199 



subjected the barbarians, Amaterasu handed over the sword to 

 Utsnki no miya ', who gave it to the Prince. Then my second 

 son assumed the shape of a big snake, ten shaku long, and lay 

 down in Yamato-dake's way at the foot of Ibukiyama (in Omi 

 province), in order to frighten the Prince and take backthe sword. 

 The Prince, however, was not afraid of the snake and stepped 

 over it, thus frustrating my son's design \ Finally, the latter 

 reincai-nated himself as the Emperor Antoku and jumped into 

 the sea with the sword, which he returned to me. This child 

 here is my son in his human shape, and the sword which I am 

 holding in my mouth is the one yon. ask for. But I cannot give 

 it to the Emperor". On receiving this message. Go Shirakawa 

 was very much distressed and thought the precious object was 

 lost. This was, however, not the case, for the real sword was 

 preserved in the Great Shrine (Daijingu) at Ise, and Antoku's 

 sword was only a counterfeit. How strange that the Dragon-god 

 did not know this! 



Another legend in a different way connected the Kusanagi 

 sword with a Dragon-king* In 674- A. D. a Korean bonze stole 

 the sword from the Shinto temple at Atsuta in Owari province, 

 and hid it under his mantle. But a dark cloud descended before 

 the shrine, took the treasure and placed it back into the sanctuary. 

 Then the priest, after praying there for a hundred days, again 

 stole the sword and fled to Omi province. Once more the black 

 cloud appeared, deprived the thief of his prey and flew away 

 with it an eastern direction (to Atsuta). A third time the theft 

 seemed to be crowned with success, for the priest had succeeded 

 in secretly carrying the sword on board a ship bound for Korea, 

 when a severe storm arose and checked the vessel in its course. 

 In despair the Korean threw the sword into the sea, and the 

 Dragon-king took it and returned it to Atsuta ^ 



§ 2. The Thunder-god caught by Sukaru and identified with a 



Dragon-king. 



In the Gempei seisuiki^ we find the following remarkable story. 



1 ^ @ . According to the ordinary legend Amaterasu gave the sword to her 

 grandson Ninigi. Yamato-dake used it afterwards against the barbarians, and after his 

 death it was placed in the Shinto temple of Atsuta in Owari province. 



2 Cf. Nihongi, Ch. VII, K. T.K. Vol. I, p. 148: The god of Mount Ibuki took the 

 shape of a great serpent, but the Prince strode over it and passed on. Then the god 

 "raised up the clouds and made an icy rain to fall" (Aston, Nihongi, Vol. I, p. 209). 



3 Gempei seisuikt, Oh. XLIV, pp. 1157 seq. 



' 4 Ch. XVII, p. 451, under, the heading: "How Sukaru daught the Thunder". 



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