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A HISTORY OF THE JAPANESEPEOPLE

From the Earliest Times to the End ofthe Meiji Era

by

CAPT. F. BRINKLEY, R. A.

Editor of the "Japan Mail"

With the Collaboration of BARONKIKUCHI

Former President of the ImperialUniversity at Kyoto

With 150 Illustrations Engraved onWood by Japanese Artists; Half-TonePlates, and Maps

DEDICATED BY GRACIOUSPERMISSION TO HIS MAJESTYMEIJI TENNO, THE LATEEMPEROR OF JAPAN

FOREWORD

It is trite to remark that if you wish toknow really any people, it is necessaryto have a thorough knowledge of theirhistory, including their mythology,legends and folk-lore: customs, habitsand traits of character, which to asuperficial observer of a differentnationality or race may seem odd andstrange, sometimes even utterlysubversive of ordinary ideas ofmorality, but which can be explainedand will appear quite reasonable whenthey are traced back to their origin. Thesudden rise of the Japanese nationfrom an insignificant position to a

foremost rank in the comity of nationshas startled the world. Except in thecase of very few who had studied usintimately, we were a people but littleraised above barbarism trying to imitateWestern civilisation without anycapacity for really assimilating oradapting it. At first, it was supposedthat we had somehow undergone asudden transformation, but it wasgradually perceived that such could notbe and was not the case; and a crop ofbooks on Japan and the Japanese, deepand superficial, serious and fantastic,interesting and otherwise, has been putforth for the benefit of those who werecurious to know the reason of thisstrange phenomenon. But among so

many books, there has not yet been, sofar as I know, a history of Japan,although a study of its history wasmost essential for the properunderstanding of many of theproblems relating to the Japanesepeople, such as the relation of theImperial dynasty to the people, thefamily system, the position ofBuddhism, the influence of theChinese philosophy, etc. A history ofJapan of moderate size has indeed longbeen a desideratum; that it was notforthcoming was no doubt due to thewant of a proper person to undertakesuch a work. Now just the right manhas been found in the author of thepresent work, who, an Englishman by

birth, is almost Japanese in hisunderstanding of, and sympathy with,the Japanese people. It would indeed bedifficult to find any one better fitted forthe task by no means an easy one ofpresenting the general features ofJapanese history to Western readers, in acompact and intelligible form, and atthe same time in general harmony withthe Japanese feeling. The Westernpublic and Japan are alike to becongratulated on the production of thepresent work. I may say this withoutany fear of reproach for self-praise, foralthough my name is mentioned in thetitle-page, my share is very slight,consisting merely in general advice andin a few suggestions on some special

points.

DAIROKU KIKUCHI.

KYOTO, 1912.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

During the past three decades Japanesestudents have devoted much intelligentlabour to collecting and collating thesomewhat disjointed fragments of theircountry's history. The task would havebeen practically impossible for foreignhistoriographers alone, but now thatthe materials have been brought to light

there is no insuperable difficulty inmaking them available for purposes ofjoint interpretation. That is all I haveattempted to do in these pages, and Ibeg to solicit pardon for any defect theymay be found to contain.

F. BRINKLEY.

TOKYO, 1912.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. The Historiographer's Art in Old

Japan

II. Japanese Mythology

III. Japanese Mythology (Continued)

IV. Rationalization

V. Origin of the Japanese Nation:Historical Evidences

VI. Origin of the Nation: Geographicaland Archaeological Relics

VII. Language and PhysicalCharacteristics

VIII. Manners and Customs in Remote

Antiquity

IX. The Prehistoric Sovereigns

X. The Prehistoric Sovereigns(Continued)

XI. The Prehistoric Sovereigns(Continued)

XII. The Protohistoric Sovereigns

XIII. The Protohistoric Sovereigns(Continued)

XIV. From the 29th to the 35thSovereign

XV. The Daika Reforms

XVI. The Daiho Laws and the YoroLaws

XVII. The Nara Epoch

XVIII. The Heian Epoch

XIX. The Heian Epoch (Continued)

XX. The Heian Epoch (Continued)

XXI. The Capital and the Provinces

XXII. Recovery of AdministrativeAuthority by the Throne

XXIII. Manners and Customs of theHeian Epoch

XXIV. The Epoch of the Gen(Minamoto) and the Hei (Taira)

XXV. The Epoch of the Gen and theHei (Continued)

XXVI. The Kamakura Bakufu

XXVII. The Hojo

XXVIII. Art, Religion, Literature,Customs, and Commerce in theKamakura Period

XXIX. Fall of the Hojo and Rise of

the Ashikaga

XXX. The War of the Dynasties

XXXI. The Fall of the Ashikaga

XXXII. Foreign Intercourse, Literature,Art, Religion, Manners, and Customs inthe Muromachi Epoch

XXXIII. The Epoch of Wars (SengokuJidai)

XXXIV. Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, andIeyasu

XXXV. The Invasion of Korea

XXXVI. The Momo-Yama Epoch

XXXVII. Christianity in Japan

XXXVIII. The Tokugawa Shogunate

XXXIX. First Period of the TokugawaBakufu; from the First TokugawaShogun, Ieyasu, to the Fourth, Ietsuna(1603-1680)

XL. Middle Period of the TokugawaBakufu; from the Fifth Shogun,Tsunayoshi, to the Tenth Shogun,Ieharu (1680-1786)

XLI. The Late Period of the TokugawaBakufu. The Eleventh Shogun,Ienari

(1786-1838)

XLII. Organization, Central and Local;Currency and the Laws of theTokugawa Bakufu

XLIII. Revival of the Shinto Cult

XLIV. Foreign Relations and theDecline of the Tokugawa

XLV. Foreign Relations and the Declineof the Tokugawa (Continued)

XLVI. The Meiji Government

XLVII. Wars with China and Russia

APPENDIX

1. Constitution of Japan, 1889

2. Anglo-Japanese Agreement, 1905

3. Treaty of Portsmouth, 1905

INDEX

HISTORICAL MAPS

Japan about 1337: Northern andSouthern Courts

Japan in Era of Wars, 1577:Distribution of Fiefs

Japan in 1615: Feudatories

Japan, Korea and the Mainland of Asia

FULL PAGE HALF-TONES

Capt. F. Brinkley, R. A.

The Emperor Jimmu

The Shrine of Ise

Prehistoric Remains: Plate A

Prehistoric Remains: Plate B

Prince Shotoku

Kaigen Ceremony of the NaraDaibutsu

Thirty-six Versifiers (Painting by Korin)

Cherry-Viewing Festival at Mukojima

Kamakura Daibutsu

Kinkaku-ji (Golden Pavilion)

Court Costumes

Tokugawa Shrine at Nikko

The Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito)

Sinking of the Russian Battleship

Osliabya

Admiral Togo

WORKS CONSULTED

ENGRAVING: MT. FUJI SEENFROM THE FUJI-GAWA

CHAPTER I

THE HISTORIOGRAPHER'S ARTIN OLD JAPAN

MATERIALS FOR HISTORY

IN the earliest eras of historic Japanthere existed a hereditary corporationof raconteurs (Katari-be) who, fromgeneration to generation, performed thefunction of reciting the exploits of thesovereigns and the deeds of heroes.They accompanied themselves onmusical instruments, and naturally, astime went by, each set of raconteursembellished the language of theirpredecessors, adding supernaturalelements, and introducing details whichbelonged to the realm of romancerather than to that of ordinary history.These Katari-be would seem to havebeen the sole repository of their

country's annals until the sixth centuryof the Christian era. Their repertoriesof recitation included records of thegreat families as well as of thesovereigns, and it is easy to conceivethat the favour and patronage of thesehigh personages were earned byornamenting the traditions of theirhouseholds and exalting theirpedigrees. But when the art of writingwas introduced towards the close ofthe fourth century, or at the beginningof the fifth, and it was seen that inChina, then the centre of learning andcivilization, the art had been applied tothe compilation of a national history aswell as of other volumes possessinggreat ethical value, the Japanese

conceived the ambition of similarlyutilizing their new attainment. Forreasons which will be understood byand by, the application of theideographic script to the language ofJapan was a task of immense difficulty,and long years must have passed beforethe attainment of any degree ofproficiency.

Thus it was not until the time of theEmpress Suiko (593-628) that thehistorical project took practical shape.Her Majesty, at the instance, doubtless,of Prince Shotoku, one of the greatestnames in all Japan's annals, instructedthe prince himself and her chiefminister, Soga no Umako, to undertake

the task of compiling historicaldocuments, and there resulted a Recordof the Emperors (Tennoki), a Recordof the Country (Koki), and OriginalRecords (Hongi) of the Free People(i.e., the Japanese proper asdistinguished from aliens, captives, andaborigines), of the great families and ofthe 180 Hereditary Corporations (Be).This work was commenced in the year620, but nothing is known as to thedate of its completion. It represents thefirst Japanese history. A shortlivedcompilation it proved, for in the year645, the Soga chiefs, custodians of thedocuments, threw them into the fire onthe eve of their own execution fortreason. One only, the Record of the

Country, was plucked from the flames,and is believed to have beensubsequently incorporated in the Kojiki'(Records of Ancient Things).' Noimmediate attempt seems to have beenmade to remedy the loss of theseinvaluable writings. Thirty-seven yearslater the Emperor Temmu took thematter in hand. One of his reasons fordoing so has been historicallytransmitted. Learning that "thechronicles of the sovereigns and theoriginal words in the possession of thevarious families deviated from the truthand were largely amplified with emptyfalsehoods," his Majesty conceived thatunless speedy steps were taken tocorrect the confusion and eliminate the

errors, an irremediable state of affairswould result.

