apan. But again the old superstitions prevailed. The
plague of small-pox broke out once more. This fell disease had been
carried from Cochin China by the troops of General Ma Yuan during the
Han dynasty, and it reached Japan almost simultaneously with the
importation of Buddhism. The physicians of the East had no skill in
treating it, and its ravages were terrible, those that escaped with
their lives having generally to lament the loss of their eyes. So
soon as the malady made its second appearance in the immediate sequel
of the new honours paid to Buddhism, men began to cry out that the
Kami were punishing the nation's apostacy, and the o-muraji, Moriya,
urged the Emperor (Bidatsu) to authorize the suppression of the alien
religion. Bidatsu, who at heart had always been hostile to the
innovation, consented readily, and the o-muraji, taking upon himself
the duty of directing the work of iconoclasm, caused the pagoda and
the temple to be razed and burned, threw the image into the canal,
and flogged the nuns. But the pestilence was not stayed. Its ravages
grew more unsparing. The Emperor himself, as well as the o-omi,
Umako, were attacked, and now the popular outcry took another tone:
men ascribed the plague to the wrath of Buddha. Umako, in turn,
pleaded with the Emperor, and was permitted to rebuild the temple and
reinstate the nuns, on condition that no efforts were made to
proselytize.

Thus Buddhism recovered its footing, but the enmity between the
o-muraji and the o-omi grew more implacable than ever. They insulted
each other, even at the obsequies of the sovereign, and an occasion
alone was needed to convert their anger into an appeal to arms.

DISPUTES ABOUT THE ACCESSION

When the Emperor Bidatsu died (A.D. 585) no nomination of a Prince
Imperial had taken place, and the feud known to exist between the
o-omi and the o-muraji increased the danger of the situation. The
following genealogical table will serve to elucidate the relation in
which the Soga-uji stood to the Imperial Family, as well as the
relation between the members of the latter:

\
| Prince Shotoku******
/ Emperor Yomei** > (married to a daughter
/ \ | (originally Prince Oe)| of Soga no Umako)
|Princess Kitashi| | /
|(consort of >< Empress Suiko*