Emperor Yūryaku雄略天皇

Emperor Ōhatsuse no Wakatake (大泊瀬幼武天皇) was the fifth son of Emperor Oasazuma Wakugo no Sukune. When the emperor was born, a divine light filled the hall. When he grew up, he was strong and hardy beyond other men.

In the third year, in the eighth month, Emperor Anaho went out to the mountain palace, meaning to bathe. He went up into the upper storey and let his eyes wander, and then he called for wine and held a feast. His heart came to the height of its pleasure, and between times they talked together. He looked round at the empress and said, "My sister, though you are close to me, I fear Mayuwa no Ōkimi."

Mayuwa no Ōkimi was of tender years, and he was playing below the upper storey, and he heard all that was said.

Presently Emperor Anaho laid his head on the empress's knees and, drunk in the daytime, fell asleep. Then Mayuwa no Ōkimi watched for the time when he slept deeply, and stabbed him to death.

On that day an ōtoneri came running to the emperor and said, "Emperor Anaho has been killed by Mayuwa no Ōkimi."

The emperor was greatly startled. At once he suspected his elder brothers. He put on armor, girded on a sword, took soldiers, and led them himself. He pressed Prince Yatsuri no Shirohiko with questions. The prince saw that he meant to harm him, and he sat silent and did not speak. Then the emperor drew his sword and cut him down.

Again he pressed Prince Sakaai no Kurohiko with questions. This prince also knew that he meant to harm him, and he sat silent and did not speak.

The emperor's anger grew hotter still. Then he wished to kill Mayuwa no Ōkimi as well, and he looked into the matter and judged it.

Mayuwa no Ōkimi said, "Your servant never sought the throne. I only avenged my father."

Prince Sakaai no Kurohiko was in deep fear at being suspected. He spoke secretly with Mayuwa no Ōkimi, and at last the two found their chance together and went out, and fled into the house of Tsubura no Ōomi.

The emperor sent a messenger and asked that they be given up. The Ōomi answered the messenger, "I have heard that a subject in trouble has fled into the royal house, but I have never yet seen a lord hide in a subject's house. Now Prince Sakaai no Kurohiko and Mayuwa no Ōkimi trust my heart deeply and have come to my house. How could I bear to send them away?"

Therefore the emperor raised more soldiers and surrounded the Ōomi's house.

The Ōomi came out and stood in the courtyard and called for his leg ties. Then the Ōomi's wife brought the leg ties, and in her grief her heart was wounded, and she sang:

"Ominokowa Tahenohakamao Nanaheoshi Niwanitatashite Ayohinadasumo (飫瀰能古簸。多倍能波伽摩鳴。那那陛鳴■。爾播爾陀陀始諦。阿遥比那陀須暮)"

— This sets down sounds only, and is not turned into meaning.

The Ōomi finished making himself ready, went forward to the gate of the camp, knelt, bowed, and said, "Though your servant be put to death, I will not dare to disobey the command. A man of old said, 'Even a common man's will is hard to take from him.' The words touch your servant now. I beg leave to offer to the great king my daughter Karahime and seven houses in Katsuragi. I pray that with these my crime be redeemed."

The emperor did not allow it. He set fire to the house and burned it. So the Ōomi and Prince Kurohiko and Mayuwa no Ōkimi were burned to death together.

At that time Sakaaibe no Muraji Nie no Sukune held the prince's body in his arms and was burned to death. His toneri gathered up what had been burned, but in the end the bones could not be told apart. They put them in one coffin and buried them together on the south hill of Tsukimoto of the Imaki no Aya.

In winter, the tenth month, the first day being a gyemi day, the emperor bore a grudge that Emperor Anaho had once wished to hand the land to Prince Ichinobe no Oshiha and had charged him from afar with what was to come after.

So he sent a man to Prince Ichinobe no Oshiha, falsely setting a day for hunting, and urged him to go out and take his pleasure in the fields. "Sasaki no Yama no Kimi Karafukuro of Ōmi says that now in Kutawata of Ōmi, at the field of Kaya, there are many boar and deer. The horns they carry are like the tips of dry trees, their gathered legs are like the stumps of young trees, and the breath they blow out is like the morning mist. I would go with the prince, in the shaded month at the beginning of winter, on a morning when the cold wind is bleak, and walk out in the fields, and loose our hearts a while and shoot."

Prince Ichinobe no Oshiha went with him and rode to the hunt. Then Emperor Ōhatsuse drew his bow and galloped his horse, and falsely cried out, "There is a boar!" At once he shot Prince Ichinobe no Oshiha dead.

Saekibe Mewa, who was within the prince's curtains, held the body in his arms and was so startled that he did not understand what had happened. He rolled this way and that, crying aloud, and went back and forth between the head and the feet. The emperor cut him down as well.

In this month Prince Mima, who had long been on good terms with Miwa no Kimi Musa, thought to send him word and went to him. Without warning he met on the road soldiers lying in wait, beside the rock well of Miwa, and fought against them. Before long he was taken. When he came to the place of execution he pointed at the well and laid a curse on it, saying, "This water the common people alone shall drink. The king alone shall not be able to drink it."

In the eleventh month, the first day being an imja day, on the gapja day, the emperor commanded the offices in charge to set up an altar at Asakura in Hatsuse, and he ascended the throne. Then he fixed his palace there. He made Heguri no Omi Matori great minister, and he made Ōtomo no Muraji Muroya and Mononobe no Muraji Me ōmuraji.

In spring, the third month, the first day being a gyeongsul day, on the imja day, Princess Kusaka no Hatabihime was set up as empress.

In this month three consorts were set up.

The first consort was the daughter of Katsuragi no Tsubura no Ōomi, and she is called Karahime. She bore Emperor Shiraka no Takehirokuni Oshiwaka Yamatoneko and Princess Wakatarashihime. This princess served at the shrine of the great deity of Ise.

Next there was Wakahime, the daughter of Kibi no Kamitsumichi no Omi, and she bore two sons. The elder is called Prince Iwaki, the younger Prince Hoshikawa no Wakamiya.

Next there was the daughter of Kasuga no Wani no Omi Fukame, and she is called Ominagimi. She bore Princess Kasuga no Ōiratsume.

Ominagimi was at first an uneme. The emperor was with her one night, and she conceived. In the end she bore a girl. The emperor doubted it and did not rear her.

When the girl had come to walk, the emperor was in the great hall, and Mononobe no Me no Ōmuraji was in attendance. The girl passed through the courtyard.

Me no Ōmuraji said to the assembled ministers, "How fair that girl is! A man of old said, 'Nabitoya hamani.' Whose daughter is she who walks so quietly in the clean courtyard?"