Such a preface prepares us to learn thata body of experts was appointed todistinguish the true and the false, andto set down the former alone. TheEmperor did, in fact, commission anumber of princes and officials tocompile an authentic history, and weshall presently see how their laboursresulted. But in the first place a specialfeature of the situation has to be noted.The Japanese language was thenundergoing a transition. In order to fitit to the Chinese ideographs for literarypurposes, it was being deprived of itsmellifluous polysyllabic character and

reduced to monosyllabic terseness. Theolder words were disappearing, andwith them many of the old traditions.Temmu saw that if the work ofcompilation was abandoned solely toprincely and official litterateurs, theywould probably sacrifice on the altar ofthe ideograph much that was venerableand worthy to be preserved. Hetherefore himself undertook thecollateral task of having the antiquetraditions collected and expurgated,and causing them to be memorized by achamberlain, Hiyeda no Are, a manthen in his twenty-eighth year, who wasgifted with ability to repeat accuratelyeverything heard once by him. Are'smind was soon stored with a mass of

ancient facts and obsolescentphraseology, but before either the taskof official compilation or that ofprivate restoration had been carried tocompletion the Emperor died (686),and an interval of twenty-five yearselapsed before the Empress Gemmyo,on the 18th of September, 711, ordereda scholar, Ono Yasumaro, to transcribethe records stored in Are's memory.Four months sufficed for the work, andon the 28th of January, 712, Yasumarosubmitted to the Throne the Kojiki(Records of Ancient Things) whichranked as the first history of Japan, andwhich will be here referred to as theRecords.

THE NIHONGI AND THE NIHONSHOKI

It is necessary to revert now to theunfinished work of the classicalcompilers, as they may be called, whomthe Emperor Temmu nominated in682, but whose labours had not beenconcluded when his Majesty died in686. There is no evidence that their taskwas immediately continued in anorganized form, but it is related thatduring the reign of Empress Jito (690-696) further steps were taken to collecthistorical materials, and that theEmpress Gemmyo (708-715) whom wehave seen carrying out, in 712, herpredecessor Temmu's plan with regard

to Hiyeda no Are added, in 714, twoskilled litterateurs to Temmu's classicalcompilers, and thus enabled them tocomplete their task, which took theshape of a book called the Nihongi(Chronicle of Japan).

This work, however, did not provealtogether satisfactory. It was written,for the most part, with a script calledthe Manyo syllabary; that is to say, withChinese ideographs employedphonetically, and it did not at all attainthe literary standard of its Chineseprototype. Therefore, the Empressentrusted to Prince Toneri and OnoYasumaro the task of revising it, andtheir amended manuscript, concluded

in 720, received the name of NihonShoki (Written Chronicles of Japan),the original being distinguished asKana Nihongi, or Syllabic Chronicles.The Nihon Shoki consisted originallyof thirty-one volumes, but of theseone, containing the genealogies of thesovereigns, has been lost. It covers thewhole of the prehistoric period andthat part of the historic which extendsfrom the accession of the EmperorJimmu (660 B.C.) to the abdication ofthe Empress Jito (A.D. 697). The Kojikiextends back equally far, but terminatesat the death of the Empress Suiko(A.D. 628).

THE FUDOKI

In the year 713, when the EmpressGemmyo was on the throne, all theprovinces of the empire received ordersto submit to the Court statementssetting forth the natural features of thevarious localities, together withtraditions and remarkable occurrences.These documents were called Fudoki(Records of Natural Features). Many ofthem have been lost, but a few survive,as those of Izumo, Harima, andHitachi.

CHARACTER OF THE RECORDSAND THE CHRONICLES

The task of applying ideographic script

to phonetic purposes is exceedinglydifficult. In the ideographic script eachcharacter has a distinct sound and acomplete meaning. Thus, in China shansignifies "mountain," and ming "light."But in Japanese "mountain" becomesyama and "light" akari. It is evident,then, that one of two things has to bedone. Either the sounds of theJapanese words must be changed tothose of the Chinese ideographs; or thesounds of the Chinese ideographsmust alone be taken (irrespective oftheir meaning), and with them aphonetic syllabary must be formed.Both of these devices were employedby a Japanese scholar of early times.Sometimes disregarding the significance

of the ideographs altogether, he usedthem simply as representing sounds,and with them built up pure Japanesewords; at other times, he altered thesounds of Japanese words to those oftheir Chinese equivalents and thenwrote them frankly with theirideographic symbols.

In this way each Japanese word came tohave two pronunciations: first, its ownoriginal sound for colloquial purposes;and second, its borrowed sound forpurposes of writing. At the outset thespoken and the written languages weredoubtless kept tolerably distinct. But bydegrees, as respect for Chinese literaturedeveloped, it became a learned

accomplishment to pronounce Japanesewords after the Chinese manner, andthe habit ultimately acquired such avogue that the language of men whowrote and spoke ideographically grewto be different from the language ofwomen who wrote and spokephonetically. When Hiyeda no Are wasrequired to memorize the annals andtraditions collected and revised at theImperial Court, the language in whichhe committed them to heart was pureJapanese, and in that language hedictated them, twenty-nine years later,to the scribe Yasumaro. The latter, insetting down the products of Are'smemory, wrote for the most partphonetically; but sometimes, finding

that method too cumbersome, he hadrecourse to the ideographic language,with which he was familiar. At allevents, adding nothing nor taking awayanything, he produced a truthful recordof the myths, traditions, and salienthistorical incidents credited by theJapanese of the seventh century.

It may well be supposed, nevertheless,that Are's memory, however tenacious,failed in many respects, and that hishistorical details were comparativelymeagre. An altogether different spiritpresided at the work subsequentlyundertaken by this same Yasumaro,when, in conjunction with otherscholars, he was required to collate the

historical materials obtained abundantlyfrom various sources since thevandalism of the Soga nobles. Theprime object of these collaborators wasto produce a Japanese history worthy tostand side by side with the classicmodels of China. Therefore, they usedthe Chinese language almost entirely,the chief exception being in the case ofthe old poems, a great number ofwhich appear in the Records and theChronicles alike. The actual words ofthese poems had to be preserved aswell as the metre, and therefore it wasnecessary to indite them phonetically.For the rest, the Nihon Shoki, whichresulted from the labours of theseannalists and literati, was so Chinese

that its authors did not hesitate to drawlargely upon the cosmogonic myths ofthe Middle Kingdom, and to put intothe mouths of Japanese monarchs, orinto their decrees, quotations fromChinese literature. "As a repertory ofancient Japanese myth and legend thereis little to choose between the Recordsand the Chronicles. The former is, onthe whole, the fuller of the two, andcontains legends which the latter passesover in silence; but the Chronicles, aswe now have them, are enriched byvariants of the early myths, the value ofwhich, for purposes of comparison, isrecognized by scientific inquirers. Butthere can be no comparison betweenthe two works when viewed as history.

Hiyeda no Are's memory cannot beexpected to compete in fullness andaccuracy with the abundantdocumentary literature accessible to thewriters of the Chronicles, and anexamination of the two works showsthat, in respect to the record of actualevents, the Chronicles are far the moreuseful authority".*

*Aston's Nihongi.

It will readily be supposed, too, that theauthors of both works confused thepresent with the past, and, in describingthe manners and customs of by-goneeras, unconsciously limned theirpictures with colours taken from the

palette of their own times, "when thenational thought and institutions hadbecome deeply modified by Chineseinfluences." Valuable as the two booksare, therefore, they cannot be acceptedwithout large limitations. The NihonShoki occupied a high place in nationalesteem from the outset. In the yearfollowing its compilation, the EmpressGensho summoned eminent scholarsto the Court and caused them to deliverlectures on the contents of the book, acustom which was followed regularlyby subsequent sovereigns and still findsa place among the New Yearceremonials. This book proved to bethe precursor of five others with whichit is commonly associated by Japanese

scholars. They are the Zoku Nihongi(Supplementary Chronicles of Japan),in forty volumes, which covers theperiod from 697 to 791 and wasfinished in 798; the Nihon Koki (LaterChronicles of Japan), in forty volumesten only survive which covers theperiod from 792 to 833; the ZokuNihon Koki (Supplementary LaterChronicles), in twenty volumes, whichcovers the single reign of the EmperorNimmyo (834-850) and was compiledin 869; the Montoku Jitsu-roku (TrueAnnals of Montoku), in ten volumes,covering the reign of Montoku (851-858), and compiled in 879, and theSandai Jitsu-roku (True Annals ofThree Reigns) in fifty volumes, covering

the period from 859 to 887 andcompiled in 901. These fivecompilations together with the NihonShoki are honoured as the Six NationalHistories. It is noticeable that thewriters were men of the highest rank,from prime ministers downwards. Insuch honour was the historiographer'sart held in Japan in the eighth andninth centuries.

CHRONOLOGY

Before beginning to read Japanesehistory it is necessary to knowsomething of the chronology followedin its pages. There have been in Japanfour systems for counting the passage

of time. The first is by the reigns of theEmperors. That is to say, the first yearof a sovereign's reign reckoning fromthe New Year's day following hisaccession became the 1 of the series,and the years were thenceforthnumbered consecutively until his deathor abdication. This method might besufficiently accurate if the exactduration of each reign were known aswell as the exact sequence of the reigns.But no such precision could beexpected in the case of unwrittenhistory, transmitted orally fromgeneration to generation. Thus, whileJapanese annalists, by accepting theaggregate duration of all the reignsknown to them, arrive at the

conclusion that the first Emperor,Jimmu, ascended the throne in the year660 B.C., it is found on analysis thattheir figures assign to the first seventeensovereigns an average age of 109 years.

