Biographies LXI: Miyoshi-no-Kiyotsura

Miyoshi-no-Kiyotsura

¶Miyoshi-no-Kiyotsura's courtesy name (azana) was Yō (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Keirin Ihōshō. Note also: in this book Kiyotsura's courtesy name is given as "San'yō", but that is the family name placed before the courtesy name. Beginning with Sugawara-no-Michizane, who was called "Kan-san", there are similar cases, such as Ki-no-Hiro and Tachibana-no-Yoshi; so here the family name is dropped and the single character is followed. Moreover, according to the Gōdanshō, Kiyotsura also called himself Kyoitsu. Kiyotsura and Kyoitsu are close in sound, just as Ki-no-Haseo is called Ki Hasshō and Den-no-Tadaomi is called Den Tatsuon). His father was Ujiyoshi, Governor of Awaji (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). Kiyotsura studied under Kose-no-Fumio, and Fumio recommended him, saying, "His talent and learning surpass those of his contemporaries." When Sugawara-no-Michizane heard this, he laughed at it scornfully (Note: following the Gōdanshō).

¶During the Jōgan era (859-877) he became a Monjō Tokugōshō, a candidate in letters, and was appointed Echizen Gon-no-sakan, Provisional Clerk of Echizen. In the fifth year of Gangyō (881) he passed the examination in policy questions (taisaku). In the seventh year (883) he was transferred to the rank of Hanteidai, and soon afterwards became Daigaku Shōjō, Junior Secretary of the University. During the Ninna era (885-889) he was moved to be Shōnaiki, Junior Secretary of the Palace Archives, was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower, and was transferred to be Dainaiki, Senior Secretary of the Palace Archives. During the Kanpyō era (889-898) he became Bitchū-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Bitchū, and advanced to Junior Fifth Rank Upper. In the third year of Shōtai (900) he concurrently held the posts of Gyōbu-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Justice, and Monjō Hakase, Professor of Letters (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

¶Kiyotsura submitted a memorial on revolution (kakumei), saying: "The Way of Heaven is profound and distant, and even the sages rarely spoke of it. The reckoning of the calendar is obscure and hard to fathom, and the teachings of the weft-and-prognostication learning (ikō) are often thought wild and baseless. For this reason those who cultivate this learning are called impractical, and those who transmit it are thought to speak without foundation; even Tanboku Shi (Zigong) sighed at its depth, and Huan Tan (courtesy name Junshan) suspected it of being false invention. Yet although the mystic scriptures and the records of marvels lie buried deep within books, the changes of the hexagrams and lines of the Book of Changes shine brilliantly in the volumes bound with bamboo slips and leather cords. Therefore I venture to add the faint glimmer of a firefly to the light of the sun, which shines like the radiance of the crow. Your servant Kiyotsura, having privately examined the matter by the doctrines of the Changes, finds that next year's second month falls in the season of imperial revolution (teiō kakumei). It is a conjunction of fortune in which a great event arises between sovereign and subject; reckoning by the number four-six-two-six (shiroku niroku) and the omen of the seven epochs and three changes (shichigen sanpen), and comparing it with the history of China, from the Yellow Emperor above down to the house of Li of the Tang below, there is not the slightest error. Compared with our own land too, from Emperor Jinmu above down to Emperor Tenji below, there is likewise not the slightest difference. That being so, how could we fail to give heed to next year's change? I humbly consider that Your Majesty is a sage ruler who upholds civil rule, but the turning of the age falls exactly at a time of new beginnings. For this reason, at the start of your reign you met the auspicious conjunction of Sakutan Tōji (the winter solstice falling on the first day of the month), and after the change of era the Star of Longevity (the Old Man Star, Canopus) has appeared again and again as a good omen. A comet shows the sign of sweeping away the old, and many auspicious signs answer as tokens of the new. The cycle of Heaven is renewed, and the hearts of men too rejoice in it and wish to promote it. It is already plainly manifest to the eyes and ears of the people; what need is there to rest it on the art of divination? However, at a time of change military force is always employed, and in the course of quelling disorder there is never a time without executions. This is because imperial revolution corresponds to the changes of the Ge hexagram (Revolution) of the Zhou Changes. Looking at the Ge hexagram, the lower trigram is Ri and the upper trigram is Da. Ri is fire and Da is metal; though metal has the nature of being transformed, it does not change unless it obtains fire. Therefore when metal and fire become one, high and low harm each other. The principle of utter destruction is already carried to its limit, and the positions of sovereign and subject are newly settled. For a country nothing could be more inauspicious. I humbly beg that Your Majesty deliberate beforehand and deeply, issue a command to the assembled ministers to be strictly on their guard, close off wicked schemes with benevolence and grace, and restrain disloyal hearts with majesty. Turn a kindly eye on those who attend you close at hand, and extend a sincere heart to the great lords. Then those who are greedy as boars will of themselves change their hearts, and the virtue of restraining one's appetite will in the end bring a good result. If, when governing disorder, one can let one's robes hang down in peace, and when facing war can sound the jade pendants at one's girdle, how beautiful that would be! Your servant knows that judgments of good and ill are difficult and that the will of Heaven is easily mistaken, yet I dare to offer my sincere heart. Though I hope to raise the cup of celebration in the vessel of the White Tiger, as I examine its jade-like signs I fear being held to account for the auspicious omen of the Yellow Dragon" (Note: following the Kakumei Kanmon and the Kaigenki).

