a-like, viz.:

Pleasant-Reed-Shoot-Prince-Elder-Deity,
Heavenly-Externally-Standing-Deity.

These two deities likewise came into existence without creation and
afterward died.

The five deities above named are called the Heavenly Deities.

Next were born,

Earthly-Eternally-Standing-Deity,
Luxuriant-Integrating-Master-Deity.

These two deities likewise came into existence without creation and
afterwards died.

Next were born,

Mud-Earth-Lord and Mud-Earth-Lady,
Germ-Integrating-Deity and Life-Integrating-Deity,
Elder-of-the-Great-Place and Elder-Lady-of-the-Great-Place,
Perfect-Exterior and Oh-Awful-Lady,
The-Male-who-invites and The-Female-who-invites;
or Izanagi and Izanami.

The two deities named above together with these five pairs are called the
seven divine generations.

_The Creation of the Japanese Islands._

Then the heavenly deities gave commandment to Izanagi and Izanami to make,
consolidate, and give birth to this drifting land. For their divine
mission they received a heavenly jewelled spear. With this, standing on
the floating bridge of heaven, they reached down and stirred the brine and
then drew up the spear. The brine that dripped from the end of the spear
was piled up and became the island of Onogoro(38) or Self-Coagulated
Island. Then the pair descended upon this island and erected thereon a
palace eight fathoms long. Here they lived and begat successive islands.
The first was the island of Hirugo, which, as it was a miscarriage, they
put in a boat of bulrushes and let it float away. The second was the
island of Awa, which also is not reckoned among their offspring. The next
was the island of Awaji,(39) and the next the land of Iyo by which is
understood the present island of Shikoku.

So in succession they produced the islands of Mitsugo, near the island of
Oki, the island of Tsukushi, which is now called Kyushu, the island of
Iki, the island of Tsu, and the island of Sado, and lastly the
Great-Yamato-the-Luxuriant-Island-of-the-Dragon-Fly, which is supposed to
mean the principal island, named in these pages the Main island. Afterward
they produced Kojima in Kibi, Oshima, the island of Adzuki, the island of
Hime, the island of Chika, and the islands of Futago.

Thus were finished the labors of this industrious pair in producing the
islands of Japan. Then they turned to the duty of begetting additional
deities, and thirty-five are named as their descendants. But as their
names do n