The emperor said, "Why do you ask?"

Me no Ōmuraji answered, "Your servant has watched the girl walk, and her bearing is much like the emperor's."

The emperor said, "All who have seen her say what you say. Yet I was with her one night only, and that she should bear a daughter is beyond the common. Therefore a doubt arose in me."

The Ōmuraji said, "Then how many times did you call her in that one night?"

The emperor said, "I called her seven times."

The Ōmuraji said, "This maiden gave you one night with a clean body and a clean heart. Why do you doubt her so lightly and let others speak ill of her purity? Your servant has heard that a womb which conceives easily conceives at the mere touch of a garment against the body. How much more, then, when a whole night was spent. Do not raise an idle doubt."

The emperor commanded the Ōmuraji to make the girl a princess and her mother a consort.

In this year the year sign was jeongyu.

In autumn, the seventh month, Jijinwon (池津媛) of Baekje went against the emperor when he was about to take her to him, and was lewd with Ishikawa no Tate. The emperor was greatly angered. He gave a command to Ōtomo no Muroya no Ōmuraji, and made the Kumebe stretch the arms and legs of the two upon a tree and lay them on a rough frame and burn them to death.

In winter, the tenth month, the first day being a sinmi day, on the gyeyu day, he went to the Yoshino palace.

On the byeongja day he went to Mimase. He commanded the keepers of the hills to let the hunt loose. They crossed the folded peaks and ran over the long grassland, and before the shadows had moved they had taken seven or eight out of every ten. At every hunt they took a great many, and the birds and beasts were near their end.

At last they turned back and rested by the wood and the spring, and walked about the thickets and the marsh. They stayed their steps, and before the carriages and horses were made ready he asked the assembled ministers, "Which is the pleasure of the hunting field: to make the man in charge of the table cut the meat, or to cut it oneself?"

The assembled ministers could not answer at once. Then the emperor was greatly angered. He drew his sword and cut down his driver, Ōtsu no Umakai.

On that day the imperial carriage came back from the Yoshino palace. The people within the land all trembled and were afraid.

Therefore the empress dowager and the empress heard of it and were in great fear, and they sent the uneme Hihime of Yamato to lift up wine and go out to meet him and offer it.

The emperor saw that the uneme's face was comely and fair and her form gentle and graceful, and he softened his looks and was pleased, and said, "How should I not wish to see your lovely smile?" So they took each other by the hand and went into the inner palace.

He said to the empress dowager, "Today I went out to the hunt and took many birds and beasts, and I wished to cut the meat with the assembled ministers and feast in the fields. I asked the assembled ministers one after another, and none of them answered. Therefore I was angry."

The empress dowager understood the meaning of this word, and she comforted the emperor and said:

"The assembled ministers did not see that your majesty asked them in order to set up a shishihitobe for the hunting field. That the assembled ministers were silent was a thing hard to answer by reason. It is not too late to offer men now. I will begin. Kashiwade no Omi Nagano is skilled at cutting meat raw. I beg to offer this man."

The emperor knelt and received it with due ceremony and said, "That is well. A countryman says, 'What is precious is that hearts know each other.' This is a saying for such a time."

The empress dowager saw that the emperor was pleased, and her heart was full of joy, and she wished to offer more men, and said, "My two kitchen men, Uda no Mitobe and Mahokita no Takama — I ask leave to offer these two also. Make them shishihitobe."

From this time on Yamato no Kuni no Miyatsuko Agoko no Sukune offered Sahoko no Toriwake to be a shishihitobe, and the omi, the muraji, the tomo no miyatsuko, and the kuni no miyatsuko offered men one after another as well.

In this month the Fumihitobe and the Kawakami no Toneribe were set up.

The emperor took his own heart for his teacher, and there were many whom he killed in error. All under heaven spoke ill of him and said, "He is a most evil emperor."

Those alone whom he loved were Musa no Suguri Ao of the Fumihitobe and Hinokuma no Tami no Tsukai Hakatoko and their like.

In summer, the fourth month, Ahe no Omi Kunimi slandered Princess Takuhata and the yue Ioukibe no Muraji Takehiko, saying, "Takehiko has had to do with the princess and has got her with child."

Takehiko's father Kitsuyu heard this rumor going about and feared that the harm would reach himself. He lured Takehiko away to the river of Ioki, and falsely made the cormorants go under the water and catch fish, and while Takehiko looked another way he struck him dead.

The emperor heard of it and sent a messenger to look into the matter and question the princess. The princess answered, "I know nothing of it."

Soon the princess took a divine mirror and went to the upper waters of the Isuzu. She watched for a time when no one passed, buried the mirror, and hanged herself.

The emperor doubted, since the princess was not to be found, and he kept sending men to search east and west in the dark night. Then by the river a rainbow was seen like a snake, four or five fathoms long. They dug at the place where the rainbow rose and got the divine mirror. They had not gone far from there when they found the princess's body.

When they opened it and looked, there was something in her belly like water, and in the water there was a stone. By this Kitsuyu was able to clear his son of the crime. He then repented of having killed his son, and in return he killed Kunimi, and fled and hid in the divine palace of Isonokami.

In spring, the second month, the emperor hunted on Mount Katsuragi. Of a sudden he saw a tall man. He came looking toward the red valley, and his face and his bearing were like the emperor's own.

The emperor knew that this was a god, yet he asked on purpose, "Of what place are you, sir?"

The tall man answered, "I am a god who appears in the form of a man (現人神). Say the king's name first. After that I will answer."

The emperor answered, "I am Wakatake no Mikoto."

The tall man then gave his own name and said, "I am Hitokotonushi no Kami (一事主神)."

So they took their pleasure together in the hunting field. They drove a single deer, and each gave way to the other in loosing his arrow, and they rode side by side with the reins in their hands. Their words were courteous, as though they had met an immortal.

Then the day grew late and the hunt was done, and the god attended the emperor and saw him as far as the river of Kume. At this time the people all said, "He is an emperor who has virtue."

In autumn, the eighth month, the first day being a sinmyo day, on the musin day, he made a progress to the Yoshino palace.

On the gyeongsul day he went to the small field of Kawakami. He commanded the keepers of the hills to drive the beasts, and he waited, meaning to shoot with his own hand. A horsefly came flying swiftly and bit the emperor's arm. Then a dragonfly came flying of a sudden, took the horsefly in its mouth, and went away.

The emperor thought well of it, that it had such a heart, and he gave a command to the assembled ministers: "Make a song for me in praise of the dragonfly."

