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The terra inagi was also applied to the chief local official of
the region, who may be designated "Mayor."
*Supposed to be derived from ine (rice) and oki (store).
THE FOURTEENTH EMPEROR, CHUAI (A.D. 192--200) AND THE EMPRESS JINGO
(A.D. 201--269)
Were the Records our sole guide, the early incidents of Chuai's reign
would be wrapped in obscurity. For when we first meet him in the
pages of the Kojiki, he is in a palace on the northern shores of the
Shimonoseki Strait, whence he soon crosses to the Kashii palace in
Kyushu. His predecessors, while invariably changing their residences
on mounting the throne, had always chosen a site for the new palace
in Yamato or a neighbouring province, but the Records, without any
explanation, carry Chuai to the far south after his accession. The
Chronicles are more explicit. From them we gather that Chuai--who was
the second son of Yamato-dake and is described as having been ten
feet high with "a countenance of perfect beauty"--was a remarkably
active sovereign. He commenced his reign by a progress to Tsuruga
(then called Tsunuga) on the west coast of the mainland, and, a month
later, he made an expedition to Kii on the opposite shore. While in
the latter province he received news of a revolt of the Kumaso, and
at once taking ship, he went by sea to Shimonoseki, whither he
summoned the Empress from Tsuruga. An expedition against the Kumaso
was then organized and partially carried out, but the Emperor's force
was beaten and he himself received a fatal arrow-wound. Both the
Records and the Chronicles relate that, on the eve of this disastrous
move against the Kumaso, the Empress had a revelation urging the
Emperor to turn his arms against Korea as the Kumaso were not worthy
of his steel. But Chuai rejected the advice with scorn, and the
Kojiki alleges that the outraged deities punished him with death,
though doubtless a Kumaso arrow was the instrument. His demise was
carefully concealed, and the Empress, mustering the troops, took
vengeance upon the Kumaso.
Thereafter her Majesty became the central figure in a page of
history--or romance--which has provoked more controversy than any
incident in Japanese annals. A descendant of the Korean prince,
Ama-no-Hihoko, who settled in the province of Tajima during the reign
of the Emperor Suinin, she must have possessed traditional knowledge
of Shiragi, whence her ancestor had emigrated. She was the third
consort of Chuai. His first had borne him two sons who were of adult
age when, in the second year of his reign, he married Jingo,* a lady
"intelligent, shrewd, and with a countenance of such blooming
loveliness that her father wondered at it." To this appreciation of
her character must be added the attributes of boundless ambition and
brave resourcefulness. The annals represent her as bent from the
outset on the conquest of Korea and as receiving the support and
encouragement of Takenouchi-no-Sukune, who had served her husband and
his predecessor as prime minister. A military expedition oversea led
by a sovereign in person had not been heard of since the days of
Jimmu, and to reconcile officials and troops to such an undertaking
the element of divine revelation had to be introduced. At every stage
signs and portents were vouchsafed by the guardian deities. By their
intervention the Empress was shown to be possessed of miraculous
prowess, and at their instance troops and ships assembled
spontaneously. The armada sailed under divine guidance, a gentle
spirit protecting the Empress, and a warlike spirit leading the van
of her forces. The god of the wind sent a strong breeze; the god of
the sea ruled the waves favourably; all the great fishes accompanied
the squadron, and an unprecendented tide bore the ships far inland.
Fighting became unnecessary. The King of Shiragi did homage at once
and promised tribute and allegiance forever, and the other monarchs
of the peninsula followed his example. In short, Korea was conquered
and incorporated with the dominions of Japan.
*It should be clearly understood that the names by which the
sovereigns are called in these pages, are the posthumous appellations
given to them in later times when Chinese ideographs came into use
and Chinese customs began to be followed in such matters. The
posthumous was compiled with reference to the character or
achievements of the sovereign, Thus Jingo signifies "divine merit,"
on account of her conquests; "Chuai" means "lamentable second son,"
with reference to his evil fate, and "Keiko" implies "great deeds."
These three sovereigns were called during life, Okinaga-Tarashi,
Tarashi-Nakatsu, and 0-Tarashi, respectively.
