# Kogoshui/Part 3

Part III
Notes
Notes
1. Japan was so termed in ancient times.
2. i.e., Amaterasu-O-Mikami or the Heaven-Shining-Great-August-Goddess. The Goddess has an aspect of the deification of the sun as well as a trace of a human ancestress who once actually existed.
3. In ancient Japanese mythology, the name of the Moon-God is Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto or His Augustness-Moon-Night-Possessor (or Moon-Night-Darkness), i.e., the God of the Night-Dominion.
4. Correctly expressed, Takehaya-Susano-o-no-Mikoto or His-Brave-Swift-Impetuous-Male-Augustness is simply the deification of the rainstorm, although we can admit that there are also in him some traces of an historical human being.
5. Vide Dr. G. Kato’s Article on Ame-no-Minakanushi-no-Kami in T.A.S.J., as regards this God, who probably is the highest God worshipped in the so-called primitive monotheism of Japan.
6. In the manuscript of the Kogoshui to which reference is made by Mikanagi Kiyonao (a Shinto priest of the Ise Shrine), as being preserved in the house of a certain Kawasaki Kiyoatsu, and also in the book Kogoshui Genyosho by Tatsuno-Hirochika (Japanese edition, Vol. I., p. 10), the passage cited from the Kogoshui is in the Ruiju-Jingi-Hongen (Japanese edition. Vol. III, p. 21), in the Zoku-Zoku-Gunsho-Ruiju, and in the Gengenshu (Japanese edition. Vol. II, p. 11), etc., we read:
​“When Heaven and Earth divided, the God named Ame-no-Minakanushi-no-Kami, who was born in the midst of Heaven, had three sons: of whom the eldest, Takami-Musubi-no-Kami, i.e., Sumeragamutsu-Kanrogi-no-Mikoto, is the ancestor of the Tomo and Saeki Families; the second son, Tsuhaya-Musubi-no-Kami, i.e., Sumeragamutsu-Kanromi-no-Mikoto, is the ancestor of the Nakatomi Family of Asomi rank, and the youngest one, Kami-Musubi-no-Kami, is the ancestor of the Ki Family of Atai rank.”
In the divine genealogy of the Sendai Kuji Hongi, Tsuhaya-Musubi-no-Mikoto (the word “Mikoto” used there practically means only “Kami”) has a son, called Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto, who is the ancestor of the Nakatomi Family of Muraji rank (i.e., the seventh of the eight classes of the nobility created by the Emperor Temmu in A.D. 682. It was given to the head of certain corporations (The Sendai-Kuji-Hongi, Japanese edition. The Kokushi-Taikei, Vol. VII, p. 177).
In the Shinsen-Shojiroku or Catalogue of Family Names Newly Compiled by Prince Manta, the writer states that Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto is the great grandson of Tsuhaya-Musubi-no-Kami (Vide the late Prof. Kurita, The Shinsen-Shojiroka-Kosho or Commentary on the Catalogue of Family Names Compiled by Prince Manta, Japanese edition, Vol. VIII, pp. 537, 538. Vol. XVI, p. 1017).
7. Vide Sir Ernest Satow’s Article on the Toshigoi-Matsuri-no-Norito or Shinto Ritual of Praying for Harvest, for elucidating the meaning of this name Sumeraga-Mutsu-Kanrogi-Kanromi-no-Mikoto (T.A.S.J., Vol. VII, p. 114).
​8. The second of the eight classes of Court Nobles established by the Emperor Temmu (A.D. 681).
9. In the Nihongi, he is called Amatsu-Hiko-Hikoho-no-Ninigi-no-Mikoto. Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 64.
10. The third of the eight classes of Court Nobles. The title implies an hereditary rank of nobility.
11. In the Nihongi version, the Ancestor of the Imbe Family of Ki-i Province. Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 81.
12. Ha-Akaru-Tama in one account of the Nihongi appears to be Kushi-Akaru-Tama-no-Mikoto. Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 37. The late Prof. Kurita of the Tokyo Imperial University identified Kushi-Akaru-Tama-no-Mikoto with Toyotama of the Nihongi (ibid., Vol. I, p. 47) and Ame-no-Akaru-Tama of the same book (ibid., Vol. I, p. 49).
Vide the late Prof. Kurita’s Shinsen-Shoji-Roku-Kosho or Commentary on the Catalogue of Family Names Newly Compiled by Prince Manta (Japanese edition, Vol. XI, p. 791).
13. In ancient Japan, a rare jewel being regarded as a divine object, possessed a magical influence, and was a kind of fetish, so in the present instance, it is possible that through the magical virtue of the jewels a child was actually born.
In the Sendai-Kuji-Hongi, the Japanese reader is very familiar with a certain jewel of magical virtue, called “Makaru-Kaeshi-no-Tama,” i.e., the “Jewel endowed with a miraculous power of restoring the dead to life” (Vide the Kokushi-Taikei, Japanese edition, Vol. VII, p. 321, 322).
The Nihongi also mentions two notable magical gems, which ​Hiko-Hoho-Demi-no-Mikoto used as amulets, talismans or charms, in a time of peril. They are known as the Shio-Mitsu-Ni and Shio-Hiru-Ni, i.e., the Tide-flowing and Tide-ebbing Jewels (Vide, W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 94).
The Kojiki mentions a divinized jewel, which being the necklet of the God Izanagi was actually regarded as a divinity called Mikura-Tana-no-Kami (B. H. Chamberlain, E.T.K., p. 43).
From the Kojiki we learn that the divine emblem of the Hime-Koso Shrine is a crimson jewel (B. H. Chamberlain, E.T.K., p. 258).
14. Akatsu-no-Mikoto is an abbreviation of Masaka-Akatsu-Kachi-Haya-Hi-Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto, usually abbreviated as Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto (B. H. Chamberlain, ibid., pp. 48, 93).
As regards the expression “Wakigo” in connection with this, Vide K. A. Florenz’s German Translation of the Kogoshui (Die Historischen Quellen der Shinto-Religion, St. 448) and K. Nasa, The Gisai.
