Emperor Kenzō顯宗天皇

Emperor Woke (弘計天皇) was the grandson of Emperor Ōe no Izahowake and the son of Prince Ichinobe no Oshiha. His mother was called Haehime.

The emperor had long lived on the borders, and he knew all the cares and hardships of the people. Whenever he saw a wrong bent out of shape, he felt as if his own body had fallen into a ditch. He spread virtue and gave out kindness, so that his rule and his commands went abroad. He helped the poor and cared for widows, and all under heaven drew close to him.

In the third year of Emperor Anaho, in the tenth month, the emperor's father, Prince Ichinobe no Oshiha, and Saekibe no Nakachi of his household guard were killed by Emperor Ōhatsuse at Kayano. They were then buried in one pit.

When the emperor and Prince Oke heard that their father had been shot dead, they were afraid and both fled and hid themselves.

Kusakabe no Muraji Omi of the household guard, and his son Atahiko, secretly took the emperor and Prince Oke away and fled the trouble to the Yosa district in the land of Taniwa.

Omi then changed his name and called himself Tatoku. He still feared that he would be put to death, so from there he fled into the stone chamber on Mount Shijimi in the land of Harima and hanged himself.

The emperor still did not know where Omi had gone. He urged his elder brother, Prince Oke, and they went to the Akashi district in the land of Harima. They both changed their names and called themselves the boys of Taniwa, and they went to serve the head of the granary of Shijimi. Atahiko did not leave them all this while, and he held firmly to the courtesy of a subject.

In the second year of Emperor Shiraka, in winter, the eleventh month, Iyo no Kumebe no Odate, the kuni no tsukasa of Harima and the distant ancestor of the Yamabe no Muraji, himself looked over the offerings of the new grain in the Akashi district. It happened that the head of the granary of Shijimi had built a new room and was feasting there, carrying the night on into the day.

Then the emperor said to his elder brother, Prince Oke. "We have shunned the trouble here, and the years have passed more than several ki (紀). The time to show our name and to make our rank clear has come this very night."

Prince Oke sighed in sorrow. "To show ourselves and be harmed, or to keep our bodies whole and escape the evil. Which of the two?"

The emperor said. "I am the grandson of Emperor Izahowake. Yet I serve another and suffer in herding his cattle and horses. How is that better than showing my name and being harmed?"

At last he and Prince Oke held each other and wept, and they could not stop themselves.

Prince Oke said. "Then who but my younger brother can raise up so great a purpose and make it known?"

The emperor firmly declined. "I have no talent. How should I dare to set forth virtue and works?"

Prince Oke said. "My brother's fine talent and wise virtue. There is nothing beyond them."

In this way they gave place to each other two or three times, and in the end the emperor took it upon himself to speak out.

Together they went outside the room and sat in the lower place. The head of the granary told them to sit beside the hearth and had them hold the torches on the right and the left.

The night grew deep and the wine was at its height. When the dancing had gone round in turn, the head of the granary said to Odate.

"I look at this one who holds the torch. He honors the noble and lowers himself. He puts others first and himself behind. He keeps his bearing with reverence, and he draws back and gives way and makes the rites clear. He may be called a gentleman."

Then Odate stroked the strings of his koto and gave a command to the one who held the torch. "Rise and dance."

At this the brothers gave way to each other and did not rise for a long while. Odate scolded them. "Why so slow? Rise quickly and dance."

Prince Oke rose and finished his dance. The emperor rose next, set his robe and girdle in order himself, and spoke a blessing on the new room.

"The young room raised and built, and the kudzu roots of it. The pillars raised and built are the heart of the master of this house, set firm. The ridgepole and the beams lifted into place are the heart of the master of this house, grown thick as a wood. The rafters laid on are the heart of the master of this house, set in even order. The reed blinds laid on are the heart of the master of this house, made level. The ropes and vines bound and tied are the life of the master of this house, made firm. The grass and leaves thatched over are the wealth of the master of this house, running over.

