Kojiki (Chamberlain, 1882)/Section 110

by Ō no Yasumaro

[Sect. CX.—Emperor Ō-jin (Part VII.—Tribute From Korea).]

Again King Shō-ko,^[1] the Chieftain of the land of Kudara, sent as tribute by Achi-kishi^[2] one stallion and one mare. (This Achi-kishi was the ancestor of the Achiki Scribes.^[3]) Again he sent as tribute a cross-sword,^[4] and likewise a large mirror. Again he was graciously bidden^[5] to send as tribute a wise man, if there were any such in the land of Kudara. Therefore, receiving the [Imperial] commands, he sent as tribute a man named Wani-kishi,^[6] and likewise by this man he sent as tribute the Confucian Analects^[7] in ten volumes and the Thousand Character Essay^[8] in one volume,—altogether eleven volumes. (This Wani-kishi was the ancestor of the Fumi Grandees.^[9]) Again he sent as tribute two artisans,—a smith from Kara named Taku-so^[10] and a weaver from Go^[11] named Sai-so.^[12]

---

1. 照古王, according to the Japanese kana spelling, Seu-ko.
2. 阿知吉師. Other forms of the name are Ajiki and Atogi, and all three are but attempts at transcribing phonetically into Japanese a Korean name, the proper characters for which are not given. 吉士 is not properly part of the name, but is simply an official title (師 here stands for 士).
3. Achiki no fumi-bito. Fumi-bito (abbreviated to Fubito) became a “gentile name.”
4. See Sect. XLV, Note 5.
5. Q.d., by the Japanese Emperor.
6. Here written phonetically 和邇吉師, but properly 王仁吉士, i.e., “the Official Wang-In.” He is generally spoken of simply as Wani.
7. 論語. (“Lun Yü,” or according to the Japanese pronunciation “Ron-go.”)
8. 千字文. (“Ch‘ien Tzŭ Wên,” or according to the Japanese pronunciation “Sen-ji-mon.”) See the translator’s remarks on this subject in the Introduction, p. xliii. The “Chronicles” more prudently mention only “various classics.”
9. Fumi no obito. Fumi signifies “any written document,” so that this “gentile name” is equivalent to our word “scribe.”
10. 卓素. The transliteration of this, as of all other such names here occurring, is the Sinico-Japanese transliteration. Kara (Korea) is written 韓.
11. 吳 (Wu, Jap. Go), one of the states into which China was divided during the third century of our era. A draper’s shop is still called go-fuku-ya, i.e., “Wu-garments-house” in memory of the introduction of wearing apparel from that country.
12. 西素.