15. This passage will bear three constructions; viz., the first being that of the author of the Kogoshui; Susano-o’s “Setting up rods at the rice-fields” may indicate that he claimed possession of the rice-fields. Sometimes he used dividing ropes, in place of rods as a sign of ownership. Secondly, as Aston thinks, “Setting up combs at the rice-fields” might be interpreted as having a magical meaning, but this explanation is not quite satisfactory (W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 48). And thirdly, we ourselves rather agree with Dr. K. A. Florenz who ​interpreted the action of erecting rods in the deep mud of the rice-fields to be simply a mischievous design to injure the barefooted Japanese peasantry, who laboured in the paddy fields (K. A. Florenz, English Translation of the O-Harai-no-Norito, T.A.S.J., Vol. XXVII, pp. 80, 81).
16. The Author of the Kogoshui, misled by the Chinese character “he” (戶) which literally means “door,” gave the above quoted interpretation, but the true meaning of the word “Kusohe” is simply “to discharge excreta,” and in the present instance as regards both the Kojiki and Nihongi accounts, it can be readily seen that the rude Susano-o-no-Kami’s bad intention was to pollute his divine sister’s sacred Festival Hall before the Feast in honour of the New Rice Harvest, by evacuating his excreta in that building.
17. “Ame-no-Yasu-no-Kawara” in Japanese. Aston translated “The Bank of the Tranquil River of Heaven,” but he seems to have been misled by the Chinese characters, and so to have rendered them too literally. The true meaning is exactly that which we have rendered into English in the presnt text.
18. Cleyera Japonica. This tree is still revered as sacred to the Gods of Shinto. Some commentators opine that “sakaki” was a name originally given to all evergreens.
19. According to the Nihongi (W. G. Aston, ibid., Vol. I, p. 43), the Yasakani, or Yasaka Jewels, i.e., the Ever-bright Curved Jewels.
20. The identity of this tree is uncertain. Some Japanese commentators say that the word “oke” was probably inserted here by mistake.
​21. With regard to the parallel passages in the Kojiki and the Nihongi, “Ukefuse” signifies “to put a tub bottom upwards” and in this instance Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto performed a divine dance on the tub, stamping until it resounded like a drum and thereby coming into union with the Divine, i.e., as though she were herself possessed by the divine spirit. The original expression “ukefuse” never conveys the idea of an oath, which the author of the Kogoshui erroneously accepted.
22. “Shimenawa” is the ordinary form of the rather archaic “shirikumenawa.” According to B. H. Chamberlain, in perfect agreeemnt with the learned Moto-ori, “shirikumenawa” denotes a straw rope so constructed that its roots project and are visible at the end thereof. Moto-ori’s explanation shows that this is more likely to be the proper significance of the word than “back-limiting-rope” (“shirihe-kagiri-me-nawa”) which, as Kamo-Mabuchi had previously suggested, might have originated when the event narrated in the legend was described (B. H. Chamberlain, E.T.K., p. 59). According to our view “shime” may mean “to forbid” just as “shimeno” denotes a “forbidden field,” so that the land encircled by a rope is simply a taboo, i.e., a sacred precinct forbidden to be approached or trodden upon by ordinary unclean feet. Since the entrance to the Rock-Cave was barred by a similar rope, this “shimeno” was probably tobooed, a forbidden ground, or sanctuary, which laymen must not be allowed to enter. We do not understand the explanation given in a note in the Kogoshui that this rope represents “the Sun’s shadow.”
23. I.e., The Goddess of the Great August Palace. Sir ​Ernest Satow considers that this Goddess is simply a “Personification of the successive generations of the Mikado’s consorts” (T.A.S.J., Vol. VII, p. 122).
24. Literally, “toyo” means “abundant, strong or powerful,” and “Iwa” “rock,” but in this case its true meaning is “strong, enduring, eternal,” and “mado” is a “window, or gate.” So that Toyo-Iwamado-no-Mikoto signifies “the Powerful God of the Strong Gates.”
25. Kushi-Iwamado-no-Mikoto means “the Wonderful God of the Strong Gate.”
26. The Culture Hero, Onamuchi-no-Kami, is better known as Okuninushi-no-Kami, who first ruled in Izumo Province, as a local god.
27. Nowadays it is very difficult to ascertain the location of Tokoyo-no-Kuni, for it is mentioned differently in the Kojiki and the Nihongi. In our opinion, the “Tokoyo-no-Kuni” possibly had three different meanings: the first place, literally speaking, being the “Eeternal Land,” or the “Land of Eternal Bliss,” or “Paradise”; the second, the “Land of Eternal Night-darkness or Nether-Land”; and the third, a most distant country, although it exists somewhere on the earth, very far away from Japan.
28. According to the Nihongi, this Edict was issued by Amaterasu-O-Mikami alone (W. G. Astons, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 77).
29. Both the Kojiki and Nihongi accounts of this tradition mention three Sacred Treasures, namely, the Jewels, the Mirror, and the Sword, which have been handed down in the Imperial Family as the Divine Regalia, without whose possession no ​emperor can legitimately ascend the Throne of Japan. However, the Otonohogai—a Shinto Ritual of the Engi Period (10th century A.D.)—mentions only the Sacred Mirror and Divine Sword, in this agreeing with the Jingi-Ryo or Taiho-Shinto-Kami-Code in the 8th century A. D. Clearly therefore, Imbe-no-Hironari mentioned this fact as it is stated in the Taiho-Shinto-Kami-Code, and in the Otonohogai, a Shinto Ritual in the Engishiki. In the Nihongi it is not two deities (Amaterasu-O-Mikami and Takami-Musubi-no-Kami), but only one deity (Amaterasu-O-Mikami) who confers the Imperial Regalia upon the Heavenly Grandson (Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.K., Vol. I, p. 76).
30. In one account the Nihongi ascribes this Edict to Amaterasu-O-Mikami alone, and he who receives her command is not the Heavenly Grandson but Ame-no-Oshihomimi-no-Mikoto, son of Amaterasu-O-Mikami. Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 83.
31. In both the Kojiki and Nihongi accounts five instead of three heavenly attendants are mentioned—the two additional ones being Ishikoritome-no-Mikoto and Tamanoya-no-Mikoto, who are called “the Gods of the Five Corporations.”
32. According to the Nihongi Chronicler, this is the Edict of Takamimusubi-no-Kami. Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, pp. 81, 82.
33. The Nihongi ascribes this Edict to Takamimusubi-no-Kami alone. Vide W. G. Aston, ibid., Vol. I, p. 81.
34. In the Nihongi, the words of this Edict, “Ye, Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto and Futotama-no-Mikoto shall guard the latter in your attendance under the same roof against all emergencies,” ​are ascribed to Amaterasu-O-Mikami alone (W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 83).
