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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Tales of Old Japan, by Algernon Bertram
+Freeman-Mitford
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Tales of Old Japan
+
+Author: Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford
+
+Release Date: July 24, 2004  [eBook #13015]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALES OF OLD JAPAN***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Jonathan Ingram, Sandra Brown, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+Note: The author, Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford (1837-1916), Lord
+      Redesdale, was in the British Foreign Service as a young man.
+      He was assigned to the legation in Japan for several years and
+      acquired a life-long fascination with Japanese culture. This
+      book has been a standard source of information about Japanese
+      folklore and customs since its original publication in 1871 and
+      has been in print ever since.
+
+      Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 13015-h.htm or 13015-h.zip:
+      (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/1/13015/13015-h/13015-h.htm)
+      or
+      (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/1/13015/13015-h.zip)
+
+
+
+
+
+TALES OF OLD JAPAN
+
+by
+
+LORD REDESDALE, G.C.V.O., K.C.B.
+Formerly Second Secretary to the British Legation in Japan
+
+With Illustrations Drawn and Cut on Wood by Japanese Artists
+
+1910
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THE RÔNINS INVITE KÔTSUKÉ NO SUKÉ TO PERFORM
+HARA-KIRI.]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+In the Introduction to the story of the Forty-seven Rônins, I have
+said almost as much as is needful by way of preface to my stories.
+
+Those of my readers who are most capable of pointing out the many
+shortcomings and faults of my work, will also be the most indulgent
+towards me; for any one who has been in Japan, and studied Japanese,
+knows the great difficulties by which the learner is beset.
+
+For the illustrations, at least, I feel that I need make no apology.
+Drawn, in the first instance, by one Ôdaké, an artist in my employ,
+they were cut on wood by a famous wood-engraver at Yedo, and are
+therefore genuine specimens of Japanese art. Messrs. Dalziel, on
+examining the wood blocks, pointed out to me, as an interesting fact,
+that the lines are cut with the grain of the wood, after the manner of
+Albert Dürer and some of the old German masters,--a process which has
+been abandoned by modern European wood-engravers.
+
+It will be noticed that very little allusion is made in these Tales to
+the Emperor and his Court. Although I searched diligently, I was able
+to find no story in which they played a conspicuous part.
+
+Another class to which no allusion is made is that of the Gôshi. The
+Gôshi are a kind of yeomen, or bonnet-lairds, as they would be called
+over the border, living on their own land, and owning no allegiance to
+any feudal lord. Their rank is inferior to that of the Samurai, or men
+of the military class, between whom and the peasantry they hold a
+middle place. Like the Samurai, they wear two swords, and are in many
+cases prosperous and wealthy men claiming a descent more ancient than
+that of many of the feudal Princes. A large number of them are
+enrolled among the Emperor's body-guard; and these have played a
+conspicuous part in the recent political changes in Japan, as the most
+conservative and anti-foreign element in the nation.
+
+With these exceptions, I think that all classes are fairly
+represented in my stories.
+
+The feudal system has passed away like a dissolving view before the
+eyes of those who have lived in Japan during the last few years. But
+when they arrived there it was in full force, and there is not an
+incident narrated in the following pages, however strange it may
+appear to Europeans, for the possibility and probability of which
+those most competent to judge will not vouch. Nor, as many a recent
+event can prove, have heroism, chivalry, and devotion gone out of the
+land altogether. We may deplore and inveigh against the Yamato
+Damashi, or Spirit of Old Japan, which still breathes in the soul of
+the Samurai, but we cannot withhold our admiration from the
+self-sacrifices which men will still make for the love of their
+country.
+
+The first two of the Tales have already appeared in the _Fortnightly
+Review,_ and two of the Sermons, with a portion of the Appendix on the
+subject of the Hara-Kiri, in the pages of the _Cornhill Magazine_. I
+have to thank the editors of those periodicals for permission to
+reprint them here.
+
+LONDON, January 7, 1871
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+THE FORTY-SEVEN RÔNINS
+
+THE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI
+
+KAZUMA'S REVENGE
+
+A STORY OF THE OTOKODATÉ OF YEDO
+
+THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUYÉMON
+
+THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO
+
+FAIRY TALES
+
+  THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
+  THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE
+  THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN
+  THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO BLOSSOM
+  THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB
+  THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE PEACHLING
+  THE FOXES' WEDDING
+  THE HISTORY OF SAKATA KINTOKI
+  THE ELVES AND THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR
+
+THE GHOST OF SAKURA
+
+HOW TAJIMA SHUMÉ WAS TORMENTED BY A DEVIL OF HIS OWN CREATION
+
+CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS
+
+  THE VAMPIRE CAT OF NABÉSHIMA
+  THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT
+  HOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS HEAD SHAVED BY THE FOXES
+  THE GRATEFUL FOXES
+  THE BADGER'S MONEY
+  THE PRINCE AND THE BADGER
+
+JAPANESE SERMONS
+
+  THE SERMONS OF KIU-Ô, VOL. I. SERMON I.
+          "          "          SERMON II.
+          "          "          SERMON III.
+
+APPENDICES:--
+
+  AN ACCOUNT OF THE HARA-KIRI
+  THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY
+  ON THE BIRTH AND REARING OF CHILDREN
+  FUNERAL RITES
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  THE RÔNINS INVITE RÔTSUKÉ NO SUKÉ TO PERFORM HARA-KIRI
+  THE WELL IN WHICH THE HEAD WAS WASHED
+  THE SATSUMA MAN INSULTS OISHI KURANOSUKÉ
+  THE TOMBS OF THE RÔNINS
+  THE TOMB OF THE SHIYOKU
+  GOMPACHI AWAKENED BY THE MAIDEN IN THE ROBBERS' DEN
+  FORGING THE SWORD
+  MATAGORÔ KILLS YUKIYÉ
+  THE DEATH OF DANYÉMON
+  TRICKS OF SWORDSMANSHIP AT ASAKUSA
+  THE DEATH OF CHÔBEI OF BANDZUIN
+  FUNAKOSHI JIUYÉMON ON BOARD THE PIRATE SHIP
+  JIUYÉMON PUNISHES HIS WIFE AND THE WRESTLER
+  FUNAKOSHI JIUYÉMON AND THE GOBLINS
+  "GOKUMON"
+  CHAMPION WRESTLER
+  A WRESTLING MATCH
+  GENZABURÔ'S MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN
+  THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
+  THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW (2)
+  THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE
+  THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE (2)
+  THE HARE AND THE BADGER
+  THE HARE AND THE BADGER (2)
+  THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER
+  THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER (2)
+  THE APE AND THE CRAB
+  THE APE AND THE CRAB (2)
+  LITTLE PEACHLING
+  LITTLE PEACHLING (2)
+  THE FOXES' WEDDING
+  THE FOXES' WEDDING (2)
+  THE DEPUTATION OF PEASANTS AT THEIR LORD'S GATE
+  THE GHOST OF SAKURA
+  SÔGORÔ THRUSTING THE PETITION INTO THE SHOGUN'S LITTER
+  THE CAT OF NABÉSHIMA
+  THE FEAST OF INARI SAMA
+  A JAPANESE SERMON
+
+
+
+
+THE FORTY-SEVEN RÔNINS
+
+
+The books which have been written of late years about Japan have
+either been compiled from official records, or have contained the
+sketchy impressions of passing travellers. Of the inner life of the
+Japanese the world at large knows but little: their religion, their
+superstitions, their ways of thought, the hidden springs by which they
+move--all these are as yet mysteries. Nor is this to be wondered at.
+The first Western men who came in contact with Japan--I am speaking
+not of the old Dutch and Portuguese traders and priests, but of the
+diplomatists and merchants of eleven years ago--met with a cold
+reception. Above all things, the native Government threw obstacles in
+the way of any inquiry into their language, literature, and history.
+The fact was that the Tycoon's Government--with whom alone, so long as
+the Mikado remained in seclusion in his sacred capital at Kiôto, any
+relations were maintained--knew that the Imperial purple with which
+they sought to invest their chief must quickly fade before the strong
+sunlight which would be brought upon it so soon as there should be
+European linguists capable of examining their books and records. No
+opportunity was lost of throwing dust in the eyes of the new-comers,
+whom, even in the most trifling details, it was the official policy to
+lead astray. Now, however, there is no cause for concealment; the _Roi
+Fainéant_ has shaken off his sloth, and his _Maire du Palais_,
+together, and an intelligible Government, which need not fear scrutiny
+from abroad, is the result: the records of the country being but so
+many proofs of the Mikado's title to power, there is no reason for
+keeping up any show of mystery. The path of inquiry is open to all;
+and although there is yet much to be learnt, some knowledge has been
+attained, in which it may interest those who stay at home to share.
+
+The recent revolution in Japan has wrought changes social as well as
+political; and it may be that when, in addition to the advance which
+has already been made, railways and telegraphs shall have connected
+the principal points of the Land of Sunrise, the old Japanese, such
+as he was and had been for centuries when we found him eleven short
+years ago, will have become extinct. It has appeared to me that no
+better means could be chosen of preserving a record of a curious and
+fast disappearing civilization than the translation of some of the
+most interesting national legends and histories, together with other
+specimens of literature bearing upon the same subject. Thus the
+Japanese may tell their own tale, their translator only adding here
+and there a few words of heading or tag to a chapter, where an
+explanation or amplification may seem necessary. I fear that the long
+and hard names will often make my tales tedious reading, but I believe
+that those who will bear with the difficulty will learn more of the
+character of the Japanese people than by skimming over descriptions of
+travel and adventure, however brilliant. The lord and his retainer,
+the warrior and the priest, the humble artisan and the despised Eta or
+pariah, each in his turn will become a leading character in my budget
+of stories; and it is out of the mouths of these personages that I
+hope to show forth a tolerably complete picture of Japanese society.
+
+Having said so much by way of preface, I beg my readers to fancy
+themselves wafted away to the shores of the Bay of Yedo--a fair,
+smiling landscape: gentle slopes, crested by a dark fringe of pines
+and firs, lead down to the sea; the quaint eaves of many a temple and
+holy shrine peep out here and there from the groves; the bay itself is
+studded with picturesque fisher-craft, the torches of which shine by
+night like glow-worms among the outlying forts; far away to the west
+loom the goblin-haunted heights of Oyama, and beyond the twin hills of
+the Hakoné Pass--Fuji-Yama, the Peerless Mountain, solitary and grand,
+stands in the centre of the plain, from which it sprang vomiting
+flames twenty-one centuries ago.[1] For a hundred and sixty years the
+huge mountain has been at peace, but the frequent earthquakes still
+tell of hidden fires, and none can say when the red-hot stones and
+ashes may once more fall like rain over five provinces.
+
+In the midst of a nest of venerable trees in Takanawa, a suburb of
+Yedo, is hidden Sengakuji, or the Spring-hill Temple, renowned
+throughout the length and breadth of the land for its cemetery, which
+contains the graves of the Forty-seven. Rônins,[2] famous in Japanese
+history, heroes of Japanese drama, the tale of whose deeds I am about
+to transcribe.
+
+On the left-hand side of the main court of the temple is a chapel, in
+which, surmounted by a gilt figure of Kwanyin, the goddess of mercy,
+are enshrined the images of the forty-seven men, and of the master
+whom they loved so well. The statues are carved in wood, the faces
+coloured, and the dresses richly lacquered; as works of art they have
+great merit--the action of the heroes, each armed with his favourite
+weapon, being wonderfully life-like and spirited. Some are venerable
+men, with thin, grey hair (one is seventy-seven years old); others are
+mere boys of sixteen. Close by the chapel, at the side of a path
+leading up the hill, is a little well of pure water, fenced in and
+adorned with a tiny fernery, over which is an inscription, setting
+forth that "This is the well in which the head was washed; you must
+not wash your hands or your feet here." A little further on is a
+stall, at which a poor old man earns a pittance by selling books,
+pictures, and medals, commemorating the loyalty of the Forty-seven;
+and higher up yet, shaded by a grove of stately trees, is a neat
+inclosure, kept up, as a signboard announces, by voluntary
+contributions, round which are ranged forty-eight little tombstones,
+each decked with evergreens, each with its tribute of water and
+incense for the comfort of the departed spirit. There were forty-seven
+Rônins; there are forty-eight tombstones, and the story of the
+forty-eighth is truly characteristic of Japanese ideas of honour.
+Almost touching the rail of the graveyard is a more imposing monument
+under which lies buried the lord, whose death his followers piously
+avenged.
+
+[Footnote 1: According to Japanese tradition, in the fifth year of the
+Emperor Kôrei (286 B.C.), the earth opened in the province of Omi,
+near Kiôto, and Lake Biwa, sixty miles long by about eighteen broad,
+was formed in the shape of a _Biwa_, or four-stringed lute, from which
+it takes its name. At the same time, to compensate for the depression
+of the earth, but at a distance of over three hundred miles from the
+lake, rose Fuji-Yama, the last eruption of which was in the year 1707.
+The last great earthquake at Yedo took place about fifteen years ago.
+Twenty thousand souls are said to have perished in it, and the dead
+were carried away and buried by cartloads; many persons, trying to
+escape from their falling and burning houses, were caught in great
+clefts, which yawned suddenly in the earth, and as suddenly closed
+upon the victims, crushing them to death. For several days heavy
+shocks continued to be felt, and the people camped out, not daring to
+return to such houses as had been spared, nor to build up those which
+lay in ruins.]
+
+[Footnote 2: The word _Rônin_ means, literally, a "wave-man"; one who
+is tossed about hither and thither, as a wave of the sea. It is used
+to designate persons of gentle blood, entitled to bear arms, who,
+having become separated from their feudal lords by their own act, or
+by dismissal, or by fate, wander about the country in the capacity of
+somewhat disreputable knights-errant, without ostensible means of
+living, in some cases offering themselves for hire to new masters, in
+others supporting themselves by pillage; or who, falling a grade in
+the social scale, go into trade, and become simple wardsmen. Sometimes
+it happens that for political reasons a man will become Rônin, in
+order that his lord may not be implicated in some deed of blood in
+which he is about to engage. Sometimes, also, men become Rônins, and
+leave their native place for a while, until some scrape in which they
+have become entangled shall have blown over; after which they return
+to their former allegiance. Nowadays it is not unusual for men to
+become Rônins for a time, and engage themselves in the service of
+foreigners at the open ports, even in menial capacities, in the hope
+that they may pick up something of the language and lore of Western
+folks. I know instances of men of considerable position who have
+adopted this course in their zeal for education.]
+
+And now for the story.
+
+At the beginning of the eighteenth century there lived a daimio,
+called Asano Takumi no Kami, the Lord of the castle of Akô, in the
+province of Harima. Now it happened that an Imperial ambassador from
+the Court of the Mikado having been sent to the Shogun[3] at Yedo,
+Takumi no Kami and another noble called Kamei Sama were appointed to
+receive and feast the envoy; and a high official, named Kira Kôtsuké
+no Suké, was named to teach them the proper ceremonies to be observed
+upon the occasion. The two nobles were accordingly forced to go daily
+to the castle to listen to the instructions of Kôtsuké no Suké. But
+this Kôtsuké no Suké was a man greedy of money; and as he deemed that
+the presents which the two daimios, according to time-honoured custom,
+had brought him in return for his instruction were mean and unworthy,
+he conceived a great hatred against them, and took no pains in
+teaching them, but on the contrary rather sought to make
+laughing-stocks of them. Takumi no Kami, restrained by a stern sense
+of duty, bore his insults with patience; but Kamei Sama, who had less
+control over his temper, was violently incensed, and determined to
+kill Kôtsuké no Suké.
+
+[Footnote 3: The full title of the Tycoon was Sei-i-tai-Shogun,
+"Barbarian-repressing Commander-in-chief." The style Tai Kun, Great
+Prince, was borrowed, in order to convey the idea of sovereignty to
+foreigners, at the time of the conclusion of the Treaties. The envoys
+sent by the Mikado from Kiôto to communicate to the Shogun the will of
+his sovereign were received with Imperial honours, and the duty of
+entertaining them was confided to nobles of rank. The title
+Sei-i-tai-Shogun was first borne by Minamoto no Yoritomo, in the
+seventh month of the year A.D. 1192.]
+
+[Illustration: THE WELL IN WHICH THE HEAD WAS WASHED.]
+
+One night when his duties at the castle were ended, Kamei Sama
+returned to his own palace, and having summoned his councillors[4] to
+a secret conference, said to them: "Kôtsuké no Suké has insulted
+Takumi no Kami and myself during our service in attendance on the
+Imperial envoy. This is against all decency, and I was minded to kill
+him on the spot; but I bethought me that if I did such a deed within
+the precincts of the castle, not only would my own life be forfeit,
+but my family and vassals would be ruined: so I stayed my hand. Still
+the life of such a wretch is a sorrow to the people, and to-morrow
+when I go to Court I will slay him: my mind is made up, and I will
+listen to no remonstrance." And as he spoke his face became livid with
+rage.
+
+[Footnote 4: Councillor, lit. "elder." The councillors of daimios were
+of two classes: the _Karô_, or "elder," an hereditary office, held by
+cadets of the Prince's family, and the _Yônin_, or "man of business,"
+who was selected on account of his merits. These "councillors" play no
+mean part in Japanese history.]
+
+Now one of Kamei Sama's councillors was a man of great judgment, and
+when he saw from his lord's manner that remonstrance would be useless,
+he said: "Your lordship's words are law; your servant will make all
+preparations accordingly; and to-morrow, when your lordship goes to
+Court, if this Kôtsuké no Suké should again be insolent, let him die
+the death." And his lord was pleased at this speech, and waited with
+impatience for the day to break, that he might return to Court and
+kill his enemy.
+
+But the councillor went home, and was sorely troubled, and thought
+anxiously about what his prince had said. And as he reflected, it
+occurred to him that since Kôtsuké no Suké had the reputation of being
+a miser he would certainly be open to a bribe, and that it was better
+to pay any sum, no matter how great, than that his lord and his house
+should be ruined. So he collected all the money he could, and, giving
+it to his servants to carry, rode off in the night to Kôtsuké no
+Suké's palace, and said to his retainers: "My master, who is now in
+attendance upon the Imperial envoy, owes much thanks to my Lord
+Kôtsuké no Suké, who has been at so great pains to teach him the
+proper ceremonies to be observed during the reception of the Imperial
+envoy. This is but a shabby present which he has sent by me, but he
+hopes that his lordship will condescend to accept it, and commends
+himself to his lordship's favour." And, with these words, he produced
+a thousand ounces of silver for Kôtsuké no Suké, and a hundred ounces
+to be distributed among his retainers.
+
+When the latter saw the money their eyes sparkled with pleasure, and
+they were profuse in their thanks; and begging the councillor to wait
+a little, they went and told their master of the lordly present which
+had arrived with a polite message from Kamei Sama. Kôtsuké no Suké in
+eager delight sent for the councillor into an inner chamber, and,
+after thanking him, promised on the morrow to instruct his master
+carefully in all the different points of etiquette. So the councillor,
+seeing the miser's glee, rejoiced at the success of his plan; and
+having taken his leave returned home in high spirits. But Kamei Sama,
+little thinking how his vassal had propitiated his enemy, lay brooding
+over his vengeance, and on the following morning at daybreak went to
+Court in solemn procession.
+
+When Kôtsuké no Suké met him his manner had completely changed, and
+nothing could exceed his courtesy. "You have come early to Court this
+morning, my Lord Kamei," said he. "I cannot sufficiently admire your
+zeal. I shall have the honour to call your attention to several points
+of etiquette to-day. I must beg your lordship to excuse my previous
+conduct, which must have seemed very rude; but I am naturally of a
+cross-grained disposition, so I pray you to forgive me." And as he
+kept on humbling himself and making fair speeches, the heart of Kamei
+Sama was gradually softened, and he renounced his intention of killing
+him. Thus by the cleverness of his councillor was Kamei Sama, with all
+his house, saved from ruin.
+
+Shortly after this, Takumi no Kami, who had sent no present, arrived
+at the castle, and Kôtsuké no Suké turned him into ridicule even more
+than before, provoking him with sneers and covert insults; but Takumi
+no Kami affected to ignore all this, and submitted himself patiently
+to Kôtsuké no Suké's orders.
+
+This conduct, so far from producing a good effect, only made Kôtsuké
+no Suké despise him the more, until at last he said haughtily: "Here,
+my Lord of Takumi, the ribbon of my sock has come untied; be so good
+as to tie it up for me."
+
+Takumi no Kami, although burning with rage at the affront, still
+thought that as he was on duty he was bound to obey, and tied up the
+ribbon of the sock. Then Kôtsuké no Suké, turning from him, petulantly
+exclaimed: "Why, how clumsy you are! You cannot so much as tie up the
+ribbon of a sock properly! Any one can see that you are a boor from
+the country, and know nothing of the manners of Yedo." And with a
+scornful laugh he moved towards an inner room.
+
+But the patience of Takumi no Kami was exhausted; this last insult was
+more than he could bear.
+
+"Stop a moment, my lord," cried he.
+
+"Well, what is it?" replied the other. And, as he turned round, Takumi
+no Kami drew his dirk, and aimed a blow at his head; but Kôtsuké no
+Suké, being protected by the Court cap which he wore, the wound was
+but a scratch, so he ran away; and Takumi no Kami, pursuing him, tried
+a second time to cut him down, but, missing his aim, struck his dirk
+into a pillar. At this moment an officer, named Kajikawa Yosobei,
+seeing the affray, rushed up, and holding back the infuriated noble,
+gave Kôtsuké no Suké time to make good his escape.
+
+Then there arose a great uproar and confusion, and Takumi no Kami was
+arrested and disarmed, and confined in one of the apartments of the
+palace under the care of the censors. A council was held, and the
+prisoner was given over to the safeguard of a daimio, called Tamura
+Ukiyô no Daibu, who kept him in close custody in his own house, to
+the great grief of his wife and of his retainers; and when the
+deliberations of the council were completed, it was decided that, as
+he had committed an outrage and attacked another man within the
+precincts of the palace, he must perform _hara-kiri_,--that is, commit
+suicide by disembowelling; his goods must be confiscated, and his
+family ruined. Such was the law. So Takumi no Kami performed
+_hara-kiri_, his castle of Akô was confiscated, and his retainers
+having become Rônins, some of them took service with other daimios,
+and others became merchants.
+
+Now amongst these retainers was his principal councillor, a man called
+Oishi Kuranosuké, who, with forty-six other faithful dependants,
+formed a league to avenge their master's death by killing Kôtsuké no
+Suké. This Oishi Kuranosuké was absent at the castle of Akô at the
+time of the affray, which, had he been with his prince, would never
+have occurred; for, being a wise man, he would not have failed to
+propitiate Kôtsuké no Suké by sending him suitable presents; while the
+councillor who was in attendance on the prince at Yedo was a dullard,
+who neglected this precaution, and so caused the death of his master
+and the ruin of his house.
+
+So Oishi Kuranosuké and his forty-six companions began to lay their
+plans of vengeance against Kôtsuké no Suké; but the latter was so well
+guarded by a body of men lent to him by a daimio called Uyésugi Sama,
+whose daughter he had married, that they saw that the only way of
+attaining their end would be to throw their enemy off his guard. With
+this object they separated and disguised themselves, some as
+carpenters or craftsmen, others as merchants; and their chief,
+Kuranosuké, went to Kiôto, and built a house in the quarter called
+Yamashina, where he took to frequenting houses of the worst repute,
+and gave himself up to drunkenness and debauchery, as if nothing were
+further from his mind than revenge. Kôtsuké no Suké, in the meanwhile,
+suspecting that Takumi no Kami's former retainers would be scheming
+against his life, secretly sent spies to Kiôto, and caused a faithful
+account to be kept of all that Kuranosuké did. The latter, however,
+determined thoroughly to delude the enemy into a false security, went
+on leading a dissolute life with harlots and winebibbers. One day, as
+he was returning home drunk from some low haunt, he fell down in the
+street and went to sleep, and all the passers-by laughed him to scorn.
+It happened that a Satsuma man saw this, and said: "Is not this Oishi
+Kuranosuké, who was a councillor of Asano Takumi no Kami, and who, not
+having the heart to avenge his lord, gives himself up to women and
+wine? See how he lies drunk in the public street! Faithless beast!
+Fool and craven! Unworthy the name of a Samurai!"[5]
+
+[Footnote 5: _Samurai_, a man belonging to the _Buké_ or military
+class, entitled to bear arms.]
+
+[Illustration: THE SATSUMA MAN INSULTS OISHI KURANOSUKÉ.]
+
+And he trod on Kuranosuké's face as he slept, and spat upon him; but
+when Kôtsuké no Suké's spies reported all this at Yedo, he was greatly
+relieved at the news, and felt secure from danger.
+
+One day Kuranosuké's wife, who was bitterly grieved to see her husband
+lead this abandoned life, went to him and said: "My lord, you told me
+at first that your debauchery was but a trick to make your enemy relax
+in watchfulness. But indeed, indeed, this has gone too far. I pray and
+beseech you to put some restraint upon yourself."
+
+"Trouble me not," replied Kuranosuké, "for I will not listen to your
+whining. Since my way of life is displeasing to you, I will divorce
+you, and you may go about your business; and I will buy some pretty
+young girl from one of the public-houses, and marry her for my
+pleasure. I am sick of the sight of an old woman like you about the
+house, so get you gone--the sooner the better."
+
+So saying, he flew into a violent rage, and his wife, terror-stricken,
+pleaded piteously for mercy.
+
+"Oh, my lord! unsay those terrible words! I have been your faithful
+wife for twenty years, and have borne you three children; in sickness
+and in sorrow I have been with you; you cannot be so cruel as to turn
+me out of doors now. Have pity! have pity!"
+
+"Cease this useless wailing. My mind is made up, and you must go; and
+as the children are in my way also, you are welcome to take them with
+you."
+
+When she heard her husband speak thus, in her grief she sought her
+eldest son, Oishi Chikara, and begged him to plead for her, and pray
+that she might be pardoned. But nothing would turn Kuranosuké from his
+purpose, so his wife was sent away, with the two younger children, and
+went back to her native place. But Oishi Chikara remained with his
+father.
+
+The spies communicated all this without fail to Kôtsuké no Suké, and
+he, when he heard how Kuranosuké, having turned his wife and children
+out of doors and bought a concubine, was grovelling in a life of
+drunkenness and lust, began to think that he had no longer anything to
+fear from the retainers of Takumi no Kami, who must be cowards,
+without the courage to avenge their lord. So by degrees he began to
+keep a less strict watch, and sent back half of the guard which had
+been lent to him by his father-in-law, Uyésugi Sama. Little did he
+think how he was falling into the trap laid for him by Kuranosuké,
+who, in his zeal to slay his lord's enemy, thought nothing of
+divorcing his wife and sending away his children! Admirable and
+faithful man!
+
+In this way Kuranosuké continued to throw dust in the eyes of his foe,
+by persisting in his apparently shameless conduct; but his associates
+all went to Yedo, and, having in their several capacities as workmen
+and pedlars contrived to gain access to Kôtsuké no Suké's house, made
+themselves familiar with the plan of the building and the arrangement
+of the different rooms, and ascertained the character of the inmates,
+who were brave and loyal men, and who were cowards; upon all of which
+matters they sent regular reports to Kuranosuké. And when at last it
+became evident from the letters which arrived from Yedo that Kôtsuké
+no Suké was thoroughly off his guard, Kuranosuké rejoiced that the day
+of vengeance was at hand; and, having appointed a trysting-place at
+Yedo, he fled secretly from Kiôto, eluding the vigilance of his
+enemy's spies. Then the forty-seven men, having laid all their plans,
+bided their time patiently.
+
+It was now midwinter, the twelfth month of the year, and the cold was
+bitter. One night, during a heavy fall of snow, when the whole world
+was hushed, and peaceful men were stretched in sleep upon the mats,
+the Rônins determined that no more favourable opportunity could occur
+for carrying out their purpose. So they took counsel together, and,
+having divided their band into two parties, assigned to each man his
+post. One band, led by Oishi Kuranosuké, was to attack the front gate,
+and the other, under his son Oishi Chikara, was to attack the postern
+of Kôtsuké no Suké's house; but as Chikara was only sixteen years of
+age, Yoshida Chiuzayémon was appointed to act as his guardian. Further
+it was arranged that a drum, beaten at the order of Kuranosuké, should
+be the signal for the simultaneous attack; and that if any one slew
+Kôtsuké no Suké and cut off his head he should blow a shrill whistle,
+as a signal to his comrades, who would hurry to the spot, and, having
+identified the head, carry it off to the temple called Sengakuji, and
+lay it as an offering before the tomb of their dead lord. Then they
+must report their deed to the Government, and await the sentence of
+death which would surely be passed upon them. To this the Rônins one
+and all pledged themselves. Midnight was fixed upon as the hour, and
+the forty-seven comrades, having made all ready for the attack,
+partook of a last farewell feast together, for on the morrow they must
+die. Then Oishi Kuranosuké addressed the band, and said--
+
+"To-night we shall attack our enemy in his palace; his retainers will
+certainly resist us, and we shall be obliged to kill them. But to slay
+old men and women and children is a pitiful thing; therefore, I pray
+you each one to take great heed lest you kill a single helpless
+person." His comrades all applauded this speech, and so they remained,
+waiting for the hour of midnight to arrive.
+
+When the appointed hour came, the Rônins set forth. The wind howled
+furiously, and the driving snow beat in their faces; but little cared
+they for wind or snow as they hurried on their road, eager for
+revenge. At last they reached Kôtsuké no Suké's house, and divided
+themselves into two bands; and Chikara, with twenty-three men, went
+round to the back gate. Then four men, by means of a ladder of ropes
+which they hung on to the roof of the porch, effected an entry into
+the courtyard; and, as they saw signs that all the inmates of the
+house were asleep, they went into the porter's lodge where the guard
+slept, and, before the latter had time to recover from their
+astonishment, bound them. The terrified guard prayed hard for mercy,
+that their lives might be spared; and to this the Rônins agreed on
+condition that the keys of the gate should be given up; but the others
+tremblingly said that the keys were kept in the house of one of their
+officers, and that they had no means of obtaining them. Then the
+Rônins lost patience, and with a hammer dashed in pieces the big
+wooden bolt which secured the gate, and the doors flew open to the
+right and to the left. At the same time Chikara and his party broke in
+by the back gate.
+
+Then Oishi Kuranosuké sent a messenger to the neighbouring houses,
+bearing the following message:--"We, the Rônins who were formerly in
+the service of Asano Takumi no Kami, are this night about to break
+into the palace of Kôtsuké no Suké, to avenge our lord. As we are
+neither night robbers nor ruffians, no hurt will be done to the
+neighbouring houses. We pray you to set your minds at rest." And as
+Kôtsuké no Suké was hated by his neighbours for his covetousness, they
+did not unite their forces to assist him. Another precaution was yet
+taken. Lest any of the people inside should run out to call the
+relations of the family to the rescue, and these coming in force
+should interfere with the plans of the Rônins, Kuranosuké stationed
+ten of his men armed with bows on the roof of the four sides of the
+courtyard, with orders to shoot any retainers who might attempt to
+leave the place. Having thus laid all his plans and posted his men,
+Kuranosuké with his own hand beat the drum and gave the signal for
+attack.
+
+Ten of Kôtsuké no Suké's retainers, hearing the noise, woke up; and,
+drawing their swords, rushed into the front room to defend their
+master. At this moment the Rônins, who had burst open the door of the
+front hall, entered the same room. Then arose a furious fight between
+the two parties, in the midst of which Chikara, leading his men
+through the garden, broke into the back of the house; and Kôtsuké no
+Suké, in terror of his life, took refuge, with his wife and female
+servants, in a closet in the verandah; while the rest of his
+retainers, who slept in the barrack outside the house, made ready to
+go to the rescue. But the Rônins who had come in by the front door,
+and were fighting with the ten retainers, ended by overpowering and
+slaying the latter without losing one of their own number; after
+which, forcing their way bravely towards the back rooms, they were
+joined by Chikara and his men, and the two bands were united in one.
+
+By this time the remainder of Kôtsuké no Suké's men had come in, and
+the fight became general; and Kuranosuké, sitting on a camp-stool,
+gave his orders and directed the Rônins. Soon the inmates of the house
+perceived that they were no match for their enemy, so they tried to
+send out intelligence of their plight to Uyésugi Sama, their lord's
+father-in-law, begging him to come to the rescue with all the force
+at his command. But the messengers were shot down by the archers whom
+Kuranosuké had posted on the roof. So no help coming, they fought on
+in despair. Then Kuranosuké cried out with a loud voice: "Kôtsuké no
+Suké alone is our enemy; let some one go inside and bring him forth.
+dead or alive!"
+
+Now in front of Kôtsuké no Suké's private room stood three brave
+retainers with drawn swords. The first was Kobayashi Héhachi, the
+second was Waku Handaiyu, and the third was Shimidzu Ikkaku, all good
+men and true, and expert swordsmen. So stoutly did these men lay about
+them that for a while they kept the whole of the Rônins at bay, and at
+one moment even forced them back. When Oishi Kuranosuké saw this, he
+ground his teeth with rage, and shouted to his men: "What! did not
+every man of you swear to lay down his life in avenging his lord, and
+now are you driven back by three men? Cowards, not fit to be spoken
+to! to die fighting in a master's cause should be the noblest ambition
+of a retainer!" Then turning to his own son Chikara, he said, "Here,
+boy! engage those men, and if they are too strong for you, die!"
+
+Spurred by these words, Chikara seized a spear and gave battle to Waku
+Handaiyu, but could not hold his ground, and backing by degrees, was
+driven out into the garden, where he missed his footing and slipped
+into a pond, but as Handaiyu, thinking to kill him, looked down into
+the pond, Chikara cut his enemy in the leg and caused him to fall, and
+then, crawling out of the water dispatched him. In the meanwhile
+Kobayashi Héhachi and Shimidzu Ikkaku had been killed by the other
+Rônins, and of all Kôtsuké no Suké's retainers not one fighting man
+remained. Chikara, seeing this, went with his bloody sword in his hand
+into a back room to search for Kôtsuké no Suké, but he only found the
+son of the latter, a young lord named Kira Sahioyé, who, carrying a
+halberd, attacked him, but was soon wounded and fled. Thus the whole
+of Kôtsuké no Suké's men having been killed, there was an end of the
+fighting; but as yet there was no trace of Kôtsuké no Suké to be
+found.
+
+Then Kuranosuké divided his men into several parties and searched the
+whole house, but all in vain; women and children weeping were alone to
+be seen. At this the forty-seven men began to lose heart in regret,
+that after all their toil they had allowed their enemy to escape them,
+and there was a moment when in their despair they agreed to commit
+suicide together upon the spot; but they determined to make one more
+effort. So Kuranosuké went into Kôtsuké no Suké's sleeping-room, and
+touching the quilt with his hands, exclaimed, "I have just felt the
+bed-clothes and they are yet warm, and so methinks that our enemy is
+not far off. He must certainly be hidden somewhere in the house."
+Greatly excited by this, the Rônins renewed their search. Now in the
+raised part of the room, near the place of honour, there was a picture
+hanging; taking down this picture, they saw that there was a large
+hole in the plastered wall, and on thrusting a spear in they could
+feel nothing beyond it. So one of the Rônins, called Yazama Jiutarô,
+got into the hole, and found that on the other side there was a little
+courtyard, in which there stood an outhouse for holding charcoal and
+firewood. Looking into the outhouse, he spied something white at the
+further end, at which he struck with his spear, when two armed men
+sprang out upon him and tried to cut him down, but he kept them back
+until one of his comrades came up and killed one of the two men and
+engaged the other, while Jiutarô entered the outhouse and felt about
+with his spear. Again seeing something white, he struck it with his
+lance, when a cry of pain betrayed that it was a man; so he rushed up,
+and the man in white clothes, who had been wounded in the thigh, drew
+a dirk and aimed a blow at him. But Jiutarô wrested the dirk from him,
+and clutching him by the collar, dragged him out of the outhouse. Then
+the other Rônin came up, and they examined the prisoner attentively,
+and saw that he was a noble-looking man, some sixty years of age,
+dressed in a white satin sleeping-robe, which was stained by the blood
+from the thigh-wound which, Jiutarô had inflicted. The two men felt
+convinced that this was no other than Kôtsuké no Suké, and they asked
+him his name, but he gave no answer, so they gave the signal whistle,
+and all their comrades collected together at the call; then Oishi
+Kuranosuké, bringing a lantern, scanned the old man's features, and it
+was indeed Kôtsuké no Suké; and if further proof were wanting, he
+still bore a scar on his forehead where their master, Asano Takumi no
+Kami, had wounded him during the affray in the castle. There being no
+possibility of mistake, therefore, Oishi Kuranosuké went down on his
+knees, and addressing the old man very respectfully, said--
+
+"My lord, we are the retainers of Asano Takumi no Kami. Last year your
+lordship and our master quarrelled in the palace, and our master was
+sentenced to _hara-kiri,_ and his family was ruined. We have come
+to-night to avenge him, as is the duty of faithful and loyal men. I
+pray your lordship to acknowledge the justice of our purpose. And now,
+my lord, we beseech you to perform _hara-kiri_. I myself shall have
+the honour to act as your second, and when, with all humility, I shall
+have received your lordship's head, it is my intention to lay it as an
+offering upon the grave of Asano Takumi no Kami."
+
+Thus, in consideration of the high rank of Kôtsuké no Suké, the Rônins
+treated him with the greatest courtesy, and over and over again
+entreated him to perform _hara-kiri._ But he crouched speechless and
+trembling. At last Kuranosuké, seeing that it was vain to urge him to
+die the death of a nobleman, forced him down, and cut off his head
+with the same dirk with which Asano Takumi no Kami had killed himself.
+Then the forty-seven comrades, elated at having accomplished their
+design, placed the head in a bucket, and prepared to depart; but
+before leaving the house they carefully extinguished all the lights
+and fires in the place, lest by any accident a fire should break out
+and the neighbours suffer.
+
+As they were on their way to Takanawa, the suburb in which the temple
+called Sengakuji stands, the day broke; and the people flocked out to
+see the forty-seven men, who, with their clothes and arms all
+blood-stained, presented a terrible appearance; and every one praised
+them, wondering at their valour and faithfulness. But they expected
+every moment that Kôtsuké no Suké's father-in-law would attack them
+and carry off the head, and made ready to die bravely sword in hand.
+However, they reached Takanawa in safety, for Matsudaira Aki no Kami,
+one of the eighteen chief daimios of Japan, of whose house Asano
+Takumi no Kami had been a cadet, had been highly pleased when he heard
+of the last night's work, and he had made ready to assist the Rônins
+in case they were attacked. So Kôtsuké no Suké's father-in-law dared
+not pursue them.
+
+At about seven in the morning they came opposite to the palace of
+Matsudaira Mutsu no Kami, the Prince of Sendai, and the Prince,
+hearing of it, sent for one of his councillors and said: "The
+retainers of Takumi no Kami have slain their lord's enemy, and are
+passing this way; I cannot sufficiently admire their devotion, so, as
+they must be tired and hungry after their night's work, do you go and
+invite them to come in here, and set some gruel and a cup of wine
+before them."
+
+So the councillor went out and said to Oishi Kuranosuké: "Sir, I am a
+councillor of the Prince of Sendai, and my master bids me beg you, as
+you must be worn out after all you have undergone, to come in and
+partake of such poor refreshment as we can offer you. This is my
+message to you from my lord."
+
+"I thank you, sir," replied Kuranosuké. "It is very good of his
+lordship to trouble himself to think of us. We shall accept his
+kindness gratefully."
+
+So the forty-seven Rônins went into the palace, and were feasted with
+gruel and wine, and all the retainers of the Prince of Sendai came and
+praised them.
+
+Then Kuranosuké turned to the councillor and said, "Sir, we are truly
+indebted to you for this kind hospitality; but as we have still to
+hurry to Sengakuji, we must needs humbly take our leave." And, after
+returning many thanks to their hosts, they left the palace of the
+Prince of Sendai and hastened to Sengakuji, where they were met by the
+abbot of the monastery, who went to the front gate to receive them,
+and led them to the tomb of Takumi no Kami.
+
+And when they came to their lord's grave, they took the head of
+Kôtsuké no Suké, and having washed it clean in a well hard by, laid it
+as an offering before the tomb. When they had done this, they engaged
+the priests of the temple to come and read prayers while they burnt
+incense: first Oishi Kuranosuké burnt incense, and then his son Oishi
+Chikara, and after them the other forty-five men performed the same
+ceremony. Then Kuranosuké, having given all the money that he had by
+him to the abbot, said--
+
+"When we forty-seven men shall have performed _hara-kiri_, I beg you
+to bury us decently. I rely upon your kindness. This is but a trifle
+that I have to offer; such as it is, let it be spent in masses for our
+souls!"
+
+And the abbot, marvelling at the faithful courage of the men, with
+tears in his eyes pledged himself to fulfil their wishes. So the
+forty-seven Rônins, with their minds at rest, waited patiently until
+they should receive the orders of the Government.
+
+At last they were summoned to the Supreme Court, where the governors
+of Yedo and the public censors had assembled; and the sentence passed
+upon them was as follows: "Whereas, neither respecting the dignity of
+the city nor fearing the Government, having leagued yourselves
+together to slay your enemy, you violently broke into the house of
+Kira Kôtsuké no Suké by night and murdered him, the sentence of the
+Court is, that, for this audacious conduct, you perform _hara-kiri_."
+When the sentence had been read, the forty-seven Rônins were divided
+into four parties, and handed over to the safe keeping of four
+different daimios; and sheriffs were sent to the palaces of those
+daimios in whose presence the Rônins were made to perform _hara-kiri_.
+But, as from the very beginning they had all made up their minds that
+to this end they must come, they met their death nobly; and their
+corpses were carried to Sengakuji, and buried in front of the tomb of
+their master, Asano Takumi no Kami. And when the fame of this became
+noised abroad, the people flocked to pray at the graves of these
+faithful men.
+
+[Illustration: THE TOMBS OF THE RÔNINS.]
+
+Among those who came to pray was a Satsuma man, who, prostrating
+himself before the grave of Oishi Kuranosuké, said: "When I saw you
+lying drunk by the roadside at Yamashina, in Kiôto, I knew not that
+you were plotting to avenge your lord; and, thinking you to be a
+faithless man, I trampled on you and spat in your face as I passed.
+And now I have come to ask pardon and offer atonement for the insult
+of last year." With those words he prostrated himself again before the
+grave, and, drawing a dirk from his girdle, stabbed himself in the
+belly and died. And the chief priest of the temple, taking pity upon
+him, buried him by the side of the Rônins; and his tomb still remains
+to be seen with those of the forty-seven comrades.
+
+This is the end of the story of the forty-seven Rônins.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A terrible picture of fierce heroism which it is impossible not to
+admire. In the Japanese mind this feeling of admiration is unmixed,
+and hence it is that the forty-seven Rônins receive almost divine
+honours. Pious hands still deck their graves with green boughs and
+burn incense upon them; the clothes and arms which they wore are
+preserved carefully in a fire-proof store-house attached to the
+temple, and exhibited yearly to admiring crowds, who behold them
+probably with little less veneration than is accorded to the relics of
+Aix-la-Chapelle or Trèves; and once in sixty years the monks of
+Sengakuji reap quite a harvest for the good of their temple by holding
+a commemorative fair or festival, to which the people flock during
+nearly two months.
+
+A silver key once admitted me to a private inspection of the relics.
+We were ushered, my friend and myself, into a back apartment of the
+spacious temple, overlooking one of those marvellous miniature
+gardens, cunningly adorned with rockeries and dwarf trees, in which
+the Japanese delight. One by one, carefully labelled and indexed boxes
+containing the precious articles were brought out and opened by the
+chief priest. Such a curious medley of old rags and scraps of metal
+and wood! Home-made chain armour, composed of wads of leather secured
+together by pieces of iron, bear witness to the secrecy with which the
+Rônins made ready for the fight. To have bought armour would have
+attracted attention, so they made it with their own hands. Old
+moth-eaten surcoats, bits of helmets, three flutes, a writing-box that
+must have been any age at the time of the tragedy, and is now tumbling
+to pieces; tattered trousers of what once was rich silk brocade, now
+all unravelled and befringed; scraps of leather, part of an old
+gauntlet, crests and badges, bits of sword handles, spear-heads and
+dirks, the latter all red with rust, but with certain patches more
+deeply stained as if the fatal clots of blood were never to be blotted
+out: all these were reverently shown to us. Among the confusion and
+litter were a number of documents, Yellow with age and much worn at
+the folds. One was a plan of Kôtsuké no Suké's house, which one of
+the Rônins obtained by marrying the daughter of the builder who
+designed it. Three of the manuscripts appeared to me so curious that I
+obtained leave to have copies taken of them.
+
+The first is the receipt given by the retainers of Kôtsuké no Suké's
+son in return for the head of their lord's father, which the priests
+restored to the family, and runs as follows:--
+
+  "MEMORANDUM:--
+  ITEM. ONE HEAD.
+  ITEM. ONE PAPER PARCEL.
+  The above articles are acknowledged to have been received.
+               Signed, { SAYADA MAGOBELI.  (_Loc. sigill._)
+                       { SAITÔ KUNAI.      (_Loc. sigill._)
+
+  "To the priests deputed from the Temple Sengakuji,
+      His Reverence SEKISHI,
+      His Reverence ICHIDON."
+
+The second paper is a document explanatory of their conduct, a copy of
+which was found on the person of each of the forty-seven men:--
+
+   "Last year, in the third month, Asano Takumi no Kami, upon the
+   occasion of the entertainment of the Imperial ambassador, was
+   driven, by the force of circumstances, to attack and wound my
+   Lord Kôtsuké no Suké in the castle, in order to avenge an
+   insult offered to him. Having done this without considering the
+   dignity of the place, and having thus disregarded all rules of
+   propriety, he was condemned to _hara-kiri,_ and his property
+   and castle of Akô were forfeited to the State, and were
+   delivered up by his retainers to the officers deputed by the
+   Shogun to receive them. After this his followers were all
+   dispersed. At the time of the quarrel the high officials
+   present prevented Asano Takumi no Kami from carrying out his
+   intention of killing his enemy, my Lord Kôtsuké no Suké. So
+   Asano Takumi no Kami died without having avenged himself, and
+   this was more than his retainers could endure. It is impossible
+   to remain under the same heaven with the enemy of lord or
+   father; for this reason we have dared to declare enmity against
+   a personage of so exalted rank. This day we shall attack Kira
+   Kôtsuké no Suké, in order to finish the deed of vengeance which
+   was begun by our dead lord. If any honourable person should
+   find our bodies after death, he is respectfully requested to
+   open and read this document.
+
+   "15th year of Genroku. 12th month.
+
+   "Signed, OISHI KURANOSUKÉ, Retainer of Asano
+   Takumi no Kami, and forty-six others."[6]
+
+[Footnote 6: It is usual for a Japanese, when bent upon some deed of
+violence, the end of which, in his belief, justifies the means, to
+carry about with him a document, such as that translated above, in
+which he sets forth his motives, that his character may be cleared
+after death.]
+
+The third manuscript is a paper which the Forty-seven Rônins laid upon
+the tomb of their master, together with the head of Kira Kôtsuké no
+Suké:--
+
+   "The 15th year of Genroku, the 12th month, and 15th day. We
+   have come this day to do homage here, forty-seven men in all,
+   from Oishi Kuranosuké down to the foot-soldier, Terasaka
+   Kichiyémon, all cheerfully about to lay down our lives on your
+   behalf. We reverently announce this to the honoured spirit of
+   our dead master. On the 14th day of the third month of last
+   year our honoured master was pleased to attack Kira Kôtsuké no
+   Suké, for what reason we know not. Our honoured master put an
+   end to his own life, but Kira Kôtsuké no Suké lived. Although
+   we fear that after the decree issued by the Government this
+   plot of ours will be displeasing to our honoured master, still
+   we, who have eaten of your food, could not without blushing
+   repeat the verse, 'Thou shalt not live under the same heaven
+   nor tread the same earth with the enemy of thy father or lord,'
+   nor could we have dared to leave hell and present ourselves
+   before you in paradise, unless we had carried out the vengeance
+   which you began. Every day that we waited seemed as three
+   autumns to us. Verily, we have trodden the snow for one day,
+   nay, for two days, and have tasted food but once. The old and
+   decrepit, the sick and ailing, have come forth gladly to lay
+   down their lives. Men might laugh at us, as at grasshoppers
+   trusting in the strength of their arms, and thus shame our
+   honoured lord; but we could not halt in our deed of vengeance.
+   Having taken counsel together last night, we have escorted my
+   Lord Kôtsuké no Suké hither to your tomb. This dirk,[7] by
+   which our honoured lord set great store last year, and
+   entrusted to our care, we now bring back. If your noble spirit
+   be now present before this tomb, we pray you, as a sign, to
+   take the dirk, and, striking the head of your enemy with it a
+   second time, to dispel your hatred for ever. This is the
+   respectful statement of forty-seven men."
+
+[Footnote 7: The dirk with which Asano Takumi no Kumi disembowelled
+himself and with which Oishi Kuranosuké cut off Kôtsuké no Suké's
+head.]
+
+The text, "Thou shalt not live under the same heaven with the enemy of
+thy father," is based upon the Confucian books. Dr. Legge, in his
+"Life and Teachings of Confucius," p. 113, has an interesting
+paragraph summing up the doctrine of the sage upon the subject of
+revenge.
+
+   "In the second book of the 'Le Ke' there is the following
+   passage:--'With the slayer of his father a man may not live
+   under the same heaven; against the slayer of his brother a man
+   must never have to go home to fetch a weapon; with the slayer
+   of his friend a man may not live in the same State.' The _lex
+   talionis_ is here laid down in its fullest extent. The 'Chow
+   Le' tells us of a provision made against the evil consequences
+   of the principle by the appointment of a minister called 'The
+   Reconciler.' The provision is very inferior to the cities of
+   refuge which were set apart by Moses for the manslayer to flee
+   to from the fury of the avenger. Such as it was, however, it
+   existed, and it is remarkable that Confucius, when consulted on
+   the subject, took no notice of it, but affirmed the duty of
+   blood-revenge in the strongest and most unrestricted terms. His
+   disciple, Tsze Hea, asked him, 'What course is to be pursued in
+   the murder of a father or mother?' He replied, 'The son must
+   sleep upon a matting of grass with his shield for his pillow;
+   he must decline to take office; he must not live under the same
+   heaven with the slayer. When he meets him in the market-place
+   or the court, he must have his weapon ready to strike him.'
+   'And what is the course in the murder of a brother?' 'The
+   surviving brother must not take office in the same State with
+   the slayer; yet, if he go on his prince's service to the State
+   where the slayer is, though he meet him, he must not fight with
+   him.' 'And what is the course in the murder of an uncle or
+   cousin?' 'In this case the nephew or cousin is not the
+   principal. If the principal, on whom the revenge devolves, can
+   take it, he has only to stand behind with his weapon in his
+   hand, and support him.'"
+
+I will add one anecdote to show the sanctity which is attached to the
+graves of the Forty-seven. In the month of September 1868, a certain
+man came to pray before the grave of Oishi Chikara. Having finished
+his prayers, he deliberately performed _hara-kiri_,[8] and, the belly
+wound not being mortal, dispatched himself by cutting his throat. Upon
+his person were found papers setting forth that, being a Rônin and
+without means of earning a living, he had petitioned to be allowed to
+enter the clan of the Prince of Chôshiu, which he looked upon as the
+noblest clan in the realm; his petition having been refused, nothing
+remained for him but to die, for to be a Rônin was hateful to him, and
+he would serve no other master than the Prince of Chôshiu: what more
+fitting place could he find in which to put an end to his life than
+the graveyard of these Braves? This happened at about two hundred
+yards' distance from my house, and when I saw the spot an hour or two
+later, the ground was all bespattered with blood, and disturbed by the
+death-struggles of the man.
+
+[Footnote 8: A purist in Japanese matters may object to the use of the
+words _hara-kiri_ instead of the more elegant expression _Seppuku_. I
+retain the more vulgar form as being better known, and therefore more
+convenient.]
+
+
+
+
+THE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI
+
+
+Within two miles or so from Yedo, and yet well away from the toil and
+din of the great city, stands the village of Meguro. Once past the
+outskirts of the town, the road leading thither is bounded on either
+side by woodlands rich in an endless variety of foliage, broken at
+intervals by the long, low line of villages and hamlets. As we draw
+near to Meguro, the scenery, becoming more and more rustic, increases
+in beauty. Deep shady lanes, bordered by hedgerows as luxurious as any
+in England, lead down to a valley of rice fields bright with the
+emerald green of the young crops. To the right and to the left rise
+knolls of fantastic shape, crowned with a profusion of Cryptomerias,
+Scotch firs and other cone-bearing trees, and fringed with thickets of
+feathery bamboos, bending their stems gracefully to the light summer
+breeze. Wherever there is a spot shadier and pleasanter to look upon
+than the rest, there may be seen the red portal of a shrine which the
+simple piety of the country folk has raised to Inari Sama, the patron
+god of farming, or to some other tutelary deity of the place. At the
+eastern outlet of the valley a strip of blue sea bounds the horizon;
+westward are the distant mountains. In the foreground, in front of a
+farmhouse, snug-looking, with its roof of velvety-brown thatch, a
+troop of sturdy urchins, suntanned and stark naked, are frisking in
+the wildest gambols, all heedless of the scolding voice of the
+withered old grandam who sits spinning and minding the house, while
+her son and his wife are away toiling at some outdoor labour. Close at
+our feet runs a stream of pure water, in which a group of countrymen
+are washing the vegetables which they will presently shoulder and
+carry off to sell by auction in the suburbs of Yedo. Not the least
+beauty of the scene consists in the wondrous clearness of an
+atmosphere so transparent that the most distant outlines are scarcely
+dimmed, while the details of the nearer ground stand out in sharp,
+bold relief, now lit by the rays of a vertical sun, now darkened under
+the flying shadows thrown by the fleecy clouds which sail across the
+sky. Under such a heaven, what painter could limn the lights and
+shades which flit over the woods, the pride of Japan, whether in late
+autumn, when the russets and yellows of our own trees are mixed with
+the deep crimson glow of the maples, or in spring-time, when plum and
+cherry trees and wild camellias--giants, fifty feet high--are in full
+blossom?
+
+All that we see is enchanting, but there is a strange stillness in the
+groves; rarely does the song of a bird break the silence; indeed, I
+know but one warbler whose note has any music in it, the _uguisu_, by
+some enthusiasts called the Japanese nightingale--at best, a king in
+the kingdom of the blind. The scarcity of animal life of all
+descriptions, man and mosquitoes alone excepted, is a standing wonder
+to the traveller; the sportsman must toil many a weary mile to get a
+shot at boar, or deer, or pheasant; and the plough of the farmer and
+the trap of the poacher, who works in and out of season, threaten to
+exterminate all wild creatures; unless, indeed, the Government should,
+as they threatened in the spring of 1869, put in force some adaptation
+of European game-laws. But they are lukewarm in the matter; a little
+hawking on a duck-pond satisfies the cravings of the modern Japanese
+sportsman, who knows that, game-laws or no game-laws, the wild fowl
+will never fail in winter; and the days are long past when my Lord the
+Shogun used to ride forth with a mighty company to the wild places
+about Mount Fuji, there camping out and hunting the boar, the deer,
+and the wolf, believing that in so doing he was fostering a manly and
+military spirit in the land.
+
+There is one serious drawback to the enjoyment of the beauties of the
+Japanese country, and that is the intolerable affront which is
+continually offered to one's sense of smell; the whole of what should
+form the sewerage of the city is carried out on the backs of men and
+horses, to be thrown upon the fields; and, if you would avoid the
+overpowering nuisance, you must walk handkerchief in hand, ready to
+shut out the stench which assails you at every moment.
+
+It would seem natural, while writing of the Japanese country, to say a
+few words about the peasantry, their relation to the lord of the soil,
+and their government. But these I must reserve for another place. At
+present our dealings are with the pretty village of Meguro.
+
+At the bottom of a little lane, close to the entrance of the village,
+stands an old shrine of the Shintô (the form of hero-worship which
+existed in Japan before the introduction of Confucianism or of
+Buddhism), surrounded by lofty Cryptomerias. The trees around a Shintô
+shrine are specially under the protection of the god to whom the altar
+is dedicated; and, in connection with them, there is a kind of magic
+still respected by the superstitious, which recalls the waxen dolls,
+through the medium of which sorcerers of the middle ages in Europe,
+and indeed those of ancient Greece, as Theocritus tells us, pretended
+to kill the enemies of their clients. This is called _Ushi no toki
+mairi,_ or "going to worship at the hour of the ox,"[9] and is
+practised by jealous women who wish to be revenged upon their
+faithless lovers.
+
+[Footnote 9: The Chinese, and the Japanese following them, divide the
+day of twenty-four hours into twelve periods, each of which has a sign
+something like the signs of the Zodiac:--
+  Midnight until two in the morning is represented by the rat.
+    2 a.m.  "     4 a.m.          "            "          ox.
+    4 a.m.  "     6 a.m.          "            "          tiger.
+    6 a.m.  "     8 a.m.          "            "          hare.
+    8 a.m.  "    10 a.m.          "            "          dragon.
+   10 a.m.  "    12 noon          "            "          snake.
+   12 noon  "     2 p.m.          "            "          horse.
+    2 p.m.  "     4 p.m.          "            "          ram.
+    4 p.m.  "     6 p.m.          "            "          ape.
+    6 p.m.  "     8 p.m.          "            "          cock.
+    8 p.m.  "    10 p.m.          "            "          hog.
+   10 p.m.  "    Midnight         "            "          fox.]
+
+When the world is at rest, at two in the morning, the hour of which
+the ox is the symbol, the woman rises; she dons a white robe and high
+sandals or clogs; her coif is a metal tripod, in which are thrust
+three lighted candles; around her neck she hangs a mirror, which falls
+upon her bosom; in her left hand she carries a small straw figure, the
+effigy of the lover who has abandoned her, and in her right she grasps
+a hammer and nails, with which she fastens the figure to one of the
+sacred trees that surround the shrine. There she prays for the death
+of the traitor, vowing that, if her petition be heard, she will
+herself pull out the nails which now offend the god by wounding the
+mystic tree. Night after night she comes to the shrine, and each night
+she strikes in two or more nails, believing that every nail will
+shorten her lover's life, for the god, to save his tree, will surely
+strike him dead.
+
+Meguro is one of the many places round Yedo to which the good citizens
+flock for purposes convivial or religious, or both; hence it is that,
+cheek by jowl with the old shrines and temples, you will find many a
+pretty tea-house, standing at the rival doors of which Mesdemoiselles
+Sugar, Wave of the Sea, Flower, Seashore, and Chrysanthemum are
+pressing in their invitations to you to enter and rest. Not beautiful
+these damsels, if judged by our standard, but the charm of Japanese
+women lies in their manner and dainty little ways, and the tea-house
+girl, being a professional decoy-duck, is an adept in the art of
+flirting,--_en tout bien tout honneur_, be it remembered; for she is
+not to be confounded with the frail beauties of the Yoshiwara, nor
+even with her sisterhood near the ports open to foreigners, and to
+their corrupting influence. For, strange as it seems, our contact all
+over the East has an evil effect upon the natives.
+
+In one of the tea-houses a thriving trade is carried on in the sale of
+wooden tablets, some six inches square, adorned with the picture of a
+pink cuttlefish on a bright blue ground. These are ex-votos, destined
+to be offered up at the Temple of Yakushi Niurai, the Buddhist
+Æsculapius, which stands opposite, and concerning the foundation of
+which the following legend is told.
+
+In the days of old there was a priest called Jikaku, who at the age of
+forty years, it being the autumn of the tenth year of the period
+called Tenchô (A.D. 833), was suffering from disease of the eyes,
+which had attacked him three years before. In order to be healed from
+this disease he carved a figure of Yakushi Niurai, to which he used
+to offer up his prayers. Five years later he went to China, taking
+with him the figure as his guardian saint, and at a place called
+Kairetsu it protected him from robbers and wild beasts and from other
+calamities. There he passed his time in studying the sacred laws both
+hidden and revealed, and after nine years set sail to return to Japan.
+When he was on the high seas a storm arose, and a great fish attacked
+and tried to swamp the ship, so that the rudder and mast were broken,
+and the nearest shore being that of a land inhabited by devils, to
+retreat or to advance was equally dangerous. Then the holy man prayed
+to the patron saint whose image he carried, and as he prayed, behold
+the true Yakushi Niurai appeared in the centre of the ship, and said
+to him--
+
+"Verily, thou hast travelled far that the sacred laws might be
+revealed for the salvation of many men; now, therefore, take my image,
+which thou carriest in thy bosom, and cast it into the sea, that the
+wind may abate, and that thou mayest be delivered from this land of
+devils."
+
+The commands of the saints must be obeyed, so with tears in his eyes,
+the priest threw into the sea the sacred image which he loved. Then
+did the wind abate, and the waves were stilled, and the ship went on
+her course as though she were being drawn by unseen hands until she
+reached a safe haven. In the tenth month of the same year the priest
+again set sail, trusting to the power of his patron saint, and reached
+the harbour of Tsukushi without mishap. For three years he prayed that
+the image which he had cast away might be restored to him, until at
+last one night he was warned in a dream that on the sea-shore at
+Matsura Yakushi Niurai would appear to him. In consequence of this
+dream he went to the province of Hizen, and landed on the sea-shore at
+Hirato, where, in the midst of a blaze of light, the image which he
+had carved appeared to him twice, riding on the back of a cuttlefish.
+Thus was the image restored to the world by a miracle. In
+commemoration of his recovery from the disease of the eyes and of his
+preservation from the dangers of the sea, that these things might be
+known to all posterity, the priest established the worship of Tako
+Yakushi Niurai ("Yakushi Niurai of the Cuttlefish") and came to
+Meguro, where he built the Temple of Fudô Sama,[10] another Buddhist
+divinity. At this time there was an epidemic of small-pox in the
+village, so that men fell down and died in the street, and the holy
+man prayed to Fudô Sama that the plague might be stayed. Then the god
+appeared to him, and said--
+
+"The saint Yakushi Niurai of the Cuttlefish, whose image thou
+carriest, desires to have his place in this village, and he will heal
+this plague. Thou shalt, therefore, raise a temple to him here that
+not only this small-pox, but other diseases for future generations,
+may be cured by his power."
+
+[Footnote 10: Fudô, literally "the motionless": Buddha in the state
+called Nirvana.]
+
+Hearing this, the priest shed tears of gratitude, and having chosen a
+piece of fine wood, carved a large figure of his patron saint of the
+cuttlefish, and placed the smaller image inside of the larger, and
+laid it up in this temple, to which people still flock that they may
+be healed of their diseases.
+
+Such is the story of the miracle, translated from a small ill-printed
+pamphlet sold by the priests of the temple, all the decorations of
+which, even to a bronze lantern in the middle of the yard, are in the
+form of a cuttlefish, the sacred emblem of the place.
+
+What pleasanter lounge in which to while away a hot day could a man
+wish for than the shade of the trees borne by the hill on which stands
+the Temple of Fudô Sama? Two jets of pure water springing from the
+rock are voided by spouts carved in the shape of dragons into a stone
+basin enclosed by rails, within which it is written that "no woman may
+enter." If you are in luck, you may cool yourself by watching some
+devotee, naked save his loin-cloth, performing the ceremony called
+_Suigiyô_; that is to say, praying under the waterfall that his soul
+may be purified through his body. In winter it requires no small pluck
+to go through this penance, yet I have seen a penitent submit to it
+for more than a quarter of an hour on a bitterly cold day in January.
+In summer, on the other hand, the religious exercise called
+_Hiyakudo_, or "the hundred times," which may also be seen here to
+advantage, is no small trial of patience. It consists in walking
+backwards and forwards a hundred times between two points within the
+sacred precincts, repeating a prayer each time. The count is kept
+either upon the fingers or by depositing a length of twisted straw
+each time that the goal is reached; at this temple the place allotted
+for the ceremony is between a grotesque bronze figure of Tengu Sama
+("the Dog of Heaven"), the terror of children, a most hideous monster
+with a gigantic nose, which it is beneficial to rub with a finger
+afterwards to be applied to one's own nose, and a large brown box
+inscribed with the characters _Hiyaku Do_ in high relief, which may
+generally be seen full of straw tallies. It is no sinecure to be a
+good Buddhist, for the gods are not lightly to be propitiated. Prayer
+and fasting, mortification of the flesh, abstinence from wine, from
+women, and from favourite dishes, are the only passports to rising in
+office, prosperity in trade, recovery from sickness, or a happy
+marriage with a beloved maiden. Nor will mere faith without works be
+efficient. A votive tablet of proportionate value to the favour prayed
+for, or a sum of money for the repairs of the shrine or temple, is
+necessary to win the favour of the gods. Poorer persons will cut off
+the queue of their hair and offer that up; and at Horinouchi, a temple
+in great renown some eight or nine miles from Yedo, there is a rope
+about two inches and a half in diameter and about six fathoms long,
+entirely made of human hair so given to the gods; it lies coiled up,
+dirty, moth-eaten, and uncared for, at one end of a long shed full of
+tablets and pictures, by the side of a rude native fire-engine. The
+taking of life being displeasing to Buddha, outside many of the
+temples old women and children earn a livelihood by selling sparrows,
+small eels, carp, and tortoises, which the worshipper sets free in
+honour of the deity, within whose territory cocks and hens and doves,
+tame and unharmed, perch on every jutty, frieze, buttress, and coigne
+of vantage.
+
+But of all the marvellous customs that I wot of in connection with
+Japanese religious exercises, none appears to me so strange as that of
+spitting at the images of the gods, more especially at the statues of
+the Ni-ô, the two huge red or red and green statues which, like Gog
+and Magog, emblems of strength, stand as guardians of the chief
+Buddhist temples. The figures are protected by a network of iron wire,
+through which the votaries, praying the while, spit pieces of paper,
+which they had chewed up into a pulp. If the pellet sticks to the
+statue, the omen is favourable; if it falls, the prayer is not
+accepted. The inside of the great bell at the Tycoon's burial-ground,
+and almost every holy statue throughout the country, are all covered
+with these outspittings from pious mouths.[11]
+
+[Footnote 11: It will be readily understood that the customs and
+ceremonies to which I have alluded belong only to the gross
+superstitions with which ignorance has overlaid that pure Buddhism of
+which Professor Max Müller has pointed out the very real beauties.]
+
+[Illustration: THE TOMB OF THE SHIYOKU.]
+
+Through all this discourse about temples and tea-houses, I am coming
+by degrees to the goal of our pilgrimage--two old stones, mouldering
+away in a rank, overgrown graveyard hard by, an old old
+burying-ground, forgotten by all save those who love to dig out the
+tales of the past. The key is kept by a ghoulish old dame, almost as
+time-worn and mildewed as the tomb over which she watches. Obedient to
+our call, and looking forward to a fee ten times greater than any
+native would give her, she hobbles out, and, opening the gate, points
+out the stone bearing the inscription, the "Tomb of the Shiyoku"
+(fabulous birds, which, living one within the other--a mysterious
+duality contained in one body--are the emblem of connubial love and
+fidelity). By this stone stands another, graven with a longer legend,
+which runs as follows:--
+
+"In the old days of Genroku, she pined for the beauty of her lover,
+who was as fair to look upon as the flowers; and now beneath the moss
+of this old tombstone all has perished of her save her name. Amid the
+changes of a fitful world, this tomb is decaying under the dew and
+rain; gradually crumbling beneath its own dust, its outline alone
+remains. Stranger! bestow an alms to preserve this stone; and we,
+sparing neither pain nor labour, will second you with all our hearts.
+Erecting it again, let us preserve it from decay for future
+generations, and let us write the following verse upon it:--'These two
+birds, beautiful as the cherry-blossoms, perished before their time,
+like flowers broken down by the wind before they have borne seed.'"
+
+Under the first stone is the dust of Gompachi, robber and murderer,
+mixed with that of his true love Komurasaki, who lies buried with him.
+Her sorrows and constancy have hallowed the place, and pious people
+still come to burn incense and lay flowers before the grave. How she
+loved him even in death may be seen from the following old-world
+story.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+About two hundred and thirty years ago there lived in the service of a
+daimio of the province of Inaba a young man, called Shirai Gompachi,
+who, when he was but sixteen years of age, had already won a name for
+his personal beauty and valour, and for his skill in the use of arms.
+Now it happened that one day a dog belonging to him fought with
+another dog belonging to a fellow-clansman, and the two masters, being
+both passionate youths, disputing as to whose dog had had the best of
+the fight, quarrelled and came to blows, and Gompachi slew his
+adversary; and in consequence of this he was obliged to flee from his
+country, and make his escape to Yedo.
+
+And so Gompachi set out on his travels.
+
+One night, weary and footsore, he entered what appeared to him to be a
+roadside inn, ordered some refreshment, and went to bed, little
+thinking of the danger that menaced him: for as luck would have it,
+this inn turned out to be the trysting-place of a gang of robbers,
+into whose clutches he had thus unwittingly fallen. To be sure,
+Gompachi's purse was but scantily furnished, but his sword and dirk
+were worth some three hundred ounces of silver, and upon these the
+robbers (of whom there were ten) had cast envious eyes, and had
+determined to kill the owner for their sake; but he, all unsuspicious,
+slept on in fancied security.
+
+In the middle of the night he was startled from his deep slumbers by
+some one stealthily opening the sliding door which led into his room,
+and rousing himself with an effort, he beheld a beautiful young girl,
+fifteen years of age, who, making signs to him not to stir, came up to
+his bedside, and said to him in a whisper--
+
+"Sir, the master of this house is the chief of a gang of robbers, who
+have been plotting to murder you this night for the sake of your
+clothes and your sword. As for me, I am the daughter of a rich
+merchant in Mikawa: last year the robbers came to our house, and
+carried off my father's treasure and myself. I pray you, sir, take me
+with you, and let us fly from this dreadful place."
+
+She wept as she spoke, and Gompachi was at first too much startled to
+answer; but being a youth of high courage and a cunning fencer to
+boot, he soon recovered his presence of mind, and determined to kill
+the robbers, and to deliver the girl out of their hands. So he
+replied--
+
+"Since you say so, I will kill these thieves, and rescue you this very
+night; only do you, when I begin the fight, run outside the house,
+that you may be out of harm's way, and remain in hiding until I join
+you."
+
+Upon this understanding the maiden left him, and went her way. But he
+lay awake, holding his breath and watching; and when the thieves crept
+noiselessly into the room, where they supposed him to be fast asleep,
+he cut down the first man that entered, and stretched him dead at his
+feet. The other nine, seeing this, laid about them with their drawn
+swords, but Gompachi, fighting with desperation, mastered them at
+last, and slew them. After thus ridding himself of his enemies, he
+went outside the house and called to the girl, who came running to his
+side, and joyfully travelled on with him to Mikawa, where her father
+dwelt; and when they reached Mikawa, he took the maiden to the old
+man's house, and told him how, when he had fallen among thieves, his
+daughter had come to him in his hour of peril, and saved him out of
+her great pity; and how he, in return, rescuing her from her
+servitude, had brought her back to her home. When the old folks saw
+their daughter whom they had lost restored to them, they were beside
+themselves with joy, and shed tears for very happiness; and, in their
+gratitude, they pressed Gompachi to remain with them, and they
+prepared feasts for him, and entertained him hospitably: but their
+daughter, who had fallen in love with him for his beauty and knightly
+valour, spent her days in thinking of him, and of him alone. The young
+man, however, in spite of the kindness of the old merchant, who
+wished to adopt him as his son, and tried hard to persuade him to
+consent to this, was fretting to go to Yedo and take service as an
+officer in the household of some noble lord; so he resisted the
+entreaties of the father and the soft speeches of the daughter, and
+made ready to start on his journey; and the old merchant, seeing that
+he would not be turned from his purpose, gave him a parting gift of
+two hundred ounces of silver, and sorrowfully bade him farewell.
+
+[Illustration: GOMPACHI AWAKENED BY THE MAIDEN IN THE ROBBERS' DEN.]
+
+But alas for the grief of the maiden, who sat sobbing her heart out
+and mourning over her lover's departure! He, all the while thinking
+more of ambition than of love, went to her and comforted her, and
+said: "Dry your eyes, sweetheart, and weep no more, for I shall soon
+come back to you. Do you, in the meanwhile, be faithful and true to
+me, and tend your parents with filial piety."
+
+So she wiped away her tears and smiled again, when she heard him
+promise that he would soon return to her. And Gompachi went his way,
+and in due time came near to Yedo.
+
+But his dangers were not yet over; for late one night, arriving at a
+place called Suzugamori, in the neighbourhood of Yedo, he fell in with
+six highwaymen, who attacked him, thinking to make short work of
+killing and robbing him. Nothing daunted, he drew his sword, and
+dispatched two out of the six; but, being weary and worn out with his
+long journey, he was sorely pressed, and the struggle was going hard
+with him, when a wardsman,[12] who happened to pass that way riding in
+a chair, seeing the affray, jumped down from his chair and drawing his
+dirk came to the rescue, and between them they put the robbers to
+flight.
+
+[Footnote 12: Japanese cities are divided into wards, and every
+tradesman and artisan is under the authority of the chief of the ward
+in which he resides. The word _chônin_, or wardsman, is generally used
+in contradistinction to the word _samurai_, which has already been
+explained as denoting a man belonging to the military class.]
+
+Now it turned out that this kind tradesman, who had so happily come to
+the assistance of Gompachi, was no other than Chôbei of Bandzuin, the
+chief of the _Otokodaté_, or Friendly Society of the wardsmen of
+Yedo--a man famous in the annals of the city, whose life, exploits,
+and adventures are recited to this day, and form the subject of
+another tale.
+
+When the highwaymen had disappeared, Gompachi, turning to his
+deliverer, said--
+
+"I know not who you may be, sir, but I have to thank you for rescuing
+me from a great danger."
+
+And as he proceeded to express his gratitude, Chôbei replied--
+
+"I am but a poor wardsman, a humble man in my way, sir; and if the
+robbers ran away, it was more by good luck than owing to any merit of
+mine. But I am filled with admiration at the way you fought; you
+displayed a courage and a skill that were beyond your years, sir."
+
+"Indeed," said the young man, smiling with pleasure at hearing
+himself praised; "I am still young and inexperienced, and am quite
+ashamed of my bungling style of fencing."
+
+"And now may I ask you, sir, whither you are bound?"
+
+"That is almost more than I know myself, for I am a _rônin,_ and have
+no fixed purpose in view."
+
+"That is a bad job," said Chôbei, who felt pity for the lad. "However,
+if you will excuse my boldness in making such an offer, being but a
+wardsman, until you shall have taken service I would fain place my
+poor house at your disposal."
+
+Gompachi accepted the offer of his new but trusty friend with thanks;
+so Chôbei led him to his house, where he lodged him and hospitably
+entertained him for some months. And now Gompachi, being idle and
+having nothing to care for, fell into bad ways, and began to lead a
+dissolute life, thinking of nothing but gratifying his whims and
+passions; he took to frequenting the Yoshiwara, the quarter of the
+town which is set aside for tea-houses and other haunts of wild young
+men, where his handsome face and figure attracted attention, and soon
+made him a great favourite with all the beauties of the neighbourhood.
+
+About this time men began to speak loud in praise of the charms of
+Komurasaki, or "Little Purple," a young girl who had recently come to
+the Yoshiwara, and who in beauty and accomplishments outshone all her
+rivals. Gompachi, like the rest of the world, heard so much of her
+fame that he determined to go to the house where she dwelt, at the
+sign of "The Three Sea-coasts," and judge for himself whether she
+deserved all that men said of her. Accordingly he set out one day, and
+having arrived at "The Three Sea-coasts," asked to see Komurasaki; and
+being shown into the room where she was sitting, advanced towards her;
+but when their eyes met, they both started back with a cry of
+astonishment, for this Komurasaki, the famous beauty of the Yoshiwara,
+proved to be the very girl whom several months before Gompachi had
+rescued from the robbers' den, and restored to her parents in Mikawa.
+He had left her in prosperity and affluence, the darling child of a
+rich father, when they had exchanged vows of love and fidelity; and
+now they met in a common stew in Yedo. What a change! what a contrast!
+How had the riches turned to rust, the vows to lies!
+
+"What is this?" cried Gompachi, when he had recovered from his
+surprise. "How is it that I find you here pursuing this vile calling,
+in the Yoshiwara? Pray explain this to me, for there is some mystery
+beneath all this which I do not understand."
+
+But Komurasaki--who, having thus unexpectedly fallen in with her lover
+that she had yearned for, was divided between joy and shame--answered,
+weeping--
+
+"Alas! my tale is a sad one, and would be long to tell. After you left
+us last year, calamity and reverses fell upon our house; and when my
+parents became poverty-stricken, I was at my wits' end to know how to
+support them: so I sold this wretched body of mine to the master of
+this house, and sent the money to my father and mother; but, in spite
+of this, troubles and misfortunes multiplied upon them, and now, at
+last, they have died of misery and grief. And, oh! lives there in this
+wide world so unhappy a wretch as I! But now that I have met you
+again--you who are so strong--help me who am weak. You saved me
+once--do not, I implore you, desert me now!!" and as she told her
+piteous tale the tears streamed from her eyes.
+
+"This is, indeed, a sad story," replied Gompachi, much affected by the
+recital. "There must have been a wonderful run of bad luck to bring
+such misfortune upon your house, which but a little while ago I
+recollect so prosperous. However, mourn no more, for I will not
+forsake you. It is true that I am too poor to redeem you from your
+servitude, but at any rate I will contrive so that you shall be
+tormented no more. Love me, therefore, and put your trust in me." When
+she heard him speak so kindly she was comforted, and wept no more, but
+poured out her whole heart to him, and forgot her past sorrows in the
+great joy of meeting him again.
+
+When it became time for them to separate, he embraced her tenderly and
+returned to Chôbei's house; but he could not banish Komurasaki from
+his mind, and all day long he thought of her alone; and so it came
+about that he went daily to the Yoshiwara to see her, and if any
+accident detained him, she, missing the accustomed visit, would become
+anxious and write to him to inquire the cause of his absence. At last,
+pursuing this course of life, his stock of money ran short, and as,
+being a _rônin_ and without any fixed employment, he had no means of
+renewing his supplies, he was ashamed of showing himself penniless at
+"The Three Sea-coasts." Then it was that a wicked spirit arose within
+him, and he went out and murdered a man, and having robbed him of his
+money carried it to the Yoshiwara.
+
+From bad to worse is an easy step, and the tiger that has once tasted
+blood is dangerous. Blinded and infatuated by his excessive love,
+Gompachi kept on slaying and robbing, so that, while his outer man was
+fair to look upon, the heart within him was that of a hideous devil.
+At last his friend Chôbei could no longer endure the sight of him, and
+turned him out of his house; and as, sooner or later, virtue and vice
+meet with their reward, it came to pass that Gompachi's crimes became
+notorious, and the Government having set spies upon his track, he was
+caught red-handed and arrested; and his evil deeds having been fully
+proved against him, he was carried off to the execution ground at
+Suzugamori, the "Bell Grove," and beheaded as a common male-factor.
+
+Now when Gompachi was dead, Chôbei's old affection for the young man
+returned, and, being a kind and pious man, he went and claimed his
+body and head, and buried him at Meguro, in the grounds of the Temple
+called Boronji.
+
+When Komurasaki heard the people at Yoshiwara gossiping about her
+lover's end, her grief knew no bounds, so she fled secretly from "The
+Three Sea-coasts," and came to Meguro and threw herself upon the
+newly-made grave. Long she prayed and bitterly she wept over the tomb
+of him whom, with all his faults, she had loved so well, and then,
+drawing a dagger from her girdle, she plunged it in her breast and
+died. The priests of the temple, when they saw what had happened,
+wondered greatly and were astonished at the loving faithfulness of
+this beautiful girl, and taking compassion on her, they laid her side
+by side with Gompachi in one grave, and over the grave they placed a
+stone which remains to this day, bearing the inscription "The Tomb of
+the Shiyoku." And still the people of Yedo visit the place, and still
+they praise the beauty of Gompachi and the filial piety and fidelity
+of Komurasaki.
+
+Let us linger for a moment longer in the old graveyard. The word which
+I have translated a few lines above as "loving faithfulness" means
+literally "chastity." When Komurasaki sold herself to supply the wants
+of her ruined parents, she was not, according to her lights,
+forfeiting her claim to virtue. On the contrary, she could perform no
+greater act of filial piety, and, so far from incurring reproach among
+her people, her self-sacrifice would be worthy of all praise in their
+eyes. This idea has led to grave misunderstanding abroad, and indeed
+no phase of Japanese life has been so misrepresented as this. I have
+heard it stated, and seen it printed, that it is no disgrace for a
+respectable Japanese to sell his daughter, that men of position and
+family often choose their wives from such places as "The Three
+Sea-coasts," and that up to the time of her marriage the conduct of a
+young girl is a matter of no importance whatever. Nothing could be
+more unjust or more untrue. It is only the neediest people that sell
+their children to be waitresses, singers, or prostitutes. It does
+occasionally happen that the daughter of a _Samurai_, or gentleman, is
+found in a house of ill-fame, but such a case could only occur at the
+death or utter ruin of the parents, and an official investigation of
+the matter has proved it to be so exceptional, that the presence of a
+young lady in such a place is an enormous attraction, her superior
+education and accomplishments shedding a lustre over the house. As for
+gentlemen marrying women of bad character, are not such things known
+in Europe? Do ladies of the _demi-monde_ never make good marriages?
+_Mésalliances_ are far rarer in Japan than with us. Certainly among
+the lowest class of the population such, marriages may occasionally
+occur, for it often happens that a woman can lay by a tempting dowry
+out of her wretched earnings-, but amongst the gentry of the country
+they are unknown.
+
+And yet a girl is not disgraced if for her parents' sake she sells
+herself to a life of misery so great, that, when a Japanese enters a
+house of ill-fame, he is forced to leave his sword and dirk at the
+door for two reasons--first, to prevent brawling; secondly, because it
+is known that some of the women inside so loathe their existence that
+they would put an end to it, could they get hold of a weapon.
+
+It is a curious fact that in all the Daimio's castle-towns, with the
+exception of some which are also seaports, open prostitution is
+strictly forbidden, although, if report speaks truly, public morality
+rather suffers than gains by the prohibition.
+
+The misapprehension which exists upon the subject of prostitution in
+Japan may be accounted for by the fact that foreign writers, basing
+their judgment upon the vice of the open ports, have not hesitated to
+pronounce the Japanese women unchaste. As fairly might a Japanese,
+writing about England, argue from the street-walkers of Portsmouth or
+Plymouth to the wives, sisters, and daughters of these very authors.
+In some respects the gulf fixed between virtue and vice in Japan is
+even greater than in England. The Eastern courtesan is confined to a
+certain quarter of the town, and distinguished by a peculiarly gaudy
+costume, and by a head-dress which consists of a forest of light
+tortoiseshell hair-pins, stuck round her head like a saint's glory--a
+glory of shame which a modest woman would sooner die than wear. Vice
+jostling virtue in the public places; virtue imitating the fashions
+set by vice, and buying trinkets or furniture at the sale of vice's
+effects--these are social phenomena which the East knows not.
+
+The custom prevalent among the lower orders of bathing in public
+bath-houses without distinction of the sexes, is another circumstance
+which has tended to spread abroad very false notions upon the subject
+of the chastity of the Japanese women. Every traveller is shocked by
+it, and every writer finds in it matter for a page of pungent
+description. Yet it is only those who are so poor (and they must be
+poor indeed) that they cannot afford a bath at home, who, at the end
+of their day's work, go to the public bath-house to refresh themselves
+before sitting down to their evening meal: having been used to the
+scene from their childhood, they see no indelicacy in it; it is a
+matter of course, and _honi soit qui mal y pense_: certainly there is
+far less indecency and immorality resulting from this public bathing,
+than from the promiscuous herding together of all sexes and ages which
+disgraces our own lodging-houses in the great cities, and the hideous
+hovels in which some of our labourers have to pass their lives; nor
+can it be said that there is more confusion of sexes amongst the
+lowest orders in Japan than in Europe. Speaking upon the subject once
+with a Japanese gentleman, I observed that we considered it an act of
+indecency for men and women to wash together. He shrugged his
+shoulders as he answered, "But then Westerns have such prurient
+minds." Some time ago, at the open port of Yokohama, the Government,
+out of deference to the prejudices of foreigners, forbade the men and
+women to bathe together, and no doubt this was the first step towards
+putting down the practice altogether: as for women tubbing in the open
+streets of Yedo, I have read of such things in books written by
+foreigners; but during a residence of three years and a half, in which
+time I crossed and recrossed every part of the great city at all hours
+of the day, I never once saw such a sight. I believe myself that it
+can only be seen at certain hot mineral springs in remote country
+districts.
+
+The best answer to the general charge of immorality which has been
+brought against the Japanese women during their period of unmarried
+life, lies in the fact that every man who can afford to do so keeps
+the maidens of his family closely guarded in the strictest seclusion.
+The daughter of poverty, indeed, must work and go abroad, but not a
+man is allowed to approach the daughter of a gentleman; and she is
+taught that if by accident any insult should be offered to her, the
+knife which she carries at her girdle is meant for use, and not
+merely as a badge of her rank. Not long ago a tragedy took place in
+the house of one of the chief nobles in Yedo. One of My Lady's
+tire-women, herself a damsel of gentle blood, and gifted with rare
+beauty, had attracted the attention of a retainer in the palace, who
+fell desperately in love with her. For a long time the strict rules of
+decorum by which she was hedged in prevented him from declaring his
+passion; but at last he contrived to gain access to her presence, and
+so far forgot himself, that she, drawing her poniard, stabbed him in
+the eye, so that he was carried off fainting, and presently died. The
+girl's declaration, that the dead man had attempted to insult her, was
+held to be sufficient justification of her deed, and, instead of being
+blamed, she was praised and extolled for her valour and chastity. As
+the affair had taken place within the four walls of a powerful noble,
+there was no official investigation into the matter, with which the
+authorities of the palace were competent to deal. The truth of this
+story was vouched for by two or three persons whose word I have no
+reason to doubt, and who had themselves been mixed up in it; I can
+bear witness that it is in complete harmony with Japanese ideas; and
+certainly it seems more just that Lucretia should kill Tarquin than
+herself.
+
+The better the Japanese people come to be known and understood, the
+more, I am certain, will it be felt that a great injustice has been
+done them in the sweeping attacks which have been made upon their
+women. Writers are agreed, I believe, that their matrons are, as a
+rule, without reproach. If their maidens are chaste, as I contend that
+from very force of circumstances they cannot help being, what becomes
+of all these charges of vice and immodesty? Do they not rather recoil
+upon the accusers, who would appear to have studied the Japanese woman
+only in the harlot of Yokohama?
+
+Having said so much, I will now try to give some account of the famous
+Yoshiwara[13] of Yedo, to which frequent allusion will have to be made
+in the course of these tales.
+
+[Footnote 13: The name Yoshiwara, which is becoming generic for
+"Flower Districts,"--_Anglicé_, quarters occupied by brothels,--is
+sometimes derived from the town Yoshiwara, in Sunshine, because it was
+said that the women of that place furnished a large proportion of the
+beauties of the Yedo Yoshiwara. The correct derivation is probably
+that given below.]
+
+At the end of the sixteenth century the courtesans of Yedo lived in
+three special places: these were the street called Kôji-machi, in
+which dwelt the women who came from Kiôto; the Kamakura Street, and a
+spot opposite the great bridge, in which last two places lived women
+brought from Suruga. Besides these there afterwards came women from
+Fushimi and from Nara, who lodged scattered here and there throughout
+the town. This appears to have scandalized a certain reformer, named
+Shôji Jinyémon, who, in the year 1612, addressed a memorial to the
+Government, petitioning that the women who lived in different parts of
+the town should be collected in one "Flower Quarter." His petition was
+granted in the year 1617, and he fixed upon a place called Fukiyacho,
+which, on account of the quantities of rushes which grew there, was
+named _Yoshi-Wara,_ or the rush-moor, a name which now-a-days, by a
+play upon the word _yoshi,_ is written with two Chinese characters,
+signifying the "good," or "lucky moor." The place was divided into
+four streets, called the Yedo Street, the Second Yedo Street, the
+Kiôto Street, and the Second Kiôto Street.
+
+In the eighth month of the year 1655, when Yedo was beginning to
+increase in size and importance, the Yoshiwara, preserving its name,
+was transplanted bodily to the spot which it now occupies at the
+northern end of the town. And the streets in it were named after the
+places from which the greater number of their inhabitants originally
+came, as the "Sakai Street," the "Fushimi Street," &c.
+
+The official Guide to the Yoshiwara for 1869 gives a return of 153
+brothels, containing 3,289 courtesans of all classes, from the
+_Oiran_, or proud beauty, who, dressed up in gorgeous brocade of gold
+and silver, with painted face and gilded lips, and with her teeth
+fashionably blacked, has all the young bloods of Yedo at her feet,
+down to the humble _Shinzo_, or white-toothed woman, who rots away her
+life in the common stews. These figures do not, however, represent the
+whole of the prostitution of Yedo; the Yoshiwara is the chief, but not
+the only, abiding-place of the public women. At Fukagawa there is
+another Flower District, built upon the same principle as the
+Yoshiwara; while at Shinagawa, Shinjiku, Itabashi, Senji, and
+Kadzukappara, the hotels contain women who, nominally only waitresses,
+are in reality prostitutes. There are also women called _Jigoku-Omna,_
+or hell-women, who, without being borne on the books of any brothel,
+live in their own houses, and ply their trade in secret. On the whole,
+I believe the amount of prostitution in Yedo to be wonderfully small,
+considering the vast size of the city.
+
+There are 394 tea-houses in the Yoshiwara, which are largely used as
+places of assignation, and which on those occasions are paid, not by
+the visitors frequenting them, but by the keepers of the brothels. It
+is also the fashion to give dinners and drinking-parties at these
+houses, for which the services of _Taikomochi_, or jesters, among whom
+there are thirty-nine chief celebrities, and of singing and dancing
+girls, are retained. The Guide to the Yoshiwara gives a list of
+fifty-five famous singing-girls, besides a host of minor stars. These
+women are not to be confounded with the courtesans. Their conduct is
+very closely watched by their masters, and they always go out to
+parties in couples or in bands, so that they may be a check upon one
+another. Doubtless, however, in spite of all precautions, the shower
+of gold does from time to time find its way to Danaë's lap; and to be
+the favoured lover of a fashionable singer or dancer is rather a
+feather in the cap of a fast young Japanese gentleman. The fee paid to
+singing-girls for performing during a space of two hours is one
+shilling and fourpence each; for six hours the fee is quadrupled, and
+it is customary to give the girls a _hana_, or present, for
+themselves, besides their regular pay, which goes to the master of the
+troupe to which they belong.
+
+Courtesans, singing women, and dancers are bought by contractors,
+either as children, when they are educated for their calling, or at a
+more advanced age, when their accomplishments and charms render them
+desirable investments. The engagement is never made life-long, for
+once past the flower of their youth the poor creatures would be mere
+burthens upon their masters; a courtesan is usually bought until she
+shall have reached the age of twenty-seven, after which she becomes
+her own property. Singers remain longer in harness, but even they
+rarely work after the age of thirty, for Japanese women, like
+Italians, age quickly, and have none of that intermediate stage
+between youth and old age, which seems to be confined to countries
+where there is a twilight.
+
+Children destined to be trained as singers are usually bought when
+they are five or six years old, a likely child fetching from about
+thirty-five to fifty shillings; the purchaser undertakes the education
+of his charge, and brings the little thing up as his own child. The
+parents sign a paper absolving him from all responsibility in case of
+sickness or accident; but they know that their child will be well
+treated and cared for, the interests of the buyer being their material
+guarantee. Girls of fifteen or upwards who are sufficiently
+accomplished to join a company of singers fetch ten times the price
+paid for children; for in their case there is no risk and no expense
+of education.
+
+Little children who are bought for purposes of prostitution at the age
+of five or six years fetch about the same price as those that are
+bought to be singers. During their novitiate they are employed to wait
+upon the _Oiran_, or fashionable courtesans, in the capacity of little
+female pages (_Kamuro_). They are mostly the children of distressed
+persons, or orphans, whom their relatives cruelly sell rather than be
+at the expense and trouble of bringing them up. Of the girls who enter
+the profession later in life, some are orphans, who have no other
+means of earning a livelihood; others sell their bodies out of filial
+piety, that they may succour their sick or needy parents; others are
+married women, who enter the Yoshiwara to supply the wants of their
+husbands; and a very small proportion is recruited from girls who have
+been seduced and abandoned, perhaps sold, by faithless lovers.
+
+The time to see the Yoshiwara to the best advantage is just after
+nightfall, when the lamps are lighted. Then it is that the women--who
+for the last two hours have been engaged in gilding their lips and
+painting their eyebrows black, and their throats and bosoms a snowy
+white, carefully leaving three brown Van-dyke-collar points where the
+back of the head joins the neck, in accordance with one of the
+strictest rules of Japanese cosmetic science--leave the back rooms,
+and take their places, side by side, in a kind of long narrow cage,
+the wooden bars of which open on to the public thoroughfare. Here they
+sit for hours, gorgeous in dresses of silk and gold and silver
+embroidery, speechless and motionless as wax figures, until they shall
+have attracted the attention of some of the passers-by, who begin to
+throng the place. At Yokohama indeed, and at the other open ports, the
+women of the Yoshiwara are loud in their invitations to visitors,
+frequently relieving the monotony of their own language by some
+blasphemous term of endearment picked up from British and American
+seamen; but in the Flower District at Yedo, and wherever Japanese
+customs are untainted, the utmost decorum prevails. Although the shape
+which vice takes is ugly enough, still it has this merit, that it is
+unobtrusive. Never need the pure be contaminated by contact with the
+impure; he who goes to the Yoshiwara, goes there knowing full well
+what he will find, but the virtuous man may live through his life
+without having this kind of vice forced upon his sight. Here again do
+the open ports contrast unfavourably with other places: Yokohama at
+night is as leprous a place as the London Haymarket.[14]
+
+[Footnote 14: Those who are interested in this branch of social
+science, will find much curious information upon the subject of
+prostitution in Japan in a pamphlet published at Yokohama, by Dr.
+Newton, R.N., a philanthropist who has been engaged for the last two
+years in establishing a Lock Hospital at that place. In spite of much
+opposition, from prejudice and ignorance, his labours have been
+crowned by great success.]
+
+A public woman or singer on entering her profession assumes a _nom de
+guerre_, by which she is known until her engagement is at an end. Some
+of these names are so pretty and quaint that I will take a few
+specimens from the _Yoshiwara Saiken_, the guidebook upon which this
+notice is based. "Little Pine," "Little Butterfly," "Brightness of the
+Flowers," "The Jewel River," "Gold Mountain," "Pearl Harp," "The Stork
+that lives a Thousand Years," "Village of Flowers," "Sea Beach," "The
+Little Dragon," "Little Purple," "Silver," "Chrysanthemum,"
+"Waterfall," "White Brightness," "Forest of Cherries,"--these and a
+host of other quaint conceits are the one prettiness of a very foul
+place.
+
+
+
+
+KAZUMA'S REVENGE
+
+
+It is a law that he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. In
+Japan, where there exists a large armed class over whom there is
+practically little or no control, party and clan broils, and single
+quarrels ending in bloodshed and death, are matters of daily
+occurrence; and it has been observed that Edinburgh in the olden time,
+when the clansmen, roistering through the streets at night, would pass
+from high words to deadly blows, is perhaps the best European parallel
+of modern Yedo or Kiôto.
+
+It follows that of all his possessions the Samurai sets most store by
+his sword, his constant companion, his ally, defensive and offensive.
+The price of a sword by a famous maker reaches a high sum: a Japanese
+noble will sometimes be found girding on a sword, the blade of which
+unmounted is worth from six hundred to a thousand riyos, say from £200
+to £300, and the mounting, rich in cunning metal work, will be of
+proportionate value. These swords are handed down as heirlooms from
+father to son, and become almost a part of the wearer's own self.
+Iyéyasu, the founder of the last dynasty of Shoguns, wrote in his
+Legacy,[15] a code of rules drawn up for the guidance of his
+successors and their advisers in the government, "The girded sword is
+the living soul of the Samurai. In the case of a Samurai forgetting
+his sword, act as is appointed: it may not be overlooked."
+
+[Footnote 15: _The Legacy of Iyéyasu_, translated by F. Lowder.
+Yokohama, 1868. (Printed for private circulation.)]
+
+The occupation of a swordsmith is an honourable profession, the
+members of which are men of gentle blood. In a country where trade is
+looked down upon as degrading, it is strange to find this single
+exception to the general rule. The traditions of the craft are many
+and curious. During the most critical moment of the forging of the
+sword, when the steel edge is being welded into the body of the iron
+blade, it is a custom which still obtains among old-fashioned
+armourers to put on the cap and robes worn by the Kugé, or nobles of
+the Mikado's court, and, closing the doors of the workshop, to labour
+in secrecy and freedom from interruption, the half gloom adding to the
+mystery of the operation. Sometimes the occasion is even invested with
+a certain sanctity, a tasselled cord of straw, such as is hung before
+the shrines of the Kami, or native gods of Japan, being suspended
+between two bamboo poles in the forge, which for the nonce is
+converted into a holy altar.
+
+At Osaka, I lived opposite to one Kusano Yoshiaki, a swordsmith, a
+most intelligent and amiable gentleman, who was famous throughout his
+neighbourhood for his good and charitable deeds. His idea was that,
+having been bred up to a calling which trades in life and death, he
+was bound, so far as in him lay, to atone for this by seeking to
+alleviate the suffering which is in the world; and he carried out his
+principle to the extent of impoverishing himself. No neighbour ever
+appealed to him in vain for help in tending the sick or burying the
+dead. No beggar or lazar was ever turned from his door without
+receiving some mark of his bounty, whether in money or in kind. Nor
+was his scrupulous honesty less remarkable than his charity. While
+other smiths are in the habit of earning large sums of money by
+counterfeiting the marks of the famous makers of old, he was able to
+boast that he had never turned out a weapon which bore any other mark
+than his own. From his father and his forefathers he inherited his
+trade, which, in his turn, he will hand over to his son--a
+hard-working, honest, and sturdy man, the clank of whose hammer and
+anvil may be heard from daybreak to sundown.
+
+[Illustration: FORGING THE SWORD.]
+
+The trenchant edge of the Japanese sword is notorious. It is said that
+the best blades will in the hands of an expert swordsman cut through
+the dead bodies of three men, laid one upon the other, at a blow. The
+swords of the Shogun used to be tried upon the corpses of executed
+criminals; the public headsman was entrusted with the duty, and for a
+"nose medicine," or bribe of two bus (about three shillings), would
+substitute the weapon of a private individual for that of his Lord.
+Dogs and beggars, lying helpless by the roadside, not unfrequently
+serve to test a ruffian's sword; but the executioner earns many a fee
+from those who wish to see how their blades will cut off a head.
+
+The statesman who shall enact a law forbidding the carrying of this
+deadly weapon will indeed have deserved well of his country; but it
+will be a difficult task to undertake, and a dangerous one. I would
+not give much for that man's life. The hand of every swashbuckler in
+the empire would be against him. One day as we were talking over this
+and other kindred subjects, a friend of mine, a man of advanced and
+liberal views, wrote down his opinion, _more Japonico_, in a verse of
+poetry which ran as follows:--"I would that all the swords and dirks
+in the country might be collected in one place and molten down, and
+that, from the metal so produced, one huge sword might be forged,
+which, being the only blade left, should be the girded sword of Great
+Japan."
+
+The following history is in more senses than one a "Tale of a Sword."
+
+About two hundred and fifty years ago Ikéda Kunaishôyu was Lord of the
+Province of Inaba. Among his retainers were two gentlemen, named
+Watanabé Yukiyé and Kawai Matazayémon, who were bound together by
+strong ties of friendship, and were in the habit of frequently
+visiting at one another's houses. One day Yukiyé was sitting
+conversing with Matazayémon in the house of the latter, when, on a
+sudden, a sword that was lying in the raised part of the room caught
+his eye. As he saw it, he started and said--
+
+"Pray tell me, how came you by that sword?"
+
+"Well, as you know, when my Lord Ikéda followed my Lord Tokugawa
+Iyéyasu to fight at Nagakudé, my father went in his train; and it was
+at the battle of Nagakudé that he picked up this sword."
+
+"My father went too, and was killed in the fight, and this sword,
+which was an heirloom in our family for many generations, was lost at
+that time. As it is of great value in my eyes, I do wish that, if you
+set no special store by it, you would have the great kindness to
+return it to me."
+
+"That is a very easy matter, and no more than what one friend should
+do by another. Pray take it."
+
+Upon this Yukiyé gratefully took the sword, and having carried it home
+put it carefully away.
+
+At the beginning of the ensuing year Matazayémon fell sick and died,
+and Yukiyé, mourning bitterly for the loss of his good friend, and
+anxious to requite the favour which he had received in the matter of
+his father's sword, did many acts of kindness to the dead man's
+son--a young man twenty-two years of age, named Matagorô.
+
+Now this Matagorô was a base-hearted cur, who had begrudged the sword
+that his father had given to Yukiyé, and complained publicly and often
+that Yukiyé had never made any present in return; and in this way
+Yukiyé got a bad name in my Lord's palace as a stingy and illiberal
+man.
+
+But Yukiyé had a son, called Kazuma, a youth sixteen years of age, who
+served as one of the Prince's pages of honour. One evening, as he and
+one of his brother pages were talking together, the latter said--
+
+"Matagorô is telling everybody that your father accepted a handsome
+sword from him and never made him any present in return, and people
+are beginning to gossip about it."
+
+"Indeed," replied the other, "my father received that sword from
+Matagorô's father as a mark of friendship and good-will, and,
+considering that it would be an insult to send a present of money in
+return, thought to return the favour by acts of kindness towards
+Matagorô. I suppose it is money he wants."
+
+When Kazuma's service was over, he returned home, and went to his
+father's room to tell him the report that was being spread in the
+palace, and begged him to send an ample present of money to Matagorô.
+Yukryé reflected for a while, and said--
+
+"You are too young to understand the right line of conduct in such
+matters. Matagorô's father and myself were very close friends; so,
+seeing that he had ungrudgingly given me back the sword of my
+ancestors, I, thinking to requite his kindness at his death, rendered
+important services to Matagorô. It would be easy to finish the matter
+by sending a present of money; but I had rather take the sword and
+return it than be under an obligation to this mean churl, who knows
+not the laws which regulate the intercourse and dealings of men of
+gentle blood."
+
+So Yukiyé, in his anger, took the sword to Matagorô's house, and said
+to him--
+
+"I have come to your house this night for no other purpose than to
+restore to you the sword which your father gave me;" and with this he
+placed the sword before Matagorô.
+
+"Indeed," replied the other, "I trust that you will not pain me by
+returning a present which my father made you."
+
+"Amongst men of gentle birth," said Yukiyé, laughing scornfully, "it
+is the custom to requite presents, in the first place by kindness, and
+afterwards by a suitable gift offered with a free heart. But it is no
+use talking to such as you, who are ignorant of the first principles
+of good breeding; so I have the honour to give you back the sword."
+
+As Yukiyé went on bitterly to reprove Matagorô, the latter waxed very
+wroth, and, being a ruffian, would have killed Yukiyé on the spot; but
+he, old man as he was, was a skilful swordsman, so Matagorô,
+craven-like, determined to wait until he could attack him unawares.
+Little suspecting any treachery, Yukiyé started to return home, and
+Matagorô, under the pretence of attending him to the door, came behind
+him with his sword drawn and cut him in the shoulder. The older man,
+turning round, drew and defended himself; but having received a severe
+wound in the first instance, he fainted away from loss of blood, and
+Matagorô slew him.
+
+The mother of Matagorô, startled by the noise, came out; and when she
+saw what had been done, she was afraid, and said--"Passionate man!
+what have you done? You are a murderer; and now your life will be
+forfeit. What terrible deed is this!"
+
+"I have killed him now, and there's nothing to be done. Come, mother,
+before the matter becomes known, let us fly together from this house."
+
+"I will follow you; do you go and seek out my Lord Abé Shirogorô, a
+chief among the Hatamotos,[16] who was my foster-child. You had better
+fly to him for protection, and remain in hiding."
+
+[Footnote 16: _Hatamotos._ The Hatamotos were the feudatory nobles of
+the Shogun or Tycoon. The office of Taikun having been abolished, the
+Hatamotos no longer exist. For further information respecting them,
+see the note at the end of the story.]
+
+So the old woman persuaded her son to make his escape, and sent him to
+the palace of Shirogorô.
+
+Now it happened that at this time the Hatamotos had formed themselves
+into a league against the powerful Daimios; and Abé Shirogorô, with
+two other noblemen, named Kondô Noborinosuké and Midzuno Jiurozayémon,
+was at the head of the league. It followed, as a matter of course,
+that his forces were frequently recruited by vicious men, who had no
+means of gaining their living, and whom he received and entreated
+kindly without asking any questions as to their antecedents; how much
+the more then, on being applied to for an asylum by the son of his own
+foster-mother, did he willingly extend his patronage to him, and
+guarantee him against all danger. So he called a meeting of the
+principal Hatamotos, and introduced Matagorô to them, saying--"This
+man is a retainer of Ikéda Kunaishôyu, who, having cause of hatred
+against a man named Watanabé Yukiyé, has slain him, and has fled to me
+for protection; this man's mother suckled me when I was an infant,
+and, right or wrong, I will befriend him. If, therefore, Ikéda
+Kunaishôyu should send to require me to deliver him up, I trust that
+you will one and all put forth your strength and help me to defend
+him."
+
+"Ay! that will we, with pleasure!" replied Kondô Noborinosuké. "We
+have for some time had cause to complain of the scorn with which the
+Daimios have treated us. Let Ikéda Kunaishôyu send to claim this man,
+and we will show him the power of the Hatamotos."
+
+All the other Hatamotos, with one accord, applauded this
+determination, and made ready their force for an armed resistance,
+should my Lord Kunaishôyu send to demand the surrender of Matugorô.
+But the latter remained as a welcome guest in the house of Abé
+Shirogorô.
+
+[Illustration: MATAGORÔ KILLS YUKIYÉ.]
+
+Now when Watanabé Kazuma saw that, as the night advanced, his father
+Yukiyé did not return home, he became anxious, and went to the house
+of Matagorô to seek for him, and finding to his horror that he was
+murdered, fell upon the corpse and, embraced it, weeping. On a sudden,
+it flashed across him that this must assuredly be the handiwork of
+Matagorô; so he rushed furiously into the house, determined to kill
+his father's murderer upon the spot. But Matagorô had already fled,
+and he found only the mother, who was making her preparations for
+following her son to the house of Abé Shirogorô: so he bound the old
+woman, and searched all over the house for her son; but, seeing that
+his search was fruitless, he carried off the mother, and handed her
+over to one of the elders of the clan, at the same time laying
+information against Matagorô as his father's murderer. When the affair
+was reported to the Prince, he was very angry, and ordered that the
+old woman should remain bound and be cast into prison until the
+whereabouts of her son should be discovered. Then Kazuma buried his
+father's corpse with great pomp, and the widow and the orphan mourned
+over their loss.
+
+It soon became known amongst the people of Abé Shirogorô that the
+mother of Matagorô had been imprisoned for her son's crime, and they
+immediately set about planning her rescue; so they sent to the palace
+of my Lord Kunaishôyu a messenger, who, when he was introduced to the
+councillor of the Prince, said--
+
+"We have heard that, in consequence of the murder of Yukiyé, my lord
+has been pleased to imprison the mother of Matagorô. Our master
+Shirogorô has arrested the criminal, and will deliver him up to you.
+But the mother has committed no crime, so we pray that she may be
+released from a cruel imprisonment: she was the foster-mother of our
+master, and he would fain intercede to save her life. Should you
+consent to this, we, on our side, will give up the murderer, and hand
+him over to you in front of our master's gate to-morrow."
+
+The councillor repeated this message to the Prince, who, in his
+pleasure at being able to give Kazuma his revenge on the morrow,
+immediately agreed to the proposal, and the messenger returned
+triumphant at the success of the scheme. On the following day, the
+Prince ordered the mother of Matagorô to be placed in a litter and
+carried to the Hatamoto's dwelling, in charge of a retainer named
+Sasawo Danyémon, who, when he arrived at the door of Abé Shirogorô's
+house, said--
+
+"I am charged to hand over to you the mother of Matagorô, and, in
+exchange, I am authorized to receive her son at your hands."
+
+"We will immediately give him up to you; but, as the mother and son
+are now about to bid an eternal farewell to one another, we beg you to
+be so kind as to tarry a little."
+
+With this the retainers of Shirogorô led the old woman inside their
+master's house, and Sasawo Danyémon remained waiting outside, until at
+last he grew impatient, and ventured to hurry on the people within.
+
+"We return you many thanks," replied they, "for your kindness in
+bringing us the mother; but, as the son cannot go with you at present,
+you had better return home as quickly as possible. We are afraid we
+have put you to much trouble." And so they mocked him.
+
+When Danyémon saw that he had not only been cheated into giving up the
+old woman, but was being made a laughing-stock of into the bargain, he
+flew into a great rage, and thought to break into the house and seize
+Matagorô and his mother by force; but, peeping into the courtyard, he
+saw that it was filled with Hatamotos, carrying guns and naked swords.
+Not caring then to die fighting a hopeless battle, and at the same
+time feeling that, after having been so cheated, he would be put to
+shame before his lord, Sasawo Danyémon went to the burial-place of his
+ancestors, and disembowelled himself in front of their graves.
+
+[Illustration: THE DEATH OF DANYÉMON.]
+
+When the Prince heard how his messenger had been treated, he was
+indignant, and summoning his councillors resolved, although he was
+suffering from sickness, to collect his retainers and attack Abé
+Shirogorô; and the other chief Daimios, when the matter became
+publicly known, took up the cause, and determined that the Hatamotos
+must be chastised for their insolence. On their side, the Hatamotos
+put forth all their efforts to resist the Daimios. So Yedo became
+disturbed, and the riotous state of the city caused great anxiety to
+the Government, who took counsel together how they might restore
+peace. As the Hatamotos were directly under the orders of the Shogun,
+it was no difficult matter to put them down: the hard question to
+solve was how to put a restraint upon the great Daimios. However, one
+of the Gorôjin,[17] named Matsudaira Idzu no Kami, a man of great
+intelligence, hit upon a plan by which he might secure this end.
+
+[Footnote 17: The first Council of the Shogun's ministers; literally,
+"assembly of imperial elders."]
+
+There was at this time in the service of the Shogun a physician, named
+Nakarai Tsusen, who was in the habit of frequenting the palace of my
+Lord Kunaishôyu, and who for some time past had been treating him for
+the disease from which he was suffering. Idzu no Kami sent secretly
+for this physician, and, summoning him to his private room, engaged
+him in conversation, in the midst of which he suddenly dropped his
+voice and said to him in a whisper--
+
+"Listen, Tsusen. You have received great favours at the hands of the
+Shogun. The Government is now sorely straitened: are you willing to
+carry your loyalty so far as to lay down your life on its behalf?"
+
+"Ay, my lord; for generations my forefathers have held their property
+by the grace of the Shogun. I am willing this night to lay down my
+life for my Prince, as a faithful vassal should."
+
+"Well, then, I will tell you. The great Daimios and the Hatamotos
+have fallen out about this affair of Matagorô, and lately it has
+seemed as if they meant to come to blows. The country will be
+agitated, and the farmers and townsfolk suffer great misery, if we
+cannot quell the tumult. The Hatamotos will be easily kept under, but
+it will be no light task to pacify the great Daimios. If you are
+willing to lay down your life in carrying out a stratagem of mine,
+peace will be restored to the country; but your loyalty will be your
+death."
+
+"I am ready to sacrifice my life in this service."
+
+"This is my plan. You have been attending my Lord Kunaishôyu in his
+sickness; to-morrow you must go to see him, and put poison in his
+physic. If we can kill him, the agitation will cease. This is the
+service which I ask of you."
+
+Tsusen agreed to undertake the deed; and on the following day, when he
+went to see Kunaishôyu, he carried with him poisoned drugs. Half the
+draught he drank himself,[18] and thus put the Prince off his guard,
+so that he swallowed the remainder fearlessly. Tsusen, seeing this,
+hurried away, and as he was carried home in his litter the death-agony
+seized him, and he died, vomiting blood.
+
+[Footnote 18: A physician attending a personage of exalted rank has
+always to drink half the potion he prescribes as a test of his good
+faith.]
+
+My Lord Kunaishôyu died in the same way in great torture, and in the
+confusion attending upon his death and funeral ceremonies the struggle
+which was impending with the Hatamotos was delayed.
+
+In the meanwhile the Gorôjiu Idzu no Kami summoned the three leaders
+of the Hatamotos and addressed them as follows--
+
+"The secret plottings and treasonable, turbulent conduct of you three
+men, so unbecoming your position as Hatamotos, have enraged my lord
+the Shogun to such a degree, that he has been pleased to order that
+you be imprisoned in a temple, and that your patrimony be given over
+to your next heirs."
+
+Accordingly the three Hatamotos, after having been severely
+admonished, were confined in a temple called Kanyeiji; and the
+remaining Hatamotos, scared by this example, dispersed in peace. As
+for the great Daimios, inasmuch as after the death of my Lord
+Kunaishôyu the Hatamotos were all dispersed, there was no enemy left
+for them to fight with; so the tumult was quelled, and peace was
+restored.
+
+Thus it happened that Matagorô lost his patron; so, taking his mother
+with him, he went and placed himself under the protection of an old
+man named Sakurai Jiuzayémon. This old man was a famous teacher of
+lance exercise, and enjoyed both wealth and honour; so he took in
+Matagorô, and having engaged as a guard thirty Rônins, all resolute
+fellows and well skilled in the arts of war, they all fled together to
+a distant place called Sagara.
+
+All this time Watanabé Kazuma had been brooding over his father's
+death, and thinking how he should be revenged upon the murderer; so
+when my Lord Kunaishôyu suddenly died, he went to the young Prince
+who succeeded him and obtained leave of absence to go and seek out
+his father's enemy. Now Kazuma's elder sister was married to a man
+named Araki Matayémon, who at that time was famous as the first
+swordsman in Japan. As Kazuma was but sixteen years of age, this
+Matayémon, taking into consideration his near relationship as
+son-in-law to the murdered man, determined to go forth with the lad,
+as his guardian, and help him to seek out Matagorô; and two of
+Matayémon's retainers, named Ishidomé Busuké and Ikezoyé Magohachi,
+made up their minds, at all hazards, to follow their master. The
+latter, when he heard their intention, thanked them, but refused the
+offer, saying that as he was now about to engage in a vendetta in
+which his life would be continually in jeopardy, and as it would be a
+lasting grief to him should either of them receive a wound in such a
+service, he must beg them to renounce their intention; but they
+answered--
+
+"Master, this is a cruel speech of yours. All these years have we
+received nought but kindness and favours at your hands; and now that
+you are engaged in the pursuit of this murderer, we desire to follow
+you, and, if needs must, to lay down our lives in your service.
+Furthermore, we have heard that the friends of this Matagorô are no
+fewer than thirty-six men; so, however bravely you may fight, you will
+be in peril from the superior numbers of your enemy. However, if you
+are pleased to persist in your refusal to take us, we have made up our
+minds that there is no resource for us but to disembowel ourselves on
+the spot."
+
+When Matayémon and Kazuma heard these words, they wondered at these
+faithful and brave men, and were moved to tears. Then Matayémon said--
+
+"The kindness of you two brave fellows is without precedent. Well,
+then, I will accept your services gratefully."
+
+Then the two men, having obtained their wish, cheerfully followed
+their master; and the four set out together upon their journey to seek
+out Matagorô, of whose whereabouts they were completely ignorant.
+
+Matagorô in the meanwhile had made his way, with the old man Sakurai
+Jiuzayémon and his thirty Rônins, to Osaka. But, strong as they were
+in numbers, they travelled in great secrecy. The reason for this was
+that the old man's younger brother, Sakurai Jinsuké, a fencing-master
+by profession, had once had a fencing-match with Matayémon, Kazuma's
+brother-in-law, and had been shamefully beaten; so that the party were
+greatly afraid of Matayémon, and felt that, since he was taking up
+Kazuma's cause and acting as his guardian, they might be worsted in
+spite of their numbers: so they went on their way with great caution,
+and, having reached Osaka, put up at an inn in a quarter called
+Ikutama, and hid from Kazuma and Matayémon.
+
+The latter also in good time reached Osaka, and spared no pains to
+seek out Matagorô. One evening towards dusk, as Matayémon was walking
+in the quarter where the enemy were staying, he saw a man, dressed as
+a gentleman's servant, enter a cook-shop and order some buckwheat
+porridge for thirty-six men, and looking attentively at the man, he
+recognized him as the servant of Sakurai Jiuzayémon; so he hid himself
+in a dark place and watched, and heard the fellow say--
+
+"My master, Sakurai Jiuzayémon, is about to start for Sagara to-morrow
+morning, to return thanks to the gods for his recovery from a sickness
+from which he has been suffering; so I am in a great hurry."
+
+With these words the servant hastened away; and Matayémon, entering
+the shop, called for some porridge, and as he ate it, made some
+inquiries as to the man who had just given so large an order for
+buckwheat porridge. The master of the shop answered that he was the
+attendant of a party of thirty-six gentlemen who were staying at such
+and such an inn. Then Matayémon, having found out all that he wanted
+to know, went home and told Kazuma, who was delighted at the prospect
+of carrying his revenge into execution on the morrow. That same
+evening Matayémon sent one of his two faithful retainers as a spy to
+the inn, to find out at what hour Matagorô was to set out on the
+following morning; and he ascertained from the servants of the inn,
+that the party was to start at daybreak for Sagara, stopping at Isé to
+worship at the shrine of Tershô Daijin.[19]
+
+[Footnote 19: Goddess of the sun, and ancestress of the Mikados.]
+
+Matayémon made his preparations accordingly, and, with Kazuma and his
+two retainers, started before dawn. Beyond Uyéno, in the province of
+Iga, the castle-town of the Daimio Tôdô Idzumi no Kami, there is a
+wide and lonely moor; and this was the place upon which they fixed for
+the attack upon the enemy. When they had arrived at the spot,
+Matayémon went into a tea-house by the roadside, and wrote a petition
+to the governor of the Daimio's castle-town for permission to carry
+out the vendetta within its precincts;[20] then he addressed Kazuma,
+and said--
+
+"When we fall in with Matagorô and begin the fight, do you engage and
+slay your father's murderer; attack him and him only, and I will keep
+off his guard of Rônins;" then turning to his two retainers, "As for
+you, keep close to Kazuma; and should the Rônins attempt to rescue
+Matagorô, it will be your duty to prevent them, and succour Kazuma."
+And having further laid down each man's duties with great minuteness,
+they lay in wait for the arrival of the enemy. Whilst they were
+resting in the tea-house, the governor of the castle-town arrived,
+and, asking for Matayémou, said--
+
+"I have the honour to be the governor of the castle-town of Tôdô
+Idzumi no Kami. My lord, having learnt your intention of slaying your
+enemy within the precincts of his citadel, gives his consent; and as a
+proof of his admiration of your fidelity and valour, he has further
+sent you a detachment of infantry, one hundred strong, to guard the
+place; so that should any of the thirty-six men attempt to escape, you
+may set your mind at ease, for flight will be impossible."
+
+[Footnote 20: "In respect to revenging injury done to master or
+father, it is granted by the wise and virtuous (Confucius) that you
+and the injurer cannot live together under the canopy of heaven.
+
+"A person harbouring such vengeance shall notify the same in writing
+to the Criminal Court; and although no check or hindrance may be
+offered to his carrying out his desire within the period allowed for
+that purpose, it is forbidden that the chastisement of an enemy be
+attended with riot.
+
+"Fellows who neglect to give notice of their intended revenge are like
+wolves of pretext, and their punishment or pardon should depend upon
+the circumstances of the case."--_Legacy of Iyéyasu_, ut suprà.]
+
+When Matayémon and Kazurna had expressed their thanks for his
+lordship's gracious kindness, the governor took his leave and returned
+home. At last the enemy's train was seen in the distance. First came
+Sakurai Jiuzayémon and his younger brother Jinsuké; and next to them
+followed Kawai Matagorô and Takénouchi Gentan. These four men, who
+were the bravest and the foremost of the band of Rônins, were riding
+on pack-horses, and the remainder were marching on foot, keeping close
+together.
+
+As they drew near, Kazuma, who was impatient to avenge his father,
+stepped boldly forward and shouted in a loud voice--
+
+"Here stand I, Kazuma, the son of Yukiyé, whom you, Matagorô,
+treacherously slew, determined to avenge my father's death. Come
+forth, then, and do battle with me, and let us see which of us twain
+is the better man."
+
+And before the Rônins had recovered from their astonishment, Matayémon
+said--
+
+"I, Araké Matayémon, the son-in-law of Yukiyé, have come to second
+Kazuma in his deed of vengeance. Win or lose, you must give us
+battle."
+
+When the thirty-six men heard the name of Matayémon, they were greatly
+afraid; but Sakurai Jiuzayémon urged them to be upon their guard, and
+leaped from his horse; and Matayémon, springing forward with his drawn
+sword, cleft him from the shoulder to the nipple of his breast, so
+that he fell dead. Sakurai Jinsuké, seeing his brother killed before
+his eyes, grew furious, and shot an arrow at Matayémon, who deftly cut
+the shaft in two with his dirk as it flew; and Jinsuké, amazed at this
+feat, threw away his bow and attacked Matayémon, who, with his sword
+in his right hand and his dirk in his left, fought with desperation.
+The other Rônins attempted to rescue Jinsuké, and, in the struggle,
+Kazuma, who had engaged Matagorô, became separated from Matayémon,
+whose two retainers, Busuké and Magohachi, bearing in mind their
+master's orders, killed five Rônins who had attacked Kazuma, but were
+themselves badly wounded. In the meantime, Matayémon, who had killed
+seven of the Rônins, and who the harder he was pressed the more
+bravely he fought, soon cut down three more, and the remainder dared
+not approach him. At this moment there came up one Kanô Tozayémon, a
+retainer of the lord of the castle-town, and an old friend of
+Matayémon, who, when he heard that Matayémon was this day about to
+avenge his father-in-law, had seized his spear and set out, for the
+sake of the good-will between them, to help him, and act as his
+second, and said--
+
+"Sir Matayémon, hearing of the perilous adventure in which you have
+engaged, I have come out to offer myself as your second."
+
+Matayémon, hearing this, was rejoiced, and fought with renewed vigour.
+Then one of the Rônins, named Takénouchi Gentan, a very brave man,
+leaving his companions to do battle with Matayémon, came to the rescue
+of Matagorô, who was being hotly pressed by Kazuma, and, in attempting
+to prevent this, Busuké fell covered with wounds. His companion
+Magohachi, seeing him fall, was in great anxiety; for should any harm
+happen to Kazuma, what excuse could he make to Matayémon? So, wounded
+as he was, he too engaged Takénouchi Gentan, and, being crippled by
+the gashes he had received, was in deadly peril. Then the man who had
+come up from the castle-town to act as Matayémon's second cried out--
+
+"See there, Sir Matayémon, your follower who is fighting with Gentan
+is in great danger. Do you go to his rescue, and second Sir Kazuma: I
+will give an account of the others!"
+
+"Great thanks to you, sir. I will go and second Kazuma."
+
+So Matayémon went to help Kazuma, whilst his second and the infantry
+soldiers kept back the surviving Rônins, who, already wearied by their
+fight with Matayémon, were unfit for any further exertion. Kazuma
+meanwhile was still fighting with Matagorô, and the issue of the
+conflict was doubtful; and Takénouchi Gentan, in his attempt to rescue
+Matagorô, was being kept at bay by Magohachi, who, weakened by his
+wounds, and blinded by the blood which was streaming into his eyes
+from a cut in the forehead, had given himself up for lost when
+Matayémon came and cried--
+
+"Be of good cheer, Magohachi; it is I, Matayémon, who have come to the
+rescue. You are badly hurt; get out of harm's way, and rest yourself."
+
+Then Magohachi, who until then had been kept up by his anxiety for
+Kazuma's safety, gave in, and fell fainting from loss of blood; and
+Matayémon worsted and slew Gentan; and even then, although be had
+received two wounds, he was not exhausted, but drew near to Kazuma and
+said--
+
+"Courage, Kazuma! The Rônins are all killed, and there now remains
+only Matagorô, your father's murderer. Fight and win!"
+
+The youth, thus encouraged, redoubled his efforts; but Matagorô,
+losing heart, quailed and fell. So Kazuma's vengeance was fulfilled,
+and the desire of his heart was accomplished.
+
+The two faithful retainers, who had died in their loyalty, were buried
+with great ceremony, and Kazuma carried the head of Matagorô and
+piously laid it upon his father's tomb.
+
+So ends the tale of Kazuma's revenge.
+
+I fear that stories of which killing and bloodshed form the principal
+features can hardly enlist much sympathy in these peaceful days.
+Still, when such tales are based upon history, they are interesting to
+students of social phenomena. The story of Kazuma's revenge is mixed
+up with events which at the present time are peculiarly significant: I
+mean the feud between the great Daimios and the Hatamotos. Those who
+have followed the modern history of Japan will see that the recent
+struggle, which has ended in the ruin of the Tycoon's power and the
+abolition of his office, was the outburst of a hidden fire which had
+been smouldering for centuries. But the repressive might had been
+gradually weakened, and contact with Western powers had rendered still
+more odious a feudality which men felt to be out of date. The
+revolution which has ended in the triumph of the Daimios over the
+Tycoon, is also the triumph of the vassal over his feudal lord, and is
+the harbinger of political life to the people at large. In the time of
+Iyéyasu the burden might be hateful, but it had to be borne; and so it
+would have been to this day, had not circumstances from without broken
+the spell. The Japanese Daimio, in advocating the isolation of his
+country, was hugging the very yoke which he hated. Strange to say,
+however, there are still men who, while they embrace the new political
+creed, yet praise the past, and look back with regret upon the day
+when Japan stood alone, without part or share in the great family of
+nations.
+
+NOTE.--_Hatamoto_. This word means "_under the flag_." The Hatamotos
+were men who, as their name implied, rallied round the standard of the
+Shogun, or Tycoon, in war-time. They were eighty thousand in number.
+When Iyéyasu left the Province of Mikawa and became Shogun, the
+retainers whom he ennobled, and who received from him grants of land
+yielding revenue to the amount of ten thousand kokus of rice a year,
+and from that down to one hundred kokus, were called _Hatamoto_. In
+return for these grants of land, the Hatamotos had in war-time to
+furnish a contingent of soldiers in proportion to their revenue. For
+every thousand kokus of rice five men were required. Those Hatamotos
+whose revenue fell short of a thousand kokus substituted a quota of
+money. In time of peace most of the minor offices of the Tycoon's
+government were filled by Hatamotos, the more important places being
+held by the Fudai, or vassal Daimios of the Shogun. Seven years ago,
+in imitation of the customs of foreign nations, a standing army was
+founded; and then the Hatamotos had to contribute their quota of men
+or of money, whether the country were at peace or at war. When the
+Shogun was reduced in 1868 to the rank of a simple Daimio, his revenue
+of eight million kokus reverted to the Government, with the exception
+of seven hundred thousand kokus. The title of Hatamoto exists no more,
+and those who until a few months ago held the rank are for the most
+part ruined or dispersed. From having been perhaps the proudest and
+most overbearing class in Japan, they are driven to the utmost straits
+of poverty. Some have gone into trade, with the heirlooms of their
+families as their stock; others are wandering through the country as
+Rônins; while a small minority have been allowed to follow the fallen
+fortunes of their master's family, the present chief of which is known
+as the Prince of Tokugawa. Thus are the eighty thousand dispersed.
