Emperor Keitai繼體天皇

Emperor Ōdo (男大迹天皇) — his other name was Hikofuto no Mikoto. — was the fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Homuta and the son of Hikoushi no Ōkimi. His mother was called Furihime. Furihime was the seventh-generation descendant of Emperor Ikume.

The emperor's father heard that Furihime's face was fair and fine and that she had a beautiful glow. From his country house at Mio in the Takashima district of the land of Ōmi he sent a messenger to Sakanawi in Mikuni — 中 is read na. — and asked for her and took her in as his consort. In the end she bore the emperor.

When the emperor was young in years his father the prince died. Furihime then sighed and said, "I am now far from my old home. How can I keep him at my knee and rear him? I will go back to Takamuku." — Takamuku is the name of a village in the land of Echizen. — So she took the emperor and reared him.

When the emperor grew up he loved men of worth and treated the wise with courtesy, and his mind was broad.

In the eighth year, in winter, the twelfth month, on the gihae day, when the emperor was fifty-seven years old, Emperor Ohatsuse died. He had no sons or daughters at all, and the line of succession was likely to be cut off.

On the imja day Ōtomo no Kanamura no Ōmuraji took counsel and said,

"Now the succession is cut off and there is none. Where shall all under heaven fasten its heart? From of old until now, disaster has risen from this. Now Yamatohiko no Ōkimi, the fifth-generation descendant of Emperor Tarashinakatsuhiko, is in the Kuwata district of the land of Taniwa. Let us make trial of it. Let us set out arms, guard the carriage on both sides, and go and receive him and set him up as lord of the people."

The great ministers and the ōmuraji all followed this to a man, and they went to receive him as they had planned.

Then Yamatohiko no Ōkimi saw from afar the soldiers who came to receive him, and in fear he lost the color of his face. He fled into the mountain valleys, and no one knew where he had gone.

In the first year, in spring, the first month, the first day being a sinyu day, on the gapja day, Ōtomo no Kanamura no Ōmuraji reckoned again and took counsel. "Ōdo no Ōkimi is kind and humane by nature, dutiful and gentle. He is fit to take up the thread of heaven. Let us urge him earnestly to come forward, and let him carry on the work of the sovereign and make it flourish."

Mononobe no Arakahi no Ōmuraji and Kose no Ohito no Ōomi and the rest all said, "If we choose well among the branches and the grandsons, the worthy one is Ōdo no Ōkimi alone."

On the byeongin day they sent the omi and the muraji, bearing the tally of office and furnishing the carriage after the rule, to receive him in Mikuni. Arms guarded him on both sides, their bearing was grave and ordered, and men ran before to clear the way. All at once they arrived.

Then Emperor Ōdo was calm and at ease, and sat on a folding stool. His attendant vassals were drawn up in ranks, and it was already as if he sat as sovereign. The envoys who bore the tally were therefore respectful and wary, and they bent their hearts and gave over their lives, wishing to give their whole loyalty.

Yet within, the emperor still doubted, and for a long time he would not go.

It happened that he knew Arako, Kawachi no Umakai no Obito. He secretly sent a messenger to him, and Arako set forth in full the true mind of the great ministers and the ōmuraji in coming to receive him. He stayed two days and three nights, and at last he set out.

Then he sighed and said, "How fine you are, Umakai no Obito. If you had not sent a messenger to tell me, I would all but have been laughed at by all under heaven. The world says, 'Do not speak of noble or base. Only hold their heart heavy.' Surely this was said of such as Arako."

When he came to the throne he gave Arako rich love and favor.

On the gapsin day the emperor went and came to the palace at Kusuba.

In the second month, the first day being a sinmyo day, on the gabo day, Ōtomo no Kanamura no Ōmuraji knelt and offered up the mirror and the sword and the seal of the Son of Heaven, and bowed twice.

Emperor Ōdo declined and said, "To hold the people as one's children and to govern the land is a heavy thing. I have no talent, and I fall short of the name. I beg you, turn your thought elsewhere and choose a worthy man. I do not dare to take it on."

Ōtomo no Ōmuraji lay on the ground and pressed him firmly. Emperor Ōdo faced west and declined three times, and faced south and declined twice.

Ōtomo no Ōmuraji and the rest all said, "Your servants, bowing low, have reckoned it thus. That the great king should hold the people as his children and govern the land is most fit to be named. Your servants, for the ancestral shrine and the altars of the land, have not dared to reckon it lightly. We beg you to lean on the wish of the many, and to hear us and take it up."

Emperor Ōdo said, "The great ministers and the ōmuraji, the generals and the counselors and all the vassals push me forward. I dare not go against them." Then he took the seal.

