| | + | The island of Awaji appears in the ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', as one of the first islands to be formed. It is formed of the placenta of Izanami, when she gives birth to Hiruko, the [[Leech Child]]; according to interpretations related to that tale, the etymology of the island's name is said to be related to the word ''haji'' ("shame" or "embarrassment"), or to a negative form of the verb ''au'' (to meet; ''awaji'' would thus mean "to not meet," or, to be unsatisfactory). However, it has also been suggested that the more historical (non-mythical) origins of the placename might derive from the two characters ''awa'' and ''ji'' meaning "millet place" (粟地). The characters used to write the island's name today (淡路) mean, roughly, "foam road" or "pale, fleeting road."<ref>W.G. Aston (trans.), ''Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697'', Japan Society of London (1896), 13n1.</ref> |