Kojiki (Chamberlain, 1882)/Section 61

by Ō no Yasumaro

[Sect. LXI.—Emperor Kō-gen.]

His Augustness Oho-yamato-ne-ko-hiko-kuni-kuru dwelt in the palace of Sakaki-bara at Karu,^[1] and ruled the Empire. This Heavenly Sovereign wedded Her Augustness Utsu-shiko-me,^[2] younger sister of His Augustness Utsu-shiko-wo,^[3] ancestor of the Grandees of Hodzumi,^[4] and begot august children: His Augustness Oho-biko,^[5] next His Augustness Sukuna-biko-take-wi-gokoro;^[6] next His Augustness Waka-yamato-ne-ko-hiko-oho-bibi^[7] (three Deities). Again, wedding Her Augustness I-gaka-shiko-me,^[8] daughter of His Augustness Utsu-shiko-wo, he begot an august child: His Augustness Hiko-futsu-oshi-no-makoto.^[9] Again, wedding Princess Haniyasu,^[10] daughter of Awotama^[11] of Kafuchi, he begot an august child, His Augustness Take-hani-yasu-biko^[12] (one Deity). The august children of this Heavenly Sovereign [numbered in all five Deities]. So His Augustness Waka-yamato-ne-ko-hiko-oho-bibi [was he who afterwards] ruled the Empire. The children of his elder brother, His Augustness Oho-biko, were His Augustness Take-nuna-kaba-wake^[13] (ancestor of the Grandees of Abe);^[14] next His Augustness Hiko-inakoshi-wake.^[15] (This was the ancestor of the Butler Grandees.)^[16] His Augustness Hiko-futsu-oshi-no-makoto wedded Princess Takachina of Kadzuraki,^[17] younger sister of Oho-nabi,^[18] ancestor of the Chiefs of Wohari,^[19] and begot a child: the Noble Umashi Uchi.^[20] (This was the ancestor of the Grandees of Uchi in Yamashiro.)^[21] Again, wedding Princess Yama-shita-kage,^[22] younger sister of Udzu-hiko,^[23] ancestor of the Rulers of the Lord of Ki,^[24] he begot a child, the Noble Take-Uchi.^[25] The children of this Noble Take-Uchi [numbered] in all nine (seven males and two females),—[namely] the Noble of Hata-no-Yashiro,^[26] [who] (was the ancestor of the Grandees of Hata,^[27] of the Grandees of Hayashi,^[28] of the Grandees of Hami,^[29] of the Grandees of Hoshikaha,^[30] of the Grandees of Afumi,^[31] and of the Dukes of the Hatsuse Tribe);^[32] next the Noble Kose-no-Wo-Kara^[33] [who] (was the ancestor of the Grandees of Kose,^[34] of the Grandees of the Sazaki Tribe,^[35] and of the Grandees of the Karu Tribe);^[36] next the Noble Soga no Ishikaha^[37] [who] (was the ancestor of the Grandees of Soga,^[38] of the Grandees of Kahanobe^[39] of the Grandees of Tanaka,^[40] of the Grandees of Takamuko,^[41] of the Grandees of Woharida,^[42] of the Grandees of Sakurawi,^[43] and of the Grandees of Kishida);^[44] next the Noble Heguri-no-Tsuku,^[45] [who] (was the ancestor of the Grandees of Heguri,^[46] of the Grandees of Sawara,^[47] and of the Uma-mi-kuhi Chiefs);^[48] next the Noble Ki-no-Tsunu^[49] [who] (was the ancestor of the Grandees of Ki,^[50] of the Grandees of Tsunu,^[51] and of the Grandees of Sakamoto);^[52] next Princess Mato of Kume;^[53] next Princess Nu-no-iro;^[54] next Kadzuraki-no-Nagaye-no-sotsu-biko^[55] [who] (was the ancestor of the Grandees of Tamade,^[56] of the Grandees of Ikuha,^[57] of the Grandees of Ikuye^[58] and of the Grandees of Agina);^[59] moreover [there was] the Noble Waku-go^[60] (the ancestor of the Grandees of Yenuma).^[61] This Heavenly Sovereign’s august years were fifty-seven. His august mausoleum is on the mound in the middle of the Pool of Tsurugi.^[62]

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1. In Yamato. For Karu see Sect. LVII, Note 1. Sakahi-bara signifies “boundary moor.”
