Imperial Princes III

Prince Hachinoko

¶The first son of Emperor Sushun. His consort Kotego bore Prince Hachinoko.

Prince Furuhito

¶See the entry for Prince Hachinoko.

Prince Kaya

¶The fourth son of Emperor Jomei. Empress Takara (later Empress Kōgyoku, who reigned again as Empress Saimei) bore Emperor Tenji and Emperor Tenmu. The Bunin, Lady, Hohote-no-Iratsume bore Prince Furuhito. The palace attendant Kaya-no-Uneme bore Prince Kaya (Note: following the Nihon Shoki. The Shōjiroku writes his name as Prince Kaya with the characters 賀陽 in place of 蚊屋; the two spellings agree, one in native reading and the other in Chinese reading).

Prince Arima

¶Prince Furuhito, also called Prince Furuhito-no-Ōe, was an elder half-brother of Emperor Tenji. In the reign of Empress Kōgyoku, Soga-no-Iruka grew arrogant and seized power for himself; he plotted to set Furuhito on the throne, and sent troops to kill Prince Yamashiro-no-Ōe and his kin. Emperor Tenji, together with Nakatomi-no-Kamatari, killed Iruka in the court itself. On that day envoys from the Three Han were attending the court. Furuhito ran home and said to those about him, "The men of Han have killed the Omi Kuratsukuri. My heart is pained." Then he went into his chamber, shut the gate, and did not come out. "Kuratsukuri" was another name for Iruka. When Emperor Tenji was about to yield the throne to Emperor Kōtoku, Emperor Kōtoku firmly declined and offered it instead to Furuhito, saying, "The Prince Ōe is a son of the former sovereign and is also older. He should by right take the Heavenly Seat." Furuhito withdrew from his place and hesitated, then folded his hands in refusal and said, "The Great King has already received the sacred decree. Why should there be any pressing of the throne upon me? I wish to leave the world, enter Yoshino, and devote myself to the Buddha's Way." When he had finished speaking, he unbuckled the sword at his side and threw it on the ground. He had his attendants take off their swords as well, went himself to the temple Hōkōji, shaved off his beard and hair, put on the kesa, the monastic robe, and entered the mountains of Yoshino. People of the time called him the Crown Prince of Yoshino (Note: the title "Crown Prince of Yoshino" is taken from the source's own annotation). In the ninth month of the first year of Taika (645), Furuhito plotted rebellion together with Taguchi-no-Kawahori, Enoi-no-Shiinomi, Kasa-no-Shidaru, Yamato-no-Aya-no-Fumimaro, Hata-no-Takutsu, and others (Note: the source's own annotation says that according to one account, in the eleventh month Prince Ōe of Yoshino plotted rebellion, was found out, and was put to death). Before long Shidaru came before Emperor Tenji, gave himself up, and begged forgiveness for his crime. Emperor Tenji had Uda-no-Enomuroko and Koma-no-Miyachi lead troops against him, and they cut down Furuhito and his son. His consorts and concubines hanged themselves (Note: the passage from "consorts and concubines" onward follows the source's own annotation. That annotation says that according to one book, on the last day of the eleventh month, Kinoe-Uma, Naka-no-Ōe had Abe-no-Kosobe-no-Omi and Saekibe-no-Komaro lead three thousand soldiers to attack and cut down Furuhito-no-Ōe, and killed his son as well). His daughter, Princess Yamato, became Empress of Emperor Tenji (Note: following the Nihon Shoki).

Prince Takeru

¶See the entry for Prince Kaya.

Prince Kawashima

¶The first son of Emperor Kōtoku. His consort Otarashi-hime bore Prince Arima.

Emperor Kasuga-no-miya (Prince Shiki)

¶Prince Arima was cunning by nature. In the third year of Saimei (657) he feigned illness and went to bathe in the hot springs of Muro; on his return he praised the land greatly, saying, "I had only just entered that place when my illness cured itself." The sovereign heard this and was pleased. In the following year the sovereign did in fact journey to Muro, and Soga-no-Akae, Minister of the Left, was left in charge of the capital. One day Akae listed three faults of the government of the time to Arima. Arima was delighted and thought that Akae was well disposed toward him. He therefore visited Akae's house, climbed up into an upper room, and they discussed how to begin their undertaking. The armrest on which he was leaning broke for no reason; taking this for an ill omen, the two swore an oath and abandoned the plan. That night Akae ordered Mononobe-no-Enoi-no-Shibi to lead the laborers who were building a palace and surround Arima's residence at Ichifu, sent a courier galloping with the report, and in the end had Arima seized. His accomplices Mori-no-Ōiwa, Sakaibe-no-Kusuri, and Shioya-no-Konoshiro were also sent to the temporary palace, and the attendant Niitabe-no-Yonemaro went with them. The Crown Prince (Naka-no-Ōe) questioned him in person about the rebellion, and Arima answered, "Heaven and Akae know. I do not." Thereupon Tajihi-no-Ozawa-no-Kunisō was ordered to strangle Arima on the slope of Fujishiro (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). He was nineteen years old at the time (Note: following the annotation in the Nihon Shoki). As he passed Iwashiro, he was moved to sorrow, and with his own hands tied a pine branch and composed a poem; in later ages that pine was called the Knotted Pine (Note: following the Man'yōshū). Konoshiro and Yonemaro were pardoned; Ōiwa was exiled to Kōzuke and Kusuri to Owari (Note: following the Nihon Shoki. The source's own annotation says that, according to one book, Prince Arima, together with Soga-no-Akae, Shioya-no-Oshiro, Mori-no-Ōiwa, and Sakaibe-no-Kusuri, drew tanjaku, divination slips, to foretell the outcome of a rebellion. Prince Arima said, "First let us burn down the palace buildings and lead five hundred men. In one day and two nights we will strike the harbor of Muro; if we then immediately cut off the retreat with a fleet of ships, the affair will succeed." Someone remonstrated, "To plan is good, but you lack virtue. The Prince has not yet even reached the age of manhood. I beg that he first strive to cultivate his virtue." It is also said that when Prince Arima was conspiring with a certain judge, the legs of the desk on which he was leaning broke for no reason, and in the end he was put to death).

[Kōnin] (Prince Ōtomo), Two Sons

¶The fourth son of Emperor Tenji (Prince Shiki) (Note: examining the Shoku Nihongi, it makes Prince Shiki the seventh son of Emperor Tenji, but the Nihon Shoki records only four sons, and there is nothing else to consult for verification). His Hin, Consort, Ochi-no-Iratsume bore Prince Takeru. The palace woman Shikobuko-no-Iratsume bore Prince Kawashima. Koshi-no-Michi-no-Kimi-no-Iratsume bore the Emperor Kasuga-no-miya, Prince Shiki. Yakako-no-Iratsume bore the Emperor Ōtomo (Note: following the Nihon Shoki).

Prince Kadono

¶Prince Takeru was mute from birth. Empress Saimei, because of his guileless nature, doted on him greatly. He died in the fifth month of the fourth year of the sovereign's reign (658), at the age of eight, and was provisionally buried above the valley of Imaki. Empress Saimei grieved deeply and commanded her ministers, "After my ten thousand years and thousand autumns, bury me together with him in the mausoleum." She composed three poems and often murmured them aloud. In the winter of that year, while she was staying at the hot springs of Kii, she again remembered Takeru and recited three more poems. She commanded Hata-no-Ōkura-no-Mari, "Hand these poems down to later ages, and do not let them be forgotten" (Note: following the Nihon Shoki).

