Page:Nihongi by Aston.djvu/198

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Suinin.
167

him my allegiance and came to Anato.'[1] Now in that land there was a man named Itsutsu-hiko, who spoke to thy servant, saying:—'I am the King of this land, and there is no other king but me. Do not thou therefore proceed further.' But when I observed him closely and saw what manner of man he was, I knew surely that he was not a king. So I departed again from that place, and not knowing the road, anchored at one island and bay after another, going round by way of the Northern Sea and passing the Land of Idzumo until I arrived here."

It so happened that at this time the Emperor died, so he was detained and served the Emperor Ikume for three years.

Then the Emperor inquired of Arashito, saying:—"Dost thou wish to return to thy country?" He answered and said:—"I earnestly desire to do so." The Emperor then addressed Arashito, saying:—"If thou hadst not lost thy way, thou wouldst certainly have arrived here sooner—in time to serve the late Emperor. Do thou, therefore, change (VI. 4.) the name of thy country. In future take the august name of the Emperor Mimaki and make it the name of thy country. So he gave Arashito red silk stuffs and sent him back to his native land. This was the reason why the name of that country is called Mimana.[2] Hereupon Arashito took the red silk which had been given him, and stored it in the magazine of his country. The people of Silla hearing this, raised an army and proceeding thither robbed him of all the red silk. This was the beginning of the enmity between these two countries."

One writing says:—"In the beginning, when Tsunoga Arashito was still in his own land, he went into the country with an ox loaded with implements of husbandry. The ox suddenly disappeared, and seeking for it by its tracks, he found that the foot-prints ceased in a certain village. Now there was here an old man who said:—'The ox which thou art in search of entered this village, and the
  1. Anato, lit. hole-door, is the ancient name of Nagato (long-door) or Chōshiu. The door is the Strait of Shimonoseki.
  2. Imna, according to the Corean pronunciation of the characters.