THE WHITE HARE OF
INABA
From His
Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness was descended the deity
Master-of-the-Great-Land. He had eighty deities his brethren;
but they all left the land to the deity
Master-of-the-Great-Land. The reason for their leaving it was
this: Each of these eighty deities had in his heart the wish to
marry the Princess of Yakami in Inaba, and they went together to
Inaba, putting their bag on the back of the deity
Great-Name-Possessor, whom they took with them as an attendant.
Hereupon, when they arrived at Cape Keta, they found a naked
hare lying down. Then the eighty deities spoke to the hare,
saying: "What thou shouldest do is to bathe in the sea-water
here, and lie on the slope of a high mountain exposed to the
blowing of the wind." So the hare followed the instructions of
the eighty deities, and lay down. Then, as the sea-water dried,
the skin of its body all split with the blowing of the wind, so
that it lay weeping with pain. But the deity
Great-Name-Possessor, who came last of all, saw the hare, and
said: "Why liest thou weeping? " The hare replied, saving: "I
was in the Island of Oki, and wished to cross over to this land,
but had no means of crossing over. For this reason I deceived
the crocodiles of the sea, saying: ' Let you and me compete, and
compute the numbers of our respective tribes. So do you go and
fetch every member of your tribe, and make them all lie in a row
across from this island to Cape Keta. Then I will tread on them,
and count them as I run across. Hereby shall we know whether it
or my tribe is the larger.' Upon my speaking thus, they were
deceived and lay down in a row, and I trod on them and counted
them as I came across, and was just about to get on land, when I
said: 'You have been deceived by me.' As soon as I had finished
speaking, the crocodile who lay the last of all seized me and
stripped off all my clothing. As 1 was weeping and lamenting for
this reason, the eighty deities who went by before thee
commanded and exhorted me, saying: 'Bathe in the salt water, and
lie down exposed to the wind.' So, on my doing as they had
instructed me, my whole body was hurt." Thereupon the deity
Great-Name-Possessor instructed the hare, saying: " Go quickly
now to the river-mouth, wash thy body with the fresh water, then
take the pollen of the sedges growing at the river-mouth, spread
it about, and roll about upon it, whereupon thy body will
certainly be restored to its original state." So the bare did as
it was instructed, and its body became as it bad been
originally. This was the White Hare of Inaba. It is now called
the Hare deity. So the hare said to the deity
Great-Name-Possessor: "These eighty deities shall certainly not
get the Princess of Yakami. Though thou bearest the bag, Thine
Augustness shall obtain her."
MOUNT TEMA
Thereupon the
Princess of Yakami answered the eighty deities, saving: "I will
not listen to your words. I mean to marry the deity Great-Name-
Possessor." So the eighty deities, being enraged, and wishing to
slay the deity Great-Name-Possessor, took counsel together, on
arriving at the foot of Tema in the land of Hahaki, and said to
him: "On this mountain there is a red boar. So when we drive it
down, do thou wait and catch it. If thou do not wait and catch
it, we will certainly slay thee." Having thus spoken, they took
fire, and burned a large stone like unto a boar, and rolled it
down. Then, as they drove it down and he caught it, be got stuck
to and burned by the stone, and died. Thereupon Her Augustness
his august parent cried and lamented, and went up to Heaven, and
entreated His Divine-Producing-Wondrous-Augustness, who at once
sent Princess Cockle-Shell and Princess Clam to bring him to
life. Then Princess Cockle-Shell triturated and scorched her
shell, and Princess Clam carried water and smeared him as with
mother's milk, whereupon he became a beautiful young man, and
wandered off. Hereupon the eighty deities, seeing this, again
deceived him, taking him with them into the mountains, where
they cut down a large tree, inserted a wedge in the tree and
made him stand in the middle, whereupon they took away the wedge
and tortured him to death. Then on Her Augustness his august
parent again seeking him with cries, she perceived him, and at
once cleaving the tree, took him out and brought him to life,
and said to him: "If thou remain here, thou wilt at last be
destroyed by the eighty deities." Then she sent him swiftly off
to the august place of the deity Great-House-Prince in the land
of Ki. Then when the eighty deities searched and pursued till
they came up to him, and fixed their arrows in their bows, he
escaped by dipping under the fork of a tree, and disappeared.
