Emperor Heizei

Emperor Heizei

¶Emperor Heizei's personal name was Ate. He was the eldest son of Emperor Kanmu.

¶His mother was the Empress Fujiwara-shi, of the Fujiwara clan (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). He was born on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the fifth year of Hōki, the day Mizunoe-uma (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki and the Rekidai Kōki).

¶When he was still a prince, he was originally named Ote, but in the second year of Enryaku this was changed to his present name (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

¶In the ninth month of the fourth year of Enryaku, the reigning crown prince was deposed (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku); in the eleventh month, Prince Ate himself was installed as crown prince.

¶In the first month of the seventh year, he underwent the genpuku, the ceremony of coming of age (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). As he grew, he showed himself clear-minded and intelligent, possessed of deep insight and broad-mindedness; he was widely versed in the classics and skilled in composition as well (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶In the third month of the twenty-fifth year, Emperor Kanmu died. The crown prince was so overcome with grief that he could not rise from his bed. The Councillor and Middle Captain of the Palace Guards, Sakanoue-no-Tamuramaro, together with the Master of the Crown Prince's Household, Fujiwara-no-Kadonomaro, supported him and moved him to the east wing, tōshō (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku). That same day, blood was found to have rained down upon the bedchamber of the crown prince's palace (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the nineteenth day, the day Mizunoto-hitsuji, when Udano in Kadono district was chosen as the site for the imperial mausoleum, fires broke out of their own accord on the mountains to the northwest (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-second day, the day Hinoe-inu, the sun turned red and lost its brilliance, and the armory sounded of its own accord in the middle of the night (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku). The crown prince said to the assembled ministers: "I have suddenly been struck by so deep a grief that I feel as though I were standing in scalding water and fire. The calamities and portents now appearing one after another are my fault alone. Yet it is the teaching of the sages of old that where virtue is honored, calamity is dispelled. Let the officials within and without strive to correct the course of government, and make good what I myself lack. Let the Palace Guards all remove their armor, and let the checkpoints and ferry-crossings of the provinces cease their guard." The ministers replied: "That the Palace Guards wear armor, and that checkpoints and ferry-crossings be firmly guarded, has been the constant rule since ancient times; it is not a matter limited to the present day." The crown prince answered: "The Taikō Tennō — as the deceased sovereign, not yet given his posthumous name, is called — possessed sage virtue, broad and abundant, and the realm was purely and peacefully governed. What is there now to be suspicious of? To wear armor while in mourning is no fitting conduct for one who lies prostrate on straw and earth in grief and longing. And to close the checkpoints and ferry-crossings firmly can only hinder the comings and goings of the people, burdening them and harming agriculture more than anything else could. Order the offices concerned to let all pass freely." (Note: following the Nihon Kōki.) On the twenty-third day, the day Hinoto-i, the sun turned red and lost its brilliance. Mount Ōi, Mount Hiei, Mount Ono, Mount Kurusu, and other mountains caught fire, and smoke and ash darkened the sky even at midday. The crown prince said, "The site chosen for the mausoleum lies close to the shrine of the Kamo deity; might this calamity not have been brought on by offending the god's wrath?" Divination was accordingly performed, and indeed a curse was found to be at work. He said further, "When the mausoleum site was earlier divined, the milfoil-stalk divination, zei, gave its consent, but the tortoise-shell divination, kiboku, did not. Is it not that we must now take care, seeing these calamities and portents appear again and again?" He then offered prayers himself, and the fires at once died down (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-fifth day, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, the crown prince still took only gruel and touched no other food; only when his assembled retainers repeatedly urged him to eat did he comply (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). On the seventh day of the fourth month, the day Kanoe-ne, Emperor Kanmu was buried (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the thirteenth day, the day Hinoe-uma, Prince Kan'ō and others