Emperor Junna

Emperor Junna

¶Emperor Junna's personal name was Ōtomo. He was the younger brother of Emperor Saga. His mother was the Lady Fujiwara-shi, of the Fujiwara clan, who was later posthumously honored as Empress Dowager (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶He was born in the fifth year of Enryaku (Note: following the Rekidai Kōki and the Ichidai Yōki). At first he held only the rank of imperial prince. In the fourth month of the seventeenth year, he underwent the genpuku, the ceremony of coming of age (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In the twenty-second year, he was granted the third rank of imperial princes and appointed Minister of Military Affairs, hyōbukyō. In the fifth month of the third year of Daidō, he was transferred to the post of Minister of Civil Administration, jibukyō (Note: following the Rekidai Kōki and the Ichidai Yōki).

¶In the first year of Kōnin, he was transferred to the post of Minister of Central Affairs, Nakatsukasa-kyō (Note: following the Rekidai Kōki). In the ninth month, he was installed as kōtaitei, crown prince in succession to his brother. In the fourteenth year, on the sixteenth day of the fourth month, the day Kanoe-ne, Emperor Saga sought to cede the throne to the crown prince. The crown prince repeatedly submitted memorials declining, but this was not accepted. On the eighteenth day, the day Mizunoe-tora, he moved to the Imperial Palace, and Imperial Prince Tsuneyo was installed as crown prince (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). This was done at Emperor Saga's own wish (Note: following the Jinnō Shōtōki). But Prince Tsuneyo firmly declined, and so Emperor Saga's son, Imperial Prince Masara (the future Emperor Ninmyō), was installed as crown prince instead (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). The Major Counselor Fujiwara-no-Otsugu was made Tutor to the Crown Prince, tōgū-no-fu (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). On this day, envoys were sent to the Left and Right Capitals to give relief to the sick. On the twenty-first day, the day Kinoto-mi, offerings were presented at the Daijingū, the Grand Shrine of Ise, giving advance notice of the coming accession (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku. Note further: from the reign of Emperor Ninmyō onward, the old histories record without exception that an accession was announced in this way to the Grand Shrine, the several imperial mausolea, and the various shrines, from which it is clear that this had become an established custom. For that reason it will not be noted individually hereafter). On the twenty-third day, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, an edict declared: "Looking closely over the sovereigns of successive reigns, and taking distant precedents of earlier kings as our guide, we find that names have been changed to suit circumstance, and titles altered to suit the times. The Retired Emperor, having won the trust and hopes of the realm, ascended the throne and took in hand the essentials of government. His civil teaching spread wide as the wings of the great peng bird, and his martial achievements advanced abreast like the chariot of the sun. The wish of the people to exalt and uphold him ran deep, reaching both the living and the dead, and their sincerity in praising his virtue was inexhaustible, reaching both civilized lands and the barbarian realms beyond. Yet he did not rely on his accomplishments, nor rest content even after bringing them to completion. He set lightly aside both the throne of the Shishinden and the weight of the imperial carriage, laid down the heavy burden of the realm, and showed humility and deference to the myriad nations. In the end he withdrew and declined even the title of Emperor, content to be treated as a subject. This is without precedent in all ages, and does not conform to ordinary practice even by the standards of the present day. It is said that if names are not correct, words do not accord with them, and if words do not accord, affairs cannot be accomplished. Though the sages themselves were never bound by names, every title has its own proper derivation. Let an honorific title be respectfully offered, that of Daijō Tennō, Retired Emperor; let the Empress Dowager be styled Grand Empress Dowager; and let the Empress be styled Empress Dowager." (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi. Note further: at this time there was in fact no Empress Dowager, so this must refer to Emperor Kanmu's consort, Fujiwara-no-Otomuro. See the Biographies of Empresses and Consorts for details.) On the twenty-fifth day, the day Tsuchinoto-tori, envoys were sent to the several imperial mausolea, giving advance notice of the coming accession. Separately, the Middle Counselor Yoshimine-no-Yasuyo was sent to the Kashiwabara mausoleum, the tomb of Emperor Kanmu, to report that the throne had been ceded to him and that a crown prince had been installed. On the twenty-sixth day, the day Kanoe-inu, the Middle Counselor and Captain of the Right Palace Guards, Funya-no-Watamaro, died. On the twenty-seventh day, the day Kanoto-i, the emperor ascended the imperial throne at the Daigokuden, the Hall of State (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku; the accession at the Daigokuden follows the Ichidai Yōki and the Kōdai Ryakki). He was thirty-eight years of age at the time (Note: following the Mizukagami, the Gukanshō, and the Kōdaiki). The Minister of the Right and Captain of the Left Palace Guards, Fujiwara-no-Fuyutsugu, retained his post as before (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). An edict remitted the unpaid taidō, loans of seed rice, owed by starving people of the provinces (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). In summer, on the first day of the fifth month, the day Kinoe-tora, an edict posthumously honored his mother, the Lady Fujiwara-shi, as Empress Dowager. Envoys were sent to present offerings to the eminent deities, myōjin, of the several circuits, announcing the accession (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). The Middle Counselor Yoshimine-no-Yasuyo was made concurrently Captain of the Right Palace Guards (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). On this day, prayers for clear weather were offered at Kibune. On the third day, the day Hinoe-tatsu, envoys were sent to present offerings and horses at Niukawakami, praying for clear weather (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fifth day, the day Tsuchinoe-uma, Kine-no-Kobe-no-Idemaro and other bandit chieftains of Kai were exiled to Izu (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi), and relief was given to the starving and sick people of Iga. On the sixth day, the day Tsuchinoto-hitsuji, since epidemic disease had spread through the provinces and the common people were in distress, an edict suspended the presentation of sumai-bito, wrestlers, and ordered relief for the Left and Right Capitals and the five home provinces (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twentieth day, the day Mizunoto-tori, an edict declared: "When the vital forces of heaven and earth meet and mingle in harmony, the myriad things receive their benefit; when clouds and rain move and spread abroad, every living creature looks up to their nourishing moisture. For this reason, one who takes the reins of government and ascends the throne never fails to bestow favor according to the season, and to share Heaven's bounty in response to Heaven itself. In succeeding to the imperial task, We feel as though reining in a runaway horse; having received the bright mandate of Heaven, We have not forgotten the caution of one treading on thin ice. Fearing error in every aspect of government, and troubled that not even a single matter has yet been set at ease, We have made it Our constant purpose to cherish and nurture the people, and have set Our heart deeply on the bestowing of life. Now the flourishing virtue of fire holds sway, the season most fitting for the long nurture of all things. Following the good example of complying with the yang energies of the season, We wish to spread the rain of Our bounty abroad according to the time. The members of the sōgō, the clergy office governing monks and nuns, and the monks and nuns of the various temples of the capital and home provinces renowned for wisdom, virtue, and conduct, together with all those of eighty years or more, should each be granted gifts according to their circumstances. For monks and nuns of the provinces, however, those of a hundred years or more shall receive four koku of grain per person, those of ninety or more three koku, and those of eighty or more two koku. Among the aged of the realm generally, those of a hundred years or more shall receive three koku, those of ninety or more two koku, and those of eighty or more one koku. Descendants of those of the fifth rank and above who are twenty years of age or older shall be granted the court rank of on'i, the hereditary rank bestowed in consideration of a father's or grandfather's standing. Those who have distinguished themselves above others through diligence in farming shall be advanced one grade in rank. As for filial sons, obedient grandsons, husbands of high principle, and wives of chaste virtue, let the gate or the hamlet in which they dwell be honored, and let them be exempted from all levies and labor service for life." (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi.) On the third day of the sixth month, the day Hinoe-inu, the imperial princess Ujiko was made Ise Priestess (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku. Note further: since this work itself does