So the bones of His Augustness Oho-yama-mori were buried on the Nara[1] mountain. His Augustness Oho-yama-mori (was the ancestor of the Dukes of Hijikata,[2] the Dukes of Heki,[3] and the Dukes of Harihara.[4])
[Sect. CXIII.—Emperor Ō-jin (Part X.—Princes Oho-sazaki and Uji-no-waki-iratsuko Cede the Empire to Each Other).]
Thereupon while the two Deities[5] His Augustness Oho-sazaki and Uji-no-waki-iratsuko were, each of them, ceding the Empire to the other,[6] a fisherman[7] came with a great feast as tribute.[8] So they each
- ↑ See Sect. LXXII, Note 23.
- ↑ In Tohotafumi (Tōtōmi). In the original Hijikata no kimi.
- ↑ Heki no kimi. Of Heki nothing is known.
- ↑ Harihara no kimi. In Tohotafumi. Harihara signifies “alder plantation.”
- ↑ It is not actually the word kami, “deity,” that is here used in the original, but hashira, which is the Auxiliary Numeral for Deities.
- ↑ Neither being willing to accept the Imperial dignity.
- ↑ Or, “some fishermen,” and similarly in the Plural throughout.
- ↑ I.e., came to present fish to His Majesty.
I might cut down and kill that Catalpa tree, that Evonymus, growing on the river-bank. But the thought of our father and of thy sister (or wife) touched me with pity, and I return without having drawn my bow at thee.”—Uji is preceded by the untranslatable Pillow-Word chihayahito (see “Dictionary of Pillow-Words” s.v.;—Motowori reads it chihaya-hito without the nigori).—The words adzusa-yumi ma-yumi, here respectively rendered “Catalpa bow” and “Evonymus,” are difficult, and the doubt as to whether we should understand the prince to be speaking simply of the trees, or to intend likewise to allude to his bow which was made of the wood of one of those trees, is probably not to be settled, as the words in question have always oscillated between the two meanings, and here evidently contain a double allusion. Motowori thinks that the first of the two forms only a sort of Pillow-Word for the second.—The word rendered “bank,” in accordance with Moribe’s suggestion, is literally “reach.”—No special importance must be attached to the expressions “base” (or “main part”) and “extremity,” though they may doubtless be thought to allude to the father and sister, the recollection of whom softened the victorious younger brother’s heart. The word iranakeku, rendered “grievously,” is of not quite certain interpretation.—It must be understood that though, by overturning the boat, Uji-no-waki-iratsuko did constructively cause Oho-yama-mori’s death, he did not actually shoot at and slay him when in the water, but followed down the river-side lamenting over what had happened.—This Song is singled out by Moribe for special praise.