submitted a memorial requesting that the crown prince ascend the throne (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). On the twenty-first day, the day Kinoe-tora, the Provisional Middle Counselor Fujiwara-no-Otoei was removed from his post as General of the Central Guards, and the Middle Counselor Sakanoue-no-Tamuramaro took on the post concurrently (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Kugyō Bunin). On the twenty-fourth day, the day Hinoto-mi, the Minister of the Right, Prince Kan'ō, died (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixth day of the fifth month, the day Tsuchinoto-mi, an order was handed down: "In recent years the harvests have repeatedly failed, and the people's food is truly scarce. Even when the public rice, kutō, is lent out at interest through suiko, many still suffer from hunger. For this reason they borrow and lend among themselves and seek further loans, yet when the time comes to repay, the interest has doubled. In the end the rich and flourishing grow ever richer, while poor and exhausted households lack even coarse grain and chaff, sōkō. The regular tax rice should be lent out to relieve their distress. Send envoys to investigate and register the poor on the spot, form them into ho, mutual-guarantee groups, and lend to them accordingly. Should any debtor die, let the other members of his ho make good the debt. Should anyone, acting out of partiality or spite, favor the strong over the weak, or under the pretext of collecting arrears exact private debts as well, he shall without fail be dealt with as a grave offender once the matter is discovered. This measure shall be suspended once the people's livelihood has somewhat recovered." (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi.) On the seventh day, the day Kanoe-uma, the assembled retainers again submitted a memorial requesting his accession (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). On the sixteenth day, the day Tsuchinoto-u, the presentation of miscellaneous provincial tribute goods such as harakanouo fish and itabi fruit was discontinued (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eighteenth day, the day Kanoto-mi, the crown prince ascended the imperial throne at the Daigokuden, the Hall of State (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). He was thirty-three years of age at the time (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki and the Teiō Hennenki). The era name was changed to Daidō (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶In the year Hinoe-inu, the first year of Daidō, in summer, on the nineteenth day of the fifth month, the day Mizunoe-uma, the Empress Dowager was posthumously honored as Grand Empress Dowager, daikōtaigō, and the empress was made Empress Dowager. His younger brother, Imperial Prince Kamino (the future Emperor Saga), was installed as kōtaitei, crown prince in succession to his brother (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku. The Mizukagami states that the emperor, on the day of his accession, installed him as crown prince, but soon intended to depose him. Tradition has it that Fujiwara-no-Fuyutsugu, perceiving his intention, informed the crown prince of it; the crown prince, in grief and fear, worshipped from afar at the mausoleum of the late sovereign, whereupon smoke rose and darkened the sky as if it were night. The emperor, greatly alarmed, had the matter divined, and the answer came that it was the curse of the late sovereign. The emperor, repenting of his fault and taking the blame upon himself, saw the smoke disperse within three days. This account does not appear in such works as the Ruijū Kokushi or the Nihon Kiryaku; it would seem that the calamity recorded in the third month of this year has here been conflated with a tale of divination, and it is accordingly not adopted here). The Middle Counselor Fujiwara-no-Uchimaro was made Minister of the Right, and the Councillor Fujiwara-no-Sonohito was made Tutor to the Crown Prince, kōtaitei-fu (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). On the twenty-fourth day, the day Hinoto-i, the Rokudō Kansatsushi, Inspectors of the Six Circuits, were established (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Nihon Kiryaku, and the Kugyō Bunin). On the ninth day of the sixth month, the day Kanoto-ushi, his late consort Fujiwara-no-Taishi was posthumously installed as empress. On the tenth day, the day Mizunoe-tora, an edict ordered that all princes and the descendants of those of the fifth rank and above who were ten years of age or older be enrolled in the Daigaku, the University, and trained according to their respective fields of study (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the thirteenth day, the day Kinoto-mi, two hundred monks and nuns were ordained, to pray for the repose of Emperor Kanmu's soul. On the sixteenth day of the intercalary fifth month, the day Hinoto-ushi, the Kageyushi, the Office of Discharge