The second system was by means ofperiods deriving their name (nengo)from some remarkable incident. Thus,the discovery of copper in Japan wascommemorated by calling the yearWado (Japanese copper), and the era socalled lasted seven years. Such a planwas even more liable to error than thedevice of reckoning by reigns, and aspecially confusing feature was that thefirst year of the period datedretrospectively from the previous New

Year's day, so that events were oftenrecorded as having occurred in the finalyear of one period and in the openingyear of another. This system wasoriginally imported from China in theyear A.D. 645, and is at present in use,the year 1910 being the forty-third ofthe Meiji (Enlightenment and Peace)period.

The third system was that of thesexagenary cycle. This was operatedafter the manner of a clock having twoconcentric dials, the circumference ofthe larger dial being divided into tenequal parts, each marked with one ofthe ten "celestial signs," and thecircumference of the smaller dial being

divided into twelve equal parts eachmarked with one of the twelve signs ofthe zodiac. The long hand of the clock,pointing to the larger dial, wassupposed to make one revolution inten years, and the shorter hand,pointing to the small dial, revolvedonce in twelve years. Thus, startingfrom the point where the marks on thetwo dials coincide, the long handgained upon the short hand by one-sixtieth each year, and once in everysixty years the two hands were found atthe point of conjunction. Years wereindicated by naming the "celestial stem"and the zodiacal sign to which theimaginary hands happen to be pointing,just as clock-time is indicated by the

minutes read from the long hand andthe hours from the short. Thesexagenary cycle came into use in Chinain 623 B.C. The exact date of itsimportation into Japan is unknown,but it was probably about the end ofthe fourth century A.D. It is asufficiently accurate manner ofcounting so long as the tale of cycles iscarefully kept, but any neglect in thatrespect exposes the calculator to anerror of sixty years or some multiple ofsixty. Keen scrutiny and collation ofthe histories of China, Korea, andJapan have exposed a mistake of atleast 120 years connected with theearliest employment of the sexagenarycycle in Japan.

The fourth method corresponds to thatadopted in Europe where the numberof a year is referred to the birth ofChrist. In Japan, the accession of theEmperor Jimmu 660 B.C. is taken for abasis, and thus the Occidental year1910 becomes the 2570th year of theJapanese dynasty. With such methodsof reckoning some collateral evidenceis needed before accepting any of thedates given in Japanese annals.Kaempfer and even Rein were contentto endorse the chronology of theChronicles the Records avoid datesaltogether but other Occidentalscholars* have with justice been moresceptical, and their doubts have been

confirmed by several eminent Japanesehistorians in recent times. Where, then,is collateral evidence to be found?

*Notably Bramsen, Aston, Satow, andChamberlain.

In the pages of Chinese and Koreanhistory. There is, of course, no inherentreason for attributing to Korean historyaccuracy superior to that of Japanesehistory. But in China the habit ofcontinuously compiling written annalshad been practised for many centuriesbefore Japanese events began even tofurnish materials for romanticrecitations, and no serious errors havebeen proved against Chinese

historiographers during the periodswhen comparison with Japanese annalsis feasible. In Korea's case, too,verification is partially possible. Thus,during the first five centuries of theChristian era, Chinese annals containsixteen notices of events in Korea. IfKorean history be examined as to theseevents, it is found to agree in teninstances, to disagree in two, and to besilent in four.* This record tendsstrongly to confirm the accuracy of theKorean annals, and it is further to beremembered that the Korean peninsulawas divided during many centuries intothree principalities whose records serveas mutual checks. Finally, Koreanhistorians do not make any such

demand upon our credulity as theJapanese do in the matter of length ofsovereigns' reigns. For example, whilethe number of successions to thethrone of Japan during the first fourcenturies of the Christian era is setdown as seven only, making fifty-sixyears the average duration of a reign,the corresponding numbers for thethree Korean principalities are sixteen,seventeen, and sixteen, respectively,making the average length of a reignfrom twenty-four to twenty-five years.It is, indeed, a very remarkable fact thatwhereas the average age of the firstseventeen Emperors of Japan, who aresupposed to have reigned from 660B.C. down to A.D. 399, was 109 years,

this incredible habit of longevity ceasedabruptly from the beginning of thefifth century, the average age of thenext seventeen having been only sixty-one and a half years; and it is a mostsuggestive coincidence that the yearA.D. 461 is the first date of theaccepted Japanese chronology which isconfirmed by Korean authorities.

*Aston's essay on Early JapaneseHistory

In fact, the conclusion is almostcompulsory that Japanese authentichistory, so far as dates are concerned,begins from the fifth century. Chineseannals, it is true, furnish one

noteworthy and much earlierconfirmation of Japanese records. Theyshow that Japan was ruled by a veryrenowned queen during the first halfof the third century of the Christianera, and it was precisely at that epochthat the Empress Jingo is related byJapanese history to have made herselfcelebrated at home and abroad. Chinesehistoriographers, however, put Jingo'sdeath in the year A.D. 247, whereasJapanese annalists give the date as 269.Indeed there is reason to think that justat this time second half of the thirdcentury some special causes operated todisturb historical coherence in Japan,for not only does Chinese history referto several signal events in Japan which

find no place in the latter's records, butalso Korean history indicates that theJapanese dates of certain cardinalincidents err by exactly 120 years. Twocycles in the sexagenary system ofreckoning constitute 120 years, and theexplanation already given makes it easyto conceive the dropping of that lengthof time by recorders having onlytradition to guide them.

On the whole, whatever may be said asto the events of early Japanese history,its dates can not be consideredtrustworthy before the beginning ofthe fifth century. There is evidently oneother point to be considered in thiscontext; namely, the introduction of

writing. Should it appear that the timewhen the Japanese first began topossess written records coincides withthe time when, according toindependent research, the dates given intheir annals begin to synchronize withthose of Chinese and Korean history,another very important landmark willbe furnished. There, is suchsynchronism, but it is obtained at thecost of considerations which cannot belightly dismissed. For, although it ispretty clearly established that an eventwhich occured at the beginning of thefifth century preluded the general studyof the Chinese language in Japan andmay not unreasonably be supposed tohave led to the use of the Chinese

script in compiling historical records,still it is even more clearly establishedthat from a much remoter era Japan hadbeen on terms of some intimacy withher neighbours, China and Korea, andhad exchanged written communicationswith them, so that the art of writingwas assuredly known to her long beforethe fifth century of the Christian era, towhatever services she applied it. Thissubject will present itself again forexamination in more convenientcircumstances.

ENGRAVING: YUKIMIDORO (Styleof Stone Lantern used in JapaneseGardens)

ENGRAVING: "YATSUHASHI"STYLE OF GARDEN BRIDGE

CHAPTER II

JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY

KAMI

THE mythological page of a country'shistory has an interest of its own apartfrom legendary relations; it affordsindications of the people's creeds andfurnishes traces of the nation's genesis.In Japan's mythology there is a specialdifficulty for the interpreter a difficulty

of nomenclature. It has been theconstant habit of foreign writers ofJapan's story to speak of an "Age ofGods" (Kami no yo). But the Japaneseword Kami* does not necessarilyconvey any such meaning. It has nodivine import. We shall presently findthat of the hundreds of families intowhich Japanese society came to bedivided, each had its Kami, and that hewas nothing more than the head of thehousehold. Fifty years ago, theGovernment was commonly spoken ofas O Kami (the Honourable Head), anda feudatory frequently had the title ofKami of such and such a locality. Thusto translate Kami by "deity" or "god" ismisleading, and as the English language

furnishes no exact equivalent, the bestplan is to adhere to the originalexpression. That plan is adopted in thefollowing brief summary of Japanesemythology.

*Much stress is laid upon the point bythat most accurate scholar, Mr. B. H.Chamberlain.

COSMOGONY

Japanese mythology opens at thebeginning of "the heaven and theearth." But it makes no attempt toaccount for the origin of things. Itintroduces us at once to a "plain ofhigh heaven," the dwelling place of

these invisible* Kami, one of whom isthe great central being, and the othertwo derive their titles from theirproductive attributes. But as to whatthey produced or how they produced it,no special indication is given.Thereafter two more Kami are bornfrom an elementary reedlike substancethat sprouts on an inchoate earth. Thisis the first reference to organic matter.The two newly born Kami are invisiblelike their predecessors, and like themare not represented as taking any part inthe creation. They are solitary,unseeable, and functionless, but theevident idea is that they have a moreintimate connexion with cosmos thanthe Kami who came previously into

existence, for one of them is namedafter the reed-shoot from which heemanated, and to the other is attributedthe property of standing eternally inthe heavens.

*The expression here translated"invisible" has been interpreted in thesense that the Kami "hid their persons,"i.e., died, but the true meaning seems tobe that they were invisible.

