(III. 29.) 3rd month, 7th day. The Emperor made an order,[1] saying:—"During the six years that our expedition against the East has lasted, owing to my reliance on the Majesty of Imperial Heaven, the wicked bands have met death. It is true that the frontier lands are still unpurified, and that a remnant of evil is still refractory. But in the region of the Central Land there is no more wind and dust. Truly we should make a vast and spacious capital, and plan it great and strong.[2]
At present things are in a crude and obscure condition, and the people's minds are unsophisticated. They roost in nests or dwell in caves.[3] Their manners are simply what is customary. Now if a great man were to establish laws, justice could not fail to flourish. And even if some gain should accrue to the people, in what way would this interfere with the Sage's[4] action? Moreover, it will be well to open up and clear the mountains and forests, and to construct a palace. Then I may (III. 30.) reverently assume the Precious Dignity, and so give peace to my good subjects. Above, I should then respond to the kindness of the Heavenly Powers in granting me the Kingdom, and below, I should extend the line of the Imperial descendants and foster rightmindedness. Thereafter the capital may be extended so as to embrace all the six cardinal points, and the eight cords may be covered so as to form a roof.[5] Will this not be well?
When I observe the Kashiha-bara[6] plain, which lies
- ↑ This whole speech is thoroughly Chinese in every respect, and it is preposterous to put it in the mouth of an Emperor who is supposed to have lived more than a thousand years before the introduction of Chinese learning into Japan. The strange thing is that it is necessary to make this remark. Yet there are still writers who regard this part of the "Nihongi" as historical.
- ↑ The Kana rendering is mi-araka, "an august shrine" or "an august palace." This would imply a different reading, 社 instead of 壯.
- ↑ The reader must not take this as any evidence of the manners and customs of the Ancient Japanese. It is simply a phrase suggested by the author's Chinese studies.
- ↑ Meaning the Emperor's action.
- ↑ The character for roof 宇 also means the universe. The eight cords, or measuring tapes, simply mean "everywhere."
- ↑ Kashiha is an evergreen oak, the Quercus dentara. Hara means plain.