Examiners, was abolished. In autumn, on the seventh day of the seventh month, the day Tsuchinoe-inu, envoys were sent to the home provinces to inspect fields that had been privately reclaimed (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). On the thirteenth day, the day Kinoe-tatsu, the ministers memorialized: "Once the period of mourning has ended, Your Majesty should move to a new palace; we ask permission to begin its construction in advance." But the emperor, mindful of the burden this would place on the people's labor, did not grant it (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fourth day of the eighth month, the day Kinoe-ne, the tribute tax, chō, and labor levy, yō, of the common people of the home provinces who had suffered flood damage were remitted, and relief, shingō, was given throughout the seven circuits (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). On the nineteenth day, the day Tsuchinoto-u, Musashi province presented a white crow. Ifukube-no-Kiyonushi, who had caught it, was granted five hundred bundles of rice (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). This month, long rains did not let up and floods overran their banks, and many provinces throughout the realm suffered damage. On the ninth day of the ninth month, the day Mizunoto-mi, an edict ordered the embankments of the Left and Right Capitals to be repaired (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). In winter, on the eleventh day of the tenth month, the day Kanoe-uma, Emperor Kanmu was reburied (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). An edict ordered the realm to wear sofuku, white mourning garments, in observance of grief. On the thirteenth day, the day Mizunoe-saru, an edict declared: "The presentation in tribute of ujime, clan women, is clearly set forth in the articles of the code: all are to be between thirteen and forty years of age. Yet at such ages they are still young, and their resolve is not yet settled. Henceforth those chosen should be between thirty and forty years of age and without a spouse. Should any such woman wish to marry, a replacement must without fail be presented in her place." (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi.) On the eighteenth day, the day Hinoto-ushi, the boundary between Kawachi and Settsu was fixed (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the last day of the month, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, the performance of koto songs at night festivals was prohibited (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixth day of the eleventh month, the day Kinoto-hitsuji — the provinces under the jurisdiction of the Dazaifu had seen their fields and villages fall to ruin through successive years of flood, drought, and epidemic disease. The land tax of Chikuzen and Hizen was accordingly remitted for two years, and that of Chikugo, Higo, Buzen, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, Satsuma, and Iki for one year (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the thirteenth day, the day Mizunoe-tora, Imperial Princess Ōhara was made Ise Priestess (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). In this year, since Iga, Bingo, Aki, Suō, Kii, and Awaji had suffered poor harvests for successive years, four-tenths of their rice-field tax was remitted, for a term of six years (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi).

¶In the year Hinoto-i, the second year, in spring, on the first day of the first month, the day Kanoe-tora, the New Year's felicitations were cancelled on account of ryōan, the emperor's own mourning (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twelfth day, the day Kanoto-ushi, since Kasa district in Tango had suffered flood damage the previous year, its land tax and tribute tax were remitted (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). Envoys were sent to Kashii Shrine to present gifts, shinmotsu, received from Tang. On the seventeenth day, the day Hinoe-uma, these were presented likewise at the several imperial mausolea (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twentieth day, the day Tsuchinoto-tori, the common people throughout the realm were encouraged, and required, to cultivate mulberry and lacquer trees (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku). On the twenty-seventh day, the day Hinoe-tatsu, Councillors and those above were granted Tang damask, brocade, aromatic medicines, and the like. On the fourteenth day of the second month, the day Mizunoe-saru, Tsukita-no-Niwatsugu, a resident of the Left Capital, was exiled to Izu for the crime of striking his father. On the third day of the third month, the day Kanoto-u, a woman of Sagami gave birth to three children at once, and was granted three hundred bundles of rice (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). In summer, on the sixteenth day of the fourth month, the day Mizunoto-tori, an edict abolished the post of Councillor and