Then his mother wept and lamented, and ascending to heaven, appealed to Kami-musu-bi-no-kami (Divine-Producing Wondrous-Deity), one of the elder gods,[6] who sent Kisa-gahi-hime (Princess Cockle-Shell)[7] and Umugi-hime (Princess Clam)[8] to restore the dead deity to life. Kisa-gahi-hime “triturated and scorched her shell”, and Umugi-hime “carried water and smeared him as with mother’s milk”.[9] Thereupon Ohonamochi came to life as a beautiful young man and walked again.
The eighty deities again deceived Ohonamochi. They led him to the mountains. There they cut down a tree, which they split, inserting a wedge in it, and having made him stand in the middle, they took away the wedge, and thus killed him.
Ohonamochi’s mother again wailed and wept. She cut the tree, and, taking him out, restored him to life once more. Then he fled to the Land of Trees, escaping from his pursuers, who had fixed arrows in their bows, by dipping under the fork of a tree and disappearing.[10]
Ohonamochi was advised to seek refuge in the Nether-Distant-Land (Hades), where dwelt Susa-no-wo. Princess Forward met him, and they exchanged glances, and were married. She then informed her father, Susa-no-wo, that a very beautiful god had arrived. But Susa-no-wo was angry, and called the youthful deity “Ugly-Male-God-of-Reed-Plain”, [[375]]and commanded him to sleep in the snake-house. The Princess Forward gave Ohonamochi a snake-scarf, instructing him to wave it thrice when the snakes threatened to bite him. This he did, and was protected. On the next night Susa-no-wo placed the young god in the house of centipedes and wasps, but the princess gave him another scarf that protected him against attack.
Next day Susa-no-wo shot a “humming arrow”[11] into the middle of a moor, and made Ohonamochi fetch it back. But when the young god went out on the moor Susa-no-wo set fire to it all round. Ohonamochi could perceive no way of escape. As he stood there, a mouse[12] came and told him of a hollow place in which he could shelter himself. Ohonamochi hastened to the hole and hid in it till the fire had gone past. Then the mouse discovered and brought the humming arrow to Ohonamochi. “The feathers of the arrows were brought in their mouths by all the mouse’s children” (Ko-ji-ki, p. 73).[13]
Princess Forward lamented for her husband, and Susa-no-wo believed he was dead. But the princess found Ohonamochi, and took him to the house. He returned the arrow to Susa-no-wo. This god had many centipedes in his hair, and bade the youth take them out. Ohonamochi made pretence of doing this, and Susa-no-wo fell asleep.
Then Ohonamochi tied the hair of Susa-no-wo to the rafters, placed a great boulder against the door, and fled [[376]]away with Princess Forward on his back. He carried away, too, Susa-no-wo’s life-sword and life-bow and arrows, and the heavenly-speaking lute.[14]
As Ohonamochi fled, the lute touched a tree, and the earth resounded with its call. Susa-no-wo was awakened by the spirit-call. He pulled down the great house so as to get out, but was so long delayed in disentangling his hair from the rafters, that when he went in pursuit he did not get within call of Ohonamochi until he reached the Even Pass of Yomi (Hades).[15]
Susa-no-wo shouted to Ohonamochi, advising him to pursue the eighty half-brothers with the life-sword and life-bow and arrows until they were swept into the river rapids. “Then, wretch,” said he, “become Oho-kuni-nushi (Great Master god of the land), and make Princess Forward thy consort. Set up the temple-pillars at the foot of Mount Uka on foundations of rock and raise the cross-beams to the Plain of High Heaven. Dwell there, you villain.”
Ohonamochi pursued and destroyed the eighty deities. “Then,” the narrative continues, “he began to make the land.”