n, the fire-god; or,
as the sacred text declares, she "divinely retired"[14] into Hades. From
her corpse sprang up the pairs of gods of clay, of metal, and other kami
that possessed the potency of calming or subduing fire, for clay resists
and water extinguishes. Between the mythical and the liturgical forms of
the original narrative there is considerable variation.

The Norito entitled the "Quieting of Fire" gives the ritual form of the
myth. It contains, like so many Norito, less the form of prayer to the
Fire-Producer than a promise of offerings. Not so much by petitions as
by the inducements of gifts did the ancient worshippers hope to save the
palace of the Mikado from the fire-god's wrath. We omit from the text
those details which are offensive to modern and western taste.

I declare with the great ritual, the heavenly ritual, which was
bestowed on him at the time when, by the WORD of the Sovran's
dear progenitor and progenitrix, who divinely remain in the
plain of high heaven, they bestowed on him the region under
heaven, saying:

"Let the Sovran GRANDCHILD'S augustness tranquilly rule over the
country of fresh spikes which flourishes in the midst of the
reed-moor as a peaceful region."

When ... Izanami ... had deigned to bear the many hundred
myriads of gods, she also deigned to bear her dear youngest
child of all, the Fire-producer god, ... and said:

"My dear elder brother's augustness shall rule the upper
country; I will rule the lower country," she deigned to hide in
the rocks; and having come to the flat hills of darkness, she
thought and said: "I have come hither, having borne and left a
bad-hearted child in the upper country, ruled over by my
illustrious elder brother's augustness," and going back she bore
other children. Having borne the water-goddess, the gourd, the
river-weed, and the clay-hill maiden, four sorts of things, she
taught them with words, and made them to know, saying: "If the
heart of this bad-hearted child becomes violent, let the
water-goddess take the gourd, and the clay-hill maiden take the
river-weed, and pacify him."

In consequence of this I fulfil his praises, and say that for
the things set up, so that he may deign not to be awfully quick
of heart in the great place of the Sovran GRANDCHILD'S
augustness, there are provided bright cloth, glittering cloth,
soft c