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THE BEGINNING OF ART. 39
determined to carry their point and abolish the cruel
custom. The man who led the reformers was one
Nomi no Sukune", who was a man of tremendous
strength and renowned as the first wrestler in Japan.
" A fitting opportunity soon offered. The wife of
the Mikado fell sick and died. Among the courtiers
there were some who believed in following the time-
honored custom. Then there was weeping in the
palace among the maids-of-honor and the pages who
waited on the imperial lady, and their parents were
heart-broken at the thought of losing their children
by a living death.
"The Mikado held a council of his advisers and
Nomi no Sukune bravely spoke up and urged that
clay, molded and made hard by fire, should be put
in place of the maidens and pages, who else would be
buried alive.
" The Mikado graciously heard the suggestion, and
to the great joy of the weeping maids and the delight
of the reformers, ordered Sukune* to bring the men
skilled in mixing and tempering clay from Idzumo,
where pottery was then made. Forthwith he sent
for and brought a company of one hundred workmen
in clay. Arriving near the sacred ground they
selected the proper beds of clay, which they ground
fine, beat, and washed. They then began to make
models of the maidens and young men who would
otherwise be the victims, and set them in the sun to
dry and harden. Images of horses were also made,
as these animals were sacred to the kami^ or spirits.
Other objects were molded which the sacred books