The gods of heaven together commanded the pair Izanaki and Izanami: "Put this drifting land in order, make it firm and complete." They gave them the Heavenly Jeweled Spear. The two stood on the Floating Bridge of Heaven, which joins heaven and earth, lowered the spear, and stirred the brine with a churning sound, koro-koro, then drew it up. The brine that dripped from the spear's tip piled up and became an island. This was Onogoro.
The two descended to the island, raised the Heavenly Pillar and built a broad hall. They agreed to walk around the pillar from opposite sides and become husband and wife when they met. But the goddess Izanami spoke first: "What a fine man you are!" The child born to them was Hiruko, a leech-child without bones, and they set it adrift in a boat of reeds.
The gods of heaven divined the cause and said it was wrong for the woman to speak first. So the two walked around the pillar again, and this time Izanaki spoke first. The first island born then was Awaji-no-Honosawake, that is, Awaji Island. Next came Iyo-no-Futana (Shikoku), Oki, Tsukushi (Kyushu), Iki, Tsushima, Sado, and Oyamato-Toyoakitsu (Honshu). Because these eight islands were born first, Japan is called the Land of the Eight Great Islands.