CRITICISM OF THE ALLEGED CONQUEST OF KOREA
By some learned historiographers the whole of the above account is
pronounced a fiction. There was no such invasion of Korea, they say,
nor does the narrative deserve more credit than the legend of the
Argonauts or the tale of Troy. But that is probably too drastic a
view. There can indeed be little doubt that the compilers of the
Nihongi embellished the bald tradition with imaginary details; used
names which did not exist until centuries after the epoch referred
to; drew upon the resources of Chinese history for the utterances
they ascribe to the Empress and for the weapons they assign to her
soldiers, and were guilty of at least two serious anachronisms.
But none of these faults disfigures the story as told in the pages of
the Kojiki, which was written before the Nihongi. It has always to be
remembered that the compilers of the latter essayed the impossible
task of adjusting a new chronology to events extending over many
centuries, and that the resulting discrepancies of dates does not
necessarily discredit the events themselves. It has also to be
remembered that the same compilers were required to robe their facts
in Chinese costume and that the consequent ill-fits and
artificialities do not of necessity vitiate the facts. In the
particular case under consideration did the Kojiki stand alone,
little doubt would ever have been entertained about the reality of an
armed expedition to Korea, under the Empress Jingo. The sober and
unexaggerated narrative of that history would have been accepted,
less only the miraculous portents which accompany it.
As to the date of the invasion, however, it must have remained
obscure: the Kojiki's narrative furnishes one clue. According to
Korean history, an apparently unimportant descent upon Sinra
(Shiragi) took place in A.D. 219; a more serious one in 233, when the
Japanese ships were burned and their crews massacred, and a still
more formidable one in 249, when a Sinra statesman who had brought on
the invasion by using insulting language towards the sovereign of
Japan in presence of a Japanese ambassador, gave himself up to the
Japanese in the hope of appeasing their anger. They burnt him, and
proceeded to besiege Keumsyong, the Sinra capital, but were
ultimately beaten off. "No less than twenty-five descents by Japanese
on the Sinra coast are mentioned in Korean history in the first five
centuries of the Christian era, but it is impossible to identify any
one of them with Jingo's expedition." [Aston.] Nevertheless, modern
Japanese historians are disposed to assign the Jingo invasion to the
year 364, when Nai-mul ruled Shiragi, from which monarch's era
tribute seems to have been regularly sent to Yamato. Indeed the pages
of the Nihongi which deal with the last sixty years of Jingo's reign
are devoted almost entirely to descriptions of incidents connected
with the receipt of tribute and the advent or despatch of envoys. The
chronology is certainly erroneous. In no less than four several cases
events obviously the same are attributed by the Korean annals to
dates differing from those of the Nihongi by exactly two cycles; and
in one important instance the Japanese work assigns to A.D. 205 an
occurrence which the Tongkan* puts in the year 418.
*Korean history. Its full title is Tong-kuk-lhong-kan.
Whichever annals be correct--and the balance sways in favour of the
Korean so far as those protohistoric eras are concerned--"there can
be no doubt that Japan, at an early period, formed an alliance with
Paikche" (spoken of in Japan as "Kudara," namely, the regions
surrounding the modern Seoul), "and laid the foundation of a
controlling power over the territory known as Imna (or Mimana), which
lasted for several centuries." [Aston.] One evidence of this control
is furnished in the establishment of an office called uchi-tsu-miyake
in addition to the chinju-fu already spoken of. From early times it
had been customary in Japan that whenever any lands were acquired, a
portion of them was included in the Imperial domain, the produce
being thenceforth stored and the affairs of the estate managed at a
miyake presided over by a mikoto-mochi. Thus, on the inclusion of
certain Korean districts in Japan's dominions, this usage was
observed, and the new miyake had the syllables uchi-tsu ("of the
interior") prefixed to distinguish it as a part of Japan. It is on
record that a mikoto-mochi was stationed in Shiragi, and in the days
of Jingo's son (Ojin) the great statesman, Takenouchi-no-Sukune, took
up his residence for a time in Tsukushi to assist this mikoto-mochi
and the chinju-fu, should occasion arise. Modern Japanese historians
describe this era as the first period of Japanese national
development, for an almost immediate result of the oversea relations
thus established was that silk and cotton fabrics of greatly improved
quality, gold, silver, iron, implements, arts, and literature were
imported in increasing quantities to the great benefit of
civilization.
SHIFTING OF POLITICAL INFLUENCE
An important change dates from the reign of Jingo. It has been shown
above that, from a period prior to the death of Suinin, the power and
influence of the Imperial princes and nobles was a constantly growing
quantity. But the political situation developed a new phase when the
Sukune family appeared upon the scene. The first evidence of this was
manifested in a striking incident.
the region, who may be designated "Mayor."
