Shinto

Mikado matsuri. – This ceremony was in honour of two Gate Gods named Kushi-iha-mado (wondrous-rock-gate) and Toyo-iha-mado (rich-rock-gate).[279 - See above, p. 168. (#Page_168)] The Yengishiki contains a norito (No. 9) in which their praises are fulfilled, because they prevent the entrance to the Palace of noxious things and exercise a superintendence over the persons who come in and go out.

Tsuina or Oni-yarahi, that is to say, demon expelling, is a sort of drama in which disease, or more generally ill-luck, is personified, and driven away with threats and a show of violence. Like the Oho-harahi, it was performed on the last day of the year. This association is only natural. The demons of the tsuina are personified wintry influences, with the diseases which they bring with them, while the Oho-harahi is intended to cleanse the people from sin and uncleanness, things closely related to disease, as well as from disease itself. Though probably of Chinese origin, the tsuina is a tolerably ancient rite. It is alluded to in the Nihongi under the date a. d. 689. It was at one time performed at Court on an imposing scale. Four bands of twenty youths, each wearing a four-eyed mask, and each carrying a halberd in the left hand, marched simultaneously from the four gates of the Palace, driving the devils before them. Another account of this ceremony says that a man disguised himself as the demon of pestilence, in which garb he was shot at and driven off by the courtiers armed with peach-wood bows and arrows of reed. (See illustration, p. 310.) Peach-wood staves were used for the same purpose. There was formerly a practice at Asa-kusa in Tokio on the last day of the year for a man got up as a devil to be chased round the pagoda there by another wearing a mask. After this 3,000 tickets were scrambled for by the spectators. These were carried away and pasted up over the doors as a charm against pestilence. At the present day, the popular form of tsuina consists in scattering parched beans with the cry, "Oni ha soto: fuku ha uchi," that is, "Out with the devils and in with the luck." The former phrase is uttered in a loud voice, the latter in a low tone. This office should properly be discharged by the head of the family, but it is frequently delegated to a servant. The performer is called the toshi-otoko, or year-man. In the Shōgun's palace a specially appointed toshi-otoko sprinkled parched beans in all the principal rooms. These beans were picked up by the women of the palace, who wrapped them in paper in number equal to the years of their age, and then flung them backwards out of doors. Sometimes tsuina beans were gathered by people who had reached an unlucky year (yaku-toshi), one for each year of their age and one over, and wrapped in paper with a small copper coin, which had been rubbed over their body to transfer the ill-luck. These were placed in a bamboo tube and flung away at crossroads. This was called yaku-sute (flinging away ill-luck). Other people pass under seven tori-wi as an antidote.

The significance of the peach and bean in this ceremony has been already explained.[280 - See above, pp. 189-190. (#Page_189)] The vulgar notion is that the beans hit the devils in the eye and blind them. A more philosophical theory is that the beans dispel the in-aku no ki, or female evil influences, and welcome in the sei-yō, green male influences. By the female influences are here meant wintry influences; by male influences those of spring.

Mr. J. G. Frazer, in 'The Golden Bough,' iii. 67, second edition, gives an interesting account of another Japanese form of this custom.

The tsuina is only a special form of a world-wide ceremony. We may compare with it the Roman Lemuria, a festival for the souls of the dead, in which the celebrators threw black beans nine times behind their backs, believing by this ceremony to secure themselves against the Lemures. Some of my readers may have witnessed the Scotch Hogmanay, when the house is thrice circumambulated on the last day of the year in order to frighten away devils. In Lady Burton's life of her husband she tells us that at Trieste on St. Sylvester's Eve, the servants went through a very usual ceremony of forming procession and chevying the evil spirits with sticks and brooms out of the house, inviting the good spirits and good luck to come and dwell there. This is curiously like the Japanese formula just quoted. At Chæronea, in Bœotia, the chief magistrate at the town hall and every householder in his own house, as we learn from Plutarch, had on a certain day to beat a slave with rods of agnus castus, and turn him out of doors, with the formula, "Out hunger! in health and wealth." The "expulsion of winter" of Teutonic and Slavonic folklore belongs to the same class of customs. It should be remembered that the Japanese New Year was later than our own, and was recognized as the beginning of spring.

I must not quote further from the extensive literature of this subject. The reader is referred to 'The Golden Bough,' second edition, vol. iii. pp. 39 et seqq., for a rich collection of evidence relating to it.