THE
NETHER-DISTANT-LAND
The deity
Great-House-Prince spoke to him, saying: Thou must set off to
the Nether-Distant-Land where dwells His
Impetuous-Male-Augustness. That great deity will certainly
counsel thee." So on his obeying her commands and arriving at
the august place of His Impetuous-Male-Augustness, the latter's
daughter the Forward-Princess came out, and saw him, and they
exchanged glances and were married, and she went in again, and
told her father, saying: " A very beautiful deity has come."
Then the great deity went out and looked, and said: " This is
the Ugly-Male-Deity-of-the-Reed-Plains," and at once calling him
in, made him sleep in the snake-house. Hereupon his wife, Her
Augustness the Forward-Princess, gave her husband a snake-scarf,
saying: " When the snakes are about to bite thee, drive them
away by waving this scarf thrice." So, on his doing as she bad
instructed, the snakes became quiet, so that he came forth after
calm slumbers. Again on the night of the next day the
Impetuous--Male deity put him into the centipede and wasp-house;
but as she again gave him a centipede and wasp-scarf, and
instructed him as before, he came forth calmly. Again the
Impetuous-Male deity shot a whizzing barb into the middle of a
large moor, and sent him to fetch the arrow, and, when be bad
entered the moor, at once set fire to the moor all round.
Thereupon, while he stood knowing no place of exit, a mouse came
and said: " The inside is hollow-hollow; the outside is
narrow-narrow." Owing to its speaking thus, he trod on the
place, whereupon he fell in and hid himself, during which time
the fire burned past. Then the mouse brought out in its mouth
and presented to him the whizzing barb. The feathers of the
arrow were brought in their months by all the mouse's children.
Hereupon his wife the Forward-Princess came bearing mourning
implements, and crying. Her father the great deity, thinking
that the deity Great-Name-Possessor was already dead and done
for, went out and stood on the moor, whereupon the deity
Great-Name-Possessor brought the arrow and presented it to him,
upon which the great deity, taking him into the house and
calling him into an eight-foot spaced large room, made him take
the lice off his head. So, on looking at the head, be saw that
there were many centipedes there. Thereupon, as his wife gave to
her husband berries of the muku tree and red earth, he chewed
the berries to pieces, and spat them out with the red earth
which he held in his mouth, so that the great deity believed him
to be chewing up and spitting out the centipedes, and, feeling
fond of him in his heart, fell asleep. Then the deity
Great-Name-Possessor, grasping the great deity's hair, tied it
fast to the various rafters of the house, and, blocking up the
floor of the house with a five-hundred draught rock, and taking
his wife the Forward-Princess on his back, then carried off the
great deity's great life-sword and life-bow-and-arrows, as also
his heavenly speaking-lute, and ran out. But the heavenly
speaking-lute brushed against a tree, and the earth resounded.
So the great deity, who was sleeping, started at the sound, and
pulled down the house. But while he was disentangling his hair
which was tied to the rafters, the deity Great-Name-Possessor
fled a long way. So then, pursuing after him to the
Even-Pass-of-Hades, and gazing on him from afar, be called out
to the deity Great-Name-Possessor, saying: "With the great
life-sword and the life-bow-and-arrows which thou carriest,
pursue thy half-brethren till they crouch on the august slopes
of the passes, and pursue them till they are swept into the
reaches of the rivers, and do thou, wretch! become the deity
Master-of-the-Great-Land; and moreover, becoming the deity
Spirit-of-the-Living-Land, and making my daughter the
Forward-Princess thy consort, do thou make stout the
temple-pillars at the foot of Mount Uka in the nethermost
rock-bottom, and make high the crossbeams to the
Plain-of-High-Heaven, and dwell there, thou villain! So when,
bearing the great sword and bow, he pursued and scattered the
eighty deities, be did pursue them till they crouched on the
august slope of every pass, he did pursue them till they were
swept into every river, and then he began to make the land.
THE WOOING OF THE
DEITY-OF-EIGHT-THOUSAND-SPEARS
This
Deity-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears, when he went forth to woo the
Princess of Nuna-kaha, in the land of Koshi, on arriving at the
house of the Princess of Nunakaha sang, saying:
"I, The Augustness
the Deity-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears, having been unable to find a
spouse in the Land of the Eight Islands, and having heard that
in the far-off Land of Koshi there is a wise maiden, having
heard that there is a beauteous maiden, I am standing here to
truly woo her, I am going backward and forward to woo her.
Without having yet untied even the cord of my sword, without
having yet untied even my veil, I push back the plank-door shut
by the maiden; while I am standing here, I pull it forward.
