Page:Nihongi by Aston.djvu/432

The eldest son made a song, saying:—

My great sword
Hung at my girdle I will stand;
Though I may not draw it,
Yet in the last resort
I am resolved to be united to her.

Shibi no Omi answered with a song, saying:—

The great Lord's
Eight-fold retiring-fence
He may try to build,
Still for want of strict care,^[1]
The retiring-fence is not built.

The eldest son made a song, saying:—

The eight-fold fastening fence
Of the Omi's child
Should an earthquake come, shaking,
Reverberating below,
'Twill be a ruined fastening fence.

[A various version of the first line is "eight-fold Kara fence."]

The eldest son gave Kagehime a song, saying:—

If Kagehime, who comes and stays
At the head of the lute,^[2]
Were a jewel,
She would be a white sea-ear^[3] pearl:—
The pearl that I love.

Shibi no Omi answered on behalf of Kagehime, and made song, saying:—

The great Lord's
(XVI. 4.) Girdle of Japanese loom

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1. "For want of strict care" is in the original Ama-shimi. This word contains an allusion to the Omi's name Shibi. Mi and bi are often interchanged in Japanese.
2. i.e. on my right hand.
3. The sea-ear is in Japanese ahabi, which may be intended to suggest ahazu, "not to become united to."