Among the assembled ministers there was none who dared to make one. Then the emperor sang it himself:

"Yamatono Omuranotakeni Shishifusuto Darekakonogoto Ohomahenimaosu Ohokimiwa Sokookikashite Tamamakino Aguranitatashi Shizumakino Aguranitatashi Shishimatsuto Wagaimaseba Sawimatsuto Wagatataseba Takuburani Amukakitsukitsu Sonoamuo Akizuhayakuhi Hafumushimo Ohokiminimatsurafu Nagakatawaokamu Akizushimayamato (野磨等能。嗚武羅能陀該爾之之符須登。■例柯擧能居登。飫褒磨陛爾麻嗚須。飫褒枳瀰簸。賊據嗚枳舸斯題。■磨磨枳能。阿娯羅爾陀陀伺。施都魔枳能。阿娯羅爾陀陀伺。斯斯魔都登。倭我伊麻西麼。佐謂麻都登。倭我陀陀西麼。陀倶符羅爾。阿武柯枳都枳都。曾能阿武嗚。婀枳豆波野倶譬。波賦武志謀。飫褒枳瀰爾磨都羅符。儺我柯陀播於柯武。婀岐豆斯麻野麻登)"

— This sets down sounds only, and is not turned into meaning.

Because he praised the dragonfly, this place was named Akizuno (蜻蛉野).

In spring, the second month, the emperor hunted on Mount Katsuragi. A divine bird came of a sudden. Its size was that of a sparrow, and its tail was long and trailed on the ground. And it cried out and said, "Take heed, take heed."

Soon an angry boar that had been driven came out fiercely from the grass and chased the men. The hunters climbed the trees in great fear.

The emperor gave a command to his toneri: "Even a fierce beast stops when it meets a man. Shoot it face to face, and stab it as well."

The toneri was weak by nature. He climbed a tree, lost the color of his face, and the five feelings within him had no master.

The angry boar came straight on and would have bitten the emperor. The emperor stopped it by thrusting with his bow, then raised his foot and trampled it dead.

Then the hunt was done, and he was about to cut down the toneri. The toneri came to the place of execution and made a song:

"Yasumishishi Wagaohokimino Asobashishi Shishinoutaki Kashikomi Waganigenoborishi Arionouheno Harigaedaaseo (野須瀰斯志。倭我飫褒枳瀰能。阿蘇麼斯志。斯斯能宇■枳。舸斯固瀰。倭我尼■能褒利志。阿理嗚能宇倍能。婆利我曳陀阿西嗚)"

— This sets down sounds only, and is not turned into meaning.

The empress heard it and grieved, and was so moved that she made him stop.

The emperor gave a command: "Does the empress not take the emperor's part, but look instead to a toneri?"

She answered, "The people of the land all say that your majesty loves the fields and loves beasts. Is that not an ill thing? Now if your majesty cuts down a toneri for the sake of an angry boar, then your majesty is no different from a jackal or a wolf."

Then the emperor went up into the carriage with the empress and returned, and he cried out a long life for her and said, "This is a joy. All men hunt birds and beasts, but I have hunted and taken a good word, and so I go home."

In summer, the fourth month, Gasurigun (加須利君) of Baekje heard as if on the wing that Jijinwon had been burned to death, and he weighed the matter and said, "In the past we offered a woman to be made an uneme, and she was without propriety, and we have lost the name of our country. From now on it is not fitting to offer women."

Then he told his younger brother Gungun (軍君), "You should go to Japan and serve the emperor."

Gungun answered, "I cannot go against the command of my lord above. I ask that you give me my lord's lady, and after that send me."

Gasurigun then gave his lady, who was with child, in marriage to Gungun, and said, "My lady who is with child has already come to the month of her bearing. If she bears the child on the road, put mother and child aboard a single ship, and wherever they may be, send them quickly back to the country."

So they took leave of each other, and he sent him to the court.

In the sixth month, the first day being a byeongsul day, the lady who was with child bore a child, just as Gasurigun had said, on the island of Kakara in Tsukushi. So they named this child Seomgun (嶋君).

Then Gungun at once sent Seomgun back to the country in a single ship. This is King Muryeong (武寧王). The people of Baekje call this island Judo (主嶋).

In autumn, the seventh month, Gungun entered the capital. In time he had five sons.

In spring, the second month, the first day being an imja day, on the eulmyo day, the emperor went out to the small field of Hatsuse and looked at the shape of the hills and the fields. He was deeply moved, and he sang:

"Komorikuno Hatsusenoyamawa Idetachino Yoroshikiyama Washirideno Yoroshikiyamano Komorikuno Hatsusenoyamawa Ayaniuraguhashi Ayaniuraguhashi (擧暮利矩能。播都制能野磨播。伊底■智能。與慮斯企野磨。和斯里底能。與盧斯企夜磨能。據暮利矩能。播都制能夜麻播。阿野爾于羅虞波斯。阿野爾于羅虞波斯)"

— This sets down sounds only, and is not turned into meaning.

So the small field was named Michi no Ono.

In the third month, the first day being a sinsa day, on the jeonghae day, the emperor wished to have his consorts pick mulberry leaves with their own hands, and so to urge on the keeping of silkworms. Then he commanded Sugaru to gather the silkworms (蠶) within the land.

Then Sugaru mistook it and gathered infants (嬰兒) and offered them to the emperor. The emperor laughed aloud and gave the infants to Sugaru and said, "You must rear them yourself."

So Sugaru reared the infants below the palace wall. Then he was given a surname and called Chiisakobe no Muraji.

In summer, the fourth month, the land of Wu sent an envoy and offered tribute.

In autumn, the seventh month, the first day being a gapsul day, on the byeongja day, the emperor gave a command to Chiisakobe no Muraji Sugaru: "I wish to see the form of the god of Mount Mimoro. Your strength is beyond other men's. Go yourself and take it and bring it."

Sugaru answered, "I will go and try to take it."

So he climbed Mount Mimoro, took a great snake, and showed it to the emperor. The emperor had not purified himself, and so its thunder rolled and the light of its eyes blazed. The emperor was afraid. He covered his eyes and did not look, and drew back into the hall. He had it let go on the mountain, and then he changed Sugaru's name and called him Ikazuchi (雷).

In the eighth month, Kibi no Yugebe no Ōzora, an officer, wished to go home in haste. Kibi no Shimotsumichi no Omi Maetsuya held Ōzora and made him serve him, and for a month and more he would not let him go up to the capital.

