元の理　The Truth of Origin

この世の元初りは、どろ海であつた。
In the beginning, the world was a muddy ocean.

月日親神は、
Tsukihi, God the Parent,

この混沌たる様を味気なく思召し、人間を造り、その陽気ぐらしをするのを見て、ともに楽しもうと思いつかれた。
finding this chaos unbearably tasteless, thought of creating human beings in order to see the Joyous Life and thus share in that joy.

そこで、どろ海中を見澄されると、
Looking carefully through the muddy ocean,


沢山のどぢよの中に、うをとみとが混つている。
God saw a fish and a serpent amid many loaches.


夫婦の雛型にしようと、先ずこれを引き寄せ、
Planning to make them into models of husband and wife, God summoned them.

その一すじ心なるを見澄みすました上、
Discerning their single-heartedness,

God obtained their consent and received them,
承知をさせて貰い受けられた。

最初に産みおろす子数の年限が経つたなら、宿し込みのいんねんある元のやしきに連れ帰り、神として拝をさせようと約束し、
promising that when the years equal to the number of their first-born and elapsed,
they would be returmed to the residence of Origin, the place of original conception,
and would be adored by their posterity.


続いて、乾の方からしやちを、
Continuing, God summoned an orc from the northwest

巽の方からかめを呼び寄せ、
and a turtle from the southeast.

これ又、承知をさせて貰い受け、
Again, after obtaining their consent, God received them

食べてその心味を試し、
and, after consuming them to test the flavor of their minds,

その性を見定めて、
determined their natures.

これ等を男一の道具、及び、骨つっぱりの道具、
Then God decided to use the orc as the instrument of the male organ, of bones and support;

又、女一の道具、及び、皮つなぎの道具とし、
and the turtle as the instrument of the female organ, of skin and joining.

夫々をうをとみとに仕込み、
Then God put the orc into the fish and the turtle into the serpent

男、女の雛型と定められた。
and established them as models of man and woman.

いざなぎのみこと　いざなみのみこと とは、この男雛型・種、女雛型・苗代の理に授けられた神名であり、
God gave the sacred names of Izanagi-no-Mikoto to the model of man, the seed, and Izanami-no-Mikoto to the model of woman, the seedplot. To the divine principles of these instruments,

月よみのみこと　くにさづちのみこと とは、夫々、この道具の理に授けられた神名である。
God gave the names Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto and Kunisazuchi-no-Mikoto, respectively.



更に、東の方からうなぎを、
Then God summoned an eel from the east,

坤の方からかれいを、
a flatfish from the southwest,

西の方からくろぐつなを、
a black snake from the west,

艮の方からふぐを、
and a globe-fish from the northeast,

次々と引き寄せ、
one after another.

これにもまた、
Again,

承知をさせて貰い受け、
God first gained their consent, received them,

食べてその心味を試された。
and consumed them to test the nature of each.

そして夫々、飲み食い出入り、
God then decided to use the eel as the instrument for eating, drinking, and elimination,

息吹き分け、
the flatfish for breathing and speaking,

引き出し、
the black snake for pulling forth,

切る道具と定め、
and the globe-fish for cutting.

その理に、
To the With these divine principles,

くもよみのみこと　かしこねのみこと　をふとのべのみこと　たいしよく天のみこと との神名を授けられた。
God gave the sacred names of, respectively, Kumoyomi-no-Mikoto, Kashikone-no-Mikoto, Otonobe-no-Mikoto, and Taishokuten-no-Mikoto.



かくて、
Thus,

雛型と道具が定り、
the models and instruments having been determined,

いよいよここに、人間を創造されることとなつた。
the creation of human beings was begun.

そこで先ず、親神は、どろ海中のどぢよを皆食べて、
First God consumed all the loaches in the muddy ocean,

その心根を味い、
tested the flavors of theirnature,

これを人間のたねとされた。
and made them the seeds for human beings.

そして、月様は、
Then God the Parent, as Tsuki-sama (the Moon),

いざなぎのみこと の体内に、
entered the body of Izanagi-no-Mikoto and,

日様は、いざなみのみこと の体内に入り込んで、
as Hi-sama (the Sun), entered the body of Izanami-no-Mikoto

人間創造の守護を教え、
and taught them the divine providence of creating human beings.