While I am standing here, the nuye sings upon the green
mountain, and the voice of the true bird of the moor, the
pheasant, resounds; the bird of the yard, the cock, crows. Oh!
the pity that the birds should sing! Oh! these birds! Would that
I could beat them till they were sick! Oh! swiftly flying
heaven-racing messenger, the tradition of the thing, too, this!"
Then the Princess
of Nuna-kaba, without yet opening the door, sang from the
inside, saying:
Thine Augustness,
the Deity-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears! Being maiden like a drooping
plant, my heart is just a bird on a sand-bank by the shore; it
will now indeed be a dotterel. Afterward it will be a gentle
bird; so as for thy life, do not deign to die. Oh! swiftly
flying heaven-racing messenger! the tradition of the thing, too,
this!
Second Song of the
Princess
When the sun shall
hide behind the green mountains, in the night black as the true
jewels of the moor will I come forth. Coming radiant with smiles
like the morning sun, thine arms white as rope of
paper-mulberry-bark shall softly pat my breast soft as the
melting snow; and patting each other interlaced, stretching out
and pillowing ourselves on each other's jewel-arms - true
jewel-arms - and with outstretched legs, will we sleep. So speak
not too lovingly, Thine Augustness the
Deity-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears! The tradition of the thing, too,
this!"
THE CUP PLEDGE
Again this deity's
Chief Empress, Her Augustness the Forward-Princess, was very
jealous. So the deity her husband, being distressed, was about
to go up from Idzumo to the Land of Yamato; and as he stood
attired, with one august hand on the saddle of his august horse
and one august foot in the august stirrup, he sang, saying:
When I take and
attire myself so carefully in my august garments black as the
true jewels of the moor, and, like the birds of the offing, look
at my breast -though I raise my fins, I say that these are not
good, and cast them off on the waves on the beach. When I take
and attire myself so carefully in my august garments green as
the kingfisher, and, like the birds of the offing, look at my
breast -though I raise my fins, I say that these, too, are not
good, and cast them off on the waves on the beach. When I take
and attire myself so carefully in my raiment dyed in the sap of
the dye-tree, the pounded madder sought in the mountain fields,
and, like the birds of the offing, look at my breast though I
raise my fins, I say that they are good. My dear young sister,
Thine Augustness! Though thou say that thou wilt not weep - if
like the Rocking birds, I flock and depart, if, like the led
birds, I am led away and depart, thou wilt hang down thy head
like a single eulalia [sic] upon the mountain and thy weeping
shall indeed rise an the mist of the morning shower. Thine
Augustness my spouse like the young herbal The tradition of the
thing, too, this!"
Then his Empress,
taking a great august liquor-cup, and drawing near and offering
it to him, sang, saying:
"Oh I Thine
Augustness the Deity-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears! Thou, my dear
Master-of-the-Great-Land indeed, being a man, probably best on
the various island-headlands that thou seest, and on every beach
headland that thou lookest on, a wife like the young herbs. But
as for me alas! being a woman, I have no man except thee; I have
no spouse except thee. Beneath the fluttering of the ornamented
fence, beneath the softness of the warm coverlet, beneath the
rustling of the cloth coverlet, thine arms white as rope of
paper-mulberry bark softly patting my breast soft as the melting
snow, and patting each other interlaced, stretching out and
pillowing ourselves on each other's arms-true jewel-arms, and
with outstretched legs, will we sleep. Lift up the luxuriant
august liquor!"
She having thus
sung, they at once pledged each other by the cup with their
hands on each other's necks, and are at rest till the present
time. These are called divine words.
THE KOJIKI
THE CHAMPION OF
JAPAN
YAMATO-TAKE SLAYS
HIS ELDER BROTHER
The Heavenly
Sovereign said to His Augustness Wo-usu: "Why does not thine
elder brother come forth to the morning and evening great august
repasts? Be thou the one to take the trouble to teach him his
duty." Thus he commanded; but for five days after, still the
prince came not forth. Then the Heavenly Sovereign deigned to
ask His Augustness Wo-usu, saying: "Why is thine elder brother
so long of coming? Hast thou perchance not yet taught him his
duty?" He replied, saying: "I have been at that trouble." Again
the Heavenly Sovereign said: "How didst thou take the trouble?"
He replied, saying: " In the early morning when he went into the
privy, I grasped hold of him and crushed him, and, pulling off
his limbs, wrapped them in matting and flung them away.