The emperor sent Muge no Kimi Masurao to call him. Ōzora was called and came and said:

"Maetsuya made a small girl stand for the emperor's man and a big girl for his own man, and made them fight each other. When he saw the young girl win, he killed her at once with a sword. Again he called a small cock the emperor's cock and pulled out its feathers and cut its wings, and he called a big cock his own cock and hung bells on it and fastened iron spurs to it, and made them fight each other. When he saw the featherless cock win, he drew his sword and killed it as well."

The emperor heard these words, and he sent thirty soldiers of the Mononobe and put Maetsuya to the sword, together with seventy of his kin.

In this year Kibi no Kamitsumichi no Omi Tasa was in attendance beside the hall. He praised Wakahime warmly to his friends and said, "Among the fair ones under heaven there is none like my wife. She is full and ample, and she has every good thing. She is bright and warm, and her every form is ample. She wears no powder and adds no perfumed oil, and yet the world holds few to match her. She alone stands out in our time."

The emperor bent his ear and listened from afar, and his heart was pleased. At once he wished to seek Wakahime for himself and take her into the inner palace, and he made Tasa the Imna guksa (任那國司).

Soon the emperor took Wakahime to himself. Tasa no Omi had married Wakahime and had begotten Ekimi and Otokimi.

Tasa had already gone to his post when he heard that the emperor had taken his wife to himself, and he wished to seek help, and thought to go into Silla. At this time Silla did not serve the Middle Country (中國).

The emperor gave a command to Otokimi, the son of Tasa no Omi, and to Kibi no Amabe no Atai Akao: "You are to go and strike Silla."

Then Kan'inchiri, a skilled man of the Nishigori no Aya, was at his side, and he came forward and said, "There are many in the Han lands (韓國) more skilled than I. They may be called and set to work."

The emperor gave a command to the assembled ministers: "Then let Kan'inchiri go with Otokimi and the rest, and let them take their road through Baekje, and send down a written command as well, so that skilled men may be offered."

Then Otokimi took the command, led his men, came to Baekje, and entered that country. The god of the land turned into an old woman and met them of a sudden on the road. Otokimi went up and asked how far the country still was. The old woman answered, "Go one day more, and after that you may come there."

Otokimi thought for himself that the road was long, and he came back without striking. He gathered the skilled men of the Imaki whom Baekje had offered and kept them on the great island, and on the pretext of waiting for a wind he stayed there several months.

Then Tasa no Omi, the Imna guksa, was glad that Otokimi had come back without striking, and he secretly sent a man to Baekje to counsel Otokimi:

"What hard thing is there in the back of your neck, that you should strike others? I hear it told that the emperor has taken my wife to himself and has a child by her at last. Now I fear that harm will reach you, and you may wait for it on tiptoe. My son, sit astride Baekje and hold it, and do not deal with Japan. I will hold Imna, and I too will not deal with Japan."

Otokimi's wife Kusuhime had a deep heart for her country, and the duty of lord and subject was keen in her. Her loyalty went beyond the white sun, and her constancy stood above the green pine. She hated this plot of revolt, and she secretly killed her husband and hid him buried within the room.

Then she was on the great island with Amabe no Atai Akao and the men of skilled hands whom Baekje had offered.

The emperor heard that Otokimi was not there, and he sent Hitaka no Kishi Katashiwa and Koansen to report together on the matter.

In the end they were settled at the village of Hirokitsu in Ato in the land of Yamato, but many of them fell sick and died.

Therefore the emperor gave a command to Ōtomo no Ōmuraji Muroya and ordered Yamato no Aya no Atai Tsuka to move the potter Gogwi (高貴), the saddler Gyeongwi (堅貴), the painter Insaraa (因斯羅我), the brocade weaver Jeongannageum (定安那錦), and the interpreter Myoanna (卯安那) and their like, all of the Imaki no Aya, to dwell in the three places of Kamitsumomohara, Shimotsumomohara, and Makaminohara.

In spring, the second month, Musa no Suguri Ao and Hinokuma no Tami no Tsukai Hakatoko were sent as envoys to the land of Wu.

From the time the emperor ascended the throne until this year, the land of Silla had turned away and had brought no tribute gifts for eight years now. And all the while it greatly feared the mind of the Middle Country, and kept up good relations with Goryeo.

Therefore the king of Goryeo sent a hundred picked soldiers to guard Silla.

After a while one soldier of Goryeo got leave and went back to his own country. At that time a man of Silla was made his groom (典馬), and he looked round at him and said, "The day when your country is broken by my country is not far off."

The groom heard this. He pretended that his belly hurt, drew back, and stayed behind. In the end he fled and went into his country and told what the man had said.

Then the king of Silla knew that Goryeo guarded them only in seeming, and he sent messengers running to tell the people of the land, "Men, kill the cocks you rear in your houses."

The people of the land understood his meaning, and they killed all the men of Goryeo who were in the land. One man of Goryeo alone was left. He took his chance and got away, and fled into his own country and told the whole of it.

Then the king of Goryeo sent out soldiers at once, and they camped and gathered at the castle of Chukjokryu (筑足流城). There they sang and danced and made merry.

Then the king of Silla heard in the night the soldiers of Goryeo singing and dancing on every side, and he knew that the enemy had come into the land of Silla altogether. So he sent a man to the king of Imna and said:

"The king of Goryeo is striking our country, and in this hour we are like a banner hung up. The danger of the country is worse than that of eggs piled one on another, and the length or shortness of our lives is not ours to measure. I bow down and ask for help from the marshals of the army of the Ilbonbu (日本府)."

Therefore the king of Imna urged Kashiwade no Omi Ikaruga, Kibi no Omi Onashi, and Naniwa no Kishi Akameko to go and save Silla.

Before Kashiwade no Omi and the rest had even come to the camp and settled there, and before the several generals of Goryeo had yet fought with Kashiwade no Omi and his men, they were all afraid.

Kashiwade no Omi and his men then put out their strength and heartened the soldiers, and they gave order in the camp to make engines of attack in haste, and went forward quickly and struck. They held out against Goryeo for ten days and more.

Then in the night they cut through the steep ground and made a tunnel, and sent all the baggage carts through it, and set an ambush.

When day broke, Goryeo thought that Kashiwade no Omi and his men had fled, and they sent out all their soldiers and pursued. Then the ambush was let loose, and foot and horse struck them from both sides and broke them utterly. The grudge between the two countries arose from this.

Kashiwade no Omi and his men said to Silla, "You who are most weak have met what is most strong. Had the government army not saved you, you would surely have been ridden down by others and made another's land. From this time on, how should you turn your back on the heavenly court?"

In spring, the second month, the first day being a gapja day, Oshikōchi no Atai Katabu was sent with an uneme to make offering to the god of Munakata.