¶At this time the Minister of the Right, Sugawara-no-Michizane, was at the height of power and favor, without an equal, and so Kiyotsura urged Michizane to withdraw. But Michizane would not listen (Note: following the Zoku Kojidan). Kiyotsura therefore sent him a letter of remonstrance, saying: "To speak of deep matters when acquaintance is shallow is rash, and to speak of the future when one's present standing is slight is overbold, but I accept the blame for it willingly. Kiyotsura once, in the course of his studies, privately learned the arts of reckoning (jussū). As for the turning of the Heavenly Way and the time when a great event arises between sovereign and subject, the scholars of the weft-and-prognostication learning first set it forth, and the canons of the Kaigen era later explained it in detail. If one reckons the years it is as clear as pointing to the palm of one's hand. This must already be plain to Your Lordship's eyes, so what could I, a foolish Confucian, say to you? It is said only that even Lizhu (the legendary man of keen sight), with his bright eyes, cannot see the dust on his own eyelashes, and that even Confucius, with all his wisdom, could not tell what was in a box. Though shallow in learning, I too venture to add a word. I humbly observe that next year, the year of Kanoto-Tori (Shin'yū), is a year in which the turn of fortune brings about a change. It falls in the second month, the month of U, when warfare is about to break out. Who will meet misfortune and disaster is not yet known, but if one draws a bow and looses arrows into a marketplace, it stands to reason that they will strike the unlucky. Though the numbers of Heaven are profound and hard to measure, the movements of the human world can be clearly known. I humbly consider that Your Lordship rose by your talent as a man of letters and ascended as far as the rank of minister. In honor at court and in glory in your way, no one is your equal except Lord Kibi (Kibi-no-Makibi). I beg that you will know where to stop and discern the measure of your own advancement. If you let your heart wander among the mists and haze of the recluse and hide your wisdom in the hills and valleys, later generations will look up to you. Would that not also be beautiful?" (Note: following the Honchō Monzui). Michizane did not heed this, and in the end met with the misfortune of demotion (Note: following the Zoku Kojidan).

¶At this time the Minister of the Left, Fujiwara-no-Tokihira, sought to expel from the various offices and among the students those who had been in Sugawara-no-Michizane's school, and so Kiyotsura sent him a letter of remonstrance, saying: "Lately, everyone in the capital, high and low, has been saying, 'The disciples of the Gaisotsu (Michizane) who hold posts in the various offices will be demoted, and his literary students and students will all be expelled.' People weep with grief and stand frozen in terror. I consider that the course of this affair is surely not entirely at Your Highness's wish. But the Gaisotsu came of a Confucian family over generations, and his disciples make up half of the various offices. If all of them are sent into exile, I fear that good and able men will be lost. Even the ringleaders of wicked rebellion are still given light punishment, so how much more the disciples, who merely received instruction; how could it be said that they knew his plans? Now is just the time of the world's turmoil and uproar, and it would be well to store up hidden virtue and close the gate of resentment. If many faults are charged, resentment will be great; if there is generous pardon, hidden virtue will also be great. I humbly beg that, apart from those in important military posts, such as those serving as guards in the palace guard offices or keeping the barriers, and apart from the household officials and close relatives of Michizane, the wicked partisans who took part in the rebellion, all be left undisturbed in their posts and that you show a benevolent and generous heart. Moreover Taira-no-Atsuyuki, Shikibu-no-jō, Secretary of the Ministry of Ceremonial, is outstanding among the younger generation. Your Highness has often praised his talent, and for many years. Although his name is entered among the followers of the Gaisotsu, he has always been grateful for Your Highness's kindness. Yet now, hearing this rumor, he grieves and weeps day and night. If this man were lost, I fear the way of learning would decline. I beg that you convey a message of kindly feeling and bind to you the hearts of men of talent." When Tokihira heard this, he gave up the idea of expelling them (Note: following the Honchō Monzui and the Seiji Yōryaku).

¶In the fourth year of Engi (904), Kiyotsura submitted a memorial on changing the era name (kaigen), saying: "Last year, on the twenty-eighth day of the eleventh month, I respectfully submitted my humble opinion that in the first and second months of that year, the months of Tora and U, there would be a change of revolution. If the prediction was mistaken and yet happened to hit the mark, the guilt would deserve ten thousand deaths. I humbly consider that the sage joins his virtue with Heaven and Earth and shares the working of the Five Phases. Therefore the Way of Heaven arrives quickly without haste, and the sage is never late though he is still. The Way of Heaven returns at no great distance, and the sage moves yet does not go ahead of it. How much more is it so that a sovereign obtains his subjects and a subject meets his sovereign, all of which Heaven bestows and which is never the work of man. Their meeting is like wind and cloud, and their bond is like fish and water. Thus King Wen of Zhou meeting Lü Shang (Taigong Wang) came about through the sign of the black tortoise, and Gaozu of Han's use of Zhang Liang came about through the spiritual power of Huang Shigong. Now the season of Heaven has opened the cycle of revolution, and the signs in the heavens let fall an auspicious omen of a new beginning. The sage ruler moves his marvelous springs, and wise subjects decide the court's victory. If one discusses the wonder of this conjunction, its principle is simply natural. If one is still bound by a spirit of modesty, it will only deepen doubt. If this system of changing the era is delayed and the talk of beginning a new reign is suppressed, I fear that it will go against the will of Heaven and instead bring on the signs of blame. I humbly beg that Your Majesty follow the cycles of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, conform entirely to the season of the change of the four-six, tread far back in the traces left by the Grand Founder Emperor Jinmu, and near at hand continue the foundation laid by Emperor Tenji, the Middle Ancestor. Let this new beginning be made, and let the reality of a restoration be hoped for. Establish a new era name in the phoenix calendar, and proclaim a decree of great amnesty like a clap of thunder." The emperor approved this and accepted it, and changed the era name to Engi (Note: following the Kakumei Kanmon and the Kaigenki).

¶Soon afterwards Kiyotsura concurrently became Daigaku-no-kami, Director of the University, became Shikibu-no-shō, Junior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial, was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower, and was transferred to be Shikibu-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). The emperor, about to apply himself to government and plan for good rule, issued an edict seeking frank opinions. Kiyotsura submitted twelve articles of opinion, saying:

¶"Your servant has respectfully read the edict of the fifteenth day of the second month last. It said: 'We command all the kugyō, taifu, hōhaku (provincial governors) and bokusai (local officials) to present upright discussion and exhaust their wisdom. Reform the thin and shallow customs of the kings of past generations, and rescue the myriad people from the mud and the coals.' Even compared with Emperor Yao of Tang (Tōgyō) setting up the drum of remonstrance, or with the Zhou in their flourishing age establishing the admonitions for officials (kanshin), there is nothing that surpasses the beauty of this virtuous government. Your servant respectfully examined the old records. Our court has handed down the lineage of the gods, opened the land with natural strongholds, the soil is fertile and the people were rich. In the east it subdued the Mishihase, in the north it brought Koma to submission, in the west it took Shiragi captive, and in the south it made the Wu-Kuaiji region (Goe, Jiangnan in China) its subject. The Three Han came to court in our realm, and Kudara became our dependency. Envoys of Tang brought bribes to it, and monks of Tenjiku (India) came to be naturalized under it. Why was this? It was because the customs of the country were honest and simple, the temper of the people loyal and generous, the levying of taxes was light, and the labor levies were few. Those above ruled those below with benevolence, and those below served those above with sincerity. The government of one country was like the governing of a single body. For this reason the histories of China called our country the 'land of gentlemen', and the emperor of Tang honored and esteemed the dignity of our sovereigns. But afterwards the transforming influence of custom gradually thinned, the laws became ever more numerous and vexatious, taxation increased year by year, and labor service doubled with each generation. The number of households fell month by month, and the fields grew more desolate day by day. Then, in the reign of Emperor Kinmei, the Buddhist Law was first transmitted to our country, and from the time of Empress Suiko onward this teaching flourished; from the kugyō and officials above down to the people of the provinces below, those who did not build temples and pagodas were not even counted as persons. Therefore people exhausted their wealth in building pagodas, competed to donate their fields and gardens as temple land, and bought up many good people to be the slaves of temples. In the Tenpyō era (729-749), Buddhism came to be esteemed ever more, and in the end people exhausted their fields and gardens to build many great temples. The height of their halls, the size of their images, the skill of their craftsmanship, and the splendor of their adornment were as if made by spirits and demons, and could hardly be thought the work of human strength. Moreover orders were given to the provinces of the Seven Circuits to build in each province two temples, a Kokubunji and a Kokubun-niji, and the cost of building them was paid from each province's shōzei (the provincial rice taxes). By this, five-tenths of the whole realm's wealth was spent. When it came to the reign of Emperor Kanmu, the capital was moved to Nagaoka, and when its construction was finished a new capital (Heian-kyō) was built, the Daigokuden was rebuilt, and the Buraku-in was newly constructed. Moreover the palaces and towers, the offices of the hundred officials, the residences of the imperial princes (shinnō) and princesses (kōshu), and even the palaces and mansions of the empresses, consorts and ladies, were all built with the full skill of earth and timber, and the chō and yō taxes were entirely used up. By this, three-fifths of the whole realm's wealth was spent. When Emperor Ninmyō came to the throne, he especially loved extravagance, and used carving and carved decoration, brocades and figured fabrics. Systems that hindered agriculture and damaged women's work were fixed in the morning and changed by evening, altering from day to day and month to month. The adornments of the rear palace and the preparations for banquets, songs and dances, were of a splendor without compare in past or present. By this the treasury was emptied and the levying of taxes became ever harsher. By this one half of the whole realm's wealth was spent. In the Jōgan era the Ōtenmon and the Daigokuden were repeatedly struck by fire. Through the selfless sincerity of the Grand Minister Shōsen-kō (Fujiwara-no-Mototsune) and his power to draw the hopes of the multitude, the common people rushed to him like children to a parent and men gathered from every province to repair these buildings, and he completed the work in a single year. Yet even so, the realm's wealth lost a further half as a result. If so, the wealth of the present age does not amount even to a tenth of that of former ages.

¶"In the fifth year of Kanpyō (893), your servant was appointed Bitchū-no-suke. In that province, in Shimotsumichi district, there is a place called Nima-no-gō. Looking at the provincial fudoki of that province, in the sixth year of Empress Kōgyoku the Tang general Su Dingfang led the army of Shiragi to attack Kudara, and Kudara sent envoys to beg for rescue. The emperor made a progress to Tsukushi and meant to send an army to the rescue. At that time Emperor Tenji, as Crown Prince, was assisting with the government and accompanied him; on the way, when he lodged in Shimotsumichi district, he saw that the households of a certain village were very prosperous. The emperor issued an edict and had soldiers levied from this village as a trial, and obtained as many as twenty thousand picked troops. The emperor was greatly pleased, named this settlement 'Nima-no-gō' (Village of Twenty Thousand), and afterwards it was changed to 'Nima'. Afterwards the emperor died at the temporary palace in Tsukushi, and in the end this army was not dispatched. If so, these twenty thousand soldiers should since then have gone on increasing and flourishing. Yet in the Tenpyō Jingo era (765-767), when the Minister of the Right Kibi Ason (Kibi-no-Makibi) concurrently served as Dairyō, District Governor, of this district and tried reckoning the households of this village, there were only a little over nineteen hundred kateitei, adult men liable to labor taxes. In the early Jōgan era (from 859), when the late Minbukyō, Minister of Popular Affairs, Fujiwara-no-Yasunori Ason was Assistant Governor of that province, he saw the entry 'twenty thousand soldiers' in the old records, and when the great register (daichō) was made he examined its taxable men, and found only a little over seventy. When Kiyotsura arrived at his post and examined the households of this village, there were only two rōtei (aged men), four seitei (adult men), and three chūnan (young men). In the eleventh year of Engi (911) last, when the Assistant Governor of that province, Fujiwara-no-Kintoshi, returned to the capital at the end of his term, Kiyotsura asked, 'How many households does Nima village have now?' and Kintoshi answered, 'There is not a single one.' Reckoning the years carefully, from the sixth year of Emperor Kōgyoku, Kanoe-Saru, to the eleventh year of Engi, Kanoto-Hitsuji, is only two hundred and fifty years. Such is the speed of decline. If one infers from a single village, the exhaustion of the whole realm is as clear as pointing to the palm of one's hand.

¶"Now Your Majesty bears the once-in-a-thousand-years conjunction, illuminates the rise and fall of ten thousand ages, lets fall a heart of compassion on the multitude, and bestows kindness and love on the four quarters. You rise before dawn and take your meal after the sun has begun to decline, you ponder at night and apply yourself to government in the morning, you proclaim edicts widely and seek opinions even from the common people. Of old, the place where Shun of Yu dwelt became a capital in three years, and when Confucius governed, it is said, the land was well ordered of itself in about a month. If so, the people will multiply again without waiting for five generations, and the country's revival can be accomplished within some ten days. Your servant cannot contain his joy, and ventures to set out his foolish views, respectfully recording them below, awaiting the judgment of Heaven."