On this day he ascended the throne. He made Ōtomo no Kanamura no Ōmuraji ōmuraji, Kose no Ohito no Ōomi great minister, and Mononobe no Arakahi no Ōmuraji ōmuraji, all as they had been before. Thereupon the great ministers and the ōmuraji each took up their office and rank.

On the gyeongja day Ōtomo no Ōmuraji made a request and said,

"Your servant has heard that when the kings before us ruled the world, without the firmness of a wall they could not hold down heaven and earth, and without the closeness of the inner palace they could not carry on the calyx of their flower.

For this reason, when Emperor Shiraka had no heir, he sent your servant's grandfather Ōtomo no Muroya no Ōmuraji to set three kinds of Shirakabe in every province — the three kinds are, first the Shirakabe no Toneri, second the Shirakabe no Kashiwade, third the Shirakabe no Yugei. — and so to leave his name to later ages. Ah, is this not a thing to grieve over?

I beg you to set up Princess Tashiraka and take her in as empress, and to send the officers of the gods to worship the gods with reverence and to seek a son for the emperor, and so to answer truly the hope of the people."

The emperor said, "It is good."

In the third month, the first day being a gyeongsin day, he gave a command:

"The gods cannot be without a master. The world cannot be without a lord. Heaven brings forth the people and sets up a head over them, to take charge and help and rear them and to keep their lives whole. The Ōmuraji has grieved that we have no son, has given his whole sincerity, and for the sake of the land has given his full loyalty age after age. How should this be in our day alone? Let the rites be made ready, and let Princess Tashiraka be received with honor."

On the gapja day he set up Princess Tashiraka as empress, and she taught and ordered what lay within. In the end she bore a son. This was Amekuni Oshiharaki Hironiwa no Mikoto. — 開 is read haraki. — He was the son of the chief wife, but he was young in years. After his two elder brothers had ruled, he held all under heaven. — The two elder brothers were Hirokuni Oshitake Kanahi no Mikoto and Takeohirokuni Oshitate no Mikoto. This is seen in the text below.

On the mujin day he gave a command. "We have heard that when there is land that is not plowed in its year, all under heaven may take hunger from it, and when there is a woman who does not weave in her year, all under heaven may take cold from it. Therefore the sovereign plows with his own hands and urges the work of farming, and the consort tends the silkworms herself and puts her strength into the work of the mulberry. How much more the many officers and the ten thousand families: can they cast away farming and weaving and still come to plenty and wealth? Let the office in charge tell it broadly to all under heaven, and let them know our heart."

On the gyeyu day he took in eight consorts. — The taking in of the eight consorts came at different times, one before another. It is written here as the gyeyu day because, when he came to the throne, he chose a good day and first paid his respects in the rear palace. All the rest follow this.

The first consort was the daughter of Owari no Muraji Kusaka, and she was called Menokohime. — Her other name was Shikobe. — She bore two sons, and both held all under heaven. The first was Prince Magari no Ōe. This was Hirokuni Oshitake Kanahi no Mikoto. The second was Prince Hinokuma no Takata. This was Takeohirokuni Oshitate no Mikoto.

The next consort was the younger sister of Mio no Tsunoori no Kimi, and she was called Wakakohime. She bore Prince Ōiratsuko and Princess Izumo.

Next, the daughter of Sakata no Ōmata no Ōkimi was called Hirohime. She bore three daughters. The eldest was Princess Kamusaki. The middle was Princess Mamuta. The youngest was Princess Umakuta.

Next, the daughter of Okinaga no Mate no Ōkimi was called Omi no Iratsume. She bore Princess Sasage. — 荳角 is read sasage. — She served the shrine of the great god of Ise.

Next, the daughter of Mamuta no Muraji Omochi — some say his younger sister. — was called Sekihime. She bore three daughters. The eldest was Princess Mamuta no Ōiratsume. The middle was Princess Shirasaka no Ikuhihime. The youngest was Princess Ono no Wakairatsume. Her other name was Nagaishihime.

Next, the daughter of Mio no Kimi Katahi was called Yamatohime. She bore two sons and two daughters. The first was Princess Ōiratsume. The second was Prince Maroko. He is the ancestor of the Mikuni no Kimi. The third was Prince Mimi. The fourth was Princess Akahime.

Next, the daughter of Wani no Omi Kawachi was called Haehime. She bore one son and two daughters. The first was Princess Wakaayahime. The second was Princess Tsubura no Iratsume. The third was Prince Atsu.

Next, the daughter of Ne no Ōkimi was called Hirohime. She bore two sons. The elder was Prince Usagi. He is the ancestor of the Sakahito no Kimi. The younger was Prince Nakatsu. He is the ancestor of the Sakata no Kimi.

In this year the year sign was jeonghae.

