ear with a hitherto blameless record.
Much space has been given to this strange tale by certain annalists,
but its only apparent basis of fact would seem to be that Momokawa,
wishing to secure the succession to Prince Yamabe--afterwards Emperor
Kwammu--compassed the deaths of the Empress Inokami and her son,
Osabe, the heir apparent. They were probably poisoned on the same
day, and stories injurious to the lady's reputation--stories going so
far as to accuse her of attempting the life of the Emperor by
incantation--were circulated in justification of the murder. Certain
it is, however, that to Momokawa's exertions the Emperor Kwammu owed
his accession, as had his father, Konin. Kwammu, known in his days of
priesthood as Yamabe, was Konin's eldest son, and would have been
named Prince Imperial on his father's ascent of the throne had not
his mother, Takano, been deficient in qualifications of lineage. He
had held the posts of president of the University and minister of the
Central Department, and his career, alike in office and on the
throne, bore witness to the wisdom of his supporters.

As illustrating the religious faith of the age, it is noteworthy that
Momokawa, by way of promoting Prince Yamabe's interests, caused a
statue to be made in his likeness, and, enshrining it in the temple
Bonshaku-ji, ordered the priests to offer supplications in its
behalf. The chronicle further relates that after the deaths of the
Empress (Inokami) and her son (Osabe), Momokawa and Emperor Konin
were much troubled by the spirits of the deceased. That kind of
belief in the maleficent as well as in the beneficent powers of the
dead became very prevalent in later times. Momokawa died before the
accession of Kwammu, but to him was largely due the great influence
subsequently wielded by the Fujiwara at Court. It is on record that
Kwammu, speaking in after years to Momokawa's son, Otsugu, recalled
his father's memory with tears, and said that but for Momokawa he
would never have reigned over the empire.

The fact is that the Fujiwara were a natural outcome of the
situation. The Tang systems, which Kamatari, the great founder of the
family, had been chiefly instrumental in introducing, placed in the
hands of the sovereign powers much too extensive to be safely
entrusted to a monarch qualified only by heredity. Comprehending the
logic of their organization, the Chinese made their monarchs' tenure
of authority depend upon the verdict of the n