¶Article One. "The people are made Heaven. The people make food their Heaven; without the people, on whom would one rely, and without food, what would sustain them? That being so, the Way of giving peace to the people and the essential of making food sufficient lie solely in there being no flood or drought and in the grain of every year being abundant. Therefore each year the court holds the Toshigoi-no-matsuri and the Tsukinami-no-matsuri at the Jingikan, the Office of Deities, solemnly observes purification, and prays widely to the gods for a good harvest. In return, at the Jingikan, offerings of cloth, clear sake, and iron halberds are set out on shelves for each shrine. Some shrines present horses, and the hafuribe, shrine priests, ought to purify themselves and advance bearing them reverently; but in fact, in front of the senior minister presiding (jōkei), the silk of the offerings is at once tucked into the bosom, the shafts of the halberds are thrown away and only the blades taken, the sake in the jars is tipped up and drunk at a draught, and not a single person carries it all the way out of the gate of the Jingikan. As for the sacred horses, the merchants of the market buy them all up outside the Ikuhō Gate and go off. That being so, do the gods who are worshiped really receive the offerings? If they do not receive them, how can a good harvest be sought? I humbly beg that an edict be sent to the provinces to dispatch two officials of the rank of shishō or above, who shall lead the hafuribe and deliver the offerings directly to the shrines, and make them perform the rites with such reverence as though the god were present. Again, each year the court performs the Kichijō Keka and the Ninnō-e to pray for a good year and to quell epidemics. But the monks who now perform them are mostly not suitable men. From the Sōgō (Office of Monastic Affairs) above down to the monks of the various temples, few keep the precepts and many break the rules. How could such practice share in any benefit? Benefit is of course not to be hoped for, and one even fears that uncanny calamity would come instead. I humbly beg that monks with a reputation for disorderly conduct be on no account employed in these services. Again, the governors of the provinces are busy and cannot attend to everything, so Buddhist affairs within the province are entrusted to the kōdokushi (provincial lecturers and readers), most of whom do not keep the precepts, or are men who merely redeemed their labor service with money. Still more, the monks of the provincial temples (kokubunji) are all shameless persons, who keep wives and maintain households, till fields and engage in trade. Yet the governors, following custom, have them perform prayers and hope for their benefit, which is like seeking fish by climbing a tree, or gathering flowers by facing a cooking stove. I further beg that the kōdokushi of the provinces, even if they have passed through the ladder of official rank, not be appointed unless they are men who devote themselves to abstinence and training. And if the monks of a kokubunji conduct themselves disorderly and the kōdokushi does not correct them, I beg that the kōdokushi be dismissed. If this is done, the prayers of the sage ruler will meet with swift response, the taxes on the public fields will pile up in the capital like mountains, the hundred days of rain will fall in their season, and the sound of songs praising a good harvest will fill the streets."

¶Article Two. "In the reigns of the sage kings of old, frugality was honored and extravagance forbidden; they wore washed and starched clothing and ate coarse food. But a thin and shallow fashion gradually spread, the royal transforming influence no longer reached everywhere, and the hundred officials and the various functionaries, the court ladies and maidservants, and even the sons of the powerful and the idle people who live without occupation in the capital, grew so extravagant in clothing, food and drink, and in the cost of banquets for entertaining guests, that it becomes more showy day by day and knows no limit. Now I will cite one part of it and state the facts. In the Jōgan and Gangyō eras (859-885), the imperial princes and kugyō all wore raw Tsukushi silk (Tsukushi-ginu) for their summer undershirts (kansan), bleached coarse silk (ashiginu) for their outer trousers, Azuma coarse silk for their stockings (shitōzu), and dyed coarse silk for the soles of their shoes. But now even the shishō, clerks of the various offices, all wear white glossed silk for their undershirts, white silk for their outer trousers, white damask for their stockings, and hare-brown cloth (tokatsu) for the soles of their shoes; and as for their women, even down to the maidservants, they will not put on a skirt unless it is fine silk of Qi (seigan), and will not cut a robe unless it is damask of Yue (etsuryō). The other extravagances cannot be told one by one. The rich boast of their luxury, and the poor are ashamed of not matching it. A single garment ruins the property of a lifetime, and a single banquet uses up several years' resources. By this the fields have been laid waste, and by this robbers have risen ever more. If it is not forbidden, I fear that the sacred transforming influence will be damaged. I humbly beg that regulations for clothing be fixed according to rank, and that the Kebiishi be ordered to correct extravagance beyond one's station. Again, from kings and ministers down to commoners, the rites for seeking the posthumous welfare of the dead and the costs of funerals each have their regulations according to rank. But in recent years, in houses of mourning, at the memorial services of the forty-ninth day (nananuka) and at the Buddhist services of the first anniversary, people compete to pour out their wealth, setting out grand toki (meals for monks) in offering, so that a single tray of food is piled higher than a hōjō (ten-foot square), and the donation to a single monk comes to the expenditure of a thousand gold pieces. Some borrow money from other houses, and some sell their own homes; filial sons become people who flee from debt, and young orphans become wanderers who die of hunger. Now everyone who has received the kindness of being raised surely has the will to remember the dead and repay that kindness. But even in cultivating this merit there must be due measure. Why must the property of descendants be ruined in order to seek the posthumous welfare of departed fathers and ancestors? Still more, the houses that hold these services further set out banquets to entertain the mourners who come to condole, with cups passed back and forth flying about as though at a drinking party. At first there is the grief of weeping prostrate, and then it quickly turns into the pleasure of being drunk with wine. Confucius, when he ate beside a person in mourning, never ate to the full; is this not the complete opposite? But in the capital and its surroundings there are many places for Buddhist services (dōjō), and the Kebiishi have no leisure to forbid them all. I humbly beg that an edict be sent to the kugyō, the taifu, the hundred officials, and the provincial governors, that each restrain extravagance beyond his station, and that the common people of the realm also be made to know the proper measure. Again, the ryūgisō, monks who take part in the debates at the Yuima-e and Saishō-e, are all poor ascetics who have no property other than a single bowl of food. But in recent years the offering of meals (toki) to the Sōgō and the assembled monks has grown so grand that not only are the trays of food piled like mountains, but fine wine is poured like the river Huai, which already goes against the Buddha's precepts and also damages the sacred transforming influence. I humbly beg that a warning be conveyed to the Sōgō and that this be stopped quickly. If those above do not lead rightly, those below will go astray of themselves. If the kugyō keep the law and the Sōtō (Supreme Prelate) follows the regulations, then when the source is clear the stream too will be clean of itself, and when the form is upright the shadow will surely be straight."