2. I.e., perhaps, “the beautiful but alarming female.”
3. I.e., perhaps, “the beautiful but alarming male.”
4. Hodzumi no omi. There are several places called Hodzumi in various provinces. The name appears to signify “piling up rice-ears.”
5. I.e., “great prince.”
6. I.e., “little prince-fierce-boar-heart,” the boar being known for its savage disposition.
7. Excluding the last member of the compound, this name signifies “young-Yamato-lord-prince-great.” Bibi is identified by Motowori with the word mimi, which so often recurs in proper names (see Sect. XIII, Note 18).
8. Motowori explains this name in the sense of “brilliant-alarming-female,” but some doubt must attach to it.
9. I.e., perhaps, “prince vast-great-truth.”
10. Hani-yasu-bime. This name has already been met with in Sect. VII, Note 3. Motowori however supposes that in this place Haniyasu should be considered to be the name of a place in Yamato.
11. I.e., a man called “green jewel” who lived in the province of Kafuchi.
12. Take signifies “brave.” For the rest of the name see Note 10.
13. Take signifies “brave.” Wake is either “young” or “lord.” For Nuna-kaha see Sect. LI, Note 31.
14. Abe no omi. There are several places called Abe, and it is doubtful to which of them the text here refers.
15. The signification of inakoshi seems to be “rice-chariot.” Hiko is “prince,” and wake either “young” or “lord.”
16. Kashihade no omi. This name is traditionally referred to an incident in the reign of the Emperor Kei-kō, who is said to have bestowed it on one of his attendants who served up to him a particularly savoury dish of shell-fish. “Butlers” (perhaps the word might also be rendered “cooks”) have been mentioned towards the end of Sect. XXXII, and again in the legend of Jim-mu’s slaughter of the “earth-spiders” related in Sect. XLVIII.
17. Kazduraki-no-takachina-bime-no-mikoto. The signification of Takachina is obscure.
18. By aphæresis for Oho-inabi, the form of the name given in the “Chronicles of Old Matters of Former Ages,” itself perhaps standing by apocope for Oho-ina-biko, which would signify “great rice-prince.”
19. Wohari no murazhi.
20. Umashi Uchi no sukune. Umashi signifies “sweet,” and Uchi is the name of a place in Yamashiro.
21. Yamashiro no Uchi no omi.
22. This name may be rendered literally “the shade beneath the mountains”; but the signification is “the glow from the autumn leaves on the mountain-side.”
23. I.e., probably “wonderful (or precious) prince.”
24. Ki no kuni no miyatsuko no oya.
25. Take-Uchi no sukune. Take signifies “brave,” and Uchi is the name of a district in Yamato. The common, but erroneous, reading of this name is Take no Uchi no sukune. This celebrated personage, who may be styled the Methuselah of Japan, is said to have lived during the reigns of five Emperors, who themselves averaged over a hundred years of life each. His own age is variously given as 255, 260, etc. up to 360 years.
26. Hata no Yashiro no sukune. Hata and Yashiro are supposed by Motowori to be the names of places in Yamato. Yashiro signifies “shrine.” Hata is of uncertain derivation.
