In the sixth month of the fourth year of Empress Kogyoku, a ceremony in which envoys of the three Korean kingdoms presented tribute was held in the Great Hall of the Asuka Itabuki Palace. The empress came out, Prince Furuhito-no-Oe waited at her side, and Soga no Iruka too had taken his seat.
Prince Naka-no-Oe had secretly planned with Nakatomi no Kamako (Kamatari) to kill Iruka. He had the palace guards shut every gate, took a long spear himself and hid beside the hall. He had given swords to Saeki no Komaro and others and ordered them, "Strike all at once, and do not fail."
Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawamaro read out the memorial, but even as he neared the end, Komaro and the others did not come out. Ishikawamaro was drenched in sweat, and his voice and hands shook. Iruka grew suspicious and asked, "Why are you trembling?" Ishikawamaro answered, "Being so near Her Majesty, I am overawed, and the sweat runs in spite of me."
Seeing that Komaro and the others were cowed by Iruka's presence and could not move, Naka-no-Oe leapt out with a shout and, together with Komaro and the rest, slashed at Iruka's head and shoulder. Iruka sprang up in astonishment, but Komaro cut one of his legs. Iruka rolled to the foot of the throne and pleaded, "The one who should hold the throne is the child of heaven. I do not know what crime I have committed. I beg you, look into it."
The empress, shocked, asked the reason. Naka-no-Oe prostrated himself and declared, "Kuratsukuri (Iruka) means to wipe out the imperial princes and overturn the throne." The empress rose and went into the inner hall, and Komaro and the others cut Iruka down. That day it rained, and the courtyard flooded. Iruka's body was covered with mats and screens. The next day his father Emishi burned the Chronicle of the Emperors, the Chronicle of the Nation and his treasures at his mansion and killed himself. Fune no Fubito Esaka quickly snatched the burning Chronicle of the Nation from the flames and presented it to Naka-no-Oe.