+
+The koku of rice, in which all revenue is calculated, is of varying
+value. At the cheapest it is worth rather more than a pound sterling,
+and sometimes almost three times as much. The salaries of officials
+being paid in rice, it follows that there is a large and influential
+class throughout the country who are interested in keeping up the
+price of the staple article of food. Hence the opposition with which a
+free trade in rice has met, even in famine times. Hence also the
+frequent so-called "Rice Riots."
+
+The amounts at which the lands formerly held by the chief Daimios, but
+now patriotically given up by them to the Mikado, were assessed, sound
+fabulous. The Prince of Kaga alone had an income of more than one
+million two hundred thousand kokus. Yet these great proprietors were,
+latterly at least, embarrassed men. They had many thousand mouths to
+feed, and were mulcted of their dues right and left; while their mania
+for buying foreign ships and munitions of war, often at exorbitant
+prices, had plunged them heavily in debt.
+
+
+
+
+A STORY OF THE OTOKODATÉ OF YEDO;
+
+
+BEING THE SUPPLEMENT OF
+
+THE STORY OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI
+
+
+The word Otokodaté occurs several times in these Tales; and as I
+cannot convey its full meaning by a simple translation, I must
+preserve it in the text, explaining it by the following note, taken
+from the Japanese of a native scholar.
+
+The Otokodaté were friendly associations of brave men bound together
+by an obligation to stand by one another in weal or in woe, regardless
+of their own lives, and without inquiring into one another's
+antecedents. A bad man, however, having joined the Otokodaté must
+forsake his evil ways; for their principle was to treat the oppressor
+as an enemy, and to help the feeble as a father does his child. If
+they had money, they gave it to those that had none, and their
+charitable deeds won for them the respect of all men. The head of the
+society was called its "Father"; if any of the others, who were his
+apprentices, were homeless, they lived with the Father and served him,
+paying him at the same time a small fee, in consideration of which, if
+they fell sick or into misfortune, he took charge of them and assisted
+them.
+
+The Father of the Otokodaté pursued the calling of farming out coolies
+to the Daimios and great personages for their journeys to and from
+Yedo, and in return for this received from them rations in rice. He
+had more influence with the lower classes even than the officials; and
+if the coolies had struck work or refused to accompany a Daimio on his
+journey, a word from the Father would produce as many men as might be
+required. When Prince Tokugawa Iyémochi, the last but one of the
+Shoguns, left Yedo for Kiôto, one Shimmon Tatsugorô, chief of the
+Otokodaté, undertook the management of his journey, and some three or
+four years ago was raised to the dignity of Hatamoto for many faithful
+services. After the battle of Fushimi, and the abolition of the
+Shogunate, he accompanied the last of the Shoguns in his retirement.
+
+In old days there were also Otokodaté among the Hatamotos; this was
+after the civil wars of the time of Iyéyasu, when, though the country
+was at peace, the minds of men were still in a state of high
+excitement, and could not be reconciled to the dulness of a state of
+rest; it followed that broils and faction fights were continually
+taking place among the young men of the Samurai class, and that those
+who distinguished themselves by their personal strength and valour
+were looked up to as captains. Leagues after the manner of those
+existing among the German students were formed in different quarters
+of the city, under various names, and used to fight for the honour of
+victory. When the country became more thoroughly tranquil, the custom
+of forming these leagues amongst gentlemen fell into disuse.
+
+The past tense is used in speaking even of the Otokodaté of the lower
+classes; for although they nominally exist, they have no longer the
+power and importance which they enjoyed at the time to which these
+stories belong. They then, like the 'prentices of Old London, played a
+considerable part in the society of the great cities, and that man was
+lucky, were he gentle Samurai or simple wardsman, who could claim the
+Father of the Otokodaté for his friend.
+
+The word, taken by itself, means a manly or plucky fellow.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Chôbei of Bandzuin was the chief of the Otokodaté of Yedo. He was
+originally called Itarô, and was the son of a certain Rônin who lived
+in the country. One day, when he was only ten years of age, he went
+out with a playfellow to bathe in the river; and as the two were
+playing they quarrelled over their game, and Itarô, seizing the other
+boy, threw him into the river and drowned him.
+
+Then he went home, and said to his father--
+
+"I went to play by the river to-day, with a friend; and as he was rude
+to me, I threw him into the water and killed him."
+
+When his father heard him speak thus, quite calmly, as if nothing had
+happened, he was thunderstruck, and said--
+
+"This is indeed a fearful thing. Child as you are, you will have to
+pay the penalty of your deed; so to-night you must fly to Yedo in
+secret, and take service with some noble Samurai, and perhaps in time
+you may become a soldier yourself."
+
+With these words he gave him twenty ounces of silver and a fine sword,
+made by the famous swordsmith Rai Kunitoshi, and sent him out of the
+province with all dispatch. The following morning the parents of the
+murdered child came to claim that Itarô should be given up to their
+vengeance; but it was too late, and all they could do was to bury
+their child and mourn for his loss.
+
+Itarô made his way to Yedo in hot haste, and there found employment as
+a shop-boy; but soon tiring of that sort of life, and burning to
+become a soldier, he found means at last to enter the service of a
+certain Hatamoto called Sakurai Shôzayémon, and changed his name to
+Tsunéhei. Now this Sakurai Shôzayémon had a son, called Shônosuké, a
+young man in his seventeenth year, who grew so fond of Tsunéhei that
+he took him with him wherever he went, and treated him in all ways as
+an equal.
+
+When Shônosuké went to the fencing-school Tsunéhei would accompany
+him, and thus, as he was by nature strong and active, soon became a
+good swordsman.
+
+One day, when Shôzayémon had gone out, his son Shônosuké said to
+Tsunéhei--
+
+"You know how fond my father is of playing at football: it must be
+great sport. As he has gone out to-day, suppose you and I have a
+game?"
+
+"That will be rare sport," answered Tsunéhei. "Let us make haste and
+play, before my lord comes home."
+
+So the two boys went out into the garden, and began trying to kick the
+football; but, lacking skill, do what they would, they could not lift
+it from the ground. At last Shônosuké, with a vigorous kick, raised
+the football; but, having missed his aim, it went tumbling over the
+wall into the next garden, which belonged to one Hikosaka Zempachi, a
+teacher of lance exercise, who was known to be a surly, ill-tempered
+fellow.
+
+"Oh, dear! what shall we do?" said Shônosuké. "We have lost my
+father's football in his absence; and if we go and ask for it back
+from that churlish neighbour of ours, we shall only be scolded and
+sworn at for our pains."
+
+"Oh, never mind," answered Tsunéhei; "I will go and apologize for our
+carelessness, and get the football back."
+
+"Well, but then you will be chidden, and I don't want that."
+
+"Never mind me. Little care I for his cross words." So Tsunéhei went
+to the next-door house to reclaim the ball.
+
+Now it so happened that Zempachi, the surly neighbour, had been
+walking in his garden whilst the two youths were playing; and as he
+was admiring the beauty of his favourite chrysanthemums, the football
+came flying over the wall and struck him full in the face. Zempachi,
+not used to anything but flattery and coaxing, flew into a violent
+rage at this; and while he was thinking how he would revenge himself
+upon any one who might be sent to ask for the lost ball, Tsunéhei came
+in, and said to one of Zempachi's servants--
+
+"I am sorry to say that in my lord's absence I took his football, and,
+in trying to play with it, clumsily kicked it over your wall. I beg
+you to excuse my carelessness, and to be so good as to give me back
+the ball."
+
+The servant went in and repeated this to Zempachi, who worked himself
+up into a great rage, and ordered Tsunéhei to be brought before him,
+and said--
+
+"Here, fellow, is your name Tsunéhei?"
+
+"Yes, sir, at your service. I am almost afraid to ask pardon for my
+carelessness; but please forgive me, and let me have the ball."
+
+"I thought your master, Shôzayémon, was to blame for this; but it
+seems that it was you who kicked the football."
+
+"Yes, sir. I am sure I am very sorry for what I have done. Please, may
+I ask for the ball?" said Tsunéhei, bowing humbly.
+
+For a while Zempachi made no answer, but at length he said--
+
+"Do you know, villain, that your dirty football struck me in the
+face? I ought, by rights, to kill you on the spot for this; but I will
+spare your life this time, so take your football and be off." And with
+that he went up to Tsunéhei and beat him, and kicked him in the head,
+and spat in his face.
+
+Then Tsunéhei, who up to that time had demeaned himself very humbly,
+in his eagerness to get back the football, jumped up in a fury, and
+said--
+
+"I made ample apologies to you for my carelessness, and now you have
+insulted and struck me. Ill-mannered ruffian! take back the
+ball,--I'll none of it;" and he drew his dirk, and cutting the
+football in two, threw it at Zempachi, and returned home.
+
+But Zempachi, growing more and more angry, called one of his servants,
+and said to him--
+
+"That fellow, Tsunéhei, has been most insolent: go next door and find
+out Shôzayémon, and tell him that I have ordered you to bring back
+Tsunéhei, that I may kill him."
+
+So the servant went to deliver the message.
+
+In the meantime Tsunéhei went back to his master's house; and when
+Shônosuké saw him, he said--
+
+"Well, of course you have been ill treated; but did you get back the
+football?"
+
+"When I went in, I made many apologies; but I was beaten, and kicked
+in the head, and treated with the greatest indignity. I would have
+killed that wretch, Zempachi, at once, but that I knew that, if I did
+so while I was yet a member of your household, I should bring trouble
+upon your family. For your sake I bore this ill-treatment patiently;
+but now I pray you let me take leave of you and become a Rônin, that I
+may be revenged upon this man."
+
+"Think well what you are doing," answered Shônosuké. "After all, we
+have only lost a football; and my father will not care, nor upbraid
+us."
+
+But Tsiméhei would not listen to him, and was bent upon wiping out the
+affront that he had received. As they were talking, the messenger
+arrived from Zempachi, demanding the surrender of Tsunéhei, on the
+ground that he had insulted him: to this Shônosuké replied that his
+father was away from home, and that in his absence he could do
+nothing.
+
+At last Shôzayémon came home; and when he heard what had happened he
+was much grieved, and at a loss what to do, when a second messenger
+arrived from Zempachi, demanding that Tsunéhei should be given up
+without delay. Then Shôzayémon, seeing that the matter was serious,
+called the youth to him, and said--
+
+"This Zempachi is heartless and cruel, and if you go to his house will
+assuredly kill you; take, therefore, these fifty riyos, and fly to
+Osaka or Kiôto, where you may safely set up in business."
+
+"Sir," answered Tsunéhei, with tears of gratitude for his lord's
+kindness, "from my heart I thank you for your great goodness; but I
+have been insulted and trampled upon, and, if I lay down my life in
+the attempt, I will repay Zempachi for what he has this day done."
+
+"Well, then, since you needs must be revenged, go and fight, and may
+success attend you! Still, as much depends upon the blade you carry,
+and I fear yours is likely to be but a sorry weapon, I will give you a
+sword;" and with this he offered Tsunéhei his own.
+
+"Nay, my lord," replied Tsunéhei; "I have a famous sword, by Rai
+Kunitoshi, which my father gave me. I have never shown it to your
+lordship, but I have it safely stowed away in my room."
+
+When Shôzayémon saw and examined the sword, he admired it greatly, and
+said, "This is indeed a beautiful blade, and one on which you may
+rely. Take it, then, and bear yourself nobly in the fight; only
+remember that Zempachi is a cunning spearsman, and be sure to be very
+cautious."
+
+So Tsunéhei, after thanking his lord for his manifold kindnesses, took
+an affectionate leave, and went to Zempachi's house, and said to the
+servant--
+
+"It seems that your master wants to speak to me. Be so good as to take
+me to see him."
+
+So the servant led him into the garden, where Zempachi, spear in hand,
+was waiting to kill him. When Zempachi saw him, he cried out--
+
+"Ha! so you have come back; and now for your insolence, this day I
+mean to kill you with my own hand."
+
+"Insolent yourself!" replied Tsunéhei. "Beast, and no Samurai! Come,
+let us see which of us is the better man."
+
+Furiously incensed, Zempachi thrust with his spear at Tsunéhei; but
+he, trusting to his good sword, attacked Zempachi, who, cunning
+warrior as he was, could gain no advantage. At last Zempachi, losing
+his temper, began fighting less carefully, so that Tsunéhei found an
+opportunity of cutting the shaft of his spear. Zempachi then drew his
+sword, and two of his retainers came up to assist him; but Tsunéhei
+killed one of them, and wounded Zempachi in the forehead. The second
+retainer fled affrighted at the youth's valour, and Zempachi was
+blinded by the blood which flowed from the wound on his forehead. Then
+Tsunéhei said--
+
+"To kill one who is as a blind man were unworthy a soldier. Wipe the
+blood from your eyes, Sir Zempachi, and let us fight it out fairly."
+
+So Zempachi, wiping away his blood, bound a kerchief round his head,
+and fought again desperately. But at last the pain of his wound and
+the loss of blood overcame him, and Tsunéhei cut him down with a wound
+in the shoulder and easily dispatched him.
+
+Then Tsunéhei went and reported the whole matter to the Governor of
+Yedo, and was put in prison until an inquiry could be made. But the
+Chief Priest of Bandzuin, who had heard of the affair, went and told
+the governor all the bad deeds of Zempachi, and having procured
+Tsunéhei's pardon, took him home and employed him as porter in the
+temple. So Tsunéhei changed his name to Chôbei, and earned much
+respect in the neighbourhood, both for his talents and for his many
+good works. If any man were in distress, he would help him, heedless
+of his own advantage or danger, until men came to look up to him as to
+a father, and many youths joined him and became his apprentices. So he
+built a house at Hanakawado, in Asakusa, and lived there with his
+apprentices, whom he farmed out as spearsmen and footmen to the
+Daimios and Hatamotos, taking for himself the tithe of their earnings.
+But if any of them were sick or in trouble, Chôbei would nurse and
+support them, and provide physicians and medicine. And the fame of his
+goodness went abroad until his apprentices were more than two thousand
+men, and were employed in every part of the city. But as for Chôbei,
+the more he prospered, the more he gave in charity, and all men
+praised his good and generous heart.
+
+This was the time when the Hatamotos had formed themselves into bands
+of Otokodaté,[21] of which Midzuno Jiurozayémon, Kondô Noborinosuké,
+and Abé Shirogorô were the chiefs. And the leagues of the nobles
+despised the leagues of the wardsmen, and treated them with scorn, and
+tried to put to shame Chôbei and his brave men; but the nobles'
+weapons recoiled upon themselves, and, whenever they tried to bring
+contempt upon Chôbei, they themselves were brought to ridicule. So
+there was great hatred on both sides.
+
+[Footnote 21: See the story of Kazuma's Revenge.]
+
+One day, that Chôbei went to divert himself in a tea-house in the
+Yoshiwara, he saw a felt carpet spread in an upper room, which had
+been adorned as for some special occasion; and he asked the master of
+the house what guest of distinction was expected. The landlord replied
+that my Lord Jiurozayémon, the chief of the Otokodaté of the
+Hatamotos, was due there that afternoon. On hearing this, Chôbei
+replied that as he much wished to meet my Lord Jiurozayémon, he would
+lie down and await his coming. The landlord was put out at this, and
+knew not what to say; but yet he dare not thwart Chôbei, the powerful
+chief of the Otokodaté. So Chôbei took off his clothes and laid
+himself down upon the carpet. After a while my Lord Jiurozayémon
+arrived, and going upstairs found a man of large stature lying naked
+upon the carpet which had been spread for him.
+
+"What low ruffian is this?" shouted he angrily to the landlord.
+
+"My lord, it is Chôbei, the chief of the Otokodaté," answered the man,
+trembling.
+
+Jiurozayémon at once suspected that Chôbei was doing this to insult
+him; so he sat down by the side of the sleeping man, and lighting his
+pipe began to smoke. When he had finished his pipe, he emptied the
+burning ashes into Chôbei's navel; but Chôbei, patiently bearing the
+pain, still feigned sleep. Ten times did Jiurozayémon fill his
+pipe,[22] and ten times he shook out the burning ashes on to Chôbei's
+navel; but he neither stirred nor spoke. Then Jiurozayémon, astonished
+at his fortitude, shook him, and roused him, saying--
+
+"Chôbei! Chôbei! wake up, man."
+
+"What is the matter?" said Chôbei, rubbing his eyes as though he were
+awaking from a deep sleep; then seeing Jiurozayémon, he pretended to
+be startled, and said, "Oh, my lord, I know not who you are; but I
+have been very rude to your lordship. I was overcome with wine, and
+fell asleep: I pray your lordship to forgive me."
+
+"Is your name Chôbei?"
+
+"Yes, my lord, at your service. A poor wardsman, and ignorant of good
+manners, I have been very rude; but I pray your lordship to excuse my
+ill-breeding."
+
+"Nay, nay; we have all heard the fame of Chôbei, of Bandzuin, and I
+hold myself lucky to have met you this day. Let us be friends."
+
+"It is a great honour for a humble wardsman to meet a nobleman face to
+face."
+
+[Footnote 22: The tiny Japanese pipe contains but two or three whiffs;
+and as the tobacco is rolled up tightly in the fingers before it is
+inserted, the ash, when shaken out, is a little fire-ball from which a
+second pipe is lighted.]
+
+As they were speaking, the waitresses brought in fish and wine, and
+Jiurozayémon pressed Chôbei to feast with him; and thinking to annoy
+Chôbei, offered him a large wine-cup,[23] which, however, he drank
+without shrinking, and then returned to his entertainer, who was by no
+means so well able to bear the fumes of the wine. Then Jiurozayémon
+hit upon another device for annoying Chôbei, and, hoping to frighten
+him, said--
+
+"Here, Chôbei, let me offer you some fish;" and with those words he
+drew his sword, and, picking up a cake of baked fish upon the point of
+it, thrust it towards the wardsman's mouth. Any ordinary man would
+have been afraid to accept the morsel so roughly offered; but Chôbei
+simply opened his mouth, and taking the cake off the sword's point ate
+it without wincing. Whilst Jiurozayémon was wondering in his heart
+what manner of man this was, that nothing could daunt, Chôbei said to
+him--
+
+"This meeting with your lordship has been an auspicious occasion to
+me, and I would fain ask leave to offer some humble gift to your
+lordship in memory of it.[24] Is there anything which your lordship
+would specially fancy?"
+
+"I am very fond of cold macaroni."
+
+[Footnote 23: It is an act of rudeness to offer a large wine-cup. As,
+however, the same cup is returned to the person who has offered it,
+the ill carries with it its own remedy. At a Japanese feast the same
+cup is passed from hand to hand, each person rinsing it in a bowl of
+water after using it, and before offering it to another.]
+
+
+[Footnote 24: The giving of presents from inferiors to superiors is a
+common custom.]
+
+"Then I shall have the honour of ordering some for your lordship;" and
+with this Chôbei went downstairs, and calling one of his apprentices,
+named Tôken Gombei,[25] who was waiting for him, gave him a hundred
+riyos (about £28), and bade him collect all the cold macaroni to be
+found in the neighbouring cook-shops and pile it up in front of the
+tea-house. So Gombei went home, and, collecting Chôbei's apprentices,
+sent them out in all directions to buy the macaroni. Jiurozayémon all
+this while was thinking of the pleasure he would have in laughing at
+Chôbei for offering him a mean and paltry present; but when, by
+degrees, the macaroni began to be piled mountain-high around the
+tea-house, he saw that he could not make a fool of Chôbei, and went
+home discomfited.
+
+[Footnote 25: _Tôken_, a nickname given to Gombei, after a savage dog
+that he killed. As a Chônin, or wardsman, he had no surname.]
+
+It has already been told how Shirai Gompachi was befriended and helped
+by Chôbei.[26] His name will occur again in this story.
+
+[Footnote 26: See the story of Gompachi and Komurasaki.]
+
+At this time there lived in the province of Yamato a certain Daimio,
+called Honda Dainaiki, who one day, when surrounded by several of his
+retainers, produced a sword, and bade them look at it and say from
+what smith's workshop the blade had come.
+
+"I think this must be a Masamuné blade," said one Fuwa Banzayémon.
+
+"No," said Nagoya Sanza, after examining the weapon attentively, "this
+certainly is a Muramasa."[27]
+
+[Footnote 27: The swords of Muramasa, although so finely tempered that
+they are said to cut hard iron as though it were a melon, have the
+reputation of being unlucky: they are supposed by the superstitious to
+hunger after taking men's lives, and to be unable to repose in their
+scabbards. The principal duty of a sword is to preserve tranquillity
+in the world, by punishing the wicked and protecting the good. But the
+bloodthirsty swords of Muramasa rather have the effect of maddening
+their owners, so that they either kill others indiscriminately or
+commit suicide. At the end of the sixteenth century Prince Tokugawa
+Iyéyasu was in the habit of carrying a spear made by Muramasa, with
+which he often scratched or cut himself by mistake. Hence the Tokugawa
+family avoid girding on Muramasa blades, which are supposed to be
+specially unlucky to their race. The murders of Gompachi, who wore a
+sword by this maker, also contributed to give his weapons a bad name.
+
+The swords of one Tôshirô Yoshimitsu, on the other hand, are specially
+auspicious to the Tokugawa family, for the following reason. After
+Iyéyasu had been defeated by Takéta Katsuyori, at the battle of the
+river Tenrin, he took refuge in the house of a village doctor,
+intending to put an end to his existence by _hara-kiri,_ and drawing
+his dirk, which was made by Yoshimitsu, tried to plunge it into his
+belly, when, to his surprise, the blade turned. Thinking that the dirk
+must be a bad one, he took up an iron mortar for grinding medicines
+and tried it upon that, and the point entered and transfixed the
+mortar. He was about to stab himself a second time, when his
+followers, who had missed him, and had been searching for him
+everywhere, came up, and seeing their master about to kill himself,
+stayed his hand, and took away the dirk by force. Then they set him
+upon his horse and compelled him to fly to his own province of Mikawa,
+whilst they kept his pursuers at bay. After this, when, by the favour
+of Heaven, Iyéyasu became Shogun, it was considered that of a surety
+there must have been a good spirit in the blade that refused to drink
+his blood; and ever since that time the blades of Yoshimitsu have been
+considered lucky in his family.]
+
+A third Samurai, named Takagi Umanojô, pronounced it to be the work
+of Shidzu Kanenji; and as they could not agree, but each maintained
+his opinion, their lord sent for a famous connoisseur to decide the
+point; and the sword proved, as Sanza had said, to be a genuine
+Muramasa. Sanza was delighted at the verdict; but the other two went
+home rather crestfallen. Umanojô, although he had been worsted in the
+argument, bore no malice nor ill-will in his heart; but Banzayémon,
+who was a vainglorious personage, puffed up with the idea of his own
+importance, conceived a spite against Sanza, and watched for an
+opportunity to put him to shame. At last, one day Banzayémon, eager to
+be revenged upon Sanza, went to the Prince, and said, "Your lordship
+ought to see Sanza fence; his swordsmanship is beyond all praise. I
+know that I am no match for him; still, if it will please your
+lordship, I will try a bout with him;" and the Prince, who was a mere
+stripling, and thought it would be rare sport, immediately sent for
+Sanza and desired he would fence with Banzayémon. So the two went out
+into the garden, and stood up facing each other, armed with wooden
+swords. Now Banzayémon was proud of his skill, and thought he had no
+equal in fencing; so he expected to gain an easy victory over Sanza,
+and promised himself the luxury of giving his adversary a beating that
+should fully make up for the mortification which he had felt in the
+matter of the dispute about the sword. It happened, however, that he
+had undervalued the skill of Sanza, who, when he saw that his
+adversary was attacking him savagely and in good earnest, by a rapid
+blow struck Banzayémon so sharply on the wrist that he dropped the
+sword, and, before he could pick it up again, delivered a second cut
+on the shoulder, which sent him rolling over in the dust. All the
+officers present, seeing this, praised Sanza's skill, and Banzayémon,
+utterly stricken with shame, ran away home and hid himself.
+
+After this affair Sanza rose high in the favour of his lord; and
+Banzayémon, who was more than ever jealous of him, feigned sickness,
+and stayed at home devising schemes for Sanza's ruin.
+
+Now it happened that the Prince, wishing to have the Muramasa blade
+mounted, sent for Sanza and entrusted it to his care, ordering him to
+employ the most cunning workmen in the manufacture of the
+scabbard-hilt and ornaments; and Sanza, having received the blade,
+took it home, and put it carefully away. When Banzayémon heard of
+this, he was overjoyed; for he saw that his opportunity for revenge
+had come. He determined, if possible, to kill Sanza, but at any rate
+to steal the sword which had been committed to his care by the Prince,
+knowing full well that if Sanza lost the sword he and his family would
+be ruined. Being a single man, without wife or child, he sold his
+furniture, and, turning all his available property into money, made
+ready to fly the country. When his preparations were concluded, he
+went in the middle of the night to Sanza's house and tried to get in
+by stealth; but the doors and shutters were all carefully bolted from
+the inside, and there was no hole by which he could effect an
+entrance. All was still, however, and the people of the house were
+evidently fast asleep; so he climbed up to the second storey, and,
+having contrived to unfasten a window, made his way in. With soft,
+cat-like footsteps he crept downstairs, and, looking into one of the
+rooms, saw Sanza and his wife sleeping on the mats, with their little
+son Kosanza, a boy of thirteen, curled up in his quilt between them.
+The light in the night-lamp was at its last flicker, but, peering
+through the gloom, he could just see the Prince's famous Muramasa
+sword lying on a sword-rack in the raised part of the room: so he
+crawled stealthily along until he could reach it, and stuck it in his
+girdle. Then, drawing near to Sanza, he bestrode his sleeping body,
+and, brandishing the sword made a thrust at his throat; but in his
+excitement his hand shook, so that he missed his aim, and only
+scratched Sanza, who, waking with a start and trying to jump up, felt
+himself held down by a man standing over him. Stretching out his
+hands, he would have wrestled with his enemy; when Banzayémon, leaping
+back, kicked over the night-lamp, and throwing open the shutters,
+dashed into the garden. Snatching up his sword, Sanza rushed out after
+him; and his wife, having lit a lantern and armed herself with a
+halberd,[28] went out, with her son Kosanza, who carried a drawn dirk,
+to help her husband. Then Banzayémon, who was hiding in the shadow of
+a large pine-tree, seeing the lantern and dreading detection, seized a
+stone and hurled it at the light, and, chancing to strike it, put it
+out, and then scrambling over the fence unseen, fled into the
+darkness. When Sanza had searched all over the garden in vain, he
+returned to his room and examined his wound, which proving very
+slight, he began to look about to see whether the thief had carried
+off anything; but when his eye fell upon the place where the Muramasa
+sword had lain, he saw that it was gone. He hunted everywhere, but it
+was not to be found. The precious blade with which his Prince had
+entrusted him had been stolen, and the blame would fall heavily upon
+him. Filled with grief and shame at the loss, Sanza and his wife and
+child remained in great anxiety until the morning broke, when he
+reported the matter to one of the Prince's councillors, and waited in
+seclusion until he should receive his lord's commands.
+
+[Footnote 28: The halberd is the special arm of the Japanese woman of
+gentle blood. That which was used by Kasa Gozen, one of the ladies of
+Yoshitsuné, the hero of the twelfth century, is still preserved at
+Asakusa. In old-fashioned families young ladies are regularly
+instructed in fencing with the halberds.]
+
+It soon became known that Banzayémon, who had fled the province, was
+the thief; and the councillors made their report accordingly to the
+Prince, who, although he expressed his detestation of the mean action
+of Banzayémon, could not absolve Sanza from blame, in that he had not
+taken better precautions to insure the safety of the sword that had
+been committed to his trust. It was decided, therefore, that Sanza
+should be dismissed from his service, and that his goods should be
+confiscated; with the proviso that should he be able to find
+Banzayémon, and recover the lost Muramasa blade, he should be restored
+to his former position. Sanza, who from the first had made up his mind
+that his punishment would be severe, accepted the decree without a
+murmur; and, having committed his wife and son to the care of his
+relations, prepared to leave the country as a Rônin and search for
+Banzayémon.
+
+Before starting, however, he thought that he would go to his
+brother-officer, Takagi Umanojô, and consult with him as to what
+course he should pursue to gain his end. But this Umanojô, who was by
+nature a churlish fellow, answered him unkindly, and said--
+
+"It is true that Banzayémon is a mean thief; but still it was through
+your carelessness that the sword was lost. It is of no avail your
+coming to me for help: you must get it back as best you may."
+
+"Ah!" replied Sanza, "I see that you too bear me a grudge because I
+defeated you in the matter of the judgment of the sword. You are no
+better than Banzayémon yourself."
+
+And his heart was bitter against his fellow men, and he left the house
+determined to kill Umanojô first and afterwards to track out
+Banzayémon; so, pretending to start on his journey, he hid in an inn,
+and waited for an opportunity to attack Umanojô.
+
+One day Umanojô, who was very fond of fishing, had taken his son
+Umanosuké, a lad of sixteen, down to the sea-shore with him; and as
+the two were enjoying themselves, all of a sudden they perceived a
+Samurai running towards them, and when he drew near they saw that it
+was Sanza. Umanojô, thinking that Sanza had come back in order to talk
+over some important matter, left his angling and went to meet him.
+Then Sanza cried out--
+
+"Now, Sir Umanojô, draw and defend yourself. What! were you in league
+with Banzayémon to vent your spite upon me? Draw, sir, draw! You have
+spirited away your accomplice; but, at any rate, you are here
+yourself, and shall answer for your deed. It is no use playing the
+innocent; your astonished face shall not save you. Defend yourself,
+coward and traitor!" and with these words Sanza flourished his naked
+sword.
+
+"Nay, Sir Sanza," replied the other, anxious by a soft answer to turn
+away his wrath; "I am innocent of this deed. Waste not your valour on
+so poor a cause."
+
+"Lying knave!" said Sanza; "think not that you can impose upon me. I
+know your treacherous heart;" and, rushing upon Umanojô, he cut him on
+the forehead so that he fell in agony upon the sand.
+
+Umanosuké in the meanwhile, who had been fishing at some distance from
+his father, rushed up when he saw him in this perilous situation and
+threw a stone at Sanza, hoping to distract his attention; but, before
+he could reach the spot, Sanza had delivered the death-blow, and
+Umanojô lay a corpse upon the beach.
+
+"Stop, Sir Sanza--murderer of my father!" cried Umanosuké, drawing
+his sword, "stop and do battle with me, that I may avenge his death."
+
+"That you should wish to slay your father's enemy," replied Sanza, "is
+but right and proper; and although I had just cause of quarrel with
+your father, and killed him, as a Samurai should, yet would I gladly
+forfeit my life to you here; but my life is precious to me for one
+purpose--that I may punish Banzayémon and get back the stolen sword.
+When I shall have restored that sword to my lord, then will I give you
+your revenge, and you may kill me. A soldier's word is truth; but, as
+a pledge that I will fulfil my promise, I will give to you, as
+hostages, my wife and boy. Stay your avenging hand, I pray you, until
+my desire shall have been attained."
+
+Umanosuké, who was a brave and honest youth, as famous in the clan for
+the goodness of his heart as for his skill in the use of arms, when he
+heard Sanza's humble petition, relented, and said--
+
+"I agree to wait, and will take your wife and boy as hostages for your
+return."
+
+"I humbly thank you," said Sanza. "When I shall have chastised
+Banzayémon, I will return, and you shall claim your revenge."
+
+So Sanza went his way to Yedo to seek for Banzayémon, and Umanosuké
+mourned over his father's grave.
+
+Now Banzayémon, when he arrived in Yedo, found himself friendless and
+without the means of earning his living, when by accident he heard of
+the fame of Chôbei of Bandzuin, the chief of the Otokodaté, to whom he
+applied for assistance; and having entered the fraternity, supported
+himself by giving fencing-lessons. He had been plying his trade for
+some time, and had earned some little reputation, when Sanza reached
+the city and began his search for him. But the days and months passed
+away, and, after a year's fruitless seeking, Sanza, who had spent all
+his money without obtaining a clue to the whereabouts of his enemy,
+was sorely perplexed, and was driven to live by his wits as a
+fortune-teller. Work as he would, it was a hard matter for him to gain
+the price of his daily food, and, in spite of all his pains, his
+revenge seemed as far off as ever, when he bethought him that the
+Yoshiwara was one of the most bustling places in the city, and that if
+he kept watch there, sooner or later he would be sure to fall in with
+Banzayémon. So be bought a hat of plaited bamboo, that completely
+covered his face, and lay in wait at the Yoshiwara.
+
+One day Banzayémon and two of Chôbei's apprentices Tôken Gombei and
+Shirobei, who, from his wild and indocile nature, was surnamed "the
+Colt," were amusing themselves and drinking in an upper storey of a
+tea-house in the Yoshiwara, when Tôken Gombei, happening to look down
+upon the street below, saw a Samurai pass by, poorly clad in worn-out
+old clothes, but whose poverty-stricken appearance contrasted with
+his proud and haughty bearing.
+
+"Look there!" said Gombei, calling the attention of the others; "look
+at that Samurai. Dirty and ragged as his coat is, how easy it is to
+see that he is of noble birth! Let us wardsmen dress ourselves up in
+never so fine clothes, we could not look as he does."
+
+"Ay," said Shirobei, "I wish we could make friends with him, and ask
+him up here to drink a cup of wine with us. However, it would not be
+seemly for us wardsmen to go and invite a person of his condition."
+
+"We can easily get over that difficulty," said Banzayémon. "As I am a
+Samurai myself, there will be no impropriety in my going and saying a
+few civil words to him, and bringing him in."
+
+The other two having joyfully accepted the offer, Banzayémon ran
+downstairs, and went up to the strange Samurai and saluted him,
+saying--
+
+"I pray you to wait a moment, Sir Samurai. My name is Fuwa Banzayémon
+at your service. I am a Rônin, as I judge from your appearance that
+you are yourself. I hope you will not think me rude if I venture to
+ask you to honour me with your friendship, and to come into this
+tea-house to drink a cup of wine with me and two of my friends."
+
+The strange Samurai, who was no other than Sanza, looking at the
+speaker through the interstices of his deep bamboo hat, and
+recognizing his enemy Banzayémon, gave a start of surprise, and,
+uncovering his head, said sternly--
+
+"Have you forgotten my face, Banzayémon?"
+
+For a moment Banzayémon was taken aback, but quickly recovering
+himself, he replied, "Ah! Sir Sanza, you may well be angry with me;
+but since I stole the Muramasa sword and fled to Yedo I have known no
+peace: I have been haunted by remorse for my crime. I shall not resist
+your vengeance: do with me as it shall seem best to you; or rather
+take my life, and let there be an end of this quarrel."
+
+"Nay," answered Sanza, "to kill a man who repents him of his sins is a
+base and ignoble action. When you stole from me the Muramasa blade
+which had been confided to my care by my lord, I became a disgraced
+and ruined man. Give me back that sword, that I may lay it before my
+lord, and I will spare your life. I seek to slay no man needlessly."
+
+"Sir Sanza, I thank you for your mercy. At this moment I have not the
+sword by me, but if you will go into yonder tea-house and wait awhile,
+I will fetch it and deliver it into your hands."
+
+Sanza having consented to this, the two men entered the tea-house,
+where Banzayémon's two companions were waiting for them. But
+Banzayémon, ashamed of his own evil deed, still pretended that Sanza
+was a stranger, and introduced him as such, saying--
+
+"Come Sir Samurai, since we have the honour of your company, let me
+offer you a wine-cup."
+
+Banzayémon and the two men pressed the wine-cup upon Sanza so often
+that the fumes gradually got into his head and he fell asleep; the two
+wardsmen, seeing this, went out for a walk, and Banzayémon, left alone
+with the sleeping man, began to revolve fresh plots against him in his
+mind. On a sudden, a thought struck him. Noiselessly seizing Sanza's
+sword, which he had laid aside on entering the room, he stole softly
+downstairs with it, and, carrying it into the back yard, pounded and
+blunted its edge with a stone, and having made it useless as a weapon,
+he replaced it in its scabbard, and running upstairs again laid it in
+its place without disturbing Sanza, who, little suspecting treachery,
+lay sleeping off the effects of the wine. At last, however, he awoke,
+and, ashamed at having been overcome by drink, he said to Banzayémon--
+
+"Come, Banzayémon, we have dallied too long; give me the Muramasa
+sword, and let me go."
+
+"Of course," replied the other, sneeringly, "I am longing to give it
+back to you; but unfortunately, in my poverty, I have been obliged to
+pawn it for fifty ounces of silver. If you have so much money about
+you, give it to me and I will return the sword to you."
+
+"Wretch!" cried Sanza, seeing that Banzayémon was trying to fool him,
+"have I not had enough of your vile tricks? At any rate, if I cannot
+get back the sword, your head shall be laid before my lord in its
+place. Come," added he, stamping his foot impatiently, "defend
+yourself."
+
+"With all my heart. But not here in this tea-house. Let us go to the
+Mound, and fight it out."
+
+"Agreed! There is no need for us to bring trouble on the landlord.
+Come to the Mound of the Yoshiwara."
+
+So they went to the Mound, and drawing their swords, began to fight
+furiously. As the news soon spread abroad through the Yoshiwara that a
+duel was being fought upon the Mound, the people flocked out to see
+the sight; and among them came Tôken Gombei and Shirobei, Banzayémon's
+companions, who, when they saw that the combatants were their own
+friend and the strange Samurai, tried to interfere and stop the fight,
+but, being hindered by the thickness of the crowd, remained as
+spectators. The two men fought desperately, each driven by fierce rage
+against the other; but Sanza, who was by far the better fencer of the
+two, once, twice, and again dealt blows which should have cut
+Banzayémon down, and yet no blood came forth. Sanza, astonished at
+this, put forth all his strength, and fought so skilfully, that all
+the bystanders applauded him, and Banzayémon, though he knew his
+adversary's sword to be blunted, was so terrified that he stumbled and
+fell. Sanza, brave soldier that he was, scorned to strike a fallen
+foe, and bade him rise and fight again. So they engaged again, and
+Sanza, who from the beginning had had the advantage, slipped and fell
+in his turn; Banzayémon, forgetting the mercy which had been shown to
+him, rushed up, with bloodthirsty joy glaring in his eyes, and stabbed
+Sanza in the side as he lay on the ground. Faint as he was, he could
+not lift his hand to save himself; and his craven foe was about to
+strike him again, when the bystanders all cried shame upon his
+baseness. Then Gombei and Shirobei lifted up their voices and said--
+
+"Hold, coward! Have you forgotten how your own life was spared but a
+moment since? Beast of a Samurai, we have been your friends hitherto,
+but now behold in us the avengers of this brave man."
+
+With these words the two men drew their dirks, and the spectators fell
+back as they rushed in upon Banzayémon, who, terror-stricken by their
+fierce looks and words, fled without having dealt the death-blow to
+Sanza. They tried to pursue him, but he made good his escape, so the
+two men returned to help the wounded man. When he came to himself by
+dint of their kind treatment, they spoke to him and comforted him, and
+asked him what province he came from, that they might write to his
+friends and tell them what had befallen him. Sanza, in a voice faint
+from pain and loss of blood, told them his name and the story of the
+stolen sword, and of his enmity against Banzayémon. "But," said he,
+"just now, when I was fighting, I struck Banzayémon more than once,
+and without effect. How could that have been?" Then they looked at his
+sword, which had fallen by his side, and saw that the edge was all
+broken away. More than ever they felt indignant at the baseness of
+Banzayémon's heart, and redoubled their kindness to Sanza; but, in.
+spite of all their efforts, he grew weaker and weaker, until at last
+his breathing ceased altogether. So they buried the corpse honourably
+in an adjoining temple, and wrote to Sanza's wife and son, describing
+to them the manner of his death.
+
+Now when Sanza's wife, who had long been anxiously expecting her
+husband's return, opened the letter and learned the cruel
+circumstances of his death, she and her son Kosanza mourned bitterly
+over his loss. Then Kosanza, who was now fourteen years old, said to
+his mother--
+
+"Take comfort, mother; for I will go to Yedo and seek out this
+Banzayémon, my father's murderer, and I will surely avenge his death.
+Now, therefore, make ready all that I need for this journey."
+
+And as they were consulting over the manner of their revenge,
+Umanosuké, the son of Umanojô, whom Sanza had slain, having heard of
+the death of his father's enemy, came to the house. But he came with
+no hostile intent. True, Sanza had killed his father, but the widow
+and the orphan were guiltless, and he bore them no ill-will; on the
+contrary, he felt that Banzayémon was their common enemy. It was he
+who by his evil deeds had been the cause of all the mischief that had
+arisen, and now again, by murdering Sanza, he had robbed Umanosuké of
+his revenge. In this spirit he said to Kosanza--
+
+"Sir Kosanza, I hear that your father has been cruelly murdered by
+Banzayémon at Yedo. I know that you will avenge the death of your
+father, as the son of a soldier should: if, therefore, you will accept
+my poor services, I will be your second, and will help you to the best
+of my ability. Banzayémon shall be my enemy, as he is yours."
+
+"Nay, Sir Umanosuké, although I thank you from my heart, I cannot
+accept this favour at your hands. My father Sanza slew your noble
+father: that you should requite this misfortune thus is more than
+kind, but I cannot think of suffering you to risk your life on my
+behalf."
+
+"Listen to me," replied Umanosuké, smiling, "and you will think it
+less strange that I should offer to help you. Last year, when my
+father lay a bleeding corpse on the sea-shore, your father made a
+covenant with me that he would return to give me my revenge, so soon
+as he should have regained the stolen sword. Banzayémon, by murdering
+him on the Mound of the Yoshiwara, has thwarted me in this; and now
+upon whom can I avenge my father's death but upon him whose baseness
+was indeed its cause? Now, therefore, I am determined to go with you
+to Yedo, and not before the murders of our two fathers shall have been
+fully atoned for will we return to our own country."
+
+When Kosanza heard this generous speech, he could not conceal his
+admiration; and the widow, prostrating herself at Umanosuké's feet,
+shed tears of gratitude.
+
+The two youths, having agreed to stand by one another, made all ready
+for their journey, and obtained leave from their prince to go in
+search of the traitor Banzayémon. They reached Yedo without meeting
+with any adventures, and, taking up their abode at a cheap inn, began
+to make their inquiries; but, although they sought far and wide, they
+could learn no tidings of their enemy. When three months had passed
+thus, Kosanza began to grow faint-hearted at their repeated failures;
+but Umanosuké supported and comforted him, urging him to fresh
+efforts. But soon a great misfortune befell them: Kosanza fell sick
+with ophthalmia, and neither the tender nursing of his friend, nor the
+drugs and doctors upon whom Umanosuké spent all their money, had any
+effect on the suffering boy, who soon became stone blind. Friendless
+and penniless, the one deprived of his eyesight and only a clog upon
+the other, the two youths were thrown upon their own resources. Then
+Umanosuké, reduced to the last extremity of distress, was forced to
+lead out Kosanza to Asakusa to beg sitting by the roadside, whilst he
+himself, wandering hither and thither, picked up what he could from
+the charity of those who saw his wretched plight. But all this while
+he never lost sight of his revenge, and almost thanked the chance
+which had made him a beggar, for the opportunity which it gave him of
+hunting out strange and hidden haunts of vagabond life into which in
+his more prosperous condition he could not have penetrated. So he
+walked to and fro through the city, leaning on a stout staff, in which
+he had hidden his sword, waiting patiently for fortune to bring him
+face to face with Banzayémon.
+
+[Illustration: TRICKS OF SWORDSMANSHIP AT ASAKUSA.]
+
+Now Banzayémon, after he had killed Sanza on the Mound of the
+Yoshiwara, did not dare to show his face again in the house of Chôbei,
+the Father of the Otokodaté; for he knew that the two men, Tôken
+Gombei and Shirobei "the loose Colt," would not only bear an evil
+report of him, but would even kill him if he fell into their hands, so
+great had been their indignation at his cowardly Conduct; so he
+entered a company of mountebanks, and earned his living by showing
+tricks of swordsmanship, and selling tooth-powder at the Okuyama, at
+Asakusa.[29] One day, as he was going towards Asakusa to ply his
+trade, he caught sight of a blind beggar, in whom, in spite of his
+poverty-stricken and altered appearance, he recognized the son of his
+enemy. Rightly he judged that, in spite of the boy's apparently
+helpless condition, the discovery boded no weal for him; so mounting
+to the upper storey of a tea-house hard by, he watched to see who
+should come to Kosanza's assistance. Nor had he to wait long, for
+presently he saw a second beggar come up and speak words of
+encouragement and kindness to the blind youth; and looking
+attentively, he saw that the new-comer was Umanosuké. Having thus
+discovered who was on his track, he went home and sought means of
+killing the two beggars; so he lay in wait and traced them to the poor
+hut where they dwelt, and one night, when he knew Umanosuké to be
+absent, he crept in. Kosanza, being blind, thought that the footsteps
+were those of Umanosuké, and jumped up to welcome him; but he, in his
+heartless cruelty, which not even the boy's piteous state could move,
+slew Kosanza as he helplessly stretched out his hands to feel for his
+friend. The deed was yet unfinished when Umanosuké returned, and,
+hearing a scuffle inside the hut, drew the sword which was hidden in
+his staff and rushed in; but Banzayémon, profiting by the darkness,
+eluded him and fled from the hut. Umanosuké followed swiftly after
+him; but just as he was on the point of catching him, Banzayémon,
+making a sweep backwards with his drawn sword, wounded Umanosuké in
+the thigh, so that he stumbled and fell, and the murderer, swift of
+foot, made good his escape. The wounded youth tried to pursue him
+again, but being compelled by the pain of his wound to desist,
+returned home and found his blind companion lying dead, weltering in
+his own blood. Cursing his unhappy fate, he called in the beggars of
+the fraternity to which he belonged, and between them they buried
+Kosanza, and he himself being too poor to procure a surgeon's aid, or
+to buy healing medicaments for his wound, became a cripple.
+
+[Footnote 29: See Note at end of story.]
+
+It was at this time that Shirai Gompachi, who was living under the
+protection of Chôbei, the Father of the Otokodaté, was in love with
+Komurasaki, the beautiful courtesan who lived at the sign of the Three
+Sea-shores, in the Yoshiwara. He had long exhausted the scanty
+supplies which he possessed, and was now in the habit of feeding his
+purse by murder and robbery, that he might have means to pursue his
+wild and extravagant life. One night, when he was out on his cutthroat
+business, his fellows, who had long suspected that he was after no
+good, sent one of their number, named Seibei, to watch him. Gompachi,
+little dreaming that any one was following him, swaggered along the
+street until he fell in with a wardsman, whom he cut down and robbed;
+but the booty proving small, he waited for a second chance, and,
+seeing a light moving in the distance, hid himself in the shadow of a
+large tub for catching rain-water till the bearer of the lantern
+should come up. When the man drew near, Gompachi saw that he was
+dressed as a traveller, and wore a long dirk; so he sprung out from
+his lurking-place and made to kill him; but the traveller nimbly
+jumped on one side, and proved no mean adversary, for he drew his dirk
+and fought stoutly for his life. However, he was no match for so
+skilful a swordsman as Gompachi, who, after a sharp struggle,
+dispatched him, and carried off his purse, which contained two hundred
+riyos. Overjoyed at having found so rich a prize, Gompachi was making
+off for the Yoshiwara, when Seibei, who, horror-stricken, had seen
+both murders, came up and began to upbraid him for his wickedness. But
+Gompachi was so smooth-spoken and so well liked by his comrades, that
+he easily persuaded Seibei to hush the matter up, and accompany him to
+the Yoshiwara for a little diversion. As they were talking by the way,
+Seibei said to Gompachi--
+
+"I bought a new dirk the other day, but I have not had an opportunity
+to try it yet. You have had so much experience in swords that you
+ought to be a good judge. Pray look at this dirk, and tell me whether
+you think it good for anything."
+
+"We'll soon see what sort of metal it is made of," answered Gompachi.
+"We'll just try it on the first beggar we come across."
+
+At first Seibei was horrified by this cruel proposal, but by degrees
+he yielded to his companion's persuasions; and so they went on their
+way until Seibei spied out a crippled beggar lying asleep on the bank
+outside the Yoshiwara. The sound of their footsteps aroused the
+beggar, who seeing a Samurai and a wardsman pointing at him, and
+evidently speaking about him, thought that their consultation could
+bode him no good. So he pretended to be still asleep, watching them
+carefully all the while; and when Seibei went up to him, brandishing
+his dirk, the beggar, avoiding the blow, seized Seibei's arm, and
+twisting it round, flung him into the ditch below. Gompachi, seeing
+his companion's discomfiture, attacked the beggar, who, drawing a
+sword from his staff, made such lightning-swift passes that, crippled
+though he was, and unable to move his legs freely, Gompachi could not
+overpower him; and although Seibei crawled out of the ditch and came
+to his assistance, the beggar, nothing daunted, dealt his blows about
+him to such good purpose that he wounded Seibei in the temple and arm.
+Then Gompachi, reflecting that after all he had no quarrel with the
+beggar, and that he had better attend to Seibei's wounds than go on
+fighting to no purpose, drew Seibei away, leaving the beggar, who was
+too lame to follow them, in peace. When he examined Seibei's wounds,
+he found that they were so severe that they must give up their night's
+frolic and go home. So they went back to the house of Chôbei, the
+Father of the Otokodaté, and Seibei, afraid to show himself with his
+sword-cuts, feigned sickness, and went to bed. On the following
+morning Chôbei, happening to need his apprentice Seibei's services,
+sent for him, and was told that he was sick; so he went to the room,
+where he lay abed, and, to his astonishment, saw the cut upon his
+temple. At first the wounded man refused to answer any questions as to
+how he had been hurt; but at last, on being pressed by Chôbei, he told
+the whole story of what had taken place the night before. When Chôbei
+heard the tale, be guessed that the valiant beggar must be some noble
+Samurai in disguise, who, having a wrong to avenge, was biding his
+time to meet with his enemy; and wishing to help so brave a man, he
+went in the evening, with his two faithful apprentices, Tôken Gombei
+and Shirobei "the loose Colt," to the bank outside the Yoshiwara to
+seek out the beggar. The latter, not one whit frightened by the
+adventure of the previous night, had taken his place as usual, and was
+lying on the bank, when Chôbei came up to him, and said--
+
+"Sir, I am Chôbei, the chief of the Otokodaté, at your service. I have
+learnt with deep regret that two of my men insulted and attacked you
+last night. However, happily, even Gompachi, famous swordsman though
+he be, was no match for you, and had to beat a retreat before you. I
+know, therefore, that you must be a noble Samurai, who by some ill
+chance have become a cripple and a beggar. Now, therefore, I pray you
+tell me all your story; for, humble wardsman as I am, I may be able to
+assist you, if you will condescend to allow me."
+
+The cripple at first tried to shun Chôbei's questions; but at last,
+touched by the honesty and kindness of his speech, he replied--
+
+"Sir, my name is Takagi Umanosuké, and I am a native of Yamato;" and
+then he went on to narrate all the misfortunes which the wickedness of
+Banzayémon had brought about.
+
+"This is indeed a strange story," said Chôbei who had listened with
+indignation. "This Banzayémon, before I knew the blackness of his
+heart, was once under my protection. But after he murdered Sanza, hard
+by here, he was pursued by these two apprentices of mine, and since
+that day he has been no more to my house."
+
+When he had introduced the two apprentices to Umanosuké, Chôbei pulled
+forth a suit of silk clothes befitting a gentleman, and having made
+the crippled youth lay aside his beggar's raiment, led him to a bath,
+and had his hair dressed. Then he bade Tôken Gombei lodge him and take
+charge of him, and, having sent for a famous physician, caused
+Umanosuké to undergo careful treatment for the wound in his thigh. In
+the course of two months the pain had almost disappeared, so that he
+could stand easily; and when, after another month, he could walk about
+a little, Chôbei removed him to his own house, pretending to his wife
+and apprentices that he was one of his own relations who had come on a
+visit to him.
+
+After a while, when Umanosuké had become quite cured, he went one day
+to worship at a famous temple, and on his way home after dark he was
+overtaken by a shower of rain, and took shelter under the eaves of a
+house, in a part of the city called Yanagiwara, waiting for the sky to
+clear. Now it happened that this same night Gompachi had gone out on
+one of his bloody expeditions, to which his poverty and his love for
+Komurasaki drove him in spite of himself, and, seeing a Samurai
+standing in the gloom, he sprang upon him before he had recognized
+Umanosuké, whom he knew as a friend of his patron Chôbei. Umanosuké
+drew and defended himself, and soon contrived to slash Gompachi on the
+forehead; so that the latter, seeing himself overmatched, fled under
+the cover of the night. Umanosuké, fearing to hurt his recently healed
+wound, did not give chase, and went quietly back to Chôbei's house.
+When Gompachi returned home, he hatched a story to deceive Chôbei as
+to the cause of the wound on his forehead. Chôbei, however, having
+overheard Umanosuké reproving Gompachi for his wickedness, soon became
+aware of the truth; and not caring to keep a robber and murderer near
+him, gave Gompachi a present of money, and bade him return to his
+house no more.
+
+And now Chôbei, seeing that Umanosuké had recovered his strength,
+divided his apprentices into bands, to hunt out Banzayémon, in order
+that the vendetta might be accomplished. It soon was reported to him
+that Banzayémon was earning his living among the mountebanks of
+Asakusa; so Chôbei communicated this intelligence to Umanosuké, who
+made his preparations accordingly; and on the following morning the
+two went to Asakusa, where Banzayémon was astonishing a crowd of
+country boors by exhibiting tricks with his sword.
+
+Then Umanosuké, striding through the gaping rabble, shouted out--
+
+"False, murderous coward, your day has come! I, Umanosuké, the son of
+Umanojô, have come to demand vengeance for the death of three innocent
+men who have perished by your treachery. If you are a man, defend
+yourself. This day shall your soul see hell!"
+
+With these words he rushed furiously upon Banzayémon, who, seeing
+escape to be impossible, stood upon his guard. But his coward's heart
+quailed before the avenger, and he soon lay bleeding at his enemy's
+feet.
+
+But who shall say how Umanosuké thanked Chôbei for his assistance; or
+how, when he had returned to his own country, he treasured up his
+gratitude in his heart, looking upon Chôbei as more than a second
+father?
+
+Thus did Chôbei use his power to punish the wicked, and to reward the
+good--giving of his abundance to the poor, and succouring the
+unfortunate, so that his name was honoured far and near. It remains
+only to record the tragical manner of his death.
+
+We have already told how my lord Midzuno Jiurozayémon, the chief of
+the associated nobles, had been foiled in his attempts to bring shame
+upon Chôbei, the Father of the Otokodaté; and how, on the contrary,
+the latter, by his ready wit, never failed to make the proud noble's
+weapons recoil upon him. The failure of these attempts rankled in the
+breast of Jiurozayémon, who hated Chôbei with an intense hatred, and
+sought to be revenged upon him. One day he sent a retainer to Chôbei's
+house with a message to the effect that on the following day my lord
+Jiurozayémon would be glad to see Chôbei at his house, and to offer
+him a cup of wine, in return for the cold macaroni with which his
+lordship had been feasted some time since. Chôbei immediately
+suspected that in sending this friendly summons the cunning noble was
+hiding a dagger in a smile; however, he knew that if he stayed away
+out of fear he would be branded as a coward, and made a laughing-stock
+for fools to jeer at. Not caring that Jiurozayémon should succeed in
+his desire to put him to shame, he sent for his favourite apprentice,
+Tôken Gombei, and said to him--
+
+"I have been invited to a drinking-bout by Midzuno Jiurozayémon. I
+know full well that this is but a stratagem to requite me for having
+fooled him, and maybe his hatred will go the length of killing me.
+However, I shall go and take my chance; and if I detect any sign of
+foul play, I'll try to serve the world by ridding it of a tyrant, who
+passes his life in oppressing the helpless farmers and wardsmen. Now
+as, even if I succeed in killing him in his own house, my life must
+pay forfeit for the deed, do you come to-morrow night with a
+burying-tub,[30] and fetch my corpse from this Jiurozayémon's house."
+
+[Footnote 30: The lowest classes in Japan are buried in a squatting
+position, in a sort of barrel. One would have expected a person of
+Chôbei's condition and means to have ordered a square box. It is a
+mistake to suppose the burning of the dead to be universal in Japan:
+only about thirty per cent of the lower classes, chiefly belonging to
+the Montô sect of Buddhism, are burnt. The rich and noble are buried
+in several square coffins, one inside the other, in a sitting
+position; and their bodies are partially preserved from decay by
+filling the nose, ears, and mouth with vermilion. In the case of the
+very wealthy, the coffin is completely filled in with vermilion. The
+family of the Princes of Mito, and some other nobles, bury their dead
+in a recumbent position.]
+
+Tôken Gombei, when he heard the "Father" speak thus, was horrified,
+and tried to dissuade him from obeying the invitation. But Chôbei's
+mind was fixed, and, without heeding Gombei's remonstrances, he
+proceeded to give instructions as to the disposal of his property
+after his death, and to settle all his earthly affairs.
+
+On the following day, towards noon, he made ready to go to
+Jiurozayémon's house, bidding one of his apprentices precede him with
+a complimentary present.[31] Jiurozayémon, who was waiting with
+impatience for Chôbei to come, so soon as he heard of his arrival
+ordered his retainers to usher him into his presence; and Chôbei,
+having bade his apprentices without fail to come and fetch him that
+night, went into the house.
+
+[Footnote 31: It is customary, on the occasion of a first visit to a
+house, to carry a present to the owner, who gives something of equal
+value on returning the visit.]
+
+No sooner had he reached the room next to that in which Jiurozayémon
+was sitting than he saw that his suspicions of treachery were well
+founded; for two men with drawn swords rushed upon him, and tried to
+cut him down. Deftly avoiding their blows, however, he tripped up the
+one, and kicking the other in the ribs, sent him reeling and
+breathless against the wall; then, as calmly as if nothing had
+happened he presented himself before Jiurozayémon, who, peeping
+through a chink in the sliding-doors, had watched his retainers'
+failure.
+
+"Welcome, welcome, Master Chôbei," said he. "I always had heard that
+you were a man of mettle, and I wanted to see what stuff you were made
+of; so I bade my retainers put your courage to the test. That was a
+masterly throw of yours. Well, you must excuse this churlish
+reception: come and sit down by me."
+
+"Pray do not mention it, my lord," said Chôbei, smiling rather
+scornfully. "I know that my poor skill is not to be measured with
+that of a noble Samurai; and if these two good gentlemen had the worst
+of it just now, it was mere luck--that's all."
+
+So, after the usual compliments had been exchanged, Chôbei sat down by
+Jiurozayémon, and the attendants brought in wine and condiments.
+Before they began to drink, however, Jiurozayémon said--
+
+"You must be tired and exhausted with your walk this hot day, Master
+Chôbei. I thought that perhaps a bath might refresh you, so I ordered
+my men to get it ready for you. Would you not like to bathe and make
+yourself comfortable?"
+
+Chôbei suspected that this was a trick to strip him, and take him
+unawares when he should have laid aside his dirk. However, he answered
+cheerfully--
+
+"Your lordship is very good. I shall be glad to avail myself of your
+kind offer. Pray excuse me for a few moments."
+
+So he went to the bath-room, and, leaving his clothes outside, he got
+into the bath, with the full conviction that it would be the place of
+his death. Yet he never trembled nor quailed, determined that, if he
+needs must die, no man should say he had been a coward. Then
+Jiurozayémon, calling to his attendants, said--
+
+"Quick! lock the door of the bath-room! We hold him fast now. If he
+gets out, more than one life will pay the price of his. He's a match
+for any six of you in fair fight. Lock the door, I say, and light up
+the fire under the bath;[32] and we'll boil him to death, and be rid
+of him. Quick, men, quick!"
+
+[Footnote 32: This sort of bath, in which the water is heated by the
+fire of a furnace which is lighted from outside, is called
+_Goyémon-buro,_ or Goyémon's bath, after a notorious robber named
+Goyémon, who attempted the life of Taiko Sama, the famous general and
+ruler of the sixteenth century, and suffered for his crimes by being
+boiled to death in oil--a form of execution which is now obsolete.]
+
+So they locked the door, and fed the fire until the water hissed and
+bubbled within; and Chôbei, in his agony, tried to burst open the
+door, but Jiurozayémon ordered his men to thrust their spears through
+the partition wall and dispatch him. Two of the spears Chôbei clutched
+and broke short off; but at last he was struck by a mortal blow under
+the ribs, and died a brave man by the hands of cowards.
+
+[Illustration: THE DEATH OF CHÔBEI OF BANDZUIN.]
+
+That evening Tôken Gombei, who, to the astonishment of Chôbei's wife,
+had bought a burying-tub, came, with seven other apprentices, to fetch
+the Father of the Otokodaté from Jiurozayémon's house; and when the
+retainers saw them, they mocked at them, and said--
+
+"What, have you come to fetch your drunken master home in a litter?"
+
+"Nay," answered Gombei, "but we have brought a coffin for his dead
+body, as he bade us."
+
+When the retainers heard this, they marvelled at the courage of
+Chôbei, who had thus wittingly come to meet his fate. So Chôbei's
+corpse was placed in the burying-tub, and handed over to his
+apprentices, who swore to avenge his death. Far and wide, the poor and
+friendless mourned for this good man. His son Chômatsu inherited his
+property; and his wife remained a faithful widow until her dying day,
+praying that she might sit with him in paradise upon the cup of the
+same lotus-flower.
+
+Many a time did the apprentices of Chôbei meet together to avenge him;
+but Jiurozayémon eluded all their efforts, until, having been
+imprisoned by the Government in the temple called Kanyeiji, at Uyéno,
+as is related in the story of "Kazuma's Revenge," he was placed beyond
+the reach of their hatred.
+
+So lived and so died Chôbei of Bandzuin, the Father of the Otokodaté
+of Yedo.
+
+
+
+
+
+NOTE ON ASAKUSA
+
+_Translated from a native book called the "Yedo Hanjôki," or Guide to
+the prosperous City of Yedo, and other sources._
+
+Asakusa is the most bustling place in all Yedo. It is famous for the
+Temple Sensôji, on the hill of Kinriu, or the Golden Dragon, which
+from morning till night is thronged with visitors, rich and poor, old
+and young, flocking in sleeve to sleeve. The origin of the temple was
+as follows:--In the days of the Emperor Suiko, who reigned in the
+thirteenth century A.D., a certain noble, named Hashi no Nakatomo,
+fell into disgrace and left the Court; and having become a Rônin, or
+masterless man, he took up his abode on the Golden Dragon Hill, with
+two retainers, being brothers, named Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma
+Takénari. These three men being reduced to great straits, and without
+means of earning their living, became fishermen. Now it happened that
+on the 6th day of the 3rd month of the 36th year of the reign of the
+Emperor Suiko (A.D. 1241), they went down in the morning to the
+Asakusa River to ply their trade; and having cast their nets took no
+fish, but at every throw they pulled up a figure of the Buddhist god
+Kwannon, which they threw into the river again. They sculled their
+boat away to another spot, but the same luck followed them, and
+nothing came to their nets save the figure of Kwannon. Struck by the
+miracle, they carried home the image, and, after fervent prayer, built
+a temple on the Golden Dragon Hill, in which they enshrined it. The
+temple thus founded was enriched by the benefactions of wealthy and
+pious persons, whose care raised its buildings to the dignity of the
+first temple in Yedo. Tradition says that the figure of Kwannon which
+was fished up in the net was one inch and eight-tenths in height.
+
+The main hall of the temple is sixty feet square, and is adorned with
+much curious workmanship of gilding and of silvering, so that no place
+can be more excellently beautiful. There are two gates in front of it.
+The first is called the Gate of the Spirits of the Wind and of the
+Thunder, and is adorned with figures of those two gods. The Wind-god,
+whose likeness is that of a devil, carries the wind-bag; and the
+Thunder-god, who is also shaped like a devil, carries a drum and a
+drumstick.[33] The second gate is called the Gate of the gods Niô, or
+the Two Princes, whose colossal statues, painted red, and hideous to
+look upon, stand on either side of it. Between the gates is an
+approach four hundred yards in length, which is occupied by the stalls
+of hucksters, who sell toys and trifles for women and children, and by
+foul and loathsome beggars. Passing through the gate of the gods Niô,
+the main hall of the temple strikes the eye. Countless niches and
+shrines of the gods stand outside it, and an old woman earns her
+livelihood at a tank filled with water, to which the votaries of the
+gods come and wash themselves that they may pray with clean hands.
+Inside are the images of the gods, lanterns, incense-burners,
+candlesticks, a huge moneybox, into which the offerings of the pious
+are thrown, and votive tablets[34] representing the famous gods and
+goddesses, heroes and heroines, of old. Behind the chief building is a
+broad space called the _okuyama_, where young and pretty waitresses,
+well dressed and painted, invite the weary pilgrims and holiday-makers
+to refresh themselves with tea and sweetmeats. Here, too, are all
+sorts of sights to be seen, such as wild beasts, performing monkeys,
+automata, conjurers, wooden and paper figures, which take the place of
+the waxworks of the West, acrobats, and jesters for the amusement of
+women and children. Altogether it is a lively and a joyous scene;
+there is not its equal in the city.
+
+[Footnote 33: This gate was destroyed by fire a few years since.]
+
+[Footnote 34: Sir Rutherford Alcock, in his book upon Japan, states
+that the portraits of the most famous courtesans of Yedo are yearly
+hung up in the temple at Asakusa. No such pictures are to be seen now,
+and no Japanese of whom I have made inquiries have heard of such a
+custom. The priests of the temple deny that their fane was ever so
+polluted, and it is probable that the statement is but one of the many
+strange mistakes into which an imperfect knowledge of the language led
+the earlier travellers in Japan. In spite of all that has been said by
+persons who have had no opportunity of associating and exchanging
+ideas with the educated men of Japan, I maintain that in no country is
+the public harlot more abhorred and looked down upon.]
+
+At Asakusa, as indeed all over Yedo, are to be found fortunetellers,
+who prey upon the folly of the superstitious. With a treatise on
+physiognomy laid on a desk before them, they call out to this man that
+he has an ill-omened forehead, and to that man that the space between
+his nose and his lips is unlucky. Their tongues wag like flowing water
+until the passers-by are attracted to their stalls. If the seer finds
+a customer, he closes his eyes, and, lifting the divining-sticks
+reverently to his forehead, mutters incantations between his teeth.
+Then, suddenly parting the sticks in two bundles, he prophesies good
+or evil, according to the number in each. With a magnifying-glass he
+examines his dupe's face and the palms of his hands. By the fashion of
+his clothes and his general manner the prophet sees whether he is a
+countryman or from the city. "I am afraid, sir," says he, "you have
+not been altogether fortunate in life, but I foresee that great luck
+awaits you in two or three months;" or, like a clumsy doctor who makes
+his diagnosis according to his patient's fancies, if he sees his
+customer frowning and anxious, he adds, "Alas! in seven or eight
+months you must beware of great misfortune. But I cannot tell you all
+about it for a slight fee:" with a long sigh he lays down the
+divining-sticks on the desk, and the frightened boor pays a further
+fee to hear the sum of the misfortune which threatens him, until, with
+three feet of bamboo slips and three inches of tongue, the clever
+rascal has made the poor fool turn his purse inside out.
+
+The class of diviners called _Ichiko_ profess to give tidings of the
+dead, or of those who have gone to distant countries. The Ichiko
+exactly corresponds to the spirit medium of the West. The trade is
+followed by women, of from fifteen or sixteen to some fifty years of
+age, who walk about the streets, carrying on their backs a
+divining-box about a foot square; they have no shop or stall, but
+wander about, and are invited into their customers' houses. The
+ceremony of divination is very simple. A porcelain bowl filled with
+water is placed upon a tray, and the customer, having written the name
+of the person with whom he wishes to hold communion on a long slip of
+paper, rolls it into a spill, which he dips into the water, and thrice
+sprinkles the Ichiko, or medium. She, resting her elbow upon her
+divining-box, and leaning her head upon her hand, mutters prayers and
+incantations until she has summoned the soul of the dead or absent
+person, which takes possession of her, and answers questions through
+her mouth. The prophecies which the Ichiko utters during her trance
+are held in high esteem by the superstitious and vulgar.
+
+Hard by Asakusa is the theatre street. The theatres are called
+_Shiba-i_,[35] "turf places," from the fact that the first theatrical
+performances were held on a turf plot. The origin of the drama in
+Japan, as elsewhere, was religious. In the reign of the Emperor Heijô
+(A.D. 805), there was a sudden volcanic depression of the earth close
+by a pond called Sarusawa, or the Monkey's Marsh, at Nara, in the
+province of Yamato, and a poisonous smoke issuing from the cavity
+struck down with sickness all those who came within its baneful
+influence; so the people brought quantities of firewood, which they
+burnt in order that the poisonous vapour might be dispelled. The fire,
+being the male influence, would assimilate with and act as an antidote
+upon the mephitic smoke, which was a female influence.[36] Besides
+this, as a further charm to exorcise the portent, the dance called
+Sambasô, which is still performed as a prelude to theatrical
+exhibitions by an actor dressed up as a venerable old man, emblematic
+of long life and felicity, was danced on a plot of turf in front of
+the Temple Kofukuji. By these means the smoke was dispelled, and the
+drama was originated. The story is to be found in the _Zoku Nihon Ki_,
+or supplementary history of Japan.
+
+[Footnote 35: In Dr. Hepburn's Dictionary of the Japanese language,
+the Chinese characters given for the word _Shiba-i_ are _chi chang_
+(_keih chang_, Morrison's Dictionary), "theatrical arena." The
+characters which are usually written, and which are etymologically
+correct, are _chih chü_ (_che keu_, Morrison), "the place of plants or
+turf plot."]
+
+[Footnote 36: This refers to the Chinese doctrine of the Yang and Yin,
+the male and female influences pervading all creation.]
+
+Three centuries later, during the reign of the Emperor Toba (A.D.
+1108), there lived a woman called Iso no Zenji, who is looked upon as
+the mother of the Japanese drama. Her performances, however, seem only
+to have consisted in dancing or posturing dressed up in the costume of
+the nobles of the Court, from which fact her dance was called
+Otoko-mai, or the man's dance. Her name is only worth mentioning on
+account of the respect in which her memory is held by actors.
+
+It was not until the year A.D. 1624 that a man named Saruwaka
+Kanzaburô, at the command of the Shogun, opened the first theatre in
+Yedo in the Nakabashi, or Middle Bridge Street, where it remained
+until eight years later, when it was removed to the Ningiyô, or Doll
+Street. The company of this theatre was formed by two families named
+Miako and Ichimura, who did not long enjoy their monopoly, for in the
+year 1644 we find a third family, that of Yamamura, setting up a rival
+theatre in the Kobiki, or Sawyer Street.
+
+In the year 1651, the Asiatic prejudice in favour of keeping persons
+of one calling in one place exhibited itself by the removal of the
+playhouses to their present site, and the street was called the
+Saruwaka Street, after Saruwaka Kanzaburô, the founder of the drama in
+Yedo.
+
+Theatrical performances go on from six in the morning until six in the
+evening. Just as the day is about to dawn in the east, the sound of
+the drum is heard, and the dance Sambasô is danced as a prelude, and
+after this follow the dances of the famous actors of old; these are
+called the extra performances (_waki kiyôgen_).
+
+The dance of Nakamura represents the demon Shudendôji, an ogre who was
+destroyed by the hero Yorimitsu according to the following legend:--At
+the beginning of the eleventh century, when Ichijô the Second was
+Emperor, lived the hero Yorimitsu. Now it came to pass that in those
+days the people of Kiôto were sorely troubled by an evil spirit, which
+took up its abode near the Rashô gate. One night, as Yorimitsu was
+making merry with his retainers, he said, "Who dares go and defy the
+demon of the Rashô gate, and set up a token that he has been there?"
+"That dare I," answered Tsuna, who, having donned his coat of mail,
+mounted his horse, and rode out through the dark bleak night to the
+Rashô gate. Having written his name upon the gate, he was about to
+turn homewards when his horse began to shiver with fear, and a huge
+hand coming forth from the gate seized the back of the knight's
+helmet. Tsuna, nothing daunted, struggled to get free, but in vain, so
+drawing his sword he cut off the demon's arm, and the spirit with a
+howl fled into the night. But Tsuna carried home the arm in triumph,
+and locked it up in a box. One night the demon, having taken the shape
+of Tsuna's aunt, came to him and said, "I pray thee show me the arm of
+the fiend." Tsuna answered, "I have shown it to no man, and yet to
+thee I will show it." So he brought forth the box and opened it, when
+suddenly a black cloud shrouded the figure of the supposed aunt, and
+the demon, having regained its arm, disappeared. From that time forth
+the people were more than ever troubled by the demon, who carried off
+to the hills all the fairest virgins of Kiôto, whom he ravished and
+ate, so that there was scarce a beautiful damsel left in the city.
+Then was the Emperor very sorrowful, and he commanded Yorimitsu to
+destroy the monster; and the hero, having made ready, went forth with
+four trusty knights and another great captain to search among the
+hidden places of the mountains. One day as they were journeying far
+from the haunts of men, they fell in with an old man, who, having
+bidden them to enter his dwelling, treated them kindly, and set before
+them wine to drink; and when they went away, and took their leave of
+him, he gave them a present of more wine to take away with them. Now
+this old man was a mountain god. As they went on their way they met a
+beautiful lady, who was washing blood-stained clothes in the waters of
+the valley, weeping bitterly the while. When they asked her why she
+shed tears, she answered, "Sirs, I am a woman from Kiôto, whom the
+demon has carried off; he makes me wash his clothes, and when he is
+weary of me, he will kill and eat me. I pray your lordships to save
+me." Then the six heroes bade the woman lead them to the ogre's cave,
+where a hundred devils were mounting guard and waiting upon him. The
+woman, having gone in first, told the fiend of their coming; and he,
+thinking to slay and eat them, called them to him; so they entered the
+cave, which reeked with the smell of the flesh and blood of men, and
+they saw Shudendôji, a huge monster with the face of a little child.
+The six men offered him the wine which they had received from the
+mountain god, and he, laughing in his heart, drank and made merry, so
+that little by little the fumes of the wine got into his head, and he
+fell asleep. The heroes, themselves feigning sleep, watched for a
+moment when the devils were all off their guard to put on their armour
+and steal one by one into the demon's chamber. Then Yorimitsu, seeing
+that all was still, drew his sword, and cut off Shudendôji's head,
+which sprung up and bit at his head; luckily, however, Yorimitsu had
+put on two helmets, the one over the other, so he was not hurt. When
+all the devils had been slain, the heroes and the woman returned to
+Kiôto carrying with them the head of Shudendôji, which was laid before
+the Emperor; and the fame of their action was spread abroad under
+heaven.
+
+This Shudendôji is the ogre represented in the Nakamura dance. The
+Ichimura dance represents the seven gods of wealth; and the Morita
+dance represents a large ape, and is emblematical of drinking wine.
+
+As soon as the sun begins to rise in the heaven, sign-boards all
+glistening with paintings and gold are displayed, and the playgoers
+flock in crowds to the theatre. The farmers and country-folk hurry
+over their breakfast, and the women and children, who have got up in
+the middle of the night to paint and adorn themselves, come from all
+the points of the compass to throng the gallery, which is hung with
+curtains as bright as the rainbow in the departing clouds. The place
+soon becomes so crowded that the heads of the spectators are like the
+scales on a dragon's back. When the play begins, if the subject be
+tragic the spectators are so affected that they weep till they have to
+wring their sleeves dry. If the piece be comic they laugh till their
+chins are out of joint. The tricks and stratagems of the drama baffle
+description, and the actors are as graceful as the flight of the
+swallow. The triumph of persecuted virtue and the punishment of
+wickedness invariably crown the story. When a favourite actor makes
+his appearance, his entry is hailed with cheers. Fun and diversion are
+the order of the day, and rich and poor alike forget the cares which
+they have left behind them at home; and yet it is not all idle
+amusement, for there is a moral taught, and a practical sermon
+preached in every play.
+
+The subjects of the pieces are chiefly historical, feigned names being
+substituted for those of the real heroes. Indeed, it is in the popular
+tragedies that we must seek for an account of many of the events of
+the last two hundred and fifty years; for only one very bald
+history[37] of those times has been published, of which but a limited
+number of copies were struck off from copper plates, and its
+circulation was strictly forbidden by the Shogun's Government. The
+stories are rendered with great minuteness and detail, so much so,
+that it sometimes takes a series of representations to act out one
+piece in its entirety. The Japanese are far in advance of the Chinese
+in their scenery and properties, and their pieces are sometimes
+capitally got up: a revolving stage enables them to shift from one
+scene to another with great rapidity. First-rate actors receive as
+much as a thousand riyos (about £300) as their yearly salary. This,
+however, is a high rate of pay, and many a man has to strut before the
+public for little more than his daily rice; to a clever young actor it
+is almost enough reward to be allowed to enter a company in which
+there is a famous star. The salary of the actor, however, may depend
+upon the success of the theatre; for dramatic exhibitions are often
+undertaken as speculations by wealthy persons, who pay their company
+in proportion to their own profit. Besides his regular pay, a popular
+Japanese actor has a small mine of wealth in his patrons, who open
+their purses freely for the privilege of frequenting the greenroom.,
+The women's parts are all taken by men, as they used to be with us in
+ancient days. Touching the popularity of plays, it is related that in
+the year 1833, when two actors called Bandô Shuka and Segawa Rokô,
+both famous players of women's parts, died at the same time, the
+people of Yedo mourned to heaven and to earth; and if a million riyos
+could have brought back their lives, the money would have been
+forthcoming. Thousands flocked to their funeral, and the richness of
+their coffins and of the clothes laid upon them was admired by all.
+
+[Footnote 37: I allude to the _Tai Hei Nem-piyô,_ or Annals of the
+Great Peace, a very rare work, only two or three copies of which have
+found their way into the libraries of foreigners.]
+
+"When I heard this," says Terakado Seiken, the author of the _Yedo
+Hanjôki_, "I lifted my eyes to heaven and heaved a great sigh. When my
+friend Saitô Shimei, a learned and good man, died, there was barely
+enough money to bury him; his needy pupils and friends subscribed to
+give him a humble coffin. Alas! alas! here was a teacher who from his
+youth up had honoured his parents, and whose heart know no guile: if
+his friends were in need, he ministered to their wants; he grudged no
+pains to teach his fellow-men; his good-will and charity were beyond
+praise; under the blue sky and bright day he never did a shameful
+deed. His merits were as those of the sages of old; but because he
+lacked the cunning of a fox or badger he received no patronage from
+the wealthy, and, remaining poor to the day of his death, never had an
+opportunity of making his worth known. Alas! alas!"
+
+The drama is exclusively the amusement of the middle and lower
+classes. Etiquette, sternest of tyrants, forbids the Japanese of high
+rank to be seen at any public exhibition, wrestling-matches alone
+excepted. Actors are, however, occasionally engaged to play in private
+for the edification of my lord and his ladies; and there is a kind of
+classical opera, called Nô, which is performed on stages specially
+built for the purpose in the palaces of the principal nobles. These
+Nô represent the entertainments by which the Sun Goddess was lured out
+of the cave in which she had hidden, a fable said to be based upon an
+eclipse. In the reign of the Emperor Yômei (A.D. 586-593), Hada
+Kawakatsu, a man born in Japan, but of Chinese extraction, was
+commanded by the Emperor to arrange an entertainment for the
+propitiation of the gods and the prosperity of the country. Kawakatsu
+wrote thirty-three plays, introducing fragments of Japanese poetry
+with accompaniments of musical instruments. Two performers, named
+Takéta and Hattori, having especially distinguished themselves in
+these entertainments, were ordered to prepare other similar plays, and
+their productions remain to the present day. The pious intention of
+the Nô being to pray for the prosperity of the country, they are held
+in the highest esteem by the nobles of the Court, the Daimios, and the
+military class: in old days they alone performed in these plays, but
+now ordinary actors take part in them.
+
+The Nô are played in sets. The first of the set is specially dedicated
+to the propitiation of the gods; the second is performed in full
+armour, and is designed to terrify evil spirits, and to insure the
+punishment of malefactors; the third is of a gentler intention, and
+its special object is the representation of all that is beautiful and
+fragrant and delightful. The performers wear hideous wigs and masks,
+not unlike those of ancient Greece, and gorgeous brocade dresses. The
+masks, which belong to what was the private company of the Shogun, are
+many centuries old, and have been carefully preserved as heirlooms
+from generation to generation; being made of very thin wood lacquered
+over, and kept each in a silken bag, they have been uninjured by the
+lapse of time.
+
+During the Duke of Edinburgh's stay in Yedo, this company was engaged
+to give a performance in the Yashiki of the Prince of Kishiu, which
+has the reputation of being the handsomest palace in all Yedo. So far
+as I know, such an exhibition had never before been witnessed by
+foreigners, and it may be interesting to give an account of it.
+Opposite the principal reception-room, where his Royal Highness sat,
+and separated from it by a narrow courtyard, was a covered stage,
+approached from the greenroom by a long gallery at an angle of
+forty-five degrees. Half-a-dozen musicians, clothed in dresses of
+ceremony, marched slowly down the gallery, and, having squatted down
+on the stage, bowed gravely. The performances then began. There was no
+scenery, nor stage appliances; the descriptions of the chorus or of
+the actors took their place. The dialogue and choruses are given in a
+nasal recitative, accompanied by the mouth-organ, flute, drum, and
+other classical instruments, and are utterly unintelligible. The
+ancient poetry is full of puns and plays upon words, and it was with
+no little difficulty that, with the assistance of a man of letters, I
+prepared beforehand the arguments of the different pieces.
+
+The first play was entitled _Hachiman of the Bow_. Hachiman is the
+name under which the Emperor Ojin (A.C. 270-312) was deified as the
+God of War. He is specially worshipped on account of his miraculous
+birth; his mother, the Empress Jingo, having, by the virtue of a magic
+stone which she wore at her girdle, borne him in her womb for three
+years, during which she made war upon and conquered the Coreans. The
+time of the plot is laid in the reign of the Emperor Uda the Second
+(A.D. 1275-1289). In the second month of the year pilgrims are
+flocking to the temple of Hachiman at Mount Otoko, between Osaka and
+Kiôto. All this is explained by the chorus. A worshipper steps forth,
+sent by the Emperor, and delivers a congratulatory oration upon the
+peace and prosperity of the land. The chorus follows in the same
+strain: they sing the praises of Hachiman and of the reigning Emperor.
+An old man enters, bearing something which appears to be a bow in a
+brocade bag. On being asked who he is, the old man answers that he is
+an aged servant of the shrine, and that he wishes to present his
+mulberry-wood bow to the Emperor; being too humble to draw near to his
+Majesty he has waited for this festival, hoping that an opportunity
+might present itself. He explains that with this bow, and with certain
+arrows made of the Artemisia, the heavenly gods pacified the world. On
+being asked to show his bow, he refuses; it is a mystic protector of
+the country, which in old days was overshadowed by the mulberry-tree.
+The peace which prevails in the land is likened to a calm at sea. The
+Emperor is the ship, and his subjects the water. The old man dwells
+upon the ancient worship of Hachiman, and relates how his mother, the
+Empress Jingo, sacrificed to the gods before invading Corea, and how
+the present prosperity of the country is to be attributed to the
+acceptance of those sacrifices. After having revealed himself as the
+god Hachiman in disguise, the old man disappears. The worshipper,
+awe-struck, declares that he must return to Kiôto and tell the Emperor
+what he has seen. The chorus announces that sweet music and fragrant
+perfumes issue from the mountain, and the piece ends with
+felicitations upon the visible favour of the gods, and especially of
+Hachiman.
+
+The second piece was _Tsunémasa_. Tsunémasa was a hero of the twelfth
+century, who died in the civil wars; he was famous for his skill in
+playing on the _biwa_, a sort of four-stringed lute.
+
+A priest enters, and announces that his name is Giyôkei, and that
+before he retired from the world he held high rank at Court. He
+relates how Tsunémasa, in his childhood the favourite of the Emperor,
+died in the wars by the western seas. During his lifetime the Emperor
+gave him a lute, called Sei-zan, "the Azure Mountain"; this lute at
+his death was placed in a shrine erected to his honour, and at his
+funeral music and plays were performed during seven days within the
+palace, by the special grace of the Emperor. The scene is laid at the
+shrine. The lonely and awesome appearance of the spot is described.
+Although the sky is clear, the wind rustles through the trees like the
+sound of falling rain; and although it is now summer-time, the
+moonlight on the sand looks like hoar-frost. All nature is sad and
+downcast. The ghost appears, and sings that it is the spirit of
+Tsunémasa, and has come to thank those who have piously celebrated his
+obsequies. No one answers him, and the spirit vanishes, its voice
+becoming fainter and fainter, an unreal and illusory vision haunting
+the scenes amid which its life was spent. The priest muses on the
+portent. Is it a dream or a reality? Marvellous! The ghost, returning,
+speaks of former days, when it lived as a child in the palace, and
+received the Azure Mountain lute from the Emperor--that lute with the
+four strings of which its hand was once so familiar, and the
+attraction of which now draws it from the grave. The chorus recites
+the virtues of Tsunémasa--his benevolence, justice, humanity,
+talents, and truth; his love of poetry and music; the trees, the
+flowers, the birds, the breezes, the moon--all had a charm for him.
+The ghost begins to play upon the Azure Mountain lute, and the sounds
+produced from the magical instrument are so delicate, that all think
+it is a shower falling from heaven. The priest declares that it is not
+rain, but the sound of the enchanted lute. The sound of the first and
+second strings is as the sound of gentle rain, or of the wind stirring
+the pine-trees; and the sound of the third and fourth strings is as
+the song of birds and pheasants calling to their young. A rhapsody in
+praise of music follows. Would that such strains could last for ever!
+The ghost bewails its fate that it cannot remain to play on, but must
+return whence it came. The priest addresses the ghost, and asks
+whether the vision is indeed the spirit of Tsunémasa. Upon this the
+ghost calls out in an agony of sorrow and terror at having been seen
+by mortal eyes, and bids that the lamps be put out: on its return to
+the abode of the dead it will suffer for having shown itself: it
+describes the fiery torments which will be its lot. Poor fool! it has
+been lured to its destruction, like the insect of summer that flies
+into the flame. Summoning the winds to its aid, it puts out the
+lights, and disappears.
+
+_The Suit of Feathers_ is the title of a very pretty conceit which
+followed. A fisherman enters, and in a long recitative describes the
+scenery at the sea-shore of Miwo, in the province of Suruga, at the
+foot of Fuji-Yama, the Peerless Mountain. The waves are still, and
+there is a great calm; the fishermen are all out plying their trade.
+The speaker's name is Hakuriyô, a fisherman living in the pine-grove
+of Miwo. The rains are now over, and the sky is serene; the sun rises
+bright and red over the pine-trees and rippling sea; while last
+night's moon is yet seen faintly in the heaven. Even he, humble fisher
+though he be, is softened by the beauty of the nature which surrounds
+him. A breeze springs up, the weather will change; clouds and waves
+will succeed sunshine and calm; the fishermen must get them home
+again. No; it is but the gentle breath of spring, after all; it
+scarcely stirs the stout fir-trees, and the waves are hardly heard to
+break upon the shore. The men may go forth in safety. The fisherman
+then relates how, while he was wondering at the view, flowers began to
+rain from the sky, and sweet music filled the air, which was perfumed
+by a mystic fragrance. Looking up, he saw hanging on a pine-tree a
+fairy's suit of feathers, which he took home, and showed to a friend,
+intending to keep it as a relic in his house. A heavenly fairy makes
+her appearance, and claims the suit of feathers; but the fisherman
+holds to his treasure trove. She urges the impiety of his act--a
+mortal has no right to take that which belongs to the fairies. He
+declares that he will hand down the feather suit to posterity as one
+of the treasures of the country. The fairy bewails her lot; without
+her wings how can she return to heaven? She recalls the familiar joys
+of heaven, now closed to her; she sees the wild geese and the gulls
+flying to the skies, and longs for their power of flight; the tide has
+its ebb and its flow, and the sea-breezes blow whither they list: for
+her alone there is no power of motion, she must remain on earth. At
+last, touched by her plaint, the fisherman consents to return the
+feather suit, on condition that the fairy shall dance and play
+heavenly music for him. She consents, but must first obtain the
+feather suit, without which she cannot dance. The fisherman refuses
+to give it up, lest she should fly away to heaven without redeeming
+her pledge. The fairy reproaches him for his want of faith: how should
+a heavenly being be capable of falsehood? He is ashamed, and gives her
+the feather suit, which she dons, and begins to dance, singing of the
+delights of heaven, where she is one of the fifteen attendants who
+minister to the moon. The fisherman is so transported with joy, that
+he fancies himself in heaven, and wishes to detain the fairy to dwell
+with him for ever. A song follows in praise of the scenery and of the
+Peerless Mountain capped with the snows of spring. When her dance is
+concluded, the fairy, wafted away by the sea-breeze, floats past the
+pine-grove to Ukishima and Mount Ashidaka, over Mount Fuji, till she
+is seen dimly like a cloud in the distant sky, and vanishes into thin
+air.
+
+The last of the Nô was _The Little Smith_, the scene of which is laid
+in the reign of the Emperor Ichijô (A.D. 987--1011). A noble of the
+court enters, and proclaims himself to be Tachibana Michinari. He has
+been commanded by the Emperor, who has seen a dream of good omen on
+the previous night, to order a sword of the smith Munéchika of Sanjô.
+He calls Munéchika, who comes out, and, after receiving the order,
+expresses the difficulty he is in, having at that time no fitting mate
+to help him; he cannot forge a blade alone. The excuse is not
+admitted; the smith pleads hard to be saved from the shame of a
+failure. Driven to a compliance, there is nothing left for it but to
+appeal to the gods for aid. He prays to the patron god of his family,
+Inari Sama.[38] A man suddenly appears, and calls the smith; this man
+is the god Inari Sama in disguise. The smith asks who is his visitor,
+and how does he know him by name. The stranger answers, "Thou hast
+been ordered to make a blade for the Emperor." "This is passing
+strange," says the smith. "I received the order but a moment since;
+how comest thou to know of it?" "Heaven has a voice which is heard upon
+the earth. Walls have ears, and stones tell tales.[39] There are no
+secrets in the world. The flash of the blade ordered by him who is
+above the clouds (the Emperor) is quickly seen. By the grace of the
+Emperor the sword shall be quickly made." Here follows the praise of
+certain famous blades, and an account of the part they played in
+history, with special reference to the sword which forms one of the
+regalia. The sword which the Emperor has sent for shall be inferior to
+none of these; the smith may set his heart at rest. The smith,
+awe-struck, expresses his wonder, and asks again who is addressing
+him. He is bidden to go and deck out his anvil, and a supernatural
+power will help him. The visitor disappears in a cloud. The smith
+prepares his anvil, at the four corners of which he places images of
+the gods, while above it he stretches the straw rope and paper
+pendants hung up in temples to shut out foul or ill-omened influences.
+He prays for strength to make the blade, not for his own glory, but
+for the honour of the Emperor. A young man, a fox in disguise,
+appears, and helps Munéchika to forge the steel. The noise of the
+anvil resounds to heaven and over the earth. The chorus announces that
+the blade is finished; on one side is the mark of Munéchika, on the
+other is graven "The Little Fox" in clear characters.
+
+[Footnote 38: The note at the end of the Story of the Grateful Foxes
+contains an account of Inari Sama, and explains how the foxes minister
+to him.]
+
+[Footnote 39: This is a literal translation of a Japanese proverb.]
+
+The subjects of the Nô are all taken from old legends of the country;
+a shrine at Miwo, by the sea-shore, marks the spot where the suit of
+feathers was found, and the miraculously forged sword is supposed to
+be in the armoury of the Emperor to this day. The beauty of the
+poetry--and it is very beautiful--is marred by the want of scenery and
+by the grotesque dresses and make-up. In the _Suit of Feathers_, for
+instance, the fairy wears a hideous mask and a wig of scarlet elf
+locks: the suit of feathers itself is left entirely to the
+imagination; and the heavenly dance is a series of whirls, stamps, and
+jumps, accompanied by unearthly yells and shrieks; while the vanishing
+into thin air is represented by pirouettes something like the motion
+of a dancing dervish. The intoning of the recitative is unnatural and
+unintelligible, so much so that not even a highly educated Japanese
+could understand what is going on unless he were previously acquainted
+with the piece. This, however, is supposing that which is not, for the
+Nô are as familiarly known as the masterpieces of our own dramatists.
+
+The classical severity of the Nô is relieved by the introduction
+between the pieces of light farces called Kiyôgen. The whole
+entertainment having a religious intention, the Kiyôgen stand to the
+Nô in the same relation as the small shrines to the main temple; they,
+too, are played for the propitiation of the gods, and for the
+softening of men's hearts. The farces are acted without wigs or masks;
+the dialogue is in the common spoken language, and there being no
+musical accompaniment it is quite easy to follow. The plots of the two
+farces which were played before the Duke of Edinburgh are as
+follows:--
+
+In the _Ink Smearing_ the hero is a man from a distant part of the
+country, who, having a petition to prefer, comes to the capital, where
+he is detained for a long while. His suit being at last successful, he
+communicates the joyful news to his servant, Tarôkaja (the
+conventional name of the Leporello of these farces). The two
+congratulate one another. To while away his idle hours during his
+sojourn at the capital the master has entered into a flirtation with a
+certain young lady: master and servant now hold a consultation as to
+whether the former should not go and take leave of her. Tarôkaja is of
+opinion that as she is of a very jealous nature, his master ought to
+go. Accordingly the two set out to visit her, the servant leading the
+way. Arrived at her house, the gentleman goes straight in without the
+knowledge of the lady, who, coming out and meeting Tarôkaja, asks
+after his master. He replies that his master is inside the house. She
+refuses to believe him, and complains that, for some time past, his
+visits have been few and far between. Why should he come now? Surely
+Tarôkaja is hoaxing her. The servant protests that he is telling the
+truth, and that his master really has entered the house. She, only
+half persuaded, goes in, and finds that my lord is indeed there. She
+welcomes him, and in the same breath upbraids him. Some other lady has
+surely found favour in his eyes. What fair wind has wafted him back to
+her? He replies that business alone has kept him from her; he hopes
+that all is well with her. With her, indeed, all is well, and there is
+no change; but she fears that his heart is changed. Surely, surely he
+has found mountains upon mountains of joy elsewhere, even now,
+perhaps, he is only calling on his way homeward from some haunt of
+pleasure. What pleasure can there be away from her? answers he.
+Indeed, his time has not been his own, else he would have come sooner.
+Why, then, did he not send his servant to explain? Tarôkaja here puts
+in his oar, and protests that, between running on errands and dancing
+attendance upon his lord, he has not had a moment to himself. "At any
+rate," says the master, "I must ask for your congratulations; for my
+suit, which was so important, has prospered." The lady expresses her
+happiness, and the gentleman then bids his servant tell her the object
+of their visit. Tarôkaja objects to this; his lord had better tell his
+own story. While the two are disputing as to who shall speak, the
+lady's curiosity is aroused. "What terrible tale is this that neither
+of you dare tell? Pray let one or other of you speak." At last the
+master explains that he has come to take leave of her, as he must
+forthwith return to his own province. The girl begins to weep, and the
+gentleman following suit, the two shed tears in concert. She uses all
+her art to cajole him, and secretly produces from her sleeve a cup of
+water, with which she smears her eyes to imitate tears. He, deceived
+by the trick, tries to console her, and swears that as soon as he
+reaches his own country he will send a messenger to fetch her; but she
+pretends to weep all the more, and goes on rubbing her face with
+water. Tarôkaja, in the meanwhile, detects the trick, and, calling his
+master on one side, tells him what she is doing. The gentleman,
+however, refuses to believe him, and scolds him right roundly for
+telling lies. The lady calls my lord to her, and weeping more bitterly
+than ever, tries to coax him to remain. Tarôkaja slyly fills another
+cup, with ink and water, and substitutes it for the cup of clear
+water. She, all unconcerned, goes on smearing her face. At last she
+lifts her face, and her lover, seeing it all black and sooty, gives a
+start. What can be the matter with the girl's face? Tarôkaja, in an
+aside, explains what he has done. They determine to put her to shame.
+The lover, producing from his bosom a box containing a mirror, gives
+it to the girl, who, thinking that it is a parting gift, at first
+declines to receive it. It is pressed upon her; she opens the box and
+sees the reflection of her dirty face. Master and man burst out
+laughing. Furious, she smears Tarôkaja's face with the ink; he
+protests that he is not the author of the trick, and the girl flies at
+her lover and rubs his face too. Both master and servant run off,
+pursued by the girl.
+
+The second farce was shorter than the first, and was called _The Theft
+of the Sword_. A certain gentleman calls his servant Tarôkaja, and
+tells him that he is going out for a little diversion. Bidding
+Tarôkaja follow him, he sets out. On their way they meet another
+gentleman, carrying a handsome sword in his hand, and going to worship
+at the Kitano shrine at Kiôto. Tarôkaja points out the beauty of the
+sword to his master, and says what a fine thing it would be if they
+could manage to obtain possession of it. Tarôkaja borrows his master's
+sword, and goes up to the stranger, whose attention is taken up by
+looking at the wares set out for sale in a shop. Tarôkaja lays his
+hand on the guard of the stranger's sword; and the latter, drawing it,
+turns round, and tries to cut the thief down. Tarôkaja takes to his
+heels, praying hard that his life may be spared. The stranger takes
+away the sword which Tarôkaja has borrowed from his master, and goes
+on his way to the shrine, carrying the two swords. Tarôkaja draws a
+long breath of relief when he sees that his life is not forfeited; but
+what account is he to give of his master's sword which he has lost.
+There is no help for it, he must go back and make a clean breast of
+it. His master is very angry; and the two, after consulting together,
+await the stranger's return from the shrine. The latter makes his
+appearance and announces that he is going home. Tarôkaja's master
+falls upon the stranger from behind, and pinions him, ordering
+Tarôkaja to fetch a rope and bind him. The knave brings the cord; but,
+while he is getting it ready, the stranger knocks him over with his
+sword. His master calls out to him to get up quickly and bind the
+gentleman from behind, and not from before. Tarôkaja runs behind the
+struggling pair, but is so clumsy that he slips the noose over his
+master's head by mistake, and drags him down. The stranger, seeing
+this, runs away laughing with the two swords. Tarôkaja, frightened at
+his blunder, runs off too, his master pursuing him off the stage. A
+general run off, be it observed, something like the "spill-and-pelt"
+scene in an English pantomime, is the legitimate and invariable
+termination of the Kiyôgen.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE ON THE GAME OF FOOTBALL.
+
+
+The game of football is in great favour at the Japanese Court. The
+days on which it takes place are carefully noted in the "Daijôkwan
+Nishi," or Government Gazette. On the 25th of February, 1869, for
+instance, we find two entries: "The Emperor wrote characters of good
+omen," and "The game of football was played at the palace." The game
+was first introduced from China in the year of the Empress Kôkiyoku,
+in the middle of the seventh century. The Emperor Mommu, who reigned
+at the end of the same century, was the first emperor who took part in
+the sport. His Majesty Toba the Second became very expert at it, as
+also did the noble Asukai Chiujo, and from that time a sort of
+football club was formed at the palace. During the days of the extreme
+poverty of the Mikado and his Court, the Asukai family,
+notwithstanding their high rank, were wont to eke out their scanty
+income by giving lessons in the art of playing football.
+
+
+
+
+THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUYÉMON
+
+
+The doughty deeds and marvellous experiences of Funakoshi Jiuyémon are
+perhaps, like those of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, rather
+traditional than historical; but even if all or part of the deeds
+which popular belief ascribes to him be false, his story conveys a
+true picture of manners and customs. Above all, the manner of the
+vengeance which he wreaked upon the wife who had dishonoured him, and
+upon her lover, shows the high importance which the Japanese attach to
+the sanctity of the marriage tie.
+
+The 50th and 51st chapters of the "Legacy of Iyéyasu," already quoted,
+say: "If a married woman of the agricultural, artisan, or commercial
+class shall secretly have intercourse with another man, it is not
+necessary for the husband to enter a complaint against the persons
+thus confusing the great relation of mankind, but he may put them both
+to death. Nevertheless, should he slay one of them and spare the
+other, his guilt is the same as that of the unrighteous persons.
+
+"In the event, however, of advice being sought, the parties not having
+been slain, accede to the wishes of the complainant with, regard to
+putting them to death or not.
+
+"Mankind, in whose bodies the male and female elements induce a
+natural desire towards the same object, do not look upon such
+practices with aversion; and the adjudication of such cases is a
+matter of special deliberation and consultation.
+
+"Men and women of the military class are expected to know better than
+to occasion disturbance by violating existing regulations; and such an
+one breaking the regulations by lewd, trifling, or illicit intercourse
+shall at once be punished, without deliberation or consultation. It is
+not the same in this case as in that of agriculturists, artisans, and
+traders."
+
+As a criminal offence, adultery was, according to the ancient laws of
+Japan, punished by crucifixion. In more modern times it has been
+punished by decapitation and the disgraceful exposure of the head
+after death; but if the murder of the injured husband accompany the
+crime of adultery, then the guilty parties are crucified to this day.
+At the present time the husband is no longer allowed to take the law
+into his own hands: he must report the matter to the Government, and
+trust to the State to avenge his honour.
+
+Sacred as the marriage tie is so long as it lasts, the law which cuts
+it is curiously facile, or rather there is no law: a man may turn his
+wife out of doors, as it may suit his fancy. An example of this
+practice was shown in the story of "The Forty-seven Rônins." A husband
+has but to report the matter to his lord, and the ceremony of divorce
+is completed. Thus, in the days of the Shoguns' power, a Hatamoto who
+had divorced his wife reported the matter to the Shogun. A Daimio's
+retainer reports the matter to his Prince.
+
+The facility of divorce, however, seems to be but rarely taken
+advantage of: this is probably owing to the practice of keeping
+concubines. It has often been asked, Are the Japanese polygamists? The
+answer is, Yes and no. They marry but one wife; but a man may,
+according to his station and means, have one or more concubines in
+addition. The Emperor has twelve concubines, called Kisaki; and
+Iyéyasu, alluding forcibly to excess in this respect as _teterrima
+belli causa_, laid down that the princes might have eight, high
+officers five, and ordinary Samurai two handmaids. "In the olden
+times," he writes, "the downfall of castles and the overthrow of
+kingdoms all proceeded from this alone. Why is not the indulgence of
+passions guarded against?"
+
+The difference between the position of the wife and that of the
+concubine is marked. The legitimate wife is to the handmaid as a lord
+is to his vassal. Concubinage being a legitimate institution, the son
+of a handmaid is no bastard, nor is he in any way the child of shame;
+and yet, as a general rule, the son of the bondwoman is not heir with
+the son of the free, for the son of the wife inherits before the son
+of a concubine, even where the latter be the elder; and it frequently
+happens that a noble, having children by his concubines but none by
+his wife, selects a younger brother of his own, or even adopts the son
+of some relative, to succeed him in the family honours. The family
+line is considered to be thus more purely preserved. The law of
+succession is, however, extremely lax. Excellent personal merits will
+sometimes secure to the left-handed son the inheritance of his
+ancestors; and it often occurs that the son of a concubine, who is
+debarred from succeeding to his own father, is adopted as the heir of
+a relation or friend of even higher rank. When the wife of a noble has
+a daughter but no son, the practice is to adopt a youth of suitable
+family and age, who marries the girl and inherits as a son.
+
+The principle of adoption is universal among all classes, from the
+Emperor down to his meanest subject; nor is the family line considered
+to have been broken because an adopted son has succeeded to the
+estates. Indeed, should a noble die without heir male, either begotten
+or adopted, his lands are forfeited to the State. It is a matter of
+care that the person adopted should be himself sprung from a stock of
+rank suited to that of the family into which he is to be received.
+
+Sixteen and upwards being considered the marriageable age for a man,
+it is not usual for persons below that age to adopt an heir; yet an
+infant at the point of death may adopt a person older than himself,
+that the family line may not become extinct.
+
+An account of the marriage ceremony will be found in the Appendix upon
+the subject.
+
+In the olden time, in the island of Shikoku[40] there lived one
+Funakoshi Jiuyémon, a brave Samurai and accomplished man, who was in
+great favour with the prince, his master. One day, at a drinking-bout,
+a quarrel sprung up between him and a brother-officer, which resulted
+in a duel upon the spot, in which Jiuyémon killed his adversary. When
+Jiuyémon awoke to a sense of what he had done, he was struck with
+remorse, and he thought to disembowel himself; but, receiving a
+private summons from his lord, he went to the castle, and the prince
+said to him--
+
+"So it seems that you have been getting drunk and quarrelling, and
+that you have killed one of your friends; and now I suppose you will
+have determined to perform _hara-kiri_. It is a great pity, and in the
+face of the laws I can do nothing for you openly. Still, if you will
+escape and fly from this part of the country for a while, in two
+years' time the affair will have blown over, and I will allow you to
+return."
+
+[Footnote 40: _Shikoku_, one of the southern islands separated from
+the chief island of Japan by the beautiful "Inland Sea;" it is called
+_Shikoku_, or the "Four Provinces," because it is divided into the
+four provinces, _Awa, Sanuki, Iyo,_ and _Tosa_.]
+
+And with these words the prince presented him with a fine sword, made
+by Sukésada,[41] and a hundred ounces of silver, and, having bade him
+farewell, entered his private apartments; and Jiuyémon, prostrating
+himself, wept tears of gratitude; then, taking the sword and the
+money, he went home and prepared to fly from the province, and
+secretly took leave of his relations, each of whom made him some
+parting present. These gifts, together with his own money, and what he
+had received from the prince, made up a sum of two hundred and fifty
+ounces of silver, with which and his Sukésada sword he escaped under
+cover of darkness, and went to a sea-port called Marugamé, in the
+province of Sanuki, where he proposed to wait for an opportunity of
+setting sail for Osaka. As ill luck would have it, the wind being
+contrary, he had to remain three days idle; but at last the wind
+changed; so he went down to the beach, thinking that he should
+certainly find a junk about to sail; and as he was looking about him,
+a sailor came up, and said--
+
+"If your honour is minded to take a trip to Osaka, my ship is bound
+thither, and I should be glad to take you with me as passenger."
+
+"That's exactly what I wanted. I will gladly take a passage," replied
+Jiuyémon, who was delighted at the chance.
+
+[Footnote 41: _Sukésada_, a famous family of swordsmiths, belonging to
+the Bizen clan. The Bizen men are notoriously good armourers, and
+their blades fetch high prices. The sword of Jiuyémon is said to have
+been made by one of the Sukésada who lived about 290 years ago.]
+
+"Well, then, we must set sail at once, so please come on board
+without delay."
+
+So Jiuyémon went with him and embarked; and as they left the harbour
+and struck into the open sea, the moon was just rising above the
+eastern hills, illumining the dark night like a noonday sun; and
+Jiuyémon, taking his place in the bows of the ship, stood wrapt in
+contemplation of the beauty of the scene.
+
+[Illustration: JIUYÉMON ON BOARD THE PIRATE SHIP.]
+
+Now it happened that the captain of the ship, whose name was Akagôshi
+Kuroyémon, was a fierce pirate who, attracted by Jiuyémon's well-to-do
+appearance, had determined to decoy him on board, that he might murder
+and rob him; and while Jiuyémon was looking at the moon, the pirate
+and his companions were collected in the stern of the ship, taking
+counsel together in whispers as to how they might slay him. He, on the
+other hand, having for some time past fancied their conduct somewhat
+strange, bethought him that it was not prudent to lay aside his sword,
+so he went towards the place where he had been sitting, and had left
+his weapon lying, to fetch it, when he was stopped by three of the
+pirates, who blocked up the gangway, saying--
+
+"Stop, Sir Samurai! Unluckily for you, this ship in which you have
+taken a passage belongs to the pirate Akagôshi Kuroyémon. Come, sir!
+whatever money you may chance to have about you is our prize."
+
+When Jiuyémon heard this he was greatly startled at first, but soon
+recovered himself, and being an expert wrestler, kicked over two of
+the pirates, and made for his sword; but in the meanwhile Shichirohei,
+the younger brother of the pirate captain, had drawn the sword, and
+brought it towards him, saying--
+
+"If you want your sword, here it is!" and with that he cut at him; but
+Jiuyémon avoided the blow, and closing with the ruffian, got back his
+sword. Ten of the pirates then attacked him with spear and sword; but
+he, putting his back against the bows of the ship, showed such good
+fight that he killed three of his assailants, and the others stood
+off, not daring to approach him. Then the pirate captain, Akagôshi
+Kuroyémon, who had been watching the fighting from the stern, seeing
+that his men stood no chance against Jiuyémon's dexterity, and that he
+was only losing them to no purpose, thought to shoot him with a
+matchlock. Even Jiuyémon, brave as he was, lost heart when he saw the
+captain's gun pointed at him, and tried to jump into the sea; but one
+of the pirates made a dash at him with a boat-hook, and caught him by
+the sleeve; then Jiuyémon, in despair, took the fine Sukésada sword
+which he had received from his prince, and throwing it at his captor,
+pierced him through the breast so that he fell dead, and himself
+plunging into the sea swam for his life. The pirate captain shot at
+him and missed him, and the rest of the crew made every endeavour to
+seize him with their boat-hooks, that they might avenge the death of
+their mates; but it was all in vain, and Jiuyémon, having shaken off
+his clothes that he might swim the better, made good his escape. So
+the pirates threw the bodies of their dead comrades into the sea, and
+the captain was partly consoled for their loss by the possession of
+the Sukésada sword with which one of them had been transfixed.
+
+As soon as Jiuyémon jumped over the ship's side, being a good swimmer,
+he took a long dive, which carried him well out of danger, and struck
+out vigorously; and although he was tired and distressed by his
+exertions, he braced himself up to greater energy, and faced the waves
+boldly. At last, in the far distance, to his great joy, he spied a
+light, for which he made, and found that it was a ship carrying
+lanterns marked with the badge of the governor of Osaka; so he hailed
+her, saying--
+
+"I have fallen into great trouble among pirates: pray rescue me."
+
+"Who and what are you?" shouted an officer, some forty years of age.
+
+"My name is Funakoshi Jiuyémon, and I have unwittingly fallen in with
+pirates this night. I have escaped so far: I pray you save me, lest I
+die."
+
+"Hold on to this, and come up," replied the other, holding out the
+butt end of a spear to him, which he caught hold of and clambered up
+the ship's side. When the officer saw before him a handsome gentleman,
+naked all but his loincloth, and with his hair all in disorder, he
+called to his servants to bring some of his own clothes, and, having
+dressed him in them, said--
+
+"What clan do you belong to, sir?"
+
+"Sir, I am a Rônin, and was on my way to Osaka; but the sailors of the
+ship on which I had embarked were pirates;" and so he told the whole
+story of the fight and of his escape.
+
+"Well done, sir!" replied the other, astonished at his prowess. "My
+name is Kajiki Tozayémon, at your service. I am an officer attached to
+the governor of Osaka. Pray, have you any friends in that city?"
+
+"No, sir, I have no friends there; but as in two years I shall be able
+to return to my own country, and re-enter my lord's service, I thought
+during that time to engage in trade and live as a common wardsman."
+
+"Indeed, that's a poor prospect! However, if you will allow me, I will
+do all that is in my power to assist you. Pray excuse the liberty I am
+taking in making such a proposal."
+
+Jiuyémon warmly thanked Kajiki Tozayémon for his kindness; and so they
+reached Osaka without further adventures.
+
+Jiuyémon, who had secreted in his girdle the two hundred and fifty
+ounces which he had brought with him from home, bought a small house,
+and started in trade as a vendor of perfumes, tooth-powder, combs, and
+other toilet articles; and Kajiki Tozayémon, who treated him with
+great kindness, and rendered him many services, prompted him, as he
+was a single man, to take to himself a wife. Acting upon this advice,
+he married a singing-girl, called O Hiyaku.[42]
+
+[Footnote 42: The O before women's names signifies "_Imperial_," and
+is simply an honorific.]
+
+Now this O Hiyaku, although at first she seemed very affectionately
+disposed towards Jiuyémon, had been, during the time that she was a
+singer, a woman of bad and profligate character; and at this time
+there was in Osaka a certain wrestler, named Takaségawa Kurobei, a
+very handsome man, with whom O Hiyaku fell desperately in love; so
+that at last, being by nature a passionate woman, she became
+unfaithful to Jiuyémon. The latter, little suspecting that anything
+was amiss, was in the habit of spending his evenings at the house of
+his patron Kajiki Tozayémon, whose son, a youth of eighteen, named
+Tônoshin, conceived a great friendship for Jiuyémon, and used
+constantly to invite him to play a game at checkers; and it was on
+these occasions that O Hiyaku, profiting by her husband's absence,
+used to arrange her meetings with the wrestler Takaségawa.
+
+One evening, when Jiuyémon, as was his wont, had gone out to play at
+checkers with Kajiki Tônoshin, O Hiyaku took advantage of the occasion
+to go and fetch the wrestler, and invite him to a little feast; and as
+they were enjoying themselves over their wine, O Hiyaku said to him--
+
+"Ah! Master Takaségawa, how wonderfully chance favours us! and how
+pleasant these stolen interviews are! How much nicer still it would
+be if we could only be married. But, as long as Jiuyémon is in the
+way, it is impossible; and that is my one cause of distress."
+
+"It's no use being in such a hurry. If you only have patience, we
+shall be able to marry, sure enough. What you have got to look out for
+now is, that Jiuyémon does not find out what we are about. I suppose
+there is no chance of his coming home to-night, is there?"
+
+"Oh dear, no! You need not be afraid. He is gone to Kajiki's house to
+play checkers; so he is sure to spend the night there."
+
+And so the guilty couple went on gossiping, with their minds at ease,
+until at last they dropped off asleep.
+
+In the meanwhile Jiuyémon, in the middle of his game at checkers, was
+seized with a sudden pain in his stomach, and said to Kajiki Tônoshin,
+"Young sir, I feel an unaccountable pain in my stomach. I think I had
+better go home, before it gets worse."
+
+"That is a bad job. Wait a little, and I will give you some physic;
+but, at any rate, you had better spend the night here."
+
+"Many thanks for your kindness," replied Jiuyémon; "but I had rather
+go home."
+
+So he took his leave, and went off to his own house, bearing the pain
+as best he might. When he arrived in front of his own door, he tried
+to open it; but the lock was fastened, and he could not get in, so he
+rapped violently at the shutters to try and awaken his wife. When O
+Hiyaku heard the noise, she woke with a start, and roused the
+wrestler, saying to him in a whisper--
+
+"Get up! get up! Jiuyémon has come back. You must hide as fast as
+possible."
+
+"Oh dear! oh dear!" said the wrestler, in a great fright; "here's a
+pretty mess! Where on earth shall I hide myself?" and he stumbled
+about in every direction looking for a hiding-place, but found none.
+
+Jiuyémon, seeing that his wife did not come to open the door, got
+impatient at last, and forced it open by unfixing the sliding shutter
+and, entering the house, found himself face to face with his wife and
+her lover, who were both in such confusion that they did not know what
+to do. Jiuyémon, however, took no notice of them, but lit his pipe and
+sat smoking and watching them in silence. At last the wrestler,
+Takaségawa, broke the silence by saying--
+
+"I thought, sir, that I should be sure to have the pleasure of finding
+you at home this evening, so I came out to call upon you. When I got
+here, the Lady O Hiyaku was so kind as to offer me some wine; and I
+drank a little more than was good for me, so that it got into my head,
+and I fell asleep. I must really apologize for having taken such a
+liberty in your absence; but, indeed, although appearances are against
+us, there has been nothing wrong."
+
+"Certainly," said O Hiyaku, coming to her lover's support, "Master
+Takaségawa is not at all to blame. It was I who invited him to drink
+wine; so I hope you will excuse him."
+
+Jiuyémon sat pondering the matter over in his mind for a moment, and
+then said to the wrestler, "You say that you are innocent; but, of
+course, that is a lie. It's no use trying to conceal your fault.
+However, next year I shall, in all probability, return to my own
+country, and then you may take O Hiyaku and do what you will with her:
+far be it from me to care what becomes of a woman with such a stinking
+heart."
+
+When the wrestler and O Hiyaku heard Jiuyémon say this quite quietly,
+they could not speak, but held their peace for very shame.
+
+"Here, you Takaségawa," pursued he; "you may stop here to-night, if
+you like it, and go home to-morrow."
+
+"Thank you, sir," replied the wrestler, "I am much obliged to you; but
+the fact is, that I have some pressing business in another part of the
+town, so, with your permission, I will take my leave;" and so he went
+out, covered with confusion.
+
+As for the faithless wife, O Hiyaku, she was in great agitation,
+expecting to be severely reprimanded at least; but Jiuyémon took no
+notice of her, and showed no anger; only from that day forth, although
+she remained in his house as his wife, he separated himself from her
+entirely.
+
+Matters went on in this way for some time, until at last, one fine
+day, O Hiyaku, looking out of doors, saw the wrestler Takaségawa
+passing in the street, so she called out to him--
+
+"Dear me, Master Takaségawa, can that be you! What a long time it is
+since we have met! Pray come in, and have a chat."
+
+"Thank you, I am much obliged to you; but as I do not like the sort of
+scene we had the other day, I think I had rather not accept your
+invitation."
+
+"Pray do not talk in such a cowardly manner. Next year, when Jiuyémon
+goes back to his own country, he is sure to give me this house, and
+then you and I can marry and live as happily as possible."
+
+"I don't like being in too great a hurry to accept fair offers."[43]
+
+[Footnote 43: The original is a proverbial expression like "Timeo
+Danaos et dona ferentes."]
+
+"Nonsense! There's no need for showing such delicacy about accepting
+what is given you."
+
+And as she spoke, she caught the wrestler by the hand and led him into
+the house. After they had talked together for some time, she said:--
+
+"Listen to me, Master Takaségawa. I have been thinking over all this
+for some time, and I see no help for it but to kill Jiuyémon and make
+an end of him."
+
+"What do you want to do that for?"
+
+"As long as he is alive, we cannot be married. What I propose is that
+you should buy some poison, and I will put it secretly into his food.
+When he is dead, we can be happy to our hearts' content."
+
+At first Takaségawa was startled and bewildered by the audacity of
+their scheme; but forgetting the gratitude which he owed to Jiuyémon
+for sparing his life on the previous occasion, he replied:--
+
+"Well, I think it can be managed. I have a friend who is a physician,
+so I will get him to compound some poison for me, and will send it to
+you. You must look out for a moment when your husband is not on his
+guard, and get him to take it."
+
+Having agreed upon this, Takaségawa went away, and, having employed a
+physician to make up the poison, sent it to O Hiyaku in a letter,
+suggesting that the poison should be mixed up with a sort of macaroni,
+of which Jiuyémon was very fond. Having read the letter, she put it
+carefully away in a drawer of her cupboard, and waited until Jiuyémon
+should express a wish to eat some macaroni.
+
+One day, towards the time of the New Year, when O Hiyaku had gone out
+to a party with a few of her friends, it happened that Jiuyémon, being
+alone in the house, was in want of some little thing, and, failing to
+find it anywhere, at last bethought himself to look for it in O
+Hiyaku's cupboard; and as he was searching amongst the odds and ends
+which it contained, he came upon the fatal letter. When he read the
+scheme for putting poison in his macaroni, he was taken aback, and
+said to himself, "When I caught those two beasts in their wickedness I
+spared them, because their blood would have defiled my sword; and now
+they are not even grateful for my mercy. Their crime is beyond all
+power of language to express, and I will kill them together."
+
+So he put back the letter in its place, and waited for his wife to
+come home. So soon as she made her appearance he said--
+
+"You have come home early, O Hiyaku. I feel very dull and lonely this
+evening; let us have a little wine."
+
+And as he spoke without any semblance of anger, it never entered O
+Hiyaku's mind that he had seen the letter; so she went about her
+household duties with a quiet mind.
+
+The following evening, as Jiuyémon was sitting in his shop casting up
+his accounts, with his counting-board[44] in his hand, Takaségawa
+passed by, and Jiuyémon called out to him, saying:--
+
+"Well met, Takaségawa! I was just thinking of drinking a cup of wine
+to-night; but I have no one to keep me company, and it is dull work
+drinking alone. Pray come in, and drink a bout with me."
+
+[Footnote 44: The _abacus_, or counting-board, is the means of
+calculation in use throughout the Continent from St. Petersburg to
+Peking, in Corea, Japan, and the Liukiu Islands.]
+
+"Thank you, sir, I shall have much pleasure," replied the wrestler,
+who little expected what the other was aiming at; and so he went in,
+and they began to drink and feast.
+
+"It's very cold to-night," said Jiuyémon, after a while; "suppose we
+warm up a little macaroni, and eat it nice and hot. Perhaps, however,
+you do not like it?"
+
+"Indeed, I am very fond of it, on the contrary."
+
+"That is well. O Hiyaku, please go and buy a little for us."
+
+"Directly," replied his wife, who hurried off to buy the paste,
+delighted at the opportunity for carrying out her murderous design
+upon her husband. As soon she had prepared it, she poured it into
+bowls and set it before the two men; but into her husband's bowl only
+she put poison. Jiuyémon, who well knew what she had done, did not eat
+the mess at once, but remained talking about this, that, and the
+other; and the wrestler, out of politeness, was obliged to wait also.
+All of a sudden, Jiuyémon cried out--
+
+"Dear me! whilst we have been gossiping, the macaroni has been getting
+cold. Let us put it all together and warm it up again. As no one has
+put his lips to his bowl yet, it will all be clean; so none need be
+wasted." And with these words he took the macaroni that was in the
+three bowls, and, pouring it altogether into an iron pot, boiled it up
+again. This time Jiuyémon served out the food himself, and, setting it
+before his wife and the wrestler, said--
+
+"There! make haste and eat it up before it gets cold."
+
+Jiuyémon, of course, did not eat any of the mess; and the would-be
+murderers, knowing that sufficient poison had been originally put into
+Jiuyémon's bowl to kill them all three, and that now the macaroni,
+having been well mixed up, would all be poisoned, were quite taken
+aback, and did not know what to do.
+
+"Come! make haste, or it will be quite cold. You said you liked it, so
+I sent to buy it on purpose. O Hiyaku! come and make a hearty meal. I
+will eat some presently."
+
+At this the pair looked very foolish, and knew not what to answer; at
+last the wrestler got up and said--
+
+"I do not feel quite well. I must beg to take my leave; and, if you
+will allow me, I will come and accept your hospitality to-morrow
+instead."
+
+"Dear me! I am sorry to hear you are not well. However, O Hiyaku,
+there will be all the more macaroni for you."
+
+As for O Hiyaku, she put a bold face upon the matter, and replied that
+she had supped already, and had no appetite for any more.
+
+Then Jiuyémon, looking at them both with a scornful smile, said--
+
+"It seems that you, neither of you, care to eat this macaroni;
+however, as you, Takaségawa, are unwell, I will give you some
+excellent medicine;" and going to the cupboard, he drew out the
+letter, and laid it before the wrestler. When O Hiyaku and the
+wrestler saw that their wicked schemes had been brought to light, they
+were struck dumb with shame.
+
+Takaségawa, seeing that denial was useless, drew his dirk and cut at
+Jiuyémon; but he, being nimble and quick, dived under the wrestler's
+arm, and seizing his right hand from behind, tightened his grasp upon
+it until it became numbed, and the dirk fell to the ground; for,
+powerful man as the wrestler was, he was no match for Jiuyémon, who
+held him in so fast a grip that he could not move. Then Jiuyémon took
+the dirk which had fallen to the ground, and said:--
+
+"Oh! I thought that you, being a wrestler, would at least be a strong
+man, and that there would be some pleasure in fighting you; but I see
+that you are but a poor feckless creature, after all. It would have
+defiled my sword to have killed such an ungrateful hound with it; but
+luckily here is your own dirk, and I will slay you with that."
+
+Takaségawa struggled to escape, but in vain; and O Hiyaku, seizing a
+large kitchen knife, attacked Jiuyémon; but he, furious, kicked her in
+the loins so violently that she fell powerless, then brandishing the
+dirk, he cleft the wrestler from the shoulder down to the nipple of
+his breast, and the big man fell in his agony. O Hiyaku, seeing this,
+tried to fly; but Jiuyémon, seizing her by the hair of the head,
+stabbed her in the bosom, and, placing her by her lover's side, gave
+her the death-blow.
+
+[Illustration: JIUYÉMON PUNISHES HIS WIFE AND THE WRESTLER.]
+
+On the following day, he sent in a report of what he had done to the
+governor of Osaka, and buried the corpses; and from that time forth he
+remained a single man, and pursued his trade as a seller of perfumery
+and such-like wares; and his leisure hours he continued to spend as
+before, at the house of his patron, Kajiki Tozayémon.
+
+One day, when Jiuyémon went to call upon Kajiki Tozayémon, he was told
+by the servant-maid, who met him at the door, that her master was out,
+but that her young master, Tônoshin, was at home; so, saying that he
+would go in and pay his respects to the young gentleman, he entered
+the house; and as he suddenly pushed open the sliding-door of the room
+in which Tônoshin was sitting, the latter gave a great start, and his
+face turned pale and ghastly.
+
+"How now, young sir!" said Jiuyémon, laughing at him, "surely you are
+not such a coward as to be afraid because the sliding-doors are
+opened? That is not the way in which a brave Samurai should behave."
+
+"Really I am quite ashamed of myself," replied the other, blushing at
+the reproof; "but the fact is that I had some reason for being
+startled. Listen to me, Sir Jiuyémon, and I will tell you all about
+it. To-day, when I went to the academy to study, there were a great
+number of my fellow-students gathered together, and one of them said
+that a ruinous old shrine, about two miles and a half to the east of
+this place, was the nightly resort of all sorts of hobgoblins, who
+have been playing pranks and bewitching the people for some time
+past; and he proposed that we should all draw lots, and that the one
+upon whom the lot fell should go to-night and exorcise those evil
+beings; and further that, as a proof of his having gone, he should
+write his name upon a pillar in the shrine. All the rest agreed that
+this would be very good sport; so I, not liking to appear a coward,
+consented to take my chance with the rest; and, as ill luck would
+have it, the lot fell upon me. I was thinking over this as you came
+in, and so it was that when you suddenly opened the door, I could not
+help giving a start."
+
+"If you only think for a moment," said Jiuyémon, "you will see that
+there is nothing to fear. How can beasts[45] and hobgoblins exercise
+any power over men? However, do not let the matter trouble you. I will
+go in your place to-night, and see if I cannot get the better of these
+goblins, if any there be, having done which, I will write your name
+upon the pillar, so that everybody may think that you have been
+there."
