24th day. Fire broke out in the Palace of Afumi. It began from the third storehouse of the Treasury.
29th day. The five Ministers, in respecttul attendance on the Imperial Prince Ohotomo, made oath in presence of the Emperor.
On this day, a present was made to the King of Silla of 50 hiki of fine silk, 50 hiki of coarse silk, 1000 kin[1] of floss silk, and 100 hides of leather.
12th month, 3rd day. The Emperor died in the Palace of Afumi.
11th day. He was temporarily interred at the New Palace.[2]
At this time there was a popular song, as follows:—
I.
For the trouts of Yoshino
In Miyoshino—
For the trouts indeed
It is well by the side of the island:
Alas! woe's me!
Here beneath the nagi plants,
Here beneath the water-parsley.
Alas! woe's me!
II.
(XXVII. 31.) As not even one
Has yet been loosed
Of the eight-fold cords to be loosed
By the Omi children,
The Prince's cord is loosed.
III.
As the red horse
Plods on reluctantly
Over the plain of Makudzu,
Why any message?
Better simply to act.[3]
- ↑ Or catties. About 113 lb. avoirdupois at the present day.
- ↑ The subsequent and formal burial is not mentioned. It was in a misasagi at Yamashina, a village in the district of Uji, in Yamashiro.
- ↑ These stanzas, or rather separate poems, are all supposed to refer to Prince Ohotomo, who, as we shall find in the next book, was obliged to fly from the capital, and ultimately strangled himself in despair. Makudzu in the