not record her name, the Ichidai Yōki is here followed. The Saigūki dates this instead to the first year of Tenchō.) On the fourth day, the day Hinoto-i, offerings were presented at Kibune, Otokuni, Hirose, and Tatsuta, and offerings and horses at Niukawakami, praying for rain. On the sixth day, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, his late consort, Imperial Princess Takashi, was posthumously installed as empress (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-fourth day, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). In autumn, on the fourth day of the seventh month, the day Hinoe-tatsu, offerings were presented at the shrines of Izumi, Ōtori, and Tsugawa. On the seventh day, the day Tsuchinoto-hitsuji, offerings were presented at the Daijingū. Both were prayers for rain. On the seventeenth day, the day Tsuchinoto-mi, since the prayers for rain had been without effect, sutras were chanted for seven days within the capital, and the taking of life was forbidden (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). This month, on account of drought and epidemic disease, the labor tax, yō, of Mikawa, Tōtōmi, and Nagato for the year was remitted, and relief was given to Mino and Awa (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the second day of the eighth month, the day Mizunoto-hitsuji, the crown prince underwent the genpuku (Note: following the Kōdaiki. Note further: the Kōdai Ryakki and the Kōnendai Ryakki give the first day, but this work follows the text of the edict dated to the day Mizunoto-hitsuji in the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixth day, the day Hinoto-i, epidemic disease spread through Ōmi, and two thousand koku of grain were distributed there (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the eighth day, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, offerings were presented at the Daijingū. On the twelfth day, the day Mizunoto-mi, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the first day of the ninth month, the day Mizunoe-ne, there was a solar eclipse (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eleventh day, the day Mizunoe-inu, offerings were presented at the Daijingū (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-fourth day, the day Kinoto-i, the emperor went to the Butokuden, the Hall of Martial Virtue, and viewed horses presented in tribute from Shinano. One horse each was bestowed on the imperial princes and on officials of Councillor rank and above (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In winter, on the night of the twenty-first day of the tenth month, the day Kanoto-ushi, the Nagadono hall of the Ōkurashō, the Ministry of the Treasury, caught fire. On the twenty-fourth day, the day Kinoe-tatsu, the emperor made a progress to the Sai river and performed a purification rite, and ordered relief for the destitute of the capital. On the twenty-eighth day, the day Tsuchinoe-saru, since poor harvests had continued in recent years, the labor tax of the people of Kii was remitted (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the seventeenth day of the eleventh month, the day Hinoto-u, the Daijōsai, the Great Thanksgiving Rite, was performed (Note: following the Kōdai Ryakki, the Kōnendai Ryakki, and the Teiō Hennenki). On the night of the twenty-second day, the day Mizunoe-saru, thieves set fire to the Ōkurashō, and the officials on patrol apprehended them. On the twenty-fourth day, the day Kinoe-inu, the Captain of the Left Military Guards, Fujiwara-no-Tsunatsugu, was sent to present offerings to the great god Hachiman at the Kashii mausoleum (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fourth day of the twelfth month, the day Kinoe-saru, an edict declared: "Of late the cycle of yin and yang has fallen into disorder, and drought and epidemic disease have struck the people one after another. The grain harvest has been poor, and the people are exhausted. Since succeeding to the imperial fortune and taking up this great task, We have constantly thought of good government, to the point of forgetting sleep and food. The way to save the age should surely not cling to old custom but respond to what the time requires; how could We bind Ourself to an inflexible course? We now wish to correct the disorders of the age and carefully relieve the people's suffering. Let the ministers each state their views, and make good what We Ourself lack, concealing nothing. Moreover, with the age in disorder of late and the realm exhausted, it has become difficult even to prepare the raifuku, the ceremonial vestments, and the New Year's felicitations have often been omitted. We wish to suspend the wearing of ceremonial vestments during these lean years; let this too be discussed and reported to Us." On the ninth day, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, there was an earthquake (Note: this work itself gives the day as Kinoto-ushi, but since the month began on the day Kanoto-mi, there is no day Kinoto-ushi within it; it is here corrected by calculation from the day Kinoe-ne). On the twelfth day, the day Mizunoe-tatsu, the ministers memorialized: "We reflect with reverence that Your Majesty, embodying the root of all things, has taken the throne and carries out the mandate of Heaven. By opening the net on three sides (Note: an allusion to the ancient custom, in hunting, of leaving one side open as an escape route — a figure for lenient government), both those within and beyond the realm receive the benefit of your deep humanity and virtue; and by stroking the five-stringed zither (Note: an allusion to the sage-emperor Shun — a figure for transformation through virtue), high and low alike share in your bounty. Yet Your Majesty still fears that the realm is not yet brought to harmony and order, and has further sought our frank and unreserved counsel. We, your servants, are poor in ability and ill-suited, we fear, to this charge. Unable to answer fully to Your Majesty's wishes, we can only feel the deepest awe and shame. We venture nonetheless to offer our humble opinion, and beg that it be heard. As for the ceremonial vestments, it would be well to suspend their wearing as the edict proposes. The crown prince, however, together with those of the third rank and above among the Councillors and those not holding that office, and those whose charge involves them in ceremonial observance, should continue to wear them as before." (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi.) On the fourteenth day, the day Kinoe-uma, relief was given to the starving people of the two capitals (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-third day, the day Mizunoto-u, the monks Chōe, Gonzō, and Kūkai, among others, were summoned to the Seiryōden and made to perform the Daitsū Hōkō rite (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi, the Nihon Kiryaku, and the Nihon Kōki as quoted in the Kōbō Daishi Gyōjō Yōshūshō). This year, Balhae sent envoys to the court bearing tribute (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶In the first year of Tenchō, the year Kinoe-tatsu, in spring, on the fifth day of the first month, the day Kinoto-u, the era name was changed. On the seventh day of the second month, the day Hinoe-inu, a solar halo, nichiun, appeared and lost its color (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the first day of the third month, the day Kanoe-inu, relief was given to the starving and sick of Mino (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eighth day, the day Hinoto-mi, an edict declared: "As though forsaken by Heaven, We met in childhood with the misfortune of losing Our mother. Unable even to be held in her embrace and receive her instruction, We fell early into the undutifulness of losing a mother. Though the months and years have piled up into a long span, her likeness grows ever more distant and dim, beyond the reach of memory. Looking up to the Shikyoku, the Purple Pole Star of the Palace, Our heart feels fit to break; gazing at the white clouds, Our spirit seems to slip away. Although the rites of mourning have their fixed limits, the grief of longing for days long past cannot be contained within Our breast. The fourth day of the fifth month is the day on which the Empress Dowager passed away. How, so near to that day of mourning, could We give Ourself over to pleasure and amusement as We please? Let the court banquet of the fifth month be discontinued. And yet, to forestall in advance the schemes of the unruly, it is essential that military preparedness not be neglected, and to guard against wickedness, the training of martial skill is truly of great importance. We therefore wish, following old precedent, to inspect the people's martial skills. This is indeed the way of being mindful of danger while still at peace. Let the ministers deliberate well together and report their conclusion." On the twentieth day, the day Kinoto-i, the ministers memorialized once more: "Amid the mysterious workings of heaven and earth that set the vital forces in motion, nothing among the myriad things is as precious as man. And in holding the throne and taking charge of government, nothing among the sage virtues surpasses filial devotion. We reflect with reverence that Your Majesty's feeling for your mother is deep beyond measure, a devotion that runs through your whole life. You dwell again and again, without forgetting, on the poem 'Kaifū' (a poem praising a mother's grace), and look up forever in longing to the poem 'Kansen' (a poem recalling a mother). That Your Majesty should discontinue pleasure and amusement in this month of mourning moves us all to the deepest sorrow. Yet the art of mounted archery is of particular