*Supposed to be derived from ine (rice) and oki (store).
THE FOURTEENTH EMPEROR, CHUAI (A.D. 192--200) AND THE EMPRESS JINGO
(A.D. 201--269)
Were the Records our sole guide, the early incidents of Chuai's reign
would be wrapped in obscurity. For when we first meet him in the
pages of the Kojiki, he is in a palace on the northern shores of the
Shimonoseki Strait, whence he soon crosses to the Kashii palace in
Kyushu. His predecessors, while invariably changing their residences
on mounting the throne, had always chosen a site for the new palace
in Yamato or a neighbouring province, but the Records, without any
explanation, carry Chuai to the far south after his accession. The
Chronicles are more explicit. From them we gather that Chuai--who was
the second son of Yamato-dake and is described as having been ten
feet high with "a countenance of perfect beauty"--was a remarkably
active sovereign. He commenced his reign by a progress to Tsuruga
(then called Tsunuga) on the west coast of the mainland, and, a month
later, he made an expedition to Kii on the opposite shore. While in
the latter province he received news of a revolt of the Kumaso, and
at once taking ship, he went by sea to Shimonoseki, whither he
summoned the Empress from Tsuruga. An expedition against the Kumaso
was then organized and partially carried out, but the Emperor's force
was beaten and he himself received a fatal arrow-wound. Both the
Records and the Chronicles relate that, on the eve of this disastrous
move against the Kumaso, the Empress had a revelation urging the
Emperor to turn his arms against Korea as the Kumaso were not worthy
of his steel. But Chuai rejected the advice with scorn, and the
Kojiki alleges that the outraged deities punished him with death,
though doubtless a Kumaso arrow was the instrument. His demise was
carefully concealed, and the Empress, mustering the troops, took
vengeance upon the Kumaso.
Thereafter her Majesty became the central figure in a page of
history--or romance--which has provoked more controversy than any
incident in Japanese annals. A descendant of the Korean prince,
Ama-no-Hihoko, who settled in the province of Tajima during the reign
of the Emperor Suinin, she must have possessed traditional knowledge
of Shiragi, whence her ancestor had emigrated. She was the third
consort of Chuai. His first had borne him two sons who were of adult
age when, in the second year of his reign, he married Jingo,* a lady
"intelligent, shrewd, and with a countenance of such blooming
loveliness that her father wondered at it." To this appreciation of
her character must be added the attributes of boundless ambition and
brave resourcefulness. The annals represent her as bent from the
outset on the conquest of Korea and as receiving the support and
encouragement of Takenouchi-no-Sukune, who had served her husband and
his predecessor as prime minister. A military expedition oversea led
by a sovereign in person had not been heard of since the days of
Jimmu, and to reconcile officials and troops to such an undertaking
the element of divine revelation had to be introduced. At every stage
signs and portents were vouchsafed by the guardian deities. By their
intervention the Empress was shown to be possessed of miraculous
prowess, and at their instance troops and ships assembled
spontaneously. The armada sailed under divine guidance, a gentle
spirit protecting the Empress, and a warlike spirit leading the van
of her forces. The god of the wind sent a strong breeze; the god of
the sea ruled the waves favourably; all the great fishes accompanied
the squadron, and an unprecendented tide bore the ships far inland.
Fighting became unnecessary. The King of Shiragi did homage at once
and promised tribute and allegiance forever, and the other monarchs
of the peninsula followed his example. In short, Korea was conquered
and incorporated with the dominions of Japan.
*It should be clearly understood that the names by which the
sovereigns are called in these pages, are the posthumous appellations
given to them in later times when Chinese ideographs came into use
and Chinese customs began to be followed in such matters. The
posthumous was compiled with reference to the character or
achievements of the sovereign, Thus Jingo signifies "divine merit,"
on account of her conquests; "Chuai" means "lamentable second son,"
with reference to his evil fate, and "Keiko" implies "great deeds."
These three sovereigns were called during life, Okinaga-Tarashi,
Tarashi-Nakatsu, and 0-Tarashi, respectively.
CRITICISM OF THE ALLEGED CONQUEST OF KOREA
By some learned historiographers the whole of the above account is
pronounced a fiction. There was no such invasion of Korea, they say,
nor does the narrative deserve more credit than the legend of the
Argonauts or the tale of Troy. But that is probably too drastic a
view. There can indeed be little doubt that the compilers of the
Nihongi embellished the bald tradition with imaginary details; used
names which did not exist until centuries after the epoch referred
to; drew upon the resources of Chinese history for the utterances
they ascribe to the Empress and for the weapons they assign to her
soldiers, and were guilty of at least two serious anachronisms.
