachi no Mikoto, but you are actually a complete imposter. 'Kuniharutachi no Mikoto' refers to a kami capable of making the Earth stand eternally and protecting it. We cannot understand why you are using those worthless, roundabout teachings to avoid hardship and take the easy way out in these globally turbulent times. What on earth are the Commandments of Heaven and Earth you are advocating? They are stale and obstinate garbage and a despicable doctrine. Just destroy them swiftly. And you had better retreat to the Land of Roots or the Land of the Bottom at once. Only the Kami Mahesvara's authoritative measures will make it possible for a true Kuniharutachi no Mikoto to emerge. What do you think?"
Onikumo-hiko, a retainer of Yatsuoh Daijin, followed suit.
"A fake kami named 'Kuniharutachi no Mikoto'," Onikumo-hiko demanded angrily. "Should you disobey and violate Yatsuoh Daijin's teachings, I would cut dragon-deities at the Dragon Palace Castle to pieces and put all kami officials in the Earthly Taka-ama-hara to the sword so I could make a mountain of corpses and turn the Dragon Palace Sea into a sea of blood. What do you think?"
Kuniharutachi no Mikoto and the other good kami officials were hesitant to violate the Commandments of Heaven and Earth of their own accord. As a result, they suppressed their anger at any verbal abuse, complied with the Commandments, one of whose imperatives was to show love and affection for all creation, and responded to the evil kami in a gentle manner.
However, Yatsuoh Daijin showed no mercy and finally unsheathed his sword. He was about to resort to violence when, all of a sudden, Hanamori-hiko appeared from among the crowd of deities.
"I'm going to break the Commandments right now," declared Hanamori-hiko.
His sword had already cut Onikumo-hiko's back before he finished his sentences. He went on to try to cut Yatsuoh Daijin, but he was held back by Oh Daru-hiko with a shout, "Wait a minute!"
Oh Daru-hiko's words forced Hanamori-hiko to sheathe his sword and get back to his seat. His lips were trembling, his heart was beating hard, and his face was turning pale as he was seated. Overwhelmed by this frenzy, Yatsuoh Daijin looked slightly hesitant to stick to his guns. Onikumo-hiko collapsed on the spot due to his back injury and begged for mercy.
Oh Daru-hiko took out the Earthly Masumi Mirror and shone it over Yatsuoh Daijin and his enemy troops. They instantly revealed their true indentities and metamorphosed into evil dragons, evil ogres, and evil foxes. Having lost their supernatural powers, the evil army could not move freely and begged for help all at once.
At this time Kuniharutachi no Mikoto appeared again.
To be continued...
The webmaster's note:
[1] ^ The Japanese name for the short-tailed albatross is ahoh-dori, which literally means "dumb bird" or "idiot bird."
[2] ^ Literally, the Progenitor of the Earth. In Omoto theology, the creator of the universe and the creator of the Earth are different. The former is dubbed the "Tenso" (Progenitor of the Universe). The latter is Kunitokotachi no Mikoto, who made the famous declaration - The time has come for the reign of Ushitora no Konjin to burst into full bloom as plum blossoms in the three major realms of the Spirit World at the same time - through Foundress Nao's automatic writing in Meiji 25 (1892).
[3] ^ Also called "Waka-hime-gimi no Mikoto." She is believed to be a former incarnation of Foundress Nao Deguchi.
[4] ^ Another name for Kunitokotachi no Mikoto. Ushitora refers to Ushitora no Konjin ("Konjin residing in the northeast"). The northeast is a direction associated with directional taboos (= kimon) because of Konjin, or literally "metal-god," who was traditionally regarded as a dangerous Taoist deity. A Chinese text reads that if Konjin were offended, he would kill seven people. The Reikai Monogatari, especially, Volume 4, says that Kunitokotachi, supreme ruler of the Earth's divine world, fell for evil deities' trick and was forced into seclusion in the northeast of the Earth. They even put a curse on him so that he could not get out.
[5] ^ Same as Mount Meru (the highest cosmic mountain in Buddhism) soaring infinitely high in the center of the universe.
[6] ^ A pseudonym of Onisaburo Deguchi. It means "Udumbara Chandra," or "Auspicious Moon."
[7] ^ The original Japanese "koshi" is somewhat unknown. The webmaster translated it as "ancient," but it could mean something else.
[8] ^ The Tokoyo or the Tokoyo no Kuni usually refers to "North America" in the Reikai Monogatari. One model of the Tokoyo no Kuni at the Omoto level is Yagi near Ayabe in northern Kyoto. Yagi is where Hisa Fukushima (third daughter of Foundress Nao Deguchi; also a model of the Kami Tokoyo-hime) founded her own religion and would later obstruct Onisaburo's activities.
[9] ^ Literally, "May my soul prosper according to the Kami" or "May my soul be filled with happiness, protected and guided according to the Will of the Kami." Somewhat similar to "Amen," this phrase is often used to end Japanese ritual prayers.
[10] ^ Also called "Waka-hime-gimi no Mikoto." She is believed to be a former incarnation of Foundress Nao Deguchi. Therefore, the Great Kami mentioned here should be Kunitokotachi no Mikoto (also known as Ushitora no Konjin), who possessed Nao and used her as a medium.
[11] ^ One possible realization of this reunion in Omoto would be Hisa Fukushima (third daughter of Foundress Nao Deguchi) meeting with Nao, with Hisa playing the model of Tokoyo-hime and Nao the model of Wakazakura-hime no Mikoto. Based in Yagi near Ayabe, Hisa established her own faith by incorporating her mother's teachings and the revelations from the spirit possessing her. Hisa was one of the most outspoken and staunchest spearhead of anti-Onisaburo (anti-Mizu Soul) movements. Hisa is also a model of Taka-hime, who appears in many volumes of the Reikai Monogatari as a deity who is manipulated by evil spirits into obstructing the Kami's missions.
[12] ^ The Yukai corresponds to the Ne no Kuni (Land of Roots) and the Soko no Kuni (Land of the Bottom) for Shintoists, to the Hachiman Jigoku (Eighty Thousand Hells) for Buddhists, and to Hell for Christians. For details, see How the Spirit World Works.
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