35. The passage: “Serving him with the same rice that grows in the sacred fields of Heaven,” is ascribed to Amaterasu-O-Mikami alone in the Nihongi account. Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 83.
36. Certain commentators on the Kujiki (Chronicles of the Old Matters of Former Ages) explain that “these gods” are the thirty-two, the Kujiki mentions, who besides the “Gods of the Five Hereditary Corporations,” accompanied the Heavenly Grandson towards the earth.
37. The Nihongi ascribes the Edict to Takamimusubi-no-Kami alone. Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I., p. 81.
38. Later, Saruta-Hiko, Ame-no-Uzume, Chimata-no-Kami (or the God Yachimata-Hiko and the Goddess Yachimata-Hime), Sae-no-Kami, Dosojin, and Funado-no -Kami constitute a class of Japanese phallic gods, and curiously enough Saruta-Hiko, an ancient phallic god, is represented as a moral teacher in the writings of some authors (e.g., Yamazaki-Ansai) during the Tokugawa Regime.
39. Cf. B. H. Chamberlain’s E.T.K., p. 110, note 33 and p. 113, note 2.
40. According to the compiler of the Nihongi, this is Hiko-Nagisatake-Ugaya-Fuki-Aezu-no-Mikoto, who is no other than the father of Japan’s first human Emperor, Jimmu-Tenno, 660 B.C. according to tradition.
41. Although most modern scholars, whether native or ​foreign, are of opinion that the reign of that Emperor really began some hundreds of years later.
42. The Emperor Jimmu started on an expedition for the so-called “Eastern Conquest” from Kyushu, the western district of Japan, to Yamato, in the east, so here the “eastern provinces” denotes the Yamato district.”
43. By this Nagasune-Hiko is meant. He was one of the most stubborn opponents of the Emperor Jimmu and was killed by Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto, according to the Nihongi account (W. G. Aston’s E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 128).
44. According to the Nihongi, this man met the Emperor Jimmu at Port Hayasui in Bungo Province and was employed in the service of the Imperial army whilst en route to Usa in Buzen Province, and afterwards he was ordered to assend Mt. Kagu in Yamato in disguise and there obtain a small lump of earth which it was indispensable to use when invoking the gods for victory. They succeeded in bringing it back safely to the Imperial camp despite the vigilance of their foes (W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 112).
45. Vide ibid., Vol. I, p. 116.
46. In archaic Japanese “Mi-Araka” means “august or divine abode.”
47. Here the sovereign Grandson means the Emperor Jimmu.
48. “Miki” means “august wood,” i.e., “sacred timbers.”
49. This is another Awa in the Kanto, in contradistinction to that of Shikoku, and therefore it is often called Boshu, and is now a portion of Chiba Prefecture. So in this text Awa-no-Kori means the present Awa or Boshu Province.
​50. I.e., Takamimusubi-no-Kami and Amaterasu-O-Mikami, according to the author of the Kogoshui.
51. Vide p. 17.
52. Vide p. 17.
53. This is a divine spirit who takes charge of anyone’s soul and prevents it from going astray, and leaving its body behind. Hence, we have the Mitama-Shizume-no-Matsuri or Ceremony for Calming the August Spirit of an Emperor at the Enthronement Ceremony (Vide W. G. Aston’s Shinto, or the Way of the Gods, p. 292).
54. This is a Divine Spirit who inspires men with life.
55. Through the influence of this Divine Spirit, one’s physical health is procured and invigorated. This God is probably another aspect of the Divine Spirit Iku-Musubi.
56. Vide p. 32. In the Shinto Ritual of Otono-Hogai (Luck-wishing or Blessing of the Great Palace) or Shinto Prayer to the Guardian Gods of the Imperial House, the favour of this same Goddess is invoked for the protection of the Imperial Palace from every ill. Hirata identified this Goddess with Ame-no-Uzume or Miyabi-no-Kami. Hirata-Atsutane, The Miyabi-no-Kami Godenki. Collected Works, Japanese edition. Vol. XV, note, 20 b.
57. This is a divine son of Okuninushi-no-Kami of Izumo Province, who, after Kotoshironushi’s stern warning, sacrificed himself in death in loyalty to the Emperor, and surrendered up the ruling authority of his country to the Heavenly Grandson Ninigi-no-Mikoto by retiring from the political affairs of the State.
​So to the end Kotoshironushi-no-Kami remained exceedingly faithful to the Imperial cause, and therefore according to some Japanese commentators he was afterwards looked up to as one of the guardian spirits of the Imperial House.
58. I.e., the Goddess of Food; hence some of the Japanese commentators have identified her with Toyouke-no-Hime or Toyouke-Daijin of the Outer Shrine at Ise.
59. I.e., the Shinto Priestesses at the Court who were attached to the Jingikan or Department for the Worship of the Shinto Gods.
60. Kushi-Iwamado-no-Kami (supra note 25), the Wonderful God of the Strong Gate, i.e., the Divine-Wonderful-Strong-Gate-Keeper. Toyo-Iwamado-no-Kami (supra note 24), the Powerful God of the Strong Gate, i.e., the Divine-Abundant-Strong-Gate-Keeper. Moto-ori suggests that either name is used to indicate one and the same God, Ame-no-Iwatoake-no-Kami, in the Kojiki (Moto-ori, the Kojikiden or Commentary on the Kojiki, Vol. XV. Collected Works, Japanese edition, Vol. I, p. 877). Both Gods are divine guardians of the Imperial Gates, according to one of the Shinto Rituals of the Engishiki or Institutes of the Engi Period (A.D. 901–923). As regards the eight deities enshrined at the Jingikan, i.e., the Department for the Worship of the Shinto Gods, Sir Ernest Satow’s learned comments deserve our attention (Vide T.A.S.J., Vol. VII, p. 109, pp. 120–123).
61. What “the God of Ikushima” really means is not very clear, but it appears to be the chief local guardian spirit by whose virtue the locality or country (region or island) exists.
​62. I.e., Japan, as then known.
63. What the word “Ikasuri” means is a burning point of learned disputes, but it seems to us that the Gods are special guardian spirits of the Imperial Court-grounds. According to the commentators Ikebe and Kubo, “Ikasuri” is “Igashiri” which means “dwelling place,” hence the word “Ikasuri” in the text means the Court-ground of the Emperor, and the authors of the Kogoshui probably understands by it the special guardian spirits of the Imperial Court-grounds.
