Kakemaku mo kashikoki sarutahiko no ōkami no uzunohiromae ni kashikomi kashikomi mo mōsaku掛巻も畏き猿田彦大神の宇豆の広前に恐み恐みも白さく
Takamanohara ni kamuzumarimasu sumemutsukamurogikamuromi no mikotomochite ame no takaichi ni yahoyorozu no kamitachi o kamutsudohe ni tsudohe tamai kamuhakari ni hakari tamaite高天原に神留座す皇親神漏岐神漏美の命以て、天の高市に八百万の神等を神集へに集へ給ひ、神議りに議り給ひて
Agasumemima no mikoto o toyoashihara no mizuho no kuni o yasukuni to tahirakeku shiroshimese to ame no iwakuraoshihanachi ame no yahegumo o izu no chiwaki ni chiwakite amori yosashi matsurishi toki吾皇孫の命を豊葦原の水穂の国を平安国と平けく所知食せと、天の磐座押放ち、天の八重雲を伊豆の道別に道別て天降り依し奉りし時
From the heavenly crossroads to the Isuzu River
Ame no yachimata ni tachimukahe masu kamihana no nagasa nanasakase no nagasa nanahiroamarimatakuchikakure akari manako wa yatanokagami no gotoku hikari kagayakuko to akasushishiho ni nitari天の八衢に立迎へ座す神、鼻の長さ七尺、背の長さ七尋余、亦口隠れ明り、眼は八咫鏡の如く光り輝くこと赤酸醤に似たり
Ame no kami no sumemima o mukahe matsuri ashitāhimachi asahi no kimukafu yūhi no terasu himuka no takachiho no kushifuru no take ni michibiki tamaite天の神の皇御孫を迎へ奉り、旦相待ち、朝日の向ふ夕日の照す日向の高千穂の櫛触の嶽に導き給ひて
Tsuhi ni ise no sanagataisuzu no kawakami ni shizumarimashi遂に伊勢の狭長田五十鈴の川上に鎮座し
Guidance and protection
Sumemima no mikoto o michibiki mamori tamaite amenoshitayomo no kuniyasuku odahi ni皇御孫の命を導き守り給ひて、天下四方の国安く穏に
Sore ga yauchi yori okoru sawaginaku hoka yori kitaru wazahahinaku yo no mamori hi no mamori ni tahirakeku yasurakeku sakihahe tamae to某が家内より起る騒擾無く、外より来る災無く、夜の守り日の守りに平けく安けく幸へ給へと
Kohinomimōsu koto o kikoshi mese to kashikomi kashikomi mo mōsu乞祷白す事を聞し食せと恐み恐みも白す
TranslationThe heavenly descent
Includes interpretation
Before Sarutahiko Ōkami, whose name is spoken with reverence, I humbly declare: by command of the ancestral kami in Takamanohara, the countless kami assembled and took counsel. They entrusted the Sovereign Grandchild with the peaceful rule of Toyoashihara no Mizuho no Kuni and sent him down from heaven.
Editorial note
This is a modern-era norito preserved in an 1891 collection. Its opening narrative draws on the heavenly-descent traditions but is not treated as an ancient passage from the chronicles.
Includes interpretation
At the heavenly crossroads stood the kami who came forward to welcome him: a towering figure with a long nose and a face and eyes shining with extraordinary brightness. Sarutahiko Ōkami welcomed the Sovereign Grandchild, guided him to Mount Kushifuru at Takachiho in Himuka, and later settled at Sanagata on the upper Isuzu River in Ise.
Editorial note
The old simile aka-sushiho is retained in the Japanese original. Because its exact visual force is uncertain, this rendering does not assign it a single color or substance.
Includes interpretation
As you guided and guarded the Sovereign Grandchild, keep the lands in peace. Let no disturbance arise within this household and no calamity come from outside. Guard it by night and by day, and grant tranquility and well-being. I humbly ask that this prayer be heard.
Editorial note
The placeholder “certain household” is to be replaced according to the person or household for whom the prayer is recited.
Beginning
The heavenly descent1 / 3
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