Kojiki (Chamberlain, 1882)/Section 43

by Ō no Yasumaro

[Sect. XLIII.—The August Children of His Augustness Cormorant-Thatch-Meeting-Incompletely.]

His Augustness Heaven’s-Sun-Height-Prince-Wave-limit-Brave-Cormorant-Thatch-Meeting-Incompletely wedded his maternal aunt Her Augustness Jewel-Good-Princess, and begot august children named: His Augustness Five-Reaches;^[1] next His Augustness Boiled-Rice;^[2] next His Augustness August-Food-Master;^[3] next His Augustness Young-August-Food-Master,^[4] another name for whom is His Augustness Luxuriant-August-Food-Master,^[5] and another name is His Augustness Divine-Yamato-Ihare-Prince.^[6] So His Augustness August-Food-Master, treading on the crest of the waves, crossed over to the Eternal Land.^[7] His Augustness Boiled-Rice went into the Sea-Plain, it being his deceased mother’s^[8] land.

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1. Itsu-se-no-mikoto. The “reaches” are the reaches of a river; at least this seems the most natural view to take of the meaning of the name. Motowori and Moribe, however, consider it to be a corruption of idzu-shine, to which they assign the signification of “powerful rice.” Excepting for the fact of its bringing this name into harmony with the three that follow, and which all relate to food, there seems little to recommend so far-fetched a derivation.
2. Ina-hi-no-mikoto. If Motowori’s derivation of the name from ina-ihi is correct, it might be rendered with greater exactness “Rice-Boiled-rice,” ine denoting rice in the husk and ihi the same when boiled.
3. Mi-ke-nu-no-mikoto. This name has been translated in accordance with Motowori’s interpretation of the syllables that compose it.
4. Waka-mi-ke-nu-no-mikoto. Conf. preceding Note.
5. Toyo-mi-ke-nu-no-mikoto. Conf. Note 3.
6. Kamu-yamato-ihare-biko-no-mikoto. Yamato being the name of the province where this prince, the first Emperor of the so-called “human age,” fixed his capital, it appropriately forms part of his name. For a discussion of the etymology of the word Yamato, see Sect. V, Note 26. Ihare, a word which is said to signify “assembling,” is the name of a village in that province.
7. See Sect. XXVII, Note 12.
8. See Sect. XII, Note 8.