The retirement of the Sun-Goddess to the Rock-cave of Heaven produced great consternation among the heavenly deities. They met on the dry bed of the River of Heaven and took counsel how they should entice her from her seclusion. By the advice of Omohi-kane no Mikoto (the Thought-combiner or Counsellor deity) the long-singing birds of the Eternal Land (cocks)[76] were made to utter their prolonged cry before the door of the cave. Ame no Koyane no Mikoto, ancestor of the Nakatomi and Futodama no Mikoto, ancestor of the Imbe, dug up by the roots a five-hundred branched true _Sakaki_ tree of Heaven and hung on its higher branches strings of jewels, on its middle branches a mirror, and on its lower branches pieces of cloth. Then they recited their liturgy in her honour. Moreover, Ame no Uzume (the Dread Female of Heaven) arrayed herself in a fantastic manner, kindled a fire and standing on a tub which resounded when she stamped upon it, performed a (not very decent) mimic dance and gave forth an inspired utterance. The Plain of High Heaven shook, and the eight hundred myriad deities laughed together. The Sun-Goddess wondered how Ame no Uzume and the other gods could be so jolly while the world was wrapped in complete darkness, and peeped out from the half-opened door of the cave. She was at once seized by Ta-jikara no wo (Hand-strength-male) and prevented by main force from re-entering, to the great joy of all the deities. Susa no wo was then tried by a council of Gods, who mulcted him in a fine of a thousand tables of purification offerings. They also pulled out the nails of his fingers and toes, and banished him to the land of Yomi. Finally Ame no Koyane, the ancestor of the Nakatomi, recited his Oho-harahi or "Great purification" liturgy. The above episode is the kernel of the mythical lore of Japan. Belonging to the class of light and darkness myths, it professes to give the origin of some of the principal ceremonies of the Shinto religion as they were practised at the Mikado's Court at the time when they became current. In addition to the Nakatomi and Imbe, some versions of the story show the Sun-Goddess surrounded by other officials, such as jewel-makers, mirror-makers, &c., obviously borrowed from the actual functionaries of the Court, and introduced with an eye to genealogical requirements. By a curious coincidence, the Smith-God attached to her train, like the Cyclops of Greek myth, has but one eye.