¶Article Three. "The court allots the kuchibunden (rice lands allotted to the people) in order to collect the chō and yō taxes and to raise the shōzei. But now these fields are already improperly handled, and in the end even the tribute payments are lacking. The provincial governors uselessly hold empty field registers, and powerful and wealthy families annex ever more land and take the profit. This is not only a deep loss to the court but also an obstacle to the officials' administration. Now the provinces should be ordered to investigate the actual population and allot the kuchibunden. The surplus fields should be taken in by the governors as public fields (kōden) and be rented out freely. If ground rent (jishi) is made payable, it can be used to cover the chō, yō and other taxes of the people who cannot receive a kuchibunden allotment. The remaining rice is simply made to be paid in and left undisturbed. Now if one roughly reckons the sum that is expected to come in, it is three times the chō and yō paid by the common people. This is a gain for the court and no burden for the people; it is something that should be done solely on the governors' own authority and there should be no particular objection. But since it goes against old custom and one also fears it may cause anxiety among the people, I humbly beg that an edict be sent to the provinces to try putting it into practice."

¶Article Four. "The Way of governing the realm has the worthy and the capable as its source, and the method of obtaining the worthy has schools as its foundation. The bright kings of old always established schools, taught virtue and righteousness, had men study the classics and the skills, and so set right the Way of man. Our court founded the Daigaku (University) in the Taihō era (701-704). In the Tenpyō era, the Minister of the Right Kibi Ason (Kibi-no-Makibi) greatly spread learning and the arts and himself took charge of instruction. That is, he had four hundred students study the six Ways of the Five Classics, the Three Histories, law (myōbō), arithmetic, phonology, and the seal and clerical scripts (chūten). Afterwards, edicts were issued generation after generation, and over a hundred chō of confiscated land (mokkanden) in Kaga district of Echizen province, over thirty chō of public fields in Kuse district of Yamashiro province, and fifty-five chō of fields in the two districts of Manda and Shibukawa of Kawachi province were assigned for the food of the students and named 'Kangakuden' (fields to encourage learning). Furthermore, every day the Ōiryō, the Bureau of the Palace Kitchens, supplied one koku five to of 'hundred-times rice' (hyakudo-no-ii) to relieve the labor of those who strove at their books. Moreover, by edict the province of Hitachi each year lent out ninety-four thousand bundles of rice as suiko loans, and the province of Tango eight hundred bundles of rice, and the interest rice was assigned to the food of the students. But as years and months passed, these arrangements were all altered. In the Jōwa era (834-848), the Kangakuden in Kaga district were returned and given to Tomo-no-Yoshio. Again, by edict the fields of Kuse district were divided into four, three parts of which were given to the three bureaus, the Tenyaku-ryō and the Left and Right Bureaus of Horses, leaving only one part for the food of the students. The fields of the two districts of Kawachi province were flooded and became a river, and the suiko rice of Hitachi and Tango was lost together with its principal, so that the interest rice too was gone. What remains today is only six to of rice for meals from the Ōiryō and the remaining seven chō of fields in Kuse district (Note: the figure of seven chō follows the Seiji Yōryaku). To try to feed several hundred students on this, even if one made thin gruel, would still be greatly insufficient. For this reason the younger men have come to think of the University as a house of poverty and a village of cold and hunger, and in the end parents warn one another not to send their sons and grandsons to the University. As a result the north and south lecture halls are covered with overgrown weeds, and the east and west offices are silent and deserted. So when the time comes to recommend men, the professors merely recommend people from lists of careers, without asking about talent or degree of effort. By this, private solicitations (seitaku) prevail and many careless persons slip in. Those who enjoy the surplus favor of powerful families gain wings and rise to high positions, while those who walk the Way of Confucius' learning leave the schoolhouse with their aims half fulfilled. If such decline continues, there will be no means of revival. The schools set up by the former kings will in the end become ruins. The way of gathering talent begins with food as its foundation. I beg that the grain of the field rent (densō) of the provinces be used in place of the suiko interest rice of Hitachi and Tango to provide the students' food. I beg that the fields of Kaga district be restored as Kangakuden. Again, the Shiki (the detailed regulations of the ritsuryō code) say, 'A student who does not live in the dormitory shall not be recommended.' That in recent years this regulation has existed but not been carried out is because the students have no food. Now I beg that the professors and the director of the Bureau be strictly ordered that students of the various Ways, even if they have talent and skill, shall not be recommended if they do not reside in the dormitory. If this is done, outstanding talents will gather at our country's seat of learning and fine men will take their places in the ranks of the court."

¶Article Five. "As for the Gosechi dancing girls (maihime) of the court, at the time of the Daijōe five are selected and are made eligible to receive rank. At the time of the Niiname-e four are selected, but there is no precedent of their receiving rank. For this reason, in a Daijōe year, the houses of powerful nobles compete to present their daughters, but in ordinary years they all decline. Respectfully examining precedents, the two reigns of Kōnin and Jōwa were times that especially loved the favor of the rear palace, so the various houses were made to select and present these dancing girls widely, as a convenience for taking them into the rear palace. Now, in the sacred court, discipline that maintains the distinction between men and women is properly kept, and these dancing girls, once they have finished their dance, return home and do not attend the emperor's sleeping chamber. If so, of what use are these several dancing girls? I humbly beg that two unmarried daughters of good families be selected as the Gosechi dancing girls and that their seasonal clothing and monthly expenses be provided somewhat more generously. For their costume on the day of the festival, too, I beg that they be granted articles from the court. If any keep chaste, remain unmarried, and let ten years pass, let them share in the conferral of rank as court ladies and be permitted to marry. For those who wish to continue in court service, I beg that they be added to the ranks of the Kurōdo."

