Ikuhi

• • Period: Legendary Period
  • Occupation: Priest

Ikuhi

Ikuhi (活日) was a man who lived during the reign of Emperor Sujin. He was appointed as the Brewer of Ōkuninushi in the 8th year of his reign.

Later that same year he presented sake to the Emperor and sang as song which went as follows:

This sacred sake
Is not my sacred sake:
Tis sacred sake brewed
By Ohomonomushi,
Of Yamato,
How long ago!
How long ago!
They feast in the hall of the kami, high officials sing
The Hall of Miwa
(Of sweet sake fame),
Even its morning door
We would go forth from
The door of the Hall of Miwa
The Emperor sings in reply
The Hall of Miwa
(Of sweet sake fame)
Even its morning-door
I would push open
The door of the Hall of Miwa.

‘How long ago’ is written as (Ikuhisa) which is a pun on his name.¹

Footnotes

1. Aston. W.G. (1896) “Nihongi Volume 1: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to AD697”. Tuttle Publishing.

	Check out the Japan Archives, our Japanese History Podcast. Instagram (Japan): @japan_archives
	Check out our Gaming Channel on Youtube. Instagram (Minecraft): @mycenria
	Find the website useful? Please consider donating to help up keep the website running.