importance in military affairs. Even the swift horses of Kihoku cannot be mastered without training, and even the skill of the bowmen of Shanxi, likened to the long arm of the monkey, becomes true artistry only through repeated practice. The ninth day of the ninth month is the festival known as Chōyō, the Double Ninth. It is the season for broad banquets such as those of Ryūsa, the desert sands, and a fitting time to honor skill at the archery stand. The wind is cool, the horses are fattened, and the people too have leisure. Sovereigns of old often viewed mounted archery on this very day. We humbly beg that Your Majesty take advantage of this fine occasion to go forth to the archery ground. We ask that the edict be issued and entrusted to the office concerned for its execution." (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi. Note further: the entry for the twenty-seventh day of the fourth month, the day Tsuchinoe-tora, of the tenth year of Tenchō in the Shoku Nihon Kōki records that "in the first year of Tenchō there was an edict abolishing the banquet of the fifth day of the fifth month, but since the matter concerned the training of military skill, it could not be dispensed with, and so on the twenty-seventh day of the fourth month it was restored for use instead." On this basis, it would seem that, following this further memorial, the practice was restored on the twenty-seventh day of the fourth month.) This spring, there was a great drought. The monk Kūkai was ordered to perform the Shōu-kyōhō, the Rain-Prayer Sutra rite, at the Shinsen-en for fourteen days, whereupon a beneficent rain fell for three days and spread throughout the realm (Note: following the Kōbō Daishi Gyōjō Yōshūshō and the Kiu Nikki. The dating to this spring follows from setting aside the Kojidan and the Ichidai Yōki.) In summer, on the sixth day of the fourth month, the day Kinoto-tori, the Minor Counselor Prince Tsugino, the Senior Assistant of the Jingikan Ōnakatomi-no-Fuchiuo, and the Senior Secretary Imbe-no-Unate, among others, were sent to present a sacred sword and offerings at the Daijingū (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-first day, the day Kanoe-ne, relief was given to the starving people of Awaji. On the twenty-second day, the day Kanoto-ushi, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en and released a brown deer that Balhae had presented (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-eighth day, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, the fifteen great temples, and the provinces of the five home provinces and seven circuits, were made to read the Daihannyakyō, the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, praying to ward off epidemic disease and drought. On the second day of the fifth month, the day Kanoe-inu, offerings were presented to the various deities of the realm, praying to ward off epidemic disease (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eleventh day of the sixth month, the day Tsuchinoe-ne, since drought and epidemic disease had struck Aki, an edict ordered relief (Note: following the Nihon Kōki as quoted in the Kiu Nikki). On the twenty-second day, the day Tsuchinoto-i, the monk Gishin was, for the first time, made Tendai-zasu, head of the Tendai school (Note: following the Tendai Zasuki and the Eigaku Yōki. The Genkō Shakusho dates this instead to the tenth month.) On the twenty-third day, the day Kanoe-ne, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-seventh day, the day Kinoe-tatsu, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Nihon Kōki as quoted in the Kiu Nikki). In autumn, on the seventh day of the seventh month, the day Kinoe-tora, the former Retired Emperor, the Retired Emperor Heizei, died. On the twelfth day, the day Tsuchinoto-hitsuji, Emperor Heizei was buried. On the first day of the eighth month, the day Hinoto-ushi, offerings were presented to the eminent deities, praying for favorable wind and rain (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the ninth day, the day Kinoto-tori, the Retired Emperor Saga decreed, "Let all those who were provisionally sentenced to exile in the first year of Kōnin be permitted to return to the capital" (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the seventeenth day, the day Mizunoto-mi, offerings were presented at the Daijingū, praying for favorable wind and rain (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twentieth day, the day Hinoe-saru, the ministers memorialized an opinion in six articles: "When a sovereign issues his commands, if he always acts in accordance with Heaven's season, the teaching and transformation wrought by government will never run contrary to reason; wind and rain will then keep to their proper times, and no calamity will occur. The Book of Documents says, 'If no worthy talent is left out among the people, the myriad nations will all be at peace,' and also, 'Appoint the worthy without doubting them, and dismiss the wicked without hesitation.' Worthy and virtuous men should accordingly be raised to office, and the wicked dismissed. At present the provincial governors, however much they wish to achieve good results, are bound by the laws and cannot act as they would wish; this is the very reason the provinces are exhausted. Men of integrity, fairness, and outstanding ability should be carefully selected and appointed as the governors and deputy governors of the provinces. Newly appointed officials should be given a personal audience, in which the principles of good government are explained to them. Where an official departs from ordinary practice yet acts in accordance with reason, and not out of private interest, he should be treated with leniency, and not bound by the rigid letter of the law. In ancient times, eight envoys were sent out separately to make their rounds and observe the customs of the provinces, examining the quality of governance, inquiring into the people's hardships, commending good conduct, and correcting violations. Junsatsushi, itinerant inspectors, should be sent to the provinces to examine the quality of the provincial governors' administration. Yet outstanding governors are not easily found in great number; where one good governor is found, he should be made to hold several provinces concurrently. Matters of government great and small should be entrusted to him according to his own request, and his one or two subordinate officials likewise appointed as he requests. But unless stipends are generous, men will not be diligent, and unless men are diligent, good government cannot be achieved. As for the kugetō, the official rice reserved for the stipends of officials, a prosperous province should be selected from among those under his jurisdiction and divided between two provincial governors, first tried in one province to see whether the results are good, and only then extended to other provinces as well. The descendants of the various clans should all be made to enter the Daigaku, the University, to study the classics and the histories, and those who have mastered their studies should be granted office according to their ability." The court followed this counsel (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku and the Honchō Monzui). On the tenth day of the ninth month, the day Kinoto-u, the Kageyushi, the Office of Discharge Examiners, was restored (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-sixth day, the day Kanoto-hitsuji, relief was given to the destitute common people of Yamashiro (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In winter, on the first day of the tenth month, the day Hinoe-ne, the office of the governor of Tane island was abolished, and the island placed under the jurisdiction of Ōsumi (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku, the Sandai Jitsuroku, and the Ruijū Sandaikyaku). On the seventh day of the twelfth month, the day Kanoto-mi, the ministers represented: "Having respectfully examined old precedent and looked far back over the ancient records, we find that New Year's Day is the beginning of the year, the time when all things flourish. The surrounding states, too, all came to pay homage at the court of Xia, and the many foreign peoples gathered to look up to the favor of the Han palace gates. Your Majesty is now deep in mourning, and your grief remains profound. The banquet of the Niiname-sai, the Harvest Festival, has already been discontinued, and we fear that the great ceremony of New Year's Day may likewise be suspended. Yet by the principle of the rites of spring and autumn, once the sokkoku, the formal end of loud lamentation, has passed, auspicious rites may again be performed. We humbly beg that the New Year's felicitations, the banquets, and the other rites of that day all be carried out according to the old canon of ceremony as before." The emperor replied by edict: "Though We observe the rules of mourning, We have now for the first time taken the reins of government Ourself; how could We forget Our grief at the loss of Our father? Indeed, each time frost and dew touch Us, that grief only deepens. We cannot bear even to look upon the ceremony of a banquet. Yet what the ministers ask also has a reason that cannot simply be dismissed. At the New Year to come, We shall receive the felicitations. Once the felicitations are concluded, We shall return to the color of sofuku, mourning garments, and pass the remainder of the month of mourning as before. The banquet for the assembled ministers and the performance of music shall both be suspended. The bestowal of setsuroku, the customary gifts of the season, shall however proceed as in former years." (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi.)