Prince Yota

¶Prince Kawashima (Note: "Kawa" is also written with another character). In the ninth year of Emperor Tenmu (680), by imperial decree, he joined Prince Osakabe and various ministers in compiling the imperial chronicles and the records of high antiquity. In the thirteenth year (684) he was granted the rank of Jōdaisan (Note: the Shōjiroku calls him Prince Kawashima of Jōkōichi rank, but this source writes that "Prince Kawashima of Jōdaisan rank died," and the Kaifūsō too says his rank ended at Jōdaisan. From this, Jōkōichi was probably a posthumous rank). In the first year of Shuchō (686), his fief was increased by one hundred households. In the fifth year of Empress Jitō (691), it was increased by a further one hundred households, making five hundred in all. In the ninth month of that year he died (Note: following the Nihon Shoki), at the age of thirty-five. Kawashima was of a gentle and reserved nature, broad in capacity and refined, and was the closest of friends with Prince Ōtsu. When Ōtsu plotted rebellion, Kawashima was the first to secretly report the plot; Ōtsu was in the end put to death, and the court praised Kawashima's loyalty (Note: following the Kaifūsō).

Emperor Okanomiya (Crown Prince Kusakabe)

¶The Emperor Kasuga-no-miya was named Shiki (Note: according to this source his name is also written "Shiki" with a different character, and the Shoku Nihongi writes it with two further variants; all agree in reading). In the first year of Shuchō (686) he received an additional fief of two hundred households. In the third year of Empress Jitō (689) he was appointed to the Senzengonshi, the Office for the Compilation of Good Counsel (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). In the reign of Emperor Monmu he became an Imperial Prince and was granted Fourth Grade. In the third year of Taihō (703) he was given the iron mines of Ōmi. In the first year of Keiun (704) he received an additional fief of one hundred households. In the first year of Wadō (708) he was granted Third Grade. In the seventh year (714) he received a further two hundred households. In the first year of Reiki (715) he was advanced to Second Grade. In the eighth month of the second year (716) he died (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). He was buried at Tawara (Note: following the Engishiki).

¶He had six sons, named Prince Unakami, Prince Kasuga, Prince Ichishi (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku), Prince Yuhara, Prince Enoi (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Kōin Shōunroku), and Prince Shirakabe. After Empress Shōtoku died, Prince Shirakabe succeeded to the imperial line, and he was Emperor Kōnin. He honored the Prince by styling him Emperor Kasuga-no-miya (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi), and his tomb was placed among the imperial mausolea (Note: following the Engishiki); for this reason he was also called the Emperor Tawara. All the sons and daughters he had begotten were made Imperial Princes and Princesses. In the second year of Hōki (771) a national memorial day was established for him at the Kawaradera. His consort of the Ki clan, named Tochihime, was posthumously honored as Empress Dowager for having borne the emperor, and a national memorial day was likewise established for her. Unakami was granted Junior Third Rank at the beginning of Jinki. Kasuga, in the middle of Tenpyō, held the rank of Senior Fourth Rank Lower. Ichishi was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower in the middle of Wadō (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi. The ranks of these three recorded in this source end here, and nothing else is seen of them; probably all died before they were raised to Imperial Princes). Yuhara and Enoi were both raised to Imperial Princes (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

¶He had three daughters. Princess Inui was first granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower, was raised to Imperial Princess and granted Fourth Grade, and died in the third year of Hōki (772). Princess Naniwa was raised to Imperial Princess and granted Fourth Grade, and in the third year of Hōki was advanced to Third Grade. Emperor Kōnin visited her residence. In the following year she was advanced again to Second Grade, but died that same year. Emperor Kōnin sent Funya-no-Ōichi, Dainagon, Great Counsellor, and Isonokami-no-Yakatsugu, Chūnagon, Middle Counsellor, to offer condolences. Princess Sakaibe was raised to Imperial Princess and granted Fourth Grade; in the fifth year of Hōki (774) Emperor Kōnin visited her residence and granted her Third Grade. She died in the ninth year (778) (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

¶Yuhara's son, Prince Ichishino, was proud in character and unbound by etiquette, fond of wine and of talk and laughter. He served under three reigns, those of Shōtoku, Kōnin, and Kanmu, and held in turn the posts of Ōtoneri-no-kami of the Left and Right, Heads of the Great Attendants (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), and Jibu-kyō, Minister of Civil Affairs; he concurrently served as governor of Sanuki, was appointed Sangi, Counsellor (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi and the Kugyō Bunin), rose to Dainagon, and concurrently served as Danjō-no-kami, Head of the Board of Censors; he was granted Senior Third Rank. He died in the twenty-fourth year of Enryaku (805), at the age of seventy-three (Note: the annotation to his appointment as Sangi in the Kugyō Bunin says he was born in the fifth year of Jinki, Tsuchinoe-Tatsu. Reckoning from that, he would have been seventy-eight this year. For now the old text is followed). By imperial order he was posthumously granted Junior Second Rank (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). His younger sister, Princess Owari, entered Emperor Kōnin's harem (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku).

¶Enoi's son, Prince Jin (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower in the reign of Empress Shōtoku. When Emperor Kōnin took the throne he was advanced to Junior Fourth Rank Lower and became Ōtoneri-no-kami of the Left (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi and the Kugyō Bunin). He took Imperial Princess Minuma as his wife (Note: following the Nihon Kōki as cited in the Kugyō Bunin). In the tenth year of Enryaku (791), Emperor Kanmu visited his residence and held a banquet, and granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower to his daughter, Princess Kiyoniwa (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). Prince Jin held in turn the posts of Sangi, Danjō-no-kami, Chūnagon, and Dainagon, and was granted Junior Second Rank. In the seventeenth year (798) he was appointed Udaijin, Minister of the Right (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). He died in the fourth month of the first year of Daidō (806) (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin), at the age of sixty, and was called the Minister of Yoshino (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin). By imperial order he was posthumously granted Senior Second Rank (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku and the Kugyō Bunin). Prince Jin was by nature modest, careful, and unadorned, and though he stood in high station he was able to preserve himself to the end. At his death he declined the kosui, the ceremonial drums and pipes, that had been granted to him. Emperor Heizei had ten monks ordained for him (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin).

Prince Ōtsu

¶The second son of Emperor Ōtomo. Imperial Princess Tochi bore Prince Kadono (Note: following the Kaifūsō). A woman of an unrecorded clan bore Prince Yota (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku and the Ranshōshō).

