MYTHOLOGY OF THE JAPANESE. 493 



itself. They were born, as it were, spontaneously, ^' in the Plain of 

 High Heaven." They were the Deity-Master-of-the-Augnst-Oenter-of- 

 neaven,tlie High-xVugust-Prodncing- Wondrous Deity, and the Divine- 

 Producing- Wondrous-Deity. These three kami were "born alone and 

 hid their persons" — in other words, they disappeared or died immedi- 

 ately, and we hear of them no more. So with many links in the strange 

 story before us, they are formed and disappear before we know their 

 purpose or design, leaving gaps so blank that no effort of the imagina- 

 tion can complete the chain. The reader will be surprised at the long 

 and curious names of the ancient kami. These names also are a puz- 

 zle; but the time may come when they will possess more significance. 



In the passage above quoted there is a reference to the active and 

 l)assive essences. This is not a Japanese idea, but essentially Chinese. 

 To illustrate how great are the difficulties in the way of eliminating 

 the influences of Chinese thought from the old books, as well as to 

 afford an idea of the style of the works themselves, the following quo- 

 tfition from the Mhongi will suffice. Before the earth and heaven had 

 sei)arated, "chaos, having the form of an egg, tossed its waves like an 

 agitated sea. It contained, however, the germs of all things; those 

 which were i^ure and transparent rose and formed heaven, while those 

 which were gross and opaque precipitated and formed the earth . . . 

 A divine being or kami was born in the midst. An island of soft earth 

 floated on the waters. Then appeared a thing like the stalk of a plant 

 which transformed into a kami . . . the first of seven celestial 

 spirits."* The story in the Nihongi is far more attractive than the bare 

 record in the Kojiki. 



The growing i)lant is a strange conception, more fully recorded in 

 the Kojiki. The latter work tells us that two deities were born 

 from "a thing that sprouted up like unto a reed shoot when the 

 earth, young and like unto floating oil, drifted about medusa-like." 

 This strange thing was suspended in space like a cloud. We are told 

 that it became the sun, but immediately after we read that as it grew 

 upwards it spread out infinitely as a cloud from a mountain top and 

 formed heaven. A part grew downward and formed the moon. This 

 is very confusing, but it is interesting in connection with the myth of 

 the Sun-goddess, indicating that the sun existed long before the birth 

 of Amaterasu, who, by some authorities, is regarded as the sun itself, 

 and not as a deity personifying or dwelling in the sun. 



A great number of kami were born in succession for various more 

 or less obvious puri)oses, but to enumerate them would serve no useful 

 l)urpose. There was a course of spontaneous generation whereby five 

 "heavenly deities" and seven "divine generations" were produced, all 

 of whom, excej»t the last two born, "hid their persons," disappeared or 

 died, for all kami are not immortal. These two Avere named respectively 

 Izanagi, ''The Male-who-iuAites," and Izanami, "The Female-who-in- 



* Translated from Klaproth, Annales ties Empereiirs dn Japan. 