Up to this point there has not been anysuggestion of measuring time. But nowthe record begins to speak of"generations." Two more solitary andinvisible beings are born, one called theKami who stands eternally on earth,

the other the "abundant integrator."Each of these represents a generation,and it will be observed that up to thistime no direct mention whatever ismade of sex. Now, however, fivegenerations ensue, each consisting oftwo Kami, a male and a female, andthus the epithet "solitary" as applied tothe first seven Kami becomesintelligible. All these generations arerepresented as gradually approximatingto the exercise of creative functions, forthe names* become more and moresuggestive of earthly relations. The lastcouple, forming the fifth generation,are Izanagi and Izanami, appellationssignifying the male Kami of desire andthe female Kami of desire. By all the

other Kami these two arecommissioned to "make, consolidate,and give birth to the drifting land," ajewelled spear being given to them as atoken of authority, and a floatingbridge being provided to carry them toearth. Izanagi and Izanami thrust thespear downwards and stir the "brine"beneath, with the result that itcoagulates, and, dropping from thespear's point, forms the first of theJapanese islands, Onogoro. This islandthey take as the basis of their futureoperations, and here they beget, byordinary human processes which aredescribed without any reservations first,"a great number of islands, and next, agreat number of Kami." It is related

that the first effort of procreation wasnot successful, the outcome being aleechlike abortion and an island offoam, the former of which was sentadrift in a boat of reeds. The islandsafterwards created form a large part ofJapan, but between these islands andthe Kami, begotten in succession tothem, no connexion is traceable. Inseveral cases the names of the Kamiseem to be personifications of naturalobjects. Thus we have the Kami of the"wind's breath," of the sea, of therivers, of the "water-gates" (estuariesand ports), of autumn, of "foam-calm," of "bubbling waves," of "water-divisions," of trees, of mountains, ofmoors, of valleys, etc. But with very rare

exceptions, all these Kami have nosubsequent share in the scheme ofthings and cannot be regarded asevidence that the Japanese were natureworshippers.

*The Kami of mud-earth; the Kami ofgerm-integration; the Kami of the greatplace; the Kami of the perfect exterior,etc.

A change of method is now noticeable.Hitherto the process of production hasbeen creative; henceforth the method istransformation preceded bydestruction. Izanami dies in givingbirth to the Kami of fire, and her bodyis disintegrated into several beings, as

the male and female Kami of metalmountains, the male and female Kamiof viscid clay, the female Kami ofabundant food, and the Kami ofyouth; while from the tears of Izanagias he laments her decease is born thefemale Kami of lamentation. Izanagithen turns upon the child, the Kami offire, which has cost Izanami her life,and cuts off its head; whereupon areborn from the blood that stains hissword and spatters the rocks eightKami, whose names are all suggestiveof the violence that called them intoexistence. An equal number of Kami,all having sway over mountains, areborn from the head and body of theslaughtered child.

At this point an interesting episode isrecorded. Izanagi visits the "land ofnight," with the hope of recovering hisspouse.* He urges her to return, as thework in which they were engaged is notyet completed. She replies that,unhappily having already eaten withinthe portals of the land of night, shemay not emerge without the permissionof the Kami** of the underworld, andshe conjures him, while she is seekingthat permission, not to attempt to lookon her face. He, however, weary ofwaiting, breaks off one of the largeteeth of the comb that holds hishair*** and, lighting it, uses it as atorch. He finds Izanami's body in a

state of putrefaction, and amid thedecaying remains eight Kami ofthunder have been born and aredwelling. Izanagi, horrified, turns andflees, but Izanami, enraged that she hasbeen "put to shame," sends the"hideous hag of hades" to pursue him.He obtains respite twice; first bythrowing down his head-dress, which isconverted into grapes, and then castingaway his comb, which is transformedinto bamboo sprouts, and while the hagstops to eat these delicacies, he flees.Then Izanami sends in his pursuit theeight Kami of thunder with fifteenhundred warriors of theunderworld.**** He holds them offfor a time by brandishing his sword

behind him, and finally, on reaching thepass from the nether to the upperworld, he finds three peaches growingthere with which he pelts his pursuersand drives them back. The peaches arerewarded with the title of "divinefruit," and entrusted with the duty ofthereafter helping all living people*****in the central land of "reedplains"****** as they have helpedIzanagi.

*It is unnecessary to comment uponthe identity of this incident with thelegend of Orpheus and Eurydice.

**It will be observed that we hear ofthese Kami now for the first time.

***This is an obvious example of acharge often preferred against thecompilers of the Records that theyinferred the manners and customs ofremote antiquity from those of theirown time.

****Again we have here evidence thatthe story of creation, as told in theRecords, is not supposed to becomplete. It says nothing as to how thedenizens of the underworld came intoexistence.

*****The first mention of humanbeings.

******This epithet is given to Japan.

This curious legend does not end here.Finding that the hag of hades, the eightKami of thunder, and the fifteenhundred warriors have all beenrepulsed, Izanami herself goes inpursuit. But her way is blocked by ahuge rock which Izanagi places in the"even pass of hades," and from theconfines of the two worlds the angrypair exchange messages of finalseparation, she threatening to kill athousand folk daily in his land if herepeats his acts of violence, and hedeclaring that, in such event, he willretaliate by causing fifteen hundred tobe born.

In all this, no mention whatever isfound of the manner in which humanbeings come into existence: they maketheir appearance upon the scene asthough they were a primeval part of it.Izanagi, whose return to the upperworld takes place in southwesternJapan,* now cleanses himself from thepollution he has incurred by contactwith the dead, and thus inaugurates therite of purification practised to this dayin Japan. The Records describeminutely the process of his unrobingbefore entering a river, and we learnincidentally that he wore a girdle, askirt, an upper garment, trousers, a hat,bracelets on each arm, and a necklace,

but no mention is made of footgear.Twelve Kami are born from thesevarious articles as he discards them, butwithout exception these additions toJapanese mythology seem to havenothing to do with the scheme of theuniverse: their titles appear to be whollycapricious, and apart from figuringonce upon the pages of the Recordsthey have no claim to notice. The samemay be said of eleven among fourteenKami thereafter born from thepollution which Izanagi washes off ina river.

*At Himuka in Kyushu, then calledTsukushi.

But the last three of these newlycreated beings act a prominent part inthe sequel of the story. They are the"heaven-shining Kami" (Amaterasu-o-mi-Kami), commonly spoken of as the"goddess of the Sun;" the Kami of theMoon, and the Kami of force.* Izanagiexpresses much satisfaction at thebegetting of these three. He hands hisnecklace to the Kami of the Sun andcommissions her to rule the "plain ofheaven;" he confers upon the Kami ofthe Moon the dominion of night, andhe appoints the Kami of force(Susanoo) to rule the sea-plain. TheKami of the Sun and the Kami of theMoon proceed at once to theirappointed task, but the Kami of force,

though of mature age and wearing along beard, neglects his duty and fallsto weeping, wailing, and fuming.Izanagi inquires the cause of hisdiscontent, and the disobedient Kamireplies that he prefers death to theoffice assigned him; whereupon he isforbidden to dwell in the same landwith Izanagi and has to make his abodein Omi province. Then he forms theidea of visiting the "plain of highheaven" to bid farewell to his sister, thegoddess of the Sun.

*Mr. Chamberlain translates the title ofthis Kami "brave, swift, impetuous,male, augustness."

But his journey is attended with such ashaking of mountains and seething ofrivers that the goddess, informed of hisrecalcitrancy and distrusting hispurpose, makes preparations to receivehim in warlike guise, by dressing herhair in male fashion (i.e. binding it intoknots), by tying up her skirt into theshape of trousers, by winding a stringof five hundred curved jewels roundher head and wrists, by slinging on herback two quivers containing a thousandarrows and five hundred arrowsrespectively, by drawing a guard on herleft forearm, and by providing herselfwith a bow and a sword.

The Records and the Chronicles agree

in ascribing to her such an exercise ofresolute force that she stamps her feetinto the ground as though it had beensoft snow and scatters the earth about.Susanoo, however, disavows all evilintentions, and agrees to prove hissincerity by taking an oath andengaging in a Kami-producingcompetition, the condition being that ifhis offspring be female, the fact shallbear condemnatory import, but if male,the verdict shall be in his favour. Forthe purpose of this trial, they stand onopposite sides of a river (the MilkyWay). Susanoo hands his sword toAmaterasu-o-mi-Kami, who breaks itinto three pieces, chews the fragments,and blowing them from her mouth,

produces three female Kami. She thenlends her string of five hundred jewelsto Susanoo and, he, in turn, crunchesthem in his mouth and blows out thefragments which are transformed intofive male Kami. The beings thusstrangely produced have comparativelyclose connexions with the mundanescheme, for the three female Kamieuphoniously designated Kami of thetorrent mist, Kami of the beautifulisland, and Kami of the cascadebecome tutelary goddesses of theshrines in Chikuzen province (or thesacred island Itsuku-shima), and two ofthe male Kami become ancestors ofseven and twelve families, respectively,of hereditary nobles.

On the "high plain of heaven,"however, trouble is not allayed. TheSun goddess judges that since femaleKami were produced from thefragments of Susanoo's sword andmale Kami from her own string ofjewels, the test which he himselfproposed has resulted in hisconviction; but he, repudiating thatverdict, proceeds to break down thedivisions of the rice-fields laid out bythe goddess, to fill up the ditches, andto defile the palace details whichsuggest either that, according toJapanese tradition, heaven has itsagriculture and architecture just as earthhas, or that the "plain of high heaven"

was really the name of a place in theFar East. The Sun goddess makesvarious excuses for her brother's lawlessconduct, but he is not to be placated.His next exploit is to flay a piebaldhorse and throw it through a holewhich he breaks in the roof of the hallwhere the goddess is weaving garmentsfor the Kami. In the alarm thus created,the goddess* is wounded by hershuttle, whereupon she retires into acave and places a rock at the entrance,so that darkness falls upon the "plainof high heaven" and upon the islandsof Japan,** to the consternation of theKami of evil, whose voices are heardlike the buzzing of swarms of flies.

*According to the Records, it is theattendants of the goddess that sufferinjury.

**Referring to this episode, Astonwrites in his Nihongi: "Amaterasu-o-mi-Kami is throughout the greater partof this narrative an anthropomorphicdeity, with little that is speciallycharacteristic of her solar functions.Here, however, it is plainly the sunitself which witholds its light andleaves the world to darkness. Thisinconsistency, which has greatlyexercised the native theologians, is notpeculiar to Japanese myth."