+
+[Footnote 45: Foxes, badgers, and cats. See the stories respecting
+their tricks.]
+
+
+"Oh! thank you: that will indeed be a service. You can dress yourself
+up in my clothes, and nobody will be the wiser. I shall be truly
+grateful to you."
+
+So Jiuyémon having gladly undertaken the job, as soon as the night set
+in made his preparations, and went to the place indicated--an
+uncanny-looking, tumble-down, lonely old shrine, all overgrown with
+moss and rank vegetation. However, Jiuyémon, who was afraid of
+nothing, cared little for the appearance of the place, and having made
+himself as comfortable as he could in so dreary a spot, sat down on
+the floor, lit his pipe, and kept a sharp look-out for the goblins. He
+had not been waiting long before he saw a movement among the bushes;
+and presently he was surrounded by a host of elfish-looking creatures,
+of all shapes and kinds, who came and made hideous faces at him.
+Jiuyémon quietly knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and then, jumping
+up, kicked over first one and then another of the elves, until several
+of them lay sprawling in the grass; and the rest made off, greatly
+astonished at this unexpected reception. When Jiuyémon took his
+lantern and examined the fallen goblins attentively, he saw that they
+were all Tônoshin's fellow-students, who had painted their faces, and
+made themselves hideous, to frighten their companion, whom they knew
+to be a coward: all they got for their pains, however, was a good
+kicking from Jiuyémon, who left them groaning over their sore bones,
+and went home chuckling to himself at the result of the adventure.
+
+[Illustration: FUNAKOSHI JIUYÉMON AND THE GOBLINS.]
+
+The fame of this exploit soon became noised about Osaka, so that all
+men praised Jiuyémon's courage; and shortly after this he was elected
+chief of the Otokodaté,[46] or friendly society of the wardsmen, and
+busied himself no longer with his trade, but lived on the
+contributions of his numerous apprentices.
+
+[Footnote 46: See the Introduction to the Story of Chôbei of
+Bandzuin.]
+
+Now Kajiki Tônoshin was in love with a singing girl named Kashiku,
+upon whom he was in the habit of spending a great deal of money. She,
+however, cared nothing for him, for she had a sweetheart named
+Hichirobei, whom she used to contrive to meet secretly, although, in
+order to support her parents, she was forced to become the mistress of
+Tônoshin. One evening, when the latter was on guard at the office of
+his chief, the Governor of Osaka, Kashiku sent word privately to
+Hichirobei, summoning him to go to her house, as the coast would be
+clear.
+
+While the two were making merry over a little feast, Tônoshin, who had
+persuaded a friend to take his duty for him on the plea of urgent
+business, knocked at the door, and Kashiku, in a great fright, hid her
+lover in a long clothes-box, and went to let in Tônoshin, who, on
+entering the room and seeing the litter of the supper lying about,
+looked more closely, and perceived a man's sandals, on which, by the
+light of a candle, he saw the figure seven.[47] Tônoshin had heard
+some ugly reports of Kashiku's proceedings with this man Hichirobei,
+and when he saw this proof before his eyes he grew very angry; but he
+suppressed his feelings, and, pointing to the wine-cups and bowls,
+said:--
+
+"Whom have you been feasting with to-night?"
+
+"Oh!" replied Kashiku, who, notwithstanding her distress, was obliged
+to invent an answer, "I felt so dull all alone here, that I asked an
+old woman from next door to come in and drink a cup of wine with me,
+and have a chat."
+
+[Footnote 47: _Hichi_, the first half of _Hichirobei_, signifies
+seven.]
+
+All this while Tônoshin was looking for the hidden lover; but, as he
+could not see him, he made up his mind that Kashiku must have let him
+out by the back door; so he secreted one of the sandals in his sleeve
+as evidence, and, without seeming to suspect anything, said:--
+
+"Well, I shall be very busy this evening, so I must go home."
+
+"Oh! won't you stay a little while? It is very dull here, when I am
+all alone without you. Pray stop and keep me company."
+
+But Tônoshin made no reply, and went home. Then Kashiku saw that one
+of the sandals was missing, and felt certain that he must have carried
+it off as proof; so she went in great trouble to open the lid of the
+box, and let out Hichirobei. When the two lovers talked over the
+matter, they agreed that, as they both were really in love, let
+Tônoshin kill them if he would, they would gladly die together: they
+would enjoy the present; let the future take care of itself.
+
+The following morning Kashiku sent a messenger to Tônoshin to implore
+his pardon; and he, being infatuated by the girl's charms, forgave
+her, and sent a present of thirty ounces of silver to her lover,
+Hichirobei, on the condition that he was never to see her again; but,
+in spite of this, Kashiku and Hichirobei still continued their secret
+meetings.
+
+It happened that Hichirobei, who was a gambler by profession, had an
+elder brother called Chôbei, who kept a wine-shop in the Ajikawa
+Street, at Osaka; so Tônoshin thought that he could not do better than
+depute Jiuyémon to go and seek out this man Chôbei, and urge him to
+persuade his younger brother to give up his relations with Kashiku;
+acting upon this resolution, he went to call upon Jiuyémon, and said
+to him--
+
+"Sir Jiuyémon, I have a favour to ask of you in connection with that
+girl Kashiku, whom you know all about. You are aware that I paid
+thirty ounces of silver to her lover Hichirobei to induce him to give
+up going to her house; but, in spite of this, I cannot help suspecting
+that they still meet one another. It seems that this Hichirobei has an
+elder brother--one Chôbei; now, if you would go to this man and tell
+him to reprove his brother for his conduct, you would be doing me a
+great service. You have so often stood my friend, that I venture to
+pray you to oblige me in this matter, although I feel that I am
+putting you to great inconvenience."
+
+Jiuyémon, out of gratitude for the kindness which he had received at
+the hands of Kajiki Tozayémon, was always willing to serve Tônoshin;
+so he went at once to find out Chôbei, and said to him--
+
+"My name, sir, is Jiuyémon, at your service; and I have come to beg
+your assistance in a matter of some delicacy."
+
+"What can I do to oblige you, sir?" replied Chôbei, who felt bound to
+be more than usually civil, as his visitor was the chief of the
+Otokodaté.
+
+"It is a small matter, sir," said Jiuyémon. "Your younger brother
+Hichirobei is intimate with a woman named Kashiku, whom he meets in
+secret. Now, this Kashiku is the mistress of the son of a gentleman to
+whom I am under great obligation: he bought her of her parents for a
+large sum of money, and, besides this, he paid your brother thirty
+ounces of silver some time since, on condition of his separating
+himself from the girl; in spite of this, it appears that your brother
+continues to see her, and I have come to beg that you will remonstrate
+with your brother on his conduct, and make him give her up."
+
+"That I certainly will. Pray do not be uneasy; I will soon find means
+to put a stop to my brother's bad behaviour."
+
+And so they went on talking of one thing and another, until Jiuyémon,
+whose eyes had been wandering about the room, spied out a very long
+dirk lying on a cupboard, and all at once it occurred to him that this
+was the very sword which had been a parting gift to him from his lord:
+the hilt, the mountings, and the tip of the scabbard were all the
+same, only the blade had been shortened and made into a long dirk.
+Then he looked more attentively at Chôbei's features, and saw that he
+was no other than Akagôshi Kuroyémon, the pirate chief. Two years had
+passed by, but he could not forget that face.
+
+Jiuyémon would have liked to have arrested him at once; but thinking
+that it would be a pity to give so vile a robber a chance of escape,
+he constrained himself, and, taking his leave, went straightway and
+reported the matter to the Governor of Osaka. When the officers of
+justice heard of the prey that awaited them, they made their
+preparations forthwith. Three men of the secret police went to
+Chôbei's wine-shop, and, having called for wine, pretended to get up a
+drunken brawl; and as Chôbei went up to them and tried to pacify them,
+one of the policemen seized hold of him, and another tried to pinion
+him. It at once flashed across Chôbei's mind that his old misdeeds had
+come to light at last, so with a desperate effort he shook off the two
+policemen and knocked them down, and, rushing into the inner room,
+seized the famous Sukésada sword and sprang upstairs. The three
+policemen, never thinking that he could escape, mounted the stairs
+close after him; but Chôbei with a terrible cut cleft the front man's
+head in sunder, and the other two fell back appalled at their
+comrade's fate. Then Chôbei climbed on to the roof, and, looking out,
+perceived that the house was surrounded on all sides by armed men.
+Seeing this, he made up his mind that his last moment was come, but,
+at any rate, he determined to sell his life dearly, and to die
+fighting; so he stood up bravely, when one of the officers, coming up
+from the roof of a neighbouring house, attacked him with a spear; and
+at the same time several other soldiers clambered up. Chôbei, seeing
+that he was overmatched, jumped down, and before the soldiers below
+had recovered from their surprise he had dashed through their ranks,
+laying about him right and left, and cutting down three men. At top
+speed he fled, with his pursuers close behind him; and, seeing the
+broad river ahead of him, jumped into a small boat that lay moored
+there, of which the boatmen, frightened at the sight of his bloody
+sword, left him in undisputed possession. Chôbei pushed off, and
+sculled vigorously into the middle of the river; and the
+officers--there being no other boat near--were for a moment baffled.
+One of them, however, rushing down the river bank, hid himself on a
+bridge, armed with. a spear, and lay in wait for Chôbei to pass in his
+boat; but when the little boat came up, he missed his aim, and only
+scratched Chôbei's elbow; and he, seizing the spear, dragged down his
+adversary into the river, and killed him as he was struggling in the
+water; then, sculling for his life, he gradually drew near to the sea.
+The other officers in the mean time had secured ten boats, and, having
+come up with Chôbei, surrounded him; but he, having formerly been a
+pirate, was far better skilled in the management of a boat than his
+pursuers, and had no great difficulty in eluding them; so at last he
+pushed out to sea, to the great annoyance of the officers, who
+followed him closely.
+
+Then Jiuyémon, who had come up, said to one of the officers on the
+shore--
+
+"Have you caught him yet?"
+
+"No; the fellow is so brave and so cunning that our men can do nothing
+with him."
+
+"He's a determined ruffian, certainly. However, as the fellow has got
+my sword, I mean to get it back by fair means or foul: will you allow
+me to undertake the job of seizing him?"
+
+"Well, you may try; and you will have officers to assist you, if you
+are in peril."
+
+Jiuyémon, having received this permission, stripped off his clothes
+and jumped into the sea, carrying with him a policeman's mace, to the
+great astonishment of all the bystanders. When he got near Chôbei's
+boat, he dived and came up alongside, without the pirate perceiving
+him until he had clambered into the boat. Chôbei had the good Sukésada
+sword, and Jiuyémon was armed with nothing but a mace; but Chôbei, on
+the other hand, was exhausted with his previous exertions, and was
+taken by surprise at a moment when he was thinking of nothing but how
+he should scull away from the pursuing boats; so it was not long
+before Jiuyémon mastered and secured him.
+
+For this feat, besides recovering his Sukésada sword, Jiuyémon
+received many rewards and great praise from the Governor of Osaka. But
+the pirate Chôbei was cast into prison.
+
+Hichirobei, when he heard of his brother's capture, was away from
+home; but seeing that he too would be sought for, he determined to
+escape to Yedo at once, and travelled along the Tôkaidô, the great
+highroad, as far as Kuana. But the secret police had got wind of his
+movements, and one of them was at his heels disguised as a beggar, and
+waiting for an opportunity to seize him.
+
+Hichirobei in the meanwhile was congratulating himself on his escape;
+and, little suspecting that he would be in danger so far away from
+Osaka, he went to a house of pleasure, intending to divert himself at
+his ease. The policeman, seeing this, went to the master of the house
+and said--
+
+"The guest who has just come in is a notorious thief, and I am on his
+track, waiting to arrest him. Do you watch for the moment when he
+falls asleep, and let me know. Should he escape, the blame will fall
+upon you."
+
+The master of the house, who was greatly taken aback, consented of
+course; so he told the woman of the house to hide Hichirobei's dirk,
+and as soon as the latter, wearied with his journey, had fallen
+asleep, he reported it to the policeman, who went upstairs, and having
+bound Hichirobei as he lay wrapped up in his quilt, led him back to
+Osaka to be imprisoned with his brother.
+
+When Kashiku became aware of her lover's arrest, she felt certain that
+it was the handiwork of Jiuyémon; so she determined to kill him, were
+it only that she might die with Hichirobei. So hiding a kitchen knife
+in the bosom of her dress, she went at midnight to Jiuyémon's house,
+and looked all round to see if there were no hole or cranny by which
+she might slip in unobserved; but every door was carefully closed, so
+she was obliged to knock at the door and feign an excuse.
+
+"Let me in! let me in! I am a servant-maid in the house of Kajiki
+Tozayémon, and am charged with a letter on most pressing business to
+Sir Jiuyémon."
+
+Hearing this, one of Jiuyémon's servants, thinking her tale was true,
+rose and opened the door; and Kashiku, stabbing him in the face, ran
+past him into the house. Inside she met another apprentice, who had
+got up, aroused by the noise; him too she stabbed in the belly, but as
+he fell he cried out to Jiuyémon, saying:--
+
+"Father, father![48] take care! Some murderous villain has broken into
+the house."
+
+[Footnote 48: The apprentice addresses his patron as "father."]
+
+[Illustration: "GOKUMON."]
+
+And Kashiku, desperate, stopped his further utterance by cutting his
+throat. Jiuyémon, hearing his apprentice cry out, jumped up, and,
+lighting his night-lamp, looked about him in the half-gloom, and saw
+Kashiku with the bloody knife, hunting for him that she might kill
+him. Springing upon her before she saw him, he clutched her right
+hand, and, having secured her, bound her with cords so that she could
+not move. As soon as he had recovered from his surprise, he looked
+about him, and searched the house, when, to his horror, he found one
+of his apprentices dead, and the other lying bleeding from a frightful
+gash across the face. With the first dawn of day, he reported the
+affair to the proper authorities, and gave Kashiku in custody. So,
+after due examination, the two pirate brothers and the girl Kashiku
+were executed, and their heads were exposed together.[49]
+
+[Footnote 49: The exposure of the head, called _Gokumon_, is a
+disgraceful addition to the punishment of beheading. A document,
+placed on the execution-ground, sets forth the crime which has called
+forth the punishment.]
+
+Now the fame of all the valiant deeds of Jiuyémon having reached his
+own country, his lord ordered that he should be pardoned for his
+former offence, and return to his allegiance; so, after thanking
+Kajiki Tozayémon for the manifold favours which he had received at his
+hands, he went home, and became a Samurai as before.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The fat wrestlers of Japan, whose heavy paunches and unwieldy, puffy
+limbs, however much they may be admired by their own country people,
+form a striking contrast to our Western notions of training, have
+attracted some attention from travellers; and those who are interested
+in athletic sports may care to learn something about them.
+
+The first historical record of wrestling occurs in the sixth year of
+the Emperor Suinin (24 B.C.), when one Taima no Kéhaya, a noble of
+great stature and strength, boasting that there was not his match
+under heaven, begged the Emperor that his strength might be put to the
+test. The Emperor accordingly caused the challenge to be proclaimed;
+and one Nomi no Shikuné answered it, and having wrestled with Kéhaya,
+kicked him in the ribs and broke his bones, so that he died. After
+this Shikuné was promoted to high office, and became further famous in
+Japanese history as having substituted earthen images for the living
+men who, before his time, used to be buried with the coffin of the
+Mikado.
+
+In the year A.D. 858 the throne of Japan was wrestled for. The Emperor
+Buntoku had two sons, called Koréshito and Korétaka, both of whom
+aspired to the throne. Their claims were decided in a wrestling match,
+in which one Yoshirô was the champion of Koréshito, and Natora the
+champion of Korétaka. Natora having been defeated, Koréshito ascended
+his father's throne under the style of Seiwa.
+
+In the eighth century, when Nara was the capital of Japan, the Emperor
+Shômu instituted wrestling as part of the ceremonies of the autumn
+festival of the Five Grains, or Harvest Home; and as the year proved a
+fruitful one, the custom was continued as auspicious. The strong men
+of the various provinces were collected, and one Kiyobayashi was
+proclaimed the champion of Japan. Many a brave and stout man tried a
+throw with him, but none could master him. Rules of the ring were now
+drawn up; and in order to prevent disputes, Kiyobayashi was appointed
+by the Emperor to be the judge of wrestling-matches, and was
+presented, as a badge of his office, with a fan, upon which were
+inscribed the words the "Prince of Lions."
+
+The wrestlers were divided into wrestlers of the eastern and of the
+western provinces, Omi being taken as the centre province. The eastern
+wrestlers wore in their hair the badge of the hollyhock; the western
+wrestlers took for their sign the gourd-flower. Hence the passage
+leading up to the wrestling-stage was called the "Flower Path."
+Forty-eight various falls were fixed upon as fair--twelve throws,
+twelve lifts, twelve twists, and twelve throws over the back. All
+other throws not included in these were foul, and it was the duty of
+the umpire to see that no unlawful tricks were resorted to. It was
+decided that the covered stage should be composed of sixteen
+rice-bales, in the shape of one huge bale, supported by four pillars
+at the four points of the compass, each pillar being painted a
+different colour, thus, together with certain paper pendants, making
+up five colours, to symbolize the Five Grains.
+
+[Illustration: CHAMPION WRESTLER.]
+
+The civil wars by which the country was disturbed for a while put a
+stop to the practice of wrestling; but when peace was restored it was
+proposed to re-establish the athletic games, and the umpire
+Kiyobayashi, the "Prince of Lions," was sought for; but he had died or
+disappeared, and could not be found, and there was no umpire
+forthcoming. The various provinces were searched for a man who might
+fill his place, and one Yoshida Iyétsugu, a Rônin of the province of
+Echizen, being reported to be well versed in the noble science, was
+sent for to the capital, and proved to be a pupil of Kiyobayashi. The
+Emperor, having approved him, ordered that the fan of the "Prince of
+Lions" should be made over to him, and gave him the title of Bungo no
+Kami, and commanded that his name in the ring should be Oi-Kazé, the
+"Driving Wind." Further, as a sign that there should not be two
+styles of wrestling, a second fan was given to him bearing the
+inscription, "A single flavour is a beautiful custom." The right of
+acting as umpire in wrestling-matches was vested in his family, that
+the "Driving Wind" might for future generations preside over athletic
+sports. In ancient days, the prizes for the three champion wrestlers
+were a bow, a bowstring, and an arrow: these are still brought into
+the ring, and, at the end of the bout, the successful competitors go
+through a variety of antics with them.
+
+To the champion wrestlers--to two or three men only in a
+generation--the family of the "Driving Wind" awards the privilege of
+wearing a rope-girdle. In the time of the Shogunate these champions
+used to wrestle before the Shogun.
+
+At the beginning of the 17th century (A.D. 1606) wrestling-matches, as
+forming a regular part of a religious ceremony, were discontinued.
+They are still held, however, at the shrines of Kamo, at Kiôto, and of
+Kasuga, in Yamato. They are also held at Kamakura every year, and at
+the shrines of the patron saints of the various provinces, in
+imitation of the ancient customs.
+
+In the year 1623 one Akashi Shiganosuké obtained leave from the
+Government to hold public wrestling-matches in the streets of Yedo.
+In the year 1644 was held the first wrestling-match for the purpose
+of raising a collection for building a temple. This was done by
+the priests of Kofukuji, in Yamashiro. In the year 1660 the same
+expedient was resorted to in Yedo, and the custom of getting up
+wrestling-matches for the benefit of temple funds holds good to this
+day.
+
+The following graphic description of a Japanese wrestling-match is
+translated from the "Yedo Hanjôki":--
+
+"From daybreak till eight in the morning a drum is beaten to announce
+that there will be wrestling. The spectators rise early for the sight.
+The adversaries having been settled, the wrestlers enter the ring from
+the east and from the west. Tall stalwart men are they, with sinews
+and bones of iron. Like the Gods Niô,[50] they stand with their arms
+akimbo, and, facing one another, they crouch in their strength. The
+umpire watches until the two men draw their breath at the same time,
+and with his fan gives the signal. They jump up and close with one
+another, like tigers springing on their prey, or dragons playing with
+a ball. Each is bent on throwing the other by twisting or by lifting
+him. It is no mere trial of brute strength; it is a tussle of skill
+against skill. Each of the forty-eight throws is tried in turn. From
+left to right, and from right to left, the umpire hovers about,
+watching for the victory to declare itself. Some of the spectators
+back the east, others back the west. The patrons of the ring are so
+excited that they feel the strength tingling within them; they clench
+their fists, and watch their men, without so much as blinking their
+eyes. At last one man, east or west, gains the advantage, and the
+umpire lifts his fan in token of victory. The plaudits of the
+bystanders shake the neighbourhood, and they throw their clothes or
+valuables into the ring, to be redeemed afterwards in money; nay, in
+his excitement, a man will even tear off his neighbour's jacket and
+throw it in."
+
+[Footnote 50: The Japanese Gog and Magog.]
+
+[Illustration: A WRESTLING MATCH.]
+
+Before beginning their tussle, the wrestlers work up their strength by
+stamping their feet and slapping their huge thighs. This custom is
+derived from the following tale of the heroic or mythological age:--
+
+After the seven ages of the heavenly gods came the reign of Tensho
+Daijin, the Sun Goddess, and first Empress of Japan. Her younger
+brother, Sosanöô no Mikoto, was a mighty and a brave hero, but
+turbulent, and delighted in hunting the deer and the boar. After
+killing these beasts, he would throw their dead bodies into the sacred
+hall of his sister, and otherwise defile her dwelling. When he had
+done this several times, his sister was angry, and hid in the cave
+called the Rock Gate of Heaven; and when her face was not seen, there
+was no difference between the night and the day. The heroes who served
+her, mourning over this, went to seek her; but she placed a huge stone
+in front of the cave, and would not come forth. The heroes, seeing
+this, consulted together, and danced and played antics before the cave
+to lure her out. Tempted by curiosity to see the sight, she opened the
+gate a little and peeped out. Then the hero Tajikaraô, or "Great
+Strength," clapping his hands and stamping his feet, with a great
+effort grasped and threw down the stone door, and the heroes fetched
+back the Sun Goddess.[51] As Tajikaraô is the patron god of Strength,
+wrestlers, on entering the ring, still commemorate his deed by
+clapping their hands and stamping their feet as a preparation for
+putting forth their strength.
+
+[Footnote 51: The author of the history called "Kokushi Riyaku"
+explains this fable as being an account of the first eclipse.]
+
+The great Daimios are in the habit of attaching wrestlers to their
+persons, and assigning to them a yearly portion of rice. It is usual
+for these athletes to take part in funeral or wedding processions, and
+to escort the princes on journeys. The rich wardsmen or merchants give
+money to their favourite wrestlers, and invite them to their houses to
+drink wine and feast. Though low, vulgar fellows, they are allowed
+something of the same familiarity which is accorded to prize-fighters,
+jockeys, and the like, by their patrons in our own country.
+
+The Japanese wrestlers appear to have no regular system of training;
+they harden their naturally powerful limbs by much beating, and by
+butting at wooden posts with their shoulders. Their diet is stronger
+than that of the ordinary Japanese, who rarely touch meat.
+
+
+
+
+THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO
+
+
+It will be long before those who were present at the newly opened port
+of Kôbé on the 4th of February, 1868, will forget that day. The civil
+war was raging, and the foreign Legations, warned by the flames of
+burning villages, no less than by the flight of the Shogun and his
+ministers, had left Osaka, to take shelter at Kôbé, where they were
+not, as at the former place, separated from their ships by more than
+twenty miles of road, occupied by armed troops in a high state of
+excitement, with the alternative of crossing in tempestuous weather a
+dangerous bar, which had already taken much valuable life. It was a
+fine winter's day, and the place was full of bustle, and of the going
+and coming of men busy with the care of housing themselves and their
+goods and chattels. All of a sudden, a procession of armed men,
+belonging to the Bizen clan, was seen to leave the town, and to
+advance along the high road leading to Osaka; and without apparent
+reason--it was said afterwards that two Frenchmen had crossed the line
+of march--there was a halt, a stir, and a word of command given. Then
+the little clouds of white smoke puffed up, and the sharp "ping" of
+the rifle bullets came whizzing over the open space, destined for a
+foreign settlement, as fast as the repeating breech-loaders could be
+discharged. Happily, the practice was very bad; for had the men of
+Bizen been good shots, almost all the principal foreign officials in
+the country, besides many merchants and private gentlemen, must have
+been killed: as it was, only two or three men were wounded. If they
+were bad marksmen, however, they were mighty runners; for they soon
+found that they had attacked a hornets' nest. In an incredibly short
+space of time, the guards of the different Legations and the sailors
+and marines from the ships of war were in hot chase after the enemy,
+who were scampering away over the hills as fast as their legs could
+carry them, leaving their baggage ingloriously scattered over the
+road, as many a cheap lacquered hat and flimsy paper cartridge-box,
+preserved by our Blue Jackets as trophies, will testify. So good was
+the stampede, that the enemy's loss amounted only to one aged coolie,
+who, being too decrepit to run, was taken prisoner, after having had
+seventeen revolver shots fired at him without effect; and the only
+injury that our men inflicted was upon a solitary old woman, who was
+accidently shot through the leg.
+
+If it had not been for the serious nature of the offence given, which
+was an attack upon the flags of all the treaty Powers, and for the
+terrible retribution which was of necessity exacted, the whole affair
+would have been recollected chiefly for the ludicrous events which it
+gave rise to. The mounted escort of the British Legation executed a
+brilliant charge of cavalry down an empty road; a very pretty line of
+skirmishers along the fields fired away a great deal of ammunition
+with no result; earthworks were raised, and Kôbé was held in military
+occupation for three days, during which there were alarms, cutting-out
+expeditions with armed boats, steamers seized, and all kinds of
+martial effervescence. In fact, it was like fox-hunting: it had "all
+the excitement of war, with only ten per cent. of the danger."
+
+The first thought of the kind-hearted doctor of the British Legation
+was for the poor old woman who had been wounded, and was bemoaning
+herself piteously. When she was carried in, a great difficulty arose,
+which, I need hardly say, was overcome; for the poor old creature
+belonged to the Etas, the Pariah race, whose presence pollutes the
+house even of the poorest and humblest Japanese; and the native
+servants strongly objected to her being treated as a human being,
+saying that the Legation would be for ever defiled if she were
+admitted within its sacred precincts. No account of Japanese society
+would be complete without a notice of the Etas; and the following
+story shows well, I think, the position which they hold.
+
+Their occupation is to slay beasts, work leather, attend upon
+criminals, and do other degrading work. Several accounts are given of
+their origin; the most probable of which is, that when Buddhism, the
+tenets of which forbid the taking of life, was introduced, those who
+lived by the infliction of death became accursed in the land, their
+trade being made hereditary, as was the office of executioner in some
+European countries. Another story is, that they are the descendants of
+the Tartar invaders left behind by Kublai Khan. Some further facts
+connected with the Etas are given in a note at the end of the tale.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Once upon a time, some two hundred years ago, there lived at a place
+called Honjô, in Yedo, a Hatamoto named Takoji Genzaburô; his age was
+about twenty-four or twenty-five, and he was of extraordinary personal
+beauty. His official duties made it incumbent on him to go to the
+Castle by way of the Adzuma Bridge, and here it was that a strange
+adventure befel him. There was a certain Eta, who used to earn his
+living by going out every day to the Adzuma Bridge, and mending the
+sandals of the passers-by. Whenever Genzaburô crossed the bridge, the
+Eta used always to bow to him. This struck him as rather strange; but
+one day when Genzaburô was out alone, without any retainers following
+him, and was passing the Adzuma Bridge, the thong of his sandal
+suddenly broke: this annoyed him very much; however, he recollected
+the Eta cobbler who always used to bow to him so regularly, so he went
+to the place where he usually sat, and ordered him to mend his sandal,
+saying to him: "Tell me why it is that every time that I pass by
+this bridge, you salute me so respectfully."
+
+[Illustration: GENZABURÔ'S MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN.]
+
+When the Eta heard this, he was put out of countenance, and for a
+while he remained silent; but at last taking courage, he said to
+Genzaburô, "Sir, having been honoured with your commands, I am quite
+put to shame. I was originally a gardener, and used to go to your
+honour's house and lend a hand in trimming up the garden. In those
+days your honour was very young, and I myself little better than a
+child; and so I used to play with your honour, and received many
+kindnesses at your hands. My name, sir, is Chokichi. Since those days
+I have fallen by degrees info dissolute habits, and little by little
+have sunk to be the vile thing that you now see me."
+
+When Genzaburô heard this he was very much surprised, and,
+recollecting his old friendship for his playmate, was filled with
+pity, and said, "Surely, surely, you have fallen very low. Now all you
+have to do is to presevere and use your utmost endeavours to find a
+means of escape from the class into which you have fallen, and become
+a wardsman again. Take this sum: small as it is, let it be a
+foundation for more to you." And with these words he took ten riyos
+out of his pouch and handed them to Chokichi, who at first refused to
+accept the present, but, when it was pressed upon him, received it
+with thanks. Genzaburô was leaving him to go home, when two wandering
+singing-girls came up and spoke to Chokichi; so Genzaburô looked to
+see what the two women were like. One was a woman of some twenty years
+of age, and the other was a peerlessly beautiful girl of sixteen; she
+was neither too fat nor too thin, neither too tall nor too short; her
+face was oval, like a melon-seed, and her complexion fair and white;
+her eyes were narrow and bright, her teeth small and even; her nose
+was aquiline, and her mouth delicately formed, with lovely red lips;
+her eyebrows were long and fine; she had a profusion of long black
+hair; she spoke modestly, with a soft sweet voice; and when she
+smiled, two lovely dimples appeared in her cheeks; in all her
+movements she was gentle and refined. Genzaburô fell in love with her
+at first sight; and she, seeing what a handsome man he was, equally
+fell in love with him; so that the woman that was with her, perceiving
+that they were struck with one another, led her away as fast as
+possible.
+
+Genzaburô remained as one stupefied, and, turning to Chokichi, said,
+"Are you acquainted with those two women who came up just now?"
+
+"Sir," replied Chokichi, "those are two women of our people. The elder
+woman is called O Kuma, and the girl, who is only sixteen years old,
+is named O Koyo. She is the daughter of one Kihachi, a chief of the
+Etas. She is a very gentle girl, besides being so exceedingly pretty;
+and all our people are loud in her praise."
+
+When he heard this, Genzaburô remained lost in thought for a while,
+and then said to Chokichi, "I want you to do something for me. Are
+you prepared to serve me in whatever respect I may require you?"
+
+Chokichi answered that he was prepared to do anything in his power to
+oblige his honour. Upon this Genzaburô smiled and said, "Well, then, I
+am willing to employ you in a certain matter; but as there are a great
+number of passers-by here, I will go and wait for you in a tea-house
+at Hanakawado; and when you have finished your business here, you can
+join me, and I will speak to you." With these words Genzaburô left
+him, and went off to the tea-house.
+
+When Chokichi had finished his work, he changed his clothes, and,
+hurrying to the tea-house, inquired for Genzaburô, who was waiting for
+him upstairs. Chokichi went up to him, and began to thank him for the
+money which he had bestowed upon him. Genzaburô smiled, and handed him
+a wine-cup, inviting him to drink, and said--
+
+"I will tell you the service upon which I wish to employ you. I have
+set my heart upon that girl O Koyo, whom I met to-day upon the Adzuma
+Bridge, and you must arrange a meeting between us."
+
+When Chokichi heard these words, he was amazed and frightened, and for
+a while he made no answer. At last he said---
+
+"Sir, there is nothing that I would not do for you after the favours
+that I have received from you. If this girl were the daughter of any
+ordinary man, I would move heaven and earth to comply with your
+wishes; but for your honour, a handsome and noble Hatamoto, to take
+for his concubine the daughter of an Eta is a great mistake. By giving
+a little money you can get the handsomest woman in the town. Pray,
+sir, abandon the idea."
+
+Upon this Genzaburô was offended, and said--
+
+"This is no matter for you to give advice in. I have told you to get
+me the girl, and you must obey."
+
+Chokichi, seeing that all that he could say would be of no avail,
+thought over in his mind how to bring about a meeting between
+Genzaburô and O Koyo, and replied--
+
+"Sir, I am afraid when I think of the liberty that I have taken. I
+will go to Kihachi's house, and will use my best endeavours with him
+that I may bring the girl to you. But for to-day, it is getting late,
+and night is coming on; so I will go and speak to her father
+to-morrow."
+
+Genzaburô was delighted to find Chokichi willing to serve him.
+
+"Well," said he, "the day after to-morrow I will await you at the
+tea-house at Oji, and you can bring O Koyo there. Take this present,
+small as it is, and do your best for me."
+
+With this he pulled out three riyos from his pocket and handed them to
+Chokichi. who declined the money with thanks, saying that he had
+already received too much, and could accept no more; but Genzaburô
+pressed him, adding, that if the wish of his heart were accomplished
+he would do still more for him. So Chokichi, in great glee at the good
+luck which had befallen him, began to revolve all sorts of schemes in
+his mind; and the two parted.
+
+But O Koyo, who had fallen in love at first sight with Genzaburô on
+the Adzuma Bridge, went home and could think of nothing but him. Sad
+and melancholy she sat, and her friend O Kuma tried to comfort her in
+various ways; but O Koyo yearned, with all her heart, for Genzaburô;
+and the more she thought over the matter, the better she perceived
+that she, as the daughter of an Eta, was no match for a noble
+Hatamoto. And yet, in spite of this, she pined for him, and bewailed
+her own vile condition.
+
+Now it happened that her friend O Kuma was in love with Chokichi, and
+only cared for thinking and speaking of him; one day, when Chokichi
+went to pay a visit at the house of Kihachi the Eta chief, O Kuma,
+seeing him come, was highly delighted, and received him very politely;
+and Chokichi, interrupting her, said--
+
+"O Kuma, I want you to answer me a question: where has O Koyo gone to
+amuse herself to-day?"
+
+"Oh, you know the gentleman who was talking with you the other day, at
+the Adzuma Bridge? Well, O Koyo has fallen desperately in love with
+him, and she says that she is too low-spirited and out of sorts to get
+up yet."
+
+Chokichi was greatly pleased to hear this, and said to O Kuma--
+
+"How delightful! Why, O Koyo has fallen in love with the very
+gentleman who is burning with passion for her, and who has employed me
+to help him in the matter. However, as he is a noble Hatamoto, and his
+whole family would be ruined if the affair became known to the world,
+we must endeavour to keep it as secret as possible."
+
+"Dear me!" replied O Kuma; "when O Koyo hears this, how happy she will
+be, to be sure! I must go and tell her at once."
+
+"Stop!" said Chokichi, detaining her; "if her father, Master Kihachi,
+is willing, we will tell O Koyo directly. You had better wait here a
+little until I have consulted him;" and with this he went into an
+inner chamber to see Kihachi; and, after talking over the news of the
+day, told him how Genzaburô had fallen passionately in love with O
+Koyo, and had employed him as a go-between. Then he described how he
+had received kindness at the hands of Genzaburô when he was in better
+circumstances, dwelt on the wonderful personal beauty of his lordship,
+and upon the lucky chance by which he and O Koyo had come to meet each
+other.
+
+When Kihachi heard this story, he was greatly flattered, and said--
+
+"I am sure I am very much obliged to you. For one of our daughters,
+whom even the common people despise and shun as a pollution, to be
+chosen as the concubine of a noble Hatamoto--what could be a greater
+matter for congratulation!"
+
+So he prepared a feast for Chokichi, and went off at once to tell O
+Koyo the news. As for the maiden, who had fallen over head and ears in
+love, there was no difficulty in obtaining her consent to all that was
+asked of her.
+
+Accordingly Chokichi, having arranged to bring the lovers together on
+the following day at Oji, was preparing to go and report the glad
+tidings to Genzaburô; but O Koyo, who knew that her friend O Kuma was
+in love with Chokichi, and thought that if she could throw them into
+one another's arms, they, on their side, would tell no tales about
+herself and Genzaburô, worked to such good purpose that she gained her
+point. At last Chokichi, tearing himself from the embraces of O Kuma,
+returned to Genzaburô, and told him how he had laid his plans so as,
+without fail, to bring O Koyo to him, the following day, at Oji, and
+Genzaburô, beside himself with impatience, waited for the morrow.
+
+The next day Genzaburô, having made his preparations, and taking
+Chokichi with him, went to the tea-house at Oji, and sat drinking
+wine, waiting for his sweetheart to come.
+
+As for O Koyo, who was half in ecstasies, and half shy at the idea of
+meeting on this day the man of her heart's desire, she put on her
+holiday clothes, and went with O Kuma to Oji; and as they went out
+together, her natural beauty being enhanced by her smart dress, all
+the people turned round to look at her, and praise her pretty face.
+And so after a while, they arrived at Oji, and went into the tea-house
+that had been agreed upon; and Chokichi, going out to meet them,
+exclaimed--
+
+"Dear me, Miss O Koyo, his lordship has been all impatience waiting
+for you: pray make haste and come in."
+
+But, in spite of what he said, O Koyo, on account of her virgin
+modesty, would not go in. O Kuma, however, who was not quite so
+particular, cried out--
+
+"Why, what is the meaning of this? As you've come here, O Koyo, it's a
+little late for you to be making a fuss about being shy. Don't be a
+little fool, but come in with me at once." And with these words she
+caught fast hold of O Koyo's hand, and, pulling her by force into the
+room, made her sit down by Genzaburô.
+
+When Genzaburô saw how modest she was, he reassured her, saying--
+
+"Come, what is there to be so shy about? Come a little nearer to me,
+pray."
+
+"Thank you, sir. How could I, who am such a vile thing, pollute your
+nobility by sitting by your side?" And, as she spoke, the blushes
+mantled over her face; and the more Genzaburô looked at her, the more
+beautiful she appeared in his eyes, and the more deeply he became
+enamoured of her charms. In the meanwhile he called for wine and fish,
+and all four together made a feast of it. When Chokichi and O Kuma
+saw how the land lay, they retired discreetly into another chamber,
+and Genzaburô and O Koyo were left alone together, looking at one
+another.
+
+"Come," said Genzaburô, smiling, "hadn't you better sit a little
+closer to me?"
+
+"Thank you, sir; really I'm afraid."
+
+But Genzaburô, laughing at her for her idle fears, said--
+
+"Don't behave as if you hated me."
+
+"Oh, dear! I'm sure I don't hate you, sir. That would be very rude;
+and, indeed, it's not the case. I loved you when I first saw you at
+the Adzuma Bridge, and longed for you with all my heart; but I knew
+what a despised race I belonged to, and that I was no fitting match
+for you, and so I tried to be resigned. But I am very young and
+inexperienced, and so I could not help thinking of you, and you alone;
+and then Chokichi came, and when I heard what you had said about me, I
+thought, in the joy of my heart, that it must be a dream of
+happiness."
+
+And as she spoke these words, blushing timidly, Genzaburô was dazzled
+with her beauty, and said---
+
+"Well, you're a clever child. I'm sure, now, you must have some
+handsome young lover of your own, and that is why you don't care to
+come and drink wine and sit by me. Am I not right, eh?"
+
+"Ah, sir, a nobleman like you is sure to have a beautiful wife at
+home; and then you are so handsome that, of course, all the pretty
+young ladies are in love with you."
+
+"Nonsense! Why, how clever you are at flattering and paying
+compliments! A pretty little creature like you was just made to turn
+all the men's heads--a little witch."
+
+"Ah! those are hard things to say of a poor girl! Who could think of
+falling in love with such a wretch as I am? Now, pray tell me all
+about your own sweetheart: I do so long to hear about her."
+
+"Silly child! I'm not the sort of man to put thoughts into the heads
+of fair ladies. However, it is quite true that there is some one whom
+I want to marry."
+
+At this O Koyo began to feel jealous.
+
+"Ah!" said she, "how happy that some one must be! Do, pray, tell me
+the whole story." And a feeling of jealous spite came over her, and
+made her quite unhappy.
+
+Genzaburô laughed as he answered--
+
+"Well, that some one is yourself, and nobody else. There!" and as he
+spoke, he gently tapped the dimple on her cheek with his finger; and O
+Koyo's heart beat so, for very joy, that, for a little while, she
+remained speechless. At last she turned her face towards Genzaburô,
+and said--
+
+"Alas! your lordship is only trifling with me, when you know that what
+you have just been pleased to propose is the darling wish of my heart.
+Would that I could only go into your house as a maid-servant, in any
+capacity, however mean, that I might daily feast my eyes on your
+handsome face!"
+
+"Ah! I see that you think yourself very clever at hoaxing men, and so
+you must needs tease me a little;" and, as he spoke, he took her hand,
+and drew her close up to him, and she, blushing again, cried--
+
+"Oh! pray wait a moment, while I shut the sliding-doors."
+
+"Listen to me, O Koyo! I am not going to forget the promise which I
+made you just now; nor need you be afraid of my harming you; but take
+care that you do not deceive me."
+
+"Indeed, sir, the fear is rather that you should set your heart on
+others; but, although I am no fashionable lady, take pity on me, and
+love me well and long."
+
+"Of course! I shall never care for another woman but you."
+
+"Pray, pray, never forget those words that you have just spoken."
+
+"And now," replied Genzaburô, "the night is advancing, and, for
+to-day, we must part; but we will arrange matters, so as to meet again
+in this tea-house. But, as people would make remarks if we left the
+tea-house together, I will go out first."
+
+And so, much against their will, they tore themselves from one
+another, Genzaburô returning to his house, and O Koyo going home, her
+heart filled with joy at having found the man for whom she had pined;
+and from that day forth they used constantly to meet in secret at the
+tea-house; and Genzaburô, in his infatuation, never thought that the
+matter must surely become notorious after a while, and that he himself
+would be banished, and his family ruined: he only took care for the
+pleasure of the moment.
+
+Now Chokichi, who had brought about the meeting between Genzaburô and
+his love, used to go every day to the tea-house at Oji, taking with
+him O Koyo; and Genzaburô neglected all his duties for the pleasure of
+these secret meetings. Chokichi saw this with great regret, and
+thought to himself that if Genzaburô gave himself up entirely to
+pleasure, and laid aside his duties, the secret would certainly be
+made public, and Genzaburô would bring ruin on himself and his family;
+so he began to devise some plan by which he might separate them, and
+plotted as eagerly to estrange them as he had formerly done to
+introduce them to one another.
+
+At last he hit upon a device which satisfied him. Accordingly one day
+he went to O Koyo's house, and, meeting her father Kihachi, said to
+him--
+
+"I've got a sad piece of news to tell you. The family of my lord
+Genzaburô have been complaining bitterly of his conduct in carrying on
+his relationship with your daughter, and of the ruin which exposure
+would bring upon the whole house; so they have been using their
+influence to persuade him to hear reason, and give up the connection.
+Now his lordship feels deeply for the damsel, and yet he cannot
+sacrifice his family for her sake. For the first time, he has become
+alive to the folly of which he has been guilty, and, full of remorse,
+he has commissioned me to devise some stratagem to break off the
+affair. Of course, this has taken me by surprise; but as there is no
+gainsaying the right of the case, I have had no option but to promise
+obedience: this promise I have come to redeem; and now, pray, advise
+your daughter to think no more of his lordship."
+
+When Kihachi heard this he was surprised and distressed, and told O
+Koyo immediately; and she, grieving over the sad news, took no thought
+either of eating or drinking, but remained gloomy and desolate.
+
+In the meanwhile, Chokichi went off to Genzaburô's house, and told him
+that O Koyo had been taken suddenly ill, and could not go to meet him,
+and begged him to wait patiently until she should send to tell him of
+her recovery. Genzaburô, never suspecting the story to be false,
+waited for thirty days, and still Chokichi brought him no tidings of O
+Koyo. At last he met Chokichi, and besought him to arrange a meeting
+for him with O Koyo.
+
+"Sir," replied Chokichi, "she is not yet recovered; so it would be
+difficult to bring her to see your honour. But I have been thinking
+much about this affair, sir. If it becomes public, your honour's
+family will be plunged in ruin. I pray you, sir, to forget all about O
+Koyo."
+
+"It's all very well for you to give me advice," answered Genzaburô,
+surprised; "but, having once bound myself to O Koyo, it would be a
+pitiful thing to desert her; I therefore implore you once more to
+arrange that I may meet her."
+
+However, he would not consent upon any account; so Genzaburô returned
+home, and, from that time forth, daily entreated Chokichi to bring O
+Koyo to him, and, receiving nothing but advice from him in return, was
+very sad and lonely.
+
+One day Genzaburô, intent on ridding himself of the grief he felt at
+his separation from O Koyo, went to the Yoshiwara, and, going into a
+house of entertainment, ordered a feast to be prepared, but, in the
+midst of gaiety, his heart yearned all the while for his lost love,
+and his merriment was but mourning in disguise. At last the night wore
+on; and as he was retiring along the corridor, he saw a man of about
+forty years of age, with long hair, coming towards him, who, when he
+saw Genzaburô, cried out, "Dear me! why this must be my young lord
+Genzaburô who has come out to enjoy himself."
+
+Genzaburô thought this rather strange; but, looking at the man
+attentively, recognized him as a retainer whom he had had in his
+employ the year before, and said--
+
+"This is a curious meeting: pray, what have you been about since you
+left my service? At any rate, I may congratulate you on being well and
+strong. Where are you living now?"
+
+"Well, sir, since I parted from you I have been earning a living as a
+fortune-teller at Kanda, and have changed my name to Kaji Sazen. I am
+living in a poor and humble house; but if your lordship, at your
+leisure, would honour me with a visit--"
+
+"Well, it's a lucky chance that has brought us together, and I
+certainly will go and see you; besides, I want you to do something for
+me. Shall you be at home the day after to-morrow?"
+
+"Certainly, sir, I shall make a point of being at home."
+
+"Very well, then, the day after to-morrow I will go to your house."
+
+"I shall be at your service, sir. And now, as it is getting late, I
+will take my leave for to-night."
+
+"Good night, then. We shall meet the day after to-morrow." And so the
+two parted, and went their several ways to rest.
+
+On the appointed day Genzaburô made his preparations, and went in
+disguise, without any retainers, to call upon Sazen, who met him at
+the porch of his house, and said, "This is a great honour! My lord
+Genzaburô is indeed welcome. My house is very mean, but let me invite
+your lordship to come into an inner chamber."
+
+"Pray," replied Genzaburô, "don't make any ceremony for me. Don't put
+yourself to any trouble on my account."
+
+And so he passed in, and Sazen called to his wife to prepare wine and
+condiments; and they began to feast. At last Genzaburô, looking Sazen
+in the face, said, "There is a service which I want you to render
+me--a very secret service; but as if you were to refuse me, I should
+be put to shame, before I tell you what that service is, I must know
+whether you are willing to assist me in anything that I may require of
+you."
+
+"Yes; if it is anything that is within my power, I am at your
+disposal."
+
+"Well, then," said Genzaburô, greatly pleased, and drawing ten riyos
+from his bosom, "this is but a small present to make to you on my
+first visit, but pray accept it."
+
+"No, indeed! I don't know what your lordship wishes of me; but, at any
+rate, I cannot receive this money. I really must beg your lordship to
+take it back again."
+
+But Genzaburô pressed it upon him by force, and at last he was obliged
+to accept the money. Then Genzaburô told him the whole story of his
+loves with O Koyo--how he had first met her and fallen in love with
+her at the Adzuma Bridge; how Chokichi had introduced her to him at
+the tea-house at Oji, and then when she fell ill, and he wanted to see
+her again, instead of bringing her to him, had only given him good
+advice; and so Genzaburô drew a lamentable picture of his state of
+despair.
+
+Sazen listened patiently to his story, and, after reflecting for a
+while, replied, "Well, sir, it's not a difficult matter to set right:
+and yet it will require some little management. However, if your
+lordship will do me the honour of coming to see me again the day after
+to-morrow, I will cast about me in the meanwhile, and will let you
+know then the result of my deliberations."
+
+When Genzaburô heard this he felt greatly relieved, and, recommending
+Sazen to do his best in the matter, took his leave and returned home.
+That very night Sazen, after thinking over all that Genzaburô had told
+him, laid his plans accordingly, and went off to the house of Kihachi,
+the Eta chief, and told him the commission with which he had been
+entrusted.
+
+Kihachi was of course greatly astonished, and said, "Some time ago,
+sir, Chokichi came here and said that my lord Genzaburô, having been
+rebuked by his family for his profligate behaviour, had determined to
+break off his connection with my daughter. Of course I knew that the
+daughter of an Eta was no fitting match for a nobleman; so when
+Chokichi came and told me the errand upon which he had been sent, I
+had no alternative but to announce to my daughter that she must give
+up all thought of his lordship. Since that time she has been fretting
+and pining and starving for love. But when I tell her what you have
+just said, how glad and happy she will be! Let me go and talk to her
+at once." And with these words, he went to O Koyo's room; and when he
+looked upon her thin wasted face, and saw how sad she was, he felt
+more and more pity for her, and said, "Well, O Koyo, are you in better
+spirits to-day? Would you like something to eat?"
+
+"Thank you, I have no appetite."
+
+"Well, at any rate, I have some news for you that will make you happy.
+A messenger has come from my lord Genzaburô, for whom your heart
+yearns."
+
+At this O Koyo, who had been crouching down like a drooping flower,
+gave a great start, and cried out, "Is that really true? Pray tell me
+all about it as quickly as possible."
+
+"The story which Chokichi came and told us, that his lordship wished
+to break off the connection, was all an invention. He has all along
+been wishing to meet you, and constantly urged Chokichi to bring you a
+message from him. It is Chokichi who has been throwing obstacles in
+the way. At last his lordship has secretly sent a man, called Kaji
+Sazen, a fortune-teller, to arrange an interview between you. So now,
+my child, you may cheer up, and go to meet your lover as soon as you
+please."
+
+When O Koyo heard this, she was so happy that she thought it must all
+be a dream, and doubted her own senses.
+
+Kihachi in the meanwhile rejoined Sazen in the other room, and, after
+telling him of the joy with which his daughter had heard the news, put
+before him wine and other delicacies. "I think," said Sazen, "that the
+best way would be for O Koyo to live secretly in my lord Genzaburô's
+house; but as it will never do for all the world to know of it, it
+must be managed very quietly; and further, when I get home, I must
+think out some plan to lull the suspicions of that fellow Chokichi,
+and let you know my idea by letter. Meanwhile O Koyo had better come
+home with me to-night: although she is so terribly out of spirits now,
+she shall meet Genzaburô the day after to-morrow."
+
+Kihachi reported this to O Koyo; and as her pining for Genzaburô was
+the only cause of her sickness, she recovered her spirits at once,
+and, saying that she would go with Sazen immediately, joyfully made
+her preparations. Then Sazen, having once more warned Kihachi to keep
+the matter secret from Chokichi, and to act upon the letter which he
+should send him, returned home, taking with him O Koyo; and after O
+Koyo had bathed and dressed her hair, and painted herself and put on
+beautiful clothes, she came out looking so lovely that no princess in
+the land could vie with her; and Sazen, when he saw her, said to
+himself that it was no wonder that Genzaburô had fallen in love with
+her; then, as it was getting late, he advised her to go to rest, and,
+after showing her to her apartments, went to his own room and wrote
+his letter to Kihachi, containing the scheme which he had devised.
+When Kihachi received his instructions, he was filled with admiration
+at Sazen's ingenuity, and, putting on an appearance of great alarm and
+agitation, went off immediately to call on Chokichi, and said to him--
+
+"Oh, Master Chokichi, such a terrible thing has happened! Pray, let me
+tell you all about it."
+
+"Indeed! what can it be?"
+
+"Oh! sir," answered Kihachi, pretending to wipe away his tears, "my
+daughter O Koyo, mourning over her separation from my lord Genzaburô,
+at first refused all sustenance, and remained nursing her sorrows
+until, last night, her woman's heart failing to bear up against her
+great grief, she drowned herself in the river, leaving behind her a
+paper on which she had written her intention."
+
+When Chokichi heard this, he was thunderstruck, and exclaimed, "Can
+this really be true! And when I think that it was I who first
+introduced her to my lord, I am ashamed to look you in the face."
+
+"Oh, say not so: misfortunes are the punishment due for our misdeeds
+in a former state of existence. I bear you no ill-will. This money
+which I hold in my hand was my daughter's; and in her last
+instructions she wrote to beg that it might be given, after her death,
+to you, through whose intervention she became allied with a nobleman:
+so please accept it as my daughter's legacy to you;" and as he spoke,
+he offered him three riyos.
+
+"You amaze me!" replied the other. "How could I, above all men, who
+have so much to reproach myself with in my conduct towards you, accept
+this money?"
+
+"Nay; it was my dead daughter's wish. But since you reproach yourself
+in the matter when you think of her, I will beg you to put up a prayer
+and to cause masses to be said for her."
+
+At last, Chokichi, after much persuasion, and greatly to his own
+distress, was obliged to accept the money; and when Kihachi had
+carried out all Sazen's instructions, he returned home, laughing in
+his sleeve.
+
+Chokichi was sorely grieved to hear of O Koyo's death, and remained
+thinking over the sad news; when all of a sudden looking about him,
+he saw something like a letter lying on the spot where Kihachi had
+been sitting, so he picked it up and read it; and, as luck would have
+it, it was the very letter which contained Sazen's instructions to
+Kihachi, and in which the whole story which had just affected him so
+much was made up. When he perceived the trick that had been played
+upon him, he was very angry, and exclaimed, "To think that I should
+have been so hoaxed by that hateful old dotard, and such a fellow as
+Sazen! And Genzaburô, too!--out of gratitude for the favours which I
+had received from him in old days, I faithfully gave him good advice,
+and all in vain. Well, they've gulled me once; but I'll be even with
+them yet, and hinder their game before it is played out!" And so he
+worked himself up into a fury, and went off secretly to prowl about
+Sazen's house to watch for O Koyo, determined to pay off Genzaburô and
+Sazen for their conduct to him.
+
+In the meanwhile Sazen, who did not for a moment suspect what had
+happened, when the day which had been fixed upon by him and Genzaburô
+arrived, made O Koyo put on her best clothes, smartened up his house,
+and got ready a feast against Genzaburô's arrival. The latter came
+punctually to his time, and, going in at once, said to the
+fortune-teller, "Well, have you succeeded in the commission with which
+I entrusted you?"
+
+At first Sazen pretended to be vexed at the question, and said, "Well,
+sir, I've done my best; but it's not a matter which can be settled in
+a hurry. However, there's a young lady of high birth and wonderful
+beauty upstairs, who has come here secretly to have her fortune told;
+and if your lordship would like to come with me and see her, you can
+do so."
+
+But Genzaburô, when he heard that he was not to meet O Koyo, lost
+heart entirely, and made up his mind to go home again. Sazen, however,
+pressed him so eagerly, that at last he went upstairs to see this
+vaunted beauty; and Sazen, drawing aside a screen, showed him O Koyo,
+who was sitting there. Genzaburô gave a great start, and, turning to
+Sazen, said, "Well, you certainly are a first-rate hand at keeping up
+a hoax. However, I cannot sufficiently praise the way in which you
+have carried out my instructions."
+
+"Pray, don't mention it, sir. But as it is a long time since you have
+met the young lady, you must have a great deal to say to one another;
+so I will go downstairs, and, if you want anything, pray call me." And
+so he went downstairs and left them.
+
+Then Genzaburô, addressing O Koyo, said, "Ah! it is indeed a long time
+since we met. How happy it makes me to see you again! Why, your face
+has grown quite thin. Poor thing! have you been unhappy?" And O Koyo,
+with the tears starting from her eyes for joy, hid her face; and her
+heart was so full that she could not speak. But Genzaburô, passing his
+hand gently over her head and back, and comforting her, said, "Come,
+sweetheart, there is no need to sob so. Talk to me a little, and let
+me hear your voice."
+
+At last O Koyo raised her head and said, "Ah! when I was separated
+from you by the tricks of Chokichi, and thought that I should never
+meet you again, how tenderly I thought of you! I thought I should have
+died, and waited for my hour to come, pining all the while for you.
+And when at last, as I lay between life and death, Sazen came with a
+message from you, I thought it was all a dream." And as she spoke, she
+bent her head and sobbed again; and in Genzaburô's eyes she seemed
+more beautiful than ever, with her pale, delicate face; and he loved
+her better than before. Then she said, "If I were to tell you all I
+have suffered until to-day, I should never stop."
+
+"Yes," replied Genzaburô, "I too have suffered much;" and so they told
+one another their mutual griefs, and from that day forth they
+constantly met at Sazen's house.
+
+One day, as they were feasting and enjoying themselves in an upper
+storey in Sazen's house, Chokichi came to the house and said, "I beg
+pardon; but does one Master Sazen live here?"
+
+"Certainly, sir: I am Sazen, at your service. Pray where are you
+from?"
+
+"Well, sir, I have a little business to transact with you. May I make
+so bold as to go in?" And with these words, he entered the house.
+
+"But who and what are you?" said Sazen.
+
+"Sir, I am an Eta; and my name is Chokichi. I beg to bespeak your
+goodwill for myself: I hope we may be friends."
+
+Sazen was not a little taken aback at this; however, he put on an
+innocent face, as though he had never heard of Chokichi before, and
+said, "I never heard of such a thing! Why, I thought you were some
+respectable person; and you have the impudence to tell me that your
+name is Chokichi, and that you're one of those accursed Etas. To think
+of such a shameless villain coming and asking to be friends with me,
+forsooth! Get you gone!--the quicker, the better: your presence
+pollutes the house."
+
+Chokichi smiled contemptuously, as he answered, "So you deem the
+presence of an Eta in your house a pollution--eh? Why, I thought you
+must be one of us."
+
+"Insolent knave! Begone as fast as possible."
+
+"Well, since you say that I defile your house, you had better get rid
+of O Koyo as well. I suppose she must equally be a pollution to it."
+
+This put Sazen rather in a dilemma; however, he made up his mind not
+to show any hesitation, and said, "What are you talking about? There
+is no O Koyo here; and I never saw such a person in my life."
+
+Chokichi quietly drew out of the bosom of his dress the letter from
+Sazen to Kihachi, which he had picked up a few days before, and,
+showing it to Sazen, replied, "If you wish to dispute the genuineness
+of this paper, I will report the whole matter to the Governor of Yedo;
+and Genzaburô's family will be ruined, and the rest of you who are
+parties in this affair will come in for your share of trouble. Just
+wait a little."
+
+And as he pretended to leave the house, Sazen, at his wits' end, cried
+out, "Stop! stop! I want to speak to you. Pray, stop and listen
+quietly. It is quite true, as you said, that O Koyo is in my house;
+and really your indignation is perfectly just. Come! let us talk over
+matters a little. Now you yourself were originally a respectable man;
+and although you have fallen in life, there is no reason why your
+disgrace should last for ever. All that you want in order to enable
+you to escape out of this fraternity of Etas is a little money. Why
+should you not get this from Genzaburô, who is very anxious to keep
+his intrigue with O Koyo secret?"
+
+Chokichi laughed disdainfully. "I am ready to talk with you; but I
+don't want any money. All I want is to report the affair to the
+authorities, in order that I may be revenged for the fraud that was
+put upon me."
+
+"Won't you accept twenty-five riyos?"
+
+"Twenty-five riyos! No, indeed! I will not take a fraction less than a
+hundred; and if I cannot get them I will report the whole matter at
+once."
+
+Sazen, after a moment's consideration, hit upon a scheme, and
+answered, smiling, "Well, Master Chokichi, you're a fine fellow, and I
+admire your spirit. You shall have the hundred riyos you ask for; but,
+as I have not so much money by me at present, I will go to Genzaburô's
+house and fetch it. It's getting dark now, but it's not very late; so
+I'll trouble you to come with me, and then I can give you the money
+to-night."
+
+Chokichi consenting to this, the pair left the house together.
+
+Now Sazen, who as a Rônin wore a long dirk in his girdle, kept looking
+out for a moment when Chokichi should be off his guard, in order to
+kill him; but Chokichi kept his eyes open, and did not give Sazen a
+chance. At last Chokichi, as ill-luck would have it, stumbled against
+a stone and fell; and Sazen, profiting by the chance, drew his dirk
+and stabbed him in the side; and as Chokichi, taken by surprise, tried
+to get up, he cut him severely over the head, until at last he fell
+dead. Sazen then looking around him, and seeing, to his great delight,
+that there was no one near, returned home. The following day,
+Chokichi's body was found by the police; and when they examined it,
+they found nothing upon it save a paper, which they read, and which
+proved to be the very letter which Sazen had sent to Kihachi, and
+which Chokichi had picked up. The matter was immediately reported to
+the governor, and, Sazen having been summoned, an investigation was
+held. Sazen, cunning and bold murderer as he was, lost his
+self-possession when he saw what a fool he had been not to get back
+from Chokichi the letter which he had written, and, when he was put to
+a rigid examination under torture, confessed that he had hidden O
+Koyo at Genzaburô's instigation, and then killed Chokichi, who had
+found out the secret. Upon this the governor, after consulting about
+Genzaburô's case, decided that, as he had disgraced his position as a
+Hatamoto by contracting an alliance with the daughter of an Eta, his
+property should be confiscated, his family blotted out, and himself
+banished. As for Kihachi, the Eta chief, and his daughter O Koyo, they
+were handed over for punishment to the chief of the Etas, and by him
+they too were banished; while Sazen, against whom the murder of
+Chokichi had been fully proved, was executed according to law.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE
+
+
+At Asakusa, in Yedo, there lives a man called Danzayémon, the chief of
+the Etas. This man traces his pedigree back to Minamoto no Yoritomo,
+who founded the Shogunate in the year A.D. 1192. The whole of the Etas
+in Japan are under his jurisdiction; his subordinates are called
+Koyagashira, or "chiefs of the huts"; and he and they constitute the
+government of the Etas. In the "Legacy of Iyéyasu," already quoted,
+the 36th Law provides as follows:--"All wandering mendicants, such as
+male sorcerers, female diviners, hermits, blind people, beggars, and
+tanners (Etas), have had from of old their respective rulers. Be not
+disinclined, however, to punish any such who give rise to disputes, or
+who overstep the boundaries of their own classes and are disobedient
+to existing laws."
+
+The occupation of the Etas is to kill and flay horses, oxen, and other
+beasts, to stretch drums and make shoes; and if they are very poor,
+they wander from house to house, working as cobblers, mending old
+shoes and leather, and so earn a scanty livelihood. Besides this,
+their daughters and young married women gain a trifle as wandering
+minstrels, called Torioi, playing on the _shamisen_, a sort of banjo,
+and singing ballads. They never marry out of their own fraternity, but
+remain apart, a despised and shunned race.
+
+At executions by crucifixion it is the duty of the Etas to transfix
+the victims with spears; and, besides this, they have to perform all
+sorts of degrading offices about criminals, such as carrying sick
+prisoners from their cells to the hall of justice, and burying the
+bodies of those that have been executed. Thus their race is polluted
+and accursed, and they are hated accordingly.
+
+Now this is how the Etas came to be under the jurisdiction of
+Danzayémon:--
+
+When Minamoto no Yoritomo was yet a child, his father, Minamoto no
+Yoshitomo, fought with Taira no Kiyomori, and was killed by treachery:
+so his family was ruined; and Yoshitomo's concubine, whose name was
+Tokiwa, took her children and fled from the house, to save her own and
+their lives. But Kiyomori, desiring to destroy the family of Yoshitomo
+root and branch, ordered his retainers to divide themselves into
+bands, and seek out the children. At last they were found; but Tokiwa
+was so exceedingly beautiful that Kiyomori was inflamed with love for
+her, and desired her to become his own concubine. Then Tokiwa told
+Kiyomori that if he would spare her little ones she would share his
+couch; but that if he killed her children she would destroy herself
+rather than yield to his desire. When he heard this, Kiyomori,
+bewildered by the beauty of Tokiwa, spared the lives of her children,
+but banished them from the capital.
+
+So Yoritomo was sent to Hirugakojima, in the province of Idzu; and
+when he grew up and became a man, he married the daughter of a
+peasant. After a while Yoritomo left the province, and went to the
+wars, leaving his wife pregnant; and in due time she was delivered of
+a male child, to the delight of her parents, who rejoiced that their
+daughter should bear seed to a nobleman; but she soon fell sick and
+died, and the old people took charge of the babe. And when they also
+died, the care of the child fell to his mother's kinsmen, and he grew
+up to be a peasant.
+
+Now Kiyomori, the enemy of Yoritomo, had been gathered to his fathers;
+and Yoritomo had avenged the death of his father by slaying Munémori,
+the son of Kiyomori; and there was peace throughout the land. And
+Yoritomo became the chief of all the noble houses in Japan, and first
+established the government of the country. When Yoritomo had thus
+raised himself to power, if the son that his peasant wife had born to
+him had proclaimed himself the son of the mighty prince, he would have
+been made lord over a province; but he took no thought of this, and
+remained a tiller of the earth, forfeiting a glorious inheritance; and
+his descendants after him lived as peasants in the same village,
+increasing in prosperity and in good repute among their neighbours.
+
+But the princely line of Yoritomo came to an end in three generations,
+and the house of Hôjô was all-powerful in the land.
+
+Now it happened that the head of the house of Hôjô heard that a
+descendant of Yoritomo was living as a peasant in the land, so he
+summoned him and said:--
+
+"It is a hard thing to see the son of an illustrious house live and
+die a peasant. I will promote you to the rank of Samurai."
+
+Then the peasant answered, "My lord, if I become a Samurai, and the
+retainer of some noble, I shall not be so happy as when I was my own
+master. If I may not remain a husbandman, let me be a chief over men,
+however humble they may be."
+
+But my lord Hôjô was angry at this, and, thinking to punish the
+peasant for his insolence, said:--
+
+"Since you wish to become a chief over men, no matter how humble,
+there is no means of gratifying your strange wish but by making you
+chief over the Etas of the whole country. So now see that you rule
+them well."
+
+When he heard this, the peasant was afraid; but because he had said
+that he wished to become a chief over men, however humble, he could
+not choose but become chief of the Etas, he and his children after him
+for ever; and Danzayémon, who rules the Etas at the present time, and
+lives at Asakusa, is his lineal descendant.
+
+
+
+
+FAIRY TALES
+
+
+
+
+FAIRY TALES
+
+
+I think that their quaintness is a sufficient apology for the
+following little children's stories. With the exception of that of the
+"Elves and the Envious Neighbour," which comes out of a curious book
+on etymology and proverbial lore, called the Kotowazagusa, these
+stories are found printed in little separate pamphlets, with
+illustrations, the stereotype blocks of which have become so worn that
+the print is hardly legible. These are the first tales which are put
+into a Japanese child's hands; and it is with these, and such as
+these, that the Japanese mother hushes her little ones to sleep.
+Knowing the interest which many children of a larger growth take in
+such Baby Stories, I was anxious to have collected more of them. I was
+disappointed, however, for those which I give here are the only ones
+which I could find in print; and if I asked the Japanese to tell me
+others, they only thought I was laughing at them, and changed the
+subject. The stories of the Tongue-cut Sparrow, and the Old Couple and
+their Dog, have been paraphrased in other works upon Japan; but I am
+not aware of their having been literally translated before.
+
+
+
+
+THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
+
+
+Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman. The old man,
+who had a kind heart, kept a young sparrow, which he tenderly
+nurtured. But the dame was a cross-grained old thing; and one day,
+when the sparrow had pecked at some paste with which she was going to
+starch her linen, she flew into a great rage, and cut the sparrow's
+tongue and let it loose. When the old man came home from the hills and
+found that the bird had flown, he asked what had become of it; so the
+old woman answered that she had cut its tongue and let it go, because
+it had stolen her starching-paste. Now the old man, hearing this cruel
+tale, was sorely grieved, and thought to himself, "Alas! where can my
+bird be gone? Poor thing! Poor little tongue-cut sparrow! where is
+your home now?" and he wandered far and wide, seeking for his pet, and
+crying, "Mr. Sparrow! Mr. Sparrow! where are you living?"
+
+One day, at the foot of a certain mountain, the old man fell in with
+the lost bird; and when they had congratulated one another on their
+mutual safety, the sparrow led the old man to his home, and, having
+introduced him to his wife and chicks, set before him all sorts of
+dainties, and entertained him hospitably.
+
+"Please partake of our humble fare," said the sparrow; "poor as it is,
+you are very welcome."
+
+"What a polite sparrow!" answered the old man, who remained for a long
+time as the sparrow's guest, and was daily feasted right royally. At
+last the old man said that he must take his leave and return home; and
+the bird, offering him two wicker baskets, begged him to carry them
+with him as a parting present. One of the baskets was heavy, and the
+other was light; so the old man, saying that as he was feeble and
+stricken in years he would only accept the light one, shouldered it,
+and trudged off home, leaving the sparrow-family disconsolate at
+parting from him.
+
+When the old man got home, the dame grew very angry, and began to
+scold him, saying, "Well, and pray where have you been this many a
+day? A pretty thing, indeed, to be gadding about at your time of
+life!"
+
+"Oh!" replied he, "I have been on a visit to the sparrows; and when I
+came away, they gave me this wicker basket as a parting gift." Then
+they opened the basket to see what was inside, and, lo and behold! it
+was full of gold and silver and precious things. When the old woman,
+who was as greedy as she was cross, saw all the riches displayed
+before her, she changed her scolding strain, and could not contain
+herself for joy.
+
+[Illustration: THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW.]
+
+"I'll go and call upon the sparrows, too," said she, "and get a pretty
+present." So she asked the old man the way to the sparrows' house, and
+set forth on her journey. Following his directions, she at last met
+the tongue-cut sparrow, and exclaimed--
+
+
+"Well met! well met! Mr. Sparrow. I have been looking forward to the
+pleasure of seeing you." So she tried to flatter and cajole the
+sparrow by soft speeches.
+
+The bird could not but invite the dame to its home; but it took no
+pains to feast her, and said nothing about a parting gift. She,
+however, was not to be put off; so she asked for something to carry
+away with her in remembrance of her visit. The sparrow accordingly
+produced two baskets, as before, and the greedy old woman, choosing
+the heavier of the two, carried it off with her. But when she opened
+the basket to see what was inside, all sorts of hobgoblins and elves
+sprang out of it, and began to torment her.
+
+[Illustration: THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW. (2)]
+
+But the old man adopted a son, and his family grew rich and
+prosperous. What a happy old man!
+
+
+
+
+THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE
+
+
+A long time ago, at a temple called Morinji, in the province of
+Jôshiu, there was an old tea-kettle. One day, when the priest of the
+temple was about to hang it over the hearth to boil the water for his
+tea, to his amazement, the kettle all of a sudden put forth the head
+and tail of a badger. What a wonderful kettle, to come out all over
+fur! The priest, thunderstruck, called in the novices of the temple to
+see the sight; and whilst they were stupidly staring, one suggesting
+one thing and another, the kettle, jumping up into the air, began
+flying about the room. More astonished than ever, the priest and his
+pupils tried to pursue it; but no thief or cat was ever half so sharp
+as this wonderful badger-kettle. At last, however, they managed to
+knock it down and secure it; and, holding it in with their united
+efforts, they forced it into a box, intending to carry it off and
+throw it away in some distant place, so that they might be no more
+plagued by the goblin. For this day their troubles were over; but, as
+luck would have it, the tinker who was in the habit of working for the
+temple called in, and the priest suddenly bethought him that it was a
+pity to throw the kettle away for nothing, and that he might as well
+get a trifle for it, no matter how small. So he brought out the
+kettle, which had resumed its former shape and had got rid of its head
+and tail, and showed it to the tinker. When the tinker saw the kettle,
+he offered twenty copper coins for it, and the priest was only too
+glad to close the bargain and be rid of his troublesome piece of
+furniture. But the tinker trudged off home with his pack and his new
+purchase. That night, as he lay asleep, he heard a strange noise near
+his pillow; so he peeped out from under the bedclothes, and there he
+saw the kettle that he had bought in the temple covered with fur, and
+walking about on four legs. The tinker started up in a fright to see
+what it could all mean, when all of a sudden the kettle resumed its
+former shape. This happened over and over again, until at last the
+tinker showed the tea-kettle to a friend of his, who said, "This is
+certainly an accomplished and lucky tea-kettle. You should take it
+about as a show, with songs and accompaniments of musical instruments,
+and make it dance and walk on the tight rope."
+
+[Illustration: THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE.]
+
+The tinker, thinking this good advice, made arrangements with a
+showman, and set up an exhibition. The noise of the kettle's
+performances soon spread abroad, until even the princes of the land
+sent to order the tinker to come to them; and he grew rich beyond
+all his expectations. Even the princesses, too, and the great ladies
+of the court, took great delight in the dancing kettle, so that no
+sooner had it shown its tricks in one place than it was time for them
+to keep some other engagement. At last the tinker grew so rich that he
+took the kettle back to the temple, where it was laid up as a precious
+treasure, and worshipped as a saint.
+
+[Illustration: THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE. (2)]
+
+
+
+
+THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN
+
+
+Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman, who kept a
+pet white hare, by which they set great store. One day, a badger, that
+lived hard by, came and ate up the food which had been put out for the
+hare; so the old man, flying into a great rage, seized the badger,
+and, tying the beast up to a tree, went off to the mountain to cut
+wood, while the old woman stopped at home and ground the wheat for the
+evening porridge. Then the badger, with tears in his eyes, said to the
+old woman--
+
+"Please, dame, please untie this rope!"
+
+The dame, thinking that it was a cruel thing to see a poor beast in
+pain, undid the rope; but the ungrateful brute was no sooner loose,
+than he cried out--
+
+"I'll be revenged for this," and was off in a trice.
+
+When the hare heard this, he went off to the mountain to warn the old
+man; and whilst the hare was away on this errand, the badger came
+back, and killed the dame. Then the beast, having assumed the old
+woman's form, made her dead body into broth, and waited for the old
+man to come home from the mountain. When he returned, tired and
+hungry, the pretended old woman said--
+
+"Come, come; I've made such a nice broth of the badger you hung up.
+Sit down, and make a good supper of it."
+
+With these words she set out the broth, and the old man made a hearty
+meal, licking his lips over it, and praising the savoury mess. But as
+soon as he had finished eating, the badger, reassuming its natural
+shape, cried out--
+
+"Nasty old man! you've eaten your own wife. Look at her bones, lying
+in the kitchen sink!" and, laughing contemptuously, the badger ran
+away, and disappeared.
+
+Then the old man, horrified at what he had done, set up a great
+lamentation; and whilst he was bewailing his fate, the hare came home,
+and, seeing how matters stood, determined to avenge the death of his
+mistress. So he went back to the mountain, and, falling in with the
+badger, who was carrying a faggot of sticks on his back, he struck a
+light and set fire to the sticks, without letting the badger see him.
+When the badger heard the crackling noise of the faggot burning on his
+back, he called out--
+
+"Holloa! what is that noise?"
+
+"Oh!" answered the hare, "this is called the Crackling Mountain.
+There's always this noise here."
+
+And as the fire gathered strength, and went pop! pop! pop! the badger
+said again--
+
+"Oh dear! what can this noise be?"
+
+"This is called the 'Pop! Pop! Mountain,'" answered the hare.
+
+[Illustration: THE HARE AND THE BADGER.]
+
+All at once the fire began to singe the badger's back, so that he
+fled, howling with pain, and jumped into a river hard by. But,
+although the water put out the fire, his back was burnt as black as a
+cinder. The hare, seeing an opportunity for torturing the badger to
+his heart's content, made a poultice of cayenne pepper, which he
+carried to the badger's house, and, pretending to condole with him,
+and to have a sovereign remedy for burns, he applied his hot plaister
+to his enemy's sore back. Oh! how it smarted and pained! and how the
+badger yelled and cried!
+
+[Illustration: THE HARE AND THE BADGER. (2)]
+
+When, at last, the badger got well again, he went to the hare's house,
+thinking to reproach him for having caused him so much pain. When he
+got there, he found that the hare had built himself a boat.
+
+"What have you built that boat for, Mr. Hare?" said the badger.
+
+"I'm going to the capital of the moon,"[52] answered the hare; "won't
+you come with me?"
+
+[Footnote 52: The mountains in the moon are supposed to resemble a
+hare in shape. Hence there is a fanciful connection between the hare
+and the moon.]
+
+"I had enough of your company on the Crackling Mountain, where you
+played me such tricks. I'd rather make a boat for myself," replied the
+badger, who immediately began building himself a boat of clay.
+
+The hare, seeing this, laughed in his sleeve; and so the two launched
+their boats upon the river. The waves came plashing against the two
+boats; but the hare's boat was built of wood, while that of the badger
+was made of clay, and, as they rowed down the river, the clay boat
+began to crumble away; then the hare, seizing his paddle, and
+brandishing it in the air, struck savagely at the badger's boat, until
+he had smashed it to pieces, and killed his enemy.
+
+When the old man heard that his wife's death had been avenged, he was
+glad in his heart, and more than ever petted and loved the hare, whose
+brave deeds had caused him to welcome the returning spring.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO BLOSSOM
+
+
+In the old, old days, there lived an honest man with his wife, who had
+a favourite dog, which they used to feed with fish and titbits from
+their own kitchen. One day, as the old folks went out to work in their
+garden, the dog went with them, and began playing about. All of a
+sudden, the dog stopped short, and began to bark, "Bow, wow, wow!"
+wagging his tail violently. The old people thought that there must be
+something nice to eat under the ground, so they brought a spade and
+began digging, when, lo and behold! the place was full of gold pieces
+and silver, and all sorts of precious things, which had been buried
+there. So they gathered the treasure together, and, after giving alms
+to the poor, bought themselves rice-fields and corn-fields, and became
+wealthy people.
+
+Now, in the next house there dwelt a covetous and stingy old man and
+woman, who, when they heard what had happened, came and borrowed the
+dog, and, having taken him home, prepared a great feast for him, and
+said--
+
+"If you please, Mr. Dog, we should be much obliged to you if you would
+show us a place with plenty of money in it."
+
+The dog, however, who up to that time had received nothing but cuffs
+and kicks from his hosts, would not eat any of the dainties which they
+set before him; so the old people began to get cross, and, putting a
+rope round the dog's neck, led him out into the garden. But it was all
+in vain; let them lead him where they might, not a sound would the dog
+utter: he had no "bow-wow" for them. At last, however, the dog stopped
+at a certain spot, and began to sniff; so, thinking that this must
+surely be the lucky place, they dug, and found nothing but a quantity
+of dirt and nasty offal, over which they had to hold their noses.
+Furious at being disappointed, the wicked old couple seized the dog,
+and killed him.
+
+When the good old man saw that the dog, whom he had lent, did not come
+home, he went next door to ask what had become of him; and the wicked
+old man answered that he had killed the dog, and buried him at the
+root of a pine-tree; so the good old fellow, with, a heavy heart, went
+to the spot, and, having set out a tray with delicate food, burnt
+incense, and adorned the grave with flowers, as he shed tears over his
+lost pet.
+
+But there was more good luck in store yet for the old people--the
+reward of their honesty and virtue. How do you think that happened,
+my children? It is very wrong to be cruel to dogs and cats.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER.]
+
+That night, when the good old man was fast asleep in bed, the dog
+appeared to him, and, after thanking him for all his kindness, said--
+
+"Cause the pine-tree, under which, I am buried, to be cut down and
+made into a mortar, and use it, thinking of it as if it were myself."
+
+The old man did as the dog had told him to do, and made a mortar out
+of the wood of the pine-tree; but when he ground his rice in it, each
+grain of rice was turned into some rich treasure. When the wicked old
+couple saw this, they came to borrow the mortar; but no sooner did
+they try to use it, than all their rice was turned into filth; so, in
+a fit of rage, they broke up the mortar and burnt it. But the good old
+man, little suspecting that his precious mortar had been broken and
+burnt, wondered why his neighbours did not bring it back to him.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER. (2)]
+
+One night the dog appeared to him again in a dream, and told him what
+had happened, adding that if he would take the ashes of the burnt
+mortar and sprinkle them on withered trees, the trees would revive,
+and suddenly put out flowers. After saying this the dream vanished,
+and the old man, who heard for the first time of the loss of his
+mortar, ran off weeping to the neighbours' house, and begged them, at
+any rate, to give him back the ashes of his treasure. Having obtained
+these, he returned home, and made a trial of their virtues upon a
+withered cherry-tree, which, upon being touched by the ashes,
+immediately began to sprout and blossom. When he saw this wonderful
+effect, he put the ashes into a basket, and went about the country,
+announcing himself as an old man who had the power of bringing dead
+trees to life again.
+
+A certain prince, hearing of this, and thinking it a mighty strange
+thing, sent for the old fellow, who showed his power by causing all
+the withered plum and cherry-trees to shoot out and put forth flowers.
+So the prince gave him a rich reward of pieces of silk and cloth and
+other presents, and sent him home rejoicing.
+
+So soon as the neighbours heard of this they collected all the ashes
+that remained, and, having put them in a basket, the wicked old man
+went out into the castle town, and gave out that he was the old man
+who had the power of reviving dead trees, and causing them to flower.
+He had not to wait long before he was called into the prince's palace,
+and ordered to exhibit his power. But when he climbed up into a
+withered tree, and began to scatter the ashes, not a bud nor a flower
+appeared; but the ashes all flew into the prince's eyes and mouth,
+blinding and choking him. When the prince's retainers saw this, they
+seized the old man, and beat him almost to death, so that he crawled
+off home in a very sorry plight. When he and his wife found out what a
+trap they had fallen into, they stormed and scolded and put
+themselves into a passion; but that did no good at all.
+
+The good old man and woman, so soon as they heard of their neighbours'
+distress, sent for them, and, after reproving them for their greed and
+cruelty, gave them a share of their own riches, which, by repeated
+strokes of luck, had now increased to a goodly sum. So the wicked old
+people mended their ways, and led good and virtuous lives ever after.
+
+
+
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB
+
+
+If a man thinks only of his own profit, and tries to benefit himself
+at the expense of others, he will incur the hatred of Heaven. Men
+should lay up in their hearts the story of the Battle of the Ape and
+Crab, and teach it, as a profitable lesson, to their children.
+
+Once upon a time there was a crab who lived in a marsh in a certain
+part of the country. It fell out one day that, the crab having picked
+up a rice cake, an ape, who had got a nasty hard persimmon-seed, came
+up, and begged the crab to make an exchange with him. The crab, who
+was a simple-minded creature, agreed to this proposal; and they each
+went their way, the ape chuckling to himself at the good bargain which
+he had made.
+
+When the crab got home, he planted the persimmon-seed in his garden,
+and, as time slipped by, it sprouted, and by degrees grew to be a big
+tree. The crab watched the growth of his tree with great delight; but
+when the fruit ripened, and he was going to pluck it, the ape came in,
+and offered to gather it for him. The crab consenting, the ape climbed
+up into the tree, and began eating all the ripe fruit himself, while
+he only threw down the sour persimmons to the crab, inviting him, at
+the same time, to eat heartily. The crab, however, was not pleased at
+this arrangement, and thought that it was his turn to play a trick
+upon the ape; so he called out to him to come down head foremost. The
+ape did as he was bid; and as he crawled down, head foremost, the ripe
+fruit all came tumbling out of his pockets, and the crab, having
+picked up the persimmons, ran off and hid himself in a hole. The ape,
+seeing this, lay in ambush, and as soon as the crab crept out of his
+hiding-place gave him a sound drubbing, and went home. Just at this
+time a friendly egg and a bee, who were the apprentices of a certain
+rice-mortar, happened to pass that way, and, seeing the crab's piteous
+condition, tied up his wounds, and, having escorted him home, began to
+lay plans to be revenged upon the cruel ape.
+
+[Illustration: THE APE AND THE CRAB.]
+
+Having agreed upon a scheme, they all went to the ape's house, in his
+absence; and each one having undertaken to play a certain part, they
+waited in secret for their enemy to come home. The ape, little
+dreaming of the mischief that was brewing, returned home, and, having
+a fancy to drink a cup of tea, began lighting the fire in the hearth,
+when, all of a sudden, the egg, which was hidden in the ashes, burst
+with. the heat, and bespattered the frightened ape's face, so that he
+fled, howling with pain, and crying, "Oh! what an unlucky beast I am!"
+Maddened with the heat of the burst egg, he tried to go to the back of
+the house, when the bee darted out of a cupboard, and a piece of
+seaweed, who had joined the party, coming up at the same time, the ape
+was surrounded by enemies. In despair, he seized the clothes-rack, and
+fought valiantly for awhile; but he was no match for so many, and was
+obliged to run away, with the others in hot pursuit after him. Just as
+he was making his escape by a back door, however, the piece of seaweed
+tripped him up, and the rice-mortar, closing with him from behind,
+made an end of him.
+
+[Illustration: THE APE AND THE CRAB. (2)]
+
+So the crab, having punished his enemy, went home in triumph, and
+lived ever after on terms of brotherly love with the seaweed and the
+mortar. Was there ever such a fine piece of fun!
+
+
+
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE PEACHLING
+
+
+Many hundred years ago there lived an honest old wood-cutter and his
+wife. One fine morning the old man went off to the hills with his
+billhook, to gather a faggot of sticks, while his wife went down to
+the river to wash the dirty clothes. When she came to the river, she
+saw a peach floating down the stream; so she picked it up, and carried
+it home with her, thinking to give it to her husband to eat when he
+should come in. The old man soon came down from the hills, and the
+good wife set the peach before him, when, just as she was inviting him
+to eat it, the fruit split in two, and a little puling baby was born
+into the world. So the old couple took the babe, and brought it up as
+their own; and, because it had been born in a peach, they called it
+_Momotarô_,[53] or Little Peachling.
+
+[Footnote 53: _Momo_ means a peach, and _Tarô_ is the termination of
+the names of eldest sons, as _Hikotarô_, _Tokutarô_, &c. In modern
+times, however, the termination has been applied indifferently to any
+male child.]
+
+By degrees Little Peachling grew up to be strong and brave, and at
+last one day he said to his old foster-parents--
+
+"I am going to the ogres' island to carry off the riches that they
+have stored up there. Pray, then, make me some millet dumplings for my
+journey."
+
+So the old folks ground the millet, and made the dumplings for him;
+and Little Peachling, after taking an affectionate leave of them,
+cheerfully set out on his travels.
+
+As he was journeying on, he fell in with an ape, who gibbered at him,
+and said, "Kia! kia! kia! where are you off to, Little Peachling?"
+
+"I'm going to the ogres' island, to carry off their treasure,"
+answered Little Peachling.
+
+"What are you carrying at your girdle?"
+
+"I'm carrying the very best millet dumplings in all Japan."
+
+"If you'll give me one, I will go with you," said the ape.
+
+So Little Peachling gave one of his dumplings to the ape, who received
+it and followed him. When he had gone a little further, he heard a
+pheasant calling--
+
+"Ken! ken! ken![54] where are you off to, Master Peachling?"
+
+[Footnote 54: The country folk in Japan pretend that the pheasant's
+call is a sign of an approaching earthquake.]
+
+Little Peachling answered as before; and the pheasant, having begged
+and obtained a millet dumpling, entered his service, and followed him.
+A little while after this, they met a dog, who cried--
+
+"Bow! wow! wow! whither away, Master Peachling?"
+
+"I'm going off to the ogres' island, to carry off their treasure."
+
+"If you will give me one of those nice millet dumplings of yours, I
+will go with you," said the dog.
+
+[Illustration: LITTLE PEACHLING.]
+
+"With all my heart," said Little Peachling. So he went on his way,
+with the ape, the pheasant, and the dog following after him.
+
+When they got to the ogres' island, the pheasant flew over the castle
+gate, and the ape clambered over the castle wall, while Little
+Peachling, leading the dog, forced in the gate, and got into the
+castle. Then they did battle with the ogres, and put them to flight,
+and took their king prisoner. So all the ogres did homage to Little
+Peachling, and brought out the treasures which they had laid up. There
+were caps and coats that made their wearers invisible, jewels which
+governed the ebb and flow of the tide, coral, musk, emeralds, amber,
+and tortoiseshell, besides gold and silver. All these were laid before
+Little Peachling by the conquered ogres.
+
+[Illustration: LITTLE PEACHLING. (2)]
+
+So Little Peachling went home laden with riches, and maintained his
+foster-parents in peace and plenty for the remainder of their lives.
+
+
+
+
+THE FOXES' WEDDING
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a young white fox, whose name was
+Fukuyémon. When he had reached the fitting age, he shaved off his
+forelock[55] and began to think of taking to himself a beautiful
+bride. The old fox, his father, resolved to give up his inheritance to
+his son,[56] and retired into private life; so the young fox, in
+gratitude for this, laboured hard and earnestly to increase his
+patrimony. Now it happened that in a famous old family of foxes there
+was a beautiful young lady-fox, with such lovely fur that the fame of
+her jewel-like charms was spread far and wide. The young white fox,
+who had heard of this, was bent on making her his wife, and a meeting
+was arranged between them. There was not a fault to be found on either
+side; so the preliminaries were settled, and the wedding presents sent
+from the bridegroom to the bride's house, with congratulatory speeches
+from the messenger, which were duly acknowledged by the person deputed
+to receive the gifts; the bearers, of course, received the customary
+fee in copper cash.
+
+[Footnote 55: See the Appendix on "Ceremonies."]
+
+[Footnote 56: See the note on the word Inkiyô, in the story of the
+"Prince and the Badger."]
+
+When the ceremonies had been concluded, an auspicious day was chosen
+for the bride to go to her husband's house, and she was carried off in
+solemn procession during a shower of rain, the sun shining all the
+while.[57] After the ceremonies of drinking wine had been gone
+through, the bride changed her dress, and the wedding was concluded,
+without let or hindrance, amid singing and dancing and merry-making.
+
+[Footnote 57: A shower during sunshine, which we call "the devil
+beating his wife," is called in Japan "the fox's bride going to her
+husband's house."]
+
+The bride and bridegroom lived lovingly together, and a litter of
+little foxes were born to them, to the great joy of the old grandsire,
+who treated the little cubs as tenderly as if they had been
+butterflies or flowers. "They're the very image of their old
+grandfather," said he, as proud as possible. "As for medicine, bless
+them, they're so healthy that they'll never need a copper coin's
+worth!"
+
+As soon as they were old enough, they were carried off to the temple
+of Inari Sama, the patron saint of foxes, and the old grand-parents
+prayed that they might be delivered from dogs and all the other ills
+to which fox flesh is heir.
+
+[Illustration: THE FOXES' WEDDING.]
+
+In this way the white fox by degrees waxed old and prosperous, and
+his children, year by year, became more and more numerous around him;
+so that, happy in his family and his business, every recurring spring
+brought him fresh cause for joy. [Illustration: THE FOXES' WEDDING.
+(2)]
+
+
+
+
+THE HISTORY OF SAKATA KINTOKI
+
+
+A long time ago there was an officer of the Emperor's body-guard,
+called Sakata Kurando, a young man who, although he excelled in valour
+and in the arts of war, was of a gentle and loving disposition. This
+young officer was deeply enamoured of a fair young lady, called
+Yaégiri, who lived at Gojôzaka, at Kiyôto. Now it came to pass that,
+having incurred the jealousy of certain other persons, Kurando fell
+into disgrace with the Court, and became a Rônin, so he was no longer
+able to keep up any communication with his love Yaégiri; indeed, he
+became so poor that it was a hard matter for him to live. So he left
+the place and fled, no one knew whither. As for Yaégiri, lovesick and
+lorn, and pining for her lost darling, she escaped from the house
+where she lived, and wandered hither and thither through the country,
+seeking everywhere for Kurando.
+
+Now Kurando, when he left the palace, turned tobacco merchant, and, as
+he was travelling about hawking his goods, it chanced that he fell in
+with Yaégiri; so, having communicated to her his last wishes, he took
+leave of her and put an end to his life.
+
+Poor Yaégiri, having buried her lover, went to the Ashigara Mountain,
+a distant and lonely spot, where she gave birth to a little boy, who,
+as soon as he was born, was of such wonderful strength that he walked
+about and ran playing all over the mountain. A woodcutter, who chanced
+to see the marvel, was greatly frightened at first, and thought the
+thing altogether uncanny; but after a while he got used to the child,
+and became quite fond of him, and called him "Little Wonder," and gave
+his mother the name of the "Old Woman of the Mountain."
+
+One day, as "Little Wonder" was playing about, he saw that on the top
+of a high cedar-tree there was a tengu's nest;[58] so he began shaking
+the tree with all his might, until at last the tengu's nest came
+tumbling down.
+
+[Footnote 58: _Tengu_, or the Heavenly Dog, a hobgoblin who infests
+desert places, and is invoked to frighten naughty little children.]
+
+As luck would have it, the famous hero, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, with
+his retainers, Watanabé Isuna, Usui Sadamitsu, and several others, had
+come to the mountain to hunt, and seeing the feat which "Little
+Wonder" had performed, came to the conclusion that he could be no
+ordinary child. Minamoto no Yorimitsu ordered Watanabé Isuna to find
+out the child's name and parentage. The Old Woman of the Mountain, on
+being asked about him, answered that she was the wife of Kurando, and
+that "Little Wonder" was the child of their marriage. And she
+proceeded to relate all the adventures which had befallen her.
+
+When Yorimitsu heard her story, he said, "Certainly this child does
+not belie his lineage. Give the brat to me, and I will make him my
+retainer." The Old Woman of the Mountain gladly consented, and gave
+"Little Wonder" to Yorimitsu; but she herself remained in her mountain
+home. So "Little Wonder" went off with the hero Yorimitsu, who named
+him Sakata Kintoki; and in aftertimes he became famous and illustrious
+as a warrior, and his deeds are recited to this day. He is the
+favourite hero of little children, who carry his portrait in their
+bosom, and wish that they could emulate his bravery and strength.
+
+
+
+
+THE ELVES AND THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a certain man, who, being overtaken by
+darkness among the mountains, was driven to seek shelter in the trunk
+of a hollow tree. In the middle of the night, a large company of elves
+assembled at the place; and the man, peeping out from his
+hiding-place, was frightened out of his wits. After a while, however,
+the elves began to feast and drink wine, and to amuse themselves by
+singing and dancing, until at last the man, caught by the infection of
+the fun, forgot all about his fright, and crept out of his hollow tree
+to join in the revels. When the day was about to dawn, the elves said
+to the man, "You're a very jolly companion, and must come out and have
+a dance with us again. You must make us a promise, and keep it." So
+the elves, thinking to bind the man over to return, took a large wen
+that grew on his forehead and kept it in pawn; upon this they all left
+the place, and went home. The man walked off to his own house in high
+glee at having passed a jovial night, and got rid of his wen into the
+bargain. So he told the story to all his friends, who congratulated
+him warmly on being cured of his wen. But there was a neighbour of his
+who was also troubled with a wen of long standing, and, when he heard
+of his friend's luck, he was smitten with envy, and went off to hunt
+for the hollow tree, in which, when he had found it, he passed the
+night.
+
+Towards midnight the elves came, as he had expected, and began
+feasting and drinking, with songs and dances as before. As soon as he
+saw this, he came out of his hollow tree, and began dancing and
+singing as his neighbour had done. The elves, mistaking him for their
+former boon-companion, were delighted to see him, and said--
+
+"You're a good fellow to recollect your promise, and we'll give you
+back your pledge;" so one of the elves, pulling the pawned wen out of
+his pocket, stuck it on to the man's forehead, on the top of the other
+wen which he already bad. So the envious neighbour went home weeping,
+with two wens instead of one. This is a good lesson to people who
+cannot see the good luck of others, without coveting it for
+themselves.
+
+
+
+
+THE GHOST OF SAKURA
+
+
+The misfortunes and death of the farmer Sôgorô, which, although the
+preternatural appearances by which they are said to have been followed
+may raise a smile, are matters of historic notoriety with which every
+Japanese is familiar, furnish a forcible illustration of the relations
+which exist between the tenant and the lord of the soil, and of the
+boundless power for good or for evil exercised by the latter. It is
+rather remarkable that in a country where the peasant--placed as he is
+next to the soldier, and before the artisan and merchant, in the four
+classes into which the people are divided--enjoys no small
+consideration, and where agriculture is protected by law from the
+inroads of wild vegetation, even to the lopping of overshadowing
+branches and the cutting down of hedgerow timber, the lord of the
+manor should be left practically without control in his dealings with
+his people.
+
+The land-tax, or rather the yearly rent paid by the tenant, is usually
+assessed at forty per cent. of the produce; but there is no principle
+clearly defining it, and frequently the landowner and the cultivator
+divide the proceeds of the harvest in equal shapes. Rice land is
+divided into three classes; and, according to these classes, it is
+computed that one _tan_ (1,800 square feet) of the best land should
+yield to the owner a revenue of five bags of rice per annum; each of
+these bags holds four tô (a tô is rather less than half an imperial
+bushel), and is worth at present (1868) three riyos, or about sixteen
+shillings; land of the middle class should yield a revenue of three or
+four bags. The rent is paid either in rice or in money, according to
+the actual price of the grain, which varies considerably. It is due in
+the eleventh month of the year, when the crops have all been gathered,
+and their market value fixed.
+
+The rent of land bearing crops other than rice, such as cotton, beans,
+roots, and so forth, is payable in money during the twelfth month. The
+choice of the nature of the crops to be grown appears to be left to
+the tenant.
+
+The Japanese landlord, when pressed by poverty, does not confine
+himself to the raising of his legitimate rents: he can always enforce
+from his needy tenantry the advancement of a year's rent, or the loan
+of so much money as may be required to meet his immediate necessities.
+Should the lord be just, the peasant is repaid by instalments, with
+interest, extending over ten or twenty years. But it too often happens
+that unjust and merciless lords do not repay such loans, but, on the
+contrary, press for further advances. Then it is that the farmers,
+dressed in their grass rain-coats, and carrying sickles and bamboo
+poles in their hands, assemble before the gate of their lord's palace
+at the capital, and represent their grievances, imploring the
+intercession of the retainers, and even of the womankind who may
+chance to go forth. Sometimes they pay for their temerity by their
+lives; but, at any rate, they have the satisfaction of bringing shame
+upon their persecutor, in the eyes of his neighbours and of the
+populace.
+
+[Illustration: THE DEPUTATION OF PEASANTS AT THEIR LORD'S GATE.]
+
+The official reports of recent travels in the interior of Japan have
+fully proved the hard lot with which the peasantry had to put up
+during the government of the Tycoons, and especially under the
+Hatamotos, the created nobility of the dynasty. In one province, where
+the village mayors appear to have seconded the extortions of their
+lord, they have had to flee before an exasperated population, who,
+taking advantage of the revolution, laid waste and pillaged their
+houses, loudly praying for a new and just assessment of the land;
+while, throughout the country, the farmers have hailed with
+acclamations the resumption of the sovereign power by the Mikado, and
+the abolition of the petty nobility who exalted themselves upon the
+misery of their dependants. Warming themselves in the sunshine of the
+court at Yedo, the Hatamotos waxed fat and held high revel, and
+little cared they who groaned or who starved. Money must be found, and
+it was found.
+
+It is necessary here to add a word respecting the position of the
+village mayors, who play so important a part in the tale.
+
+The peasants of Japan are ruled by three classes of officials: the
+Nanushi, or mayor; the Kumigashira, or chiefs of companies; and the
+Hiyakushôdai, or farmers' representatives. The village, which is
+governed by the Nanushi, or mayor, is divided into companies, which,
+consisting of five families each, are directed by a Kumigashira; these
+companies, again, are subdivided into groups of five men each, who
+choose one of their number to represent them in case of their having
+any petition to present, or any affairs to settle with their
+superiors. This functionary is the Hiyakushôdai. The mayor, the chief
+of the company, and the representative keep registers of the families
+and people under their control, and are responsible for their good and
+orderly behaviour. They pay taxes like the other farmers, but receive
+a salary, the amount of which depends upon the size and wealth of the
+village. Five per cent. of the yearly land tax forms the salary of the
+mayor, and the other officials each receive five per cent. of the tax
+paid by the little bodies over which they respectively rule.
+
+The average amount of land for one family to cultivate is about one
+chô, or 9,000 square yards; but there are farmers who have inherited
+as much as five or even six chô from their ancestors. There is also a
+class of farmers called, from their poverty, "water-drinking farmers,"
+who have no land of their own, but hire that of those who have more
+than they can keep in their own hands. The rent so paid varies; but
+good rice land will bring in as high a rent as from £1 18s. to £2 6s.
+per tan (1,800 square feet).
+
+Farm labourers are paid from six or seven riyos a year to as much as
+thirty riyos (the riyo being worth about 5s. 4d.); besides this, they
+are clothed and fed, not daintily indeed, but amply. The rice which
+they cultivate is to them an almost unknown luxury: millet is their
+staple food, and on high days and holidays they receive messes of
+barley or buckwheat. Where the mulberry-tree is grown, and the
+silkworm is "educated," there the labourer receives the highest wage.
+
+The rice crop on good land should yield twelve and a half fold, and on
+ordinary land from six to seven fold only. Ordinary arable land is
+only half as valuable as rice land, which cannot be purchased for less
+than forty riyos per tan of 1,800 square feet. Common hill or wood
+land is cheaper, again, than arable land; but orchards and groves of
+the Pawlonia are worth from fifty to sixty riyos per tan.
+
+With regard to the punishment of crucifixion, by which Sôgorô was put
+to death, it is inflicted for the following offences:--parricide
+(including the murder or striking of parents, uncles, aunts, elder
+brothers, masters, or teachers) coining counterfeit money, and passing
+the barriers of the Tycoon's territory without a permit.[59] The
+criminal is attached to an upright post with two cross bars, to which
+his arms and feet are fastened by ropes. He is then transfixed with
+spears by men belonging to the Eta or Pariah class. I once passed the
+execution-ground near Yedo, when a body was attached to the cross. The
+dead man had murdered his employer, and, having been condemned to
+death by crucifixion, had died in prison before the sentence could be
+carried out. He was accordingly packed, in a squatting position, in a
+huge red earthenware jar, which, having been tightly filled up with.
+salt, was hermetically sealed. On the anniversary of the commission of
+the crime, the jar was carried down to the execution-ground and
+broken, and the body was taken out and tied to the cross, the joints
+of the knees and arms having been cut, to allow of the extension of
+the stiffened and shrunken limbs; it was then transfixed with spears,
+and allowed to remain exposed for three days. An open grave, the
+upturned soil of which seemed almost entirely composed of dead men's
+remains, waited to receive the dishonoured corpse, over which three or
+four Etas, squalid and degraded beings, were mounting guard, smoking
+their pipes by a scanty charcoal fire, and bandying obscene jests. It
+was a hideous and ghastly warning, had any cared to read the lesson;
+but the passers-by on the high road took little or no notice of the
+sight, and a group of chubby and happy children were playing not ten
+yards from the dead body, as if no strange or uncanny thing were near
+them.
+
+[Footnote 59: This last crime is, of course, now obsolete.]
+
+THE GHOST OF SAKURA.[60]
+
+[Footnote 60: The story, which also forms the subject of a play, is
+published, but with altered names, in order that offence may not be
+given to the Hotta family. The real names are preserved here. The
+events related took place during the rule of the Shogun Iyémitsu, in
+the first half of the seventeenth century.]
+
+How true is the principle laid down by Confucius, that the benevolence
+of princes is reflected in their country, while their wickedness
+causes sedition and confusion!
+
+[Illustration: THE GHOST OF SAKURA.]
+
+In the province of Shimôsa, and the district of Sôma, Hotta Kaga no
+Kami was lord of the castle of Sakura, and chief of a family which had
+for generations produced famous warriors. When Kaga no Kami, who had
+served in the Gorôjiu, the cabinet of the Shogun, died at the castle
+of Sakura, his eldest son Kôtsuké no Suké Masanobu inherited his
+estates and honours, and was appointed to a seat in the Gorôjiu; but
+he was a different man from the lords who had preceded him. He treated
+the farmers and peasants unjustly, imposing additional and grievous
+taxes, so that the tenants on his estates were driven to the last
+extremity of poverty; and although year after year, and month after
+month, they prayed for mercy, and remonstrated against this injustice,
+no heed was paid to them, and the people throughout the villages were
+reduced to the utmost distress. Accordingly, the chiefs of the one
+hundred and thirty-six villages, producing a total revenue of 40,000
+kokus of rice, assembled together in council and determined
+unanimously to present a petition to the Government, sealed with their
+seals, stating that their repeated remonstrances had been taken no
+notice of by their local authorities. Then they assembled in numbers
+before the house of one of the councillors of their lord, named Ikéura
+Kazuyé, in order to show the petition to him first, but even then no
+notice was taken of them; so they returned home, and resolved, after
+consulting together, to proceed to their lord's yashiki, or palace, at
+Yedo, on the seventh day of the tenth month. It was determined, with
+one accord, that one hundred and forty-three village chiefs should go
+to Yedo; and the chief of the village of Iwahashi, one Sôgorô, a man
+forty-eight years of age, distinguished for his ability and judgment,
+ruling a district which produced a thousand kokus, stepped forward,
+and said--
+
+"This is by no means an easy matter, my masters. It certainly is of
+great importance that we should forward our complaint to our lord's
+palace at Yedo; but what are your plans? Have you any fixed
+intentions?"
+
+"It is, indeed, a most important matter," rejoined the others; but
+they had nothing further to say. Then Sôgorô went on to say--
+
+"We have appealed to the public office of our province, but without
+avail; we have petitioned the Prince's councillors, also in vain. I
+know that all that remains for us is to lay our case before our lord's
+palace at Yedo; and if we go there, it is equally certain that we
+shall not be listened to--on the contrary, we shall be cast into
+prison. If we are not attended to here, in our own province, how much
+less will the officials at Yedo care for us. We might hand our
+petition into the litter of one of the Gorôjiu, in the public streets;
+but, even in that case, as our lord is a member of the Gorôjiu, none
+of his peers would care to examine into the rights and wrongs of our
+complaint, for fear of offending him, and the man who presented the
+petition in so desperate a manner would lose his life on a bootless
+errand. If you have made up your minds to this, and are determined, at
+all hazards, to start, then go to Yedo by all means, and bid a long
+farewell to parents, children, wives, and relations. This is my
+opinion."
+
+The others all agreeing with what Sôgorô said, they determined that,
+come what might, they would go to Yedo; and they settled to assemble
+at the village of Funabashi on the thirteenth day of the eleventh
+month.
+
+On the appointed day all the village officers met at the place agreed
+upon,--Sôgorô, the chief of the village of Iwahashi, alone being
+missing; and as on the following day Sôgorô had not yet arrived, they
+deputed one of their number, named Rokurobei, to inquire the reason.
+Rokurobei arrived at Sôgorô's house towards four in the afternoon, and
+found him warming himself quietly over his charcoal brazier, as if
+nothing were the matter. The messenger, seeing this, said rather
+testily--
+
+"The chiefs of the villages are all assembled at Funabashi according
+to covenant, and as you, Master Sôgorô, have not arrived, I have come
+to inquire whether it is sickness or some other cause that prevents
+you."
+
+"Indeed," replied Sôgorô, "I am sorry that you should have had so much
+trouble. My intention was to have set out yesterday; but I was taken
+with a cholic, with which I am often troubled, and, as you may see, I
+am taking care of myself; so for a day or two I shall not be able to
+start. Pray be so good as to let the others know this."
+
+Rokurobei, seeing that there was no help for it, went back to the
+village of Funabashi and communicated to the others what had occurred.
+They were all indignant at what they looked upon as the cowardly
+defection of a man who had spoken so fairly, but resolved that the
+conduct of one man should not influence the rest, and talked
+themselves into the belief that the affair which they had in hand
+would be easily put through; so they agreed with one accord to start
+and present the petition, and, having arrived at Yedo, put up in the
+street called Bakurochô. But although they tried to forward their
+complaint to the various officers of their lord, no one would listen
+to them; the doors were all shut in their faces, and they had to go
+back to their inn, crestfallen and without success.
+
+On the following day, being the 18th of the month, they all met
+together at a tea-house in an avenue, in front of a shrine of Kwannon
+Sama;[61] and having held a consultation, they determined that, as
+they could hit upon no good expedient, they would again send for
+Sôgorô to see whether he could devise no plan. Accordingly, on the
+19th, Rokurobei and one Jiuyémon started for the village of Iwahashi
+at noon, and arrived the same evening.
+
+[Footnote 61: A Buddhist deity.]
+
+Now the village chief Sôgorô, who had made up his mind that the
+presentation of this memorial was not a matter to be lightly treated,
+summoned his wife and children and his relations, and said to them--
+
+"I am about to undertake a journey to Yedo, for the following
+reasons:--Our present lord of the soil has increased the land-tax, in
+rice and the other imposts, more than tenfold, so that pen and paper
+would fail to convey an idea of the poverty to which the people are
+reduced, and the peasants are undergoing the tortures of hell upon
+earth. Seeing this, the chiefs of the various villages have presented
+petitions, but with what result is doubtful. My earnest desire,
+therefore, is to devise some means of escape from this cruel
+persecution. If my ambitious scheme does not succeed, then shall I
+return home no more; and even should I gain my end, it is hard to say
+how I may be treated by those in power. Let us drink a cup of wine
+together, for it may be that you shall see my face no more. I give my
+life to allay the misery of the people of this estate. If I die, mourn
+not over my fate; weep not for me."
+
+Having spoken thus, he addressed his wife and his four children,
+instructing them carefully as to what he desired to be done after his
+death, and minutely stating every wish of his heart. Then, having
+drunk a parting cup with them, he cheerfully took leave of all
+present, and went to a tea-house in the neighbouring village of
+Funabashi, where the two messengers, Rokurobei and Jiuyémon, were
+anxiously awaiting his arrival, in order that they might recount to
+him all that had taken place at Yedo.
+
+"In short," said they, "it appears to us that we have failed
+completely; and we have come to meet you in order to hear what you
+propose. If you have any plan to suggest, we would fain be made
+acquainted with it."
+
+"We have tried the officers of the district," replied Sôgorô, "and we
+have tried my lord's palace at Yedo. However often we might assemble
+before my lord's gate, no heed would be given to us. There is nothing
+left for us but to appeal to the Shogun."
+
+So they sat talking over their plans until the night was far advanced,
+and then they went to rest. The winter night was long; but when the
+cawing of the crows was about to announce the morning, the three
+friends started on their journey for the tea-house at Asakusa, at
+which, upon their arrival, they found the other village elders already
+assembled.
+
+"Welcome, Master Sôgorô," said they. "How is it that you have come so
+late? We have petitioned all the officers to no purpose, and we have
+broken our bones in vain. We are at our wits' end, and can think of no
+other scheme. If there is any plan which seems good to you, we pray
+you to act upon it."
+
+"Sirs," replied Sôgorô, speaking very quietly, "although we have met
+with no better success here than in our own place, there is no use in
+grieving. In a day or two the Gorôjiu will be going to the castle; we
+must wait for this opportunity, and following one of the litters,
+thrust in our memorial. This is my opinion: what think you of it, my
+masters?"
+
+One and all, the assembled elders were agreed as to the excellence of
+this advice; and having decided to act upon it, they returned to their
+inn.
+
+Then Sôgorô held a secret consultation with Jiuyémon, Hanzô,
+Rokurobei, Chinzô, and Kinshirô, five of the elders, and, with their
+assistance, drew up the memorial; and having heard that on the 26th of
+the month, when the Gorôjiu should go to the castle, Kuzé Yamato no
+Kami would proceed to a palace under the western enclosure of the
+castle, they kept watch in a place hard by. As soon as they saw the
+litter of the Gorôjiu approach, they drew near to it, and, having
+humbly stated their grievances, handed in the petition; and as it was
+accepted, the six elders were greatly elated, and doubted not that
+their hearts' desire would be attained; so they went off to a
+tea-house at Riyôgoku, and Jiuyémon said--
+
+"We may congratulate ourselves on our success. We have handed in our
+petition to the Gorôjiu, and now we may set our minds at rest; before
+many days have passed, we shall hear good news from the rulers. To
+Master Sôgorô is due great praise for his exertions."
+
+Sôgorô, stepping forward, answered, "Although we have presented our
+memorial to the Gorôjiu, the matter will not be so quickly decided; it
+is therefore useless that so many of us should remain here: let eleven
+men stay with me, and let the rest return home to their several
+villages. If we who remain are accused of conspiracy and beheaded, let
+the others agree to reclaim and bury our corpses. As for the expenses
+which we shall incur until our suit is concluded, let that be
+according to our original covenant. For the sake of the hundred and
+thirty-six villages we will lay down our lives, if needs must, and
+submit to the disgrace of having our heads exposed as those of common
+malefactors."
+
+Then they had a parting feast together, and, after a sad leave-taking,
+the main body of the elders went home to their own country; while the
+others, wending their way to their quarters waited patiently to be
+summoned to the Supreme Court. On the 2d day of the 12th month,
+Sôgorô, having received a summons from the residence of the Gorôjiu
+Kuzé Yamato no Kami, proceeded to obey it, and was ushered to the
+porch of the house, where two councillors, named Aijima Gidaiyu and
+Yamaji Yôri, met him, and said--
+
+"Some days since you had the audacity to thrust a memorial into the
+litter of our lord Yamato no Kami. By an extraordinary exercise of
+clemency, he is willing to pardon this heinous offence; but should you
+ever again endeavour to force your petitions; upon him, you will be
+held guilty of riotous conduct;" and with this they gave back the
+memorial.
+
+"I humbly admit the justice of his lordship's censure. But oh! my
+lords, this is no hasty nor ill-considered action. Year after year,
+affliction upon affliction has been heaped upon us, until at last the
+people are without even the necessaries of life; and we, seeing no end
+to the evil, have humbly presented this petition. I pray your
+lordships of your great mercy to consider our case" and deign to
+receive our memorial. Vouchsafe to take some measures that the people
+may live, and our gratitude for your great kindness will know no
+bounds."
+
+"Your request is a just one," replied the two councillors after
+hearing what he said; "but your memorial cannot be received: so you
+must even take it back."
+
+With this they gave back the document, and wrote down the names of
+Sôgorô and six of the elders who had accompanied him. There was no
+help for it: they must take back their petition, and return to their
+inn. The seven men, dispirited and sorrowful, sat with folded arms
+considering what was best to be done, what plan should be devised,
+until at last, when they were at their wits' end, Sôgorô said, in a
+whisper--
+
+"So our petition, which we gave in after so much pains, has been
+returned after all! With what f ace can we return to our villages
+after such a disgrace? I, for one, do not propose to waste my labour
+for nothing; accordingly, I shall bide my time until some day, when
+the Shogun shall go forth from the castle, and, lying in wait by the
+roadside, I shall make known our grievances to him, who is lord over
+our lord. This is our last chance."
+
+[Illustration: SÔGORÔ THRUSTING THE PETITION INTO THE SHOGUN'S
+LITTER.]
+
+The others all applauded this speech, and, having with one accord
+hardened their hearts, waited for their opportunity.
+
+Now it so happened that, on the 20th day of the 12th month, the then
+Shogun, Prince Iyémitsu, was pleased to worship at the tombs of his
+ancestors at Uyéno;[62] and Sôgorô and the other elders, hearing this,
+looked upon it as a special favour from the gods, and felt certain
+that this time they would not fail. So they drew up a fresh memorial,
+and at the appointed time Sôgorô hid himself under the Sammayé Bridge,
+in front of the black gate at Uyéno. When Prince Iyémitsu passed in
+his litter, Sôgorô clambered up from under the bridge, to the great
+surprise of the Shogun's attendants, who called out, "Push the fellow
+on one side;" but, profiting by the confusion, Sôgorô, raising his
+voice and crying, "I wish to humbly present a petition to his Highness
+in person," thrust forward his memorial, which he had tied on to the
+end of a bamboo stick six feet long, and tried to put it into the
+litter; and although there were cries to arrest him, and he was
+buffeted by the escort, he crawled up to the side of the litter, and
+the Shogun accepted the document. But Sôgorô was arrested by the
+escort, and thrown into prison. As for the memorial, his Highness
+ordered that it should be handed in to the Gorôjiu Hotta Kôtsuké no
+Suké, the lord of the petitioners.
+
+[Footnote 62: Destroyed during the revolution, in the summer of 1868,
+by the troops of the Mikado. See note on the tombs of the Shoguns, at
+the end of the story.]
+
+When Hotta Kôtsuké no Suké had returned home and read the memorial, he
+summoned his councillor, Kojima Shikibu, and said--
+
+"The officials of my estate are mere bunglers. When the peasants
+assembled and presented a petition, they refused to receive it, and
+have thus brought this trouble upon me. Their folly has been beyond
+belief; however, it cannot be helped. We must remit all the new taxes,
+and you must inquire how much was paid to the former lord of the
+castle. As for this Sôgorô, he is not the only one who is at the
+bottom of the conspiracy; however, as this heinous offence of his in
+going out to lie in wait for the Shogun's procession is unpardonable,
+we must manage to get him given up to us by the Government, and, as an
+example for the rest of my people, he shall be crucified--he and his
+wife and his children; and, after his death, all that he possesses
+shall be confiscated. The other six men shall be banished; and that
+will suffice."
+
+"My lord," replied Shikibu, prostrating himself, "your lordship's
+intentions are just. Sôgorô, indeed, deserves any punishment for his
+outrageous crime. But I humbly venture to submit that his wife and
+children cannot be said to be guilty in the same degree: I implore
+your lordship mercifully to be pleased to absolve them from so severe
+a punishment."
+
+"Where the sin of the father is great, the wife and children cannot be
+spared," replied Kôtsuké no Suké; and his councillor, seeing that his
+heart was hardened, was forced to obey his orders without further
+remonstrance.
+
+So Kôtsuké no Suké, having obtained that Sôgorô should be given up to
+him by the Government, caused him to be brought to his estate of
+Sakura as a criminal, in a litter covered with nets, and confined him
+in prison. When his case had been inquired into, a decree was issued
+by the Lord Kôtsuké no Suké that he should be punished for a heinous
+crime; and on the 9th day of the 2d month of the second year of the
+period styled Shôhô (A.D. 1644) he was condemned to be crucified.
+Accordingly Sôgorô, his wife and children, and the elders of the
+hundred and thirty-six villages were brought before the Court-house of
+Sakura, in which were assembled forty-five chief officers. The elders
+were then told that, yielding to their petition, their lord was
+graciously pleased to order that the oppressive taxes should be
+remitted, and that the dues levied should not exceed those of the
+olden time. As for Sôgorô and his wife, the following sentence was
+passed upon them:--
+
+"Whereas you have set yourself up as the head of the villagers;
+whereas, secondly, you have dared to make light of the Government by
+petitioning his Highness the Shogun directly, thereby offering an
+insult to your lord; and whereas, thirdly, you have presented a
+memorial to the Gorôjiu; and, whereas, fourthly, you were privy to a
+conspiracy: for these four heinous crimes you are sentenced to death
+by crucifixion. Your wife is sentenced to die in like manner; and your
+children will be decapitated.
+
+"This sentence is passed upon the following persons:--
+
+"Sôgorô, chief of the village of Iwahashi, aged 48.
+
+"His wife, Man, aged 38.
+
+"His son, Gennosuké, aged 13.
+
+"His son, Sôhei, aged 10.
+
+"His son, Kihachi, aged 7."
+
+The eldest daughter of Sôgorô, named Hatsu, nineteen years of age, was
+married to a man named Jiuyémon, in the village of Hakamura, in
+Shitachi, beyond the river, in the territory of Matsudaira Matsu no
+Kami (the Prince of Sendai). His second daughter, whose name was Saki,
+sixteen years of age, was married to one Tôjiurô, chief of a village
+on the property of my lord Naitô Geki. No punishment was decreed
+against these two women.
+
+The six elders who had accompanied Sôgorô were told that although by
+good rights they had merited death, yet by the special clemency of
+their lord their lives would be spared, but that they were condemned
+to banishment. Their wives and children would not be attainted, and
+their property would be spared. The six men were banished to Oshima,
+in the province of Idzu.
+
+Sôgorô heard his sentence with pure courage.
+
+The six men were banished; but three of them lived to be pardoned on
+the occasion of the death of the Shogun, Prince Genyuin,[63] and
+returned to their country.
+
+[Footnote 63: The name assigned after death to Iyétsuna, the fourth of
+the dynasty of Tokugawa, who died on the 8th day of the 5th month of
+the year A.D. 1680.]
+
+According to the above decision, the taxes were remitted; and men and
+women, young and old, rejoiced over the advantage that had been gained
+for them by Sôgorô and by the six elders, and there was not one that
+did not mourn for their fate.
+
+When the officers of the several villages left the Court-house, one
+Zembei, the chief of the village of Sakato, told the others that he
+had some important subjects to speak to them upon, and begged them to
+meet him in the temple called Fukushôin. Every man having consented,
+and the hundred and thirty-six men having assembled at the temple,
+Zembei addressed them as follows:--
+
+"The success of our petition, in obtaining the reduction of our taxes
+to the same amount as was levied by our former lord, is owing to
+Master Sôgorô, who has thus thrown away his life for us. He and his
+wife and children are now to suffer as criminals for the sake of the
+one hundred and thirty-six villages. That such a thing should take
+place before our very eyes seems to me not to be borne. What say you,
+my masters?"
+
+"Ay! ay! what you say is just from top to bottom," replied the others.
+Then Hanzayémon, the elder of the village of Katsuta, stepped forward
+and said--
+
+"As Master Zembei has just said, Sôgorô is condemned to die for a
+matter in which all the village elders are concerned to a man. We
+cannot look on unconcerned. Full well I know that it is useless our
+pleading for Sôgorô; but we may, at least, petition that the lives of
+his wife and children may be spared."
+
+The assembled elders having all applauded this speech, they determined
+to draw up a memorial; and they resolved, should their petition not be
+accepted by the local authorities, to present it at their lord's
+palace in Yedo, and, should that fail, to appeal to the Government.
+Accordingly, before noon on the following day, they all affixed their
+seals to the memorial, which four of them, including Zembei and
+Hanzayémon, composed, as follows:--
+
+"With deep fear we humbly venture to present the following petition,
+which the elders of the one hundred and thirty-six villages of this
+estate have sealed with their seals. In consequence of the humble
+petition which we lately offered up, the taxes have graciously been
+reduced to the rates levied by the former lord of the estate, and new
+laws have been vouchsafed to us. With reverence and joy the peasants,
+great and small, have gratefully acknowledged these favours. With
+regard to Sôgorô, the elder of the village of Iwahashi, who ventured
+to petition his highness the Shogun in person, thus being guilty of a
+heinous crime, he has been sentenced to death in the castle-town. With
+fear and trembling we recognize the justice of his sentence. But in
+the matter of his wife and children, she is but a woman, and they are
+so young and innocent that they cannot distinguish the east from the
+west: we pray that in your great clemency you will remit their sin,
+and give them up to the representatives of the one hundred and
+thirty-six villages, for which we shall be ever grateful. We, the
+elders of the villages, know not to what extent we may be
+transgressing in presenting this memorial. We were all guilty of
+affixing our seals to the former petition; but Sôgorô, who was chief
+of a large district, producing a thousand kokus of revenue, and was
+therefore a man of experience, acted for the others; and we grieve
+that he alone should suffer for all. Yet in his case we reverently
+admit that there can be no reprieve. For his wife and children,
+however, we humbly implore your gracious mercy and consideration.
+
+"Signed by the elders of the villages of the estate, the 2d year of
+Shôhô, and the 2d month."
+
+Having drawn up this memorial, the hundred and thirty-six elders, with
+Zembei at their head, proceeded to the Court-house to present the
+petition, and found the various officers seated in solemn conclave.
+Then the clerk took the petition, and, having opened it, read it
+aloud; and the councillor, Ikéura Kazuyé, said--
+
+"The petition which you have addressed to us is worthy of all praise.
+But you must know that this is a matter which is no longer within our
+control. The affair has been reported to the Government; and although
+the priests of my lord's ancestral temple have interceded for Sôgorô,
+my lord is so angry that he will not listen even to them, saying that,
+had he not been one of the Gorôjiu, he would have been in danger of
+being ruined by this man: his high station alone saved him. My lord
+spoke so severely that the priests themselves dare not recur to the
+subject. You see, therefore, that it will be no use your attempting to
+take any steps in the matter, for most certainly your petition will
+not be received. You had better, then, think no more about it." And
+with these words he gave back the memorial.
+
+Zembei and the elders, seeing, to their infinite sorrow, that their
+mission was fruitless, left the Court-house, and most sorrowfully took
+counsel together, grinding their teeth in their disappointment when
+they thought over what the councillor had said as to the futility of
+their attempt. Out of grief for this, Zembei, with Hanzayémon and
+Heijiurô, on the 11th day of the 2d month (the day on which Sôgorô and
+his wife and children suffered), left Ewaradai, the place of
+execution, and went to the temple Zenkôji, in the province of
+Shinshiu, and from thence they ascended Mount Kôya in Kishiu, and, on
+the 1st day of the 8th month, shaved their heads and became priests;
+Zembei changed his name to Kakushin, and Hanzayémon changed his to
+Zenshô: as for Heijiurô, he fell sick at the end of the 7th month, and
+on the 11th day of the 8th month died, being forty-seven years old
+that year. These three men, who had loved Sôgorô as the fishes love
+water, were true to him to the last. Heijiurô was buried on Mount
+Kôya. Kakushin wandered through the country as a priest, praying for
+the entry of Sôgorô and his children into the perfection of paradise;
+and, after visiting all the shrines and temples, came back at last to
+his own province of Shimôsa, and took up his abode at the temple
+Riukakuji, in the village of Kano, and in the district of Imban,
+praying and making offerings on behalf of the souls of Sôgorô, his
+wife and children. Hanzayémon, now known as the priest Zenshô,
+remained at Shinagawa, a suburb of Yedo, and, by the charity of good
+people, collected enough money to erect six bronze Buddhas, which
+remain standing to this day. He fell sick and died, at the age of
+seventy, on the 10th day of the 2d month of the 13th year of the
+period styled Kambun. Zembei, who, as a priest, had changed his name
+to Kakushin, died, at the age of seventy-six, on the 17th day of the
+10th month of the 2d year of the period styled Empô. Thus did those
+men, for the sake of Sôgorô and his family, give themselves up to
+works of devotion; and the other villagers also brought food to soothe
+the spirits of the dead, and prayed for their entry into paradise; and
+as litanies were repeated without intermission, there can be no doubt
+that Sôgorô attained salvation.
+
+"In paradise, where the blessings of God are distributed without
+favour, the soul learns its faults by the measure of the rewards
+given. The lusts of the flesh are abandoned; and the soul, purified,
+attains to the glory of Buddha."[64]
+
+[Footnote 64: Buddhist text.]
+
+On the 11th day of the 2d month of the 2d year of Shôhô, Sôgorô having
+been convicted of a heinous crime, a scaffold was erected at Ewaradai,
+and the councillor who resided at Yedo and the councillor who resided
+on the estate, with the other officers, proceeded to the place in all
+solemnity. Then the priests of Tôkôji, in the village of Sakénaga,
+followed by coffin-bearers, took their places in front of the
+councillors, and said--
+
+"We humbly beg leave to present a petition."
+
+"What have your reverences to say?"
+
+"We are men who have forsaken the world and entered the priesthood,"
+answered the monks, respectfully; "and we would fain, if it be
+possible, receive the bodies of those who are to die, that we may bury
+them decently. It will be a great joy to us if our humble petition be
+graciously heard and granted."
+
+"Your request shall be granted; but as the crime of Sôgorô was great,
+his body must be exposed for three days and three nights, after which
+the corpse shall be given to you."