When Katabu and the uneme had come to the altar and were about to perform the rite, he forced himself upon the uneme.

The emperor heard of it and said, "Can a man be careless when he makes offering to a god and prays for blessing?"

So he sent Naniwa no Hitaka no Kishi to cut him down. At that time Katabu had already fled and was not there. The emperor sent Yuge no Muraji Toyoho again to search through the lands and the districts and the counties. At last he was taken at Aihara in the district of Mishima, and cut down.

In the third month the emperor meant to strike Silla himself. A god warned the emperor, "Do not go." Therefore the emperor did not go.

Then he gave command to Ki no Oyumi no Sukune, Soga no Karako no Sukune, Ōtomo no Katari no Muraji, and Okahi no Sukune:

"Silla dwells in the western land, and for generations it has called itself our subject. It did not fail in coming to court and in sending its visits, and it fulfilled its duty of tribute well. Now that I have come to be king over all under heaven, it has thrown itself beyond Tsushima and hidden its tracks beyond Jalla. It has blocked the tribute of Goryeo and swallowed the castles of Baekje. More than that, it has again left off coming to court and sending its visits, and it does not keep its duty of tribute. It has the wild heart of a wolf cub: when it is full it flies away, and when it is hungry it clings. You four lords I make my great generals. Strike with the king's soldiers and bring down the punishment of heaven."

Then Ki no Oyumi no Sukune brought his trouble before the emperor through Ōtomo no Muroya no Ōmuraji: "Though your servant is clumsy and weak, I will humbly obey the command. Only my wife has now died, and there is no one to care for me and keep me. I beg you, my lord, to set this matter fully before the emperor."

So Ōtomo no Muroya no Ōmuraji set it forth in full. The emperor heard and grieved, and sighed as though he would fall down. He gave Oshiama, an uneme of Kibi no Kamitsumichi, to Ki no Oyumi no Sukune to go with him and care for him and keep him. Then he pushed the wheel of his chariot and sent him on his way.

Ki no Oyumi no Sukune and the rest went into Silla at once, cutting down the districts on either side as they went.

The king of Silla heard in the night the drums of the government army sounding on every side, and knowing that the land of Tak (喙) had all been taken, he fled in confusion with some hundreds of mounted soldiers. So he was greatly defeated.

Oyumi no Sukune gave chase and cut down the enemy general within his own camp. The land of Tak was all brought to peace, but the remnant would not surrender. Ki no Oyumi no Sukune also gathered his soldiers

and met with Ōtomo no Katari no Muraji and his men. The army was mightily heartened again. They fought with the remnant.

On this evening Ōtomo no Katari no Muraji and Ki no Okasaki no Kume no Muraji both spent all their strength and died.

Tsumaro, a follower of Katari no Muraji and of the same surname, came into the camp afterward and looked for his master. He went among the soldiers seeking him, and came out and asked, "Where is my master, my lord Ōtomo?"

A man told him, "Your masters have indeed fallen by the enemy's hand." And he pointed out the place where the bodies lay.

Tsumaro heard this and stamped his foot and cried out, "My master is already fallen. How should I alone be whole?" With that he ran at the enemy again and lost his life at the same hour.

After a while the remnant drew back of themselves. The government army also drew back after them. Ki no Oyumi no Sukune, the great general, fell sick and died.

In summer, the fifth month, Ki no Oiwa no Sukune heard that his father was dead. So he went over to Silla, took the soldiers and horses, the ships, the offices, and the several lesser offices that Okahi no Sukune had charge of, and used their power and gave their orders as he alone pleased.

Therefore Okahi no Sukune bore a deep grudge against Oiwa no Sukune. So he falsely told Karako no Sukune, "Oiwa no Sukune said to me, 'The day when I take over the offices that Karako no Sukune has charge of is not far off.' I beg you to guard them well."

Because of this a rift arose between Karako no Sukune and Oiwa no Sukune.

Then the king of Baekje heard that the several generals of Japan had a rift over a small matter, and he sent a man to Karako no Sukune and the rest and said, "I wish to look at the borders of the land. I beg you to come."

So Karako no Sukune and the rest went with their reins side by side. When they came to the river, Oiwa no Sukune watered his horse at the river.

At this time Karako no Sukune shot at Oiwa no Sukune from behind and hit the rear bow of his saddle. Oiwa no Sukune was startled and looked round and shot, and knocked Karako no Sukune into the middle of the water and killed him.

Because these three subjects had quarreled among themselves before, they raised a disorder on the road, and they turned back without reaching the royal palace of Baekje.

Then the uneme Oshiama followed the bier of Oyumi no Sukune and came to Japan. At last she made her trouble known to Ōtomo no Muroya no Ōmuraji: "I do not know the place where he should be buried. I beg that a good ground be found by divination."

The Ōmuraji set this forth at once. The emperor gave command to the Ōmuraji:

"Ki no Oyumi no Sukune, the great general, leapt like a dragon and glared like a tiger. He looked far out over the eight quarters, struck down and covered the bands that turned against us, and broke the enemy in the four seas. And so his body was worn out over ten thousand li, and his life fell in the three Han (三韓). We should grieve for him and pity him. Look to the burying of the dead.

And you, my lord Ōtomo, are a man of the same land and a near neighbor of the lords of the Ki, and it is long since you came."

Then the Ōmuraji took the command and made Haji no Muraji Otori build a tomb at the village of Tamuwa, and there he was buried.

Therefore Oshiama was glad and could not keep silent, and she sent six men, the Kara servants Muro, Emaro, Otomaro, Mikura, Ōkura, and Hari, to the Ōmuraji. These are the Iehitobe of the village of Kashimada in Kibi no Kamitsumichi.

Apart from these, Okahi no Sukune had come following the bier of Ki no Oyumi no Sukune. At that time he stayed alone in the land of Tsuno, and he made Yamatoko no Muraji offer the mirror of Yata to Ōtomo no Ōmuraji, and begged him, saying, "I cannot bear to serve the heavenly court together with the lord of the Ki. Therefore I beg leave to stay and dwell in the land of Tsuno."

So the Ōmuraji set it before the emperor, and he was allowed to stay and dwell in the land of Tsuno. This is the beginning of the Tsuno no Omi dwelling in the land of Tsuno and being named Tsuno no Omi.

In autumn, the seventh month, the first day being an imjin day, the land of Kawachi reported:

"The daughter of Tanabe no Fubito Hakuson, a man of the district of Asukabe, is the wife of Fumi no Obito Karyu, a man of the district of Furuichi. Hakuson heard that his daughter had borne a child, and he went to his son-in-law's house to give him joy, and came back on a moonlit night. Below the tomb of Homuta at the hill of Ichibiko he met a man riding a red steed.

