Emperor Jomei舒明天皇

Emperor Okinaga Tarashihi Hironuka (息長足日廣額天皇) was the grandson of Emperor Nunakura no Futotamashiki and the son of Prince Hikohito no Ōe. His mother is called Princess Nukadehime.

In the twenty-ninth year of Emperor Toyomike Kashikiyahime the crown prince Toyotomimi no Mikoto died, and no crown prince had yet been set up in his place.

In the thirty-sixth year, in the third month, the emperor died. In the ninth month the funeral rites were finished. The succession was not yet settled.

At this time Soga no Emishi no Omi was great minister, and he wished to settle the succession alone. But he looked about him and feared that the many officers would not follow him, so he took counsel with Abe no Maro no Omi, gathered the officers, and feasted them at the house of the great minister.

When the eating was over and they were about to scatter, the great minister had Abe no Omi speak to the officers.

"Now the emperor has died and there is no heir. If this is not weighed quickly, there is fear of disorder. Which prince shall be made the heir?

On the day the emperor lay sick he gave a command to Prince Tamura: 'The great charge of the realm is not a thing to be spoken of lightly. You, Prince Tamura, look to it with care and do not be slow.' Next he gave a command to Prince Yamashiro no Ōe: 'Do not raise your voice alone. Follow in all things what the many say, and take care not to go against them.' This is the last word of the emperor. Who now shall be emperor?"

Then the officers were silent and gave no answer. He asked again, and they did not answer. He pressed them and asked once more.

Thereupon Ōtomo no Kujira no Muraji came forward and said, "The last command of the emperor is to be followed, and nothing more. There is no need to wait for what the many say."

Abe no Omi then asked, "What do you mean? Open your thought."

He answered, "What else could the emperor have had in mind? He gave a command to Prince Tamura and said, 'It is the great charge of the realm. Do not be slow.' Speaking from this, the throne is already settled. Who would say otherwise?"

Then four officers, Uneme no Omi Mareshi, Takamuko no Omi Uma, Nakatomi no Muraji Mike, and Naniwa no Kishi Muzashi, said, "It is as Ōtomo no Muraji says, and we have nothing to add."

Kose no Omi Ōmaro, Saeki no Muraji Azumahito, and Ki no Omi Shiote, three men, came forward and said, "Prince Yamashiro no Ōe should be made emperor."

Only Soga no Kuramaro no Omi spoke alone. "Your servant cannot speak at once. I will think again and then report."

Then the great minister knew that the officers were not of one mind and that the thing could not be done, and he withdrew.

Before this the great minister had asked Sakaibe no Marise no Omi alone, "Now the emperor has died and there is no heir. Who shall be emperor?"

He answered, "Raise up Yamashiro no Ōe and make him emperor."

At this time Yamashiro no Ōe was in the Ikaruga Palace. He heard of this council, and at once he sent two men, Prince Mikuni and Sakurai no Omi Wajiko, to say secretly to the great minister,

"I have heard it told that my uncle wishes to make Prince Tamura emperor. Since I heard this I have thought of it standing and thought of it sitting, and I cannot find the reason of it. I wish to know my uncle's mind clearly."

Then the great minister, having had this word from Yamashiro no Ōe, could not answer it alone. He called Abe no Omi, Nakatomi no Muraji, Ki no Omi, Kawabe no Omi, Takamuko no Omi, Uneme no Omi, Ōtomo no Muraji, and Kose no Omi, and set out to them in full the words of Yamashiro no Ōe.

Presently he said to the great officers,

"Do you great officers go together to the Ikaruga Palace and say to Prince Yamashiro no Ōe: 'How should your mean servant settle the succession alone and of a sudden? I only raised the last command of the emperor and told it to the officers. The officers all said with one voice that, as the last word has it, Prince Tamura should himself succeed to the throne, and that there could be no other word. These are the words of the many lords, and not the heart of your servant. Yet though your servant has a mind of his own, he is in awe of it and cannot send it in a message. He will speak it himself on the day he sees you.'"

So the great officers received the words of the great minister and went together to the Ikaruga Palace. They had Prince Mikuni and Sakurai no Omi report the words of the great minister to Yamashiro no Ōe.

Then the prince Ōe sent word and asked the great officers, "What was the last command of the emperor?"

