Imperial army. The Emperor distributed this flesh and sake to the common soldiers, upon which they sang the following verses:—
| In the high | castle | of Uda | ||
| tree | ||||
| I set a snare for woodcock, | ||||
| And waited, | ||||
| But no woodcock came to it; | ||||
| (III. 14.) A valiant whale came to it.[1] | ||||
| **** | ||||
| **** | ||||
This is called a Kume[2] song. At the present time, when the Department of Music performs this song, there is still the[3] measurement of great and small by the hand, as well as a distinction of coarse and fine in the notes of the voice. This is by a rule handed down from antiquity.
After this the Emperor wished to inspect the Land of Yoshino, so taking personal command of the light troops, he (III. 15.) made a progress round by way of Ukechi mura in Uda.
When he came to Yoshino, there was a man who came out of a well. He shone, and had a tail. The Emperor inquired of him, saying:—"What man art thou?" He answered and said:—"Thy servant is a local Deity, and his name is Wi-hikari."[4] He it is who was the first ancestor of the Yoshino no Obito. Proceeding a little further, there was another man with a tail, who burst open a rock and came forth from it. The Emperor inquired of him, saying:—"What man art thou?" He answered and said:—"Thy servant is the child of Iha-oshi-
- ↑ Ki in the first line of this poem means probably both tree and castle. The words are put into the mouth of Ukeshi the Elder, who found a whale (the Emperor) in his springe instead of the harmless woodcock he expected. The wild boar is now called the yama-kujira or mountain-whale, and is perhaps the animal intended here.
I confess that I can make no satisfactory sense of the remainder of this poem. The version given by Chamberlain (Ch. K., p. 140), following Moribe, is as good as any, but it seems to me very conjectural. It should be noted, however, that this part of the poem contains an indication of the polygamous customs of the Japanese at this time in the use of two words signifying respectively elder wife (konami) and younger wife (uhanari). The "Nihongi" omits the interjectional refrain given in the "Kojiki."
- ↑ Kume means no doubt "soldier" in this passage.
- ↑ Beating time is perhaps meant.
- ↑ Well-brightness.
