llel. At a later period they were driven out by the Ainos, and
nothing but some of their relics now exists, even in Yezo. The peculiarity
by which they were known was, that they lived in a sort of pit dug out of
the earth in the sides of the mountains, over which they built a roof of
limbs and grass. In the present case there were eighty of the warriors of
this tribe. Prince Jimmu made a banquet for them in one of their pits and
assigned an equal number of his own men to act as attendants. Each of
these attendants was girded with a sword. Then from a post outside he sang
a song,(49) and at a given signal in this song the eighty attendants fell
upon the eighty earth-spiders and slew them all.

Thus having subdued all opposing forces and brought the country into
subjection, Prince Jimmu established himself in a palace built for him at
Kashiwara in the province of Yamato. This is usually regarded by Japanese
historians as the beginning of the empire, and the present era(50) is
reckoned from this establishment of a capital in Yamato. From the record
of the length of the reigns of the several emperors contained in the
_Kojiki_, and the _Nihongi_, and later books, the date of the accession of
the Emperor Jimmu is fixed at 660 B.C. We have given elsewhere(51) our
reason for believing the record of the early reigns of doubtful
authenticity. Nevertheless, as it is impossible to propose a definite
change, it is better to use the accepted scheme with its admitted defects.

The Emperor Jimmu after his accession continued to reign seventy-five
years and, according to the _Kojiki_, died at the age of one hundred and
thirty-seven. The _Nihongi_, however, gives his age at death as one
hundred and twenty-seven, and this has been adopted by the government in
its published chronology.(52) His burial place is said to be on the
northern side of mount Unebi in the province of Yamato. It is just to
assign to the Emperor Jimmu the exalted place which the Japanese claim for
him in their history. That he was a prince of high enterprise is evident
from his adventurous expedition from the home of his family into the
barbarous and unknown regions of the Main island. He accomplished its
conquest with less slaughter and cruelty than the customs of the times
seemed to justify. He made it his policy to effect terms with the native
princes and seek their co-operation in his government. He extended his
sway so that it covered Anato, now known as Nagato, a