¶In the second year, the year Kinoto-mi, in spring, on the first day of the first month, the day Kinoto-mi, the New Year's felicitations were cancelled on account of the emperor's ill health. On the seventeenth day, the day Kanoto-tori, the Minister of the Right, Fujiwara-no-Fuyutsugu, was sent to the Kenrei Gate to view the jarai, the archery ceremony, and to inspect the Rokuefu, the Six Guards Headquarters; it was decreed that those who hit the mark should be given gifts. On this day, there was an earthquake. On the twenty-sixth day of the second month, the day Kanoe-ne, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-second day of the third month, the day Kinoto-ushi, a woman of Chikuzen gave birth to three children at once. Four hundred bundles of shōzei, regular tax rice, were bestowed on her (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the last day of the month, the day Mizunoto-tori, the four districts of Kōnan in Settsu were placed under the jurisdiction of Izumi province (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In summer, on the fifth day of the fourth month, the day Tsuchinoe-tora, the Minister of the Right, Fujiwara-no-Fuyutsugu, was made Minister of the Left, and the Major Counselor Fujiwara-no-Otsugu was made Minister of the Right (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). On the seventh day, the day Kanoe-tatsu, an edict declared: "When heaven and earth bring forth the myriad things, the virtue that shelters and nurtures them is vast indeed. When a sovereign would save the age, his compassion and humanity must likewise run deep. For this reason, by devoting himself to agriculture and treating lawsuits with care, he may lead the myriad people to a state of plenty and long life, and by cultivating good custom and spreading the influence of virtue, he may bring peace and prosperity to his reign. We have reverently succeeded to the enlightened intentions of the late sovereign and preserved this great undertaking, yet We are truly ashamed that Our virtue falls far short, and We regret that Our power to illuminate both the bright and the dark places is insufficient. Through the night We forget sleep, Our heart aching at the thought of the people fallen into the ditch; until dusk We forget to eat, holding a fear like one who stands at the edge of a deep ravine. We hear it said that epidemic disease has often been unceasing in the provinces. The Dazaifu, moreover, has reported that the pond of the divine spirit in Aso district in Higo, whose water level neither rises nor falls even in drought or prolonged rain, has for no apparent reason dried up by more than twenty jō. A like portent occurred during the Enryaku era, and when it was divined at that time, it was judged an ill omen of drought and epidemic disease. We should not forget the events of the past, but take them as a warning in the light of the present day; is this not surely a warning against some fault in the way of government? Of old, King Wen of Zhou acknowledged his own faults, and thereby stilled the calamity of an earthquake; Duke Jing of Song cultivated his virtue, and thereby turned aside the ill omen of a baleful star. From this we know that virtue must always overcome the uncanny, and that goodness can dispel calamity. To ward off this calamity, there is nothing for it but the power of the Buddhist Law. Let the several temples each observe ritual abstinence, and perform rites of compassion and benevolence. Let the kankakoku, the widowers, widows, orphans, and childless, who cannot support themselves, be given relief, each according to his circumstances. As for those confined to sickness with no one to care for them, let the provincial and district officials visit each one in person, and give them grain and medicine, that they may be kept alive. The unpaid tribute and labor tax owed for the thirteenth and fourteenth years of Kōnin are hereby remitted in full." (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi.) In autumn, on the sixteenth day of the intercalary seventh month, the day Hinoto-i, Imperial Prince Sami, of the fourth rank, died. On the twenty-first day, the day Mizunoe-tatsu, the four districts of Kōnan were again placed under the jurisdiction of Settsu. On the twenty-seventh day of the eighth month, the day Hinoto-u, junsatsushi, itinerant inspectors, were established for the home provinces and the seven circuits (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In winter, on the second day of the eleventh month, the day Kanoe-uma, a Director was established for the Seyakuin, the Dispensary (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-eighth day, the day Hinoe-saru, the Retired Emperor Saga's fortieth-year celebration was observed (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku. Note further: the Ichidai Yōki gives the fourth day, and the Rekidai Kōki records a view dating it to the fourth day of the tenth month). The practice of onga, the imperial celebration of long life, began with this (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki, the Tōji Chōja Bunin, and the preface to Fujiwara-no-Kineda's celebration of his seventieth year). This year, Balhae sent envoys to the court bearing tribute (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶In the third year, the year Hinoe-uma, in spring, on the night of the third day of the first month, the day Kanoe-uma, the kitchen quarters of the Left Military Guards Headquarters caught fire. On the fifth day, the day Mizunoe-saru, there was an earthquake. On this day, since the fire at the Left Military Guards Headquarters had caused deaths by burning, a purification rite was performed in the South Garden. On the fourteenth day, the day Kanoto-mi, there was an earthquake. On the twenty-third day, the day Kanoe-tora, there was again an earthquake. On the twenty-eighth day, the day Kinoto-hitsuji, the emperor hunted for pleasure at Serikawano (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixteenth day of the second month, the day Mizunoto-ushi, the Tawara pond in Bizen was abandoned, and the Kanzaki pond was dug in its place (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-fourth day, the day Kanoto-tori, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). This month, the Minister of the Left, Fujiwara-no-Fuyutsugu, resigned the post of Captain of the Left Palace Guards (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Rekidai Kōki). On the tenth day of the third month, the day Hinoto-ushi, the Lotus Sutra, copied in the Retired Emperor Saga's own hand, was expounded at the Saiji temple, and prayers for Emperor Kanmu's repose in the next world were offered for seven days (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In summer, on the fifth day of the fourth month, the day Mizunoe-tora, the emperor made a progress to the South Pond. On the tenth day, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en. On the twelfth day, the day Tsuchinoto-i, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the first day of the fifth month, the day Hinoto-u, the Minister of Central Affairs, Imperial Prince Tsuneyo, died (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixth day of the sixth month, the day Mizunoe-tora, there was an earthquake. A hundred monks were made to read the Daihannyakyō by alternate recitation for three days at the Benden and the Daigokuden, to ward off epidemic disease and pray for a bountiful year. In autumn, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month, the day Kanoto-mi, the emperor went to the Burakuden and watched sumo wrestling (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). This had been moved to this day so as to avoid Emperor Heizei's kokki, his death-day observance (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On this day, an auspicious cloud, keiun, appeared in the west (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-fourth day, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, the Minister of the Left, Fujiwara-no-Fuyutsugu, died (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). On the twenty-second day of the eighth month, the day Hinoto-mi, the Middle Counselor Kiyohara-no-Natsuno was made concurrently Captain of the Left Palace Guards (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). On the twenty-seventh day, the day Mizunoe-inu, relief was given to the starving and sick of the Left and Right Capitals, and to the common people who had suffered flood damage (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixth day of the ninth month, the day Kanoe-uma, the title of governor of the three provinces of Kazusa, Hitachi, and Kōzuke was for the first time changed to taishu, Grand Governor, a post to be filled by an imperial prince (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the eleventh day, the day Kinoto-i, offerings were presented at the Daijingū. In winter, on the second day of the tenth month, the day Hinoe-saru, the emperor hunted for pleasure at Kurikumano (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-second day of the eleventh month, the day Kinoto-tori, there was an earthquake. On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the day Kinoto-mi, there was again an earthquake. On the sixteenth day, the day Tsuchinoe-saru, the emperor hunted for pleasure at Ōharano. On the twenty-seventh day, the day Tsuchinoto-hitsuji, the ministers memorialized: "The way of Heaven utters no word, yet it waits upon a wise sovereign to display its auspicious signs; the working of the gods has no master, yet it sends down lucky omens when it encounters a benevolent ruler. Thus, when the auspicious cloud was once sung of in a verse (Note: an allusion to the sage-emperor Shun), the transforming virtue of Yu, Shun's realm, grew only the more harmonious; and when felicitous vapors once showed their colors, the achievements of Xuanyuan, the Yellow Emperor, spread all the more widely. We reflect with reverence that Your Majesty's virtue equals that of heaven and earth, and your humanity reaches generously and universally to all things. Though you match Heaven in virtue, you still grieve over the irregularity of heat and cold; though you match Earth in strength, you still fear that the people's livelihood is not yet sufficient. We have respectfully noted that the Junior Secretary of the Left, Junior Sixth Rank Lower, Miyako-no-Sukune-Hirotamaro, and the Senior Recorder of the Left, Senior Sixth Rank Upper, Mino-no-Sukune-Kiyoniwa, among others, have reported that at the hour of the Monkey on the sixteenth day of the seventh month, a cloud of five colors appeared to the west of the Burakuden. The Governor of Kii, Junior Fifth Rank Lower, Prince Urano, among others, has reported that on the twenty-eighth day of the past eighth month, an auspicious cloud appeared over Tomoshima in Kata village, Ama district. And the Deputy Governor-General of the Dazaifu, Councillor, Junior Fourth Rank Upper, Ono-no-Ason-Minemori, among others, has reported that on the seventh day of the past seventh month, an auspicious cloud appeared in Naka district, Chikuzen province. In every case the colors mingled in beauty beyond the ordinary. We, your servants, humbly consider that the name of the Burakuden, Hall of Comfort and Pleasure, attests to the joy of the Four Seas, and that the name of the island of delight (Note: perhaps an allusion to the emperor's personal name, Ōtomo) expresses Your Majesty's own particular joy. We, your servants, have had the good fortune to live in this age of flourishing rule, and have repeatedly witnessed auspicious signs rarely seen in any age. Our joy and exultation are truly beyond the ordinary. Unable to contain our delight, we humbly offer this memorial, and present our congratulations." The emperor replied by edict: "We, though thin in virtue, have come to inherit this great undertaking. We tread daily as upon thin ice, ever watchful and diligent, and strive unceasingly as though guiding a horse with rotted reins. Our bounty has not spread everywhere among the people, and the transforming influence of good custom cannot be said to have penetrated this land. We are filled of Ourself with apprehension, and still do not know by what means the age is to be saved. We have now seen the memorial in which the ministers offer congratulations on the auspicious sign of the felicitous cloud. Our own conduct of virtue is far from perfect, and it is a matter of shame that it should be thought to have moved Heaven. Since Our teaching by the Way is itself deficient, how could it have stirred the gods? We think rather that it is because Our capable officials have each diligently attended to their own duties without neglect. Even without the efficacy of auspicious clouds or sacred fungus, there is cause enough for joy. Yet the myriad people are not yet prosperous, and government cannot yet be said to accord fully with reason. Even were a qilin or a phoenix to appear in the fields, We would still hold Ourself in apprehension. Reflecting on Our own mediocrity and poverty of virtue, how could We accept congratulation? We cannot in all reverence bring Ourself to accept it." On the twenty-ninth day, the day Kanoto-tori, the ministers again offered their congratulations. On the last day of the month, the day Mizunoe-inu, the emperor replied by edict: "We, though benighted in virtue, have unworthily come to reign over this realm. We exhaust Our heart as though reining in a bolting horse, and devote Our whole will as though grieving for the people fallen into the ditch. Through the night We forgo sleep, troubled that the realm is not yet at peace; even as the sun sinks We forget to eat, fearing that some fault may lie in Our government. Of late, it is said, auspicious clouds beyond the ordinary have been seen everywhere, within the court and beyond it. The ministers presented a memorial offering congratulations, which We declined to accept; yet they have continued to memorialize so insistently that We can no longer refuse. This must surely be the response of the spirits of the seven ancestral shrines, as though present among us, and the harmony of heaven and earth bringing forth this auspicious sign of itself. We now wish to requite this virtue to the blue heavens, dedicate it to Our ancestors, extend this bounty to the myriad people, and share this joyous occasion with them. Let a general amnesty be proclaimed throughout the realm." (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi.)

