Hieda no Are - Hieda no Are

Date of birth and death unknown. He lived between the late 7th century and the early 8th century. He was from Hiedamura, Soekami-gun, Yamato Province (Minamihieda, Nara City). He was a member of the Sarumeno Kimi clan, a descendant of Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, famous for the Ame-no-Iwato myth, and served as a toneri (sato) during the reign of Emperor Tenmu. "He was a man of great intelligence, and when he saw it he recited it with his mouth, and when he heard it he wrote it down in his heart" (Preface to the Kojiki). Emperor Tenmu, however, wanted to revise the Imperial Chronicles and the Ancient Poems that had been passed down to various families and pass them on to future generations, and issued an imperial command to Arei to recite and learn the "Teiou no Hitsugi" and "Sendai no Kuji". Arei was 28 years old at the time. However, after the death of Emperor Tenmu, the project was abandoned as it was, and Emperor Genmei regretted this and in September of 711 (4th year of Wadou), he issued an imperial command to Oono Yasumaro to compile and record the ancient words of the Imperial Rescript that Arei had learned to recite and present them to him. Following the imperial command, Yasumaro worked hard on his writing, and by the New Year of the following year, he had completed the work and presented it to him. This is the Kojiki (preface). There is a theory that Arei was a woman because he was from the Sarume clan, which had provided female court attendants for generations, but since he was a "tonari" (slavery), he is likely a man.

[Hiromichi Mayuzumi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

生没年不詳。7世紀後半から8世紀初頭の人。大和(やまと)国添上郡(そうのかみのこおり)薭田邑(ひえだむら)（奈良市南稗田）の出身。天岩戸(あめのいわと)神話で有名な天鈿女命(あめのうずめのみこと)の後裔(こうえい)猿女君(さるめのきみ)の族で、天武(てんむ)朝に舎人(とねり)として仕えた。「人となり聡明にして、目に度(わた)れば口に誦(よ)み、耳に払(ふ)るれば心に勒(しる)す」（『古事記』序）ほどであったが、天武天皇は、諸家に伝える帝紀(ていき)と旧辞(くじ)を正して後世に伝えんとし、阿礼に勅語して「帝皇日継(ていおうのひつぎ)」と「先代旧辞」を誦み習わしめた。阿礼は時に年28であった。しかし、天武天皇の没後、その事業はそのままに打ち捨てられたので、元明(げんめい)天皇はこれを惜しみ、711年（和銅4）9月太安麻呂(おおのやすまろ)に詔して、阿礼が誦み習った勅語の旧辞を撰録(せんろく)して献上させた。安麻呂は詔命を受けて鋭意筆を進め、翌年正月に至って完成奏上の運びとなった。これが『古事記』である（同序）。なお、阿礼が代々女孺(にょうじゅ)（下級女官）を貢する猿女氏の出なので、女性とみる説があるが、「舎人」とあるからは男性であろう。

［黛　弘道］

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