# Kogoshui/Part 1

Part I
Introductory Notes by the Translators
Abbreviations
* E.T.N.—W. G. Aston’s English translation of the Nihongi
* E.T.K.—B. H. Chamberlain’s English translation of the Kojiki
* T.A.S.J.—Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan
A facsimile of the Yoshida Manuscript of the Kogoshui, the oldest manuscript now extant
A facsimile of the Maeda Manuscripts of the Kogoshui, the second oldest manuscripts now extant
Chapter I
The Aim and Object of the Book
According to a time-honoured tradition, when our Imperial ancestors were still in the Plain of High Heaven, there were certain families in whose special care the rites of Shinto were preserved. Namely, the Nakatomi, the Imbe and also the Sarume, of whom we may reasonably believe that the Nakatomi and the Imbe were equally entrusted with the Imperial religious functions. The Imbe Family is lineally descended from Takamimusubi-no-Kami through Futotama-no-Mikoto and Ame-no-Tomi-no-Mikoto, while the Nakatomi Family is descended from Kamimusubi-no-Kami through Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto and Ame-no-Taneko-no-Mikoto, and, together with these two Musubi-no-Kami, stands Ame-no-Minakanushi-no-Kami, thus forming a divine triad in the Japanese Pantheon at the opening of the Kojiki and Nihongi Chronicles.
According to our Japanese mythology, the “eternal night” of darkness prevailed after the withdrawal of the Sun-Goddess into the Heavenly Rock-Cave, and then Futotama-no-Mikoto (whom the Imbe Family claim as their ancestor), and Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto (the ancestor of the Nakatomi Family), aided by Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto (the ancestress of the Sarume Family), were summoned to perform due ceremonies essential to draw forth the Sun-Goddess from her retreat. On this momentous occasion, the ​chief role was not played by either the Nakatomi or the Imbe Family to the disparagement of the other, but both were equally important and essential in the right performance of the religious rites in the Plain of High Heaven.
When the Divine Grandson descended to earth, and the Emperor Jimmu established the Imperial Court in Yamato after his triumphant entrance into that province, both the above families enjoyed equal privileges in the religious ceremonies observed at the Court.
Kamatari, the renowned ancestor of the Fujiwara Family (which sprang from the same root as the Nakatomi), gained supremacy in the political arena, after the Soga Family was annihilated in A.D. 645 during the reign of the Empress Kokyoku, and later on through its marital relations with the Imperial House, the Fujiwara Family practically governed Japan de facto and the authority of the Nakatomi gradually superseded that of the rival Imbe Family in the religious rites observed at the Imperial Court; thus, for example, in the reign of the Emperor Temmu (A.D. 673–686), the Asomi, i.e., the newly established Second Court Rank, was conferred on the Nakatomi, whilst only the Sukune, i.e., Third Court Rank was bestowed on the Imbe. This incident clearly proves that the Imbe then ranked below the Nakatomi, quite contrary to our time-honoured tradition that the Nakatomi and the Imbe were originally treated on exactly the same level at the Imperial Court, both in the Plain of High Heaven and in this Land of Luxuriant Reed Plains in ancient times.
Only those shrines which were closely related to the Nakatomi ​Family enjoyed special prerogatives regarding the official Offerings, whilst, according to the sacred traditions of ancient Japan, no matter how superior the other shrines were, they were neglected for the receipt of the Imperial offerings, if they had no relationship with the Nakatomi House. The prejudices and partiality of the Nakatomi naturally aroused the righteous indignation of Imbe-no-Hironari and forced him when replying to the Emperor’s gracious message to call His Majesty’s attention to the “Eleven Things” neglected by the Imperial Government, as told in the book Kogoshui, which under these circumstances and with such a purpose was inscribed by Imbe-no-Hironari at the beginning of the 9th century in the reign of the Emperor Heijo (A.D. 806–809).
Chapter II
The Historical Value of the Book Criticized
In substance the Kogoshui is chiefly a protest written by Imbe-no-Hironari against a rival family. Hence, one naturally presumes that the work breathes a spirit of rivalry and jealousy. In some respects this is an undeniable fact, for example, the part taken by Takamimusubi-no-Kami is fairly prominent in the issue of Divine Commands in High Heaven together with Amaterasu-O-Mikami in the Kogoshui which differs from the Nihongi which attributes those commands to Amaterasu-O-Mikami alone. Why is this? Because Takamimusubi-no-Kami being regarded as the divine ancestor of the Imbe Family, it is reasonable to suppose ​that Imbe-no-Hironari desired to claim the same high position for his own divine ancestor Takamimusubi-no-Kami as that of the Divine Imperial Ancestress Amaterasu-O-Mikami herself. Therefore, K. Nasa or Kusakabe published his contradiction of the Kogoshui account styling his book Gisai or My Inability to agree with Imbe-no-Hironari (or, shortly Kusakabe’s Critique on Imbe-no-Hironari’s Kogoshui). At the same time one must remember that the Kogoshui records a tradition specially transmitted to and preserved by the House of Imbe, just as the Nihongi preserves various traditions as different versions of one and the same event and so, one may reasonably conclude that the value of the Kogoshui is equal to that of the family records preserved by the Takahashi Family, the Hata Family, and so forth. From this standpoint, it appears that Moto-ori and Hirata greatly sympathize with Imbe-no-Hironari’s attitude against the author K. Kusakabe (Vide Moto-ori, The Gisai Ben. Collected Works, Japanese edition. Vol. V, pp. 1445–1447).