Then follows a scene perhaps the most

celebrated in all the mythologicallegends; a scene which was the originof the sacred dance in Japan and whichfurnished to artists in later ages afrequent motive. The "eight hundredmyriads" of Kami so numerous havethe denizens of the "plain of highheaven" unaccountably becomeassemble in the bed of the "tranquilriver"* to confer about a means ofenticing the goddess from herretirement. They entrust the duty offorming a plan to the Kami of"thought combination," now heard offor the first time as a son of one of thetwo producing Kami, who, with the"great central" Kami, constituted theoriginal trinity of heavenly denizens.

This deity gathers together a number ofbarn-yard fowl to signal sunrise, placesthe Kami of the "strong arm" at theentrance of the cave into which thegoddess has retired, obtains iron fromthe "mines of heaven" and causes it tobe forged into an "eight-foot" mirror,appoints two Kami to procure fromMount Kagu a "five-hundredbranched" sakaki tree (cleyera Japonica),from whose branches the mirrortogether with a "five-hundred beaded"string of curved jewels and blue andwhite streamers of hempen cloth andpaper-mulberry cloth are suspended,and causes divination to be performedwith the shoulder blade of a stag.

*The Milky Way.

Then, while a grand liturgy is recited,the "heaven-startling" Kami, havinggirdled herself with moss, crowned herhead with a wreath of spindle-treeleaves and gathered a bouquet ofbamboo grass, mounts upon a hollowwooden vessel and dances, stamping sothat the wood resounds and reciting theten numerals repeatedly. Then the"eight-hundred myriad" Kami laugh inunison, so that the "plain of highheaven" shakes with the sound, and theSun goddess, surprised that such gaietyshould prevail in her absence, looks outfrom the cave to ascertain the cause.She is taunted by the dancer, who tells

her that a greater than she is present,and the mirror being thrust before her,she gradually comes forward, gazinginto it with astonishment; whereuponthe Kami of the "strong arm" graspsher hand and drags her out, while twoother Kami* stretch behind her a ropemade of straw, pulled up by theroots,** to prevent her return, andsunshine once more floods the "plainof high heaven."

*These two are the ancestors of theKami of the Nakatomi and the Imibehereditary corporations, who may bedescribed as the high priests of theindigenous cult of Japan.

**This kind of rope called shime-nawa,an abbreviation of shiri-kume-nawamay be seen festooning the portals ofany Shinto shrine.

The details of this curious legenddeserve attention for the sake of theirclose relation to the observances of theShinto cult. Moreover, the mythologynow takes a new departure. At the timeof Izanagi's return from hades, vaguereference is made to human beings, butafter Susanoo's departure from the"plain of high heaven," he isrepresented as holding direct conversewith them. There is an interlude whichdeals with the foodstuffs of mortals.Punished with a fine of a great number

of tables* of votive offerings, his beardcut off, and the nails of his fingers andtoes pulled out, Susanoo is sentencedto expulsion from heaven. He seekssustenance from the Kami of food,and she responds by taking from theorifices of her body various kinds ofviands which she offers to him. But he,deeming himself insulted, kills her,whereupon from her corpse are bornrice, millet, small and large beans, andbarley. These are taken by one of thetwo Kami of production, and by himthey are caused to be used as seeds.

*The offerings of food in religiousservices were always placed upon small,low tables.

Thereafter Susanoo descends to a placeat the headwaters of the river Hi(Izumo province). Seeing a chop-stickfloat down the stream, he infers theexistence of people higher up the river,and going in search of them, finds anold man and an old woman lamentingover and caressing a girl. The old mansays that he is an earthly Kami, son ofthe Kami of mountains, who was oneof the thirty-five Kami borne byIzanami before her departure for hades.He explains that he had originally eightdaughters, but that every year an eight-forked serpent has come from thecountry of Koshi and devoured one ofthe maidens, so that there remains only

Lady Wonderful, whose time to shareher sisters' fate is now at hand. It is ahuge monster, extending over eightvalleys and eight hills, its eyes red likewinter cherries, its belly bloody andinflamed, and its back overgrown withmoss and conifers. Susanoo, havingannounced himself as the brother ofthe Sun goddess, receives LadyWonderful and at once transforms herinto a comb which he places in his hair.He then instructs the old man and hiswife to build a fence with eight gates,placing in every gate a vat of rice wine.

Presently the serpent arrives, drinks thewine, and laying down its heads tosleep, is cut to pieces by Susanoo with

his ten-span sabre. In the body of theserpent the hero finds a sword, "greatand sharp," which he sends to the Sungoddess, at whose shrine in Ise it issubsequently found and given to thefamous warrior, Yamato-dake, when heis setting out on his expedition againstthe Kumaso of the north. The sword isknown as the "Herb-queller." Susanoothen builds for himself and LadyWonderful a palace at Suga in Izumo,and composes a celebrated verse ofJapanese poetry.* Sixth in descent fromthe offspring of this union is the"Kami of the great land," called alsothe "Great-Name Possessor," or the"Kami of the reed plains," or the"Kami of the eight thousand spears,"

or the "Kami of the great land of theliving," the last name being antitheticalto Susanoo's title of "Ruler of Hades."

*"Many clouds arise, On all sides amanifold fence, To receive within it thespouse, They form a manifold fenceAh! that manifold fence."

Several legends are attached to thename of this multinominal beinglegends in part romantic, in partsupernatural, and in part fabulous. Hiseighty brethren compel him to act astheir servant when they go to seek thehand of Princess Yakami of Inaba. Buton the way he succours a hare whichthey have treated brutally and the little

animal promises that he, not they, shallwin the princess, though he is only theirbaggage-bearer. Enraged at the favourshe shows him, they seek in variousways to destroy him: first by rollingdown on him from a mountain aheated rock; then by wedging him intothe cleft of a tree, and finally byshooting him. But he is saved by hismother, and takes refuge in theprovince of Kii (the Land of Trees) atthe palace of the "Kami of the greathouse."* Acting on the latter's advice,he visits his ancestor, Susanoo, who isnow in hades, and seeks counsel as tosome means of overcoming his eightyenemies. But instead of helping him,that unruly Kami endeavours to

compass his death by thrusting himinto a snake-house; by putting him intoa nest of centipedes and wasps, andfinally by shooting an arrow into amoor, sending him to seek it and thensetting fire to the grass. He is savedfrom the first two perils through theagency of miraculous scarves given tohim by Princess Forward, Susanoo'sdaughter, who has fallen in love withhim; and from the last dilemma amouse instructs him how to emerge.

*A son of Susanoo. Under the nameof Iso-Takeru he is recorded to havebrought with him a quantity of seedsof trees and shrubs, which he planted,not in Korea, but in Tsukushi (Kyushu)

and the eight islands of Japan. Thesewords "not in Korea" are worthy ofnote, as will presently be appreciated.

A curious episode concludes thisrecital: Susanoo requires that theparasites shall be removed from hishead by his visitor. These parasites arecentipedes, but the Great-NamePossessor, again acting under theinstruction of Princess Forward,pretends to be removing the centipedes,whereas he is in reality spitting out amixture of berries and red earth.Susanoo falls asleep during the process,and the Great-Name Possessor bindsthe sleeping Kami's hair to the raftersof the house, places a huge rock at the

entrance, seizes Susanoo's life-preserving sword and life-preservingbow and arrows as also his sacred lute,*and taking Princess Forward on hisback, flees. The lute brushes against atree, and its sound rouses Susanoo. Butbefore he can disentangle his hair fromthe rafters, the fugitives reach theconfines of the underworld, and theenraged Kami, while execrating thisvisitor who has outwitted him, isconstrained to direct him how toovercome his brethren and to establishhis rule firmly. In all this he succeeds,and having married Princess Yakami, towhom he was previously engaged,** heresumes the work left unfinished byIzanagi and Izanami, the work of

"making the land."

*Sacred because divine revelations weresupposed to be made through a lute-player.

**In the story of this Kami, we findthe first record of conjugal jealousy inJapan. Princess Forward stronglyobjects to her husband's excursionsinto novel fields.

The exact import of this process,"making the land," is not discernible. Inthe hands of Izanagi and Izanami itresolves itself into begetting, first, anumber of islands and, then, a numberof Kami. At the outset it seems to have

no more profound significance for theGreat-Name Possessor. Severalgenerations of Kami are begotten byhim, but their names give no indicationof the parts they are supposed to havetaken in the "making of the land." Theyare all born in Japan, however, and it isperhaps significant that among themthe one child the Kami of wellsbrought forth by Princess Yakami, isnot included. Princess Forward has nochildren, a fact which doubtlessaugments her jealousy of her husband'samours; jealousy expressed in versesthat show no mean poetic skill. Thus,the Great-Name Possessor on the eveof a journey from Izumo to Yamato,sings as he stands with one hand on his

saddle and one foot in the stirrup:

Though thou sayest thou willst notweep If like the flocking birds, I flockand depart, If like the led birds, I amled away and Depart; thou wilt hangdown thine head like A single Eulaliaupon the mountain and Thy weepingshall indeed rise as the mist of Themorning shower. Then the Empress,taking a wine-cup, approaches andoffers it to him, saying: Oh! ThineAugustness, the Deity-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears! Thou, my dearMaster-of-the-Great-Land indeed,Being a man, probably hast on thevarious island headlands 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, Ihave no man except thee; I have nospouse except thee. Beneath thefluttering of the ornamented fence,Beneath the softness of the warmcoverlet, Beneath the rustling of thecloth coverlet, Thine arms, white asrope of paper-mulberry bark softlypatting my breast soft as the meltingsnow, And patting each otherinterlaced, stretching out and pillowingourselves on each other's arms, Truejewel arms, and with outstretched legs,will we sleep.*

*B. H. Chamberlain.