They answered, "Your servants do not know its depth. We have only the words of the great minister, that on the day the emperor lay sick he gave a command to Prince Tamura: 'The government of the land is not to be spoken of lightly and of a sudden.

For this reason you, Prince Tamura, speak of it with care and do not be slow.' And next the emperor gave a command to the prince Ōe: 'Your heart is still young. Do not raise your voice, but follow in all things the words of the officers.' The princesses who waited near him and the uneme all know this, and the Great King has seen it himself."

Then the prince Ōe had them asked again, "Who alone heard this last command?"

They answered, "Your servants do not know that secret."

Presently he had word given to the great officers again.

"My dear uncle has taken pains in his thought, and he has sent not one messenger but weighty officers to teach me and make me understand. This is a great kindness. Yet what the many lords now call the last command of the emperor differs a little from what I heard.

When I heard that the emperor lay sick, I hurried up to him and waited below the gate. Then Nakatomi no Muraji Mike came out from the palace and said, 'The emperor gives command that you be called.' So I went forward toward the side gate. And Kurikuma no Uneme Kurome met me in the courtyard and led me into the great hall.

There, with Princess Kurishita at their head, eight ladies of the household, Shibime and the rest, and some tens of people besides waited at the emperor's side, and Prince Tamura was there as well.

At that time the emperor was sunk in his sickness and could not see me. Then Princess Kurishita said, 'Prince Yamashiro no Ōe, whom you called, has come.'

Then the emperor rose and faced me and gave command. 'I, with my slight and thin virtue, have long toiled at the great work. Now the course of my years is near its end, and the sickness cannot be hidden. You have been from the first the heart within my breast, and my love for you cannot be matched. The great foundation of the land is not the work of my reign alone. It is to be labored at from the beginning. Though your heart is young, speak with care.'

All who waited near him at that time know it. So I received this great kindness, and I was in fear on the one hand and in grief on the other. I leapt for joy and did not know what to do.

Then I thought, 'The altars of the land and the ancestral shrine are a weighty thing. I am small and not worthy. How should I dare take it up?' At that time I wished to speak of it to my uncle and to the many lords, but there was no fit time to say it, and until now I have not spoken.

Once I went up to the capital to ask after my uncle's sickness, and I stayed at the temple of Toyura. On that day the emperor sent Yakuchi no Uneme Shibime and gave command: 'Your uncle the great minister always speaks in care for you, and says that after a hundred years who should hold the succession if not you? Therefore be careful and cherish yourself.'

Such a thing plainly took place, so what is there to doubt? Yet how should I be greedy for the realm? I only make known what I heard, and the gods of heaven and the gods of earth are witness to it together.

Therefore I wish to know rightly the last command of the emperor. And the many lords whom the great minister has sent are men who from of old have reported and asked as one who takes the middle stalk from the sacred reeds. So speak of this well to my uncle."

Presently Prince Hatsuse no Nakatsu called Nakatomi no Muraji and Kawabe no Omi apart and said to them, "That we, father and son, both came out of the Soga, all the realm knows. Therefore we lean on you as on a high mountain. I pray you, do not speak lightly of the succession."

Then he sent Prince Mikuni and Sakurai no Omi with the many lords and said, "I wish to hear the answer that comes back."

At that the great minister sent Ki no Omi and Ōtomo no Muraji to say to Prince Mikuni and Sakurai no Omi, "What was said the other day is ended, and there is nothing further. Yet how should your servant make one prince light and another prince heavy?"

Some days after this Yamashiro no Ōe sent Sakurai no Omi again to tell the great minister, "What was said the other day was only the report of what I heard.

How should I go against my uncle?"

On this day the sickness of the great minister grew worse, and he could not speak face to face with Sakurai no Omi.

The next day the great minister called Sakurai no Omi, and at once he sent Abe no Omi, Nakatomi no Muraji, Kawabe no Omi, Oharida no Omi, and Ōtomo no Muraji to say to Yamashiro no Ōe,

"From the reign of the emperor who ruled the realm from the Shikishima Palace down to these latter days, the many lords have all been wise and clear. Only now your servant is not wise, and meeting a time when men are wanting, he stands by mistake above the officers. For this reason the foundation cannot be settled. Yet this matter is weighty and cannot be said in a message. Therefore, old and weary as your servant is, he will speak of it face to face. It is only that the last command should not be mistaken. It is not the private mind of your servant."

