Page:Nihongi by Aston.djvu/317

Ye men of Naniha,
Haul along the bell-(hung) ship,
Soaked as to your loins,
Haul along that ship.
Haul along the great august ship.

Now the Empress did not anchor at the Great Harbour, but drew onwards again, and, ascending the river, went round by way of Yamashiro, in the direction of Yamato.^[1] The next day the Emperor sent an attendant named Toriyama to bring the Empress back, and made a song, saying:—

In Yamashiro
Overtake her, Toriyama.
Overtake her, overtake her,
My beloved spouse—
I wonder wilt thou overtake and join her.

The Empress would not come back, but continued her journey as far as the River of Yamashiro, where she made a song, saying:—

Ascending the river—
The River of Yamashiro—
(Peak upon peak^[2]—)
As I ascend it,
By the river bend
There stands luxuriant
(Less-than-a-hundred)^[3]
An eighty-leaved tree.
Is it the Great Lord?

So she crossed over Mount Nara, and looking on Katsuraki, (XI. 19.) she made a song, saying:—

Going up to Miya,^[4]
As I ascend

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1. Ch. K., p. 276.
2. Peak upon peak refers to yama, mountain, the first part of Yamashiro. It is a mere ornamental epithet.
3. Less than a hundred is a makura-kotoba of eighty. The luxuriant tree, with its plentiful foliage, reminds her of the Emperor.
4. Miya is probably short for Takamiya in the last line of the poem but one.