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enemy and so destroy the mausoleum of someone who was also the emperor, we will surely be vilified
by later generations. Still, an enemy must receive some sort of retribution, and as a symbol of that I
turned up a little earth. If we only disgrace ourselves to that extent, we will have nothing to fear from
future generations."
Hearing that explanation, the emperor was satisfied and said, "I see--that makes sense. The way you did
it is better."
After governing the land for eight years, the emperor passed away at the age of 38. The emperor had no
children. And so he was succeeded by his elder brother Ooke no Miko, who ascended the throne as
emperor Ninken.
The emperor moved to the Hirotaka palace in Isonokami in Yamato and made a person called Kasuga
no Ooiratsume, a daughter of emperor Yuuryaku, his empress.
should be called "Meoki" meaning "eyes in place". "Omina" means "old woman."
The emperor was succeeded by imperial prince Kohatsuse no Wakasasagi no Mikoto, who ascended to
the throne as emperor Buretsu. That emperor was followed by emperors Keitai, Ankan, Senka, Kinmei,
Hitatsu, Youmei, and Sushun, and empress Suiko.
Commentary
by Tsubota Joji, 4 October 1954
Suzuki Miekichi was born in Egaku-cho, Hiroshima, in September of Meiji 15 (1882). His father
worked in the Hiroshima city offices at that time. After studying at the Kyoto 3rd Higher School, he
entered the English Department of Tokyo Imperial University in September 1904. And so he attended
lectures by Natsume Soseki. From that time he leaned toward Soseki, and studied under him until
Soseki's death in 1920. Beyond that, he continued to revere Soseki till his own death.
Miekichi considered himself a novelist until 1916 when he turned 35. For the 20 years from that time
till his death at age 55 his field was children's literature, and he worked to introduce the famous
children's stories of the world to the children of Japan. Akai Tori (The Red Bird), the children's
magazine he put out for those 20 years, remains as a beautiful memory in the hearts of many people
even today. It is by means of this Akai Tori that children's literature in Japan finally became world
class. That composition achieved today's free style and became such splendid literature is another
success of Akai Tori. And it is due to Akai Tori that children's songs have come to be created and sung.
It was in July 1919 that Miekichi began to publish these "Kojiki Tales" in Akai Tori. They were called
historical stories for children and were published monthly, starting with "The Death of the Goddess"
and "The Cave of Heaven." The index of Akai Tori shows 14 installments, through September of the
following year. And according to the chronology, the tales were published in two volumes by
Akaitorisha that November. That must be the first time the book was published.
Miekichi's feelings about retelling the Kojiki for children are unknown to me. I examined the
miscellaneous writings and impressions in his Complete Works, but there was nothing on that point.
My speculation, therefore, is that he was thinking of Greek mythology. The impact that Greek myths
have on western children is mentioned in various books, and in the biographies of great men of foreign
countries. These seem to be among the favorite books of western children. And so they make a strong
impression. The influence of these Greek myths is not limited to childhood. They act with great force
on western culture, and one who does not know these myths cannot have a correct understanding of the
names of stars or flowers. The myths are one source of western culture.
Like the Greek mythology, the Kojiki contains the religious stories of our country. How should these
religious stories be interpreted? I don't really know. However, I think it should be noted that when
Miekichi published them in Akai Tori, he listed them as historical children's stories. That was 35 years
ago now, and it may well have been impossible to call them myths or legends then. But what effect did
it have on children to have to accept as history or fact the stories of Takamagahara or of Izanaginokami
and Izanaminokami? I don't know about others, but I was raised in that period, and I received that
education. And I think I learned a certain form from that education. For example, at teacher at that time
taught me thus: "When you arise in the morning, you must stand before your father and mother with
hands together and say, 'Good morning, father dear. Good morning, mother dear.'"
Because I was an earnest child of a farm village, the next morning after saying it haltingly to myself
any number of times, I actually stood before my mother with my hands joined and said, "Good
morning, mother dear." She looked shocked. I can't say how embarrassed I was. I never considered
saying such a thing again. From there I went to school, and when I looked at my friends, not one of
them looked like they had done that. I couldn't believe that it happened even in the teacher's home. In
other words, this was a school thing. It was a classroom story. It was just a story. It wasn't a fact.
Once I understood that, the world became much easier to live in; and things which could not be
understood became understandable. The Kojiki was one of them. Even gods like Izanaginomikoto and
Izanaminomikoto were stories. They were just stories. However, I could not tell anyone that. That was
my understanding. Probably I was not the only one. Everyone since the Meiji period may well have
thought that. That's funny, if we all thought that. I may have gotten off the track, but until now our
nation has been built on such thinking. But enough of that talk. I just wanted to say why Miekichi
called these "Kojiki Tales" historical children's stories. That is, the era would not permit one to write
that they were myths or legends. For that reason, there seems to be a little too much honorific language
in these tales, but that was inevitable. Myths could be written one way, but this was not just history; it
dealt with the ancestors of the imperial family. It had to be written most humbly. You can imagine how
painful it must have been to write these "Kojiki Tales." But times are better now. These are times when
we can speak the facts to earnest children, hiding nothing. There is no reason at all to prolong a culture
built on lies.
This Kojiki was not just painful for Miekichi to write; it would be painful for any Japanese. That may
be the reason-- although I have heard that Greeks myths have a strong influence on western children, I
have never heard such a thing about the Kojiki and Japanese adults or children. I haven't heard that
children love to read it, or that adults find it interesting. The reason of course is that it was considered [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]