Presently the great minister, through Abe no Omi and Nakatomi no Muraji, asked Sakaibe no Omi again, "Which prince shall be emperor?"

He answered, "On the day the great minister asked me himself, I gave my word and had done. Why is it now told to me again through others?"

At this he rose in great anger and went out.

Just at this time all the kindred of the Soga were gathered to build a tomb for Shima no Ōomi, and they stayed at the place of the tomb. Marise no Omi broke down his hut at the place of the tomb and withdrew to the house of the Soga in the fields, and he did not serve.

Then the great minister was angry, and he sent Musa no Kimi Katsuushi and Nishigori no Obito Akai to instruct him.

"I know that your word is wrong. But by the right of kinship I cannot harm you. If another is wrong and you are right, I will surely go against the other and follow you. If the other is right and you are wrong, I will turn from you and follow him.

Therefore, if in the end you do not follow, there will be a flaw between me and you, and the land too will fall into disorder. Then those born after will say, 'These two men broke the land.'

This will be an evil name for the ages after. Be careful and do not raise a rebellious heart."

Yet still he did not follow. In the end he went to Ikaruga and stayed in the palace of Prince Hatsuse.

At this the great minister grew more angry, and he sent the many lords to ask of Yamashiro no Ōe, "Of late Marise has gone against your servant and has hidden in the palace of Prince Hatsuse. I pray that Marise be given up, that the reason of it may be examined."

The prince Ōe answered, "Marise was from the first one whom the sage sovereign loved, and he has come here only for a while. How should he go against my uncle's mind? I pray you, do not hold it a fault."

Then he said to Marise,

"You have not forgotten the kindness of the former sovereign, and you have come, and this is dear to me. Yet because of you alone the realm will fall into disorder.

And the former sovereign, when he came to his death, said to his sons, 'Do no evil of any kind, and take up and do all good.' I have received this word and hold it as a warning for ever. Therefore, though I have a feeling of my own, I bear it and do not resent it. And I cannot go against my uncle.

I pray that from now you will not shrink from changing your mind. Follow the many and do not draw back."

At this time the great officers also instructed Marise no Omi. "The command of the prince Ōe cannot be gone against."

So Marise no Omi went forward and had nowhere to return to. He wept aloud and went back again, and when he had been at home some ten days and more, Prince Hatsuse suddenly fell sick and died.

Then Marise no Omi said, "Whom shall I trust while I live?"

The great minister would kill Sakaibe no Omi, and he raised soldiers and sent them. Sakaibe no Omi heard that the soldiers were coming. He led out his second son Aya, came out of the gate, sat on a stool, and waited.

When the soldiers came, they had Kume no Mononobe no Ikuhi strangle them, and father and son died together. They were buried in one place.

Only the elder son Ketsu fled and hid in the tiled house of a nunnery, and he forced himself upon one or two of the nuns. Then one nun in jealousy made it known. They surrounded the temple and would take him, and he came out and went into Mount Unebi.

So they searched the mountain. Ketsu fled and had nowhere to go, and he stabbed his own neck and died in the mountain. The people of the time made a song.

"The trees on Mount Unebi stand thin, and yet did he trust them? Ketsu no Wakugo must have hidden there (畝傍山木立薄けど賴みかも毛津若子の籠らせりけむ)"

— This base text gives the song in its Japanese reading and not in the man'yōgana of the original. This sets down sounds only, and is not turned into meaning.

In spring, the first month, the first day being a gyemyo day, on the byeongo day, the great minister and the many lords together offered the seal of the emperor to Prince Tamura.

He refused it and said, "The ancestral shrine is a weighty thing. I am not wise. How should I dare take it up?"

The officers bowed down and pressed him. "Great King, the former court gathered its love upon you, and things hidden and things seen alike turn their heart to you. It is right that you take up the line of the emperors and shine upon the myriad people."

On that day he ascended the throne of the emperor.

In summer, the fourth month, the first day being a sinmi day, Tabe no Muraji was sent to Yaku. In this year the year sign was gichuk.

In spring, the first month, the first day being a jeongmyo day, on the muin day, Princess Takara was set up as empress. The empress bore two sons and one daughter. The first was Prince Kazuraki. The second was Princess Hashihito. The third was Prince Ōama.

