| Eighteenth | Lower Shō-otsu | |
| Nineteenth | Risshin | (Promotion or advancement) |
In this month an order was given to the Hakase, Takamuko no Kuromaro, and the Buddhist Priest Bin to establish Eight Departments of State and one hundred bureaus.[1]
(XXV. 42.) 3rd month, 17th day. Abe no Oho-omi died. The Emperor proceeded to the Shujaku[2] gate, where he raised up lamentations for him and showed much emotion. The Empress Dowager, the Prince Imperial, and the other Princes, together with the Ministers of every rank, all, following his example, mourned and lamented.[3]
24th day. Hiuga, Soga no Omi [styled[4] Musashi] slandered the Oho-omi Kurayamada to the Prince Imperial, saying:—"Maro, thy servant's elder brother by a different mother, is watching the opportunity of the Prince Imperial making an excursion to the seaside, in order to do him a mischief. He will ere long commit treason." The Prince Imperial believed this. The Emperor sent Ohotomo no Komano Muraji, Mikuni no Maro no Kimi, and Hodzumi no Kurafu no Omi to the Oho-omi, Kurayamada no Maro, and questioned him as to the truth of the charge of treason. The Oho-omi answered and said:—"I will have a personal interview with the Emperor,
- ↑ These eight Departments were in imitation of the six boards of the Thang Dynasty in China. They were the Nakatsukasa Shō, or Central Department; the Shikibu Shō, or Board of Civil Office; the Jibu Shō, or Board of Ceremonies; the Mimbu Shō, or Board of Population; the Hyōbu Shō, or Board of War; the Gyōbu Shō, or Board of Justice; the Ohokura Shō, or Treasury; and the Kunai Shō, or Household Department. Those who wish to examine this matter more particularly are referred to Walter Dickson's "Japan," Count Itō's "Commentaries on the Constitution of the Empire," from which Dr. Florenz quotes largely, and Mayers' "Chinese Handbook," pp. 324, 326, 332. Of course the word "hundred" in hundred bureaus is not to be taken literally.
- ↑ The Scarlet Bird or South Gate.
- ↑ This reminds one of Achilles acting as fugleman to the mourners at the funeral of Patroclus:—τοῖσι δὲ Πηλεῒδης ἁδινοῦ ἐξῆρχε γόοιο. "Iliad," XXIII. 17. The official character of the mourning is shown by the fact that it took place at the Southern Gate of the Palace. The Emperor's official position is facing the South, even at this day.
- ↑ The 字 or style. "A name or style taken at the age of twenty. A man's Prince and father call him by his ming (名), other people call him by his 字 or style."—Giles.