established the Kansatsushi, Inspectors, in its place (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). On the twenty-second day, the day Tsuchinoto-u, the Konoefu, Headquarters of the Palace Guards, was renamed the Left Palace Guards Headquarters, and the Chūefu, Headquarters of the Central Guards, the Right Palace Guards Headquarters. On the first day of the fifth month, the day Tsuchinoe-ne, hail fell. On the thirteenth day, the day Kanoe-ne, the kokki, death-day observance, for Emperor Shōmu was discontinued (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixteenth day, the day Mizunoto-u, the presentation of uneme, palace attendants, from the provinces was discontinued (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-fifth day, the day Mizunoe-ne, there was a great earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the fifteenth day of the sixth month, the day Kanoto-hitsuji, hail fell (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In autumn, on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the day Hinoe-uma, a woman of Ōmi gave birth to three children at once, and was granted three hundred bundles of rice (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-fourth day, the day Tsuchinoto-tori, provincial governors of the home provinces and those below them were permitted to cultivate fields of their own. On the eighth day of the eighth month, the day Mizunoto-i, envoys were sent to present sacred treasures and the gifts received from Tang at the Daijingū, the Grand Shrine of Ise. On the nineteenth day, the day Kinoe-inu, a Fifteen-Article Code of Conduct was promulgated (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the ninth day of the ninth month, the day Mizunoto-mi, the emperor watched archery at the Shinsen-en garden (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). An edict discontinued the jarai, the New Year's archery ceremony, and moved it to this day instead (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-eighth day, the day Mizunoe-ne, an edict declared: "Shamans and spirit-mediums, fugeki, recklessly discourse on fortune and misfortune, and the foolish common people look up to and believe their deceitful words. Illicit cults, inshi, grow ever more flourishing, and curses, enju, are likewise numerous. These practices have accumulated into custom, and are corrupting the simplicity of our ways. Henceforth let all such practice be strictly forbidden. Should anyone be found to have deeply devoted himself to these arts without reforming, he shall, once discovered, be banished to a distant province. Should the offices concerned know of this and fail to investigate it, or should neighboring households conceal and harbor such persons, both shall likewise be punished according to law." (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku.) This autumn, the emperor made progress to the Shinsen-en five times. In winter, on the thirteenth day of the tenth month, the day Hinoe-tora, a woman of Sagami gave birth to three children at once, and was granted three hundred bundles of rice. On the sixteenth day, the day Tsuchinoto-mi, the naiju, palace pages, were discontinued as a post, and their duties placed under the Left and Right toneri, palace attendants (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the nineteenth day, the day Mizunoe-saru, the ministers deliberated and memorialized: "The rotation of provincial governors is presently set at four years, following the shikō, the four-year term of service review, but it should instead be set at six years." This was approved. On the twenty-ninth day, the day Mizunoe-uma, the emperor performed gyokei, a purification rite, at the Kadono river. On the last day of the month, the day Mizunoto-hitsuji, a plot of rebellion by the Minister of Central Affairs, Imperial Prince Iyo, came to light. The Middle Captain of the Left Palace Guards, Abe-no-Anio, and the Captain of the Left Military Guards, Kose-no-Notari, and others were sent with troops to surround his mansion. On the second day of the eleventh month, the day Kinoto-tori, the Daijōsai, the Great Thanksgiving Rite, was suspended. On this same day, Imperial Prince Iyo was confined at Kawaradera (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eleventh day, the day Kinoe-uma, for having sided with Imperial Prince Iyo, the Major Counselor Fujiwara-no-Otomo was exiled to Iyo, the Middle Counselor Fujiwara-no-Otoei was dismissed from office, and the Inspector of the Hokuriku Circuit, Akishino-no-Yasuhito, was demoted to Director of the Saidaiji Temple Construction Agency (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). On the twelfth day, the day Kinoto-hitsuji, Imperial Prince Iyo was ordered to take his own life (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the thirteenth day, the day Hinoe-saru, an edict discontinued the two court festivals of the seventh and sixteenth days of the first month. In the twelfth month, since epidemic disease