In the second year, in winter, the tenth month, the first day being a sinhae day, on the gyechuk day, Emperor Ohatsuse no Wakasazaki was buried in the tomb of Iwatsuki no Oka at Kataoka.

In the twelfth month the people of Tamna (耽羅), in the southern sea, first opened ways with the land of Baekje.

In the third year, in spring, the second month, a messenger was sent to Baekje. — The Baekje bongi (百濟本記) says that Guramachikimi (久羅麻致支彌) came from Japan. This is not clear. — Those of the Baekje people in the Japanese districts and villages of Imna who had drifted and fled and whose registers had been cut off for three or four generations were sought out, and all were moved to Baekje and entered on its registers.

In the fifth year, in winter, the tenth month, the capital was moved to Tsutsuki in Yamashiro.

In the sixth year, in summer, the fourth month, the first day being a sinyu day, on the byeongin day, Hozumi no Omi Oshiyama was sent as envoy to Baekje. With him were given forty horses of the land of Tsukushi.

In winter, the twelfth month, Baekje sent an envoy and offered tribute. In a separate memorial it asked for four districts of the land of Imna: Sangdari (上哆唎), Hadari (下哆唎), Sata (娑陀) and Moru (牟婁).

Hozumi no Omi Oshiyama, the governor of the land of Dari, said, "These four districts are joined close to Baekje and lie far from Japan. Morning and evening they pass back and forth with ease, and it is hard to tell their fowl and dogs apart. To give them to Baekje now and join them into one land is the best plan for holding them firm, and there is none better. Yet even if they are given and the lands are joined, later ages will still be in danger. How much more if they are kept as a separate place. For how many years could they be held?"

Ōtomo no Ōmuraji Kanamura heard these words in full, and he took counsel with him and spoke to the emperor. Then Mononobe no Ōmuraji Arakahi was made the envoy who would tell the command.

Mononobe no Ōmuraji was about to set out for the guest house at Naniwa and tell the command to the guests from Baekje. His wife held him back firmly and said,

"The great god of Suminoe first promised the lands of gold and silver beyond the sea, Goryeo and Baekje and Silla and Imna, to Emperor Homuta while he was still in the womb. Therefore the great empress Okinagatarashihime no Mikoto and the great minister Takeuchi no Sukune set up an official house in each land at the first, to be a fence beyond the sea, and the beginning of this is old. There is a reason in it as well. If you cut them off and give them to another, you go against the borders as they were. How would the blame of age after age ever leave the mouths of men?"

The Ōmuraji answered, "What you show me fits with reason, but I fear I would turn my back on the command of heaven."

His wife pressed him earnestly. "Say that you are ill, and do not tell it."

The Ōmuraji did as she pressed him. Therefore the envoy was changed, and the command was told. Gifts were handed over, and with them a written order, and the four districts of Imna were given as the memorial had asked.

Prince Ōe had had another matter before this and had no part in the giving of the lands, and he learned only late that the command had been told.

He was startled and sorry for it and wished to change it. He gave an order. "A land where an official house was set up from the time of the sovereign in the womb — was it given over lightly, at the mere asking of a foreign people?"

Then he sent Hitaka no Kishi to tell the guests from Baekje of the change.

The envoy answered and said, "The father, the emperor, weighed what was fitting, and the giving by his command is already finished. How should the son, the prince, go against the sovereign's command and change it and give an order at his own will? Surely this is empty talk. And even if it were true, which hurts more, to be struck with the big end of the staff, or to be struck with the small end?"

In the end the matter was dropped.

Then someone let a rumor go about and said, "Ōtomo no Ōmuraji and Hozumi no Omi Oshiyama, the governor of the land of Dari, have taken bribes from Baekje."

In the seventh year, in summer, the sixth month, Baekje sent General Jeomimungwi (姐彌文貴) and General Jurijeuki (洲利卽爾), and with them Hozumi no Omi Oshiyama — the Baekje bongi calls him Ishiimakimi (委意斯移麻岐彌). — and offered Dan Yangi (段楊爾), a doctor of the five classics.

In a separate memorial they said, "The land of Banpa (伴跛國) has seized the land of Gimun (己汶) that belongs to your servant's land. We humbly beg that by heaven's grace you judge it and give it back to the one it first belonged to."

In autumn, the eighth month, the first day being a gyemi day, on the musin day, Sunta (淳陀), the crown prince of Baekje, died.