Chapter III
The Date of the Book Kogoshui Examined
The most popular edition of the Kogoshui circulated in Japan relates that the Kogoshui was first written by Imbe-no-Hironari himself on the 13th day of the second month in the second year ​of Daido (A.D. 807), when he held the Sub-Junior Fifth Court Rank, but one of the most authentic Japanese histories (the Ruiju-Kokushi, Japanese edition, Vol. XCIX, 11th month, 3rd year of Daido) states that Imbe-no-Hironari was actually in the Higher-Senior Sixth Court Rank (a degree inferior to the Sub-Junior Fifth Court Rank), and so, in order to harmonize the date with this historical fact, a certain edition of the Kogoshui puts the date 13th day of the 12th month in the 3rd year of Daido, as that when Imbe-no-Hironari submitted the Kogoshui to the Imperial Throne. We believe, however, that the variations both in the dates and in Hironari’s Court Rank, were inserted later by some unknown scribes and therefore the date when the Kogoshui was actually tendered to His Imperial Majesty may be that which is popularly believed, namely, the 13th day of the 2nd month in the 2nd year of Daido.
It is an historical fact that in the first year of Daido, A.D. 806, there was a controversy between the Imbe and the Nakatomi on the powers respectively entrusted to their families in the matter of religious ceremonies at the Imperial Court, and therefore it is most probable that Hironari made his first draft of the Kogoshui during the 1st year of Daido (806), or at the beginning of the next year (807),—as is stated in the passage of our Kogoshui text—and submitted it to the Emperor Heijo against his rival Nakatomi, thus making the best use of the opportunity afforded by that controversy between the two rival Houses. Therefore one of the most authentic official Japanese histories records:—
“Prior to this (the 10th day of the 8th month of the first ​year of Daido), there had been a law-suit between the Nakatomi and the Imbe when they stated their respective cases as follows; the Nakatomi Family complained:
“ ‘It was the Imbe Family that was wont to manufacture official offerings for the gods but they never enjoyed the privilege of reciting a liturgy, therefore that family should not be sent as Imperial envoys to bring official offerings to any shrine.’
“The Imbe Family, however, protested against the accusation, saying:
“ ‘It is the right of the Imbe Family to present the Imperial sacrificial gifts to a shrine and offer prayer, therefore one or more members of that Family should be appointed as Imperial messengers to offer sacrifices at a shrine and the Nakatomi Family should be entrusted with the expiratory rites.’
“As the arguments of both parties were fairy well founded on historical grounds the final victory still hung in the balance. But on the same day, an Imperial Edict was issued, saying:
“ ‘According to the Hihonshoki (Nihongi) or Chronicles of Japan, when Amaterasu-O-Mikami concealed herself in the Heavenly Rock-Cave, Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mlkoto, ancestor of the Nakatomi Family, and Futotama-no-Mikoto, ancestor of the Imbe Family, both united in offering prayer to Amaterasu-O-Mikami to persuade her to leave the cave, and hung five hundred large jewels linked together by an august string, on the upper branch of a fine sacred Sakaki tree with five hundred branches, which had been brought from the Heavenly Mt. Kagu; an eight-handed mirror on the central branches, and both blue and white-coloured ​fine offerings on the lower branches. Hence it is correct that the Nakatomi and the Imbe should together share in offering prayers to the Gods.’
“And again, according to the Jingiryo (Book of Administrative Law for the Shinto Religion), ‘On the occasion of the Prayer Service for the Yearly Harvest and of the Monthly Service at a shrine an official of the Nakatomi Family is to recite a liturgy and one of the Imbe is to deliver the Amatsu-Kami-no-Yogoto or Congratulatory Address for the new Emperor in reference to the auspicious events of the Divine Age in Heaven, whilst the function of the Imbe is to present the Emperor with both the Mirror and the Sword—the Divine Imperial Regalia.
“ ‘In the Oharai or Great Purification Ceremony on the last days of the 6th and 12th months, an official of the Nakatomi Family is to present the expiatory offerings to the Emperor, while an official of the Fumi Family on the East and West of the Capital is to present the expiatory sword and recite the expiatory prayer in Chinese, and then an official of the Nakatomi Family is to deliver a congratulatory address in Japanese. An Imperial envoy who brings offerings to any shrine other than those shrines regularly appointed to be worshipped by the administrative law for the Shinto Religion shall be a person holding ​the Fifth or a higher Court Rank, and also at the same time he should always be appointed by divination.’
“So in sending Imperial envoys to a shrine to present offerings other than the regular sacrifices established by the administrative law, both the Nakatomi and the Imbe should be appointed, and all other things divine be conducted in strict accordance with the Shinto administrative law” (The Nihonkoki, Vol. XIV. The Kokushi Taikei, Japanese edition. Vol. III, p. 77).
