The Landing of a Drifted Alien Entered in Nihon Koki

     After Nihon Shoki, Shoku Nihongi was compiled, and the compilation was completed in 797.  And then there came Nihon Koki, which covered the years 792-833.  Its compilation was completed in 840.  Its volume 8 had an entry:

     "In July, Autumn, 799, one man on a small boat drifted ashore in Mikawa Province.  He wore full-length cloth, a loincloth, but not trousers.  He covered his left shoulder with a piece of dark blue cloth, which looked like a Buddhist priest’s sash.  He was about 20 years old, was about 167 centimeters tall, and had 10-centimeter-long ears.  We couldn’t understand his language, nor could identify his nationality.  When Chinese people saw him, they said he was a Kunlun man.  Later, he mastered Japanese, and said he was from India.  He was always playing an one-string harp.  His singing voice was always melancholy and sorrowful.  When we checked his belongings, we found something like grass seeds.  He said they were cotton seeds.”

     Those days, Chinese called those from South-East Asia as Kunlun people.  The man might have been blown eastward somewhere in South China Sea, and washed on the Black Current as far as off Mikawa Province.

     Ruiju Kokushi was a historical text that categorized the events listed in the Six National Histories, which included Nihon Koki as one of the six.  Its compilation was completed in 892.  According to volume 199, the cotton seeds which were brought to Japan by the man were planted in southern provinces such as Kii, Awaji, Awa, Sanuki, Iyo, and Tosa next year.