Emperor Nintoku仁德天皇

Ohosazaki no Mikoto dwelt in the palace of Takatsu in Naniwa (難波之高津宮), and ruled all under heaven.

This Emperor took to wife Iwanohime no Mikoto (石之日賣命), the daughter of Sotsuhiko of Kazuraki, and she was the great queen. The children born were Izahowake no Mikoto of Ohoe (大江之伊邪本和氣命), and next Nakatsu no Miko of Suminoe (墨江之中津王), and next Mizuhawake no Mikoto of Tajihi (蝮之水齒別命), and next Oasazumawakugo no Sukune no Mikoto (男淺津間若子宿禰命).

He also took to wife Kaminagahime, the daughter of Ushimoro (牛諸) the Morogata no Kimi of Himuka, named above, and the children born were Hatabi no Ohoiratsuko (波多毗能大郎子), whose other name was Ohokusaka no Miko (大日下王), and next Hatabi no Wakairatsume (波多毗能若郎女), whose other names were Nagahihime no Mikoto (長日比賣命) and Wakakusakabe no Mikoto (若日下部命).

He also took to wife his half-sister Yata no Wakairatsume, and his half-sister Uji no Wakairatsume. These two bore no children.

In all, the children of this Emperor Ohosazaki were six. So Izahowake no Mikoto ruled all under heaven, and next Mizuhawake no Mikoto also ruled all under heaven, and next Oasazumawakugo no Sukune no Mikoto also ruled all under heaven.

In this Emperor's reign, to keep the name of the great queen Iwanohime no Mikoto, the Kazurakibe (葛城部) was established; to keep the name of the crown prince Izahowake no Mikoto, the Mibube (壬生部) was established; to keep the name of Mizuhawake no Mikoto, the Tajihibe (蝮部); to keep the name of Ohokusaka no Miko, the Ohokusakabe (大日下部); and to keep the name of Wakakusakabe no Miko, the Wakakusakabe (若日下部).

He also set the Hata people (秦人) to work and made the embankment of Mamuta (茨田堤) and the Miyake of Mamuta (茨田三宅). He made the pond of Wani (丸邇池) and the pond of Yosami (依網池). He dug the Horie of Naniwa (堀江) and let it through to the sea, dug the channel of Obashi (小椅江), and fixed the harbor of Suminoe (墨江之津).

At this time the Emperor climbed a high mountain, looked out over the lands on every side, and said, "No smoke of cooking rises in the land. The whole land is poor. So from now on, for three years, remit all the taxes and labor of the people."

And so the great hall fell into ruin, and though the rain leaked in everywhere it was not repaired at all. He caught the leaking rain in vessels and moved aside to the places where it did not leak.

Afterward he looked out over the land, and the land was full of smoke. Then, holding that the people had grown well off, he laid taxes and labor on them again. So the people flourished and were not worn out by the work laid on them.

Therefore that reign is called the reign of the sage emperor (聖帝).

This great queen Iwanohime no Mikoto was very jealous. The women the Emperor took could not so much as look into the palace, and whenever anything was said she stamped her feet in jealousy.

The Emperor heard that Kurohime (黑日賣), the daughter of the Amabe no Atai of Kibi (海部直), was upright and fair in form, and he called her up and took her into his service. But Kurohime feared the great queen's jealousy and fled back down to her own land.

The Emperor climbed a high terrace and watched Kurohime's ship set out and float on the sea, and sang:

Okiheniwa obunetsuraraku Kurozayano masazukowagimo Kunihekudarasu

— Out on the open sea the little ships lie in a row. My dear Masazuko is going down to her own land.

The great queen heard this song and was greatly angered. She sent people to Ohoura (大浦), had Kurohime put off the ship, and drove her away on foot.