New Year in Modern Japan. – Although most of the New Year's observances in modern Japan belong to the province of popular magic rather than of Shinto, some general account of them may not be out of place here. The preparations begin on the thirteenth day of the last month, which is therefore called koto-hajime (beginning of things). On this day people eat okotojiru, a kind of stew, whose ingredients are generally red beans, potatoes, mushrooms, sliced fish, and a root called konnyaku. Presents of money are made to servants at this time. About the same date there is a partly real, partly ceremonial house-cleaning called susu-harahi (soot-sweeping). The other preparations for the New Year consist in decorating the front entrance by planting at each side of it small fir-trees, with which bamboos are frequently joined. Both of these symbolize an ever-green prosperity. A shimenaha is hung over the door or gate, attached to which are fern leaves, and yudzuri-ha (Daphniphyllum macropodum) with daidai (a kind of bitter orange). Daidai also means ages, generations, so that this is a sort of punning prayer for long life and the continuance of the family. The prawn, which forms part of the decorations, is supposed by its curved back to suggest old age. Sometimes holly leaves, of which the prickles are thought, as in Europe, obnoxious to demons, bean pods, and a head of a salt sardine (ihashi) are added. On the domestic shrine is placed an offering of unleavened cakes of glutinous pounded rice, the preparation of which is a matter for much fun and excitement. These cakes are called kagami-mochi, or mirror-cakes, on account of their shape, which is that of a flattened sphere. There are two of them. One is said to represent the sun, the yō, or male principle of Chinese philosophy, the parent and the husband, while the other is put for the moon, the female principle, the child and the wife. The kagami-mochi is also called the ha-gatame mochi (tooth-hardening cake) because it fortifies the constitution. The explanation given is that the Chinese character for ha, "tooth," also means "age."

The tsuina on the last day of the year is described above.

The first act of the New Year is for the toshi-otoko to proceed at dawn to the well or stream whence the household water is supplied. He throws into it a small offering of rice, and draws water in a new pail crowned with shime-naha. To drink this water, called waka-midzu or young water, brings luck and exemption from disease during the year.

On New Year's day zōni, a stew of various kinds of vegetables is eaten and a spiced sake called toso is drunk and offered to visitors. No work is done. Visits are exchanged between friends, and formal calls made on superiors. The phrase Shinnen o medetô gozarimasu (New Year's congratulations to you) is in everybody's mouth. The ujigami are visited and also the Shinto temples which lie in the direction (ehô) indicated by the cyclic name of the year. Thus the year of the Hare is associated with the East. The Gods who preside over this particular year are called the Toshi-toku-jin (year-virtue-Gods).

In some places a lamp, consisting of a coarse earthenware saucer with a wick, is lighted at the New Year in honour of the God of the Privy. Sick people at this time throw away their stockings or drawers on a frequented road, and if any one picks them up they expect to recover. Samurai boys receive presents of hamayumi (devil-quelling bows).

The seventh of the first month is called Nanakusa, or seven herbs, because in ancient times people went out into the country to gather wild pot-herbs which were made into a mess with rice and eaten on this day.

The New Year's celebrations end with the Sahe no Kami festival (now called dondo or sagichô) on the fourteenth or fifteenth of the first month, when the decorations above described are made the material for a bonfire.[281 - See above, p. 313. (#Page_313)]

Tatari-gami wo utsushi-tatematsuru norito (service for the respectful removal of deities who send a curse). – This norito (No. 25) is long, but it contains nothing worthy of special notice. The mischievous deities are reminded of the divine right of the Mikado, and of the quelling by Futsunushi and Takemika-dzuchi of the evil beings who plagued Japan before the descent of Ninigi. Offerings of cloth, a mirror, jewels, bows and arrows, swords, a horse, sake, rice in ear and in grain, and various kinds of flesh and vegetables, are set before them, with the request that they should retire to enjoy these good things in some pure spot among the hills and streams and remain there, rather than work curses and violence in the Palace.

It is to be distinguished from the Michiahe ritual, which was addressed to the Protective Road-deities in order to keep off pestilence. The present formula is a direct appeal to the evil deities themselves. It is not quite clear who they were. Perhaps all possibly harmful Gods were meant to be included.

