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Yamato and Kochi Provinces) are accustomed—“by use and wont”—to present a sword to the Emperor.
It was in the Taiho (109) Era that Japan first possessed official records (110) of Shinto Gods; even then, however, any complete list of the names of Shinto Gods and Shrines was lacking and the national Shinto rites were not well established. When the Government Authorities began to compile a book on the Shinto Shrines officially registered during the Tempyo (111) Era, the Nakatomi Family, (112) being then most influential at court in religious affairs, took arbitrary measures, strictly superintended the compilation, and in consequence, the shrines, no matter how insifinificant[errata 1] were, all mentioned in the registered book, if they had any connection with the Nakatomi, whilst, on the contrary, even the greater, most renowned shrines, were they not related to that house, were omitted from all mention therein. Thus, the Nakatomi Family, being then all-powerful, made an unwarranted use of its authority in Shinto matters in defiance of the other families. The Nakatomi alone enjoyed the large income derived from all the public tributes of the people attached to each shrine. All the names of the divine attendants (113) who escorted our Heavenly Grandson to earth or those who accompanied our first human Emperor (114) on his eastern expedition mentioned in our old historical books (115) are familiar to us,—some of them served by guarding His Majesty against his opponents in obedience to the command of the celestial deities, (116) whilst the rest rendered distinguished services to the Emperor in aiding him to carry out his ideals in establishing our Imperial rule and