Then the Emperor, longing for Kurohime, deceived the great queen, saying that he wished to see Awajishima. When he went out, he stood on Awajishima, looked far off, and sang:

Oshiteruya naniwanosakiyo Idetachite wagakunimireba Awashima onogoroshima Ajimasano shimamomiyu Saketsushimamiyu

— From the cape of Naniwa that shines, I go out and look at my land: Awashima and Onogoroshima, the island of Ajimasa comes into sight, and Saketsushima comes into sight.

Then he went on by way of that island to the land of Kibi. Kurohime had him rest on the hillside of that land and offered him a great meal. As she was gathering greens of that place to boil his soup, the Emperor came to where the girl was gathering them, and sang:

Yamagatani makeruaonamo Kibihitoto domonishitsumeba Tanoshikumoaruka

— Even the greens sown in the hill field — when I gather them together with one from Kibi, how joyful it is.

When the Emperor went back up, Kurohime offered him a song:

Yamatoheni nishifukiagete Kumobanare sokioritomo Warewasuremeya

— Though the west wind blows up toward Yamato and we are parted far apart like clouds, could I ever forget you?

She sang again:

Yamatoheni yukuwatagatsuma Komorizuno shitayohaetsutsu Yukuwatagatsuma

— Whose husband is it that goes to Yamato? Drawing his heart along below, like hidden water, whose husband is it that goes?

Some time after this, while the great queen had gone to the land of Ki (木國) to gather mitsuna leaves (御綱柏) for a feast, the Emperor married Yata no Wakairatsume.

As the great queen was coming back with her ship piled full of the leaves, a laborer of Kojima (兒嶋) in the land of Kibi, who had been set to work under the Mizutori office, was going home to his own land. At the great crossing of Naniwa he met the ship of a storehouse woman (倉人女) who had fallen behind, and said to her, "These days the Emperor has married Yata no Wakairatsume and plays with her day and night. Has the great queen not heard of this? She goes about quietly at her ease."

That storehouse woman heard these words and at once rowed up to the queen's ship and told her everything the laborer had said.

At this the great queen was filled with bitterness and anger, and threw all the leaves loaded on her ship into the sea. Therefore that place is called the cape of Mitsu (御津前).

She did not enter the palace, but turned her ship aside, went up the Horie, and followed the river up to Yamashiro (山代). At this time she sang:

Tsuginefuya yamashirogawao Kawanobori waganoboreba Kawanoheni ohidateru Sashibuo sashibunoki Shigashitani ohidateru Habiro yutsumatsubaki Shigahanano teriimashi Shigahano hiroriimasuwa Ohokimirokamo

— Up the river of Yamashiro, mountain on mountain, as I go up the stream, on the bank there grows and stands a sashibu tree, and beneath it there grows and stands a broad-leaved sacred camellia. Shining like its flower, broad like its leaf, is my great lord.

Then she turned back from Yamashiro, came to the pass of Mount Nara (那良山), and sang:

Tsuginefuya yamashirogawao Miyanobori waganoboreba Aoniyoshi naraosugi Odate yamatoosugi Wagamigahoshikuniwa Kazurakitakamiya wagihenoatari

— Up the river of Yamashiro, mountain on mountain, as I go up past the palace, past Nara of the fine blue earth, past Yamato ringed with shields, the land I long to see is Takamiya in Kazuraki, the neighborhood of my own home.

Singing thus she turned back, and for a while she stayed in the house of Nurinomi (奴理能美), a man of Kara (韓人) in Tsutsuki (筒木).

The Emperor heard that the great queen had gone up from Yamashiro, and he sent an attendant named Toriyama (鳥山) with a song:

Yamashironi ishiketoriyama Ishikeishike agahashizumani Ishikiawamukamo

— After her to Yamashiro, Toriyama. Follow her, follow her, and overtake my dear wife for me.

He sent Kuchiko (口子) of the Wani no Omi after him as well, and sang:

Mimorono sonotakakinaru Ohoikogahara ohoikoga Haraniaru kimomukafu Kokoroodanika ahiomowazuaramu

— On the high fort of Mimoro, the plain of Ohoiko — and in Ohoiko's belly, liver set against liver: can we not at least think of each other in our hearts?