Izumo is newly broken land. With ten handfuls of the rice ears of that newly broken land, wine is brewed in the shallow jar, and it is drunk and eaten with relish.

My children. I raise my arms like the horns of the stag on this ashihiki hill beside us and dance, and it is because the good wine is not bought for a price in the market of Ega but is struck up and given with open palms. I am of the company of Tokoyo."

When the blessing was finished, he took up the tune and sang.

"inamushiro kahasohiyanagi (伊儺武詩廬。呵簸泝比野儺擬)"

"mizuyukeba nabikiokitachi sononewausezu (寐逗愈凱麼。儺弭企於巳陀智。曾能泥播宇世儒)"

— this is written for its sound, and it is not rendered by meaning.

Odate said to him. "How fine. I beg to hear it again."

The emperor then made a dance of a special kind and cried out. "Yamato is that field of thatch grass, the field of low thatch grass. I, the younger brother, am the one."

Odate wondered at this deeply. He had him sing it again.

The emperor cried out. "As the holy cedar of Furu at Isonokami has its root cut and its top cut off, so I am the descendant of Ame Yorozu Kuni Yorozu Oshiwa no Mikoto, who ruled all under heaven at the palace of Ichinobe."

Odate was greatly startled. He left his seat, lost his color, and bowed twice. He served him and supplied his needs, and he led his people to bow down in reverence.

Then he called out all the people of the district and built a palace, and in a few days they set him there with honor for the time being. Then he went up to the capital and asked that the two princes be met and brought.

Emperor Shiraka heard it, rejoiced, and sighed. "I have no child. These are fit to follow me." He settled the plan within the palace together with the great minister and the ōmuraji.

Then he had Kumebe no Odate, the kuni no tsukasa of Harima, bear the tally and lead the toneri of the right and the left, and go to Akashi and meet them with honor.

In the third year of Emperor Shiraka, in spring, the first month, the emperor came with Prince Oke to the land of Settsu. The omi and the muraji were sent bearing the tally, and they met them with a royal carriage with a blue canopy and brought them into the palace.

In summer, the fourth month, Prince Oke was set up as crown prince, and the emperor was set up as imperial prince.

In the fifth year, in spring, the first month, Emperor Shiraka died. In that month the crown prince, Prince Oke, gave up the throne to the emperor.

He did not take the seat for a long while. Therefore the emperor's elder sister, Princess Iitoyo no Ao, came to the court at the Tsunosashi palace in Oshinumi and took the government in hand, and she called herself Oshinumi no Iitoyo no Ao no Mikoto.

A poet of that age sang.

"yamatoheni migahoshimonowa oshinumino konotakakinaru tsunusashinomiya (野麻登陛爾。瀰我保指母能婆。於尸農瀰能。■能陀■紀儺屡。都奴娑之能瀰野)"

— this is written for its sound, and it is not rendered by meaning.

In winter, the eleventh month, Iitoyo no Ao no Mikoto died. She was buried in the tomb of Hanikuchi no Oka in Katsuragi.

In the twelfth month all the officials gathered in a great assembly. The crown prince Oke took the seal of the emperor and set it on the emperor's seat. He bowed twice, went down to the place of the other ministers, and said.

"This seat of the emperor is for one who has merit. That our rank was made known and that we were met and brought here was all the work of my younger brother."

He gave all under heaven to the emperor. The emperor looked to him and gave way as the younger brother, and he did not dare to ascend the throne.

He spoke also of how Emperor Shiraka had wished before to pass it to the elder brother and had set him up as crown prince, and he firmly declined again and again.

"The sun and the moon are up, and still the torch is not put out. Is that not hard for their light? The timely rain is falling, and still water is poured on the fields. Is that not toil in vain? What a younger brother should hold dear is this. To serve his elder brother, to plan and escape from trouble, to make virtue clear and undo what is tangled, and not to take the seat. If he takes the seat, it is not the reverence of a younger brother. I, Woke, cannot bear to take it. That the elder is loving and the younger is reverent is a law that cannot be changed. So I have heard from many old men. How should I alone make light of it?"