had spread through the capital, keishi, envoys were sent to give relief (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). This winter, birds and sparrows hatched their young, and peach and plum trees bloomed out of season (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶In the year Tsuchinoe-ne, the third year, in spring, on the first day of the first month, the day Mizunoto-hitsuji, the New Year's felicitations were cancelled on account of wind and cold (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the seventh day, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, relief was given to the people of the capital stricken with epidemic disease. On the twelfth day, the day Kinoe-uma, medicine was provided to the people suffering from the epidemic (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the thirteenth day, the day Kinoto-hitsuji, envoys were sent to gather up and bury those who had died of the epidemic along the roads (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). Rice, salt, and shi, fermented bean paste, were provided to the sick (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). The Daihannyakyō, the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, was read by alternate recitation at the great temples and throughout the home provinces and seven circuits (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twentieth day, the day Mizunoe-tora, an edict merged and reduced the number of official posts (Note: following the Ryō no Shūge). On the twenty-sixth day, the day Tsuchinoe-saru, cotton wadding was provided to the epidemic-stricken people of the Right Capital. On the fourth day of the second month, the day Hinoe-tatsu, an edict declared: "We now hear that common people travelling the roads are falling ill along the way, or even dying of hunger and thirst. This is truly because the offices concerned fail to uphold the intent of the laws, and the villages have no heart to care for such people. Of late the epidemic has continued, and the dead follow one upon another. That their corpses should be left exposed by the roadside without burial runs gravely against the principle of proper interment. Let the provinces be ordered to make their rounds and offer bujutsu, comfort and relief, following strictly the earlier kyaku, supplementary regulations. Let every corpse be gathered up and buried." On the twenty-fourth day, the day Hinoe-ne, the emperor went to the Daigokuden and offered prayers to the myōjin, the eminent deities, to drive away the epidemic disease throughout the realm. On the twenty-ninth day, the day Kanoto-mi, an edict declared: "We have been lacking in the sincerity of filial devotion, and were unable to serve Our parents to the full. Though Our heart breaks at Kyōzan — the mountain where, as in the old tale of the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum, only his sword was left behind for his descendants to revere — that looking-up to the sword is now a thing of the distant past. Though We feel the old regret of Kokurin, the grove recalled in the tale of the sage-king Yao, longing for the cap he once wore at play is likewise beyond Our reach. How much more so when, each time the spring wind stirs the trees, We form a bond of longing for Our parents as enduring as the knotweed, tade, that never withers in a lifetime; and each time the autumn dew moistens the thickets, We hold fast, unchanging through life, to a heart as sharp as thorns, ibara. The death-days of the late sovereign and the Empress Dowager fall precisely within the third month. How, when such a season stirs these feelings, could We bear to indulge in feasting and music? Let the third-day banquet be discontinued." (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi.) This month, Junior Fifth Rank Lower Imbe-no-Hironari presented the Kogo Shūi (Note: following the Kogo Shūi itself. Some texts record it as having been presented in the second year). On the first day of the third month, the day Mizunoto-hitsuji, on account of the epidemic, the provinces throughout the realm were ordered to have the Ninnōkyō, the Sutra of the Benevolent Kings, expounded, for a term of hitonanoka, seven days (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eighth day, the day Kanoe-tora, the Ninnōkyō was expounded within the palace and at the various offices and the Left and Right Capital Bureaus (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-second day, the day Kinoe-tatsu, a yellow rain, kōu, fell. On the twenty-seventh day, the day Tsuchinoto-tori, Imperial Prince Ōta died. On the twenty-eighth day, the day Kanoe-inu, a yellow rain fell again (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In summer, on the twenty-first day of the fourth month, the day Mizunoe-saru, famine struck Awaji. Grain was released from Harima to give relief (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). On the twenty-fourth day, the day Kinoto-i, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the