Ceremony when Envoys were despatched to Foreign Countries. – On such occasions the Gods of Heaven and Earth, with the phallic Chiburi no Kami, or Road-Gods, were worshipped outside the city, the envoys taking part in the ceremony and reading a norito. The wood-Gods and mountain-Gods were worshipped before cutting the timber for building their ship.

The Yengishiki preserves a norito (No. 26) used on one of these occasions. It is addressed to the Sea-Gods of Sumiyoshi, and presents thank-offerings to them for providing a harbour there more convenient for the envoys to sail from than a more distant port in Harima.

Ho-shidzume no Matsuri (fire-calming-service). – This ceremony was performed on the last days of the sixth and twelfth months by the Urabe, or diviners, at the four outer corners of the Imperial Palace, in order to prevent its destruction by fire. The Urabe kindled a fire by means of the fire-drill and worshipped it. The following norito (No. 12) was read on the occasion: -

"I humbly declare according to the celestial the great pronouncement (norito) delivered to the Sovran Grandchild by his Sovran, dear, divine ancestor and ancestress when they granted to him the Under-Heaven, commanding him to rule tranquilly as a peaceful realm the fair Rice-ear-land of the Rich-reed-plain, as follows: 'The two Gods Izanagi and Izanami, having become united as husband and wife, procreated the eighty countries and the eighty islands and gavebirth to the eight hundred myriads of deities. When Izanami's last son, the God Homusubi (fire-growth), was born her pudenda were burnt and she became rock-concealed.[282 - That is, died.]She said, "For nights seven and for days seven look not on me, oh my husband." But before the seven days were fulfilled, Izanagi, wondering at her concealment, viewed her, and behold, her pudenda had been burnt in giving birth to the Fire.[283 - What was the God of Fire in the previous sentence is here simply "Fire."]"Oh, my honoured husband," said Izanami, "thou hast insulted me by looking on me despite my having besought thee to refrain from doing so at such a time. Therefore thou must govern the upper world and I the lower world." So saying, she was rock-concealed. When she had reached the Even Pass of Yomi, she bethought herself: "I gave birth to, and left behind me in the upper world ruled by my honoured husband, an evil-hearted child." So she went back and gave birth to other children, namely, the God of Water, the Gourd, the River-weed, and the Clay-mountain-lady, four kinds in all. Moreover, she taught him, saying, "When the temper of this evil-hearted child becomes violent, do thou assuage it with the Water-God, the Gourd, the River-weed, and the Clay-mountain-lady."

"'Therefore do I fulfil thy praises as follows: To the end that thou mayest deign to control thy transports against the Palace of the Sovran Grandchild, I offer thee bright cloth, shining cloth, smooth cloth, and rough cloth, of various colours. Of things which dwell in the blue sea-plain, I offer the broad of fin and the narrow of fin, even unto the weeds of the offing and the weeds of the shore. Of sake, I raise up the tops of the jars, and fill and range in order the bellies of the jars. Nor do I omit rice, cleaned and in the husk. Heaping up these things like a cross-range of hills, I fulfil thy praises according to the Celestial, the Great pronouncement.'"

It will be observed that the tone of this norito is not particularly reverent. It reads more like an offer to pay blackmail than a prayer. The phraseology implies that the Mikado is the God's superior. And surely there is a malicious humour in the reminder that the God was a bad boy, to provide the means for whose control and chastisement his mother came back expressly from Hades.

Kasuga no Matsuri. – This service is comparatively modern, having been first used in 859. It is in honour of the Gods worshipped at Kasuga, near Nara, namely, Take-mika-dzuchi, Futsunushi, Koyane, and a Goddess who is supposed to be the wife of the last-named deity. It was celebrated twice annually by a priestess despatched from Kiōto to Nara for the purpose. I take from Sir Ernest Satow's 'Ancient Japanese Rituals' in the T.A.S.J. the following account of the ceremonies used on this occasion. They may serve as an example of the elaborate ritual of Shinto at this period, and to illustrate the intimate association of government with religion.

