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of Treasurer, and presented him a large amount of crop land.
3.
The emperor subsequently moved to the Wakazakura palace in Yamato and finally passed away at the
age of 64. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Mizuhawake no Miko. It was the son of this
emperor that was later called emperor Hanshou.53
The emperor was nine feet six inches tall; the length of his teeth was one inch and their width was two-
tenths of that. The top and bottom teeth were lined up just the same, like strings of pearls. He governed
from the Shibakaki palace in Kawachi, and passed away at the age of 60.
4.
The Hanshou emperor was succeeded by his younger brother Wakugo no Sukune, who took the throne
as emperor Inkyou. He moved to the Tooasuka palace.
The emperor had long had an intractable disease, and so said he could not ascend the throne with the
body he had and he firmly declined it at first. However, the empress and all the courtiers insisted on
pressing him, and so he had no choice but to accede.
Not long afterward some 81 ships brought tribute from the country of Silla. They were accompanied by
two men named Kon Bachin and Kan Kimu who were both very skilled physicians; they quickly cured
the emperor's lengthy illness. Because of that, the emperor's life was extended to 78 years.
Concerned that too many family names54 were being used by the many clans throughout Japan, the
emperor had a boiling kettle of water from the hot springs called Kukae set up in a village in Yamato to
check the correctness of the names of clans throughout Japan. One by one, people would put their hand
into the kettle; nothing happened to those using their real, correct surnames, but the hands of those who
stated false names were burned raw. In this way the false and real names could be discovered one by
one.
53 The characters are usually read "Hanzei" rather than "Hansho." And emperor Hanzei was not
Mizuhawake's son, but Mizuhawake himself, so "this emperor" must refer back to Nintoku.
54 In many cases these were titles such as "muraji" or "sukune" that had been given to individuals but
retained by descendents. The problem, like the concept of family names, was limited to the upper
classes.
5.
After the emperor passed away, it was decided that he should be succeeded by the eldest imperial
prince, Kinashi no Karu no Ouji. Before the prince ascended the throne, however, there was an
unspeakable error in his personal behavior, and all the court officials and common people agreed that
he should be let go; the position went to his younger brother, Anaho no Miko. Prince Karu made the
incautious threat that he might do anything to Anaho, and then fled to the house of a pair of ministers,
the brothers Oomai no Sukune and Omai no Sukune. They quickly assembled instruments of warfare,
including a large number of arrows with bronze arrowheads, known as "Karu arrows."
In response, Anaho no Miko's side also made many preparations for battle. They prepared "Anaho
arrows" with iron arrowheads that were the same as those used in later generations. Before long the
miko took command of the military force himself and laid seige to the house of Oomae and Omae.
Hail began falling just then, and the miko, who was in the lead, pushed into the gate, from where he
called to the soldiers on his side with a poem to the effect of, "Well, all of you come in with me. Soon
will this icy rain stop. We'll make a quick end, like the hail. Come in, everyone, come on in."
Then Oomae and Omae on Sukune came out on their knees with their hands in the air, dancing up to
Anaho no Miko and singing a poem to the effect of, "Why should there be such a fuss? It's as slight as
the loss of a little bell from the cord of the hem of court trousers. Courtiers and common folk, let's not
make a fuss over this little deal."
And they said, "There's no need to attack if it's prince Karu you want. People would mock you for
attacking your own elder brother by the same mother. We will capture the prince and present him to
you."
Consequently, Anaho no Miko broke the siege and withdrew to wait, at which time the two sukune
hauled out prince Karu as they had promised.
6.
Prince Karu had a younger sister by the same mother; her name was Karu no Ooiratsume and they were
very good friends. Ooiratsume had a beauty that is rare in this world, and the light of her lovely body
shone right through her clothing; she was sometimes called Sotooshi no Iratsume.55
When he was in Anaho no Miko's hands, prince Karu thought longingly of the friendly Ooiratsume. He
recited a poem to the effect of, "Ah, bright little girl. If you cry too much then they will hear and laugh
to scorn. Like the doves on Hasa hill, you should mourn more patiently."
Anaho no Miko did not harm prince Karu, but banished him to Iyo.56 On that occasion, Ooiratsuhime
tearfully presented her elder brother with a poem to the effect of, "When you walk the beach, please
take care that you don't step on oyster shells and hurt yourself."
After that Ooiratsuhime continued to think only of her elder brother, and in the end she followed him to
distant Iyo. Prince Karu was overjoyed at this. He took Ooiratsume by the hand and sang a song to the
effect of, "Truly it is good that you have come. As long as lovely you are here, shining like a mirror and
sparkling like a gem, my home in Yamato means not a thing to me."
Before much longer, the two committed suicide together in Iyo.
55 "Sotooshi" means "passing through the robe."
56 An area in what is now Ehime prefecture in Shikoku.
Herd of Deer, Pack of Boars
1.
After his elder brother, Prince Karu, had been banished, Anaho no Miko became the emperor Ankou,
the twentieth emperor. He moved the court to the Anaho palace in Isonokami in Yamato.
The emperor wanted a person named Wakakusaka no Miko, who was the younger sister of a person
named Ookusaka no Miko, an imperial prince of emperor Nintoku and thus emperor Ankou's great-
uncle, to be the bride of his younger brother, prince Oohatsuse.
And so he sent someone called Ne no Omi as an envoy to Ookusaka no Miko's place, to convey the
emperor's desire. When he heard that, Ookusaka genuflected four times and happily accepted, saying,
"The truth is that I also have thought this order might possibly be granted us, and so ordinarily I have
not let my sister leave the house. I am truly grateful, and will present her as ordered."
However, he thought it would be discourteous to reply with words alone, and he advised Wakakusaka
no Miko to make a present of a splendid hair ornament of jeweled wood as a symbol of her gratitude to
the emperor.
Then Ne no Omi, the messenger, seized the jeweled hair ornament for himself and told the emperor the
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