852 religion and cosmology: primary source documents propriate innovations and were rejected by the more conservative elements of society because they were seen to impinge on the proper devotion to the one God However, the legitimacy of the mystic quest was defended, in general quite successfully, by writers such as al-Ghazali (d 1111) The power of the saints continued as a popular belief, and the perceived necessity for blessings for the safe birth of children and for general good fortune characterized the attitude of the populace as a whole Asia and the Pacific See also alchemy and magic; architecture; art; astronomy; calendars and clocks; children; death and burial practices; education; empires and dynasties; family; festivals; food and diet; gender structures and roles; government organization; laws and legal codes; literature; money and coinage; occupations; sacred sites; social collapse and abandonment; social organization; trade and exchange; war and conquest; writing • Excerpt from the Nihongi (ca 720) • Of old, Heaven and Earth were not yet separated, and the In and Yo not yet divided They formed a chaotic mass like an egg which was of obscurely defined limits and contained germs The purer and clearer part was thinly drawn out, and formed Heaven, while the heavier and grosser element settled down and became Earth The finer element easily became a united body, but the consolidation of the heavy and gross element was accomplished with difficulty Heaven was therefore formed first, and Earth was established subsequently After the creation of Heaven and earth, Divine Beings were produced between them Hence it is said that when the world began to be created, the soil of which lands were composed floated about in a manner which might be compared to the floating of a fish sporting on the surface of the water At this time a certain thing was produced between Heaven and Earth It was in form like a reed-shoot Now this became transformed into a God, and was called Kuni-toko-tachi no Mikoto Next there was Kuni no sa-tsuchi no Mikoto, and next Toyo-kumu-nu no Mikoto, in all three deities These were pure males spontaneously developed by the operation of the principle of Heaven The next Deities who came into being were Uhiji-ni no Mikoto and Suhiji-ni no Mikoto, also called Uhiji-ne no Mikoto and Suhiji-ne no Mikoto The next Deities which came into being were Oho-to nochi no Mikoto and Oho-to mahe no Mikoto The next Deities which came into being were Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto These make eight Deities in all Being formed by the mutual action of the Heavenly and Earthly principles, they were made male and female From Kuni no toko-tachi no Mikoto to Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto are called the seven generations of the age of the Gods In one writing it is said, After the sun and moon, the next child Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto gave birth to was the leech-child When this child had completed his third year, he was nevertheless still unable to stand upright The reason why the leech-child was born was that in the beginning, when Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto went round the pillar, the female Deity was the first to utter an exclamation of pleasure and the law of male and female was therefore broken They next gave birth to Sosa no wo no Mikoto This God was of a wicked nature, and was always fond of wailing and wrath Many of the people of the land died, and the green mountains withered Therefore his parents addressed him, saying: “Supposing that you were to rule this country, much destruction of life would surely ensue You must govern the far-distant Land Below.” Their next child was the bird-rock-camphor-wood boat of Heaven They took this boat and, placing the leechchild in it, abandoned it to the current Their next child was Kagu-tsuchi