Emperor Sūdō Jinkei (Prince Toneri)

¶Prince Kadono was great and profound in capacity, outstanding in bearing, and his talent was called a pillar of the state. In his youth he loved learning and ranged widely through the classics and histories; he wrote good prose and excelled also at calligraphy and painting. His rank was Jōdaishi, and he was appointed Jibu-kyō, Minister of Civil Affairs. When Prince Takechi died, Empress Jitō assembled the hundred officials and deliberated on the appointment of a Crown Prince. The ministers each brought their private feelings into it, and the debate was confused. Kadono stepped forward and said, "From the age of the gods, in our country, descendants have succeeded one another in taking the Heavenly Seat. If the succession passes between brothers, disorder will arise from that. How could the mind of Heaven be fathomed? Yet if we judge by human affairs, the sacred heir is settled of himself. Who could object to him?" Prince Yuge was present and was about to speak, but Kadono rebuked him, and he fell silent. The sovereign praised him for settling the foundation of the state with a single word; she specially granted him Senior Fourth Rank Lower and appointed him Shikibu-kyō, Minister of Ceremonial (Note: following the Kaifūsō). He died in the twelfth month of the second year of Keiun (705) (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi), at the age of forty-five (Note: reckoned from the passage of the Kaifūsō stating that in the eleventh year of Empress Jitō he was thirty-seven). His son, Prince Ikebe, served Emperor Shōmu and became Takumi-no-kami, Director of the Bureau of Craftsmen, of Junior Fifth Rank Upper. Ikebe's son was Ōmi-no-Mifune, who has a separate biography.

Prince Naga

¶Prince Yota, in accordance with the dying command of the emperor (Emperor Tenji), in the first year of Shuchō (686) petitioned for the founding of Onjōji (Note: following the Genkō Shakusho and the Ranshōshō. It should be noted that the Mizukagami writes that he was a son of Prince Ōtomo without naming him, and gives the matter as the following year).

Prince Hozumi

¶The tenth son of Emperor Tenmu. Empress Uno (later Empress Jitō) bore the Emperor Okanomiya, Kusakabe. His consort Princess Ōta bore Prince Ōtsu. Princess Ōe bore Prince Naga and Prince Yuge. Princess Niitabe bore the Emperor Sūdō Jinkei, Toneri. His Bunin, Lady, Ioe-no-Iratsume bore Prince Niitabe. Ōnu-no-Iratsume bore Prince Hozumi. The palace woman Amako-no-Iratsume bore Prince Takechi. Kajihime-no-Iratsume bore Prince Osakabe and Prince Shiki (Note: following the Nihon Shoki).

Prince Yuge

¶The Emperor Okanomiya was named Kusakabe. He was born at the Ōtsu palace in the Mizunoe-Inu year of Emperor Tenji's reign (662). At the time of the Jinshin disturbance he followed Emperor Tenmu to the eastern provinces. In the seventh year (678), the emperor made a progress to the Yoshino palace and addressed the Empress and the princes Kusakabe, Takechi, Ōtsu, Kawashima, Osakabe, and Shiki: "Now I wish to bind an oath with you all, that a thousand years hence all may be well." All replied, "Your sacred will is indeed so." Kusakabe then stepped forward first and swore: "We brothers, from the eldest to the youngest, number more than ten princes, each born of a different mother. But from this day on, whether born of the same mother or of different mothers, we shall together uphold the clear decree of the sovereign, never forgetting it and never breaking it, and shall help one another and not oppose one another. The Heavenly Emperor and the gods, and the sovereign, are our witnesses. If we break this oath, we shall at once lose our lives and our descendants shall be cut off for ever." The five princes swore the same, one after another. The sovereign said, "I cherish and love you now as if you were sons born of one mother." He opened the collar of his robe, embraced the six princes, and said, "If I break this oath, my own body shall perish at once." The Empress swore likewise. On returning from the progress to the palace, the six princes paid homage to the sovereign before the hall. In the second month of the ninth year (680) he was installed as Crown Prince and took charge of all affairs of government. In the thirteenth year (684) he was granted the rank of Jōkōichi. In the first year of Shuchō (686), when the sovereign fell ill, he commanded by edict, "All affairs of the realm, great and small, are to be reported to the Empress and the Crown Prince." Soon afterwards he received an additional four hundred households. He died in the fourth month of the third year of Empress Jitō (689), at the age of twenty-eight (Note: following the Nihon Shoki. The age of twenty-eight is based on this source's statement that he was born in the Mizunoe-Inu year). He was buried at Mayumi-no-oka (Note: following the Engishiki) and was styled Hinamishi-no-Miko-no-Mikoto (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). In the following year the sovereign gave the Crown Prince's name offerings of ashiginu, thread, floss, and cloth to more than two hundred monks in the summer retreat at three temples (Note: following the Nihon Shoki; "two hundred" is "three hundred" in one text). The Crown Prince took Princess Abe as his wife, and she bore the two sovereigns, Emperor Monmu and Empress Genshō. His daughter, Princess Kibi, of an unknown maternal clan, was raised to Imperial Princess and granted Second Grade; she married Nagaya-no-ō, Sadaijin, Minister of the Left. In the fourth month of the fourth year of Keiun (707), by edict, the anniversary of the Crown Prince's death was made a national memorial day. In the eighth month of the second year of Tenpyō-hōji (758), he was posthumously honored with the title Emperor Okanomiya-ni-Ame-no-Shita-Shiroshimeshi-Sumera-Mikoto (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Prince Niitabe

¶Prince Ōtsu, at the time of the Jinshin disturbance, went from Ōmi directly to Ise and joined the sovereign (Emperor Tenmu). In the eleventh year (682) he took part in the conduct of government. In the thirteenth year (684) he was granted the rank of Jōdai-ni. In the first year of Shuchō (686) he received an additional four hundred households (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). Earlier, a Silla monk named Gyōshin, versed in astronomy and divination, had examined Ōtsu's features and said, "The Prince's bone structure is not that of a subject. If you remain long in a low position, you will not be able to preserve yourself." Thereby he urged him toward rebellion, and Ōtsu secretly came to harbor disloyal thoughts (Note: following the Kaifūsō). When the sovereign died, he finally plotted rebellion. When the matter was discovered, Empress Jitō, then conducting the government, ordered the arrest of Ōtsu and his associates, Yaguchi-no-Otokashi, Iki-no-Hakatoko, Nakatomi-no-Omimaro, Kose-no-Ōyasu, the monk Gyōshin, and the household attendant Togi-no-Michitsukuri, more than thirty persons in all. Ōtsu was granted death at his residence in Osada, at the age of twenty-four. His consort, Princess Yamabe, ran after him with her hair loose and barefoot, and all who saw it wept. By edict Michitsukuri was exiled to Izu and Gyōshin was transferred to a temple in Hida; all the others were pardoned (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). Ōtsu was imposing in appearance and bearing and clear in speech. From childhood he loved learning, read widely, and wrote good prose (Note: following the Nihon Shoki, with reference also to the Kaifūsō); he honored the martial arts, was strong, and excelled at swordsmanship (Note: following the Kaifūsō). He had once been deeply loved by Emperor Tenji (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). As he grew to manhood he became increasingly free and unbound by rules, but he still treated men of worth with full courtesy, and many followed him. In the poem he composed as he faced execution, he sang of the sun sinking toward the houses of the west, of the sound of drums hastening a short life, and of the road to the Yellow Springs where there is neither guest nor host, asking to whose house he would go that evening (Note: following the Kaifūsō. The Kōin Shōunroku and the Toyohara Keizu both say that Prince Ōtsu had a son, Prince Awazu, who was implicated in his father's affair and exiled to the district of Toyohara in Bizen, and that his son Kimitsura was the first to receive the surname Toyohara. But since there is no other evidence, it is not recorded here).

