Page:Kojiki by Chamberlain.djvu/360

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274

“Ko-ji-ki,” or Records of Ancient Matters.

[Vol. XXXVI.

her, saying: “The Heavenly Sovereign has recently^[1] wedded Yata-no-waki-iratsume, and plays with her day and night. It must probably be because the Empress has not heard of this thing, that she quietly makes progresses for pleasure.” Then the lady of the train, having heard this narrative, forthwith pursued and reached the august vessel, and reported everything exactly as the coolie had told it. Hereupon the Empress, greatly vexed and angry, threw away into the sea all the aralia-leaves which she had put on board the august vessel. So the place [where she did so] is called by the name of Cape Mitsu.^[2] Forthwith without entering the palace, but taking her august vessel away [from it]^[3] and ascending the channel^[4] against the current, she made a progress up into Yamashiro by the river.^[5] At this time she sang, saying:

“Oh! the river of Yamashiro where the seedlings grow in succession! As I ascend, ascend the river, oh! on the bank of the river [there] stands growing a sashibu!—a sashibu-tree; below it stands growing a broad-foliaged five hundred [-fold branching] true camellia-tree; oh! he who is brilliant like its blossoms, widely powerful like its foliage, is the great lord.”^[6]

↑ The text has the character 皆, “all,” which makes no sense; and Motowori (following Mabuchi) reasonably emends it to 比日, “recently,” “just now.”
↑ Mitsu no saki. Mitsu, signifying “three,” is supposed by the author to refer to the three-cornered leaves of the aralia (the name of the latter being mitsuna-gashiha); but a more likly opinion is that which would have us take mitsu as two words, in the sense of “august harbour.” In the parallel passage of the “Chronicles,” we are told that the place was called Kashiha no watari, i.e., “Oak passage.”
↑ I.e., going on up the river without stopping at Naniha where the palace was.
↑ I.e., the artificial bed of the river mentioned in Sect. CXX, Note 8.
↑ I.e., the River Yodo.
↑ The meaning of this Song is: “As I make my way up the river by boat, I see a sashibu (the name of a tree which cannot now be identified), below which,—that is to say nearer to the water,—there grows a camellia-tree, wide-spreading

[1] The text has the character 皆, “all,” which makes no sense; and Motowori (following Mabuchi) reasonably emends it to 比日, “recently,” “just now.”

[2] Mitsu no saki. Mitsu, signifying “three,” is supposed by the author to refer to the three-cornered leaves of the aralia (the name of the latter being mitsuna-gashiha); but a more likly opinion is that which would have us take mitsu as two words, in the sense of “august harbour.” In the parallel passage of the “Chronicles,” we are told that the place was called Kashiha no watari, i.e., “Oak passage.”

[3] I.e., going on up the river without stopping at Naniha where the palace was.

[4] I.e., the artificial bed of the river mentioned in Sect. CXX, Note 8.

[5] I.e., the River Yodo.

[p274-6] The meaning of this Song is: “As I make my way up the river by boat, I see a sashibu (the name of a tree which cannot now be identified), below which,—that is to say nearer to the water,—there grows a camellia-tree, wide-spreading

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