“ Hereupon the Emperor said:—"Now our child and the Prime Minister's child have been born on the same day. In the case of both there are omens. This is an indication from Heaven. Let us take the names of these birds, and each exchanging them, call our children after them as a covenant to future generations." So he took the name "wren" (sazaki) and called the Prince Imperial by it, saying:—"The Imperial Prince Oho-sazaki." [11] And he took the name "owl" (Dzuku) and called the Prime Minister's child by it, saying:—"Dzuku (XI. 8.) no Sukune." He was the first ancestor of the Omi of Heguri. ”

“ How shall I presume to succeed to the Dignity and to enter upon the Celestial task? But thou, O great Prince, art distinguished in appearance and of a far-reaching benevolence. Thou art also of ripe years and art fit to become Lord of the Empire. ”

“ The Emperor considered that this basket [47] must be the deer which had belled, and he accordingly addressed the Empress, saying:—"We have been soothed in the anxious thoughts which have of late possessed us by listening to the belling of a deer. Now when the day or night, and the mountain or moor of the deer which has been caught are considered, they correspond to the deer which belled. It is true that that man was not aware of our feelings of affection, and that it was by chance that he came to take it. We nevertheless cannot resist a feeling of resentment. ”

“ The Emperor addressed his ministers, saying:—"We ascended a lofty tower and looked far and wide, but no smoke arose in the land. From this we gather that the people are poor, and that in the houses there are none cooking their rice. We have heard that in the reigns of the wise sovereigns of antiquity, from every one was heard the sound of songs hymning their virtue, in every house there was the ditty, 'How happy are we.' But now when we observe the people, for three years past, no voice of (XI. 9.) eulogy is heard; the smoke of cooking has become rarer and rarer. ”

“ This year, at a fork of the River Kahashima, in the central division of the Province of Kibi, there was a great water-snake which harassed the people. Now when travellers were passing that place on their journey, they were surely affected by its poison, so that many died. Hereupon Agata-mori, [76] the ancestor of the Omi of Kasa, a man of fierce temper and of great bodily strength, stood over the pool of the river-fork and flung (XI. 34.) into the water three whole calabashes, saying:—"Thou art continually belching up poison and therewithal plaguing travellers. ”

“ Oho-sazaki no Mikoto inquired of Maro, the ancestor of the Atahe of Yamato, saying:—"It is stated that the official rice-lands of Yamato were originally Mountain-warden-land. How is this?" He answered and said:—"Thy servant knows not. But thy servant's younger brother, Akoko, knows." It happened that at this time Akoko had been sent to the Han [4] country and had not yet returned. Hereupon Oho-sazaki no Mikoto spake to Oü, saying:—"Do thou go thyself to the Han country and summon Akoko. Go quickly, travelling day and night." So he assigned to him eighty fishermen of Ahaji as sailors. ”

“ Now, there is a general principle admitted by both ancient and modern times that the elder brother should be above and the younger brother below, that the wise man should be Lord and the stupid man a vassal. ”

“ For the Imperial Prince Ohine Izaho-wake there was established the Mibu Be, [17] and again for the Empress there was established the Katsuraki Be. [18]
9th month. The provinces, without exception, petitioned, saying:—"Three years have now elapsed since forced labour was altogether remitted. The Palace buildings have therefore become decayed, and the Treasury empty. The black-headed (XI. 11.) people have now abundance, and remnants are not picked up. Therefore in the villages there are no men without wives or women without husbands, in the houses there is store of spare provisions. ”

“ Lord Chyu answered and said:—"Birds of this kind are numerous in Pèkché. They can be tamed so as to be quite obedient to man. Moreover they are swift of flight and prey upon all kinds of birds. The common people in Pèkché call them Kuchi." So it was given to Lord Chyu to be fed and tamed. In no long time he succeeded in taming it. Lord Chyu accordingly fastened to its leg a soft leather strap, and attached to its tail a small bell. [59] Then, placing it on his forearm, he presented it to the Emperor. On this day he went to the moor of Mozu and hunted. ”