Prince Funado, the Deposed Crown Prince

¶The Emperor Sūdō Jinkei was named Toneri. In the ninth year of Empress Jitō (695), he was granted the rank of Jōkōni (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). In the reign of Emperor Monmu he became an Imperial Prince and was granted Second Grade. In the first year of Keiun (704) he received an additional fief of two hundred households. In the seventh year of Wadō (714) a further two hundred were added. In the second year of Yōrō (718) he was granted First Grade. In the tenth month of the third year (719), an edict declared: "Since the opening of the world, laws have been long established. The ranks of sovereign and subject were fixed, and each age of the realm had its own destination. In middle antiquity, there were times when the old principles were followed, but the essential points of the law were not made clear. By the age of Ōmi (the reign of Emperor Tenji), both the lax and the strict were fully provided for. By the age of Fujiwara (the reigns of Empress Jitō and Emperor Monmu), a considerable selection and discarding was made. Thus to examine the correct canons of our distant ancestors, to investigate the essential outlines of the imperial line through the generations, and to carry on the great enterprise is the task of the Crown Prince. But his years are still few, and he is not yet practiced in the way of government. Now one who holds the calendar of the Son of Heaven and ascends the throne, one who governs the maps and registers of the Son of Heaven and rules the foundation, relies on men of talent to assist him in bringing about great peace, and preserves the fortunes of the realm through the merit of aid and support. How much more so with the two Princes Toneri and Niitabe, who, like pines and cassia trees of a hundred generations, are honored, whose main and branch lines are in harmony at the ancestral rites, and who weigh upon the state like tens of thousands of walls. Let them, with pure and upright hearts, assist the great imperial line, and with benevolence and righteousness as their support aid the young Crown Prince. Then a peaceful age may be hoped for, and a flourishing fortune for the realm will be brought about. Can they fail to be diligent? Now these two Princes are the elders of the imperial house and are persons I must hold in esteem. There being already the old canons, favor and reward should be given. To Prince Toneri of First Grade shall be granted two Uchitoneri, four Ōtoneri, and thirty guards, with an additional eight hundred households, making two thousand in all. To Prince Niitabe of Second Grade shall be granted two Uchitoneri, four Ōtoneri, and twenty guards, with an additional five hundred households, making fifteen hundred in all. Let the Toneri attend on them for miscellaneous duties on either side, and let the guards be assigned to the protection of the roads. Oh, receive this with reverence, and act in accordance with My intent." Earlier, Toneri had received an imperial order to compile the Nihon Shoki. It was completed in the fifth month of the fourth year (720), and he presented thirty volumes of annals and one volume of genealogies. In the eighth month he took up the post of Chi-Dajōkan-ji, Director of the Council of State Affairs. When Emperor Shōmu took the throne he received an additional five hundred households. He died in the eleventh month of the seventh year of Tenpyō (735). Kano-no-ō, of Junior Third Rank, and others were sent to oversee the funeral affairs, and the ceremony was conducted in accordance with that for a Dajō-daijin, Chancellor. All the sons and daughters of the Prince were ordered to attend the funeral. Tajihi-no-Agatamori, Chūnagon, and others were sent to his residence to proclaim the edict posthumously granting him the title of Dajō-daijin. When the Deposed Emperor (Emperor Junnin) took the throne, he was honored posthumously as Emperor Sūdō Jinkei, his consort Taima-no-Yamashiro was honored as Grand Lady, and all the sons and daughters she had borne were made Imperial Princes and Princesses (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

¶He had seven sons, named Prince Moribe, Prince Mihara, Prince Fune, Prince Ikeda, Prince Mishima, and Prince Mitsukai. The Grand Lady Taima-no-Yamashiro bore the Deposed Emperor (Emperor Junnin) (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi. Examining the Shoku Nihongi, it does not state of either Mishima or Mitsukai that he was a son of Toneri. But the Kōnin annals record that the sons of Prince Mishima, together with the sons of Prince Moribe, Prince Mihara, and Prince Fune, were all restored to their original registers. Prince Mitsukai had two sons, the princes Ōshima and Miura. Probably Ōshima is a corruption of Mishima and Miura of Mitsukai. Furthermore, the Shoku Nihongi makes the Deposed Emperor the seventh son of Toneri, and the number of sons here agrees with this, so it can be taken as proof. The Shōunroku also lists Prince Idekii and Prince Sadayo, but since there is no other evidence, they are not recorded. Further, examining the elder brothers of the Deposed Emperor, the Shoku Nihongi calls only Fune and Ikeda Imperial Princes. Mihara had already died earlier, and Moribe and Mishima do not appear after the annals of the Deposed Emperor, so it is suspected that they too died earlier. Only Mitsukai survived and yet was not advanced in office or rank. The reason is not now clear). He had two daughters, named Princess Muro and Princess Asukada. Prince Moribe served Emperor Shōmu and was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper. He had three sons. Prince Kasa was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower in the time of the Deposed Emperor and became Ōtoneri-no-kami of the Left. In the second year of Jingo-keiun (768) he was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower, but at that time he held no rank (Note: here it says "holding no rank," and below it says "restored to his original register," from which it is clear that he had earlier been implicated in the affair of the Deposed Emperor. But this is not recorded, and there is nothing else to consult. The same is true of Prince Kaseka). In the second year of Hōki (771), together with his younger brother Kaseka-no-Ina, he was granted the surname Yamabe-no-Mahito. In the fifth year (774) he became Genba-no-kami, Director of the Bureau of Buddhism and Foreign Guests, and was restored to his original register; later he rose to Senior Fifth Rank Upper and Daizen-no-daibu, Master of the Palace Table. He was called Prince Kaseka. In the seventh year of Hōki (776), together with Ina, he was again restored to his original register, and was styled Prince Ina (Note: "Ina" is also written in this source with other characters, but the two agree in sound and meaning), and was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower. Prince Mihara served in the reigns of Emperors Shōmu and Kōken, held in turn the posts of Danjō-no-kami, Ōkura-kyō, Minister of the Treasury, and Jibu-kyō, was transferred to Nakatsukasa-kyō, Minister of the Center, and was granted Senior Third Rank. He died in the fourth year of Tenpyō-shōhō (752) (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi and the Kugyō Bunin). He had seven sons: Prince Tanba (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku), who was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower in the middle of Keiun; Prince Wake, who has a separate biography; Prince Yamaguchi, who in the eighth year of Tenpyō-hōji (764), together with his younger brother Nagatsu, was implicated in the affair of the Deposed Emperor, was granted the surname Minaga-no-Mahito, and was exiled to Tango; in the second year of Hōki (771) both were restored to their original registers, and later he was granted Junior Fifth Rank Upper and became Daikenmotsu, Senior Keeper of Stores; Prince Nagatsu, of Junior Fifth Rank Lower and Zusho-no-kami, Director of the Bureau of Books (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi); Prince Ogura (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki, the fourth year of Jōwa), who in the middle of Enryaku became Shōnagon, Junior Counsellor (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi), and whose rank was Senior Fifth Rank Lower (Note: following the Shoku Nihon Kōki); Prince Hosokawa (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku), who in the seventh year of Tenpyō-shōhō (755) was granted the surname Oka-no-Mahito (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi); and Prince Ishiura (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku; this source has "Ishikiyo," but the Shoku Nihongi is followed here), who in the middle of Enryaku became Shōnagon (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi. The Shōunroku also lists Prince Mikawa, but since he does not appear in other books, he is not adopted). He had two daughters. Princess Oyake (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki and the Kōin Shōunroku; this source has "Oyake" in other characters, but the Shoku Nihongi is followed here) was raised to Imperial Princess; in the first year of Tenpyō-shōhō (749) she became Saiō, High Priestess of Ise (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki). In the third year of Hōki (772) she had an illicit liaison with Sugō-no-ō, Nakatsukasa-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of the Center, and her name was struck from the register. Princess Yuge (Note: following the Kōin Shōunroku) married Prince Mikata, of Junior Fourth Rank Lower, whose rank was Senior Fifth Rank Upper. In the first year of Enryaku (782), together with Mikata and Yamanoue-no-Funanushi, of Senior Fifth Rank Lower, she practiced curses intended to harm the sovereign. The matter was discovered, and by edict Mikata and Yuge were spared one degree short of death and exiled to Hyūga. Prince Fune has a separate biography. Prince Ikeda served Emperors Shōmu and Kōken, became Danjō-no-kami and Kinai Junsatsushi, Inspector of the Home Provinces, was transferred to Gyōbu-kyō, Minister of Justice, and his rank was Senior Fourth Rank Upper. In the first year of Tenpyō-hōji (757), when the question of the Crown Prince was discussed, Ikeda was not selected, on the ground that he was lacking in filial piety. When the Deposed Emperor (Emperor Junnin) took the throne he was advanced to Junior Third Rank and concurrently served as Settsu-no-daibu. In the following year he was raised to Imperial Prince, again granted Third Grade, and became Kyūsei-no-kami. In the fifth year (761) he was granted one hundred thousand bundles of rice. In the seventh year (763) he submitted a memorial, saying, "My five sons and daughters were born of a mother of a wicked clan, and I, hating those rebels, did not enter them on the royal register. But now that years and months have passed and the sacred favor reaches everywhere, if I do not deal with this, I fear that under the sacred teaching there will be people left without a place. I humbly beg that they be granted the surname Minaga-no-Mahito and forever be counted as a family within the realm." By edict this was permitted. When the Deposed Emperor was deposed, he was held to blame for having gathered many "horse charts" (perhaps divination diagrams) and plotted treason; he was demoted to the rank of an ordinary prince and exiled to Tosa. Prince Mishima was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper. His son Prince Hayashi was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower in the middle of Tenpyō-hōji and became Moku-no-kami, Director of the Bureau of Carpentry. In the second year of Hōki (771) he was granted the surname Yamabe-no-Mahito. His two daughters, Princess Kawabe and Princess Kazura, were both of Junior Fourth Rank Lower. In the eighth year of Tenpyō-hōji (764) they were exiled to Izu. In the second year of Hōki (771) they were restored to their original registers. Prince Mitsukai was of Junior Fourth Rank Lower and Daizen-no-daibu. He died in the fourth year of Tenpyō-hōji (760). His sons were Prince Minao, Prince Yōshu, and Prince Miyake. His two daughters were Princess Uneme and Princess Isobe. In the second year of Hōki (771) all of them were granted the surname Yamabe-no-Mahito. Princess Muro was first granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower. In the third year of Tenpyō-hōji (759) she was raised to Imperial Princess and granted Fourth Grade. She died that year. Princess Asukada was also first granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower, was again raised to Imperial Princess and granted Fourth Grade, and soon after was given forty thousand bundles of rice. In the fourth year of Hōki (773) she was restored to her former rank of Junior Fourth Rank Lower. She died in the first year of Enryaku (782) (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi. Examining this source, it writes that in the sixth month of the third year of Tenpyō-hōji, Fourth Grade was granted to Princess Muro and Princess Asukada, and that in the eleventh month Imperial Princess Muro died, a daughter of Prince Toneri of First Grade. As to Asukada's degree of kinship within the imperial house, there is nothing else to consult. But since in the tenth month of the fifth year she is written "Imperial Princess Asukada," she too was probably a daughter of Toneri, implicated in the affair of the Deposed Emperor. As for her restoration to her original register, it is not seen in this source. But since it now says she was "restored to her original rank," the omission of that record is evident).