64. Here the sword is the Murakumo Sword, which Susano-o-no-Mikoto received from the monster serpent’s tail when he slew it in Izumo; and the Yata-no-Kagami (the Eight-handed or large Mirror) is believed to be the same mirror which Ishikori-Tome-no-Mikoto made and with which he enticed the Sun-Goddess Amaterasu-O-Mikami to quit her retreat in the Rock-Cave and restore blessings to mankind by illuminating the heavens and the earth with the radiance of her bounteous light.
65. This Ritual is included in the Engishiki or Institutes of the Engi Period. Vide Sir E. Satow’s English translation of the same (T.A.S.J., Vol. IX, p. 190).
66. By this Imbe-no-Hironari may mean either some other book than the Kogoshui which is from Imbe-no-Hironari’s own pen, or a book very well known to him, but the reader should not mistake it for the Engishiki, which was not yet compiled in Hironari’s time.
67. The case is similar to the above.
68. The heavenly offences are those which, for example, ​were committed by Susano-o-no-Mikoto, brother of the Sun-Goddess Amaterasu-O-Mikami, in Heaven.
69. The earthly offences mentioned in the Engishiki or Institutes of the Engi Period are the following: “Abnormal offences against nature, such as cutting the living skin; cutting the dead skin; being an albino; being affected with excrescences; the offences of a son’s intercourse with his own mother, or that of a father with his own daughter; the offence of one’s cohabitating with both a mother and her daughter, the offence of cohabitating with animals; calamity caused by crawling worms (or accidents through being bitten by snakes or centipedes, etc.), calamity brought by the gods on high (or calamity sent by the Thunder-Gods, e.g., being struck by lightning); calamity caused by the birds on high (calamity caused, or damage done, by birds in the air); killing animals belonging to other people; the offence of using magical incantations.” I have here taken the liberty of quoting with a slight alteration from Dr. K. A. Florenz’s English Translation of the O-Harai-no-Norito or Ritual of the Great Purification. T.A.S.J., Vol. XVII, p. 61.
70. Vide ibid., the O-Harai-no-Norito or Ritual of Great Purification, T.A.S.J., Vol. XVII.
71. Vide p. 21 supra.
72. The present Shiki-no-Kami and Shiki-no-Shimo, in Yamato Province.
73. This old village which the late Dr. Yoshida Togo mentions in his book, Dainihon Chimei Jisho, or Dictionary of the Geographical Names in Japan Considered Historically (Japanese ​edition, Vol. I, p. 271), is not yet identified. It was possibly located at Chihara, in Ota Mura, according to the Shigaku Zasshi or Historical Magazine referred to in the same book of Dr. Yoshida Togo.
74. The meaning of this song is not quite clear. Even the Japanese commentators find difficulties in ascertaining it, and differ in their explanations. The song may mean:—
“What a delightfully happy evening this grand banquet gives us courtiers, who at the Ceremony of the Removing of the Court Shrine greatly enjoy ourselves throughout the whole night! O how auspicious is the snow scene this night!”
Or, the song may be read as follows:—
“We, Courtiers, present at the Ceremony of the Removal of the Court Shrine now enjoy a very pleasant time at the grand banquet throughout the whole night in the fine sacred Yuki Hall!”
As we see above, some commentators understand “snow” by the word “Yuki” whilst others interpret it as the name of a Shinto worship hall (or pavilion) “Yuki” (or “Yuki Den”), which is newly built for the Shinto Rites held at each Emperor’s Enthronement. Some commentators suggest:
Taking into consideration what Ban-Nobutomo suggests in his autographic annotations in the Kogoshui and in reference to certain passages in the Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku describing the scenes of the Daijo Feast at the Enthronement Ceremony of the Emperor Koko on the 23rd and the 25th of the 11th month in the 8th year (A.D. 884) of the Gengyo. Vide the Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku, Japanese edition. Vol. XLVI. The Kokushi Taikei, Japanese ​edition, Vol. IV, p. 648). We may interpet the obscure meaning of the song as follows:
“Let us courtiers make merry the whole night through! Oh, how fine for us courtiers is the sacred sake drink!”
“What a fine long robe each Courtier wears at the Ceremony of Removing the Court Shrine; it reaches below the knees!”
75. According to Tachibana-Moribe, one of the ablest scholars of the Tokugawa regime, it reads as follows:—
“The Courtiers’ fine long robes, reaching below the knees; how magnificent they look!”
(Vide Tachibana-no-Moribe, The Kagura-Uta-Iriaya. The Moribe Zenshu or Collected Works, Japanese edition, Vol. VII, p. 57).
Another interpretation advanced by Ikebe-no-Mahari for the first song in question is this:
“We Courtiers have enjoyed ourselves very much until late at night, singing, dancing, and gently striking the knees with our hands. O how happy and pleasant it is to-night at the Ceremony of Removing thus the Court Shrine!”
The same author interprets the meaning of the second song as follows:
“What a fine, long robe each Courtier in the suite wears at the Ceremony of the Removing of the Court Shrine! It reaches to the knees. Oh, how splendid is the procession to the Court Shrine!”
(Ikebe-no-Mahari, The Kogoshui-Shinchu, or New Commentary on the Kogoshui, Japanese edition. Vol. VI, p. 22).
​Cf. B. H. Chamberlain, E.T.K., p. 298. The Emperor Ingyo.
Two other similar songs of the same sort, according to the Kotai-Jingu-Gishikicho, were sung at the Ise Shrine of the Sun-Goddess, on the occasion of the Sacred Feast. These songs are:
“The Courtiers are enjoying themselves very much striking their knees gently, the sound re-echoes through the Sacred Hall!”
“At the joyous divine feast in the Sacred Hall at Isuzu, the sound of the Courtiers’ tapping their knees echoes and re-echoes all over the Hall!”
(The Kotaijingu-Gishikicho or Book on the Ceremonial Rites for Each Month round the Whole Year at the Inner Shrine of Ise. The Gunsho Ruiju, Japanese edition (the Keizaizasshi Sha), Vol. I, p. 39).
76. I.e., the Emperor donated some rice-fields for tillage to the shrines together with husbandmen.
77. Makimuku is in Shiki-no-Kami Kori. Yamato.
78. According to the tradition recorded in the Nihongi and the Kojiki, Yamatohime-no-Mikoto is a daughter of Hihasuhime-no-Mikoto, a consort of the Emperor Suinin, and not his daughter by Sahohime (W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 174). Also, B. H. Chamberlain, E.T.K., p. 183.
