Page:Nihongi by Aston volume 2.djvu/65

58 also be impossible therewith to restrain Silla. I therefore propose to retain them in their stations for the harassment of Silla, and the preservation of Imna. If this be not done, I fear that I shall come to ruin and be unable to render allegiance to the Emperor. This is the second part of the scheme which I wish to submit to the Emperor.

Moreover, the Emperor may decree the establishment of Imna, but so long as Kibi no Omi, Kahachi no Atahe, Yanasa, and Mato continue to reside in Imna, he will be unable to do so. I shall therefore request that these four men be each sent back to their respective homes. This is the third part of the plan which I wish to submit to the Emperor.

Let us all together, you the Omi of the Japanese Miyake, you the Kanki of Imna, and myself, despatch envoys with a joint message to His Majesty, praying to hear his gracious instructions."

Hereupon Kibi no Omi and the Kanki said:—"The triple scheme propounded by the Great King is entirely in accordance with our humble sentiments. We pray that we may be allowed to return and respectfully advise with the Oho-omi [meaning the Oho-omi of the Japanese Administration in Imna] of the Japanese Administration, the King of Ara, the King of Kara, as to their all sending envoys with a joint message to the Emperor. This is truly an occasion such as only comes once in a thousand years. Ought it not to be profoundly considered and maturely planned?"

12th month. The following report was received from the province of Koshi:—"At Cape Minabe, on the northern side of the Island of Sado, there arrived men of Su-shēn in a boat, and staid there. During the spring and summer they caught fish, which they used for food. The men of that island said they were not human beings. They also called them devils, and did not dare to go near them. The people of the village of Umu, on the east of the island, having gathered acorns, were