Heavenly Sovereign, saying: “The reason of the Empress’s progress is that there are [some] insects reared by Nurinomi,—strange insects changing in three ways,[1] once becoming creeping insects, once becoming cocoons,[2] and once becoming flying birds,[3]—and it is only to go and look at them that she has entered into [Nurinomi’s house]. She has no strange intentions.”[4] When they had thus reported, the Heavenly Sovereign said: “That being so, I want to go and see [these insects], as I think [they must be] strange;” [and with these words] he made a progress up from the great palace. When he entered into Nurinomi’s house, Nurinomi, had already presented to the Empress the three-fold insects reared by him. Then the Heavenly Sovereign augustly stood at the door of the palace where the Empress dwelt, and sang, saying:
“Pure as the great roots that were beaten with their wooden hoes by the women of Yamashiro where the seedlings grow in succession:—it is because thou spokest tumultuously that I come in here [with my retainers numerous] as the more and more flourishing trees that I look across at.”[5]
- ↑ Literally, “colours.”
- ↑ This is Motowori’s conjectural restoration of the rending of this word, which in all the texts is hopelessly corrupt.
- ↑ According to another reading, “flying insects.”
- ↑ I.e., “she is not meditating any evil conduct.”
- ↑ This Song consists of two divisions, the first of which is but a Preface for the second, the pivot being formed by the word sawa-sawa ni, which has the meaning of “pure,” “cool,” or “refreshing,” with reference to what precedes it, and the meaning of “tumultuously” (sawa-sawa ni=sawagashiku) when taken together with what follows. The difficulties which present themselves in the first division have all been explained in Note 11 to the last and Note 6 to the present Section. The general sense of the second division is plain enough; but the precise application of the comparison to the “more and more flourishing trees” is obscure. Motowori’s view has been adopted by the translator, and the words in brackets supplemented accordingly. Moribe prefers to consider that the reference is to the repeated visits first of the Emperor’s messengers and afterwards of