In the ninth month Prince Magari no Ōe himself took Princess Kasuga to wife. On that moonlit night they talked in pure delight and did not notice that the sky had grown light. Fine words came of themselves into speech. Then he sang aloud:

"Yashimakuni Tsumamakekanete Haruhino Kasuganokunini Kuwashimeo Aritokikite Yoroshimeo Aritokikite Makisaku Hinoitadoo Oshihiraki Wareirimashi Atotori Tsumadorishite Makuratori Tsumadorishite Imogateo Warenimakashime Wagateoba Imonimakashime Masakizura Tatakiazahari Shikushikushiro Umaineshidoni Niwatsutori Kakewanakunari Nutsutori Kigishiwadoyomu Hashikekumo Imadaihazute Akenikeriwagimo (野絁磨倶儞、都磨々祁哿泥底、播屢比能、哿須我能倶儞々、倶婆絁謎鳴、阿利等枳々底、與慮志謎鳴、阿利等枳々底、莽紀佐倶、避能伊陀圖鳴、飫斯毗羅枳、倭例以梨魔志、阿都圖唎、都麼怒唎絁底、魔倶囉圖唎、都麼怒唎絁底、伊慕我堤鳴、倭例儞魔柯斯毎、倭我堤嗚麼、伊慕儞魔柯絁毎、麼左棄逗囉、多々企阿藏播梨、矢泪矩矢慮、于魔伊禰矢度儞、儞播都等唎、柯稽播儺倶儺梨、奴都等利、枳蟻矢播等余武、婆絁稽矩謨、伊麻娜以幡孺底、阿開儞啓梨倭蟻慕)"

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

The consort sang in answer:

"Komorikuno Hatsusenogawayu Nagarekuru Takeno Ikumidakeyodake Motoheoba Kotonitsukuri Sueheoba Fuenitsukuri Fukinasu Mimorogauheni Noboritachi Wagamiseba Tsunusahafu Iharenoikeno Minashitafu Uomo Uhenidetenageku Yasumishishi Wagaohokimino Obaseru Sasaranomiobino Musubitare Dareyashihitomo Uhenidetenageku (莒母唎矩能、簸覩細能哿波庾、那峨例倶屢、駄開能、以矩美娜開余嚢開、謨等陛嗚麼、莒等儞都倶唎、須衞陛嗚麼、府曳儞都倶唎、府企儺須、美母慮我紆陪儞、能朋梨陀致、倭我彌細麼、都奴娑播符、以簸例能伊聞能、美那矢駄府、紆嗚謨、紆陪儞堤々那皚矩、野須美矢々、倭我於朋枳美能、於魔細屢、娑佐羅能美於寐能、武須彌陀例、駄例夜矢比等母、紆陪儞泥堤那皚矩)"

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

In winter, the eleventh month, the first day being a sinhae day, on the eulmyo day, General Jeomimungwi of Baekje, Mundeukji (汶得至) of Sara (斯羅), Sinihae (辛已奚) and Bunpawijwa (賁巴委佐) of Alla (安羅), and Gijeonhae (既殿奚) and Jukmunji (竹汶至) of Banpa were drawn up in ranks at the court, and the gracious command was set forth to them. Gimun and Daesa (帶沙) were given to the land of Baekje.

In this month the land of Banpa sent Jipji (戢支) and offered rare treasures and asked for the land of Gimun, but in the end it was not given.

In the twelfth month, the first day being a sinsa day, on the muja day, he gave a command:

"We have taken up the thread of heaven and have kept the ancestral shrine, and we have been careful and careful again. Of late all under heaven is quiet and still, the whole realm is clear and at peace, rich harvests have come again and again, and the land has often been made plentiful. How fine you are, Maroko. You have shown our heart to the eight quarters. How full you are, Magari no Ōe. You have made our manner shine in ten thousand lands.

Japan is at concord, and its name is spread over all under heaven. Akizu is bright, and its praise lies heavy on the royal domain. What is to be held a treasure is the worthy man alone, and to do good is the greatest joy. By this the holy teaching is fanned far, and by this the deep merit hangs long. Truly it is your strength. You should stay in the spring palace, help our humaneness, and give me wings and fill up what I lack."

In the eighth year, in spring, the first month, Princess Kasuga, the wife of the crown prince, came out late in the morning, and it was not as it always was. The crown prince doubted in his heart, and he went into the hall and looked. His wife lay on her bed weeping, and her grief was more than she could bear.

The crown prince thought it strange and asked, "You weep this morning. What sorrow have you?"

His wife said, "It is nothing else. What I grieve over is only this. The birds that fly in the sky build nests in the tops of the trees to love and rear their young. Their love is deep. The insects that crawl on the ground dig burrows in the earth to guard and keep their young. Their guarding is thick. When it comes to people, how should there be no thought? The sorrow of having no heir now gathers upon the crown prince. My name too will be cut off with it."

Then the crown prince grieved with her and spoke of it to the emperor. The emperor gave a command. "Maroko, our son, your wife's words fit deeply with reason. How should we answer her emptily and give her no comfort? Let the granary of Saphu be given, and let your wife's name be shown to ten thousand ages."