The crown prince Oke said.

"Emperor Shiraka, because I was the elder brother, took up the affairs of all under heaven and gave them to me first. I am ashamed of it. It was the great king who first set up this good escape, and those who heard of it sighed. He made known that he was the grandson of an emperor, and those who saw it shed tears. The officials who had grieved

took up with joy the blessing of living beneath heaven, and the sorrowing people met the kindness of treading the earth and were glad.

By this the four bonds were made firm, and it will flourish through ten thousand ages. The merit of it stands next to the making of all things, and the clear plan of it lights the world. How far above others, how fine. There are no words to name it.

Though I am called the elder brother, how should I take the seat first? To hold it without merit is to bring fault and regret in the end.

I have heard that the seat of the emperor cannot be left empty for long, and that the command of heaven cannot be put off with modesty. Let the great king take the altars of the land as his measure and the people as his heart."

As he spoke his feeling rose, until he shed tears.

The emperor then knew that his brother would not take the seat in the end, and he did not go against his brother's will. So he gave his consent, but he did not at once take the throne.

The age praised him for giving way in truth, and they said. "It is right. When brothers are at peace, all under heaven turns to their virtue. When a man is generous to his kin, the people rise up in kindness."

In the first year, in spring, the first month, on the gisa day that was the first of the month, the great minister and the ōmuraji and the rest addressed him.

"The crown prince Oke is bright and full in his holy virtue, and he has given up all under heaven. Your Majesty is of the true line. You should take up the great beginning, become the lord of the rites of the suburbs and the ancestral shrine, and carry on the endless deeds of your forefathers. Above, it answers the heart of heaven. Below, it satisfies the hope of the people.

Yet you are not willing to ascend the throne, and so the outer lands (蕃國) of gold and silver, the many officials, and men far and near are all left in disappointment. The command of heaven has settled where it rests, and the crown prince pushes it away and gives place, so that his holy virtue grows greater and his blessing is brighter. From your childhood you have been diligent, modest and reverent, kind and gentle. It is right that you take up your elder brother's word and carry on the great work."

He gave his command. "So be it."

Then he called the nobles and all the officials to the Yatsuri palace at Chikatsu Asuka and ascended the throne of the emperor. All the officials who stood in attendance rejoiced.

In that month the empress Naniwa no Ono no Ōkimi was set up, and a pardon was given to all under heaven.

In the second month, the first day being a musul day, on the imin day, he issued a decree.

"The former king met with many troubles and lost his life in the wild fields. I was of a young age then, and I fled and hid myself. Beyond my deserving I was met and brought back, and I have taken up the great work. I have sought his bones far and wide, but no one is able to tell where they are."

When the decree was finished, he wept and cried aloud with the crown prince Oke, and in his grief he could not master himself.

In that month the old people were called together, and the emperor asked them all himself.

There was one old woman who came forward and said. "Okime knows where the bones are buried. I beg to show it to you."

Then the emperor and the crown prince Oke took the old woman with them and went to Kayano at Kutawata in the land of Ōmi. They dug there and looked, and it was as the woman had said.

They stood at the pit and cried out in grief, and the more they spoke the more bitterly they wept. From old times there has been nothing so cruel as this.

The body of Nakachi lay mixed with the bones of the prince, and they could not be told apart. Then there was the nurse of Prince Iwasaka, and she said. "Nakachi had lost his upper teeth. By this they may be told apart."

By the nurse's word the skulls could be told apart, but in the end the limbs and the other bones were hard to tell apart. Therefore a pair of tombs was raised at Kayano, alike as one, and the rites of burial were no different for the one and the other.

A decree was given that the old woman Okime should live in a place near the palace. She was honored richly and given help, so that she lacked nothing.