三日三夜の間に、九億九万九千九百九十九人の子数を、いざなみのみこと の胎内に宿し込まれた。
Then nine hundred million, ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine seeds were put into the body of Izanami-no-Mikoto in three days and three nights.

それから、いざなみのみこと は、その場所に三年三月留り、
Izanami-no-Mikoto remained there for three years and three months

やがて、七十五日かかつて、子数のすべてを産みおろされた。
and gave birth in seventy-five days to as many children as there were seeds.


最初に産みおろされたものは、一様に五分であつたが、
The first children thus born were all half an inch (5 bu) tall.

五分五分と成人して、
Growing taller gradually, (徐々に)

九十九年経つて三寸になつた時、
they reached a height of three inches (3 sun) in ninety-nine years.

皆出直してしまい、
Then they all passed awayfor rebirth

父親なる いざなぎのみこと も、
and their father, Izanagi-no-Mikoto,

身を隠された。
withdrew from physical life.

しかし、
However,

一度教えられた守護により、いざなみのみこと は、更に元もとの子数を宿し込み、
Izanami-no-Mikoto again conceived the original number of children by the divine providence already taught her and,

十月とつき経つて、
after ten months,

これを産みおろされたが、
gave birth to them again.

このものも、
The children, then too,

五分から生れ、
were half an inch tall at birth and,

九十九年経つて三寸五分まで成人して、
after growing to three and a half inches (3 sum 5 bu) in ninety-nine years,

皆出直した。
all passed away for rebirth once more.

そこで又、三度目の宿し込みをなされたが、
Then the children were conceived for the third time.

このものも、五分ごぶから生れ、
They were again born half an inch tall and,

九十九年経つて四寸まで成人した。
this time, grew to four inches (4 sun) in ninety-nine years.

その時、母親なる いざなみのみこと は、
At that time, their mother, Izanami-no-Mikoto, said,


「これまでに成人すれば、いずれ五尺の人間になるであろう」と仰せられ、
"Now that they have grown so tall, in time they will reach the height of human beings five feet tall (5 shaku),"


につこり笑うて身を隠された。
and with a smile, withdrew from physical life.

そして、子等も、
Then all her children, too,

その後を慕うて残らず出直してしもうた。
passed away for rebirth, deeply yearning for their mother.

その後、
After that,

人間は、虫、鳥、畜類などと、八千八度の生まれ更わりを経て、
human beings were reborn eight thousand and eight times as worms, birds, beasts, and the like.

又もや皆出直し、最後に、雌猿が一匹だけ残つた。
Then they all passed away except a she-monkey.

この胎に、男五人女五人の十人ずつの人間が宿り、
She conceived ten human beings at a time, five male and five female.

五分から生れ、五分五分と成人して
They were born half an inch tall and grew taller gradually.

八寸になつた時、
When they grew to eight inches (8 sun),

親神の守護によつて、どろ海の中に高低が出来かけ、
the bottom of the muddy ocean began to develop highs and lows by the providence of God the Parent.

一尺八寸に成人した時、
When they grew to one foot and eight inches (1 shaku 8 sun),

海山も天地も日月も、
land and sea, heaven and earth, and the sun and moon

漸く区別出来るように、かたまりかけてきた。
came to take form so as to be distinguishable.

そして、人間は、一尺八寸から三尺になるまでは、
In the development of human beings from one foot and eight inches to three feet (3 shaku),

一胎に男一人女一人の二人ずつ生れ、
twins were born from each conception, a male and a female.

三尺に成人した時、
When humans reached three feet,

ものを言い始め、一胎に一人ずつ生れるようになつた。
one child was born from each conception and they began to speak.

次いで、五尺になつた時、
When they reached five feet,

海山も天地も世界も皆出来て、
land and The sea, heaven and earth, the whole universe, wascompleted,

人間は陸上の生活をするようになつた。
and human beings began to dwell on land.

　この間、九億九万年は水中の住居、
God the Parent taught that human beings lived in water for nine hundred million and ninety thousand years,

六千年は智慧の仕込み、
were trained for six thousand years in wisdom,

三千九百九十九年は文字の仕込みと仰せられる。
and were instructed for three thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years in letters.

月日よりたん／＼心つくしきり
そのゆへなるのにんけんである(6-88)

Only through the exhaustive efforts of Tsukihi, made step by step, have you become the humans you are.