"Having thus sung, they at oncepledged each other by the cup withtheir hands on each other's necks." It is,nevertheless, from among the childrenborn on the occasion of the contestbetween the Sun goddess and Susanoothat the Great-Name Possessor firstseeks a spouse the Princess of theTorrent Mist to lay the foundation offifteen generations of Kami, whosebirth seems to have been essential tothe "making of the land," though theirnames afford no clue to the functionsdischarged by them. From over sea,seated in a gourd and wearing a robeof wren's feathers, there comes a pigmy,Sukuna Hikona, who proves to be oneof fifteen hundred children begotten

by the Kami of the original trinity.Skilled in the arts of healing sicknessand averting calamities from men oranimals, this pigmy renders invaluableaid to the Great-Name Possessor. Butthe useful little Kami does not wait towitness the conclusion of the work of"making and consolidating thecountry." Before its completion hetakes his departure from Cape Kumanoin Izumo to the "everlasting land" aregion commonly spoken of in ancientJapanese annals but not yet definitelylocated. He is replaced by a spirit whosecoming is thus described by theChronicles:

After this (i.e. the departure of

Sukuna), wherever there was in the landa part which was imperfect, the Great-Name Possessor visited it by himselfand succeeded in repairing it. Comingat last to the province of Izumo, hespake and said: "This central land ofreed plains had always been waste andwild. The very rocks, trees, and hutswere all given to violence... But I havenow reduced it to submission, andthere is none that is not compliant."Therefore he said finally: "It is I, and Ialone, who now govern this land. Isthere, perchance, anyone who couldjoin with me in governing the world?"Upon this a divine radiance illuminatedthe sea, and of a sudden there wassomething which floated towards him

and said: "Were I not here, how couldstthou subdue this land? It is because Iam here that thou hast been enabled toaccomplish this mighty undertaking."Then the Great-Name Possessorinquired, saying, "Then who art thou?"It replied and said: "I am thy guardianspirit, the wonderous spirit." Then saidthe Great-Name Possessor: "True, Iknow therefore that thou art myguardian spirit, the wonderous spirit.Where dost thou now wish to dwell?"The spirit answered and said, "I wish todwell on Mount Mimoro in theprovince of Yamato." Accordingly hebuilt a shrine in that place and madethe spirit go and dwell there. This is theKami of Omiwa.*

*Aston's Translation of the Nihongi.

After the above incident, anotherbegetting of Kami takes place on alarge scale, but only a very few of themsuch as the guardian of the kitchen, theprotector of house-entrances, the Kamiof agriculture, and so forth have anyintelligible place in the scheme ofthings.

ENGRAVING: CRESTS

CHAPTER III

JAPANESE MYTHOLOGY(Continued)

THE SUBJUGATION OF JAPAN

THE dividing line betweenmythological tradition and historicallegend is now reached. It will have beenobserved that, after the descent ofSusanoo, the Kami on the "plain ofhigh heaven" took no further part in"making" or "ruling" the "ever fruitfulland of reed-covered moors, andluxuriant rice-fields," as Japan wascalled. Everything was left in the handsof Susanoo, the insubordinate Kami,who had been expelled from heaven forhis destructive violence. His descendant

in the sixth generation, the Great-NamePossessor, now held supreme sway overthe islands, in conjunction with anumber of his own relations, his seatof power being in the province ofIzumo. At this juncture the goddess ofthe Sun decided that a sovereign shouldbe sent down to govern the land ofmany islands, and she chose for thispurpose the son of the eldest* of thefive Kami born from her necklaceduring the procreation competitionwith Susanoo.

In the first place, however, it wasconsidered necessary to reduce thecountry to order, observation havingshown it to be in a state of tumult. For

that purpose the second of the fivenecklace Kami considered "the mostheroic" of all the beings on the "plainof high heaven" was despatched. Buthe "curried favour" with the Great-Name Possessor and took up his abodein Japan. At the end of three years,**seeing that he had not returned, it wasdecided by the Kami in council to sendanother envoy, the Heavenly YoungPrince. But he proved even moredisloyal, for he married the daughter ofthe Great-Name Possessor, famous forher beauty,*** and planning to succeedhis father-in-law as sovereign of theland, remained in Izumo for eight years.A third conclave of the Kami was nowconvened by the Sun goddess and her

coadjutor, the Great-Producing Kami,*and they decided to despatch apheasant to make observations.

*This Kami married a daughter of oneof the two Great-Producing Kami whobelonged to the original trinity, andwho co-operates with the Sun goddessthroughout.

**This is the first mention of ameasure of time in the Records.

***She was called PrincessUndershining, because her beautyshone through her raiment.

The bird flew down and lit on a cassia

tree at the gate of the Heavenly YoungPrince's dwelling, whereupon theprince, at the instigation of a femalespy, taking a bow given to himoriginally by the Great-ProducingKami, shot a shaft which pierced thebird's bosom, and, reaching the MilkyWay where sat the Sun goddess and theGreat-Producing Kami, was recognizedby the latter, who threw it back to earth,decreeing that it should strike theprince were he guilty of treason, andleave him unharmed if the blood onthe arrow was that of the earthly Kamiwhom he had been sent to quell. Theshaft struck the prince and killed him.

At this point the course of the history

is interrupted by an unintelligibledescription of the resulting obsequiesheld in heaven according to theChronicles, on earth according to theRecords. Wild geese, herons,kingfishers, sparrows, and pheasantswere the principal officiators; themourning rites, which included singing,and dancing,* continued for eight daysand eight nights, and the proceedingswere rudely interrupted by the prince'sbrother-in-law, who, coming to condoleand being mistaken for the deceased, isso enraged by the error that he drawshis sword, cuts down the mortuaryhouse, and kicks away the pieces.

*It has been conjectured, with much

probability, that this singing anddancing was a ceremony in imitation ofthe rites performed to entice the Sungoddess from her cave. The motive wasto resuscitate the dead.

These two failures did not deter theGreat-Producing Kami and the Sungoddess. They again took counsel withthe other beings on the "plain of highheaven," and it was decided to haverecourse to the Kami born from theblood that dropped from Izanagi'ssword when he slew the Kami of fire.To one of these the Kami of couragethe mission of subduing the land ofmany islands was entrusted, andassociated with him in the work was the

Kami of boats, a son of Izanagi andIzanami. The two descended to Izumo.They carried swords ten hand-breadthslong, and having planted these upsidedown, they seated themselves on thepoints and delivered their message tothe Great-Name Possessor, requiringhim to declare whether or not he wouldabdicate in favour of the newly namedsovereign.

The Great-Name Possessor replied thathe must consult his son, who wasabsent on a hunting expedition.Accordingly, the Kami of boats went toseek him, and, on being conducted intohis father's presence, the latter declaredhis willingness to surrender, sealing the

declaration by suicide.* Thereremained, then, only the second son ofthe Great-Name Possessor to beconsulted. He did not submit so easily.Relying on his great strength, hechallenged the Kami of courage to atrial of hand grasping. But when hetouched the Kami's hand it turned firstinto an icicle and then into a sword-blade, whereas his own hand, whenseized by the Kami, was crushed andthrown aside like a young reed. He fledaway in terror, and was pursued by theKami as far as the distant province ofShinano, when he saved his life bymaking formal submission andpromising not to contravene thedecision of his father and elder brother.

*He stepped on the side of his boat soas to upset it, and with hands crossedbehind his back sank into the sea.

Then the Great-Name Possessor,having "lost his sons, on whom herelied," agreed to abdicate providedthat a shrine were built in memory ofhim, "having its pillars made stout onthe nethermost rock-bottom, and itscross-beams raised to the 'plain of highheaven.'"* He handed over the broad-bladed spear which had assisted him topacify the land, and declaring that if heoffered resistance, all the earthly Kami,too, would certainly resist, he "hid inthe eighty road-windings."

*This hyperbolical language illustratesthe tone of the Records and theChronicles. Applied to thecomparatively humble buildings thatserved for residences in ancient Japan,the description in the text is curiouslyexaggerated. The phrase here quotedfinds frequent reproduction in theShinto rituals.

Thus, already in the eighth centurywhen the Records and the Chronicleswere compiled, suicide after defeat inbattle had become a recognizedpractice. The submission and self-inflicted death of the Great-NamePossessor did not, however, save his

followers. All the rebellious Kami wereput to the sword by the envoys fromthe "plain of high heaven." Thischapter of the annals ends with anaccount of the shrine erected inmemory of the Great-Name Possessor.It was placed under the care of agrandson of the Kami born to Izanagiand Izanami, who is represented asdeclaring that he "would continuedrilling fire for the Kami's kitchen untilthe soot hung down eight hand-breadths from the roof of the shrineof the Great-Producing Kami and untilthe earth below was baked to itsnethermost rocks; and that with the firethus drilled he would cook for him thefish brought in by the fishermen, and

present them to him in baskets wovenof split bamboos which would bendbeneath their weight."