¶Article Six. "Having respectfully examined the Shikiin-ryō (the statute on official personnel), it says, 'The six hanji (judges) all have charge of deciding the guilt of persons.' In recent times, one Daihanji, Senior Judge, is always appointed from among those versed in the study of law (ritsugaku), but the other five are not necessarily men versed in the Way of Myōbō (legal studies). In the fourth year of Kanpyō (892), by edict four were abolished, and only one Daihanji and one Shōhanji, Junior Judge, were established. Yet even so, while the Daihanji is a legal specialist appointed alone, the Shōhanji is not a suitable man. Now, considering the purport of that edict, I cannot help harboring a private doubt. For in the government of a sage ruler, criminal law is the most weighty matter. In ancient times Gaoyao, a great sage, served as the judicial officer, and even Emperor Shun admonished: 'Be careful, be careful, and in matters of punishment keep a heart of compassion.' Emperor Guangwu of the Later Han valued examining prison cases with clear discernment, and Huan Tan also memorialized that 'because of the likes and dislikes of officials who handle the law, two gates are opened in punishment.' That being so, deciding doubtful suits has been difficult in all ages. Yet now the life and death of the myriad people hang on one man's shoulders and tongue, and the lightness or heaviness of the five punishments is decided by the single arbitrary judgment text of one man. This already goes against the principle of ascertaining the facts, and I fear it invites excessive penalties. Recently, concerning the offense of Takahashi-no-Yoshinari, Governor of Aki, the Daihanji Koremune-no-Yoshitsune sentenced him to distant exile, intending thereby to ward off evil spirits (chimi). It had already been reported to the throne and the Dajōkan order had even been sent down; but by chance, because of a dissenting opinion by Awata-no-Toyokado, Gyōbu-no-daisakan, Senior Clerk of the Ministry of Justice, Yoshinari was fortunately pardoned, as though flesh had grown again on decaying bones and a wandering soul had been brought back to life. That being so, the application of law shifts in this way, and it is hard to place trust in it. All the people of the realm are in fear and trembling. I humbly beg that six hanji be established as formerly, and that men thoroughly versed in law be selected and appointed to all of them. Let them together discuss the legal texts, settle the articles in detail, and, each having made his opinion firm, report to the emperor. If this is done, trials that leave resentment will be gone forever, and the guilty will themselves be convinced. There will be no need to wait for the crocodile ordeal of Funan, nor to employ the kaichi (the divine beast) of Yao's time."

¶Article Seven. "Having respectfully examined the articles of the Shiki, in the second and eighth months the hundred officials are given their seasonal stipends (kiroku) for spring, summer, autumn and winter. But in recent years the goods in the government storehouses have been scarce and cannot be distributed to all. They are paid every year to the kugyō and to the various offices that handle receipts and disbursements, but to the other ordinary officials it is difficult to pay even one season's allotment within five or six years. Respectfully considering the purport of this matter, it is natural that, since ranks are divided by high and low, the amount of stipend differs, and natural too that goods differ in quality between leisurely posts and busy ones. But when it comes to the actual payment, there should be no discrimination. How can it be that, while all serve the court together, a separate class of officials receiving partial treatment is created, and that among men standing in the same rank such customs of a poor country are produced? I humbly beg that the quantity of goods be reckoned and that, from the kugyō down to the hundred officials, payment be made uniformly, in a single day, in accordance with the articles of the Shiki. If there are no goods in the storehouses, let all alike go without, so that there is no partiality. If this is done, impartiality will prevail, like the cuckoo (shikyū) in the mulberry tree that feeds its seven young equally, or like pouring a cup of wine into a river in the hope that all the soldiers of the three armies will be intoxicated by its flavor."

¶Article Eight. "The bokusai (provincial governors) are those who share the Son of Heaven's concerns and are entrusted with a region. They hold together the six articles of the discipline of provincial government and ought to be leaders of the myriad people. Therefore Emperor Xuan of Han said, 'Those who govern the realm together with me are only good and able governors of two thousand koku (nisenseki, commandery governors).' One must always select and employ men of ability and honor and value their posts. One should respect the dignity of office and calm the hearts of the people, overlook small faults, and seek great achievements. But in recent years, among the officials appointed there are some who bear private grudges and falsely accuse their superior officials, and among the people under a governor's jurisdiction there are some who, on the pretext of public business, bear a grudge against the governor and bring suit. When the court receives such a complaint it dispatches an envoy, but without asking whether the matter is true or false or discerning the rights and wrongs of the case, it simply follows the envoy's set procedure and deals with everyone alike, confiscating the official seal and keys, strictly confining them, and making the governor, though of the honored status of a chief official, stand shoulder to shoulder with petty low-ranking clerks and base persons and be questioned in chorus. If in his replies there is even the slightest discrepancy, he is at once bound with ropes and thrown into prison. Even if the content of the accusation is entirely contrary to fact, authority is already lost and government orders are no longer carried out. Nothing is greater than this as a cause of damage to moral transformation. In earlier years Tachibana-no-Himeki, Governor of Awa, purged the territory under his control and conscientiously carried out the tribute payments. His sincerity in serving the court was foremost at the time. He should properly have been specially taken up and employed as a model for good officials. Yet through the false accusation of a lowly person he came to be investigated by an envoy of the court. The whole affair was false, and the accuser fled, but even so Himeki's person was in the end ruined. In such circumstances, who among gentlemen who know shame would willingly wish to become an official? The present age is a latter age, and public duties are hard to accomplish. Therefore the administration of the governors cannot adhere to every correct law in everything. At times one bends a shaku (foot) to straighten a jin (eight feet), and sometimes one fails at the start yet completes the end. Of old, when Gong Sui became governor of Bohai, he memorialized, 'I beg that the Chancellor and the Censor be commanded not to bind me by the letter of the law, and that I be allowed to handle matters as convenient.' And in the kyaku (supplementary regulations) of our own country it is written: 'If a governor takes measures suited to the matter even in contravention of the rule, and his conduct is not for private gain, he shall be generously pardoned and not be bound to the letter of the law.' I humbly beg that, for such accusations and suits, except in cases of rebellion (muhon) and high treason (taigyaku), the dispatch of the court's envoys be stopped entirely and the matter be entrusted solely to the succeeding governor. If there is in fact an offense, let it not be recorded in detail in the geyujō (the certificate of handover at the end of a term); after it has been examined and judged, let it be sent down to the Gyōbu (Ministry of Justice) offices and let them admonish the offender on his fault."

