KAMIYO Episode 12: Suhijini-no-Kami — The Tuning of Sand

Prologue: Rejection Invited by Strength

Through the unyielding will of Uhijini-no-Kami, the world had gained unprecedented stability.

The mud had solidified into rock, and the earth boasted a steel-like robustness.

However, that strength was simultaneously a "sharpness."

Looking around, the surface was covered with rock faces as sharp as saw teeth.

It was a roughness that rejected others; touching it would cut fingers, and walking on it would wound feet.

When the wind blew, rocks rubbed against each other, creating unpleasant screeching sounds.

If left this way, the life that would eventually be born would find no place of rest and would only be hurt.

"Strength is good. Yet, excessive rigidity is the same as fragility..."

From the shadows of those rugged rocks, a contrasting light began to leak out.

It was a warm, pale purple (usumurasaki) radiance, soft like the spring mist.

In a world like a sharp blade, a scabbard to sheath it was needed.

Chapter 1: The Manifestation of Suhijini

Particles of light danced and rained down upon the tips of the rocks, and from there, a single goddess elegantly appeared.

The Third Generation of the Kamiyo-nanayo (The Seven Divine Generations), the goddess paired with Uhijini.

Her name is Suhijini-no-Kami.

She was clad in a pale purple Juni-hitoe (twelve-layered ceremonial robe). On the hem, silver sand patterns resembling wind ripples were embroidered, making a pleasant rustling sound like shifting sand with every step.

Her eyes were calm like a lake surface that accepts everything, filled with deep compassion.

She gently trailed fingers as white as whitebait over the rough rock surface created by Uhijini.

As if testing the coldness and sharpness of the rock.

"I am Suhijini. I shall tune this strong earth you have created, making it beautiful and smooth."

The goddess's voice resonated like the tone of a harp, loosening the tension of the strained atmosphere.

To bring "Delicacy" and "Beauty" to the rough power, she had descended to this world.

Chapter 2: Granules of Gems, Creation of Sand

"O hard rock, cease your posturing."

Suhijini held her palm over the sharp jagged boulders.

Then, a wonder occurred.

The surface of the rock, which had been so solid as to repel even wind and rain, touched by the goddess's compassion, began to crumble softly away.

But this was not destruction. The rock transformed into fine particles, reborn as beautiful "sand" shining like jewels.

"Become gentle sand, heal the feet of those who walk, and soothe their hearts."

When the goddess waved her sleeve, golden sand spread like waves, covering the rugged ground.

The landscape full of sharp angles transformed into graceful sand dunes drawing smooth curves.

It was the moment the earth was applied with "makeup" for the first time.

Solid will (Rock) and flexible heart (Sand) mixed, and "Peace" was born into the world.

Chapter 3: Softness Overcomes Hardness

At that moment, the storm of trials blew fiercely again.

In Uhijini's time, he resisted the wind and endured as a wall.

However, Suhijini's method was different.

Gusts assaulted the dunes, trying to disturb the beautiful patterns.

But the goddess remained unmoved, smiling as if surrendering herself to the wind.

"The storm is also nature's brush. There is no need to fight."

The sand did not resist the wind but floated lightly up.

And when the wind passed, there were wind ripples (Samon) drawn there, different from before and even more beautiful.

By parrying the force of the wind and changing her own form, she converted destruction into creation.

"Even without resistance, if you accept things as they are, beauty is not marred."

Hard branches break in strong winds, but the supple willow does not.

True beauty possesses the power not to be broken by trials, but rather to change shape and create new harmony.

Chapter 4: Perfect Harmony

After the storm passed, a little rain fell.

The sandy ground, containing the rain, held an appropriate firmness; it became an ideal earth, easy to walk on, yet not painful even if one fell.

Uhijini approached and stood beside Suhijini.

The male god possessing the skeleton of bedrock, and the goddess clad in the raiment of sand.

When the two pillars stood side by side, the world saw "Completion" for the first time.

Uhijini took the goddess's hand, confirming its feeling.

"To my strength, your gentleness has been added, creating a world without lack."

Suhijini also squeezed the male god's hand back and returned a smile.

"This is harmony. Only by becoming one as two can this beauty be achieved."

A perfect earth with smooth sand spread over rugged bedrock.

The powers of the male and female gods fused, and the world achieved the coexistence of "Utility and Beauty," "Hard and Soft."

It was the first form of "Spousal Cooperation" in the Seven Divine Generations.

Chapter 5: Golden Sunset, To the Next Gods

The two gods, having finished their work of creation, stood side by side under a sky glowing like a golden sunset, overlooking the completed earth.

The endless sand dunes and rocky mountains were dyed in the evening sun, casting beautiful shadows.

Far beyond their gaze, the light that would be the omen of the next creation was visible.

Now that the soil and sand were prepared, next would come the era of those who take root there, or those who make it their dwelling.

Suhijini spoke quietly, sensing the future.

"This harmony we have built shall become a guidepost for the gods who follow."

"Indeed. We shall become the foundation and support them."

Roughness and Gentleness.

Strength and Beauty.

Suhijini and Uhijini, who harmonized conflicting elements.

Their "Complementary Love" became the eternal foundation for the gods who would follow, carved as the fundamental spirit of the nation-building of Japan.