Prince Takechi

¶Prince Naga was granted the rank of Jōkōni in the seventh year of Empress Jitō (693) (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). In the reign of Emperor Monmu he became an Imperial Prince and was granted Second Grade, and in the first year of Keiun (704) received an additional fief of two hundred households. In the seventh year of Wadō (714) two hundred more were added. In the sixth month of the first year of Reiki (715) he died (Note: this entry in the source writes First Grade, but in the entries on the deaths of his sons and daughters Second Grade sometimes appears. The Shoku Nihon Kōki too has First Grade or Second Grade, and the Kugyō Bunin and the Ichidai Yōki have First Grade. Which is correct is not known). His son, Prince Kurisu, was of Junior Third Rank and Nakatsukasa-kyō, and died in the fifth year of Tenpyō-shōhō (753). Funya-no-Kiyomi and Funya-no-Ōmuro both have separate biographies. His daughter Princess Hirose was granted Junior Third Rank and died in the first year of Tenpyō-jingo (765) (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi. Examining this source, it makes Ōichi the seventh son. From this, Naga's sons must have been more numerous than those recorded here. The Kōin Shōunroku's record is also not detailed).

Prince Osakabe

¶Prince Hozumi, in the fifth year of Empress Jitō (691), received an additional five hundred households, his rank at that time being Jōkōni (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). In the reign of Emperor Monmu he became an Imperial Prince and was granted Second Grade. In the first year of Keiun (704) he received an additional fief of two hundred households. In the second year (705) he took up the post of Chi-Dajōkan-ji. In the following year it was decreed that his annual stipend be equal to that of the Udaijin. In the first year of Reiki (715) he was granted First Grade. In the seventh month he died (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Prince Shiki (磯城)

¶Prince Yuge was granted the rank of Jōkōni in the seventh year of Empress Jitō (693) (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). He died in the seventh month of the third year of Emperor Monmu (699) (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

[Shōmu], Two Sons

¶Prince Niitabe was granted the rank of Jōkōni in the fourth year of Emperor Monmu (700), and later became an Imperial Prince and was granted Second Grade. In the first year of Keiun (704) he received an additional fief of one hundred households. In the seventh year of Wadō (714) he received a further two hundred. In the third year of Yōrō (719), together with Prince Toneri, he received an edict to assist the Crown Prince. He was granted two Uchitoneri, four Ōtoneri, and twenty guards, and his fief was increased by five hundred households, making fifteen hundred in all. In the fourth year (720) he took command of the Five Guards and of the sword-bearing Toneri. When Emperor Shōmu took the throne he was advanced to Second Grade. In the third year of Tenpyō (731) he became Kinai Daisōkan, Governor-General of the Home Provinces. In the ninth month of the seventh year (735) he died, and Prince Toneri was sent to offer condolences at his residence. In the tenth month an edict declared: "When a Prince dies, maintenance services shall be offered every seventh day, with monks to a limit of one hundred, concluding on the forty-ninth day. Let this be the precedent from now on." He had two sons, Prince Funado and Hikami-no-Shioyaki (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). Shioyaki has a separate biography.