Before the celebration of the service, orders were given to the Divination Office to fix a day, hour, and locality for a purification (harahi) to be performed. On the day preceding the purification a sort of tent was erected near the river (i. e., the Kamogaha at Kiōto), and at the hour appointed the priestess who had been selected for the occasion proceeded to the place of purification in a bullock-car. The procession was magnificent, and was ordered with extreme precision. It consisted of nearly one hundred and forty persons, besides porters. First went two municipal men-at-arms, followed by two citizens and eight officials of rank. They were succeeded by the bailiff of the priestess's official residence with four attendants, after whom came ten corporals of the Guard of the Palace Gates, and a few men from the other four Imperial Guards. Next came the car of the priestess herself, with eight attendants in brown hempen mantles, two young boys in brown, and four running foot pages in white dresses with purple skirts. A silk umbrella and a huge long-handled fan were borne on either side of the car by four men in scarlet coats. Ten more servants completed her immediate retinue. Then came a chest full of sacrificial utensils, and two carriages containing a lady, who seems to have acted as a sort of duenna to the priestess, and the Mikado's messengers, surrounded by attendants in number suited to their rank. Close behind them were borne two chests full of food-offerings, and four containing gifts from the Mikado intended for those members of the Fujihara family who attended on the occasion. Seven carriages carried the female servants of the priestess, each of them being a lady of rank, and therefore accompanied by half-a-dozen followers of both sexes. Two high officials of the provincial government of Yamashiro awaited the procession at a convenient point, and conducted it to the spot chosen for the ceremony of purification. A member of the Nakatomi tribe presented the nusa, consisting of a white wand with hemp-fibre hanging from its upper end, the symbol of the primitive offerings of greater value, and a diviner read the purification ritual. After the ceremony was over, refreshments were served out, and the Mikado's gifts distributed. The priestess then returned to her official residence.

On her journey to the temple of Kasuga, the priestess was preceded by various priests, diviners, musicians, cooks, and other functionaries of inferior grade, who set out one day earlier in the charge of an officer of the Ministry of Religion. At the boundary of the province of Yamato she was received by officers of the Provincial Government, who accompanied her to the temporary building erected for her accommodation on the bank of the Saho-gaha. During the day the rite of purification was performed on the western side of the temple, and the offerings placed in readiness for the final ceremony. At dawn on the following day officials of the Ministry of Religion superintended the cleaning of the shrine by a young girl (mono imi) who had been carefully guarded for some time previous from contracting any ceremonial uncleanness, while other officials decorated the buildings and set out the sacred treasures close to the shrines and by the side of the arcade round the innermost enclosure. Everything being now in readiness, the high officers of State who had come down from the capital for the service entered by the gate assigned to them, and took their seats in the outer court, followed by members of the Fujihara family of the sixth rank and under. The priestess now arrived in a palanquin, with a numerous retinue of local functionaries, infantry and cavalry soldiers, and followed by porters carrying the offerings of the Mikado, his consort, the heir-apparent, and of the priestess herself. Next came race-horses sent by the Mikado's consort, by the heir-apparent, and from the Six Guards of the Palace, the rear of the procession being brought up by a crowd of lesser officials and men-at-arms. The palanquin of the priestess was surrounded by a large body of guards, torch-bearers, and running pages, umbrella and screen-bearers, and women and girls on horseback. After them came the chest of sacrificial vessels, a number of servants, three chests full of food-offerings, six chests of clothing for the Gods, with carriages containing some of the Mikado's female attendants, the priestess's duenna, and some young girls. On arriving at the north gate, on the west side of the temple enclosure, the men got off their horses and the women descended from their carriages. The priestess then alighted from her palanquin, and passing between curtains held by her attendants in such a way as to render her invisible to the crowd, entered the waiting-room prepared for her inside the courtyard, followed by the women of the Mikado's household. The Mikado's offerings were now brought forward by the Keeper of the Privy Purse and laid on a table outside the gate, while the women of the Household entered the inner enclosure, and took their places in readiness to inspect the offerings. In a few minutes they were joined by the priestess, who had changed her travelling dress for sacrificial robes. The Keeper of the Privy Purse now brought the Mikado's presents in through the gate, and placing them on a table in front of the midzu-gaki, or inner fence, saluted the chapels by clapping his hands four times, alternately standing upright and bowing down to the ground. On his retiring, the same ceremony was performed by the persons charged with the offerings of the Mikado's consort and heir-apparent, after which the offerings of the Fujihara and other noble families were deposited on lower tables, with similar ceremonies. The kandomo, or subordinate officials of the Ministry of Religion, next carried up the Mikado's offerings and delivered them to the mono-imi, who carried them into the chapel. The kandomo then spread matting on the ground in front of each of the four chapels, and members of the Fujihara clan[284 - A branch of the Nakatomi, who claimed descent from Koyane, one of the four Gods worshipped.] who held a sufficiently high rank carried in and arranged the tables destined to receive the food-offerings. Two barrels of sake were then brought in and placed between the first and second and third and fourth chapels, in a line with the tables, a jar of sake brewed by the priests being also placed in front of each chapel. This over, every one quitted the enclosure, making way for the women of the Household, who uncovered the food-offerings and poured out two cups of sake for each deity. The liquor appears to have been of the turbid sort called nigori-zake. All the preparations being thus complete, the high officers of State and the messengers sent by the Court entered the enclosure and took their seats. Four saddle-horses intended as offerings to the Gods and eight race-horses were now led up in front of the temple, preceded by a major-general of the Guards and a Master of the Horse. A superior priest, with his brows bound with a fillet of paper mulberry fibre (yufu-kadzura) then advanced and read the ritual, bowed twice, clapped his hands four times, and retired. The congregation afterwards withdrew to the refectory, where the food-offerings were consumed by the participants in the solemn act of worship, and the sansai, or thanksgiving service, was conducted by the kandomo of the Ministry of Religion.