¶In the fourth year, the year Hinoto-hitsuji, in spring, on the first day of the first month, the day Mizunoto-i, the New Year's felicitations were cancelled on account of the emperor's ill health (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fifteenth day, the day Hinoto-ushi, kōdenshi, land-survey commissioners, were established for the home provinces (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixteenth day, the day Tsuchinoe-tora, the emperor, being ill, did not watch the tōka, the stamping dance (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the day Tsuchinoe-uma, Imperial Princess Masako was installed as empress (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In summer, on the sixth day of the fourth month, the day Hinoto-tori, the emperor made a progress to the South Pond. On the fourteenth day, the day Kinoto-mi, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en and watched fishing (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the seventeenth day, the day Tsuchinoe-saru, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-second day, the day Mizunoto-ushi, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en and fished (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the first day of the fifth month, the day Kanoto-tori, the Kaidan-in, the ordination platform, was established at Enryakuji (Note: following the Tendai Zasuki and the Eigaku Yōki. The Ichidai Yōki gives the second day.) On the tenth day, the day Kanoe-uma, Musashi presented a white pheasant (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twentieth day, the day Kanoe-tatsu, an edict directed the Middle Counselor Yoshimine-no-Yasuyo and the Scholar to the Crown Prince, Shigeno-no-Sadanushi, among others, to compile the Keikokushū, a literary anthology (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-first day, the day Kanoto-mi, envoys were sent to present offerings to the eminent deities of the realm, and the Daihannyakyō was read by alternate recitation for three days at the Daigokuden, praying for rain (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Ruijū Kokushi as quoted in the Kōbō Daishi Gyōjō Yōshūshō. Note further: the Shōryōshū records that on the day Kinoto-tori of this month, a hundred monks were gathered at both the Daigokuden and the Shishinden to recite a prayer for rain; calculating the sexagenary cycle, the day Kinoto-tori falls on the twenty-fifth, which differs from the date of the present entry, and this account is accordingly not adopted here.) On the twenty-sixth day, the day Hinoe-inu, the monk Kūkai was ordered to bring Buddhist relics, busshari, into the Palace, where they were venerated and bathed in water, kan'yoku. That night, a beneficent rain fell (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku, and the Nihon Kōki as quoted in both the Kōbō Daishi Gyōjō Yōshūshō and the Kiu Nikki). On the twenty-second day of the sixth month, the day Mizunoe-ne, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en. In autumn, on the sixth day of the seventh month, the day Kinoto-ushi, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en and fished. On the twelfth day, the day Kanoto-hitsuji, there was a great earthquake, and many houses collapsed (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixteenth day of the eighth month, the day Kinoto-mi, the Assistant Master of the Empress's Household, Ōe-no-Fusanari, presented four stalks of reishi, sacred fungus. On the twenty-first day, the day Kanoe-inu, a great wind blew, and houses collapsed (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In winter, on the fifteenth day of the tenth month, the day Mizunoto-u, a bokukan, pasture overseer, was established in Kai (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku). On the twentieth day, the day Tsuchinoe-saru, the emperor went to the Shishinden and bestowed a banquet on his assembled ministers. From the seventh month to this month, earthquakes occurred again and again, scarcely a day passing undisturbed, at times accompanied by a sound like thunder (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the thirteenth day of the eleventh month, the day Kanoto-hitsuji, an edict ordered the provinces to perform the Monju-e, a rite dedicated to the bodhisattva Monju (Mañjuśrī) (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku). On the fifteenth day, the day Mizunoto-tori, there was an earthquake. On the twenty-second day, the day Kanoe-tatsu, there was a great earthquake, with a sound like thunder. On the twenty-fourth day, the day Mizunoe-uma, there was again an earthquake. On the last day of the month, the day Hinoto-i, there was again an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the first day of the twelfth month, the day Tsuchinoe-ne, there was an earthquake. On the second day, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, there was again an earthquake. On the fourteenth day, the day Kanoto-ushi, the Daihannyakyō was read by alternate recitation for three days at the Daigokuden, praying to ward off the calamity of earthquakes (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixteenth day, the day Mizunoto-u, there was an earthquake. On the nineteenth day, the day Hinoe-uma, there was again an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi).

¶In the fifth year, the year Tsuchinoe-saru, in spring, on the eighteenth day of the first month, the day Kinoe-inu, Tajima reported that envoys from Balhae had arrived. On the twenty-first day, the day Hinoto-ushi, handenshi, land-allotment commissioners, were established for the home provinces (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fifth day of the second month, the day Kanoto-u, there was an earthquake. On the twelfth day, the day Tsuchinoe-inu, there was again an earthquake. On the thirteenth day, the day Tsuchinoto-i, Princess Yoshiko was made Ise Priestess. On the fifteenth day, the day Kanoto-ushi, there was an earthquake. On the twenty-first day, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, the emperor went to the Shishinden and bestowed a banquet on his attendant courtiers. On the fourth day of the third month, the day Tsuchinoto-hitsuji, there was an earthquake. On the eleventh day, the day Hinoe-tora, there was again an earthquake. On the fourth day of the intercalary month, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en and fished. On the twelfth day, the day Hinoto-tori, he made a progress to the South Pond and had his assembled ministers fish. On the twenty-seventh day, the day Mizunoe-ne, Ōnakatomi-no-Harutsugu was exiled to Izu for the crime of shooting and killing Prince Hagiwara (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). In summer, on the twenty-third day of the fifth month, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, heavy rain fell in the capital, mountains collapsed, and water overflowed, causing damage to people and livestock. Envoys were sent to give relief (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the third day of the sixth month, the day Hinoto-mi, there was an earthquake. On the fifth day, the day Tsuchinoto-hitsuji, there was again an earthquake. On the fifteenth day, the day Tsuchinoto-mi, the emperor went to the Shishinden and bestowed a wine banquet on his assembled ministers (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). Three hundred kan of coin were issued from the Kuraryō, the Palace Treasury, and bestowed, with distinctions of degree, on those of Chamberlain rank and above (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the seventeenth day, the day Kanoto-hitsuji, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en and fished. On the twenty-third day, the day Hinoto-ushi, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en. There was a thunderstorm, mountains collapsed, and water overflowed. On the twenty-fifth day, the day Tsuchinoto-u, there was a great earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-eighth day, the day Mizunoe-uma, ten thousand koku of grain were released from Echigo to relieve the destitute people. In autumn, on the twenty-ninth day of the seventh month, the day Mizunoe-ne, an edict declared: "We, though thin in virtue and poor in talent, have come to inherit this great undertaking. We are ashamed that in the Way We fall short of the wisdom that knows when to hold its resources in reserve, and that in teaching and transformation We fall short of the sincerity that wins the people's trust. We are as watchful as one crossing spring waters, striving daily without neglect; We are as fearful and cautious as one driving a chariot in autumn, never forgetting Our vigilance even at evening. Yet still Our thin virtue has not been made manifest, nor has Our resolve grown lofty; the harmony of heaven and earth is wanting, and the signs of calamity appear one after another. Of late the proper order of earth's virtue has fallen into disorder, and mountains have collapsed and earthquakes occurred. Reflecting quietly on this fault, We find the responsibility lies with Ourself alone. We stand in deep awe of Heaven's majesty, and do not forget Our vigilance whether waking or asleep. Where anyone lies confined in the prisons of the realm under a false charge, let the officials concerned review the circumstances anew and allow him to state his case. Let abandoned corpses by the roadside be gathered up and buried, their bones and flesh interred, so that white-haired old men need not be made to carry them. In the employment of men for labor service, let the yōeki, the labor levy on old men and able-bodied men alike, be remitted with long and generous leniency. Let those of eighty years or more, and the widowers, widows, orphans, and childless who cannot support themselves, each be granted gifts according to their circumstances. Let this intent be proclaimed