In the third month Banpa built fortresses at Jatan (子呑) and Daesa and joined them to Manhae (滿奚), and set up beacon stations and storehouses against Japan. It also built fortresses at Iyeolbi (爾列比) and Masubi (麻須比) and joined them to Machahae (麻且奚) and Chubong (推封). It gathered soldiers and arms and pressed Silla hard. It drove off sons and daughters and carried them away, and stripped and plundered the villages. Where its cruel power came, few of the people were left. Its violence and cruelty, its excess, its harrying and harming and trampling, and the men it killed were very many, and they cannot be set down in full.

In the ninth year, in spring, the second month, the first day being a gapsul day, on the jeongchuk day, General Mungwi and the other envoys of Baekje asked leave to return. A command was then given to send Mononobe no Muraji — his name is missing. — with them and let them go home. — The Baekje bongi calls him Mononobe no Chichi no Muraji.

In this month they came to the island of Sado, and they heard it told that the men of Banpa held a grudge and carried poison in their mouths, and trusting in their strength did cruel things as they pleased. Therefore Mononobe no Muraji led a fleet and five hundred soldiers and went straight to the river of Daesa. General Mungwi went by way of Silla.

In summer, the fourth month, Mononobe no Muraji stayed six days at the river of Daesa. Banpa raised soldiers and went and struck them. They pressed them and stripped off their clothes, took away what they carried, and burned all their tents. Mononobe no Muraji and his men were afraid and fled. They barely kept their lives, and came to shore at Munmora (汶慕羅). — Munmora is the name of an island.

In the tenth year, in summer, the fifth month, Baekje sent Mokhyeop Bulmagapbae (木刕不麻甲背) of the front department to meet Mononobe no Muraji and his men at Gimun and comfort them, and to lead them into the land. The many vassals each brought out clothing, axes, iron, silk and cloth, and added them to the goods of the land and piled them up at the court. They comforted them earnestly, and their rewards and gifts were generous.

In autumn, the ninth month, Baekje sent General Jurijeukcha (州利卽次), and with him Mononobe no Muraji, to give thanks for the gift of the land of Gimun. In a separate offering they presented Han Goanmu (漢高安茂), a doctor of the five classics, and asked that he take the place of the doctor Dan Yangi. It was granted as they asked.

On the muin day Baekje sent General Jakmakgo (灼莫古) and Sananoabita (斯那奴阿比多) of Japan, and with them Anjeong (安定) and the other envoys of Goryeo, and they came to court and made friendship.

In the twelfth year, in spring, the third month, the first day being a byeongjin day, on the gapja day, the capital was moved to Otokuni.

In the seventeenth year, in summer, the fifth month, King Muryeong (武寧) of the land of Baekje died.

In the eighteenth year, in spring, the first month, Myeong (明), the crown prince of Baekje, ascended the throne.

In the twentieth year, in autumn, the ninth month, the first day being a jeongyu day, on the giyu day, the capital was moved to Tamaho in Iware. — One book says the seventh year.

In the twenty-first year, in summer, the sixth month, the first day being an imjin day, on the gabo day, Ōmi no Kena no Omi led a host of sixty thousand and meant to go to Imna, to raise up again Namgara (南加羅) and Takgitan (喙己呑), which Silla had broken, and join them to Imna.

Then Iwai, the Kuni no Miyatsuko of the land of Tsukushi, secretly plotted rebellion, but he held back and a year went by. He feared the thing would be hard to do, and he watched always for an opening.

Silla learned of this and secretly sent goods to where Iwai was, and urged him to block the army of Kena no Omi.

Then Iwai covered and held the two lands of Hi (火) and Toyo (豐) and would not let them keep their duties. Outside, he barred the sea road and lured away the ships that brought the yearly dues of Goryeo and Baekje and Silla and Imna. Inside, he blocked the army of Kena no Omi that was being sent to Imna, and he spoke wildly and boasted aloud.

"Now you are an envoy, but long ago you were my companion. We rubbed shoulders and touched elbows, and ate together from one dish. How should you suddenly become an envoy and make me bow down of myself before you?"

In the end he fought and would not receive him. He was proud and boasted of himself. For this reason Kena no Omi was blocked and held up on his way.

The emperor gave a command to Ōtomo no Ōmuraji Kanamura, Mononobe no Ōmuraji Arakahi and Kose no Ōomi Ohito. "Iwai of Tsukushi has rebelled and covered the land, and he holds the country of the western barbarians. Who now is fit to be the general?"

Ōtomo no Ōmuraji and the rest all said, "For one who is upright and straight, humane and brave, and skilled in the business of arms, there is now none to be set above Arakahi."

The emperor said, "It is good."

In autumn, the eighth month, the first day being a sinmyo day, he gave a command. "Ah, Ōmuraji, this Iwai will not follow us. Go and strike him."