A Certain Crown Prince

¶Prince Funado was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper in the middle of Tenpyō and became Sanni-no-kami, Head of the Bureau of Unassigned Ranks, and Nakatsukasa-kyō. In the fifth month of the eighth year of Tenpyō-shōhō (756), Emperor Shōmu left a testamentary edict to Empress Kōken and made Funado Crown Prince. But he lacked propriety in his conduct during the period of mourning. In the third month of the following year (757) he was deposed, granted the rank of ordinary prince, and sent back to his residence. In the seventh month, when Tachibana-no-Naramaro plotted a deposition and replacement of the sovereign, Funado also joined in the plot. The matter was discovered, and troops were sent to seize him. He was made to change his name to Madohi, was tortured by officials, and died under the rod (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Prince Asaka

¶Prince Takechi was in Ōmi when the sovereign (Emperor Tenmu) raised his army. The sovereign sent Ōkida-no-Esaka to summon him. Takechi at once crossed Kafuka, met the sovereign at the mountain pass of Tsumie, received his command, went to the Fuwa barrier, encamped at Wazami, and supervised the army. Just then the courier-envoys from Ōmi, Ina-no-Iwasuki, Fumi-no-Kusuri, and Osaka-no-Ōmaro, were on their way to the eastern provinces to raise troops. Takechi set an ambush and seized Kusuri and Ōmaro; hearing that the sovereign had entered Kuwana, he sent a messenger to say, "At present, to be far from the army is inconvenient." The sovereign therefore went to Fuwa, and Takechi met him at Nogami. The sovereign said to Takechi, "In the Ōmi court there are many ministers skilled in strategy, from the Ministers of the Left and Right downward. Now I have no one to plan with me, only young children; what is to be done?" Takechi rolled up his sleeves and laid his hand on his sword, and said, "However many the ministers of Ōmi, how could they oppose the sacred majesty of the sovereign? Even if the sovereign were alone, I, Takechi, relying on the might of the gods and acting on the sovereign's command, will lead the generals and subdue them. How could I refuse?" The sovereign praised him, took his hand and stroked his back, and said, "Be careful and do not be negligent." He gave him a saddled horse and entrusted all military affairs to him. Takechi returned to Wazami. After the disturbance was put down, he was ordered to pronounce the crimes of the ministers of Ōmi and sentenced them, some to death and some to exile. In the thirteenth year (684) he was granted the rank of Jōkōni. In the first year of Shuchō (686) he received an additional four hundred households. In the seventh month of the fourth year of Empress Jitō (690) he became Dajō-daijin, Chancellor. In the tenth month Takechi led the court nobles and the hundred officials to inspect the site of the Fujiwara palace. In the fifth year (691) his fief was increased by two thousand households. In the sixth year (692) it was increased by a further two thousand, making five thousand in all. In the seventh year (693) he was granted the rank of Jōkōichi. In the seventh month of the tenth year (696) he died (Note: following the Nihon Shoki. Examining this source, it writes "the Later Prince died." The Shaku Nihongi holds that this is Prince Takechi, and that is followed here).

¶He had two sons, Nagaya-no-ō (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin and the Kōin Shōunroku), who has a separate biography, and Prince Suzuka. He had two daughters, Princess Kawachi and Princess Yamagata. Prince Suzuka served under three reigns, those of Emperors Genmei, Genshō, and Shōmu, and held in turn the posts of Ōkura-kyō and Sangi. In the ninth year of Tenpyō (737) he took up the post of Chi-Dajōkan-ji, and soon afterwards concurrently served as Shikibu-kyō; his rank was Junior Second Rank. He died in the ninth month of the seventeenth year (745). He had five sons. Toyono-no-Izumo served four reigns, those of Shōmu, Kōken, the Deposed Emperor, and Kōnin. In the first year of Tenpyō-hōji (757), together with his younger brothers Shinohara, Owari, Amuchi, and Inabe, he was granted the surname Toyono-no-Mahito, and became Hokurikudō Kansatsushi, Inspector of the Hokuriku Circuit, and Right Middle Controller. In the second year of Jingo-keiun (768) he memorialized: "The ten thousand bundles of rice that serve as the provision for the provincial temple of Sado Province are always kept at Muki, but they lie in Echigo, and the time for them to be moved always falls in the busy farming season. If the people are sent to transport it, because of the wind and waves on the sea route it often takes several months. Sometimes the cargo drifts away or sinks, and moreover transport costs are levied. I beg that the land tax of that province itself be set aside and used for this." By decree this was permitted. Soon after he concurrently became governor of Tosa. In the middle of Hōki he was appointed Dazai-no-daini, Senior Assistant Governor-General of Dazaifu, and his rank was Junior Fourth Rank Lower. He died in the eighth year (777). Toyono-no-Shinohara served in the reigns of Kōken and the Deposed Emperor, was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower, and held in turn the posts of Gaiei Chūjō, Middle Captain of the Outer Guards, and Danjō-no-suke, Assistant Director of the Board of Censors. Toyono-no-Owari likewise served in the reigns of Kōken and the Deposed Emperor, was granted Senior Fifth Rank Lower, and held in turn the posts of Kyūsei-no-suke and governor of Noto. Toyono-no-Amuchi served four reigns, those of Kōken, the Deposed Emperor, Kōnin, and Kanmu, held in turn the posts of Right Middle Controller and Nakatsukasa-no-taifu, and his rank was Junior Fourth Rank Lower. He died in the third year of Enryaku (784). Toyono-no-Isobe, who at first called himself Inabe, served Empress Shōtoku and was of Junior Fifth Rank Upper and Izumo-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Izumo (Note: examining this source, it writes that in the first year of Tenpyō-hōji, the surname Toyono-no-Mahito was granted to Prince Izumo, Prince Shinohara, and Prince Owari of Junior Fifth Rank Lower, and to Prince Amuchi and Prince Inabe, who held no rank, but it does not say that they were sons of Prince Suzuka. However, in the first year of Hōki, Toyono-no-Mahito Izumo was granted Junior Fourth Rank Lower, Toyono-no-Mahito Amuchi Senior Fifth Rank Lower, and Toyono-no-Mahito Isobe Junior Fifth Rank Upper, and this was because their father Prince Suzuka's old residence was made into a mausoleum. Moreover, in this source the careers of Shinohara and Owari are recorded only as far as the Jingo-keiun years. Taking these together, this must have been a promotion by imperial favor. That they were sons of Suzuka is beyond doubt). Princess Kawachi was granted Senior Third Rank and died in the tenth year of Hōki (779). Princess Yamagata was likewise granted Senior Third Rank and died in the seventeenth year of Tenpyō (745) (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

[Kōnin], Five Sons

¶Prince Osakabe (Note: the Shoku Nihongi also writes "Osakabe" as "Gyōbu," a different spelling that agrees in reading). At the time of the Jinshin disturbance he entered the eastern provinces with the sovereign (Emperor Tenmu). In the ninth year (680), by imperial decree, he compiled the imperial chronicles and the records of high antiquity. In the thirteenth year (684) he was granted the rank of Jōdaisan. In the first year of Shuchō (686) he received an additional fief of one hundred households (Note: following the Nihon Shoki). In the fourth year of Emperor Monmu (700), by imperial order, together with Fujiwara-no-Fuhito, he drew up the ritsu and ryō, the penal and administrative codes. Later he became an Imperial Prince and was granted Third Grade. In the third year of Taihō (703) he took up the post of Chi-Dajōkan-ji. In the first year of Keiun (704) he received an additional fief of two hundred households. In the second year (705) he was given one hundred chō of fields in Echizen. In the fifth month he died.