79. Vide p. 28, supra.
The author of the Kogoshui took the Abstinence Palace to be the abode of the guardian priestess Yamatohime, but this is incorrect. That the palace or shrine was for the Sun-Goddess herself is proved by the description given in the Nihongi.
“In compliance, therefore, with the instruction of the Great ​Goddess, a shrine was erected to her in the province of Ise. Accordingly, an Abstinence Palace was built at Kawakami in Isuzu” (Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, pp. 176, 41).
Moto-ori and S. Kubo agreed with the view expressed by the compilers of the Nihongi (Moto-ori, the Kojikiden, Vol. XV. Collected Works, Japanese edition. Vol. I, p. 85–9. Kobo, the Kogoshui-Kogi or Commentary on the Kogoshui, p. 90.
80. According to the Harima Fudoki or Ancient Topography of Harima, Ame-no-Hihoko came to Japan from Korea in the Divine Age, and the Nihongi states that he arrived in the Emperor Suinin’s reign, whilst the Kojiki dates his arrival long before the Emperor Ojin’s time.
According to the Kojiki and the Engishiki, the Izushi Shrine is sacred to these Eight Divine Objects, which Ame-no-Hihoko brought to Japan.
81. Vide note 77.
82. Vide pp. 23, 43.
83. Legend ascribes several miraculous virtues to this Sword.
Not only did Susano-o-no-Kami obtain it by slaying the monster serpent or Japanese Python, whose tail concealed it, but tradition says that wherever the Sword was, there also was a mass of clouds.
Moreover, according to the Nihongi tradition (W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 205), it was by its miraculous power that Prince Yamatotake himself narrowly escaped being burned to death by the treacherous enemy in the field of Yaitsu in Suruga Province. It is surely a divine object whose supernatural presence protected ​the Hero-Prince from personal danger, and the primitive natives regarded it as divine, although modern critics assert that it was a kind of talisman or fetish. Wherever that Sword was, the Prince was safe and sound (as the Kogoshui relates), whilst through its absence the Prince was finally led to ruin, when climbing Mt. Ibuki. In old Japan the Sword was considered to be endowed with supernatural, miraculous powers. The same is true of the Kusanagi Sword. Compare the chapter “On the Sword” in the Heike Monogatari, where the miraculous virtues of the sword are variously described (A. L. Sadler’s English translation of the Heike Monogatari, the Book of Swords, T.A.S.J., Vol. XLIX, p. 325).
84. According to the Nihongi (W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 241) and the Shoryo-Shiki of the Engishiki (the Kokushi Taikei, Japanese edition, Vol. XIII, p. 677), we may assert with some probability that the Empress Jingo dwelt in the Wakasakura Palace at Iware, in Toichi Kori, Yamato Province, although the learned Moto-ori denied it in his Kojikiden (Moto-ori, Collected Works, Vol. III, pp. 2229–2231).
85. The three Gods of Suminoe (now called Sumiyoshi) are Uwazutsu-no-O, Nakazutsu-no-O, and Sokozutsu-no-O. They played a prominent part among the Divine guardians who accompanied the expeditionary army to Korea which the Empress Jingo commanded, and on its return to Japan in triumph, a shrine was erected at Suminoe in Settsu Province in the honour of these Gods. Cf. W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 226. B. H. Chamberlain, E.J.K., pp. 231, 233.
​86. I.e., Karu in Takechi Kori, Yamato Province.
87. Kuso, King of Kudara, sent to Japan the learned Wani, who was descended from the Emperor Koso (Koa Tsu) of the Kan (Han) Dynasty.
88. In Chinese characters, 弓月 or 融通王. In the 14th year of the Emperor Ojin (according to the Nihongi) Yutsuki arrived in Japan from Kudara and tendered his allegiance. W. G. Aston says Yutsuki in Korean would be “Kung-wol” (W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 261).
89. The ancestors of the Hata Family or Shin (Chin) people and the Aya or Kan (Han) were Chinese immigrants who came through Korea to Japan.
90. “Wakasakura” literally means “early cherry blossoms.” According to the Nihongi (W. G. Aston E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 207), when the Emperor Richu made a feast in a boat on the pond of Ichishi at Iware, a cherry blossom flowering out of season in winter fell into the Emperor’s cup of “sake,” and this incident particularly attracting the Emperor’s attention. His Majesty was pleased to name his palace after it, and the author of the Kogoshui called it “Nochi-no-Iware-no-Wakasakura-no-Miya or Later Iware-no-Wakasakura Palace” in contradistinction to the palace of the same name at Iware where the Empress Jingo had dwelt. Aston throws doubt on the origin of the name pointing out that Jingo’s palace had already born the same name. The present commentators however are of a different opinion and consider that there is no doubt that the Emperor Richu dwelt in the Wakasakura Palace and that it owed its name to the pretty story of the Nihongi ​mentioned above. In support of their opinion, they would point out that the name of the Empress Jingo’s palace is mentioned only in a note in the Nihongi (The Kokushi Taikei, Japanese edition, Vol., p. 170), and that it is not as is customary given in the main text describing the chief events at the beginning of her reign. It should be mentioned moreover that the copy of Nihongi made during the Eikyo Era (15th century) omits this note entirely (Iida-Takesato, The Nihonshoki Tsushaku, Vol. XXXVI, p. 1955).
It is true that in the 69th year of the Empress Jingo’s reign the text mentions that Her Majesty died in the Wakasakura Palace, but it must be remembered that the Nihongi was not compiled till the 4th year of Yoro (A.D. 720) in the Empress Gensho’s reign, and the name Wakasakura becomes prominent for the first time in the reign of the Emperor Richu when we find the Wakasakura Be (Corporation) formed. It was also bestowed during the Emperor Richu’s reign as a family name. Vide the Kojiki (B. H. Chamberlain, E.T.K., p. 291), the Nihongi (W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, pp. 306, 307) and the Shinsen Shojiroku (H. Kurita, the Shinsen Shojiroku Kosho, Japanese edition, Vol. II, pp. 734, 735, 1068 and Vol. I, pp. 317, 318, 319).
91. Vide “Imikura” in the Emperor Temmu’s reign, p. 41.
92. According to tradition, Achi-no-Omi crossed over to Japan in the 20th year of the Emperor Ojin’s reign and Wani in the 16th year of the same reign.
