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of Daido (A.D. 807), when he held the Sub-Junior Fifth Court Rank, but one of the most authentic Japanese histories (the Ruiju-Kokushi, Japanese edition, Vol. XCIX, 11th month, 3rd year of Daido) states that Imbe-no-Hironari was actually in the Higher-Senior Sixth Court Rank (a degree inferior to the Sub-Junior Fifth Court Rank), and so, in order to harmonize the date with this historical fact, a certain edition of the Kogoshui puts the date 13th day of the 12th month in the 3rd year of Daido, as that when Imbe-no-Hironari submitted the Kogoshui to the Imperial Throne. We believe, however, that the variations both in the dates and in Hironari’s Court Rank, were inserted later by some unknown scribes and therefore the date when the Kogoshui was actually tendered to His Imperial Majesty may be that which is popularly believed, namely, the 13th day of the 2nd month in the 2nd year of Daido.

It is an historical fact that in the last[errata 1] year of Daido, A.D. 806, there was a controversy between the Imbe and the Nakatomi on the powers respectively entrusted to their families in the matter of religious ceremonies at the Imperial Court, and therefore it is most probable that Hironari made his first draft of the Kogoshui during the 1st year of Daido (806), or at the beginning of the next year (807),—as is stated in the passage of our Kogoshui text—and submitted it to the Emperor Heijo against his rival Nakatomi, thus making the best use of the opportunity afforded by that controversy between the two rival Houses. Therefore one of the most authentic official Japanese histories records:—

“Prior to this (the 10th day of the 8th month of the first

  1. Correction: last should be amended to first: detail