Suinin.
187
Ten thousand ri I crossed the waves,
Distantly I passed over the weak water.[1]
This Eternal Land
Is no other than the mysterious realm of Gods and Genii
To which ordinary mortals cannot attain;
Therefore in going thither and returning
Ten years have naturally passed.
Beyond my expectation, I braved alone the towering billows,
Turning my way again towards my own land.
Thus, trusting in the spirits of the Emperors,
I hardly accomplished my return.
But now the Emperor is dead,
I am unable to report my mission.
Though I should remain alive,
What more would it avail me?"[2]
Distantly I passed over the weak water.[1]
This Eternal Land
Is no other than the mysterious realm of Gods and Genii
To which ordinary mortals cannot attain;
Therefore in going thither and returning
Ten years have naturally passed.
Beyond my expectation, I braved alone the towering billows,
Turning my way again towards my own land.
Thus, trusting in the spirits of the Emperors,
I hardly accomplished my return.
But now the Emperor is dead,
I am unable to report my mission.
Though I should remain alive,
What more would it avail me?"[2]
Then turning his face towards the misasagi of the Emperor, he wept aloud, and so of himself he died. When the ministers heard of it they all shed tears.
Tajima Mori was the first ancestor of the Miyake[3] no Muraji.
- ↑ Said by the Chinese to be north of Fuyu (in Manchooria). It does not support ships.
- ↑ The sentiment and diction of this speech are thoroughly Chinese. It is not exactly poetry, but nearly so.
- ↑ Miyake, written with characters which mean "three storehouses." Mi, however, is more probably the honorific prefix.
