THE YEAR IS 587. Politics at the imperial court is, as it has been for some years, at the mercy of the two dominant families, the Soga
and the Mononobe. Umako, the leader of the Soga, carries the title of 
’omi, “chief administrator,” which puts him in charge of the imperial bureaucracy; Moriya, the leader of the Mononobe, carries
the title of muraji, “great chieftain,” which makes him the representative of all the “clans” (or professional corporations) as set up by imperial
decree. The two are equals at the court. Naturally, each tries very hard to overpower the other. An obvious and traditional
way of taking control is to install a man of one’s choice among the imperial offspring as emperor. In the fourth month of
587 the thirty-first emperor, Y
mei, dies, and at once succession intrigues are set in motion. The Mononobe try to promote
a prince by the name of Anahobe. The secret move comes to light, and Umako immediately has Anahobe and his close brother,
Yakabe, assassinated. Then he decides to vanquish the Mononobe once and for all. The Mononobe family, as its name “armed division”
suggests, is by occupational designation a military clan, with the authority of police added. But as serious clashes occur,
their power to control the clans proves unexpectedly weak; without gaining much support from those who are supposed to provide
it, they are destroyed within days. In the eighth month Prince Hatsusebe, who was on the Soga side during the military upheaval,
is installed as the thirty-second emperor, Sushun. Five years later, Soga no Umako, hearing that Emperor Sushun resents him,
has him assassinated, then has the assassin killed as well. The story of Yorozu is told in the section on Emperor Sushun in
the Nihon Shoki.
Great Chieftain Mononobe no Moriya’s servant, Yorozu, of the bird-catchers’ division, who led a hundred men, was guarding
his master’s houses in Naniwa. When he heard that the great chieftan had been destroyed, he escaped by horse during the night
and headed toward Arimaka Village in Chinu. He passed by his wife’s house and hid himself on a nearby hill.
The imperial court took up the matter and declared:
“Yorozu harbors rebellious intentions. That is why he has hidden himself on the hill. Destroy his kinfolk at once. No failure
shall be tolerated.”
Yorozu came out alone, on his own; his clothes were tattered and dirty, his face emaciated, but he held a bow and wore a sword.
The commander in charge dispatched several hundred soldiers and had them surround Yorozu. Alarmed, Yorozu hid himself in a
bamboo thicket. He tied some ropes to bamboos and, by tugging and moving them, confused his enemies as to where he was. The
soldiers were indeed deceived, and rushed toward the swaying bamboos, shouting, “There’s Yorozu!” Yorozu shot at them. Not
a single arrow missed. The soldiers were terrified and did not dare go near him.
Yorozu then unhooked the string from the bow and, with the bow under his arm, ran toward the hill. The soldiers shot at him
across a river. There was not a single hit. Thereupon, one soldier ran fast and ahead of Yorozu, crouched near the river,
put an arrow on his bow, and shot at him. It hit his knee. Yorozu pulled the arrow out of his knee. He put the string back
in his bow and started shooting. He then lay on the ground and called out: “I am a shield for the emperor and wanted to show
my bravery, and his majesty never called upon me to do so. Instead, I’ve been pressed into this extreme position. Someone
who can speak to me, come! I must know whether you intend to kill or capture me.”
Thereupon, the soldiers competed in shooting at Yorozu. Yorozu swept aside the flying arrows and killed more than thirty men
in short order. He then cut his bow into three with his sword, bent the sword and threw it into the river. Then he stabbed
himself through the neck with his dagger and died.
The Governor of Kauchi submitted to the imperial court a report on the way Yorozu died. The court issued an order:
“Hack the man’s corpse into eight pieces, skewer and display them on high in the eight provinces.”
When, following this order, the Governor of Kauchi tried to hack and skewer Yorozu’s corpse, there were thunderclaps, and
torrential rains fell.
There was a white dog that Yorozu kept. He trotted around his master’s hacked body, looking up and down, and barking. Finally
he picked up the master’s head and put it in an old grave. He then lay alongside the pillow end of it and starved himself
to death.
The Governor of Kauchi made inquiries about the dog and, mystified, sent a report to the imperial court. The court expressed
pity and issued a complimentary order, which said:
“The dog has done something we rarely hear of in the world. Make him an example for the future. Allow Yorozu’s kinfolk to
make a tomb and to bury him.”
Accordingly, Yorozu’s kinfolk built two tombs side by side in Arimaka Village and buried him and his dog.