Mononobe no Arakahi no Ōmuraji bowed twice and said,

"Ah, this Iwai is the cunning and crafty one of the western barbarians. He trusts in the steepness of the rivers and does not come to court. He leans on the height of the mountains and calls up revolt. He breaks down virtue and turns against the way. He mocks others and holds himself worthy. Long ago there was Michi no Omi, and later Muroya, who helped the sovereign and punished such men and drew the people out of fire and water. That time and this are one. It is heaven alone that helps us, and your servant has always held this heavy. How should I not strike him with reverence?"

He gave a command. "The army of a good general gives out grace and pushes kindness forward, and rules others by measuring them by himself. It attacks as a river breaks its banks. It fights as the wind rises."

He gave a command again. "The great general holds the lives of the people. The living or the dying of the altars of the land rests in this. Take pains. Carry out the punishment of heaven with reverence."

The emperor himself took the axe and the battle-axe and gave them to the Ōmuraji and said, "From Nagato eastward we shall govern. From Tsukushi westward you shall govern. Deal out reward and punishment as you alone see fit. Do not trouble yourself to report often."

In the twenty-second year, in winter, the eleventh month, the first day being a gabin day, on the gapja day, the great general Mononobe no Ōmuraji Arakahi himself fought the rebel chief Iwai in the Mii district of Tsukushi. Flags and drums faced each other, and the dust of the two hosts touched. They settled the turn of things between the two lines, and did not shrink from the place of ten thousand deaths. In the end they cut down Iwai, and so the borders were made firm.

In the twelfth month Tsukushi no Kimi Kuzuko feared that he would be held guilty for his father, and he offered the granary of Kasuya and asked to buy off the punishment of death.

In the twenty-third year, in spring, the third month, the king of Baekje said to Hozumi no Oshiyama no Omi, the governor of the land of Hadari,

"The envoys who bring tribute always keep clear of the bends of the islands — this means the bends of the islands and the cliffs of the shore in the middle of the sea. In common speech they are called misake. — and every time they suffer from wind and waves. Because of this what they carry gets wet, and all of it is spoiled and loses its color. We beg that Dasajin (多沙津) in Gara (加羅) be made the port and the road by which your servant brings tribute."

Thereupon Oshiyama no Omi heard the request and spoke of it to the emperor.

In this month Mononobe no Ise no Muraji Chichine and Kishi no Oyu and others were sent, and the port was given to the king of Baekje.

Then the king of Gara said to the envoys who bore the command, "Ever since the official house was set up, this port has been the crossing by which your servant brings tribute. How can it suddenly be changed and given to a neighboring land? This goes against the bounds that were granted at the first."

Because of this Chichine and the other envoys found it hard to give it to him face to face, and they drew back and returned to Ōshima. They sent a secretary separately, and in the end gave it to Buyeo (扶余).

By this Gara joined with Silla and bore a grudge against Japan.

The king of Gara took the daughter of the king of Silla to wife, and in time they had a child. When Silla first sent the daughter, it sent a hundred people with her to be her attendants. They were received and scattered among the several districts, and were made to wear the clothes and caps of Silla.

Arisadeung (阿利斯等) was angry that they had changed their dress, and he sent messengers to call them and send them back. Silla was greatly shamed, and wished instead to have the daughter back, and said, "Before this we received your suit and gave our consent to the marriage. Now that it has come to this, we ask that the king's daughter be sent back."

Giburijiga (己富利知伽) of Gara — this is not clear. — answered, "They have been matched as husband and wife. How should they be parted again? And there is a child. If I cast it away, where should I go?"

In the end, on the way they passed, the three fortresses of Doga (刀伽), Gopa (古跛) and Ponamora (布那牟羅) were taken. Five fortresses on the northern border were taken as well.

In this month Ōmi no Kena no Omi was sent as envoy to Alla. By command he urged Silla to raise up Namgara and Takgitan again.

Baekje sent General Gunyungwi (君尹貴), Managapbae (麻那甲背), Maro (麻鹵) and others, and they went to Alla to hear the command in due form.

Silla feared it would come out that it had broken the official house of a vassal land, and it did not send a man of high place, but sent Bujinamarye (夫智奈麻禮) and Haenamarye (奚奈麻禮) and others, and they went to Alla to hear the command in due form.

Then Alla newly built a high hall and led the envoys of the command up into it. The lord of the land went up the steps behind them. Of the great men of the land, one or two had gone up into the hall beforehand. The envoys of Baekje, the generals and lords, were below the hall.

For some months they took counsel and planned two or three times up in the hall. The generals and lords resented being in the courtyard.