His consort was Hotei no Iratsume, the daughter of Soga no Shima no Ōomi. She bore Prince Furuhito.

He also took to wife Kaya no Uneme of the land of Kibi. She bore Prince Kaya.

In the third month, the first day being a byeongin day, the chief envoy of Goryeo, Yeon Jabal (宴子拔), and the second envoy Yakdeok (若德), and the chief envoy of Baekje, the eunsol Soja (素子), and the second envoy, the deoksol Mudeok (武德), came together and brought tribute.

In autumn, the eighth month, the first day being a gyesa day, on the jeongyu day, Inukami no Kimi Mitasuki of the daein rank and Kusushi Enichi of the daein rank were sent to the Great Tang.

On the gyeongja day the guests of Goryeo and Baekje were feasted at court.

In the ninth month, the first day being a gyehae day, on the byeongin day, the guests of Goryeo and Baekje went home to their lands. In this month Tabe no Muraji and his men came back from Yaku.

In winter, the tenth month, the first day being an imjin day, on the gyemyo day, the emperor moved to the side of Asuka no Oka. This is called the Okamoto Palace.

In this year the Ōkōri of Naniwa and the lodging of the Samhan (三韓) were repaired and set in order.

In spring, the second month, the first day being a sinmyo day, on the gyeongja day, men of Yaku came over and submitted.

In the third month, the first day being a gyeongsin day, Uija (義慈), the king of Baekje, sent in his son Prince Pungjang (豐章) as a hostage.

In autumn, the ninth month, the first day being a jeongsa day, on the eulhae day, he went to the hot spring of Arima in the land of Tsu.

In winter, the twelfth month, the first day being a byeongsul day, on the musul day, the emperor came back from the hot spring.

In autumn, the eighth month, the Great Tang sent Gao Biaoren (高表仁) to bring Mitasuki back. They came to anchor together at Tsushima. At this time the student monk Yeong-un (靈雲), the monk Min (旻), Suguri no Torikai, and the envoys sent by Silla came with them.

In winter, the tenth month, the first day being a sinhae day, on the gabin day, the envoys of the land of Tang, Gao Biaoren and his men, came to anchor at the port of Naniwa. Ōtomo no Muraji Umakai was sent to meet them at the river mouth. Thirty-two boats, with drums and pipes and banners, were all made ready and adorned.

Then word was given to Gao Biaoren and his men. "We have heard that the envoy sent by command of the Son of Heaven has come to the court of the emperor, and so we meet you."

Then Gao Biaoren answered, "On a day when the wind is cold you have adorned your boats and made them ready and have met us. We are glad, and we are abashed."

At this Naniwa no Kishi Otsuki and Ōshikōchi no Atai Yabushi were made their guides, and they came before the guest house. Then Iki no Fubito Oto and his men and Naniwa no Kishi Yaushi were sent to lead the guests into the guest house. On that day sacred wine was given them.

In spring, the first month, the first day being a gimyo day, on the gapjin day, the guest of the Great Tang, Gao Biaoren, and his men went home to their land. The envoys who saw them off, Kishi no Omaro and Kuromaro and the rest, went as far as Tsushima and came back.

In autumn, the eighth month, a long star was seen in the south. The people of the time called it a comet.

In spring, the third month, the comet turned and was seen in the east.

In summer, the sixth month, the first day being an eulchuk day, on the gapsul day, Baekje sent the dalsol Yu (柔) and his men to bring tribute.

In autumn, the seventh month, the first day being an eulmi day, on the sinchuk day, the guests of Baekje were feasted at court.

In this month an auspicious lotus grew in the Tsurugi Pond. It had two flowers on one stem.

In spring, the first month, the first day being an imjin day, the sun was eclipsed.

In the third month all who had forced themselves upon uneme were called to account and punished. At this time Miwa no Kimi Osazaki suffered under the questioning, and he stabbed his own neck and died.

In summer, the fifth month, there were long rains and a great flood.

In the sixth month there was a fire in the Okamoto Palace. The emperor moved and lived in the Tanaka Palace.