27. Hata no omi.
28. Hayashi no omi. Hayashi is the name of a place in Kahachi, and signifies “forest.”
29. Hami no omi. There is a Hami in Afumi and another in Tamba. The signification of the name is obscure.
30. Hoshikaha no omi. Hashikaha is a place in Yamato. The name signifies “star river.”
31. Afumi no omi. For Afumi see Sect. XXIX, Note 20.
32. Hatsuse-be no Kimi. For Hatsuse see Sect. CXLIII, Note 8.
33. Kose no Wo-kara no sukune. Kose is the name of a place in Yamato. The meaning of Wo-kara is obscure.
34. Kose no omi.
35. Sazakibe no omi. See Sect. LIII, Note 10.
36. Kurube no omi.
37. Soga no Ishikaha no sukune. Soga is a place in Yamato, and Ishikaha a district in Kahachi. In cases like this it must generally be presumed that the family had two seats, or was divided into two branches residing in different places. Sometimes, however, the original seat and that to which the family afterwards removed are meant to be indicated.
38. Soga no omi. The signification of Soga is obscure.
39. Kahanobe no omi. Kahanobe is the name of a district in Settsu, and signifies “river-bank.”
40. Tanaka no omi. Tanaka is the name of a place in Yamato, and signifies “among the rice-fields.”
41. Takamuko no omi. Takamuko seems to be the name of a place in Echizen. Its signification is uncertain.
42. Woharida no omi. Woharida is a place in Yamato. The name seems to mean “little ploughed field.”
43. Sakurawi no omi. Sakurawi is the name of a place in Kahachi, and signifies “cherry-tree well.”
44. Kishida no omi. Kishida is a place in Yamato. The signification of the name is not clear.
45. Heguri no Tsuku no sukune. Heguri is the name of a district in Yamato, and is of uncertain signification. Tsuku (modern dzuku), “owl,” is a name which is referred to a tradition that will be found in Motowori’s Commentary, Vol. XXII, p. 29.
46. Heguri no omi.
47. Sawara no omi. Sawara was perhaps a district in Chikuzen. The signfication of the name is obscure.
48. Uma-mi-kuhi no murazhi. The literal significance of the characters with which Uma-mi-kuhi is written is “horse august post.” But whether this name had any relation to horses, or whether it should simply be regarded as the name of a place is quite uncertain.
49. Ki no Tsunu no sukune. Ki is the name of a province, and Tsunu that of a district in another province,—the province of Suhau (Suwō). Conf. Note 37.
50. Ki no omi.
51. Tsunu no omi.
52. Sakamoto no omi. Sakamoto is the name of a place in Idzumi, and signifies “base of the hill.”
53. Kume no Ma-ito-hime. Kume may be, as Motowori says, the name of a place. But see Sect. XXXIV, Note 7. In any case the place, if it existed, was probably called after some person of the name of Kume. The signification of Ma-ito is obscure.
54. Nu-no-iro-hime. The meaning of this name is obscure.
55. Kadzuraki is the already frequently mentioned name of a district in Yamato, and Nagaye is likewise the name of a place,—whether in Yamato or in Kahachi is not certain. It signifies “long inlet.” Motowori thinks that the syllable so in this place is the same as the so of kuma-so, and signifies “valiant” or “fierce.”
56. Tamade no omi. There is a Tamade in Yamato and another in Kahachi. The signification of the name is uncertain.
57. Ikuha no omi. The “Chronicles of Japan” tell us that the original form of this name Ikuha was uki-ha, i.e., “floating leaf,” and give a story to account for it. See Motowori’s Commentary, Vol. XXII, pp. 36–37, where the reason traditionally given to explain the fact of the name Ikuha being written with the character 的 is also mentioned at length.
58. Ikuye no omi. Ikuye must have been the name of a place; but nothing is known of it.
59. Agina no omi. The same observation applies to this as to the preceding name.
60. Waku-go no sukune. Waku-go signifies “young child” or “youth,” an Honorific designation.
61. Yenuma no omi. Yenuma is the name of a district in Kaga, and signifies “inlet-lagoon.”
62. In Yamato. This pool or lake is often mentioned in the poems of the “Collection of a Myriad Leaves” and was celebrated for its lotus-flowers. We hear of it in the “Chronicles of Japan,” as having been dug in the reign of the Emperor Ō-jin, but it was probably, like many others, a natural pool or marsh, which was afterwards improved. The name signifies “sabre.”