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 small islands,” a not unique example of interpreting ancient records so as to fit in with the progress of modern discovery.

The god of fire was the last child in whose conception the two gods shared. He is called Homusubi and also Kagutsuchi, and Hirata thinks he ought to be identified with the element itself. The goddess suffered great pain in bringing him into the world, and from the matter which she vomited forth in her agony originated the god and goddess of metal (Kane). Hirata derives the word kanayama (a metalliferous mine), which forms part of the names of these two deities, from a contraction of kare-nayamashi, to cause to wither and feel-pain. In consequence of Izanagi breaking her intenetion not to look upon her face during the period of her retirement, Izanami departed towards the nether region, but bethinking herself that the god of fire, if left uncontrolled in his actions, would bring ruin on the upper world, she returned for a short time and produced from her fæces the gods of clay and from her water the god of fresh water, whom she commissioned to pacify the god of fire whenever he was inclined to be turbulent. Clay and fresh water were produced at the same moment as the gods which rule them. From the statement that Izanami forbade the god to look at her during seven days and nights, Hirata argues that day and night already existed, which supports his view that the sun was already separated from the earth. As the earth revolved, it was day when it was opposite to the sun, and night when it was turned away from the sun. He neglects, however, to explain how the earth, to the bottom of which the moon was still attached, could do this, and the expression ‘opposite to the sun’ is extremely obscure: It is at least evident that according to this theory of Japan being on the top of the earth, the ‘kingdom of darkness’ must have been illuminated whenever Japan was in the dark.

After the departure of his companion, Izanagi took vengeance for her loss upon Kagutsuchi, whom he clove into three pieces with his sword. From these pieces