¶His son Prince Yamasaki served under three reigns, those of Monmu, Genmei, and Genshō; he was of Junior Fourth Rank Lower (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi) and became Gyōbu-kyō. He died in the seventh year of Yōrō (723). His daughter, Princess Ohatsuse, was Naizen-no-kami, Superintendent of the Table, of Junior Third Rank. Yamasaki's son Prince Chihara was violent by nature and fond of frequenting taverns. In the middle of the Tenpyō and Hōji years, while he was gambling with Mitsukai-no-Maro, he suddenly became drunk and violent, stabbed Maro, cut the flesh from his thigh, laid it on his chest, and made it into minced meat. His other crimes were also evident. Officials memorialized and impeached him, but the Deposed Emperor (Emperor Junnin), because he was of the imperial house, could not bear to bring him under the law; he stripped him of his princely title, granted him the surname Tatsuta-no-Mahito, and exiled him with his sons and daughters to the island of Tane. His daughter, Princess Ikehara, at first bore the surname of her mother's family and was called Kurisaki-no-Edame. In the eleventh year of Hōki (780), by imperial order, her name was changed to her present one, she was granted the title of princess, and she was granted Junior Fifth Rank Lower (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Emperor Sūdō (Prince Sawara)

¶Prince Shiki received an additional five hundred households in the first year of Shuchō (686) (Note: following the Nihon Shoki).

Prince Hieda

¶The second son of Emperor Shōmu. Empress Fujiwara (Empress Kōmyō) bore a certain Crown Prince (Prince Moto). His Bunin, Lady, Agata-no-Inukai-no-Hirotoji bore Prince Asaka (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Prince Osabe, the Deposed Crown Prince

¶A certain Crown Prince (Note: the Kōin Shōunroku and the Ichidai Yōki write "Prince Moto," the Rekidai Kōki writes "Imperial Prince Moto," and the Teiō Hennenki says "a certain Imperial Prince." Examining this, "Moto" is probably a mistake for the character "Bō" in "so-and-so," and since the old histories never record that he was an Imperial Prince, none of these are adopted here). He was born in the intercalary ninth month of the fourth year of Jinki (727). The sovereign appeared in the Chūgū, the Empress's palace, and proclaimed a general amnesty throughout the realm. Gifts were made to the hundred officials, and to every person in the realm born on the same day as this prince, one tan of cloth, two ton of floss, and twenty bundles of rice were granted. In the eleventh month the Council of State and the Eight Ministries presented a memorial of congratulations and offered toys. A banquet was therefore held in the Court of State for all officials, civil and military, down to the shibu, the minor messengers, and floss was granted to those of Fifth Rank and above. To the hereditary heirs of houses who themselves held Fifth Rank or above, ten bolts of ashiginu were specially added. By edict the prince was installed as Crown Prince. Ninety persons, including monks and nuns, presented a memorial of congratulations, and alms suited to each were given. In the eighth month of the following year the Crown Prince fell ill. By imperial order one hundred and seventy-seven images of Kannon were made and one hundred and seventy-seven volumes of sutras copied; a general amnesty was proclaimed throughout the realm, and heihaku offerings were presented at the various mausolea for purification. In the ninth month he died, at the age of two. The sovereign grieved and mourned deeply and suspended the conduct of government for three days. He was buried at Nahoyama, and since he had died young, the mourning ceremonies were not fully performed. Nevertheless, officials in the capital and below, and the common people of the home provinces, wore mourning dress for three days, and the district magistrates of the provinces each held a ceremony of mourning in their own districts for three days. Nine monks outstanding in wisdom and conduct were chosen and had huts built beside the tomb to pray for his happiness in the next world (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

Hirone-no-Morokatsu

¶Prince Asaka (Note: the Kōin Shōunroku lists a separate Prince Asaka, but since the two spellings of Asaka agree in sound and meaning, it is an error to make them two persons). In the intercalary first month of the sixteenth year of Tenpyō (744) he accompanied the progress to the Naniwa palace. On the way he fell ill with beriberi, and died on the journey back from the temporary palace at Sakurai, at the age of seventeen. Prince Ōichi, of Junior Fourth Rank Lower, and Ki-no-Iimaro and others were sent to oversee the funeral affairs (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi).

The Monk Kaijō

¶The sixth son of Emperor Kōnin. Empress Inoe bore the Deposed Crown Prince Osabe. The posthumously honored Empress Dowager, of the Takano clan, bore Emperor Kanmu and Emperor Sūdō, Sawara (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). Princess Owari bore Prince Hieda (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). The palace woman Agata-no-Inukai-no-Omimi bore Hirone-no-Morokatsu (Note: following the Shōjiroku). The monk Kaijō's mother's clan is not known.

¶Emperor Sūdō was named Sawara. At first he was an Imperial Prince. In the fourth month of the first year of Ten'ō (781), when Emperor Kanmu took the throne, he was installed as Crown Prince (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi. Examining the Ichidai Yōki, it says that in the second year of Jingo-keiun he entered religious life at the age of eleven and lived at the Tōdaiji; that in the first year of Hōki he was granted the title of Imperial Prince; and that in the first year of Ten'ō he was installed as Crown Prince, at the age of thirty-two. The Kōin Shōunroku likewise says that he became Crown Prince in the first year of Ten'ō at the age of thirty-two. But neither that he was a monk nor that he was an Imperial Prince appears in this source. Moreover, if he was eleven in the second year of Jingo-keiun, he should be twenty-four in the first year of Ten'ō, which does not agree with the figure of thirty-two. Therefore it is not adopted). The sovereign always loved to make excursions and entrusted affairs of government to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince wished to make Saeki-no-Imaemishi a Sangi, but Fujiwara-no-Tanetsugu, Chūnagon, memorialized, "No one of the Saeki clan has ever been appointed Sangi in the past. It is probably unsuitable." The sovereign at once cancelled the appointment as Sangi and instead granted him Junior Third Rank. The Crown Prince resented this and petitioned that Tanetsugu be killed. The sovereign did not listen, and from this time he gradually grew estranged from the Crown Prince and no longer entrusted him with affairs of government. The Crown Prince's resentment grew all the more (Note: following the Mizukagami). In the eighth month of the fourth year of Enryaku (785), the sovereign made a progress to the Heijō palace and ordered Fujiwara-no-Koreyoshi, Minister of the Right, Tanetsugu, and others to assist the Crown Prince in guarding the capital. In the ninth month, the Crown Prince conspired with Ōtomo-no-Tsugundo, Sashōben, Junior Controller of the Left, Ōtomo-no-Taketoshi, and Saeki-no-Takanari, Tōgū Shōjō, Junior Secretary of the Crown Prince's Household, and had a man shoot Tanetsugu dead with an arrow. The sovereign was greatly astonished, hurried back to the capital, searched out and put to death Tsugundo, Taketoshi, and others, together with the archer, and exiled their accomplices. The deposed Crown Prince was confined at the Otokuniji temple (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi, with reference also to the Nihon Kiryaku). The Crown Prince refused food, but for more than ten days he did not die. Ishikawa-no-Kakimori, Kunai-kyō, Minister of the Imperial Household, and others were sent to exile the Prince to Awaji, but when they reached the Takase bridge he breathed his last, and his body was carried on and buried in Awaji (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku. The Mizukagami says he died at Yamazaki. The Ichidai Yōki says he died at sea, but that is probably mistaken). In the ninth year (790), by imperial order, one household was established to guard his tomb (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi).