¶Article Nine. "Having respectfully and privately examined the matter, the toneri (attendants) of the Three Palaces (the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress), the chōnai and shijin (retainers) of the imperial princes, the ibun-no-shijin (rank-allotted retainers) of the various taifu and myōbu, the kanjakunin (registered personnel) of the various offices, and the toneri of the various guard offices, such as are entered by the Shikibushō (Ministry of Ceremonial) and the Hyōbushō (Ministry of Military Affairs) in the seasonal warrants (kifu), amount to nearly three thousand persons over the four seasons of a year. Now if one reckons the approximate number of adult men liable to labor taxes (katei), excluding the five home provinces, Mutsu and Dewa, and the nine provinces under the Dazaifu, they do not reach three hundred thousand. Of these the greater part are in fact persons who do not exist. That being so, the real kateis number only a little over a hundred thousand. If, from these hundred-odd thousand, three thousand persons' labor taxes are exempted every year, then by rough calculation, in under forty years all the people of the realm will be people exempt from labor taxes. Then from whom are the governors to collect the chō and yō? For this reason the governors carry out the exemption warrants (fu) and in practice exempt the labor taxes of wealthy households that really exist, while recording nonexistent kateis in the registers (keichō). Therefore even if they try to collect the chō and yō as usual, there naturally is no means of collecting them. That being so, the difficulty of collecting chō and yō is not at all due to the governors' negligence, but is entirely the result of the excessive issuing of exemption warrants. And yet now, on the strength of this result, the governors are charged with negligence and are unable to obtain their geyujō; how sad this is! I humbly beg that, according to the size of the province, a fixed number be set each year: a great province ten persons a year, a superior province seven, a middle province five, and a small province two, to be entered in the exemption warrants, and that not one person be added beyond this."

¶Article Ten. "The Kebiishi of the provinces bear the duty of correcting wrongdoing and disorder within their borders and of restraining the violent and wicked among the people. That is, they are the claws and fangs of the governor and the reins that guide the myriad people. They must be men thoroughly versed in law and skilled in judgment. But those now appointed to this post are all commoners of the province itself, and all are men who paid goods in redemption in place of labor service. They merely consume the public stipend, cannot endure labor service, and while bearing the duty of discernment are by no means fit for it. It is like a painted cake that cannot be eaten, or a wooden official that cannot speak. I humbly beg that students studying Myōbō be examined and selected and appointed to this post. Let the method of examination be the same as the examination in the provincial schools for Myōgyō (the classics), and let all arrests and sentencing within the province be entrusted to these Kebiishi, just as in the capital there are hanji and Kebiishi. Again, the reason that a doshi (crossbow master) is established in each of the border provinces is to prepare against invasion by outside enemies. Your servant respectfully considers that among our court's weapons the strong crossbow (kyōdo) is something like a divine skill; as for its use, it has a weakness in pursuit but a strength in defense. An old saying handed down says, 'This weapon was specially made by Empress Jingū through her skillful ingenuity. Therefore, although in the land of Tang there is a weapon named the crossbow, it does not equal the strength of this weapon.' In the two provinces of Mutsu and Dewa there are frequent rebellions of the Emishi. In the nine provinces under the Dazaifu there is constant need for vigilance against Shiragi. Besides these, the coastal provinces of the three circuits of Hokuriku, San'in and Nankai are likewise all places that ought to prepare against invasion from neighboring countries. But now the posts of doshi are all assigned as nenkyū (income according to rank) and may be bought and sold, and only the height or lowness of the price is discussed, with no inquiry into superiority of talent or skill. Therefore those appointed to this post do not even know that there is a crossbow among military weapons, much less understand how to use its mechanism and string. If an enemy from a neighboring country were to attack, they would only hold the weapon in vain, and who could actually use it? I humbly beg that the guards on duty of the six guard offices (rokuefu) be made to practice the art of shooting the crossbow, that their talent and skill be tested, and that doshi be appointed according to their merit. Then men will be worthy of their title, and castles and forts will be easy to defend."