The sacred horses were then led eight times round the temple by the grooms of the Mikado's stables, who received a draught of consecrated sake as their reward. The general of the body-guard next directed some of his men to perform the dance called Adzuma-mahi, and when they had finished a meal of rice was served to them with much ceremony by the Mikado's cooks. At the command of the Vice-Minister of Religion, the harpists and flute-players were summoned to perform a piece of music, called mi koto fuwe ahase (the concert of harp and flute); the flutes played a short movement alone, and were then joined by the harps, whereupon the singers struck in. An officer of the Ministry of Religion sang the first few bars, and the official singers finished the piece. This was followed by one of the dances called Yamato-mahi, performed in turn by the principal priests of the temple, by members of the Fujihara family and by the Vice-Minister of Religion himself. After the sake-cup had been passed round three times, the company clapped their hands once and separated. Then everybody adjourned to the race-course, and the day was wound up with galloping matches.

The norito (No. 2 of the Yengishiki) read on this occasion has been translated by Sir Ernest Satow. It is of minor interest.

Hirose Oho-imi no Matsuri (service in honour of the Food-Goddess of Hirose). – The norito of this ceremony (No. 3 of the Yengishiki) announces offerings to the Food-Goddess and makes promise of more if good harvests are granted by her. The Gods of the ravines which supply water for irrigating the Crown-farms are joined with her in this service. Sir E. Satow has translated this norito. It contains nothing of special interest.

Tatsuta kaze no kami no Matsuri (service of the Wind-Gods at Tatsuta). – The norito (No. 4 of the Yengishiki) of this service has been translated by Sir E. Satow. It contains a legend which professes to account for its first institution and for the founding of the shrine at which it was celebrated. For several years in succession violent storms had destroyed the crops. The diviners having in vain endeavoured to discover the cause of this calamity, the Wind-Gods revealed themselves to the Mikado in a dream and proposed to him a bargain, namely, that if he built them a shrine, and made them certain offerings, they would in future bless and ripen the grain and vegetables. The "golden thread-box," "golden shuttle," and "golden reel" enumerated in this norito as offerings to the Goddess were in reality of painted wood, one of the numerous cases of cheaper substitutes in Shinto ritual.

The Nihongi mentions very frequent embassies from the Mikado to this shrine in the seventh century. Princes were selected for the office of envoy.

In addition to the above, the Yengishiki has brief mention of ceremonies for "calming" the roaring of the kitchen-furnace, calming (or propitiating?) the God of Water, the August Abiding-place (of the Mikado), the Earth-Prince, the site of a new palace, in honour of the kitchen-furnace, of the august well (such as that from which water was taken for the Ohonihe ceremony), of the birth-well (from which water was drawn for washing a new-born prince), of the water of a privy, and a ceremony performed when the Mikado went out from the Palace. The same work contains schedules of offerings to various local deities, of whom we know little or nothing.

More recent norito. – In addition to the old norito of the Yengishiki, a good number have come down to us of more recent date, chiefly from the ninth century. We find among them for the first time norito addressed to deceased Mikados, a practice which was, no doubt, introduced from China. I give the substance of some selected examples.[285 - From a modern collection entitled Norito Bunrei.] They exhibit numerous traits of Chinese origin.

a. d. 733. The protection of the Sea-Gods of Suminoye was invoked for ships sailing to China.