In summer, the fourth month, the first day being an imo day, on the muja day, Gineungmalda Gangi (己能末多干岐), the king of Imna, came to court. — The one called Gineungmalda is probably Arisadeung. —

He said to Ōtomo no Ōmuraji Kanamura, "From the time of the emperor in the womb, the several lands beyond the sea have had inner official houses set in them and have not cast off their own soil. There was truly a reason for the granting of their lands. Now Silla goes against the bounds that were granted at the first, and again and again it crosses the border and comes to raid us. We beg you to speak to the emperor and save your servant's land."

Ōtomo no Ōmuraji did as he asked and reported it.

In this month a messenger was sent to escort Gineungmalda Gangi back. At the same time a command was given to Ōmi no Kena no Omi in Imna to look into what had been reported and to bring them to terms and clear away their suspicions of each other.

Then Kena no Omi halted at Ungcheon (熊川) — one book says he halted at Gusamora in Imna. — and called together the kings of the two lands of Silla and Baekje.

Jwariji (佐利遲), the king of Silla, sent Gujiporye (久遲布禮) — one book calls him Guryeisajiunasamari. — and Baekje sent the eunsol Mideungri (彌騰利), and they gathered where Kena no Omi was. But the two kings did not come themselves.

Kena no Omi was greatly angered and rebuked the envoys of the two lands and asked, "That the small should serve the great is the way of heaven. — One book says: the end of a big tree is joined with a big tree, and the end of a small tree is joined with a small tree. — For what reason did the kings of the two lands not come in their own persons to receive the emperor's command, and instead send envoys so lightly? Now, even if your kings come themselves to hear the command, I will not give it. I will surely drive them away."

Gujiporye and the eunsol Mideungri were afraid in their hearts, and each went back to call his king.

Because of this Silla changed and sent its sangsin (上臣) Iljilburyeji Gangi (伊叱夫禮智干岐) — Silla calls its great minister the sangsin. One book calls him Iljilburyeji Namal. — who led a host of three thousand and came asking to hear the command.

Kena no Omi saw from afar that arms surrounded them and that the host was several thousand, and from Ungcheon he went into the fortress of Gijilgiri (己叱己利城) in Imna.

Iljilburyeji Gangi halted on the plain of Dadara (多々羅), and he did not go back in reverence but waited three months. Again and again he asked to hear the command, but in the end it would not be told.

The soldiers whom Iljilburyeji led begged for food in the villages.

They passed by Mikari, Kawachi no Umakai no Obito, an attendant of Kena no Omi. Mikari went in and hid at another gate, and waited for the beggars to pass, and closed his fist and struck at them from a distance.

One of the beggars saw it and said, "We have waited respectfully for three months, standing and waiting to hear the words of the command, and still they will not tell it. They torment us for wishing to hear the envoy of the command." Then they knew they had been deceived, and they meant to kill the sangsin.

So they told the sangsin in full what they had seen. The sangsin plundered four villages. — Geumgwan (金官), Baebeol (背伐), Anda (安多) and Wita (委陀) are the four villages. One book says Dadara, Sunara, Hwada and Biji are the four villages. — He led away all the people and the goods and brought them into his own land.

Someone said, "That Dadara and the other four villages were plundered is the fault of Kena no Omi."

In autumn, the ninth month, Kose no Ohito no Ōomi died.

In the twenty-fourth year, in spring, the second month, the first day being a jeongmi day, he gave a command:

"From the sovereign Iwarebiko and the king of Mimaki onward, all leaned on vassals of wide knowledge and on the help of the clear-sighted and the wise. Therefore Michi no Omi set forth his counsel, and Kamuyamato flourished. Ōhiko offered his plans, and Inie rose high. When it came to the sovereign who carried on the line (繼體), was there ever one who wished to raise up the merit of a restoration and did not lean on the counsel of the worthy and the wise?

Then, coming down to when Emperor Ohatsuse was king over all under heaven, he was fortunate to follow the holy ones before him, and the days of flourishing and peace were long. The customs were slowly clouded over, and he did not awake to it. The government slowly weakened, and he did not mend it. Yet he let each man come forward according to his kind. Of the man who had great plans he did not ask where he fell short, and of the man of high talent he did not call his failings wrong. Therefore he was able to serve the ancestral shrine, and he did not put the altars of the land in danger. Seen in this way, how was that not clear-sighted help?

We have carried on the work of the sovereigns for twenty-four years now. All under heaven is clear and at peace, and within and without there is nothing to fear. The soil is rich and fat, and the grain bears fruit. What we quietly fear is that the people may make a custom of this and lean on it and grow proud. Therefore we have men put forward those who are honest and firm, we set forth and make clear the great way, and we let the great teaching flow through. To get men who can hold office has been hard from of old. Now that it has come to us, how should we not be careful?"