93. The name of a place, in Shiki Kori, Yamato Province.
94. “Uzu” or “Utsu” may mean rare, and “masa” fine, superior, therefore the sub-family name might mean a family under whose care rare silks of fine quality are produced.
​95. I.e., Imbe-no-Hironari’s day.
96. I.e., the Government Treasury.
97. The family to the East of the Capital (i.e., in Yamato Province) is descended from Achi-no-Omi, ancestor of the Aya (or Kan) Family of Atae rank, whilst the family in the West of the Capital is descended from the learned Wani of Kudara.
98. I.e., the descendants of Achi-no-Omi.
99. The name of a place in Takechi Kori, Yamato Province.
100. Some commentators surmise that “Byakuchi” might have been mistaken for “Byakuho,” while others say that “Byakuho” is correct, as it stands, because it is mentioned in the Daishokukan Kamatari Den or Biography of Fujiwara-no-Kamatari, where the author says that the first year of Byakuho falls in the fifth year of the Emperor Kotoku’s reign. Vide the Gunsho Ruiju or Collection of Miscellaneous Works (Japanese edition, Vol. LXIV). Dr. H. Hoshino (maybe some others) advance the opinion that the expression Byakuho or White Phœnix is simply the idealized expression of Byakuchi or White Pheasant, so that, possibly “Byakuho” and Byakuchi” are identical. Further Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 373.
101. Toyosaki-no-Miya, the Emperor Kotoku’s Palace, is identified by some historians with the present Honjo, or Toyosaki Village, in Nishinari Kori, Settsu Province, others opine that Toyosaki was on the site where Osaka Castle now stands.
102. Nagara is in Settsu Province.
103. Naniwa in Settsu Province, the present Osaka.
104. Sakashi, according to the Kacho or Lineage Book of ​the Imbe Family, an historical writing preserved by the Imbe Family, is the son of Komaro, whose remote ancestor Tamakushi-no-Mikoto mentioned in the Engishiki or Institute of the Engi Period descended from Ame-no-Tomi-no-Mikoto. Moreover, the same book says that Imbe-no-Muraji-Kobe was among those who compiled the Japanese history, which was begun in the year A.D. 681, in the Emperor Temmu’s riegn. Vide Aston, E.T.N., Vol. II, p. 380. And Sakashi was the grandfather of Imbe-no-Muraji-Kobe.
105. This court ceremonial cap is made of cloth of gold brocade with a pattern of Shohakusen, a sacred mountain in the legends, of the ancient Chinese. Its brim, made of the same cloth, has also a pattern of Taihakusen, another legendary Chinese sacred mountain by the ancient Chinese. The courtier wore a scarlet robe with this ceremonial cap. Vide, Aston, E.T.N., Vol. II, p. 229.
106. Some commentators consider that it was added by some other person later than the time of Imbe-no-Hironari.
107. On the first and last days of the Divine Ceremony, the two Uraha-no-Kami, the Gods who preside over divination, were invoked, according to the Engishiki or Institutes of the Engi Period (Japanese edition, Vol. I, Jingi I, Shijisai-Jo).
Also Vide W. G. Aston’s Shinto or the Way of the Gods, pp. 337–345. Uraha-no-Kami—Futonorito-no-Kami and Kushimachi-no-Kami. Ban-Nobutomo, The Seibokuko, Vol. I, The Ban-Nobutomo-Zen-shu, Japanese edition, Vol. II, p. 454.
108. Kiyomihara, a place at Asuka, in Takechi Kori, Yamato Province.
​109. I.e., the reign of the Emperor Mommu (A.D. 683–707).
110. Cf. the fact that the first worship of the Shinto gods of the nineteen shrines in Japan was conducted by the State in the third year of Keiun (A.D. 706), when it was reported that the divine names had been recorded in the documents kept in the Office for Shinto Gods (Vide the Shoku Nihongi, Japanese edition, Vol. III. The Kokushi-Taikei, Japanese edition, Vol. II, p. 41).
111. The reign of the Emperor Shomu (A.D. 701–756).
112. At this time Imimaro was the chief of the Nakatomi Family.
113. When our Heavenly Grandson came to earth the divine attendants in his suite were Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto, Futotama-no-Mikoto, Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, Ame-no-Oshihi-no-Mikoto, etc. while those who accompanied the Emperor Jimmu were Hi-no-Omi-no-Mikoto of the Otomo Family, Shi-I-Netsu-Hiko, Yatagarasu, Ame-no-Tomi-no-Mikoto, Ame-no-Taneko-no-Mikoto, Nigi-hayahi-no-Mikoto, etc.
114. I.e., the Heavenly Grandson is Amatsu-Hiko-no-Mikoto, commonly known as Ninigi-no-Mikoto, and the first human emperor is the Emperor Jimmu.
115. The Kojiki or Records of Ancient Matters, and the Nihongi or Chronicles of Japan, etc.
116. I.e., Amaterasu-O-Mikami and Takamimusubi-no-Mikoto.
117. Kaisui or Kai-Shi-Sui (Chien Tzu) was a retainer of Bunko (Wen Kung + 628 B.C.), otherwise known as Choji (Chung Erh), who later on became Feudal Lord of Shin (Chin), in China. Because Kenko (Hsien Kung + 651 B.C.), father of Bunko, under ​the evil influence of his Riki (Li Chi), killed his eldest son Shinsei (Shen Sheng), his heir apparent, Choji, his second son, ran away to a foreign land. During his wandering in various countries, Choji has a most faithful companion, named Kai-Shi-Sui. When the poor fellow, impoverished and forlorn, was overtaken by hunger and fatigue, this loyal retainer Kai-Shi-Sui was willing to serve him with his own flesh torn off his thighs. Some 5 years after Ken Ko’s death, Choji returned to his country and restored peace and order there, after which he was crowned King of Shin, when his companion retainers having accompanied him during his wanderings, were all duly rewarded, except Kai-Shi-Sui.
Kai-Shi-Sui, greatly incensed by the injustice of his master Choji’s unfair rewards, retired to the mountain Men-Josen (Meen Shang Shan) as a recluse, and abandoned the world. Then the repentant Choji never failed to send his servants to the mountain to seek for Kai-Shi-Sui, but in vain, for, sad to say, Kai-Shi-Sui had been burned to death. In their eagerness to find him, some thoughtless persons set fire to the forest of the mountain hoping thus to force Kai-Shi-Sui to quit it in response to his former master’s invitation (Vide the Chinese Historical Book Shiki (Shih Chi), for a fuller description about Kai-Shi-Sui).