THE DESCENT UPON TSUKUSHI

It had been originally intended that thedominion of Japan should be given tothe senior of the five Kami born of thefive-hundred-jewel string of the Sungoddess. But during the intervaldevoted to bringing the land to a stateof submission, this Kami's spouse, thePrincess of the Myriad Looms of theLuxuriant Dragon-fly Island,* hadborne a son, Hikoho no Ninigi, (Rice-Ears of Ruddy Plenty), and this boyhaving now grown to man's estate, it

was decided to send him as ruler ofJapan. A number of Kami wereattached to him as guards andassistants, among them being the Kamiof "thought combination," whoconceived the plan for enticing the Sungoddess from her cave and whooccupied the position of chiefcouncillor in the conclave of highheaven; the female Kami who dancedbefore the cave; the female Kami whoforged the mirror, and, in short, all theKami who assisted in restoring light tothe world. There were also entrusted tothe new sovereign the curved-jewelchaplet of the Sun goddess, the mirrorthat had helped to entice her, and thesword (herb-queller) which Susanoo

had taken from the body of the eight-headed serpent.

*"Dragon-fly Island" was a nameanciently given to Japan on account ofthe country's shape.

These three objects thenceforth becamethe three sacred things of Japan. Strictinjunction was given that the mirrorwas to be regarded and reverencedexactly as though it was the spirit of theSun goddess, and it was ordered thatthe Kami of "thought combination"should administer the affairs of thenew kingdom. The fact is also to benoted that among the Kami attached toHikoho no Ninigi's person, five three

male and two female are designated bythe Records as ancestors andancestresses of as many hereditarycorporations, a distinctive feature ofthe early Japan's polity. As to themanner of Hikoho no Ninigi's journeyto Japan, the Chronicles say that theGreat-Producing Kami threw thecoverlet of his couch over him andcaused him to cleave his waydownwards through the clouds; but theRecords allege that he descended "shutup in the floating bridge of heaven."

The point has some interest asfurnishing a traditional trace of thenature of this so-called invasion ofJapan, and as helping to confirm the

theory that the "floating bridge ofheaven," from which Izanagi thrust hisspear downwards into the brine ofchaos, was nothing more than a boat. Itwill naturally be supposed that asHikoho no Ninigi's migration to Japanwas in the sequel of a long campaignhaving its main field in the province ofIzumo, his immediate destinationwould have been that province, where athrone was waiting to be occupied byhim, and where he knew that a richregion existed. But the Records and theChronicles agree in stating that hedescended on Kirishimayama* inTsukushi, which is the ancient name ofthe island of Kyushu. This is one ofthe first eight islands begotten by

Izanagi and Izanami. Hence thealternative name for Japan, "Land ofthe Eight Great Islands."

*Takachiho-dake is often spoken of asthe mountain thus celebrated, butTakachiho is only the eastern, andlower, of the two peaks of Kirishima-yama.

It was, moreover, to a river of Tsukushithat Izanagi repaired to cleanse himselffrom the pollution of hades. Butbetween Kyushu (Tsukushi) and Izumothe interval is immense, and it isaccentuated by observing that themountain Kirishima, speciallymentioned in the story, raises its twin

peaks at the head of the Bay ofKagoshima in the extreme south ofKyushu. There is very great difficulty inconceiving that an army whose ultimatedestination was Izumo should havedeliberately embarked on the shore ofKagoshima. The landing of Ninigi hisfull name need not be repeated wasmade with all precautions, the van ofhis army (kume) being commanded bythe ancestor of the men whothenceforth held the highest militaryrank (otomo) through many centuries,and the arms carried being bows,arrows, and swords.*

*The swords are said to have been"mallet-headed," but the term still

awaits explanation.

All the annals agree in suggesting thatthe newcomers had no knowledge ofthe locality, but whereas one accountmakes Ninigi consult and obtainpermission from an inhabitant of theplace, another represents him asexpressing satisfaction that the regionlay opposite to Kara (Korea) andreceived the beams of the rising andthe setting sun, qualifications which itis not easy to associate with any part ofsouthern Kyushu.

At all events he built for himself apalace in accordance with the orthodoxformula its pillars made stout on the

nethermost rock-bottom and its cross-beams made high to the plain ofheaven and apparently abandoned allidea of proceeding to Izumo. Presentlyhe encountered a beautiful girl. Shegave her name as Brilliant Blossom, anddescribed herself as the daughter ofthe Kami of mountains one of thethirty-five beings begotten by Izanagiand Izanami who would seem to havebeen then living in Tsukushi, and whogladly consented to give BrilliantBlossom. He sent with her a plentifuldower many "tables"* of merchandisebut he sent also her elder sister,Enduring-as-Rock, a maiden so illfavoured that Ninigi dismissed her withdisgust, thus provoking the curse of

the Kami of mountains, who declaredthat had his elder daughter beenwelcomed, the lives of the heavenlysovereigns** would have been as longas her name suggested, but that sinceshe had been treated with contumely,their span of existence would becomparatively short. Presently BrilliantBlossom became enceinte. Her lord,however, thinking that sufficient timehad not elapsed for such a result,suspected her of infidelity with one ofthe earthly Kami,*** whereupon shechallenged the ordeal of fire, andbuilding a parturition hut, passed in,plastered up the entrance, and set fire tothe building. She was delivered of threechildren without mishap, and their

names were Hosuseri (Fire-climax),Hohodemi (Fire-shine), and Hoori(Fire-subside).

*This expression has reference to thefact that offerings at religiousceremonials were always heaped on lowtables for laying before the shrine.

**The expression "heavenly sovereign"is here applied for the first time to theEmperors of Japan.

***The term "earthly" was applied toKami born on earth, "heavenly" Kamibeing those born in heaven.

THE CASTLE OF THE SEA

DRAGON

At this stage the annals digress to relatean episode which has only collateralinterest Hosuseri and Hohodemi madefishing and hunting, respectively, theiravocations. But Hohodemi conceived afancy to exchange pursuits, andimportuned Hosuseri to agree. When,however, the former tried his luck atangling, he not only failed to catchanything but also lost the hook whichhis brother had lent him. This becamethe cause of a quarrel. Hosuseritaunted Hohodemi on the foolishnessof the original exchange and demandedthe restoration of his hook, nor wouldhe be placated though Hohodemi

forged his sabre into five hundredhooks and then into a thousand.Wandering disconsolate,* by theseashore, Hohodemi met the Kami ofsalt, who, advising him to consult thedaughter of the ocean Kami,** senthim to sea in a "stout little boat."

*"Weeping and lamenting" are thewords in the Records.

**One of the Kami begotten byIzanagi and Izanami.

After drifting for a time, he foundhimself at a palace beside which grew amany-branched cassia tree overhanginga well. He climbed into the tree and

waited. Presently the handmaidens ofPrincess Rich Gem, daughter of theocean Kami, came to draw water, andseeing a shadow in the well, theydetected Hohodemi in the cassia tree.At his request they gave him water in ajewelled vessel, but instead of drinking,he dropped into the vessel a gem fromhis own necklace, and thehandmaidens, unable to detach thegem, carried the vessel to their mistress.Then the princess went to look and,seeing a beautiful youth in the cassiatree, "exchanged glances" with him. Theocean Kami quickly recognizedHohodemi; led him in; seated him on apile of many layers of sealskins*overlaid by many layers of silk rugs;

made a banquet for him, and gave himfor wife Princess Rich Gem.

*Chamberlain translates this "sea-asses'skins," and conjectures that sea-lions orseals may be meant.

Three years passed tranquilly withoutthe bridegroom offering anyexplanation of his presence. At the endof that time, thoughts of the pastvisited him and he "sighed." PrincessRich Gem took note of thisdespondency and reported it to herfather, who now, for the first time,inquired the cause of Hohodemi'scoming. Thereafter all the fishes of thesea, great and small, were summoned,

and being questioned about the losthook, declared that the tai* had recentlycomplained of something sticking in itsthroat and preventing it from eating. Sothe lost hook was recovered, and theocean Kami instructed Hohodemi,when returning it to his brother, towarn the latter that it was a uselesshook which would not serve itspurpose, but would rather lead itspossessor to ruin. He further instructedhim to follow a method of rice culturethe converse of that adopted by hisbrother, since he, the ocean Kami,would rule the waters so as to favourHohodemi's labours, and he gave himtwo jewels having the property ofmaking the tide ebb and flow,

respectively. These jewels were to beused against Hosuseri, if necessary.

*Pagrus major.

Finally the Kami of the oceaninstructed a crocodile to carryHohodemi to his home. This wasaccomplished, and in token of his safearrival, Hohodemi placed his stiletto onthe crocodile's neck for conveyance tothe ocean Kami.

The programme prescribed by the latterwas now faithfully pursued, so thatHosuseri grew constantly poorer, andfinally organized a fierce attack uponhis younger brother, who, using the

tide-flowing jewel, overwhelmed hisassailants until they begged for mercy,whereupon the power of the tide-ebbing jewel was invoked to save them.The result was that Hosuseri, on behalfof himself and his descendants for alltime, promised to guard andrespectfully serve his brother by dayand by night. In this episode thehayabito had their origin. They werepalace guards, who to their militaryfunctions added the duty ofoccasionally performing a dance whichrepresented the struggles of theirancestor, Hosuseri, when he was indanger of drowning.

BIRTH OF THE EMPEROR JIMMU

After the composition of the quarreldescribed above, Princess Rich Gemarrived from the castle of the oceanKami, and built a parturition hut onthe seashore, she being about to bringforth a child. Before the thatch ofcormorants' feathers could becompleted, the pains of labourovertook her, and she entered the hut,conjuring her husband not to spy uponher privacy, since, in order to be safelydelivered, she must assume a shapeappropriate to her native land. He,however, suffered his curiosity toovercome him, and peeping in, saw herin the form of an eight-fathomcrocodile. It resulted that having been

thus put to shame, she left her childand returned to the ocean Kami'spalace, declaring that there should beno longer any free passage between thedominions of the ocean Kami and theworld of men. "Neverthelessafterwards, although angry at herhusband's having wished to peep, shecould not restrain her loving heart,"and she sent her younger sister, GoodJewel, to nurse the baby and to be thebearer of a farewell song to Hohodemi.

