Page:Nihongi by Aston volume 2.djvu/143

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136

Nihongi.

15th day. The Prince Imperial and the Oho-omi, accompanied by all the functionaries, did worship to the Gods of Heaven and Earth.

Autumn, 7th month, 3rd day. The Dairai,^[1] Imoko Wono no Omi, was sent to the Land of Great Thang.^[2] Kuratsukuri no Fukuri was appointed his interpreter.

In the winter of this year, the pond of Takechi, the pond of (XXII. 18.) Fujihara, the pond of Katawoka, and the pond of Sugahara were constructed in the province of Yamato, and a great canal was dug at Kurikuma in the province of Yamashiro. Moreover, in the province of Kahachi, the ponds of Tokari and Yosami were made. Miyake were also erected in all the provinces.

A.D. 608. 16th year, Summer, 4th month. Imoko, Wono no Omi, came back from the Land of Great Thang. The Thang country called him So In-ko.^[3]

An envoy from Great Thang named P'ei Shih-ch‘ing, with a suite of twelve persons, arrived at Tsukushi in company with Imoko no Omi. Wonari, Naniha no Kishi, was sent to bring the guests of Great Thang, P'ei Shih-ch‘ing and the others, and a new official residence was erected for them over the Koryö official residence at Naniha.

6th month, 15th day. The guests anchored in the harbour of Naniha. Thirty gaily decked boats were sent to meet them at Yeguchi (river-mouth), and they were lodged in the new official residence. Hereupon Torimaro, Nakatomi no Miya-

↑ 5th rank. See above, p. 128.
↑ Thang, 唐, is the Chinese dynasty of that name. China is here called Thang retrospectively, as that dynasty did not come into power until 618. The epithet "great" is found in all the older editions, but the "Shukai" editor strikes it out. "Great" is prefixed in China to the name of the reigning dynasty only. Subsequent writers omit it.

Thang is in Japan pronounced Tō, as in Tōjin, which in our own day is (or perhaps I should say, was) a popular word for foreigners of all nationalities.
↑ So In-ko is 蘓因高. The two last characters are meant as a phonetic representation of Imoko. The first is taken, according to Dr. Florenz, from Soga, to which house Dr. Florenz says (on what authority I do not know) that Wono belonged. The Japanese commentators suggest that 蘓 is merely a phonetic equivalent of 小, the first character of Wono (little moor). But this is open to the objection that these two characters are not pronounced alike in China, though they are in Japan.

[1] 5th rank. See above, p. 128.

[2] Thang, 唐, is the Chinese dynasty of that name. China is here called Thang retrospectively, as that dynasty did not come into power until 618. The epithet "great" is found in all the older editions, but the "Shukai" editor strikes it out. "Great" is prefixed in China to the name of the reigning dynasty only. Subsequent writers omit it.

Thang is in Japan pronounced Tō, as in Tōjin, which in our own day is (or perhaps I should say, was) a popular word for foreigners of all nationalities.

[3] So In-ko is 蘓因高. The two last characters are meant as a phonetic representation of Imoko. The first is taken, according to Dr. Florenz, from Soga, to which house Dr. Florenz says (on what authority I do not know) that Wono belonged. The Japanese commentators suggest that 蘓 is merely a phonetic equivalent of 小, the first character of Wono (little moor). But this is open to the objection that these two characters are not pronounced alike in China, though they are in Japan.

[1]

[2]

[3]