YAMATO-TAKE SLAYS
THE KUMASO BRAVOES
Thereupon the
Heavenly Sovereign, alarmed at the valor and ferocity of his
august child's disposition, commanded him, saying: " In the West
there are two Kumaso Bravoes - unsubmissive and disrespectful
men. So take them "-and with this command he sent him off. It
happened that at this time his august hair was bound at the
brow. Then His Augustness Wo-usu was granted by his aunt Her
Augustness Yamato-himeo her august upper garment and august
skirt; and, with a saber hidden in his august bosom, he went
forth. So, on reaching the house of the Kumaso braves, he saw
that near the house there was a threefold belt of warriors, who
had made a cave to dwell in. Hereupon they, noisily discussing a
rejoicing for the august cave, were getting food ready. So
Prince Wo-usu sauntered about the neighborhood, waiting for the
day of the rejoicing. Then when the day of the rejoicing came,
having combed down after the manner of girls his august hair
which was bound up, and having put on his aunt's august upper
garment and august skirt, he looked quite like a young girl,
and, standing amidst the women, went inside the cave. Then the
elder brother and the younger brother, the two Kumaso bravoes,
delighted at the sight of the maiden, set her between them, and
rejoiced exuberantly. So, when the feast was at its height, His
Augustness Wo-usu, drawing the saber from his bosom, and
catching Kumaso by the collar of his garment, thrust the saber
through his chest, whereupon, alarmed at the sight, the younger
bravo ran out. But pursuing after and reaching him at the bottom
of the steps of the cave, and catching him by the back, Prince
Wo-usu thrust the saber through his buttock. Then the Kumaso
bravo spoke, saying: "Do not move the sword; I have something to
say." Then His Augustness Wo-usu, respited him for a moment,
holding him down as he lay prostrate. Hereupon the bravo said: "
Who is Thine Augustness?" Then he said: " I am the august child
of Obo-tarashi-hiko-oshiro-wake, the Heavenly Sovereign who,
dwelling in the palace of Hishiro at Makimuku, rules the Land of
the Eight Great Islands; and my name is King Yamata-woguna.
Hearing that you two fellows, the Kumaso bravoes, were
unsubmissive and disrespectful, the Heavenly Sovereign sent me
with the command to take and slay you." Then the Kumaso bravo
said: " That must be true. There are no persons in the West so
brave and strong as we two. Yet in the Land of Great Yamato
there is a man braver than we two-there is. Therefore will I
offer thee an august name. From this time forward it is right
that thou be praised as the August Child Yamato-take." As soon
as he had finished saying this, the Prince ripped him up like a
ripe melon, and slew him. So thenceforward he was praised by
being called by the august name of his Augustness Yamato-take.
When he returned up to the capital after doing this, he subdued
and pacified every one of the deities of the mountains and of
the deities of the rivers and likewise of the deities of Anado,
and then went up to the capital.
YAMATO-TAKE SLAYS
THE IDZUMO BRAVO
Forthwith entering
the land of Idzumo, and wishing to slay the Idzumo bravo, he, on
arriving, forthwith bound himself to him in friendship. So,
having secretly made the wood of an oak-tree into a false sword
and augustly girded it, he went with the bravo to bathe in the
River Hi. Then, His Augustness Yamato-take getting out of the
river first, and taking and girding on the sword that the Idzumo
bravo bad taken off and laid down, said: " Let us exchange
swords! " So afterward the Idzumo bravo, getting out of the
river, girded on His Augustness Yamato-take's false sword.
Hereupon His Augustness Yamato-take, suggested, saying: "Come
on! let us cross swords." Then on drawing his sword, the Idzumo
bravo could not draw the false sword. Forthwith His Augustness
Yamato-take drew his sword and slew the lclzumo bravo. Then he
sang augustly, saying:
"Alas that the
sword girded on the Idzumo bravo, and wound round with many a
creeper, should have had no true blade!"
So having thus
extirpated the bravoes and made the land orderly, he went up to
the capital and made his report to the Heavenly Sovereign.