"That horse at times bent its body and went like a duck, and of a sudden it rose like a dragon. It held its neck high and pricked its ears, and it was like a wild goose startled into flight. Its body was beyond the common, and its form was fine and excellent.

"Hakuson came up and looked, and in his heart he wished to have it. So he whipped the dark blue horse he was riding, and brought its head alongside and matched reins with it. But the red steed leapt ahead and cut through the dust and ran so fast that it seemed to vanish. Then the dark blue horse fell behind, and its feet grew idle, and it could follow no more.

"The man who rode the steed knew what Hakuson wished, and so he stopped, and they exchanged horses, and greeted each other and parted.

"Hakuson got the steed and was greatly pleased. He rode into the stable, took off the saddle, gave it fodder, and slept. The next morning the red steed had changed and become a clay horse.

"Hakuson thought it strange in his heart, and he went back and sought the tomb of Homuta, and there was the dark blue horse among the clay horses. He took it away, and left in its place the clay horse he had been given in exchange."

In autumn, the ninth month, the first day being an eulyu day, on the muja day, Musa no Suguri Ao and his company came to Tsukushi bringing two geese that the land of Wu had offered. A dog of Mizuma no Kimi bit these geese to death.

Therefore Mizuma no Kimi was afraid and troubled and could not keep silent. He offered ten wild geese and a man who reared birds, and begged that with these his crime be redeemed. The emperor allowed it.

In winter, the tenth month, the first day being an eulmyo day, on the sinyu day, the bird keepers whom Mizuma no Kimi had offered were set in the two places of the village of Karu and the village of Iware.

In summer, the fifth month, the first day being a sinhae day, the district of Kurita in the land of Ōmi reported, "There is a white cormorant on the shore of Tanakami." Therefore a command was given and the Kawase no Toneri were set up.

In autumn, the seventh month, there was one who fled from the land of Baekje and came over and submitted, and he gave his own name as Gwisin (貴信). It is also said that Gwisin was a man of Wu. The Kure no Kotohiki and the Ōtehito Yakatamaro of Iware and their like are his descendants.

In winter, the tenth month, a dog of a man of Uda bit to death a bird of the office in charge of birds. The emperor was angry. He had the man's face tattooed and made him one of the Torikaibe.

Then a laborer of the land of Shinano and a laborer of the land of Musashi slept in the same place and said to each other, "Ah, in our land the birds are piled as high as a small tomb. We eat them morning and evening and still there are some left over. Now the emperor tattoos a man's face for the sake of one bird. This is beyond all reason. He is a lord of ill conduct."

The emperor heard of it and made them gather those birds and pile them up. The laborers could not do it at all. So a command was given and they were made Torikaibe.

In summer, the fourth month, the first day being a byeongja day, on the gimyo day, Musa no Suguri Ao and Hinokuma no Tami no Tsukai Hakatoko set out as envoys to the land of Wu.

In winter, the tenth month, the first day being a gyeyu day, on the imo day, the emperor ordered Tsuge no Mita the carpenter to build a storeyed house for the first time.

Then Mita went up onto the upper storey and ran swiftly to every side, and he was like a thing in flight. At that time an uneme of Ise looked up at the upper storey, and as she wondered at his swift going, she fell down in the courtyard and spilled the food she was carrying.

The emperor at once suspected that Mita had forced himself upon this uneme, and he thought to punish him himself, and gave him over to the Mononobe.

At that time Hata no Sake no Kimi was sitting in attendance, and he wished to bring the emperor to understand by the sound of a koto, and he laid the koto across his knees and played it and sang:

"Kamukazeno Iseno Isenonono Sakaeo Ihofurukakite Shigatsukurumadeni Ohokimini Katakutsukahe Matsuramuto Wagainochimo Nagakumogato Ihishitakumihaya Ataratakumihaya (柯武柯噬能。伊制能。伊制能奴能。娑柯曳鳴。伊褒甫流柯枳底。志我都矩屡麻泥爾。飫褒枳濔爾。柯■倶都柯陪。麻都羅武騰。倭我伊能致謀。那我倶母鵝騰。伊比志■倶彌■夜。阿■羅陀倶彌■夜)"

— This sets down sounds only, and is not turned into meaning.

Then the emperor understood the sound of the koto and let go his crime.

In spring, the third month, Hatane no Mikoto, the great-great-grandson of Sahohiko, secretly had to do with the uneme Yamanobe no Oshimako. The emperor heard of it and gave Hatane no Mikoto over to Mononobe no Me no Ōmuraji to be taken and reproved.

Hatane no Mikoto redeemed his crime and his fault with eight horses and eight great swords. Then he sang:

"Yamanobeno Koshimakoyueni Hitodorafu Umanoyatsugiwa Oshikekumonashi (耶麼能謎能。故思麼古唹衞爾。比登涅羅賦。宇麼能耶都擬播。鳴思稽矩那欺)"

— This sets down sounds only, and is not turned into meaning.

Me no Ōmuraji heard it and reported it. The emperor had the goods of Hatane no Mikoto laid out on the ground beneath the orange tree beside the market street of Ega, and at last he gave the village of Nagano in Ega to Mononobe no Me no Ōmuraji.

In autumn, the eighth month, Ayashi no Omaro, a man of Miinokuma in the land of Harima, was strong and hard of heart, and he did fierce and cruel things as he pleased. He robbed men in the middle of the road and stopped their passing, and he cut off the ships of the traders and took everything from them. Besides this he broke the law of the land and paid no tax.

So the emperor sent Kasuga no Ono no Omi Oki with a hundred soldiers who would risk death, and with torches in their hands they surrounded the house and burned it.

At that time a white dog came out fiercely from the midst of the flame and chased Oki no Omi. Its size was that of a horse. Oki no Omi did not change the color of his face. He drew his sword and cut it down. At once it changed and became Ayashi no Omaro.

In autumn, the ninth month, Inabe no Mane the carpenter took a stone for his block and swung his axe and shaped the timber. He cut all day long, and he never missed and spoiled the blade.

The emperor came there to look on, and he wondered and asked, "Do you never miss and strike the stone?"

Mane answered, "I never miss at all."

Then the emperor called the uneme together, took off their robes and skirts, put loincloths on them, and made them wrestle in the open. Then Mane stopped a while and looked up and laughed. Without his knowing it his hand missed and spoiled the blade.