+
+At the hour of the snake (10 A.M.), the hour appointed for the
+execution, the people from the neighbouring villages and the
+castle-town, old and young, men and women, flocked to see the sight:
+numbers there were, too, who came to bid a last farewell to Sôgorô,
+his wife and children, and to put up a prayer for them. When the hour
+had arrived, the condemned were dragged forth bound, and made to sit
+upon coarse mats. Sôgorô and his wife closed their eyes, for the sight
+was more than they could bear; and the spectators, with heaving
+breasts and streaming eyes, cried "Cruel!" and "Pitiless!" and taking
+sweetmeats and cakes from the bosoms of their dresses threw them to
+the children. At noon precisely Sôgorô and his wife were bound to the
+crosses, which were then set upright and fixed in the ground. When
+this had been done, their eldest son Gennosuké was led forward to the
+scaffold, in front of the two parents. Then Sôgorô cried out--
+
+"Oh! cruel, cruel! what crime has this poor child committed that he
+is treated thus? As for me, it matters not what becomes of me." And
+the tears trickled down his face.
+
+The spectators prayed aloud, and shut their eyes; and the executioner
+himself, standing behind the boy, and saying that it was a pitiless
+thing that the child should suffer for the father's fault, prayed
+silently. Then Gennosuké, who had remained with his eyes closed, said
+to his parents--
+
+"Oh! my father and mother, I am going before you to paradise, that
+happy country, to wait for you. My little brothers and I will be on
+the banks of the river Sandzu,[65] and stretch out our hands and help
+you across. Farewell, all you who have come to see us die; and now
+please cut off my head at once."
+
+[Footnote 65: The Buddhist Styx, which separates paradise from hell,
+across which the dead are ferried by an old woman, for whom a small
+piece of money is buried with them.]
+
+With this he stretched out his neck, murmuring a last prayer; and not
+only Sôgorô and his wife, but even the executioner and the spectators
+could not repress their tears; but the headsman, unnerved as he was,
+and touched to the very heart, was forced, on account of his office,
+to cut off the child's head, and a piteous wail arose from the parents
+and the spectators.
+
+Then the younger child Sôhei said to the headsman, "Sir, I have a sore
+on my right shoulder: please, cut my head off from the left shoulder,
+lest you should hurt me. Alas! I know not how to die, nor what I
+should do."
+
+When the headsman and the officers present heard the child's artless
+speech, they wept again for very pity; but there was no help for it,
+and the head fell off more swiftly than water is drunk up by sand.
+Then little Kihachi, the third son, who, on account of his tender
+years, should have been spared, was butchered as he was in his
+simplicity eating the sweetmeats which had been thrown to him by the
+spectators.
+
+When the execution of the children was over, the priests of Tôkôji
+took their corpses, and, having placed them in their coffins, carried
+them away, amidst the lamentations of the bystanders, and buried them
+with great solemnity.
+
+Then Shigayémon, one of the servants of Danzayémon, the chief of the
+Etas, who had been engaged for the purpose, was just about to thrust
+his spear, when O Man, Sôgorô's wife, raising her voice, said--
+
+"Remember, my husband, that from the first you had made up your mind
+to this fate. What though our bodies be disgracefully exposed on these
+crosses?--we have the promises of the gods before us; therefore, mourn
+not. Let us fix our minds upon death: we are drawing near to paradise,
+and shall soon be with the saints. Be calm, my husband. Let us
+cheerfully lay down our single lives for the good of many. Man lives
+but for one generation; his name, for many. A good name is more to be
+prized than life."
+
+So she spoke; and Sôgorô on the cross, laughing gaily, answered--
+
+"Well said, wife! What though we are punished for the many? Our
+petition was successful, and there is nothing left to wish for. Now I
+am happy, for I have attained my heart's desire. The changes and
+chances of life are manifold. But if I had five hundred lives, and
+could five hundred times assume this shape of mine, I would die five
+hundred times to avenge this iniquity. For myself I care not; but that
+my wife and children should be punished also is too much. Pitiless and
+cruel! Let my lord fence himself in with iron walls, yet shall my
+spirit burst through them and crush his bones, as a return for this
+deed."
+
+And as he spoke, his eyes became vermilion red, and flashed like the
+sun or the moon, and he looked like the demon Razetsu.[66]
+
+[Footnote 66: A Buddhist fiend.]
+
+"Come," shouted he, "make haste and pierce me with the spear."
+
+"Your wishes shall be obeyed," said the Eta, Shigayémon, and thrust in
+a spear at his right side until it came out at his left shoulder, and
+the blood streamed out like a fountain. Then he pierced the wife from
+the left side; and she, opening her eyes, said in a dying voice--
+
+"Farewell, all you who are present. May harm keep far from you.
+Farewell! farewell!" and as her voice waxed faint, the second spear
+was thrust in from her right side, and she breathed out her spirit.
+Sôgorô, the colour of his face not even changing, showed no sign of
+fear, but opening his eyes wide, said--
+
+"Listen, my masters! all you who have come to see this sight.
+Recollect that I shall pay my thanks to my lord Kôtsuké no Suké for
+this day's work. You shall see it for yourselves, so that it shall be
+talked of for generations to come. As a sign, when I am dead, my head
+shall turn and face towards the castle. When you see this, doubt not
+that my words shall come true."
+
+When he had spoken thus, the officer directing the execution gave a
+sign to the Eta, Shigayémon, and ordered him to finish the execution,
+so that Sôgorô should speak no more. So Shigayémon pierced him twelve
+or thirteen times, until he died. And when he was dead, his head
+turned and faced the castle. When the two councillors beheld this
+miracle, they came down from their raised platform, and knelt down
+before Sôgorô's dead body and said--
+
+"Although you were but a peasant on this estate, you conceived a noble
+plan to succour the other farmers in their distress. You bruised your
+bones, and crushed your heart, for their sakes. Still, in that you
+appealed to the Shogun in person, you committed a grievous crime, and
+made light of your superiors; and for this it was impossible not to
+punish you. Still we admit that to include your wife and children in
+your crime, and kill them before your eyes, was a cruel deed. What is
+done, is done, and regret is of no avail. However, honours shall be
+paid to your spirit: you shall be canonized as the Saint Daimiyô, and
+you shall be placed among the tutelar deities of my lord's family."
+
+With these words the two councillors made repeated reverences before
+the corpse; and in this they showed their faithfulness to their lord.
+But he, when the matter was reported to him, only laughed scornfully
+at the idea that the hatred of a peasant could affect his feudal lord;
+and said that a vassal who had dared to hatch a plot which, had it not
+been for his high office, would have been sufficient to ruin him, had
+only met with his deserts. As for causing him to be canonized, let him
+be as he was. Seeing their lord's anger, his councillors could only
+obey. But it was not long before he had cause to know that, though
+Sôgorô was dead, his vengeance was yet alive.
+
+The relations of Sôgorô and the elders of the villages having been
+summoned to the Court-house, the following document was issued:--
+
+"Although the property of Sôgorô, the elder of the village of
+Iwahashi, is confiscated, his household furniture shall be made over
+to his two married daughters; and the village officials will look to
+it that these few poor things be not stolen by lawless and
+unprincipled men.
+
+"His rice-fields and corn-fields, his mountain land and forest land,
+will be sold by auction. His house and grounds will be given over to
+the elder of the village. The price fetched by his property will be
+paid over to the lord of the estate.
+
+"The above decree will be published, in full, to the peasants of the
+village; and it is strictly forbidden to find fault with this
+decision.
+
+"The 12th day of the 2d month, of the 2d year of the period Shôhô."
+
+The peasants, having heard this degree with all humility, left the
+Court-house. Then the following punishments were awarded to the
+officers of the castle, who, by rejecting the petition of the peasants
+in the first instance, had brought trouble upon their lord:--
+
+"Dismissed from their office, the resident councillors at Yedo and at
+the castle-town.
+
+"Banished from the province, four district governors, and three
+bailiffs, and nineteen petty officers.
+
+"Dismissed from office, three metsukés, or censors, and seven
+magistrates.
+
+"Condemned to _hara-kiri_, one district governor and one Yedo bailiff.
+
+"The severity of this sentence is owing to the injustice of the
+officials in raising new and unprecedented taxes, and bringing
+affliction upon the people, and in refusing to receive the petitions
+of the peasants, without consulting their lord, thus driving them to
+appeal to the Shogun in person. In their avarice they looked not to
+the future, but laid too heavy a burden on the peasants, so that they
+made an appeal to a higher power, endangering the honour of their
+lord's house. For this bad government the various officials are to be
+punished as above."
+
+In this wise was justice carried out at the palace at Yedo and at the
+Court-house at home. But in the history of the world, from the dark
+ages down to the present time, there are few instances of one man
+laying down his life for the many, as Sôgorô did: noble and peasant
+praise him alike.
+
+As month after month passed away, towards the fourth year of the
+period Shôhô, the wife of my lord Kôtsuké no Suké, being with child,
+was seized with violent pains; and retainers were sent to all the
+different temples and shrines to pray by proxy, but all to no purpose:
+she continued to suffer as before. Towards the end of the seventh
+month of the year, there appeared, every night, a preternatural light
+above the lady's chamber; this was accompanied by hideous sounds as of
+many people laughing fiendishly, and sometimes by piteous wailings, as
+though myriads of persons were lamenting. The profound distress caused
+by this added to her sufferings; so her own privy councillor, an old
+man, took his place in the adjoining chamber, and kept watch. All of a
+sudden, he heard a noise as if a number of people were walking on the
+boards of the roof of my lady's room; then there was a sound of men
+and women weeping; and when, thunderstruck, the councillor was
+wondering what it could all be, there came a wild burst of laughter,
+and all was silent. Early the following morning, the old women who had
+charge of my lady's household presented themselves before my lord
+Kôtsuké no Suké, and said--
+
+"Since the middle of last month, the waiting-women have been
+complaining to us of the ghostly noises by which my lady is nightly
+disturbed, and they say that they cannot continue to serve her. We
+have tried to soothe them, by saying that the devils should be
+exorcised at once, and that there was nothing to be afraid of. Still
+we feel that their fears are not without reason, and that they really
+cannot do their work; so we beg that your lordship will take the
+matter into your consideration."
+
+"This is a passing strange story of yours; however, I will go myself
+to-night to my lady's apartments and keep watch. You can come with
+me."
+
+Accordingly, that night my lord Kôtsuké no Suké sat up in person. At
+the hour of the rat (midnight) a fearful noise of voices was heard,
+and Sôgorô and his wife, bound to the fatal crosses, suddenly
+appeared; and the ghosts, seizing the lady by the hand, said--
+
+"We have come to meet you. The pains you are suffering are terrible,
+but they are nothing in comparison with those of the hell to which we
+are about to lead you."
+
+At these words, Kôtsuké no Suké, seizing his sword, tried to sweep the
+ghosts away with a terrific cut; but a loud peal of laughter was
+heard, and the visions faded away. Kôtsuké no Suké, terrified, sent
+his retainers to the temples and shrines to pray that the demons
+might be cast out; but the noises were heard nightly, as before. When
+the eleventh month of the year came round, the apparitions of human
+forms in my lady's apartments became more and more frequent and
+terrible, all the spirits railing at her, and howling out that they
+had come to fetch her. The women would all scream and faint; and then
+the ghosts would disappear amid yells of laughter. Night after night
+this happened, and even in the daytime the visions would manifest
+themselves; and my lady's sickness grew worse daily, until in the last
+month of the year she died, of grief and terror. Then the ghost of
+Sôgorô and his wife crucified would appear day and night in the
+chamber of Kôtsuké no Suké, floating round the room, and glaring at
+him with red and flaming eyes. The hair of the attendants would stand
+on end with terror; and if they tried to cut at the spirits, their
+limbs would be cramped, and their feet and hands would not obey their
+bidding. Kôtsuké no Suké would draw the sword that lay by his bedside;
+but, as often as he did so, the ghosts faded away, only to appear
+again in a more hideous shape than before, until at last, having
+exhausted his strength and spirits, even he became terror-stricken.
+The whole household was thrown into confusion, and day after day
+mystic rites and incantations were performed by the priests over
+braziers of charcoal, while prayers were recited without ceasing; but
+the visions only became more frequent, and there was no sign of their
+ceasing. After the 5th year of Shôhô, the style of the years was
+changed to Keian; and during the 1st year of Keian the spirits
+continued to haunt the palace; and now they appeared in the chamber of
+Kôtsuké no Suké's eldest son, surrounding themselves with even more
+terrors than before; and when Kôtsuké no Suké was about to go to the
+Shogun's castle, they were seen howling out their cries of vengeance
+in the porch of the house. At last the relations of the family and the
+members of the household took counsel together, and told Kôtsuké no
+Suké that without doubt no ordinary means would suffice to lay the
+ghosts; a shrine must be erected to Sôgorô, and divine honours paid to
+him, after which the apparitions would assuredly cease. Kôtsuké no
+Suké having carefully considered the matter and given his consent,
+Sôgorô was canonized under the name of Sôgo Daimiyô, and a shrine was
+erected in his honour. After divine honours had been paid to him, the
+awful visions were no more seen, and the ghost of Sôgorô was laid for
+ever.
+
+In the 2d year of the period Keian, on the 11th day of the 10th month,
+on the occasion of the festival of first lighting the fire on the
+hearth, the various Daimios and Hatamotos of distinction went to the
+castle of the Shogun, at Yedo, to offer their congratulations on this
+occasion. During the ceremonies, my lord Hotta Kôtsuké no Suké and
+Sakai Iwami no Kami, lord of the castle of Matsumoto, in the province
+of Shinshiu, had a quarrel, the origin of which was not made public;
+and Sakai Iwami no Kami, although he came of a brave and noble
+family, received so severe a wound that he died on the following day,
+at the age of forty-three; and in consequence of this, his family was
+ruined and disgraced.[67] My lord Kôtsuké no Suké, by great good
+fortune, contrived to escape from the castle, and took refuge in his
+own house, whence, mounting a famous horse called Hira-Abumi,[68] he
+fled to his castle of Sakura, in Shimôsa, accomplishing the distance,
+which is about sixty miles, in six hours. When he arrived in front of
+the castle, he called out in a loud voice to the guard within to open
+the gate, answering, in reply to their challenge, that he was Kôtsuké
+no Suké, the lord of the castle. The guard, not believing their ears,
+sent word to the councillor in charge of the castle, who rushed out to
+see if the person demanding admittance were really their lord. When he
+saw Kôtsuké no Suké, he caused the gates to be opened, and, thinking
+it more than strange, said--
+
+"Is this indeed you, my lord? What strange chance brings your lordship
+hither thus late at night, on horseback and alone, without a single
+follower?"
+
+[Footnote 67: In the old days, if a noble was murdered, and died
+outside his own house, he was disgraced, and his estates were
+forfeited. When the Regent of the Shogun was murdered, some years
+since, outside the castle of Yedo, by a legal fiction it was given out
+that he had died in his own palace, in order that his son might
+succeed to his estates.]
+
+[Footnote 68: Level stirrups.]
+
+With these words he ushered in Kôtsuké no Suké, who, in reply to the
+anxious inquiries of his people as to the cause of his sudden
+appearance, said--
+
+"You may well be astonished. I had a quarrel to-day in the castle at
+Yedo, with Sakai Iwami no Kami, the lord of the castle of Matsumoto,
+and I cut him down. I shall soon be pursued; so we must strengthen the
+fortress, and prepare for an attack."
+
+The household, hearing this, were greatly alarmed, and the whole
+castle was thrown into confusion. In the meanwhile the people of
+Kôtsuké no Suké's palace at Yedo, not knowing whether their lord had
+fled, were in the greatest anxiety, until a messenger came from
+Sakura, and reported his arrival there.
+
+When the quarrel inside the castle of Yedo and Kôtsuké no Suké's
+flight had been taken cognizance of, he was attainted of treason, and
+soldiers were sent to seize him, dead or alive. Midzuno Setsu no Kami
+and Gotô Yamato no Kami were charged with the execution of the order,
+and sallied forth, on the 13th day of the 10th month, to carry it out.
+When they arrived at the town of Sasai, they sent a herald with the
+following message--
+
+"Whereas Kôtsuké no Suké killed Sakai Iwami no Kami inside the castle
+of Yedo, and has fled to his own castle without leave, he is attainted
+of treason; and we, being connected with him by ties of blood and of
+friendship, have been charged to seize him."
+
+The herald delivered this message to the councillor of Kôtsuké no
+Suké, who, pleading as an excuse that his lord was mad, begged the two
+nobles to intercede for him. Gotô Yamato no Kami upon this called the
+councillor to him, and spoke privately to him, after which the latter
+took his leave and returned to the castle of Sakura.
+
+In the meanwhile, after consultation at Yedo, it was decided that, as
+Gotô Yamato no Kami and Midzuno Setsu no Kami were related to Kôtsuké
+no Suké, and might meet with difficulties for that very reason, two
+other nobles, Ogasawara Iki no Kami and Nagai Hida no Kami, should be
+sent to assist them, with orders that should any trouble arise they
+should send a report immediately to Yedo. In consequence of this
+order, the two nobles, with five thousand men, were about to march for
+Sakura, on the 15th of the month, when a messenger arrived from that
+place bearing the following despatch for the Gorôjiu, from the two
+nobles who had preceded them--
+
+   "In obedience to the orders of His Highness the Shogun, we
+   proceeded, on the 13th day of this month, to the castle of
+   Sakura, and conducted a thorough investigation of the affair.
+   It is true that Kôtsuké no Suké has been guilty of treason, but
+   he is out of his mind; his retainers have called in physicians,
+   and he is undergoing treatment by which his senses are being
+   gradually restored, and his mind is being awakened from its
+   sleep. At the time when he slew Sakai Iwami no Kami he was not
+   accountable for his actions, and will be sincerely penitent
+   when he is aware of his crime. We have taken him prisoner, and
+   have the honour to await your instructions; in the meanwhile,
+   we beg by these present to let you know what we have done.
+
+                            "(Signed)    GOTÔ YAMATO NO KAMI.
+                                         MIDZUNO SETSU NO KAMI.
+   _To the Gorôjiu, 2d year of Keian, 2d month, 14th day_."
+
+This despatch reached Yedo on the 16th of the month, and was read by
+the Gorôjiu after they had left the castle; and in consequence of the
+report of Kôtsuké no Suké's madness, the second expedition was put a
+stop to, and the following instructions were sent to Gotô Yamato no
+Kami and Midzuno Setsu no Kami--
+
+   "With reference to the affair of Hotta Kôtsuké no Suké, lord of
+   the castle of Sakura, in Shimôsa, whose quarrel with Sakai
+   Iwami no Kami within the castle of Yedo ended in bloodshed. For
+   this heinous crime and disregard of the sanctity of the castle,
+   it is ordered that Kôtsuké no Suké be brought as a prisoner to
+   Yedo, in a litter covered with nets, that his case may be
+   judged.
+
+   "2d year of Keian, 2d month.
+               (_Signed by the Gorôjiu_)    INABA MINO NO KAMI.
+                                            INOUYE KAWACHI NOKAMI.
+                                            KATÔ ECCHIU NO KAMI."
+
+Upon the receipt of this despatch, Hotta Kôtsuké nô Suké was
+immediately placed in a litter covered with a net of green silk, and
+conveyed to Yedo, strictly guarded by the retainers of the two
+nobles; and, having arrived at the capital, was handed over to the
+charge of Akimoto Tajima no Kami. All his retainers were quietly
+dispersed; and his empty castle was ordered to be thrown open, and
+given in charge to Midzuno Iki no Kami.
+
+At last Kôtsuké no Suké began to feel that the death of his wife and
+his own present misfortunes were a just retribution for the death of
+Sôgorô and his wife and children, and he was as one awakened from a
+dream. Then night and morning, in his repentance, he offered up
+prayers to the sainted spirit of the dead farmer, and acknowledged and
+bewailed his crime, vowing that, if his family were spared from ruin
+and re-established, intercession should be made at the court of the
+Mikado,[69] at Kiyôto, on behalf of the spirit of Sôgorô, so that,
+being worshipped with even greater honours than before, his name
+should be handed down to all generations.
+
+[Footnote 69: In the days of Shogun's power, the Mikado remained the
+Fountain of Honour, and, as chief of the national religion and the
+direct descendant of the gods, dispensed divine honours.]
+
+In consequence of this it happened that the spirit of Sôgorô having
+relaxed in its vindictiveness, and having ceased to persecute the
+house of Hotta, in the 1st month of the 4th year of Keian, Kôtsuké no
+Suké received a summons from the Shogun, and, having been forgiven,
+was made lord of the castle of Matsuyama, in the province of Déwa,
+with a revenue of twenty thousand kokus. In the same year, on the 20th
+day of the 4th month, the Shogun, Prince Iyémitsu, was pleased to
+depart this life, at the age of forty-eight; and whether by the
+forgiving spirit of the prince, or by the divine interposition of the
+sainted Sôgorô, Kôtsuké no Suké was promoted to the castle of Utsu no
+Miya, in the province of Shimotsuké, with a revenue of eighty thousand
+kokus; and his name was changed to Hotta Hida no Kami. He also
+received again his original castle of Sakura, with a revenue of twenty
+thousand kokus: so that there can be no doubt that the saint was
+befriending him. In return for these favours, the shrine of Sôgorô was
+made as beautiful as a gem. It is needless to say how many of the
+peasants of the estate flocked to the shrine: any good luck that might
+befall the people was ascribed to it, and night and day the devout
+worshipped at it.
+
+Here follows a copy of the petition which Sôgorô presented to the
+Shogun--
+
+"We, the elders of the hundred and thirty-six villages of the district
+of Chiba, in the province of Shimôsa, and of the district of Buji, in
+the province of Kadzusa, most reverently offer up this our humble
+petition.
+
+"When our former lord, Doi Shosho, was transferred to another castle,
+in the 9th year of the period Kanyé, Hotta Kaga no Kami became lord of
+the castle of Sakura; and in the 17th year of the same period, my lord
+Kôtsuké no Suké succeeded him. Since that time the taxes laid upon us
+have been raised in the proportion of one tô and two sho to each
+koku.[70]
+
+[Footnote 70: 10 Sho = 1 Tô. 10 Tô = 1 Koku.]
+
+"_Item_.--At the present time, taxes are raised on nineteen of our
+articles of produce; whereas our former lord only required that we
+should furnish him with pulse and sesamum, for which he paid in rice.
+
+"_Item_.--Not only are we not paid now for our produce, but, if it is
+not given in to the day, we are driven and goaded by the officials;
+and if there be any further delay, we are manacled and severely
+reprimanded; so that if our own crops fail, we have to buy produce
+from other districts, and are pushed to the utmost extremity of
+affliction.
+
+"_Item_.--We have over and over again prayed to be relieved from these
+burthens, but our petitions are not received. The people are reduced
+to poverty, so that it is hard for them to live under such grievous
+taxation. Often they have tried to sell the land which they till, but
+none can be found to buy; so they have sometimes given over their land
+to the village authorities, and fled with their wives to other
+provinces, and seven hundred and thirty men or more have been reduced
+to begging, one hundred and eighty-five houses have fallen into ruins;
+land producing seven thousand kokus has been given up, and remains
+untilled, and eleven temples have fallen into decay in consequence of
+the ruin of those upon whom they depended.
+
+"Besides this, the poverty-stricken farmers and women, having been
+obliged to take refuge in other provinces, and having no
+abiding-place, have been driven to evil courses and bring men to speak
+ill of their lord; and the village officials, being unable to keep
+order, are blamed and reproved. No attention has been paid to our
+repeated representations upon this point; so we were driven to
+petition the Gorôjiu Kuzé Yamato no Kami as he was on his way to the
+castle, but our petition was returned to us. And now, as a last
+resource, we tremblingly venture to approach his Highness the Shogun
+in person.
+
+"The 1st year of the period Shôhô, 12th month, 20th day.
+
+[Illustration: Seal] "The seals of the elders of the 136 villages."
+
+The Shogun at that time was Prince Iyémitsu, the grandson of Iyéyasu.
+He received the name of Dai-yu-In after his death.
+
+The Gorôjiu at that time were Hotta Kôtsuké no Suké, Sakai Iwami no
+Kami, Inaba Mino no Kami, Katô Ecchiu no Kami, Inouyé Kawachi no Kami.
+
+The Wakadoshiyôri (or 2d council) were Torii Wakasa no Kami, Tsuchiya
+Dewa no Kami, and Itakura Naizen no Sho.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The belief in ghosts appears to be as universal as that in the
+immortality of the soul, upon which it depends. Both in China and
+Japan the departed spirit is invested with the power of revisiting the
+earth, and, in a visible form, tormenting its enemies and haunting
+those places where the perishable part of it mourned and suffered.
+Haunted houses are slow to find tenants, for ghosts almost always come
+with revengeful intent; indeed, the owners of such houses will almost
+pay men to live in them, such is the dread which they inspire, and the
+anxiety to blot out the stigma.
+
+One cold winter's night at Yedo, as I was sitting, with a few Japanese
+friends, huddled round the imperfect heat of a brazier of charcoal,
+the conversation turned upon the story of Sôgorô and upon ghostly
+apparitions in general. Many a weird tale was told that evening, and I
+noted down the three or four which follow, for the truth of which the
+narrators vouched with the utmost confidence.
+
+About ten years ago there lived a fishmonger, named Zenroku, in the
+Mikawa-street, at Kanda, in Yedo. He was a poor man, living with his
+wife and one little boy. His wife fell sick and died, so he engaged an
+old woman to look after his boy while he himself went out to sell his
+fish. It happened, one day, that he and the other hucksters of his
+guild were gambling; and this coming to the ears of the authorities,
+they were all thrown into prison. Although their offence was in itself
+a light one, still they were kept for some time in durance while the
+matter was being investigated; and Zenroku, owing to the damp and foul
+air of the prison, fell sick with fever. His little child, in the
+meantime, had been handed over by the authorities to the charge of the
+petty officers of the ward to which his father belonged, and was being
+well cared for; for Zenroku was known to be an honest fellow, and his
+fate excited much compassion. One night Zenroku, pale and emaciated,
+entered the house in which his boy was living; and all the people
+joyfully congratulated him on his escape from jail. "Why, we heard
+that you were sick in prison. This is, indeed, a joyful return." Then
+Zenroku thanked those who had taken care of the child, saying that he
+had returned secretly by the favour of his jailers that night; but
+that on the following day his offence would be remitted, and he should
+be able to take possession of his house again publicly. For that
+night, he must return to the prison. With this he begged those present
+to continue their good offices to his babe; and, with a sad and
+reluctant expression of countenance, he left the house. On the
+following day, the officers of that ward were sent for by the prison
+authorities. They thought that they were summoned that Zenroku might
+be handed back to them a free man, as he himself had said to them; but
+to their surprise, they were told that he had died the night before in
+prison, and were ordered to carry away his dead body for burial. Then
+they knew that they had seen Zenroku's ghost; and that when he said
+that he should be returned to them on the morrow, he had alluded to
+his corpse. So they buried him decently, and brought up his son, who
+is alive to this day.
+
+The next story was told by a professor in the college at Yedo, and,
+although it is not of so modern a date as the last, he stated it to be
+well authenticated, and one of general notoriety.
+
+About two hundred years ago there was a chief of the police, named
+Aoyama Shuzen, who lived in the street called Bancho, at Yedo. His
+duty was to detect thieves and incendiaries. He was a cruel and
+violent man, without heart or compassion, and thought nothing of
+killing or torturing a man to gratify spite or revenge. This man
+Shuzen had in his house a servant-maid, called O Kiku (the
+Chrysanthemum), who had lived in the family since her childhood, and
+was well acquainted with her master's temper. One day O Kiku
+accidentally broke one of a set of ten porcelain plates, upon which he
+set a high value. She knew that she would suffer for her carelessness;
+but she thought that if she concealed the matter her punishment would
+be still more severe; so she went at once to her master's wife, and,
+in fear and trembling, confessed what she had done. When Shuzen came
+home, and heard that one of his favourite plates was broken, he flew
+into a violent rage, and took the girl to a cupboard, where he left
+her bound with cords, and every day cut off one of her fingers. O
+Kiku, tightly bound and in agony, could not move; but at last she
+contrived to bite or cut the ropes asunder, and, escaping into the
+garden, threw herself into a well, and was drowned. From that time
+forth, every night a voice was heard coming from the well, counting
+one, two, three, and so on up to nine--the number of the plates that
+remained unbroken--and then, when the tenth plate should have been
+counted, would come a burst of lamentation. The servants of the house,
+terrified at this, all left their master's service, until Shuzen, not
+having a single retainer left, was unable to perform his public
+duties; and when the officers of the government heard of this, he was
+dismissed from his office. At this time there was a famous priest,
+called Mikadzuki Shônin, of the temple Denzuin, who, having been told
+of the affair, came one night to the house, and, when the ghost began
+to count the plates, reproved the spirit, and by his prayers and
+admonitions caused it to cease from troubling the living.
+
+The laying of disturbed spirits appears to form one of the regular
+functions of the Buddhist priests; at least, we find them playing a
+conspicuous part in almost every ghost-story.
+
+About thirty years ago there stood a house at Mitsumé, in the Honjô of
+Yedo, which was said to be nightly visited by ghosts, so that no man
+dared to live in it, and it remained untenanted on that account.
+However, a man called Miura Takéshi, a native of the province of
+Oshiu, who came to Yedo to set up in business as a fencing-master, but
+was too poor to hire a house, hearing that there was a haunted house,
+for which no tenant could be found, and that the owner would let any
+man live in it rent free, said that he feared neither man nor devil,
+and obtained leave to occupy the house. So he hired a fencing-room, in
+which he gave his lessons by day, and after midnight returned to the
+haunted house. One night, his wife, who took charge of the house in
+his absence, was frightened by a fearful noise proceeding from a pond
+in the garden, and, thinking that this certainly must be the ghost
+that she had heard so much about, she covered her head with the
+bed-clothes and remained breathless with terror. When her husband came
+home, she told him what had happened; and on the following night he
+returned earlier than usual, and waited for the ghostly noise. At the
+same time as before, a little after midnight, the same sound was
+heard--as though a gun had been fired inside the pond. Opening the
+shutters, he looked out, and saw something like a black cloud floating
+on the water, and in the cloud was the form of a bald man. Thinking
+that there must be some cause for this, he instituted careful
+inquiries, and learned that the former tenant, some ten years
+previously, had borrowed money from a blind shampooer,[71] and, being
+unable to pay the debt, had murdered his creditor, who began to press
+him for his money, and had thrown his head into the pond. The
+fencing-master accordingly collected his pupils and emptied the pond,
+and found a skull at the bottom of it; so he called in a priest, and
+buried the skull in a temple, causing prayers to be offered up for the
+repose of the murdered man's soul. Thus the ghost was laid, and
+appeared no more.
+
+[Footnote 71: The apparently poor shaven-pated and blind shampooers of
+Japan drive a thriving trade as money-lenders. They give out small
+sums at an interest of 20 per cent. per month--210 per cent. per
+annum--and woe betide the luckless wight who falls into their
+clutches.]
+
+The belief in curses hanging over families for generations is as
+common as that in ghosts and supernatural apparitions. There is a
+strange story of this nature in the house of Asai, belonging to the
+Hatamoto class. The ancestor of the present representative, six
+generations ago, had a certain concubine, who was in love with a man
+who frequented the house, and wished in her heart to marry him; but,
+being a virtuous woman, she never thought of doing any evil deed. But
+the wife of my lord Asai was jealous of the girl, and persuaded her
+husband that her rival in his affections had gone astray; when he
+heard this he was very angry, and beat her with a candlestick so that
+he put out her left eye. The girl, who had indignantly protested her
+innocence, finding herself so cruelly handled, pronounced a curse
+against the house; upon which, her master, seizing the candlestick
+again, dashed out her brains and killed her. Shortly afterwards my
+lord Asai lost his left eye, and fell sick and died; and from that
+time forth to this day, it is said that the representatives of the
+house have all lost their left eyes after the age of forty, and
+shortly afterwards they have fallen sick and died at the same age as
+the cruel lord who killed his concubine.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+
+Of the many fair scenes of Yedo, none is better worth visiting than
+the temple of Zôjôji, one of the two great burial-places of the
+Shoguns; indeed, if you wish to see the most beautiful spots of any
+Oriental city, ask for the cemeteries: the homes of the dead are ever
+the loveliest places. Standing in a park of glorious firs and pines
+beautifully kept, which contains quite a little town of neat,
+clean-looking houses, together with thirty-four temples for the use of
+the priests and attendants of the shrines, the main temple, with its
+huge red pillars supporting a heavy Chinese roof of grey tiles, is
+approached through a colossal open hall which leads into a stone
+courtyard. At one end of this courtyard is a broad flight of
+steps--the three or four lower ones of stone, and the upper ones of
+red wood. At these the visitor is warned by a notice to take off his
+boots, a request which Englishmen, with characteristic disregard of
+the feelings of others, usually neglect to comply with. The main hall
+of the temple is of large proportions, and the high altar is decorated
+with fine bronze candelabra, incense-burners, and other ornaments, and
+on two days of the year a very curious collection of pictures
+representing the five hundred gods, whose images are known to all
+persons who have visited Canton, is hung along the walls. The big bell
+outside the main hall is rather remarkable on account of the great
+beauty of the deep bass waves of sound which it rolls through the city
+than on account of its size, which is as nothing when compared with
+that of the big bells of Moscow and Peking; still it is not to be
+despised even in that respect, for it is ten feet high and five feet
+eight inches in diameter, while its metal is a foot thick: it was hung
+up in the year 1673. But the chief objects of interest in these
+beautiful grounds are the chapels attached to the tombs of the
+Shoguns.
+
+It is said that as Prince Iyéyasu was riding into Yedo to take
+possession of his new castle, the Abbot of Zôjôji, an ancient temple
+which then stood at Hibiya, near the castle, went forth and waited
+before the gate to do homage to the Prince. Iyéyasu, seeing that the
+Abbot was no ordinary man, stopped and asked his name, and entered the
+temple to rest himself. The smooth-spoken monk soon found such favour
+with Iyéyasu, that he chose Zôjôji to be his family temple; and seeing
+that its grounds were narrow and inconveniently near the castle, he
+caused it to be removed to its present site. In the year 1610 the
+temple was raised, by the intercession of Iyéyasu, to the dignity of
+the Imperial Temples, which, until the last revolution, were presided
+over by princes of the blood; and to the Abbot was granted the right,
+on going to the castle, of sitting in his litter as far as the
+entrance-hall, instead of dismounting at the usual place and
+proceeding on foot through several gates and courtyards. Nor were the
+privileges of the temple confined to barren honours, for it was
+endowed with lands of the value of five thousand kokus of rice yearly.
+
+When Iyéyasu died, the shrine called Antoku In was erected in his
+honour to the south of the main temple. Here, on the seventeenth day
+of the fourth month, the anniversary of his death, ceremonies are held
+in honour of his spirit, deified as Gongen Sama, and the place is
+thrown open to all who may wish to come and pray. But Iyéyasu is not
+buried here; his remains lie in a gorgeous shrine among the mountains
+some eighty miles north of Yedo, at Nikkô, a place so beautiful that
+the Japanese have a rhyming proverb which says, that he who has not
+seen Nikkô should never pronounce the word Kekkô (charming, delicious,
+grand, beautiful).
+
+Hidétada, the son and successor of Iyéyasu, together with Iyénobu,
+Iyétsugu, Iyéshigé, Iyéyoshi, and Iyémochi, the sixth, seventh, ninth,
+twelfth, and fourteenth Shoguns of the Tokugawa dynasty, are buried in
+three shrines attached to the temple; the remainder, with the
+exception of Iyémitsu, the third Shogun, who lies with his grandfather
+at Nikkô, are buried at Uyéno.
+
+The shrines are of exceeding beauty, lying on one side of a splendid
+avenue of Scotch firs, which border a broad, well-kept gravel walk.
+Passing through a small gateway of rare design, we come into a large
+stone courtyard, lined with a long array of colossal stone lanterns,
+the gift of the vassals of the departed Prince. A second gateway,
+supported by gilt pillars carved all round with figures of dragons,
+leads into another court, in which are a bell tower, a great cistern
+cut out of a single block of stone like a sarcophagus, and a smaller
+number of lanterns of bronze; these are given by the Go San Ké, the
+three princely families in which the succession to the office of
+Shogun was vested. Inside this is a third court, partly covered like a
+cloister, the approach to which is a doorway of even greater beauty
+and richness than the last; the ceiling is gilt, and painted with
+arabesques and with heavenly angels playing on musical instruments,
+and the panels of the walls are sculptured in high relief with
+admirable representations of birds and flowers, life-size, life-like,
+all being coloured to imitate nature. Inside this enclosure stands a
+shrine, before the closed door of which a priest on one side, and a
+retainer of the house of Tokugawa on the other, sit mounting guard,
+mute and immovable as though they themselves were part of the carved
+ornaments. Passing on one side of the shrine, we come to another
+court, plainer than the last, and at the back of the little temple
+inside it is a flight of stone steps, at the top of which, protected
+by a bronze door, stands a simple monumental urn of bronze on a stone
+pedestal. Under this is the grave itself; and it has always struck me
+that there is no small amount of poetical feeling in this simple
+ending to so much magnificence; the sermon may have been preached by
+design, or it may have been by accident, but the lesson is there.
+
+There is little difference between the three shrines, all of which are
+decorated in the same manner. It is very difficult to do justice to
+their beauty in words. Writing many thousand miles away from them, I
+have the memory before me of a place green in winter, pleasant and
+cool in the hottest summer; of peaceful cloisters, of the fragrance of
+incense, of the subdued chant of richly robed priests, and the music
+of bells; of exquisite designs, harmonious colouring, rich gilding.
+The hum of the vast city outside is unheard here: Iyéyasu himself, in
+the mountains of Nikkô, has no quieter resting-place than his
+descendants in the heart of the city over which they ruled.
+
+Besides the graves of the Shoguns, Zôjôji contains other lesser
+shrines, in which are buried the wives of the second, sixth, and
+eleventh Shoguns, and the father of Iyénobu, the sixth Shogun, who
+succeeded to the office by adoption. There is also a holy place
+called the Satsuma Temple, which has a special interest; in it is a
+tablet in honour of Tadayoshi, the fifth son of Iyéyasu, whose title
+was Matsudaira Satsuma no Kami, and who died young. At his death, five
+of his retainers, with one Ogasasawara Kemmotsu at their head,
+disembowelled themselves, that they might follow their young master
+into the next world. They were buried in this place; and I believe
+that this is the last instance on record of the ancient Japanese
+custom of _Junshi_, that is to say, "dying with the master."
+
+There are, during the year, several great festivals which are
+specially celebrated at Zôjoji; the chief of these are the Kaisanki,
+or founder's day, which is on the eighteenth day of the seventh month;
+the twenty-fifth day of the first month, the anniversary of the death
+of the monk Hônen, the founder of the Jôdo sect of Buddhism (that to
+which the temple belongs); the anniversary of the death of Buddha, on
+the fifteenth of the second month; the birthday of Buddha, on the
+eighth day of the fourth month; and from the sixth to the fifteenth of
+the tenth month.
+
+At Uyéno is the second of the burial-grounds of the Shoguns. The
+Temple Tô-yei-zan, which stood in the grounds of Uyéno, was built by
+Iyémitsu, the third of the Shoguns of the house of Tokugawa, in the
+year 1625, in honour of Yakushi Niôrai, the Buddhist Æsculapius. It
+faces the Ki-mon, or Devil's Gate, of the castle, and was erected upon
+the model of the temple of Hi-yei-zan, one of the most famous of the
+holy places of Kiyôto. Having founded the temple, the next care of
+Iyémitsu was to pray that Morizumi, the second son of the retired
+emperor, should come and reside there; and from that time until 1868,
+the temple was always presided over by a Miya, or member of the
+Mikado's family, who was specially charged with the care of the tomb
+of Iyéyasu at Nikkô, and whose position was that of an ecclesiastical
+chief or primate over the east of Japan.
+
+The temples in Yedo are not to be compared in point of beauty with
+those in and about Peking; what is marble there is wood here. Still
+they are very handsome, and in the days of its magnificence the Temple
+of Uyéno was one of the finest. Alas! the main temple, the hall in
+honour of the sect to which it belongs, the hall of services, the
+bell-tower, the entrance-hall, and the residence of the prince of the
+blood, were all burnt down in the battle of Uyéno, in the summer of
+1868, when the Shogun's men made their last stand in Yedo against the
+troops of the Mikado. The fate of the day was decided by two
+field-pieces, which the latter contrived to mount on the roof of a
+neighbouring tea-house; and the Shogun's men, driven out of the place,
+carried off the Miya in the vain hope of raising his standard in the
+north as that of a rival Mikado. A few of the lesser temples and
+tombs, and the beautiful park-like grounds, are but the remnants of
+the former glory of Uyéno. Among these is a temple in the form of a
+roofless stage, in honour of the thousand-handed Kwannon. In the
+middle ages, during the civil wars between the houses of Gen and Hei,
+one Morihisa, a captain of the house of Hei, after the destruction of
+his clan, went and prayed for a thousand days at the temple of the
+thousand-handed Kwannon at Kiyomidzu, in Kiyôto. His retreat having
+been discovered, he was seized and brought bound to Kamakura, the
+chief town of the house of Gen. Here he was condemned to die at a
+place called Yui, by the sea-shore; but every time that the
+executioner lifted his sword to strike, the blade was broken by the
+god Kwannon, and at the same time the wife of Yoritomo, the chief of
+the house of Gen, was warned in a dream to spare Morihisa's life. So
+Morihisa was reprieved, and rose to power in the state; and all this
+was by the miraculous intervention of the god Kwannon, who takes such
+good care of his faithful votaries. To him this temple is dedicated. A
+colossal bronze Buddha, twenty-two feet high, set up some two hundred
+years ago, and a stone lantern, twenty feet high, and twelve feet
+round at the top, are greatly admired by the Japanese. There are only
+three such lanterns in the empire; the other two being at Nanzenji--a
+temple in Kiyôto, and Atsura, a shrine in the province of Owari. All
+three were erected by the piety of one man, Sakuma Daizen no Suké, in
+the year A.D. 1631.
+
+Iyémitsu, the founder of the temple, was buried with his grandfather,
+Iyéyasu, at Nikkô; but both of these princes are honoured with shrines
+here. The Shoguns who are interred at Uyéno are Iyétsuna, Tsunayoshi,
+Yoshimuné, Iyéharu, Iyénori, and Iyésada, the fourth, fifth, eighth,
+tenth, eleventh, and thirteenth Princes of the Line. Besides them, are
+buried five wives of the Shoguns, and the father of the eleventh
+Shogun.
+
+
+
+
+HOW TAJIMA SHUMÉ WAS TORMENTED BY A DEVIL OF HIS OWN CREATION
+
+
+Once upon a time, a certain Rônin, Tajima Shumé by name, an able and
+well-read man, being on his travels to see the world, went up to
+Kiyôto by the Tôkaidô.[72] One day, in the neighbourhood of Nagoya, in
+the province of Owari, he fell in with a wandering priest, with whom
+he entered into conversation. Finding that they were bound for the
+same place, they agreed to travel together, beguiling their weary way
+by pleasant talk on divers matters; and so by degrees, as they became
+more intimate, they began to speak without restraint about their
+private affairs; and the priest, trusting thoroughly in the honour of
+his companion, told him the object of his journey.
+
+[Footnote 72: The road of the Eastern Sea, the famous high-road
+leading from Kiyôto to Yedo. The name is also used to indicate the
+provinces through which it runs.]
+
+"For some time past," said he, "I have nourished a wish that has
+engrossed all my thoughts; for I am bent on setting up a molten image
+in honour of Buddha; with this object I have wandered through various
+provinces collecting alms and (who knows by what weary toil?) we have
+succeeded in amassing two hundred ounces of silver--enough, I trust,
+to erect a handsome bronze figure."
+
+What says the proverb? "He who bears a jewel in his bosom bears
+poison." Hardly had the Rônin heard these words of the priest than an
+evil heart arose within him, and he thought to himself, "Man's life,
+from the womb to the grave, is made up of good and of ill luck. Here
+am I, nearly forty years old, a wanderer, without a calling, or even a
+hope of advancement in the world. To be sure, it seems a shame; yet if
+I could steal the money this priest is boasting about, I could live at
+ease for the rest of my days;" and so he began casting about how best
+he might compass his purpose. But the priest, far from guessing the
+drift of his comrade's thoughts, journeyed cheerfully on, till they
+reached the town of Kuana. Here there is an arm of the sea, which is
+crossed in ferry-boats, that start as soon as some twenty or thirty
+passengers are gathered together; and in one of these boats the two
+travellers embarked. About half-way across, the priest was taken with
+a sudden necessity to go to the side of the boat; and the Rônin,
+following him, tripped him up whilst no one was looking, and flung him
+into the sea. When the boatmen and passengers heard the splash, and
+saw the priest struggling in the water, they were afraid, and made
+every effort to save him; but the wind was fair, and the boat running
+swiftly under the bellying sails, so they were soon a few hundred
+yards off from the drowning man, who sank before the boat could be
+turned to rescue him.
+
+When he saw this, the Rônin feigned the utmost grief and dismay, and
+said to his fellow-passengers, "This priest, whom we have just lost,
+was my cousin: he was going to Kiyôto, to visit the shrine of his
+patron; and as I happened to have business there as well, we settled
+to travel together. Now, alas! by this misfortune, my cousin is dead,
+and I am left alone."
+
+He spoke so feelingly, and wept so freely, that the passengers
+believed his story, and pitied and tried to comfort him. Then the
+Rônin said to the boatmen--
+
+"We ought, by rights, to report this matter to the authorities; but as
+I am pressed for time, and the business might bring trouble on
+yourselves as well, perhaps we had better hush it up for the present;
+and I will at once go on to Kiyôto and tell my cousin's patron,
+besides writing home about it. What think you, gentlemen?" added he,
+turning to the other travellers.
+
+They, of course, were only too glad to avoid any hindrance to their
+onward journey, and all with one voice agreed to what the Rônin had
+proposed; and so the matter was settled. When, at length, they reached
+the shore, they left the boat, and every man went his way; but the
+Rônin, overjoyed in his heart, took the wandering priest's luggage,
+and, putting it with his own, pursued his journey to Kiyôto.
+
+On reaching the capital, the Rônin changed his name from Shumé to
+Tokubei, and, giving up his position as a Samurai, turned merchant,
+and traded with the dead man's money. Fortune favouring his
+speculations, he began to amass great wealth, and lived at his ease,
+denying himself nothing; and in course of time he married a wife, who
+bore him a child.
+
+Thus the days and months wore on, till one fine summer's night, some
+three years after the priest's death, Tokubei stepped out on to the
+verandah of his house to enjoy the cool air and the beauty of the
+moonlight. Feeling dull and lonely, he began musing over all kinds of
+things, when on a sudden the deed of murder and theft, done so long
+ago, vividly recurred to his memory, and he thought to himself, "Here
+am I, grown rich and fat on the money I wantonly stole. Since then,
+all has gone well with me; yet, had I not been poor, I had never
+turned assassin nor thief. Woe betide me! what a pity it was!" and as
+he was revolving the matter in his mind, a feeling of remorse came
+over him, in spite of all he could do. While his conscience thus smote
+him, he suddenly, to his utter amazement, beheld the faint outline of
+a man standing near a fir-tree in the garden: on looking more
+attentively, he perceived that the man's whole body was thin and worn
+and the eyes sunken and dim; and in the poor ghost that was before him
+he recognized the very priest whom he had thrown into the sea at
+Kuana. Chilled with horror, he looked again, and saw that the priest
+was smiling in scorn. He would have fled into the house, but the ghost
+stretched forth its withered arm, and, clutching the back of his neck,
+scowled at him with a vindictive glare, and a hideous ghastliness of
+mien, so unspeakably awful that any ordinary man would have swooned
+with fear. But Tokubei, tradesman though he was, had once been a
+soldier, and was not easily matched for daring; so he shook off the
+ghost, and, leaping into the room for his dirk, laid about him boldly
+enough; but, strike as he would, the spirit, fading into the air,
+eluded his blows, and suddenly reappeared only to vanish again: and
+from that time forth Tokubei knew no rest, and was haunted night and
+day.
+
+At length, undone by such ceaseless vexation, Tokubei fell ill, and
+kept muttering, "Oh, misery! misery!--the wandering priest is coming
+to torture me!" Hearing his moans and the disturbance he made, the
+people in the house fancied he was mad, and called in a physician, who
+prescribed for him. But neither pill nor potion could cure Tokubei,
+whose strange frenzy soon became the talk of the whole neighbourhood.
+
+Now it chanced that the story reached the ears of a certain wandering
+priest who lodged in the next street. When he heard the particulars,
+this priest gravely shook his head, as though he knew all about it,
+and sent a friend to Tokubei's house to say that a wandering priest,
+dwelling hard by, had heard of his illness, and, were it never so
+grievous, would undertake to heal it by means of his prayers; and
+Tokubei's wife, driven half wild by her husband's sickness, lost not a
+moment in sending for the priest, and taking him into the sick man's
+room.
+
+But no sooner did Tokubei see the priest than he yelled out, "Help!
+help! Here is the wandering priest come to torment me again. Forgive!
+forgive!" and hiding his head under the coverlet, he lay quivering all
+over. Then the priest turned all present out of the room, put his
+mouth to the affrighted man's ear, and whispered--
+
+"Three years ago, at the Kuana ferry, you flung me into the water; and
+well you remember it."
+
+But Tokubei was speechless, and could only quake with fear.
+
+"Happily," continued the priest, "I had learned to swim and to dive as
+a boy; so I reached the shore, and, after wandering through many
+provinces, succeeded in setting up a bronze figure to Buddha, thus
+fulfilling the wish of my heart. On my journey homewards, I took a
+lodging in the next street, and there heard of your marvellous
+ailment. Thinking I could divine its cause, I came to see you, and am
+glad to find I was not mistaken. You have done a hateful deed; but am
+I not a priest, and have I not forsaken the things of this world? and
+would it not ill become me to bear malice? Repent, therefore, and
+abandon your evil ways. To see you do so I should esteem the height of
+happiness. Be of good cheer, now, and look me in the face, and you
+will see that I am really a living man, and no vengeful goblin come
+to torment you."
+
+Seeing he had no ghost to deal with, and overwhelmed by the priest's
+kindness, Tokubei burst into tears, and answered, "Indeed, indeed, I
+don't know what to say. In a fit of madness I was tempted to kill and
+rob you. Fortune befriended me ever after; but the richer I grew, the
+more keenly I felt how wicked I had been, and the more I foresaw that
+my victim's vengeance would some day overtake me. Haunted by this
+thought, I lost my nerve, till one night I beheld your spirit, and
+from that time forth fell ill. But how you managed to escape, and are
+still alive, is more than I can understand."
+
+"A guilty man," said the priest, with a smile, "shudders at the
+rustling of the wind or the chattering of a stork's beak: a murderer's
+conscience preys upon his mind till he sees what is not. Poverty
+drives a man to crimes which he repents of in his wealth. How true is
+the doctrine of Môshi,[73] that the heart of man, pure by nature, is
+corrupted by circumstances."
+
+[Footnote 73: Mencius.]
+
+Thus he held forth; and Tokubei, who had long since repented of his
+crime, implored forgiveness, and gave him a large sum of money,
+saying, "Half of this is the amount I stole from you three years
+since; the other half I entreat you to accept as interest, or as a
+gift."
+
+The priest at first refused the money; but Tokubei insisted on his
+accepting it, and did all he could to detain him, but in vain; for the
+priest went his way, and bestowed the money on the poor and needy. As
+for Tokubei himself, he soon shook off his disorder, and thenceforward
+lived at peace with all men, revered both at home and abroad, and ever
+intent on good and charitable deeds.
+
+
+
+
+CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS
+
+
+
+
+CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS
+
+
+Cats, foxes, and badgers are regarded with superstitious awe by the
+Japanese, who attribute to them the power of assuming the human shape
+in order to bewitch mankind. Like the fairies of our Western tales,
+however, they work for good as well as for evil ends. To do them a
+good turn is to secure powerful allies; but woe betide him who injures
+them!--he and his will assuredly suffer for it. Cats and foxes seem to
+have been looked upon as uncanny beasts all the world over; but it is
+new to me that badgers should have a place in fairy-land. The island
+of Shikoku, the southernmost of the great Japanese islands, appears to
+be the part of the country in which the badger is regarded with the
+greatest veneration. Among the many tricks which he plays upon the
+human race is one, of which I have a clever representation carved in
+ivory. Lying in wait in lonely places after dusk, the badger watches
+for benighted wayfarers: should one appear, the beast, drawing a long
+breath, distends his belly and drums delicately upon it with his
+clenched fist, producing such entrancing tones, that the traveller
+cannot resist turning aside to follow the sound, which,
+Will-o'-the-wisp-like, recedes as he advances, until it lures him on
+to his destruction. Love is, however, the most powerful engine which
+the cat, the fox, and the badger alike put forth for the ruin of man.
+No German poet ever imagined a more captivating water-nymph than the
+fair virgins by whom the knight of Japanese romance is assailed: the
+true hero recognizes and slays the beast; the weaker mortal yields and
+perishes.
+
+The Japanese story-books abound with tales about the pranks of these
+creatures, which, like ghosts, even play a part in the histories of
+ancient and noble families. I have collected a few of these, and now
+beg a hearing for a distinguished and two-tailed[74] connection of
+Puss in Boots and the Chatte Blanche.
+
+[Footnote 74: Cats are found in Japan, as in the Isle of Man, with
+stumps, where they should have tails. Sometimes this is the result of
+art, sometimes of a natural shortcoming. The cats of Yedo are of bad
+repute as mousers, their energies being relaxed by much petting at the
+hands of ladies. The Cat of Nabéshima, so says tradition, was a
+monster with two tails.]
+
+
+
+
+THE VAMPIRE CAT OF NABÉSHIMA
+
+
+There is a tradition in the Nabéshima[75] family that, many years ago,
+the Prince of Hizen was bewitched and cursed by a cat that had been
+kept by one of his retainers. This prince had in his house a lady of
+rare beauty, called O Toyo: amongst all his ladies she was the
+favourite, and there was none who could rival her charms and
+accomplishments. One day the Prince went out into the garden with O
+Toyo, and remained enjoying the fragrance of the flowers until sunset,
+when they returned to the palace, never noticing that they were being
+followed by a large cat. Having parted with her lord, O Toyo retired
+to her own room and went to bed. At midnight she awoke with a start,
+and became aware of a huge cat that crouched watching her; and when
+she cried out, the beast sprang on her, and, fixing its cruel teeth in
+her delicate throat, throttled her to death. What a piteous end for so
+fair a dame, the darling of her prince's heart, to die suddenly,
+bitten to death by a cat! Then the cat, having scratched out a grave
+under the verandah, buried the corpse of O Toyo, and assuming her
+form, began to bewitch the Prince.
+
+[Footnote 75: The family of the Prince of Hizen, one of the eighteen
+chief Daimios of Japan.]
+
+But my lord the Prince knew nothing of all this, and little thought
+that the beautiful creature who caressed and fondled him was an impish
+and foul beast that had slain his mistress and assumed her shape in
+order to drain out his life's blood. Day by day, as time went on, the
+Prince's strength dwindled away; the colour of his face was changed,
+and became pale and livid; and he was as a man suffering from a deadly
+sickness. Seeing this, his councillors and his wife became greatly
+alarmed; so they summoned the physicians, who prescribed various
+remedies for him; but the more medicine he took, the more serious did
+his illness appear, and no treatment was of any avail. But most of all
+did he suffer in the night-time, when his sleep would be troubled and
+disturbed by hideous dreams. In consequence of this, his councillors
+nightly appointed a hundred of his retainers to sit up and watch over
+him; but, strange to say, towards ten o'clock on the very first night
+that the watch was set, the guard were seized with a sudden and
+unaccountable drowsiness, which they could not resist, until one by
+one every man had fallen asleep. Then the false O Toyo came in and
+harassed the Prince until morning. The following night the same thing
+occurred, and the Prince was subjected to the imp's tyranny, while
+his guards slept helplessly around him. Night after night this was
+repeated, until at last three of the Prince's councillors determined
+themselves to sit up on guard, and see whether they could overcome
+this mysterious drowsiness; but they fared no better than the others,
+and by ten o'clock were fast asleep. The next day the three
+councillors held a solemn conclave, and their chief, one Isahaya
+Buzen, said--
+
+"This is a marvellous thing, that a guard of a hundred men should thus
+be overcome by sleep. Of a surety, the spell that is upon my lord and
+upon his guard must be the work of witchcraft. Now, as all our efforts
+are of no avail, let us seek out Ruiten, the chief priest of the
+temple called Miyô In, and beseech him to put up prayers for the
+recovery of my lord."
+
+[Illustration: THE CAT OF NABÉSHIMA.]
+
+And the other councillors approving what Isahaya Buzen had said, they
+went to the priest Ruiten and engaged him to recite litanies that the
+Prince might be restored to health.
+
+So it came to pass that Ruiten, the chief priest of Miyô In, offered
+up prayers nightly for the Prince. One night, at the ninth hour
+(midnight), when he had finished his religious exercises and was
+preparing to lie down to sleep, he fancied that he heard a noise
+outside in the garden, as if some one were washing himself at the
+well. Deeming this passing strange, he looked down from the window;
+and there in the moonlight he saw a handsome young soldier, some
+twenty-four years of age, washing himself, who, when he had finished
+cleaning himself and had put on his clothes, stood before the figure
+of Buddha and prayed fervently for the recovery of my lord the Prince.
+Ruiten looked on with admiration; and the young man, when he had made
+an end of his prayer, was going away; but the priest stopped him,
+calling out to him--
+
+"Sir, I pray you to tarry a little: I have something to say to you."
+
+"At your reverence's service. What may you please to want?"
+
+"Pray be so good as to step up here, and have a little talk."
+
+"By your reverence's leave;" and with this he went upstairs.
+
+Then Ruiten said--
+
+"Sir, I cannot conceal my admiration that you, being so young a man,
+should have so loyal a spirit. I am Ruiten, the chief priest of this
+temple, who am engaged in praying for the recovery of my lord. Pray
+what is your name?"
+
+"My name, sir, is Itô Sôda, and I am serving in the infantry of
+Nabéshima. Since my lord has been sick, my one desire has been to
+assist in nursing him; but, being only a simple soldier, I am not of
+sufficient rank to come into his presence, so I have no resource but
+to pray to the gods of the country and to Buddha that my lord may
+regain his health."
+
+When Ruiten heard this, he shed tears in admiration of the fidelity of
+Itô Sôda, and said--
+
+"Your purpose is, indeed, a good one; but what a strange sickness
+this is that my lord is afflicted with! Every night he suffers from
+horrible dreams; and the retainers who sit up with him are all seized
+with a mysterious sleep, so that not one can keep awake. It is very
+wonderful."
+
+"Yes," replied Sôda, after a moment's reflection, "this certainly must
+be witchcraft. If I could but obtain leave to sit up one night with
+the Prince, I would fain see whether I could not resist this
+drowsiness and detect the goblin."
+
+At last the priest said, "I am in relations of friendship with Isahaya
+Buzen, the chief councillor of the Prince. I will speak to him of you
+and of your loyalty, and will intercede with him that you may attain
+your wish."
+
+"Indeed, sir, I am most thankful. I am not prompted by any vain
+thought of self-advancement, should I succeed: all I wish for is the
+recovery of my lord. I commend myself to your kind favour."
+
+"Well, then, to-morrow night I will take you with me to the
+councillor's house."
+
+"Thank you, sir, and farewell." And so they parted.
+
+On the following evening Itô Sôda returned to the temple Miyô In, and
+having found Ruiten, accompanied him to the house of Isahaya Buzen:
+then the priest, leaving Sôda outside, went in to converse with the
+councillor, and inquire after the Prince's health.
+
+"And pray, sir, how is my lord? Is he in any better condition since I
+have been offering up prayers for him?"
+
+"Indeed, no; his illness is very severe. We are certain that he must
+be the victim of some foul sorcery; but as there are no means of
+keeping a guard awake after ten o'clock, we cannot catch a sight of
+the goblin, so we are in the greatest trouble."
+
+"I feel deeply for you: it must be most distressing. However, I have
+something to tell you. I think that I have found a man who will detect
+the goblin; and I have brought him with me."
+
+"Indeed! who is the man?"
+
+"Well, he is one of my lord's foot-soldiers, named Itô Sôda, a
+faithful fellow, and I trust that you will grant his request to be
+permitted to sit up with my lord."
+
+"Certainly, it is wonderful to find so much loyalty and zeal in a
+common soldier," replied Isahaya Buzen, after a moment's reflection;
+"still it is impossible to allow a man of such low rank to perform the
+office of watching over my lord."
+
+"It is true that he is but a common soldier," urged the priest; "but
+why not raise his rank in consideration of his fidelity, and then let
+him mount guard?"
+
+"It would be time enough to promote him after my lord's recovery. But
+come, let me see this Itô Sôda, that I may know what manner of man he
+is: if he pleases me, I will consult with the other councillors, and
+perhaps we may grant his request."
+
+"I will bring him in forthwith," replied Ruiten, who thereupon went
+out to fetch the young man.
+
+When he returned, the priest presented Itô Sôda to the councillor, who
+looked at him attentively, and, being pleased with his comely and
+gentle appearance, said--
+
+"So I hear that you are anxious to be permitted to mount guard in my
+lord's room at night. Well, I must consult with the other councillors,
+and we will see what can be done for you."
+
+When the young soldier heard this he was greatly elated, and took his
+leave, after warmly thanking Buiten, who had helped him to gain his
+object. The next day the councillors held a meeting, and sent for Itô
+Sôda, and told him that he might keep watch with the other retainers
+that very night. So he went his way in high spirits, and at nightfall,
+having made all his preparations, took his place among the hundred
+gentlemen who were on duty in the prince's bed-room.
+
+Now the Prince slept in the centre of the room, and the hundred guards
+around him sat keeping themselves awake with entertaining conversation
+and pleasant conceits. But, as ten o'clock approached, they began to
+doze off as they sat; and in spite of all their endeavours to keep one
+another awake, by degrees they all fell asleep. Itô Sôda all this
+while felt an irresistible desire to sleep creeping over him, and,
+though he tried by all sorts of ways to rouse himself, he saw that
+there was no help for it, but by resorting to an extreme measure, for
+which he had already made his preparations. Drawing out a piece of oil
+paper which he had brought with him, and spreading it over the mats,
+he sat down upon it; then he took the small knife which he carried in
+the sheath of his dirk, and stuck it into his own thigh. For awhile
+the pain of the wound kept him awake; but as the slumber by which he
+was assailed was the work of sorcery, little by little he became
+drowsy again. Then he twisted the knife round and round in his thigh,
+so that the pain becoming very violent, he was proof against the
+feeling of sleepiness, and kept a faithful watch. Now the oil paper
+which he had spread under his legs was in order to prevent the blood,
+which might spurt from his wound, from defiling the mats.
+
+So Itô Sôda remained awake, but the rest of the guard slept; and as he
+watched, suddenly the sliding-doors of the Prince's room were drawn
+open, and he saw a figure coming in stealthily, and, as it drew
+nearer, the form was that of a marvellously beautiful woman some
+twenty-three years of age. Cautiously she looked around her; and when
+she saw that all the guard were asleep, she smiled an ominous smile,
+and was going up to the Prince's bedside, when she perceived that in
+one corner of the room there was a man yet awake. This seemed to
+startle her, but she went up to Sôda and said--
+
+"I am not used to seeing you here. Who are you?"
+
+"My name is Itô Sôda, and this is the first night that I have been on
+guard."
+
+"A troublesome office, truly! Why, here are all the rest of the guard
+asleep. How is it that you alone are awake? You are a trusty
+watchman."
+
+"There is nothing to boast about. I'm asleep myself, fast and sound."
+
+"What is that wound on your knee? It is all red with blood."
+
+"Oh! I felt very sleepy; so I stuck my knife into my thigh, and the
+pain of it has kept me awake."
+
+"What wondrous loyalty!" said the lady.
+
+"Is it not the duty of a retainer to lay down his life for his master?
+Is such a scratch as this worth thinking about?"
+
+Then the lady went up to the sleeping prince and said, "How fares it
+with my lord to-night?" But the Prince, worn out with sickness, made
+no reply. But Sôda was watching her eagerly, and guessed that it was O
+Toyo, and made up his mind that if she attempted to harass the Prince
+he would kill her on the spot. The goblin, however, which in the form
+of O Toyo had been tormenting the Prince every night, and had come
+again that night for no other purpose, was defeated by the
+watchfulness of Itô Sôda; for whenever she drew near to the sick man,
+thinking to put her spells upon him, she would turn and look behind
+her, and there she saw Itô Sôda glaring at her; so she had no help for
+it but to go away again, and leave the Prince undisturbed.
+
+At last the day broke, and the other officers, when they awoke and
+opened their eyes, saw that Itô Sôda had kept awake by stabbing
+himself in the thigh; and they were greatly ashamed, and went home
+crestfallen.
+
+That morning Itô Sôda went to the house of Isahaya Buzen, and told him
+all that had occurred the previous night. The councillors were all
+loud in their praises of Itô Sôda's behaviour, and ordered him to keep
+watch again that night. At the same hour, the false O Toyo came and
+looked all round the room, and all the guard were asleep, excepting
+Itô Sôda, who was wide awake; and so, being again frustrated, she
+returned to her own apartments.
+
+Now as since Sôda had been on guard the Prince had passed quiet
+nights, his sickness began to get better, and there was great joy in
+the palace, and Sôda was promoted and rewarded with an estate. In the
+meanwhile O Toyo, seeing that her nightly visits bore no fruits, kept
+away; and from that time forth the night-guard were no longer subject
+to fits of drowsiness. This coincidence struck Sôda as very strange,
+so he went to Isahaya Buzen and told him that of a certainty this O
+Toyo was no other than a goblin. Isahaya Buzen reflected for a while,
+and said--
+
+"Well, then, how shall we kill the foul thing?"
+
+"I will go to the creature's room, as if nothing were the matter, and
+try to kill her; but in case she should try to escape, I will beg you
+to order eight men to stop outside and lie in wait for her."
+
+Having agreed upon this plan, Sôda went at nightfall to O Toyo's
+apartment, pretending to have been sent with a message from the
+Prince. When she saw him arrive, she said--
+
+"What message have you brought me from my lord?"
+
+"Oh! nothing in particular. Be so look as to look at this letter;" and
+as he spoke, he drew near to her, and suddenly drawing his dirk cut at
+her; but the goblin, springing back, seized a halberd, and glaring
+fiercely at Sôda, said--
+
+"How dare you behave like this to one of your lord's ladies? I will
+have you dismissed;" and she tried to strike Sôda with the halberd.
+But Sôda fought desperately with his dirk; and the goblin, seeing that
+she was no match for him, threw away the halberd, and from a beautiful
+woman became suddenly transformed into a cat, which, springing up the
+sides of the room, jumped on to the roof. Isahaya Buzen and his eight
+men who were watching outside shot at the cat, but missed it, and the
+beast made good its escape.
+
+So the cat fled to the mountains, and did much mischief among the
+surrounding people, until at last the Prince of Hizen ordered a great
+hunt, and the beast was killed.
+
+But the Prince recovered from his sickness; and Itô Sôda was richly
+rewarded.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT
+
+
+About sixty years ago, in the summertime, a man went to pay a visit at
+a certain house at Osaka, and, in the course of conversation, said--
+
+"I have eaten some very extraordinary cakes to-day," and on being
+asked what he meant, he told the following story:--
+
+"I received the cakes from the relatives of a family who were
+celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the death of a cat that had
+belonged to their ancestors. When I asked the history of the affair, I
+was told that, in former days, a young girl of the family, when she
+was about sixteen years old, used always to be followed about by a
+tom-cat, who was reared in the house, so much so that the two were
+never separated for an instant. When her father perceived this, he was
+very angry, thinking that the tom-cat, forgetting the kindness with
+which he had been treated for years in the house, had fallen in love
+with his daughter, and intended to cast a spell upon her; so he
+determined that he must kill the beast. As he was planning this in
+secret, the cat overheard him, and that night went to his pillow, and,
+assuming a human voice, said to him--
+
+"'You suspect me of being in love with your daughter; and although you
+might well be justified in so thinking, your suspicions are
+groundless. The fact is this:--There is a very large old rat who has
+been living for many years in your granary. Now it is this old rat who
+is in love with my young mistress, and this is why I dare not leave
+her side for a moment, for fear the old rat should carry her off.
+Therefore I pray you to dispel your suspicions. But as I, by myself,
+am no match for the rat, there is a famous cat, named Buchi, at the
+house of Mr. So-and-so, at Ajikawa: if you will borrow that cat, we
+will soon make an end of the old rat.'
+
+"When the father awoke from his dream, he thought it so wonderful,
+that he told the household of it; and the following day he got up very
+early and went off to Ajikawa, to inquire for the house which the cat
+had indicated, and had no difficulty in finding it; so he called upon
+the master of the house, and told him what his own cat had said, and
+how he wished to borrow the cat Buchi for a little while.
+
+"'That's a very easy matter to settle,' said the other: 'pray take him
+with you at once;' and accordingly the father went home with the cat
+Buchi in charge. That night he put the two cats into the granary; and
+after a little while, a frightful clatter was heard, and then all was
+still again; so the people of the house opened the door, and crowded
+out to see what had happened; and there they beheld the two cats and
+the rat all locked together, and panting for breath; so they cut the
+throat of the rat, which was as big as either of the cats: then they
+attended to the two cats; but, although they gave them ginseng[76] and
+other restoratives, they both got weaker and weaker, until at last
+they died. So the rat was thrown into the river; but the two cats were
+buried with all honours in a neighbouring temple."
+
+[Footnote 76: A restorative in high repute. The best sorts are brought
+from Corea.]
+
+
+
+
+HOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS HEAD SHAVED BY THE FOXES
+
+
+In the village of Iwahara, in the province of Shinshiu, there dwelt a
+family which had acquired considerable wealth in the wine trade. On
+some auspicious occasion it happened that a number of guests were
+gathered together at their house, feasting on wine and fish; and as
+the wine-cup went round, the conversation turned upon foxes. Among the
+guests was a certain carpenter, Tokutarô by name, a man about thirty
+years of age, of a stubborn and obstinate turn, who said--
+
+"Well, sirs, you've been talking for some time of men being bewitched
+by foxes; surely you must be under their influence yourselves, to say
+such things. How on earth can foxes have such power over men? At any
+rate, men must be great fools to be so deluded. Let's have no more of
+this nonsense."
+
+Upon this a man who was sitting by him answered--
+
+"Tokutarô little knows what goes on in the world, or he would not
+speak so. How many myriads of men are there who have been bewitched by
+foxes? Why, there have been at least twenty or thirty men tricked by
+the brutes on the Maki Moor alone. It's hard to disprove facts that
+have happened before our eyes."
+
+"You're no better than a pack of born idiots," said Tokutarô. "I will
+engage to go out to the Maki Moor this very night and prove it. There
+is not a fox in all Japan that can make a fool of Tokutarô."
+
+"Thus he spoke in his pride; but the others were all angry with him
+for boasting, and said--
+
+"If you return without anything having happened, we will pay for five
+measures of wine and a thousand copper cash worth of fish; and if you
+are bewitched, you shall do as much for us."
+
+Tokutarô took the bet, and at nightfall set forth for the Maki Moor by
+himself. As he neared the moor, he saw before him a small bamboo
+grove, into which a fox ran; and it instantly occurred to him that the
+foxes of the moor would try to bewitch him. As he was yet looking, he
+suddenly saw the daughter of the headman of the village of Upper
+Horikané, who was married to the headman of the village of Maki.
+
+"Pray, where are you going to, Master Tokutarô?" said she.
+
+"I am going to the village hard by."
+
+"Then, as you will have to pass my native place, if you will allow me,
+I will accompany you so far."
+
+Tokutarô thought this very odd, and made up his mind that it was a fox
+trying to make a fool of him; he accordingly determined to turn the
+tables on the fox, and answered--"It is a long time since I have had
+the pleasure of seeing you; and as it seems that your house is on my
+road, I shall be glad to escort you so far."
+
+With this he walked behind her, thinking he should certainly see the
+end of a fox's tail peeping out; but, look as he might, there was
+nothing to be seen. At last they came to the village of Upper
+Horikané; and when they reached the cottage of the girl's father, the
+family all came out, surprised to see her.
+
+"Oh dear! oh dear! here is our daughter come: I hope there is nothing
+the matter."
+
+And so they went on, for some time, asking a string of questions.
+
+In the meanwhile, Tokutarô went round to the kitchen door, at the back
+of the house, and, beckoning out the master of the house, said--
+
+"The girl who has come with me is not really your daughter. As I was
+going to the Maki Moor, when I arrived at the bamboo grove, a fox
+jumped up in front of me, and when it had dashed into the grove it
+immediately took the shape of your daughter, and offered to accompany
+me to the village; so I pretended to be taken in by the brute, and
+came with it so far."
+
+On hearing this, the master of the house put his head on one side, and
+mused a while; then, calling his wife, he repeated the story to her,
+in a whisper.
+
+But she flew into a great rage with Tokutarô, and said--
+
+"This is a pretty way of insulting people's daughters. The girl is our
+daughter, and there's no mistake about it. How dare you invent such
+lies?"
+
+"Well," said Tokutarô, "you are quite right to say so; but still there
+is no doubt that this is a case of witchcraft."
+
+Seeing how obstinately he held to his opinion, the old folks were
+sorely perplexed, and said--
+
+"What do you think of doing?"
+
+"Pray leave the matter to me: I'll soon strip the false skin off, and
+show the beast to you in its true colours. Do you two go into the
+store-closet, and wait there."
+
+With this he went into the kitchen, and, seizing the girl by the back
+of the neck, forced her down by the hearth.
+
+"Oh! Master Tokutarô, what means this brutal violence? Mother! father!
+help!"
+
+So the girl cried and screamed; but Tokutarô only laughed, and said--
+
+"So you thought to bewitch me, did you? From the moment you jumped
+into the wood, I was on the look-out for you to play me some trick.
+I'll soon make you show what you really are;" and as he said this, he
+twisted her two hands behind her back, and trod upon her, and tortured
+her; but she only wept, and cried--
+
+"Oh! it hurts, it hurts!"
+
+"If this is not enough to make you show your true form, I'll roast you
+to death;" and he piled firewood on the hearth, and, tucking up her
+dress, scorched her severely.
+
+"Oh! oh! this is more than I can bear;" and with this she expired.
+
+The two old people then came running in from the rear of the house,
+and, pushing aside Tokutarô, folded their daughter in their arms, and
+put their hands to her mouth to feel whether she still breathed; but
+life was extinct, and not the sign of a fox's tail was to be seen
+about her. Then they seized Tokutarô by the collar, and cried--
+
+"On pretence that our true daughter was a fox, you have roasted her to
+death. Murderer! Here, you there, bring ropes and cords, and secure
+this Tokutarô!"
+
+So the servants obeyed, and several of them seized Tokutarô and bound
+him to a pillar. Then the master of the house, turning to Tokutarô,
+said--
+
+"You have murdered our daughter before our very eyes. I shall report
+the matter to the lord of the manor, and you will assuredly pay for
+this with your head. Be prepared for the worst."
+
+And as he said this, glaring fiercely at Tokutarô, they carried the
+corpse of his daughter into the store-closet. As they were sending to
+make the matter known in the village of Maki, and taking other
+measures, who should come up but the priest of the temple called
+Anrakuji, in the village of Iwahara, with an acolyte and a servant,
+who called out in a loud voice from the front door--
+
+"Is all well with the honourable master of this house? I have been to
+say prayers to-day in a neighbouring village, and on my way back I
+could not pass the door without at least inquiring after your welfare.
+If you are at home, I would fain pay my respects to you."
+
+As he spoke thus in a loud voice, he was heard from the back of the
+house; and the master got up and went out, and, after the usual
+compliments on meeting had been exchanged, said--
+
+"I ought to have the honour of inviting you to step inside this
+evening; but really we are all in the greatest trouble, and I must beg
+you to excuse my impoliteness."
+
+"Indeed! Pray, what may be the matter?" replied the priest. And when
+the master of the house had told the whole story, from beginning to
+end, he was thunderstruck, and said--
+
+"Truly, this must be a terrible distress to you." Then the priest
+looked on one side, and saw Tokutarô bound, and exclaimed, "Is not
+that Tokutarô that I see there?"
+
+"Oh, your reverence," replied Tokutarô, piteously, "it was this, that,
+and the other: and I took it into my head that the young lady was a
+fox, and so I killed her. But I pray your reverence to intercede for
+me, and save my life;" and as he spoke, the tears started from his
+eyes.
+
+"To be sure," said the priest, "you may well bewail yourself; however,
+if I save your life, will you consent to become my disciple, and enter
+the priesthood?"
+
+"Only save my life, and I'll become your disciple with all my heart."
+
+When the priest heard this, he called out the parents, and said to
+them--
+
+"It would seem that, though I am but a foolish old priest, my coming
+here to-day has been unusually well timed. I have a request to make of
+you. Your putting Tokutarô to death won't bring your daughter to life
+again. I have heard his story, and there certainly was no malice
+prepense on his part to kill your daughter. What he did, he did
+thinking to do a service to your family; and it would surely be better
+to hush the matter up. He wishes, moreover, to give himself over to
+me, and to become my disciple."
+
+"It is as you say," replied the father and mother, speaking together.
+"Revenge will not recall our daughter. Please dispel our grief, by
+shaving his head and making a priest of him on the spot."
+
+"I'll shave him at once, before your eyes," answered the priest, who
+immediately caused the cords which bound Tokutarô to be untied, and,
+putting on his priest's scarf, made him join his hands together in a
+posture of prayer. Then the reverend man stood up behind him, razor in
+hand, and, intoning a hymn, gave two or three strokes of the razor,
+which he then handed to his acolyte, who made a clean shave of
+Tokutarô's hair. When the latter had finished his obeisance to the
+priest, and the ceremony was over, there was a loud burst of laughter;
+and at the same moment the day broke, and Tokutarô found himself
+alone, in the middle of a large moor. At first, in his surprise, he
+thought that it was all a dream, and was much annoyed at having been
+tricked by the foxes. He then passed his hand over his head, and found
+that he was shaved quite bald. There was nothing for it but to get up,
+wrap a handkerchief round his head, and go back to the place where his
+friends were assembled.
+
+"Hallo, Tokutarô! so you've come back. Well, how about the foxes?"
+
+"Really, gentlemen," replied he, bowing, "I am quite ashamed to appear
+before you."
+
+Then he told them the whole story, and, when he had finished, pulled
+off the kerchief, and showed his bald pate.
+
+"What a capital joke!" shouted his listeners, and amid roars of
+laughter, claimed the bet of fish, and wine. It was duly paid; but
+Tokutarô never allowed his hair to grow again, and renounced the
+world, and became a priest under the name of Sainen.
+
+
+There are a great many stories told of men being shaved by the foxes;
+but this story came under the personal observation of Mr. Shôminsai, a
+teacher of the city of Yedo, during a holiday trip which he took to
+the country where the event occurred; and I[77] have recorded it in
+the very selfsame words in which he told it to me.
+
+[Footnote 77: The author of the "Kanzen-Yawa," the book from which the
+story is taken.]
+
+
+
+
+THE GRATEFUL FOXES
+
+
+One fine spring day, two friends went out to a moor to gather fern,
+attended by a boy with a bottle of wine and a box of provisions. As
+they were straying about, they saw at the foot of a hill a fox that
+had brought out its cub to play; and whilst they looked on, struck by
+the strangeness of the sight, three children came up from a
+neighbouring village with baskets in their hands, on the same errand
+as themselves. As soon as the children saw the foxes, they picked up a
+bamboo stick and took the creatures stealthily in the rear; and when
+the old foxes took to flight, they surrounded them and beat them with
+the stick, so that they ran away as fast as their legs could carry
+them; but two of the boys held down the cub, and, seizing it by the
+scruff of the neck, went off in high glee.
+
+The two friends were looking on all the while, and one of them,
+raising his voice, shouted out, "Hallo! you boys! what are you doing
+with that fox?"
+
+The eldest of the boys replied, "We're going to take him home and sell
+him to a young man in our village. He'll buy him, and then he'll boil
+him in a pot and eat him."
+
+"Well," replied the other, after considering the matter attentively,
+"I suppose it's all the same to you whom you sell him to. You'd better
+let me have him."
+
+"Oh, but the young man from our village promised us a good round sum
+if we could find a fox, and got us to come out to the hills and catch
+one; and so we can't sell him to you at any price."
+
+"Well, I suppose it cannot be helped, then; but how much would the
+young man give you for the cub?"
+
+"Oh, he'll give us three hundred cash at least."
+
+"Then I'll give you half a bu;[78] and so you'll gain five hundred
+cash by the transaction."
+
+[Footnote 78: _Bu_. This coin is generally called by foreigners
+"ichibu," which means "one bu." To talk of "_a hundred ichibus_" is as
+though a Japanese were to say "_a hundred one shillings."_ Four bus
+make a _riyo>,_ or ounce; and any sum above three bus is spoken of as
+so many riyos and bus--as 101 riyos and three bus equal 407 bus. The
+bu is worth about 1s. 4d.]
+
+"Oh, we'll sell him for that, sir. How shall we hand him over to you?"
+
+"Just tie him up here," said the other; and so he made fast the cub
+round the neck with the string of the napkin in which the luncheon-box
+was wrapped, and gave half a bu to the three boys, who ran away
+delighted.
+
+The man's friend, upon this, said to him, "Well, certainly you have
+got queer tastes. What on earth are you going to keep the fox for?"
+
+"How very unkind of you to speak of my tastes like that. If we had not
+interfered just now, the fox's cub would have lost its life. If we had
+not seen the affair, there would have been no help for it. How could I
+stand by and see life taken? It was but a little I spent--only half a
+bu--to save the cub, but had it cost a fortune I should not have
+grudged it. I thought you were intimate enough with me to know my
+heart; but to-day you have accused me of being eccentric, and I see
+how mistaken I have been in you. However, our friendship shall cease
+from this day forth."
+
+And when he had said this with a great deal of firmness, the other,
+retiring backwards and bowing with his hands on his knees, replied--
+
+"Indeed, indeed, I am filled with admiration at the goodness of your
+heart. When I hear you speak thus, I feel more than ever how great is
+the love I bear you. I thought that you might wish to use the cub as a
+sort of decoy to lead the old ones to you, that you might pray them to
+bring prosperity and virtue to your house. When I called you eccentric
+just now, I was but trying your heart, because I had some suspicions
+of you; and now I am truly ashamed of myself."
+
+And as he spoke, still bowing, the other replied, "Really! was that
+indeed your thought? Then I pray you to forgive me for my violent
+language."
+
+When the two friends had thus become reconciled, they examined the
+cub, and saw that it had a slight wound in its foot, and could not
+walk; and while they were thinking what they should do, they spied out
+the herb called "Doctor's Nakasé," which was just sprouting; so they
+rolled up a little of it in their fingers and applied it to the part.
+Then they pulled out some boiled rice from their luncheon-box and
+offered it to the cub, but it showed no sign of wanting to eat; so
+they stroked it gently on the back, and petted it; and as the pain of
+the wound seemed to have subsided, they were admiring the properties
+of the herb, when, opposite to them, they saw the old foxes sitting
+watching them by the side of some stacks of rice straw.
+
+"Look there! the old foxes have come back, out of fear for their cub's
+safety. Come, we will set it free!" And with these words they untied
+the string round the cub's neck, and turned its head towards the spot
+where the old foxes sat; and as the wounded foot was no longer
+painful, with one bound it dashed to its parents' side and licked them
+all over for joy, while they seemed to bow their thanks, looking
+towards the two friends. So, with peace in their hearts, the latter
+went off to another place, and, choosing a pretty spot, produced the
+wine bottle and ate their noon-day meal; and after a pleasant day,
+they returned to their homes, and became firmer friends than ever.
+
+Now the man who had rescued the fox's cub was a tradesman in good
+circumstances: he had three or four agents and two maid-servants,
+besides men-servants; and altogether he lived in a liberal manner. He
+was married, and this union had brought him one son, who had reached
+his tenth year, but had been attacked by a strange disease which
+defied all the physician's skill and drugs. At last a famous physician
+prescribed the liver taken from a live fox, which, as he said, would
+certainly effect a cure. If that were not forthcoming, the most
+expensive medicine in the world would not restore the boy to health.
+When the parents heard this, they were at their wits' end. However,
+they told the state of the case to a man who lived on the mountains.
+"Even though our child should die for it," they said, "we will not
+ourselves deprive other creatures of their lives; but you, who live
+among the hills, are sure to hear when your neighbours go out
+fox-hunting. We don't care what price we might have to pay for a fox's
+liver; pray, buy one for us at any expense." So they pressed him to
+exert himself on their behalf; and he, having promised faithfully to
+execute the commission, went his way.
+
+In the night of the following day there came a messenger, who
+announced himself as coming from the person who had undertaken to
+procure the fox's liver; so the master of the house went out to see
+him.
+
+"I have come from Mr. So-and-so. Last night the fox's liver that you
+required fell into his hands; so he sent me to bring it to you." With
+these words the messenger produced a small jar, adding, "In a few days
+he will let you know the price."
+
+When he had delivered his message, the master of the house was greatly
+pleased, and said, "Indeed, I am deeply grateful for this kindness,
+which will save my son's life."
+
+Then the goodwife came out, and received the jar with every mark of
+politeness.
+
+"We must make a present to the messenger."
+
+"Indeed, sir, I've already been paid for my trouble."
+
+"Well, at any rate, you must stop the night here."
+
+"Thank you, sir: I've a relation in the next village whom I have not
+seen for a long while, and I will pass the night with him;" and so he
+took his leave, and went away.
+
+The parents lost no time in sending to let the physician know that
+they had procured the fox's liver. The next day the doctor came and
+compounded a medicine for the patient, which at once produced a good
+effect, and there was no little joy in the household. As luck would
+have it, three days after this the man whom they had commissioned to
+buy the fox's liver came to the house; so the goodwife hurried out to
+meet him and welcome him.
+
+"How quickly you fulfilled our wishes, and how kind of you to send at
+once! The doctor prepared the medicine, and now our boy can get up and
+walk about the room; and it's all owing to your goodness."
+
+"Wait a bit!" cried the guest, who did not know what to make of the
+joy of the two parents. "The commission with which you entrusted me
+about the fox's liver turned out to be a matter of impossibility, so I
+came to-day to make my excuses; and now I really can't understand what
+you are so grateful to me for."
+
+"We are thanking you, sir," replied the master of the house, bowing
+with his hands on the ground, "for the fox's liver which we asked you
+to procure for us."
+
+"I really am perfectly unaware of having sent you a fox's liver: there
+must be some mistake here. Pray inquire carefully into the matter."
+
+"Well, this is very strange. Four nights ago, a man of some five or
+six and thirty years of age came with a verbal message from you, to
+the effect that you had sent him with a fox's liver, which you had
+just procured, and said that he would come and tell us the price
+another day. When we asked him to spend the night here, he answered
+that he would lodge with a relation in the next village, and went
+away."
+
+The visitor was more and more lost in amazement, and; leaning his head
+on one side in deep thought, confessed that he could make nothing of
+it. As for the husband and wife, they felt quite out of countenance at
+having thanked a man so warmly for favours of which he denied all
+knowledge; and so the visitor took his leave, and went home.
+
+That night there appeared at the pillow of the master of the house a
+woman of about one or two and thirty years of age, who said, "I am the
+fox that lives at such-and-such a mountain. Last spring, when I was
+taking out my cub to play, it was carried off by some boys, and only
+saved by your goodness. The desire to requite this kindness pierced me
+to the quick. At last, when calamity attacked your house, I thought
+that I might be of use to you. Your son's illness could not be cured
+without a liver taken from a live fox, so to repay your kindness I
+killed my cub and took out its liver; then its sire, disguising
+himself as a messenger, brought it to your house."
+
+And as she spoke, the fox shed tears; and the master of the house,
+wishing to thank her, moved in bed, upon which his wife awoke and
+asked him what was the matter; but he too, to her great astonishment,
+was biting the pillow and weeping bitterly.
+
+"Why are you weeping thus?" asked she.
+
+At last he sat up in bed, and said, "Last spring, when I was out on a
+pleasure excursion, I was the means of saving the life of a fox's cub,
+as I told you at the time. The other day I told Mr. So-and-so that,
+although my son were to die before my eyes, I would not be the means
+of killing a fox on purpose; but asked him, in case he heard of any
+hunter killing a fox, to buy it for me. How the foxes came to hear of
+this I don't know; but the foxes to whom I had shown kindness killed
+their own cub and took out the liver; and the old dog-fox, disguising
+himself as a messenger from the person to whom we had confided the
+commission, came here with it. His mate has just been at my
+pillow-side and told me all about it; hence it was that, in spite of
+myself, I was moved to tears."
+
+[Illustration: THE FEAST OF INARI SAMA.]
+
+When she heard this, the goodwife likewise was blinded by her tears,
+and for a while they lay lost in thought; but at last, coming to
+themselves, they lighted the lamp on the shelf on which the family
+idol stood, and spent the night in reciting prayers and praises, and
+the next day they published the matter to the household and to their
+relations and friends. Now, although there are instances of men
+killing their own children to requite a favour, there is no other
+example of foxes having done such a thing; so the story became the
+talk of the whole country.
+
+Now, the boy who had recovered through the efficacy of this medicine
+selected the prettiest spot on the premises to erect a shrine to Inari
+Sama,[79] the Fox God, and offered sacrifice to the two old foxes, for
+whom he purchased the highest rank at the court of the Mikado.
+
+
+[Footnote 79: Inari Sama is the title under which was deified a
+certain mythical personage, called Uga, to whom tradition attributes
+the honour of having first discovered and cultivated the rice-plant.
+He is represented carrying a few ears of rice, and is symbolized by a
+snake guarding a bale of rice grain. The foxes wait upon him, and do
+his bidding. Inasmuch as rice is the most important and necessary
+product of Japan, the honours which Inari Sama receives are
+extraordinary. Almost every house in the country contains somewhere
+about the grounds a pretty little shrine in his honour; and on a
+certain day of the second month of the year his feast is celebrated
+with much beating of drums and other noises, in which the children
+take a special delight. "On this day," says the Ô-Satsuyô, a Japanese
+cyclopædia, "at Yedo, where there are myriads upon myriads of shrines
+to Inari Sama, there are all sorts of ceremonies. Long banners with
+inscriptions are erected, lamps and lanterns are hung up, and the
+houses are decked with various dolls and figures; the sound of flutes
+and drums is heard, the people dance and make holiday according to
+their fancy. In short, it is the most bustling festival of the Yedo
+year."]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The passage in the tale which speaks of rank being purchased for the
+foxes at the court of the Mikado is, of course, a piece of nonsense.
+"The saints who are worshipped in Japan," writes a native authority,
+"are men who, in the remote ages, when the country was developing
+itself, were sages, and by their great and virtuous deeds having
+earned the gratitude of future generations, received divine honours
+after their death. How can the Son of Heaven, who is the father and
+mother of his people, turn dealer in ranks and honours? If rank were a
+matter of barter, it would cease to be a reward to the virtuous."
+
+All matters connected with the shrines of the Shintô, or indigenous
+religion, are confided to the superintendence of the families of
+Yoshida and Fushimi, Kugés or nobles of the Mikado's court at Kiyôto.
+The affairs of the Buddhist or imported religion are under the care of
+the family of Kanjuji. As it is necessary that those who as priests
+perform the honourable office of serving the gods should be persons of
+some standing, a certain small rank is procured for them through the
+intervention of the representatives of the above noble families, who,
+on the issuing of the required patent, receive as their perquisite a
+fee, which, although insignificant in itself, is yet of importance to
+the poor Kugés, whose penniless condition forms a great contrast to
+the wealth of their inferiors in rank, the Daimios. I believe that
+this is the only case in which rank can be bought or sold in Japan. In
+China, on the contrary, in spite of what has been written by Meadows
+and other admirers of the examination system, a man can be what he
+pleases by paying for it; and the coveted button, which is nominally
+the reward of learning and ability, is more often the prize of wealthy
+ignorance.
+
+The saints who are alluded to above are the saints of the whole
+country, as distinct from those who for special deeds are locally
+worshipped. To this innumerable class frequent allusion is made in
+these Tales.
+
+Touching the remedy of the fox's liver, prescribed in the tale, I may
+add that there would be nothing strange in this to a person acquainted
+with the Chinese pharmacopoeia, which the Japanese long exclusively
+followed, although they are now successfully studying the art of
+healing as practised in the West. When I was at Peking, I saw a
+Chinese physician prescribe a decoction of three scorpions for a child
+struck down with fever; and on another occasion a groom of mine,
+suffering from dysentery, was treated with acupuncture of the tongue.
+The art of medicine would appear to be at the present time in China
+much in the state in which it existed in Europe in the sixteenth
+century, when the excretions and secretions of all manner of animals,
+saurians, and venomous snakes and insects, and even live bugs, were
+administered to patients. "Some physicians," says Matthiolus, "use the
+ashes of scorpions, burnt alive, for retention caused by either renal
+or vesical calculi. But I have myself thoroughly experienced the
+utility of an oil I make myself, whereof scorpions form a very large
+portion of the ingredients. If only the region of the heart and all
+the pulses of the body be anointed with it, it will free the patients
+from the effects of all kinds of poisons taken by the mouth, corrosive
+ones excepted." Decoctions of Egyptian mummies were much commended,
+and often prescribed with due academical solemnity; and the bones of
+the human skull, pulverized and administered with oil, were used as a
+specific in cases of renal calculus. (See Petri Andreæ Matthioli
+Opera, 1574.)
+
+These remarks were made to me by a medical gentleman to whom I
+mentioned the Chinese doctor's prescription of scorpion tea, and they
+seem to me so curious that I insert them for comparison's sake.
+
+
+
+
+THE BADGER'S MONEY
+
+
+It is a common saying among men, that to forget favours received is
+the part of a bird or a beast: an ungrateful man will be ill spoken of
+by all the world. And yet even birds and beasts will show gratitude;
+so that a man who does not requite a favour is worse even than dumb
+brutes. Is not this a disgrace?
+
+Once upon a time, in a hut at a place called Namékata, in Hitachi,
+there lived an old priest famous neither for learning nor wisdom, but
+bent only on passing his days in prayer and meditation. He had not
+even a child to wait upon him, but prepared his food with his own
+hands. Night and morning he recited the prayer "Namu Amida Butsu,"[80]
+intent upon that alone. Although the fame of his virtue did not reach
+far, yet his neighbours respected and revered him, and often brought
+him food and raiment; and when his roof or his walls fell out of
+repair, they would mend them for him; so for the things of this world
+he took no thought.
+
+[Footnote 80: A Buddhist prayer, in which something approaching to the
+sounds of the original Sanscrit has been preserved. The meaning of the
+prayer is explained as, "Save us, eternal Buddha!" Many even of the
+priests who repeat it know it only as a formula, without understanding
+it.]
+
+One very cold night, when he little thought any one was outside, he
+heard a voice calling "Your reverence! your reverence!" So he rose and
+went out to see who it was, and there he beheld an old badger
+standing. Any ordinary man would have been greatly alarmed at the
+apparition; but the priest, being such as he has been described above,
+showed no sign of fear, but asked the creature its business. Upon this
+the badger respectfully bent its knees, and said--
+
+"Hitherto, sir, my lair has been in the mountains, and of snow or
+frost I have taken no heed; but now I am growing old, and this severe
+cold is more than I can bear. I pray you to let me enter and warm
+myself at the fire of your cottage, that I may live through this
+bitter night."
+
+When the priest heard what a helpless state the beast was reduced to,
+he was filled with pity, and said--
+
+"That's a very slight matter: make haste and come in and warm
+yourself."
+
+The badger, delighted with so good a reception, went into the hut, and
+squatting down by the fire began to warm itself; and the priest, with
+renewed fervour, recited his prayers and struck his bell before the
+image of Buddha, looking straight before him. After two hours the
+badger took its leave, with profuse expressions of thanks, and went
+out; and from that time forth it came every night to the hut. As the
+badger would collect and bring with it dried branches and dead leaves
+from the hills for firewood, the priest at last became very friendly
+with it, and got used to its company; so that if ever, as the night
+wore on, the badger did not arrive, he used to miss it, and wonder why
+it did not come. When the winter was over, and the spring-time came at
+the end of the second month, the Badger gave up its visits, and was no
+more seen; but, on the return of the winter, the beast resumed its old
+habit of coming to the hut. When this practice had gone on for ten
+years, one day the badger said to the priest, "Through your
+reverence's kindness for all these years, I have been able to pass the
+winter nights in comfort. Your favours are such, that during all my
+life, and even after my death, I must remember them. What can I do to
+requite them? If there is anything that you wish for, pray tell me."
+
+The priest, smiling at this speech, answered, "Being such as I am, I
+have no desire and no wishes. Glad as I am to hear your kind
+intentions, there is nothing that I can ask you to do for me. You need
+feel no anxiety on my account. As long as I live, when the winter
+comes, you shall be welcome here." The badger, on hearing this, could
+not conceal its admiration of the depth of the old man's benevolence;
+but having so much to be grateful for, it felt hurt at not being able
+to requite it. As this subject was often renewed between them, the
+priest at last, touched by the goodness of the badger's heart, said,
+"Since I have shaven my head, renounced the world, and forsaken the
+pleasures of this life, I have no desire to gratify, yet I own I
+should like to possess three riyos in gold. Food and raiment I receive
+by the favour of the villagers, so I take no heed for those things.
+Were I to die to-morrow, and attain my wish of being born again into
+the next world, the same kind folk have promised to meet and bury my
+body. Thus, although I have no other reason to wish for money, still
+if I had three riyos I would offer them up at some holy shrine, that
+masses and prayers might be said for me, whereby I might enter into
+salvation. Yet I would not get this money by violent or unlawful
+means; I only think of what might be if I had it. So you see, since
+you have expressed such kind feelings towards me, I have told you what
+is on my mind." When the priest had done speaking, the badger leant
+its head on one side with a puzzled and anxious look, so much so that
+the old man was sorry he had expressed a wish which seemed to give the
+beast trouble, and tried to retract what he had said. "Posthumous
+honours, after all, are the wish of ordinary men. I, who am a priest,
+ought not to entertain such thoughts, or to want money; so pray pay no
+attention to what I have said;" and the badger, feigning assent to
+what the priest had impressed upon it, returned to the hills as usual.
+
+From that time forth the badger came no more to the hut. The priest
+thought this very strange, but imagined either that the badger stayed
+away because it did not like to come without the money, or that it had
+been killed in an attempt to steal it; and he blamed himself for
+having added to his sins for no purpose, repenting when it was too
+late: persuaded, however, that the badger must have been killed, he
+passed his time in putting up prayers upon prayers for it.
+
+After three years had gone by, one night the old man heard a voice
+near his door calling out, "Your reverence! your reverence!"
+
+As the voice was like that of the badger, he jumped up as soon as he
+heard it, and ran out to open the door; and there, sure enough, was
+the badger. The priest, in great delight, cried out, "And so you are
+safe and sound, after all! Why have you been so long without coming
+here? I have been expecting you anxiously this long while."
+
+So the badger came into the hut, and said, "If the money which you
+required had been for unlawful purposes, I could easily have procured
+as much as ever you might have wanted; but when I heard that it was to
+be offered to a temple for masses for your soul, I thought that, if I
+were to steal the hidden treasure of some other man, you could not
+apply to a sacred purpose money which had been obtained at the expense
+of his sorrow. So I went to the island of Sado,[81] and gathering the
+sand and earth which had been cast away as worthless by the miners,
+fused it afresh in the fire; and at this work I spent months and
+days." As the badger finished speaking, the priest looked at the money
+which it had produced, and sure enough he saw that it was bright and
+new and clean; so he took the money, and received it respectfully,
+raising it to his head.
+
+
+[Footnote 81: An island on the west coast of Japan, famous for its
+gold mines.]
+
+"And so you have had all this toil and labour on account of a foolish
+speech of mine? I have obtained my heart's desire, and am truly
+thankful."
+
+As he was thanking the badger with great politeness and ceremony, the
+beast said, "In doing this I have but fulfilled my own wish; still I
+hope that you will tell this thing to no man."
+
+"Indeed," replied the priest, "I cannot choose but tell this story.
+For if I keep this money in my poor hut, it will be stolen by thieves:
+I must either give it to some one to keep for me, or else at once
+offer it up at the temple. And when I do this, when people see a poor
+old priest with a sum of money quite unsuited to his station, they
+will think it very suspicious, and I shall have to tell the tale as it
+occurred; but as I shall say that the badger that gave me the money
+has ceased coming to my hut, you need not fear being waylaid, but can
+come, as of old, and shelter yourself from the cold." To this the
+badger nodded assent; and as long as the old priest lived, it came and
+spent the winter nights with him.
+
+From this story, it is plain that even beasts have a sense of
+gratitude: in this quality dogs excel all other beasts. Is not the
+story of the dog of Totoribé Yorodzu written in the Annals of Japan?
+I[82] have heard that many anecdotes of this nature have been
+collected and printed in a book, which I have not yet seen; but as the
+facts which I have recorded relate to a badger, they appear to me to
+be passing strange.
+
+[Footnote 82: The author of the tale.]
+
+
+
+
+THE PRINCE AND THE BADGER
+
+
+In days of yore there lived a forefather of the Prince of Tosa who
+went by the name of Yamanouchi Kadzutoyo. At the age of fourteen this
+prince was amazingly fond of fishing, and would often go down to the
+river for sport. And it came to pass one day that he had gone thither
+with but one retainer, and had made a great haul, that a violent
+shower suddenly came on. Now, the prince had no rain-coat with him,
+and was in so sorry a plight that he took shelter under a willow-tree
+and waited for the weather to clear; but the storm showed no sign of
+abating, and there was no help for it, so he turned to the retainer
+and said--
+
+"This rain is not likely to stop for some time, so we had better hurry
+home."
+
+As they trudged homeward, night fell, and it grew very dark; and their
+road lay over a long bank, by the side of which they found a girl,
+about sixteen years old, weeping bitterly. Struck with wonder, they
+looked steadfastly at her, and perceived that she was exceedingly
+comely. While Kadzutoyo stood doubting what so strange a sight could
+portend, his retainer, smitten with the girl's charms, stepped up to
+her and said--
+
+"Little sister, tell us whose daughter you are, and how it comes that
+you are out by yourself at night in such a storm of rain. Surely it is
+passing strange."
+
+"Sir," replied she, looking up through her tears, "I am the daughter
+of a poor man in the castle town. My mother died when I was seven
+years old, and my father has now wedded a shrew, who loathes and
+ill-uses me; and in the midst of my grief he is gone far away on his
+business, so I was left alone with my stepmother; and this very night
+she spited and beat me till I could bear it no longer, and was on my
+way to my aunt's, who dwells in yonder village, when the shower came
+on; but as I lay waiting for the rain to stop, I was seized with a
+spasm, to which I am subject, and was in great pain, when I had the
+good luck to fall in with your worships."
+
+As she spoke, the retainer fell deeply in love with her matchless
+beauty, whilst his lord Kadzutoyo, who from the outset had not uttered
+a word, but stood brooding over the matter, straightway drew his sword
+and cut off her head. But the retainer stood aghast, and cried out--
+
+"Oh! my young lord, what wicked deed is this that you've done? The
+murder of a man's daughter will bring trouble upon us, for you may
+rely on the business not ending here."
+
+"You don't know what you're talking about," answered Kadzutoyo: "only
+don't tell any one about it, that is all I ask;" and so they went home
+in silence.
+
+As Kadzutoyo was very tired, he went to bed, and slept undisturbed by
+any sense of guilt; for he was brave and fearless. But the retainer
+grew very uneasy, and went to his young lord's parents and said--
+
+"I had the honour of attending my young lord out fishing to-day, and
+we were driven home by the rain. And as we came back by the bank, we
+descried a girl with a spasm in her stomach, and her my young lord
+straightway slew; and although he has bidden me tell it to no one, I
+cannot conceal it from my lord and my lady."
+
+Kadzutoyo's parents were sore amazed, bewailing their son's
+wickedness, and went at once to his room and woke him; his father shed
+tears and said--
+
+"Oh! dastardly cut-throat that you are! how dare you kill another
+man's daughter without provocation? Such unspeakable villany is
+unworthy a Samurai's son. Know, that the duty of every Samurai is to
+keep watch over the country, and to protect the people; and such is
+his daily task. For sword and dirk are given to men that they may slay
+rebels, and faithfully serve their prince, and not that they may go
+about committing sin and killing the daughters of innocent men.
+Whoever is fool enough not to understand this will repeat his misdeed,
+and will assuredly bring shame on his kindred. Grieved as I am that I
+should take away the life which I gave you, I cannot suffer you to
+bring dishonour on our house; so prepare to meet your fate!"
+
+With these words he drew his sword; but Kadzutoyo, without a sign of
+fear, said to his father--
+
+"Your anger, sir, is most just; but remember that I have studied the
+classics and understand the laws of right and wrong, and be sure I
+would never kill another man without good cause. The girl whom I slew
+was certainly no human being, but some foul goblin: feeling certain of
+this, I cut her down. To-morrow I beg you will send your retainers to
+look for the corpse; and if it really be that of a human being, I
+shall give you no further trouble, but shall disembowel myself."
+
+Upon this the father sheathed his sword, and awaited daybreak. When
+the morning came, the old prince, in sad distress, bade his retainers
+lead him to the bank; and there he saw a huge badger, with his head
+cut off, lying dead by the roadside; and the prince was lost in wonder
+at his son's shrewdness. But the retainer did not know what to make of
+it, and still had his doubts. The prince, however, returned home, and
+sending for his son, said to him--
+
+"It's very strange that the creature which appeared to your retainer
+to be a girl, should have seemed to you to be a badger."
+
+"My lord's wonder is just," replied Kadzutoyo, smiling: "she appeared
+as a girl to me as well. But here was a young girl, at night, far from
+any inhabited place. Stranger still was her wondrous beauty; and
+strangest of all that, though it was pouring with rain, there was not
+a sign of wet on her clothes; and when my retainer asked how long she
+had been there, she said she had been on the bank in pain for some
+time; so I had no further doubt but that she was a goblin, and I
+killed her."
+
+"But what made you think she must be a goblin because her clothes were
+dry?"
+
+"The beast evidently thought that, if she could bewitch us with her
+beauty, she might get at the fish my retainer was carrying; but she
+forgot that, as it was raining, it would not do for her clothes not to
+be wet; so I detected and killed her."
+
+When the old prince heard his son speak thus, he was filled with
+admiration for the youth's sagacity; so, conceiving that Kadzutoyo had
+given reliable proof of wisdom and prudence, he resolved to
+abdicate;[83] and Kadzutoyo was proclaimed Prince of Tosa in his
+stead.
+
+[Footnote 83: _Inkiyô_, abdication. The custom of abdication is common
+among all classes, from the Emperor down to his meanest subject. The
+Emperor abdicates after consultation with his ministers: the Shogun
+has to obtain the permission of the Emperor; the Daimios, that of the
+Shogun. The abdication of the Emperor was called _Sentô_; that of the
+Shogun, _Oyoshô_; in all other ranks it is called _Inkiyô_. It must be
+remembered that the princes of Japan, in becoming Inkiyô, resign the
+semblance and the name, but not the reality of power. Both in their
+own provinces and in the country at large they play a most important
+part. The ex-Princes of Tosa, Uwajima and Owari, are far more notable
+men in Japan than the actual holders of the titles.]
+
+
+
+
+JAPANESE SERMONS
+
+[Illustration: A JAPANESE SERMON.]
+
+
+
+
+JAPANESE SERMONS
+
+
+"Sermons preached here on 8th, 18th, and 28th days of every month."
+Such was the purport of a placard, which used to tempt me daily, as I
+passed the temple Chô-ô-ji. Having ascertained that neither the
+preacher nor his congregation would have any objection to my hearing
+one of these sermons, I made arrangements to attend the service,
+accompanied by two friends, my artist, and a scribe to take notes.
+
+We were shown into an apartment adjoining a small chapel--a room
+opening on to a tastily arranged garden, wealthy in stone lanterns and
+dwarfed trees. In the portion of the room reserved for the priest
+stood a high table, covered with a cloth of white and scarlet silk,
+richly embroidered with flowers and arabesques; upon this stood a
+bell, a tray containing the rolls of the sacred books, and a small
+incense-burner of ancient Chinese porcelain. Before the table was a
+hanging drum, and behind it was one of those high, back-breaking
+arm-chairs which adorn every Buddhist temple. In one corner of the
+space destined for the accommodation of the faithful was a low
+writing-desk, at which sat, or rather squatted, a lay clerk, armed
+with a huge pair of horn spectacles, through which he glared,
+goblin-like, at the people, as they came to have their names and the
+amount of their offerings to the temple registered. These latter must
+have been small things, for the congregation seemed poor enough. It
+was principally composed of old women, nuns with bald shiny pates and
+grotesque faces, a few petty tradesmen, and half-a-dozen chubby
+children, perfect little models of decorum and devoutness. One lady
+there was, indeed, who seemed a little better to do in the world than
+the rest; she was nicely dressed, and attended by a female servant;
+she came in with a certain little consequential rustle, and displayed
+some coquetry, and a very pretty bare foot, as she took her place,
+and, pulling out a dandy little pipe and tobacco-pouch, began to
+smoke. Fire-boxes and spittoons, I should mention, were freely handed
+about; so that half-an-hour which passed before the sermon began was
+agreeably spent. In the meanwhile, mass was being celebrated in the
+main hall of the temple, and the monotonous nasal drone of the plain
+chant was faintly heard in the distance. So soon as this was over, the
+lay clerk sat himself down by the hanging drum, and, to its
+accompaniment, began intoning the prayer, "Na Mu Miyô Hô Ren Go Kiyô,"
+the congregation fervently joining in unison with him. These words,
+repeated over and over again, are the distinctive prayer of the
+Buddhist sect of Nichiren, to which the temple Chô-ô-ji is dedicated.
+They are approximations to Sanscrit sounds, and have no meaning in
+Japanese, nor do the worshippers in using them know their precise
+value.
+
+Soon the preacher, gorgeous in red and white robes, made his
+appearance, following an acolyte, who carried the sacred book called
+_Hokké_ (upon which the sect of Nichiren is founded) on a tray covered
+with scarlet and gold brocade. Having bowed to the sacred picture
+which hung over the _tokonoma_--that portion of the Japanese room
+which is raised a few inches above the rest of the floor, and which is
+regarded as the place of honour--his reverence took his seat at the
+table, and adjusted his robes; then, tying up the muscles of his face
+into a knot, expressive of utter abstraction, he struck the bell upon
+the table thrice, burnt a little incense, and read a passage from the
+sacred book, which he reverently lifted to his head. The congregation
+joined in chorus, devout but unintelligent; for the Word, written in
+ancient Chinese, is as obscure to the ordinary Japanese worshipper as
+are the Latin liturgies to a high-capped Norman peasant-woman. While
+his flock wrapped up copper cash in paper, and threw them before the
+table as offerings, the priest next recited a passage alone, and the
+lay clerk irreverently entered into a loud dispute with one of the
+congregation, touching some payment or other. The preliminary
+ceremonies ended, a small shaven-pated boy brought in a cup of tea,
+thrice afterwards to be replenished, for his reverence's refreshment;
+and he, having untied his face, gave a broad grin, cleared his throat,
+swallowed his tea, and beamed down upon us, as jolly, rosy a priest as
+ever donned stole or scarf. His discourse, which was delivered in the
+most familiar and easy manner, was an _extempore_ dissertation on
+certain passages from the sacred books. Whenever he paused or made a
+point, the congregation broke in with a cry of "Nammiyô!" a corruption
+of the first three words of the prayer cited above, to which they
+always contrived to give an expression or intonation in harmony with
+the preacher's meaning.
+
+"It is a matter of profound satisfaction to me," began his reverence
+Nichirin, smiling blandly at his audience, "to see so many gentlemen
+and ladies gathered together here this day, in the fidelity of their
+hearts, to do honour to the feast of Kishimojin."[84]
+
+[Footnote 84: Kishimojin, a female deity of the Buddhists.]
+
+"Nammiyô! nammiyô!" self-depreciatory, from the congregation.
+
+"I feel certain that your piety cannot fail to find favour with
+Kishimojin. Kishimojin ever mourns over the tortures of mankind, who
+are dwelling in a house of fire, and she ever earnestly strives to
+find some means of delivering them.
+
+"Nammiyô! nammiyô!" grateful and reverential.
+
+"Notwithstanding this, it is useless your worshipping Kishimojin, and
+professing to believe in her, unless you have truth in your hearts;
+for she will not receive your offerings. Man, from his very birth, is
+a creature of requirements; he is for ever seeking and praying. Both
+you who listen, and I who preach, have all of us our wants and wishes.
+If there be any person here who flatters himself that he has no wishes
+and no wants, let him reflect. Does not every one wish and pray that
+heaven and earth may stand for ever, that his country and family may
+prosper, that there may be plenty in the land, and that the people may
+be healthy and happy? The wishes of men, however, are various and
+many; and these wishes, numberless as they are, are all known to the
+gods from the beginning. It is no use praying, unless you have truth
+in your heart. For instance, the prayer _Na Mu_ is a prayer committing
+your bodies to the care of the gods; if, when you utter it, your
+hearts are true and single, of a surety your request will be granted.
+Now, this is not a mere statement made by Nichiren, the holy founder
+of this sect; it is the sacred teaching of Buddha himself, and may not
+be doubted."
+
+"Nammiyô! nammiyô!" with profound conviction.
+
+"The heart of man is, by nature, upright and true; but there are seven
+passions[85] by which it is corrupted. Buddha is alarmed when he sees
+the fires by which the world is being consumed. These fires are the
+five lusts of this sinful world; and the five lusts are, the desire
+for fair sights, sweet sounds, fragrant smells, dainty meats, and rich
+trappings. Man is no sooner endowed with a body than he is possessed
+by these lusts, which become his very heart; and, it being a law that
+every man follows the dictates of his heart, in this way the body, the
+lusts of the flesh, the heart, and the dictates of the heart, blaze up
+in the consuming fire. 'Alas! for this miserable world!' said the
+divine Buddha."
+
+[Footnote 85: The seven passions are joy, anger, sadness, fear, love,
+hatred, and desire.]
+
+"Nammiyô! nammiyô!" mournful, and with much head-shaking.
+
+"There is not so foul thing under heaven as the human body. The body
+exudes grease, the eyes distil gums, the nose is full of mucus, the
+mouth of slobbering spittle; nor are these the most impure secretions
+of the body. What a mistake it is to look upon this impure body as
+clean and perfect! Unless we listen to the teachings of Buddha, how
+shall we be washed and purified?"
+
+"Nammiyô, nammiyô!" from an impure and very miserable sinner, under
+ten years of age.
+
+"The lot of man is uncertain, and for ever running out of the beaten
+track. Why go to look at the flowers, and take delight in their
+beauty? When you return home, you will see the vanity of your
+pleasure. Why purchase fleeting joys of loose women? How long do you
+retain the delicious taste of the dainties you feast upon? For ever
+_wishing_ to do this, _wishing_ to see that, _wishing_ to eat rare
+dishes, _wishing_ to wear fine clothes, you pass a lifetime in fanning
+the flames which consume you. What terrible matter for thought is
+this! In the poems of the priest Saigiyo it is written, 'Verily I have
+been familiar with the flowers; yet are they withered and scattered,
+and we are parted. How sad!' The beauty of the convolvulus, how bright
+it is!--and yet in one short morning it closes its petals and fades.
+In the book called _Rin Jo Bo Satsu_[86] we are told how a certain
+king once went to take his pleasure in his garden, and gladden his
+eyes with the beauty of his flowers. After a while he fell asleep; and
+as he slumbered, the women of his train began pulling the flowers to
+pieces. When the king awoke, of all the glory of his flowers there
+remained but a few torn and faded petals. Seeing this, the king said,
+'The flowers pass away and die; so is it with mankind: we are born, we
+grow old, we sicken and die; we are as fleeting as the lightning's
+flash, as evanescent as the morning dew.' I know not whether any of
+you here present ever fix your thoughts upon death; yet it is a rare
+thing for a man to live for a hundred years. How piteous a thing it is
+that in this short and transient life men should consume themselves in
+a fire of lust! and if we think to escape from this fire, how shall we
+succeed save only by the teaching of the divine Buddha?"
+
+[Footnote 86: One of the Buddhist classics.]
+
+"Nammiyô! nammiyô!" meekly and entreatingly.
+
+"Since Buddha himself escaped from the burning flames of the lusts of
+the flesh, his only thought has been for the salvation of mankind.
+Once upon a time there was a certain heretic, called Rokutsuponji, a
+reader of auguries, cunning in astrology and in the healing art. It
+happened, one day, that this heretic, being in company with Buddha,
+entered a forest, which was full of dead men's skulls. Buddha, taking
+up one of the skulls and tapping it thus" (here the preacher tapped
+the reading-desk with his fan), "said, 'What manner of man was this
+bone when alive?--and, now that he is dead, in what part of the world
+has he been born again?' The heretic, auguring from the sound which
+the skull, when struck, gave forth, began to tell its past history,
+and to prophesy the future. Then Buddha, tapping another skull, again
+asked the same question. The heretic answered--
+
+"'Verily, as to this skull, whether it belonged to a man or a woman,
+whence its owner came or whither he has gone, I know not. What think
+you of it?"
+
+"'Ask me not,' answered Buddha. But the heretic pressed him, and
+entreated him to answer; then Buddha said, 'Verily this is the skull
+of one of my disciples, who forsook the lusts of the flesh.'
+
+"Then the heretic wondered, and said--
+
+"'Of a truth, this is a thing the like of which no man has yet seen.
+Here am I, who know the manner of the life and of the death even of
+the ants that creep. Verily, I thought that no thing could escape my
+ken; yet here lies one of your disciples, than whom there lives no
+nobler thing, and I am at fault. From this day forth I will enter your
+sect, praying only that I may receive your teaching.'
+
+"Thus did this learned heretic become a disciple of Buddha. If such
+an one as he was converted, how much the more should after-ages of
+ordinary men feel that it is through. Buddha alone that they can hope
+to overcome the sinful lusts of the flesh! These lusts are the desires
+which agitate our hearts: if we are free from these desires, our
+hearts will be bright and pure, and there is nothing, save the
+teaching of Buddha, which can ensure us this freedom. Following the
+commands of Buddha, and delivered by him from our desires, we may pass
+our lives in peace and happiness."
+
+"Nammiyô! nammiyô!" with triumphant exultation.
+
+"In the sacred books we read of conversion from a state of sin to a
+state of salvation. Now this salvation is not a million miles removed
+from us; nor need we die and be born again into another world in order
+to reach it. He who lays aside his carnal lusts and affections, at
+once and of a certainty becomes equal to Buddha. When we recite the
+prayer _Na Mu Miyô Hô Ren Go Kiyô_, we are praying to enter this state
+of peace and happiness. By what instruction, other than that of
+Nichiren, the holy founder of this sect, can we expect to attain this
+end? If we do attain it, there will be no difference between our state
+and that of Buddha and of Nichiren. With this view we have learnt from
+the pious founder of our sect that we must continually and thankfully
+repeat the prayer _Na Mu Miyô Hô Ren Go Kiyô_, turning our hearts away
+from lies, and embracing the truth."
+
+Such were the heads of the sermon as they were taken down by my
+scribe. At its conclusion, the priest, looking about him smiling, as
+if the solemn truths he had been inculcating were nothing but a very
+good joke, was greeted by long and loud cries of "Nammiyô! nammiyô!"
+by all the congregation. Then the lay clerk sat himself down again by
+the hanging drum; and the service ended as it had begun, by prayer in
+chorus, during which the priest retired, the sacred book being carried
+out before him by his acolyte.
+
+Although occasionally, as in the above instance, sermons are delivered
+as part of a service on special days of the month, they are more
+frequently preached in courses, the delivery occupying about a
+fortnight, during which two sermons are given each day. Frequently the
+preachers are itinerant priests, who go about the towns and villages
+lecturing in the main hall of some temple or in the guest-room of the
+resident priest.
+
+There are many books of sermons published in Japan, all of which have
+some merit and much quaintness: none that I have seen are, however, to
+my taste, to be compared to the "Kiu-ô Dô-wa," of which the following
+three sermons compose the first volume. They are written by a priest
+belonging to the Shingaku sect--a sect professing to combine all that
+is excellent in the Buddhist, Confucian, and Shin Tô teaching. It
+maintains the original goodness of the human heart; and teaches that
+we have only to follow the dictates of the conscience implanted in us
+at our birth, in order to steer in the right path. The texts are
+taken from the Chinese classical books, in the same way as our
+preachers take theirs from the Bible. Jokes, stories which are
+sometimes untranslatable into our more fastidious tongue, and pointed
+applications to members of the congregation, enliven the discourses;
+it being a principle with the Japanese preacher that it is not
+necessary to bore his audience into virtue.
+
+
+
+
+SERMON I
+
+(THE SERMONS OF KIU-Ô, VOL. I)
+
+
+Môshi[87] says, "Benevolence is the heart of man; righteousness is the
+path of man. How lamentable a thing is it to leave the path and go
+astray, to cast away the heart and not know where to seek for it!"
+
+[Footnote 87: Môshi, the Japanese pronunciation of the name of the
+Chinese philosopher Mêng Tse, whom Europeans call Mencius.]
+
+The text is taken from the first chapter of Kôshi (the commentator),
+on Môshi.
+
+Now this quality, which we call benevolence, has been the subject of
+commentaries by many teachers; but as these commentaries have been
+difficult of comprehension, they are too hard to enter the ears of
+women and children. It is of this benevolence that, using examples and
+illustrations, I propose to treat.
+
+A long time ago, there lived at Kiôto a great physician, called
+Imaôji--I forget his other name: he was a very famous man. Once upon a
+time, a man from a place called Kuramaguchi advertised for sale a
+medicine which he had compounded against the cholera, and got Imaôji
+to write a puff for him. Imaôji, instead of calling the medicine in
+the puff a specific against the cholera, misspelt the word cholera so
+as to make it simpler. When the man who had employed him went and
+taxed him with this, and asked him why he had done so, he answered,
+with a smile--
+
+"As Kuramaguchi is an approach to the capital from the country, the
+passers-by are but poor peasants and woodmen from the hills: if I had
+written 'cholera' at length, they would have been puzzled by it; so I
+wrote it in a simple way, that should pass current with every one.
+Truth itself loses its value if people don't understand it. What does
+it signify how I spelt the word cholera, so long as the efficacy of
+the medicine is unimpaired?"
+
+Now, was not that delightful? In the same way the doctrines of the
+sages are mere gibberish to women and children who cannot understand
+them. Now, my sermons are not written for the learned: I address
+myself to farmers and tradesmen, who, hard pressed by their daily
+business, have no time for study, with the wish to make known to them
+the teachings of the sages; and, carrying out the ideas of my teacher,
+I will make my meaning pretty plain, by bringing forward examples and
+quaint stories. Thus, by blending together the doctrines of the
+Shintô, Buddhist, and other schools, we shall arrive at something
+near the true principle of things. Now, positively, you must not laugh
+if I introduce a light story now and then. Levity is not my object: I
+only want to put things in a plain and easy manner.
+
+Well, then, the quality which we call benevolence is, in fact, a
+perfection; and it is this perfection which Môshi spoke of as the
+heart of man. With this perfect heart, men, by serving their parents,
+attain to filial piety; by serving their masters they attain to
+fidelity; and if they treat their wives, their brethren, and their
+friends in the same spirit, then the principles of the five relations
+of life will harmonize without difficulty. As for putting perfection
+into practice, parents have the special duties of parents; children
+have the special duties of children; husbands have the special duties
+of husbands; wives have the special duties of wives. It is when all
+these special duties are performed without a fault that true
+benevolence is reached; and that again is the true heart of man.
+
+For example, take this fan: any one who sees it knows it to be a fan;
+and, knowing it to be a fan, no one would think of using it to blow
+his nose in. The special use of a fan is for visits of ceremony; or
+else it is opened in order to raise a cooling breeze: it serves no
+other purpose. In the same way, this reading-desk will not do as a
+substitute for a shelf; again, it will not do instead of a pillow: so
+you see that a reading-desk also has its special functions, for which
+you must use it. So, if you look at your parents in the light of your
+parents, and treat them with filial piety, that is the special duty of
+children; that is true benevolence; that is the heart of man. Now
+although you may think that, when I speak in this way, I am speaking
+of others, and not of yourselves, believe me that the heart of every
+one of you is by nature pure benevolence. I am just taking down your
+hearts as a shopman does goods from his shelves, and pointing out the
+good and bad qualities of each; but if you will not lay what I say to
+your own accounts, but persist in thinking that it is all anybody's
+business but yours, all my labour will be lost.
+
+Listen! You who answer your parents rudely, and cause them to weep;
+you who bring grief and trouble on your masters; you who cause your
+husbands to fly into passions; you who cause your wives to mourn; you
+who hate your younger brothers, and treat your elder brothers with
+contempt; you who sow sorrow broadcast over the world;--what are you
+doing but blowing your noses in fans, and using reading-desks as
+pillows? I don't mean to say that there are any such persons here;
+still there are plenty of them to be found--say in the back streets in
+India, for instance. Be so good as to mind what I have said.
+
+Consider, carefully, if a man is born with a naturally bad
+disposition, what a dreadful thing that is! Happily, you and I were
+born with perfect hearts, which we would not change for a
+thousand--no, not for ten thousand pieces of gold: is not this
+something to be thankful for?
+
+This perfect heart is called in my discourses, "the original heart of
+man." It is true that benevolence is also called the original heart of
+man; still there is a slight difference between the two. However, as
+the inquiry into this difference would be tedious, it is sufficient
+for you to look upon this original heart of man as a perfect thing,
+and you will fall into no error. It is true that I have not the honour
+of the personal acquaintance of every one of you who are present:
+still I know that your hearts are perfect. The proof of this, that if
+you say that which you ought not to say, or do that which you ought
+not to do, your hearts within you are, in some mysterious way,
+immediately conscious of wrong. When the man that has a perfect heart
+does that which is imperfect, it is because his heart has become
+warped and turned to evil. This law holds good for all mankind. What
+says the old song?--"When the roaring waterfall is shivered by the
+night-storm, the moonlight is reflected in each scattered drop."[88]
+Although there is but one moon, she suffices to illuminate each little
+scattered drop. Wonderful are the laws of Heaven! So the principle of
+benevolence, which is but one, illumines all the particles that make
+up mankind. Well, then, the perfection of the human heart can be
+calculated to a nicety, So, if we follow the impulses of our perfect
+heart in whatever we undertake, we shall perform our special duties,
+and filial piety and fidelity will come to us spontaneously. You see
+the doctrines of this school of philosophy are quickly learnt. If you
+once thoroughly understand this, there will be no difference between
+your conduct and that of a man who has studied a hundred years.
