Page:Nihongi by Aston volume 2.djvu/43



Emperor Ame-kuni Oshi-hiraki Hiro-niha was the rightful heir of the Emperor Wohodo. His mother's name was the Empress Tashiraka. The Emperor loved him, and kept him constantly at his side. When the Emperor was young he had a dream, in which a man appeared to him, saying:—"If thou makest a favourite of a man called Hada no Ohotsuchi, thou wilt surely possess the Empire when thou dost attain to manhood." When he awoke, he sent messengers to search everywhere. They got from the province of Yamashiro, the district of Kiï and the township of Fukakusa, a man whose name and surname were actually as in the dream. Upon this joy pervaded his whole frame. "A dream without precedent!" he exclaimed, and addressed him, saying:—"Has anything happened thee?" He answered and said:—"Nothing. Only when thy servant was on his way back from Ise, whither he had gone to trade, he fell in with two wolves on a mountain, who were fighting with one another, and were defiled with blood. Thy servant got down from his horse, and, having rinsed his mouth and hands, made prayer to them, saying:—'Ye are august deities, and yet ye take delight in violence.