far and near, that all may know of it." On the eighteenth day of the eighth month, the day Kanoto-hitsuji, the Major Counselor Yoshimine-no-Yasuyo and the Governor of the Left Capital, Ishikawa-no-Kawanushi, among others, were sent to present offerings at the Kashiwabara mausoleum, the tomb of Emperor Kanmu, and to perform rites of exorcism against the calamitous portents. On the twenty-second day, the day Kinoto-i, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en. On the twenty-fourth day, the day Hinoto-ushi, on account of landslides and flooding, the Chamberlain Prince Takaeda and the Junior Assistant of the Jingikan, Ōnakatomi-no-Isomori, were sent to present offerings to the god of Kitayama (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the seventeenth day of the ninth month, the day Kanoe-ne, the emperor went to the Butokuden and viewed horses presented in tribute from Shinano, bestowing them on officials of Councillor rank and above. On the twenty-fifth day, the day Tsuchinoe-saru, he hunted for pleasure at Kitano. In winter, on the fifth day of the tenth month, the day Hinoto-mi, there was an earthquake. On the twenty-second day, the day Kinoe-inu, there was a great earthquake. On the twenty-third day, the day Kinoto-i, there was again an earthquake. On the twenty-fifth day of the eleventh month, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶In the sixth year, the year Tsuchinoto-tori, in spring, on the twentieth day of the second month, the day Kanoe-uma, prayers for rain were offered to the eminent deities of the realm. On the twenty-eighth day, the day Tsuchinoe-tora, the Daihannyakyō was read for three days at the Daigokuden, praying for rain (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the first day of the third month, the day Kanoe-tatsu, there was a great earthquake. In summer, on the first day of the fourth month, the day Kanoe-inu, a banquet was held at the Shishinden. On the fifth day, the day Kinoe-tora, the emperor made a progress to the South Pond. On the seventeenth day, the day Hinoe-tora, since epidemic disease was spreading through the provinces, an edict ordered that a hundred monks be ordained (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixth day of the fifth month, the day Kinoe-saru, since a beneficent rain had fallen, gifts were bestowed on those of the fifth rank and above and on the officers of the several Guards headquarters (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-seventh day, the day Kinoto-mi, an edict ordered the provinces to build water-wheels (Note: following the Ruijū Sandaikyaku). On the twenty-ninth day, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, the planet Venus, Taihaku, appeared in daylight, and did not vanish for several days (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the third day of the sixth month, the day Kanoto-i, the grant to the Kyōshiki, the Capital Bureaus, of zekkoden, fields of households whose heirs had died out, was discontinued (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the nineteenth day, the day Hinoto-u, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-first day, the day Tsuchinoto-mi, a woman of Inaba gave birth to three children at once, and was granted three hundred bundles of shōzei. In autumn, on the second day of the seventh month, the day Tsuchinoto-u, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the seventeenth day, the day Kinoe-uma, he watched sumo wrestling in the palace precincts. On the second day of the eighth month, the day Tsuchinoto-tori, he again watched sumo wrestling. On the third day, the day Kanoe-inu, he made a progress to the South Pond (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twelfth day, the day Tsuchinoto-hitsuji, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-seventh day, the day Kinoe-inu, offerings and horses were presented at Kibune and Niukawakami, praying for clear weather (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixth day of the ninth month, the day Mizunoto-hitsuji, there was an earthquake. On the seventeenth day, the day Kinoe-uma, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-second day, the day Tsuchinoto-i, he went to the Butokuden and viewed horses presented in tribute from Shinano. In winter, on the first day of the tenth month, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, he went to the Butokuden and viewed horses presented in tribute from Kai (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the tenth day, the day Hinoe-tatsu, he made a progress to the Nukari pond. On the twenty-first day, the day Hinoto-u, there was an earthquake. On the twenty-eighth day, the day Kinoe-inu, he hunted for pleasure at Kurikumano (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the first day of the eleventh month, the day Hinoto-ushi, there was a solar eclipse (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eighth day, the day Kinoe-saru, ten thousand five hundred bundles of cotton wadding were given to the monks of the several great temples (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the tenth day, the day Hinoe-inu, a woman of Sado gave birth to three children at once, and was granted three hundred bundles of shōzei (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-first day, the day Hinoto-tori, he hunted for pleasure at Serikawano (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth month, the day Kanoe-uma, the emperor made a progress to the Kamo river and performed a purification rite (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶In the seventh year, the year Kanoe-inu, in spring, on the first day of the first month, the day Hinoe-ne, the New Year's felicitations were cancelled on account of rain. On the second day, the day Hinoto-ushi, the emperor went to the Daigokuden and received the New Year's felicitations. Awa reported that an auspicious cloud had appeared. Echizen reported that a tree with joined branches, renri, had been found (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twelfth day, the day Hinoto-i, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-second day, the day Hinoto-tori, there was again an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-fifth day, the day Kanoe-ne, a purification rite was performed at the Kamo river (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-eighth day, the day Mizunoto-u, a courier from Dewa brought a report: "On the third day of this month, there was a great earthquake. The fortifications and government offices were entirely thrown down, mountains collapsed, and water overflowed. Within the fortress, fifteen were crushed to death and more than a hundred injured (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). We request that five hundred soldiers be sent from the several districts, in order to prepare against the unforeseen." This was granted (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). In summer, on the second day of the fourth month, the day Kinoto-mi, the emperor went to the Daigokuden and viewed the five kinds of sacred treasures and other articles presented by the Izumo Kuni-no-Miyatsuko, the hereditary chieftain of Izumo. On the third day, the day Hinoe-uma, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en. On the eleventh day, the day Kinoe-tora, he made a progress to the South Pond. On the twelfth day, the day Kinoto-u, he made a progress to the Kamo river and performed a purification rite, then went to the fishing platform of the Murasakino-in and viewed the fish (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-first day, the day Kinoe-ne, the Minister of Ceremonial and concurrently Governor-General of the Dazaifu, Imperial Prince Manda, died (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-fifth day, the day Tsuchinoe-tatsu, an edict declared: "We, though thin in virtue and benighted of person, have reverently succeeded to the imperial throne, standing in deep awe of the three sacred powers of heaven, earth, and man, and laboring in anxious care for the realm. Good teaching has not yet spread everywhere, and the imperial Way still remains obstructed. It is surely for this reason that the signs of calamity have appeared unbidden. We hear that Dewa province has suffered the calamity of an earthquake, that mountains and rivers were thrown into upheaval, that fortifications and houses collapsed and were destroyed, and that great harm befell the people there. Innocent common people have met with an untimely and violent death they did not deserve. This must truly be a punishment from Heaven, brought on by some deficiency in Our way of government. We can only feel shame before the realm at the poverty of Our virtue. Reflecting quietly on this fault, Our concern for the people only grows the deeper. Of old, when there was a landslide in the time of the Han, virtue was cultivated and the calamity was dispelled; when there was an earthquake in the suburbs of Zhou, the ruler was moved by good counsel and the disaster was stilled. If this is so, how could We fail to follow the ancients in the way of conquering Ourself to save the people? We shall therefore send special envoys to bring measures of comfort and relief. As for the common people who have lost their houses and their livelihood to the earthquake, let the envoys consult with the local officials and remit the land tax and tribute tax for this year as is fitting. At the same time, whether the people be of the native folk or of other peoples, let the granaries be opened and relief given. Let dwellings be repaired, so that no one loses his livelihood. Let those crushed to death be buried without delay. Strive to extend generous benevolence, in accordance with Our wishes." (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi.) On the twenty-sixth day, the day Tsuchinoto-mi, since epidemic disease