In that month a decree was given. "The old woman is alone and weak, and walking is not easy for her. Let a rope be stretched for her to hold as she goes, and let her be helped in and out. Hang a bell at the end of the rope, so that no servant need be troubled to announce her. When she comes in, let her ring it, and I will know that you have come."

Then the old woman followed the decree and came ringing the bell. The emperor heard the sound of the bell from far off and sang.

"asajihara osoneosugi momozutafu nudeyurakumoyo okimekurashimo (阿佐膩簸■。嗚贈禰嗚須擬。謨謀逗■甫。奴底喩羅倶慕與。於岐毎倶羅之慕)"

— this is written for its sound, and it is not rendered by meaning.

In the third month, on the day of the first snake, he went to the rear garden and held a feast by the winding water (曲水).

In summer, the fourth month, the first day being a jeongyu day, on the jeongmi day, he issued a decree.

"What moves the people for a lord of men is only the giving of office, and what makes a land flourish is only the rewarding of merit. Kumebe no Odate, the former kuni no tsukasa of Harima, sought me out, met me, and raised me up. His merit is great. Do not find it hard to say what you wish for."

Odate gave thanks and said. "The office of the mountains is what I have wished for from the first."

So he was given the office of the mountains, and his family name was changed and he was given the name Yamabe no Muraji. The Kibi no Omi were made his seconds, and the Yamamoribe were made his people. Goodness was praised and merit made known, kindness was repaid and generosity answered, so that the love shown him was beyond all others and none could match his wealth.

In the fifth month, Sasakiyama no Kimi Karabukuro no Sukune was bound up in the plot to kill Prince Oshiha. He came to his punishment and knocked his head on the ground, and his words were full of grief. The emperor could not bear to put him to death. He made him a keeper of the tomb and had him guard the mountain as well. His name was struck from the registers and he was made to belong to the Yamabe no Muraji.

Only Yamato no Sukune, because of the merit of his younger sister Okime, was given back his old family name of Sasakiyama no Kimi.

In the sixth month, he went to the hall for escaping the heat, had music played, gathered the many ministers, and set out wine and food for them. In this year the year sign was eulchuk.

In the second year, in spring, the third month, on the day of the first snake, he went to the rear garden and held a feast by the winding water. At this time the nobles and the great officers, the omi, the muraji, the kuni no miyatsuko and the tomo no miyatsuko were gathered in gladness for the feast, and the many ministers called out ten thousand years again and again.

In autumn, the eighth month, on the gimi day that was the first of the month, the emperor said to the crown prince Oke.

"Our father, the former king, was without fault, and Emperor Ōhatsuse shot him dead and threw his bones away in the open fields. To this day they have not been found. Anger and sighing fill my breast. I have lain down weeping and walked crying out, and it was my will to wipe out the shame by paying back the enemy.

I have heard that a man does not live under the same heaven with his father's enemy, that against the enemy of a brother he does not turn his weapon back, and that with the enemy of a friend he does not live in one land. Even the son of a common man, while his father's enemy lives, sleeps on straw with his shield for a pillow, does not take office, and does not live with him in one land. If he meets him in the market or at court, he does not turn his weapon back but fights him at once.

How much more for me, who have stood as the son of heaven for two years now. I would break open that tomb, crush the bones, and scatter them. Is it not filial to pay him back in this way?"

The crown prince Oke sobbed and could not answer, and then he warned him against it.

"It must not be. Emperor Ōhatsuse was of the true line. He held the ten thousand affairs and shone upon all under heaven, and the Chinese and the barbarians looked up to him with joy. He was the person of an emperor. Our father, the former king, was the son of an emperor, but he met with hardship and did not rise to the seat of heaven. Seen in this way, the high and the low are set apart. If you bear to break open his tomb, whom will you serve as lord to worship the spirits of heaven? This is the first reason it must not be broken.

