_Weapons_.--Swords were also among the permanent treasures of the shrine. Wonderful stories are related of them. One which was stolen by a thief is said to have left him and returned to the treasury of its own accord. Swords were made _shintai_, and even deified.[185] The God worshipped at Atsuta was the sword Kusanagi, found by Susa no wo in the great serpent's tail, and the God of Isonokami was the sword called Futsu no Mitama (spirit of fire?) given by the Sun-Goddess to Jimmu. I have no doubt that these were originally "divine treasures," which owed their deification to long association with the God. A sword is one of the regalia at the present day. The principle of substitution is illustrated by the models of swords prescribed as offerings in the _Yengishiki_. I have seen on the top of Ohoyama, sacred to a Goddess named Sekison (Iha-naga-hime?), a pit containing many hundreds of tiny wooden swords which had been deposited there as offerings. Other weapons which figure as offerings are spears, spear-heads, shields, and bows and arrows. Agricultural implements, bells, pottery, reels for reeling yarn, are also mentioned. It was the custom, in the case of these and other durable offerings, to offer the same objects again and again. _Human sacrifices_ formed no part of the State Shinto religion as described in the ancient records. But there are several indications of the existence of this practice in still older times. Human sacrifices to river-Gods have been already mentioned. We have seen that when a Mikado died a number of his attendants were buried alive round his tomb, from which it may be inferred that considerations of humanity would not have prevented similar sacrifices to the Gods. Cases are also recorded of men being buried alive in the foundations of a bridge, a castle, or an artificial island. These were called _hito-bashira_, or human pillars. The offerings of _kane-hito-gata_ (metal-man-form), so often mentioned in the _Yengishiki_, were perhaps by way of substitution for human victims. It is significant that the Gods of water-distribution (_mikumari_), that is, the river-Gods, are specially distinguished as their recipients. Similar human effigies, gilt or silvered, formed part of the _oho-harahi_, or absolution offerings. In this case they were intended as ransom for the offenders whose ritual guilt was to be expiated. They were touched with the lips or breathed upon before being offered. Peachwood or paper effigies might be substituted, and in later times articles of clothing or anything which had been in contact with the person to be absolved. These last were called _nade-mono_ (rub-thing) or _aga-mono_ (ransom-thing). When in danger of shipwreck the hair might be cut off and offered, on the principle of a part for the whole, as ransom to the Dragon-God. The _Kogo-jiui_ applies the term _aga-mono_ to the hair and nails of Susa no wo, which were cut off by the other Gods. The principle of ransom