Read, reflect, pray
Nihon Shoki: From drops on a spear to the islands
Nihon Shoki · Story 2 of 17
矛のしずくから、島々へ
Izanagi and Izanami give birth to the land.
English translation of this site’s published story summary and reading notes. This is a selected reading guide, not a complete translation of the ancient chronicle.
A variant account (issho, introduced as “one writing says”) is a different tradition preserved beside the main narrative. It is labeled separately below.
Main narrative
Book 1, section 4
Standing on heaven’s floating bridge, Izanagi and Izanami probe with a spear to see whether land lies below. Brine dripping from its point solidifies into Onogoro Island. They descend, circle a pillar, become spouses, and give birth to the land.
The main narrative treats Awaji Island as the afterbirth—the membrane or placenta enclosing a fetus—and names Ōyamato Toyoakitsushima, Iyo Futana, Tsukushi, and others. It also says Oki and Sado are born together. The islands’ names and manner of birth have features particular to this narrative.
Variant account (issho)
Book 1, section 4 variant 1
Here Hiruko and Awashima are born first, after which the two return to heaven and receive guidance through divination. They circle the pillar anew, and only then are the islands born.
Compare with the Kojiki
The broad land-birth plot is shared, but island counting and order differ. The Kojiki’s eight islands and the Nihon Shoki’s main and variant narratives are read separately.
Islands and kami are born →Connected figures
Names and relationships in a chronicle may differ from later traditions. Each figure’s introduction identifies its sources.
Sources and edition (1)
English explanations on this page were prepared by Inori no Mori from the cited text and its Japanese explanations. They are not an official translation or a prescribed liturgy.