third day of the fifth month, the day Kinoe-saru, the Assistant Captain of the Gate Guards, Abe-no-Manao, and the court physician Izumo-no-Hirosada, together with others, presented the hundred scrolls of the Daidō Ruijūhō, a compendium of medical prescriptions (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fifth day, the day Hinoe-inu, umayumi, mounted archery, was discontinued on account of the epidemic. An edict declared: "We hear that the damage from the flooding of the first year of Daidō has still not been made good. Since last year, epidemic disease has spread, and many have died unexpectedly. Reflecting on their distress, We feel deep pity. We wish to extend Our benevolence and comfort the people. For those households that suffered flood damage to seven-tenths or more of their land, the unpaid balance of the shōzei, regular tax rice, lent to them should be entirely remitted." (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi.) On the seventh day, the day Tsuchinoe-ne, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en, and discontinued the presentation of sumai-bito, wrestlers, from the provinces (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). On the eighth day, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, envoys were sent to treat the sick of the Left and Right Capitals. On the tenth day, the day Kanoto-u, an edict declared: "Though We are of mean and clouded virtue, kamai, We have unworthily inherited this great imperial succession. Mindful always of the people's sufferings, as though treading on thin ice or nursing a wound, and thinking of Our own precariousness as though reining in a runaway horse, We have not rested easy upon the throne. We have disciplined Ourself, pondered the way of government, and applied Ourself diligently to the affairs of state. Yet Our benevolence has not reached all things, and Our sincerity has not been enough to move Heaven. Since Our accession, the consequences of this have become apparent. Of late, hunger grows ever more severe throughout the provinces of the realm, epidemic disease follows one upon another, and many die young. Reflecting that Our own lack of virtue has brought this upon the people, We reproach Ourself at every turn, and Our heart is filled with deep grief. We fear that government and punishment may have strayed from what is right, offending the spirits above, or that confused and harsh commands may be causing suffering to the people below. All this is Our own fault, and what crime can the myriad people have committed? We ponder this quietly, and cannot forget it whether waking or asleep. Does not the Book of Odes itself say, 'The people too are utterly worn out; might they not be given some little rest'? The tribute tax of this year, for the provinces suffering from famine and epidemic, should be remitted entirely. Let provincial governors themselves make their rounds of the villages, provide medicine, and attend to healing and relief, and have the Mahayana sutras read by alternate recitation for seven days at the two provincial temples, kokubunji. Envoys should also be sent to the Left and Right Capitals, to extend shinzō, charitable giving, everywhere. It is Our wish that through good deeds brought to effect, those in distress be relieved with the produce of the fields, that the cultivation of virtue not go for nothing, and that wandering souls be called back from the records of the nether world. Strive to extend broad and generous grace, and act in accordance with Our wishes." On the thirteenth day, the day Kinoe-uma, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). On the fifteenth day, the day Hinoe-saru, Harima presented a white swallow (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixteenth day, the day Hinoto-tori, the provincial governorship of Chikuzen, earlier abolished, was reestablished (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Sandaikyaku). On the twenty-first day, the day Mizunoe-tora, a horse was presented to the deity of Niukawakami in prayer for rain. On the twenty-third day, the day Kinoe-tatsu, rain fell. The assembled ministers offered their congratulations, music was performed, and gifts were bestowed (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the last day of the month, the day Kanoto-i, relief was given for the famine in Tajima (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). In autumn, on the first day of the seventh month, the day Kanoto-mi, there was a solar eclipse (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-second day, the day Mizunoe-tora, the Emonfu, Gate Guards Headquarters, was abolished and merged into the Left and Right Eshifu, Military Guards Headquarters (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). On the twenty-seventh day, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, the emperor made a progress to Ōi. On the twenty-second day of the eighth month, the day Kanoto-hitsuji, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-seventh