Kojiki (Chamberlain, 1882)/Section 125

by Ō no Yasumaro

[Sect. CXXV.—Emperor Nin-toku (Part VII.—He Loves Yata-no-waki-iratsume).]

The Heavenly Sovereign, loving Yata-no-waki-iratsume, deigned to send her an august Song. That Song said:

“Will the one sedge-stem of Yata, having no children, wither as it stands? Poor sedge-moor! Sedge-moor indeed is what I may say—poor pure girl!”^[1]

Then Yata-no-waki-iratsume replied in a Song, saying:

“Even though the one sedge-stem of Yata be alone, if the Great Lord say it is right, even though it be alone [it is right].”^[2]

So the Yata Tribe^[3] was established as the august proxy of Yata-no-waki-iratsume.

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1. In this Song the Emperor condoles with his mistress on her childlessness: “Will the single sedge on the moor of Yata die without leaving any offspring? Sedge, indeed! Yes, sedge is the term I use for my metaphor, but what is in my thoughts is the girl I love.”—There is in the original a jeu-de-mots, not capable of translation into English, between suge or suga, “sedge,” and sugashi, “pure.”
2. The girl replies: “Even though I be childless, I care not if my lord cares not.”
3. Yata-be.