had spread through the provinces under the jurisdiction of the Dazaifu and through Mutsu, Dewa, and other provinces, and a fair number of people were dying young, an edict ordered that the Kongō Hannyakyō, the Diamond Sutra, be read by alternate recitation for three days at the kokubunji, the provincial temples, throughout the realm (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). The taking of life was forbidden during this period (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the sixth day of the fifth month, the day Tsuchinoto-u, the Daihannyakyō was read by alternate recitation for seven days at the Daigokuden, to dispel the calamities of earthquake and epidemic disease (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). In autumn, on the sixth day of the seventh month, the day Tsuchinoe-tora, the Major Counselor and Captain of the Right Palace Guards, Yoshimine-no-Yasuyo, died (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). On the twelfth day, the day Kinoe-saru, envoys were sent to eighteen temples to have sutras chanted, and offerings were presented to the eminent deities of the realm, to dispel calamity (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fourteenth day, the day Hinoe-inu, relief was given to Nagato (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the sixteenth day, the day Tsuchinoe-ne, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en. On this day, lightning struck within the palace, and a fire broke out. On the twenty-first day, the day Mizunoto-mi, a purification rite was performed at the Genki Gate on account of this fire (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-fourth day, the day Hinoe-saru, offerings were presented at the Daijingū on account of the emperor's ill health (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fourth day of the eighth month, the day Kinoto-mi, the Councillor Fujiwara-no-Yoshino was made concurrently Captain of the Right Palace Guards (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). On the fourteenth day, the day Kinoto-u, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On this day, the palace page Prince Mano presented reishi, sacred fungus. On the twenty-ninth day, the day Kanoe-uma, a dog climbed to the Seihōrō tower and barked there (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fourteenth day of the ninth month, the day Kinoto-tori, the Saishōōkyō-e, a rite centered on the Sutra of the Sovereign Kings of Golden Light, was performed at Yakushiji, and this was made an annual observance (Note: the Nenjū Gyōji states that the Saishōōkyō-e was properly performed in the third month; the month was presumably changed in a later age). On the twenty-first day, the day Mizunoe-tatsu, the emperor made a progress to the mountain villa of the Major Counselor Kiyohara-no-Natsuno (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-second day, the day Mizunoto-mi, he went to the Butokuden and viewed horses presented in tribute from Shinano (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In winter, on the fifth day of the tenth month, the day Kinoto-mi, he made a progress to Kitano. On the seventh day, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, the Major Counselor Fujiwara-no-Mimori and others presented newly compiled kyakushiki, supplementary regulations and procedures. On the twenty-seventh day, the day Hinoto-u, he hunted for pleasure at Kitano. On the fifth day of the eleventh month, the day Kinoto-i, there was an earthquake. On the twenty-fifth day, the day Kinoto-hitsuji, he made a progress to Kurikumano (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-ninth day, the day Tsuchinoto-i, relief was given to the starving people of Hōki (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixteenth day of the twelfth month, the day Hinoe-tatsu, he made a progress to Serikawano (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twentieth day, the day Kanoe-saru, offerings were distributed to the several imperial mausolea (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the second day of the intercalary month, the day Mizunoe-saru, he made a progress to Kitano. On the eighth day, the day Tsuchinoe-tora, ten monks of great renown were summoned, and made to perform, over three days and nights within the palace, a rite of confession using the Butsumyōkyō, the Sutra of the Buddhas' Names (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku. Note further: according to the Nenjū Gyōji and the Kuji Kongen, the Butsumyō-e is said to have begun in the fifth year of Hōki, and already appears in the Annals of Emperor Kōnin; this, however, is the first mention of the Butsumyō-e to be found in the old histories.)

¶In the eighth year, the year Kanoto-i, in spring, on the seventeenth day of the first month, the day Hinoe-tatsu, the emperor, being ill, did not watch the jarai, the archery ceremony. On the twentieth day, the day Tsuchinoto-hitsuji, a naien, an informal palace banquet, was held at the Jijūden (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku. Note further: according to the Nenjū Gyōji, the naien began in the fourth year of Kōnin under Emperor Saga. Examining the Ruijū Kokushi, mention of the naien is found four times within the Kōnin era, but none appears from the eleventh year of Kōnin to the year before this one. From this year onward it is recorded without interruption, from which it is clear that it had become an established practice. For that reason it will not be noted individually hereafter.) On the ninth day of the second month, the day Tsuchinoe-tora, the Kōtatsu pond was dug in Tsuzuki district, Yamashiro (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eighteenth day, the day Hinoto-i, the emperor made a progress to Minashino (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the seventh day of the third month, the day Kinoto-mi, five hundred Buddhist relics were deposited at the kokubunji and the various jōgakuji, officially sanctioned temples, within the jurisdiction of the Dazaifu (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-first day, the day Tsuchinoto-hitsuji, there was an earthquake. On the twenty-fifth day, the day Mizunoto-i, the several temples were made to read the Daihannyakyō for seven days, to ward off epidemic disease. In summer, on the tenth day of the fourth month, the day Hinoto-ushi, the emperor made a progress to the South Pond (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-second day, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, the presentation from the Dazaifu of minie, tribute delicacies such as dried deer-tail meat, rokubiho, was discontinued. On the twenty-fifth day, the day Mizunoe-tatsu, a woman of Echizen gave birth to three children at once, and was granted three hundred bundles of shōzei (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-fifth day of the fifth month, the day Mizunoe-inu, relief was given to the starving and sick of the capital (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fourteenth day of the sixth month, the day Kanoe-tatsu, Imperial Prince Motoyoshi died (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On this day, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the twenty-second day, the day Tsuchinoe-ne, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). In autumn, on the tenth day of the seventh month, the day Kinoto-mi, dyed silk was bestowed on those from the rank of Major Counselor down to Chamberlain (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the fourth day of the eighth month, the day Tsuchinoto-mi, he made a progress to the South Pond. On the tenth day, the day Kinoto-i, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en. The Governor of Awa, Zendō-no-Masasada, the Director of the Bureau of Taxation, Yasuno-no-Matsugu, and the Lecturer Karita-no-Tanetsugu, among others, were summoned and made to debate the meaning of the Sanden, the three commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals, and the Sanrai, the three ritual classics. On the thirteenth day, the day Tsuchinoe-tora, offerings were presented at the Daijingū, praying for favorable wind and rain (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twentieth day, the day Kinoto-tori, three additional himuro, ice-houses, were established in each of Yamashiro and Kawachi (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-second day, the day Hinoto-i, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en and watched sumo wrestling between the Left and Right Palace Guards. On the twenty-sixth day, the day Kanoto-u, there was an earthquake. On the twenty-eighth day, the day Mizunoto-mi, he made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twelfth day of the ninth month, the day Hinoe-uma, offerings were presented at the Daijingū. In winter, on the second day of the tenth month, the day Hinoe-tora, relief was given to the starving people of Nagato (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fourteenth day, the day Tsuchinoe-tora, he made a progress to Kitano (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the ninth day of the eleventh month, the day Mizunoto-u, more than seventy thousand unpaid bundles of shōzei owed by Awa were remitted (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the fourth day of the twelfth month, the day Tsuchinoe-tatsu, there was thunder (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eighth day, the day Mizunoe-saru, Princess Tokiko was made Kamo Priestess. On the thirteenth day, the day Hinoto-ushi, he made a progress to Serikawano (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). This year, an edict directed the Scholar to the Crown Prince, Shigeno-no-Sadanushi, among others, to compile the Hifuryaku, an encyclopedic compendium (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku).