He sang again:

Tsuginefu yamashiromeno Kokuwamochi uchishiohone Nejirono shirotadamuki Makazukebakoso shirazutomoiwame

— The woman of Yamashiro, mountain on mountain, dug up a great radish with her hoe. White as its root were her white arms. Had I never pillowed on them, she might well say she does not know me.

When Kuchiko no Omi was reciting this song, a heavy rain fell. He did not shelter from it, but lay down before the door of the front hall; she went out instead by the back door. He lay down before the door of the back hall; she went out instead by the front door. Then he crawled forward and knelt in the middle of the courtyard, and the rain water rose to his waist. This retainer was wearing a blue-dyed robe with red cords, and the rain water washed at the red cords until the blue all turned to red.

Kuchiko no Omi's younger sister Kuchihime (口日賣) was serving the great queen. This Kuchihime sang:

Yamashirono tsutsukinomiyani Monomaosu agasenokimiwa Namitagumashimo

— In the palace of Tsutsuki in Yamashiro, my elder brother, who is pleading there, brings the tears to my eyes.

When the great queen asked her why, she answered, "He is my elder brother, Kuchiko no Omi."

Then Kuchiko no Omi, his sister Kuchihime, and Nurinomi, the three of them, took counsel together and had this reported to the Emperor: "The great queen came here because Nurinomi keeps an insect that is once a crawling worm, once a cocoon, and once a flying bird — a strange insect that changes into three colors. She came in only to see this insect. There is no other thought in her heart."

When this was reported, the Emperor said, "Then I too find it strange, and I will go and see it."

He went up from the great palace, and when he entered the house of Nurinomi, Nurinomi presented to the great queen the three kinds of insect that he kept.

The Emperor stood at the door of the hall where the great queen was, and sang:

Tsuginefu yamashiromeno Kokuwamochi uchishiohone Sawasawani nagaihesekoso Uchiwatasu yagahaenasu Kiirimaikure

— The woman of Yamashiro, mountain on mountain, dug up a great radish with her hoe. Because you spoke out to me freely, with a rustling sound, like a tree spreading branch on branch I have come in to you.

These six songs sung by this Emperor and the great queen are returning songs of the shizuuta (志都歌).

The Emperor, longing for Yata no Wakairatsume, sent her a song. The song said:

Yatano hitomotosugewa Komotazu tachikaarenamu Atarasugahara Kotookoso sugeharatoiwame Atarasugashime

— The single sedge of Yata, will it stand with no child and wither away? What a waste of a field of sedge. In words we call it a field of sedge, but what a waste of so fair a woman.

Yata no Wakairatsume sang in answer:

Yatano hitomotosugewa Hitorioritomo Ohokimishi yoshitokikosaba Hitorioritomo

— The single sedge of Yata, though it stand alone — if my great lord says that it is good, then let it stand alone.

So, to keep the name of Yata no Wakairatsume, the Yatabe (八田部) was established.

The Emperor also made his younger brother Hayabusawake no Miko (速總別王) his go-between, and asked for his half-sister Metori no Miko (女鳥王) in marriage. Then Metori no Miko said to Hayabusawake no Miko, "Because the great queen is so strong, even Yata no Wakairatsume is not treated as she should be. So I will not serve him. I will be your wife." And they were married at once.

Therefore Hayabusawake no Miko did not go back and report. Then the Emperor himself went to where Metori no Miko was, and sat on the threshold of the door of her hall. At this time Metori no Miko was at her loom, weaving cloth. The Emperor sang:

Medorino wagaohokimino Orosuhata tagatanerokamo

— Metori, my lady, the cloth she weaves — whose is it to be?

Metori no Miko sang in answer:

Takayukuya hayabusawakeno Miosuhigane

— It is cloth for the cloak of Hayabusawake, who flies high.

The Emperor knew her heart and went back into the palace.