day, the day Hinoe-ne, at night, the gongs and drums, shōko, of the Left and Right Arsenals sounded of their own accord. On the eleventh day of the ninth month, the day Kanoe-tora, Taihaku, the planet Venus, appeared in daylight (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixteenth day, the day Tsuchinoto-hitsuji, the private keeping of hawks was prohibited (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). On the nineteenth day, the day Tsuchinoe-inu, an edict declared: "In Our edict of the past fifth month, We stated that the tribute tax of this year, for the provinces suffering from famine and epidemic, should be remitted entirely. We now hear that the provincial governors are remitting it only for those presently ill, while still collecting it from the people not yet afflicted. Let orders be issued at once so that this may never happen again. Let the tribute of masterless men, rōnin, and the chūnan sakumotsu, the produce tax of youths, be treated in the same way." (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi.) On this same day, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-third day, the day Mizunoe-tora, imperial princes, the Kansatsushi and those above, and the vice-commanders and above of the Rokuefu, the Six Guards Headquarters, were permitted to keep hawks and sparrowhawks, hashitaka (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku). In winter, on the seventh day of the tenth month, the day Kinoto-u, the emperor hunted for pleasure at Kitano. On the eighth day, the day Hinoe-tatsu, there was a fire at the Saejibō, the Left Military Guards' quarters (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-seventh day, the day Kinoto-i, the emperor made a progress to Ōtsu in Ōmi and performed a purification rite. On the last day of the month, the day Hinoto-ushi, a regulation was established: "Considering past precedent, the sansai, the period of lesser abstinence preceding the Daijōsai, has been three months. Henceforth it shall be limited to one month." (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku.) On the fourth day of the eleventh month, the day Kanoto-mi, thieves broke into the storehouse of the Kuraryō, the Bureau of the Imperial Treasury (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). On the eleventh day, the day Tsuchinoe-ne, a further prohibition was issued against the ginin, performers of miscellaneous music for the Daijōsai, decorating themselves with Tang goods (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). On the fourteenth day, the day Kanoto-u, the Daijōsai was performed (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the last day of the month, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, there was a fire at the Right Military Guards' quarters (Note: following the Nihon Kōki). On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month, the day Hinoe-uma, since Iga had suffered flood damage, its unpaid taxes were remitted (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi).

¶In the year Tsuchinoto-ushi, the fourth year, in spring, on the first day of the first month, the day Tsuchinoe-tora, the New Year's felicitations were cancelled on account of wind and cold (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the tenth day, the day Hinoto-i, the presentation of delicacies by the provinces on the seventh and sixteenth days was discontinued (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fifteenth day, the day Mizunoe-tatsu, a dog was heard barking atop the western tower of the Daigokuden, and several hundred crows circled above it. On the eighteenth day, the day Kinoto-hitsuji, an edict ordered each province to copy out a complete Daihannyakyō and dedicate it to the myōjin, the eminent deities. On the twenty-sixth day, the day Mizunoe-saru, the emperor fell ill (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the ninth day of the intercalary first month, the day Kinoto-tori, an edict ordered the provinces to present men of outstanding ryoryoku, physical strength. On the fourteenth day, the day Kanoe-tora, the kugo, the emperor's own food and drink, together with annual expenditures and the monthly stipends of officials of the various offices, were abolished or reduced (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). On the sixteenth day of the third month, the day Kanoto-tori, Yamashiro presented a white rat. In summer, on the first day of the fourth month, the day Hinoe-ne, sutras were read within the palace and at the temples of the capital (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). The emperor's sleep and appetite grew steadily more troubled. On this day, he transferred the throne to the crown prince, his younger brother (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku), and removed to the Crown Prince's Palace (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). He was given the honorific title of Daijō Tennō, Retired Emperor.