+Therefore I pray you to follow the impulses of your natural heart;
+place it before you as a teacher, and study its precepts. Your heart
+is a convenient teacher to employ too: for there is no question of
+paying fees; and no need to go out in the heat of summer, or the cold
+of winter, to pay visits of ceremony to your master to inquire after
+his health. What admirable teaching this is, by means of which you
+can learn filial piety and fidelity so easily! Still, suspicions are
+apt to arise in men's minds about things that are seen to be acquired
+too cheaply; but here you can buy a good thing cheap, and spare
+yourselves the vexation of having paid an extravagant price for it. I
+repeat, follow the impulses of your hearts with all your might. In the
+_Chin-yo_, the second of the books of Confucius, it is certified
+beyond a doubt that the impulses of nature are the true path to
+follow; therefore you may set to work in this direction with your
+minds at ease.
+
+[Footnote 88:
+  "The moon looks on many brooks;
+    The brooks see but one moon."--T. MOORE.]
+
+Righteousness, then, is the true path, and righteousness is the
+avoidance of all that is imperfect. If a man avoids that which is
+imperfect, there is no need to point out how dearly he will be beloved
+by all his fellows. Hence it is that the ancients have defined
+righteousness as that which ought to be--that which is fitting. If a
+man be a retainer, it is good that he should perform his service to
+his lord with all his might. If a woman be married, it is good that
+she should treat her parents-in-law with filial piety, and her husband
+with reverence. For the rest, whatever is good, that is righteousness
+and the true path of man.
+
+The duty of man has been compared by the wise men of old to a high
+road. If you want to go to Yedo or to Nagasaki, if you want to go out
+to the front of the house or to the back of the house, if you wish to
+go into the next room or into some closet or other, there is a right
+road to each of these places: if you do not follow the right road,
+scrambling over the roofs of houses and through ditches, crossing
+mountains and desert places, you will be utterly lost and bewildered.
+In the same way, if a man does that which is not good, he is going
+astray from the high road. Filial piety in children, virtue in wives,
+truth among friends--but why enumerate all these things, which are
+patent?--all these are the right road, and good; but to grieve
+parents, to anger husbands, to hate and to breed hatred in others,
+these are all bad things, these are all the wrong road. To follow
+these is to plunge into rivers, to run on to thorns, to jump into
+ditches, and brings thousands upon ten thousands of disasters. It is
+true that, if we do not pay great attention, we shall not be able to
+follow the right road. Fortunately, we have heard by tradition the
+words of the learned Nakazawa Dôni: I will tell you about that, all in
+good time.
+
+It happened that, once, the learned Nakazawa went to preach at Ikéda,
+in the province of Sesshiu, and lodged with a rich family of the lower
+class. The master of the house, who was particularly fond of sermons,
+entertained the preacher hospitably, and summoned his daughter, a girl
+some fourteen or fifteen years old, to wait upon him at dinner. This
+young lady was not only extremely pretty, but also had charming
+manners; so she arranged bouquets of flowers, and made tea, and played
+upon the harp, and laid herself out to please the learned man by
+singing songs. The preacher thanked her parents for all this, and
+said--
+
+"Really, it must be a very difficult thing to educate a young lady up
+to such a pitch as this."
+
+The parents, carried away by their feelings, replied--
+
+"Yes; when she is married, she will hardly bring shame upon her
+husband's family. Besides what she did just now, she can weave
+garlands of flowers round torches, and we had her taught to paint a
+little;" and as they began to show a little conceit, the preacher
+said--
+
+"I am sure this is something quite out of the common run. Of course
+she knows how to rub the shoulders and loins, and has learnt the art
+of shampooing?"
+
+The master of the house bristled up at this and answered--
+
+"I may be very poor, but I've not fallen so low as to let my daughter
+learn shampooing."
+
+The learned man, smiling, replied, "I think you are making a mistake
+when you put yourself in a rage. No matter whether her family be rich
+or poor, when a woman is performing her duties in her husband's house,
+she must look upon her husband's parents as her own. If her honoured
+father-in-law or mother-in-law fall ill, her being able to plait
+flowers and paint pictures and make tea will be of no use in the
+sick-room. To shampoo her parents-in-law, and nurse them
+affectionately, without employing either shampooer or servant-maid, is
+the right path of a daughter-in-law. Do you mean to say that your
+daughter has not yet learnt shampooing, an art which is essential to
+her following the right path of a wife? That is what I meant to ask
+just now. So useful a study is very important."
+
+At this the master of the house was ashamed, and blushing made many
+apologies, as I have heard. Certainly, the harp and guitar are very
+good things in their way; but to attend to nursing their parents is
+the right road of children. Lay this story to heart, and consider
+attentively where the right road lies. People who live near haunts of
+pleasure become at last so fond of pleasure, that they teach their
+daughters nothing but how to play on the harp and guitar, and train
+them up in the manners and ways of singing-girls, but teach them next
+to nothing of their duties as daughters; and then very often they
+escape from their parents' watchfulness, and elope. Nor is this the
+fault of the girls themselves, but the fault of the education which
+they have received from their parents. I do not mean to say that the
+harp and guitar, and songs and dramas, are useless things. If you
+consider them attentively, all our songs incite to virtue and condemn
+vice. In the song called "The Four Sleeves," for instance, there is
+the passage, "If people knew beforehand all the misery that it brings,
+there would be less going out with young ladies, to look at the
+flowers at night." Please give your attention to this piece of poetry.
+This is the meaning of it:--When a young man and a young lady set up a
+flirtation without the consent of their parents, they think that it
+will all be very delightful, and find themselves very much deceived.
+If they knew what a sad and cruel world this is, they would not act as
+they do. The quotation is from a song of remorse. This sort of thing
+but too often happens in the world.
+
+When a man marries a wife, he thinks how happy he will be, and how
+pleasant it will be keeping house on his own account; but, before the
+bottom of the family kettle has been scorched black, he will be like a
+man learning to swim in a field, with his ideas all turned
+topsy-turvy, and, contrary to all his expectations, he will find the
+pleasures of housekeeping to be all a delusion. Look at that woman
+there. Haunted by her cares, she takes no heed of her hair, nor of her
+personal appearance. With her head all untidy, her apron tied round
+her as a girdle, with a baby twisted into the bosom of her dress, she
+carries some wretched bean sauce which she has been out to buy. What
+sort of creature is this? This all comes of not listening to the
+warnings of parents, and of not waiting for the proper time, but
+rushing suddenly into housekeeping. And who is to blame in the matter?
+Passion, which does not pause to reflect. A child of five or six years
+will never think of learning to play the guitar for its own pleasure.
+What a ten-million times miserable thing it is, when parents, making
+their little girls hug a great guitar, listen with pleasure to the
+poor little things playing on instruments big enough for them to climb
+upon, and squeaking out songs in their shrill treble voices! Now I
+must beg you to listen to me carefully. If you get confused and don't
+keep a sharp look-out, your children, brought up upon harp and guitar
+playing, will be abandoning their parents, and running away secretly.
+Depend upon it, from all that is licentious and meretricious something
+monstrous will come forth. The poet who wrote the "Four Sleeves"
+regarded it as the right path of instruction to convey a warning
+against vice. But the theatre and dramas and fashionable songs, if the
+moral that they convey is missed, are a very great mistake. Although
+you may think it very right and proper that a young lady should
+practise nothing but the harp and guitar until her marriage, I tell
+you that it is not so; for if she misses the moral of her songs and
+music, there is the danger of her falling in love with some man and
+eloping. While on this subject, I have an amusing story to tell you.
+
+Once upon a time, a frog, who lived at Kiôto, had long been desirous
+of going to see Osaka. One spring, having made up his mind, he started
+off to see Osaka and all its famous places. By a series of hops on
+all-fours he reached a temple opposite Nishi-no-oka, and thence by the
+western road he arrived at Yamazaki, and began to ascend the mountain
+called Tenôzan. Now it so happened that a frog from Osaka had
+determined to visit Kiôto, and had also ascended Tenôzan; and on the
+summit the two frogs met, made acquaintance, and told one another
+their intentions. So they began to complain about all the trouble they
+had gone through, and had only arrived half-way after all: if they
+went on to Osaka and Kiôto, their legs and loins would certainly not
+hold out. Here was the famous mountain of Tenôzan, from the top of
+which the whole of Kiôto and Osaka could be seen: if they stood on
+tiptoe and stretched their backs, and looked at the view, they would
+save themselves from stiff legs. Having come to this conclusion, they
+both stood up on tiptoe, and looked about them; when the Kiôto frog
+said--
+
+"Really, looking at the famous places of Osaka, which I have heard so
+much about, they don't seem to me to differ a bit from Kiôto. Instead
+of giving myself any further trouble to go on, I shall just return
+home."
+
+The Osaka frog, blinking with his eyes, said, with a contemptuous
+smile, "Well, I have heard a great deal of talk about this Kiôto being
+as beautiful as the flowers, but it is just Osaka over again. We had
+better go home."
+
+And so the two frogs, politely bowing to one another, hopped off home
+with an important swagger.
+
+Now, although this is a very funny little story, you will not
+understand the drift of it at once. The frogs thought that they were
+looking in front of them; but as, when they stood up, their eyes were
+in the back of their heads, each was looking at his native place, all
+the while that he believed himself to be looking at the place he
+wished to go to. The frogs stared to any amount, it is true; but then
+they did not take care that the object looked at was the right object,
+and so it was that they fell into error. Please, listen attentively. A
+certain poet says--
+
+"Wonderful are the frogs! Though they go on all-fours in an attitude
+of humility, their eyes are always turned ambitiously upwards."
+
+A delightful poem! Men, although they say with their mouths, "Yes,
+yes, your wishes shall be obeyed,--certainly, certainly, you are
+perfectly right," are like frogs, with their eyes turned upwards. Vain
+fools! meddlers ready to undertake any job, however much above their
+powers! This is what is called in the text, "casting away your heart,
+and not knowing where to seek for it." Although these men profess to
+undertake any earthly thing, when it comes to the point, leave them to
+themselves, and they are unequal to the task; and if you tell them
+this, they answer--
+
+"By the labour of our own bodies we earn our money; and the food of
+our mouths is of our own getting. We are under obligation to no man.
+If we did not depend upon ourselves, how could we live in the world?"
+
+There are plenty of people who use these words, _myself_ and _my own_,
+thoughtlessly and at random. How false is this belief that they
+profess! If there were no system of government by superiors, but an
+anarchy, these people, who vaunt themselves and their own powers,
+would not stand for a day. In the old days, at the time of the war at
+Ichi-no-tani, Minamoto no Yoshitsuné[89] left Mikusa, in the province
+of Tamba, and attacked Settsu. Overtaken by the night among the
+mountains, he knew not what road to follow; so he sent for his
+retainer, Benkei, of the Temple called Musashi, and told him to light
+the big torches which they had agreed upon. Benkei received his orders
+and transmitted them to the troops, who immediately dispersed through
+all the valleys, and set fire to the houses of the inhabitants, so
+that one and all blazed up, and, thanks to the light of this fire,
+they reached Ichi-no-tani, as the story goes. If you think
+attentively, you will see the allusion. Those who boast about _my_
+warehouse, _my_ house, _my_ farm, _my_ daughter, _my_ wife, hawking
+about this "_my_" of theirs like pedlers, let there once come trouble
+and war in the world, and, for all their vain-gloriousness, they will
+be as helpless as turtles. Let them be thankful that peace is
+established throughout the world. The humane Government reaches to
+every frontier: the officials of every department keep watch night
+and day. When a man sleeps under his roof at night, how can he say
+that it is thanks to himself that he stretches his limbs in slumber?
+You go your rounds to see whether the shutters are closed and the
+front door fast, and, having taken every precaution, you lay yourself
+down to rest in peace: and what a precaution after all! A board,
+four-tenths of an inch thick, planed down front and rear until it is
+only two-tenths of an inch thick. A fine precaution, in very truth!--a
+precaution which may be blown down with a breath. Do you suppose such
+a thing as that would frighten a thief from breaking in? This is the
+state of the case. Here are men who, by the benevolence and virtue of
+their rulers, live in a delightful world, and yet, forgetting the
+mysterious providence that watches over them, keep on singing their
+own praises. Selfish egotists!
+
+[Footnote 89: The younger brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo, who first
+established the government of the Shoguns. The battle of Ichi-no-tani
+took place in the year A.D. 1184.]
+
+"My property amounts to five thousand ounces of silver. I may sleep
+with my eyes turned up, and eat and take my pleasure, if I live for
+five hundred or for seven hundred years. I have five warehouses and
+twenty-five houses. I hold other people's bills for fifteen hundred
+ounces of silver." So he dances a fling[90] for joy, and has no fear
+lest poverty should come upon him for fifty or a hundred years. Minds
+like frogs, with eyes in the middle of their backs! Foolhardy
+thoughts! A trusty castle of defence indeed! How little can it be
+depended upon! And when such men are sleeping quietly, how can they
+tell that they may not be turned into those big torches we were
+talking about just now, or that a great earthquake will not be
+upheaved? These are the chances of this fitful world. With regard to
+the danger of too great reliance, I have a little tale to tell you. Be
+so good as to wake up from your drowsiness, and listen attentively.
+
+[Footnote 90: Literally, "a dance of the Province of Tosa."]
+
+There is a certain powerful shell-fish, called the Sazayé, with a very
+strong operculum. Now this creature, if it hears that there is any
+danger astir, shuts up its shell from within, with a loud noise, and
+thinks itself perfectly safe. One day a Tai and another fish, lost in
+envy at this, said--
+
+"What a strong castle this is of yours, Mr. Sazayé! When you shut up
+your lid from within, nobody can so much as point a finger at you. A
+capital figure you make, sir."
+
+When he heard this, the Sazayé, stroking his beard, replied--
+
+"Well, gentlemen, although you are so good as to say so, it's nothing
+to boast of in the way of safety; yet I must admit that, when I shut
+myself up thus, I do not feel much anxiety."
+
+And as he was speaking thus, with the pride that apes humility, there
+came the noise of a great splash; and the shell-fish, shutting up his
+lid as quickly as possible, kept quite still, and thought to himself,
+what in the world the noise could be. Could it be a net? Could it be a
+fish-hook? What a bore it was, always having to keep such a sharp
+look-out! Were the Tai and the other fish caught, he wondered; and he
+felt quite anxious about them: however, at any rate, he was safe. And
+so the time passed; and when he thought all was safe, he stealthily
+opened his shell, and slipped out his head and looked all round him,
+and there seemed to be something wrong--something with which he was
+not familiar. As he looked a little more carefully, lo and behold
+there he was in a fishmonger's shop, and with a card marked "sixteen
+cash" on his back.
+
+Isn't that a funny story? And so, at one fell swoop, all your boasted
+wealth of houses and warehouses, and cleverness and talent, and rank
+and power, are taken away. Poor shell-fish! I think there are some
+people not unlike them to be found in China and India. How little self
+is to be depended upon! There is a moral poem which says, "It is
+easier to ascend to the cloudy heaven without a ladder than to depend
+entirely on oneself." This is what is meant by the text, "If a man
+casts his heart from him, he knows not where to seek for it." Think
+twice upon everything that you do. To take no care for the examination
+of that which relates to yourself, but to look only at that which
+concerns others, is to cast your heart from you. Casting your heart
+from you does not mean that your heart actually leaves you: what is
+meant is, that you do not examine your own conscience. Nor must you
+think that what I have said upon this point of self-confidences
+applies only to wealth and riches. To rely on your talents, to rely on
+the services you have rendered, to rely on your cleverness, to rely on
+your judgment, to rely on your strength, to rely on your rank, and to
+think yourself secure in the possession of these, is to place
+yourselves in the same category with the shell-fish in the story. In
+all things examine your own consciences: the examination of your own
+hearts is above all things essential.
+
+(The preacher leaves his place.)
+
+
+
+
+SERMON II
+
+(THE SERMONS OF KIU-Ô, VOL. I)
+
+
+"If a man loses a fowl or a dog, he knows how to reclaim it. If he
+loses his soul, he knows not how to reclaim it. The true path of
+learning has no other function than to teach us how to reclaim lost
+souls." This parable has been declared to us by Môshi. If a dog, or a
+chicken, or a pet cat does not come home at the proper time, its
+master makes a great fuss about hunting for it, and wonders can it
+have been killed by a dog or by a snake, or can some man have stolen
+it; and ransacking the three houses opposite, and his two next-door
+neighbours' houses, as if he were seeking for a lost child, cries,
+"Pray, sir, has my tortoiseshell cat been with you? Has my pet chicken
+been here?" That is the way in which men run about under such
+circumstances. It's a matter of the utmost importance.
+
+And yet to lose a dog or a tame chicken is no such terrible loss after
+all. But the soul, which is called the lord of the body, is the master
+of our whole selves. If men part with this soul for the sake of other
+things, then they become deaf to the admonitions of their parents, and
+the instructions of their superiors are to them as the winds of
+heaven. Teaching is to them like pouring water over a frog's face;
+they blink their eyes, and that is all; they say, "Yes, yes!" with
+their mouths, but their hearts are gone, and, seeing, they are blind,
+hearing, they are deaf. Born whole and sound, by their own doing they
+enter the fraternity of cripples. Such are all those who lose their
+souls. Nor do they think of inquiring or looking for their lost soul.
+"It is my parents' fault; it is my master's fault; it is my husband's
+fault; it is my elder brother's fault; it is Hachibei who is a rogue;
+it is Matsu who is a bad woman." They content themselves with looking
+at the faults of others, and do not examine their own consciences, nor
+search their own hearts. Is not this a cruel state of things? They set
+up a hue and cry for a lost dog or a pet chicken, but for this
+all-important soul of theirs they make no search. What mistaken
+people! For this reason the sages, mourning over such a state of
+things, have taught us what is the right path of man; and it is the
+receiving of this teaching that is called learning. The main object of
+learning is the examination and searching of our own hearts; therefore
+the text says, "The true path of learning has no other function than
+to teach us how to reclaim lost souls." This is an exhaustive
+exposition of the functions of learning. That learning has no other
+object, we have this gracious pledge and guarantee from the sage. As
+for the mere study of the antiquities and annals of China and Japan,
+and investigation into literature, these cannot be called learning,
+which is above all things an affair of the soul. All the commentaries
+and all the books of all the teachers in the world are but so many
+directories by which to find out the whereabouts of our own souls.
+This search after our own souls is that which I alluded to just now as
+the examination of our consciences. To disregard the examination of
+our consciences is a terrible thing, of which it is impossible to
+foresee the end; on the other hand, to practise it is most admirable,
+for by this means we can on the spot attain filial piety and fidelity
+to our masters. Virtue and vice are the goals to which the examination
+and non-examination of our consciences lead. As it has been rightly
+said, benevolence and malice are the two roads which man follows. Upon
+this subject I have a terrible and yet a very admirable story to tell
+you. Although I dare say you are very drowsy, I must beg you to listen
+to me.
+
+In a certain part of the country there was a well-to-do farmer, whose
+marriage had brought him one son, whom he petted beyond all measure,
+as a cow licks her calf. So by degrees the child became very sly: he
+used to pull the horses' tails, and blow smoke into the bulls'
+nostrils, and bully the neighbours' children in petty ways and make
+them cry. From a peevish child he grew to be a man, and unbearably
+undutiful to his parents. Priding himself on a little superior
+strength, he became a drunkard and a gambler, and learned to wrestle
+at fairs. He would fight and quarrel for a trifle, and spent his time
+in debauchery and riotous living. If his parents remonstrated with
+him, he would raise his voice and abuse them, using scurrilous
+language. "It's all very well your abusing me for being dissolute and
+disobedient. But, pray, who asked you to bring me into the world? You
+brought me into the world, and I have to thank you for its miseries;
+so now, if you hate dissolute people, you had better put me back where
+I came from, and I shall be all right again." This was the sort of
+insolent answer he would give his parents, who, at their wits' end,
+began to grow old in years. And as he by degrees grew more and more of
+a bully, unhappy as he made them, still he was their darling, and they
+could not find it in their hearts to turn him out of the house and
+disinherit him. So they let him pursue his selfish course; and he went
+on from worse to worse, knocking people down, breaking their arms, and
+getting up great disturbances. It is unnecessary to speak of his
+parents' feelings. Even his relations and friends felt as if nails
+were being hammered into their breasts. He was a thoroughly wicked
+man.
+
+Now no one is from his mother's womb so wicked as this; but those who
+persist in selfishness lose their senses, and gradually reach this
+pitch of wickedness. What a terrible thing is this throwing away of
+our hearts!
+
+Well, this man's relations and friends very properly urged his
+parents to disown him; but he was an only child, and so his parents,
+although they said, "To-day we really will disinherit him," or
+"To-morrow we really will break off all relations with him," still it
+was all empty talk; and the years and months passed by, until the
+scapegrace reached his twenty-sixth year, having heaped wickedness
+upon wickedness; and who can tell how much trouble he brought upon his
+family, who were always afraid of hearing of some new enormity? At
+last they held a family council, and told the parents that matters had
+come to such a pass that if they did not disown their son the rest of
+the family must needs break off all communication with them: if he
+were allowed to go on in his evil courses, the whole village, not to
+speak of his relations, would be disgraced; so either the parents,
+against whom, however, there was no ill-will felt, must be cut by the
+family, or they must disinherit their son: to this appeal they begged
+to have a distinct answer. The parents, reflecting that to separate
+themselves from their relations, even for the sake of their own son,
+would be an act of disrespect to their ancestors, determined to invite
+their relations to assemble and draw up a petition to the Government
+for leave to disinherit their son, to which petition the family would
+all affix their seals according to form; so they begged them to come
+in the evening, and bring their seals with them. This was their
+answer.
+
+There is an old saw which says, "The old cow licks her calf, and the
+tigress carries her cub in her mouth." If the instinct of beasts and
+birds prompt them to love their young, how much the more must it be a
+bitter thing for a man to have to disown his own son! All this trouble
+was the consequence of this youth casting his heart from him. Had he
+examined his own conscience, the storm of waves and of wind would not
+have arisen, and all would have been calm. But as he refused to listen
+to his conscience, his parents, much against their will, were forced
+to visit him with the punishment of disinheritance, which he had
+brought upon himself. A sad thing indeed! In the poems of his
+Reverence Tokuhon, a modern poet, there is the following passage:
+"Since Buddha thus winds himself round our hearts, let the man who
+dares to disregard him fear for his life." The allusion is to the
+great mercy and love of the gods. The gods wish to make men examine
+their consciences, and, day and night, help men to discern that which
+is evil; but, although they point out our desires and pleasures, our
+lusts and passions, as things to be avoided, men turn their backs upon
+their own consciences. The love of the gods is like the love of
+parents for their children, and men treat the gods as undutiful
+children treat their parents. "Men who dare to disregard the gods, let
+them fear for their lives." I pray you who hear me, one and all, to
+examine your own consciences and be saved.
+
+To return to the story of the vagabond son. As it happened, that day
+he was gambling in a neighbouring village, when a friend from his own
+place came up and told him that his relations had met together to
+disinherit him; and that, fine fellow as he was, he would find it a
+terrible thing to be disowned. Before he had heard him half out, the
+other replied in a loud voice--
+
+"What, do you mean to say that they are holding a family council
+to-night to disinherit me? What a good joke! I'm sure I don't want to
+be always seeing my father's and mother's blubbering faces; it makes
+me quite sick to think of them: it's quite unbearable. I'm able to
+take care of myself; and, if I choose to go over to China, or to live
+in India, I should like to know who is to prevent me? This is the very
+thing above all others for me. I'll go off to the room where they are
+all assembled, and ask them why they want to disinherit me. I'll just
+swagger like Danjurô [91] the actor, and frighten them into giving me
+fifty or seventy ounces of silver to get rid of me, and put the money
+in my purse, and be off to Kiôto or Osaka, where I'll set up a
+tea-house on my own account; and enjoy myself to my heart's content! I
+hope this will be a great night for me, so I'll just drink a cup of
+wine for luck beforehand."
+
+[Footnote 91: A famous actor of Yedo, who lived 195 years ago. He was
+born at Sakura, in Shimôsa.]
+
+And so, with a lot of young devils of his own sort, be fell to
+drinking wine in teacups,[92] so that before nightfall they were all
+as drunk as mud. Well, then, on the strength of this wine, as he was
+setting out for his father's house, he said, "Now, then, to try my
+luck," and stuck a long dirk in his girdle. He reached his own village
+just before nightfall, thinking to burst into the place where he
+imagined his relations to be gathered together, turning their
+wisdom-pockets inside out, to shake out their small provision of
+intelligence in consultation; and he fancied that, if he blustered and
+bullied, he would certainly get a hundred ounces of silver out of
+them. Just as he was about to enter the house, he reflected--
+
+[Footnote 92: The ordinary wine-cup holding only a thimbleful, to
+drink wine out of teacups is a great piece of debauchery--like
+drinking brandy in tumblers.]
+
+"If I show my face in the room where my relations are gathered
+together, they will all look down on the ground and remain silent; so
+if I go in shouting and raging, it will be quite out of harmony; but
+if they abuse me, then I shall be in the right if I jump in on them
+and frighten them well. The best plan will be for me to step out of
+the bamboo grove which is behind the house, and to creep round the
+verandah, and I can listen to these fellows holding their
+consultation: they will certainly be raking up all sorts of scandal
+about me. It will be all in harmony, then, if I kick down the shutters
+and sliding-doors with a noise like thunder. And what fun it will be!"
+
+As he thought thus to himself, he pulled off his iron-heeled sandals,
+and stuck them in his girdle, and, girding up his dress round his
+waist, left the bamboo grove at the back of the house, and, jumping
+over the garden wicket, went round the verandah and looked in. Peeping
+through a chink in the shutters, he could see his relations gathered
+together in council, speaking in whispers. The family were sitting in
+a circle, and one and all were affixing their seals to the petition of
+disinheritance. At last, having passed from hand to hand, the document
+came round to where the two parents were sitting. Their son, seeing
+this, said--
+
+"Come, now, it's win or lose! My parents' signing the paper shall be
+the sign for me to kick open the door and jump into the middle of
+them."
+
+So, getting ready for a good kick, he held his breath and looked on.
+
+What terrible perversion man can allow his heart to come to! Môshi has
+said that man by nature is good; but although not a particle of fault
+can be found with what he has said, when the evil we have learned
+becomes a second nature, men reach this fearful degree of wickedness.
+When men come to this pass, Kôshi[93] and Môshi themselves might
+preach to them for a thousand days, and they would not have strength
+to reform. Such hardened sinners deserve to be roasted in iron pots in
+the nethermost hell. Now, I am going to tell you how it came about
+that the vagabond son turned over a new leaf and became dutiful, and
+finally entered paradise. The poet says, "Although the hearts of
+parents are not surrounded by dark night, how often they stray from
+the right road in their affection for their children!"
+
+[Footnote 93: Kôshi is the Japanese pronunciation of the name of the
+Chinese philosopher Kung Ts[=u], or Kung Fu Ts[=u], whom we call
+Confucius.]
+
+When the petition of disinheritance came round to the place where the
+two parents were sitting, the mother lifted up her voice and wept
+aloud; and the father, clenching his toothless gums to conceal his
+emotion, remained with his head bent down: presently, in a husky
+voice, he said, "Wife, give me the seal!"
+
+But she returned no answer, and with tears in her eyes took a leather
+purse, containing the seal, out of a drawer of the cupboard and placed
+it before her husband. All this time the vagabond son, holding his
+breath, was peeping in from outside the shutters. In the meanwhile,
+the old man slowly untied the strings of the purse, and took out the
+seal, and smeared on the colouring matter. Just as he was about to
+seal the document, his wife clutched at his hand and said, "Oh, pray
+wait a little."
+
+The father replied, "Now that all our relations are looking on, you
+must not speak in this weak manner."
+
+But she would not listen to what he said, but went on--
+
+"Pray listen to what I have to say. It is true that if we were to give
+over our house to our undutiful son, in less than three years the
+grass would be growing in its place, for he would be ruined. Still, if
+we disinherit our child--the only child that we have, either in heaven
+or upon earth--we shall have to adopt another in his place. Although,
+if the adopted son turned out honest and dutiful, and inherited our
+property, all would be well; still, what certainty is there of his
+doing so? If, on the other hand, the adopted son turned out to be a
+prodigal, and laid waste our house, what unlucky parents we should
+be! And who can say that this would not be the case? If we are to be
+ruined for the sake of an equally wicked adopted son, I had rather
+lose our home for the sake of our own son, and, leaving out old
+familiar village as beggars, seek for our lost boy on foot. This is my
+fervent wish. During fifty years that we have lived together, this has
+been the only favour that I have ever asked of you. Pray listen to my
+prayer, and put a stop to this act of disinheritance. Even though I
+should become a beggar for my son's sake, I could feel no resentment
+against him."
+
+So she spoke, sobbing aloud. The relations, who heard this, looked
+round at one another, and watched the father to see what he would do;
+and he (who knows with what thoughts in his head?) put back the seal
+into the leather purse, and quickly drew the strings together, and
+pushed back the petition to the relations.
+
+"Certainly," said he, "I have lost countenance, and am disgraced
+before all my family; however, I think that what the good wife has
+just said is right and proper, and from henceforth I renounce all
+thoughts of disinheriting my son. Of course you will all see a
+weakness of purpose in what I say, and laugh at me as the cause of my
+son's undutiful conduct. But laugh away: it won't hurt me. Certainly,
+if I don't disinherit this son of mine, my house will be ruined before
+three years are over our heads. To lay waste the house of generations
+upon generations of my ancestors is a sin against those ancestors; of
+this I am well aware. Further, if I don't disinherit my son, you
+gentlemen will all shun me. I know that I am cutting myself off from
+my relations. Of course you think that when I leave this place I shall
+be dunning you to bestow your charity upon me; and that is why you
+want to break off relations with me. Pray don't make yourselves
+uneasy. I care no more for my duties to the world, for my impiety to
+my ancestors, or for my separation from my family. Our son is our only
+darling, and we mean to go after him, following him as beggars on
+foot. This is our desire. We shall trouble you for no alms and for no
+charity. However we may die, we have but one life to lose. For our
+darling son's sake, we will lay ourselves down and die by the
+roadside. There our bodies shall be manure for the trees of the
+avenue. And all this we will endure cheerfully, and not utter a
+complaint. Make haste and return home, therefore, all of you. From
+to-morrow we are no longer on speaking terms. As for what you may say
+to me on my son's account, I do not care."
+
+And as his wife had done, he lifted up his voice and wept, shedding
+manly tears. As for her, when she heard that the act of disinheritance
+was not to be drawn up, her tears were changed to tears of joy. The
+rest of the family remained in mute astonishment at so unheard-of a
+thing, and could only stare at the faces of the two old people.
+
+You see how bewildered parents must be by their love for their
+children, to be so merciful towards them. As a cat carrying her young
+in her mouth screens it from the sun at one time and brings it under
+the light at another, so parents act by their children, screening
+their bad points and bringing out in relief their good qualities. They
+care neither for the abuse of others, nor for their duties to their
+ancestors, nor for the wretched future in store for themselves.
+Carried away by their infatuation for their children, and intoxicated
+upon intoxication, the hearts of parents are to be pitied for their
+pitifulness. It is not only the two parents in my story who are in
+this plight; the hearts of all parents of children all over the world
+are the same. In the poems of the late learned Ishida it is written,
+"When I look round me and see the hearts of parents bewildered by
+their love for their children, I reflect that my own father and mother
+must be like them." This is certainly a true saying.
+
+To return to the story: the halo of his parents' great kindness and
+pity penetrated the very bowels of the prodigal son. What an admirable
+thing! When he heard it, terrible and sly devil as he had been, he
+felt as if his whole body had been squeezed in a press; and somehow or
+other, although the tears rose in his breast, he could not for shame
+lift up his voice and weep. Biting the sleeve of his dress, he lay
+down on the ground and shed tears in silence. What says the verse of
+the reverend priest Eni? "To shed tears of gratitude one knows not
+why." A very pretty poem indeed! So then the vagabond son, in his
+gratitude to his parents, could neither stand nor sit. You see the
+original heart of man is by nature bright virtue, but by our selfish
+pursuit of our own inclinations the brilliancy of our original virtue
+is hidden.
+
+To continue: the prodigal was pierced to the core by the great mercy
+shown by his parents, and the brilliancy of his own original good
+heart was enticed back to him. The sunlight came forth, and what
+became of all the clouds of self-will and selfishness? The clouds were
+all dispelled, and from the bottom of his soul there sprang the desire
+to thank his parents for their goodness. We all know the story of the
+rush-cutter who saw the moon rising between the trees on a moorland
+hill so brightly, that he fancied it must have been scoured with the
+scouring-rush which grew near the spot. When a man, who has been
+especially wicked, repents and returns to his original heart, he
+becomes all the more excellent, and his brightness is as that of the
+rising moon scoured. What an admirable thing this is! So the son
+thought to enter the room at once and beg his parents' forgiveness;
+but he thought to himself, "Wait a bit. If I burst suddenly into the
+room like this, the relations will all be frightened and not know what
+to make of it, and this will be a trouble to my parents. I will put on
+an innocent face, as if I did not know what has been going on, and
+I'll go in by the front door, and beg the relations to intercede for
+me with my parents." With stealthy step he left the back of the house,
+and went round to the front. When he arrived there, he purposely made
+a great noise with his iron-heeled sandals, and gave a loud cough to
+clear his throat, and entered the room. The relations were all
+greatly alarmed; and his parents, when they saw the face of their
+wicked son, both shed tears. As for the son, he said not a word, but
+remained weeping, with his head bent down. After a while, he addressed
+the relations and said, "Although I have frequently been threatened
+with disinheritance, and although in those days I made light of it,
+to-night, when I heard that this family council had assembled, I
+somehow or other felt my heart beset by anxiety and grief. However I
+may have heaped wickedness upon wickedness up to the present moment,
+as I shall certainly now mend my ways, I pray you to delay for a while
+to-night's act of disinheritance. I do not venture to ask for a long
+delay,--I ask but for thirty days; and if within that time I shall not
+have given proofs of repentance, disinherit me: I shall not have a
+word to say. I pray you, gentlemen, to intercede with my parents that
+they may grant this delay of thirty days, and to present them my
+humble apologies." With this he rubbed his head on the mat, as a
+humble suppliant, in a manner most foreign to his nature.
+
+The relations, after hearing the firm and resolute answer of the
+parents, had shifted about in their places; but, although they were on
+the point of leaving the house, had remained behind, sadly out of
+harmony; when the son came in, and happily with a word set all in tune
+again. So the relations addressed the parents, and said, "Pray defer
+to-night's affair;" and laid the son's apologies at their feet. As for
+the parents, who would not have disinherited their son even had he not
+repented, how much the more when they heard what he said did they weep
+for joy; and the relations, delighted at the happy event, exhorted the
+son to become really dutiful; and so that night's council broke up. So
+this son in the turn of a hand became a pious son, and the way in
+which he served his parents was that of a tender and loving child. His
+former evil ways he extinguished utterly.
+
+The fame of this story rose high in the world; and, before half a year
+had passed, it reached the ears of the lord of the manor, who, when he
+had put on his noble spectacles and investigated the case, appointed
+the son to be the head man of his village. You may judge by this what
+this son's filial piety effected. Three years after these events, his
+mother, who was on her death-bed, very sick, called for him and said,
+"When some time since the consultation was being held about
+disinheriting you, by some means or other your heart was turned, and
+since then you have been a dutiful son above all others. If at that
+time you had not repented, and I had died in the meanwhile, my soul
+would have gone to hell without fail, because of my foolish conduct
+towards you. But, now that you have repented, there is nothing that
+weighs upon me, and there can be no mistake about my going to
+paradise. So the fact of my becoming one of the saints will all be the
+work of your filial piety." And the story goes, that with these words
+the mother, lifting up her hands in prayer, died.
+
+To be sure, by the deeds of the present life we may obtain a glimpse
+into the future. If a man's heart is troubled by his misdeeds in this
+life, it will again be tortured in the next. The troubled heart is
+hell. The heart at rest is paradise. The trouble or peace of parents
+depends upon their children. If their children are virtuous, parents
+are as the saints: if their children are wicked, parents suffer the
+tortures of the damned. If once your youthful spirits, in a fit of
+heedlessness, have led you to bring trouble upon your parents and
+cause them to weep, just consider the line of argument which I have
+been following. From this time forth repent and examine your own
+hearts. If you will become dutiful, your parents from this day will
+live happy as the saints. But if you will not repent, but persist in
+your evil ways, your parents will suffer the pains of hell. Heaven and
+hell are matters of repentance or non-repentance. Repentance is the
+finding of the lost heart, and is also the object of learning. I shall
+speak to you further upon this point to-morrow evening.
+
+
+
+
+SERMON III
+
+(THE SERMONS OF KIU-Ô, VOL. 1)
+
+
+Môshi has said, "There is the third finger. If a man's third or
+nameless finger be bent, so that he cannot straighten it, although his
+bent finger may cause him no pain, still if he hears of some one who
+can cure it, he will think nothing of undertaking a long journey from
+_Shin_ to _So_[94] to consult him upon this deformed finger; for he
+knows it is to be hateful to have a finger unlike those of other men.
+But he cares not a jot if his heart be different to that of other men;
+and this is how men disregard the true order of things."
+
+[Footnote 94: Ancient divisions of China.]
+
+Now this is the next chapter to the one about benevolence being the
+true heart of man, which I expounded to you the other night. True
+learning has no other aim than that of reclaiming lost souls; and, in
+connection with this, Môshi has thus again declared in a parable the
+all-importance of the human heart.
+
+The nameless finger is that which is next to the little finger. The
+thumb is called the parent-finger; the first finger is called the
+index; the long is called the middle finger; but the third finger has
+no name. It is true that it is sometimes called the finger for
+applying rouge; but that is only a name given it by ladies, and is not
+in general use. So, having no name, it is called the nameless finger.
+And how comes it to have no name? Why, because it is of all the
+fingers the least useful. When we clutch at or grasp things, we do so
+by the strength of the thumb and little finger. If a man scratches his
+head, he does it with the forefinger; if he wishes to test the heat of
+the wine[95] in the kettle, he uses the little finger. Thus, although
+each finger has its uses and duties, the nameless finger alone is of
+no use: it is not in our way if we have it, and we do not miss it if
+we lose it. Of the whole body it is the meanest member: if it be
+crooked so that we cannot straighten it, it neither hurts nor itches;
+as Môshi says in the text, it causes no pain; even if we were without
+it, we should be none the worse off. Hence, what though it should be
+bent, it would be better, since it causes no pain, to leave it as it
+is. Yet if a person, having such a crooked finger, hears of a clever
+doctor who can set it straight, no matter at how great a distance he
+may be, he will be off to consult this doctor. And pray why? Because
+he feels ashamed of having a finger a little different from the rest
+of the world, and so he wants to be cured, and will think nothing of
+travelling from Shin to So--a distance of a thousand miles--for the
+purpose. To be sure, men are very susceptible and keenly alive to a
+sense of shame; and in this they are quite right. The feeling of shame
+at what is wrong is the commencement of virtue. The perception of
+shame is inborn in men; but there are two ways of perceiving shame.
+There are some men who are sensible of shame for what regards their
+bodies, but who are ignorant of shame for what concerns their hearts;
+and a terrible mistake they make. There is nothing which can be
+compared in importance to the heart. The heart is said to be the lord
+of the body, which it rules as a master rules his house. Shall the
+lord, who is the heart, be ailing and his sickness be neglected, while
+his servants, who are the members only, are cared for? If the knee be
+lacerated, apply tinder to stop the bleeding; if the moxa should
+suppurate, spread a plaster; if a cold be caught, prepare medicine and
+garlic and gruel, and ginger wine! For a trifle, you will doctor and
+care for your bodies, and yet for your hearts you will take no care.
+Although you are born of mankind, if your hearts resemble those of
+devils, of foxes, of snakes, or of crows, rather than the hearts of
+men, you take no heed, caring for your bodies alone. Whence can you
+have fallen into such a mistake? It is a folly of old standing too,
+for it was to that that Môshi pointed when he said that to be
+cognizant of a deformed finger and ignore the deformities of the soul
+was to disregard the true order of things. This is what it is, not to
+distinguish between that which is important and that which is
+unimportant--to pick up a trifle and pass by something of value. The
+instinct of man prompts him to prefer the great to the small, the
+important to the unimportant.
+
+[Footnote 95: Wine is almost always drunk hot.]
+
+If a man is invited out to a feast by his relations or acquaintances,
+when the guests are assembled and the principal part of the feast has
+disappeared, he looks all round him, with the eyeballs starting out of
+his head, and glares at his neighbours, and, comparing the little
+titbits of roast fowl or fish put before them, sees that they are
+about half an inch bigger than those set before him; then, blowing out
+his belly with rage, he thinks, "What on earth can the host be about?
+Master Tarubei is a guest, but so am I: what does the fellow mean by
+helping me so meanly? There must be some malice or ill-will here." And
+so his mind is prejudiced against the host. Just be so good as to
+reflect upon this. Does a man show his spite by grudging a bit of
+roast fowl or meat? And yet even in such trifles as these do men show
+how they try to obtain what is great, and show their dislike of what
+is small. How can men be conscious of shame for a deformed finger, and
+count it as no misfortune that their hearts are crooked? That is how
+they abandon the substance for the shadow.
+
+Môshi severely censures the disregard of the true order of things.
+What mistaken and bewildered creatures men are! What says the old
+song? "Hidden far among the mountains, the tree which seems to be
+rotten, if its core be yet alive, may be made to bear flowers." What
+signifies it if the hand or the foot be deformed? The heart is the
+important thing. If the heart be awry, what though your skin be fair,
+your nose aquiline, your hair beautiful? All these strike the eye
+alone, and are utterly useless. It is as if you were to put horse-dung
+into a gold-lacquer luncheon-box. This is what is called a fair
+outside, deceptive in appearance.
+
+There's the scullery-maid been washing out the pots at the kitchen
+sink, and the scullion Chokichi comes up and says to her, "You've got
+a lot of charcoal smut sticking to your nose," and points out to her
+the ugly spot. The scullery-maid is delighted to be told of this, and
+answers, "Really! whereabouts is it?" Then she twists a towel round
+her finger, and, bending her head till mouth and forehead are almost
+on a level, she squints at her nose, and twiddles away with her
+fingers as if she were the famous Gotô[96] at work, carving the
+ornaments of a sword-handle. "I say, Master Chokichi, is it off yet?"
+"Not a bit of it. You've smeared it all over your cheeks now." "Oh
+dear! oh dear! where can it be?" And so she uses the water-basin as a
+looking-glass, and washes her face clean; then she says to herself,
+"What a dear boy Chokichi is!" and thinks it necessary, out of
+gratitude, to give him relishes with his supper by the ladleful, and
+thanks him over and over again. But if this same Chokichi were to come
+up to her and say, "Now, really, how lazy you are! I wish you could
+manage to be rather less of a shrew," what do you think the
+scullery-maid would answer then? Reflect for a moment. "Drat the boy's
+impudence! If I were of a bad heart or an angular disposition, should
+I be here helping him? You go and be hung! You see if I take the
+trouble to wash your dirty bedclothes for you any more." And she gets
+to be a perfect devil, less only the horns.
+
+[Footnote 96: A famous gold- and silver-smith of the olden time. A
+Benvenuto Cellini among the Japanese. His mark on a piece of metal
+work enhances its value tenfold.]
+
+There are other people besides the poor scullery-maid who are in the
+same way. "Excuse me, Mr. Gundabei, but the embroidered crest on your
+dress of ceremony seems to be a little on one side." Mr. Gundabei
+proceeds to adjust his dress with great precision. "Thank you, sir. I
+am ten million times obliged to you for your care. If ever there
+should be any matter in which I can be of service to you, I beg that
+you will do me the favour of letting me know;" and, with a beaming
+face, he expresses his gratitude. Now for the other side of the
+picture. "Really, Mr. Gundabei, you are very foolish; you don't seem
+to understand at all. I beg you to be of a frank and honest heart: it
+really makes me quite sad to see a man's heart warped in this way."
+What is his answer? He turns his sword in his girdle ready to draw,
+and plays the devil's tattoo upon the hilt: it looks as if it must end
+in a fight soon.
+
+In fact, if you help a man in anything which has to do with a fault
+of the body, he takes it very kindly, and sets about mending matters.
+If any one helps another to rectify a fault of the heart, he has to
+deal with a man in the dark, who flies in a rage, and does not care to
+amend. How out of tune all this is! And yet there are men who are
+bewildered up to this point. Nor is this a special and extraordinary
+failing. This mistaken perception of the great and the small, of
+colour and of substance, is common to us all--to you and to me.
+
+Please give me your attention. The form strikes the eye; but the heart
+strikes not the eye. Therefore, that the heart should be distorted and
+turned awry causes no pain. This all results from the want of sound
+judgment; and that is why we cannot afford to be careless.
+
+The master of a certain house calls his servant Chokichi, who sits
+dozing in the kitchen. "Here, Chokichi! The guests are all gone; come
+and clear away the wine and fish in the back room."
+
+Chokichi rubs his eyes, and with a sulky answer goes into the back
+room, and, looking about him, sees all the nice things paraded on the
+trays and in the bowls. It's wonderful how his drowsiness passes away:
+no need for any one to hurry him now. His eyes glare with greed, as he
+says, "Hullo! here's a lot of tempting things! There's only just one
+help of that omelette left in the tray. What a hungry lot of guests!
+What's this? It looks like fish rissoles;" and with this he picks out
+one, and crams his mouth full; when, on one side, a mess of young
+cuttlefish, in a Chinese[97] porcelain bowl, catches his eyes. There
+the little beauties sit in a circle, like Buddhist priests in
+religious meditation! "Oh, goodness! how nice!" and just as he is
+dipping his finger and thumb in, he hears his master's footstep; and
+knowing that he is doing wrong, he crams his prize into the pocket of
+his sleeve, and stoops down to take away the wine-kettle and cups; and
+as he does this, out tumble the cuttlefish from his sleeve. The master
+sees it.
+
+[Footnote 97: Curiosities, such as porcelain or enamel or carved jade
+from China, are highly esteemed by the Japanese. A great quantity of
+the porcelain of Japan is stamped with counterfeit Chinese marks of
+the Ming dynasty.]
+
+"What's that?"
+
+Chokichi, pretending not to know what has happened, beats the mats,
+and keeps on saying, "Come again the day before yesterday; come again
+the day before yesterday."[98]
+
+[Footnote 98: An incantation used to invite spiders, which are
+considered unlucky by the superstitious, to come again at the Greek
+Kalends.]
+
+But it's no use his trying to persuade his master that the little
+cuttlefish are spiders, for they are not the least like them. It's no
+use hiding things,--they are sure to come to light; and so it is with
+the heart,--its purposes will out. If the heart is enraged, the dark
+veins stand out on the forehead; if the heart is grieved, tears rise
+to the eyes; if the heart is joyous, dimples appear in the cheeks; if
+the heart is merry, the face smiles: thus it is that the face reflects
+the emotions of the heart. It is not because the eyes are filled with
+tears that the heart is sad; nor because the veins stand out on the
+forehead that the heart is enraged. It is the heart which leads the
+way in everything. All the important sensations of the heart are
+apparent in the outward appearance. In the "Great Learning" of Kôshi
+it is written, "The truth of what is within appears upon the surface."
+How then is the heart a thing which can be hidden? To answer when
+reproved, to hum tunes when scolded, show a diseased heart; and if
+this disease is not quickly taken in hand, it will become chronic, and
+the remedy become difficult: perhaps the disease may be so virulent
+that even Giba and Henjaku[99] in consultation could not effect a
+cure. So, before the disease has gained strength, I invite you to the
+study of the moral essays entitled _Shin-gaku_ (the Learning of the
+Heart). If you once arrive at the possession of your heart as it was
+originally by nature, what an admirable thing that will be! In that
+case your conscience will point out to you even the slightest wrong
+bias or selfishness.
+
+[Footnote 99: Two famous Indian and Chinese physicians.]
+
+While upon this subject, I may tell you a story which was related to
+me by a friend of mine. It is a story which the master of a certain
+money-changer's shop used to be very fond of telling. An important
+part of a money-changer's business is to distinguish between good and
+bad gold and silver. In the different establishments, the ways of
+teaching the apprentices this art vary; however, the plan adopted by
+the money-changer was as follows:--At first he would show them no bad
+silver, but would daily put before them good money only; when they had
+become thoroughly familiar with the sight of good money, if he
+stealthily put a little base coin among the good, he found that they
+would detect it immediately,--they saw it as plainly as you see things
+when you throw light on a mirror. This faculty of detecting base money
+at a glance was the result of having learned thoroughly to understand
+good money. Having once been taught in this way, the apprentices would
+not make a mistake about a piece of base coin during their whole
+lives, as I have heard. I can't vouch for the truth of this; but it is
+very certain that the principle, applied to moral instruction, is an
+excellent one,--it is a most safe mode of study. However, I was
+further told that if, after having thus learned to distinguish good
+money, a man followed some other trade for six months or a year, and
+gave up handling money, he would become just like any other
+inexperienced person, unable to distinguish the good from the base.
+
+Please reflect upon this attentively. If you once render yourself
+familiar with the nature of the uncorrupted heart, from that time
+forth you will be immediately conscious of the slightest inclination
+towards bias or selfishness. And why? Because the natural heart is
+illumined. When a man has once learned that which is perfect, he will
+never consent to accept that which is imperfect; but if, after having
+acquired this knowledge, he again keeps his natural heart at a
+distance, and gradually forgets to recognize that which is perfect, he
+finds himself in the dark again, and that he can no longer distinguish
+base money from good. I beg you to take care. If a man falls into bad
+habits, he is no longer able to perceive the difference between the
+good impulses of his natural heart and the evil impulses of his
+corrupt heart. With this benighted heart as a starting-point, he can
+carry out none of his intentions, and he has to lift his shoulders
+sighing and sighing again. A creature much to be pitied indeed! Then
+he loses all self-reliance, so that, although it would be better for
+him to hold his tongue and say nothing about it, if he is in the
+slightest trouble or distress, he goes and confesses the crookedness
+of his heart to every man he meets. What a wretched state for a man to
+be in! For this reason, I beg you to learn thoroughly the true silver
+of the heart, in order that you may make no mistake about the base
+coin. I pray that you and I, during our whole lives, may never leave
+the path of true principles.
+
+I have an amusing story to tell you in connection with this, if you
+will be so good as to listen.
+
+Once upon a time, when the autumn nights were beginning to grow
+chilly, five or six tradesmen in easy circumstances had assembled
+together to have a chat; and, having got ready their picnic box and
+wine-flask, went off to a temple on the hills, where a friendly priest
+lived, that they might listen to the stags roaring. With this
+intention they went to call upon the priest, and borrowed the guests'
+apartments[100] of the monastery; and as they were waiting to hear the
+deer roar, some of the party began to compose poetry. One would write
+a verse of Chinese poetry, and another would write a verse of
+seventeen syllables; and as they were passing the wine-cup the hour of
+sunset came, but not a deer had uttered a call; eight o'clock came,
+and ten o'clock came; still not a sound from the deer.
+
+[Footnote 100: All the temples in China and Japan have guests'
+apartments, which may be secured for a trifle, either for a long or
+short period. It is false to suppose that there is any desecration of
+a sacred shrine in the act of using it as a hostelry; it is the custom
+of the country.]
+
+"What can this mean?" said one. "The deer surely ought to be roaring."
+
+But, in spite of their waiting, the deer would not roar. At last the
+friends got sleepy, and, bored with writing songs and verses, began to
+yawn, and gave up twaddling about the woes and troubles of life; and
+as they were all silent, one of them, a man fifty years of age,
+stopping the circulation of the wine-cup, said--
+
+"Well, certainly, gentlemen, thanks to you, we have spent the evening
+in very pleasant conversation. However, although I am enjoying myself
+mightily in this way, my people at home must be getting anxious, and
+so I begin to think that we ought to leave off drinking."
+
+"Why so?" said the others.
+
+"Well, I'll tell you. You know that my only son is twenty-two years of
+age this year, and a troublesome fellow be is, too. When I'm at home,
+he lends a hand sulkily enough in the shop: but as soon as he no
+longer sees the shadow of me, he hoists sail and is off to some bad
+haunt. Although our relations and connections are always preaching to
+him, not a word has any more effect that wind blowing into a horse's
+ear. When I think that I shall have to leave my property to such a
+fellow as that, it makes my heart grow small indeed. Although, thanks
+to those to whom I have succeeded, I want for nothing, still, when I
+think of my son, I shed tears of blood night and day."
+
+And as he said this with a sigh, a man of some forty-five or forty-six
+years said--
+
+"No, no; although you make so much of your misfortunes, your son is
+but a little extravagant after all. There's no such great cause for
+grief there. I've got a very different story to tell. Of late years my
+shopmen, for one reason or another, have been running me into debt,
+thinking nothing of a debt of fifty or seventy ounces; and so the
+ledgers get all wrong. Just think of that. Here have I been keeping
+these fellows ever since they were little children unable to blow
+their own noses, and now, as soon as they come to be a little useful
+in the shop, they begin running up debts, and are no good whatever to
+their master. You see, you only have to spend your money upon your own
+son."
+
+Then another gentleman said--
+
+"Well, I think that to spend money upon your shop-people is no such
+great hardship after all. Now I've been in something like trouble
+lately. I can't get a penny out of my customers. One man owes me
+fifteen ounces; another owes me twenty-five ounces. Really that is
+enough to make a man feel as if his heart was worn away."
+
+When he had finished speaking, an old gentleman, who was sitting
+opposite, playing with his fan, said--
+
+"Certainly, gentlemen, your grievances are not without cause; still,
+to be perpetually asked for a little money, or to back a bill, by
+one's relations or friends, and to have a lot of hangers-on dependent
+on one, as I have, is a worse case still."
+
+But before the old gentleman had half finished speaking, his neighbour
+called out--
+
+"No, no; all you gentlemen are in luxury compared to me. Please listen
+to what I have to suffer. My wife and my mother can't hit it off
+anyhow. All day long they're like a couple of cows butting at one
+another with their horns. The house is as unendurable as if it were
+full of smoke. I often think it would be better to send my wife back
+to her village; but then I've got two little children. If I interfere
+and take my wife's part, my mother gets low-spirited. If I scold my
+wife, she says that I treat her so brutally because she's not of the
+same flesh and blood; and then she hates me. The trouble and anxiety
+are beyond description: I'm like a post stuck up between them."
+
+And so they all twaddled away in chorus, each about his own troubles.
+At last one of the gentlemen, recollecting himself, said--
+
+"Well, gentlemen, certainly the deer ought to be roaring; but we've
+been so engrossed with our conversation, that we don't know whether we
+have missed hearing them or not."
+
+With this he pulled aside the sliding-door of the verandah and looked
+out, and, lo and behold! a great big stag was standing perfectly
+silent in front of the garden.
+
+"Hullo!" said the man to the deer, "what's this? Since you've been
+there all the time, why did you not roar?"
+
+Then the stag answered, with an innocent face--
+
+"Oh, I came here to listen to the lamentations of you gentlemen."
+
+Isn't that a funny story?
+
+Old and young, men and women, rich and poor, never cease grumbling
+from morning till night. All this is the result of a diseased heart.
+In short, for the sake of a very trifling inclination or selfish
+pursuit, they will do any wrong in order to effect that which is
+impossible. This is want of judgment, and this brings all sorts of
+trouble upon the world. If once you gain possession of a perfect
+heart, knowing that which is impossible to be impossible, and
+recognizing that that which is difficult is difficult, you will not
+attempt to spare yourself trouble unduly. What says the Chin-Yo?[101]
+The wise man, whether his lot be cast amongst rich or poor, amongst
+barbarians or in sorrow, understands his position by his own instinct.
+If men do not understand this, they think that the causes of pain and
+pleasure are in the body. Putting the heart on one side, they
+earnestly strive after the comforts of the body, and launch into
+extravagance, the end of which is miserly parsimony. Instead of
+pleasure they meet with grief of the heart, and pass their lives in
+weeping and wailing. In one way or another, everything in this world
+depends upon the heart. I implore every one of you to take heed that
+tears fall not to your lot.
+
+[Footnote 101: The second book of Confucius.]
+
+
+
+
+APPENDICES
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX A
+
+
+
+
+AN ACCOUNT OF THE HARA-KIRI
+
+(FROM A RARE JAPANESE MS.)
+
+
+Seppuku _(hara-kiri)_ is the mode of suicide adopted amongst Samurai
+when they have no alternative but to die. Some there are who thus
+commit suicide of their own free will; others there are who, having
+committed some crime which does not put them outside the pale of the
+privileges of the Samurai class, are ordered by their superiors to put
+an end to their own lives. It is needless to say that it is absolutely
+necessary that the principal, the witnesses, and the seconds who take
+part in the affair should be acquainted with all the ceremonies to be
+observed. A long time ago, a certain Daimio invited a number of
+persons, versed in the various ceremonies, to call upon him to explain
+the different forms to be observed by the official witnesses who
+inspect and verify the head, &c., and then to instruct him in the
+ceremonies to be observed in the act of suicide; then he showed all
+these rites to his son and to all his retainers. Another person has
+said that, as the ceremonies to be gone through by principal,
+witnesses, and seconds are all very important matters, men should
+familiarize themselves with a thing which is so terrible, in order
+that, should the time come for them to take part in it, they may not
+be taken by surprise.
+
+The witnesses go to see and certify the suicide. For seconds, men are
+wanted who have distinguished themselves in the military arts. In old
+days, men used to bear these things in mind; but now-a-days the
+fashion is to be ignorant of such ceremonies, and if upon rare
+occasions a criminal is handed over to a Daimio's charge, that he may
+perform _hara-kiri,_ it often happens, at the time of execution, that
+there is no one among all the prince's retainers who is competent to
+act as second, in which case a man has to be engaged in a hurry from
+some other quarter to cut off the head of the criminal, and for that
+day he changes his name and becomes a retainer of the prince, either
+of the middle or lowest class, and the affair is entrusted to him, and
+so the difficulty is got over: nor is this considered to be a
+disgrace. It is a great breach of decorum if the second, who is a most
+important officer, commits any mistake (such as not striking off the
+head at a blow) in the presence of the witnesses sent by the
+Government. On this account a skilful person must be employed; and, to
+hide the unmanliness of his own people, a prince must perform the
+ceremony in this imperfect manner. Every Samurai should be able to cut
+off a man's head: therefore, to have to employ a stranger to act as
+second is to incur the charge of ignorance of the arts of war, and is
+a bitter mortification. However, young men, trusting to their youthful
+ardour, are apt to be careless, and are certain to make a mistake.
+Some people there are who, not lacking in skill on ordinary occasions,
+lose their presence of mind in public, and cannot do themselves
+justice. It is all the more important, therefore, as the act occurs
+but rarely, that men who are liable to be called upon to be either
+principals or seconds or witnesses in the _hara-kiri_ should
+constantly be examined in their skill as swordsmen, and should be
+familiar with all the rites, in order that when the time comes they
+may not lose their presence of mind.
+
+According to one authority, capital punishment may be divided into two
+kinds--beheading and strangulation. The ceremony of _hara-kiri_ was
+added afterwards in the case of persons belonging to the military
+class being condemned to death. This was first instituted in the days
+of the Ashikaga[102] dynasty. At that time the country was in a state
+of utter confusion; and there were men who, although fighting, were
+neither guilty of high treason nor of infidelity to their feudal
+lords, but who by the chances of war were taken prisoners. To drag out
+such men as these, bound as criminals, and cut their heads off, was
+intolerably cruel; accordingly, men hit upon a ceremonious mode of
+suicide by disembowelling, in order to comfort the departed spirit.
+Even at present, where it becomes necessary to put to death a man who
+has been guilty of some act not unworthy of a Samurai, at the time of
+the execution witnesses are sent to the house; and the criminal,
+having bathed and put on new clothes, in obedience to the commands of
+his superiors, puts an end to himself, but does not on that account
+forfeit his rank as a Samurai. This is a law for which, in all truth,
+men should be grateful.
+
+[Footnote 102: Ashikaga, third dynasty of Shoguns, flourished from
+A.D. 1336 to 1568. The practice of suicide by disembowelling is of
+great antiquity. This is the time when the ceremonies attending it
+were invented.]
+
+
+ON THE PREPARATION OF THE PLACE OF EXECUTION
+
+In old days the ceremony of _hara-kiri_ used to be performed in a
+temple. In the third year of the period called Kan-yei (A.D. 1626), a
+certain person, having been guilty of treason, was ordered to
+disembowel himself, on the fourteenth day of the first month, in the
+temple of Kichijôji, at Komagomé, in Yedo. Eighteen years later, the
+retainer of a certain Daimio, having had a dispute with a sailor
+belonging to an Osaka coasting-ship, killed the sailor; and, an
+investigation having been made into the matter by the Governor of
+Osaka, the retainer was ordered to perform _hara-kiri_, on the
+twentieth day of the sixth month, in the temple called Sokusanji, in
+Osaka. During the period Shôhô (middle of seventeenth century), a
+certain man, having been guilty of heinous misconduct, performed
+_hara-kiri_ in the temple called Shimpukuji, in the Kôji-street of
+Yedo. On the fourth day of the fifth month of the second year of the
+period Meiréki (A.D. 1656), a certain man, for having avenged the
+death of his cousin's husband at a place called Shimidzudani, in the
+Kôji-street, disembowelled himself in the temple called Honseiji. On
+the twenty-sixth day of the sixth month of the eighth year of the
+period Yempô (A.D. 1680), at the funeral ceremonies in honour of the
+anniversary of the death of Genyuin Sama, a former Shogun, Naitô
+Idzumi no Kami, having a cause of hatred against Nagai Shinano no
+Kami, killed him at one blow with a short sword, in the main hall of
+the temple called Zôjôji (the burial-place of the Shoguns in Yedo).
+Idzumi no Kami was arrested by the officers present, and on the
+following day performed _hara-kiri_ at Kiridôshi, in the temple called
+Seiriuji.
+
+In modern times the ceremony has taken place at night, either in the
+palace or in the garden of a Daimio, to whom the condemned man has
+been given in charge. Whether it takes place in the palace or in the
+garden depends upon the rank of the individual. Daimios and Hatamotos,
+as a matter of course, and the higher retainers of the Shogun,
+disembowel themselves in the palace: retainers of lower rank should do
+so in the garden. In the case of vassals of feudatories, according to
+the rank of their families, those who, being above the grade of
+captains, carry the bâton,[103] should perform _hara-kiri_ in the
+palace; all others in the garden. If, when the time comes, the persons
+engaged in the ceremony are in any doubt as to the proper rules to be
+followed, they should inquire of competent persons, and settle the
+question. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, during the
+period Genroku, when Asano Takumi no Kami[104] disembowelled himself
+in the palace of a Daimio called Tamura, as the whole thing was sudden
+and unexpected, the garden was covered with matting, and on the top of
+this thick mats were laid and a carpet, and the affair was concluded
+so; but there are people who say that it was wrong to treat a Daimio
+thus, as if he had been an ordinary Samurai. But it is said that in
+old times it was the custom that the ceremony should take place upon a
+leather carpet spread in the garden; and further, that the proper
+place is inside a picket fence tied together in the garden: so it is
+wrong for persons who are only acquainted with one form of the
+ceremony to accuse Tamura of having acted improperly. If, however, the
+object was to save the house from the pollution of blood, then the
+accusation of ill-will may well be brought; for the preparation of the
+place is of great importance.
+
+[Footnote 103: A bâton with a tassel of paper strips, used for giving
+directions in war-time.]
+
+[Footnote 104: See the story of the Forty-seven Rônins.]
+
+Formerly it was the custom that, for personages of importance, the
+enclosure within the picket fence should be of thirty-six feet square.
+An entrance was made to the south, and another to the north: the door
+to the south was called _Shugiyômon_ ("the door of the practice of
+virtue"); that to the north was called _Umbanmon_ ("the door of the
+warm basin"[105]). Two mats, with white binding, were arranged in the
+shape of a hammer, the one at right angles to the other; six feet of
+white silk, four feet broad, were stretched on the mat, which was
+placed lengthwise; at the four corners were erected four posts for
+curtains. In front of the two mats was erected a portal, eight feet
+high by six feet broad, in the shape of the portals in front of
+temples, made of a fine sort of bamboo wrapped in white[106] silk.
+White curtains, four feet broad, were hung at the four corners, and
+four flags, six feet long, on which should be inscribed four
+quotations from the sacred books. These flags, it is said, were
+immediately after the ceremony carried away to the grave. At night two
+lights were placed, one upon either side of the two mats. The candles
+were placed in saucers upon stands of bamboo, four feet high, wrapped
+in white silk. The person who was to disembowel himself, entering the
+picket fence by the north entrance, took his place upon the white silk
+upon the mat facing the north. Some there were, however, who said that
+he should sit facing the west: in that case the whole place must be
+prepared accordingly. The seconds enter the enclosure by the south
+entrance, at the same time as the principal enters by the north, and
+take their places on the mat that is placed crosswise.
+
+[Footnote 105: No Japanese authority that I have been able to consult
+gives any explanation of this singular name.]
+
+[Footnote 106: White, in China and Japan, is the colour of mourning.]
+
+Nowadays, when the _hara-kiri_ is performed inside the palace, a
+temporary place is made on purpose, either in the garden or in some
+unoccupied spot; but if the criminal is to die on the day on which he
+is given in charge, or on the next day, the ceremony, having to take
+place so quickly, is performed in the reception-room. Still, even if
+there is a lapse of time between the period of giving the prisoner in
+charge and the execution, it is better that the ceremony should take
+place in a decent room in the house than in a place made on purpose.
+If it is heard that, for fear of dirtying his house, a man has made a
+place expressly, he will be blamed for it. It surely can be no
+disgrace to the house of a soldier that he was ordered to perform the
+last offices towards a Samurai who died by _hara-kiri_. To slay his
+enemy against whom he has cause of hatred, and then to kill himself,
+is the part of a noble Samurai; and it is sheer nonsense to look upon
+the place where he has disembowelled himself as polluted. In the
+beginning of the eighteenth century, seventeen of the retainers of
+Asano Takumi no Kami performed _hara-kiri_ in the garden of a palace
+at Shirokané, in Yedo. When it was over, the people of the palace
+called upon the priests of a sect named Shugenja to come and purify
+the place; but when the lord of the palace heard this, he ordered the
+place to be left as it was; for what need was there to purify a place
+where faithful Samurai had died by their own hand? But in other
+palaces to which the remainder of the retainers of Takumi no Kami were
+entrusted, it is said that the places of execution were purified. But
+the people of that day praised Kumamoto Ko (the Prince of Higo), to
+whom the palace at Shirokané belonged. It is a currish thing to look
+upon death in battle or by _hara-kiri_ as a pollution: this is a thing
+to bear in mind. In modern times the place of _hara-kiri_ is eighteen
+feet square in all cases; in the centre is a place to sit upon, and
+the condemned man is made to sit facing the witnesses; at other times
+he is placed with his side to the witnesses: this is according to the
+nature of the spot. In some cases the seconds turn their backs to the
+witnesses. It is open to question, however, whether this is not a
+breach of etiquette. The witnesses should be consulted upon these
+arrangements. If the witnesses have no objection, the condemned man
+should be placed directly opposite to them. The place where the
+witnesses are seated should be removed more than twelve or eighteen
+feet from the condemned man. The place from which the sentence is read
+should also be close by. The writer has been furnished with a plan of
+the _hara-kiri_ as it is performed at present. Although the ceremony
+is gone through in other ways also, still it is more convenient to
+follow the manner indicated.
+
+If the execution takes place in a room, a kerchief of five breadths of
+white cotton cloth or a quilt should be laid down, and it is also said
+that two mats should be prepared; however, as there are already mats
+in the room, there is no need for special mats: two red rugs should be
+spread over all, sewed together, one on the top of the other; for if
+the white cotton cloth be used alone, the blood will soak through on
+to the mats; therefore it is right the rugs should be spread. On the
+twenty-third day of the eighth month of the fourth year of the period
+Yenkiyô (A.D. 1740), at the _hara-kiri_ of a certain person there were
+laid down a white cloth, eight feet square, and on that a quilt of
+light green cotton, six feet square, and on that a cloth of white
+hemp, six feet square, and on that two rugs. On the third day of the
+ninth month of the ninth year of the period Tempô (A.D. 1838), at the
+_hara-kiri_ of a certain person it is said that there were spread a
+large double cloth of white cotton, and on that two rugs. But, of
+these two occasions, the first must be commended for its careful
+preparation. If the execution be at night, candlesticks of white wood
+should be placed at each of the four corners, lest the seconds be
+hindered in their work. In the place where the witnesses are to sit,
+ordinary candlesticks should be placed, according to etiquette; but an
+excessive illumination is not decorous. Two screens covered with white
+paper should be set up, behind the shadow of which are concealed the
+dirk upon a tray, a bucket to hold the head after it has been cut off,
+an incense-burner, a pail of water, and a basin. The above rules
+apply equally to the ceremonies observed when the _hara-kiri_ takes
+place in a garden. In the latter case the place is hung round with a
+white curtain, which need not be new for the occasion. Two mats, a
+white cloth, and a rug are spread. If the execution is at night,
+lanterns of white paper are placed on bamboo poles at the four
+corners. The sentence having been read inside the house, the persons
+engaged in the ceremony proceed to the place of execution; but,
+according to circumstances, the sentence may be read at the place
+itself. In the case of Asano Takumi no Kami, the sentence was read out
+in the house, and he afterwards performed _hara-kiri_ in the garden.
+On the third day of the fourth month of the fourth year of the period
+Tenmei (A.D. 1784), a Hatamoto named Sano, having received his
+sentence in the supreme court-house, disembowelled himself in the
+garden in front of the prison. When the ceremony takes place in the
+garden, matting must be spread all the way to the place, so that
+sandals need not be worn. The reason for this is that some men in that
+position suffer from a rush of blood to the head, from nervousness, so
+their sandals might slip off their feet without their being aware of
+their loss; and as this would have a very bad appearance, it is better
+to spread matting. Care must be taken lest, in spreading the matting,
+a place be left where two mats join, against which the foot might
+trip. The white screens and other things are prepared as has been
+directed above. If any curtailment is made, it must be done as well as
+circumstances will permit. According to the crime of which a man who
+is handed over to any Daimio's charge is guilty, it is known whether
+he will have to perform _hara-kiri_; and the preparations should be
+made accordingly. Asano Takumi no Kami was taken to the palace of
+Tamura Sama at the hour of the monkey (between three and five in the
+afternoon), took off his dress of ceremony, partook of a bowl of soup
+and five dishes, and drank two cups of warm water, and at the hour of
+the cock (between five and seven in the evening) disembowelled
+himself. A case of this kind requires much attention; for great care
+should be taken that the preparations be carried on without the
+knowledge of the principal. If a temporary room has been built
+expressly for the occasion, to avoid pollution to the house, it should
+be kept a secret. It once happened that a criminal was received in
+charge at the palace of a certain nobleman, and when his people were
+about to erect a temporary building for the ceremony, they wrote to
+consult some of the parties concerned; the letter ran as follows--
+
+"The house in which we live is very small and inconvenient in all
+respects. We have ordered the guard to treat our prisoner with all
+respect; but our retainers who are placed on guard are much
+inconvenienced for want of space; besides, in the event of fire
+breaking out or any extraordinary event taking place, the place is so
+small that it would be difficult to get out. We are thinking,
+therefore, of adding an apartment to the original building, so that
+the guard may be able at all times to go in and out freely, and that
+if, in case of fire or otherwise, we should have to leave the house,
+we may do so easily. We beg to consult you upon this point."
+
+When a Samurai has to perform _hara-kiri_ by the command of his own
+feudal lord, the ceremony should take place in one of the lesser
+palaces of the clan. Once upon a time, a certain prince of the Inouyé
+clan, having a just cause of offence against his steward, who was
+called Ishikawa Tôzayémon, and wishing to punish him, caused him to be
+killed in his principal palace at Kandabashi, in Yedo. When this
+matter was reported to the Shogun, having been convicted of disrespect
+of the privileges of the city, he was ordered to remove to his lesser
+palace at Asakusa. Now, although the _hara-kiri_ cannot be called
+properly an execution, still, as it only differs from an ordinary
+execution in that by it the honour of the Samurai is not affected, it
+is only a question of degree; it is a matter of ceremonial. If the
+principal palace[107] is a long distance from the Shogun's castle,
+then the _hara-kiri_ may take place there; but there can be no
+objection whatever to its taking place in a minor palace. Nowadays,
+when a man is condemned to _hara-kiri_ by a Daimio, the ceremony
+usually takes place in one of the lesser palaces; the place commonly
+selected is an open space near the horse-exercising ground, and the
+preparations which I have described above are often shortened
+according to circumstances.
+
+[Footnote 107: The principal yashikis (palaces) of the nobles are for
+the most part immediately round the Shogun's castle, in the enclosure
+known as the official quarter. Their proximity to the palace forbids
+their being made the scenes of executions.]
+
+When a retainer is suddenly ordered to perform _hara-kiri_ during a
+journey, a temple or shrine should be hired for the occasion. On these
+hurried occasions, coarse mats, faced with finer matting or common
+mats, may be used. If the criminal is of rank to have an
+armour-bearer, a carpet of skin should be spread, should one be easily
+procurable. The straps of the skin (which are at the head) should,
+according to old custom, be to the front, so that the fur may point
+backwards. In old days, when the ceremony took place in a garden, a
+carpet of skin was spread. To hire a temple for the purpose of causing
+a man to perform _hara-kiri_ was of frequent occurrence: it is
+doubtful whether it may be done at the present time. This sort of
+question should be referred beforehand to some competent person, that
+the course to be adopted may be clearly understood.
+
+In the period Kambun (A.D. 1661-1673) a Prince Sakai, travelling
+through the Bishiu territory, hired a temple or shrine for one of his
+retainers to disembowel himself in; and so the affair was concluded.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE CEREMONIES OBSERVED AT THE HARA-KIRI OF A PERSON GIVEN IN
+CHARGE TO A DAIMIO.
+
+When a man has been ordered by the Government to disembowel himself,
+the public censors, who have been appointed to act as witnesses, write
+to the prince who has the criminal in charge, to inform them that they
+will go to his palace on public business. This message is written
+directly to the chief, and is sent by an assistant censor; and a
+suitable answer is returned to it. Before the ceremony, the witnesses
+send an assistant censor to see the place, and look at a plan of the
+house, and to take a list of the names of the persons who are to be
+present; he also has an interview with the _kaishaku_, or seconds, and
+examines them upon the way of performing the ceremonies. When all the
+preparations have been made, he goes to fetch the censors; and they
+all proceed together to the place of execution, dressed in their
+hempen-cloth dress of ceremony. The retainers of the palace are
+collected to do obeisance in the entrance-yard; and the lord, to whom
+the criminal has been entrusted, goes as far as the front porch to
+meet the censors, and conducts them to the front reception-room. The
+chief censor then announces to the lord of the palace that he has come
+to read out the sentence of such an one who has been condemned to
+perform _hara-kiri_, and that the second censor has come to witness
+the execution of the sentence. The lord of the palace then inquires
+whether he is expected to attend the execution in person, and, if any
+of the relations or family of the criminal should beg to receive his
+remains, whether their request should be complied with; after this he
+announces that he will order everything to be made ready, and leaves
+the room. Tea, a fire-box for smoking, and sweetmeats are set before
+the censors; but they decline to accept any hospitality until their
+business shall have been concluded. The minor officials follow the
+same rule. If the censors express a wish to see the place of
+execution, the retainers of the palace show the way, and their lord
+accompanies them; in this, however, he may be replaced by one of his
+_karô_ or councillors. They then return, and take their seats in the
+reception-room. After this, when all the preparations have been made,
+the master of the house leads the censors to the place where the
+sentence is to be read; and it is etiquette that they should wear both
+sword and dirk.[108] The lord of the palace takes his place on one
+side; the inferior censors sit on either side in a lower place. The
+councillors and other officers of the palace also take their places.
+One of the councillors present, addressing the censors without moving
+from his place, asks whether he shall bring forth the prisoner.
+
+[Footnote 108: A Japanese removes his sword on entering a house,
+retaining only his dirk.]
+
+Previously to this, the retainers of the palace, going to the room
+where the prisoner is confined, inform him that, as the censors have
+arrived, he should change his dress, and the attendants bring out a
+change of clothes upon a large tray: it is when he has finished his
+toilet that the witnesses go forth and take their places in the
+appointed order, and the principal is then introduced. He is preceded
+by one man, who should be of the rank of _Mono-gashira_ (retainer of
+the fourth rank), who wears a dirk, but no sword. Six men act as
+attendants; they should be of the fifth or sixth rank; they walk on
+either side of the principal. They are followed by one man who should
+be of the rank of _Yônin_ (councillor of the second class). When they
+reach the place, the leading man draws on one side and sits down, and
+the six attendants sit down on either side of the principal. The
+officer who follows him sits down behind him, and the chief censor
+reads the sentence.
+
+When the reading of the sentence is finished, the principal leaves the
+room and again changes his clothes, and the chief censor immediately
+leaves the palace; but the lord of the palace does not conduct him to
+the door. The second censor returns to the reception-room until the
+principal has changed his clothes. When the principal has taken his
+seat at the place of execution, the councillors of the palace announce
+to the second censor that all is ready; he then proceeds to the place,
+wearing his sword and dirk. The lord of the palace, also wearing his
+sword and dirk, takes his seat on one side. The inferior censors and
+councillors sit in front of the censor: they wear the dirk only. The
+assistant second brings a dirk upon a tray, and, having placed it in
+front of the principal, withdraws on one side: when the principal
+leans his head forward, his chief second strikes off his head, which
+is immediately shown to the censor, who identifies it, and tells the
+master of the palace that he is satisfied, and thanks him for all his
+trouble. The corpse, as it lies, is hidden by a white screen which is
+set up around it, and incense is brought out. The witnesses leave the
+place. The lord of the palace accompanies them as far as the porch,
+and the retainers prostrate themselves in the yard as before. The
+retainers who should be present at the place of execution are one or
+two councillors (_Karô_), two or three second councillors (_Yônin_),
+two or three _Mono-gashira_, one chief of the palace (_Rusui_), six
+attendants, one chief second, two assistant seconds, one man to carry
+incense, who need not be a person of rank--any Samurai will do. They
+attend to the setting up of the white screen.
+
+The duty of burying the corpse and of setting the place in order again
+devolves upon four men; these are selected from Samurai of the middle
+or lower class; during the performance of their duties, they hitch up
+their trousers and wear neither sword nor dirk. Their names are
+previously sent in to the censor, who acts as witness; and to the
+junior censors, should they desire it. Before the arrival of the chief
+censor, the requisite utensils for extinguishing a fire are prepared,
+firemen are engaged,[109] and officers constantly go the rounds to
+watch against fire. From the time when the chief censor comes into the
+house until he leaves it, no one is allowed to enter the premises. The
+servants on guard at the entrance porch should wear their hempen
+dresses of ceremony. Everything in the palace should be conducted with
+decorum, and the strictest attention paid in all things.
+
+[Footnote 109: In Japan, where fires are of daily occurrence, the
+fire-buckets and other utensils form part of the gala dress of the
+house of a person of rank.]
+
+When any one is condemned to _hara-kiri_, it would be well that people
+should go to the palace of the Prince of Higo, and learn what
+transpired at the execution of the Rônins of Asano Takumi no Kami. A
+curtain was hung round the garden in front of the reception-room;
+three mats were laid down, and upon these was placed a white cloth.
+The condemned men were kept in the reception-room, and summoned, one
+by one; two men, one on each side, accompanied them; the second,
+followed behind; and they proceeded together to the place of
+execution. When the execution was concluded in each case, the corpse
+was hidden from the sight of the chief witness by a white screen,
+folded up in white cloth, placed on a mat, and carried off to the rear
+by two foot-soldiers; it was then placed in a coffin. The
+blood-stained ground was sprinkled with sand, and swept clean; fresh
+mats were laid down, and the place prepared anew; after which the next
+man was summoned to come forth.
+
+
+ON CERTAIN THINGS TO BE BORNE IN MIND BY THE WITNESSES.
+
+When a clansman is ordered by his feudal lord to perform _hara-kiri_,
+the sentence must be read out by the censor of the clan, who also acts
+as witness. He should take his place in front of the criminal, at a
+distance of twelve feet; according to some books, the distance should
+be eighteen feet, and he should sit obliquely, not facing the
+criminal; he should lay his sword down by his side, but, if he
+pleases, he may wear it in his girdle; he must read out the sentence
+distinctly. If the sentence be a long document, to begin reading in a
+very loud voice and afterwards drop into a whisper has an appearance
+of faint-heartedness; but to read it throughout in a low voice is
+worse still: it should be delivered clearly from beginning to end. It
+is the duty of the chief witness to set an example of fortitude to the
+other persons who are to take part in the execution. When the second
+has finished his work, he carries the head to the chief witness, who,
+after inspecting it, must declare that he has identified it; he then
+should take his sword, and leave his place. It is sufficient, however,
+that the head should be struck off without being carried to the chief
+witness; in that case, the second receives his instructions
+beforehand. On rising, the chief witness should step out with his left
+foot and turn to the left. If the ceremony takes place out of doors,
+the chief witness, wearing his sword and dirk, should sit upon a box;
+he must wear his hempen dress of ceremony; he may hitch his trousers
+up slightly; according to his rank, he may wear his full dress--that
+is, wings over his full dress. It is the part of the chief witness to
+instruct the seconds and others in the duties which they have to
+perform, and also to preconcert measures in the event of any mishap
+occurring.
+
+If whilst the various persons to be engaged in the ceremony are
+rubbing up their military lore, and preparing themselves for the
+event, any other person should come in, they should immediately turn
+the conversation. Persons of the rank of Samurai should be familiar
+with all the details of the _hara-kiri_; and to be seen discussing
+what should be done in case anything went wrong, and so forth, would
+have an appearance of ignorance. If, however, an intimate friend
+should go to the place, rather than have any painful concealment, he
+may be consulted upon the whole affair.
+
+When the sentence has been read, it is probable that the condemned man
+will have some last words to say to the chief witness. It must depend
+on the nature of what he has to say whether it will be received or
+not. If he speaks in a confused or bewildered manner, no attention is
+paid to it: his second should lead him away, of his own accord or at a
+sign from the chief witness.
+
+If the condemned man be a person who has been given in charge to a
+prince by the Government, the prince after the reading of the sentence
+should send his retainers to the prisoner with a message to say that
+the decrees of the Government are not to be eluded, but that if he has
+any last wishes to express, they are ordered by their lord to receive
+them. If the prisoner is a man of high rank, the lord of the palace
+should go in person to hear his last wishes.
+
+The condemned man should answer in the following way--
+
+"Sir, I thank you for your careful consideration, but I have nothing
+that I wish to say. I am greatly indebted to you for the great
+kindness which I have received since I have been under your charge. I
+beg you to take my respects to your lord and to the gentlemen of your
+clan who have treated me so well." Or he may say, "Sirs, I have
+nothing to say; yet, since you are so kind as to think of me, I should
+be obliged if you would deliver such and such a message to such an
+one." This is the proper and becoming sort of speech for the occasion.
+If the prisoner entrusts them with any message, the retainers should
+receive it in such a manner as to set his mind at rest. Should he ask
+for writing materials in order to write a letter, as this is forbidden
+by the law, they should tell him so, and not grant his request. Still
+they must feel that it is painful to refuse the request of a dying
+man, and must do their best to assist him. They must exhaust every
+available kindness and civility, as was done in the period Genroku, in
+the case of the Rônins of Asano Takumi no Kami. The Prince of Higo,
+after the sentence had been read, caused paper and writing materials
+to be taken to their room. If the prisoner is light-headed from
+excitement, it is no use furnishing him with writing materials. It
+must depend upon circumstances; but when a man has murdered another,
+having made up his mind to abide by the consequences, then that man's
+execution should be carried through with all honour. When a man kills
+another on the spot, in a fit of ungovernable passion, and then is
+bewildered and dazed by his own act, the same pains need not be taken
+to conduct matters punctiliously. If the prisoner be a careful man, he
+will take an early opportunity after he has been given in charge to
+express his wishes. To carry kindness so far as to supply writing
+materials and the like is not obligatory. If any doubt exists upon the
+point, the chief witness may be consulted.
+
+After the Rônins of Asano Takumi no Kami had heard their sentence in
+the palace of Matsudaira Oki no Kami, that Daimio in person went and
+took leave of them, and calling Oishi Chikara,[110] the son of their
+chief, to him, said, "I have heard that your mother is at home in your
+own country; how she will grieve when she hears of your death and that
+of your father, I can well imagine. If you have any message that you
+wish to leave for her, tell me, without standing upon ceremony, and I
+will transmit it without delay." For a while Chikara kept his head
+bent down towards the ground; at last he drew back a little, and,
+lifting his head, said, "I humbly thank your lordship for what you
+have been pleased to say. My father warned me from the first that our
+crime was so great that, even were we to be pardoned by a gracious
+judgment upon one count, I must not forget that there would be a
+hundred million counts against us for which we must commit suicide:
+and that if I disregarded his words his hatred would pursue me after
+death. My father impressed this upon me at the temple called
+Sengakuji, and again when I was separated from him to be taken to the
+palace of Prince Sengoku. Now my father and myself have been condemned
+to perform _hara-kiri_, according to the wish of our hearts. Still I
+cannot forget to think of my mother. When we parted at Kiyôto, she
+told me that our separation would be for long, and she bade me not to
+play the coward when I thought of her. As I took a long leave of her
+then, I have no message to send to her now." When he spoke thus, Oki
+no Kami and all his retainers, who were drawn up around him, were
+moved to tears in admiration of his heroism.
+
+[Footnote 110: Oishi Chikara was separated from his father, who was
+one of the seventeen delivered over to the charge of the Prince of
+Higo.]
+
+Although it is right that the condemned man should bathe and partake
+of wine and food, these details should be curtailed. Even should he
+desire these favours, it must depend upon his conduct whether they be
+granted or refused. He should be caused to die as quickly as possible.
+Should he wish for some water to drink, it should be given to him. If
+in his talk he should express himself like a noble Samurai, all pains
+should be exhausted in carrying out his execution. Yet however careful
+a man he may be, as he nears his death his usual demeanour will
+undergo a change. If the execution is delayed, in all probability it
+will cause the prisoner's courage to fail him; therefore, as soon as
+the sentence shall have been passed, the execution should be brought
+to a conclusion. This, again, is a point for the chief witness to
+remember.
+
+
+CONCERNING SECONDS (KAISHAKU).
+
+When the condemned man is one who has been given in charge for
+execution, six attendants are employed; when the execution is within
+the clan, then two or three attendants will suffice; the number,
+however, must depend upon the rank of the principal. Men of great
+nerve and strength must be selected for the office; they must wear
+their hempen dress of ceremony, and tuck up their trousers; they must
+on no account wear either sword or dirk, but have a small poniard
+hidden in their bosom: these are the officers who attend upon the
+condemned man when he changes his dress, and who sit by him on the
+right hand and on the left hand to guard him whilst the sentence is
+being read. In the event of any mistake occurring (such as the
+prisoner attempting to escape), they knock him down; and should he be
+unable to stand or to walk, they help to support him. The attendants
+accompanying the principal to the place of execution, if they are six
+in number, four of them take their seats some way off and mount guard,
+while the other two should sit close behind the principal. They must
+understand that should there be any mistake they must throw the
+condemned man, and, holding him down, cut off his head with their
+poniard, or stab him to death. If the second bungles in cutting off
+the head and the principal attempts to rise, it is the duty of the
+attendants to kill him. They must help him to take off his upper
+garments and bare his body. In recent times, however, there have been
+cases where the upper garments have not been removed: this depends
+upon circumstances. The setting up of the white screen, and the laying
+the corpse in the coffin, are duties which, although they may be
+performed by other officers, originally devolved upon the six
+attendants. When a common man is executed, he is bound with cords, and
+so made to take his place; but a Samurai wears his dress of ceremony,
+is presented with a dagger, and dies thus. There ought to be no
+anxiety lest such a man should attempt to escape; still, as there is
+no knowing what these six attendants may be called upon to do, men
+should be selected who thoroughly understand their business.
+
+The seconds are three in number--the chief second, the assistant
+second, and the inferior second. When the execution is carried out
+with proper solemnity, three men are employed; still a second and
+assistant second are sufficient. If three men serve as seconds, their
+several duties are as follows:--The chief second strikes off the head;
+that is his duty: he is the most important officer in the execution by
+_hara-kiri._ The assistant second brings forward the tray, on which is
+placed the dirk; that is his duty: he must perform his part in such a
+manner that the principal second is not hindered in his work. The
+assistant second is the officer of second importance in the execution.
+The third or inferior second carries the head to the chief witness for
+identification; and in the event of something suddenly occurring to
+hinder either of the other two seconds, he should bear in mind that he
+must be ready to act as his substitute: his is an office of great
+importance, and a proper person must be selected to fill it.
+
+Although there can be no such thing as a _kaishaku_ (second) in any
+case except in one of _hara-kiri,_ still in old times guardians and
+persons who assisted others were also called _kaishaku_: the reason
+for this is because the _kaishaku_, or second, comes to the assistance
+of the principal. If the principal were to make any mistake at the
+fatal moment, it would be a disgrace to his dead body: it is in order
+to prevent such mistakes that the _kaishaku,_ or second, is employed.
+It is the duty of the _kaishaku_ to consider this as his first duty.
+
+When a man is appointed to act as second to another, what shall be
+said of him if he accepts the office with a smiling face? Yet must he
+not put on a face of distress. It is as well to attempt to excuse
+oneself from performing the duty. There is no heroism in cutting a
+man's head off well, and it is a disgrace to do it in a bungling
+manner; yet must not a man allege lack of skill as a pretext for
+evading the office, for it is an unworthy thing that a Samurai should
+want the skill required to behead a man. If there are any that
+advocate employing young men as seconds, it should rather be said that
+their hands are inexpert. To play the coward and yield up the office
+to another man is out of the question. When a man is called upon to
+perform the office, he should express his readiness to use his sword
+(the dirk may be employed, but the sword is the proper weapon). As
+regards the sword, the second should borrow that of the principal: if
+there is any objection to this, he should receive a sword from his
+lord; he should not use his own sword. When the assistant seconds have
+been appointed, the three should take counsel together about the
+details of the place of execution, when they have been carefully
+instructed by their superiors in all the ceremonies; and having made
+careful inquiry, should there be anything wrong, they should appeal to
+their superiors for instruction. The seconds wear their dresses of
+ceremony when the criminal is a man given in charge by the Government:
+when he is one of their own clan, they need only wear the trousers of
+the Samurai. In old days it is said that they were dressed in the
+same way as the principal; and some authorities assert that at the
+_hara-kiri_ of a nobleman of high rank the seconds should wear white
+clothes, and that the handle of the sword should be wrapped in white
+silk. If the execution takes place in the house, they should partially
+tuck up their trousers; if in the garden, they should tuck them up
+entirely.
+
+The seconds should address the principal, and say, "Sir, we have been
+appointed to act as your seconds; we pray you to set your mind at
+rest," and so forth; but this must depend upon the rank of the
+criminal. At this time, too, if the principal has any last wish to
+express, the second should receive it, and should treat him with every
+consideration in order to relieve his anxiety. If the second has been
+selected by the principal on account of old friendship between them,
+or if the latter, during the time that he has been in charge, has
+begged some special retainer of the palace to act as his second in the
+event of his being condemned to death, the person so selected should
+thank the principal for choosing so unworthy a person, and promise to
+beg his lord to allow him to act as second: so he should answer, and
+comfort him, and having reported the matter to his lord, should act as
+second. He should take that opportunity to borrow his principal's
+sword in some such terms as the following: "As I am to have the honour
+of being your second, I would fain borrow your sword for the occasion.
+It may be a consolation to you to perish by your own sword, with which
+you are familiar." If, however, the principal declines, and prefers to
+be executed with the second's sword, his wish must be complied with.
+If the second should make an awkward cut with his own sword, it is a
+disgrace to him; therefore he should borrow some one else's sword, so
+that the blame may rest with the sword, and not with the swordsman.
+Although this is the rule, and although every Samurai should wear a
+sword fit to cut off a man's head, still if the principal has begged
+to be executed with the second's own sword, it must be done as he
+desires.
+
+It is probable that the condemned man will inquire of his second about
+the arrangements which have been made: he must attend therefore to
+rendering himself capable of answering all such questions. Once upon a
+time, when the condemned man inquired of his second whether his head
+would be cut off at the moment when he received the tray with the dirk
+upon it, "No," replied the second; "at the moment when you stab
+yourself with the dirk your head will be cut off." At the execution of
+one Sanô, he told his second that, when he had stabbed himself in the
+belly, he would utter a cry; and begged him to be cool when he cut off
+his head. The second replied that he would do as he wished, but begged
+him in the meantime to take the tray with the dirk, according to
+proper form. When Sanô reached out his hand to take the tray, the
+second cut off his head immediately. Now, although this was not
+exactly right, still as the second acted so in order to save a Samurai
+from the disgrace of performing the _hara-kiri_ improperly (by crying
+out), it can never be wrong for a second to act kindly, If the
+principal urgently requests to be allowed really to disembowel
+himself, his wish may, according to circumstances, be granted; but in
+this case care must be taken that no time be lost in striking off the
+head. The custom of striking off the head, the prisoner only going
+through the semblance of disembowelling himself, dates from the period
+Yempô (about 190 years ago).
+
+When the principal has taken his place, the second strips his right
+shoulder of the dress of ceremony, which he allows to fall behind his
+sleeve, and, drawing his sword, lays down the scabbard, taking care
+that his weapon is not seen by the principal; then he takes his place
+on the left of the principal and close behind him. The principal
+should sit facing the west, and the second facing the north, and in
+that position should he strike the blow. When the second perceives the
+assistant second bring out the tray on which is laid the dirk, he must
+brace up his nerves and settle his heart beneath his navel: when the
+tray is laid down, he must put himself in position to strike the blow.
+He should step out first with the left foot, and then change so as to
+bring his right foot forward: this is the position which he should
+assume to strike; he may, however, reverse the position of his feet.
+When the principal removes his upper garments, the second must poise
+his sword: when the principal reaches out his hand to draw the tray
+towards him, as he leans his head forward a little, is the exact
+moment for the second to strike. There are all sorts of traditions
+about this. Some say that the principal should take the tray and raise
+it respectfully to his head, and set it down; and that this is the
+moment to strike. There are three rules for the time of cutting off
+the head: the first is when the dirk is laid on the tray; the second
+is when the principal looks at the left side of his belly before
+inserting the dirk; the third is when he inserts the dirk. If these
+three moments are allowed to pass, it becomes a difficult matter to
+cut off the head: so says tradition. However, four moments for cutting
+are also recorded: first, when the assistant second retires after
+having laid down the stand on which is the dirk; second, when the
+principal draws the stand towards him; third, when he takes the dirk
+in his hand; fourth, when he makes the incision into the belly.
+Although all four ways are approved, still the first is too soon; the
+last three are right and proper. In short, the blow should be struck
+without delay. If he has struck off the head at a blow without
+failure, the second, taking care not to raise his sword, but holding
+it point downwards, should retire backward a little and wipe his
+weapon kneeling; he should have plenty of white paper ready in his
+girdle or in his bosom to wipe away the blood and rub up his sword;
+having replaced his sword in its scabbard, he should readjust his
+upper garments and take his seat to the rear. When the head has
+fallen, the junior second should enter, and, taking up the head,
+present it to the witness for inspection. When he has identified it,
+the ceremony is concluded. If there is no assistant or junior second,
+the second, as soon as he has cut off the head, carrying his sword
+reversed in his left hand, should take the head in his right hand,
+holding it by the top-knot of hair, should advance towards the
+witness, passing on the right side of the corpse, and show the right
+profile of the head to the witness, resting the chin of the head upon
+the hilt of his sword, and kneeling on his left knee; then returning
+again round by the left of the corpse, kneeling on his left knee, and
+carrying the head in his left hand and resting it on the edge of his
+sword, he should again show the left profile to the witness. It is
+also laid down as another rule, that the second, laying down his
+sword, should take out paper from the bosom of his dress, and placing
+the head in the palm of his left hand, and taking the top-knot of hair
+in his right hand, should lay the head upon the paper, and so submit
+it for inspection. Either way may be said to be right.
+
+NOTE.--To lay down thick paper, and place the head on it, shows a
+disposition to pay respect to the head; to place it on the edge of the
+sword is insulting: the course pursued must depend upon the rank of
+the person. If the ceremony is to be curtailed, it may end with the
+cutting off of the head: that must be settled beforehand, in
+consultation with the witness. In the event of the second making a
+false cut, so as not to strike off the head at a blow, the second must
+take the head by the top-knot, and, pressing it down, cut it off.
+Should he take bad aim and cut the shoulder by mistake, and should the
+principal rise and cry out, before he has time to writhe, he should
+hold him down and stab him to death, and then cut off his head, or the
+assistant seconds, who are sitting behind, should come forward and
+hold him down, while the chief second cuts off his head. It may be
+necessary for the second, after he has cut off the head, to push down
+the body, and then take up the head for inspection. If the body does
+not fall at once, which is said to be sometimes the case, the second
+should pull the feet to make it fall.
+
+There are some who say that the perfect way for the second to cut off
+the head is not to cut right through the neck at a blow, but to leave
+a little uncut, and, as the head hangs by the skin, to seize the
+top-knot and slice it off, and then submit it for inspection. The
+reason of this is, lest, the head being struck off at a blow, the
+ceremony should be confounded with an ordinary execution. According to
+the old authorities, this is the proper and respectful manner. After
+the head is cut off, the eyes are apt to blink, and the mouth to move,
+and to bite the pebbles and sand. This being hateful to see, at what
+amongst Samurai is so important an occasion, and being a shameful
+thing, it is held to be best not to let the head fall, but to hold
+back a little in delivering the blow. Perhaps this may be right; yet
+it is a very difficult matter to cut so as to leave the head hanging
+by a little flesh, and there is the danger of missing the cut; and as
+any mistake in the cut is most horrible to see, it is better to strike
+a fair blow at once. Others say that, even when the head is struck off
+at a blow, the semblance of slicing it off should be gone through
+afterwards; yet be it borne in mind that; this is unnecessary.
+
+Three methods of carrying the sword are recognized amongst those
+skilled in swordsmanship. If the rank of the principal be high, the
+sword is raised aloft; if the principal and second are of equal rank,
+the sword is carried at the centre of the body; if the principal be of
+inferior rank, the sword is allowed to hang downwards. The proper
+position for the second to strike from is kneeling on one knee, but
+there is no harm in his standing up: others say that, if the execution
+takes place inside the house, the second should kneel; if in the
+garden, he should stand. These are not points upon which to insist
+obstinately: a man should strike in whatever position is most
+convenient to him.
+
+The chief duty for the assistant second to bear in mind is the
+bringing in of the tray with the dirk, which should be produced very
+quietly when the principal takes his place: it should be placed so
+that the condemned man may have to stretch his hand well out in order
+to reach it.[111] The assistant second then returns to his own place;
+but if the condemned man shows any signs of agitation, the assistant
+second must lend his assistance, so that the head may be properly cut
+off. It once happened that the condemned man, having received the tray
+from the assistant second, held it up for a long time without putting
+it down, until those near him had over and over again urged him to set
+it down. It also happens that after the tray has been set down, and
+the assistant second has retired, the condemned man does not put out
+his hand to take it; then must the assistant second press him to take
+it. Also the principal may ask that the tray be placed a little nearer
+to him, in which case his wish must be granted. The tray may also be
+placed in such a way that the assistant second, holding it in his left
+hand, may reach the dirk to the condemned man, who leans forward to
+take it. Which is the best of all these ways is uncertain. The object
+to aim at is, that the condemned man should lean forward to receive
+the blow. Whether the assistant second retires, or not, must depend
+upon the attitude assumed by the condemned man.
+
+[Footnote 111: It should be placed about three feet away from him.]
+
+If the prisoner be an unruly, violent man, a fan, instead of a dirk,
+should be placed upon the tray; and should he object to this, he
+should be told, in answer, that the substitution of the fan is an
+ancient custom. This may occur sometimes. It is said that once upon a
+time, in one of the palaces of the Daimios, a certain brave matron
+murdered a man, and having been allowed to die with all the honours of
+the _hara-kiri,_ a fan was placed upon the tray, and her head was cut
+off. This may be considered right and proper. If the condemned man
+appears inclined to be turbulent, the seconds, without showing any
+sign of alarm, should hurry to his side, and, urging him to get ready,
+quickly cause him to make all his preparations with speed, and to sit
+down in his place; the chief second, then drawing his sword, should
+get ready to strike, and, ordering him to proceed as fast as possible
+with the ceremony of receiving the tray, should perform his duty
+without appearing to be afraid.
+
+A certain Prince Katô, having condemned one of his councillors to
+death, assisted at the ceremony behind a curtain of slips of bamboo.
+The councillor, whose name was Katayama, was bound, and during that
+time glared fiercely at the curtain, and showed no signs of fear. The
+chief second was a man named Jihei, who had always been used to treat
+Katayama with great respect. So Jihei, sword in hand, said to
+Katayama, "Sir, your last moment has arrived: be so good as to turn
+your cheek so that your head may be straight." When Katayama heard
+this, he replied, "Fellow, you are insolent;" and as he was looking
+round, Jihei struck the fatal blow. The lord Katô afterwards inquired
+of Jihei what was the reason of this; and he replied that, as he saw
+that the prisoner was meditating treason, he determined to kill him at
+once, and put a stop to this rebellious spirit. This is a pattern for
+other seconds to bear in mind.
+
+When the head has been struck off, it becomes the duty of the junior
+second to take it up by the top-knot, and, placing it upon some thick
+paper laid over the palm of his hand, to carry it for inspection by
+the witness. This ceremony has been explained above. If the head be
+bald, he should pierce the left ear with the stiletto carried in the
+scabbard of his dirk, and so carry it to be identified. He must carry
+thick paper in the bosom of his dress. Inside the paper he shall place
+a bag with rice bran and ashes, in order that he may carry the head
+without being sullied by the blood. When the identification of the
+head is concluded, the junior second's duty is to place it in a
+bucket.
+
+If anything should occur to hinder the chief second, the assistant
+second must take his place. It happened on one occasion that before
+the execution took place the chief second lost his nerve, yet he cut
+off the head without any difficulty; but when it came to taking up the
+head for inspection, his nervousness so far got the better of him as
+to be extremely inconvenient. This is a thing against which persons
+acting as seconds have to guard.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+As a corollary to the above elaborate statement of the ceremonies
+proper to be observed at the _hara-kiri_, I may here describe an
+instance of such an execution which I was sent officially to witness.
+The condemned man was Taki Zenzaburô, an officer of the Prince of
+Bizen, who gave the order to fire upon the foreign settlement at Hiogo
+in the month of February 1868,--an attack to which I have alluded in
+the preamble to the story of the Eta Maiden and the Hatamoto. Up to
+that time no foreigner had witnessed such an execution, which was
+rather looked upon as a traveller's fable.
+
+The ceremony, which was ordered by the Mikado himself, took place at
+10.30 at night in the temple of Seifukuji, the headquarters of the
+Satsuma troops at Hiogo. A witness was sent from each of the foreign
+legations. We were seven foreigners in all.
+
+We were conducted to the temple by officers of the Princes of Satsuma
+and Choshiu. Although the ceremony was to be conducted in the most
+private manner, the casual remarks which we overheard in the streets,
+and a crowd lining the principal entrance to the temple, showed that
+it was a matter of no little interest to the public. The courtyard of
+the temple presented a most picturesque sight; it was crowded with
+soldiers standing about in knots round large fires, which threw a dim
+flickering light over the heavy eaves and quaint gable-ends of the
+sacred buildings. We were shown into an inner room, where we were to
+wait until the preparation for the ceremony was completed: in the next
+room to us were the high Japanese officers. After a long interval,
+which seemed doubly long from the silence which prevailed, Itô
+Shunské, the provisional Governor of Hiogo, came and took down our
+names, and informed us that seven _kenshi_, sheriffs or witnesses,
+would attend on the part of the Japanese. He and another officer
+represented the Mikado; two captains of Satsuma's infantry, and two of
+Choshiu's, with a representative of the Prince of Bizen, the clan of
+the condemned man, completed the number, which was probably arranged
+in order to tally with that of the foreigners. Itô Shunské further
+inquired whether we wished to put any questions to the prisoner. We
+replied in the negative.
+
+A further delay then ensued, after which we were invited to follow the
+Japanese witnesses into the _hondo_ or main hall of the temple, where
+the ceremony was to be performed. It was an imposing scene. A large
+hall with a high roof supported by dark pillars of wood. From the
+ceiling hung a profusion of those huge gilt lamps and ornaments
+peculiar to Buddhist temples. In front of the high altar, where the
+floor, covered with beautiful white mats, is raised some three or four
+inches from the ground, was laid a rug of scarlet felt. Tall candles
+placed at regular intervals gave out a dim mysterious light, just
+sufficient to let all the proceedings be seen. The seven Japanese took
+their places on the left of the raised floor, the seven foreigners on
+the right. No other person was present.
+
+After an interval of a few minutes of anxious suspense, Taki
+Zenzaburô, a stalwart man, thirty-two years of age, with a noble air,
+walked into the hall attired in his dress of ceremony, with the
+peculiar hempen-cloth wings which are worn on great occasions. He was
+accompanied by a _kaishaku_ and three officers, who wore the
+_jimbaori_ or war surcoat with gold-tissue facings. The word
+_kaishaku_, it should be observed, is one to which our word
+_executioner_ is no equivalent term. The office is that of a
+gentleman: in many cases it is performed by a kinsman or friend of the
+condemned, and the relation between them is rather that of principal
+and second than that of victim and executioner. In this instance the
+_kaishaku_ was a pupil of Taki Zenzaburô, and was selected by the
+friends of the latter from among their own number for his skill in
+swordsmanship.
+
+With the _kaishaku_ on his left hand, Taki Zenzaburô advanced slowly
+towards the Japanese witnesses, and the two bowed before them, then
+drawing near to the foreigners they saluted us in the same way,
+perhaps even with more deference: in each case the salutation was
+ceremoniously returned. Slowly, and with great dignity, the condemned
+man mounted on to the raised floor, prostrated himself before the high
+altar twice, and seated[112] himself on the felt carpet with his back
+to the high altar, the _kaishaku_ crouching on his left-hand side. One
+of the three attendant officers then came forward, bearing a stand of
+the kind used in temples for offerings, on which, wrapped in paper,
+lay the _wakizashi_, the short sword or dirk of the Japanese, nine
+inches and a half in length, with a point and an edge as sharp as a
+razor's. This he handed, prostrating himself, to the condemned man,
+who received it reverently, raising it to his head with both hands,
+and placed it in front of himself.
+
+[Footnote 112: Seated himself--that is, in the Japanese fashion, his
+knees and toes touching the ground, and his body resting on his heels.
+In this position, which is one of respect, he remained until his
+death.]
+
+After another profound obeisance, Taki Zenzaburô, in a voice which
+betrayed just so much emotion and hesitation as might be expected from
+a man who is making a painful confession, but with no sign of either
+in his face or manner, spoke as follows:--
+
+"I, and I alone, unwarrantably gave the order to fire on the
+foreigners at Kôbé, and again as they tried to escape. For this crime
+I disembowel myself, and I beg you who are present to do me the honour
+of witnessing the act."
+
+Bowing once more, the speaker allowed his upper garments to slip down
+to his girdle, and remained naked to the waist. Carefully, according
+to custom, he tucked his sleeves under his knees to prevent himself
+from falling backwards; for a noble Japanese gentleman should die
+falling forwards. Deliberately, with a steady hand, he took the dirk
+that lay before him; he looked at it wistfully, almost affectionately;
+for a moment he seemed to collect his thoughts for the last time, and
+then stabbing himself deeply below the waist on the left-hand side, he
+drew the dirk slowly across to the right side, and, turning it in the
+wound, gave a slight cut upwards. During this sickeningly painful
+operation he never moved a muscle of his face. When he drew out the
+dirk, he leaned forward and stretched out his neck; an expression of
+pain for the first time crossed his face, but he uttered no sound. At
+that moment the _kaishaku_, who, still crouching by his side, had been
+keenly watching his every movement, sprang to his feet, poised his
+sword for a second in the air; there was a flash, a heavy, ugly thud,
+a crashing fall; with one blow the head had been severed from the
+body.
+
+A dead silence followed, broken only by the hideous noise of the blood
+throbbing out of the inert heap before us, which but a moment before
+had been a brave and chivalrous man. It was horrible.
+
+The _kaishaku_ made a low bow, wiped his sword with a piece of paper
+which he had ready for the purpose, and retired from the raised
+floor; and the stained dirk was solemnly borne away, a bloody proof of
+the execution.
+
+The two representatives of the Mikado then left their places, and,
+crossing over to where the foreign witnesses sat, called us to witness
+that the sentence of death upon Taki Zenzaburô had been faithfully
+carried out. The ceremony being at an end, we left the temple.
+
+The ceremony, to which the place and the hour gave an additional
+solemnity, was characterized throughout by that extreme dignity and
+punctiliousness which are the distinctive marks of the proceedings of
+Japanese gentlemen of rank; and it is important to note this fact,
+because it carries with it the conviction that the dead man was indeed
+the officer who had committed the crime, and no substitute. While
+profoundly impressed by the terrible scene it was impossible at the
+same time not to be filled with admiration of the firm and manly
+bearing of the sufferer, and of the nerve with which the _kaishaku_
+performed his last duty to his master. Nothing could more strongly
+show the force of education. The Samurai, or gentleman of the military
+class, from his earliest years learns to look upon the _hara-kiri_ as
+a ceremony in which some day he may be called upon to play a part as
+principal or second. In old-fashioned families, which hold to the
+traditions of ancient chivalry, the child is instructed in the rite
+and familiarized with the idea as an honourable expiation of crime or
+blotting out of disgrace. If the hour comes, he is prepared for it,
+and gravely faces an ordeal which early training has robbed of half
+its horrors. In what other country in the world does a man learn that
+the last tribute of affection which he may have to pay to his best
+friend may be to act as his executioner?
+
+Since I wrote the above, we have heard that, before his entry into the
+fatal hall, Taki Zenzaburô called round him all those of his own clan
+who were present, many of whom had carried out his order to fire, and,
+addressing them in a short speech, acknowledged the heinousness of his
+crime and the justice of his sentence, and warned them solemnly to
+avoid any repetition of attacks upon foreigners. They were also
+addressed by the officers of the Mikado, who urged them to bear no
+ill-will against us on account of the fate of their fellow-clansman.
+They declared that they entertained no such feeling.
+
+The opinion has been expressed that it would have been politic for the
+foreign representatives at the last moment to have interceded for the
+life of Taki Zenzaburô. The question is believed to have been debated
+among the representatives themselves. My own belief is that mercy,
+although it might have produced the desired effect among the more
+civilized clans, would have been mistaken for weakness and fear by
+those wilder people who have not yet a personal knowledge of
+foreigners. The offence--an attack upon the flags and subjects of all
+the Treaty Powers, which lack of skill, not of will, alone prevented
+from ending in a universal massacre--was the gravest that has been
+committed upon foreigners since their residence in Japan. Death was
+undoubtedly deserved, and the form chosen was in Japanese eyes
+merciful and yet judicial. The crime might have involved a war and
+cost hundreds of lives; it was wiped out by one death. I believe that,
+in the interest of Japan as well as in our own, the course pursued was
+wise, and it was very satisfactory to me to find that one of the
+ablest Japanese ministers, with whom I had a discussion upon the
+subject, was quite of my opinion.
+
+The ceremonies observed at the _hara-kiri_ appear to vary slightly in
+detail in different parts of Japan; but the following memorandum upon
+the subject of the rite, as it used to be practised at Yedo during the
+rule of the Tycoon, clearly establishes its judicial character. I
+translated it from a paper drawn up for me by a Japanese who was able
+to speak of what he had seen himself. Three different ceremonies are
+described:--
+
+1st. _Ceremonies observed at the "hara-kiri" of a Hatamoto (petty
+noble of the Tycoon's court) in prison._--This is conducted with great
+secrecy. Six mats are spread in a large courtyard of the prison; an
+_ometsuké_ (officer whose duties appear to consist in the surveillance
+of other officers), assisted by two other _ometsukés_ of the second
+and third class, acts as _kenshi_ (sheriff or witness), and sits in
+front of the mats. The condemned man, attired in his dress of
+ceremony, and wearing his wings of hempen cloth, sits in the centre of
+the mats. At each of the four corners of the mats sits a prison
+official. Two officers of the Governor of the city act as _kaishaku_
+(executioners or seconds), and take their place, one on the right hand
+and the other on the left hand of the condemned. The _kaishaku_ on the
+left side, announcing his name and surname, says, bowing, "I have the
+honour to act as _kaishaku_ to you; have you any last wishes to
+confide to me?" The condemned man thanks him and accepts the offer or
+not, as the case may be. He then bows to the sheriff, and a wooden
+dirk nine and a half inches long is placed before him at a distance of
+three feet, wrapped in paper, and lying on a stand such as is used for
+offerings in temples. As he reaches forward to take the wooden sword,
+and stretches out his neck, the _kaifihaku_ on his left-hand side
+draws his sword and strikes off his head. The _kaishaku_ on the
+right-hand side takes up the head and shows it to the sheriff. The
+body is given to the relations of the deceased for burial. His
+property is confiscated.
+
+2nd. _The ceremonies observed at the "hara-kiri" of a Daimio's
+retainer._--When the retainer of a Daimio is condemned to perform the
+_hara-kiri,_ four mats are placed in the yard of the _yashiki_ or
+palace. The condemned man, dressed in his robes of ceremony and
+wearing his wings of hempen cloth, sits in the centre. An officer acts
+as chief witness, with a second witness under him. Two officers, who
+act as _kaishaku_, are on the right and left of the condemned man;
+four officers are placed at the corners of the mats. The _kaishaku_,
+as in the former case, offers to execute the last wishes of the
+condemned. A dirk nine and a half inches long is placed before him on
+a stand. In this case the dirk is a real dirk, which the man takes and
+stabs himself with on the left side, below the navel, drawing it
+across to the right side. At this moment, when he leans forward in
+pain, the _kaishaku_ on the left-hand side cuts off the head. The
+_kaishaku_ on the right-hand side takes up the head, and shows it to
+the sheriff. The body is given to the relations for burial. In most
+cases the property of the deceased is confiscated.
+
+3rd. _Self-immolation of a Daimio on account of disgrace_.--When a
+Daimio had been guilty of treason or offended against the Tycoon,
+inasmuch as the family was disgraced, and an apology could neither be
+offered nor accepted, the offending Daimio was condemned to
+_hara-kiri_. Calling his councillors around him, he confided to them
+his last will and testament for transmission to the Tycoon. Then,
+clothing himself in his court dress, he disembowelled himself, and cut
+his own throat. His councillors then reported the matter to the
+Government, and a coroner was sent to investigate it. To him the
+retainers handed the last will and testament of their lord, and be
+took it to the Gorôjiu (first council), who transmitted it to the
+Tycoon. If the offence was heinous, such as would involve the ruin of
+the whole family, by the clemency of the Tycoon, half the property
+might be confiscated, and half returned to the heir; if the offence
+was trivial, the property was inherited intact by the heir, and the
+family did not suffer.
+
+In all cases where the criminal disembowels himself of his own accord
+without condemnation and without investigation, inasmuch as he is no
+longer able to defend himself, the offence is considered as
+non-proven, and the property is not confiscated. In the year 1869 a
+motion was brought forward in the Japanese parliament by one Ono
+Seigorô, clerk of the house, advocating the abolition of the practice
+of _hara-kiri_. Two hundred members out of a house of 209 voted
+against the motion, which was supported by only three speakers, six
+members not voting on either side. In this debate the _seppuku, or
+hara-kiri_, was called "the very shrine of the Japanese national
+spirit, and the embodiment in practice of devotion to principle," "a
+great ornament to the empire," "a pillar of the constitution," "a
+valuable institution, tending to the honour of the nobles, and based
+on a compassionate feeling towards the official caste," "a pillar of
+religion and a spur to virtue." The whole debate (which is well worth
+reading, and an able translation of which by Mr. Aston has appeared in
+a recent Blue Book) shows the affection with which the Japanese cling
+to the traditions of a chivalrous past. It is worthy of notice that
+the proposer, Ono Seigorô, who on more than one occasion rendered
+himself conspicuous by introducing motions based upon an admiration of
+our Western civilization, was murdered not long after this debate took
+place.
+
+There are many stories on record of extraordinary heroism being
+displayed in the _hara-kiri._ The case of a young fellow, only twenty
+years old, of the Choshiu clan, which was told me the other day by an
+eye-witness, deserves mention as a marvellous instance of
+determination. Not content with giving himself the one necessary cut,
+he slashed himself thrice horizontally and twice vertically. Then he
+stabbed himself in the throat until the dirk protruded on the other
+side, with its sharp edge to the front; setting his teeth in one
+supreme effort, he drove the knife forward with both hands through his
+throat, and fell dead.
+
+One more story and I have done. During the revolution, when the
+Tycoon, beaten on every side, fled ignominiously to Yedo, he is said
+to have determined to fight no more, but to yield everything. A member
+of his second council went to him and said, "Sir, the only way for you
+now to retrieve the honour of the family of Tokugawa is to disembowel
+yourself; and to prove to you that I am sincere and disinterested in
+what I say, I am here ready to disembowel myself with you." The Tycoon
+flew into a great rage, saying that he would listen to no such
+nonsense, and left the room. His faithful retainer, to prove his
+honesty, retired to another part of the castle, and solemnly performed
+the _hara-kiri._
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX B
+
+
+
+
+THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY
+
+(FROM THE "SHO-REI HIKKI"--RECORD OF CEREMONIES.)
+
+
+The ceremonies observed at marriages are various, and it is not right
+for a man, exceeding the bounds of his condition in life, to
+transgress against the rules which are laid down. When the middle-man
+has arranged the preliminaries of the marriage between the two
+parties, he carries the complimentary present, which is made at the
+time of betrothal, from the future bridegroom to his destined bride;
+and if this present is accepted, the lady's family can no longer
+retract their promise. This is the beginning of the contract. The
+usual betrothal presents are as follows. Persons of the higher classes
+send a robe of white silk; a piece of gold embroidery for a girdle; a
+piece of silk stuff; a piece of white silk, with a lozenge pattern,
+and other silk stuffs (these are made up into a pile of three layers);
+fourteen barrels of wine, and seven sorts of condiments. Persons of
+the middle class send a piece of white silk stuff; a piece of gold
+embroidery for a girdle; a piece of white silk, with a lozenge
+pattern, and other silk stuffs (these are made up into a pile of two
+layers); ten barrels of wine, and five sorts of condiments. The lower
+classes send a robe of white silk, a robe of coloured silk, in a pile
+of one layer, together with six barrels of wine and three sorts of
+condiments. To the future father-in-law is sent a sword, with a
+scabbard for slinging, such as is worn in war-time, together with a
+list of the presents; to the mother-in-law, a silk robe, with wine and
+condiments. Although all these presents are right and proper for the
+occasion, still they must be regulated according to the means of the
+persons concerned. The future father-in-law sends a present of equal
+value in return to his son-in-law, but the bride elect sends no return
+present to her future husband; the present from the father-in-law must
+by no means be omitted, but according to his position, if he be poor,
+he need only send wine and condiments.
+
+In sending the presents care must be taken not to fold the silk robe.
+The two silk robes that are sent on the marriage night must be placed
+with the collars stitched together in a peculiar fashion.
+
+The ceremonies of sending the litter to fetch the bride on the wedding
+night are as follows. In families of good position, one of the
+principal retainers on either side is deputed to accompany the bride
+and to receive her. Matting is spread before the entrance-door, upon
+which the bride's litter is placed, while the two principal retainers
+congratulate one another, and the officers of the bridegroom receive
+the litter. If a bucket containing clams, to make the wedding broth,
+has been sent with the bride, it is carried and received by a person
+of distinction. Close by the entrance-door a fire is lighted on the
+right hand and on the left. These fires are called garden-torches. In
+front of the corridor along which the litter passes, on the right hand
+and on the left, two men and two women, in pairs, place two mortars,
+right and left, in which they pound rice; as the litter passes, the
+pounded rice from the left-hand side is moved across to the right, and
+the two are mixed together into one. This is called the blending of
+the rice-meal.[113] Two candles are lighted, the one on the right hand
+and the other on the left of the corridor; and after the litter has
+passed, the candle on the left is passed over to the right, and, the
+two wicks being brought together, the candles are extinguished. These
+last three ceremonies are only performed at the weddings of persons of
+high rank; they are not observed at the weddings of ordinary persons.
+The bride takes with her to her husband's house, as presents, two
+silken robes sewed together in a peculiar manner, a dress of ceremony
+with wings of hempen cloth, an upper girdle and an under girdle, a
+fan, either five or seven pocket-books, and a sword: these seven
+presents are placed on a long tray, and their value must depend upon
+the means of the family.
+
+[Footnote 113: Cf. Gibbon on Roman Marriages, _Decline and Fall of the
+Roman Empire_, vol. iv. p. 345: "The contracting parties were seated
+on the same sheepskin; they tasted a salt cake of _far_, or rice; and
+this _confarreation_, which denoted the ancient food of Italy, served
+as an emblem of their mystic union of mind and body."]
+
+The dress of the bride is a white silk robe with a lozenge pattern,
+over an under-robe, also of white silk. Over her head she wears a veil
+of white silk, which, when she sits down, she allows to fall about her
+as a mantle.
+
+The bride's furniture and effects are all arranged for her by female
+attendants from her own house on a day previous to the wedding; and
+the bridegroom's effects are in like manner arranged by the women of
+his own house.
+
+When the bride meets her husband in the room where the relations are
+assembled, she takes her seat for this once in the place of honour,
+her husband sitting in a lower place, not directly opposite to her,
+but diagonally, and discreetly avoiding her glance.
+
+On the raised part of the floor are laid out beforehand two trays, the
+preparations for a feast, a table on which are two wagtails,[114] a
+second table with a representation of Elysium, fowls, fish, two
+wine-bottles, three wine-cups, and two sorts of kettles for warming
+wine. The ladies go out to meet the bride, and invite her into a
+dressing-room, and, when she has smoothed her dress, bring her into
+the room, and she and the bridegroom take their seats in the places
+appointed for them. The two trays are then brought out, and the
+ladies-in-waiting, with complimentary speeches, hand dried fish and
+seaweed, such as accompany presents, and dried chestnuts to the
+couple. Two married ladies then each take one of the wine-bottles
+which have been prepared, and place them in the lower part of the
+room. Then two handmaids, who act as wine-pourers, bring the kettles
+and place them in the lower part of the room. The two wine-bottles
+have respectively a male and female butterfly, made of paper, attached
+to them. The female butterfly is laid on its back, and the wine is
+poured from the bottle into the kettle. The male butterfly is then
+taken and laid on the female butterfly, and the wine from the bottle
+is poured into the same kettle, and the whole is transferred with due
+ceremony to another kettle of different shape, which the wine-pourers
+place in front of themselves. Little low dining-tables are laid, one
+for each person, before the bride and bridegroom, and before the
+bride's ladies-in-waiting; the woman deputed to pour the wine takes
+the three wine-cups and places them one on the top of the other before
+the bridegroom, who drinks two cups[115] from the upper cup, and pours
+a little wine from the full kettle into the empty kettle. The pouring
+together of the wine on the wedding night is symbolical of the union
+that is being contracted. The bridegroom next pours out a third cup of
+wine and drinks it, and the cup is carried by the ladies to the bride,
+who drinks three cups, and pours a little wine from one kettle into
+the other, as the bridegroom did. A cup is then set down and put on
+the other two, and they are carried back to the raised floor and
+arranged as before. After this, condiments are set out on the
+right-hand side of a little table, and the wine-pourers place the
+three cups before the bride, who drinks three cups from the second
+cup, which is passed to the bridegroom; he also drinks three cups as
+before, and the cups are piled up and arranged in their original
+place, by the wine-pourers. A different sort of condiment is next
+served on the left-hand side; and the three cups are again placed
+before the bridegroom, who drinks three cups from the third cup, and
+the bride does the same. When the cups and tables have been put back
+in their places, the bridegroom, rising from his seat, rests himself
+for a while. During this time soup of fishes' fins and wine are served
+to the bride's ladies-in-waiting and to the serving-women. They are
+served with a single wine-cup of earthenware, placed upon a small
+square tray, and this again is set upon a long tray, and a wine-kettle
+with all sorts of condiments is brought from the kitchen. When this
+part of the feast is over, the room is put in order, and the bride and
+bridegroom take their seats again. Soups and a preparation of rice are
+now served, and two earthenware cups, gilt and silvered, are placed on
+a tray, on which there is a representation of the island of
+Takasago.[116] This time butterflies of gold and silver paper are
+attached to the wine-kettles. The bridegroom drinks a cup or two, and
+the ladies-in-waiting offer more condiments to the couple. Rice, with
+hot water poured over it, according to custom, and carp soup are
+brought in, and, the wine having been heated, cups of lacquer ware are
+produced; and it is at this time that the feast commences. (Up to now
+the eating and drinking has been merely a form.) Twelve plates of
+sweetmeats and tea are served; and the dinner consists of three
+courses, one course of seven dishes, one of five dishes, and one of
+three dishes, or else two courses of five dishes and one of three
+dishes, according to the means of the family. The above ceremonies are
+those which are proper only in families of the highest rank, and are
+by no means fitting for the lower classes, who must not step out of
+the proper bounds of their position.
+
+[Footnote 114: The god who created Japan is called Kunitokodachi no
+Mikoto. Seven generations of gods after his time existed Izanagi no
+Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto--the first a god, the second a goddess.
+As these two divine beings were standing upon the floating bridge of
+heaven, two wagtails came; and the gods, watching the amorous
+dalliance of the two birds, invented the art of love. From their union
+thus inaugurated sprang the mountains, the rivers, the grass, the
+trees, the remainder of the gods, and mankind. Another fable is, that
+as the two gods were standing on the floating bridge of heaven,
+Izanagi no Mikoto, taking the heavenly jewelled spear, stirred up the
+sea, and the drops which fell from the point of it congealed and
+became an island, which was called _Onokoro-jima_, on which the two
+gods, descending from heaven, took up their abode.]
+
+[Footnote 115: Each cup contains but a sip.]
+
+[Footnote 116: In the island of Takasago, in the province of Harima,
+stands a pine-tree, called the "pine of mutual old age." At the root
+the tree is single, but towards the centre it springs into two
+stems--an old, old pine, models of which are used at weddings as a
+symbol that the happy pair shall reach old age together. Its evergreen
+leaves are an emblem of the unchanging constancy of the heart. Figures
+of an old man and woman under the tree are the spirits of the old
+pine.]
+
+There is a popular tradition that, in the ceremony of drinking wine on
+the wedding night, the bride should drink first, and then hand the cup
+to the bridegroom; but although there are some authorities upon
+ceremonies who are in favour of this course, it is undoubtedly a very
+great mistake. In the "Record of Rites," by Confucius, it is written,
+"The man stands in importance before the woman: it is the right of the
+strong over the weak. Heaven ranks before earth; the prince ranks
+before his minister. This law of honour is one." Again, in the "Book
+of History," by Confucius, it is written, "The hen that crows in the
+morning brings misfortune." In our own literature in the Jusho (Book
+of the Gods), "When the goddesses saw the gods for the first time,
+they were the first to cry cut, 'Oh! what beautiful males!' But the
+gods were greatly displeased, and said, 'We, who are so strong and
+powerful, should by rights have been the first to speak; how is it
+that, on the contrary, these females speak first? This is indeed
+vulgar.'" Again it is written, "When the gods brought forth the
+cripple Hiruko, the Lord of Heaven, answering, said that his
+misfortune was a punishment upon the goddesses who had presumed to
+speak first." The same rule therefore exists in China and in Japan,
+and it is held to be unlucky that the wife should take precedence:
+with this warning people should be careful how they commit a breach of
+etiquette, although it may be sanctioned by the vulgar.