At this time, when her husband Hayabusawake no Miko came to her, his wife Metori no Miko sang:

Hibariwa amenikakeru Takayukuya hayabusawake Sazakitorasane

— The lark flies in the sky. Hayabusawake, you who fly high, take the sazaki, the wren.

The Emperor heard this song and at once raised troops to kill them. Hayabusawake no Miko and Metori no Miko fled away together and climbed Mount Kurahashi (倉椅山). Then Hayabusawake no Miko sang:

Hashitateno kurahashiyamao Sagashimito iwakakikanete Wagatetorasumo

— Mount Kurahashi, set up like a ladder, is so steep that she cannot hold to the rocks, and she takes my hand.

He sang again:

Hashitateno kurahashiyamawa Sagashikedo imotonoboreba Sagashikumoarazu

— Mount Kurahashi, set up like a ladder, is steep, but when I climb it with my love it is not steep at all.

They fled from that place, and when they came to Soni (蘇邇) in Uda the troops overtook them and killed them.

The general Ohotate no Muraji of the Yamabe (山部大楯連) stripped the jeweled bracelet that Metori no Miko had worn on her arm and gave it to his own wife.

Some time after this, when a feast was to be held, the women of all the clans came to the court. The wife of Ohotate no Muraji came wearing that princess's jeweled bracelet on her own arm.

Then the great queen Iwanohime no Mikoto took up with her own hands the leaves for the great sake and gave them to the women of the clans. When she saw and knew that jeweled bracelet, she did not give the leaf cup to that woman, but drew it back. She called out the woman's husband Ohotate no Muraji and said:

"Those princes were without courtesy, and so they were put away. In that there is nothing strange. But this slave stripped the jeweled bracelet from the arm of his own lady while the warmth of her skin was still on it, brought it home, and gave it to his wife."

And she gave him the punishment of death.

Also at one time, when the Emperor went to Himeshima (日女嶋) to hold a feast, a wild goose laid an egg on that island. Then he called Takeuchi no Sukune no Mikoto and asked him in song about the goose laying an egg. The song said:

Tamakiharu uchinoaso Nakosowa yononagahito Soramitsu yamatonokunini Karikomutokikuya

— Uchi, my lord, who has served to the end of life, you are the long-lived man of this world. In the land of Yamato that fills the sky, have you heard of a wild goose laying an egg?

Then Takeuchi no Sukune spoke in song:

Takahikaru hinomiko Ubeshikoso tohitamahe Makosoni tohitamahe Arekosowa yononagahito Soramitsu yamatonokunini Karikomuto imadakikazu

— Child of the high-shining sun, rightly do you ask. Truly well do you ask. I am indeed the long-lived man of this world, yet in the land of Yamato that fills the sky I have never yet heard of a wild goose laying an egg.

Having said this, he was given the koto, and sang:

Nagamikoya tsuhinishiramuto Kariwakomurashi

— It is because your son will rule at the last that the goose seems to lay her egg.

This is a katauta of the hokiuta (壽歌).

In this reign there was one tall tree west of the river Tonoki (免寸河). When the morning sun fell on it, its shadow reached Awajishima; when the evening sun fell on it, its shadow crossed Mount Takayasu (高安山).

This tree was cut down and made into a ship, and it was a very swift ship. The name of that ship was Karano (枯野). With this ship, morning and evening, they drew the cold spring water of Awajishima and offered it as the great water.

When this ship broke up, they burned it for salt, and from the wood left unburned they made a koto, and its sound rang out over seven villages. Then they sang:

Karanoo shihoniyaki Shigaamari kotonitsukuri Kakihikuya yuranotono Tonakanoikurini furetatsu Nazunokino sayasaya

— Karano was burned for salt, and from what was left a koto was made. When it is struck it rings like the wet tree that stands brushing the sunken rock in the midst of the strait of Yura — sayasaya.

This is a returning song of the shizuuta.

This Emperor was eighty-three years old. His tomb is at Mimihara in Mozu (毛受之耳原).