¶The Retired Emperor moved his residence several times to escape his illness, and after his fifth such move made Heijō, Nara, his palace. Yet although he had in theory laid down the heavy burden of rule, he was still much troubled with affairs of government. Naishi-no-kami, the Chief Handmaid, Fujiwara-no-Kusuko, who enjoyed his deep favor, took control of palace affairs, and repeatedly misrepresented matters to ingratiate herself. Her elder brother, the Captain of the Right Military Guards, Nakanari, relied on his power and grew arrogant and overbearing, and the Retired Emperor favored them both alike, unable to see through their wickedness (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi). Gradually he came to accept Kusuko's counsel, and conceived the intention of once more presiding over the throne (Note: following the Mizukagami). Emperor Saga privately became aware of this, and for that reason, from the time of his own accession, he often pleaded illness and did not attend to government, until at last he resolved on a plan to abdicate. He sent the Minister of the Right, Fujiwara-no-Sonohito, bearing the shinji, the sacred seal, to deliver it to the Retired Emperor, but the Retired Emperor would not accept it (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶In the ninth month of the first year of Kōnin, Kusuko, falsely claiming it to be the Retired Emperor's own wish, sought to move the capital back to Heijō (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku). The Middle Counselor Sakanoue-no-Tamuramaro, the Head Chamberlain, kurōdo-no-tō, Fujiwara-no-Fuyutsugu, and Junior Fourth Rank Lower Ki-no-Tagami, among others, were made zōgūshi, envoys for palace construction (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). The whole court and country were thrown into alarm. Emperor Saga issued an edict publicly proclaiming the crimes of Kusuko and Nakanari. The Retired Emperor, in great anger, raised troops from the home provinces and Kii, and, together with Kusuko, set out with a train of carriages for the eastern provinces; the guards on duty from the various offices all followed after him. But when he reached Koshida village in Soekami district, hearing that a great army lay waiting ahead, his forces of themselves fell apart. The Retired Emperor, realizing that his plan could not succeed, returned to the palace, shaved his head, and entered religious life. Nakanari was put to death, and Kusuko took poison and died (Note: following the Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku). The Assistant Governor of Echizen, Abe-no-Kiyotsugu, and the Provisional Junior Secretary, Kudara-no-Aisen, raised troops in response to the Retired Emperor. Emperor Saga appointed Junior Fifth Rank Lower Tomi-no-Fujitsu as Assistant Governor of Echizen in his place, but Kiyotsugu and the others refused to accept the replacement, and in the end seized Fujitsu. At this the emperor sent the Junior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs, Ki-no-Namimaro, and others to investigate and interrogate them, and Kiyotsugu and Aisen were sentenced to distant exile. When the disturbance first broke out, the Middle Counselor Fujiwara-no-Kadonomaro and the Chief of the Bureau of Horses of the Left, Fujiwara-no-Masao, had repeatedly remonstrated with the Retired Emperor, but he would not listen, and in the end he met with defeat (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Ruijū Kokushi).

¶In the twelfth year of Kōnin, the Retired Emperor went to the monk Kūkai and, entering the consecration platform, received kanjō, the esoteric initiation rite. The practice of an emperor receiving this secret initiation began with this (Note: following the Genkō Shakusho. The text of the Genkō Shakusho itself places this in the thirteenth year, but the Ichidai Yōki is here followed instead).

¶During the reign of Emperor Junna, Emperor Saga too was honored with the title of Retired Emperor, and from this time the former Retired Emperor came to be called the Former Retired Emperor, Sen-Daijō Tennō. The Retired Emperor sent a letter declining the honorific title, and asked that his clothing and furnishings, fukugyo, be reduced and the number of his household offices discontinued. In this document he invariably styled himself "Your servant," shin. Since this followed the form of a formal memorial addressed upward to the throne, the emperor returned it still sealed, and made no reply.

¶On the seventh day of the seventh month of the first year of Tenchō, the day Kinoe-tora, he died, at the age of fifty-one. He was given the posthumous name Yamatone-ko-Ameoshikunitakahiko-no-Mikoto (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). He was buried at the Yamamomo mausoleum in Soekami district (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Engishiki). He was called Emperor Heizei, and was known to the world as the Nara Sovereign, Nara-no-Mikado (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki and the Rekidai Kōki).

¶The emperor possessed excellent judgment and breadth of mind, and was composed and quick of understanding. He personally attended to the myriad affairs of government, mastered himself, and applied himself diligently to administration, cutting wasteful expenditure and rejecting rare and curious goods. The laws and ordinances were kept strict and orderly, and his officials conducted themselves with solemn restraint. Yet his nature was much given to saiki, suspicion and jealousy: he had Imperial Prince Iyo and his mother put to death, and many others were punished as implicated in the affair (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). At the very beginning of his reign, he changed the era name before the year was out (Note: following the Nihon Kōki and the Nihon Kiryaku). In his later years he became infatuated with a favored woman, and government came to be conducted at a woman's hand, for which the age reproached him (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi).