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Continuing, Kiyo-hiko attempted to hide the Idzushi short sword from Emperor Suinin, but was caught in the act. However, it magically disappeared from Suinin's posession, and found itself on the Island of Ahaji, where it was worshipped and enshrined.   
 
Continuing, Kiyo-hiko attempted to hide the Idzushi short sword from Emperor Suinin, but was caught in the act. However, it magically disappeared from Suinin's posession, and found itself on the Island of Ahaji, where it was worshipped and enshrined.   
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Michiko Aoki, in her ''[[Records of Wind and Earth]]'' (pages 15-19) chronicles the disagreements between Ôkuninushi and Ame no Hiboko. She raises the interesting point that Ôkuninushi belonged to the Izumo region, which lies along the Japan Sea side of the archipelago. Ame no Hiboko, the foreign immigrant, came to the region and was denied entrance to the land by the aforementioned diety. However, by means of magic (Ame no Hiboko's powers have already been brought up), he proved to Ôkuninushi that he was not going to flee. The ''[[fudoki]]'' are filled with occurences of battles between these two deities.
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Aoki suggests that the name ''Ame no Hiboko'' (Spear of the Heavenly Sun) gives clues to the foreign immigrants' place in early Japan. The people already established in the Izumo region must have had to contend with immigrants who brought with them iron weapons or implements. It is an interesting hypothesis, one that is given much credit by the fact that the Izumo kami are barely mentioned in the Nihon Shoki, as compared to the Kojiki (Cambridge History of Japan).
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|<font color="#FFFFFF">Records of Wind and Earth. Aoki. Page 201n
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Ame no Hihoko and Ashihara no Shikowo [(&Ocirc;kuninushi)]: Ame no Hihoko repreents newcomers (immigrants) to this area. Ashihara no Shikowo represents the local people who were already settled there when the newcomers arrived. It is reasonable to interpret this story as a reflection of conflict between the indigenous leadership and an intruding power.
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[[Category:Deities]]
 
[[Category:Deities]]
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