"487. A certain man, inspired by the Moon-God, said, 'My forefather Taka-musubi had the merit of creating Heaven and Earth. Let him be honoured by dedicating to him people and land. I am the Moon-God and I shall rejoice if this my desire is complied with.'"
555. Mention is made of a divine inspiration by which the Hafuri, a century before, had advised humble prayer to the "Founder of the Land" before going to the assistance of a Korean king.
"672. Kome, Takechi no Agata-nushi, Governor of the district of Takechi, suddenly had his mouth closed so that he could not speak. After three days, a divine inspiration came upon him, and he said: 'I am the God who dwells in the Shrine of Takechi, and my name is Koto-shiro-nushi no Kami.' Again, 'I am the God who dwells in the Shrine of Musa, and my name is Iku-ikadzuchi no Kami.' This was their revelation: 'Let offerings of horses and weapons of all kinds be made at the misasagi (tomb) of the Emperor Kamu-yamato-ihare-biko.' Further they said: 'We stood in front and rear of the Imperial descendant and escorted him to Fuha, whence we returned. We have now again taken our stand in the midst of the Imperial army for its protection.' Further they said: 'An army is about to arrive by the Western road. Be on your guard.' When he had done speaking, he awoke [from his trance]. For this reason, therefore, Kome was sent to worship at the Imperial misasagi and to make offerings of horses and weapons. He also made offerings of cloth and worshipped the Gods of the Shrines of Takechi and Musa.
"After this Karakuni, Iki no Fubito, arrived from Ohosaka. Therefore the people of that day said: 'The words of the instructions of the Gods of the two Shrines are in accordance with the fact.'
"Moreover the Goddess of Muraya said by the mouth of a priest: 'An army is now about to arrive by the middle road of my shrine. Therefore let the middle road of my shrine be blocked.' Accordingly, not many days after, the army of Kujira, Ihoriwi no Miyakko, arrived by the middle road. The men of that day said: 'So the words of the teaching of the God were right.' When the war was over, the Generals reported the monitions of these three Gods to the Emperor, who straightway commanded that the three Gods should be raised in rank and worshipped accordingly."
812. A decree was passed denouncing punishment on peasants who, without reason, predicted good or bad fortune. The authorities were at the same time enjoined to report any genuine predictions.
1031. While a service to the Sun-Goddess was being performed at Ise, a storm of thunder and lightning came on. The Saiwō (virgin priestess of Imperial blood) was inspired and said: "I am the Ara-matsuri no miya, the first of the separate shrines of the Great Shrine, and I now speak by command of the Great God. The Sātō [an official designation] Sōdzu and his wife have for years past made absurd pretensions, such as that the two great Deities have flown to and attached themselves to them, the Ara-matsuri and the Takamiya to their children and the [deities of] the five separate shrines to their domestic. Such extraordinary assertions evince a want of loyalty both to the Gods and to the Mikado. Their disregard of the ceremonial regulations and the fewness of the offerings are not (in themselves) deserving of severe blame, but they show a want of respect to the Gods. Iga no Kami reaped the rice officially set apart for the service of the shrine and slew the peasants of the Deity. Yet, by the remissness of the Government officials, it was the third year before he was banished.... Let Sōdzu be sent into exile at once." After delivering this message the Saiwō drank several cups of the sacred sake. Nowadays, with ourselves, recourse is had, under like circumstances, to a letter to the Times or a question in the House of Commons.
1225-27. Though not an inspiration, I may mention here an oracle which was delivered at Idzumo by wormholes in the wood of the old Temple which took the form of Chinese characters. It intimated that the God did not care for lofty buildings, but that the people should turn to virtue. Motoöri strongly suspects its authenticity. No Shinto God, he thinks, would be likely to use Chinese for his oracles.
1348. A Buddhist priest of the province of Ise, having made prayer for 1,000 days at the Shrine of the Great Deity, saw on the thousandth day a bright object floating on the sea. This he found to be a sword two feet five or six inches in length. At this time a boy of twelve or thirteen, being divinely inspired, said: "This is one of the three regalia, the precious sword sunk in the sea."[321] The matter was reported to Kioto, where the authenticity of the sword was corroborated by dreams, but ultimately not officially recognized.
The Wa Rongo, a work published in 1669, contains a number of oracles (Kangakari) attributed to a great variety of Deities throughout Japan. Some account of this work will be given in the next chapter.