Again, if you and I, Oke, had not met with the deep love and the special kindness of Emperor Shiraka, how should we have come to this precious seat? Emperor Ōhatsuse was the father of Emperor Shiraka.

I, Oke, have heard from many old and wise men, and the old and wise men say this. 'There is no word that is not answered, and there is no virtue that is not repaid. To have kindness and not repay it is the deepest ruin of good custom.'

Your Majesty holds the land, and the report of your virtue is heard far over all under heaven. But if the breaking of a tomb is turned about and made known in the Chinese lands and on the borders, then I, Oke, fear that you cannot come before the land and hold the people as your children. This is the second reason it must not be broken."

The emperor said. "You are right." He had the work stopped.

In the ninth month, Okime, being old and worn out, begged to go back. "My strength has failed, and I am old and thin and weak. I must hold the rope and be helped, and I cannot walk. I beg to go home to the land of my fathers and to end my days there."

The emperor heard it and pitied her, and he gave her a thousand lengths of goods. He grieved at the parting of the ways and felt again how hard it would be to look for another meeting, and so he gave her a song.

"okimemoyo afuminookime asuyoriwa miyamagakurite miezukamoaramu (於岐毎慕與。阿甫彌能於岐毎。阿須用利簸。彌野磨我倶利底、彌曳孺■謨阿羅牟)"

— this is written for its sound, and it is not rendered by meaning.

In winter, the tenth month, the first day being a muo day, on the gyehae day, he feasted the many ministers. At this time all under heaven was at peace, the people had no forced labor, the grain ripened well year after year, and the people were full and rich. A bushel of rice cost one silver coin, and cattle and horses covered the fields.

In the third year, in spring, the second month, on the jeongsa day that was the first of the month, Ahe no Omi Kotoshiro took a command and went out as envoy to Imna.

Then the god of the moon came upon a man and said. "My ancestor Takamimusuhi had a share in the merit of shaping heaven and earth. Land and people should be offered to me, the god of the moon. If it is given to me as I ask, there will be blessing and good fortune."

Because of this Kotoshiro returned to the capital and reported it in full. Utaarata was offered, and Oshimi no Sukune, the distant ancestor of the agatanushi of Iki, served at the shrine.

In the third month, on the day of the first snake, he went to the rear garden and held a feast by the winding water.

In summer, the fourth month, the first day being a byeongjin day, on the gyeongsin day, the god of the sun came upon a man and said to Ahe no Omi Kotoshiro. "Offer the fields of Iware to my ancestor Takamimusuhi."

Kotoshiro reported it at once, and fourteen chō of field were offered as the god had asked. The Shimotsuagata no Atai of Tsushima served at the shrine.

On the mujin day the Fukusabe were appointed.

On the gyeongjin day the emperor died in the Yatsuri palace.

In this year Ki no Oiwa no Sukune bestrode Imna and held it. He went to and fro with Goryeo, and he would be king of the Three Han (三韓) in the west, so he made ready his palace and offices (宮府) and called himself a holy one (神聖).

He used the plan of Jwaronagi (左魯那奇) and Tagapso (他甲肖) of Imna and killed Jeokmagihae (適莫爾解) of Baekje at Irim (爾林). He built the fortress of Daesan (帶山城) and held the eastern road against them, and he cut the landing where the grain was carried, so that their soldiers went hungry and suffered.

The king of Baekje was greatly angered. He sent Goihae (古爾解), the leader of the army (領軍), and Makgohae (莫古解), the naedu (内頭), and the rest, to lead a host and go against Daesan and attack it.

Then Oiwa no Sukune brought out his soldiers and struck back. His courage and spirit grew the stronger, he broke all that he faced, and one man of his stood against a hundred.

Before long his soldiers were spent and his strength was gone. He knew the thing would not be done, and he came back from Imna.

Because of this the land of Baekje killed Jwaronagi and Tagapso and more than three hundred men.