5. The Empress Retires to Yamashiro

1After this time the Empress made a progress to the land of Ki in order to pluck aralia-leaves for a copious feast; and in the meanwhile the Heavenly Sovereign wedded Yata-no-waki-iratsume. Hereupon, when the Empress was returning in her august vessel loaded full of aralia-leaves, a coolie from Kozhima in the land of Kibi, who was in the service of the Superintendent of the Water-Directors, being on his way off to his own country, met at the great passage of Naniha the vessel of a lady of the train who had got behind, and forthwith told her, saying: “The Heavenly Sovereign has recently 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. Forthwith without entering the palace, but taking her august vessel away [from it] and ascending the channel against the current, she made a progress up into Yamashiro by the river. At this time she sang, saying:

2“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.”

3Forthwith going round by Yamashiro, and arriving at the entrance of the Nara Mountain, she sang, saying:

4“Oh! the river of Yamashiro where the seedlings grow in succession! As I ascend, ascend to Miya, I pass Nara, I pass Yamato with its shield of mountains; and the country I fain would see is Takamiya in Kadzuraki, the neighbourhood of my home.”

5Having sung thus, she returned and entered for some time into the house of a person from Kara named Nurinomi at Tsutsuki.

6circle of mountains that guard the approach to the province of Yamato, and it has been rendered accordingly. The great difficulty of the Song lies in the line rendered “ascend to Miya,” and the commentators from Keichiū downwards make all sorts of efforts to explain it. Moribe’s view, according to which the word should be regarded as a familiar abbreviation of Takamiya, naturally used by one whose native place it was, seems the most acceptable. Motowori takes the line to signify: “When I ascend past the palace [of Naniha].”