The emperor reproved him for this: "Whose servant are you? You did not fear me, and with a crooked heart you answered me lightly." Then he gave him over to the Mononobe to be punished in the fields.

Now there was a skilled man who had worked with him, and he grieved for Mane and made a song:

"Atarashiki Inabenotakumi Kakeshisuminawa Shiganakeba Darekakakemuyo Atarasuminawa (婀■羅斯枳。偉儺謎能陀倶彌。柯該志須彌儺■。旨我那稽麼。■例柯柯該武預。婀■羅須彌儺■)"

The emperor heard this song, and instead he repented, and a heart of pity came to him, and he sighed and lamented as though he would fall down. "I came near to losing a man."

So he set a messenger of pardon on a black colt of Kai and made him gallop to the place of punishment, to stop it and let the man go and loose his bonds. And again he made a song:

"Nubatamano Kahinokurokoma Kurakiseba Inochishinamashi Kahinokurokoma (農播■磨能。柯彼能矩盧古磨。矩羅枳制播。伊能致志儺磨志。柯彼能倶盧古磨)"

— These two songs set down sounds only, and are not turned into meaning.

In spring, the first month, the first day being a byeongin day, on the muin day, Musa no Suguri Ao and his company came to the harbor of Suminoe with the envoy of Wu, bringing the men of skilled hands whom Wu had offered: the Ayahatori and the Kurehatori, and the sewing women Ehime and Otohime and their like.

In this month a road was opened through Shihatsu for the guests of Wu, and it was named Kuresaka.

In the third month the omi and the muraji were ordered to go out and meet the envoy of Wu. Then the men of Wu were settled at Hinokuma no. Therefore the place was named Kurehara.

The sewing woman Ehime was offered to the god of Ōmiwa, and Otohime was made one of the Aya no Kinunuibe. The Ayahatori, the Kurehatori, and the Kinunui are the ancestors of the Asuka no Kinunuibe and the Ise no Kinunui.

In summer, the fourth month, the first day being a gabo day, the emperor wished to entertain the men of Wu, and he asked the assembled ministers one by one, "Who would do well as the one to eat with them?"

The assembled ministers all said, "Ne no Omi would do well."

The emperor then ordered Ne no Omi to be the one to eat with them. So he entertained the men of Wu at Takanukihara in Isonokami.

At that time he secretly sent a toneri to look at how Ne no Omi was arrayed. The toneri reported, "The jewel necklace that Ne no Omi wears is of great worth and the finest of all. And many men say that he wore it also when he went before to meet the envoys."

So the emperor wished to see it himself, and he ordered the omi and the muraji to array themselves as at the feast, and he called them before the hall and looked at them.

The empress looked up to heaven, sobbed, wept, and grieved. The emperor asked, "Why do you weep?"

The empress left her seat and answered, "This jewel necklace is the thing that my elder brother Prince Ōkusaka offered for me long ago, when he took the command of Emperor Anaho and offered me to your majesty. Therefore a doubt of Ne no Omi came to me, and without my knowing it the tears flowed and I wept for sorrow."

The emperor heard this and was startled and greatly angered, and he reproved Ne no Omi hard.

Ne no Omi answered, "It is a crime worthy of death, a crime worthy of death. It is truly your servant's fault."

A command was given: "From this time on Ne no Omi, and his children and his children's children to the eightieth generation, shall not stand in the ranks of the assembled ministers."

Then he was to be cut down. Ne no Omi fled and hid, and coming to Hine he built an inaki and waited for battle. In the end he was killed by the government army.

The emperor ordered the offices in charge to divide his descendants in two. One part was made the people of the Ōkusakabe and given to the empress, and one part was given to the Chinu no Agatanushi to be bearers of burdens.

Then the descendants of Naniwa no Kishi Hikaka were sought out and given a surname, and they were called the Ōkusakabe no Kishi. The story of Hikaka and his people is in the record of Emperor Anaho.

After the matter had settled, One no Omi lay down at night and said to a man, "The emperor's castle is not strong. My father's castle is strong."

The emperor heard this word told to him, and he sent a man to look at the house of Ne no Omi, and it was indeed as the word had said. Therefore he took him and killed him.

That the line of Ne no Omi became the Sakamoto no Omi began from this.

The people of the Hata were scattered, and the omi and the muraji used them each as they pleased and did not leave them to the Hata no Miyatsuko. Therefore Hata no Miyatsuko Sake was much troubled, and he served the emperor. The emperor loved him, and gave a command to gather the people of the Hata and give them to Hata no Sake no Kimi.

The lord then led a hundred and eighty kinds of Hata, and they paid their labor and their tax. The silk they offered filled the court and was piled high. Therefore he was given a surname and called Uzumasa (禹豆麻佐).

In autumn, the seventh month, a command was given that mulberry be planted in the lands and counties fit for mulberry. The people of the Hata were also scattered and moved, and made to pay their labor and their tax.

In winter, the tenth month, a command was given to gather the Ayabe and to appoint their tomo no miyatsuko, and he was given a surname and called Atai.

In spring, the third month, the first day being a jeongchuk day, on the muin day, a command was given to the Haji no Muraji and their like to offer men who should have charge of the clean vessels for the morning and evening table.

Then Ake, the ancestor of the Haji no Muraji, offered the private people's be of Kuse and the village of Sasa in the land of Yamashiro, the village of Uchi and the village of Fushimi in the land of Yamashiro, the village of Fujikata in the land of Ise, and Tanba, Tajima, and Inaba. They were named the Nie no Hajibe.

In autumn, the eighth month, the first day being a gihae day, on the musin day, Mononobe no Ushiro no Sukune and Mononobe no Me no Muraji were sent to strike Asake no Iratsuko of Ise.

Asake no Iratsuko heard that the government army was coming, and he met them in battle at Aohaka in Iga. He boasted of his own good shooting and said to the government army, "Who among you can stand against the hand of Asake no Iratsuko?" The arrow he shot went through a double coat of armor. The government army were all afraid.

Ushiro no Sukune did not dare to go forward and strike, and they held out against each other for two days and one night.

Then Mononobe no Me no Muraji took a great sword in his own hand, and he made Tsukushi no Kiku no Mononobe no Ōonote take up a shield, and he cried out to the men and went forward with them.

Asake no Iratsuko saw them from afar and shot, and the arrow went through Ōonote's shield and his double armor and went an inch into the flesh besides. Ōonote covered Mononobe no Me no Muraji with the shield. Me no Muraji then took Asake no Iratsuko and cut him down.

Therefore Ushiro no Sukune was ashamed that he had not won, and for seven days he made no report.