+
+At the wedding of the lower classes, the bride and her ladies and
+friends have a feast, but the bridegroom has no feast; and when the
+bride's feast is over, the bridegroom is called in and is presented
+with the bride's wine-cup; but as the forms observed are very vulgar,
+it is not worth while to point out the rules which guide them. As this
+night is essentially of importance to the married couple only, there
+are some writers on ceremonies who have laid down that no feast need
+be prepared for the bride's ladies, and in my opinion they are right:
+for the husband and wife at the beginning of their intercourse to be
+separated, and for the bride alone to be feasted like an ordinary
+guest, appears to be an inauspicious opening. I have thus pointed out
+two ill-omened customs which are to be avoided.
+
+The ceremonies observed at the weddings of persons of ordinary rank
+are as follows:--The feast which is prepared is in proportion to the
+means of the individuals. There must be three wine-cups set out upon a
+tray. The ceremony of drinking wine three times is gone through, as
+described above, after which the bride changes her dress, and a feast
+of three courses is produced--two courses of five dishes and one of
+three dishes, or one course of five dishes, one of three, and one of
+two, according to the means of the family. A tray, with a
+representation of the island of Takasago, is brought out, and the wine
+is heated; sweetmeats of five or seven sorts are also served in boxes
+or trays; and when the tea comes in, the bridegroom gets up, and goes
+to rest himself. If the wine kettles are of tin, they must not be set
+out in the room: they must be brought in from the kitchen; and in that
+case the paper butterflies are not attached to them.
+
+In old times the bride and bridegroom used to change their dress three
+or five times during the ceremony; but at the present time, after the
+nine cups of wine have been drunk, in the manner recorded above, the
+change of dress takes place once. The bride puts on the silk robe
+which she has received from the bridegroom, while he dons the dress of
+ceremony which has been brought by the bride.
+
+When these ceremonies have been observed, the bride's ladies conduct
+her to the apartments of her parents-in-law. The bride carries with
+her silk robes, as presents for her parents and brothers and
+sister-in-law. A tray is brought out, with three wine-cups, which are
+set before the parents-in-law and the bride. The father-in-law drinks
+three cups and hands the cup to the bride, who, after she has drunk
+two cups, receives a present from her father-in-law; she then drinks a
+third cup, and returns the cup to her father-in-law, who again drinks
+three cups. Fish is then brought in, and, in the houses of ordinary
+persons, a preparation of rice. Upon this the mother-in-law, taking
+the second cup, drinks three cups and passes the cup to the bride, who
+drinks two cups and receives a present from her mother-in-law: she
+then drinks a third cup and gives back the cup to the mother-in-law,
+who drinks three cups again. Condiments are served, and, in ordinary
+houses, soup; after which the bride drinks once from the third cup and
+hands it to her father-in-law, who drinks thrice from it; the bride
+again drinks twice from it, and after her the mother-in-law drinks
+thrice. The parents-in-law and the bride thus have drunk in all nine
+times. If there are any brothers or sisters-in-law, soup and
+condiments are served, and a single porcelain wine-cup is placed
+before them on a tray, and they drink at the word of command of the
+father-in-law. It is not indispensable that soup should be served upon
+this occasion. If the parents of the bridegroom are dead, instead of
+the above ceremony, he leads his bride to make her obeisances before
+the tablets on which their names are inscribed.
+
+In old days, after the ceremonies recorded above had been gone
+through, the bridegroom used to pay a visit of ceremony to the bride's
+parents; but at the present time the visit is paid before the wedding,
+and although the forms observed on the occasion resemble those of the
+ancient times, still they are different, and it would be well that we
+should resume the old fashion. The two trays which had been used at
+the wedding feast, loaded with fowl and fish and condiments neatly
+arranged, used to be put into a long box and sent to the
+father-in-law's house. Five hundred and eighty cakes of rice in
+lacquer boxes were also sent. The modern practice of sending the rice
+cakes in a bucket is quite contrary to etiquette: no matter how many
+lacquer boxes may be required for the purpose, they are the proper
+utensils for sending the cakes in. Three, five, seven, or ten men's
+loads of presents, according to the means of the family, are also
+offered. The son-in-law gives a sword and a silk robe to his
+father-in-law, and a silk robe to his mother-in-law, and also gives
+presents to his brothers and sisters-in-law. (The ceremony of drinking
+wine is the same as that which takes place between the bride and her
+parents-in-law, with a very slight deviation: the bridegroom receives
+no presents from his mother-in-law, and when the third cup is drunk
+the son-in-law drinks before the father-in-law). A return visit is
+paid by the bride's parents to the bridegroom, at which similar forms
+are observed.
+
+At the weddings of the great, the bridal chamber is composed of three
+rooms thrown into one,[117] and newly decorated. If there are only two
+rooms available, a third room is built for the occasion. The presents,
+which have been mentioned above, are set out on two trays. Besides
+these, the bridegroom's clothes are hung up upon clothes-racks. The
+mattress and bedclothes are placed in a closet. The bride's effects
+must all be arranged by the women who are sent on a previous day for
+the purpose, or it may be done whilst the bride is changing her
+clothes. The shrine for the image of the family god is placed on a
+shelf adjoining the sleeping-place. There is a proper place for the
+various articles of furniture. The _kaioké_[118] is placed on the
+raised floor; but if there be no raised floor, it is placed in a
+closet with the door open, so that it may be conspicuously seen. The
+books are arranged on a book-shelf or on a cabinet; if there be
+neither shelf nor cabinet, they are placed on the raised floor. The
+bride's clothes are set out on a clothes-rack; in families of high
+rank, seven robes are hung up on the rack; five of these are taken
+away and replaced by others, and again three are taken away and
+replaced by others; and there are either two or three clothes-racks:
+the towel-rack is set up in a place of more honour than the
+clothes-racks. If there is no dressing-room, the bride's bedclothes
+and dressing furniture are placed in the sleeping-room. No screens are
+put up on the bridal night, but a fitting place is chosen for them on
+the following day. All these ceremonies must be in proportion to the
+means of the family.
+
+[Footnote 117: The partitions of a Japanese suite of apartments being
+merely composed of paper sliding-screens, any number of rooms,
+according to the size of the house, can be thrown into one at a
+moment's notice.]
+
+[Footnote 118: A _kaioké_ is a kind of lacquer basin for washing the
+hands and face.]
+
+
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+The author of the "Sho-rei Hikki" makes no allusion to the custom of
+shaving the eyebrows and blackening the teeth of married women, in
+token of fidelity to their lords. In the upper classes, young ladies
+usually blacken their teeth before leaving their father's house to
+enter that of their husbands, and complete the ceremony by shaving
+their eyebrows immediately after the wedding, or, at any rate, not
+later than upon the occasion of their first pregnancy.
+
+The origin of the fashion is lost in antiquity. As a proof that it
+existed before the eleventh century, A.D., a curious book called
+"Teijô Zakki," or the Miscellaneous Writings of Teijô, cites the diary
+of Murasaki Shikibu, the daughter of one Tamésoki, a retainer of the
+house of Echizen, a lady of the court and famous poetess, the
+authoress of a book called "Genji-mono-gatari," and other works. In
+her diary it is written that on the last night of the fifth year of
+the period Kankô (A.D. 1008), in order that she might appear to
+advantage on New Year's Day, she retired to the privacy of her own
+apartment, and repaired the deficiencies of her personal appearance by
+re-blackening her teeth, and otherwise adorning herself. Allusion is
+also made to the custom in the "Yeiga-mono-gatari," an ancient book by
+the same authoress.
+
+The Emperor and nobles of his court are also in the habit of
+blackening their teeth; but the custom is gradually dying out in their
+case. It is said to have originated with one Hanazono Arishito, who
+held the high rank of _Sa-Daijin,_ or "minister of the left," at the
+commencement of the twelfth century, in the reign of the Emperor
+Toba. Being a, man of refined and sensual tastes, this minister
+plucked out his eyebrows, shaved his beard, blackened his teeth,
+powdered his face white, and rouged his lips in order to render
+himself as like a woman as possible. In the middle of the twelfth
+century, the nobles of the court, who went to the wars, all blackened
+their teeth; and from this time forth the practice became a fashion of
+the court. The followers of the chiefs of the Hôjô dynasty also
+blackened their teeth, as an emblem of their fidelity; and this was
+called the Odawara fashion, after the castle town of the family. Thus
+a custom, which had its origin in a love of sensuality and pleasure,
+became mistaken for the sign of a good and faithful spirit.
+
+The fashion of blackening the teeth entails no little trouble upon its
+followers, for the colour must be renewed every day, or at least every
+other day. Strange and repelling as the custom appears at first, the
+eye soon learns to look without aversion upon a well-blacked and
+polished set of teeth; but when the colour begins to wear away, and
+turns to a dullish grey, streaked with black, the mouth certainly
+becomes most hideous. Although no one who reads this is likely to put
+a recipe for blackening the teeth to a practical test, I append one
+furnished to me by a fashionable chemist and druggist in Yedo:--
+
+"Take three pints of water, and, having warmed it, add half a
+teacupful of wine. Put into this mixture a quantity of red-hot iron;
+allow it to stand for five or six days, when there will be a scum on
+the top of the mixture, which should then be poured into a small
+teacup and placed near a fire. When it is warm, powdered gallnuts and
+iron filings should be added to it, and the whole should be warmed
+again. The liquid is then painted on to the teeth by means of a soft
+feather brush, with more powdered gallnuts and iron, and, after
+several applications, the desired colour will be obtained."
+
+The process is said to be a preservative of the teeth, and I have
+known men who were habitual sufferers from toothache to prefer the
+martyrdom of ugliness to that of pain, and apply the black colouring
+when the paroxysms were severe. One man told me that he experienced
+immediate relief by the application, and that so long as he blackened
+his teeth he was quite free from pain.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE BIRTH AND BEARING OF CHILDREN
+
+(FROM THE "SHO-REI HIKKI.")
+
+
+In the fifth month of a woman's pregnancy, a very lucky day is
+selected for the ceremony of putting on a girdle, which is of white
+and red silk, folded, and eight feet in length. The husband produces
+it from the left sleeve of his dress; and the wife receives it in the
+right sleeve of her dress, and girds it on for the first time. This
+ceremony is only performed once. When the child is born, the white
+part of the girdle is dyed sky-blue, with a peculiar mark on it, and
+is made into clothes for the child. These, however, are not the first
+clothes which it wears. The dyer is presented with wine and condiments
+when the girdle is entrusted to him. It is also customary to beg some
+matron, who has herself had an easy confinement, for the girdle which
+she wore during her pregnancy; and this lady is called the
+girdle-mother. The borrowed girdle is tied on with that given by the
+husband, and the girdle-mother at this time gives and receives a
+present.
+
+The furniture of the lying-in chamber is as follows:--Two tubs for
+placing under-petticoats in; two tubs to hold the placenta; a piece of
+furniture like an arm-chair, without legs, for the mother to lean
+against;[119] a stool, which is used by the lady who embraces the
+loins of the woman in labour to support her, and which is afterwards
+used by the midwife in washing the child; several pillows of various
+sizes, that the woman in child-bed may ease her head at her pleasure;
+new buckets, basins, and ladles of various sizes. Twenty-four
+baby-robes, twelve of silk and twelve of cotton, must be prepared; the
+hems must be dyed saffron-colour. There must be an apron for the
+midwife, if the infant is of high rank, in order that, when she washes
+it, she may not place it immediately on her own knees: this apron
+should be made of a kerchief of cotton. When the child is taken out of
+the warm water, its body must be dried with a kerchief of fine cotton,
+unhemmed.
+
+[Footnote 119: Women in Japan are delivered in a kneeling position,
+and after the birth of the child they remain night and day in a
+squatting position, leaning back against a support, for twenty-one
+days, after which they are allowed to recline. Up to that time the
+recumbent position is supposed to produce a dangerous rush of blood to
+the head.]
+
+On the seventy-fifth or hundred and twentieth day after its birth, the
+baby leaves off its baby-linen; and this day is kept as a holiday.
+Although it is the practice generally to dress up children in various
+kinds of silk, this is very wrong, as the two principles of life being
+thereby injured, the child contracts disease; and on this account the
+ancients strictly forbade the practice. In modern times the child is
+dressed up in beautiful clothes; but to put a cap on its head,
+thinking to make much of it, when, on the contrary, it is hurtful to
+the child, should be avoided. It would be an excellent thing if rich
+people, out of care for the health of their children, would put a stop
+to a practice to which fashion clings.
+
+On the hundred and twentieth day after their birth children, whether
+male or female, are weaned.[120] This day is fixed, and there is no
+need to choose a lucky day. If the child be a boy, it is fed by a
+gentleman of the family; if a girl, by a lady. The ceremony is as
+follows:--The child is brought out and given to the weaning father or
+sponsor. He takes it on his left knee. A small table is prepared. The
+sponsor who is to feed the child, taking some rice which has been
+offered to the gods, places it on the corner of the little table which
+is by him; He dips his chop-sticks thrice in this rice, and very
+quietly places them in the mouth of the child, pretending to give it
+some of the juice of the rice. Five cakes of rice meal are also placed
+on the left side of the little table, and with these he again pretends
+to feed the child three times. When this ceremony is over, the child
+is handed back to its guardian, and three wine-cups are produced on a
+tray. The sponsor drinks three cups, and presents the cup to the
+child. When the child has been made to pretend to drink two cups, it
+receives a present from its sponsor, after which the child is supposed
+to drink a third time. Dried fish is then brought in, and the baby,
+having drunk thrice, passes the cup to its sponsor, who drinks thrice.
+More fish of a different kind is brought in. The drinking is repeated,
+and the weaning father receives a present from the child. The
+guardian, according to rules of propriety, should be near the child. A
+feast should be prepared, according to the means of the family. If the
+child be a girl, a weaning mother performs this ceremony, and suitable
+presents must be offered on either side. The wine-drinking is gone
+through as above.
+
+[Footnote 120: This is only a nominal weaning. Japanese children are
+not really weaned until far later than is ordinary in Europe; and it
+is by no means uncommon to see a mother in the poorer classes suckling
+a hulking child of from five to seven years old. One reason given for
+this practice is, that by this means the danger of having to provide
+for large families is lessened.]
+
+On the fifteenth day of the eleventh month of the child's third year,
+be the child boy or girl, its hair is allowed to grow. (Up to this
+time the whole head has been shaven: now three patches are allowed to
+grow, one on each side and one at the back of the head.) On this
+occasion also a sponsor is selected. A large tray, on which are a
+comb, scissors, paper string, a piece of string for tying the hair in
+a knot, cotton wool, and the bit of dried fish or seaweed which
+accompanies presents, one of each, and seven rice straws--these seven
+articles must be prepared.[121]
+
+[Footnote 121: For a few days previous to the ceremony the child's
+head is not shaved.]
+
+The child is placed facing the point of the compass which is
+auspicious for that year, and the sponsor, if the child be a boy,
+takes the scissors and gives three snips at the hair on the left
+temple, three on the right, and three in the centre. He then takes the
+piece of cotton wool and spreads it over the child's head, from the
+forehead, so as to make it hang down behind his neck, and he places
+the bit of dried fish or seaweed and the seven straws at the bottom of
+the piece of cotton wool, attaching them to the wool, and ties them in
+two loops, like a man's hair, with a piece of paper string; he then
+makes a woman's knot with two pieces of string. The ceremony of
+drinking wine is the same as that gone through at the weaning. If the
+child is a girl, a lady acts as sponsor; the hair-cutting is begun
+from the right temple instead of from the left. There is no difference
+in the rest of the ceremony.
+
+On the fifth day of the eleventh month of the child's fourth year he
+is invested with the _hakama_, or loose trousers worn by the Samurai.
+On this occasion again a sponsor is called in. The child receives from
+the sponsor a dress of ceremony, on which are embroidered storks and
+tortoises (emblems of longevity--the stork is said to live a thousand
+years, the tortoise ten thousand), fir-trees (which, being evergreen,
+and not changing their colour, are emblematic of an unchangingly
+virtuous heart), and bamboos (emblematic of an upright and straight
+mind). The child is placed upright on a chequer-board, facing the
+auspicious point of the compass, and invested with the dress of
+ceremony. It also receives a sham sword and dirk. The usual ceremony
+of drinking wine is observed.
+
+NOTE.--In order to understand the following ceremony, it is necessary
+to recollect that the child at three years of age is allowed to grow
+its hair in three patches. By degrees the hair is allowed to grow, the
+crown alone being shaved, and a forelock left. At ten or eleven years
+of age the boy's head is dressed like a man's, with the exception of
+this forelock.
+
+The ceremony of cutting off the forelock used in old days to include
+the ceremony of putting on the noble's cap; but as this has gone out
+of fashion, there is no need to treat of it.
+
+Any time after the youth has reached the age of fifteen, according to
+the cleverness and ability which he shows, a lucky day is chosen for
+this most important ceremony, after which the boy takes his place
+amongst full-grown men. A person of virtuous character is chosen as
+sponsor or "cap-father." Although the man's real name (that name which
+is only known to his intimate relations and friends, not the one by
+which he usually goes in society) is usually determined before this
+date, if it be not so, he receives his real name from his sponsor on
+this day. In old days there used to be a previous ceremony of cutting
+the hair off the forehead in a straight line, so as to make two
+angles: up to this time the youth wore long sleeves like a woman, and
+from that day he wore short sleeves. This was called the "half
+cutting." The poorer classes have a habit of shortening the sleeves
+before this period; but that is contrary to all rule, and is an evil
+custom.
+
+A common tray is produced, on which is placed an earthenware wine-cup.
+The sponsor drinks thrice, and hands the cup to the young man, who,
+having also drunk thrice, gives back the cup to the sponsor, who again
+drinks thrice, and then proceeds to tie up the young man's hair.
+
+There are three ways of tying the hair, and there is also a particular
+fashion of letting the forelock grow long; and when this is the case,
+the forelock is only clipped. (This is especially the fashion among
+the nobles of the Mikado's court.) This applies only to persons who
+wear the court cap, and not to gentlemen of lower grade. Still, these
+latter persons, if they wish to go through the ceremony in its
+entirety, may do so without impropriety. Gentlemen of the Samurai or
+military class cut off the whole of the forelock. The sponsor either
+ties up the hair of the young man, or else, placing the forelock on a
+willow board, cuts it off with a knife, or else, amongst persons of
+very high rank, he only pretends to do so, and goes into another room
+whilst the real cutting is going on, and then returns to the same
+room. The sponsor then, without letting the young man see what he is
+doing, places the lock which has been cut into the pocket of his left
+sleeve, and, leaving the room, gives it to the young man's guardians,
+who wrap it in paper and offer it up at the shrine of the family gods.
+But this is wrong. The locks should be well wrapped up in paper and
+kept in the house until the man's death, to serve as a reminder of the
+favours which a man receives from his father and mother in his
+childhood; when he dies, it should be placed in his coffin and buried
+with him. The wine-drinking and presents are as before.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the "Sho-rei Hikki," the book from which the above is translated,
+there is no notice of the ceremony of naming the child: the following
+is a translation from a Japanese MS.:--
+
+"On the seventh day after its birth, the child receives its name; the
+ceremony is called the congratulations of the seventh night. On this
+day some one of the relations of the family, who holds an exalted
+position, either from his rank or virtues, selects a name for the
+child, which name he keeps until the time of the cutting of the
+forelock, when he takes the name which he is to bear as a man. This
+second name is called _Yeboshina_,[122] the cap-name, which is
+compounded of syllables taken from an old name of the family and from
+the name of the sponsor. If the sponsor afterwards change his name,
+his name-child must also change his name. For instance, Minamoto no
+Yoshitsuné, the famous warrior, as a child was called Ushiwakamaru;
+when he grew up to be a man, he was called Kurô; and his real name was
+Yoshitsuné."
+
+
+[Footnote 122: From _Yeboshi_, a court cap, and _Na_, a name.]
+
+
+
+
+FUNERAL RITES
+
+(FROM THE "SHO-REI HIKKI.")
+
+
+On the death of a parent, the mourning clothes worn are made of coarse
+hempen cloth, and during the whole period of mourning these must be
+worn night and day. As the burial of his parents is the most important
+ceremony which a man has to go through during his whole life, when the
+occasion comes, in order that there be no confusion, he must employ
+some person to teach him the usual and proper rites. Above all things
+to be reprehended is the burning of the dead: they should be interred
+without burning.[123] The ceremonies to be observed at a funeral
+should by rights have been learned before there is occasion to put
+them in practice. If a man have no father or mother, he is sure to
+have to bury other relations; and so he should not disregard this
+study. There are some authorities who select lucky days and hours and
+lucky places for burying the dead, but this is wrong; and when they
+talk about curses being brought upon posterity by not observing these
+auspicious seasons and places, they make a great mistake. It is a
+matter of course that an auspicious day must be chosen so far as
+avoiding wind and rain is concerned, that men may bury their dead
+without their minds being distracted; and it is important to choose a
+fitting cemetery, lest in after days the tomb should be damaged by
+rain, or by men walking over it, or by the place being turned into a
+field, or built upon. When invited to a friend's or neighbour's
+funeral, a man should avoid putting on smart clothes and dresses of
+ceremony; and when he follows the coffin, he should not speak in a
+loud voice to the person next him, for that is very rude; and even
+should he have occasion to do so, he should avoid entering wine-shops
+or tea-houses on his return from the funeral.
+
+[Footnote 123: On the subject of burning the dead, see a note to the
+story of Chôbei of Bandzuin.]
+
+The list of persons present at a funeral should be written on slips of
+paper, and firmly bound together. It may be written as any other list,
+only it must not be written beginning at the right hand, as is usually
+the case, but from the left hand (as is the case in European books).
+
+On the day of burial, during the funeral service, incense is burned in
+the temple before the tablet on which is inscribed the name under
+which the dead person enters salvation.[124] The incense-burners,
+having washed their hands, one by one, enter the room where the tablet
+is exposed, and advance half-way up to the tablet, facing it;
+producing incense wrapped in paper from their bosoms, they hold it in
+their left hands, and, taking a pinch with the right hand, they place
+the packet in their left sleeve. If the table on which the tablet is
+placed be high, the person offering incense half raises himself from
+his crouching position; if the table be low, he remains crouching to
+burn the incense, after which he takes three steps backwards, with
+bows and reverences, and retires six feet, when he again crouches down
+to watch the incense-burning, and bows to the priests who are sitting
+in a row with their chief at their head, after which he rises and
+leaves the room. Up to the time of burning the incense no notice is
+taken of the priest. At the ceremony of burning incense before the
+grave, the priests are not saluted. The packet of incense is made of
+fine paper folded in three, both ways.
+
+[Footnote 124: After death a person receives a new name. For instance,
+the famous Prince Tokugawa Iyéyasu entered salvation as Gongen Sama.
+This name is called _okurina_, or the accompanying name.]
+
+
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+The reason why the author of the "Sho-rei Hikki" has treated so
+briefly of the funeral ceremonies is probably that these rites, being
+invariably entrusted to the Buddhist priesthood, vary according to the
+sect of the latter; and, as there are no less than fifteen sects of
+Buddhism in Japan, it would be a long matter to enter into the
+ceremonies practised by each. Should Buddhism be swept out of Japan,
+as seems likely to be the case, men will probably return to the old
+rites which obtained before its introduction in the sixth century of
+our era. What those rites were I have been unable to learn.
+
+
+
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+<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, Tales of Old Japan, by Algernon Bertram
+Freeman-Mitford</h1>
+<pre class="pg">
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre>
+<p>Title: Tales of Old Japan</p>
+<p>Author: Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford</p>
+<p>Release Date: July 24, 2004  [eBook #13015]</p>
+<p>Language: English</p>
+<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p>
+<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALES OF OLD JAPAN***</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<h3>E-text prepared by Jonathan Ingram, Sandra Brown,<br />
+    and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</h3>
+
+    <div class="note">Note:<br />
+      <br />
+      The author, Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford (1837-1916), Lord
+      Redesdale, was in the British Foreign Service as a young man.
+      He was assigned to the legation in Japan for several years and
+      acquired a life-long fascination with Japanese culture. This
+      book has been a standard source of information about Japanese
+      folklore and customs since its original publication in 1871 and
+      has been in print ever since.</div>
+
+    <hr class="full" />
+
+    <div class="figcenter" style="width:100%;"><a href="images/frontis.jpg" name="frontis" target="blank"><img width="100%" src="images/frontis.jpg" alt="THE R&#212;NINS INVITE K&#212;TSUK&#201; NO SUK&#201; TO PERFORM HARA-KIRI." /></a> THE R&#212;NINS INVITE K&#212;TSUK&#201; NO SUK&#201; TO PERFORM HARA-KIRI.</div>
+
+
+    <h1>TALES OF OLD JAPAN</h1>
+
+    <h4>by</h4>
+
+    <h2>LORD REDESDALE, G.C.V.O., K.C.B.</h2>
+
+    <h4>FORMERLY SECOND SECRETARY TO THE BRITISH LEGATION IN JAPAN</h4>
+
+    <br />
+    <br />
+
+
+    <h3>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
+    <br />
+    <i>DRAWN AND CUT ON WOOD BY JAPANESE ARTISTS</i></h3>
+    <br />
+    <br />
+    <h4>1910</h4>
+    <br />
+    <br />
+
+    <h2>PREFACE</h2>
+
+    <p>In the Introduction to the story of the Forty-seven
+    R&ocirc;nins, I have said almost as much as is needful by way
+    of preface to my stories.</p>
+
+    <p>Those of my readers who are most capable of pointing out the
+    many shortcomings and faults of my work, will also be the most
+    indulgent towards me; for any one who has been in Japan, and
+    studied Japanese, knows the great difficulties by which the
+    learner is beset.</p>
+
+    <p>For the illustrations, at least, I feel that I need make no
+    apology. Drawn, in the first instance, by one
+    &Ocirc;dak&eacute;, an artist in my employ, they were cut on
+    wood by a famous wood-engraver at Yedo, and are therefore
+    genuine specimens of Japanese art. Messrs. Dalziel, on
+    examining the wood blocks, pointed out to me, as an interesting
+    fact, that the lines are cut with the grain of the wood, after
+    the manner of Albert D&uuml;rer and some of the old German
+    masters,&mdash;a process which has been abandoned by modern
+    European wood-engravers.</p>
+
+    <p>It will be noticed that very little allusion is made in
+    these Tales to the Emperor and his Court. Although I searched
+    diligently, I was able to find no story in which they played a
+    conspicuous part.</p>
+
+    <p>Another class to which no allusion is made is that of the
+    G&ocirc;shi. The G&ocirc;shi are a kind of yeomen, or
+    bonnet-lairds, as they would be called over the border, living
+    on their own land, and owning no allegiance to any feudal lord.
+    Their rank is inferior to that of the Samurai, or men of the
+    military class, between whom and the peasantry they hold a
+    middle place. Like the Samurai, they wear two swords, and are
+    in many cases prosperous and wealthy men claiming a descent
+    more ancient than that of many of the feudal Princes. A large
+    number of them are enrolled among the Emperor's body-guard; and
+    these have played a conspicuous part in the recent political
+    changes in Japan, as the most conservative and anti-foreign
+    element in the nation.</p>
+
+    <p>With these exceptions, I think that all classes are fairly
+    represented in my stories.</p>
+
+    <p>The feudal system has passed away like a dissolving view
+    before the eyes of those who have lived in Japan during the
+    last few years. But when they arrived there it was in full
+    force, and there is not an incident narrated in the following
+    pages, however strange it may appear to Europeans, for the
+    possibility and probability of which those most competent to
+    judge will not vouch. Nor, as many a recent event can prove,
+    have heroism, chivalry, and devotion gone out of the land
+    altogether. We may deplore and inveigh against the Yamato
+    Damashi, or Spirit of Old Japan, which still breathes in the
+    soul of the Samurai, but we cannot withhold our admiration from
+    the self-sacrifices which men will still make for the love of
+    their country.</p>
+
+    <p>The first two of the Tales have already appeared in the
+    <i>Fortnightly Review,</i> and two of the Sermons, with a
+    portion of the Appendix on the subject of the Hara-Kiri, in the
+    pages of the <i>Cornhill Magazine</i>. I have to thank the
+    editors of those periodicals for permission to reprint them
+    here.</p>
+
+    <p style="text-indent:2em">LONDON, <i>January 7, 1871.</i></p>
+    <hr class="full" />
+
+    <h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+    <div class="toc">
+        <p>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS<a href="#illustrations">1</a></p>
+
+        <p>THE FORTY-SEVEN R&Ocirc;NINS <a href="#page1">1</a></p>
+
+        <p>THE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI
+        <a href="#page20">20</a></p>
+
+        <p>KAZUMA'S REVENGE <a href="#page38">38</a></p>
+
+        <p>A STORY OF THE OTOKODAT&Eacute; OF YEDO
+        <a href="#page54">54</a></p>
+
+        <p>THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUY&Eacute;MON
+        <a href="#page91">91</a></p>
+
+        <p>THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO
+        <a href="#page115">115</a></p>
+
+        <p>FAIRY TALES <a href="#page133">133</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
+        <a href="#page135">135</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE
+        <a href="#page138">138</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN
+        <a href="#page141">141</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED
+        TREES TO BLOSSOM <a href="#page145">145</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB
+        <a href="#page149">149</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE PEACHLING
+        <a href="#page152">152</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE FOXES' WEDDING
+        <a href="#page155">155</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE HISTORY OF SAKATA KINTOKI
+        <a href="#page158">158</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE ELVES AND THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR
+        <a href="#page160">160</a></p>
+
+        <p>THE GHOST OF SAKURA <a href="#page161">161</a></p>
+
+        <p>HOW TAJIMA SHUM&Eacute; WAS TORMENTED BY A DEVIL OF HIS
+        OWN CREATION <a href="#page192">192</a></p>
+
+        <p>CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS
+        <a href="#page197">197</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE VAMPIRE CAT OF NAB&Eacute;SHIMA
+        <a href="#page200">200</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT
+        <a href="#page207">207</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">HOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS HEAD
+        SHAVED BY THE FOXES <a href="#page209">209</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE GRATEFUL FOXES
+        <a href="#page213">213</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE BADGER'S MONEY
+        <a href="#page220">220</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE PRINCE AND THE BADGER
+        <a href="#page224">224</a></p>
+
+        <p>JAPANESE SERMONS <a href="#page227">227</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE SERMONS OF KIU-&Ocirc;, VOL. I. SERMON I.
+        <a href="#page235">235</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE SERMONS OF KIU-&Ocirc;, VOL. I. SERMON
+        II. <a href="#page244">244</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE SERMONS OF KIU-&Ocirc;, VOL. I. SERMON
+        III. <a href="#page253">253</a></p>
+
+        <p>APPENDICES:&mdash;</p>
+
+        <p class="i2">AN ACCOUNT OF THE HARA-KIRI
+        <a href="#page263">263</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY
+        <a href="#page288">288</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">ON THE BIRTH AND REARING OF CHILDREN
+        <a href="#page296">296</a></p>
+
+        <p class="i2">FUNERAL RITES <a href="#page301">301</a></p>
+    </div>
+    <hr />
+    <br />
+     <a name="illustrations"
+          id="illustrations"></a>
+
+    <h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#frontis">THE R&Ocirc;NINS
+    INVITE R&Ocirc;TSUK&Eacute; NO SUK&Eacute; TO PERFORM
+    HARA-KIRI</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image004">THE WELL IN WHICH
+    THE HEAD WAS WASHED</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image008">THE SATSUMA MAN
+    INSULTS OISHI KURANOSUK&Eacute;</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image015">THE TOMBS OF THE
+    R&Ocirc;NINS</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image025">THE TOMB OF THE
+    SHIYOKU</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image028">GOMPACHI AWAKENED
+    BY THE MAIDEN IN THE ROBBERS' DEN</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image039">FORGING THE
+    SWORD</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image043">MATAGOR&Ocirc;
+    KILLS YUKIY&Eacute;</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image045">THE DEATH OF
+    DANY&Eacute;MON</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image070">TRICKS OF
+    SWORDSMANSHIP AT ASAKUSA</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image076">THE DEATH OF
+    CH&Ocirc;BEI OF BANDZUIN</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image094">FUNAKOSHI
+    JIUY&Eacute;MON ON BOARD THE PIRATE SHIP</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image101">JIUY&Eacute;MON
+    PUNISHES HIS WIFE AND THE WRESTLER</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image103">FUNAKOSHI
+    JIUY&Eacute;MON AND THE GOBLINS</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image109">"GOKUMON"</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image111">CHAMPION
+    WRESTLER</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image113">A WRESTLING
+    MATCH</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image117">GENZABUR&Ocirc;'S
+    MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image136">THE TONGUE-CUT
+    SPARROW</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image137">THE TONGUE-CUT
+    SPARROW (2)</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image139">THE ACCOMPLISHED
+    AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image140">THE ACCOMPLISHED
+    AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE (2)</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image142">THE HARE AND THE
+    BADGER</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image143">THE HARE AND THE
+    BADGER (2)</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image146">THE OLD MAN WHO
+    CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image147">THE OLD MAN WHO
+    CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER (2)</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image150">THE APE AND THE
+    CRAB</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image151">THE APE AND THE
+    CRAB (2)</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image153">LITTLE
+    PEACHLING</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image154">LITTLE PEACHLING
+    (2)</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image156">THE FOXES'
+    WEDDING</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image157">THE FOXES' WEDDING
+    (2)</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image162">THE DEPUTATION OF
+    PEASANTS AT THEIR LORD'S GATE</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image165">THE GHOST OF
+    SAKURA</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image170">S&Ocirc;GOR&Ocirc;
+    THRUSTING THE PETITION INTO THE SHOGUN'S LITTER</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image201">THE CAT OF
+    NAB&Eacute;SHIMA</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image217">THE FEAST OF INARI
+    SAMA</a></p>
+
+    <p class="illustrations"><a href="#image228">A JAPANESE
+    SERMON</a></p><br />
+    <hr class="full" />
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page1"
+       id="page1"></a>[pg 1]</span>
+
+    <h1>TALES OF OLD JAPAN</h1>
+
+    <h2>THE FORTY-SEVEN R&Ocirc;NINS</h2>
+
+    <p>The books which have been written of late years about Japan
+    have either been compiled from official records, or have
+    contained the sketchy impressions of passing travellers. Of the
+    inner life of the Japanese the world at large knows but little:
+    their religion, their superstitions, their ways of thought, the
+    hidden springs by which they move&mdash;all these are as yet
+    mysteries. Nor is this to be wondered at. The first Western men
+    who came in contact with Japan&mdash;I am speaking not of the
+    old Dutch and Portuguese traders and priests, but of the
+    diplomatists and merchants of eleven years ago&mdash;met with a
+    cold reception. Above all things, the native Government threw
+    obstacles in the way of any inquiry into their language,
+    literature, and history. The fact was that the Tycoon's
+    Government&mdash;with whom alone, so long as the Mikado
+    remained in seclusion in his sacred capital at Ki&ocirc;to, any
+    relations were maintained&mdash;knew that the Imperial purple
+    with which they sought to invest their chief must quickly fade
+    before the strong sunlight which would be brought upon it so
+    soon as there should be European linguists capable of examining
+    their books and records. No opportunity was lost of throwing
+    dust in the eyes of the new-comers, whom, even in the most
+    trifling details, it was the official policy to lead astray.
+    Now, however, there is no cause for concealment; the <i>Roi
+    Fain&eacute;ant</i> has shaken off his sloth, and his <i>Maire
+    du Palais</i>, together, and an intelligible Government, which
+    need not fear scrutiny from abroad, is the result: the records
+    of the country being but so many proofs of the Mikado's title
+    to power, there is no reason for keeping up any show of
+    mystery. The path of inquiry is open to all; and although there
+    is yet much to be learnt, some knowledge has been attained, in
+    which it may interest those who stay at home to share.</p>
+
+    <p>The recent revolution in Japan has wrought changes social as
+    well as political; and it may be that when, in addition to the
+    advance which has already been made, railways and telegraphs
+    shall have connected the principal points of the Land of
+    Sunrise, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page2"
+       id="page2"></a>[pg 2]</span> the old Japanese, such as he
+       was and had been for centuries when we found him eleven
+       short years ago, will have become extinct. It has appeared
+       to me that no better means could be chosen of preserving a
+       record of a curious and fast disappearing civilization than
+       the translation of some of the most interesting national
+       legends and histories, together with other specimens of
+       literature bearing upon the same subject. Thus the Japanese
+       may tell their own tale, their translator only adding here
+       and there a few words of heading or tag to a chapter, where
+       an explanation or amplification may seem necessary. I fear
+       that the long and hard names will often make my tales
+       tedious reading, but I believe that those who will bear with
+       the difficulty will learn more of the character of the
+       Japanese people than by skimming over descriptions of travel
+       and adventure, however brilliant. The lord and his retainer,
+       the warrior and the priest, the humble artisan and the
+       despised Eta or pariah, each in his turn will become a
+       leading character in my budget of stories; and it is out of
+       the mouths of these personages that I hope to show forth a
+       tolerably complete picture of Japanese society.</p>
+
+    <p>Having said so much by way of preface, I beg my readers to
+    fancy themselves wafted away to the shores of the Bay of
+    Yedo&mdash;a fair, smiling landscape: gentle slopes, crested by
+    a dark fringe of pines and firs, lead down to the sea; the
+    quaint eaves of many a temple and holy shrine peep out here and
+    there from the groves; the bay itself is studded with
+    picturesque fisher-craft, the torches of which shine by night
+    like glow-worms among the outlying forts; far away to the west
+    loom the goblin-haunted heights of Oyama, and beyond the twin
+    hills of the Hakon&eacute; Pass&mdash;Fuji-Yama, the Peerless
+    Mountain, solitary and grand, stands in the centre of the
+    plain, from which it sprang vomiting flames twenty-one
+    centuries ago.<a id="footnotetag1"
+       name="footnotetag1"></a><a href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a>
+       For a hundred and sixty years the huge mountain has been at
+       peace, but the frequent earthquakes still tell of hidden
+       fires, and none can say when the red-hot stones and ashes
+       may once more fall like rain over five provinces.</p>
+
+    <p>In the midst of a nest of venerable trees in Takanawa, a
+    suburb of Yedo, is hidden Sengakuji, or the Spring-hill Temple,
+    renowned throughout the length and breadth of the land for its
+    cemetery, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page3"
+       id="page3"></a>[pg 3]</span> which contains the graves of
+       the Forty-seven. R&ocirc;nins,<a id="footnotetag2"
+       name="footnotetag2"></a><a href="#footnote2"><sup>2</sup></a>
+       famous in Japanese history, heroes of Japanese drama, the
+       tale of whose deeds I am about to transcribe.</p>
+
+    <p>On the left-hand side of the main court of the temple is a
+    chapel, in which, surmounted by a gilt figure of Kwanyin, the
+    goddess of mercy, are enshrined the images of the forty-seven
+    men, and of the master whom they loved so well. The statues are
+    carved in wood, the faces coloured, and the dresses richly
+    lacquered; as works of art they have great merit&mdash;the
+    action of the heroes, each armed with his favourite weapon,
+    being wonderfully life-like and spirited. Some are venerable
+    men, with thin, grey hair (one is seventy-seven years old);
+    others are mere boys of sixteen. Close by the chapel, at the
+    side of a path leading up the hill, is a little well of pure
+    water, fenced in and adorned with a tiny fernery, over which is
+    an inscription, setting forth that "This is the well in which
+    the head was washed; you must not wash your hands or your feet
+    here." A little further on is a stall, at which a poor old man
+    earns a pittance by selling books, pictures, and medals,
+    commemorating the loyalty of the Forty-seven; and higher up
+    yet, shaded by a grove of stately trees, is a neat inclosure,
+    kept up, as a signboard announces, by voluntary contributions,
+    round which are ranged forty-eight little tombstones, each
+    decked with evergreens, each with its tribute of water and
+    incense for the comfort of the departed spirit. There were
+    forty-seven R&ocirc;nins; there are forty-eight tombstones, and
+    the story of the forty-eighth is truly characteristic of
+    Japanese ideas of honour. Almost touching the rail of the
+    graveyard is a more imposing monument under which lies buried
+    the lord, whose death his followers piously avenged.</p>
+
+    <p>And now for the story.</p>
+
+    <p>At the beginning of the eighteenth century there lived a
+    daimio, called Asano Takumi no Kami, the Lord of the castle of
+    Ak&ocirc;, in <span class="pagenum"><a name="page4"
+       id="page4"></a>[pg 4]</span> the province of Harima. Now it
+       happened that an Imperial ambassador from the Court of the
+       Mikado having been sent to the Shogun<a id="footnotetag3"
+       name="footnotetag3"></a><a href="#footnote3"><sup>3</sup></a>
+       at Yedo, Takumi no Kami and another noble called Kamei Sama
+       were appointed to receive and feast the envoy; and a high
+       official, named Kira K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;,
+       was named to teach them the proper ceremonies to be observed
+       upon the occasion. The two nobles were accordingly forced to
+       go daily to the castle to listen to the instructions of
+       K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;. But this
+       K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; was a man greedy of
+       money; and as he deemed that the presents which the two
+       daimios, according to time-honoured custom, had brought him
+       in return for his instruction, were mean and unworthy, he
+       conceived a great hatred against them, and took no pains in
+       teaching them, but on the contrary rather sought to make
+       laughing-stocks of them. Takumi no Kami, restrained by a
+       stern sense of duty, bore his insults with patience; but
+       Kamei Sama, who had less control over his temper, was
+       violently incensed, and determined to kill
+       K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/004.jpg"
+             name="image004"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image004"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/004.jpg"
+             alt="THE WELL IN WHICH THE HEAD WAS WASHED." /></a>
+             THE WELL IN WHICH THE HEAD WAS WASHED.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>One night when his duties at the castle were ended, Kamei
+    Sama returned to his own palace, and having summoned his
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page5"
+       id="page5"></a>[pg 5]</span> councillors<a id="footnotetag4"
+       name="footnotetag4"></a><a href="#footnote4"><sup>4</sup></a>
+       to a secret conference, said to them: "K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute;
+       no Suk&eacute; has insulted Takumi no Kami and myself during
+       our service in attendance on the Imperial envoy. This is
+       against all decency, and I was minded to kill him on the
+       spot; but I bethought me that if I did such a deed within
+       the precincts of the castle, not only would my own life be
+       forfeit, but my family and vassals would be ruined: so I
+       stayed my hand. Still the life of such a wretch is a sorrow
+       to the people, and to-morrow when I go to Court I will slay
+       him: my mind is made up, and I will listen to no
+       remonstrance." And as he spoke his face became livid with
+       rage.</p>
+
+    <p>Now one of Kamei Sama's councillors was a man of great
+    judgment, and when he saw from his lord's manner that
+    remonstrance would be useless, he said: "Your lordship's words
+    are law; your servant will make all preparations accordingly;
+    and to-morrow, when your lordship goes to Court, if this
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; should again be insolent,
+    let him die the death." And his lord was pleased at this
+    speech, and waited with impatience for the day to break, that
+    he might return to Court and kill his enemy.</p>
+
+    <p>But the councillor went home, and was sorely troubled, and
+    thought anxiously about what his prince had said. And as he
+    reflected, it occurred to him that since K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute;
+    no Suk&eacute; had the reputation of being a miser he would
+    certainly be open to a bribe, and that it was better to pay any
+    sum, no matter how great, than that his lord and his house
+    should be ruined. So he collected all the money he could, and,
+    giving it to his servants to carry, rode off in the night to
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s palace, and said to his
+    retainers: "My master, who is now in attendance upon the
+    Imperial envoy, owes much thanks to my Lord
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, who has been at so great
+    pains to teach him the proper ceremonies to be observed during
+    the reception of the Imperial envoy. This is but a shabby
+    present which he has sent by me, but he hopes that his lordship
+    will condescend to accept it, and commends himself to his
+    lordship's favour." And, with these words, he produced a
+    thousand ounces of silver for K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute;, and a hundred ounces to be distributed among his
+    retainers.</p>
+
+    <p>When the latter saw the money their eyes sparkled with
+    pleasure, and they were profuse in their thanks; and begging
+    the councillor to wait a little, they went and told their
+    master of the lordly present which had arrived with a polite
+    message from Kamei Sama. K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; in
+    eager delight sent for the councillor into an inner chamber,
+    and, after thanking him, promised on the morrow to instruct his
+    master carefully in all the different points of etiquette. So
+    the councillor, seeing the miser's glee, rejoiced at the
+    success of his plan; and having taken his
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page6"
+       id="page6"></a>[pg 6]</span> leave returned home in high
+       spirits. But Kamei Sama, little thinking how his vassal had
+       propitiated his enemy, lay brooding over his vengeance, and
+       on the following morning at daybreak went to Court in solemn
+       procession.</p>
+
+    <p>When K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; met him his manner
+    had completely changed, and nothing could exceed his courtesy.
+    "You have come early to Court this morning, my Lord Kamei,"
+    said he. "I cannot sufficiently admire your zeal. I shall have
+    the honour to call your attention to several points of
+    etiquette to-day. I must beg your lordship to excuse my
+    previous conduct, which must have seemed very rude; but I am
+    naturally of a cross-grained disposition, so I pray you to
+    forgive me." And as he kept on humbling himself and making fair
+    speeches, the heart of Kamei Sama was gradually softened, and
+    he renounced his intention of killing him. Thus by the
+    cleverness of his councillor was Kamei Sama, with all his
+    house, saved from ruin.</p>
+
+    <p>Shortly after this, Takumi no Kami, who had sent no present,
+    arrived at the castle, and K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;
+    turned him into ridicule even more than before, provoking him
+    with sneers and covert insults; but Takumi no Kami affected to
+    ignore all this, and submitted himself patiently to
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s orders.</p>
+
+    <p>This conduct, so far from producing a good effect, only made
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; despise him the more, until
+    at last he said haughtily: "Here, my Lord of Takumi, the ribbon
+    of my sock has come untied; be so good as to tie it up for
+    me."</p>
+
+    <p>Takumi no Kami, although burning with rage at the affront,
+    still thought that as he was on duty he was bound to obey, and
+    tied up the ribbon of the sock. Then K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute;, turning from him, petulantly exclaimed: "Why, how
+    clumsy you are! You cannot so much as tie up the ribbon of a
+    sock properly! Any one can see that you are a boor from the
+    country, and know nothing of the manners of Yedo." And with a
+    scornful laugh he moved towards an inner room.</p>
+
+    <p>But the patience of Takumi no Kami was exhausted; this last
+    insult was more than he could bear.</p>
+
+    <p>"Stop a moment, my lord," cried he.</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, what is it?" replied the other. And, as he turned
+    round, Takumi no Kami drew his dirk, and aimed a blow at his
+    head; but K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, being protected
+    by the Court cap which he wore, the wound was but a scratch, so
+    he ran away; and Takumi no Kami, pursuing him, tried a second
+    time to cut him down, but, missing his aim, struck his dirk
+    into a pillar. At this moment an officer, named Kajikawa
+    Yosobei, seeing the affray, rushed up, and holding back the
+    infuriated noble, gave K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; time
+    to make good his escape.</p>
+
+    <p>Then there arose a great uproar and confusion, and Takumi no
+    Kami was arrested and disarmed, and confined in one of the
+    apartments of the palace under the care of the censors. A
+    council was held, and the prisoner was given over to the
+    safeguard of a daimio, called Tamura Ukiy&ocirc; no Daibu, who
+    kept <span class="pagenum"><a name="page7"
+       id="page7"></a>[pg 7]</span> him in close custody in his own
+       house, to the great grief of his wife and of his retainers;
+       and when the deliberations of the council were completed, it
+       was decided that, as he had committed an outrage and
+       attacked another man within the precincts of the palace, he
+       must perform <i>hara-kiri</i>,&mdash;that is, commit suicide
+       by disembowelling; his goods must be confiscated, and his
+       family ruined. Such was the law. So Takumi no Kami performed
+       <i>hara-kiri</i>, his castle of Ak&ocirc; was confiscated,
+       and his retainers having become R&ocirc;nins, some of them
+       took service with other daimios, and others became
+       merchants.</p>
+
+    <p>Now amongst these retainers was his principal councillor, a
+    man called Oishi Kuranosuk&eacute;, who, with forty-six other
+    faithful dependants, formed a league to avenge their master's
+    death by killing K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;. This
+    Oishi Kuranosuk&eacute; was absent at the castle of Ak&ocirc;
+    at the time of the affray, which, had he been with his prince,
+    would never have occurred; for, being a wise man, he would not
+    have failed to propitiate K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;
+    by sending him suitable presents; while the councillor who was
+    in attendance on the prince at Yedo was a dullard, who
+    neglected this precaution, and so caused the death of his
+    master and the ruin of his house.</p>
+
+    <p>So Oishi Kuranosuk&eacute; and his forty-six companions
+    began to lay their plans of vengeance against
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;; but the latter was so well
+    guarded by a body of men lent to him by a daimio called
+    Uy&eacute;sugi Sama, whose daughter he had married, that they
+    saw that the only way of attaining their end would be to throw
+    their enemy off his guard. With this object they separated and
+    disguised themselves, some as carpenters or craftsmen, others
+    as merchants; and their chief, Kuranosuk&eacute;, went to
+    Ki&ocirc;to, and built a house in the quarter called Yamashina,
+    where he took to frequenting houses of the worst repute, and
+    gave himself up to drunkenness and debauchery, as if nothing
+    were further from his mind than revenge. K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute;
+    no Suk&eacute;, in the meanwhile, suspecting that Takumi no
+    Kami's former retainers would be scheming against his life,
+    secretly sent spies to Ki&ocirc;to, and caused a faithful
+    account to be kept of all that Kuranosuk&eacute; did. The
+    latter, however, determined thoroughly to delude the enemy into
+    a false security, went on leading a dissolute life with harlots
+    and winebibbers. One day, as he was returning home drunk from
+    some low haunt, he fell down in the street and went to sleep,
+    and all the passers-by laughed him to scorn. It happened that a
+    Satsuma man saw this, and said: "Is not this Oishi
+    Kuranosuk&eacute;, who was a councillor of Asano Takumi no
+    Kami, and who, not having the heart to avenge his lord, gives
+    himself up to women and wine? See how he lies drunk in the
+    public street! Faithless beast! Fool and craven! Unworthy the
+    name of a Samurai!"<a id="footnotetag5"
+       name="footnotetag5"></a><a href="#footnote5"><sup>5</sup></a></p><span class="pagenum">
+    <a name="page8"
+       id="page8"></a>[pg 8]</span>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/008.jpg"
+             name="image008"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image008"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/008.jpg"
+             alt="THE SATSUMA MAN INSULTS OISHI KURANOSUK&Eacute;." />
+             </a> THE SATSUMA MAN INSULTS OISHI KURANOSUK&Eacute;.
+    </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page9"
+       id="page9"></a>[pg 9]</span>
+
+    <p>And he trod on Kuranosuk&eacute;'s face as he slept, and
+    spat upon him; but when K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s
+    spies reported all this at Yedo, he was greatly relieved at the
+    news, and felt secure from danger.</p>
+
+    <p>One day Kuranosuk&eacute;'s wife, who was bitterly grieved
+    to see her husband lead this abandoned life, went to him and
+    said: "My lord, you told me at first that your debauchery was
+    but a trick to make your enemy relax in watchfulness. But
+    indeed, indeed, this has gone too far. I pray and beseech you
+    to put some restraint upon yourself."</p>
+
+    <p>"Trouble me not," replied Kuranosuk&eacute;, "for I will not
+    listen to your whining. Since my way of life is displeasing to
+    you, I will divorce you, and you may go about your business;
+    and I will buy some pretty young girl from one of the
+    public-houses, and marry her for my pleasure. I am sick of the
+    sight of an old woman like you about the house, so get you
+    gone&mdash;the sooner the better."</p>
+
+    <p>So saying, he flew into a violent rage, and his wife,
+    terror-stricken, pleaded piteously for mercy.</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, my lord! unsay those terrible words! I have been your
+    faithful wife for twenty years, and have borne you three
+    children; in sickness and in sorrow I have been with you; you
+    cannot be so cruel as to turn me out of doors now. Have pity!
+    have pity!"</p>
+
+    <p>"Cease this useless wailing. My mind is made up, and you
+    must go; and as the children are in my way also, you are
+    welcome to take them with you."</p>
+
+    <p>When she heard her husband speak thus, in her grief she
+    sought her eldest son, Oishi Chikara, and begged him to plead
+    for her, and pray that she might be pardoned. But nothing would
+    turn Kuranosuk&eacute; from his purpose, so his wife was sent
+    away, with the two younger children, and went back to her
+    native place. But Oishi Chikara remained with his father.</p>
+
+    <p>The spies communicated all this without fail to
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, and he, when he heard how
+    Kuranosuk&eacute;, having turned his wife and children out of
+    doors and bought a concubine, was grovelling in a life of
+    drunkenness and lust, began to think that he had no longer
+    anything to fear from the retainers of Takumi no Kami, who must
+    be cowards, without the courage to avenge their lord. So by
+    degrees he began to keep a less strict watch, and sent back
+    half of the guard which had been lent to him by his
+    father-in-law, Uy&eacute;sugi Sama. Little did he think how he
+    was falling into the trap laid for him by Kuranosuk&eacute;,
+    who, in his zeal to slay his lord's enemy, thought nothing of
+    divorcing his wife and sending away his children! Admirable and
+    faithful man!</p>
+
+    <p>In this way Kuranosuk&eacute; continued to throw dust in the
+    eyes of his foe, by persisting in his apparently shameless
+    conduct; but his associates all went to Yedo, and, having in
+    their several capacities as workmen and pedlars contrived to
+    gain access to K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s house,
+    made themselves familiar with the plan of the building and the
+    arrangement of the different rooms,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page10"
+       id="page10"></a>[pg 10]</span> and ascertained the character
+       of the inmates, who were brave and loyal men, and who were
+       cowards; upon all of which matters they sent regular reports
+       to Kuranosuk&eacute;. And when at last it became evident
+       from the letters which arrived from Yedo that
+       K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; was thoroughly off his
+       guard, Kuranosuk&eacute; rejoiced that the day of vengeance
+       was at hand; and, having appointed a trysting-place at Yedo,
+       he fled secretly from Ki&ocirc;to, eluding the vigilance of
+       his enemy's spies. Then the forty-seven men, having laid all
+       their plans, bided their time patiently.</p>
+
+    <p>It was now midwinter, the twelfth month of the year, and the
+    cold was bitter. One night, during a heavy fall of snow, when
+    the whole world was hushed, and peaceful men were stretched in
+    sleep upon the mats, the R&ocirc;nins determined that no more
+    favourable opportunity could occur for carrying out their
+    purpose. So they took counsel together, and, having divided
+    their band into two parties, assigned to each man his post. One
+    band, led by Oishi Kuranosuk&eacute;, was to attack the front
+    gate, and the other, under his son Oishi Chikara, was to attack
+    the postern of K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s house; but
+    as Chikara was only sixteen years of age, Yoshida
+    Chiuzay&eacute;mon was appointed to act as his guardian.
+    Further it was arranged that a drum, beaten at the order of
+    Kuranosuk&eacute;, should be the signal for the simultaneous
+    attack; and that if any one slew K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute; and cut off his head he should blow a shrill
+    whistle, as a signal to his comrades, who would hurry to the
+    spot, and, having identified the head, carry it off to the
+    temple called Sengakuji, and lay it as an offering before the
+    tomb of their dead lord. Then they must report their deed to
+    the Government, and await the sentence of death which would
+    surely be passed upon them. To this the R&ocirc;nins one and
+    all pledged themselves. Midnight was fixed upon as the hour,
+    and the forty-seven comrades, having made all ready for the
+    attack, partook of a last farewell feast together, for on the
+    morrow they must die. Then Oishi Kuranosuk&eacute; addressed
+    the band, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"To-night we shall attack our enemy in his palace; his
+    retainers will certainly resist us, and we shall be obliged to
+    kill them. But to slay old men and women and children is a
+    pitiful thing; therefore, I pray you each one to take great
+    heed lest you kill a single helpless person." His comrades all
+    applauded this speech, and so they remained, waiting for the
+    hour of midnight to arrive.</p>
+
+    <p>When the appointed hour came, the R&ocirc;nins set forth.
+    The wind howled furiously, and the driving snow beat in their
+    faces; but little cared they for wind or snow as they hurried
+    on their road, eager for revenge. At last they reached
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s house, and divided
+    themselves into two bands; and Chikara, with twenty-three men,
+    went round to the back gate. Then four men, by means of a
+    ladder of ropes which they hung on to the roof of the porch,
+    effected an entry into the courtyard; and, as they saw signs
+    that all the inmates of the house were asleep,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page11"
+       id="page11"></a>[pg 11]</span> they went into the porter's
+       lodge where the guard slept, and, before the latter had time
+       to recover from their astonishment, bound them. The
+       terrified guard prayed hard for mercy, that their lives
+       might be spared; and to this the R&ocirc;nins agreed on
+       condition that the keys of the gate should be given up; but
+       the others tremblingly said that the keys were kept in the
+       house of one of their officers, and that they had no means
+       of obtaining them. Then the R&ocirc;nins lost patience, and
+       with a hammer dashed in pieces the big wooden bolt which
+       secured the gate, and the doors flew open to the right and
+       to the left. At the same time Chikara and his party broke in
+       by the back gate.</p>
+
+    <p>Then Oishi Kuranosuk&eacute; sent a messenger to the
+    neighbouring houses, bearing the following message:&mdash;"We,
+    the R&ocirc;nins who were formerly in the service of Asano
+    Takumi no Kami, are this night about to break into the palace
+    of K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, to avenge our lord. As
+    we are neither night robbers nor ruffians, no hurt will be done
+    to the neighbouring houses. We pray you to set your minds at
+    rest." And as K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; was hated by
+    his neighbours for his covetousness, they did not unite their
+    forces to assist him. Another precaution was yet taken. Lest
+    any of the people inside should run out to call the relations
+    of the family to the rescue, and these coming in force should
+    interfere with the plans of the R&ocirc;nins, Kuranosuk&eacute;
+    stationed ten of his men armed with bows on the roof of the
+    four sides of the courtyard, with orders to shoot any retainers
+    who might attempt to leave the place. Having thus laid all his
+    plans and posted his men, Kuranosuk&eacute; with his own hand
+    beat the drum and gave the signal for attack.</p>
+
+    <p>Ten of K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s retainers,
+    hearing the noise, woke up; and, drawing their swords, rushed
+    into the front room to defend their master. At this moment the
+    R&ocirc;nins, who had burst open the door of the front hall,
+    entered the same room. Then arose a furious fight between the
+    two parties, in the midst of which Chikara, leading his men
+    through the garden, broke into the back of the house; and
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, in terror of his life,
+    took refuge, with his wife and female servants, in a closet in
+    the verandah; while the rest of his retainers, who slept in the
+    barrack outside the house, made ready to go to the rescue. But
+    the R&ocirc;nins who had come in by the front door, and were
+    fighting with the ten retainers, ended by overpowering and
+    slaying the latter without losing one of their own number;
+    after which, forcing their way bravely towards the back rooms,
+    they were joined by Chikara and his men, and the two bands were
+    united in one.</p>
+
+    <p>By this time the remainder of K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute;'s men had come in, and the fight became general;
+    and Kuranosuk&eacute;, sitting on a camp-stool, gave his orders
+    and directed the R&ocirc;nins. Soon the inmates of the house
+    perceived that they were no match for their enemy, so they
+    tried to send out intelligence of their plight to
+    Uy&eacute;sugi Sama, their lord's father-in-law, begging him to
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page12"
+       id="page12"></a>[pg 12]</span> come to the rescue with all
+       the force at his command. But the messengers were shot down
+       by the archers whom Kuranosuk&eacute; had posted on the
+       roof. So no help coming, they fought on in despair. Then
+       Kuranosuk&eacute; cried out with a loud voice:
+       "K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; alone is our enemy; let
+       some one go inside and bring him forth. dead or alive!"</p>
+
+    <p>Now in front of K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s
+    private room stood three brave retainers with drawn swords. The
+    first was Kobayashi H&eacute;hachi, the second was Waku
+    Handaiyu, and the third was Shimidzu Ikkaku, all good men and
+    true, and expert swordsmen. So stoutly did these men lay about
+    them that for a while they kept the whole of the R&ocirc;nins
+    at bay, and at one moment even forced them back. When Oishi
+    Kuranosuk&eacute; saw this, he ground his teeth with rage, and
+    shouted to his men: "What! did not every man of you swear to
+    lay down his life in avenging his lord, and now are you driven
+    back by three men? Cowards, not fit to be spoken to! to die
+    fighting in a master's cause should be the noblest ambition of
+    a retainer!" Then turning to his own son Chikara, he said,
+    "Here, boy! engage those men, and if they are too strong for
+    you, die!"</p>
+
+    <p>Spurred by these words, Chikara seized a spear and gave
+    battle to Waku Handaiyu, but could not hold his ground, and
+    backing by degrees, was driven out into the garden, where he
+    missed his footing and slipped into a pond, but as Handaiyu,
+    thinking to kill him, looked down into the pond, Chikara cut
+    his enemy in the leg and caused him to fall, and then, crawling
+    out of the water dispatched him. In the meanwhile Kobayashi
+    H&eacute;hachi and Shimidzu Ikkaku had been killed by the other
+    R&ocirc;nins, and of all K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s
+    retainers not one fighting man remained. Chikara, seeing this,
+    went with his bloody sword in his hand into a back room to
+    search for K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, but he only
+    found the son of the latter, a young lord named Kira
+    Sahioy&eacute;, who, carrying a halberd, attacked him, but was
+    soon wounded and fled. Thus the whole of K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute;
+    no Suk&eacute;'s men having been killed, there was an end of
+    the fighting; but as yet there was no trace of
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; to be found.</p>
+
+    <p>Then Kuranosuk&eacute; divided his men into several parties
+    and searched the whole house, but all in vain; women and
+    children weeping were alone to be seen. At this the forty-seven
+    men began to lose heart in regret, that after all their toil
+    they had allowed their enemy to escape them, and there was a
+    moment when in their despair they agreed to commit suicide
+    together upon the spot; but they determined to make one more
+    effort. So Kuranosuk&eacute; went into K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute;'s sleeping-room, and touching the quilt with his
+    hands, exclaimed, "I have just felt the bed-clothes and they
+    are yet warm, and so methinks that our enemy is not far off. He
+    must certainly be hidden somewhere in the house." Greatly
+    excited by this, the R&ocirc;nins renewed their search. Now in
+    the raised part of the room, near the place of honour, there
+    was a picture hanging; taking down this picture, they saw that
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page13"
+       id="page13"></a>[pg 13]</span> there was a large hole in the
+       plastered wall, and on thrusting a spear in they could feel
+       nothing beyond it. So one of the R&ocirc;nins, called Yazama
+       Jiutar&ocirc;, got into the hole, and found that on the
+       other side there was a little courtyard, in which there
+       stood an outhouse for holding charcoal and firewood. Looking
+       into the outhouse, he spied something white at the further
+       end, at which he struck with his spear, when two armed men
+       sprang out upon him and tried to cut him down, but he kept
+       them back until one of his comrades came up and killed one
+       of the two men and engaged the other, while Jiutar&ocirc;
+       entered the outhouse and felt about with his spear. Again
+       seeing something white, he struck it with his lance, when a
+       cry of pain betrayed that it was a man; so he rushed up, and
+       the man in white clothes, who had been wounded in the thigh,
+       drew a dirk and aimed a blow at him. But Jiutar&ocirc;
+       wrested the dirk from him, and clutching him by the collar,
+       dragged him out of the outhouse. Then the other R&ocirc;nin
+       came up, and they examined the prisoner attentively, and saw
+       that he was a noble-looking man, some sixty years of age,
+       dressed in a white satin sleeping-robe, which was stained by
+       the blood from the thigh-wound which, Jiutar&ocirc; had
+       inflicted. The two men felt convinced that this was no other
+       than K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, and they asked him
+       his name, but he gave no answer, so they gave the signal
+       whistle, and all their comrades collected together at the
+       call; then Oishi Kuranosuk&eacute;, bringing a lantern,
+       scanned the old man's features, and it was indeed
+       K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;; and if further proof
+       were wanting, he still bore a scar on his forehead where
+       their master, Asano Takumi no Kami, had wounded him during
+       the affray in the castle. There being no possibility of
+       mistake, therefore, Oishi Kuranosuk&eacute; went down on his
+       knees, and addressing the old man very respectfully,
+       said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"My lord, we are the retainers of Asano Takumi no Kami. Last
+    year your lordship and our master quarrelled in the palace, and
+    our master was sentenced to <i>hara-kiri,</i> and his family
+    was ruined. We have come to-night to avenge him, as is the duty
+    of faithful and loyal men. I pray your lordship to acknowledge
+    the justice of our purpose. And now, my lord, we beseech you to
+    perform <i>hara-kiri</i>. I myself shall have the honour to act
+    as your second, and when, with all humility, I shall have
+    received your lordship's head, it is my intention to lay it as
+    an offering upon the grave of Asano Takumi no Kami."</p>
+
+    <p>Thus, in consideration of the high rank of
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, the R&ocirc;nins treated
+    him with the greatest courtesy, and over and over again
+    entreated him to perform <i>hara-kiri.</i> But he crouched
+    speechless and trembling. At last Kuranosuk&eacute;, seeing
+    that it was vain to urge him to die the death of a nobleman,
+    forced him down, and cut off his head with the same dirk with
+    which Asano Takumi no Kami had killed himself. Then the
+    forty-seven comrades, elated at having accomplished their
+    design, placed the head in a bucket, and prepared to depart;
+    but before leaving the house they carefully extinguished all
+    the lights and fires in the place,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page14"
+       id="page14"></a>[pg 14]</span> lest by any accident a fire
+       should break out and the neighbours suffer.</p>
+
+    <p>As they were on their way to Takanawa, the suburb in which
+    the temple called Sengakuji stands, the day broke; and the
+    people flocked out to see the forty-seven men, who, with their
+    clothes and arms all blood-stained, presented a terrible
+    appearance; and every one praised them, wondering at their
+    valour and faithfulness. But they expected every moment that
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s father-in-law would
+    attack them and carry off the head, and made ready to die
+    bravely sword in hand. However, they reached Takanawa in
+    safety, for Matsudaira Aki no Kami, one of the eighteen chief
+    daimios of Japan, of whose house Asano Takumi no Kami had been
+    a cadet, had been highly pleased when he heard of the last
+    night's work, and he had made ready to assist the R&ocirc;nins
+    in case they were attacked. So K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute;'s father-in-law dared not pursue them.</p>
+
+    <p>At about seven in the morning they came opposite to the
+    palace of Matsudaira Mutsu no Kami, the Prince of Sendai, and
+    the Prince, hearing of it, sent for one of his councillors and
+    said: "The retainers of Takumi no Kami have slain their lord's
+    enemy, and are passing this way; I cannot sufficiently admire
+    their devotion, so, as they must be tired and hungry after
+    their night's work, do you go and invite them to come in here,
+    and set some gruel and a cup of wine before them."</p>
+
+    <p>So the councillor went out and said to Oishi
+    Kuranosuk&eacute;: "Sir, I am a councillor of the Prince of
+    Sendai, and my master bids me beg you, as you must be worn out
+    after all you have undergone, to come in and partake of such
+    poor refreshment as we can offer you. This is my message to you
+    from my lord."</p>
+
+    <p>"I thank you, sir," replied Kuranosuk&eacute;. "It is very
+    good of his lordship to trouble himself to think of us. We
+    shall accept his kindness gratefully."</p>
+
+    <p>So the forty-seven R&ocirc;nins went into the palace, and
+    were feasted with gruel and wine, and all the retainers of the
+    Prince of Sendai came and praised them.</p>
+
+    <p>Then Kuranosuk&eacute; turned to the councillor and said,
+    "Sir, we are truly indebted to you for this kind hospitality;
+    but as we have still to hurry to Sengakuji, we must needs
+    humbly take our leave." And, after returning many thanks to
+    their hosts, they left the palace of the Prince of Sendai and
+    hastened to Sengakuji, where they were met by the abbot of the
+    monastery, who went to the front gate to receive them, and led
+    them to the tomb of Takumi no Kami.</p>
+
+    <p>And when they came to their lord's grave, they took the head
+    of K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, and having washed it
+    clean in a well hard by, laid it as an offering before the
+    tomb. When they had done this, they engaged the priests of the
+    temple to come and read prayers while they burnt incense: first
+    Oishi Kuranosuk&eacute; burnt incense, and then his son Oishi
+    Chikara, and after them the other forty-five men performed the
+    same ceremony. Then Kuranosuk&eacute;,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page15"
+       id="page15"></a>[pg 15]</span> having given all the money
+       that he had by him to the abbot, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"When we forty-seven men shall have performed
+    <i>hara-kiri</i>, I beg you to bury us decently. I rely upon
+    your kindness. This is but a trifle that I have to offer; such
+    as it is, let it be spent in masses for our souls!"</p>
+
+    <p>And the abbot, marvelling at the faithful courage of the
+    men, with tears in his eyes pledged himself to fulfil their
+    wishes. So the forty-seven R&ocirc;nins, with their minds at
+    rest, waited patiently until they should receive the orders of
+    the Government.</p>
+
+    <p>At last they were summoned to the Supreme Court, where the
+    governors of Yedo and the public censors had assembled; and the
+    sentence passed upon them was as follows: "Whereas, neither
+    respecting the dignity of the city nor fearing the Government,
+    having leagued yourselves together to slay your enemy, you
+    violently broke into the house of Kira K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute; by night and murdered him, the sentence of the
+    Court is, that, for this audacious conduct, you perform
+    <i>hara-kiri</i>." When the sentence had been read, the
+    forty-seven R&ocirc;nins were divided into four parties, and
+    handed over to the safe keeping of four different daimios; and
+    sheriffs were sent to the palaces of those daimios in whose
+    presence the R&ocirc;nins were made to perform
+    <i>hara-kiri</i>. But, as from the very beginning they had all
+    made up their minds that to this end they must come, they met
+    their death nobly; and their corpses were carried to Sengakuji,
+    and buried in front of the tomb of their master, Asano Takumi
+    no Kami. And when <span class="pagenum"><a name="page16"
+       id="page16"></a>[pg 16]</span> the fame of this became
+       noised abroad, the people flocked to pray at the graves of
+       these faithful men.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/015.jpg"
+             name="image015"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image015"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/015.jpg"
+             alt="THE TOMBS OF THE R&Ocirc;NINS." /></a> THE TOMBS
+             OF THE R&Ocirc;NINS.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>Among those who came to pray was a Satsuma man, who,
+    prostrating himself before the grave of Oishi
+    Kuranosuk&eacute;, said: "When I saw you lying drunk by the
+    roadside at Yamashina, in Ki&ocirc;to, I knew not that you were
+    plotting to avenge your lord; and, thinking you to be a
+    faithless man, I trampled on you and spat in your face as I
+    passed. And now I have come to ask pardon and offer atonement
+    for the insult of last year." With those words he prostrated
+    himself again before the grave, and, drawing a dirk from his
+    girdle, stabbed himself in the belly and died. And the chief
+    priest of the temple, taking pity upon him, buried him by the
+    side of the R&ocirc;nins; and his tomb still remains to be seen
+    with those of the forty-seven comrades.</p>
+
+    <p>This is the end of the story of the forty-seven
+    R&ocirc;nins.</p>
+    <hr />
+
+    <p>A terrible picture of fierce heroism which it is impossible
+    not to admire. In the Japanese mind this feeling of admiration
+    is unmixed, and hence it is that the forty-seven R&ocirc;nins
+    receive almost divine honours. Pious hands still deck their
+    graves with green boughs and burn incense upon them; the
+    clothes and arms which they wore are preserved carefully in a
+    fire-proof store-house attached to the temple, and exhibited
+    yearly to admiring crowds, who behold them probably with little
+    less veneration than is accorded to the relics of
+    Aix-la-Chapelle or Tr&egrave;ves; and once in sixty years the
+    monks of Sengakuji reap quite a harvest for the good of their
+    temple by holding a commemorative fair or festival, to which
+    the people flock during nearly two months.</p>
+
+    <p>A silver key once admitted me to a private inspection of the
+    relics. We were ushered, my friend and myself, into a back
+    apartment of the spacious temple, overlooking one of those
+    marvellous miniature gardens, cunningly adorned with rockeries
+    and dwarf trees, in which the Japanese delight. One by one,
+    carefully labelled and indexed boxes containing the precious
+    articles were brought out and opened by the chief priest. Such
+    a curious medley of old rags and scraps of metal and wood!
+    Home-made chain armour, composed of wads of leather secured
+    together by pieces of iron, bear witness to the secrecy with
+    which the R&ocirc;nins made ready for the fight. To have bought
+    armour would have attracted attention, so they made it with
+    their own hands. Old moth-eaten surcoats, bits of helmets,
+    three flutes, a writing-box that must have been any age at the
+    time of the tragedy, and is now tumbling to pieces; tattered
+    trousers of what once was rich silk brocade, now all unravelled
+    and befringed; scraps of leather, part of an old gauntlet,
+    crests and badges, bits of sword handles, spear-heads and
+    dirks, the latter all red with rust, but with certain patches
+    more deeply stained as if the fatal clots of blood were never
+    to be blotted out: all these were reverently shown to us. Among
+    the confusion and litter were a number of documents, Yellow
+    with age and much worn at the folds. One was a plan
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page17"
+       id="page17"></a>[pg 17]</span> of K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+       Suk&eacute;'s house, which one of the R&ocirc;nins obtained
+       by marrying the daughter of the builder who designed it.
+       Three of the manuscripts appeared to me so curious that I
+       obtained leave to have copies taken of them.</p>
+
+    <p>The first is the receipt given by the retainers of
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s son in return for the
+    head of their lord's father, which the priests restored to the
+    family, and runs as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <div class="poem">
+        <div class="stanza">
+            <p>"MEMORANDUM:&mdash;</p>
+
+            <p>ITEM. ONE HEAD.</p>
+
+            <p>ITEM. ONE PAPER PARCEL.</p>
+
+            <p>The above articles are acknowledged to have been
+            received.</p>
+
+            <p class="author">Signed, {SAYADA MAGOBELI.(<i>Loc.
+            sigill.</i>)</p>
+
+            <p class="author">{ SAIT&Ocirc; KUNAI.(<i>Loc.
+            sigill.</i>)</p>
+        </div>
+
+        <div class="stanza">
+            <p>"To the priests deputed from the Temple
+            Sengakuji,</p>
+
+            <p class="i4">His Reverence SEKISHI,</p>
+
+            <p class="i4">His Reverence ICHIDON."</p>
+        </div>
+    </div>
+
+    <p>The second paper is a document explanatory of their conduct,
+    a copy of which was found on the person of each of the
+    forty-seven men:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <blockquote>
+        <p>"Last year, in the third month, Asano Takumi no Kami,
+        upon the occasion of the entertainment of the Imperial
+        ambassador, was driven, by the force of circumstances, to
+        attack and wound my Lord K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+        Suk&eacute; in the castle, in order to avenge an insult
+        offered to him. Having done this without considering the
+        dignity of the place, and having thus disregarded all rules
+        of propriety, he was condemned to <i>hara-kiri,</i> and his
+        property and castle of Ak&ocirc; were forfeited to the
+        State, and were delivered up by his retainers to the
+        officers deputed by the Shogun to receive them. After this
+        his followers were all dispersed. At the time of the
+        quarrel the high officials present prevented Asano Takumi
+        no Kami from carrying out his intention of killing his
+        enemy, my Lord K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;. So
+        Asano Takumi no Kami died without having avenged himself,
+        and this was more than his retainers could endure. It is
+        impossible to remain under the same heaven with the enemy
+        of lord or father; for this reason we have dared to declare
+        enmity against a personage of so exalted rank. This day we
+        shall attack Kira K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, in
+        order to finish the deed of vengeance which was begun by
+        our dead lord. If any honourable person should find our
+        bodies after death, he is respectfully requested to open
+        and read this document.</p>
+
+        <p>"15th year of Genroku. 12th month.</p>
+
+        <p class="author">"Signed, OISHI KURANOSUK&Eacute;,
+        Retainer of Asano<br />
+        Takumi no Kami, and forty-six others."<a id="footnotetag6"
+           name="footnotetag6"></a><a href="#footnote6"><sup>6</sup></a></p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <p>The third manuscript is a paper which the Forty-seven
+    R&ocirc;nins laid upon the tomb of their master, together with
+    the head of Kira K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute;:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <blockquote>
+        <p>"The 15th year of Genroku, the 12th month, and 15th day.
+        We have come this day to do homage here, forty-seven men in
+        all, from Oishi Kuranosuk&eacute; down to the foot-soldier,
+        Terasaka Kichiy&eacute;mon, all cheerfully about to lay
+        down our lives on your behalf. We reverently announce this
+        to the honoured spirit of our dead master. On the 14th day
+        of the third month of last year
+        <span class="pagenum"><a name="page18"
+           id="page18"></a>[pg 18]</span> our honoured master was
+           pleased to attack Kira K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+           Suk&eacute;, for what reason we know not. Our honoured
+           master put an end to his own life, but Kira
+           K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; lived. Although we
+           fear that after the decree issued by the Government this
+           plot of ours will be displeasing to our honoured master,
+           still we, who have eaten of your food, could not without
+           blushing repeat the verse, 'Thou shalt not live under
+           the same heaven nor tread the same earth with the enemy
+           of thy father or lord,' nor could we have dared to leave
+           hell and present ourselves before you in paradise,
+           unless we had carried out the vengeance which you began.
+           Every day that we waited seemed as three autumns to us.
+           Verily, we have trodden the snow for one day, nay, for
+           two days, and have tasted food but once. The old and
+           decrepit, the sick and ailing, have come forth gladly to
+           lay down their lives. Men might laugh at us, as at
+           grasshoppers trusting in the strength of their arms, and
+           thus shame our honoured lord; but we could not halt in
+           our deed of vengeance. Having taken counsel together
+           last night, we have escorted my Lord
+           K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; hither to your tomb.
+           This dirk,<a id="footnotetag7"
+           name="footnotetag7"></a><a href="#footnote7"><sup>7</sup></a>
+           by which our honoured lord set great store last year,
+           and entrusted to our care, we now bring back. If your
+           noble spirit be now present before this tomb, we pray
+           you, as a sign, to take the dirk, and, striking the head
+           of your enemy with it a second time, to dispel your
+           hatred for ever. This is the respectful statement of
+           forty-seven men."</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <p>The text, "Thou shalt not live under the same heaven with
+    the enemy of thy father," is based upon the Confucian books.
+    Dr. Legge, in his "Life and Teachings of Confucius," p. 113,
+    has an interesting paragraph summing up the doctrine of the
+    sage upon the subject of revenge.</p>
+
+    <blockquote>
+        <p>"In the second book of the 'Le Ke' there is the
+        following passage:&mdash;'With the slayer of his father a
+        man may not live under the same heaven; against the slayer
+        of his brother a man must never have to go home to fetch a
+        weapon; with the slayer of his friend a man may not live in
+        the same State.' The <i>lex talionis</i> is here laid down
+        in its fullest extent. The 'Chow Le' tells us of a
+        provision made against the evil consequences of the
+        principle by the appointment of a minister called 'The
+        Reconciler.' The provision is very inferior to the cities
+        of refuge which were set apart by Moses for the manslayer
+        to flee to from the fury of the avenger. Such as it was,
+        however, it existed, and it is remarkable that Confucius,
+        when consulted on the subject, took no notice of it, but
+        affirmed the duty of blood-revenge in the strongest and
+        most unrestricted terms. His disciple, Tsze Hea, asked him,
+        'What course is to be pursued in the murder of a father or
+        mother?' He replied, 'The son must sleep upon a matting of
+        grass with his shield for his pillow; he must decline to
+        take office; he must not live under the same heaven with
+        the slayer. When he meets him in the market-place or the
+        court, he must have his weapon ready to strike him.' 'And
+        what is the course in the murder of a brother?' 'The
+        surviving brother must not take office in the same State
+        with the slayer; yet, if he go on his prince's service to
+        the State where the slayer is, though he meet him, he must
+        not fight with him.' 'And what is the course in the murder
+        of an uncle or cousin?' 'In this case the nephew or cousin
+        is not the principal. If the principal, on whom the revenge
+        devolves, can take it, he has only to stand behind with his
+        weapon in his hand, and support him.'"</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <p>I will add one anecdote to show the sanctity which is
+    attached to the graves of the Forty-seven. In the month of
+    September 1868, a certain man came to pray before the grave of
+    Oishi <span class="pagenum"><a name="page19"
+       id="page19"></a>[pg 19]</span> Chikara. Having finished his
+       prayers, he deliberately performed
+       <i>hara-kiri</i>,<a id="footnotetag8"
+       name="footnotetag8"></a><a href="#footnote8"><sup>8</sup></a>
+       and, the belly wound not being mortal, dispatched himself by
+       cutting his throat. Upon his person were found papers
+       setting forth that, being a R&ocirc;nin and without means of
+       earning a living, he had petitioned to be allowed to enter
+       the clan of the Prince of Ch&ocirc;shiu, which he looked
+       upon as the noblest clan in the realm; his petition having
+       been refused, nothing remained for him but to die, for to be
+       a R&ocirc;nin was hateful to him, and he would serve no
+       other master than the Prince of Ch&ocirc;shiu: what more
+       fitting place could he find in which to put an end to his
+       life than the graveyard of these Braves? This happened at
+       about two hundred yards' distance from my house, and when I
+       saw the spot an hour or two later, the ground was all
+       bespattered with blood, and disturbed by the death-struggles
+       of the man.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page20"
+       id="page20"></a>[pg 20]</span>
+
+    <h2>THE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI</h2>
+
+    <p>Within two miles or so from Yedo, and yet well away from the
+    toil and din of the great city, stands the village of Meguro.
+    Once past the outskirts of the town, the road leading thither
+    is bounded on either side by woodlands rich in an endless
+    variety of foliage, broken at intervals by the long, low line
+    of villages and hamlets. As we draw near to Meguro, the
+    scenery, becoming more and more rustic, increases in beauty.
+    Deep shady lanes, bordered by hedgerows as luxurious as any in
+    England, lead down to a valley of rice fields bright with the
+    emerald green of the young crops. To the right and to the left
+    rise knolls of fantastic shape, crowned with a profusion of
+    Cryptomerias, Scotch firs and other cone-bearing trees, and
+    fringed with thickets of feathery bamboos, bending their stems
+    gracefully to the light summer breeze. Wherever there is a spot
+    shadier and pleasanter to look upon than the rest, there may be
+    seen the red portal of a shrine which the simple piety of the
+    country folk has raised to Inari Sama, the patron god of
+    farming, or to some other tutelary deity of the place. At the
+    eastern outlet of the valley a strip of blue sea bounds the
+    horizon; westward are the distant mountains. In the foreground,
+    in front of a farmhouse, snug-looking, with its roof of
+    velvety-brown thatch, a troop of sturdy urchins, suntanned and
+    stark naked, are frisking in the wildest gambols, all heedless
+    of the scolding voice of the withered old grandam who sits
+    spinning and minding the house, while her son and his wife are
+    away toiling at some outdoor labour. Close at our feet runs a
+    stream of pure water, in which a group of countrymen are
+    washing the vegetables which they will presently shoulder and
+    carry off to sell by auction in the suburbs of Yedo. Not the
+    least beauty of the scene consists in the wondrous clearness of
+    an atmosphere so transparent that the most distant outlines are
+    scarcely dimmed, while the details of the nearer ground stand
+    out in sharp, bold relief, now lit by the rays of a vertical
+    sun, now darkened under the flying shadows thrown by the fleecy
+    clouds which sail across the sky. Under such a heaven, what
+    painter could limn the lights and shades which flit over the
+    woods, the pride of Japan, whether in late autumn, when the
+    russets and yellows of our own trees are mixed with the deep
+    crimson glow of the maples, or in spring-time, when plum and
+    cherry trees and wild camellias&mdash;giants, fifty feet
+    high&mdash;are in full blossom?</p>
+
+    <p>All that we see is enchanting, but there is a strange
+    stillness in the groves; rarely does the song of a bird break
+    the silence; indeed, I know but one warbler whose note has any
+    music in <span class="pagenum"><a name="page21"
+       id="page21"></a>[pg 21]</span> it, the <i>uguisu</i>, by
+       some enthusiasts called the Japanese nightingale&mdash;at
+       best, a king in the kingdom of the blind. The scarcity of
+       animal life of all descriptions, man and mosquitoes alone
+       excepted, is a standing wonder to the traveller; the
+       sportsman must toil many a weary mile to get a shot at boar,
+       or deer, or pheasant; and the plough of the farmer and the
+       trap of the poacher, who works in and out of season,
+       threaten to exterminate all wild creatures; unless, indeed,
+       the Government should, as they threatened in the spring of
+       1869, put in force some adaptation of European game-laws.
+       But they are lukewarm in the matter; a little hawking on a
+       duck-pond satisfies the cravings of the modern Japanese
+       sportsman, who knows that, game-laws or no game-laws, the
+       wild fowl will never fail in winter; and the days are long
+       past when my Lord the Shogun used to ride forth with a
+       mighty company to the wild places about Mount Fuji, there
+       camping out and hunting the boar, the deer, and the wolf,
+       believing that in so doing he was fostering a manly and
+       military spirit in the land.</p>
+
+    <p>There is one serious drawback to the enjoyment of the
+    beauties of the Japanese country, and that is the intolerable
+    affront which is continually offered to one's sense of smell;
+    the whole of what should form the sewerage of the city is
+    carried out on the backs of men and horses, to be thrown upon
+    the fields; and, if you would avoid the overpowering nuisance,
+    you must walk handkerchief in hand, ready to shut out the
+    stench which assails you at every moment.</p>
+
+    <p>It would seem natural, while writing of the Japanese
+    country, to say a few words about the peasantry, their relation
+    to the lord of the soil, and their government. But these I must
+    reserve for another place. At present our dealings are with the
+    pretty village of Meguro.</p>
+
+    <p>At the bottom of a little lane, close to the entrance of the
+    village, stands an old shrine of the Shint&ocirc; (the form of
+    hero-worship which existed in Japan before the introduction of
+    Confucianism or of Buddhism), surrounded by lofty Cryptomerias.
+    The trees around a Shint&ocirc; shrine are specially under the
+    protection of the god to whom the altar is dedicated; and, in
+    connection with them, there is a kind of magic still respected
+    by the superstitious, which recalls the waxen dolls, through
+    the medium of which sorcerers of the middle ages in Europe, and
+    indeed those of ancient Greece, as Theocritus tells us,
+    pretended to kill the enemies of their clients. This is called
+    <i>Ushi no toki mairi,</i> or "going to worship at the hour of
+    the ox,"<a id="footnotetag9"
+       name="footnotetag9"></a><a href="#footnote9"><sup>9</sup></a>
+       and is <span class="pagenum"><a name="page22"
+       id="page22"></a>[pg 22]</span> practised by jealous women
+       who wish to be revenged upon their faithless lovers.</p>
+
+    <p>When the world is at rest, at two in the morning, the hour
+    of which the ox is the symbol, the woman rises; she dons a
+    white robe and high sandals or clogs; her coif is a metal
+    tripod, in which are thrust three lighted candles; around her
+    neck she hangs a mirror, which falls upon her bosom; in her
+    left hand she carries a small straw figure, the effigy of the
+    lover who has abandoned her, and in her right she grasps a
+    hammer and nails, with which she fastens the figure to one of
+    the sacred trees that surround the shrine. There she prays for
+    the death of the traitor, vowing that, if her petition be
+    heard, she will herself pull out the nails which now offend the
+    god by wounding the mystic tree. Night after night she comes to
+    the shrine, and each night she strikes in two or more nails,
+    believing that every nail will shorten her lover's life, for
+    the god, to save his tree, will surely strike him dead.</p>
+
+    <p>Meguro is one of the many places round Yedo to which the
+    good citizens flock for purposes convivial or religious, or
+    both; hence it is that, cheek by jowl with the old shrines and
+    temples, you will find many a pretty tea-house, standing at the
+    rival doors of which Mesdemoiselles Sugar, Wave of the Sea,
+    Flower, Seashore, and Chrysanthemum are pressing in their
+    invitations to you to enter and rest. Not beautiful these
+    damsels, if judged by our standard, but the charm of Japanese
+    women lies in their manner and dainty little ways, and the
+    tea-house girl, being a professional decoy-duck, is an adept in
+    the art of flirting,&mdash;<i>en tout bien tout honneur</i>, be
+    it remembered; for she is not to be confounded with the frail
+    beauties of the Yoshiwara, nor even with her sisterhood near
+    the ports open to foreigners, and to their corrupting
+    influence. For, strange as it seems, our contact all over the
+    East has an evil effect upon the natives.</p>
+
+    <p>In one of the tea-houses a thriving trade is carried on in
+    the sale of wooden tablets, some six inches square, adorned
+    with the picture of a pink cuttlefish on a bright blue ground.
+    These are ex-votos, destined to be offered up at the Temple of
+    Yakushi Niurai, the Buddhist &AElig;sculapius, which stands
+    opposite, and concerning the foundation of which the following
+    legend is told.</p>
+
+    <p>In the days of old there was a priest called Jikaku, who at
+    the age of forty years, it being the autumn of the tenth year
+    of the period called Tench&ocirc; (A.D. 833), was suffering
+    from disease of the eyes, which had attacked him three years
+    before. In order to be healed from this disease he carved a
+    figure of Yakushi Niurai,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page23"
+       id="page23"></a>[pg 23]</span> to which he used to offer up
+       his prayers. Five years later he went to China, taking with
+       him the figure as his guardian saint, and at a place called
+       Kairetsu it protected him from robbers and wild beasts and
+       from other calamities. There he passed his time in studying
+       the sacred laws both hidden and revealed, and after nine
+       years set sail to return to Japan. When he was on the high
+       seas a storm arose, and a great fish attacked and tried to
+       swamp the ship, so that the rudder and mast were broken, and
+       the nearest shore being that of a land inhabited by devils,
+       to retreat or to advance was equally dangerous. Then the
+       holy man prayed to the patron saint whose image he carried,
+       and as he prayed, behold the true Yakushi Niurai appeared in
+       the centre of the ship, and said to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Verily, thou hast travelled far that the sacred laws might
+    be revealed for the salvation of many men; now, therefore, take
+    my image, which thou carriest in thy bosom, and cast it into
+    the sea, that the wind may abate, and that thou mayest be
+    delivered from this land of devils."</p>
+
+    <p>The commands of the saints must be obeyed, so with tears in
+    his eyes, the priest threw into the sea the sacred image which
+    he loved. Then did the wind abate, and the waves were stilled,
+    and the ship went on her course as though she were being drawn
+    by unseen hands until she reached a safe haven. In the tenth
+    month of the same year the priest again set sail, trusting to
+    the power of his patron saint, and reached the harbour of
+    Tsukushi without mishap. For three years he prayed that the
+    image which he had cast away might be restored to him, until at
+    last one night he was warned in a dream that on the sea-shore
+    at Matsura Yakushi Niurai would appear to him. In consequence
+    of this dream he went to the province of Hizen, and landed on
+    the sea-shore at Hirato, where, in the midst of a blaze of
+    light, the image which he had carved appeared to him twice,
+    riding on the back of a cuttlefish. Thus was the image restored
+    to the world by a miracle. In commemoration of his recovery
+    from the disease of the eyes and of his preservation from the
+    dangers of the sea, that these things might be known to all
+    posterity, the priest established the worship of Tako Yakushi
+    Niurai ("Yakushi Niurai of the Cuttlefish") and came to Meguro,
+    where he built the Temple of Fud&ocirc;
+    Sama,<a id="footnotetag10"
+       name="footnotetag10"></a><a href="#footnote10"><sup>10</sup></a>
+       another Buddhist divinity. At this time there was an
+       epidemic of small-pox in the village, so that men fell down
+       and died in the street, and the holy man prayed to
+       Fud&ocirc; Sama that the plague might be stayed. Then the
+       god appeared to him, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"The saint Yakushi Niurai of the Cuttlefish, whose image
+    thou carriest, desires to have his place in this village, and
+    he will heal this plague. Thou shalt, therefore, raise a temple
+    to him here that not only this small-pox, but other diseases
+    for future generations, may be cured by his power."</p>
+
+    <p>Hearing this, the priest shed tears of gratitude, and having
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page24"
+       id="page24"></a>[pg 24]</span> chosen a piece of fine wood,
+       carved a large figure of his patron saint of the cuttlefish,
+       and placed the smaller image inside of the larger, and laid
+       it up in this temple, to which people still flock that they
+       may be healed of their diseases.</p>
+
+    <p>Such is the story of the miracle, translated from a small
+    ill-printed pamphlet sold by the priests of the temple, all the
+    decorations of which, even to a bronze lantern in the middle of
+    the yard, are in the form of a cuttlefish, the sacred emblem of
+    the place.</p>
+
+    <p>What pleasanter lounge in which to while away a hot day
+    could a man wish for than the shade of the trees borne by the
+    hill on which stands the Temple of Fud&ocirc; Sama? Two jets of
+    pure water springing from the rock are voided by spouts carved
+    in the shape of dragons into a stone basin enclosed by rails,
+    within which it is written that "no woman may enter." If you
+    are in luck, you may cool yourself by watching some devotee,
+    naked save his loin-cloth, performing the ceremony called
+    <i>Suigiy&ocirc;</i>; that is to say, praying under the
+    waterfall that his soul may be purified through his body. In
+    winter it requires no small pluck to go through this penance,
+    yet I have seen a penitent submit to it for more than a quarter
+    of an hour on a bitterly cold day in January. In summer, on the
+    other hand, the religious exercise called <i>Hiyakudo</i>, or
+    "the hundred times," which may also be seen here to advantage,
+    is no small trial of patience. It consists in walking backwards
+    and forwards a hundred times between two points within the
+    sacred precincts, repeating a prayer each time. The count is
+    kept either upon the fingers or by depositing a length of
+    twisted straw each time that the goal is reached; at this
+    temple the place allotted for the ceremony is between a
+    grotesque bronze figure of Tengu Sama ("the Dog of Heaven"),
+    the terror of children, a most hideous monster with a gigantic
+    nose, which it is beneficial to rub with a finger afterwards to
+    be applied to one's own nose, and a large brown box inscribed
+    with the characters <i>Hiyaku Do</i> in high relief, which may
+    generally be seen full of straw tallies. It is no sinecure to
+    be a good Buddhist, for the gods are not lightly to be
+    propitiated. Prayer and fasting, mortification of the flesh,
+    abstinence from wine, from women, and from favourite dishes,
+    are the only passports to rising in office, prosperity in
+    trade, recovery from sickness, or a happy marriage with a
+    beloved maiden. Nor will mere faith without works be efficient.
+    A votive tablet of proportionate value to the favour prayed
+    for, or a sum of money for the repairs of the shrine or temple,
+    is necessary to win the favour of the gods. Poorer persons will
+    cut off the queue of their hair and offer that up; and at
+    Horinouchi, a temple in great renown some eight or nine miles
+    from Yedo, there is a rope about two inches and a half in
+    diameter and about six fathoms long, entirely made of human
+    hair so given to the gods; it lies coiled up, dirty,
+    moth-eaten, and uncared for, at one end of a long shed full of
+    tablets and pictures, by the side of a rude native fire-engine.
+    The taking of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page25"
+       id="page25"></a>[pg 25]</span> life being displeasing to
+       Buddha, outside many of the temples old women and children
+       earn a livelihood by selling sparrows, small eels, carp, and
+       tortoises, which the worshipper sets free in honour of the
+       deity, within whose territory cocks and hens and doves, tame
+       and unharmed, perch on every jutty, frieze, buttress, and
+       coigne of vantage.</p>
+
+    <p>But of all the marvellous customs that I wot of in
+    connection with Japanese religious exercises, none appears to
+    me so strange as that of spitting at the images of the gods,
+    more especially at the statues of the Ni-&ocirc;, the two huge
+    red or red and green statues which, like Gog and Magog, emblems
+    of strength, stand as guardians of the chief Buddhist temples.
+    The figures are protected by a network of iron wire, through
+    which the votaries, praying the while, spit pieces of paper,
+    which they had chewed up into a pulp. If the pellet sticks to
+    the statue, the omen is favourable; if it falls, the prayer is
+    not accepted. The inside of the great bell at the Tycoon's
+    burial-ground, and almost every holy statue throughout the
+    country, are all covered with these outspittings from pious
+    mouths.<a id="footnotetag11"
+       name="footnotetag11"></a><a href="#footnote11"><sup>11</sup></a></p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/025.jpg"
+             name="image025"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image025"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/025.jpg"
+             alt="THE TOMB OF THE SHIYOKU." /></a>THE TOMB OF THE
+             SHIYOKU.
+    </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page26"
+       id="page26"></a>[pg 26]</span>
+
+    <p>Through all this discourse about temples and tea-houses, I
+    am coming by degrees to the goal of our pilgrimage&mdash;two
+    old stones, mouldering away in a rank, overgrown graveyard hard
+    by, an old old burying-ground, forgotten by all save those who
+    love to dig out the tales of the past. The key is kept by a
+    ghoulish old dame, almost as time-worn and mildewed as the tomb
+    over which she watches. Obedient to our call, and looking
+    forward to a fee ten times greater than any native would give
+    her, she hobbles out, and, opening the gate, points out the
+    stone bearing the inscription, the "Tomb of the Shiyoku"
+    (fabulous birds, which, living one within the other&mdash;a
+    mysterious duality contained in one body&mdash;are the emblem
+    of connubial love and fidelity). By this stone stands another,
+    graven with a longer legend, which runs as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"In the old days of Genroku, she pined for the beauty of her
+    lover, who was as fair to look upon as the flowers; and now
+    beneath the moss of this old tombstone all has perished of her
+    save her name. Amid the changes of a fitful world, this tomb is
+    decaying under the dew and rain; gradually crumbling beneath
+    its own dust, its outline alone remains. Stranger! bestow an
+    alms to preserve this stone; and we, sparing neither pain nor
+    labour, will second you with all our hearts. Erecting it again,
+    let us preserve it from decay for future generations, and let
+    us write the following verse upon it:&mdash;'These two birds,
+    beautiful as the cherry-blossoms, perished before their time,
+    like flowers broken down by the wind before they have borne
+    seed.'"</p>
+
+    <p>Under the first stone is the dust of Gompachi, robber and
+    murderer, mixed with that of his true love Komurasaki, who lies
+    buried with him. Her sorrows and constancy have hallowed the
+    place, and pious people still come to burn incense and lay
+    flowers before the grave. How she loved him even in death may
+    be seen from the following old-world story.</p>
+    <hr />
+
+    <p>About two hundred and thirty years ago there lived in the
+    service of a daimio of the province of Inaba a young man,
+    called Shirai Gompachi, who, when he was but sixteen years of
+    age, had already won a name for his personal beauty and valour,
+    and for his skill in the use of arms. Now it happened that one
+    day a dog belonging to him fought with another dog belonging to
+    a fellow-clansman, and the two masters, being both passionate
+    youths, disputing as to whose dog had had the best of the
+    fight, quarrelled and came to blows, and Gompachi slew his
+    adversary; and in consequence of this he was obliged to flee
+    from his country, and make his escape to Yedo.</p>
+
+    <p>And so Gompachi set out on his travels.</p>
+
+    <p>One night, weary and footsore, he entered what appeared to
+    him to be a roadside inn, ordered some refreshment, and went to
+    bed, little thinking of the danger that menaced him: for as
+    luck would have it, this inn turned out to be the
+    trysting-place of a gang of robbers, into whose clutches he had
+    thus unwittingly <span class="pagenum"><a name="page27"
+       id="page27"></a>[pg 27]</span> fallen. To be sure,
+       Gompachi's purse was but scantily furnished, but his sword
+       and dirk were worth some three hundred ounces of silver, and
+       upon these the robbers (of whom there were ten) had cast
+       envious eyes, and had determined to kill the owner for their
+       sake; but he, all unsuspicious, slept on in fancied
+       security.</p>
+
+    <p>In the middle of the night he was startled from his deep
+    slumbers by some one stealthily opening the sliding door which
+    led into his room, and rousing himself with an effort, he
+    beheld a beautiful young girl, fifteen years of age, who,
+    making signs to him not to stir, came up to his bedside, and
+    said to him in a whisper&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir, the master of this house is the chief of a gang of
+    robbers, who have been plotting to murder you this night for
+    the sake of your clothes and your sword. As for me, I am the
+    daughter of a rich merchant in Mikawa: last year the robbers
+    came to our house, and carried off my father's treasure and
+    myself. I pray you, sir, take me with you, and let us fly from
+    this dreadful place."</p>
+
+    <p>She wept as she spoke, and Gompachi was at first too much
+    startled to answer; but being a youth of high courage and a
+    cunning fencer to boot, he soon recovered his presence of mind,
+    and determined to kill the robbers, and to deliver the girl out
+    of their hands. So he replied&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Since you say so, I will kill these thieves, and rescue you
+    this very night; only do you, when I begin the fight, run
+    outside the house, that you may be out of harm's way, and
+    remain in hiding until I join you."</p>
+
+    <p>Upon this understanding the maiden left him, and went her
+    way. But he lay awake, holding his breath and watching; and
+    when the thieves crept noiselessly into the room, where they
+    supposed him to be fast asleep, he cut down the first man that
+    entered, and stretched him dead at his feet. The other nine,
+    seeing this, laid about them with their drawn swords, but
+    Gompachi, fighting with desperation, mastered them at last, and
+    slew them. After thus ridding himself of his enemies, he went
+    outside the house and called to the girl, who came running to
+    his side, and joyfully travelled on with him to Mikawa, where
+    her father dwelt; and when they reached Mikawa, he took the
+    maiden to the old man's house, and told him how, when he had
+    fallen among thieves, his daughter had come to him in his hour
+    of peril, and saved him out of her great pity; and how he, in
+    return, rescuing her from her servitude, had brought her back
+    to her home. When the old folks saw their daughter whom they
+    had lost restored to them, they were beside themselves with
+    joy, and shed tears for very happiness; and, in their
+    gratitude, they pressed Gompachi to remain with them, and they
+    prepared feasts for him, and entertained him hospitably: but
+    their daughter, who had fallen in love with him for his beauty
+    and knightly valour, spent her days in thinking of him, and of
+    him alone. The young man, however, in spite of the kindness of
+    the old merchant, who <!--blank page 28-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page29"
+       id="page29"></a>[pg 29]</span> wished to adopt him as his
+       son, and tried hard to persuade him to consent to this, was
+       fretting to go to Yedo and take service as an officer in the
+       household of some noble lord; so he resisted the entreaties
+       of the father and the soft speeches of the daughter, and
+       made ready to start on his journey; and the old merchant,
+       seeing that he would not be turned from his purpose, gave
+       him a parting gift of two hundred ounces of silver, and
+       sorrowfully bade him farewell.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/028.jpg"
+             name="image028"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image028"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/028.jpg"
+             alt="GOMPACHI AWAKENED BY THE MAIDEN IN THE ROBBERS' DEN." />
+        </a> GOMPACHI AWAKENED BY THE MAIDEN IN THE ROBBERS' DEN.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>But alas for the grief of the maiden, who sat sobbing her
+    heart out and mourning over her lover's departure! He, all the
+    while thinking more of ambition than of love, went to her and
+    comforted her, and said: "Dry your eyes, sweetheart, and weep
+    no more, for I shall soon come back to you. Do you, in the
+    meanwhile, be faithful and true to me, and tend your parents
+    with filial piety."</p>
+
+    <p>So she wiped away her tears and smiled again, when she heard
+    him promise that he would soon return to her. And Gompachi went
+    his way, and in due time came near to Yedo.</p>
+
+    <p>But his dangers were not yet over; for late one night,
+    arriving at a place called Suzugamori, in the neighbourhood of
+    Yedo, he fell in with six highwaymen, who attacked him,
+    thinking to make short work of killing and robbing him. Nothing
+    daunted, he drew his sword, and dispatched two out of the six;
+    but, being weary and worn out with his long journey, he was
+    sorely pressed, and the struggle was going hard with him, when
+    a wardsman,<a id="footnotetag12"
+       name="footnotetag12"></a><a href="#footnote12"><sup>12</sup></a>
+       who happened to pass that way riding in a chair, seeing the
+       affray, jumped down from his chair and drawing his dirk came
+       to the rescue, and between them they put the robbers to
+       flight.</p>
+
+    <p>Now it turned out that this kind tradesman, who had so
+    happily come to the assistance of Gompachi, was no other than
+    Ch&ocirc;bei of Bandzuin, the chief of the
+    <i>Otokodat&eacute;</i>, or Friendly Society of the wardsmen of
+    Yedo&mdash;a man famous in the annals of the city, whose life,
+    exploits, and adventures are recited to this day, and form the
+    subject of another tale.</p>
+
+    <p>When the highwaymen had disappeared, Gompachi, turning to
+    his deliverer, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I know not who you may be, sir, but I have to thank you for
+    rescuing me from a great danger."</p>
+
+    <p>And as he proceeded to express his gratitude, Ch&ocirc;bei
+    replied&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I am but a poor wardsman, a humble man in my way, sir; and
+    if the robbers ran away, it was more by good luck than owing to
+    any merit of mine. But I am filled with admiration at the way
+    you fought; you displayed a courage and a skill that were
+    beyond your years, sir."</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed," said the young man, smiling with pleasure at
+    hearing <span class="pagenum"><a name="page30"
+       id="page30"></a>[pg 30]</span> himself praised; "I am still
+       young and inexperienced, and am quite ashamed of my bungling
+       style of fencing."</p>
+
+    <p>"And now may I ask you, sir, whither you are bound?"</p>
+
+    <p>"That is almost more than I know myself, for I am a
+    <i>r&ocirc;nin,</i> and have no fixed purpose in view."</p>
+
+    <p>"That is a bad job," said Ch&ocirc;bei, who felt pity for
+    the lad. "However, if you will excuse my boldness in making
+    such an offer, being but a wardsman, until you shall have taken
+    service I would fain place my poor house at your disposal."</p>
+
+    <p>Gompachi accepted the offer of his new but trusty friend
+    with thanks; so Ch&ocirc;bei led him to his house, where he
+    lodged him and hospitably entertained him for some months. And
+    now Gompachi, being idle and having nothing to care for, fell
+    into bad ways, and began to lead a dissolute life, thinking of
+    nothing but gratifying his whims and passions; he took to
+    frequenting the Yoshiwara, the quarter of the town which is set
+    aside for tea-houses and other haunts of wild young men, where
+    his handsome face and figure attracted attention, and soon made
+    him a great favourite with all the beauties of the
+    neighbourhood.</p>
+
+    <p>About this time men began to speak loud in praise of the
+    charms of Komurasaki, or "Little Purple," a young girl who had
+    recently come to the Yoshiwara, and who in beauty and
+    accomplishments outshone all her rivals. Gompachi, like the
+    rest of the world, heard so much of her fame that he determined
+    to go to the house where she dwelt, at the sign of "The Three
+    Sea-coasts," and judge for himself whether she deserved all
+    that men said of her. Accordingly he set out one day, and
+    having arrived at "The Three Sea-coasts," asked to see
+    Komurasaki; and being shown into the room where she was
+    sitting, advanced towards her; but when their eyes met, they
+    both started back with a cry of astonishment, for this
+    Komurasaki, the famous beauty of the Yoshiwara, proved to be
+    the very girl whom several months before Gompachi had rescued
+    from the robbers' den, and restored to her parents in Mikawa.
+    He had left her in prosperity and affluence, the darling child
+    of a rich father, when they had exchanged vows of love and
+    fidelity; and now they met in a common stew in Yedo. What a
+    change! what a contrast! How had the riches turned to rust, the
+    vows to lies!</p>
+
+    <p>"What is this?" cried Gompachi, when he had recovered from
+    his surprise. "How is it that I find you here pursuing this
+    vile calling, in the Yoshiwara? Pray explain this to me, for
+    there is some mystery beneath all this which I do not
+    understand."</p>
+
+    <p>But Komurasaki&mdash;who, having thus unexpectedly fallen in
+    with her lover that she had yearned for, was divided between
+    joy and shame&mdash;answered, weeping&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Alas! my tale is a sad one, and would be long to tell.
+    After you left us last year, calamity and reverses fell upon
+    our house; and when my parents became poverty-stricken, I was
+    at my wits' end to know how to support them: so I sold this
+    wretched body of mine to the master of this house, and sent the
+    money to <span class="pagenum"><a name="page31"
+       id="page31"></a>[pg 31]</span> my father and mother; but, in
+       spite of this, troubles and misfortunes multiplied upon
+       them, and now, at last, they have died of misery and grief.
+       And, oh! lives there in this wide world so unhappy a wretch
+       as I! But now that I have met you again&mdash;you who are so
+       strong&mdash;help me who am weak. You saved me once&mdash;do
+       not, I implore you, desert me now!!" and as she told her
+       piteous tale the tears streamed from her eyes.</p>
+
+    <p>"This is, indeed, a sad story," replied Gompachi, much
+    affected by the recital. "There must have been a wonderful run
+    of bad luck to bring such misfortune upon your house, which but
+    a little while ago I recollect so prosperous. However, mourn no
+    more, for I will not forsake you. It is true that I am too poor
+    to redeem you from your servitude, but at any rate I will
+    contrive so that you shall be tormented no more. Love me,
+    therefore, and put your trust in me." When she heard him speak
+    so kindly she was comforted, and wept no more, but poured out
+    her whole heart to him, and forgot her past sorrows in the
+    great joy of meeting him again.</p>
+
+    <p>When it became time for them to separate, he embraced her
+    tenderly and returned to Ch&ocirc;bei's house; but he could not
+    banish Komurasaki from his mind, and all day long he thought of
+    her alone; and so it came about that he went daily to the
+    Yoshiwara to see her, and if any accident detained him, she,
+    missing the accustomed visit, would become anxious and write to
+    him to inquire the cause of his absence. At last, pursuing this
+    course of life, his stock of money ran short, and as, being a
+    <i>r&ocirc;nin</i> and without any fixed employment, he had no
+    means of renewing his supplies, he was ashamed of showing
+    himself penniless at "The Three Sea-coasts." Then it was that a
+    wicked spirit arose within him, and he went out and murdered a
+    man, and having robbed him of his money carried it to the
+    Yoshiwara.</p>
+
+    <p>From bad to worse is an easy step, and the tiger that has
+    once tasted blood is dangerous. Blinded and infatuated by his
+    excessive love, Gompachi kept on slaying and robbing, so that,
+    while his outer man was fair to look upon, the heart within him
+    was that of a hideous devil. At last his friend Ch&ocirc;bei
+    could no longer endure the sight of him, and turned him out of
+    his house; and as, sooner or later, virtue and vice meet with
+    their reward, it came to pass that Gompachi's crimes became
+    notorious, and the Government having set spies upon his track,
+    he was caught red-handed and arrested; and his evil deeds
+    having been fully proved against him, he was carried off to the
+    execution ground at Suzugamori, the "Bell Grove," and beheaded
+    as a common male-factor.</p>
+
+    <p>Now when Gompachi was dead, Ch&ocirc;bei's old affection for
+    the young man returned, and, being a kind and pious man, he
+    went and claimed his body and head, and buried him at Meguro,
+    in the grounds of the Temple called Boronji.</p>
+
+    <p>When Komurasaki heard the people at Yoshiwara gossiping
+    about her lover's end, her grief knew no bounds, so she fled
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page32"
+       id="page32"></a>[pg 32]</span> secretly from "The Three
+       Sea-coasts," and came to Meguro and threw herself upon the
+       newly-made grave. Long she prayed and bitterly she wept over
+       the tomb of him whom, with all his faults, she had loved so
+       well, and then, drawing a dagger from her girdle, she
+       plunged it in her breast and died. The priests of the
+       temple, when they saw what had happened, wondered greatly
+       and were astonished at the loving faithfulness of this
+       beautiful girl, and taking compassion on her, they laid her
+       side by side with Gompachi in one grave, and over the grave
+       they placed a stone which remains to this day, bearing the
+       inscription "The Tomb of the Shiyoku." And still the people
+       of Yedo visit the place, and still they praise the beauty of
+       Gompachi and the filial piety and fidelity of
+       Komurasaki.</p>
+
+    <p>Let us linger for a moment longer in the old graveyard. The
+    word which I have translated a few lines above as "loving
+    faithfulness" means literally "chastity." When Komurasaki sold
+    herself to supply the wants of her ruined parents, she was not,
+    according to her lights, forfeiting her claim to virtue. On the
+    contrary, she could perform no greater act of filial piety,
+    and, so far from incurring reproach among her people, her
+    self-sacrifice would be worthy of all praise in their eyes.
+    This idea has led to grave misunderstanding abroad, and indeed
+    no phase of Japanese life has been so misrepresented as this. I
+    have heard it stated, and seen it printed, that it is no
+    disgrace for a respectable Japanese to sell his daughter, that
+    men of position and family often choose their wives from such
+    places as "The Three Sea-coasts," and that up to the time of
+    her marriage the conduct of a young girl is a matter of no
+    importance whatever. Nothing could be more unjust or more
+    untrue. It is only the neediest people that sell their children
+    to be waitresses, singers, or prostitutes. It does occasionally
+    happen that the daughter of a <i>Samurai</i>, or gentleman, is
+    found in a house of ill-fame, but such a case could only occur
+    at the death or utter ruin of the parents, and an official
+    investigation of the matter has proved it to be so exceptional,
+    that the presence of a young lady in such a place is an
+    enormous attraction, her superior education and accomplishments
+    shedding a lustre over the house. As for gentlemen marrying
+    women of bad character, are not such things known in Europe? Do
+    ladies of the <i>demi-monde</i> never make good marriages?
+    <i>M&eacute;salliances</i> are far rarer in Japan than with us.
+    Certainly among the lowest class of the population such,
+    marriages may occasionally occur, for it often happens that a
+    woman can lay by a tempting dowry out of her wretched
+    earnings-, but amongst the gentry of the country they are
+    unknown.</p>
+
+    <p>And yet a girl is not disgraced if for her parents' sake she
+    sells herself to a life of misery so great, that, when a
+    Japanese enters a house of ill-fame, he is forced to leave his
+    sword and dirk at the door for two reasons&mdash;first, to
+    prevent brawling; secondly, because it is known that some of
+    the women inside so loathe
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page33"
+       id="page33"></a>[pg 33]</span> their existence that they
+       would put an end to it, could they get hold of a weapon.</p>
+
+    <p>It is a curious fact that in all the Daimio's castle-towns,
+    with the exception of some which are also seaports, open
+    prostitution is strictly forbidden, although, if report speaks
+    truly, public morality rather suffers than gains by the
+    prohibition.</p>
+
+    <p>The misapprehension which exists upon the subject of
+    prostitution in Japan may be accounted for by the fact that
+    foreign writers, basing their judgment upon the vice of the
+    open ports, have not hesitated to pronounce the Japanese women
+    unchaste. As fairly might a Japanese, writing about England,
+    argue from the street-walkers of Portsmouth or Plymouth to the
+    wives, sisters, and daughters of these very authors. In some
+    respects the gulf fixed between virtue and vice in Japan is
+    even greater than in England. The Eastern courtesan is confined
+    to a certain quarter of the town, and distinguished by a
+    peculiarly gaudy costume, and by a head-dress which consists of
+    a forest of light tortoiseshell hair-pins, stuck round her head
+    like a saint's glory&mdash;a glory of shame which a modest
+    woman would sooner die than wear. Vice jostling virtue in the
+    public places; virtue imitating the fashions set by vice, and
+    buying trinkets or furniture at the sale of vice's
+    effects&mdash;these are social phenomena which the East knows
+    not.</p>
+
+    <p>The custom prevalent among the lower orders of bathing in
+    public bath-houses without distinction of the sexes, is another
+    circumstance which has tended to spread abroad very false
+    notions upon the subject of the chastity of the Japanese women.
+    Every traveller is shocked by it, and every writer finds in it
+    matter for a page of pungent description. Yet it is only those
+    who are so poor (and they must be poor indeed) that they cannot
+    afford a bath at home, who, at the end of their day's work, go
+    to the public bath-house to refresh themselves before sitting
+    down to their evening meal: having been used to the scene from
+    their childhood, they see no indelicacy in it; it is a matter
+    of course, and <i>honi soit qui mal y pense</i>: certainly
+    there is far less indecency and immorality resulting from this
+    public bathing, than from the promiscuous herding together of
+    all sexes and ages which disgraces our own lodging-houses in
+    the great cities, and the hideous hovels in which some of our
+    labourers have to pass their lives; nor can it be said that
+    there is more confusion of sexes amongst the lowest orders in
+    Japan than in Europe. Speaking upon the subject once with a
+    Japanese gentleman, I observed that we considered it an act of
+    indecency for men and women to wash together. He shrugged his
+    shoulders as he answered, "But then Westerns have such prurient
+    minds." Some time ago, at the open port of Yokohama, the
+    Government, out of deference to the prejudices of foreigners,
+    forbade the men and women to bathe together, and no doubt this
+    was the first step towards putting down the practice
+    altogether: as for women tubbing in the open streets of Yedo, I
+    have read of such things in books written by
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page34"
+       id="page34"></a>[pg 34]</span> foreigners; but during a
+       residence of three years and a half, in which time I crossed
+       and recrossed every part of the great city at all hours of
+       the day, I never once saw such a sight. I believe myself
+       that it can only be seen at certain hot mineral springs in
+       remote country districts.</p>
+
+    <p>The best answer to the general charge of immorality which
+    has been brought against the Japanese women during their period
+    of unmarried life, lies in the fact that every man who can
+    afford to do so keeps the maidens of his family closely guarded
+    in the strictest seclusion. The daughter of poverty, indeed,
+    must work and go abroad, but not a man is allowed to approach
+    the daughter of a gentleman; and she is taught that if by
+    accident any insult should be offered to her, the knife which
+    she carries at her girdle is meant for use, and not merely as a
+    badge of her rank. Not long ago a tragedy took place in the
+    house of one of the chief nobles in Yedo. One of My Lady's
+    tire-women, herself a damsel of gentle blood, and gifted with
+    rare beauty, had attracted the attention of a retainer in the
+    palace, who fell desperately in love with her. For a long time
+    the strict rules of decorum by which she was hedged in
+    prevented him from declaring his passion; but at last he
+    contrived to gain access to her presence, and so far forgot
+    himself, that she, drawing her poniard, stabbed him in the eye,
+    so that he was carried off fainting, and presently died. The
+    girl's declaration, that the dead man had attempted to insult
+    her, was held to be sufficient justification of her deed, and,
+    instead of being blamed, she was praised and extolled for her
+    valour and chastity. As the affair had taken place within the
+    four walls of a powerful noble, there was no official
+    investigation into the matter, with which the authorities of
+    the palace were competent to deal. The truth of this story was
+    vouched for by two or three persons whose word I have no reason
+    to doubt, and who had themselves been mixed up in it; I can
+    bear witness that it is in complete harmony with Japanese
+    ideas; and certainly it seems more just that Lucretia should
+    kill Tarquin than herself.</p>
+
+    <p>The better the Japanese people come to be known and
+    understood, the more, I am certain, will it be felt that a
+    great injustice has been done them in the sweeping attacks
+    which have been made upon their women. Writers are agreed, I
+    believe, that their matrons are, as a rule, without reproach.
+    If their maidens are chaste, as I contend that from very force
+    of circumstances they cannot help being, what becomes of all
+    these charges of vice and immodesty? Do they not rather recoil
+    upon the accusers, who would appear to have studied the
+    Japanese woman only in the harlot of Yokohama?</p>
+
+    <p>Having said so much, I will now try to give some account of
+    the famous Yoshiwara<a id="footnotetag13"
+       name="footnotetag13"></a><a href="#footnote13"><sup>13</sup></a>
+       of Yedo, to which frequent allusion will have to be made in
+       the course of these
+       tales.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page35"
+       id="page35"></a>[pg 35]</span>
+
+    <p>At the end of the sixteenth century the courtesans of Yedo
+    lived in three special places: these were the street called
+    K&ocirc;ji-machi, in which dwelt the women who came from
+    Ki&ocirc;to; the Kamakura Street, and a spot opposite the great
+    bridge, in which last two places lived women brought from
+    Suruga. Besides these there afterwards came women from Fushimi
+    and from Nara, who lodged scattered here and there throughout
+    the town. This appears to have scandalized a certain reformer,
+    named Sh&ocirc;ji Jiny&eacute;mon, who, in the year 1612,
+    addressed a memorial to the Government, petitioning that the
+    women who lived in different parts of the town should be
+    collected in one "Flower Quarter." His petition was granted in
+    the year 1617, and he fixed upon a place called Fukiyacho,
+    which, on account of the quantities of rushes which grew there,
+    was named <i>Yoshi-Wara,</i> or the rush-moor, a name which
+    now-a-days, by a play upon the word <i>yoshi,</i> is written
+    with two Chinese characters, signifying the "good," or "lucky
+    moor." The place was divided into four streets, called the Yedo
+    Street, the Second Yedo Street, the Ki&ocirc;to Street, and the
+    Second Ki&ocirc;to Street.</p>
+
+    <p>In the eighth month of the year 1655, when Yedo was
+    beginning to increase in size and importance, the Yoshiwara,
+    preserving its name, was transplanted bodily to the spot which
+    it now occupies at the northern end of the town. And the
+    streets in it were named after the places from which the
+    greater number of their inhabitants originally came, as the
+    "Sakai Street," the "Fushimi Street," &amp;c.</p>
+
+    <p>The official Guide to the Yoshiwara for 1869 gives a return
+    of 153 brothels, containing 3,289 courtesans of all classes,
+    from the <i>Oiran</i>, or proud beauty, who, dressed up in
+    gorgeous brocade of gold and silver, with painted face and
+    gilded lips, and with her teeth fashionably blacked, has all
+    the young bloods of Yedo at her feet, down to the humble
+    <i>Shinzo</i>, or white-toothed woman, who rots away her life
+    in the common stews. These figures do not, however, represent
+    the whole of the prostitution of Yedo; the Yoshiwara is the
+    chief, but not the only, abiding-place of the public women. At
+    Fukagawa there is another Flower District, built upon the same
+    principle as the Yoshiwara; while at Shinagawa, Shinjiku,
+    Itabashi, Senji, and Kadzukappara, the hotels contain women
+    who, nominally only waitresses, are in reality prostitutes.
+    There are also women called <i>Jigoku-Omna,</i> or hell-women,
+    who, without being borne on the books of any brothel, live in
+    their own houses, and ply their trade in secret. On the whole,
+    I believe the amount of prostitution in Yedo to be wonderfully
+    small, considering the vast size of the city.</p>
+
+    <p>There are 394 tea-houses in the Yoshiwara, which are largely
+    used as places of assignation, and which on those occasions are
+    paid, not by the visitors frequenting them, but by the keepers
+    of the brothels. It is also the fashion to give dinners and
+    drinking-parties <span class="pagenum"><a name="page36"
+       id="page36"></a>[pg 36]</span> at these houses, for which
+       the services of <i>Taikomochi</i>, or jesters, among whom
+       there are thirty-nine chief celebrities, and of singing and
+       dancing girls, are retained. The Guide to the Yoshiwara
+       gives a list of fifty-five famous singing-girls, besides a
+       host of minor stars. These women are not to be confounded
+       with the courtesans. Their conduct is very closely watched
+       by their masters, and they always go out to parties in
+       couples or in bands, so that they may be a check upon one
+       another. Doubtless, however, in spite of all precautions,
+       the shower of gold does from time to time find its way to
+       Dana&euml;'s lap; and to be the favoured lover of a
+       fashionable singer or dancer is rather a feather in the cap
+       of a fast young Japanese gentleman. The fee paid to
+       singing-girls for performing during a space of two hours is
+       one shilling and fourpence each; for six hours the fee is
+       quadrupled, and it is customary to give the girls a
+       <i>hana</i>, or present, for themselves, besides their
+       regular pay, which goes to the master of the troupe to which
+       they belong.</p>
+
+    <p>Courtesans, singing women, and dancers are bought by
+    contractors, either as children, when they are educated for
+    their calling, or at a more advanced age, when their
+    accomplishments and charms render them desirable investments.
+    The engagement is never made life-long, for once past the
+    flower of their youth the poor creatures would be mere burthens
+    upon their masters; a courtesan is usually bought until she
+    shall have reached the age of twenty-seven, after which she
+    becomes her own property. Singers remain longer in harness, but
+    even they rarely work after the age of thirty, for Japanese
+    women, like Italians, age quickly, and have none of that
+    intermediate stage between youth and old age, which seems to be
+    confined to countries where there is a twilight.</p>
+
+    <p>Children destined to be trained as singers are usually
+    bought when they are five or six years old, a likely child
+    fetching from about thirty-five to fifty shillings; the
+    purchaser undertakes the education of his charge, and brings
+    the little thing up as his own child. The parents sign a paper
+    absolving him from all responsibility in case of sickness or
+    accident; but they know that their child will be well treated
+    and cared for, the interests of the buyer being their material
+    guarantee. Girls of fifteen or upwards who are sufficiently
+    accomplished to join a company of singers fetch ten times the
+    price paid for children; for in their case there is no risk and
+    no expense of education.</p>
+
+    <p>Little children who are bought for purposes of prostitution
+    at the age of five or six years fetch about the same price as
+    those that are bought to be singers. During their novitiate
+    they are employed to wait upon the <i>Oiran</i>, or fashionable
+    courtesans, in the capacity of little female pages
+    (<i>Kamuro</i>). They are mostly the children of distressed
+    persons, or orphans, whom their relatives cruelly sell rather
+    than be at the expense and trouble of bringing them up. Of the
+    girls who enter the profession later in life, some are orphans,
+    who have no other means of earning a
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page37"
+       id="page37"></a>[pg 37]</span> livelihood; others sell their
+       bodies out of filial piety, that they may succour their sick
+       or needy parents; others are married women, who enter the
+       Yoshiwara to supply the wants of their husbands; and a very
+       small proportion is recruited from girls who have been
+       seduced and abandoned, perhaps sold, by faithless
+       lovers.</p>
+
+    <p>The time to see the Yoshiwara to the best advantage is just
+    after nightfall, when the lamps are lighted. Then it is that
+    the women&mdash;who for the last two hours have been engaged in
+    gilding their lips and painting their eyebrows black, and their
+    throats and bosoms a snowy white, carefully leaving three brown
+    Van-dyke-collar points where the back of the head joins the
+    neck, in accordance with one of the strictest rules of Japanese
+    cosmetic science&mdash;leave the back rooms, and take their
+    places, side by side, in a kind of long narrow cage, the wooden
+    bars of which open on to the public thoroughfare. Here they sit
+    for hours, gorgeous in dresses of silk and gold and silver
+    embroidery, speechless and motionless as wax figures, until
+    they shall have attracted the attention of some of the
+    passers-by, who begin to throng the place. At Yokohama indeed,
+    and at the other open ports, the women of the Yoshiwara are
+    loud in their invitations to visitors, frequently relieving the
+    monotony of their own language by some blasphemous term of
+    endearment picked up from British and American seamen; but in
+    the Flower District at Yedo, and wherever Japanese customs are
+    untainted, the utmost decorum prevails. Although the shape
+    which vice takes is ugly enough, still it has this merit, that
+    it is unobtrusive. Never need the pure be contaminated by
+    contact with the impure; he who goes to the Yoshiwara, goes
+    there knowing full well what he will find, but the virtuous man
+    may live through his life without having this kind of vice
+    forced upon his sight. Here again do the open ports contrast
+    unfavourably with other places: Yokohama at night is as leprous
+    a place as the London Haymarket.<a id="footnotetag14"
+       name="footnotetag14"></a><a href="#footnote14"><sup>14</sup></a></p>
+
+    <p>A public woman or singer on entering her profession assumes
+    a <i>nom de guerre</i>, by which she is known until her
+    engagement is at an end. Some of these names are so pretty and
+    quaint that I will take a few specimens from the <i>Yoshiwara
+    Saiken</i>, the guidebook upon which this notice is based.