805. The wrath of the God of Iso no kami was deprecated. He was supposed to have sent an illness upon the Mikado because his "divine treasures" had been removed for convenience to a place nearer the capital.

825. Envoys were sent to the tomb of a deceased Mikado to promise that it should be removed elsewhere the Urabe having discovered that he was dissatisfied with its site.

827. The Sun-Goddess was besought to stay a pestilence, and a member of the Imperial family promised her as priestess.

827. The diviners having attributed the Mikado's illness to the cutting down of the trees of the shrine of Inari, envoys were sent to recite a norito asking for pardon, and that he should be restored to health.

836. Degrees of rank were conferred on Futsunushi (lower third), Mikatsuchi (upper second), and Koyane (upper third), with the lower fourth rank for the Himegami (lady-deity). Prayer was made that the envoys should have a safe journey.

839. Trees on the Empress Jingō's tomb having been cut down, the Mikado feared that a drought might be the consequence, and sent envoys to deprecate her wrath.

840. The Mikado being affected by an evil influence (mono no ke), the diviners attributed it to a curse from the Great Abstinence (oho-imi) deity of Deha.[286 - In the north of Japan.] At the same time envoys to China were cast away among southern savages. The savages were many and they were few, but by the help of some God, they had the victory over them. A report was received from Deha that on the same date a noise of fighting was heard in the clouds of the Great God and a rain of missile stones fell. The Mikado in a norito expressed his gratitude and wonder at the far-reaching power of the God, and conferred on him the lower fourth rank with two households of peasants to serve him.

841. The Mikados Jimmu and Jingō were prayed to for rain, and apology made for previous neglect.

850. The Mikado Mondoku announced to his predecessor his accession to the throne in the following norito, which was read at his tomb by a high official commissioned for the purpose: -

"I humbly make representation: 'He [the Mikado] with profound reverence declares-with respect be it spoken-to Your Sovran Majesty. In accordance with the commands bequeathed by Your Majesty the Court nobles repeatedly besought him to take over the celestial succession, but as the date [of his predecessor's death] was still fresh and his heart distracted by grief, he twice and three times humbly declared his inability to accede to this request. But when they strongly insisted, saying that it was the wish of Your Majesty, he felt that he ought not to indulge his own inclination. After considering the matter in all its bearings, he therefore purified the Great Abiding place, and reverently assumed the celestial succession, which he now with reverence announces to Your Majesty his intention to maintain.'

"Furthermore he says, with profoundest reverence, 'That he hopes Your (with respect be it spoken) Sovran Majesty will deign to bestow on him your gracious loving favour, so that he may continue peacefully to maintain the government of the celestial succession as long as Heaven and Earth, the Sun and Moon endure.'"

850. The Wind-Gods of Tatsuta were thanked for their protection, awarded the lower fifth rank, and begged to continue their guardianship.

850. The Mikado Jimmu was prayed to on behalf of the reigning Mikado, who was dangerously ill.

851. Floods having been caused by pollution, prayer was made for fine weather to the Gods of Ise, Kamo, Matsu no wo, and Otokuni.

857. The Mikado Mondoku despatched envoys to all the famous shrines to announce the change of the year-name (nengō) to Tenan (celestial tranquillity) which had been made in consequence of the good omens of trees whose branches had grown together and of the appearance of a white deer. He sent offerings with prayers for abundance and immunity from storms and floods. He further petitioned the Gods to guard him by day and by night and to grant him a long reign.

864. Envoys were sent to Yahata (Hachiman) Daibo-satsu[287 - A Buddhist title.] in Buzen to give thanks for preservation from calamity. But as a boiling of the Lake of Aso (a volcano in Kiushiu) was held by the diviners to portend war and pestilence, and numerous other portents occurred, a lucky day had been chosen and offerings (which would have been sent sooner only for pollution) made.

866. Envoys were sent to all the Gods of Nankaido asking their protection against rebellion, for a good harvest &c., and apologizing for a delay caused by pollution.

866. An envoy was sent to Ihashimidzu with an offering of shields, spears, and saddles to the God Hachiman Bosatsu. It is explained that of three saddles two only have been sent; the third is to be despatched by a later opportunity. He is asked to guard the Mikado by day and by night and to watch over the affairs of the Empire.