148 



expressions in regard to tortoises and dragpns appearing as signs 

 of the reign of a good emperor. 



The JSfihon Sandai jitsuroku ' coriipares a cloudy vapour, which 

 hung under the sun on the 27th day of the 7th month ot 

 A. D. 883, with a dragon-horse, and states that in A. D. 885 the 

 "dragon-star" (^^) appeared twice ^ reason why the name 

 of the era was phanged (apparently it was considered a bad 

 omen), as the Emperor informed to the people in a proclamation, 

 and Grwangyo 9 was replaced by Ninna 1. 



In the Kpnjaku. monogatarp we find a much mutilated passage 

 about a dragon-horse which flew through the air in Shomti 

 Tenno's time (724-749). 



The Masu kagami * mentions the- dragon-horse only in regard 

 to its capacity of crossing broad rivers. In 1221, when Hojo 

 Yoshitoki marched from Kamakura to Kyoto against the Emperor 

 Juntoku, the rivers Fujigawa and Tenryugawa (^^liH' 

 "Celestial Dragon-Eiver") were swollen by the rains to such a 

 degree, "that even a dragon-horse . could not have crossed them". 



An interesting passage with regard to the dragourhorse is found 

 in the Taiheiki ^, where soch an excellent horse ° is said to 

 have been presented by Enya Takasada to the Emperor Godaigo 

 (1318 — ^1339). His Majesty praised it highly, and said that it 

 was certainly a "Heavenly horse" (ternma, ^ j^). At his question 

 whether t;he fact that such a horse had appeared during his reign, 

 was a good or a bad omen, the answer of the courtiers was, that it 

 was an extremely lucky sign, due to His Majesty's own virtues. 

 As phoenixes appeared at the Chinese Emperor Shun's time 



to liis parents, celestial dragons descend and terrestrial tortoises appear'." ("^ J^ 



^f|^0o ^^#.Mll^fl|if . J^^ml); Cf. above, pp. 

 38, 40, 43 sq. 



7 ^^ B :4^ ^ IE' 'Written in 869; Ch. XVIII, K. T. K. Vol. Ill, p. 401. 



1 B ;^ H 'f^ K ^' written in 901; Ch. XLIV, K.T. K. Vol. IV, p. 607. 

 Cf. the Fitso rijakki, Ch. XX, K.T. K. Vol. VI, p. 616. 



2 Ch. XLVII, p. 657. 



3 -4k =S^ ^M W^< written by Minamoto no TakakunJ, ■jrS 1^ ^ , who lived 

 1004—1077, i.e. Uji Dainagon; Ch. XI, K. T. K. Vol. XVI, p. 546. 



4 :t§" ^, written in 1340—1350; Ch. II, K- T. K. Vol. XVII, p. 1012. 



5 -j^ 2p m^ written about 1382; Ch. XIII, p. 1. 



6 Excellent horses were often called "flying dragons" (^^1' /'c'^"'*9') ''y **>® 

 Chinese, cf. the . IVi/con Koki, Ch. XII, K. T. K. Ill, p. 48, and. the Sh'okii Nihon koki, 



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