+    "Little Pine," "Little Butterfly," "Brightness of the Flowers,"
+    "The Jewel River," "Gold Mountain," "Pearl Harp," "The Stork
+    that lives a Thousand Years," "Village of Flowers," "Sea
+    Beach," "The Little Dragon," "Little Purple," "Silver,"
+    "Chrysanthemum," "Waterfall," "White Brightness," "Forest of
+    Cherries,"&mdash;these and a host of other quaint conceits are
+    the one prettiness of a very foul
+    place.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page38"
+       id="page38"></a>[pg 38]</span>
+
+    <h2>KAZUMA'S REVENGE</h2>
+
+    <p>It is a law that he who lives by the sword shall die by the
+    sword. In Japan, where there exists a large armed class over
+    whom there is practically little or no control, party and clan
+    broils, and single quarrels ending in bloodshed and death, are
+    matters of daily occurrence; and it has been observed that
+    Edinburgh in the olden time, when the clansmen, roistering
+    through the streets at night, would pass from high words to
+    deadly blows, is perhaps the best European parallel of modern
+    Yedo or Ki&ocirc;to.</p>
+
+    <p>It follows that of all his possessions the Samurai sets most
+    store by his sword, his constant companion, his ally, defensive
+    and offensive. The price of a sword by a famous maker reaches a
+    high sum: a Japanese noble will sometimes be found girding on a
+    sword, the blade of which unmounted is worth from six hundred
+    to a thousand riyos, say from &pound;200 to &pound;300, and the
+    mounting, rich in cunning metal work, will be of proportionate
+    value. These swords are handed down as heirlooms from father to
+    son, and become almost a part of the wearer's own self.
+    Iy&eacute;yasu, the founder of the last dynasty of Shoguns,
+    wrote in his Legacy,<a id="footnotetag15"
+       name="footnotetag15"></a><a href="#footnote15"><sup>15</sup></a>
+       a code of rules drawn up for the guidance of his successors
+       and their advisers in the government, "The girded sword is
+       the living soul of the Samurai. In the case of a Samurai
+       forgetting his sword, act as is appointed: it may not be
+       overlooked."</p>
+
+    <p>The occupation of a swordsmith is an honourable profession,
+    the members of which are men of gentle blood. In a country
+    where trade is looked down upon as degrading, it is strange to
+    find this single exception to the general rule. The traditions
+    of the craft are many and curious. During the most critical
+    moment of the forging of the sword, when the steel edge is
+    being welded into the body of the iron blade, it is a custom
+    which still obtains among old-fashioned armourers to put on the
+    cap and robes worn by the Kug&eacute;, or nobles of the
+    Mikado's court, and, closing the doors of the workshop, to
+    labour in secrecy and freedom from interruption, the half gloom
+    adding to the mystery of the operation. Sometimes the occasion
+    is even invested with a certain sanctity, a tasselled cord of
+    straw, such as is hung before the shrines of the Kami, or
+    native gods of Japan, being suspended between two bamboo poles
+    in the forge, which for the nonce is converted into a holy
+    altar.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page39"
+       id="page39"></a>[pg 39]</span>
+
+    <p>At Osaka, I lived opposite to one Kusano Yoshiaki, a
+    swordsmith, a most intelligent and amiable gentleman, who was
+    famous throughout his neighbourhood for his good and charitable
+    deeds. His idea was that, having been bred up to a calling
+    which trades in life and death, he was bound, so far as in him
+    lay, to atone for this by seeking to alleviate the suffering
+    which is in the world; and he carried out his principle to the
+    extent of impoverishing himself. No neighbour ever appealed to
+    him in vain for help in tending the sick or burying the dead.
+    No beggar or lazar was ever turned from his door without
+    receiving some mark of his bounty, whether in money or in kind.
+    Nor was his scrupulous honesty less remarkable than his
+    charity. While other smiths are in the habit of earning large
+    sums of money by counterfeiting the marks of the famous makers
+    of old, he was able to boast that he had never turned out a
+    weapon which bore any other mark than his own. From his father
+    and his forefathers he inherited his trade, which, in his turn,
+    he will hand over to his son&mdash;a hard-working, honest, and
+    sturdy man, the clank of whose hammer and anvil may be heard
+    from daybreak to sundown.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/039.jpg"
+             name="image039"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image039"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/039.jpg"
+             alt="FORGING THE SWORD." /></a> FORGING THE SWORD.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>The trenchant edge of the Japanese sword is notorious. It is
+    said that the best blades will in the hands of an expert
+    swordsman cut through the dead bodies of three men, laid one
+    upon the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page40"
+       id="page40"></a>[pg 40]</span> other, at a blow. The swords
+       of the Shogun used to be tried upon the corpses of executed
+       criminals; the public headsman was entrusted with the duty,
+       and for a "nose medicine," or bribe of two bus (about three
+       shillings), would substitute the weapon of a private
+       individual for that of his Lord. Dogs and beggars, lying
+       helpless by the roadside, not unfrequently serve to test a
+       ruffian's sword; but the executioner earns many a fee from
+       those who wish to see how their blades will cut off a
+       head.</p>
+
+    <p>The statesman who shall enact a law forbidding the carrying
+    of this deadly weapon will indeed have deserved well of his
+    country; but it will be a difficult task to undertake, and a
+    dangerous one. I would not give much for that man's life. The
+    hand of every swashbuckler in the empire would be against him.
+    One day as we were talking over this and other kindred
+    subjects, a friend of mine, a man of advanced and liberal
+    views, wrote down his opinion, <i>more Japonico</i>, in a verse
+    of poetry which ran as follows:&mdash;"I would that all the
+    swords and dirks in the country might be collected in one place
+    and molten down, and that, from the metal so produced, one huge
+    sword might be forged, which, being the only blade left, should
+    be the girded sword of Great Japan."</p>
+
+    <p>The following history is in more senses than one a "Tale of
+    a Sword."</p>
+
+    <p>About two hundred and fifty years ago Ik&eacute;da
+    Kunaish&ocirc;yu was Lord of the Province of Inaba. Among his
+    retainers were two gentlemen, named Watanab&eacute;
+    Yukiy&eacute; and Kawai Matazay&eacute;mon, who were bound
+    together by strong ties of friendship, and were in the habit of
+    frequently visiting at one another's houses. One day
+    Yukiy&eacute; was sitting conversing with Matazay&eacute;mon in
+    the house of the latter, when, on a sudden, a sword that was
+    lying in the raised part of the room caught his eye. As he saw
+    it, he started and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Pray tell me, how came you by that sword?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, as you know, when my Lord Ik&eacute;da followed my
+    Lord Tokugawa Iy&eacute;yasu to fight at Nagakud&eacute;, my
+    father went in his train; and it was at the battle of
+    Nagakud&eacute; that he picked up this sword."</p>
+
+    <p>"My father went too, and was killed in the fight, and this
+    sword, which was an heirloom in our family for many
+    generations, was lost at that time. As it is of great value in
+    my eyes, I do wish that, if you set no special store by it, you
+    would have the great kindness to return it to me."</p>
+
+    <p>"That is a very easy matter, and no more than what one
+    friend should do by another. Pray take it."</p>
+
+    <p>Upon this Yukiy&eacute; gratefully took the sword, and
+    having carried it home put it carefully away.</p>
+
+    <p>At the beginning of the ensuing year Matazay&eacute;mon fell
+    sick and died, and Yukiy&eacute;, mourning bitterly for the
+    loss of his good friend, and anxious to requite the favour
+    which he had received in the matter of his father's sword, did
+    many acts of kindness to <span class="pagenum"><a name="page41"
+       id="page41"></a>[pg 41]</span> the dead man's son&mdash;a
+       young man twenty-two years of age, named Matagor&ocirc;.</p>
+
+    <p>Now this Matagor&ocirc; was a base-hearted cur, who had
+    begrudged the sword that his father had given to Yukiy&eacute;,
+    and complained publicly and often that Yukiy&eacute; had never
+    made any present in return; and in this way Yukiy&eacute; got a
+    bad name in my Lord's palace as a stingy and illiberal man.</p>
+
+    <p>But Yukiy&eacute; had a son, called Kazuma, a youth sixteen
+    years of age, who served as one of the Prince's pages of
+    honour. One evening, as he and one of his brother pages were
+    talking together, the latter said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Matagor&ocirc; is telling everybody that your father
+    accepted a handsome sword from him and never made him any
+    present in return, and people are beginning to gossip about
+    it."</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed," replied the other, "my father received that sword
+    from Matagor&ocirc;'s father as a mark of friendship and
+    good-will, and, considering that it would be an insult to send
+    a present of money in return, thought to return the favour by
+    acts of kindness towards Matagor&ocirc;. I suppose it is money
+    he wants."</p>
+
+    <p>When Kazuma's service was over, he returned home, and went
+    to his father's room to tell him the report that was being
+    spread in the palace, and begged him to send an ample present
+    of money to Matagor&ocirc;. Yukry&eacute; reflected for a
+    while, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"You are too young to understand the right line of conduct
+    in such matters. Matagor&ocirc;'s father and myself were very
+    close friends; so, seeing that he had ungrudgingly given me
+    back the sword of my ancestors, I, thinking to requite his
+    kindness at his death, rendered important services to
+    Matagor&ocirc;. It would be easy to finish the matter by
+    sending a present of money; but I had rather take the sword and
+    return it than be under an obligation to this mean churl, who
+    knows not the laws which regulate the intercourse and dealings
+    of men of gentle blood."</p>
+
+    <p>So Yukiy&eacute;, in his anger, took the sword to
+    Matagor&ocirc;'s house, and said to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I have come to your house this night for no other purpose
+    than to restore to you the sword which your father gave me;"
+    and with this he placed the sword before Matagor&ocirc;.</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed," replied the other, "I trust that you will not pain
+    me by returning a present which my father made you."</p>
+
+    <p>"Amongst men of gentle birth," said Yukiy&eacute;, laughing
+    scornfully, "it is the custom to requite presents, in the first
+    place by kindness, and afterwards by a suitable gift offered
+    with a free heart. But it is no use talking to such as you, who
+    are ignorant of the first principles of good breeding; so I
+    have the honour to give you back the sword."</p>
+
+    <p>As Yukiy&eacute; went on bitterly to reprove Matagor&ocirc;,
+    the latter waxed very wroth, and, being a ruffian, would have
+    killed Yukiy&eacute; on the spot; but he, old man as he was,
+    was a skilful swordsman, so Matagor&ocirc;, craven-like,
+    determined to wait until he could attack him unawares. Little
+    suspecting any treachery, Yukiy&eacute; started
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page42"
+       id="page42"></a>[pg 42]</span> to return home, and
+       Matagor&ocirc;, under the pretence of attending him to the
+       door, came behind him with his sword drawn and cut him in
+       the shoulder. The older man, turning round, drew and
+       defended himself; but having received a severe wound in the
+       first instance, he fainted away from loss of blood, and
+       Matagor&ocirc; slew him.</p>
+
+    <p>The mother of Matagor&ocirc;, startled by the noise, came
+    out; and when she saw what had been done, she was afraid, and
+    said&mdash;"Passionate man! what have you done? You are a
+    murderer; and now your life will be forfeit. What terrible deed
+    is this!"</p>
+
+    <p>"I have killed him now, and there's nothing to be done.
+    Come, mother, before the matter becomes known, let us fly
+    together from this house."</p>
+
+    <p>"I will follow you; do you go and seek out my Lord
+    Ab&eacute; Shirogor&ocirc;, a chief among the
+    Hatamotos,<a id="footnotetag16"
+       name="footnotetag16"></a><a href="#footnote16"><sup>16</sup></a>
+       who was my foster-child. You had better fly to him for
+       protection, and remain in hiding."</p>
+
+    <p>So the old woman persuaded her son to make his escape, and
+    sent him to the palace of Shirogor&ocirc;.</p>
+
+    <p>Now it happened that at this time the Hatamotos had formed
+    themselves into a league against the powerful Daimios; and
+    Ab&eacute; Shirogor&ocirc;, with two other noblemen, named
+    Kond&ocirc; Noborinosuk&eacute; and Midzuno
+    Jiurozay&eacute;mon, was at the head of the league. It
+    followed, as a matter of course, that his forces were
+    frequently recruited by vicious men, who had no means of
+    gaining their living, and whom he received and entreated kindly
+    without asking any questions as to their antecedents; how much
+    the more then, on being applied to for an asylum by the son of
+    his own foster-mother, did he willingly extend his patronage to
+    him, and guarantee him against all danger. So he called a
+    meeting of the principal Hatamotos, and introduced
+    Matagor&ocirc; to them, saying&mdash;"This man is a retainer of
+    Ik&eacute;da Kunaish&ocirc;yu, who, having cause of hatred
+    against a man named Watanab&eacute; Yukiy&eacute;, has slain
+    him, and has fled to me for protection; this man's mother
+    suckled me when I was an infant, and, right or wrong, I will
+    befriend him. If, therefore, Ik&eacute;da Kunaish&ocirc;yu
+    should send to require me to deliver him up, I trust that you
+    will one and all put forth your strength and help me to defend
+    him."</p>
+
+    <p>"Ay! that will we, with pleasure!" replied Kond&ocirc;
+    Noborinosuk&eacute;. "We have for some time had cause to
+    complain of the scorn with which the Daimios have treated us.
+    Let Ik&eacute;da Kunaish&ocirc;yu send to claim this man, and
+    we will show him the power of the Hatamotos."</p>
+
+    <p>All the other Hatamotos, with one accord, applauded this
+    determination, and made ready their force for an armed
+    resistance, should my Lord Kunaish&ocirc;yu send to demand the
+    surrender <!--blank page 43-->
+     <span class="pagenum"><a name="page44"
+       id="page44"></a>[pg 44]</span> of Matugor&ocirc;. But the
+       latter remained as a welcome guest in the house of
+       Ab&eacute; Shirogor&ocirc;.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/043.jpg"
+             name="image043"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image043"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/043.jpg"
+             alt="MATAGOR&Ocirc; KILLS YUKIY&Eacute;." /></a>
+             MATAGOR&Ocirc; KILLS YUKIY&Eacute;.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>Now when Watanab&eacute; Kazuma saw that, as the night
+    advanced, his father Yukiy&eacute; did not return home, he
+    became anxious, and went to the house of Matagor&ocirc; to seek
+    for him, and finding to his horror that he was murdered, fell
+    upon the corpse and, embraced it, weeping. On a sudden, it
+    flashed across him that this must assuredly be the handiwork of
+    Matagor&ocirc;; so he rushed furiously into the house,
+    determined to kill his father's murderer upon the spot. But
+    Matagor&ocirc; had already fled, and he found only the mother,
+    who was making her preparations for following her son to the
+    house of Ab&eacute; Shirogor&ocirc;: so he bound the old woman,
+    and searched all over the house for her son; but, seeing that
+    his search was fruitless, he carried off the mother, and handed
+    her over to one of the elders of the clan, at the same time
+    laying information against Matagor&ocirc; as his father's
+    murderer. When the affair was reported to the Prince, he was
+    very angry, and ordered that the old woman should remain bound
+    and be cast into prison until the whereabouts of her son should
+    be discovered. Then Kazuma buried his father's corpse with
+    great pomp, and the widow and the orphan mourned over their
+    loss.</p>
+
+    <p>It soon became known amongst the people of Ab&eacute;
+    Shirogor&ocirc; that the mother of Matagor&ocirc; had been
+    imprisoned for her son's crime, and they immediately set about
+    planning her rescue; so they sent to the palace of my Lord
+    Kunaish&ocirc;yu a messenger, who, when he was introduced to
+    the councillor of the Prince, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"We have heard that, in consequence of the murder of
+    Yukiy&eacute;, my lord has been pleased to imprison the mother
+    of Matagor&ocirc;. Our master Shirogor&ocirc; has arrested the
+    criminal, and will deliver him up to you. But the mother has
+    committed no crime, so we pray that she may be released from a
+    cruel imprisonment: she was the foster-mother of our master,
+    and he would fain intercede to save her life. Should you
+    consent to this, we, on our side, will give up the murderer,
+    and hand him over to you in front of our master's gate
+    to-morrow."</p>
+
+    <p>The councillor repeated this message to the Prince, who, in
+    his pleasure at being able to give Kazuma his revenge on the
+    morrow, immediately agreed to the proposal, and the messenger
+    returned triumphant at the success of the scheme. On the
+    following day, the Prince ordered the mother of Matagor&ocirc;
+    to be placed in a litter and carried to the Hatamoto's
+    dwelling, in charge of a retainer named Sasawo Dany&eacute;mon,
+    who, when he arrived at the door of Ab&eacute;
+    Shirogor&ocirc;'s house, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I am charged to hand over to you the mother of
+    Matagor&ocirc;, and, in exchange, I am authorized to receive
+    her son at your hands."</p>
+
+    <p>"We will immediately give him up to you; but, as the mother
+    and son are now about to bid an eternal farewell to one
+    another, we beg you to be so kind as to tarry a little."</p>
+
+    <p>With this the retainers of Shirogor&ocirc; led the old woman
+    inside <span class="pagenum"><a name="page46"
+       id="page46"></a>[pg 46]</span> their master's house, and
+       Sasawo Dany&eacute;mon remained waiting outside, until at
+       last he grew impatient, and ventured to hurry on the people
+       within.</p>
+
+    <p>"We return you many thanks," replied they, "for your
+    kindness in bringing us the mother; but, as the son cannot go
+    with you at present, you had better return home as quickly as
+    possible. We are afraid we have put you to much trouble." And
+    so they mocked him.</p>
+
+    <p>When Dany&eacute;mon saw that he had not only been cheated
+    into giving up the old woman, but was being made a
+    laughing-stock of into the bargain, he flew into a great rage,
+    and thought to break into the house and seize Matagor&ocirc;
+    and his mother by force; but, peeping into the courtyard, he
+    saw that it was filled with Hatamotos, carrying guns and naked
+    swords. Not caring then to die fighting a hopeless battle, and
+    at the same time feeling that, after having been so cheated, he
+    would be put to shame before his lord, Sasawo Dany&eacute;mon
+    went to the burial-place of his ancestors, and disembowelled
+    himself in front of their graves.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/045.jpg"
+             name="image045"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image045"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/045.jpg"
+             alt="THE DEATH OF DANY&Eacute;MON." /></a> THE DEATH
+             OF DANY&Eacute;MON.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>When the Prince heard how his messenger had been treated,
+    he was indignant, and summoning his councillors resolved,
+    although he was suffering from sickness, to collect his
+    retainers and attack Ab&eacute; Shirogor&ocirc;; and the other
+    chief Daimios, when the matter became publicly known, took up
+    the cause, and determined that the Hatamotos must be chastised
+    for their insolence. On their side, the Hatamotos put forth all
+    their efforts to resist the Daimios. So Yedo became disturbed,
+    and the riotous state of the city caused great anxiety to the
+    Government, who took counsel together how they might restore
+    peace. As the Hatamotos were directly under the orders of the
+    Shogun, it was no difficult matter to put them down: the hard
+    question to solve was how to put a restraint upon the great
+    Daimios. However, one of the
+    Gor&ocirc;jin,<a id="footnotetag17"
+       name="footnotetag17"></a><a href="#footnote17"><sup>17</sup></a>
+       named Matsudaira Idzu no Kami, a man of great intelligence,
+       hit upon a plan by which he might secure this end.</p>
+
+    <p>There was at this time in the service of the Shogun a
+    physician, named Nakarai Tsusen, who was in the habit of
+    frequenting the palace of my Lord Kunaish&ocirc;yu, and who for
+    some time past had been treating him for the disease from which
+    he was suffering. Idzu no Kami sent secretly for this
+    physician, and, summoning him to his private room, engaged him
+    in conversation, in the midst of which he suddenly dropped his
+    voice and said to him in a whisper&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Listen, Tsusen. You have received great favours at the
+    hands of the Shogun. The Government is now sorely straitened:
+    are you willing to carry your loyalty so far as to lay down
+    your life on its behalf?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Ay, my lord; for generations my forefathers have held their
+    property by the grace of the Shogun. I am willing this night to
+    lay down my life for my Prince, as a faithful vassal
+    should."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page47"
+       id="page47"></a>[pg 47]</span>
+
+    <p>"Well, then, I will tell you. The great Daimios and the
+    Hatamotos have fallen out about this affair of Matagor&ocirc;,
+    and lately it has seemed as if they meant to come to blows. The
+    country will be agitated, and the farmers and townsfolk suffer
+    great misery, if we cannot quell the tumult. The Hatamotos will
+    be easily kept under, but it will be no light task to pacify
+    the great Daimios. If you are willing to lay down your life in
+    carrying out a stratagem of mine, peace will be restored to the
+    country; but your loyalty will be your death."</p>
+
+    <p>"I am ready to sacrifice my life in this service."</p>
+
+    <p>"This is my plan. You have been attending my Lord
+    Kunaish&ocirc;yu in his sickness; to-morrow you must go to see
+    him, and put poison in his physic. If we can kill him, the
+    agitation will cease. This is the service which I ask of
+    you."</p>
+
+    <p>Tsusen agreed to undertake the deed; and on the following
+    day, when he went to see Kunaish&ocirc;yu, he carried with him
+    poisoned drugs. Half the draught he drank
+    himself,<a id="footnotetag18"
+       name="footnotetag18"></a><a href="#footnote18"><sup>18</sup></a>
+       and thus put the Prince off his guard, so that he swallowed
+       the remainder fearlessly. Tsusen, seeing this, hurried away,
+       and as he was carried home in his litter the death-agony
+       seized him, and he died, vomiting blood.</p>
+
+    <p>My Lord Kunaish&ocirc;yu died in the same way in great
+    torture, and in the confusion attending upon his death and
+    funeral ceremonies the struggle which was impending with the
+    Hatamotos was delayed.</p>
+
+    <p>In the meanwhile the Gor&ocirc;jiu Idzu no Kami summoned the
+    three leaders of the Hatamotos and addressed them as
+    follows&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"The secret plottings and treasonable, turbulent conduct of
+    you three men, so unbecoming your position as Hatamotos, have
+    enraged my lord the Shogun to such a degree, that he has been
+    pleased to order that you be imprisoned in a temple, and that
+    your patrimony be given over to your next heirs."</p>
+
+    <p>Accordingly the three Hatamotos, after having been severely
+    admonished, were confined in a temple called Kanyeiji; and the
+    remaining Hatamotos, scared by this example, dispersed in
+    peace. As for the great Daimios, inasmuch as after the death of
+    my Lord Kunaish&ocirc;yu the Hatamotos were all dispersed,
+    there was no enemy left for them to fight with; so the tumult
+    was quelled, and peace was restored.</p>
+
+    <p>Thus it happened that Matagor&ocirc; lost his patron; so,
+    taking his mother with him, he went and placed himself under
+    the protection of an old man named Sakurai Jiuzay&eacute;mon.
+    This old man was a famous teacher of lance exercise, and
+    enjoyed both wealth and honour; so he took in Matagor&ocirc;,
+    and having engaged as a guard thirty R&ocirc;nins, all resolute
+    fellows and well skilled in the arts of war, they all fled
+    together to a distant place called Sagara.</p>
+
+    <p>All this time Watanab&eacute; Kazuma had been brooding over
+    his father's death, and thinking how he should be revenged upon
+    the murderer; so when my Lord Kunaish&ocirc;yu suddenly died,
+    he went <span class="pagenum"><a name="page48"
+       id="page48"></a>[pg 48]</span> to the young Prince who
+       succeeded him and obtained leave of absence to go and seek
+       out his father's enemy. Now Kazuma's elder sister was
+       married to a man named Araki Matay&eacute;mon, who at that
+       time was famous as the first swordsman in Japan. As Kazuma
+       was but sixteen years of age, this Matay&eacute;mon, taking
+       into consideration his near relationship as son-in-law to
+       the murdered man, determined to go forth with the lad, as
+       his guardian, and help him to seek out Matagor&ocirc;; and
+       two of Matay&eacute;mon's retainers, named Ishidom&eacute;
+       Busuk&eacute; and Ikezoy&eacute; Magohachi, made up their
+       minds, at all hazards, to follow their master. The latter,
+       when he heard their intention, thanked them, but refused the
+       offer, saying that as he was now about to engage in a
+       vendetta in which his life would be continually in jeopardy,
+       and as it would be a lasting grief to him should either of
+       them receive a wound in such a service, he must beg them to
+       renounce their intention; but they answered&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Master, this is a cruel speech of yours. All these years
+    have we received nought but kindness and favours at your hands;
+    and now that you are engaged in the pursuit of this murderer,
+    we desire to follow you, and, if needs must, to lay down our
+    lives in your service. Furthermore, we have heard that the
+    friends of this Matagor&ocirc; are no fewer than thirty-six
+    men; so, however bravely you may fight, you will be in peril
+    from the superior numbers of your enemy. However, if you are
+    pleased to persist in your refusal to take us, we have made up
+    our minds that there is no resource for us but to disembowel
+    ourselves on the spot."</p>
+
+    <p>When Matay&eacute;mon and Kazuma heard these words, they
+    wondered at these faithful and brave men, and were moved to
+    tears. Then Matay&eacute;mon said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"The kindness of you two brave fellows is without precedent.
+    Well, then, I will accept your services gratefully."</p>
+
+    <p>Then the two men, having obtained their wish, cheerfully
+    followed their master; and the four set out together upon their
+    journey to seek out Matagor&ocirc;, of whose whereabouts they
+    were completely ignorant.</p>
+
+    <p>Matagor&ocirc; in the meanwhile had made his way, with the
+    old man Sakurai Jiuzay&eacute;mon and his thirty R&ocirc;nins,
+    to Osaka. But, strong as they were in numbers, they travelled
+    in great secrecy. The reason for this was that the old man's
+    younger brother, Sakurai Jinsuk&eacute;, a fencing-master by
+    profession, had once had a fencing-match with
+    Matay&eacute;mon, Kazuma's brother-in-law, and had been
+    shamefully beaten; so that the party were greatly afraid of
+    Matay&eacute;mon, and felt that, since he was taking up
+    Kazuma's cause and acting as his guardian, they might be
+    worsted in spite of their numbers: so they went on their way
+    with great caution, and, having reached Osaka, put up at an inn
+    in a quarter called Ikutama, and hid from Kazuma and
+    Matay&eacute;mon.</p>
+
+    <p>The latter also in good time reached Osaka, and spared no
+    pains to seek out Matagor&ocirc;. One evening towards dusk, as
+    Matay&eacute;mon was walking in the quarter where the enemy
+    were staying, he saw <span class="pagenum"><a name="page49"
+       id="page49"></a>[pg 49]</span> a man, dressed as a
+       gentleman's servant, enter a cook-shop and order some
+       buckwheat porridge for thirty-six men, and looking
+       attentively at the man, he recognized him as the servant of
+       Sakurai Jiuzay&eacute;mon; so he hid himself in a dark place
+       and watched, and heard the fellow say&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"My master, Sakurai Jiuzay&eacute;mon, is about to start for
+    Sagara to-morrow morning, to return thanks to the gods for his
+    recovery from a sickness from which he has been suffering; so I
+    am in a great hurry."</p>
+
+    <p>With these words the servant hastened away; and
+    Matay&eacute;mon, entering the shop, called for some porridge,
+    and as he ate it, made some inquiries as to the man who had
+    just given so large an order for buckwheat porridge. The master
+    of the shop answered that he was the attendant of a party of
+    thirty-six gentlemen who were staying at such and such an inn.
+    Then Matay&eacute;mon, having found out all that he wanted to
+    know, went home and told Kazuma, who was delighted at the
+    prospect of carrying his revenge into execution on the morrow.
+    That same evening Matay&eacute;mon sent one of his two faithful
+    retainers as a spy to the inn, to find out at what hour
+    Matagor&ocirc; was to set out on the following morning; and he
+    ascertained from the servants of the inn, that the party was to
+    start at daybreak for Sagara, stopping at Is&eacute; to worship
+    at the shrine of Tersh&ocirc; Daijin.<a id="footnotetag19"
+       name="footnotetag19"></a><a href="#footnote19"><sup>19</sup></a></p>
+
+    <p>Matay&eacute;mon made his preparations accordingly, and,
+    with Kazuma and his two retainers, started before dawn. Beyond
+    Uy&eacute;no, in the province of Iga, the castle-town of the
+    Daimio T&ocirc;d&ocirc; Idzumi no Kami, there is a wide and
+    lonely moor; and this was the place upon which they fixed for
+    the attack upon the enemy. When they had arrived at the spot,
+    Matay&eacute;mon went into a tea-house by the roadside, and
+    wrote a petition to the governor of the Daimio's castle-town
+    for permission to carry out the vendetta within its
+    precincts;<a id="footnotetag20"
+       name="footnotetag20"></a><a href="#footnote20"><sup>20</sup></a>
+       then he addressed Kazuma, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"When we fall in with Matagor&ocirc; and begin the fight, do
+    you engage and slay your father's murderer; attack him and him
+    only, and I will keep off his guard of R&ocirc;nins;" then
+    turning to his two retainers, "As for you, keep close to
+    Kazuma; and should the R&ocirc;nins attempt to rescue
+    Matagor&ocirc;, it will be your duty to prevent them, and
+    succour Kazuma." And having further laid down each man's duties
+    with great minuteness, they lay in wait
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page50"
+       id="page50"></a>[pg 50]</span> for the arrival of the enemy.
+       Whilst they were resting in the tea-house, the governor of
+       the castle-town arrived, and, asking for Matay&eacute;mou,
+       said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I have the honour to be the governor of the castle-town of
+    T&ocirc;d&ocirc; Idzumi no Kami. My lord, having learnt your
+    intention of slaying your enemy within the precincts of his
+    citadel, gives his consent; and as a proof of his admiration of
+    your fidelity and valour, he has further sent you a detachment
+    of infantry, one hundred strong, to guard the place; so that
+    should any of the thirty-six men attempt to escape, you may set
+    your mind at ease, for flight will be impossible."</p>
+
+    <p>"A person harbouring such vengeance shall notify the same in
+    writing to the Criminal Court; and although no check or
+    hindrance may be offered to his carrying out his desire within
+    the period allowed for that purpose, it is forbidden that the
+    chastisement of an enemy be attended with riot.</p>
+
+    <p>"Fellows who neglect to give notice of their intended
+    revenge are like wolves of pretext, and their punishment or
+    pardon should depend upon the circumstances of the
+    case."&mdash;<i>Legacy of Iy&eacute;yasu</i>, ut
+    supr&agrave;.]</p>
+
+    <p>When Matay&eacute;mon and Kazurna had expressed their thanks
+    for his lordship's gracious kindness, the governor took his
+    leave and returned home. At last the enemy's train was seen in
+    the distance. First came Sakurai Jiuzay&eacute;mon and his
+    younger brother Jinsuk&eacute;; and next to them followed Kawai
+    Matagor&ocirc; and Tak&eacute;nouchi Gentan. These four men,
+    who were the bravest and the foremost of the band of
+    R&ocirc;nins, were riding on pack-horses, and the remainder
+    were marching on foot, keeping close together.</p>
+
+    <p>As they drew near, Kazuma, who was impatient to avenge his
+    father, stepped boldly forward and shouted in a loud
+    voice&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Here stand I, Kazuma, the son of Yukiy&eacute;, whom you,
+    Matagor&ocirc;, treacherously slew, determined to avenge my
+    father's death. Come forth, then, and do battle with me, and
+    let us see which of us twain is the better man."</p>
+
+    <p>And before the R&ocirc;nins had recovered from their
+    astonishment, Matay&eacute;mon said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I, Arak&eacute; Matay&eacute;mon, the son-in-law of
+    Yukiy&eacute;, have come to second Kazuma in his deed of
+    vengeance. Win or lose, you must give us battle."</p>
+
+    <p>When the thirty-six men heard the name of Matay&eacute;mon,
+    they were greatly afraid; but Sakurai Jiuzay&eacute;mon urged
+    them to be upon their guard, and leaped from his horse; and
+    Matay&eacute;mon, springing forward with his drawn sword, cleft
+    him from the shoulder to the nipple of his breast, so that he
+    fell dead. Sakurai Jinsuk&eacute;, seeing his brother killed
+    before his eyes, grew furious, and shot an arrow at
+    Matay&eacute;mon, who deftly cut the shaft in two with his dirk
+    as it flew; and Jinsuk&eacute;, amazed at this feat, threw away
+    his bow and attacked Matay&eacute;mon, who, with his sword in
+    his right hand and his dirk in his left, fought with
+    desperation. The other R&ocirc;nins attempted to rescue
+    Jinsuk&eacute;, and, in the struggle, Kazuma, who had engaged
+    Matagor&ocirc;, became separated from Matay&eacute;mon, whose
+    two retainers, Busuk&eacute; and Magohachi, bearing in mind
+    their master's orders, killed five R&ocirc;nins who had
+    attacked Kazuma, but were themselves badly wounded. In the
+    meantime, Matay&eacute;mon, who had killed seven of the
+    R&ocirc;nins, and who the harder he was pressed the more
+    bravely he fought, soon cut down three more, and the remainder
+    dared not approach him. At this moment there came up one
+    Kan&ocirc; Tozay&eacute;mon, a retainer of the lord of the
+    castle-town, and an old friend of Matay&eacute;mon, who, when
+    he heard that Matay&eacute;mon
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page51"
+       id="page51"></a>[pg 51]</span> was this day about to avenge
+       his father-in-law, had seized his spear and set out, for the
+       sake of the good-will between them, to help him, and act as
+       his second, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir Matay&eacute;mon, hearing of the perilous adventure in
+    which you have engaged, I have come out to offer myself as your
+    second."</p>
+
+    <p>Matay&eacute;mon, hearing this, was rejoiced, and fought
+    with renewed vigour. Then one of the R&ocirc;nins, named
+    Tak&eacute;nouchi Gentan, a very brave man, leaving his
+    companions to do battle with Matay&eacute;mon, came to the
+    rescue of Matagor&ocirc;, who was being hotly pressed by
+    Kazuma, and, in attempting to prevent this, Busuk&eacute; fell
+    covered with wounds. His companion Magohachi, seeing him fall,
+    was in great anxiety; for should any harm happen to Kazuma,
+    what excuse could he make to Matay&eacute;mon? So, wounded as
+    he was, he too engaged Tak&eacute;nouchi Gentan, and, being
+    crippled by the gashes he had received, was in deadly peril.
+    Then the man who had come up from the castle-town to act as
+    Matay&eacute;mon's second cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"See there, Sir Matay&eacute;mon, your follower who is
+    fighting with Gentan is in great danger. Do you go to his
+    rescue, and second Sir Kazuma: I will give an account of the
+    others!"</p>
+
+    <p>"Great thanks to you, sir. I will go and second Kazuma."</p>
+
+    <p>So Matay&eacute;mon went to help Kazuma, whilst his second
+    and the infantry soldiers kept back the surviving R&ocirc;nins,
+    who, already wearied by their fight with Matay&eacute;mon, were
+    unfit for any further exertion. Kazuma meanwhile was still
+    fighting with Matagor&ocirc;, and the issue of the conflict was
+    doubtful; and Tak&eacute;nouchi Gentan, in his attempt to
+    rescue Matagor&ocirc;, was being kept at bay by Magohachi, who,
+    weakened by his wounds, and blinded by the blood which was
+    streaming into his eyes from a cut in the forehead, had given
+    himself up for lost when Matay&eacute;mon came and
+    cried&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Be of good cheer, Magohachi; it is I, Matay&eacute;mon, who
+    have come to the rescue. You are badly hurt; get out of harm's
+    way, and rest yourself."</p>
+
+    <p>Then Magohachi, who until then had been kept up by his
+    anxiety for Kazuma's safety, gave in, and fell fainting from
+    loss of blood; and Matay&eacute;mon worsted and slew Gentan;
+    and even then, although be had received two wounds, he was not
+    exhausted, but drew near to Kazuma and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Courage, Kazuma! The R&ocirc;nins are all killed, and there
+    now remains only Matagor&ocirc;, your father's murderer. Fight
+    and win!"</p>
+
+    <p>The youth, thus encouraged, redoubled his efforts; but
+    Matagor&ocirc;, losing heart, quailed and fell. So Kazuma's
+    vengeance was fulfilled, and the desire of his heart was
+    accomplished.</p>
+
+    <p>The two faithful retainers, who had died in their loyalty,
+    were buried with great ceremony, and Kazuma carried the head of
+    Matagor&ocirc; and piously laid it upon his father's tomb.</p>
+
+    <p>So ends the tale of Kazuma's revenge.</p>
+    <hr />
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page52"
+       id="page52"></a>[pg 52]</span>
+
+    <p>I fear that stories of which killing and bloodshed form the
+    principal features can hardly enlist much sympathy in these
+    peaceful days. Still, when such tales are based upon history,
+    they are interesting to students of social phenomena. The story
+    of Kazuma's revenge is mixed up with events which at the
+    present time are peculiarly significant: I mean the feud
+    between the great Daimios and the Hatamotos. Those who have
+    followed the modern history of Japan will see that the recent
+    struggle, which has ended in the ruin of the Tycoon's power and
+    the abolition of his office, was the outburst of a hidden fire
+    which had been smouldering for centuries. But the repressive
+    might had been gradually weakened, and contact with Western
+    powers had rendered still more odious a feudality which men
+    felt to be out of date. The revolution which has ended in the
+    triumph of the Daimios over the Tycoon, is also the triumph of
+    the vassal over his feudal lord, and is the harbinger of
+    political life to the people at large. In the time of
+    Iy&eacute;yasu the burden might be hateful, but it had to be
+    borne; and so it would have been to this day, had not
+    circumstances from without broken the spell. The Japanese
+    Daimio, in advocating the isolation of his country, was hugging
+    the very yoke which he hated. Strange to say, however, there
+    are still men who, while they embrace the new political creed,
+    yet praise the past, and look back with regret upon the day
+    when Japan stood alone, without part or share in the great
+    family of nations.</p>
+
+    <p>NOTE.&mdash;<i>Hatamoto</i>. This word means "<i>under the
+    flag</i>." The Hatamotos were men who, as their name implied,
+    rallied round the standard of the Shogun, or Tycoon, in
+    war-time. They were eighty thousand in number. When
+    Iy&eacute;yasu left the Province of Mikawa and became Shogun,
+    the retainers whom he ennobled, and who received from him
+    grants of land yielding revenue to the amount of ten thousand
+    kokus of rice a year, and from that down to one hundred kokus,
+    were called <i>Hatamoto</i>. In return for these grants of
+    land, the Hatamotos had in war-time to furnish a contingent of
+    soldiers in proportion to their revenue. For every thousand
+    kokus of rice five men were required. Those Hatamotos whose
+    revenue fell short of a thousand kokus substituted a quota of
+    money. In time of peace most of the minor offices of the
+    Tycoon's government were filled by Hatamotos, the more
+    important places being held by the Fudai, or vassal Daimios of
+    the Shogun. Seven years ago, in imitation of the customs of
+    foreign nations, a standing army was founded; and then the
+    Hatamotos had to contribute their quota of men or of money,
+    whether the country were at peace or at war. When the Shogun
+    was reduced in 1868 to the rank of a simple Daimio, his revenue
+    of eight million kokus reverted to the Government, with the
+    exception of seven hundred thousand kokus. The title of
+    Hatamoto exists no more, and those who until a few months ago
+    held the rank are for the most part ruined or dispersed. From
+    having been perhaps the proudest and most overbearing class in
+    Japan, they are driven to the utmost straits of poverty. Some
+    have gone into trade, with the heirlooms of their families as
+    their stock; <span class="pagenum"><a name="page53"
+       id="page53"></a>[pg 53]</span> others are wandering through
+       the country as R&ocirc;nins; while a small minority have
+       been allowed to follow the fallen fortunes of their master's
+       family, the present chief of which is known as the Prince of
+       Tokugawa. Thus are the eighty thousand dispersed.</p>
+
+    <p>The koku of rice, in which all revenue is calculated, is of
+    varying value. At the cheapest it is worth rather more than a
+    pound sterling, and sometimes almost three times as much. The
+    salaries of officials being paid in rice, it follows that there
+    is a large and influential class throughout the country who are
+    interested in keeping up the price of the staple article of
+    food. Hence the opposition with which a free trade in rice has
+    met, even in famine times. Hence also the frequent so-called
+    "Rice Riots."</p>
+
+    <p>The amounts at which the lands formerly held by the chief
+    Daimios, but now patriotically given up by them to the Mikado,
+    were assessed, sound fabulous. The Prince of Kaga alone had an
+    income of more than one million two hundred thousand kokus. Yet
+    these great proprietors were, latterly at least, embarrassed
+    men. They had many thousand mouths to feed, and were mulcted of
+    their dues right and left; while their mania for buying foreign
+    ships and munitions of war, often at exorbitant prices, had
+    plunged them heavily in
+    debt.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page54"
+       id="page54"></a>[pg 54]</span>
+
+    <h2>A STORY OF THE OTOKODAT&Eacute; OF YEDO;</h2>
+
+    <h3>BEING THE SUPPLEMENT OF</h3>
+
+    <h2>THE STORY OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI</h2>
+
+    <p>The word Otokodat&eacute; occurs several times in these
+    Tales; and as I cannot convey its full meaning by a simple
+    translation, I must preserve it in the text, explaining it by
+    the following note, taken from the Japanese of a native
+    scholar.</p>
+
+    <p>The Otokodat&eacute; were friendly associations of brave men
+    bound together by an obligation to stand by one another in weal
+    or in woe, regardless of their own lives, and without inquiring
+    into one another's antecedents. A bad man, however, having
+    joined the Otokodat&eacute; must forsake his evil ways; for
+    their principle was to treat the oppressor as an enemy, and to
+    help the feeble as a father does his child. If they had money,
+    they gave it to those that had none, and their charitable deeds
+    won for them the respect of all men. The head of the society
+    was called its "Father"; if any of the others, who were his
+    apprentices, were homeless, they lived with the Father and
+    served him, paying him at the same time a small fee, in
+    consideration of which, if they fell sick or into misfortune,
+    he took charge of them and assisted them.</p>
+
+    <p>The Father of the Otokodat&eacute; pursued the calling of
+    farming out coolies to the Daimios and great personages for
+    their journeys to and from Yedo, and in return for this
+    received from them rations in rice. He had more influence with
+    the lower classes even than the officials; and if the coolies
+    had struck work or refused to accompany a Daimio on his
+    journey, a word from the Father would produce as many men as
+    might be required. When Prince Tokugawa Iy&eacute;mochi, the
+    last but one of the Shoguns, left Yedo for Ki&ocirc;to, one
+    Shimmon Tatsugor&ocirc;, chief of the Otokodat&eacute;,
+    undertook the management of his journey, and some three or four
+    years ago was raised to the dignity of Hatamoto for many
+    faithful services. After the battle of Fushimi, and the
+    abolition of the Shogunate, he accompanied the last of the
+    Shoguns in his retirement.</p>
+
+    <p>In old days there were also Otokodat&eacute; among the
+    Hatamotos; this was after the civil wars of the time of
+    Iy&eacute;yasu, when, though the country was at peace, the
+    minds of men were still in a state of high excitement, and
+    could not be reconciled to the dulness of a state of rest; it
+    followed that broils and faction fights were continually taking
+    place among the young men of the Samurai class, and that those
+    who distinguished themselves by their
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page55"
+       id="page55"></a>[pg 55]</span> personal strength and valour
+       were looked up to as captains. Leagues after the manner of
+       those existing among the German students were formed in
+       different quarters of the city, under various names, and
+       used to fight for the honour of victory. When the country
+       became more thoroughly tranquil, the custom of forming these
+       leagues amongst gentlemen fell into disuse.</p>
+
+    <p>The past tense is used in speaking even of the
+    Otokodat&eacute; of the lower classes; for although they
+    nominally exist, they have no longer the power and importance
+    which they enjoyed at the time to which these stories belong.
+    They then, like the 'prentices of Old London, played a
+    considerable part in the society of the great cities, and that
+    man was lucky, were he gentle Samurai or simple wardsman, who
+    could claim the Father of the Otokodat&eacute; for his
+    friend.</p>
+
+    <p>The word, taken by itself, means a manly or plucky
+    fellow.</p>
+    <hr />
+
+    <p>Ch&ocirc;bei of Bandzuin was the chief of the
+    Otokodat&eacute; of Yedo. He was originally called Itar&ocirc;,
+    and was the son of a certain R&ocirc;nin who lived in the
+    country. One day, when he was only ten years of age, he went
+    out with a playfellow to bathe in the river; and as the two
+    were playing they quarrelled over their game, and Itar&ocirc;,
+    seizing the other boy, threw him into the river and drowned
+    him.</p>
+
+    <p>Then he went home, and said to his father&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I went to play by the river to-day, with a friend; and as
+    he was rude to me, I threw him into the water and killed
+    him."</p>
+
+    <p>When his father heard him speak thus, quite calmly, as if
+    nothing had happened, he was thunderstruck, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"This is indeed a fearful thing. Child as you are, you will
+    have to pay the penalty of your deed; so to-night you must fly
+    to Yedo in secret, and take service with some noble Samurai,
+    and perhaps in time you may become a soldier yourself."</p>
+
+    <p>With these words he gave him twenty ounces of silver and a
+    fine sword, made by the famous swordsmith Rai Kunitoshi, and
+    sent him out of the province with all dispatch. The following
+    morning the parents of the murdered child came to claim that
+    Itar&ocirc; should be given up to their vengeance; but it was
+    too late, and all they could do was to bury their child and
+    mourn for his loss.</p>
+
+    <p>Itar&ocirc; made his way to Yedo in hot haste, and there
+    found employment as a shop-boy; but soon tiring of that sort of
+    life, and burning to become a soldier, he found means at last
+    to enter the service of a certain Hatamoto called Sakurai
+    Sh&ocirc;zay&eacute;mon, and changed his name to
+    Tsun&eacute;hei. Now this Sakurai Sh&ocirc;zay&eacute;mon had a
+    son, called Sh&ocirc;nosuk&eacute;, a young man in his
+    seventeenth year, who grew so fond of Tsun&eacute;hei that he
+    took him with him wherever he went, and treated him in all ways
+    as an equal.</p>
+
+    <p>When Sh&ocirc;nosuk&eacute; went to the fencing-school
+    Tsun&eacute;hei would accompany him, and thus, as he was by
+    nature strong and active, soon became a good
+    swordsman.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page56"
+       id="page56"></a>[pg 56]</span>
+
+    <p>One day, when Sh&ocirc;zay&eacute;mon had gone out, his son
+    Sh&ocirc;nosuk&eacute; said to Tsun&eacute;hei&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"You know how fond my father is of playing at football: it
+    must be great sport. As he has gone out to-day, suppose you and
+    I have a game?"</p>
+
+    <p>"That will be rare sport," answered Tsun&eacute;hei. "Let us
+    make haste and play, before my lord comes home."</p>
+
+    <p>So the two boys went out into the garden, and began trying
+    to kick the football; but, lacking skill, do what they would,
+    they could not lift it from the ground. At last
+    Sh&ocirc;nosuk&eacute;, with a vigorous kick, raised the
+    football; but, having missed his aim, it went tumbling over the
+    wall into the next garden, which belonged to one Hikosaka
+    Zempachi, a teacher of lance exercise, who was known to be a
+    surly, ill-tempered fellow.</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, dear! what shall we do?" said Sh&ocirc;nosuk&eacute;.
+    "We have lost my father's football in his absence; and if we go
+    and ask for it back from that churlish neighbour of ours, we
+    shall only be scolded and sworn at for our pains."</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, never mind," answered Tsun&eacute;hei; "I will go and
+    apologize for our carelessness, and get the football back."</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, but then you will be chidden, and I don't want
+    that."</p>
+
+    <p>"Never mind me. Little care I for his cross words." So
+    Tsun&eacute;hei went to the next-door house to reclaim the
+    ball.</p>
+
+    <p>Now it so happened that Zempachi, the surly neighbour, had
+    been walking in his garden whilst the two youths were playing;
+    and as he was admiring the beauty of his favourite
+    chrysanthemums, the football came flying over the wall and
+    struck him full in the face. Zempachi, not used to anything but
+    flattery and coaxing, flew into a violent rage at this; and
+    while he was thinking how he would revenge himself upon any one
+    who might be sent to ask for the lost ball, Tsun&eacute;hei
+    came in, and said to one of Zempachi's servants&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I am sorry to say that in my lord's absence I took his
+    football, and, in trying to play with it, clumsily kicked it
+    over your wall. I beg you to excuse my carelessness, and to be
+    so good as to give me back the ball."</p>
+
+    <p>The servant went in and repeated this to Zempachi, who
+    worked himself up into a great rage, and ordered
+    Tsun&eacute;hei to be brought before him, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Here, fellow, is your name Tsun&eacute;hei?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Yes, sir, at your service. I am almost afraid to ask pardon
+    for my carelessness; but please forgive me, and let me have the
+    ball."</p>
+
+    <p>"I thought your master, Sh&ocirc;zay&eacute;mon, was to
+    blame for this; but it seems that it was you who kicked the
+    football."</p>
+
+    <p>"Yes, sir. I am sure I am very sorry for what I have done.
+    Please, may I ask for the ball?" said Tsun&eacute;hei, bowing
+    humbly.</p>
+
+    <p>For a while Zempachi made no answer, but at length he
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Do you know, villain, that your dirty football struck me in
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page57"
+       id="page57"></a>[pg 57]</span> the face? I ought, by rights,
+       to kill you on the spot for this; but I will spare your life
+       this time, so take your football and be off." And with that
+       he went up to Tsun&eacute;hei and beat him, and kicked him
+       in the head, and spat in his face.</p>
+
+    <p>Then Tsun&eacute;hei, who up to that time had demeaned
+    himself very humbly, in his eagerness to get back the football,
+    jumped up in a fury, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I made ample apologies to you for my carelessness, and now
+    you have insulted and struck me. Ill-mannered ruffian! take
+    back the ball,&mdash;I'll none of it;" and he drew his dirk,
+    and cutting the football in two, threw it at Zempachi, and
+    returned home.</p>
+
+    <p>But Zempachi, growing more and more angry, called one of his
+    servants, and said to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"That fellow, Tsun&eacute;hei, has been most insolent: go
+    next door and find out Sh&ocirc;zay&eacute;mon, and tell him
+    that I have ordered you to bring back Tsun&eacute;hei, that I
+    may kill him."</p>
+
+    <p>So the servant went to deliver the message.</p>
+
+    <p>In the meantime Tsun&eacute;hei went back to his master's
+    house; and when Sh&ocirc;nosuk&eacute; saw him, he
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, of course you have been ill treated; but did you get
+    back the football?"</p>
+
+    <p>"When I went in, I made many apologies; but I was beaten,
+    and kicked in the head, and treated with the greatest
+    indignity. I would have killed that wretch, Zempachi, at once,
+    but that I knew that, if I did so while I was yet a member of
+    your household, I should bring trouble upon your family. For
+    your sake I bore this ill-treatment patiently; but now I pray
+    you let me take leave of you and become a R&ocirc;nin, that I
+    may be revenged upon this man."</p>
+
+    <p>"Think well what you are doing," answered
+    Sh&ocirc;nosuk&eacute;. "After all, we have only lost a
+    football; and my father will not care, nor upbraid us."</p>
+
+    <p>But Tsim&eacute;hei would not listen to him, and was bent
+    upon wiping out the affront that he had received. As they were
+    talking, the messenger arrived from Zempachi, demanding the
+    surrender of Tsun&eacute;hei, on the ground that he had
+    insulted him: to this Sh&ocirc;nosuk&eacute; replied that his
+    father was away from home, and that in his absence he could do
+    nothing.</p>
+
+    <p>At last Sh&ocirc;zay&eacute;mon came home; and when he heard
+    what had happened he was much grieved, and at a loss what to
+    do, when a second messenger arrived from Zempachi, demanding
+    that Tsun&eacute;hei should be given up without delay. Then
+    Sh&ocirc;zay&eacute;mon, seeing that the matter was serious,
+    called the youth to him, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"This Zempachi is heartless and cruel, and if you go to his
+    house will assuredly kill you; take, therefore, these fifty
+    riyos, and fly to Osaka or Ki&ocirc;to, where you may safely
+    set up in business."</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir," answered Tsun&eacute;hei, with tears of gratitude for
+    his lord's kindness, "from my heart I thank you for your great
+    goodness; <span class="pagenum"><a name="page58"
+       id="page58"></a>[pg 58]</span> but I have been insulted and
+       trampled upon, and, if I lay down my life in the attempt, I
+       will repay Zempachi for what he has this day done."</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, then, since you needs must be revenged, go and fight,
+    and may success attend you! Still, as much depends upon the
+    blade you carry, and I fear yours is likely to be but a sorry
+    weapon, I will give you a sword;" and with this he offered
+    Tsun&eacute;hei his own.</p>
+
+    <p>"Nay, my lord," replied Tsun&eacute;hei; "I have a famous
+    sword, by Rai Kunitoshi, which my father gave me. I have never
+    shown it to your lordship, but I have it safely stowed away in
+    my room."</p>
+
+    <p>When Sh&ocirc;zay&eacute;mon saw and examined the sword, he
+    admired it greatly, and said, "This is indeed a beautiful
+    blade, and one on which you may rely. Take it, then, and bear
+    yourself nobly in the fight; only remember that Zempachi is a
+    cunning spearsman, and be sure to be very cautious."</p>
+
+    <p>So Tsun&eacute;hei, after thanking his lord for his manifold
+    kindnesses, took an affectionate leave, and went to Zempachi's
+    house, and said to the servant&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"It seems that your master wants to speak to me. Be so good
+    as to take me to see him."</p>
+
+    <p>So the servant led him into the garden, where Zempachi,
+    spear in hand, was waiting to kill him. When Zempachi saw him,
+    he cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Ha! so you have come back; and now for your insolence, this
+    day I mean to kill you with my own hand."</p>
+
+    <p>"Insolent yourself!" replied Tsun&eacute;hei. "Beast, and no
+    Samurai! Come, let us see which of us is the better man."</p>
+
+    <p>Furiously incensed, Zempachi thrust with his spear at
+    Tsun&eacute;hei; but he, trusting to his good sword, attacked
+    Zempachi, who, cunning warrior as he was, could gain no
+    advantage. At last Zempachi, losing his temper, began fighting
+    less carefully, so that Tsun&eacute;hei found an opportunity of
+    cutting the shaft of his spear. Zempachi then drew his sword,
+    and two of his retainers came up to assist him; but
+    Tsun&eacute;hei killed one of them, and wounded Zempachi in the
+    forehead. The second retainer fled affrighted at the youth's
+    valour, and Zempachi was blinded by the blood which flowed from
+    the wound on his forehead. Then Tsun&eacute;hei said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"To kill one who is as a blind man were unworthy a soldier.
+    Wipe the blood from your eyes, Sir Zempachi, and let us fight
+    it out fairly."</p>
+
+    <p>So Zempachi, wiping away his blood, bound a kerchief round
+    his head, and fought again desperately. But at last the pain of
+    his wound and the loss of blood overcame him, and
+    Tsun&eacute;hei cut him down with a wound in the shoulder and
+    easily dispatched him.</p>
+
+    <p>Then Tsun&eacute;hei went and reported the whole matter to
+    the Governor of Yedo, and was put in prison until an inquiry
+    could be made. But the Chief Priest of Bandzuin, who had heard
+    of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page59"
+       id="page59"></a>[pg 59]</span> the affair, went and told the
+       governor all the bad deeds of Zempachi, and having procured
+       Tsun&eacute;hei's pardon, took him home and employed him as
+       porter in the temple. So Tsun&eacute;hei changed his name to
+       Ch&ocirc;bei, and earned much respect in the neighbourhood,
+       both for his talents and for his many good works. If any man
+       were in distress, he would help him, heedless of his own
+       advantage or danger, until men came to look up to him as to
+       a father, and many youths joined him and became his
+       apprentices. So he built a house at Hanakawado, in Asakusa,
+       and lived there with his apprentices, whom he farmed out as
+       spearsmen and footmen to the Daimios and Hatamotos, taking
+       for himself the tithe of their earnings. But if any of them
+       were sick or in trouble, Ch&ocirc;bei would nurse and
+       support them, and provide physicians and medicine. And the
+       fame of his goodness went abroad until his apprentices were
+       more than two thousand men, and were employed in every part
+       of the city. But as for Ch&ocirc;bei, the more he prospered,
+       the more he gave in charity, and all men praised his good
+       and generous heart.</p>
+
+    <p>This was the time when the Hatamotos had formed themselves
+    into bands of Otokodat&eacute;,<a id="footnotetag21"
+       name="footnotetag21"></a><a href="#footnote21"><sup>21</sup></a>
+       of which Midzuno Jiurozay&eacute;mon, Kond&ocirc;
+       Noborinosuk&eacute;, and Ab&eacute; Shirogor&ocirc; were the
+       chiefs. And the leagues of the nobles despised the leagues
+       of the wardsmen, and treated them with scorn, and tried to
+       put to shame Ch&ocirc;bei and his brave men; but the nobles'
+       weapons recoiled upon themselves, and, whenever they tried
+       to bring contempt upon Ch&ocirc;bei, they themselves were
+       brought to ridicule. So there was great hatred on both
+       sides.</p>
+
+    <p>One day, that Ch&ocirc;bei went to divert himself in a
+    tea-house in the Yoshiwara, he saw a felt carpet spread in an
+    upper room, which had been adorned as for some special
+    occasion; and he asked the master of the house what guest of
+    distinction was expected. The landlord replied that my Lord
+    Jiurozay&eacute;mon, the chief of the Otokodat&eacute; of the
+    Hatamotos, was due there that afternoon. On hearing this,
+    Ch&ocirc;bei replied that as he much wished to meet my Lord
+    Jiurozay&eacute;mon, he would lie down and await his coming.
+    The landlord was put out at this, and knew not what to say; but
+    yet he dare not thwart Ch&ocirc;bei, the powerful chief of the
+    Otokodat&eacute;. So Ch&ocirc;bei took off his clothes and laid
+    himself down upon the carpet. After a while my Lord
+    Jiurozay&eacute;mon arrived, and going upstairs found a man of
+    large stature lying naked upon the carpet which had been spread
+    for him.</p>
+
+    <p>"What low ruffian is this?" shouted he angrily to the
+    landlord.</p>
+
+    <p>"My lord, it is Ch&ocirc;bei, the chief of the
+    Otokodat&eacute;," answered the man, trembling.</p>
+
+    <p>Jiurozay&eacute;mon at once suspected that Ch&ocirc;bei was
+    doing this to insult him; so he sat down by the side of the
+    sleeping man, and lighting his pipe began to smoke. When he had
+    finished his pipe, he emptied the burning ashes into
+    Ch&ocirc;bei's navel; but Ch&ocirc;bei,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page60"
+       id="page60"></a>[pg 60]</span> patiently bearing the pain,
+       still feigned sleep. Ten times did Jiurozay&eacute;mon fill
+       his pipe,<a id="footnotetag22"
+       name="footnotetag22"></a><a href="#footnote22"><sup>22</sup></a>
+       and ten times he shook out the burning ashes on to
+       Ch&ocirc;bei's navel; but he neither stirred nor spoke. Then
+       Jiurozay&eacute;mon, astonished at his fortitude, shook him,
+       and roused him, saying&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Ch&ocirc;bei! Ch&ocirc;bei! wake up, man."</p>
+
+    <p>"What is the matter?" said Ch&ocirc;bei, rubbing his eyes as
+    though he were awaking from a deep sleep; then seeing
+    Jiurozay&eacute;mon, he pretended to be startled, and said,
+    "Oh, my lord, I know not who you are; but I have been very rude
+    to your lordship. I was overcome with wine, and fell asleep: I
+    pray your lordship to forgive me."</p>
+
+    <p>"Is your name Ch&ocirc;bei?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Yes, my lord, at your service. A poor wardsman, and
+    ignorant of good manners, I have been very rude; but I pray
+    your lordship to excuse my ill-breeding."</p>
+
+    <p>"Nay, nay; we have all heard the fame of Ch&ocirc;bei, of
+    Bandzuin, and I hold myself lucky to have met you this day. Let
+    us be friends."</p>
+
+    <p>"It is a great honour for a humble wardsman to meet a
+    nobleman face to face."</p>
+
+    <p>As they were speaking, the waitresses brought in fish and
+    wine, and Jiurozay&eacute;mon pressed Ch&ocirc;bei to feast
+    with him; and thinking to annoy Ch&ocirc;bei, offered him a
+    large wine-cup,<a id="footnotetag23"
+       name="footnotetag23"></a><a href="#footnote23"><sup>23</sup></a>
+       which, however, he drank without shrinking, and then
+       returned to his entertainer, who was by no means so well
+       able to bear the fumes of the wine. Then Jiurozay&eacute;mon
+       hit upon another device for annoying Ch&ocirc;bei, and,
+       hoping to frighten him, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Here, Ch&ocirc;bei, let me offer you some fish;" and with
+    those words he drew his sword, and, picking up a cake of baked
+    fish upon the point of it, thrust it towards the wardsman's
+    mouth. Any ordinary man would have been afraid to accept the
+    morsel so roughly offered; but Ch&ocirc;bei simply opened his
+    mouth, and taking the cake off the sword's point ate it without
+    wincing. Whilst Jiurozay&eacute;mon was wondering in his heart
+    what manner of man this was, that nothing could daunt,
+    Ch&ocirc;bei said to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"This meeting with your lordship has been an auspicious
+    occasion to me, and I would fain ask leave to offer some humble
+    gift to your lordship in memory of it.<a id="footnotetag24"
+       name="footnotetag24"></a><a href="#footnote24"><sup>24</sup></a>
+       Is there anything which your lordship would specially
+       fancy?"</p>
+
+    <p>"I am very fond of cold macaroni."</p>
+
+    <p>"Then I shall have the honour of ordering some for your
+    lordship;" and with this Ch&ocirc;bei went downstairs, and
+    calling one <span class="pagenum"><a name="page61"
+       id="page61"></a>[pg 61]</span> of his apprentices, named
+       T&ocirc;ken Gombei,<a id="footnotetag25"
+       name="footnotetag25"></a><a href="#footnote25"><sup>25</sup></a>
+       who was waiting for him, gave him a hundred riyos (about
+       &pound;28), and bade him collect all the cold macaroni to be
+       found in the neighbouring cook-shops and pile it up in front
+       of the tea-house. So Gombei went home, and, collecting
+       Ch&ocirc;bei's apprentices, sent them out in all directions
+       to buy the macaroni. Jiurozay&eacute;mon all this while was
+       thinking of the pleasure he would have in laughing at
+       Ch&ocirc;bei for offering him a mean and paltry present; but
+       when, by degrees, the macaroni began to be piled
+       mountain-high around the tea-house, he saw that he could not
+       make a fool of Ch&ocirc;bei, and went home discomfited.</p>
+
+    <p>It has already been told how Shirai Gompachi was befriended
+    and helped by Ch&ocirc;bei.<a id="footnotetag26"
+       name="footnotetag26"></a><a href="#footnote26"><sup>26</sup></a>
+       His name will occur again in this story.</p>
+
+    <p>At this time there lived in the province of Yamato a certain
+    Daimio, called Honda Dainaiki, who one day, when surrounded by
+    several of his retainers, produced a sword, and bade them look
+    at it and say from what smith's workshop the blade had
+    come.</p>
+
+    <p>"I think this must be a Masamun&eacute; blade," said one
+    Fuwa Banzay&eacute;mon.</p>
+
+    <p>"No," said Nagoya Sanza, after examining the weapon
+    attentively, "this certainly is a
+    Muramasa."<a id="footnotetag27"
+       name="footnotetag27"></a><a href="#footnote27"><sup>27</sup></a></p>
+
+    <p>A third Samurai, named Takagi Umanoj&ocirc;, pronounced it
+    to be <span class="pagenum"><a name="page62"
+       id="page62"></a>[pg 62]</span> the work of Shidzu Kanenji;
+       and as they could not agree, but each maintained his
+       opinion, their lord sent for a famous connoisseur to decide
+       the point; and the sword proved, as Sanza had said, to be a
+       genuine Muramasa. Sanza was delighted at the verdict; but
+       the other two went home rather crestfallen. Umanoj&ocirc;,
+       although he had been worsted in the argument, bore no malice
+       nor ill-will in his heart; but Banzay&eacute;mon, who was a
+       vainglorious personage, puffed up with the idea of his own
+       importance, conceived a spite against Sanza, and watched for
+       an opportunity to put him to shame. At last, one day
+       Banzay&eacute;mon, eager to be revenged upon Sanza, went to
+       the Prince, and said, "Your lordship ought to see Sanza
+       fence; his swordsmanship is beyond all praise. I know that I
+       am no match for him; still, if it will please your lordship,
+       I will try a bout with him;" and the Prince, who was a mere
+       stripling, and thought it would be rare sport, immediately
+       sent for Sanza and desired he would fence with
+       Banzay&eacute;mon. So the two went out into the garden, and
+       stood up facing each other, armed with wooden swords. Now
+       Banzay&eacute;mon was proud of his skill, and thought he had
+       no equal in fencing; so he expected to gain an easy victory
+       over Sanza, and promised himself the luxury of giving his
+       adversary a beating that should fully make up for the
+       mortification which he had felt in the matter of the dispute
+       about the sword. It happened, however, that he had
+       undervalued the skill of Sanza, who, when he saw that his
+       adversary was attacking him savagely and in good earnest, by
+       a rapid blow struck Banzay&eacute;mon so sharply on the
+       wrist that he dropped the sword, and, before he could pick
+       it up again, delivered a second cut on the shoulder, which
+       sent him rolling over in the dust. All the officers present,
+       seeing this, praised Sanza's skill, and Banzay&eacute;mon,
+       utterly stricken with shame, ran away home and hid
+       himself.</p>
+
+    <p>After this affair Sanza rose high in the favour of his lord;
+    and Banzay&eacute;mon, who was more than ever jealous of him,
+    feigned sickness, and stayed at home devising schemes for
+    Sanza's ruin.</p>
+
+    <p>Now it happened that the Prince, wishing to have the
+    Muramasa blade mounted, sent for Sanza and entrusted it to his
+    care, ordering him to employ the most cunning workmen in the
+    manufacture of the scabbard-hilt and ornaments; and Sanza,
+    having received the blade, took it home, and put it carefully
+    away. When Banzay&eacute;mon heard of this, he was overjoyed;
+    for he saw that his opportunity for revenge had come. He
+    determined, if possible, to kill Sanza, but at any rate to
+    steal the sword which had been committed to his care by the
+    Prince, knowing full well that if Sanza lost the sword he and
+    his family would be ruined. Being a single man, without wife or
+    child, he sold his furniture, and, turning all his available
+    property into money, made ready to fly the country. When his
+    preparations were concluded, he went in the middle of the night
+    to Sanza's house and tried to get in by stealth; but the doors
+    and shutters were all carefully bolted from the inside, and
+    there was no hole by which he could effect
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page63"
+       id="page63"></a>[pg 63]</span> an entrance. All was still,
+       however, and the people of the house were evidently fast
+       asleep; so he climbed up to the second storey, and, having
+       contrived to unfasten a window, made his way in. With soft,
+       cat-like footsteps he crept downstairs, and, looking into
+       one of the rooms, saw Sanza and his wife sleeping on the
+       mats, with their little son Kosanza, a boy of thirteen,
+       curled up in his quilt between them. The light in the
+       night-lamp was at its last flicker, but, peering through the
+       gloom, he could just see the Prince's famous Muramasa sword
+       lying on a sword-rack in the raised part of the room: so he
+       crawled stealthily along until he could reach it, and stuck
+       it in his girdle. Then, drawing near to Sanza, he bestrode
+       his sleeping body, and, brandishing the sword made a thrust
+       at his throat; but in his excitement his hand shook, so that
+       he missed his aim, and only scratched Sanza, who, waking
+       with a start and trying to jump up, felt himself held down
+       by a man standing over him. Stretching out his hands, he
+       would have wrestled with his enemy; when Banzay&eacute;mon,
+       leaping back, kicked over the night-lamp, and throwing open
+       the shutters, dashed into the garden. Snatching up his
+       sword, Sanza rushed out after him; and his wife, having lit
+       a lantern and armed herself with a
+       halberd,<a id="footnotetag28"
+       name="footnotetag28"></a><a href="#footnote28"><sup>28</sup></a>
+       went out, with her son Kosanza, who carried a drawn dirk, to
+       help her husband. Then Banzay&eacute;mon, who was hiding in
+       the shadow of a large pine-tree, seeing the lantern and
+       dreading detection, seized a stone and hurled it at the
+       light, and, chancing to strike it, put it out, and then
+       scrambling over the fence unseen, fled into the darkness.
+       When Sanza had searched all over the garden in vain, he
+       returned to his room and examined his wound, which proving
+       very slight, he began to look about to see whether the thief
+       had carried off anything; but when his eye fell upon the
+       place where the Muramasa sword had lain, he saw that it was
+       gone. He hunted everywhere, but it was not to be found. The
+       precious blade with which his Prince had entrusted him had
+       been stolen, and the blame would fall heavily upon him.
+       Filled with grief and shame at the loss, Sanza and his wife
+       and child remained in great anxiety until the morning broke,
+       when he reported the matter to one of the Prince's
+       councillors, and waited in seclusion until he should receive
+       his lord's commands.</p>
+
+    <p>It soon became known that Banzay&eacute;mon, who had fled
+    the province, was the thief; and the councillors made their
+    report accordingly to the Prince, who, although he expressed
+    his detestation of the mean action of Banzay&eacute;mon, could
+    not absolve Sanza from blame, in that he had not taken better
+    precautions to insure the safety of the sword that had been
+    committed to his trust. It was decided, therefore, that Sanza
+    should be dismissed from his service, and that his goods should
+    be confiscated; with <span class="pagenum"><a name="page64"
+       id="page64"></a>[pg 64]</span> the proviso that should he be
+       able to find Banzay&eacute;mon, and recover the lost
+       Muramasa blade, he should be restored to his former
+       position. Sanza, who from the first had made up his mind
+       that his punishment would be severe, accepted the decree
+       without a murmur; and, having committed his wife and son to
+       the care of his relations, prepared to leave the country as
+       a R&ocirc;nin and search for Banzay&eacute;mon.</p>
+
+    <p>Before starting, however, he thought that he would go to his
+    brother-officer, Takagi Umanoj&ocirc;, and consult with him as
+    to what course he should pursue to gain his end. But this
+    Umanoj&ocirc;, who was by nature a churlish fellow, answered
+    him unkindly, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"It is true that Banzay&eacute;mon is a mean thief; but
+    still it was through your carelessness that the sword was lost.
+    It is of no avail your coming to me for help: you must get it
+    back as best you may."</p>
+
+    <p>"Ah!" replied Sanza, "I see that you too bear me a grudge
+    because I defeated you in the matter of the judgment of the
+    sword. You are no better than Banzay&eacute;mon yourself."</p>
+
+    <p>And his heart was bitter against his fellow men, and he left
+    the house determined to kill Umanoj&ocirc; first and afterwards
+    to track out Banzay&eacute;mon; so, pretending to start on his
+    journey, he hid in an inn, and waited for an opportunity to
+    attack Umanoj&ocirc;.</p>
+
+    <p>One day Umanoj&ocirc;, who was very fond of fishing, had
+    taken his son Umanosuk&eacute;, a lad of sixteen, down to the
+    sea-shore with him; and as the two were enjoying themselves,
+    all of a sudden they perceived a Samurai running towards them,
+    and when he drew near they saw that it was Sanza.
+    Umanoj&ocirc;, thinking that Sanza had come back in order to
+    talk over some important matter, left his angling and went to
+    meet him. Then Sanza cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Now, Sir Umanoj&ocirc;, draw and defend yourself. What!
+    were you in league with Banzay&eacute;mon to vent your spite
+    upon me? Draw, sir, draw! You have spirited away your
+    accomplice; but, at any rate, you are here yourself, and shall
+    answer for your deed. It is no use playing the innocent; your
+    astonished face shall not save you. Defend yourself, coward and
+    traitor!" and with these words Sanza flourished his naked
+    sword.</p>
+
+    <p>"Nay, Sir Sanza," replied the other, anxious by a soft
+    answer to turn away his wrath; "I am innocent of this deed.
+    Waste not your valour on so poor a cause."</p>
+
+    <p>"Lying knave!" said Sanza; "think not that you can impose
+    upon me. I know your treacherous heart;" and, rushing upon
+    Umanoj&ocirc;, he cut him on the forehead so that he fell in
+    agony upon the sand.</p>
+
+    <p>Umanosuk&eacute; in the meanwhile, who had been fishing at
+    some distance from his father, rushed up when he saw him in
+    this perilous situation and threw a stone at Sanza, hoping to
+    distract his attention; but, before he could reach the spot,
+    Sanza had delivered the death-blow, and Umanoj&ocirc; lay a
+    corpse upon the
+    beach.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page65"
+       id="page65"></a>[pg 65]</span>
+
+    <p>"Stop, Sir Sanza&mdash;murderer of my father!" cried
+    Umanosuk&eacute;, drawing his sword, "stop and do battle with
+    me, that I may avenge his death."</p>
+
+    <p>"That you should wish to slay your father's enemy," replied
+    Sanza, "is but right and proper; and although I had just cause
+    of quarrel with your father, and killed him, as a Samurai
+    should, yet would I gladly forfeit my life to you here; but my
+    life is precious to me for one purpose&mdash;that I may punish
+    Banzay&eacute;mon and get back the stolen sword. When I shall
+    have restored that sword to my lord, then will I give you your
+    revenge, and you may kill me. A soldier's word is truth; but,
+    as a pledge that I will fulfil my promise, I will give to you,
+    as hostages, my wife and boy. Stay your avenging hand, I pray
+    you, until my desire shall have been attained."</p>
+
+    <p>Umanosuk&eacute;, who was a brave and honest youth, as
+    famous in the clan for the goodness of his heart as for his
+    skill in the use of arms, when he heard Sanza's humble
+    petition, relented, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I agree to wait, and will take your wife and boy as
+    hostages for your return."</p>
+
+    <p>"I humbly thank you," said Sanza. "When I shall have
+    chastised Banzay&eacute;mon, I will return, and you shall claim
+    your revenge."</p>
+
+    <p>So Sanza went his way to Yedo to seek for Banzay&eacute;mon,
+    and Umanosuk&eacute; mourned over his father's grave.</p>
+
+    <p>Now Banzay&eacute;mon, when he arrived in Yedo, found
+    himself friendless and without the means of earning his living,
+    when by accident he heard of the fame of Ch&ocirc;bei of
+    Bandzuin, the chief of the Otokodat&eacute;, to whom he applied
+    for assistance; and having entered the fraternity, supported
+    himself by giving fencing-lessons. He had been plying his trade
+    for some time, and had earned some little reputation, when
+    Sanza reached the city and began his search for him. But the
+    days and months passed away, and, after a year's fruitless
+    seeking, Sanza, who had spent all his money without obtaining a
+    clue to the whereabouts of his enemy, was sorely perplexed, and
+    was driven to live by his wits as a fortune-teller. Work as he
+    would, it was a hard matter for him to gain the price of his
+    daily food, and, in spite of all his pains, his revenge seemed
+    as far off as ever, when he bethought him that the Yoshiwara
+    was one of the most bustling places in the city, and that if he
+    kept watch there, sooner or later he would be sure to fall in
+    with Banzay&eacute;mon. So be bought a hat of plaited bamboo,
+    that completely covered his face, and lay in wait at the
+    Yoshiwara.</p>
+
+    <p>One day Banzay&eacute;mon and two of Ch&ocirc;bei's
+    apprentices T&ocirc;ken Gombei and Shirobei, who, from his wild
+    and indocile nature, was surnamed "the Colt," were amusing
+    themselves and drinking in an upper storey of a tea-house in
+    the Yoshiwara, when T&ocirc;ken Gombei, happening to look down
+    upon the street below, saw a Samurai pass by, poorly clad in
+    worn-out old clothes, but whose
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page66"
+       id="page66"></a>[pg 66]</span> poverty-stricken appearance
+       contrasted with his proud and haughty bearing.</p>
+
+    <p>"Look there!" said Gombei, calling the attention of the
+    others; "look at that Samurai. Dirty and ragged as his coat is,
+    how easy it is to see that he is of noble birth! Let us
+    wardsmen dress ourselves up in never so fine clothes, we could
+    not look as he does."</p>
+
+    <p>"Ay," said Shirobei, "I wish we could make friends with him,
+    and ask him up here to drink a cup of wine with us. However, it
+    would not be seemly for us wardsmen to go and invite a person
+    of his condition."</p>
+
+    <p>"We can easily get over that difficulty," said
+    Banzay&eacute;mon. "As I am a Samurai myself, there will be no
+    impropriety in my going and saying a few civil words to him,
+    and bringing him in."</p>
+
+    <p>The other two having joyfully accepted the offer,
+    Banzay&eacute;mon ran downstairs, and went up to the strange
+    Samurai and saluted him, saying&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I pray you to wait a moment, Sir Samurai. My name is Fuwa
+    Banzay&eacute;mon at your service. I am a R&ocirc;nin, as I
+    judge from your appearance that you are yourself. I hope you
+    will not think me rude if I venture to ask you to honour me
+    with your friendship, and to come into this tea-house to drink
+    a cup of wine with me and two of my friends."</p>
+
+    <p>The strange Samurai, who was no other than Sanza, looking at
+    the speaker through the interstices of his deep bamboo hat, and
+    recognizing his enemy Banzay&eacute;mon, gave a start of
+    surprise, and, uncovering his head, said sternly&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Have you forgotten my face, Banzay&eacute;mon?"</p>
+
+    <p>For a moment Banzay&eacute;mon was taken aback, but quickly
+    recovering himself, he replied, "Ah! Sir Sanza, you may well be
+    angry with me; but since I stole the Muramasa sword and fled to
+    Yedo I have known no peace: I have been haunted by remorse for
+    my crime. I shall not resist your vengeance: do with me as it
+    shall seem best to you; or rather take my life, and let there
+    be an end of this quarrel."</p>
+
+    <p>"Nay," answered Sanza, "to kill a man who repents him of his
+    sins is a base and ignoble action. When you stole from me the
+    Muramasa blade which had been confided to my care by my lord, I
+    became a disgraced and ruined man. Give me back that sword,
+    that I may lay it before my lord, and I will spare your life. I
+    seek to slay no man needlessly."</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir Sanza, I thank you for your mercy. At this moment I
+    have not the sword by me, but if you will go into yonder
+    tea-house and wait awhile, I will fetch it and deliver it into
+    your hands."</p>
+
+    <p>Sanza having consented to this, the two men entered the
+    tea-house, where Banzay&eacute;mon's two companions were
+    waiting for them. But Banzay&eacute;mon, ashamed of his own
+    evil deed, still pretended that Sanza was a stranger, and
+    introduced him as such,
+    saying&mdash;</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page67"
+       id="page67"></a>[pg 67]</span>
+
+    <p>"Come Sir Samurai, since we have the honour of your company,
+    let me offer you a wine-cup."</p>
+
+    <p>Banzay&eacute;mon and the two men pressed the wine-cup upon
+    Sanza so often that the fumes gradually got into his head and
+    he fell asleep; the two wardsmen, seeing this, went out for a
+    walk, and Banzay&eacute;mon, left alone with the sleeping man,
+    began to revolve fresh plots against him in his mind. On a
+    sudden, a thought struck him. Noiselessly seizing Sanza's
+    sword, which he had laid aside on entering the room, he stole
+    softly downstairs with it, and, carrying it into the back yard,
+    pounded and blunted its edge with a stone, and having made it
+    useless as a weapon, he replaced it in its scabbard, and
+    running upstairs again laid it in its place without disturbing
+    Sanza, who, little suspecting treachery, lay sleeping off the
+    effects of the wine. At last, however, he awoke, and, ashamed
+    at having been overcome by drink, he said to
+    Banzay&eacute;mon&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Come, Banzay&eacute;mon, we have dallied too long; give me
+    the Muramasa sword, and let me go."</p>
+
+    <p>"Of course," replied the other, sneeringly, "I am longing to
+    give it back to you; but unfortunately, in my poverty, I have
+    been obliged to pawn it for fifty ounces of silver. If you have
+    so much money about you, give it to me and I will return the
+    sword to you."</p>
+
+    <p>"Wretch!" cried Sanza, seeing that Banzay&eacute;mon was
+    trying to fool him, "have I not had enough of your vile tricks?
+    At any rate, if I cannot get back the sword, your head shall be
+    laid before my lord in its place. Come," added he, stamping his
+    foot impatiently, "defend yourself."</p>
+
+    <p>"With all my heart. But not here in this tea-house. Let us
+    go to the Mound, and fight it out."</p>
+
+    <p>"Agreed! There is no need for us to bring trouble on the
+    landlord. Come to the Mound of the Yoshiwara."</p>
+
+    <p>So they went to the Mound, and drawing their swords, began
+    to fight furiously. As the news soon spread abroad through the
+    Yoshiwara that a duel was being fought upon the Mound, the
+    people flocked out to see the sight; and among them came
+    T&ocirc;ken Gombei and Shirobei, Banzay&eacute;mon's
+    companions, who, when they saw that the combatants were their
+    own friend and the strange Samurai, tried to interfere and stop
+    the fight, but, being hindered by the thickness of the crowd,
+    remained as spectators. The two men fought desperately, each
+    driven by fierce rage against the other; but Sanza, who was by
+    far the better fencer of the two, once, twice, and again dealt
+    blows which should have cut Banzay&eacute;mon down, and yet no
+    blood came forth. Sanza, astonished at this, put forth all his
+    strength, and fought so skilfully, that all the bystanders
+    applauded him, and Banzay&eacute;mon, though he knew his
+    adversary's sword to be blunted, was so terrified that he
+    stumbled and fell. Sanza, brave soldier that he was, scorned to
+    strike a fallen foe, and bade him rise and fight again. So they
+    engaged again, and Sanza, who from the beginning had had the
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page68"
+       id="page68"></a>[pg 68]</span> advantage, slipped and fell
+       in his turn; Banzay&eacute;mon, forgetting the mercy which
+       had been shown to him, rushed up, with bloodthirsty joy
+       glaring in his eyes, and stabbed Sanza in the side as he lay
+       on the ground. Faint as he was, he could not lift his hand
+       to save himself; and his craven foe was about to strike him
+       again, when the bystanders all cried shame upon his
+       baseness. Then Gombei and Shirobei lifted up their voices
+       and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Hold, coward! Have you forgotten how your own life was
+    spared but a moment since? Beast of a Samurai, we have been
+    your friends hitherto, but now behold in us the avengers of
+    this brave man."</p>
+
+    <p>With these words the two men drew their dirks, and the
+    spectators fell back as they rushed in upon Banzay&eacute;mon,
+    who, terror-stricken by their fierce looks and words, fled
+    without having dealt the death-blow to Sanza. They tried to
+    pursue him, but he made good his escape, so the two men
+    returned to help the wounded man. When he came to himself by
+    dint of their kind treatment, they spoke to him and comforted
+    him, and asked him what province he came from, that they might
+    write to his friends and tell them what had befallen him.
+    Sanza, in a voice faint from pain and loss of blood, told them
+    his name and the story of the stolen sword, and of his enmity
+    against Banzay&eacute;mon. "But," said he, "just now, when I
+    was fighting, I struck Banzay&eacute;mon more than once, and
+    without effect. How could that have been?" Then they looked at
+    his sword, which had fallen by his side, and saw that the edge
+    was all broken away. More than ever they felt indignant at the
+    baseness of Banzay&eacute;mon's heart, and redoubled their
+    kindness to Sanza; but, in. spite of all their efforts, he grew
+    weaker and weaker, until at last his breathing ceased
+    altogether. So they buried the corpse honourably in an
+    adjoining temple, and wrote to Sanza's wife and son, describing
+    to them the manner of his death.</p>
+
+    <p>Now when Sanza's wife, who had long been anxiously expecting
+    her husband's return, opened the letter and learned the cruel
+    circumstances of his death, she and her son Kosanza mourned
+    bitterly over his loss. Then Kosanza, who was now fourteen
+    years old, said to his mother&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Take comfort, mother; for I will go to Yedo and seek out
+    this Banzay&eacute;mon, my father's murderer, and I will surely
+    avenge his death. Now, therefore, make ready all that I need
+    for this journey."</p>
+
+    <p>And as they were consulting over the manner of their
+    revenge, Umanosuk&eacute;, the son of Umanoj&ocirc;, whom Sanza
+    had slain, having heard of the death of his father's enemy,
+    came to the house. But he came with no hostile intent. True,
+    Sanza had killed his father, but the widow and the orphan were
+    guiltless, and he bore them no ill-will; on the contrary, he
+    felt that Banzay&eacute;mon was their common enemy. It was he
+    who by his evil deeds had been the cause of all the mischief
+    that had arisen, and now again,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page69"
+       id="page69"></a>[pg 69]</span> by murdering Sanza, he had
+       robbed Umanosuk&eacute; of his revenge. In this spirit he
+       said to Kosanza&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir Kosanza, I hear that your father has been cruelly
+    murdered by Banzay&eacute;mon at Yedo. I know that you will
+    avenge the death of your father, as the son of a soldier
+    should: if, therefore, you will accept my poor services, I will
+    be your second, and will help you to the best of my ability.
+    Banzay&eacute;mon shall be my enemy, as he is yours."</p>
+
+    <p>"Nay, Sir Umanosuk&eacute;, although I thank you from my
+    heart, I cannot accept this favour at your hands. My father
+    Sanza slew your noble father: that you should requite this
+    misfortune thus is more than kind, but I cannot think of
+    suffering you to risk your life on my behalf."</p>
+
+    <p>"Listen to me," replied Umanosuk&eacute;, smiling, "and you
+    will think it less strange that I should offer to help you.
+    Last year, when my father lay a bleeding corpse on the
+    sea-shore, your father made a covenant with me that he would
+    return to give me my revenge, so soon as he should have
+    regained the stolen sword. Banzay&eacute;mon, by murdering him
+    on the Mound of the Yoshiwara, has thwarted me in this; and now
+    upon whom can I avenge my father's death but upon him whose
+    baseness was indeed its cause? Now, therefore, I am determined
+    to go with you to Yedo, and not before the murders of our two
+    fathers shall have been fully atoned for will we return to our
+    own country."</p>
+
+    <p>When Kosanza heard this generous speech, he could not
+    conceal his admiration; and the widow, prostrating herself at
+    Umanosuk&eacute;'s feet, shed tears of gratitude.</p>
+
+    <p>The two youths, having agreed to stand by one another, made
+    all ready for their journey, and obtained leave from their
+    prince to go in search of the traitor Banzay&eacute;mon. They
+    reached Yedo without meeting with any adventures, and, taking
+    up their abode at a cheap inn, began to make their inquiries;
+    but, although they sought far and wide, they could learn no
+    tidings of their enemy. When three months had passed thus,
+    Kosanza began to grow faint-hearted at their repeated failures;
+    but Umanosuk&eacute; supported and comforted him, urging him to
+    fresh efforts. But soon a great misfortune befell them: Kosanza
+    fell sick with ophthalmia, and neither the tender nursing of
+    his friend, nor the drugs and doctors upon whom
+    Umanosuk&eacute; spent all their money, had any effect on the
+    suffering boy, who soon became stone blind. Friendless and
+    penniless, the one deprived of his eyesight and only a clog
+    upon the other, the two youths were thrown upon their own
+    resources. Then Umanosuk&eacute;, reduced to the last extremity
+    of distress, was forced to lead out Kosanza to Asakusa to beg
+    sitting by the roadside, whilst he himself, wandering hither
+    and thither, picked up what he could from the charity of those
+    who saw his wretched plight. But all this while he never lost
+    sight of his revenge, and almost thanked the chance which had
+    made him a beggar, for the opportunity which it gave him of
+    hunting out strange and hidden haunts of vagabond life into
+    which in his <span class="pagenum"><a name="page70"
+       id="page70"></a>[pg 70]</span> more prosperous condition he
+       could not have penetrated. So he walked to and fro through
+       the city, leaning on a stout staff, in which he had hidden
+       his sword, waiting patiently for fortune to bring him face
+       to face with Banzay&eacute;mon.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/070.jpg"
+             name="image070"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image070"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/070.jpg"
+             alt="TRICKS OF SWORDSMANSHIP AT ASAKUSA." /></a>
+             TRICKS OF SWORDSMANSHIP AT ASAKUSA.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>Now Banzay&eacute;mon, after he had killed Sanza on the
+    Mound of the Yoshiwara, did not dare to show his face again in
+    the house of Ch&ocirc;bei, the Father of the Otokodat&eacute;;
+    for he knew that the two men, T&ocirc;ken Gombei and Shirobei
+    "the loose Colt," would not only bear an evil report of him,
+    but would even kill him if he fell into their hands, so great
+    had been their indignation at his cowardly Conduct; so he
+    entered a company of mountebanks, and earned his living by
+    showing tricks of swordsmanship, and selling tooth-powder at
+    the Okuyama, at Asakusa.<a id="footnotetag29"
+       name="footnotetag29"></a><a href="#footnote29"><sup>29</sup></a>
+       One day, as he was going towards Asakusa to ply his trade,
+       he caught sight of a blind beggar, in whom, in spite of his
+       poverty-stricken and altered appearance, he recognized the
+       son of his enemy. Rightly he judged that, in spite of the
+       boy's apparently helpless condition, the discovery boded no
+       weal for him; so mounting to the upper storey of a tea-house
+       hard by, he watched to see who should come to Kosanza's
+       assistance. Nor had he to wait long, for presently he saw a
+       second beggar come up and speak words of encouragement and
+       kindness to the blind youth; and looking attentively, he saw
+       that the new-comer was Umanosuk&eacute;. Having thus
+       discovered who was on his track, he went home and sought
+       means of killing the two beggars; so he lay in wait and
+       traced them to the poor hut where they dwelt, and one night,
+       when he knew <span class="pagenum"><a name="page71"
+       id="page71"></a>[pg 71]</span> Umanosuk&eacute; to be
+       absent, he crept in. Kosanza, being blind, thought that the
+       footsteps were those of Umanosuk&eacute;, and jumped up to
+       welcome him; but he, in his heartless cruelty, which not
+       even the boy's piteous state could move, slew Kosanza as he
+       helplessly stretched out his hands to feel for his friend.
+       The deed was yet unfinished when Umanosuk&eacute; returned,
+       and, hearing a scuffle inside the hut, drew the sword which
+       was hidden in his staff and rushed in; but
+       Banzay&eacute;mon, profiting by the darkness, eluded him and
+       fled from the hut. Umanosuk&eacute; followed swiftly after
+       him; but just as he was on the point of catching him,
+       Banzay&eacute;mon, making a sweep backwards with his drawn
+       sword, wounded Umanosuk&eacute; in the thigh, so that he
+       stumbled and fell, and the murderer, swift of foot, made
+       good his escape. The wounded youth tried to pursue him
+       again, but being compelled by the pain of his wound to
+       desist, returned home and found his blind companion lying
+       dead, weltering in his own blood. Cursing his unhappy fate,
+       he called in the beggars of the fraternity to which he
+       belonged, and between them they buried Kosanza, and he
+       himself being too poor to procure a surgeon's aid, or to buy
+       healing medicaments for his wound, became a cripple.</p>
+
+    <p>It was at this time that Shirai Gompachi, who was living
+    under the protection of Ch&ocirc;bei, the Father of the
+    Otokodat&eacute;, was in love with Komurasaki, the beautiful
+    courtesan who lived at the sign of the Three Sea-shores, in the
+    Yoshiwara. He had long exhausted the scanty supplies which he
+    possessed, and was now in the habit of feeding his purse by
+    murder and robbery, that he might have means to pursue his wild
+    and extravagant life. One night, when he was out on his
+    cutthroat business, his fellows, who had long suspected that he
+    was after no good, sent one of their number, named Seibei, to
+    watch him. Gompachi, little dreaming that any one was following
+    him, swaggered along the street until he fell in with a
+    wardsman, whom he cut down and robbed; but the booty proving
+    small, he waited for a second chance, and, seeing a light
+    moving in the distance, hid himself in the shadow of a large
+    tub for catching rain-water till the bearer of the lantern
+    should come up. When the man drew near, Gompachi saw that he
+    was dressed as a traveller, and wore a long dirk; so he sprung
+    out from his lurking-place and made to kill him; but the
+    traveller nimbly jumped on one side, and proved no mean
+    adversary, for he drew his dirk and fought stoutly for his
+    life. However, he was no match for so skilful a swordsman as
+    Gompachi, who, after a sharp struggle, dispatched him, and
+    carried off his purse, which contained two hundred riyos.
+    Overjoyed at having found so rich a prize, Gompachi was making
+    off for the Yoshiwara, when Seibei, who, horror-stricken, had
+    seen both murders, came up and began to upbraid him for his
+    wickedness. But Gompachi was so smooth-spoken and so well liked
+    by his comrades, that he easily persuaded Seibei to hush the
+    matter up, and accompany him to the Yoshiwara for a little
+    diversion. As they were talking by the way, Seibei said to
+    Gompachi&mdash;</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page72"
+       id="page72"></a>[pg 72]</span>
+
+    <p>"I bought a new dirk the other day, but I have not had an
+    opportunity to try it yet. You have had so much experience in
+    swords that you ought to be a good judge. Pray look at this
+    dirk, and tell me whether you think it good for anything."</p>
+
+    <p>"We'll soon see what sort of metal it is made of," answered
+    Gompachi. "We'll just try it on the first beggar we come
+    across."</p>
+
+    <p>At first Seibei was horrified by this cruel proposal, but by
+    degrees he yielded to his companion's persuasions; and so they
+    went on their way until Seibei spied out a crippled beggar
+    lying asleep on the bank outside the Yoshiwara. The sound of
+    their footsteps aroused the beggar, who seeing a Samurai and a
+    wardsman pointing at him, and evidently speaking about him,
+    thought that their consultation could bode him no good. So he
+    pretended to be still asleep, watching them carefully all the
+    while; and when Seibei went up to him, brandishing his dirk,
+    the beggar, avoiding the blow, seized Seibei's arm, and
+    twisting it round, flung him into the ditch below. Gompachi,
+    seeing his companion's discomfiture, attacked the beggar, who,
+    drawing a sword from his staff, made such lightning-swift
+    passes that, crippled though he was, and unable to move his
+    legs freely, Gompachi could not overpower him; and although
+    Seibei crawled out of the ditch and came to his assistance, the
+    beggar, nothing daunted, dealt his blows about him to such good
+    purpose that he wounded Seibei in the temple and arm. Then
+    Gompachi, reflecting that after all he had no quarrel with the
+    beggar, and that he had better attend to Seibei's wounds than
+    go on fighting to no purpose, drew Seibei away, leaving the
+    beggar, who was too lame to follow them, in peace. When he
+    examined Seibei's wounds, he found that they were so severe
+    that they must give up their night's frolic and go home. So
+    they went back to the house of Ch&ocirc;bei, the Father of the
+    Otokodat&eacute;, and Seibei, afraid to show himself with his
+    sword-cuts, feigned sickness, and went to bed. On the following
+    morning Ch&ocirc;bei, happening to need his apprentice Seibei's
+    services, sent for him, and was told that he was sick; so he
+    went to the room, where he lay abed, and, to his astonishment,
+    saw the cut upon his temple. At first the wounded man refused
+    to answer any questions as to how he had been hurt; but at
+    last, on being pressed by Ch&ocirc;bei, he told the whole story
+    of what had taken place the night before. When Ch&ocirc;bei
+    heard the tale, be guessed that the valiant beggar must be some
+    noble Samurai in disguise, who, having a wrong to avenge, was
+    biding his time to meet with his enemy; and wishing to help so
+    brave a man, he went in the evening, with his two faithful
+    apprentices, T&ocirc;ken Gombei and Shirobei "the loose Colt,"
+    to the bank outside the Yoshiwara to seek out the beggar. The
+    latter, not one whit frightened by the adventure of the
+    previous night, had taken his place as usual, and was lying on
+    the bank, when Ch&ocirc;bei came up to him, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir, I am Ch&ocirc;bei, the chief of the Otokodat&eacute;,
+    at your service. I have learnt with deep regret that two of my
+    men insulted and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page73"
+       id="page73"></a>[pg 73]</span> attacked you last night.
+       However, happily, even Gompachi, famous swordsman though he
+       be, was no match for you, and had to beat a retreat before
+       you. I know, therefore, that you must be a noble Samurai,
+       who by some ill chance have become a cripple and a beggar.
+       Now, therefore, I pray you tell me all your story; for,
+       humble wardsman as I am, I may be able to assist you, if you
+       will condescend to allow me."</p>
+
+    <p>The cripple at first tried to shun Ch&ocirc;bei's questions;
+    but at last, touched by the honesty and kindness of his speech,
+    he replied&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir, my name is Takagi Umanosuk&eacute;, and I am a native
+    of Yamato;" and then he went on to narrate all the misfortunes
+    which the wickedness of Banzay&eacute;mon had brought
+    about.</p>
+
+    <p>"This is indeed a strange story," said Ch&ocirc;bei who had
+    listened with indignation. "This Banzay&eacute;mon, before I
+    knew the blackness of his heart, was once under my protection.
+    But after he murdered Sanza, hard by here, he was pursued by
+    these two apprentices of mine, and since that day he has been
+    no more to my house."</p>
+
+    <p>When he had introduced the two apprentices to
+    Umanosuk&eacute;, Ch&ocirc;bei pulled forth a suit of silk
+    clothes befitting a gentleman, and having made the crippled
+    youth lay aside his beggar's raiment, led him to a bath, and
+    had his hair dressed. Then he bade T&ocirc;ken Gombei lodge him
+    and take charge of him, and, having sent for a famous
+    physician, caused Umanosuk&eacute; to undergo careful treatment
+    for the wound in his thigh. In the course of two months the
+    pain had almost disappeared, so that he could stand easily; and
+    when, after another month, he could walk about a little,
+    Ch&ocirc;bei removed him to his own house, pretending to his
+    wife and apprentices that he was one of his own relations who
+    had come on a visit to him.</p>
+
+    <p>After a while, when Umanosuk&eacute; had become quite cured,
+    he went one day to worship at a famous temple, and on his way
+    home after dark he was overtaken by a shower of rain, and took
+    shelter under the eaves of a house, in a part of the city
+    called Yanagiwara, waiting for the sky to clear. Now it
+    happened that this same night Gompachi had gone out on one of
+    his bloody expeditions, to which his poverty and his love for
+    Komurasaki drove him in spite of himself, and, seeing a Samurai
+    standing in the gloom, he sprang upon him before he had
+    recognized Umanosuk&eacute;, whom he knew as a friend of his
+    patron Ch&ocirc;bei. Umanosuk&eacute; drew and defended
+    himself, and soon contrived to slash Gompachi on the forehead;
+    so that the latter, seeing himself overmatched, fled under the
+    cover of the night. Umanosuk&eacute;, fearing to hurt his
+    recently healed wound, did not give chase, and went quietly
+    back to Ch&ocirc;bei's house. When Gompachi returned home, he
+    hatched a story to deceive Ch&ocirc;bei as to the cause of the
+    wound on his forehead. Ch&ocirc;bei, however, having overheard
+    Umanosuk&eacute; reproving Gompachi for his wickedness, soon
+    became aware of the truth; and not caring to keep a robber and
+    murderer <span class="pagenum"><a name="page74"
+       id="page74"></a>[pg 74]</span> near him, gave Gompachi a
+       present of money, and bade him return to his house no
+       more.</p>
+
+    <p>And now Ch&ocirc;bei, seeing that Umanosuk&eacute; had
+    recovered his strength, divided his apprentices into bands, to
+    hunt out Banzay&eacute;mon, in order that the vendetta might be
+    accomplished. It soon was reported to him that
+    Banzay&eacute;mon was earning his living among the mountebanks
+    of Asakusa; so Ch&ocirc;bei communicated this intelligence to
+    Umanosuk&eacute;, who made his preparations accordingly; and on
+    the following morning the two went to Asakusa, where
+    Banzay&eacute;mon was astonishing a crowd of country boors by
+    exhibiting tricks with his sword.</p>
+
+    <p>Then Umanosuk&eacute;, striding through the gaping rabble,
+    shouted out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"False, murderous coward, your day has come! I,
+    Umanosuk&eacute;, the son of Umanoj&ocirc;, have come to demand
+    vengeance for the death of three innocent men who have perished
+    by your treachery. If you are a man, defend yourself. This day
+    shall your soul see hell!"</p>
+
+    <p>With these words he rushed furiously upon Banzay&eacute;mon,
+    who, seeing escape to be impossible, stood upon his guard. But
+    his coward's heart quailed before the avenger, and he soon lay
+    bleeding at his enemy's feet.</p>
+
+    <p>But who shall say how Umanosuk&eacute; thanked Ch&ocirc;bei
+    for his assistance; or how, when he had returned to his own
+    country, he treasured up his gratitude in his heart, looking
+    upon Ch&ocirc;bei as more than a second father?</p>
+
+    <p>Thus did Ch&ocirc;bei use his power to punish the wicked,
+    and to reward the good&mdash;giving of his abundance to the
+    poor, and succouring the unfortunate, so that his name was
+    honoured far and near. It remains only to record the tragical
+    manner of his death.</p>
+
+    <p>We have already told how my lord Midzuno
+    Jiurozay&eacute;mon, the chief of the associated nobles, had
+    been foiled in his attempts to bring shame upon Ch&ocirc;bei,
+    the Father of the Otokodat&eacute;; and how, on the contrary,
+    the latter, by his ready wit, never failed to make the proud
+    noble's weapons recoil upon him. The failure of these attempts
+    rankled in the breast of Jiurozay&eacute;mon, who hated
+    Ch&ocirc;bei with an intense hatred, and sought to be revenged
+    upon him. One day he sent a retainer to Ch&ocirc;bei's house
+    with a message to the effect that on the following day my lord
+    Jiurozay&eacute;mon would be glad to see Ch&ocirc;bei at his
+    house, and to offer him a cup of wine, in return for the cold
+    macaroni with which his lordship had been feasted some time
+    since. Ch&ocirc;bei immediately suspected that in sending this
+    friendly summons the cunning noble was hiding a dagger in a
+    smile; however, he knew that if he stayed away out of fear he
+    would be branded as a coward, and made a laughing-stock for
+    fools to jeer at. Not caring that Jiurozay&eacute;mon should
+    succeed in his desire to put him to shame, he sent for his
+    favourite apprentice, T&ocirc;ken Gombei, and said to
+    him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I have been invited to a drinking-bout by Midzuno
+    Jiurozay&eacute;mon. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page75"
+       id="page75"></a>[pg 75]</span> I know full well that this is
+       but a stratagem to requite me for having fooled him, and
+       maybe his hatred will go the length of killing me. However,
+       I shall go and take my chance; and if I detect any sign of
+       foul play, I'll try to serve the world by ridding it of a
+       tyrant, who passes his life in oppressing the helpless
+       farmers and wardsmen. Now as, even if I succeed in killing
+       him in his own house, my life must pay forfeit for the deed,
+       do you come to-morrow night with a
+       burying-tub,<a id="footnotetag30"
+       name="footnotetag30"></a><a href="#footnote30"><sup>30</sup></a>
+       and fetch my corpse from this Jiurozay&eacute;mon's
+       house."</p>
+
+    <p>T&ocirc;ken Gombei, when he heard the "Father" speak thus,
+    was horrified, and tried to dissuade him from obeying the
+    invitation. But Ch&ocirc;bei's mind was fixed, and, without
+    heeding Gombei's remonstrances, he proceeded to give
+    instructions as to the disposal of his property after his
+    death, and to settle all his earthly affairs.</p>
+
+    <p>On the following day, towards noon, he made ready to go to
+    Jiurozay&eacute;mon's house, bidding one of his apprentices
+    precede him with a complimentary present.<a id="footnotetag31"
+       name="footnotetag31"></a><a href="#footnote31"><sup>31</sup></a>
+       Jiurozay&eacute;mon, who was waiting with impatience for
+       Ch&ocirc;bei to come, so soon as he heard of his arrival
+       ordered his retainers to usher him into his presence; and
+       Ch&ocirc;bei, having bade his apprentices without fail to
+       come and fetch him that night, went into the house.</p>
+
+    <p>No sooner had he reached the room next to that in which
+    Jiurozay&eacute;mon was sitting than he saw that his suspicions
+    of treachery were well founded; for two men with drawn swords
+    rushed upon him, and tried to cut him down. Deftly avoiding
+    their blows, however, he tripped up the one, and kicking the
+    other in the ribs, sent him reeling and breathless against the
+    wall; then, as calmly as if nothing had happened he presented
+    himself before Jiurozay&eacute;mon, who, peeping through a
+    chink in the sliding-doors, had watched his retainers'
+    failure.</p>
+
+    <p>"Welcome, welcome, Master Ch&ocirc;bei," said he. "I always
+    had heard that you were a man of mettle, and I wanted to see
+    what stuff you were made of; so I bade my retainers put your
+    courage to the test. That was a masterly throw of yours. Well,
+    you must excuse this churlish reception: come and sit down by
+    me."</p>
+
+    <p>"Pray do not mention it, my lord," said Ch&ocirc;bei,
+    smiling rather scornfully. "I know that my poor skill is not to
+    be measured <!--blank page 76-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page77"
+       id="page77"></a>[pg 77]</span> with that of a noble Samurai;
+       and if these two good gentlemen had the worst of it just
+       now, it was mere luck&mdash;that's all."</p>
+
+    <p>So, after the usual compliments had been exchanged,
+    Ch&ocirc;bei sat down by Jiurozay&eacute;mon, and the
+    attendants brought in wine and condiments. Before they began to
+    drink, however, Jiurozay&eacute;mon said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"You must be tired and exhausted with your walk this hot
+    day, Master Ch&ocirc;bei. I thought that perhaps a bath might
+    refresh you, so I ordered my men to get it ready for you. Would
+    you not like to bathe and make yourself comfortable?"</p>
+
+    <p>Ch&ocirc;bei suspected that this was a trick to strip him,
+    and take him unawares when he should have laid aside his dirk.
+    However, he answered cheerfully&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Your lordship is very good. I shall be glad to avail myself
+    of your kind offer. Pray excuse me for a few moments."</p>
+
+    <p>So he went to the bath-room, and, leaving his clothes
+    outside, he got into the bath, with the full conviction that it
+    would be the place of his death. Yet he never trembled nor
+    quailed, determined that, if he needs must die, no man should
+    say he had been a coward. Then Jiurozay&eacute;mon, calling to
+    his attendants, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Quick! lock the door of the bath-room! We hold him fast
+    now. If he gets out, more than one life will pay the price of
+    his. He's a match for any six of you in fair fight. Lock the
+    door, I say, and light up the fire under the
+    bath;<a id="footnotetag32"
+       name="footnotetag32"></a><a href="#footnote32"><sup>32</sup></a>
+       and we'll boil him to death, and be rid of him. Quick, men,
+       quick!"</p>
+
+    <p>So they locked the door, and fed the fire until the water
+    hissed and bubbled within; and Ch&ocirc;bei, in his agony,
+    tried to burst open the door, but Jiurozay&eacute;mon ordered
+    his men to thrust their spears through the partition wall and
+    dispatch him. Two of the spears Ch&ocirc;bei clutched and broke
+    short off; but at last he was struck by a mortal blow under the
+    ribs, and died a brave man by the hands of cowards.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/076.jpg"
+             name="image076"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image076"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/076.jpg"
+             alt="THE DEATH OF CH&Ocirc;BEI OF BANDZUIN." /></a>
+             THE DEATH OF CH&Ocirc;BEI OF BANDZUIN.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>That evening T&ocirc;ken Gombei, who, to the astonishment of
+    Ch&ocirc;bei's wife, had bought a burying-tub, came, with seven
+    other apprentices, to fetch the Father of the Otokodat&eacute;
+    from Jiurozay&eacute;mon's house; and when the retainers saw
+    them, they mocked at them, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"What, have you come to fetch your drunken master home in a
+    litter?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Nay," answered Gombei, "but we have brought a coffin for
+    his dead body, as he bade us."</p>
+
+    <p>When the retainers heard this, they marvelled at the courage
+    of Ch&ocirc;bei, who had thus wittingly come to meet his fate.
+    So <span class="pagenum"><a name="page78"
+       id="page78"></a>[pg 78]</span> Ch&ocirc;bei's corpse was
+       placed in the burying-tub, and handed over to his
+       apprentices, who swore to avenge his death. Far and wide,
+       the poor and friendless mourned for this good man. His son
+       Ch&ocirc;matsu inherited his property; and his wife remained
+       a faithful widow until her dying day, praying that she might
+       sit with him in paradise upon the cup of the same
+       lotus-flower.</p>
+
+    <p>Many a time did the apprentices of Ch&ocirc;bei meet
+    together to avenge him; but Jiurozay&eacute;mon eluded all
+    their efforts, until, having been imprisoned by the Government
+    in the temple called Kanyeiji, at Uy&eacute;no, as is related
+    in the story of "Kazuma's Revenge," he was placed beyond the
+    reach of their hatred.</p>
+
+    <p>So lived and so died Ch&ocirc;bei of Bandzuin, the Father of
+    the Otokodat&eacute; of Yedo.</p>
+
+    <h3>NOTE ON ASAKUSA</h3>
+
+    <p><i>Translated from a native book called the "Yedo
+    Hanj&ocirc;ki," or Guide to the prosperous City of Yedo, and
+    other sources.</i></p>
+
+    <p>Asakusa is the most bustling place in all Yedo. It is famous
+    for the Temple Sens&ocirc;ji, on the hill of Kinriu, or the
+    Golden Dragon, which from morning till night is thronged with
+    visitors, rich and poor, old and young, flocking in sleeve to
+    sleeve. The origin of the temple was as follows:&mdash;In the
+    days of the Emperor Suiko, who reigned in the thirteenth
+    century A.D., a certain noble, named Hashi no Nakatomo, fell
+    into disgrace and left the Court; and having become a
+    R&ocirc;nin, or masterless man, he took up his abode on the
+    Golden Dragon Hill, with two retainers, being brothers, named
+    Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma Tak&eacute;nari. These three men
+    being reduced to great straits, and without means of earning
+    their living, became fishermen. Now it happened that on the 6th
+    day of the 3rd month of the 36th year of the reign of the
+    Emperor Suiko (A.D. 1241), they went down in the morning to the
+    Asakusa River to ply their trade; and having cast their nets
+    took no fish, but at every throw they pulled up a figure of the
+    Buddhist god Kwannon, which they threw into the river again.
+    They sculled their boat away to another spot, but the same luck
+    followed them, and nothing came to their nets save the figure
+    of Kwannon. Struck by the miracle, they carried home the image,
+    and, after fervent prayer, built a temple on the Golden Dragon
+    Hill, in which they enshrined it. The temple thus founded was
+    enriched by the benefactions of wealthy and pious persons,
+    whose care raised its buildings to the dignity of the first
+    temple in Yedo. Tradition says that the figure of Kwannon which
+    was fished up in the net was one inch and eight-tenths in
+    height.</p>
+
+    <p>The main hall of the temple is sixty feet square, and is
+    adorned with much curious workmanship of gilding and of
+    silvering, so that no place can be more excellently beautiful.
+    There are two gates in front of it. The first is called the
+    Gate of the Spirits of the Wind and of the Thunder, and is
+    adorned with figures of those two gods. The Wind-god, whose
+    likeness is that of a devil, carries the
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page79"
+       id="page79"></a>[pg 79]</span> wind-bag; and the
+       Thunder-god, who is also shaped like a devil, carries a drum
+       and a drumstick.<a id="footnotetag33"
+       name="footnotetag33"></a><a href="#footnote33"><sup>33</sup></a>
+       The second gate is called the Gate of the gods Ni&ocirc;, or
+       the Two Princes, whose colossal statues, painted red, and
+       hideous to look upon, stand on either side of it. Between
+       the gates is an approach four hundred yards in length, which
+       is occupied by the stalls of hucksters, who sell toys and
+       trifles for women and children, and by foul and loathsome
+       beggars. Passing through the gate of the gods Ni&ocirc;, the
+       main hall of the temple strikes the eye. Countless niches
+       and shrines of the gods stand outside it, and an old woman
+       earns her livelihood at a tank filled with water, to which
+       the votaries of the gods come and wash themselves that they
+       may pray with clean hands. Inside are the images of the
+       gods, lanterns, incense-burners, candlesticks, a huge
+       moneybox, into which the offerings of the pious are thrown,
+       and votive tablets<a id="footnotetag34"
+       name="footnotetag34"></a><a href="#footnote34"><sup>34</sup></a>
+       representing the famous gods and goddesses, heroes and
+       heroines, of old. Behind the chief building is a broad space
+       called the <i>okuyama</i>, where young and pretty
+       waitresses, well dressed and painted, invite the weary
+       pilgrims and holiday-makers to refresh themselves with tea
+       and sweetmeats. Here, too, are all sorts of sights to be
+       seen, such as wild beasts, performing monkeys, automata,
+       conjurers, wooden and paper figures, which take the place of
+       the waxworks of the West, acrobats, and jesters for the
+       amusement of women and children. Altogether it is a lively
+       and a joyous scene; there is not its equal in the city.</p>
+
+    <p>At Asakusa, as indeed all over Yedo, are to be found
+    fortunetellers, who prey upon the folly of the superstitious.
+    With a treatise on physiognomy laid on a desk before them, they
+    call out to this man that he has an ill-omened forehead, and to
+    that man that the space between his nose and his lips is
+    unlucky. Their tongues wag like flowing water until the
+    passers-by are attracted to their stalls. If the seer finds a
+    customer, he closes his eyes, and, lifting the divining-sticks
+    reverently to his forehead, mutters incantations between his
+    teeth. Then, suddenly parting the sticks in two bundles, he
+    prophesies good or evil, according to the number in each. With
+    a magnifying-glass he examines his dupe's face and the palms of
+    his hands. By the fashion of his clothes and his general manner
+    the prophet sees whether he is a countryman or from the city.
+    "I am afraid, sir," says he, "you have not been altogether
+    fortunate in life, but I foresee that great luck awaits you in
+    two or three months;" or, like a clumsy doctor who makes his
+    diagnosis according to his patient's fancies, if he sees his
+    customer frowning and anxious, he adds, "Alas! in seven or
+    eight months you must beware of great misfortune. But I cannot
+    tell you all about it for a slight fee:" with a long sigh he
+    lays down the divining-sticks on
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page80"
+       id="page80"></a>[pg 80]</span> the desk, and the frightened
+       boor pays a further fee to hear the sum of the misfortune
+       which threatens him, until, with three feet of bamboo slips
+       and three inches of tongue, the clever rascal has made the
+       poor fool turn his purse inside out.</p>
+
+    <p>The class of diviners called <i>Ichiko</i> profess to give
+    tidings of the dead, or of those who have gone to distant
+    countries. The Ichiko exactly corresponds to the spirit medium
+    of the West. The trade is followed by women, of from fifteen or
+    sixteen to some fifty years of age, who walk about the streets,
+    carrying on their backs a divining-box about a foot square;
+    they have no shop or stall, but wander about, and are invited
+    into their customers' houses. The ceremony of divination is
+    very simple. A porcelain bowl filled with water is placed upon
+    a tray, and the customer, having written the name of the person
+    with whom he wishes to hold communion on a long slip of paper,
+    rolls it into a spill, which he dips into the water, and thrice
+    sprinkles the Ichiko, or medium. She, resting her elbow upon
+    her divining-box, and leaning her head upon her hand, mutters
+    prayers and incantations until she has summoned the soul of the
+    dead or absent person, which takes possession of her, and
+    answers questions through her mouth. The prophecies which the
+    Ichiko utters during her trance are held in high esteem by the
+    superstitious and vulgar.</p>
+
+    <p>Hard by Asakusa is the theatre street. The theatres are
+    called <i>Shiba-i</i>,<a id="footnotetag35"
+       name="footnotetag35"></a><a href="#footnote35"><sup>35</sup></a>
+       "turf places," from the fact that the first theatrical
+       performances were held on a turf plot. The origin of the
+       drama in Japan, as elsewhere, was religious. In the reign of
+       the Emperor Heij&ocirc; (A.D. 805), there was a sudden
+       volcanic depression of the earth close by a pond called
+       Sarusawa, or the Monkey's Marsh, at Nara, in the province of
+       Yamato, and a poisonous smoke issuing from the cavity struck
+       down with sickness all those who came within its baneful
+       influence; so the people brought quantities of firewood,
+       which they burnt in order that the poisonous vapour might be
+       dispelled. The fire, being the male influence, would
+       assimilate with and act as an antidote upon the mephitic
+       smoke, which was a female influence.<a id="footnotetag36"
+       name="footnotetag36"></a><a href="#footnote36"><sup>36</sup></a>
+       Besides this, as a further charm to exorcise the portent,
+       the dance called Sambas&ocirc;, which is still performed as
+       a prelude to theatrical exhibitions by an actor dressed up
+       as a venerable old man, emblematic of long life and
+       felicity, was danced on a plot of turf in front of the
+       Temple Kofukuji. By these means the smoke was dispelled, and
+       the drama was originated. The story is to be found in the
+       <i>Zoku Nihon Ki</i>, or supplementary history of Japan.</p>
+
+    <p>Three centuries later, during the reign of the Emperor Toba
+    (A.D. 1108), there lived a woman called Iso no Zenji, who is
+    looked upon as the mother of the Japanese drama. Her
+    performances, however, seem only to have consisted in dancing
+    or posturing dressed up in the costume of the nobles of the
+    Court, from which fact her dance was called Otoko-mai, or the
+    man's dance. Her name is only
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page81"
+       id="page81"></a>[pg 81]</span> worth mentioning on account
+       of the respect in which her memory is held by actors.</p>
+
+    <p>It was not until the year A.D. 1624 that a man named
+    Saruwaka Kanzabur&ocirc;, at the command of the Shogun, opened
+    the first theatre in Yedo in the Nakabashi, or Middle Bridge
+    Street, where it remained until eight years later, when it was
+    removed to the Ningiy&ocirc;, or Doll Street. The company of
+    this theatre was formed by two families named Miako and
+    Ichimura, who did not long enjoy their monopoly, for in the
+    year 1644 we find a third family, that of Yamamura, setting up
+    a rival theatre in the Kobiki, or Sawyer Street.</p>
+
+    <p>In the year 1651, the Asiatic prejudice in favour of keeping
+    persons of one calling in one place exhibited itself by the
+    removal of the playhouses to their present site, and the street
+    was called the Saruwaka Street, after Saruwaka Kanzabur&ocirc;,
+    the founder of the drama in Yedo.</p>
+
+    <p>Theatrical performances go on from six in the morning until
+    six in the evening. Just as the day is about to dawn in the
+    east, the sound of the drum is heard, and the dance
+    Sambas&ocirc; is danced as a prelude, and after this follow the
+    dances of the famous actors of old; these are called the extra
+    performances (<i>waki kiy&ocirc;gen</i>).</p>
+
+    <p>The dance of Nakamura represents the demon Shudend&ocirc;ji,
+    an ogre who was destroyed by the hero Yorimitsu according to
+    the following legend:&mdash;At the beginning of the eleventh
+    century, when Ichij&ocirc; the Second was Emperor, lived the
+    hero Yorimitsu. Now it came to pass that in those days the
+    people of Ki&ocirc;to were sorely troubled by an evil spirit,
+    which took up its abode near the Rash&ocirc; gate. One night,
+    as Yorimitsu was making merry with his retainers, he said, "Who
+    dares go and defy the demon of the Rash&ocirc; gate, and set up
+    a token that he has been there?" "That dare I," answered Tsuna,
+    who, having donned his coat of mail, mounted his horse, and
+    rode out through the dark bleak night to the Rash&ocirc; gate.
+    Having written his name upon the gate, he was about to turn
+    homewards when his horse began to shiver with fear, and a huge
+    hand coming forth from the gate seized the back of the knight's
+    helmet. Tsuna, nothing daunted, struggled to get free, but in
+    vain, so drawing his sword he cut off the demon's arm, and the
+    spirit with a howl fled into the night. But Tsuna carried home
+    the arm in triumph, and locked it up in a box. One night the
+    demon, having taken the shape of Tsuna's aunt, came to him and
+    said, "I pray thee show me the arm of the fiend." Tsuna
+    answered, "I have shown it to no man, and yet to thee I will
+    show it." So he brought forth the box and opened it, when
+    suddenly a black cloud shrouded the figure of the supposed
+    aunt, and the demon, having regained its arm, disappeared. From
+    that time forth the people were more than ever troubled by the
+    demon, who carried off to the hills all the fairest virgins of
+    Ki&ocirc;to, whom he ravished and ate, so that there was scarce
+    a beautiful damsel left in the city. Then was the Emperor very
+    sorrowful, and he commanded Yorimitsu to destroy the monster;
+    and the hero, having made ready, went forth with four trusty
+    knights and another great captain to search among the hidden
+    places of the mountains. One day as they were journeying far
+    from the haunts of men, they fell in with an old man, who,
+    having bidden them to enter his dwelling, treated them kindly,
+    and set before them wine to drink; and when they went away, and
+    took their <span class="pagenum"><a name="page82"
+       id="page82"></a>[pg 82]</span> leave of him, he gave them a
+       present of more wine to take away with them. Now this old
+       man was a mountain god. As they went on their way they met a
+       beautiful lady, who was washing blood-stained clothes in the
+       waters of the valley, weeping bitterly the while. When they
+       asked her why she shed tears, she answered, "Sirs, I am a
+       woman from Ki&ocirc;to, whom the demon has carried off; he
+       makes me wash his clothes, and when he is weary of me, he
+       will kill and eat me. I pray your lordships to save me."
+       Then the six heroes bade the woman lead them to the ogre's
+       cave, where a hundred devils were mounting guard and waiting
+       upon him. The woman, having gone in first, told the fiend of
+       their coming; and he, thinking to slay and eat them, called
+       them to him; so they entered the cave, which reeked with the
+       smell of the flesh and blood of men, and they saw
+       Shudend&ocirc;ji, a huge monster with the face of a little
+       child. The six men offered him the wine which they had
+       received from the mountain god, and he, laughing in his
+       heart, drank and made merry, so that little by little the
+       fumes of the wine got into his head, and he fell asleep. The
+       heroes, themselves feigning sleep, watched for a moment when
+       the devils were all off their guard to put on their armour
+       and steal one by one into the demon's chamber. Then
+       Yorimitsu, seeing that all was still, drew his sword, and
+       cut off Shudend&ocirc;ji's head, which sprung up and bit at
+       his head; luckily, however, Yorimitsu had put on two
+       helmets, the one over the other, so he was not hurt. When
+       all the devils had been slain, the heroes and the woman
+       returned to Ki&ocirc;to carrying with them the head of
+       Shudend&ocirc;ji, which was laid before the Emperor; and the
+       fame of their action was spread abroad under heaven.</p>
+
+    <p>This Shudend&ocirc;ji is the ogre represented in the
+    Nakamura dance. The Ichimura dance represents the seven gods of
+    wealth; and the Morita dance represents a large ape, and is
+    emblematical of drinking wine.</p>
+
+    <p>As soon as the sun begins to rise in the heaven, sign-boards
+    all glistening with paintings and gold are displayed, and the
+    playgoers flock in crowds to the theatre. The farmers and
+    country-folk hurry over their breakfast, and the women and
+    children, who have got up in the middle of the night to paint
+    and adorn themselves, come from all the points of the compass
+    to throng the gallery, which is hung with curtains as bright as
+    the rainbow in the departing clouds. The place soon becomes so
+    crowded that the heads of the spectators are like the scales on
+    a dragon's back. When the play begins, if the subject be tragic
+    the spectators are so affected that they weep till they have to
+    wring their sleeves dry. If the piece be comic they laugh till
+    their chins are out of joint. The tricks and stratagems of the
+    drama baffle description, and the actors are as graceful as the
+    flight of the swallow. The triumph of persecuted virtue and the
+    punishment of wickedness invariably crown the story. When a
+    favourite actor makes his appearance, his entry is hailed with
+    cheers. Fun and diversion are the order of the day, and rich
+    and poor alike forget the cares which they have left behind
+    them at home; and yet it is not all idle amusement, for there
+    is a moral taught, and a practical sermon preached in every
+    play.</p>
+
+    <p>The subjects of the pieces are chiefly historical, feigned
+    names being substituted for those of the real heroes. Indeed,
+    it is in the popular tragedies that we must seek for an account
+    of many of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page83"
+       id="page83"></a>[pg 83]</span> the events of the last two
+       hundred and fifty years; for only one very bald
+       history<a id="footnotetag37"
+       name="footnotetag37"></a><a href="#footnote37"><sup>37</sup></a>
+       of those times has been published, of which but a limited
+       number of copies were struck off from copper plates, and its
+       circulation was strictly forbidden by the Shogun's
+       Government. The stories are rendered with great minuteness
+       and detail, so much so, that it sometimes takes a series of
+       representations to act out one piece in its entirety. The
+       Japanese are far in advance of the Chinese in their scenery
+       and properties, and their pieces are sometimes capitally got
+       up: a revolving stage enables them to shift from one scene
+       to another with great rapidity. First-rate actors receive as
+       much as a thousand riyos (about &pound;300) as their yearly
+       salary. This, however, is a high rate of pay, and many a man
+       has to strut before the public for little more than his
+       daily rice; to a clever young actor it is almost enough
+       reward to be allowed to enter a company in which there is a
+       famous star. The salary of the actor, however, may depend
+       upon the success of the theatre; for dramatic exhibitions
+       are often undertaken as speculations by wealthy persons, who
+       pay their company in proportion to their own profit. Besides
+       his regular pay, a popular Japanese actor has a small mine
+       of wealth in his patrons, who open their purses freely for
+       the privilege of frequenting the greenroom., The women's
+       parts are all taken by men, as they used to be with us in
+       ancient days. Touching the popularity of plays, it is
+       related that in the year 1833, when two actors called
+       Band&ocirc; Shuka and Segawa Rok&ocirc;, both famous players
+       of women's parts, died at the same time, the people of Yedo
+       mourned to heaven and to earth; and if a million riyos could
+       have brought back their lives, the money would have been
+       forthcoming. Thousands flocked to their funeral, and the
+       richness of their coffins and of the clothes laid upon them
+       was admired by all.</p>
+
+    <p>"When I heard this," says Terakado Seiken, the author of the
+    <i>Yedo Hanj&ocirc;ki</i>, "I lifted my eyes to heaven and
+    heaved a great sigh. When my friend Sait&ocirc; Shimei, a
+    learned and good man, died, there was barely enough money to
+    bury him; his needy pupils and friends subscribed to give him a
+    humble coffin. Alas! alas! here was a teacher who from his
+    youth up had honoured his parents, and whose heart know no
+    guile: if his friends were in need, he ministered to their
+    wants; he grudged no pains to teach his fellow-men; his
+    good-will and charity were beyond praise; under the blue sky
+    and bright day he never did a shameful deed. His merits were as
+    those of the sages of old; but because he lacked the cunning of
+    a fox or badger he received no patronage from the wealthy, and,
+    remaining poor to the day of his death, never had an
+    opportunity of making his worth known. Alas! alas!"</p>
+
+    <p>The drama is exclusively the amusement of the middle and
+    lower classes. Etiquette, sternest of tyrants, forbids the
+    Japanese of high rank to be seen at any public exhibition,
+    wrestling-matches alone excepted. Actors are, however,
+    occasionally engaged to play in private for the edification of
+    my lord and his ladies; and there is a kind of classical opera,
+    called N&ocirc;, which is performed on stages specially built
+    for the purpose in the palaces of the principal nobles.