The emperor asked the ministers in attendance, "Why does Ushiro no Sukune make no report?"

Then Sanuki no Tamushiwake was there, and he came forward and said, "Ushiro no Sukune is full of fear. In two days and one night he did not take Asake no Iratsuko, and it was Mononobe no Me no Muraji, leading Tsukushi no Kiku no Mononobe no Ōonote, who took Asake no Iratsuko."

The emperor heard this and was angry, and at once he took away the Inabe that Ushiro no Sukune held and gave them to Mononobe no Me no Muraji.

In spring, the third month, the first day being a byeongin day, on the muin day, a command was given and the Anahobe were set up.

In winter the king of Goryeo raised a great army and struck Baekje and made an end of it. Then the few who were left gathered and dwelt below a storehouse. Their soldiers and their food were already spent, and their grief and their weeping were very deep.

Then the several generals of Goryeo said to the king, "The temper of Baekje is beyond the common. Whenever your servant looks at them, I lose my wits without knowing it. I fear they will stretch out and grow again, and I beg that we make an end of them at last."

The king said, "That is not right. I have heard that the land of Baekje has been the gwanga (官家) of the land of Japan, and that this is long and old in its beginning. And that its king went in and served the emperor is known to all the neighbors on four sides."

So they left off.

In spring, the third month, the emperor heard that Baekje had been broken by Goryeo, and he gave Gumanari (久麻那利) to King Munju (汶洲王), and saved that country and raised it up again.

At that time all men said, "Though the kin of the land of Baekje were already destroyed and were gathered below a storehouse, they leaned truly upon the emperor, and their country was set up again."

In spring, the first month, the first day being a giyu day, Prince Shiraka was made crown prince.

In autumn, the seventh month, Mizunoe no Urashimako, a man of Tsutsukawa in the district of Yosa in the land of Tanba, went out in a boat and fished, and at last he took a great turtle. It changed at once and became a woman. Then Urashimako was taken with her and made her his wife. They followed each other into the sea and came to Mount Hōrai and saw all the company of the immortals. The story is in another book.

In summer, the fourth month, King Mungeun (文斤王) of Baekje died. The emperor held that Malda (末多王), the second of the five sons of King Gonji (昆攴王), was clever though young in years. He called him by command into the palace, stroked his head and his face with his own hand, admonished him kindly, and made him king of that country. Then he gave him weapons, and sent five hundred soldiers of the land of Tsukushi with him to guard him as far as his country. This is King Dongseong (東城王).

In this year Baekje added to the tribute and the levy (賦) it offered, beyond what it had always given. Achi no Omi and Umakai no Omi of Tsukushi and their like led ships and soldiers and struck Goryeo.

In autumn, the seventh month, the first day being a sinchuk day, the emperor fell ill and lay down and could not look to affairs. He gave a command: "In the weighing of rewards and punishments, whether the matter be great or small, leave it all to the crown prince."

In the eighth month, the first day being a gyeongo day, on the byeongja day, the emperor's illness grew worse. He took leave of all his officers, and held their hands and sobbed, and died in the great hall.

He left his last command to Ōtomo no Muroya no Ōmuraji and Yamato no Aya no Tsuka no Atai:

"Now all under heaven has become one house, the smoke of the cooking fires rises over ten thousand li, the people are at peace, and the barbarians on four sides come as guests and submit. This too is the will of heaven, which would have the land at peace. And so I made my heart small and drove myself on, and was careful day after day, and this was, I think, for the people's sake.

"The omi, the muraji, and the tomo no miyatsuko come to court day by day, and the kuni no tsukasa and the kōri no tsukasa gather at court in their seasons. How should they not give their whole hearts? My admonishing has been kind, for the duty between us is that of lord and subject, and the feeling is that of father and child as well. I wished to lean upon the wisdom and the strength of the omi and the muraji, and upon the glad hearts of those within and without, and so to keep all under the wide heaven in long peace and gladness.

"Without warning I met with illness, and it has stayed long and has come to be grave. This is the common lot of a man's life, and what is there to say of it? Only the robes and caps of the court and the country are not yet fine and fair, and the work of teaching and changing, and the government and the punishments, are still not all that they should be. When I raise words and think of this, only regret is left to me.

"My years this year have passed a certain number, and I will not say again that I die early. My strength and my spirit were worn out and spent all at one time. Such things were not for my own body from the first, but only that I might nourish the people in peace, and it is for this that I have come to be as I am.

"When a man has children and grandchildren, who does not set his heart on them? Yet since this is a matter for all under heaven, feeling must be cut off.

"Now Prince Hoshikawa holds a crooked and ill temper in his heart, and brotherly love is wanting in his conduct. A man of old said, 'For knowing a subject there is none like his lord, and for knowing a son there is none like his father.' Should Hoshikawa get his will and rule house and land with him, then killing and shaming would surely reach the omi and the muraji on every side, and a harsh poison would flow out upon the people.

"Now an ill child is a thing the people already hate, and a good child is enough to carry the great work upon his shoulders.

"This is a matter of my own house, yet by reason it cannot be hidden.

"The people's be of the ōmuraji are wide and great and fill the land. The crown prince stands in the place of one who is to follow me, and his goodness and his filial heart are widely heard of. By his conduct and his work he can fulfill my will. If you rule all under heaven together with him, then though I close my eyes, what more should I regret?"

At this time Kibi no Omi Oshiro, the general who was striking Silla, came to the land of Kibi and passed his house. The five hundred Emishi whom he led behind him heard that the emperor was dead, and they said to each other, "The emperor who ruled our land is dead. The time must not be lost."

So they gathered and bound themselves together and fell upon the districts nearby.

Then Oshiro came from his house and met the Emishi at the port of Saba, and they closed and fought, and he shot at the Emishi. Some leapt and some crouched, and they dodged the arrows well, and in the end he could not shoot them.

Therefore Oshiro stood on the shore and plucked his bowstring for nothing. Then he shot dead two companies of those who leapt and crouched. When the arrows of his two quivers were spent, he called to the boatmen for arrows. The boatmen were afraid and drew back of themselves.

Then Oshiro set his bow upright, took hold of the end of it, and sang:

"Michiniafuya Oshironoko Amenikoso Kikoezuarame Kuniniwa Kikoetena (濔致爾阿賦耶。鳴之慮能古。阿毎爾擧曾。枳擧曳儒阿羅毎。矩爾爾播。枳擧曳底那)"

— This sets down sounds only, and is not turned into meaning.

When the song was done he cut down several men himself. He pursued them again as far as the port of Urakake in the land of Tanba, and pressed them hard and killed them all.