Chapter IV
The Text and Its Commentaries
There are different manuscripts of Kogoshui, for instance, the Urabe manuscript (derived from the Heiman manuscript), the Ise, the Hirano and the Horyuji manuscripts existing as early as A.D. 1239, ttie facsimile of which was made by Mikanagi-Kiyonao of Ise in A.D. 1847, the Temmon manuscript, the facsimile of which was made by the late Dr. Inoue-Yorikuni some years ago. The oldest manuscript still extant and preserved in the Yoshida Family of Kyoto is a manuscript written in A.D. 1225 (the first year of Karoku). The second oldest manuscripts which are now preserved by Marquis Maeda-Toshitame in Tokyo, formerly the feudal lord of Kaga, seem to have been made a little later than the Karoku manuscript. We can say for certain that the block-printed book of Kogoshui was already in existence in A.D. 1685, when at the latest, Tatsuno-Hirochika published ​the Kogoshui Genyosho and one must remember that this was the first block-printed Kogoshui in which together with the text a valuable commentary in Chinese is found. Later on, however, some of the succeeding commentaries are worth reading when we study the Kogoshui text. The following commentaries are always useful companions to the student, and amongst them, those written by Ikebe and by Kubo are the best:—
    (1) Ikebe-no-Mahari, the Kogoshui Shinchu.
    (2) Kubo-Sueshige, the Kogoshui Kogi.
    (3) Takada-Hakuo, the Kogoshui Jimo Setsuge.
    (4) Hirata-Atsutane, the Koshicho, Vol. I.
    (5) Tatsuno-Hirochika, the Kogoshui Genyosho.
Chapter V
The Book Kogoshui Written in a Conservative Spirit Against the Then Overwhelming Influence of Chinese Culture
At the opening of the ninth century was a time when Chinese culture was gaining great influence in Japan. The mother of the Emperor Kammu was descended from a certain royal family of Kudara (i.e., Pèkché), and the two celebrated Japanese Buddhist monks Dengyo Daishi (Saicho), Kobo Daishi (Kukai), and others were more or less affected by Chinese thought and civilization after visiting China. The Emperor Kammu in A.D. 785 and 787 gave orders that worship be paid to a heavenly god, ​or rather Heaven Itself, at Katano in Kawachi Province, which Chinese religious custom is entirely alien to the original Shinto cult of old Japan (The Shoku Nihongi, Vol. XXXVIII, Vol. XXXIX. The Kokushi Taikei, Japanese edition, Vol. II, pp. 720, 735). There was another trend of thought, however, running counter to the spirit of the times which blindly accepted Chinese civilization then overpowering the country with irresistible force.—Nationalism versus foreign influence! Conservatism versus liberalism! So, according to the Nihonkoki, an historical book compiled under Government auspices, an Imperial Edict was issued in A.D. 809, which forbade the circulation of a suprious work, written from the standpoint of the Chinese and Korean immigrants, entitled Wakan-Sorekitei-Fuzu or the Book on the Genealogies of All the Sovereigns Both at Home and Abroad, it being injurious to social order in Japan, because it falsely asserts that the royal families of China and Korea as well as the Japanese are all sprung from one and the same God, Ame-no-Minakanushi-no-Kami, one of the greatest deities worshipped by the ancient Japanese, and thus blasphemes the highest heavenly ancestral God of the Imperial family of Japan (Vide the Nihonkoki, Vol. XVII. The Kokushi Taiki, Japanese edition. Vol. III, p. 95). Moreover, the appearance of the Shinsen-Shojiroku or Register of Family or Clan Names compiled in A.D. 815 by the Imperial Prince Manta and the Daido Ruijuho or Work on the Japanese Medical Prescriptions Classified in the Daido Era compiled in A.D. 898 by Abe-no-Sanenao, Izumo-no-Hirosada, etc., and the Daido Hongi compiled in the Daido Era (the beginning ​of the 9th century), whose fragments—a description of some Shinto rites performed at the Ise Shrine—are still extant in the books entitled Jingu Zatsureishu and Koji Satabumi (Vide the Gunsho Ruiju, Japanese edition, Vol. IV, and the Zoku Gunsho Ruiju, Japanese edition, Vol. IV) is the surest evidence of the activity of counter-currents of the conservative nationalism to which Imbe-no-Hironari belonged. Hence his book Kogoshui was written in antagonism to and conflict with the “new tendency to ostentation and frivolity versus the ancient simplicity,” as stated in his preface.
* ↑ For example, the Takahashi-Ujibumi, the Hata-Uji-no-Honkeicho, etc.
* ↑ Vide W. G. Aston, E.T.N., Vol. I, pp. 43, 44.
* ↑ Amatsu-Kami-no-Yogoto otherwise called “Nakatomi-no-Yogoto” or “Congratulatory Address by the Nakatomi Family” (Vide Fujiwara-no-Yorinaga’s Diary, called “Taiki-Bekki” in Japanese edition).
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