118. This intruder was a Buddhist priest, named Dogyo who intended to return to Shiragi (Silla) with the Divine Sword. Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. II, p. 290.
119. Some Japanese and foreign commentators, such as, for example, Watanabe-no-Ikarimaru and Dr. K. A. Florenz understand by the Chinese characters 聖皇 the Emperor Shun ​(舜 Shun) himself in Ancient China, and, consequently, both commentators see in the passage 聖皇登極，受終文祖，類于上帝，禮于六宗，望于山川，偏于群神 a real description of the religious ceremonies performed by the Chinese Emperor Shun when he ascended the Throne in succession to the famous Emperor Gyo (堯 Yao), because of its being simply identical with the same passage found in the Chinese classical book Shokyo or Shu Ching (舜典 Shun-ten, or Shun Tien), of which, indeed, the Japanese Imbe-no-Hironari only made the best use possible in matters of language when describing a similar event at the Enthronement Ceremony of his own Tenno, i.e., Emperor. The present translators are inclined to support this latter view thus agreeing with such native commentators (S. Kubo, the Kogoshui-Kogi, Japanese edition, p. 115. Dr. K. A. Florenz, Die Historischen Quellen der Shinto Religion, St. 447. Tatsuno Hirochika, the Kogoshui Genyosho, Japanese edition, Vol. III, p. 8).
120. Up to the Emperor Sujin’s time the Sacred Mirror had remained under the same roof with the sovereigns in the Imperial Palace. Vide p. 35.
121. Vide p. 22, ante.
122. I.e., Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto. Vide p. 21, 'ante.
123. Vide p. 30, ante.
124. Vide p. 33, ante.
125. These two tabernacles are called the “Yuki-Suki-no-Miya.”
126. In Japanese, “Onie-Matsuri” or “Daijo-Sai.”
127. As to the two Ceremonies here mentioned, vide p. 32, supra.
​When the Emperor Jimmu subjugated the Yamato districts, Ame-no-Tomi-no-Mikoto was the chief priest of the Imbe Family, who officiated at both ceremonies, and not Futotama-no-Mikoto. Vide p. 33.
128. The Hoki Era (A.D. 770–780), i.e., the reign of the Emperor Konin (+A.D. 781).
129. According to the Shoku Nihongi, not “Junior Sub-Fifth Court Rank,” but “Junior Fifth Court Rank” (Vide ibid., Japanese edition, Vol. XXXII, First Month, Fourth Year of Hoki. The Kokushi-Tai-Kei, Japanese edition, Vol. II, p. 566).
130. The Government Authorities apparently did not accept Imbe-no-Hironari’s protest, since the similar description “Nakatomi with Imbe under him” is retained in the Engishiki or Institutes of the Engi Period (Vide the Engishiki, Japanese edition, Vol. XXXI. The Kokushi Taikei, Japanese edition, Vol. XIII, p. 891).
131. By this the author may mean that Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto of the Nakatomi Family and Futotama-no-Mikoto of the Imbe Family, who were in the Heavenly Grandson’s escort, when he descended from the Plain of High Heaven, and Ame-no-Taneko-no-Mikoto of the Nakatomi Family and Ame-no-Tomi-no-Mikoto of the Imbe Family were in the Empror Jimmu’s suite on his journey from Kyushu to Yamato.
132. The Enryaku Era (A.D. 782–805), i.e., the Emperor Kammu’s reign.
133. This princess was the Emperor Kammu’s daughter and her appointment as Guardian-Priestess of the Ise Shrine was ​made in the first year of Enryaku (A.D. 782). She was entrusted with the same sacred office as her distinguished Imperial predecessors, Toyosuki-Iri-Hime and Yamato-Hime, had been some centuries before.
134. The Ryo-no-Shuge states that in the fifth year of Shinki (A.D. 728), by the Imperial Command, the Seventh Court Rank was conferred on the hierarch Nakatomi, the official priest attached to serve the Imperial Guardian-Priestess at Ise, whilst Imbe in the same Bureau received the Eighth Court Rank, notwithstanding that this was contrary to the ancient customs and usage. At any rate one thing is certain that Nakatomi’s seniority to Imbe by one grade in Court Rank was not first inaugurated in the Enryaku Era of the Emperor Kammu, when his Imperial daughter was appointed to the Ise Shrine, as Imbe-no-Hironari erroneously states here in the text.
135. In medieval Japan, popularly known as “Dazaifu” in Kyushu.
136. Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto was a mirth-provoking figure of an inspired prophetess who danced before the Heavenly Rock-Cave, when myriads of Gods anxiously desired to induce the Sun-Goddess to quit it; and from that time her descendants Sarume-no-Kami played an important part as inspired court diviners in the Ceremony of Quieting the Imperial Spirit (Vide the Sendai-Kuji-Hongi, Japanese edition, Vol. V, the Tenson Hongi and the Tenno Hongi. The Kokushi-Taikei, Japanese edition, Vol. VII, pp. 264, 322).
For the idea attached to “spirit” by the ancient Japanese, ​vide, W. G. Aston’s Shinto or the Way of the Gods, p. 27, and his E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 61. Also consult his E.T.N., Vol. II, p. 373, as regards the origin and nature of this “Spirit-Quieting Ceremony.”
137. The ancestral god of the Kagamitsukuri is Ishikori-tome-no-Kami (Vide p. 21, and passim), that of the Tamatsukuri is Kushi-Akaru-Tama-no-Mikoto (p. 17), that of the Tatenui is Hikosashiri-no-Kami (The Sendai-Kuji-Hongi, the Tenson Hvngi, The Kokushi-Taikei, Japanese edition, Vol. VII, p. 225), that of the Shizuri is Ame-no-Hazuchi-O-no-Kami (p. 20), that of the Omi is Naga-Shiraha-no-Kami, and the Ancestral-Goddess of the Kan-Hatori is Ame-no-Tanabata-Hime-no-Kami (p. 20).
