“ Hereupon the Emperor spake to his elder brother, Prince Ohoke, saying:—"Many years have passed since we fled hither to escape ruin. It belongs to this very evening to reveal our names and to disclose our high rank." Prince Ohoke exclaimed with pity:—"To make such an announcement ourselves would be fatal. Which of us could keep safe his person and avoid danger?" The Emperor said:—"We, the grandsons of the Emperor Izahowake, are a man's drudges, and feed his horses and kine. What better can we do than make known our names and be slain?" ”

“ He embraced the legs of Ayahiko, Kishi of Kusakabe, and through him begged his life of the Ohomuraji, Ohotomo no Muruya, saying:—"Thy slave Wone, the Agata-nushi, was the faithful servant of the Imperial Prince Hoshikaha, but yet he was not rebellious towards the Prince Imperial. He prays that a generous mercy be accorded him, and a human life spared." ”

“ Upon this the Emperor saw that if he persisted in his refusal to come forward, he would be [46] acting contrary to his elder brother's wishes, and gave his consent. But he would not take his place on the Imperial throne. The world was rejoiced to see how well they sincerely yielded in each other's favour, and said:—"Excellent! With such good feeling between elder and younger brother, the Empire will tend to virtue: with such love between relations, the people will stimulate benevolence." ”

“ The conduct which should be esteemed by him who is in the position of a younger brother is to serve his elder brother by devising methods of averting from him disaster, to illustrate virtue, and to unravel complications without putting himself forward. For if he puts himself forward, he will be wanting in the reverence which is due from a younger brother. Woke cannot bear to put himself forward. [44] It is an immutable law that the elder brother should be affectionate and the younger brother reverent. ”

“ Your wisdom is abundant, and your good fortune conspicuous. While young you were diligent, humble, respectful, affectionate and docile. May it please you to comply with the command of your elder brother, and take over the conduct of the great undertaking." The Emperor made an order, saying:—"Be it so." Accordingly he summoned the Ministers of State and the functionaries to the Yatsuri Palace in Hither Asuka, and there assumed the Imperial Dignity, and the functionaries entered upon office, to the great delight of all. ”

“ Karama no Hataye and his daughter Nakume having both died, Yamaki, the man of Sumuchi, had illicit intercourse with Funame [81] of the Jewellers' Be, and had by her a son named Araki, who took to wife Akitame. Upon this Araki set out for Koryö in the suite of Hitaka no Kishi. Therefore his wife Akitame, restless and full of longing, has lost her wits and become distraught, and the sound of her lamentation is very touching, even to the rending of men's bowels. ”

“ Hereupon the Moon-God, by the mouth of a certain man, addressed him, saying:—"My ancestor Taka-mimusubi had the merit in conjunction (with other Deities) of creating Heaven and Earth. Let him be worshipped by dedicating to him people and land. I am the Moon-God, and I shall be pleased if an offering is made according to his desire." Kotoshiro accordingly returned to the capital, and reported these things fully to the Emperor. The Utaarasu rice-fields were dedicated to the God, and Oshimi no Sukune, the ancestor of the Agatanushi of Yuki, was appointed to attend upon his shrine. ”

“ The Princess Kasuga no Oho-iratsume was the daughter of the Emperor Oho-hatsuse by Woguna Kimi, daughter of Fukame, Wani no Omi.
She at length bore to him one son and six daughters. The first was called the Imperial Princess Takahashi no Oho-iratsume; the second was called the Imperial Princess Asatsuma; the third was called the Imperial Princess Tashiraga; the fourth was called the Imperial Princess Kusuhi; the fifth was called the Imperial Princess Tachibana; the sixth was called the Emperor Wo-hatsuse no Waka-sazaki. ”

“ Karabukuro no Sukune, Kimi of Mount Sasaki, who was implicated in the assassination of the Imperial Prince Oshiha, when about to be executed, bowed down his head to the ground, and his words expressed extreme sorrow. The Emperor could not bear to put him to death, so he added him to the misasagi guardians, making him at the same time mountain-warden, [53] and erasing his name from the census registers. He was then handed over to the jurisdiction of the Yamabe no Muraji. ”

“ For the purpose of the offerings of the feast of first-fruits, Wodate, of the Be of Kume of Iyo, ancestor of the Yamabe no Muraji and Governor of Harima, was sent thither. In the new muro of Hosome, Miyakko of the Oshinomi Be and Obito of the granary of Shijimi in the district of Akashi, he saw Ohoke and Woke, sons of the Imperial Prince Oshiha of Ichinobe. ”

“ I resign the Empire in his favour." The Emperor, on the other hand, resigned it on the grounds that as a younger brother he might not presume to assume the Dignity, and also because he was aware that the Emperor Shiraga had appointed his elder brother Prince Imperial with the previous purpose of transmitting it to him. (XV. 14.) For these two reasons he firmly declined, saying:—"When the sun and moon appear, is it not impossible that a candle should not give way before their radiance? When a seasonable rain falls, is it not superfluous trouble to go on watering from a pond? ”

“ By their respectfulness they show their observance of just principles; by their retiring behaviour they illustrate courtesy. They are worthy of the name of gentlemen." Upon this Wodate played on the lute and gave orders to the light-holders, saying:—"Get up and dance." Then the elder and younger brothers declined in each other's favour for a good while and did not get up. Wodate urged them, saying:—"Wherefore all this delay? Get up quickly and dance." Prince Ohoke got up and danced. ”

“ The Emperor Shiraga-take-hiro-kuni-oshi-waka-Yamato-neko was the third child of the Emperor Ohohatsuse-waka-take. His mother's name was Katsuraki no Kara-hime. The Emperor's hair was white [3] from his birth. When he grew up to manhood, he loved the people. The Emperor Ohohatsuse had a special admiration for him amongst all his children, and in the 22nd year of his reign appointed him Prince Imperial. The Emperor Ohohatsuse died in the 8th month of the 23rd year of his reign. ”

“ In China the use of the personal name is not thought respectful except by a chief or parent. Instead of it the designation (字) is used. The latter was assumed at the age of fifteen (or twenty) , when the ceremony of capping took place. In writing the personal names of the Emperors of the reigning dynasty, the Chinese are careful to alter one or two strokes of the character. ↑ Shima no Wakako, above, XV. 7. ↑ This is a curious way of putting it, but the original is so. ↑ This is the temporary palace built by Wodate. ”

“ The commentators say this means shigeki, thick, which in Japanese is a metaphor for cordial, hearty, kind. ↑ i.e. tied the laths (of sedge) to the uprights of the walls, which were then plastered with a mixture of mud and straw. The firmness with which they were tied represents the endurance of the master's life. ”