But none of these faults disfigures the story as told in the pages of
the Kojiki, which was written before the Nihongi. It has always to be
remembered that the compilers of the latter essayed the impossible
task of adjusting a new chronology to events extending over many
centuries, and that the resulting discrepancies of dates does not
necessarily discredit the events themselves. It has also to be
remembered that the same compilers were required to robe their facts
in Chinese costume and that the consequent ill-fits and
artificialities do not of necessity vitiate the facts. In the
particular case under consideration did the Kojiki stand alone,
little doubt would ever have been entertained about the reality of an
armed expedition to Korea, under the Empress Jingo. The sober and
unexaggerated narrative of that history would have been accepted,
less only the miraculous portents which accompany it.
As to the date of the invasion, however, it must have remained
obscure: the Kojiki's narrative furnishes one clue. According to
Korean history, an apparently unimportant descent upon Sinra
(Shiragi) took place in A.D. 219; a more serious one in 233, when the
Japanese ships were burned and their crews massacred, and a still
more formidable one in 249, when a Sinra statesman who had brought on
the invasion by using insulting language towards the sovereign of
Japan in presence of a Japanese ambassador, gave himself up to the
Japanese in the hope of appeasing their anger. They burnt him, and
proceeded to besiege Keumsyong, the Sinra capital, but were
ultimately beaten off. "No less than twenty-five descents by Japanese
on the Sinra coast are mentioned in Korean history in the first five
centuries of the Christian era, but it is impossible to identify any
one of them with Jingo's expedition." [Aston.] Nevertheless, modern
Japanese historians are disposed to assign the Jingo invasion to the
year 364, when Nai-mul ruled Shiragi, from which monarch's era
tribute seems to have been regularly sent to Yamato. Indeed the pages
of the Nihongi which deal with the last sixty years of Jingo's reign
are devoted almost entirely to descriptions of incidents connected
with the receipt of tribute and the advent or despatch of envoys. The
chronology is certainly erroneous. In no less than four several cases
events obviously the same are attributed by the Korean annals to
dates differing from those of the Nihongi by exactly two cycles; and
in one important instance the Japanese work assigns to A.D. 205 an
occurrence which the Tongkan* puts in the year 418.
*Korean history. Its full title is Tong-kuk-lhong-kan.
Whichever annals be correct--and the balance sways in favour of the
Korean so far as those protohistoric eras are concerned--"there can
be no doubt that Japan, at an early period, formed an alliance with
Paikche" (spoken of in Japan as "Kudara," namely, the regions
surrounding the modern Seoul), "and laid the foundation of a
controlling power over the territory known as Imna (or Mimana), which
lasted for several centuries." [Aston.] One evidence of this control
is furnished in the establishment of an office called uchi-tsu-miyake
in addition to the chinju-fu already spoken of. From early times it
had been customary in Japan that whenever any lands were acquired, a
portion of them was included in the Imperial domain, the produce
being thenceforth stored and the affairs of the estate managed at a
miyake presided over by a mikoto-mochi. Thus, on the inclusion of
certain Korean districts in Japan's dominions, this usage was
observed, and the new miyake had the syllables uchi-tsu ("of the
interior") prefixed to distinguish it as a part of Japan. It is on
record that a mikoto-mochi was stationed in Shiragi, and in the days
of Jingo's son (Ojin) the great statesman, Takenouchi-no-Sukune, took
up his residence for a time in Tsukushi to assist this mikoto-mochi
and the chinju-fu, should occasion arise. Modern Japanese historians
describe this era as the first period of Japanese national
development, for an almost immediate result of the oversea relations
thus established was that silk and cotton fabrics of greatly improved
quality, gold, silver, iron, implements, arts, and literature were
imported in increasing quantities to the great benefit of
civilization.
SHIFTING OF POLITICAL INFLUENCE
An important change dates from the reign of Jingo. It has been shown
above that, from a period prior to the death of Suinin, the power and
influence of the Imperial princes and nobles was a constantly growing
quantity. But the political situation developed a new phase when the
Sukune family appeared upon the scene. The first evidence of this was
manifested in a striking incident.
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