Section LIII.—Emperor Jim-mu (Part X.—Genealogies)

p. 186 Mamuta no murazhi. Mamuta is said to have been a place in the province of Kahachi. The etymology of the name is obscure.

Teshima no murazhi. Teshima is said to have been a place in the province of Tsu (Settsu). The name may signify "luxuriant island."

Oho no omi. Oho is said to have been a place in the province of Yamato. The name is mostly written with characters signifying "vast" or "numerous."

Chihisako-be no murazhi. Chihisako is said to have been a place in the province of Etchiū. But the name of this family has also been traced to an incident mentioned in the "Newly Selected Catalogue of Family Names "as having occurred in the reign of the Emperor Yūriyaku, p. 187when, owing to a verbal error, a tax was collected in children instead of in cocoons. The monarch, amused at the mistake, is said to have granted to the tax-collector the "gentile name" of Chihisako, i.e., "Little Child."

Sakahi-be no muhazhi. Sakahi signifies "boundary," and this "gentile name" is traced to the fact, mentioned in the "Newly Selected Catalogue of Family Names," that the founder of the family distinguished himself by setting up boundary-marks on the frontiers of different provinces in the reign of the Emperor In-giyō (first half of the fifth century of the Christian era).

Hi no kimi, Hi ( ) is the name of a province (now two provinces) in the south-western island of Tsukushi. It is first mentioned in Sect. V, Note 17.

Ohokida no kimi. Ohokida is the name of a district in the province of Toyo.

Aso no himi. Aso is the name of a district in Higo, containing a celebrated volcano.

Tsukushi no miyake no murazhi.

Sazaki-be no omi. This name is connected by the compiler of the "Newly Selected Catalogue of Family Names" with that of the Emperor Nin-toku (Oho-sazaki no Mikoto), for which see Sect. CIV, Note 18.

Sazaki-be no miyatsuko.

Wo hatsuse no miyatsuko. This name is connected with that of the Emperor Mu-retsu, whose name was Wo-Hatsuse no Waka-Sazaki.

Tsuke no atahe. Tsuke is the name of a place in Yamato.

Iyo no kuni no miyatsuko. For the province of Iyo see Sect. V, Note 26.

Shinanu no kuni no miyatsuko. For the province of Shinanu (Shinano) see Sect. XXXII, Note 26.

Michinoku no Ihaki no kuni no miyatsuko. A popular derivation of Michinoku is from michi no kuni, "the country of the road;" but a more likely one, sanctioned by Motowori, is from michi no oku, "the furthest or more distant part of the road." (For the word "road," as here used, conf. Sect. LXV, Note 2.). It was for many centuries, and is still in poetry, a vague name for the entire north of Japan. Ihaki, sometimes considered a province, and at others only ranking as a district, formed its south-eastern portion along the Pacific sea-board. The name seems to signify "rock (or hard) castle."

p. 188 Hitachi no naka no huni no miyatzuko. Hitachi is a province to the south of Ihaki. Motowori quotes more than one traditional derivation of its name, the best of which, taken from the old Topography of the province, is hita-michi, "plain road," referring to the level nature of that part of the country. Naka is the name of a district. The word signifies "middle," and may have arisen from the fact of the district bearing it being situated between two considerable rivers.

Nagasa no kuni no miyatsuko. Nagasa is a district in that portion of the old province of Kadzusa which was in very early historical times cut off from the little province of Aha. The import of the name is not clear.

Ise no Funaki no atahe. For Ise see Sect. XLIX, Note 4. Of Funaki nothing is known. The characters with which the name is written signify "boat-tree."

Ohari no Niha no omi. Wohari is one of the central provinces of Japan. The name is of uncertain origin. Niha is the name of a district, and is of uncertain origin.

Shimada no omi. Shimada is the name of a district in Wohari, and signifies "island rice-fields."