¶In the ninth year, the year Mizunoe-ne, in spring, on the first day of the first month, the day Kinoto-hitsuji, the New Year's felicitations were held. Since an imperial prince had died in infancy, no music was performed. On the tenth day, the day Kinoe-tatsu, there was an earthquake. On the twenty-fifth day, the day Tsuchinoto-hitsuji, he made a progress to Minashino. On the twenty-seventh day, the day Kanoto-tori, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). In summer, on the second day of the fourth month, the day Kinoe-ne, since the Greater Imperial Palace was under repair, the emperor removed his residence to the Hon'in (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eleventh day, the day Mizunoto-tori, he made a progress to the Murasakino-in and gave this residence the name Unrin-tei (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fourteenth day, the day Hinoe-ne, the empress went to the Unrin-tei and watched farming and sericulture. Gifts were bestowed on the men and women engaged in the work. On the twenty-first day, the day Mizunoto-hitsuji, relief was given to the starving people of Izumi (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the seventh day of the fifth month, the day Tsuchinoe-inu, there was an earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the sixteenth day, the day Hinoto-hitsuji, relief was given to those who had suffered fire damage in the two districts of Shiga and Azai in Ōmi (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the seventeenth day, the day Tsuchinoe-saru, the emperor, on account of the drought, withdrew from the seishin, his usual hall of residence. A hundred monks were made to read the Daihannyakyō at the Hasshōin, and ascetic monks in various places were likewise ordered to chant sutras, praying for rain (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eighteenth day, the day Tsuchinoto-tori, an edict declared: "Last year's autumn harvest was poor, and the provinces have reported famine. This year, too, epidemic disease and drought have struck one after another, people have died young, and great disasters besides have left some among the people without a dwelling. Let the provinces of the five home provinces and seven circuits be made to read the kyōō, the sovereign sutras such as the Lotus Sutra, by alternate recitation, within a period of seven days, that calamity may be turned into good fortune (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). While these good works are performed, let the taking of life be strictly forbidden." On the nineteenth day, the day Kanoe-inu, sutras were chanted in the courtyard of the Hasshōin, praying for rain. The provincial governors of the four home provinces were ordered by edict to perform rites of rain-prayer, u. On the twentieth day, the day Kanoto-i, rain fell. On the twenty-seventh day, the day Tsuchinoe-uma, relief was given to the sick of the Left and Right Capitals. In autumn, on the fifth day of the seventh month, the day Kinoto-hitsuji, the completion of the lecture hall at the Saiji temple was celebrated (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the fifteenth day, the day Kinoto-mi, offerings were presented to the eminent deities of the realm, praying for favorable wind and rain (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On this day, relief was given to the starving people of Echizen (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-second day, the day Mizunoe-ne, offerings were presented at the Daijingū, praying for favorable wind and rain. On the tenth day of the eighth month, the day Tsuchinoto-mi, the emperor made a progress to the Shinsen-en (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the eleventh day, the day Kanoe-uma, offerings were distributed to the eminent deities, and the thirteen great temples were made to read the Daihannyakyō by alternate recitation, praying for clear weather. On the twentieth day, the day Tsuchinoto-u, there was a great windstorm with rain. Flooding occurred in Kawachi and Settsu, and embankments gave way. On the seventh day of the ninth month, the day Hinoe-saru, relief was given to those in Settsu who had suffered flood damage (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the tenth day, the day Tsuchinoto-i, a woman of Owari gave birth to three children at once, and was granted three hundred bundles of shōzei. This month, earthquakes occurred repeatedly. On the twenty-sixth day, the day Kinoto-u, he made a progress to Kitano, tried out his hawks and hounds, and hunted at Narabigaoka and Sueno (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). He made a progress to the Unrin-in, and bestowed gifts, with distinctions of degree, on those of Chamberlain rank and above (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). In winter, on the fourth day of the tenth month, the day Mizunoe-inu, the emperor went to the Shishinden and bestowed a banquet on his attendant courtiers, giving gifts with distinctions of degree (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). On the second day of the eleventh month, the day Kanoe-tora, the Minister of the Right, Fujiwara-no-Otsugu, was made Minister of the Left, and the Major Counselor Kiyohara-no-Natsuno was made Minister of the Right (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). On the twenty-third day, the day Kanoto-i, he hunted for pleasure at Kurikumano (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku).

¶In the tenth year, the year Mizunoto-ushi, in spring, on the first day of the first month, the day Tsuchinoto-ushi, the New Year's felicitations were cancelled on account of rain. On the second day, the day Kanoe-tora, the emperor received the felicitations (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the thirteenth day of the second month, the day Kanoe-uma, relief was given to the starving people of Awaji (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-fourth day, the day Kanoto-mi, the emperor, intending to cede the throne, moved his residence to the Saiin, the Western Precinct (Note: the Saiin is in fact the Junna-in). On this day, there was a great earthquake (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-fifth day, the day Mizunoe-uma, relief was given to the starving people of Ōmi (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). On the twenty-eighth day, the day Kinoto-tori, he ceded the throne to the crown prince (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi, the Nihon Kiryaku, and the Shoku Nihon Kōki). An honorific title was offered him, and he was styled Daijō Tennō, Retired Emperor. The emperor declined it, but Emperor Ninmyō would not accept his refusal. Since the Retired Emperor Saga was still living, this emperor was styled the Later Retired Emperor, Nochi no Daijō Tennō.

¶In the tenth month of the first year of Jōwa, he went to the Unrin-in and hunted for pleasure in the northern outskirts. In the fifth month of the seventh year, he fell ill and took to his bed. On the sixth day, the day Kanoto-mi, he left behind the following testament: "I have never cared for display and splendor. Still less should anyone be troubled or burdened for my sake, whether in person or in goods. Let the implements of my funeral all be plain and simple. Once the rites are concluded, let the mourning garments be set aside, and let the people of the realm not be troubled further. Let the day of the funeral procession be carried out during the night. In the matter of memorial services for my repose as well, economy must always be the rule. As for the kokki, the death-day observance, though it has its meaning in calling the departed to mind, it burdens the offices responsible for it. And the ceremony of nosaki, the year-end distribution of silk cloth at the close of the year, brings nothing but trouble and no benefit, whether judged by the reasoning of this world or of the next. Both should be discontinued. The way proper to a child is, above all, to follow his parent's teaching. See that this testament is honored and carried out, without departing from it in the least." He also said: "I have heard it said that when a person dies, his spirit returns to Heaven. Yet if a grave is left behind for no good reason, spirits, kibutsu, will come to inhabit it, and in the end will work a curse, leaving calamity behind for later ages without end. It would be better to grind my bones to powder and scatter them among the mountains." The Middle Counselor Fujiwara-no-Yoshino submitted a memorial, saying: "Of old, Imperial Prince Uji-no-Wakiiratsuko left a testament ordering that his bones be ground to powder and scattered and discarded, and later generations followed his example. But this is the precedent of an imperial prince, not of a sovereign. That no imperial mausoleum should be built is a thing unheard of since ancient times. An imperial mausoleum is the equal of an ancestral shrine. If there is no ancestral shrine, what shall your ministers and your descendants look up to and rely upon?" The emperor said: "My strength and spirit have grown weak and faint, and I can no longer debate the matter and decide it further. You ministers should report this to the sage sovereign Saga, and seek his judgment on it." On the eighth day, the day Mizunoto-hitsuji, he died at the Junna-in (Note: following the Rekidai Kōki, the Ichidai Yōki, and the Kōin Shōunroku. Note further: the Shoku Nihon Kōki, the Ruijū Kokushi, and the Nihon Kiryaku all give his age at death as fifty-nine. But the edict issued at the time of Emperor Saga's abdication states that "the crown prince and I are of the same age," and on this basis the emperor was born in the fifth year of Enryaku, which would make him in fact fifty-five at this time. This is accordingly corrected here.) He was given the posthumous name Yamatone-ko-Amatakayuzuru-Iyatō-no-Mikoto, and was cremated at Mozume village, Otokuni district. In accordance with his testamentary edict, no offices such as the Shōzokushi, in charge of funeral vestments, the Yamazukurishi, in charge of mausoleum construction, or the Yōminshi were established; no kokki, death-day observance, or ryōko, mausoleum-keeping households, were instituted; he was not included among the recipients of nosaki; and his bones were ground to powder and scattered over the ridge of Nishiyama in Ōharano (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki). He was called Emperor Junna, and was also known as the Saiin Emperor (Note: following the Jinnō Shōtōki and the Kōdaiki). The emperor had once asked the monk Dōshō, "Which is the greater sin — that of a sovereign who takes life, or that of a subject who takes life?" Dōshō replied: "The sin of the sovereign is heavy, and that of the subject is light. As I observe it, the game that huntsmen supply for the royal table requires the cutting down of several tens of head of birds and beasts to furnish a single meal. Though what is served is little, the number killed is great, and so the sin is heavy. It is not so with a subject. The hills and marshes are subject to prohibitions against hunting, and one may not hunt as he pleases; what is taken by the bowstring or the line serves only to nourish the mouth in small measure, and so his labor is light." The emperor said, "Well spoken." From this time on, he refrained from hunting for pleasure, and relaxed the prohibitions on the hills and marshes (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku and the Annals of Emperor Seiwa).