138. The 9th year of Shoho (i.e., Tempyo Shoho) of the Emperor Koken’s reign falls in A.D. 757.
139. A case, contrary to this Imperial Ordinance, occurred in the 2nd year of Tempyo Hoji (A.D. 758), when Kawachi-no-Kami, Imbe-no-Sukune-Hitonari, as well as Nakatomi-no-Asomi Ikemori, were appointed Imperial Envoys to the Ise Shrine (Vide the Shoku Nihongi, Japanese edition, Vol. XXI. The Kokushi Taikei, Japanese edition, Vol. II, p. 356).
140. The tutelary god of a locality, or the god of land. Some (not very convincingly) identify this god with the Okuninushi-no-Kami of Izumo Province.
141. Mitoshi-no-Kami, the god of Rice-crops, is said to be a grandson of Susano-o-no-Mikoto.
142. The meaning of the words “katakannagi” and “hijikannagi” is not very clear. Some conjecture that they represent two kinds of diviners (whether male or female is uncertain), one ​is literally the “shoulder-diviner,” and the other “elbow-diviner;” the one being an augur who obtains an angury by means of a bird called “shitodo” or Temminck’s Japanese bunting, the other, a diviner by means of rice-grains and a domestic cooking-furnace ring. Some commentators surmise that “katakannagi” is a diviner who takes charge of the divination for an ordinary field of hard soil; while “hijikannagi” is a diviner for a paddy field, so entrusted with the work of divination for it (Cf. Ban-Nobutomo, The Seiboku-Ko or Enquiries into Genuine Divination. The Ban-Nobutomo-Zenshu or Collected Works, Japanese edition, Vol. II, pp. 533–536. Hirata-Atsutane, the Koshiden or Exposition of the Ancient Histories, Japanese edition, Vol. XIX, pp. 26–29).
And moreover in ancient Japan, the domestic cooking furnace was a god and enjoyed an official worship. The Engishiki. The Kokushi-Taikei, Japanese edition, Vol. XIII, p. 135.
W. G. Aston left the two difficult words “hijikannagi” and “katakannagi” untouched in his book on Shinto (Vide W. G. Aston, Shinto or the Way of the Gods, p. 196).
Matsushita-Kenrin seems to understand by the word “shitodo” a kind of divination practised by means of the bones of the bird so named, i.e., Temminck’s Japanese bunting. Vide the Isho-Nihon-den or Exposition of the Foreign Notices of Japan (Japanese edition, Vol. I, 1, p. 11).
143. Anciently a white boar, but in later times a white pig, when white boars became unobtainable. A somewhat parallel passage is extant in the Mahayana Buddhist Sutra Bussetsu Jokyo Saigen Kyo or the Sutra on Removing Fear, Misfortune, and ​Anxiety (Skt. Shrikantha Sutra. Nanjio’s Catalogue, No. 398).
The Sutra says that when the Buddha Sakyamuni was staying in the Venuvanavihara at Rajagriha a terribly virulent epidemic disease was raging there, of which innumerable people died daily. The Government Authorities were at a loss how to act. A Brahman priest proposed to propitiate the angry gods or demons, by erecting an altar in their honour. Another Brahman priest advised that a great temple be erected to these gods or demons at the cross-roads in the capital and thereby propitiated the plague would cease, a third advised a still more efficacious remedy, viz,, to worship the gods or demons by offering several hundreds of white animals—horses, camels, cows, sheep, cocks, and white dogs, and beseeching them not to inflict such a fearful pestilence upon the citizens.
144. Scrophularia oldhami Oliv.
145. Belamcanda Punctata Moench (=B. chinensis Lem).
146. Or, tear-glass. Coix Lacraymajabi L.
147. Or, prickly ash. Xanthoxylum Piperitum D. C.
148. Juglans.
149. We find the myth of Pan Ku in a certain Chinese book, entitled Teio-Go-Un-Rekinenki (Ti-Wang-Wu-Yun-Li-Nien-Chi). Cf. Ninbo’s Jutsu-I-Ki (Jen-Fang’s Shu-I-Chi).
We venture to use Aston’s quotation from Mayer’s Chinese Manual, p. 174, which says, “Pan-Ku came into being in the Great Waste. His origin is unknown. When dying, he gave birth to the existing material universe. His breath was transmuted into the wind and clouds; his voice into thunder; his left eye into the ​sun, his right eye into the moon; his four limbs and five extremities into the four quarters of the globe and the five great mountains, his blood into the rivers; his muscles and veins into the strata of the earth, his flesh into the soil, etc.” (W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, p. 28). A similar idea is also found in the Rig Veda (X, 9) of ancient India, which says, like the Chinese myth of Pan Ku that the moon came from the God Brahma’s mind, the sun from his eye, the great Gods, Indra and Agni, from his mouth; whilst the wind God Vayu came from his breath, the earth and sky were formed from his feet and head.
Another Buddhist Sutra similarly described the Brahmanistic God Maheshvara:
“The God Mahesvara,—the etherial heaven is his head, the earth is his body, the water is his urine, the mountains are his excrements, all the living beings are worms in his belly, the wind is his vital breath, the air his bodily heat, both good and evil are the Karma or constituents of his character” (The Gedo-Shojo-Nehan-Ron. Nanjio’s Catalogue, No. 1260).
150. An allusion to the Tendai-no-fu (Tien-Tai-Fu) by Sonshaku (Sun Cho) in the Monzen (Wen-Hsuan), one of the Chinese Classics. Vide also the Shusuihen (Chiu-Shui-Pien), by Soshi (Chuang-tzu), a follower of Eoshi (Lao-tzu) and contemporary of Moshi (Meng-Tzu); according to the Chinese traditoin Mencius was in the 4th century B.C.
151. Gyo (Yao) and Shun (Shun) are the prototype of ideal emperors in ancient China.
152. In other words, Japan.
​153. I.e., all over the world.
154. In certain editions we find the dates differently mentioned, e.g., “the 12th month in the 3rd year of Daido” or “the 2nd month in the 3rd year of Daido,” or “the 12th month in the 2nd year of Daido,” instead of “the 2nd month in the 2nd year of Daido,” an attempt to synchronize with the date when Imbe-no-Hironari had already been promoted to the Junior Sub-fifth Court Rank (He was actually promoted to the rank on the 17th of the 11th month in the 3rd year of Daido) as mentioned at the beginning of the popular edition of the Kogoshui, which enjoys a large circulation.
This is no doubt an addition by some writer at a later date than the time the original manuscript was written by Imbe-no-Hironari himself. The second year of Daido falls in A.D. 807.
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