[there] one night.[1] (The reason why that river was called the River Sawi was that on the River’s banks the mountain-lily-plant grew in abundance. So the name of the mountain-lily-plant was taken, and the designation of River Sawi [bestowed]. The name by which the mountain-lily- plant was originally called was sawi.) Afterwards, when I-suke-yori-hime came and entered into the palace, the Heavenly Sovereign sang augustly saying:
“In a damp hut on the reed-moor having spread layer upon layer of sedge mats, we two slept!”[2]
The names of the august children thus born were: His Augustness Hiko-ya-wi,[3] next His Augustness Kamu-ya-wi-mimi,[4] next His Augustness Kamu-nuna-kaha-mimi[5] (Three Deities).[6]
[Sect. LII.—Emperor Jim-mu (Part. IX—Troubles Which Followed His Decease).]
So when, after the decease of the Heavenly Sovereign,[7] the elder
- ↑ Literally, “one sojourn.”
- ↑ The signification of this Song is: “Now indeed thou comest to share the majesty of the palace. But the beginning of our intimacy was on that night when I came to thy humble dwelling on the reed-grown moor where, when we slept together, we had to pile mat upon mat to keep out the damp.”—The translator has followed Moribe’s interpretation throughout. Motowori takes in the sense of “ugly” the word here rendered “damp,” and he and all previous commentators give a different explanation of the words iya saya shikite, here translated by “spreading layer upon layer.” They take them to mean “spreading more and more cleanlily.”
- ↑ This name may signify “prince eight-wells.” But the interpretation of ya wi as “eight wells” in this and the following name is doubtful.
- ↑ This name may signify “divine-eight-wells-ears.” But see preceeding Note.
- ↑ This name may signify “divine-lagoon-river-ears.” But perhaps Nuna-kaha is the name of a place.
- ↑ The character in the text is not actually “Deity,” but 柱, hashira, the Auxiliary Numeral for Deities, which is constantly throughout these “Records” used in speaking of members of the Imperial family.
- ↑ I.e., the Emperor Jim-mu. His decease is not otherwise specially mentioned; but a formula at the end of the Section, which is repeated mutatis mutandis in the case of each Emperor, tells us the number of years he lived or reigned, and the
