Addressing Sukunahikona no Kami
Kakemaku mo kashikoki sukunahikona no kami no uzunohiromae ni kashikomi kashikomi mo mōsaku掛けまくも畏き少毘古名神の宇豆の広前に、恐み恐みも白さく
少毘古名神祝詞
14
Includes interpretation
Before the august and spacious presence of Sukunahikona no Kami, whose name itself is spoken with awe, I humbly declare these words.
Uzu no hiromae is rendered as the august, spacious divine presence rather than as a literal description of a modern shrine building.
Includes interpretation
As a child of Takamimusubi, Sukunahikona joined strength and purpose with Ōnamuchi in making the land. He began the way of medicines that treat the illnesses of people, transmitted arts for warding away harm caused by birds, beasts, and creeping creatures, and took charge of affairs throughout the lands.
These powers reflect the later tradition represented by the printed prayer. They are not all stated in this form in the Kojiki account.
Includes interpretation
Honoring the breadth and depth of these deeds, I offer sacred sake, food, and cloth before the kami and ask that this prayer be heard in peace and calm. Keep the crops we cultivate from destructive winds and waters, and bless them to grow into long, abundant ears of grain.
Yatsukaho is rendered as a celebratory image of long and abundant ears of grain rather than assigned a fixed physical measure.
Includes interpretation
Keep the people of this household and all their kin from every kind of calamity. Drive away illness, restore them to peace, and let their descendants prosper through many generations. Bowing deeply, I declare these words with reverence and awe.
This is a historical prayer. Its petition concerning illness is not a substitute for present-day medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The animal similes in the closing are summarized as a posture of profound reverence.
Beginning
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