¶Article Eleven. "Respectfully looking at the kanpu (Council of State order) of the first year of Engi (901) last, it already forbids powerful nobles from enclosing and occupying mountains and rivers and influential houses from encroaching on and seizing fields. This cuts away the brambles of the provinces and districts and removes the harmful insects that injure the myriad people; the governors' administration will be easy to apply and the people's livelihood will be at peace. But what still remains as fierce and wicked presences are the evil monks (akusō) and the guards on duty (shukuei). I respectfully consider that the nenbun dosha (annual quota ordinands) and the temporary ordinands (tokudosha) of the various temples sometimes number two or three hundred in a year. More than half of them are all depraved and disorderly persons. Moreover, commoners of the provinces who wish to escape labor service and neglect the so and chō taxes privately shave their heads and wear monks' robes without authorization. Two-thirds of the people of the realm are all such shaven-headed persons. They all keep wives and children at home, eat fish and meat with their mouths, and in appearance are like monks but in heart like butchers. Still more, the worst of them gather as bands of robbers, secretly cast private coins (shichūsen), do not fear Heaven's punishment, and pay no heed to the Buddha's precepts. If a governor, frightened, tries to investigate them, they gather like mist and cloud and compete in violent outrage. In earlier years, those who surrounded and attacked Fujiwara-no-Tokiyoshi, Governor of Aki, and threatened and plundered Tachibana-no-Kinkado, Governor of Kii, were all instances in which these disorderly and wicked monks were the ringleaders. If the issuing of the Dajōkan order had been delayed and the dispatch of the court's envoys had been slow, Tokiyoshi and Kinkado would both have fallen prey to them. If there is no system of suppression, I fear it will go against the plan for defense. I humbly beg that those among the monks who commit fierce wickedness and disorderly conduct without cause be at once arrested, that the kaichō (ordination certificate) that attests their means of ordination be taken from them and returned, and that they be made to put on lay clothing and be restored to their former labor service. Again, as for shido (unauthorized) shami who join bands of villains, I beg that they be at once put in shackles and their persons put to labor. Again, the toneri of the six guard offices are all supposed to serve in monthly rotation, keeping watch morning and evening. But now they are scattered through the provinces, and some are a thousand ri away beyond the post roads, in territories requiring a journey of a hundred days; how can they have their names entered in the gate registers (monjaku) and share in the duty of guard? They are all powerful men of their districts and violent men among the people. When a governor tries to investigate them according to law, they hasten up to the capital and buy posts as guards by paying goods, or lead their bands to surround and threaten the provincial office, or raise their aged fists to insult the chief official. The harm they do is not merely light, like scabies. In the first place, the reason for selecting and placing guard soldiers is to prepare for emergencies. But now they are far away in the provinces and do not live in the capital. Even if there were an emergency, they could not rush to it. That being so, they are merely wolves and jackals of the provinces and by no means fierce beasts guarding the six armies. I hope that the toneri of the various guard offices be not permitted to return and live in their home provinces after appointment. If any wish to return home, let each be limited to a fixed number of days of leave, have a certificate taken from his home office and sent to the provincial office, and not be permitted to stay beyond the limit. If there are still any who idle and do not return within the limit, let the governor first remove them from their posts, record the circumstances, and send them to the home office by a cho (official communication). If this is done, men with arms strong as apes' will stand shoulder to shoulder guarding the gate barriers, and the barking of dogs will fall silent throughout the land."

¶Article Twelve. "Your servant respectfully observes that the sailing stages of ships on the three circuits of San'yō, Saikai and Nankai are fixed as follows: from Muro-no-tomari to Kara-no-tomari is one day's passage, from Kara-no-tomari to Uozumi-no-tomari is one day's passage, from Uozumi-no-tomari to Ōwada-no-tomari is one day's passage, and from Ōwada-no-tomari to Kawajiri is one day's passage. These were all established by the Bodhisattva Gyōki after reckoning the stages. But now the court repairs only Ōwada-no-tomari and has left Uozumi-no-tomari in ruin for a long time. Consequently public and private ships sail continuously through a day and a night and head straight from Kara-no-tomari for Ōwada-no-tomari. In the winter season, when the wind suddenly rises strong and on dark nights the stars are few, they cannot tell bow from stern or judge whether the shore is near or far, and they lower sail and abandon the oars and meet with the misfortune of drifting and sinking. By this, each year more than a hundred ships are overturned and the number of those drowned is not limited to a thousand. In ancient times King Yu of Xia was deeply benevolent, and wept even at the punishment of criminals; how much more these common people, all of whom are on their way to perform service for the court! I respectfully consider that with a sacred heart you will surely let fall your compassion. Your servant respectfully examined the old discussions, and this tomari (harbor) was built in the Tenpyō era. Afterwards, for more than fifty years until the end of the Enryaku era, people gained its benefit. In the Kōnin era the stones collapsed and the sand washed away through the erosion of wind and waves. In the Tenchō era (824-834), the Minister of the Right Kiyohara-no-Mahito began a memorial and had it repaired. At the end of the Jōwa era it was destroyed again. At the beginning of the Jōgan era, the monk Kenna of the Tōdai-ji practiced the Bodhisattva way and awakened a heart of benefiting others; carrying stones on his back and shouldering a spade, he exerted all his strength on the foundation work. By the sincerity of that one man, though the work was not brought to completion, for the next several years there were none who did not receive its benefit. About thirty years have passed since Kenna entered extinction, and the people drifting and drowned are beyond counting, and the loss of government goods too amounts to enormous sums. I humbly beg that a hangan (official) of the various offices who is capable and skilled in devising be sent to repair this harbor. Let its cost be met from the shōzei of the two provinces of Harima and Bizen. I hope that the court will quickly let fall the benevolence of aid and release the people of Heaven from the lament of becoming fodder for fish. As for other conveniences, they are recorded in detail in the memorial of opinion submitted in the first year of Engi last, so I will not repeat them here" (Note: following the Honchō Monzui. Note also: the memorial presented in the first year of Engi (901) is no longer extant, so it is not included here).

¶In the seventeenth year of Engi (917), Kiyotsura was appointed Sangi, Counselor, and concurrently became Kunai-kyō, Minister of the Imperial Household. In the following year he concurrently became Harima Gon-no-kami, Provisional Governor of Harima. He died in the twelfth month (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). He was seventy-two years old (Note: this is based on the "Kitsugan-bun" in the Honchō Monzui, which records that in the thirteenth year of Engi (913) he was sixty-seven. The Kugyō Bunin gives seventy-five and the Nihon Kiryaku and the Fusō Ryakki give seventy-three, but both are mistaken). Kiyotsura was versed in law, expert in arithmetic, widely read in the classics and histories, and also conversant with the various masters and hundred schools. He had an excellent memory and wide knowledge, and was called the foremost of his age. He once wrote the "Kitsugan-bun" and entrusted his aims to it (Note: following the Honchō Monzui). He left a work, the Zenkashū (Note: following the Ninna-ji Shoseki Mokuroku). At Gojō Horikawa there was an ill-omened house (kyōtaku), and no one would live there. Kiyotsura bought it and moved in. His relatives all tried to stop him, but Kiyotsura did not listen, and when he lived there the uncanny phenomena ceased (Note: following the Konjaku Monogatari). Kiyotsura had many children, but their names are not transmitted in detail. His eighth son Jōzō was intelligent and precocious; at the age of seven he shaved his head and became a monk, became versed in jussū (the arts of divination), and was praised by the people of the time (Note: following the Fusō Ryakki and the Genkō Shakusho).