The Records state that the latter lived tothe age of 580 years and that hismausoleum was built to the west ofMount Takachiho, on which his palacestood. Thus for the first time the

duration of a life is stated in theantique annals of Japan. His son, calledFuki-ayezu (Unfinished Thatch), inmemory of the strange incidentattending his birth, married PrincessGood Jewel, his own aunt, and by herhad four sons. The first was namedItsuse (Five Reaches) and the youngest,Iware (a village in Yamato province).This latter ultimately became Emperorof Japan, and is known in history asJimmu (Divine Valour), a posthumousname given to him many centuries afterhis death.* From the time of thissovereign dates and events are recordedwith full semblance of accuracy in theChronicles, but the compilers of theRecords do not attempt to give more

than a bald statement of the numberof years each sovereign lived orreigned.

*Posthumous names for the earthlyMikados were invented in the reign ofKwammu (A.D. 782-805), i.e., after thedate of the compilation of the Recordsand the Chronicles. But they are inuniversal use by the Japanese, though tospeak of a living sovereign by hisposthumous name is a manifestanomaly.

THE EXPEDITION TO YAMATO

According to the Chronicles, the foursons of Fuki-ayezu engaged in a

celebrated expedition from Tsukushi(Kyushu) to Yamato, but one alone, theyoungest, survived. According to theRecords, two only took part in theexpedition, the other two having diedbefore it set out. The former versionseems more consistent with the facts,and with the manner of the twoprinces' deaths, as described in theRecords. Looking from the east coastof the island of Kyushu, the provinceof Yamato lies to the northeast, at adistance of about 350 miles, and formsthe centre of the Kii promontory. Fromwhat has preceded, a reader of Japanesehistory is prepared to find that theobjective of the expedition was Izumo,not Yamato, since it was to prepare for

the occupation of the former provincethat the Sun goddess and hercoadjutors expended so much energy.No explanation whatever of thisdiscrepancy is offered, but it cannot besupposed that Yamato was regarded asa halfway house to Izumo, seeing thatthey lie on opposite coasts of Japanand are two hundred miles distant.

The Chronicles assign the genesis ofthe enterprise to Prince Iware, whomthey throughout call Hohodemi, andinto whose mouth they put anexhortation obviously based on aChinese model speaking of a land inthe east encircled by blue mountainsand well situated, as the centre of

administrative authority. To reachYamato by sea from Kyushu two routesoffer; one, the more direct, is by thePacific Ocean straight to the southcoast of the Kii promontory; the otheris by the Inland Sea to thenorthwestern coast of the samepromontory. The latter was chosen,doubtless because nautical knowledgeand seagoing vessels were alike wanting.

It is not possible, however, to speakwith confidence as to the nature of theships possessed by the Japanese in earlytimes. The first mention of shipsoccurs in the story of Susanoo's arrivalin Japan. He is said to have carried withhim quantities of tree seeds which he

planted in the Eight Island Country, thecryptomeria and the camphor beingintended to serve as "floating riches,"namely ships. This would suggest, as isindeed commonly believed, that theboats of that era were simply hollowtrunks of trees.

Five centuries later, however, withoutany intervening reference, we find theEmperor Sujin urging the constructionof ships as of cardinal importance forpurposes of coastwise transport advicewhich is hardly consistent with the ideaof log boats. Again, in A.D. 274, thepeople of Izu are recorded as havingbuilt and sent to the Court a vessel onehundred feet long; and, twenty-six years

later, this ship having become old andunserviceable, was used as fuel formanufacturing salt, five hundred bagsof which were distributed among theprovinces with directions to constructas many ships.

There is no mention in either theChronicles or the Records of anymarked change in the matter of marinearchitecture during all these years. Thenature of the Kyushu expeditionaryships must therefore remain a matter ofconjecture, but that they were propelledby oars, not sails, seems pretty certain.Setting out from some point in Kyushuprobably the present Kagoshima Baythe expedition made its way up the east

coast of the island, and reaching theBungo Channel, where the tide is veryrapid, obtained the services of afisherman as pilot. Thence the fleetpushed on to Usa in the province ofBuzen, at the north of Kyushu, whentwo local chieftains built for theentertainment and residence of theprinces and their followers a "onepillared palace" probably a tent. Thenext place of call was Oka (or Okada)in Chikuzen, where they passed a yearbefore turning eastward into the InlandSea, and pushing on to one of themany islands off the coast of Aki, theyspent seven years before proceeding toanother island (Takashima) in Kibi, asthe present three provinces of Bingo,

Bitchu, and Bizen were then called.There they delayed for eight years theChronicles say three in order to repairthe oars of their vessels and to procureprovisions.

Up to this time there had been nofighting or any attempt to effect alodgment on the mainland. But theexpedition was now approaching thenarrow westerly entrance to the presentOsaka Bay, where an army might beencountered at any moment. The boatstherefore sailed in line ahead, "the prowof each ship touching the stern of theother." Off the mouth of the river,now known as the Yodo, theyencountered such a high sea that they

called the place Nami-hana (WaveFlowers), a name subsequentlyabbreviated to Naniwa. Pushing on, theexpeditionary force finally landed at aplace not now identifiable in theprovince of Kawachi, which boundsYamato on the west.

The whole voyage had occupied fouryears according to the Chronicles,sixteen according to the Records. AtKusaka they fought their first battleagainst the army of Prince Nagasuneand were repulsed, Prince Itsuse beingwounded by an arrow which struck hiselbow. It was therefore decided tochange the direction of advance, sothat instead of moving eastward in the

face of the sun, a procedure unpleasingto the goddess of that orb, they shouldmove westward with the sun behindthem. This involved re-embarking andsailing southward round the Kiipromontory so as to land on its easterncoast, but the dangerous operation ofputting an army on board ship in thepresence of a victorious enemy wassuccessfully achieved by the aid ofskilfully used shields.

On the voyage round Kii, where stormyseas are frequent, the fleet encountereda heavy gale and the boats containingtwo of the princes were lost.* PrinceItsuse had already died of his wound,so of the four brothers there now

remained only the youngest, PrinceIware. It is recorded that, at the age offifteen, he had been made heir to thethrone, the principle of primogeniturenot being then recognized, and thus thedeaths of his brothers did not affectthat question. Landing ultimately atKumano on the southeast of Kii, theexpeditionary force was stricken by apestilence, the prince himself notescaping. But at the behest of the Sungoddess, the Kami of thunder caused asword of special virtue to comemiraculously into the possession of aninhabitant of Kii, who carried it to theprince, and at once the sickness wasstayed. When, however, the armyattempted to advance into the interior,

no roads were found and precipitousmountains barred the progress. In thisdilemma the Sun goddess sent downthe three-legged crow of the Sun** toact as guide.

*In the Chronicles the two princes arerepresented as having deliberatelyentered the stormy sea, angered thatsuch hardships should overtake thedescendants of the ocean Kami.

**The Yang-wu, or Sun-crow (JapaneseYata-garasu), is a creature of purelyChinese myth. It is supposed to be redin colour, to have three legs, and toinhabit the sun.

Thus indiscriminately are themiraculous and the commonplaceintermixed. Following this bird, theinvading force pushed on into Yamato,receiving the allegiance of a body ofmen who fished with cormorants in theYoshino River and who doubtlesssupplied the army with food, and theallegiance of fabulous beings with tails,who came out of wells or throughcliffs. It is related that the invadersforced the elder of two brothers into agyn which he had prepared for theirdestruction; and that on ascending ahill to reconnoitre, Prince Iwareobserved an army of women and aforce of eighty "earth-hiders (Tsuchi-gumo) with tails," by which latter

epithet is to be understood bandits orraiders who inhabited caves.

How it fared with the amazons theannals do not say, but the eightybandits were invited to a banquet andslaughtered in their cups. Still theexpeditionary force encountered greatopposition, the roads and passes beingoccupied by numerous hostile bands.An appeal was accordingly made fordivine assistance by organizing a publicfestival of worship, the vesselsemployed eighty platters and as manyjars being made by the hands of theprince himself with clay obtained fromMount Kagu in Yamato.* Several minorarrangements followed, and finally

swords were crossed with the army ofNagasune, who had inflicted a defeaton the invaders on the occasion oftheir first landing at Kusaka, whenPrince Itsuse received a mortal wound.A fierce battle ensued. Prince Iwareburned to avenge his brother's death,but repeated attacks upon Nagasune'stroops proved abortive until suddenly agolden-plumaged kite perched on theend of Prince Iware's bow, and itseffulgence dazzled the enemy so thatthey could not fight stoutly.**

*The Chronicles state that the princemade ame on the platters. Ame isconfectioned from malted millet and isvirtually the same as the malt extract of

the Occident.

**This tradition of the golden kite ischerished in Japan. The "Order of theGolden Kite" is the most covetedmilitary distinction.

From this incident the place where thebattle occurred was called Tabi-no-mura, a name now corrupted intoTomi-no-mura. It does not appear,however, that anything like a decisivevictory was gained by the aid of thismiraculous intervention. Nagasunesought a conference with Prince Iware,and declared that the ruler of Yamato,whom he served, was a Kami who hadformerly descended from heaven. He

offered in proof of this statement anarrow and a quiver belonging to theKami. But Prince Iware demonstratedtheir correspondence with those hehimself carried. Nagasune, however,declining to abstain from resistance,was put to death by the Kami heserved, who then made act ofsubmiss