In autumn, the seventh month, the first day being a gichuk day, Prince Ōmata said to the great minister of Toyura, "The many lords and all the officials are already slack in coming to court. From now let the court begin at the hour of the hare and let them withdraw after the hour of the snake. Let a bell mark the time."

But the great minister did not follow it.

In this year there was a great drought, and the realm went hungry.

In spring, the second month, the first day being a byeongjin day, on the muin day, a great star flowed from the east to the west. There was a sound with it like thunder. The people of the time said, "It is the sound of a falling star." They also said, "It is earth thunder."

Then the monk Min said, "It is not a falling star. It is a heavenly dog. Its barking voice is only like thunder."

In the third month, the first day being an eulyu day, on the byeongsul day, the sun was eclipsed.

In this year the Emishi rebelled and did not come to court. Kamitsukeno no Kimi Katana of the daein rank was made general and was sent to strike them.

Instead he was beaten by the Emishi and fled into a fort, and at last he was surrounded by the enemy. His men all leaked away and the fort was empty. The general was at a loss and did not know what to do.

Then the sun went down, and he would climb over the wall and flee.

At this the wife of Katana no Kimi sighed and said, "How bitter it is. You will be killed by the Emishi."

Then she said to her husband, "Your forefathers crossed the blue sea and went over ten thousand li. They settled the government beyond the waters and handed down their might and their arms to the ages after. If you now bend the name of your forefathers all at once, you will surely be laughed at by the world to come."

So she poured wine and pressed her husband to drink it. She girded on her husband's sword herself, strung ten bows, and had some tens of women make the bowstrings sound.

Presently her husband rose again, took up his weapon, and went forward. The Emishi thought that his men were still many, and they drew back little by little.

At this the scattered soldiers gathered again, and the army took heart once more. They struck the Emishi and broke them utterly, and took them all captive.

In autumn, the seventh month, the first day being a jeongmi day, on the eulchuk day, a great wind blew. It broke the trees and tore off the roofs.

In the ninth month there were long rains, and the peach and the plum came into flower.

In winter, the tenth month, he went to the hot spring palace of Arima.

In this year Baekje, Silla, and Imna all brought tribute.

In spring, the first month, the first day being an eulsa day, on the imja day, the imperial carriage came back from the hot spring.

On the eulmyo day the feast of the first fruits was held. It may be that the feast of the first fruits had been left undone because of the going to Arima.

On the byeongjin day it thundered without cloud. On the byeongin day a great wind blew and it rained. On the gisa day a long star was seen in the northwest. Then the master Min said, "It is a comet. When it appears there is famine."

In autumn, the seventh month, a command was given. "This year build a great palace and a great temple. Take the side of the Kudara River (百濟川) for the place of the palace."

For this the people of the west built the palace and the people of the east built the temple. Fumi no Atai Agata was made master builder.

In autumn, the ninth month, the student monks in the Great Tang, Hye-eun (惠隱) and Hye-un (惠雲), came into the capital with the envoys sent by Silla.

In winter, the eleventh month, the first day being a gyeongja day, the guests of Silla were feasted at court. With this they were given one grade of cap rank.

In the twelfth month, the first day being a gisa day, on the imo day, he went to the hot spring palace of Iyo. In this month a nine-storied pagoda (九重塔) was raised by the side of the Kudara River.

In spring, the second month, the first day being a mujin day, on the gapsul day, a star entered the moon.

In summer, the fourth month, the first day being a jeongmyo day, on the imo day, the emperor came back from Iyo and stayed in the Umayasaka Palace.

In the fifth month, the first day being a jeongyu day, on the sinchuk day, a great religious feast was held. With it the monk Hye-eun was asked to expound the Muryangsu gyeong (無量壽經).

In winter, the tenth month, the first day being an eulchuk day, on the eulhae day, the student monk in the Great Tang Cheong-an (清安) and the student Takamuko no Ayahito Genri came by way of Silla. With them came the envoys of Baekje and Silla who brought tribute. Each was given one grade of rank.

In this month he moved to the Kudara Palace (百濟宮).

In winter, the tenth month, the first day being a gichuk day, on the jeongyu day, the emperor died in the Kudara Palace. On the byeongo day he was laid in the mourning house to the north of the palace. This is called the Kudara no Ōmogari (百濟大殯).

At this time the crown prince Hirakasuwake, being sixteen years old, spoke the words of mourning.