160 



(no doubt the Gariida, to frighten the dragon and make him 

 ascend)', prayed for rain. The next day another high-priest, the 

 Risshi Enju, and a high member of the Board of Ceremonies, 

 Tachibana Ason, were sent by the Emperor to the Daibutsu of 

 Todaiji at Nara, in order to" pray there for three days; yet it 

 was all in vain. Then the river-god of Kako '^ in Hitachi province 

 and Karo ^ in Inaba were elevated to higher ranks, and messengers 

 were sent to all the Imperial mausolea with the announcement 

 that the nengo (name of the era) was changed (from Jogwan to 

 Gwangyo, a means of averting the continuation of the evil, i. e. 

 the drought) *. Then followed what is told above (§ 3). It is 

 interesting to observe how the assistance of the ancient Shinto 

 deities was not called in before the Buddhist priests had proved 

 to be unable to cause rain, and even then no prayers or offerings 

 took place, as formerly, but the gods were only elevated to higher 

 ranks, and the change of the nengo was only announced to the 

 Imperial ancestors. 



It was the pond in the park which made the Buddhists choose 

 it for their rain-prayers. We read in the Sandai jitsuroku ^ that 

 on the 23th day of the 6th month of 875 A. D., when all the 

 performances of the Buddhist priests, related above ", had only 

 caused a slight, insufficient rain to fall, an old man said: "In 

 the pond of the Sacred Spring Park there is a divine dragon. 

 Formerly in times of heavy drought the water of this pond was 

 let out and the pond was dried up; bells and drums were beaten, 

 and when (the dragon) answered (the request), it thundered and 

 rained. This is sure to have a good result". Then the Emperor 

 despatched high officials to the park and had the water let out. 



\ See above, Introd., p. 7; cf. Book I, 'Ch. V, § 3, p. 119. 



^ ^rT 1^ jjift ( ^rT ji ("'"'^ers") is in China the Hwang-ho and the Yang-tsze 



kiang). 3 •^ ^^• 



4 Sandai jitsuroku, Ch. XXXI, p. 465. 



5 Ch. XXVII, p. 415: -^ ^ ^ B . %^MM1k^^%^M. =W 



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