In autumn, the ninth month, an envoy of Imna reported:

"Kena no Omi has at last built himself a house at Gusamora and has stayed two years — one book says three years, counting together the years of his going and coming. — and he is slow to hear matters of government.

Japanese and men of Imna often go to law over the children they have borne, and the cases are hard to settle, and there is no one at all who can judge them. Kena no Omi took pleasure in setting out boiling water for an oath and saying, 'He who speaks truth will not be scalded. He who speaks falsely will surely be scalded.' Because of this many have been thrown into the water and scalded to death.

He also killed Nadari (那多利) and Sapuri (斯布利), the hanja (韓子) of Kibi. — A child born to a man of great Japan who has married a foreign woman is called a hanja. — He troubles the people always, and in the end there is no coming to terms."

Then the emperor heard of his doings and sent a man to call him in, but he would not come.

Instead he had Mikari, Kawachi no Monoki no Umakai no Obito, go to the capital and report for him. "If your servant goes back to the capital before he has carried out the words of the command, he will have gone with labor and come back with nothing, and for shame he will have nowhere to put himself. I humbly beg that your majesty wait until the charge of the land is carried out, and then I will enter the court and beg pardon for my fault."

After he had sent the messenger he planned again by himself. "That Tsuki no Kishi is also a shining envoy of the sovereign. If he goes back before me and reports the truth, my crime and my fault will surely be heavy."

Then he sent Tsuki no Kishi to lead a host and guard the fortress of Isakimora.

Then Arisadeung knew that he made small things his business and did not work at what he had been charged with, and again and again he urged him to go back to the court. But still he would not go.

Because of this he came to know all that he had done, and his heart turned to breaking with him. Then he sent Guryesagimo (久禮斯己母) as envoy to Silla to ask for soldiers, and Nosuguri (奴須久利) as envoy to Baekje to ask for soldiers.

Kena no Omi heard that the soldiers of Baekje were coming, and he met them and struck them at Baepyeong (背評).

— Baepyeong is the name of a place. Its other name is Neungbigiburi (能備己富里). — Half of them were wounded or killed.

Baekje then seized Nosuguri and put fetters and a cangue and chains on him, and together with Silla surrounded the fortress. They rebuked Arisadeung and railed at him and said, "Give up Kena no Omi."

Kena no Omi leaned on the fortress and held it firm of himself, and by the look of things he could not be taken. Then the two lands reckoned up the ground that suited them and stayed until the last day of the month, and then they built a fortress and went back. They named it the fortress of Guryemora (久禮牟羅城).

On their way back, as they touched the road, they took the five fortresses of Deungrigimora (騰利枳牟羅), Ponamora (布那牟羅), Mojagimora (牟雌枳牟羅), Abura (阿夫羅) and Gujipadagi (久知波多枳).

In winter, the tenth month, Tsuki no Kishi came from Imna and reported, "Kena no Omi is proud and full of grudges by nature, and he is not practiced in the ways of governing. In the end he has brought no one to terms, and he has thrown Gara into disorder. He follows his own will without restraint, and he has no thought of guarding against trouble."

Therefore Metsurako was sent to call him back. — Metsurako is not clear.

In this year Kena no Omi was called back and came as far as Tsushima, where he met with sickness and died. They sent the funeral train along the river and came into Ōmi. His wife sang:

"Hirakatayu Fuefukinoboru Afuminoya Kenanowakugoi Fuefukinoboru (比攞哿駄喩、輔曳輔枳能朋樓、阿苻美能野、愷那能倭倶吾伊、輔曳符枳能朋樓)"

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

When Metsurako first came to Imna, the people of the country houses there sent him a song:

"Karakunio Ikanifukotoso Mezurakokitaru Mukasakuru Ikinowatario Mezurakokitaru (柯羅屨儞嗚、以柯儞輔居等所、梅豆羅古枳駄樓、武哿左屨樓、以祇能和駄唎嗚、梅豆羅古枳駄樓)"

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

In the twenty-fifth year, in spring, the second month, the emperor's illness was heavy. On the jeongmi day the emperor died in the palace of Tamaho at Iware. He was eighty-two years old at the time.

In winter, the twelfth month, the first day being a byeongsin day, on the gyeongja day, he was buried in the tomb of Aino.

— One book says that the emperor died in the twenty-eighth year, the year gabin. Yet it is said here that he died in the twenty-fifth year, the year sinhae, because the Baekje bongi was taken to make the text. That text says, "In the third month of the year sinhae the army went forward and came to Alla, and made camp at the fortress of Geoltak (乞乇城). In this month Goryeo killed its king An (安). And it was heard that the emperor of Japan and the crown prince and the imperial prince all died together." By this account the year sinhae falls in the twenty-fifth year. Those who look into it and check it later will know.