YAMATO-TAKE IS
SENT TO SUBDUE THE EAST AND VISITS HIS AUNT AT ISE
Then the Heavenly
Sovereign again urged a command on His Augustness Yamato-take,
saying: "subdue and pacify the savage deities and likewise the
unsubmissive people of the twelve roads of the East"; and when
he sent him off, joining to him Prince -Mi-suki-tomo-mimi-take,
ancestor of the Grandees of Kibi, he bestowed on him a
holly-wood spear eight fathoms long. So when he had received the
imperial command and started off, he went into the temple of the
Great August Deity of Ise, and worshiped the deity's court,
forthwith speaking to his aunt, Her Augustness Yamato-hine,
saving: " It must surely be that the Heavenly Sovereign thinks I
may die quickly - for after sending me to smite the wicked
people of the West, I am no sooner come up again to the capital
than, without bestowing on me an army, he now sends me off
afresh to pacify the wicked people of the twelve circuits of the
East. Consequently I think that he certainly thinks I shall die
quickly." When he departed with lamentations and tears, Her
Augustness Yamato-hine bestowed on him the
"Herb-Quelling-Saber," and likewise bestowed on him an august
bag, and said: "If there should be an emergency, open the mouth
of the bag."
YAMATO-TAKE SLAYS
THE RULERS OF SAGAMU
So reaching the
land of Wohari, he went into the house of Princess Miyadzu,
ancestress of the rulers of Wohari, and forthwith thought to wed
her; but thinking again that he would wed her when he should
return up toward the capital, and having plighted his troth, he
went on into the Eastern lands, and subdued and pacified all the
savage deities and unsubmissive people of the mountains and
rivers. So then, when he reached the land of Sagamu, the ruler
of the land lied, saying: "In the middle of this moor is a great
lagoon, and the deity that dwells in the middle of the lagoon is
a very violent deity." Hereupon Yamato-take entered the moor to
see the deity. Then the ruler of the land set fire to the moor.
So, knowing that he had been deceived, he opened the mouth of
the bag which his aunt, Her Augustness Yamato-hine had bestowed
on him, and saw that inside of it there was a fire-striker.
Hereupon he first mowed away the herbage with his august sword,
took the fire-striker and struck out fire, and, kindling a
counter-fire, burned the herbage and drove back the other fire
and returned forth, and killed and destroyed all the rulers of
that land, and forthwith set fire to and burned them. So that
place is now called Yakidzu.
YAMATO-TAKE'S
EMPRESS STILLS THE WAVES
When be thence
penetrated on, and crossed the sea of Hashiri-midzu, the deity
of that crossing raised the waves, tossing the ship so that it
could not proceed across. Then Yamato-take's Empress, whose name
was Her Augustness Princess Oto-tachibana, said:" I will enter
the sea instead of the august child. The august child must
complete the service on which he has been sent, and take back a
report to the Heavenly Sovereign." When she was about to enter
the sea, she spread eight thicknesses of sedge rugs, eight
thicknesses of skin rugs, and eight thicknesses of silk rugs on
the top of the waves, and sat down on the top of them. Thereupon
the violent waves at once went down, and the august ship was
able to proceed. Then the Empress sang, saving:
"Ah I thou whom I
inquired of, standing in the midst of the flames of the fire
burning on the little moor of Sagamu, where the true peak
pierces!"
So seven days
afterward the Empress's august comb drifted on to the sea-beach
- which comb was forthwith taken and placed in an august
mausoleum which was made.
YAMATO-TAKE SLAYS
THE DEITY OF THE ASHIGARA PASS
When, having
thence penetrated on and subdued all the savage Yemisi [Ainu]
and likewise pacified all the savage deities of the mountains
and rivers, he was returning up to the capital, he, on reaching
the foot of the Ashigara Pass, was eating his august provisions,
when the deity of the pass, transformed into a white deer, came
and stood before him. Then forthwith, on his waiting and
striking the deer with a scrap of wild chive, the deer was hit
in the eye and struck dead. So, mounting to the top of the pass,
he sighed three times and spoke, saying: " Adzuma ha ya!" [My
Wife!] So that land is called by the name of Adzuma.
YAMATO-TAKE WOOS
PRINCESS MIYAZU
When, forthwith
crossing over from that land out into Kahi, he dwelt in the
palace of Sakawori, he sang, saying:
"How many nights
have I slept since passing Nihibari and Tsukuha?"
Then the old man,
who was the lighter of the august fire, completed the august
song, and sang, saying:
"Oh! having put
the days in a row, there are of nights nine nights, and of days
ten days!"
Therefore
Yamato-take praised the old man, and forthwith bestowed on him
the rulership of the Eastern lands.
Having crossed
over from that land into the land of Shinanu and subdued the
deity of the Shinanu pass, he came back to the land of Wohari,
and went to dwell in the house of Princess Miyazu, to whom he
had before plighted his troth. Hereupon, when presenting to him
the great august food, Princess Miyazu lifted up a great
liquor-cup and presented it to him.