¶In the eleventh year (792), the Crown Prince (later Emperor Heizei) was long ill. Divination was made, and the cause was said to be the curse of the deposed Crown Prince. Accordingly the Shoryō-no-kami, Head of the Bureau of Imperial Tombs, and princes serving as various envoys were sent to apologize (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). An edict declared: "Earlier, one household of tomb guards was established in Awaji Province for the deposed Crown Prince, and the district magistrate of the neighboring district was made solely responsible for this matter. But the office responsible was negligent, and thereby brought down a curse. From now on, a moat is to be dug below the tomb, and care taken that it not be defiled" (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). After the death of the deposed Crown Prince, many people died of plague (Note: following the Mizukagami). The sovereign feared this, and sent monks to Awaji to read sutras and cultivate blessings (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). He sent envoys to bring back the remains, but the envoys were twice drowned at sea. In the seventeenth year (798), he sent Prince Ioe, Sangi, a nephew of the deposed Crown Prince, to pray earnestly, and at last he was able to reach Awaji, receive the remains, and return to the capital. By imperial order they were placed at Yashima in Yamato (Note: following the Mizukagami). In the seventh month of the nineteenth year (800), an edict conferred the posthumous title Emperor Sūdō and called the tomb a mausoleum (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). Two households from the people of Tsuna district in Awaji were further added for tomb guarding. When the sovereign fell ill, the temple Ryōanji was founded in Awaji, a small granary was built to store thirty bundles of rice, and floss of one hundred fifty kin each from the tribute and labor levies was offered at his mausoleum (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). Small granaries were also built in the various provinces, thirty bundles of regular tax rice were stored in them, and he was added to the list of national memorial days, with heihaku offered (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). Earlier, an edict had declared: "Let all of his companions who were demoted and sent away be pardoned and returned." At the time of the emperor's death, he commanded: "Whether living or dead, let all be restored to their former ranks" (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). He ordered the provincial temples of the various provinces: "Each year in the two middle months of spring and autumn, read the Diamond Prajnaparamita Sutra for seven days each, to console his spirit" (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi and the Nihon Kiryaku). When Emperor Heizei took the throne, Yashimadera was further built at Yamashina, and part of the regular taxes of the provinces was set aside and presented to it (Note: following the Mizukagami). In the fifth year of Jōgan (863), by imperial order the Goryōe, the ritual for appeasing angry spirits, was performed at the Shinsen-en garden to ward off plague, and Emperor Sūdō was given the first seat (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku). In later ages shrines were built and sacrifices offered to him. He is one of the so-called Hasshō Goryō, the Eight Appeased Spirits (Note: following the Teiō Hennenki).

¶Prince Hieda (Note: the Mizukagami says he had two sons). In the sixth year of Hōki (775) he was granted Fourth Grade. In the first year of Ten'ō (781) he was advanced to Third Grade. In the twelfth month he died, at the age of thirty-one (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). His son Prince Takahashi (Note: following the Sandai Jitsuroku; the Kōin Shōunroku writes "Imperial Prince Takahashi," which is mistaken) rose in office to Senior Fourth Rank Lower and Kunai-kyō (Note: following the Montoku Jitsuroku). Prince Kadono was granted Junior Fourth Rank Upper (Note: following the Nihon Kōki).

¶Prince Osabe, the Deposed Crown Prince. At first he was an Imperial Prince. In the first month of the second year of Hōki (771) he was installed as Crown Prince, and a general amnesty was proclaimed throughout the realm (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi). Osabe was the fourth son of the sovereign (Emperor Kōnin), but because he was the child of the Empress (Imperial Princess Inoe), at the age of eleven he was installed in the Eastern Palace over his elder brothers (Note: following the Mizukagami. The Rekidai Kōki makes Emperor Sūdō the fourth son, but which is correct is not known). In the fifth month of the third year (772), earlier the Empress had behaved lewdly and had plotted to kill the sovereign and put the Crown Prince in his place; he was deposed in consequence. At this point, by edict the Crown Prince was deposed and made a commoner (Note: the Empress's plot of regicide appears in the Mizukagami). In the following year the Empress and Osabe were confined in a confiscated house in Uchi district, Yamato Province. In the fourth month of the sixth year (775) he died (Note: following the Shoku Nihongi. Examining the Mizukagami, it says that in the second month of the ninth year, someone memorialized that "Prince Osabe is still alive." The sovereign wished to install him again in the Eastern Palace and sent an envoy to see. Fujiwara-no-Momokawa summoned the envoy and said, "If you report the facts as they are, the country will fall into disorder from this. If you tell the facts, I will surely kill you." The envoy went and saw Osabe, who was in no way altered. But fearing Momokawa, he returned and reported, "The truth is that it is not the Prince, only another person falsely using his name." Osabe's wet nurse and attendants argued fiercely with the envoy, and the envoy swore, "If I am lying, both my eyes will start from my head." Momokawa had Osabe driven away, and later the envoy's eyes did indeed start from his head. But since this source writes that he had already died in the sixth year, this account is not worth trusting, and it is added here only as a note).

¶Hirone-no-Morokatsu was granted Senior Sixth Rank Upper. In the sixth year of Enryaku (787) he was granted the surname Hirone-no-Ason (Note: following the Shōjiroku), and his register was placed in the Third Avenue of the Left Capital (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki). In the reign of Emperor Saga he became Settsu-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Settsu. When the sovereign once hunted at Minase, Settsu Province presented offerings; by edict ranks were granted to the provincial governors, and Morokatsu was raised to Junior Fifth Rank Upper (Note: following the Ruijū Kokushi). His register was moved to the First Avenue, First Ward (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki).

¶The Monk Kaijō, at first had a name that is not recorded, and was an elder half-brother of Emperor Kanmu (Note: following the Genkō Shakusho. Examining the Kōin Shōunroku and the Shūi Ōjōden, they make him a son of Emperor Kanmu, but considering now the year of his death, it was in fact the first year of Ten'ō, when he was fifty-eight. At that time Emperor Kanmu was forty-five. From this there is no doubt that he was Emperor Kanmu's elder brother). He was the child of a lowly concubine whom the sovereign (Emperor Kōnin) visited before he took the throne, and no one in the world knew of him (Note: following the Katsuoyama Ryūki. This source says he was a child born while the sovereign was Crown Prince, but according to the Shoku Nihongi the sovereign was Crown Prince in the fourth year of Jingo-keiun. The statement in this source is mistaken and is therefore corrected here). As he grew up he was intelligent and could recite the geten, the non-Buddhist books. In the first month of the first year of Tenpyō-jingo (765), he secretly climbed Mount Katsuo in Settsu, entered religious life, took the name Kaijō, lived at Keidō, and studied under the monks Zenchū and Zensan (Note: following the Katsuoyama Ryūki and the Genkō Shakusho). Later he cut down a cassia tree to build a thatched hall, and the sovereign granted one thousand bundles of rice from Toshima district in Settsu Province to cover expenses. It was named Mirokuji. In the sixth year of Hōki (775) he was given sixty chō of paddy fields in Shimoshima district. He died in the tenth month of the first year of Ten'ō (781), at the age of fifty-eight. In the tenth month of the first year of Enryaku (782), by imperial order the Hokke Hakkō, the eight-session lecture on the Lotus Sutra, was held for Kaijō and made a regular observance. Emperor Seiwa once visited this temple, renamed it Katsuōji, and granted a tablet (Note: following the Katsuoyama Ryūki).