“ The months of summer have passed and yet it has not melted. As to its use—when the hot months come it is placed in water or sake and thus used." The Imperial Prince straightway brought some of that ice, and presented it to the Palace. The Emperor was delighted with it, and from that time forward it became the rule always to store up ice from the last month of winter until the second month of spring when the ice melts.
A.D. 377. 65th year. In the province of Hida there was a man called Sukuna, who was so formed that on one trunk he had two faces. The faces were turned away from each other. ”

“ Dennys, in his "Folk Lore of China," quotes from the North China Herald as follows:—"The River-God is in every case (where the waters of inundations were abated by them) a small water-snake, which popular fancy has converted into a deity." The poisonous breath of serpents is an article of popular faith in many countries. ↑ From "Hereupon" down to "operation" is taken almost verbatim from a Chinese book. ↑ The Emperor's age is not given here. The "Kojiki" makes him eighty-three years of age at his death. ”

“ It is ten girths [74] in size. It has one stem which divides into two at the extremity." Now Akoko, Atahe of Yamato, was sent to make a boat of it. He conveyed it by way of the Southern Sea, and brought it to the Harbour of Naniha, where it was enrolled among the number of the Imperial vessels.
This year the Imperial Prince Nukada no Ohonakatsu hiko hunted in Tsuke. Now the Imperial Prince, looking down over the moor from a mountain-top, espied something in shape like a hut. ”

“ It speedily caught several tens of pheasants. In this month the Be of Taka-ama (falcon-sweet) was first established. Therefore the men of that time called the place where the falcon was brought up the village of Taka-ama.
A.D. 362. 50th year, Spring, 3rd month, 5th day. A man of Kahachi informed the Emperor, saying:—"A wild goose has laid an egg on the Mamuta embankment." That same day a messenger was sent to see. He said:—"It is true." The Emperor hereupon made a song, in which he inquired of Takechi no Sukune, saying:—
O Aso of Uchi! ”

“ A.D. 328. 16th year, Autumn, 7th month, 1st day. The Emperor, indicating Kuhada no Kugahime, a lady of the Palace, to his personal attendants, said:—"It is our desire to bestow affection on this damsel, but, harassed by the Empress's jealousy, we have (XI. 15.) not been able to become united to her. Many years have passed. Why should she waste her years of bloom?" So he made a song, saying:—
Who will nourish
The daughter of the Omi
That sweeps along the bottom of the water? [30]
Then Hayamachi, the ancestor of the Miyakko of the province of Harima, advanced alone and made a song, saying ”

“ Still another says that he died in the 78th year of Nintoku Tennō's reign, which, as one account says that he was born in the 9th year of Keikō Tennō, would make him 312 years of age at his death. It has been suggested that there were several persons of this name who succeeded each other as hereditary prime ministers. But the simpler explanation is that the chronology at this period is wildly inaccurate, as there is plenty of other evidence to show. ↑ See Ch. K., p. 283. Wild geese do not nest in Japan. ↑ It may be only one man of this name. ”

“ K., p. 279. ↑ The basket is put for the contents (like the Latin sportula) , and the word is used even when there may have been no basket at all. ↑ Princess Medori was half-sister of the Emperor by a different mother, and full sister of the Empress. ↑ Hayabusa wake was half-brother to both Princess Medori and the Emperor by a different mother. ↑ The word translated everlasting is hisakata, lit. long-hard, an epithet involving a similar conception of the sky to our word "firmament." By metal is probably meant "adorned with metal fittings." ”

“ He was buried in the misasagi on Mozu moor. [79]
↑ Great-wren. See below, XI. 7. ↑ Benevolence-virtue. ↑ These expressions are simply borrowed from Chinese books, and have no bearing on Japanese ancient institutions or ideas. ↑ Corea. ↑ Suinin Tennō. ↑ Clearly Oho-yama-morl is the same person who is spoken of above as Nukada no Oho-naka-tsu-hiko. Either Nukada all through the above passage is a mistake, or the genealogy (p. 255) which makes two persons of them is wrong. I think the latter more likely, Oho-yama-mori being an official designation, and Nukada, etc., the name. ”