After this,
placing in Princess Miyazu's house his august sword "the
Grass-Quelling Saber," he went forth to take the deity of Mount
Ibuki.
YAMATO-TAKE MEETS
THE DEITY OF MOUNT IBUKI
Hereupon he said:
"As for the deity of this mountain, I will simply take him
empty-handed"-- and was ascending the mountain, when there met
him on the mountainside a white boar whose size was like unto
that of a bull. Then he lifted up words, and said: "This
creature that is transformed into a white boar must be a
messenger from the deity. Though I slay it not now, I will slay
it when I return"-- and so saying, ascended. Thereupon the deity
caused heavy ice-rain to fall, striking and perplexing His
Augustness Yamato-take. (This creature transformed into a white
boar was not a messenger from the deity, but the very deity in
person. Owing to the lifting up of words, he appeared and misled
Yamato-take.) So when, on descending back, he reached the fresh
spring of Tamakura-be and rested there, his august heart awoke
somewhat. So that fresh spring is called by the name of the
fresh spring of Wi-same.
YAMATO TAKE
SICKENS AND DIES
When he departed
thence and reached the moor of Tagi, he said: " Whereas my heart
always felt like flying through the sky, my legs are now unable
to walk. They have become rudder-shaped." So that place was
called by the name of Tagi. Owing to his being very weary with
progressing a little farther beyond that place, be leaned upon
an august staff to walk a little. So that place is called by the
name of the Tsuwetsuki pass. On arriving at the single pine-tree
on Cape Wotsu, an august sword, which he had forgotten at that
place before when augustly eating, was still there, not lost.
Then he augustly sang, saying:
"O mine elder
brother, the single pine-tree that art on Cape Wotsu which
directly faces Wohari! If thou, single pine-tree! wert a person,
I would gird my sword upon thee, I would clothe thee with my
garments - O mine elder brother, the single pine-tree!"
When he departed
thence and reached the village of Mihe, he again said: " My legs
are like threefold crooks, and very weary." So that place was
called by the name of Mihe. When he departed thence and reached
the moor of Nobe, he regretting his native land, sang, saying:
"As for Yamato,
the most secluded of land - Yamato, retired behind Mount Awogaki
encompassing it with its folds, is delightful."
Again he sang,
saying:
"Let those whose
life may be complete stick in their hair as a headdress the
leaves of the bear-oak from Mount Heguri -those children!"
This song is a
land-regretting song. Again he sang, saying:
"How sweet! ah!
from the direction of home clouds are rising and coming!"
This is an
incomplete song. At this time, his august sickness very urgent.
Then he sang augustly, saying:
The saber-sword
which I placed at the maiden's bedside, alas! that sword!"
As soon as he had
finished singing, he died. Then a courier was dispatched to the
Heavenly Sovereign.
YAMATO-TAKE TURNS
INTO A WHITE BIRD
Thereupon his
Empresses and likewise his august children, who dwelt in Yamato,
all went down and built an august mausoleum, and, forthwith
crawling hither and thither in the rice fields encompassing the
mausoleum, sobbed out a song, saying:
The Dioscorea
quinqueloba crawling hither and thither among the rice-stubble
in the rice-fields encompassing the Mausoleum.."
Thereupon the dead
prince, turning into a white dotterel eight fathoms long, and
soaring up to Heaven, flew off toward the shore. Then the
Empress and likewise the august children, though they tore their
feet treading on the stubble of the bamboo-grass, forgot the
pain, and pursued him with lamentations. At that time they sang,
saying:
"Our loins are
impeded in the plain overgrown with short bamboo-grass. We are
not going through the sky, but oh! we are on foot."
Again when they
entered the salt sea, and suffered as they went, they sang,
saying:
"As we go through
the sea, our loins are impeded -tottering in the sea like herbs
growing in a great river-bed."
Again when the
bird flew and perched on the seaside, they sang, saying:
"The dotterel of
the beach goes not on the beach, but follows the seaside."
These four songs
were all sung at Yamato-take's august interment. So to the
present day these songs are sung at the great interment of a
Heavenly Sovereign. So the bird flew off from that country, and
stopped at Shiki in the land of Kafuchi. So they made an august
mausoleum there, and laid Yamato-take to rest. Forthwith that
august mausoleum was called by. the name of the
"August-Mausoleum of the White-Bird." Nevertheless the bird
soared up thence to heaven again and flew away. |