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page84"
+       id="page84"></a>[pg 84]</span> These N&ocirc; represent the
+       entertainments by which the Sun Goddess was lured out of the
+       cave in which she had hidden, a fable said to be based upon
+       an eclipse. In the reign of the Emperor Y&ocirc;mei (A.D.
+       586-593), Hada Kawakatsu, a man born in Japan, but of
+       Chinese extraction, was commanded by the Emperor to arrange
+       an entertainment for the propitiation of the gods and the
+       prosperity of the country. Kawakatsu wrote thirty-three
+       plays, introducing fragments of Japanese poetry with
+       accompaniments of musical instruments. Two performers, named
+       Tak&eacute;ta and Hattori, having especially distinguished
+       themselves in these entertainments, were ordered to prepare
+       other similar plays, and their productions remain to the
+       present day. The pious intention of the N&ocirc; being to
+       pray for the prosperity of the country, they are held in the
+       highest esteem by the nobles of the Court, the Daimios, and
+       the military class: in old days they alone performed in
+       these plays, but now ordinary actors take part in them.</p>
+
+    <p>The N&ocirc; are played in sets. The first of the set is
+    specially dedicated to the propitiation of the gods; the second
+    is performed in full armour, and is designed to terrify evil
+    spirits, and to insure the punishment of malefactors; the third
+    is of a gentler intention, and its special object is the
+    representation of all that is beautiful and fragrant and
+    delightful. The performers wear hideous wigs and masks, not
+    unlike those of ancient Greece, and gorgeous brocade dresses.
+    The masks, which belong to what was the private company of the
+    Shogun, are many centuries old, and have been carefully
+    preserved as heirlooms from generation to generation; being
+    made of very thin wood lacquered over, and kept each in a
+    silken bag, they have been uninjured by the lapse of time.</p>
+
+    <p>During the Duke of Edinburgh's stay in Yedo, this company
+    was engaged to give a performance in the Yashiki of the Prince
+    of Kishiu, which has the reputation of being the handsomest
+    palace in all Yedo. So far as I know, such an exhibition had
+    never before been witnessed by foreigners, and it may be
+    interesting to give an account of it. Opposite the principal
+    reception-room, where his Royal Highness sat, and separated
+    from it by a narrow courtyard, was a covered stage, approached
+    from the greenroom by a long gallery at an angle of forty-five
+    degrees. Half-a-dozen musicians, clothed in dresses of
+    ceremony, marched slowly down the gallery, and, having squatted
+    down on the stage, bowed gravely. The performances then began.
+    There was no scenery, nor stage appliances; the descriptions of
+    the chorus or of the actors took their place. The dialogue and
+    choruses are given in a nasal recitative, accompanied by the
+    mouth-organ, flute, drum, and other classical instruments, and
+    are utterly unintelligible. The ancient poetry is full of puns
+    and plays upon words, and it was with no little difficulty
+    that, with the assistance of a man of letters, I prepared
+    beforehand the arguments of the different pieces.</p>
+
+    <p>The first play was entitled <i>Hachiman of the Bow</i>.
+    Hachiman is the name under which the Emperor Ojin (A.C.
+    270-312) was deified as the God of War. He is specially
+    worshipped on account of his miraculous birth; his mother, the
+    Empress Jingo, having, by the virtue of a magic stone which she
+    wore at her girdle, borne him in her womb for three years,
+    during which she made war upon and conquered the Coreans. The
+    time of the plot is laid in the reign of the Emperor Uda the
+    Second (A.D. 1275-1289). In the
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page85"
+       id="page85"></a>[pg 85]</span> second month of the year
+       pilgrims are flocking to the temple of Hachiman at Mount
+       Otoko, between Osaka and Ki&ocirc;to. All this is explained
+       by the chorus. A worshipper steps forth, sent by the
+       Emperor, and delivers a congratulatory oration upon the
+       peace and prosperity of the land. The chorus follows in the
+       same strain: they sing the praises of Hachiman and of the
+       reigning Emperor. An old man enters, bearing something which
+       appears to be a bow in a brocade bag. On being asked who he
+       is, the old man answers that he is an aged servant of the
+       shrine, and that he wishes to present his mulberry-wood bow
+       to the Emperor; being too humble to draw near to his Majesty
+       he has waited for this festival, hoping that an opportunity
+       might present itself. He explains that with this bow, and
+       with certain arrows made of the Artemisia, the heavenly gods
+       pacified the world. On being asked to show his bow, he
+       refuses; it is a mystic protector of the country, which in
+       old days was overshadowed by the mulberry-tree. The peace
+       which prevails in the land is likened to a calm at sea. The
+       Emperor is the ship, and his subjects the water. The old man
+       dwells upon the ancient worship of Hachiman, and relates how
+       his mother, the Empress Jingo, sacrificed to the gods before
+       invading Corea, and how the present prosperity of the
+       country is to be attributed to the acceptance of those
+       sacrifices. After having revealed himself as the god
+       Hachiman in disguise, the old man disappears. The
+       worshipper, awe-struck, declares that he must return to
+       Ki&ocirc;to and tell the Emperor what he has seen. The
+       chorus announces that sweet music and fragrant perfumes
+       issue from the mountain, and the piece ends with
+       felicitations upon the visible favour of the gods, and
+       especially of Hachiman.</p>
+
+    <p>The second piece was <i>Tsun&eacute;masa</i>.
+    Tsun&eacute;masa was a hero of the twelfth century, who died in
+    the civil wars; he was famous for his skill in playing on the
+    <i>biwa</i>, a sort of four-stringed lute.</p>
+
+    <p>A priest enters, and announces that his name is
+    Giy&ocirc;kei, and that before he retired from the world he
+    held high rank at Court. He relates how Tsun&eacute;masa, in
+    his childhood the favourite of the Emperor, died in the wars by
+    the western seas. During his lifetime the Emperor gave him a
+    lute, called Sei-zan, "the Azure Mountain"; this lute at his
+    death was placed in a shrine erected to his honour, and at his
+    funeral music and plays were performed during seven days within
+    the palace, by the special grace of the Emperor. The scene is
+    laid at the shrine. The lonely and awesome appearance of the
+    spot is described. Although the sky is clear, the wind rustles
+    through the trees like the sound of falling rain; and although
+    it is now summer-time, the moonlight on the sand looks like
+    hoar-frost. All nature is sad and downcast. The ghost appears,
+    and sings that it is the spirit of Tsun&eacute;masa, and has
+    come to thank those who have piously celebrated his obsequies.
+    No one answers him, and the spirit vanishes, its voice becoming
+    fainter and fainter, an unreal and illusory vision haunting the
+    scenes amid which its life was spent. The priest muses on the
+    portent. Is it a dream or a reality? Marvellous! The ghost,
+    returning, speaks of former days, when it lived as a child in
+    the palace, and received the Azure Mountain lute from the
+    Emperor&mdash;that lute with the four strings of which its hand
+    was once so familiar, and the attraction of which now draws it
+    from the grave. The chorus recites the virtues of
+    Tsun&eacute;masa&mdash;his benevolence, justice, humanity,
+    talents, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page86"
+       id="page86"></a>[pg 86]</span> and truth; his love of poetry
+       and music; the trees, the flowers, the birds, the breezes,
+       the moon&mdash;all had a charm for him. The ghost begins to
+       play upon the Azure Mountain lute, and the sounds produced
+       from the magical instrument are so delicate, that all think
+       it is a shower falling from heaven. The priest declares that
+       it is not rain, but the sound of the enchanted lute. The
+       sound of the first and second strings is as the sound of
+       gentle rain, or of the wind stirring the pine-trees; and the
+       sound of the third and fourth strings is as the song of
+       birds and pheasants calling to their young. A rhapsody in
+       praise of music follows. Would that such strains could last
+       for ever! The ghost bewails its fate that it cannot remain
+       to play on, but must return whence it came. The priest
+       addresses the ghost, and asks whether the vision is indeed
+       the spirit of Tsun&eacute;masa. Upon this the ghost calls
+       out in an agony of sorrow and terror at having been seen by
+       mortal eyes, and bids that the lamps be put out: on its
+       return to the abode of the dead it will suffer for having
+       shown itself: it describes the fiery torments which will be
+       its lot. Poor fool! it has been lured to its destruction,
+       like the insect of summer that flies into the flame.
+       Summoning the winds to its aid, it puts out the lights, and
+       disappears.</p>
+
+    <p><i>The Suit of Feathers</i> is the title of a very pretty
+    conceit which followed. A fisherman enters, and in a long
+    recitative describes the scenery at the sea-shore of Miwo, in
+    the province of Suruga, at the foot of Fuji-Yama, the Peerless
+    Mountain. The waves are still, and there is a great calm; the
+    fishermen are all out plying their trade. The speaker's name is
+    Hakuriy&ocirc;, a fisherman living in the pine-grove of Miwo.
+    The rains are now over, and the sky is serene; the sun rises
+    bright and red over the pine-trees and rippling sea; while last
+    night's moon is yet seen faintly in the heaven. Even he, humble
+    fisher though he be, is softened by the beauty of the nature
+    which surrounds him. A breeze springs up, the weather will
+    change; clouds and waves will succeed sunshine and calm; the
+    fishermen must get them home again. No; it is but the gentle
+    breath of spring, after all; it scarcely stirs the stout
+    fir-trees, and the waves are hardly heard to break upon the
+    shore. The men may go forth in safety. The fisherman then
+    relates how, while he was wondering at the view, flowers began
+    to rain from the sky, and sweet music filled the air, which was
+    perfumed by a mystic fragrance. Looking up, he saw hanging on a
+    pine-tree a fairy's suit of feathers, which he took home, and
+    showed to a friend, intending to keep it as a relic in his
+    house. A heavenly fairy makes her appearance, and claims the
+    suit of feathers; but the fisherman holds to his treasure
+    trove. She urges the impiety of his act&mdash;a mortal has no
+    right to take that which belongs to the fairies. He declares
+    that he will hand down the feather suit to posterity as one of
+    the treasures of the country. The fairy bewails her lot;
+    without her wings how can she return to heaven? She recalls the
+    familiar joys of heaven, now closed to her; she sees the wild
+    geese and the gulls flying to the skies, and longs for their
+    power of flight; the tide has its ebb and its flow, and the
+    sea-breezes blow whither they list: for her alone there is no
+    power of motion, she must remain on earth. At last, touched by
+    her plaint, the fisherman consents to return the feather suit,
+    on condition that the fairy shall dance and play heavenly music
+    for him. She consents, but must first obtain the feather suit,
+    without which she cannot dance. The fisherman
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page87"
+       id="page87"></a>[pg 87]</span> refuses to give it up, lest
+       she should fly away to heaven without redeeming her pledge.
+       The fairy reproaches him for his want of faith: how should a
+       heavenly being be capable of falsehood? He is ashamed, and
+       gives her the feather suit, which she dons, and begins to
+       dance, singing of the delights of heaven, where she is one
+       of the fifteen attendants who minister to the moon. The
+       fisherman is so transported with joy, that he fancies
+       himself in heaven, and wishes to detain the fairy to dwell
+       with him for ever. A song follows in praise of the scenery
+       and of the Peerless Mountain capped with the snows of
+       spring. When her dance is concluded, the fairy, wafted away
+       by the sea-breeze, floats past the pine-grove to Ukishima
+       and Mount Ashidaka, over Mount Fuji, till she is seen dimly
+       like a cloud in the distant sky, and vanishes into thin
+       air.</p>
+
+    <p>The last of the N&ocirc; was <i>The Little Smith</i>, the
+    scene of which is laid in the reign of the Emperor Ichij&ocirc;
+    (A.D. 987&mdash;1011). A noble of the court enters, and
+    proclaims himself to be Tachibana Michinari. He has been
+    commanded by the Emperor, who has seen a dream of good omen on
+    the previous night, to order a sword of the smith
+    Mun&eacute;chika of Sanj&ocirc;. He calls Mun&eacute;chika, who
+    comes out, and, after receiving the order, expresses the
+    difficulty he is in, having at that time no fitting mate to
+    help him; he cannot forge a blade alone. The excuse is not
+    admitted; the smith pleads hard to be saved from the shame of a
+    failure. Driven to a compliance, there is nothing left for it
+    but to appeal to the gods for aid. He prays to the patron god
+    of his family, Inari Sama.<a id="footnotetag38"
+       name="footnotetag38"></a><a href="#footnote38"><sup>38</sup></a>
+       A man suddenly appears, and calls the smith; this man is the
+       god Inari Sama in disguise. The smith asks who is his
+       visitor, and how does he know him by name. The stranger
+       answers, "Thou hast been ordered to make a blade for the
+       Emperor." "This is passing strange," says the smith. "I
+       received the order but a moment since; how comest thou to
+       know of it?" "Heaven has a voice which is heard upon the
+       earth. Walls have ears, and stones tell
+       tales.<a id="footnotetag39"
+       name="footnotetag39"></a><a href="#footnote39"><sup>39</sup></a>
+       There are no secrets in the world. The flash of the blade
+       ordered by him who is above the clouds (the Emperor) is
+       quickly seen. By the grace of the Emperor the sword shall be
+       quickly made." Here follows the praise of certain famous
+       blades, and an account of the part they played in history,
+       with special reference to the sword which forms one of the
+       regalia. The sword which the Emperor has sent for shall be
+       inferior to none of these; the smith may set his heart at
+       rest. The smith, awe-struck, expresses his wonder, and asks
+       again who is addressing him. He is bidden to go and deck out
+       his anvil, and a supernatural power will help him. The
+       visitor disappears in a cloud. The smith prepares his anvil,
+       at the four corners of which he places images of the gods,
+       while above it he stretches the straw rope and paper
+       pendants hung up in temples to shut out foul or ill-omened
+       influences. He prays for strength to make the blade, not for
+       his own glory, but for the honour of the Emperor. A young
+       man, a fox in disguise, appears, and helps Mun&eacute;chika
+       to forge the steel. The noise of the anvil resounds to
+       heaven and over the earth. The chorus announces that the
+       blade is <span class="pagenum"><a name="page88"
+       id="page88"></a>[pg 88]</span> finished; on one side is the
+       mark of Mun&eacute;chika, on the other is graven "The Little
+       Fox" in clear characters.</p>
+
+    <p>The subjects of the N&ocirc; are all taken from old legends
+    of the country; a shrine at Miwo, by the sea-shore, marks the
+    spot where the suit of feathers was found, and the miraculously
+    forged sword is supposed to be in the armoury of the Emperor to
+    this day. The beauty of the poetry&mdash;and it is very
+    beautiful&mdash;is marred by the want of scenery and by the
+    grotesque dresses and make-up. In the <i>Suit of Feathers</i>,
+    for instance, the fairy wears a hideous mask and a wig of
+    scarlet elf locks: the suit of feathers itself is left entirely
+    to the imagination; and the heavenly dance is a series of
+    whirls, stamps, and jumps, accompanied by unearthly yells and
+    shrieks; while the vanishing into thin air is represented by
+    pirouettes something like the motion of a dancing dervish. The
+    intoning of the recitative is unnatural and unintelligible, so
+    much so that not even a highly educated Japanese could
+    understand what is going on unless he were previously
+    acquainted with the piece. This, however, is supposing that
+    which is not, for the N&ocirc; are as familiarly known as the
+    masterpieces of our own dramatists.</p>
+
+    <p>The classical severity of the N&ocirc; is relieved by the
+    introduction between the pieces of light farces called
+    Kiy&ocirc;gen. The whole entertainment having a religious
+    intention, the Kiy&ocirc;gen stand to the N&ocirc; in the same
+    relation as the small shrines to the main temple; they, too,
+    are played for the propitiation of the gods, and for the
+    softening of men's hearts. The farces are acted without wigs or
+    masks; the dialogue is in the common spoken language, and there
+    being no musical accompaniment it is quite easy to follow. The
+    plots of the two farces which were played before the Duke of
+    Edinburgh are as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>In the <i>Ink Smearing</i> the hero is a man from a distant
+    part of the country, who, having a petition to prefer, comes to
+    the capital, where he is detained for a long while. His suit
+    being at last successful, he communicates the joyful news to
+    his servant, Tar&ocirc;kaja (the conventional name of the
+    Leporello of these farces). The two congratulate one another.
+    To while away his idle hours during his sojourn at the capital
+    the master has entered into a flirtation with a certain young
+    lady: master and servant now hold a consultation as to whether
+    the former should not go and take leave of her. Tar&ocirc;kaja
+    is of opinion that as she is of a very jealous nature, his
+    master ought to go. Accordingly the two set out to visit her,
+    the servant leading the way. Arrived at her house, the
+    gentleman goes straight in without the knowledge of the lady,
+    who, coming out and meeting Tar&ocirc;kaja, asks after his
+    master. He replies that his master is inside the house. She
+    refuses to believe him, and complains that, for some time past,
+    his visits have been few and far between. Why should he come
+    now? Surely Tar&ocirc;kaja is hoaxing her. The servant protests
+    that he is telling the truth, and that his master really has
+    entered the house. She, only half persuaded, goes in, and finds
+    that my lord is indeed there. She welcomes him, and in the same
+    breath upbraids him. Some other lady has surely found favour in
+    his eyes. What fair wind has wafted him back to her? He replies
+    that business alone has kept him from her; he hopes that all is
+    well with her. With her, indeed, all is well, and there is no
+    change; but she fears that his heart is changed. Surely, surely
+    he has found mountains upon
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page89"
+       id="page89"></a>[pg 89]</span> mountains of joy elsewhere,
+       even now, perhaps, he is only calling on his way homeward
+       from some haunt of pleasure. What pleasure can there be away
+       from her? answers he. Indeed, his time has not been his own,
+       else he would have come sooner. Why, then, did he not send
+       his servant to explain? Tar&ocirc;kaja here puts in his oar,
+       and protests that, between running on errands and dancing
+       attendance upon his lord, he has not had a moment to
+       himself. "At any rate," says the master, "I must ask for
+       your congratulations; for my suit, which was so important,
+       has prospered." The lady expresses her happiness, and the
+       gentleman then bids his servant tell her the object of their
+       visit. Tar&ocirc;kaja objects to this; his lord had better
+       tell his own story. While the two are disputing as to who
+       shall speak, the lady's curiosity is aroused. "What terrible
+       tale is this that neither of you dare tell? Pray let one or
+       other of you speak." At last the master explains that he has
+       come to take leave of her, as he must forthwith return to
+       his own province. The girl begins to weep, and the gentleman
+       following suit, the two shed tears in concert. She uses all
+       her art to cajole him, and secretly produces from her sleeve
+       a cup of water, with which she smears her eyes to imitate
+       tears. He, deceived by the trick, tries to console her, and
+       swears that as soon as he reaches his own country he will
+       send a messenger to fetch her; but she pretends to weep all
+       the more, and goes on rubbing her face with water.
+       Tar&ocirc;kaja, in the meanwhile, detects the trick, and,
+       calling his master on one side, tells him what she is doing.
+       The gentleman, however, refuses to believe him, and scolds
+       him right roundly for telling lies. The lady calls my lord
+       to her, and weeping more bitterly than ever, tries to coax
+       him to remain. Tar&ocirc;kaja slyly fills another cup, with
+       ink and water, and substitutes it for the cup of clear
+       water. She, all unconcerned, goes on smearing her face. At
+       last she lifts her face, and her lover, seeing it all black
+       and sooty, gives a start. What can be the matter with the
+       girl's face? Tar&ocirc;kaja, in an aside, explains what he
+       has done. They determine to put her to shame. The lover,
+       producing from his bosom a box containing a mirror, gives it
+       to the girl, who, thinking that it is a parting gift, at
+       first declines to receive it. It is pressed upon her; she
+       opens the box and sees the reflection of her dirty face.
+       Master and man burst out laughing. Furious, she smears
+       Tar&ocirc;kaja's face with the ink; he protests that he is
+       not the author of the trick, and the girl flies at her lover
+       and rubs his face too. Both master and servant run off,
+       pursued by the girl.</p>
+
+    <p>The second farce was shorter than the first, and was called
+    <i>The Theft of the Sword</i>. A certain gentleman calls his
+    servant Tar&ocirc;kaja, and tells him that he is going out for
+    a little diversion. Bidding Tar&ocirc;kaja follow him, he sets
+    out. On their way they meet another gentleman, carrying a
+    handsome sword in his hand, and going to worship at the Kitano
+    shrine at Ki&ocirc;to. Tar&ocirc;kaja points out the beauty of
+    the sword to his master, and says what a fine thing it would be
+    if they could manage to obtain possession of it. Tar&ocirc;kaja
+    borrows his master's sword, and goes up to the stranger, whose
+    attention is taken up by looking at the wares set out for sale
+    in a shop. Tar&ocirc;kaja lays his hand on the guard of the
+    stranger's sword; and the latter, drawing it, turns round, and
+    tries to cut the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page90"
+       id="page90"></a>[pg 90]</span> thief down. Tar&ocirc;kaja
+       takes to his heels, praying hard that his life may be
+       spared. The stranger takes away the sword which
+       Tar&ocirc;kaja has borrowed from his master, and goes on his
+       way to the shrine, carrying the two swords. Tar&ocirc;kaja
+       draws a long breath of relief when he sees that his life is
+       not forfeited; but what account is he to give of his
+       master's sword which he has lost. There is no help for it,
+       he must go back and make a clean breast of it. His master is
+       very angry; and the two, after consulting together, await
+       the stranger's return from the shrine. The latter makes his
+       appearance and announces that he is going home.
+       Tar&ocirc;kaja's master falls upon the stranger from behind,
+       and pinions him, ordering Tar&ocirc;kaja to fetch a rope and
+       bind him. The knave brings the cord; but, while he is
+       getting it ready, the stranger knocks him over with his
+       sword. His master calls out to him to get up quickly and
+       bind the gentleman from behind, and not from before.
+       Tar&ocirc;kaja runs behind the struggling pair, but is so
+       clumsy that he slips the noose over his master's head by
+       mistake, and drags him down. The stranger, seeing this, runs
+       away laughing with the two swords. Tar&ocirc;kaja,
+       frightened at his blunder, runs off too, his master pursuing
+       him off the stage. A general run off, be it observed,
+       something like the "spill-and-pelt" scene in an English
+       pantomime, is the legitimate and invariable termination of
+       the Kiy&ocirc;gen.</p>
+
+    <h3>NOTE ON THE GAME OF FOOTBALL.</h3>
+
+    <p>The game of football is in great favour at the Japanese
+    Court. The days on which it takes place are carefully noted in
+    the "Daij&ocirc;kwan Nishi," or Government Gazette. On the 25th
+    of February, 1869, for instance, we find two entries: "The
+    Emperor wrote characters of good omen," and "The game of
+    football was played at the palace." The game was first
+    introduced from China in the year of the Empress
+    K&ocirc;kiyoku, in the middle of the seventh century. The
+    Emperor Mommu, who reigned at the end of the same century, was
+    the first emperor who took part in the sport. His Majesty Toba
+    the Second became very expert at it, as also did the noble
+    Asukai Chiujo, and from that time a sort of football club was
+    formed at the palace. During the days of the extreme poverty of
+    the Mikado and his Court, the Asukai family, notwithstanding
+    their high rank, were wont to eke out their scanty income by
+    giving lessons in the art of playing
+    football.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page91"
+       id="page91"></a>[pg 91]</span>
+
+    <h2>THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUY&Eacute;MON</h2>
+
+    <p>The doughty deeds and marvellous experiences of Funakoshi
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon are perhaps, like those of Robin Hood and his
+    Merry Men, rather traditional than historical; but even if all
+    or part of the deeds which popular belief ascribes to him be
+    false, his story conveys a true picture of manners and customs.
+    Above all, the manner of the vengeance which he wreaked upon
+    the wife who had dishonoured him, and upon her lover, shows the
+    high importance which the Japanese attach to the sanctity of
+    the marriage tie.</p>
+
+    <p>The 50th and 51st chapters of the "Legacy of
+    Iy&eacute;yasu," already quoted, say: "If a married woman of
+    the agricultural, artisan, or commercial class shall secretly
+    have intercourse with another man, it is not necessary for the
+    husband to enter a complaint against the persons thus confusing
+    the great relation of mankind, but he may put them both to
+    death. Nevertheless, should he slay one of them and spare the
+    other, his guilt is the same as that of the unrighteous
+    persons.</p>
+
+    <p>"In the event, however, of advice being sought, the parties
+    not having been slain, accede to the wishes of the complainant
+    with, regard to putting them to death or not.</p>
+
+    <p>"Mankind, in whose bodies the male and female elements
+    induce a natural desire towards the same object, do not look
+    upon such practices with aversion; and the adjudication of such
+    cases is a matter of special deliberation and consultation.</p>
+
+    <p>"Men and women of the military class are expected to know
+    better than to occasion disturbance by violating existing
+    regulations; and such an one breaking the regulations by lewd,
+    trifling, or illicit intercourse shall at once be punished,
+    without deliberation or consultation. It is not the same in
+    this case as in that of agriculturists, artisans, and
+    traders."</p>
+
+    <p>As a criminal offence, adultery was, according to the
+    ancient laws of Japan, punished by crucifixion. In more modern
+    times it has been punished by decapitation and the disgraceful
+    exposure of the head after death; but if the murder of the
+    injured husband accompany the crime of adultery, then the
+    guilty parties are crucified to this day. At the present time
+    the husband is no longer allowed to take the law into his own
+    hands: he must report the matter to the Government, and trust
+    to the State to avenge his honour.</p>
+
+    <p>Sacred as the marriage tie is so long as it lasts, the law
+    which <span class="pagenum"><a name="page92"
+       id="page92"></a>[pg 92]</span> cuts it is curiously facile,
+       or rather there is no law: a man may turn his wife out of
+       doors, as it may suit his fancy. An example of this practice
+       was shown in the story of "The Forty-seven R&ocirc;nins." A
+       husband has but to report the matter to his lord, and the
+       ceremony of divorce is completed. Thus, in the days of the
+       Shoguns' power, a Hatamoto who had divorced his wife
+       reported the matter to the Shogun. A Daimio's retainer
+       reports the matter to his Prince.</p>
+
+    <p>The facility of divorce, however, seems to be but rarely
+    taken advantage of: this is probably owing to the practice of
+    keeping concubines. It has often been asked, Are the Japanese
+    polygamists? The answer is, Yes and no. They marry but one
+    wife; but a man may, according to his station and means, have
+    one or more concubines in addition. The Emperor has twelve
+    concubines, called Kisaki; and Iy&eacute;yasu, alluding
+    forcibly to excess in this respect as <i>teterrima belli
+    causa</i>, laid down that the princes might have eight, high
+    officers five, and ordinary Samurai two handmaids. "In the
+    olden times," he writes, "the downfall of castles and the
+    overthrow of kingdoms all proceeded from this alone. Why is not
+    the indulgence of passions guarded against?"</p>
+
+    <p>The difference between the position of the wife and that of
+    the concubine is marked. The legitimate wife is to the handmaid
+    as a lord is to his vassal. Concubinage being a legitimate
+    institution, the son of a handmaid is no bastard, nor is he in
+    any way the child of shame; and yet, as a general rule, the son
+    of the bondwoman is not heir with the son of the free, for the
+    son of the wife inherits before the son of a concubine, even
+    where the latter be the elder; and it frequently happens that a
+    noble, having children by his concubines but none by his wife,
+    selects a younger brother of his own, or even adopts the son of
+    some relative, to succeed him in the family honours. The family
+    line is considered to be thus more purely preserved. The law of
+    succession is, however, extremely lax. Excellent personal
+    merits will sometimes secure to the left-handed son the
+    inheritance of his ancestors; and it often occurs that the son
+    of a concubine, who is debarred from succeeding to his own
+    father, is adopted as the heir of a relation or friend of even
+    higher rank. When the wife of a noble has a daughter but no
+    son, the practice is to adopt a youth of suitable family and
+    age, who marries the girl and inherits as a son.</p>
+
+    <p>The principle of adoption is universal among all classes,
+    from the Emperor down to his meanest subject; nor is the family
+    line considered to have been broken because an adopted son has
+    succeeded to the estates. Indeed, should a noble die without
+    heir male, either begotten or adopted, his lands are forfeited
+    to the State. It is a matter of care that the person adopted
+    should be himself sprung from a stock of rank suited to that of
+    the family into which he is to be received.</p>
+
+    <p>Sixteen and upwards being considered the marriageable age
+    for a man, it is not usual for persons below that age to adopt
+    an heir; <span class="pagenum"><a name="page93"
+       id="page93"></a>[pg 93]</span> yet an infant at the point of
+       death may adopt a person older than himself, that the family
+       line may not become extinct.</p>
+
+    <p>An account of the marriage ceremony will be found in the
+    Appendix upon the subject.</p>
+
+    <p>In the olden time, in the island of
+    Shikoku<a id="footnotetag40"
+       name="footnotetag40"></a><a href="#footnote40"><sup>40</sup></a>
+       there lived one Funakoshi Jiuy&eacute;mon, a brave Samurai
+       and accomplished man, who was in great favour with the
+       prince, his master. One day, at a drinking-bout, a quarrel
+       sprung up between him and a brother-officer, which resulted
+       in a duel upon the spot, in which Jiuy&eacute;mon killed his
+       adversary. When Jiuy&eacute;mon awoke to a sense of what he
+       had done, he was struck with remorse, and he thought to
+       disembowel himself; but, receiving a private summons from
+       his lord, he went to the castle, and the prince said to
+       him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"So it seems that you have been getting drunk and
+    quarrelling, and that you have killed one of your friends; and
+    now I suppose you will have determined to perform
+    <i>hara-kiri</i>. It is a great pity, and in the face of the
+    laws I can do nothing for you openly. Still, if you will escape
+    and fly from this part of the country for a while, in two
+    years' time the affair will have blown over, and I will allow
+    you to return."</p>
+
+    <p>And with these words the prince presented him with a fine
+    sword, made by Suk&eacute;sada,<a id="footnotetag41"
+       name="footnotetag41"></a><a href="#footnote41"><sup>41</sup></a>
+       and a hundred ounces of silver, and, having bade him
+       farewell, entered his private apartments; and
+       Jiuy&eacute;mon, prostrating himself, wept tears of
+       gratitude; then, taking the sword and the money, he went
+       home and prepared to fly from the province, and secretly
+       took leave of his relations, each of whom made him some
+       parting present. These gifts, together with his own money,
+       and what he had received from the prince, made up a sum of
+       two hundred and fifty ounces of silver, with which and his
+       Suk&eacute;sada sword he escaped under cover of darkness,
+       and went to a sea-port called Marugam&eacute;, in the
+       province of Sanuki, where he proposed to wait for an
+       opportunity of setting sail for Osaka. As ill luck would
+       have it, the wind being contrary, he had to remain three
+       days idle; but at last the wind changed; so he went down to
+       the beach, thinking that he should certainly find a junk
+       about to sail; and as he was looking about him, a sailor
+       came up, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"If your honour is minded to take a trip to Osaka, my ship
+    is bound thither, and I should be glad to take you with me as
+    passenger."</p>
+
+    <p>"That's exactly what I wanted. I will gladly take a
+    passage," replied Jiuy&eacute;mon, who was delighted at the
+    chance.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page94"
+       id="page94"></a>[pg 94]</span>
+
+    <p>"Well, then, we must set sail at once, so please come on
+    board without delay."</p>
+
+    <p>So Jiuy&eacute;mon went with him and embarked; and as they
+    left the harbour and struck into the open sea, the moon was
+    just rising above the eastern hills, illumining the dark night
+    like a noonday sun; and Jiuy&eacute;mon, taking his place in
+    the bows of the ship, stood wrapt in contemplation of the
+    beauty of the scene.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/094.jpg"
+             name="image094"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image094"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/094.jpg"
+             alt="JIUY&Eacute;MON ON BOARD THE PIRATE SHIP." /></a>
+             JIUY&Eacute;MON ON BOARD THE PIRATE SHIP.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>Now it happened that the captain of the ship, whose name was
+    Akag&ocirc;shi Kuroy&eacute;mon, was a fierce pirate who,
+    attracted by Jiuy&eacute;mon's well-to-do appearance, had
+    determined to decoy him on board, that he might murder and rob
+    him; and while Jiuy&eacute;mon was looking at the moon, the
+    pirate and his companions were collected in the stern of the
+    ship, taking counsel together in whispers as to how they might
+    slay him. He, on the other hand, having for some time past
+    fancied their conduct somewhat strange, bethought him that it
+    was not prudent to lay aside his sword, so he went towards the
+    place where he had been sitting, and had left his weapon lying,
+    to fetch it, when he was stopped by three of the pirates, who
+    blocked up the gangway, saying&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Stop, Sir Samurai! Unluckily for you, this ship in which
+    you have taken a passage belongs to the pirate Akag&ocirc;shi
+    Kuroy&eacute;mon. Come, sir! whatever money you may chance to
+    have about you is our
+    prize."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page95"
+       id="page95"></a>[pg 95]</span>
+
+    <p>When Jiuy&eacute;mon heard this he was greatly startled at
+    first, but soon recovered himself, and being an expert
+    wrestler, kicked over two of the pirates, and made for his
+    sword; but in the meanwhile Shichirohei, the younger brother of
+    the pirate captain, had drawn the sword, and brought it towards
+    him, saying&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"If you want your sword, here it is!" and with that he cut
+    at him; but Jiuy&eacute;mon avoided the blow, and closing with
+    the ruffian, got back his sword. Ten of the pirates then
+    attacked him with spear and sword; but he, putting his back
+    against the bows of the ship, showed such good fight that he
+    killed three of his assailants, and the others stood off, not
+    daring to approach him. Then the pirate captain, Akag&ocirc;shi
+    Kuroy&eacute;mon, who had been watching the fighting from the
+    stern, seeing that his men stood no chance against
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon's dexterity, and that he was only losing them
+    to no purpose, thought to shoot him with a matchlock. Even
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon, brave as he was, lost heart when he saw the
+    captain's gun pointed at him, and tried to jump into the sea;
+    but one of the pirates made a dash at him with a boat-hook, and
+    caught him by the sleeve; then Jiuy&eacute;mon, in despair,
+    took the fine Suk&eacute;sada sword which he had received from
+    his prince, and throwing it at his captor, pierced him through
+    the breast so that he fell dead, and himself plunging into the
+    sea swam for his life. The pirate captain shot at him and
+    missed him, and the rest of the crew made every endeavour to
+    seize him with their boat-hooks, that they might avenge the
+    death of their mates; but it was all in vain, and
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon, having shaken off his clothes that he might
+    swim the better, made good his escape. So the pirates threw the
+    bodies of their dead comrades into the sea, and the captain was
+    partly consoled for their loss by the possession of the
+    Suk&eacute;sada sword with which one of them had been
+    transfixed.</p>
+
+    <p>As soon as Jiuy&eacute;mon jumped over the ship's side,
+    being a good swimmer, he took a long dive, which carried him
+    well out of danger, and struck out vigorously; and although he
+    was tired and distressed by his exertions, he braced himself up
+    to greater energy, and faced the waves boldly. At last, in the
+    far distance, to his great joy, he spied a light, for which he
+    made, and found that it was a ship carrying lanterns marked
+    with the badge of the governor of Osaka; so he hailed her,
+    saying&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I have fallen into great trouble among pirates: pray rescue
+    me."</p>
+
+    <p>"Who and what are you?" shouted an officer, some forty years
+    of age.</p>
+
+    <p>"My name is Funakoshi Jiuy&eacute;mon, and I have
+    unwittingly fallen in with pirates this night. I have escaped
+    so far: I pray you save me, lest I die."</p>
+
+    <p>"Hold on to this, and come up," replied the other, holding
+    out the butt end of a spear to him, which he caught hold of and
+    clambered up the ship's side. When the officer saw before him a
+    handsome gentleman, naked all but his loincloth, and with his
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page96"
+       id="page96"></a>[pg 96]</span> hair all in disorder, he
+       called to his servants to bring some of his own clothes,
+       and, having dressed him in them, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"What clan do you belong to, sir?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir, I am a R&ocirc;nin, and was on my way to Osaka; but
+    the sailors of the ship on which I had embarked were pirates;"
+    and so he told the whole story of the fight and of his
+    escape.</p>
+
+    <p>"Well done, sir!" replied the other, astonished at his
+    prowess. "My name is Kajiki Tozay&eacute;mon, at your service.
+    I am an officer attached to the governor of Osaka. Pray, have
+    you any friends in that city?"</p>
+
+    <p>"No, sir, I have no friends there; but as in two years I
+    shall be able to return to my own country, and re-enter my
+    lord's service, I thought during that time to engage in trade
+    and live as a common wardsman."</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed, that's a poor prospect! However, if you will allow
+    me, I will do all that is in my power to assist you. Pray
+    excuse the liberty I am taking in making such a proposal."</p>
+
+    <p>Jiuy&eacute;mon warmly thanked Kajiki Tozay&eacute;mon for
+    his kindness; and so they reached Osaka without further
+    adventures.</p>
+
+    <p>Jiuy&eacute;mon, who had secreted in his girdle the two
+    hundred and fifty ounces which he had brought with him from
+    home, bought a small house, and started in trade as a vendor of
+    perfumes, tooth-powder, combs, and other toilet articles; and
+    Kajiki Tozay&eacute;mon, who treated him with great kindness,
+    and rendered him many services, prompted him, as he was a
+    single man, to take to himself a wife. Acting upon this advice,
+    he married a singing-girl, called O
+    Hiyaku.<a id="footnotetag42"
+       name="footnotetag42"></a><a href="#footnote42"><sup>42</sup></a></p>
+
+    <p>Now this O Hiyaku, although at first she seemed very
+    affectionately disposed towards Jiuy&eacute;mon, had been,
+    during the time that she was a singer, a woman of bad and
+    profligate character; and at this time there was in Osaka a
+    certain wrestler, named Takas&eacute;gawa Kurobei, a very
+    handsome man, with whom O Hiyaku fell desperately in love; so
+    that at last, being by nature a passionate woman, she became
+    unfaithful to Jiuy&eacute;mon. The latter, little suspecting
+    that anything was amiss, was in the habit of spending his
+    evenings at the house of his patron Kajiki Tozay&eacute;mon,
+    whose son, a youth of eighteen, named T&ocirc;noshin, conceived
+    a great friendship for Jiuy&eacute;mon, and used constantly to
+    invite him to play a game at checkers; and it was on these
+    occasions that O Hiyaku, profiting by her husband's absence,
+    used to arrange her meetings with the wrestler
+    Takas&eacute;gawa.</p>
+
+    <p>One evening, when Jiuy&eacute;mon, as was his wont, had gone
+    out to play at checkers with Kajiki T&ocirc;noshin, O Hiyaku
+    took advantage of the occasion to go and fetch the wrestler,
+    and invite him to a little feast; and as they were enjoying
+    themselves over their wine, O Hiyaku said to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Ah! Master Takas&eacute;gawa, how wonderfully chance
+    favours us! and how pleasant these stolen interviews are! How
+    much nicer <span class="pagenum"><a name="page97"
+       id="page97"></a>[pg 97]</span> still it would be if we could
+       only be married. But, as long as Jiuy&eacute;mon is in the
+       way, it is impossible; and that is my one cause of
+       distress."</p>
+
+    <p>"It's no use being in such a hurry. If you only have
+    patience, we shall be able to marry, sure enough. What you have
+    got to look out for now is, that Jiuy&eacute;mon does not find
+    out what we are about. I suppose there is no chance of his
+    coming home to-night, is there?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh dear, no! You need not be afraid. He is gone to Kajiki's
+    house to play checkers; so he is sure to spend the night
+    there."</p>
+
+    <p>And so the guilty couple went on gossiping, with their minds
+    at ease, until at last they dropped off asleep.</p>
+
+    <p>In the meanwhile Jiuy&eacute;mon, in the middle of his game
+    at checkers, was seized with a sudden pain in his stomach, and
+    said to Kajiki T&ocirc;noshin, "Young sir, I feel an
+    unaccountable pain in my stomach. I think I had better go home,
+    before it gets worse."</p>
+
+    <p>"That is a bad job. Wait a little, and I will give you some
+    physic; but, at any rate, you had better spend the night
+    here."</p>
+
+    <p>"Many thanks for your kindness," replied Jiuy&eacute;mon;
+    "but I had rather go home."</p>
+
+    <p>So he took his leave, and went off to his own house, bearing
+    the pain as best he might. When he arrived in front of his own
+    door, he tried to open it; but the lock was fastened, and he
+    could not get in, so he rapped violently at the shutters to try
+    and awaken his wife. When O Hiyaku heard the noise, she woke
+    with a start, and roused the wrestler, saying to him in a
+    whisper&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Get up! get up! Jiuy&eacute;mon has come back. You must
+    hide as fast as possible."</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh dear! oh dear!" said the wrestler, in a great fright;
+    "here's a pretty mess! Where on earth shall I hide myself?" and
+    he stumbled about in every direction looking for a
+    hiding-place, but found none.</p>
+
+    <p>Jiuy&eacute;mon, seeing that his wife did not come to open
+    the door, got impatient at last, and forced it open by unfixing
+    the sliding shutter and, entering the house, found himself face
+    to face with his wife and her lover, who were both in such
+    confusion that they did not know what to do. Jiuy&eacute;mon,
+    however, took no notice of them, but lit his pipe and sat
+    smoking and watching them in silence. At last the wrestler,
+    Takas&eacute;gawa, broke the silence by saying&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I thought, sir, that I should be sure to have the pleasure
+    of finding you at home this evening, so I came out to call upon
+    you. When I got here, the Lady O Hiyaku was so kind as to offer
+    me some wine; and I drank a little more than was good for me,
+    so that it got into my head, and I fell asleep. I must really
+    apologize for having taken such a liberty in your absence; but,
+    indeed, although appearances are against us, there has been
+    nothing wrong."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page98"
+       id="page98"></a>[pg 98]</span>
+
+    <p>"Certainly," said O Hiyaku, coming to her lover's support,
+    "Master Takas&eacute;gawa is not at all to blame. It was I who
+    invited him to drink wine; so I hope you will excuse him."</p>
+
+    <p>Jiuy&eacute;mon sat pondering the matter over in his mind
+    for a moment, and then said to the wrestler, "You say that you
+    are innocent; but, of course, that is a lie. It's no use trying
+    to conceal your fault. However, next year I shall, in all
+    probability, return to my own country, and then you may take O
+    Hiyaku and do what you will with her: far be it from me to care
+    what becomes of a woman with such a stinking heart."</p>
+
+    <p>When the wrestler and O Hiyaku heard Jiuy&eacute;mon say
+    this quite quietly, they could not speak, but held their peace
+    for very shame.</p>
+
+    <p>"Here, you Takas&eacute;gawa," pursued he; "you may stop
+    here to-night, if you like it, and go home to-morrow."</p>
+
+    <p>"Thank you, sir," replied the wrestler, "I am much obliged
+    to you; but the fact is, that I have some pressing business in
+    another part of the town, so, with your permission, I will take
+    my leave;" and so he went out, covered with confusion.</p>
+
+    <p>As for the faithless wife, O Hiyaku, she was in great
+    agitation, expecting to be severely reprimanded at least; but
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon took no notice of her, and showed no anger;
+    only from that day forth, although she remained in his house as
+    his wife, he separated himself from her entirely.</p>
+
+    <p>Matters went on in this way for some time, until at last,
+    one fine day, O Hiyaku, looking out of doors, saw the wrestler
+    Takas&eacute;gawa passing in the street, so she called out to
+    him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Dear me, Master Takas&eacute;gawa, can that be you! What a
+    long time it is since we have met! Pray come in, and have a
+    chat."</p>
+
+    <p>"Thank you, I am much obliged to you; but as I do not like
+    the sort of scene we had the other day, I think I had rather
+    not accept your invitation."</p>
+
+    <p>"Pray do not talk in such a cowardly manner. Next year, when
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon goes back to his own country, he is sure to
+    give me this house, and then you and I can marry and live as
+    happily as possible."</p>
+
+    <p>"I don't like being in too great a hurry to accept fair
+    offers."<a id="footnotetag43"
+       name="footnotetag43"></a><a href="#footnote43"><sup>43</sup></a></p>
+
+    <p>"Nonsense! There's no need for showing such delicacy about
+    accepting what is given you."</p>
+
+    <p>And as she spoke, she caught the wrestler by the hand and
+    led him into the house. After they had talked together for some
+    time, she said:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Listen to me, Master Takas&eacute;gawa. I have been
+    thinking over all this for some time, and I see no help for it
+    but to kill Jiuy&eacute;mon and make an end of him."</p>
+
+    <p>"What do you want to do that for?"</p>
+
+    <p>"As long as he is alive, we cannot be married. What I
+    propose is that you should buy some poison, and I will put it
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page99"
+       id="page99"></a>[pg 99]</span> secretly into his food. When
+       he is dead, we can be happy to our hearts' content."</p>
+
+    <p>At first Takas&eacute;gawa was startled and bewildered by
+    the audacity of their scheme; but forgetting the gratitude
+    which he owed to Jiuy&eacute;mon for sparing his life on the
+    previous occasion, he replied:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, I think it can be managed. I have a friend who is a
+    physician, so I will get him to compound some poison for me,
+    and will send it to you. You must look out for a moment when
+    your husband is not on his guard, and get him to take it."</p>
+
+    <p>Having agreed upon this, Takas&eacute;gawa went away, and,
+    having employed a physician to make up the poison, sent it to O
+    Hiyaku in a letter, suggesting that the poison should be mixed
+    up with a sort of macaroni, of which Jiuy&eacute;mon was very
+    fond. Having read the letter, she put it carefully away in a
+    drawer of her cupboard, and waited until Jiuy&eacute;mon should
+    express a wish to eat some macaroni.</p>
+
+    <p>One day, towards the time of the New Year, when O Hiyaku had
+    gone out to a party with a few of her friends, it happened that
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon, being alone in the house, was in want of some
+    little thing, and, failing to find it anywhere, at last
+    bethought himself to look for it in O Hiyaku's cupboard; and as
+    he was searching amongst the odds and ends which it contained,
+    he came upon the fatal letter. When he read the scheme for
+    putting poison in his macaroni, he was taken aback, and said to
+    himself, "When I caught those two beasts in their wickedness I
+    spared them, because their blood would have defiled my sword;
+    and now they are not even grateful for my mercy. Their crime is
+    beyond all power of language to express, and I will kill them
+    together."</p>
+
+    <p>So he put back the letter in its place, and waited for his
+    wife to come home. So soon as she made her appearance he
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"You have come home early, O Hiyaku. I feel very dull and
+    lonely this evening; let us have a little wine."</p>
+
+    <p>And as he spoke without any semblance of anger, it never
+    entered O Hiyaku's mind that he had seen the letter; so she
+    went about her household duties with a quiet mind.</p>
+
+    <p>The following evening, as Jiuy&eacute;mon was sitting in his
+    shop casting up his accounts, with his
+    counting-board<a id="footnotetag44"
+       name="footnotetag44"></a><a href="#footnote44"><sup>44</sup></a>
+       in his hand, Takas&eacute;gawa passed by, and
+       Jiuy&eacute;mon called out to him, saying:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well met, Takas&eacute;gawa! I was just thinking of
+    drinking a cup of wine to-night; but I have no one to keep me
+    company, and it is dull work drinking alone. Pray come in, and
+    drink a bout with me."</p>
+
+    <p>"Thank you, sir, I shall have much pleasure," replied the
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page100"
+       id="page100"></a>[pg 100]</span> wrestler, who little
+       expected what the other was aiming at; and so he went in,
+       and they began to drink and feast.</p>
+
+    <p>"It's very cold to-night," said Jiuy&eacute;mon, after a
+    while; "suppose we warm up a little macaroni, and eat it nice
+    and hot. Perhaps, however, you do not like it?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed, I am very fond of it, on the contrary."</p>
+
+    <p>"That is well. O Hiyaku, please go and buy a little for
+    us."</p>
+
+    <p>"Directly," replied his wife, who hurried off to buy the
+    paste, delighted at the opportunity for carrying out her
+    murderous design upon her husband. As soon she had prepared it,
+    she poured it into bowls and set it before the two men; but
+    into her husband's bowl only she put poison. Jiuy&eacute;mon,
+    who well knew what she had done, did not eat the mess at once,
+    but remained talking about this, that, and the other; and the
+    wrestler, out of politeness, was obliged to wait also. All of a
+    sudden, Jiuy&eacute;mon cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Dear me! whilst we have been gossiping, the macaroni has
+    been getting cold. Let us put it all together and warm it up
+    again. As no one has put his lips to his bowl yet, it will all
+    be clean; so none need be wasted." And with these words he took
+    the macaroni that was in the three bowls, and, pouring it
+    altogether into an iron pot, boiled it up again. This time
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon served out the food himself, and, setting it
+    before his wife and the wrestler, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"There! make haste and eat it up before it gets cold."</p>
+
+    <p>Jiuy&eacute;mon, of course, did not eat any of the mess; and
+    the would-be murderers, knowing that sufficient poison had been
+    originally put into Jiuy&eacute;mon's bowl to kill them all
+    three, and that now the macaroni, having been well mixed up,
+    would all be poisoned, were quite taken aback, and did not know
+    what to do.</p>
+
+    <p>"Come! make haste, or it will be quite cold. You said you
+    liked it, so I sent to buy it on purpose. O Hiyaku! come and
+    make a hearty meal. I will eat some presently."</p>
+
+    <p>At this the pair looked very foolish, and knew not what to
+    answer; at last the wrestler got up and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I do not feel quite well. I must beg to take my leave; and,
+    if you will allow me, I will come and accept your hospitality
+    to-morrow instead."</p>
+
+    <p>"Dear me! I am sorry to hear you are not well. However, O
+    Hiyaku, there will be all the more macaroni for you."</p>
+
+    <p>As for O Hiyaku, she put a bold face upon the matter, and
+    replied that she had supped already, and had no appetite for
+    any more.</p>
+
+    <p>Then Jiuy&eacute;mon, looking at them both with a scornful
+    smile, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"It seems that you, neither of you, care to eat this
+    macaroni; however, as you, Takas&eacute;gawa, are unwell, I
+    will give you some excellent medicine;" and going to the
+    cupboard, he drew out the letter, and laid it before the
+    wrestler. When O Hiyaku and <!--blank page 101-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page102"
+       id="page102"></a>[pg 102]</span> the wrestler saw that their
+       wicked schemes had been brought to light, they were struck
+       dumb with shame.</p>
+
+    <p>Takas&eacute;gawa, seeing that denial was useless, drew his
+    dirk and cut at Jiuy&eacute;mon; but he, being nimble and
+    quick, dived under the wrestler's arm, and seizing his right
+    hand from behind, tightened his grasp upon it until it became
+    numbed, and the dirk fell to the ground; for, powerful man as
+    the wrestler was, he was no match for Jiuy&eacute;mon, who held
+    him in so fast a grip that he could not move. Then
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon took the dirk which had fallen to the ground,
+    and said:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! I thought that you, being a wrestler, would at least be
+    a strong man, and that there would be some pleasure in fighting
+    you; but I see that you are but a poor feckless creature, after
+    all. It would have defiled my sword to have killed such an
+    ungrateful hound with it; but luckily here is your own dirk,
+    and I will slay you with that."</p>
+
+    <p>Takas&eacute;gawa struggled to escape, but in vain; and O
+    Hiyaku, seizing a large kitchen knife, attacked
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon; but he, furious, kicked her in the loins so
+    violently that she fell powerless, then brandishing the dirk,
+    he cleft the wrestler from the shoulder down to the nipple of
+    his breast, and the big man fell in his agony. O Hiyaku, seeing
+    this, tried to fly; but Jiuy&eacute;mon, seizing her by the
+    hair of the head, stabbed her in the bosom, and, placing her by
+    her lover's side, gave her the death-blow.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/101.jpg"
+             name="image101"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image101"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/101.jpg"
+             alt="JIUY&Eacute;MON PUNISHES HIS WIFE AND THE WRESTLER." />
+        </a> JIUY&Eacute;MON PUNISHES HIS WIFE AND THE WRESTLER.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>On the following day, he sent in a report of what he had
+    done to the governor of Osaka, and buried the corpses; and from
+    that time forth he remained a single man, and pursued his trade
+    as a seller of perfumery and such-like wares; and his leisure
+    hours he continued to spend as before, at the house of his
+    patron, Kajiki Tozay&eacute;mon.</p>
+
+    <p>One day, when Jiuy&eacute;mon went to call upon Kajiki
+    Tozay&eacute;mon, he was told by the servant-maid, who met him
+    at the door, that her master was out, but that her young
+    master, T&ocirc;noshin, was at home; so, saying that he would
+    go in and pay his respects to the young gentleman, he entered
+    the house; and as he suddenly pushed open the sliding-door of
+    the room in which T&ocirc;noshin was sitting, the latter gave a
+    great start, and his face turned pale and ghastly.</p>
+
+    <p>"How now, young sir!" said Jiuy&eacute;mon, laughing at him,
+    "surely you are not such a coward as to be afraid because the
+    sliding-doors are opened? That is not the way in which a brave
+    Samurai should behave."</p>
+
+    <p>"Really I am quite ashamed of myself," replied the other,
+    blushing at the reproof; "but the fact is that I had some
+    reason for being startled. Listen to me, Sir Jiuy&eacute;mon,
+    and I will tell you all about it. To-day, when I went to the
+    academy to study, there were a great number of my
+    fellow-students gathered together, and one of them said that a
+    ruinous old shrine, about two miles and a half to the east of
+    this place, was the nightly resort of all sorts of hobgoblins,
+    who have been playing pranks and <!--blank page 103-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page104"
+       id="page104"></a>[pg 104]</span> bewitching the people for
+       some time past; and he proposed that we should all draw
+       lots, and that the one upon whom the lot fell should go
+       to-night and exorcise those evil beings; and further that,
+       as a proof of his having gone, he should write his name upon
+       a pillar in the shrine. All the rest agreed that this would
+       be very good sport; so I, not liking to appear a coward,
+       consented to take my chance with the rest; and, as ill luck
+       would have it, the lot fell upon me. I was thinking over
+       this as you came in, and so it was that when you suddenly
+       opened the door, I could not help giving a start."</p>
+
+    <p>"If you only think for a moment," said Jiuy&eacute;mon, "you
+    will see that there is nothing to fear. How can
+    beasts<a id="footnotetag45"
+       name="footnotetag45"></a><a href="#footnote45"><sup>45</sup></a>
+       and hobgoblins exercise any power over men? However, do not
+       let the matter trouble you. I will go in your place
+       to-night, and see if I cannot get the better of these
+       goblins, if any there be, having done which, I will write
+       your name upon the pillar, so that everybody may think that
+       you have been there."</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! thank you: that will indeed be a service. You can dress
+    yourself up in my clothes, and nobody will be the wiser. I
+    shall be truly grateful to you."</p>
+
+    <p>So Jiuy&eacute;mon having gladly undertaken the job, as soon
+    as the night set in made his preparations, and went to the
+    place indicated&mdash;an uncanny-looking, tumble-down, lonely
+    old shrine, all overgrown with moss and rank vegetation.
+    However, Jiuy&eacute;mon, who was afraid of nothing, cared
+    little for the appearance of the place, and having made himself
+    as comfortable as he could in so dreary a spot, sat down on the
+    floor, lit his pipe, and kept a sharp look-out for the goblins.
+    He had not been waiting long before he saw a movement among the
+    bushes; and presently he was surrounded by a host of
+    elfish-looking creatures, of all shapes and kinds, who came and
+    made hideous faces at him. Jiuy&eacute;mon quietly knocked the
+    ashes out of his pipe, and then, jumping up, kicked over first
+    one and then another of the elves, until several of them lay
+    sprawling in the grass; and the rest made off, greatly
+    astonished at this unexpected reception. When Jiuy&eacute;mon
+    took his lantern and examined the fallen goblins attentively,
+    he saw that they were all T&ocirc;noshin's fellow-students, who
+    had painted their faces, and made themselves hideous, to
+    frighten their companion, whom they knew to be a coward: all
+    they got for their pains, however, was a good kicking from
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon, who left them groaning over their sore bones,
+    and went home chuckling to himself at the result of the
+    adventure.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/103.jpg"
+             name="image103"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image103"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/103.jpg"
+             alt="FUNAKOSHI JIUY&Eacute;MON AND THE GOBLINS." />
+             </a> FUNAKOSHI JIUY&Eacute;MON AND THE GOBLINS.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>The fame of this exploit soon became noised about Osaka, so
+    that all men praised Jiuy&eacute;mon's courage; and shortly
+    after this he was elected chief of the
+    Otokodat&eacute;,<a id="footnotetag46"
+       name="footnotetag46"></a><a href="#footnote46"><sup>46</sup></a>
+       or friendly society of the wardsmen, and busied himself no
+       longer with his trade, but lived on the contributions of his
+       numerous apprentices.</p>
+
+    <p>Now Kajiki T&ocirc;noshin was in love with a singing girl
+    named <span class="pagenum"><a name="page105"
+       id="page105"></a>[pg 105]</span> Kashiku, upon whom he was
+       in the habit of spending a great deal of money. She,
+       however, cared nothing for him, for she had a sweetheart
+       named Hichirobei, whom she used to contrive to meet
+       secretly, although, in order to support her parents, she was
+       forced to become the mistress of T&ocirc;noshin. One
+       evening, when the latter was on guard at the office of his
+       chief, the Governor of Osaka, Kashiku sent word privately to
+       Hichirobei, summoning him to go to her house, as the coast
+       would be clear.</p>
+
+    <p>While the two were making merry over a little feast,
+    T&ocirc;noshin, who had persuaded a friend to take his duty for
+    him on the plea of urgent business, knocked at the door, and
+    Kashiku, in a great fright, hid her lover in a long
+    clothes-box, and went to let in T&ocirc;noshin, who, on
+    entering the room and seeing the litter of the supper lying
+    about, looked more closely, and perceived a man's sandals, on
+    which, by the light of a candle, he saw the figure
+    seven.<a id="footnotetag47"
+       name="footnotetag47"></a><a href="#footnote47"><sup>47</sup></a>
+       T&ocirc;noshin had heard some ugly reports of Kashiku's
+       proceedings with this man Hichirobei, and when he saw this
+       proof before his eyes he grew very angry; but he suppressed
+       his feelings, and, pointing to the wine-cups and bowls,
+       said:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Whom have you been feasting with to-night?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh!" replied Kashiku, who, notwithstanding her distress,
+    was obliged to invent an answer, "I felt so dull all alone
+    here, that I asked an old woman from next door to come in and
+    drink a cup of wine with me, and have a chat."</p>
+
+    <p>All this while T&ocirc;noshin was looking for the hidden
+    lover; but, as he could not see him, he made up his mind that
+    Kashiku must have let him out by the back door; so he secreted
+    one of the sandals in his sleeve as evidence, and, without
+    seeming to suspect anything, said:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, I shall be very busy this evening, so I must go
+    home."</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! won't you stay a little while? It is very dull here,
+    when I am all alone without you. Pray stop and keep me
+    company."</p>
+
+    <p>But T&ocirc;noshin made no reply, and went home. Then
+    Kashiku saw that one of the sandals was missing, and felt
+    certain that he must have carried it off as proof; so she went
+    in great trouble to open the lid of the box, and let out
+    Hichirobei. When the two lovers talked over the matter, they
+    agreed that, as they both were really in love, let
+    T&ocirc;noshin kill them if he would, they would gladly die
+    together: they would enjoy the present; let the future take
+    care of itself.</p>
+
+    <p>The following morning Kashiku sent a messenger to
+    T&ocirc;noshin to implore his pardon; and he, being infatuated
+    by the girl's charms, forgave her, and sent a present of thirty
+    ounces of silver to her lover, Hichirobei, on the condition
+    that he was never to see her again; but, in spite of this,
+    Kashiku and Hichirobei still continued their secret
+    meetings.</p>
+
+    <p>It happened that Hichirobei, who was a gambler by
+    profession, had an elder brother called Ch&ocirc;bei, who kept
+    a wine-shop <span class="pagenum"><a name="page106"
+       id="page106"></a>[pg 106]</span> in the Ajikawa Street, at
+       Osaka; so T&ocirc;noshin thought that he could not do better
+       than depute Jiuy&eacute;mon to go and seek out this man
+       Ch&ocirc;bei, and urge him to persuade his younger brother
+       to give up his relations with Kashiku; acting upon this
+       resolution, he went to call upon Jiuy&eacute;mon, and said
+       to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir Jiuy&eacute;mon, I have a favour to ask of you in
+    connection with that girl Kashiku, whom you know all about. You
+    are aware that I paid thirty ounces of silver to her lover
+    Hichirobei to induce him to give up going to her house; but, in
+    spite of this, I cannot help suspecting that they still meet
+    one another. It seems that this Hichirobei has an elder
+    brother&mdash;one Ch&ocirc;bei; now, if you would go to this
+    man and tell him to reprove his brother for his conduct, you
+    would be doing me a great service. You have so often stood my
+    friend, that I venture to pray you to oblige me in this matter,
+    although I feel that I am putting you to great
+    inconvenience."</p>
+
+    <p>Jiuy&eacute;mon, out of gratitude for the kindness which he
+    had received at the hands of Kajiki Tozay&eacute;mon, was
+    always willing to serve T&ocirc;noshin; so he went at once to
+    find out Ch&ocirc;bei, and said to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"My name, sir, is Jiuy&eacute;mon, at your service; and I
+    have come to beg your assistance in a matter of some
+    delicacy."</p>
+
+    <p>"What can I do to oblige you, sir?" replied Ch&ocirc;bei,
+    who felt bound to be more than usually civil, as his visitor
+    was the chief of the Otokodat&eacute;.</p>
+
+    <p>"It is a small matter, sir," said Jiuy&eacute;mon. "Your
+    younger brother Hichirobei is intimate with a woman named
+    Kashiku, whom he meets in secret. Now, this Kashiku is the
+    mistress of the son of a gentleman to whom I am under great
+    obligation: he bought her of her parents for a large sum of
+    money, and, besides this, he paid your brother thirty ounces of
+    silver some time since, on condition of his separating himself
+    from the girl; in spite of this, it appears that your brother
+    continues to see her, and I have come to beg that you will
+    remonstrate with your brother on his conduct, and make him give
+    her up."</p>
+
+    <p>"That I certainly will. Pray do not be uneasy; I will soon
+    find means to put a stop to my brother's bad behaviour."</p>
+
+    <p>And so they went on talking of one thing and another, until
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon, whose eyes had been wandering about the room,
+    spied out a very long dirk lying on a cupboard, and all at once
+    it occurred to him that this was the very sword which had been
+    a parting gift to him from his lord: the hilt, the mountings,
+    and the tip of the scabbard were all the same, only the blade
+    had been shortened and made into a long dirk. Then he looked
+    more attentively at Ch&ocirc;bei's features, and saw that he
+    was no other than Akag&ocirc;shi Kuroy&eacute;mon, the pirate
+    chief. Two years had passed by, but he could not forget that
+    face.</p>
+
+    <p>Jiuy&eacute;mon would have liked to have arrested him at
+    once; but thinking that it would be a pity to give so vile a
+    robber a chance of escape, he constrained himself, and, taking
+    his leave, went <span class="pagenum"><a name="page107"
+       id="page107"></a>[pg 107]</span> straightway and reported
+       the matter to the Governor of Osaka. When the officers of
+       justice heard of the prey that awaited them, they made their
+       preparations forthwith. Three men of the secret police went
+       to Ch&ocirc;bei's wine-shop, and, having called for wine,
+       pretended to get up a drunken brawl; and as Ch&ocirc;bei
+       went up to them and tried to pacify them, one of the
+       policemen seized hold of him, and another tried to pinion
+       him. It at once flashed across Ch&ocirc;bei's mind that his
+       old misdeeds had come to light at last, so with a desperate
+       effort he shook off the two policemen and knocked them down,
+       and, rushing into the inner room, seized the famous
+       Suk&eacute;sada sword and sprang upstairs. The three
+       policemen, never thinking that he could escape, mounted the
+       stairs close after him; but Ch&ocirc;bei with a terrible cut
+       cleft the front man's head in sunder, and the other two fell
+       back appalled at their comrade's fate. Then Ch&ocirc;bei
+       climbed on to the roof, and, looking out, perceived that the
+       house was surrounded on all sides by armed men. Seeing this,
+       he made up his mind that his last moment was come, but, at
+       any rate, he determined to sell his life dearly, and to die
+       fighting; so he stood up bravely, when one of the officers,
+       coming up from the roof of a neighbouring house, attacked
+       him with a spear; and at the same time several other
+       soldiers clambered up. Ch&ocirc;bei, seeing that he was
+       overmatched, jumped down, and before the soldiers below had
+       recovered from their surprise he had dashed through their
+       ranks, laying about him right and left, and cutting down
+       three men. At top speed he fled, with his pursuers close
+       behind him; and, seeing the broad river ahead of him, jumped
+       into a small boat that lay moored there, of which the
+       boatmen, frightened at the sight of his bloody sword, left
+       him in undisputed possession. Ch&ocirc;bei pushed off, and
+       sculled vigorously into the middle of the river; and the
+       officers&mdash;there being no other boat near&mdash;were for
+       a moment baffled. One of them, however, rushing down the
+       river bank, hid himself on a bridge, armed with. a spear,
+       and lay in wait for Ch&ocirc;bei to pass in his boat; but
+       when the little boat came up, he missed his aim, and only
+       scratched Ch&ocirc;bei's elbow; and he, seizing the spear,
+       dragged down his adversary into the river, and killed him as
+       he was struggling in the water; then, sculling for his life,
+       he gradually drew near to the sea. The other officers in the
+       mean time had secured ten boats, and, having come up with
+       Ch&ocirc;bei, surrounded him; but he, having formerly been a
+       pirate, was far better skilled in the management of a boat
+       than his pursuers, and had no great difficulty in eluding
+       them; so at last he pushed out to sea, to the great
+       annoyance of the officers, who followed him closely.</p>
+
+    <p>Then Jiuy&eacute;mon, who had come up, said to one of the
+    officers on the shore&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Have you caught him yet?"</p>
+
+    <p>"No; the fellow is so brave and so cunning that our men can
+    do nothing with him."</p>
+
+    <p>"He's a determined ruffian, certainly. However, as the
+    fellow <span class="pagenum"><a name="page108"
+       id="page108"></a>[pg 108]</span> has got my sword, I mean to
+       get it back by fair means or foul: will you allow me to
+       undertake the job of seizing him?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, you may try; and you will have officers to assist
+    you, if you are in peril."</p>
+
+    <p>Jiuy&eacute;mon, having received this permission, stripped
+    off his clothes and jumped into the sea, carrying with him a
+    policeman's mace, to the great astonishment of all the
+    bystanders. When he got near Ch&ocirc;bei's boat, he dived and
+    came up alongside, without the pirate perceiving him until he
+    had clambered into the boat. Ch&ocirc;bei had the good
+    Suk&eacute;sada sword, and Jiuy&eacute;mon was armed with
+    nothing but a mace; but Ch&ocirc;bei, on the other hand, was
+    exhausted with his previous exertions, and was taken by
+    surprise at a moment when he was thinking of nothing but how he
+    should scull away from the pursuing boats; so it was not long
+    before Jiuy&eacute;mon mastered and secured him.</p>
+
+    <p>For this feat, besides recovering his Suk&eacute;sada sword,
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon received many rewards and great praise from the
+    Governor of Osaka. But the pirate Ch&ocirc;bei was cast into
+    prison.</p>
+
+    <p>Hichirobei, when he heard of his brother's capture, was away
+    from home; but seeing that he too would be sought for, he
+    determined to escape to Yedo at once, and travelled along the
+    T&ocirc;kaid&ocirc;, the great highroad, as far as Kuana. But
+    the secret police had got wind of his movements, and one of
+    them was at his heels disguised as a beggar, and waiting for an
+    opportunity to seize him.</p>
+
+    <p>Hichirobei in the meanwhile was congratulating himself on
+    his escape; and, little suspecting that he would be in danger
+    so far away from Osaka, he went to a house of pleasure,
+    intending to divert himself at his ease. The policeman, seeing
+    this, went to the master of the house and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"The guest who has just come in is a notorious thief, and I
+    am on his track, waiting to arrest him. Do you watch for the
+    moment when he falls asleep, and let me know. Should he escape,
+    the blame will fall upon you."</p>
+
+    <p>The master of the house, who was greatly taken aback,
+    consented of course; so he told the woman of the house to hide
+    Hichirobei's dirk, and as soon as the latter, wearied with his
+    journey, had fallen asleep, he reported it to the policeman,
+    who went upstairs, and having bound Hichirobei as he lay
+    wrapped up in his quilt, led him back to Osaka to be imprisoned
+    with his brother.</p>
+
+    <p>When Kashiku became aware of her lover's arrest, she felt
+    certain that it was the handiwork of Jiuy&eacute;mon; so she
+    determined to kill him, were it only that she might die with
+    Hichirobei. So hiding a kitchen knife in the bosom of her
+    dress, she went at midnight to Jiuy&eacute;mon's house, and
+    looked all round to see if there were no hole or cranny by
+    which she might slip in unobserved; but every door was
+    carefully closed, so she was obliged to knock at the door and
+    feign an excuse.</p>
+
+    <p>"Let me in! let me in! I am a servant-maid in the house of
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page109"
+       id="page109"></a>[pg 109]</span> Kajiki Tozay&eacute;mon,
+       and am charged with a letter on most pressing business to
+       Sir Jiuy&eacute;mon."</p>
+
+    <p>Hearing this, one of Jiuy&eacute;mon's servants, thinking
+    her tale was true, rose and opened the door; and Kashiku,
+    stabbing him in the face, ran past him into the house. Inside
+    she met another apprentice, who had got up, aroused by the
+    noise; him too she stabbed in the belly, but as he fell he
+    cried out to Jiuy&eacute;mon, saying:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Father, father!<a id="footnotetag48"
+       name="footnotetag48"></a><a href="#footnote48"><sup>48</sup></a>
+       take care! Some murderous villain has broken into the
+       house."</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/109.jpg"
+             name="image109"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image109"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/109.jpg"
+             alt="GOKUMON." /></a> "GOKUMON."
+    </div>
+
+    <p>And Kashiku, desperate, stopped his further utterance by
+    cutting his throat. Jiuy&eacute;mon, hearing his apprentice cry
+    out, jumped up, and, lighting his night-lamp, looked about him
+    in the half-gloom, and saw Kashiku with the bloody knife,
+    hunting for him that she might kill him. Springing upon her
+    before she saw him, he clutched her right hand, and, having
+    secured her, bound her with cords so that she could not move.
+    As soon as he had recovered from his surprise, he looked about
+    him, and searched the house, when, to his horror, he found one
+    of his apprentices dead, and the other lying bleeding from a
+    frightful gash across the face. With the first dawn of day, he
+    reported the affair to the proper authorities, and gave Kashiku
+    in custody. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page110"
+       id="page110"></a>[pg 110]</span> So, after due examination,
+       the two pirate brothers and the girl Kashiku were executed,
+       and their heads were exposed together.<a id="footnotetag49"
+       name="footnotetag49"></a><a href="#footnote49"><sup>49</sup></a></p>
+
+    <p>Now the fame of all the valiant deeds of Jiuy&eacute;mon
+    having reached his own country, his lord ordered that he should
+    be pardoned for his former offence, and return to his
+    allegiance; so, after thanking Kajiki Tozay&eacute;mon for the
+    manifold favours which he had received at his hands, he went
+    home, and became a Samurai as before.</p>
+    <hr />
+
+    <p>The fat wrestlers of Japan, whose heavy paunches and
+    unwieldy, puffy limbs, however much they may be admired by
+    their own country people, form a striking contrast to our
+    Western notions of training, have attracted some attention from
+    travellers; and those who are interested in athletic sports may
+    care to learn something about them.</p>
+
+    <p>The first historical record of wrestling occurs in the sixth
+    year of the Emperor Suinin (24 B.C.), when one Taima no
+    K&eacute;haya, a noble of great stature and strength, boasting
+    that there was not his match under heaven, begged the Emperor
+    that his strength might be put to the test. The Emperor
+    accordingly caused the challenge to be proclaimed; and one Nomi
+    no Shikun&eacute; answered it, and having wrestled with
+    K&eacute;haya, kicked him in the ribs and broke his bones, so
+    that he died. After this Shikun&eacute; was promoted to high
+    office, and became further famous in Japanese history as having
+    substituted earthen images for the living men who, before his
+    time, used to be buried with the coffin of the Mikado.</p>
+
+    <p>In the year A.D. 858 the throne of Japan was wrestled for.
+    The Emperor Buntoku had two sons, called Kor&eacute;shito and
+    Kor&eacute;taka, both of whom aspired to the throne. Their
+    claims were decided in a wrestling match, in which one
+    Yoshir&ocirc; was the champion of Kor&eacute;shito, and Natora
+    the champion of Kor&eacute;taka. Natora having been defeated,
+    Kor&eacute;shito ascended his father's throne under the style
+    of Seiwa.</p>
+
+    <p>In the eighth century, when Nara was the capital of Japan,
+    the Emperor Sh&ocirc;mu instituted wrestling as part of the
+    ceremonies of the autumn festival of the Five Grains, or
+    Harvest Home; and as the year proved a fruitful one, the custom
+    was continued as auspicious. The strong men of the various
+    provinces were collected, and one Kiyobayashi was proclaimed
+    the champion of Japan. Many a brave and stout man tried a throw
+    with him, but none could master him. Rules of the ring were now
+    drawn up; and in order to prevent disputes, Kiyobayashi was
+    appointed by the Emperor to be the judge of wrestling-matches,
+    and was presented, as a badge of his office, with a fan, upon
+    which were inscribed the words the "Prince of
+    Lions."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page111"
+       id="page111"></a>[pg 111]</span>
+
+    <p>The wrestlers were divided into wrestlers of the eastern and
+    of the western provinces, Omi being taken as the centre
+    province. The eastern wrestlers wore in their hair the badge of
+    the hollyhock; the western wrestlers took for their sign the
+    gourd-flower. Hence the passage leading up to the
+    wrestling-stage was called the "Flower Path." Forty-eight
+    various falls were fixed upon as fair&mdash;twelve throws,
+    twelve lifts, twelve twists, and twelve throws over the back.
+    All other throws not included in these were foul, and it was
+    the duty of the umpire to see that no unlawful tricks were
+    resorted to. It was decided that the covered stage should be
+    composed of sixteen rice-bales, in the shape of one huge bale,
+    supported by four pillars at the four points of the compass,
+    each pillar being painted a different colour, thus, together
+    with certain paper pendants, making up five colours, to
+    symbolize the Five Grains.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/111.jpg"
+             name="image111"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image111"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/111.jpg"
+             alt="CHAMPION WRESTLER." /></a> CHAMPION WRESTLER.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>The civil wars by which the country was disturbed for a
+    while put a stop to the practice of wrestling; but when peace
+    was restored it was proposed to re-establish the athletic
+    games, and the umpire Kiyobayashi, the "Prince of Lions," was
+    sought for; but he had died or disappeared, and could not be
+    found, and there was no umpire forthcoming. The various
+    provinces were searched for a man who might fill his place, and
+    one Yoshida Iy&eacute;tsugu, a R&ocirc;nin of the province of
+    Echizen, being reported to be well versed in the noble science,
+    was sent for to the capital, and proved to be a pupil of
+    Kiyobayashi. The Emperor, having approved him, ordered that the
+    fan of the "Prince of Lions" should be made over to him, and
+    gave him the title of Bungo no Kami, and commanded that his
+    name in the ring should be Oi-Kaz&eacute;, the "Driving Wind."
+    Further, as a sign that there should
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page112"
+       id="page112"></a>[pg 112]</span> not be two styles of
+       wrestling, a second fan was given to him bearing the
+       inscription, "A single flavour is a beautiful custom." The
+       right of acting as umpire in wrestling-matches was vested in
+       his family, that the "Driving Wind" might for future
+       generations preside over athletic sports. In ancient days,
+       the prizes for the three champion wrestlers were a bow, a
+       bowstring, and an arrow: these are still brought into the
+       ring, and, at the end of the bout, the successful
+       competitors go through a variety of antics with them.</p>
+
+    <p>To the champion wrestlers&mdash;to two or three men only in
+    a generation&mdash;the family of the "Driving Wind" awards the
+    privilege of wearing a rope-girdle. In the time of the
+    Shogunate these champions used to wrestle before the
+    Shogun.</p>
+
+    <p>At the beginning of the 17th century (A.D. 1606)
+    wrestling-matches, as forming a regular part of a religious
+    ceremony, were discontinued. They are still held, however, at
+    the shrines of Kamo, at Ki&ocirc;to, and of Kasuga, in Yamato.
+    They are also held at Kamakura every year, and at the shrines
+    of the patron saints of the various provinces, in imitation of
+    the ancient customs.</p>
+
+    <p>In the year 1623 one Akashi Shiganosuk&eacute; obtained
+    leave from the Government to hold public wrestling-matches in
+    the streets of Yedo. In the year 1644 was held the first
+    wrestling-match for the purpose of raising a collection for
+    building a temple. This was done by the priests of Kofukuji, in
+    Yamashiro. In the year 1660 the same expedient was resorted to
+    in Yedo, and the custom of getting up wrestling-matches for the
+    benefit of temple funds holds good to this day.</p>
+
+    <p>The following graphic description of a Japanese
+    wrestling-match is translated from the "Yedo
+    Hanj&ocirc;ki":&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"From daybreak till eight in the morning a drum is beaten to
+    announce that there will be wrestling. The spectators rise
+    early for the sight. The adversaries having been settled, the
+    wrestlers enter the ring from the east and from the west. Tall
+    stalwart men are they, with sinews and bones of iron. Like the
+    Gods Ni&ocirc;,<a id="footnotetag50"
+       name="footnotetag50"></a><a href="#footnote50"><sup>50</sup></a>
+       they stand with their arms akimbo, and, facing one another,
+       they crouch in their strength. The umpire watches until the
+       two men draw their breath at the same time, and with his fan
+       gives the signal. They jump up and close with one another,
+       like tigers springing on their prey, or dragons playing with
+       a ball. Each is bent on throwing the other by twisting or by
+       lifting him. It is no mere trial of brute strength; it is a
+       tussle of skill against skill. Each of the forty-eight
+       throws is tried in turn. From left to right, and from right
+       to left, the umpire hovers about, watching for the victory
+       to declare itself. Some of the spectators back the east,
+       others back the west. The patrons of the ring are so excited
+       that they feel the strength tingling within them; they
+       clench their fists, and watch their men, without so much as
+       blinking their eyes. At last one man, <!--blank page 113-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page114"
+       id="page114"></a>[pg 114]</span> east or west, gains the
+       advantage, and the umpire lifts his fan in token of victory.
+       The plaudits of the bystanders shake the neighbourhood, and
+       they throw their clothes or valuables into the ring, to be
+       redeemed afterwards in money; nay, in his excitement, a man
+       will even tear off his neighbour's jacket and throw it
+       in."</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/113.jpg"
+             name="image113"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image113"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/113.jpg"
+             alt="A WRESTLING MATCH." /></a> A WRESTLING MATCH.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>Before beginning their tussle, the wrestlers work up their
+    strength by stamping their feet and slapping their huge thighs.
+    This custom is derived from the following tale of the heroic or
+    mythological age:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>After the seven ages of the heavenly gods came the reign of
+    Tensho Daijin, the Sun Goddess, and first Empress of Japan. Her
+    younger brother, Sosan&ouml;&ocirc; no Mikoto, was a mighty and
+    a brave hero, but turbulent, and delighted in hunting the deer
+    and the boar. After killing these beasts, he would throw their
+    dead bodies into the sacred hall of his sister, and otherwise
+    defile her dwelling. When he had done this several times, his
+    sister was angry, and hid in the cave called the Rock Gate of
+    Heaven; and when her face was not seen, there was no difference
+    between the night and the day. The heroes who served her,
+    mourning over this, went to seek her; but she placed a huge
+    stone in front of the cave, and would not come forth. The
+    heroes, seeing this, consulted together, and danced and played
+    antics before the cave to lure her out. Tempted by curiosity to
+    see the sight, she opened the gate a little and peeped out.
+    Then the hero Tajikara&ocirc;, or "Great Strength," clapping
+    his hands and stamping his feet, with a great effort grasped
+    and threw down the stone door, and the heroes fetched back the
+    Sun Goddess.<a id="footnotetag51"
+       name="footnotetag51"></a><a href="#footnote51"><sup>51</sup></a>
+       As Tajikara&ocirc; is the patron god of Strength, wrestlers,
+       on entering the ring, still commemorate his deed by clapping
+       their hands and stamping their feet as a preparation for
+       putting forth their strength.</p>
+
+    <p>The great Daimios are in the habit of attaching wrestlers to
+    their persons, and assigning to them a yearly portion of rice.
+    It is usual for these athletes to take part in funeral or
+    wedding processions, and to escort the princes on journeys. The
+    rich wardsmen or merchants give money to their favourite
+    wrestlers, and invite them to their houses to drink wine and
+    feast. Though low, vulgar fellows, they are allowed something
+    of the same familiarity which is accorded to prize-fighters,
+    jockeys, and the like, by their patrons in our own country.</p>
+
+    <p>The Japanese wrestlers appear to have no regular system of
+    training; they harden their naturally powerful limbs by much
+    beating, and by butting at wooden posts with their shoulders.
+    Their diet is stronger than that of the ordinary Japanese, who
+    rarely touch meat.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page115"
+       id="page115"></a>[pg 115]</span>
+
+    <h2>THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO</h2>
+
+    <p>It will be long before those who were present at the newly
+    opened port of K&ocirc;b&eacute; on the 4th of February, 1868,
+    will forget that day. The civil war was raging, and the foreign
+    Legations, warned by the flames of burning villages, no less
+    than by the flight of the Shogun and his ministers, had left
+    Osaka, to take shelter at K&ocirc;b&eacute;, where they were
+    not, as at the former place, separated from their ships by more
+    than twenty miles of road, occupied by armed troops in a high
+    state of excitement, with the alternative of crossing in
+    tempestuous weather a dangerous bar, which had already taken
+    much valuable life. It was a fine winter's day, and the place
+    was full of bustle, and of the going and coming of men busy
+    with the care of housing themselves and their goods and
+    chattels. All of a sudden, a procession of armed men, belonging
+    to the Bizen clan, was seen to leave the town, and to advance
+    along the high road leading to Osaka; and without apparent
+    reason&mdash;it was said afterwards that two Frenchmen had
+    crossed the line of march&mdash;there was a halt, a stir, and a
+    word of command given. Then the little clouds of white smoke
+    puffed up, and the sharp "ping" of the rifle bullets came
+    whizzing over the open space, destined for a foreign
+    settlement, as fast as the repeating breech-loaders could be
+    discharged. Happily, the practice was very bad; for had the men
+    of Bizen been good shots, almost all the principal foreign
+    officials in the country, besides many merchants and private
+    gentlemen, must have been killed: as it was, only two or three
+    men were wounded. If they were bad marksmen, however, they were
+    mighty runners; for they soon found that they had attacked a
+    hornets' nest. In an incredibly short space of time, the guards
+    of the different Legations and the sailors and marines from the
+    ships of war were in hot chase after the enemy, who were
+    scampering away over the hills as fast as their legs could
+    carry them, leaving their baggage ingloriously scattered over
+    the road, as many a cheap lacquered hat and flimsy paper
+    cartridge-box, preserved by our Blue Jackets as trophies, will
+    testify. So good was the stampede, that the enemy's loss
+    amounted only to one aged coolie, who, being too decrepit to
+    run, was taken prisoner, after having had seventeen revolver
+    shots fired at him without effect; and the only injury that our
+    men inflicted was upon a solitary old woman, who was accidently
+    shot through the leg.</p>
+
+    <p>If it had not been for the serious nature of the offence
+    given, which was an attack upon the flags of all the treaty
+    Powers, and for the terrible retribution which was of necessity
+    exacted, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page116"
+       id="page116"></a>[pg 116]</span> the whole affair would have
+       been recollected chiefly for the ludicrous events which it
+       gave rise to. The mounted escort of the British Legation
+       executed a brilliant charge of cavalry down an empty road; a
+       very pretty line of skirmishers along the fields fired away
+       a great deal of ammunition with no result; earthworks were
+       raised, and K&ocirc;b&eacute; was held in military
+       occupation for three days, during which there were alarms,
+       cutting-out expeditions with armed boats, steamers seized,
+       and all kinds of martial effervescence. In fact, it was like
+       fox-hunting: it had "all the excitement of war, with only
+       ten per cent. of the danger."</p>
+
+    <p>The first thought of the kind-hearted doctor of the British
+    Legation was for the poor old woman who had been wounded, and
+    was bemoaning herself piteously. When she was carried in, a
+    great difficulty arose, which, I need hardly say, was overcome;
+    for the poor old creature belonged to the Etas, the Pariah
+    race, whose presence pollutes the house even of the poorest and
+    humblest Japanese; and the native servants strongly objected to
+    her being treated as a human being, saying that the Legation
+    would be for ever defiled if she were admitted within its
+    sacred precincts. No account of Japanese society would be
+    complete without a notice of the Etas; and the following story
+    shows well, I think, the position which they hold.</p>
+
+    <p>Their occupation is to slay beasts, work leather, attend
+    upon criminals, and do other degrading work. Several accounts
+    are given of their origin; the most probable of which is, that
+    when Buddhism, the tenets of which forbid the taking of life,
+    was introduced, those who lived by the infliction of death
+    became accursed in the land, their trade being made hereditary,
+    as was the office of executioner in some European countries.
+    Another story is, that they are the descendants of the Tartar
+    invaders left behind by Kublai Khan. Some further facts
+    connected with the Etas are given in a note at the end of the
+    tale.</p>
+    <hr />
+
+    <p>Once upon a time, some two hundred years ago, there lived at
+    a place called Honj&ocirc;, in Yedo, a Hatamoto named Takoji
+    Genzabur&ocirc;; his age was about twenty-four or twenty-five,
+    and he was of extraordinary personal beauty. His official
+    duties made it incumbent on him to go to the Castle by way of
+    the Adzuma Bridge, and here it was that a strange adventure
+    befel him. There was a certain Eta, who used to earn his living
+    by going out every day to the Adzuma Bridge, and mending the
+    sandals of the passers-by. Whenever Genzabur&ocirc; crossed the
+    bridge, the Eta used always to bow to him. This struck him as
+    rather strange; but one day when Genzabur&ocirc; was out alone,
+    without any retainers following him, and was passing the Adzuma
+    Bridge, the thong of his sandal suddenly broke: this annoyed
+    him very much; however, he recollected the Eta cobbler who
+    always used to bow to him so regularly, so he went to the place
+    where he usually sat, and ordered him to mend his sandal,
+    saying to him: <!--blank page 117-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page118"
+       id="page118"></a>[pg 118]</span> "Tell me why it is that
+       every time that I pass by this bridge, you salute me so
+       respectfully."</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/117.jpg"
+             name="image117"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image117"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/117.jpg"
+             alt="GENZABUR&Ocirc;'S MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN." />
+             </a> GENZABUR&Ocirc;'S MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>When the Eta heard this, he was put out of countenance, and
+    for a while he remained silent; but at last taking courage, he
+    said to Genzabur&ocirc;, "Sir, having been honoured with your
+    commands, I am quite put to shame. I was originally a gardener,
+    and used to go to your honour's house and lend a hand in
+    trimming up the garden. In those days your honour was very
+    young, and I myself little better than a child; and so I used
+    to play with your honour, and received many kindnesses at your
+    hands. My name, sir, is Chokichi. Since those days I have
+    fallen by degrees info dissolute habits, and little by little
+    have sunk to be the vile thing that you now see me."</p>
+
+    <p>When Genzabur&ocirc; heard this he was very much surprised,
+    and, recollecting his old friendship for his playmate, was
+    filled with pity, and said, "Surely, surely, you have fallen
+    very low. Now all you have to do is to presevere and use your
+    utmost endeavours to find a means of escape from the class into
+    which you have fallen, and become a wardsman again. Take this
+    sum: small as it is, let it be a foundation for more to you."
+    And with these words he took ten riyos out of his pouch and
+    handed them to Chokichi, who at first refused to accept the
+    present, but, when it was pressed upon him, received it with
+    thanks. Genzabur&ocirc; was leaving him to go home, when two
+    wandering singing-girls came up and spoke to Chokichi; so
+    Genzabur&ocirc; looked to see what the two women were like. One
+    was a woman of some twenty years of age, and the other was a
+    peerlessly beautiful girl of sixteen; she was neither too fat
+    nor too thin, neither too tall nor too short; her face was
+    oval, like a melon-seed, and her complexion fair and white; her
+    eyes were narrow and bright, her teeth small and even; her nose
+    was aquiline, and her mouth delicately formed, with lovely red
+    lips; her eyebrows were long and fine; she had a profusion of
+    long black hair; she spoke modestly, with a soft sweet voice;
+    and when she smiled, two lovely dimples appeared in her cheeks;
+    in all her movements she was gentle and refined.
+    Genzabur&ocirc; fell in love with her at first sight; and she,
+    seeing what a handsome man he was, equally fell in love with
+    him; so that the woman that was with her, perceiving that they
+    were struck with one another, led her away as fast as
+    possible.</p>
+
+    <p>Genzabur&ocirc; remained as one stupefied, and, turning to
+    Chokichi, said, "Are you acquainted with those two women who
+    came up just now?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir," replied Chokichi, "those are two women of our people.
+    The elder woman is called O Kuma, and the girl, who is only
+    sixteen years old, is named O Koyo. She is the daughter of one
+    Kihachi, a chief of the Etas. She is a very gentle girl,
+    besides being so exceedingly pretty; and all our people are
+    loud in her praise."</p>
+
+    <p>When he heard this, Genzabur&ocirc; remained lost in thought
+    for a while, and then said to Chokichi, "I want you to do
+    something <span class="pagenum"><a name="page119"
+       id="page119"></a>[pg 119]</span> for me. Are you prepared to
+       serve me in whatever respect I may require you?"</p>
+
+    <p>Chokichi answered that he was prepared to do anything in his
+    power to oblige his honour. Upon this Genzabur&ocirc; smiled
+    and said, "Well, then, I am willing to employ you in a certain
+    matter; but as there are a great number of passers-by here, I
+    will go and wait for you in a tea-house at Hanakawado; and when
+    you have finished your business here, you can join me, and I
+    will speak to you." With these words Genzabur&ocirc; left him,
+    and went off to the tea-house.</p>
+
+    <p>When Chokichi had finished his work, he changed his clothes,
+    and, hurrying to the tea-house, inquired for Genzabur&ocirc;,
+    who was waiting for him upstairs. Chokichi went up to him, and
+    began to thank him for the money which he had bestowed upon
+    him. Genzabur&ocirc; smiled, and handed him a wine-cup,
+    inviting him to drink, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I will tell you the service upon which I wish to employ
+    you. I have set my heart upon that girl O Koyo, whom I met
+    to-day upon the Adzuma Bridge, and you must arrange a meeting
+    between us."</p>
+
+    <p>When Chokichi heard these words, he was amazed and
+    frightened, and for a while he made no answer. At last he
+    said&mdash;-</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir, there is nothing that I would not do for you after the
+    favours that I have received from you. If this girl were the
+    daughter of any ordinary man, I would move heaven and earth to
+    comply with your wishes; but for your honour, a handsome and
+    noble Hatamoto, to take for his concubine the daughter of an
+    Eta is a great mistake. By giving a little money you can get
+    the handsomest woman in the town. Pray, sir, abandon the
+    idea."</p>
+
+    <p>Upon this Genzabur&ocirc; was offended, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"This is no matter for you to give advice in. I have told
+    you to get me the girl, and you must obey."</p>
+
+    <p>Chokichi, seeing that all that he could say would be of no
+    avail, thought over in his mind how to bring about a meeting
+    between Genzabur&ocirc; and O Koyo, and replied&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir, I am afraid when I think of the liberty that I have
+    taken. I will go to Kihachi's house, and will use my best
+    endeavours with him that I may bring the girl to you. But for
+    to-day, it is getting late, and night is coming on; so I will
+    go and speak to her father to-morrow."</p>
+
+    <p>Genzabur&ocirc; was delighted to find Chokichi willing to
+    serve him.</p>
+
+    <p>"Well," said he, "the day after to-morrow I will await you
+    at the tea-house at Oji, and you can bring O Koyo there. Take
+    this present, small as it is, and do your best for me."</p>
+
+    <p>With this he pulled out three riyos from his pocket and
+    handed them to Chokichi. who declined the money with thanks,
+    saying that he had already received too much, and could accept
+    no more; but Genzabur&ocirc; pressed him, adding, that if the
+    wish of his <span class="pagenum"><a name="page120"
+       id="page120"></a>[pg 120]</span> heart were accomplished he
+       would do still more for him. So Chokichi, in great glee at
+       the good luck which had befallen him, began to revolve all
+       sorts of schemes in his mind; and the two parted.</p>
+
+    <p>But O Koyo, who had fallen in love at first sight with
+    Genzabur&ocirc; on the Adzuma Bridge, went home and could think
+    of nothing but him. Sad and melancholy she sat, and her friend
+    O Kuma tried to comfort her in various ways; but O Koyo
+    yearned, with all her heart, for Genzabur&ocirc;; and the more
+    she thought over the matter, the better she perceived that she,
+    as the daughter of an Eta, was no match for a noble Hatamoto.
+    And yet, in spite of this, she pined for him, and bewailed her
+    own vile condition.</p>
+
+    <p>Now it happened that her friend O Kuma was in love with
+    Chokichi, and only cared for thinking and speaking of him; one
+    day, when Chokichi went to pay a visit at the house of Kihachi
+    the Eta chief, O Kuma, seeing him come, was highly delighted,
+    and received him very politely; and Chokichi, interrupting her,
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"O Kuma, I want you to answer me a question: where has O
+    Koyo gone to amuse herself to-day?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, you know the gentleman who was talking with you the
+    other day, at the Adzuma Bridge? Well, O Koyo has fallen
+    desperately in love with him, and she says that she is too
+    low-spirited and out of sorts to get up yet."</p>
+
+    <p>Chokichi was greatly pleased to hear this, and said to O
+    Kuma&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"How delightful! Why, O Koyo has fallen in love with the
+    very gentleman who is burning with passion for her, and who has
+    employed me to help him in the matter. However, as he is a
+    noble Hatamoto, and his whole family would be ruined if the
+    affair became known to the world, we must endeavour to keep it
+    as secret as possible."</p>
+
+    <p>"Dear me!" replied O Kuma; "when O Koyo hears this, how
+    happy she will be, to be sure! I must go and tell her at
+    once."</p>
+
+    <p>"Stop!" said Chokichi, detaining her; "if her father, Master
+    Kihachi, is willing, we will tell O Koyo directly. You had
+    better wait here a little until I have consulted him;" and with
+    this he went into an inner chamber to see Kihachi; and, after
+    talking over the news of the day, told him how Genzabur&ocirc;
+    had fallen passionately in love with O Koyo, and had employed
+    him as a go-between. Then he described how he had received
+    kindness at the hands of Genzabur&ocirc; when he was in better
+    circumstances, dwelt on the wonderful personal beauty of his
+    lordship, and upon the lucky chance by which he and O Koyo had
+    come to meet each other.</p>
+
+    <p>When Kihachi heard this story, he was greatly flattered, and
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I am sure I am very much obliged to you. For one of our
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page121"
+       id="page121"></a>[pg 121]</span> daughters, whom even the
+       common people despise and shun as a pollution, to be chosen
+       as the concubine of a noble Hatamoto&mdash;what could be a
+       greater matter for congratulation!"</p>
+
+    <p>So he prepared a feast for Chokichi, and went off at once to
+    tell O Koyo the news. As for the maiden, who had fallen over
+    head and ears in love, there was no difficulty in obtaining her
+    consent to all that was asked of her.</p>
+
+    <p>Accordingly Chokichi, having arranged to bring the lovers
+    together on the following day at Oji, was preparing to go and
+    report the glad tidings to Genzabur&ocirc;; but O Koyo, who
+    knew that her friend O Kuma was in love with Chokichi, and
+    thought that if she could throw them into one another's arms,
+    they, on their side, would tell no tales about herself and
+    Genzabur&ocirc;, worked to such good purpose that she gained
+    her point. At last Chokichi, tearing himself from the embraces
+    of O Kuma, returned to Genzabur&ocirc;, and told him how he had
+    laid his plans so as, without fail, to bring O Koyo to him, the
+    following day, at Oji, and Genzabur&ocirc;, beside himself with
+    impatience, waited for the morrow.</p>
+
+    <p>The next day Genzabur&ocirc;, having made his preparations,
+    and taking Chokichi with him, went to the tea-house at Oji, and
+    sat drinking wine, waiting for his sweetheart to come.</p>
+
+    <p>As for O Koyo, who was half in ecstasies, and half shy at
+    the idea of meeting on this day the man of her heart's desire,
+    she put on her holiday clothes, and went with O Kuma to Oji;
+    and as they went out together, her natural beauty being
+    enhanced by her smart dress, all the people turned round to
+    look at her, and praise her pretty face. And so after a while,
+    they arrived at Oji, and went into the tea-house that had been
+    agreed upon; and Chokichi, going out to meet them,
+    exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Dear me, Miss O Koyo, his lordship has been all impatience
+    waiting for you: pray make haste and come in."</p>
+
+    <p>But, in spite of what he said, O Koyo, on account of her
+    virgin modesty, would not go in. O Kuma, however, who was not
+    quite so particular, cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Why, what is the meaning of this? As you've come here, O
+    Koyo, it's a little late for you to be making a fuss about
+    being shy. Don't be a little fool, but come in with me at
+    once." And with these words she caught fast hold of O Koyo's
+    hand, and, pulling her by force into the room, made her sit
+    down by Genzabur&ocirc;.</p>
+
+    <p>When Genzabur&ocirc; saw how modest she was, he reassured
+    her, saying&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Come, what is there to be so shy about? Come a little
+    nearer to me, pray."</p>
+
+    <p>"Thank you, sir. How could I, who am such a vile thing,
+    pollute your nobility by sitting by your side?" And, as she
+    spoke, the blushes mantled over her face; and the more
+    Genzabur&ocirc; looked at her, the more beautiful she appeared
+    in his eyes, and the more deeply he became enamoured of her
+    charms. In the meanwhile he called for wine and fish, and all
+    four together <span class="pagenum"><a name="page122"
+       id="page122"></a>[pg 122]</span> made a feast of it. When
+       Chokichi and O Kuma saw how the land lay, they retired
+       discreetly into another chamber, and Genzabur&ocirc; and O
+       Koyo were left alone together, looking at one another.</p>
+
+    <p>"Come," said Genzabur&ocirc;, smiling, "hadn't you better
+    sit a little closer to me?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Thank you, sir; really I'm afraid."</p>
+
+    <p>But Genzabur&ocirc;, laughing at her for her idle fears,
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Don't behave as if you hated me."</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, dear! I'm sure I don't hate you, sir. That would be
+    very rude; and, indeed, it's not the case. I loved you when I
+    first saw you at the Adzuma Bridge, and longed for you with all
+    my heart; but I knew what a despised race I belonged to, and
+    that I was no fitting match for you, and so I tried to be
+    resigned. But I am very young and inexperienced, and so I could
+    not help thinking of you, and you alone; and then Chokichi
+    came, and when I heard what you had said about me, I thought,
+    in the joy of my heart, that it must be a dream of
+    happiness."</p>
+
+    <p>And as she spoke these words, blushing timidly,
+    Genzabur&ocirc; was dazzled with her beauty, and
+    said&mdash;-</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, you're a clever child. I'm sure, now, you must have
+    some handsome young lover of your own, and that is why you
+    don't care to come and drink wine and sit by me. Am I not
+    right, eh?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Ah, sir, a nobleman like you is sure to have a beautiful
+    wife at home; and then you are so handsome that, of course, all
+    the pretty young ladies are in love with you."</p>
+
+    <p>"Nonsense! Why, how clever you are at flattering and paying
+    compliments! A pretty little creature like you was just made to
+    turn all the men's heads&mdash;a little witch."</p>
+
+    <p>"Ah! those are hard things to say of a poor girl! Who could
+    think of falling in love with such a wretch as I am? Now, pray
+    tell me all about your own sweetheart: I do so long to hear
+    about her."</p>
+
+    <p>"Silly child! I'm not the sort of man to put thoughts into
+    the heads of fair ladies. However, it is quite true that there
+    is some one whom I want to marry."</p>
+
+    <p>At this O Koyo began to feel jealous.</p>
+
+    <p>"Ah!" said she, "how happy that some one must be! Do, pray,
+    tell me the whole story." And a feeling of jealous spite came
+    over her, and made her quite unhappy.</p>
+
+    <p>Genzabur&ocirc; laughed as he answered&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, that some one is yourself, and nobody else. There!"
+    and as he spoke, he gently tapped the dimple on her cheek with
+    his finger; and O Koyo's heart beat so, for very joy, that, for
+    a little while, she remained speechless. At last she turned her
+    face towards Genzabur&ocirc;, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Alas! your lordship is only trifling with me, when you know
+    that what you have just been pleased to propose is the darling
+    wish of my heart. Would that I could only go into your house
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page123"
+       id="page123"></a>[pg 123]</span> as a maid-servant, in any
+       capacity, however mean, that I might daily feast my eyes on
+       your handsome face!"</p>
+
+    <p>"Ah! I see that you think yourself very clever at hoaxing
+    men, and so you must needs tease me a little;" and, as he
+    spoke, he took her hand, and drew her close up to him, and she,
+    blushing again, cried&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! pray wait a moment, while I shut the
+    sliding-doors."</p>
+
+    <p>"Listen to me, O Koyo! I am not going to forget the promise
+    which I made you just now; nor need you be afraid of my harming
+    you; but take care that you do not deceive me."</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed, sir, the fear is rather that you should set your
+    heart on others; but, although I am no fashionable lady, take
+    pity on me, and love me well and long."</p>
+
+    <p>"Of course! I shall never care for another woman but
+    you."</p>
+
+    <p>"Pray, pray, never forget those words that you have just
+    spoken."</p>
+
+    <p>"And now," replied Genzabur&ocirc;, "the night is advancing,
+    and, for to-day, we must part; but we will arrange matters, so
+    as to meet again in this tea-house. But, as people would make
+    remarks if we left the tea-house together, I will go out
+    first."</p>
+
+    <p>And so, much against their will, they tore themselves from
+    one another, Genzabur&ocirc; returning to his house, and O Koyo
+    going home, her heart filled with joy at having found the man
+    for whom she had pined; and from that day forth they used
+    constantly to meet in secret at the tea-house; and
+    Genzabur&ocirc;, in his infatuation, never thought that the
+    matter must surely become notorious after a while, and that he
+    himself would be banished, and his family ruined: he only took
+    care for the pleasure of the moment.</p>
+
+    <p>Now Chokichi, who had brought about the meeting between
+    Genzabur&ocirc; and his love, used to go every day to the
+    tea-house at Oji, taking with him O Koyo; and Genzabur&ocirc;
+    neglected all his duties for the pleasure of these secret
+    meetings. Chokichi saw this with great regret, and thought to
+    himself that if Genzabur&ocirc; gave himself up entirely to
+    pleasure, and laid aside his duties, the secret would certainly
+    be made public, and Genzabur&ocirc; would bring ruin on himself
+    and his family; so he began to devise some plan by which he
+    might separate them, and plotted as eagerly to estrange them as
+    he had formerly done to introduce them to one another.</p>
+
+    <p>At last he hit upon a device which satisfied him.
+    Accordingly one day he went to O Koyo's house, and, meeting her
+    father Kihachi, said to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I've got a sad piece of news to tell you. The family of my
+    lord Genzabur&ocirc; have been complaining bitterly of his
+    conduct in carrying on his relationship with your daughter, and
+    of the ruin which exposure would bring upon the whole house; so
+    they have been using their influence to persuade him to hear
+    reason, and give up the connection. Now his lordship feels
+    deeply for the damsel, and yet he cannot sacrifice his family
+    for her sake. For the first time, he has become alive to the
+    folly of which he has <span class="pagenum"><a name="page124"
+       id="page124"></a>[pg 124]</span> been guilty, and, full of
+       remorse, he has commissioned me to devise some stratagem to
+       break off the affair. Of course, this has taken me by
+       surprise; but as there is no gainsaying the right of the
+       case, I have had no option but to promise obedience: this
+       promise I have come to redeem; and now, pray, advise your
+       daughter to think no more of his lordship."</p>
+
+    <p>When Kihachi heard this he was surprised and distressed, and
+    told O Koyo immediately; and she, grieving over the sad news,
+    took no thought either of eating or drinking, but remained
+    gloomy and desolate.</p>
+
+    <p>In the meanwhile, Chokichi went off to Genzabur&ocirc;'s
+    house, and told him that O Koyo had been taken suddenly ill,
+    and could not go to meet him, and begged him to wait patiently
+    until she should send to tell him of her recovery.
+    Genzabur&ocirc;, never suspecting the story to be false, waited
+    for thirty days, and still Chokichi brought him no tidings of O
+    Koyo. At last he met Chokichi, and besought him to arrange a
+    meeting for him with O Koyo.</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir," replied Chokichi, "she is not yet recovered; so it
+    would be difficult to bring her to see your honour. But I have
+    been thinking much about this affair, sir. If it becomes
+    public, your honour's family will be plunged in ruin. I pray
+    you, sir, to forget all about O Koyo."</p>
+
+    <p>"It's all very well for you to give me advice," answered
+    Genzabur&ocirc;, surprised; "but, having once bound myself to O
+    Koyo, it would be a pitiful thing to desert her; I therefore
+    implore you once more to arrange that I may meet her."</p>
+
+    <p>However, he would not consent upon any account; so
+    Genzabur&ocirc; returned home, and, from that time forth, daily
+    entreated Chokichi to bring O Koyo to him, and, receiving
+    nothing but advice from him in return, was very sad and
+    lonely.</p>
+
+    <p>One day Genzabur&ocirc;, intent on ridding himself of the
+    grief he felt at his separation from O Koyo, went to the
+    Yoshiwara, and, going into a house of entertainment, ordered a
+    feast to be prepared, but, in the midst of gaiety, his heart
+    yearned all the while for his lost love, and his merriment was
+    but mourning in disguise. At last the night wore on; and as he
+    was retiring along the corridor, he saw a man of about forty
+    years of age, with long hair, coming towards him, who, when he
+    saw Genzabur&ocirc;, cried out, "Dear me! why this must be my
+    young lord Genzabur&ocirc; who has come out to enjoy
+    himself."</p>
+
+    <p>Genzabur&ocirc; thought this rather strange; but, looking at
+    the man attentively, recognized him as a retainer whom he had
+    had in his employ the year before, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"This is a curious meeting: pray, what have you been about
+    since you left my service? At any rate, I may congratulate you
+    on being well and strong. Where are you living now?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, sir, since I parted from you I have been earning a
+    living as a fortune-teller at Kanda, and have changed my name
+    to Kaji Sazen. I am living in a poor and humble house; but
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page125"
+       id="page125"></a>[pg 125]</span> if your lordship, at your
+       leisure, would honour me with a visit&mdash;"</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, it's a lucky chance that has brought us together, and
+    I certainly will go and see you; besides, I want you to do
+    something for me. Shall you be at home the day after
+    to-morrow?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Certainly, sir, I shall make a point of being at home."</p>
+
+    <p>"Very well, then, the day after to-morrow I will go to your
+    house."</p>
+
+    <p>"I shall be at your service, sir. And now, as it is getting
+    late, I will take my leave for to-night."</p>
+
+    <p>"Good night, then. We shall meet the day after to-morrow."
+    And so the two parted, and went their several ways to rest.</p>
+
+    <p>On the appointed day Genzabur&ocirc; made his preparations,
+    and went in disguise, without any retainers, to call upon
+    Sazen, who met him at the porch of his house, and said, "This
+    is a great honour! My lord Genzabur&ocirc; is indeed welcome.
+    My house is very mean, but let me invite your lordship to come
+    into an inner chamber."</p>
+
+    <p>"Pray," replied Genzabur&ocirc;, "don't make any ceremony
+    for me. Don't put yourself to any trouble on my account."</p>
+
+    <p>And so he passed in, and Sazen called to his wife to prepare
+    wine and condiments; and they began to feast. At last
+    Genzabur&ocirc;, looking Sazen in the face, said, "There is a
+    service which I want you to render me&mdash;a very secret
+    service; but as if you were to refuse me, I should be put to
+    shame, before I tell you what that service is, I must know
+    whether you are willing to assist me in anything that I may
+    require of you."</p>
+
+    <p>"Yes; if it is anything that is within my power, I am at
+    your disposal."</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, then," said Genzabur&ocirc;, greatly pleased, and
+    drawing ten riyos from his bosom, "this is but a small present
+    to make to you on my first visit, but pray accept it."</p>
+
+    <p>"No, indeed! I don't know what your lordship wishes of me;
+    but, at any rate, I cannot receive this money. I really must
+    beg your lordship to take it back again."</p>
+
+    <p>But Genzabur&ocirc; pressed it upon him by force, and at
+    last he was obliged to accept the money. Then Genzabur&ocirc;
+    told him the whole story of his loves with O Koyo&mdash;how he
+    had first met her and fallen in love with her at the Adzuma
+    Bridge; how Chokichi had introduced her to him at the tea-house
+    at Oji, and then when she fell ill, and he wanted to see her
+    again, instead of bringing her to him, had only given him good
+    advice; and so Genzabur&ocirc; drew a lamentable picture of his
+    state of despair.</p>
+
+    <p>Sazen listened patiently to his story, and, after reflecting
+    for a while, replied, "Well, sir, it's not a difficult matter
+    to set right: and yet it will require some little management.
+    However, if your lordship will do me the honour of coming to
+    see me again the day after to-morrow, I will cast about me in
+    the meanwhile, and will let you know then the result of my
+    deliberations."</p>
+
+    <p>When Genzabur&ocirc; heard this he felt greatly relieved,
+    and, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page126"
+       id="page126"></a>[pg 126]</span> recommending Sazen to do
+       his best in the matter, took his leave and returned home.
+       That very night Sazen, after thinking over all that
+       Genzabur&ocirc; had told him, laid his plans accordingly,
+       and went off to the house of Kihachi, the Eta chief, and
+       told him the commission with which he had been
+       entrusted.</p>
+
+    <p>Kihachi was of course greatly astonished, and said, "Some
+    time ago, sir, Chokichi came here and said that my lord
+    Genzabur&ocirc;, having been rebuked by his family for his
+    profligate behaviour, had determined to break off his
+    connection with my daughter. Of course I knew that the daughter
+    of an Eta was no fitting match for a nobleman; so when Chokichi
+    came and told me the errand upon which he had been sent, I had
+    no alternative but to announce to my daughter that she must
+    give up all thought of his lordship. Since that time she has
+    been fretting and pining and starving for love. But when I tell
+    her what you have just said, how glad and happy she will be!
+    Let me go and talk to her at once." And with these words, he
+    went to O Koyo's room; and when he looked upon her thin wasted
+    face, and saw how sad she was, he felt more and more pity for
+    her, and said, "Well, O Koyo, are you in better spirits to-day?
+    Would you like something to eat?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Thank you, I have no appetite."</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, at any rate, I have some news for you that will make
+    you happy. A messenger has come from my lord Genzabur&ocirc;,
+    for whom your heart yearns."</p>
+
+    <p>At this O Koyo, who had been crouching down like a drooping
+    flower, gave a great start, and cried out, "Is that really
+    true? Pray tell me all about it as quickly as possible."</p>
+
+    <p>"The story which Chokichi came and told us, that his
+    lordship wished to break off the connection, was all an
+    invention. He has all along been wishing to meet you, and
+    constantly urged Chokichi to bring you a message from him. It
+    is Chokichi who has been throwing obstacles in the way. At last
+    his lordship has secretly sent a man, called Kaji Sazen, a
+    fortune-teller, to arrange an interview between you. So now, my
+    child, you may cheer up, and go to meet your lover as soon as
+    you please."</p>
+
+    <p>When O Koyo heard this, she was so happy that she thought it
+    must all be a dream, and doubted her own senses.</p>
+
+    <p>Kihachi in the meanwhile rejoined Sazen in the other room,
+    and, after telling him of the joy with which his daughter had
+    heard the news, put before him wine and other delicacies. "I
+    think," said Sazen, "that the best way would be for O Koyo to
+    live secretly in my lord Genzabur&ocirc;'s house; but as it
+    will never do for all the world to know of it, it must be
+    managed very quietly; and further, when I get home, I must
+    think out some plan to lull the suspicions of that fellow
+    Chokichi, and let you know my idea by letter. Meanwhile O Koyo
+    had better come home with me to-night: although she is so
+    terribly out of spirits now, she shall meet Genzabur&ocirc; the
+    day after to-morrow."</p>
+
+    <p>Kihachi reported this to O Koyo; and as her pining for
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page127"
+       id="page127"></a>[pg 127]</span> Genzabur&ocirc; was the
+       only cause of her sickness, she recovered her spirits at
+       once, and, saying that she would go with Sazen immediately,
+       joyfully made her preparations. Then Sazen, having once more
+       warned Kihachi to keep the matter secret from Chokichi, and
+       to act upon the letter which he should send him, returned
+       home, taking with him O Koyo; and after O Koyo had bathed
+       and dressed her hair, and painted herself and put on
+       beautiful clothes, she came out looking so lovely that no
+       princess in the land could vie with her; and Sazen, when he
+       saw her, said to himself that it was no wonder that
+       Genzabur&ocirc; had fallen in love with her; then, as it was
+       getting late, he advised her to go to rest, and, after
+       showing her to her apartments, went to his own room and
+       wrote his letter to Kihachi, containing the scheme which he
+       had devised. When Kihachi received his instructions, he was
+       filled with admiration at Sazen's ingenuity, and, putting on
+       an appearance of great alarm and agitation, went off
+       immediately to call on Chokichi, and said to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, Master Chokichi, such a terrible thing has happened!
+    Pray, let me tell you all about it."</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed! what can it be?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! sir," answered Kihachi, pretending to wipe away his
+    tears, "my daughter O Koyo, mourning over her separation from
+    my lord Genzabur&ocirc;, at first refused all sustenance, and
+    remained nursing her sorrows until, last night, her woman's
+    heart failing to bear up against her great grief, she drowned
+    herself in the river, leaving behind her a paper on which she
+    had written her intention."</p>
+
+    <p>When Chokichi heard this, he was thunderstruck, and
+    exclaimed, "Can this really be true! And when I think that it
+    was I who first introduced her to my lord, I am ashamed to look
+    you in the face."</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, say not so: misfortunes are the punishment due for our
+    misdeeds in a former state of existence. I bear you no
+    ill-will. This money which I hold in my hand was my daughter's;
+    and in her last instructions she wrote to beg that it might be
+    given, after her death, to you, through whose intervention she
+    became allied with a nobleman: so please accept it as my
+    daughter's legacy to you;" and as he spoke, he offered him
+    three riyos.</p>
+
+    <p>"You amaze me!" replied the other. "How could I, above all
+    men, who have so much to reproach myself with in my conduct
+    towards you, accept this money?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Nay; it was my dead daughter's wish. But since you reproach
+    yourself in the matter when you think of her, I will beg you to
+    put up a prayer and to cause masses to be said for her."</p>
+
+    <p>At last, Chokichi, after much persuasion, and greatly to his
+    own distress, was obliged to accept the money; and when Kihachi
+    had carried out all Sazen's instructions, he returned home,
+    laughing in his sleeve.</p>
+
+    <p>Chokichi was sorely grieved to hear of O Koyo's death, and
+    remained thinking over the sad news; when all of a sudden
+    looking <span class="pagenum"><a name="page128"
+       id="page128"></a>[pg 128]</span> about him, he saw something
+       like a letter lying on the spot where Kihachi had been
+       sitting, so he picked it up and read it; and, as luck would
+       have it, it was the very letter which contained Sazen's
+       instructions to Kihachi, and in which the whole story which
+       had just affected him so much was made up. When he perceived
+       the trick that had been played upon him, he was very angry,
+       and exclaimed, "To think that I should have been so hoaxed
+       by that hateful old dotard, and such a fellow as Sazen! And
+       Genzabur&ocirc;, too!&mdash;out of gratitude for the favours
+       which I had received from him in old days, I faithfully gave
+       him good advice, and all in vain. Well, they've gulled me
+       once; but I'll be even with them yet, and hinder their game
+       before it is played out!" And so he worked himself up into a
+       fury, and went off secretly to prowl about Sazen's house to
+       watch for O Koyo, determined to pay off Genzabur&ocirc; and
+       Sazen for their conduct to him.</p>
+
+    <p>In the meanwhile Sazen, who did not for a moment suspect
+    what had happened, when the day which had been fixed upon by
+    him and Genzabur&ocirc; arrived, made O Koyo put on her best
+    clothes, smartened up his house, and got ready a feast against
+    Genzabur&ocirc;'s arrival. The latter came punctually to his
+    time, and, going in at once, said to the fortune-teller, "Well,
+    have you succeeded in the commission with which I entrusted
+    you?"</p>
+
+    <p>At first Sazen pretended to be vexed at the question, and
+    said, "Well, sir, I've done my best; but it's not a matter
+    which can be settled in a hurry. However, there's a young lady
+    of high birth and wonderful beauty upstairs, who has come here
+    secretly to have her fortune told; and if your lordship would
+    like to come with me and see her, you can do so."</p>
+
+    <p>But Genzabur&ocirc;, when he heard that he was not to meet O
+    Koyo, lost heart entirely, and made up his mind to go home
+    again. Sazen, however, pressed him so eagerly, that at last he
+    went upstairs to see this vaunted beauty; and Sazen, drawing
+    aside a screen, showed him O Koyo, who was sitting there.
+    Genzabur&ocirc; gave a great start, and, turning to Sazen,
+    said, "Well, you certainly are a first-rate hand at keeping up
+    a hoax. However, I cannot sufficiently praise the way in which
+    you have carried out my instructions."</p>
+
+    <p>"Pray, don't mention it, sir. But as it is a long time since
+    you have met the young lady, you must have a great deal to say
+    to one another; so I will go downstairs, and, if you want
+    anything, pray call me." And so he went downstairs and left
+    them.</p>
+
+    <p>Then Genzabur&ocirc;, addressing O Koyo, said, "Ah! it is
+    indeed a long time since we met. How happy it makes me to see
+    you again! Why, your face has grown quite thin. Poor thing!
+    have you been unhappy?" And O Koyo, with the tears starting
+    from her eyes for joy, hid her face; and her heart was so full
+    that she could not speak. But Genzabur&ocirc;, passing his hand
+    gently over her head and back, and comforting her, said, "Come,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page129"
+       id="page129"></a>[pg 129]</span> sweetheart, there is no
+       need to sob so. Talk to me a little, and let me hear your
+       voice."</p>
+
+    <p>At last O Koyo raised her head and said, "Ah! when I was
+    separated from you by the tricks of Chokichi, and thought that
+    I should never meet you again, how tenderly I thought of you! I
+    thought I should have died, and waited for my hour to come,
+    pining all the while for you. And when at last, as I lay
+    between life and death, Sazen came with a message from you, I
+    thought it was all a dream." And as she spoke, she bent her
+    head and sobbed again; and in Genzabur&ocirc;'s eyes she seemed
+    more beautiful than ever, with her pale, delicate face; and he
+    loved her better than before. Then she said, "If I were to tell
+    you all I have suffered until to-day, I should never stop."</p>
+
+    <p>"Yes," replied Genzabur&ocirc;, "I too have suffered much;"
+    and so they told one another their mutual griefs, and from that
+    day forth they constantly met at Sazen's house.</p>
+
+    <p>One day, as they were feasting and enjoying themselves in an
+    upper storey in Sazen's house, Chokichi came to the house and
+    said, "I beg pardon; but does one Master Sazen live here?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Certainly, sir: I am Sazen, at your service. Pray where are
+    you from?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, sir, I have a little business to transact with you.
+    May I make so bold as to go in?" And with these words, he
+    entered the house.</p>
+
+    <p>"But who and what are you?" said Sazen.</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir, I am an Eta; and my name is Chokichi. I beg to bespeak
+    your goodwill for myself: I hope we may be friends."</p>
+
+    <p>Sazen was not a little taken aback at this; however, he put
+    on an innocent face, as though he had never heard of Chokichi
+    before, and said, "I never heard of such a thing! Why, I
+    thought you were some respectable person; and you have the
+    impudence to tell me that your name is Chokichi, and that
+    you're one of those accursed Etas. To think of such a shameless
+    villain coming and asking to be friends with me, forsooth! Get
+    you gone!&mdash;the quicker, the better: your presence pollutes
+    the house."</p>
+
+    <p>Chokichi smiled contemptuously, as he answered, "So you deem
+    the presence of an Eta in your house a pollution&mdash;eh? Why,
+    I thought you must be one of us."</p>
+
+    <p>"Insolent knave! Begone as fast as possible."</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, since you say that I defile your house, you had
+    better get rid of O Koyo as well. I suppose she must equally be
+    a pollution to it."</p>
+
+    <p>This put Sazen rather in a dilemma; however, he made up his
+    mind not to show any hesitation, and said, "What are you
+    talking about? There is no O Koyo here; and I never saw such a
+    person in my life."</p>
+
+    <p>Chokichi quietly drew out of the bosom of his dress the
+    letter from Sazen to Kihachi, which he had picked up a few days
+    before, and, showing it to Sazen, replied, "If you wish to
+    dispute <span class="pagenum"><a name="page130"
+       id="page130"></a>[pg 130]</span> the genuineness of this
+       paper, I will report the whole matter to the Governor of
+       Yedo; and Genzabur&ocirc;'s family will be ruined, and the
+       rest of you who are parties in this affair will come in for
+       your share of trouble. Just wait a little."</p>
+
+    <p>And as he pretended to leave the house, Sazen, at his wits'
+    end, cried out, "Stop! stop! I want to speak to you. Pray, stop
+    and listen quietly. It is quite true, as you said, that O Koyo
+    is in my house; and really your indignation is perfectly just.
+    Come! let us talk over matters a little. Now you yourself were
+    originally a respectable man; and although you have fallen in
+    life, there is no reason why your disgrace should last for
+    ever. All that you want in order to enable you to escape out of
+    this fraternity of Etas is a little money. Why should you not
+    get this from Genzabur&ocirc;, who is very anxious to keep his
+    intrigue with O Koyo secret?"</p>
+
+    <p>Chokichi laughed disdainfully. "I am ready to talk with you;
+    but I don't want any money. All I want is to report the affair
+    to the authorities, in order that I may be revenged for the
+    fraud that was put upon me."</p>
+
+    <p>"Won't you accept twenty-five riyos?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Twenty-five riyos! No, indeed! I will not take a fraction
+    less than a hundred; and if I cannot get them I will report the
+    whole matter at once."</p>
+
+    <p>Sazen, after a moment's consideration, hit upon a scheme,
+    and answered, smiling, "Well, Master Chokichi, you're a fine
+    fellow, and I admire your spirit. You shall have the hundred
+    riyos you ask for; but, as I have not so much money by me at
+    present, I will go to Genzabur&ocirc;'s house and fetch it.
+    It's getting dark now, but it's not very late; so I'll trouble
+    you to come with me, and then I can give you the money
+    to-night."</p>
+
+    <p>Chokichi consenting to this, the pair left the house
+    together.</p>
+
+    <p>Now Sazen, who as a R&ocirc;nin wore a long dirk in his
+    girdle, kept looking out for a moment when Chokichi should be
+    off his guard, in order to kill him; but Chokichi kept his eyes
+    open, and did not give Sazen a chance. At last Chokichi, as
+    ill-luck would have it, stumbled against a stone and fell; and
+    Sazen, profiting by the chance, drew his dirk and stabbed him
+    in the side; and as Chokichi, taken by surprise, tried to get
+    up, he cut him severely over the head, until at last he fell
+    dead. Sazen then looking around him, and seeing, to his great
+    delight, that there was no one near, returned home. The
+    following day, Chokichi's body was found by the police; and
+    when they examined it, they found nothing upon it save a paper,
+    which they read, and which proved to be the very letter which
+    Sazen had sent to Kihachi, and which Chokichi had picked up.
+    The matter was immediately reported to the governor, and, Sazen
+    having been summoned, an investigation was held. Sazen, cunning
+    and bold murderer as he was, lost his self-possession when he
+    saw what a fool he had been not to get back from Chokichi the
+    letter which he had written, and, when he was put to a rigid
+    examination under torture,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page131"
+       id="page131"></a>[pg 131]</span> confessed that he had
+       hidden O Koyo at Genzabur&ocirc;'s instigation, and then
+       killed Chokichi, who had found out the secret. Upon this the
+       governor, after consulting about Genzabur&ocirc;'s case,
+       decided that, as he had disgraced his position as a Hatamoto
+       by contracting an alliance with the daughter of an Eta, his
+       property should be confiscated, his family blotted out, and
+       himself banished. As for Kihachi, the Eta chief, and his
+       daughter O Koyo, they were handed over for punishment to the
+       chief of the Etas, and by him they too were banished; while
+       Sazen, against whom the murder of Chokichi had been fully
+       proved, was executed according to law.</p>
+
+    <h3>NOTE</h3>
+
+    <p>At Asakusa, in Yedo, there lives a man called
+    Danzay&eacute;mon, the chief of the Etas. This man traces his
+    pedigree back to Minamoto no Yoritomo, who founded the
+    Shogunate in the year A.D. 1192. The whole of the Etas in Japan
+    are under his jurisdiction; his subordinates are called
+    Koyagashira, or "chiefs of the huts"; and he and they
+    constitute the government of the Etas. In the "Legacy of
+    Iy&eacute;yasu," already quoted, the 36th Law provides as
+    follows:&mdash;"All wandering mendicants, such as male
+    sorcerers, female diviners, hermits, blind people, beggars, and
+    tanners (Etas), have had from of old their respective rulers.
+    Be not disinclined, however, to punish any such who give rise
+    to disputes, or who overstep the boundaries of their own
+    classes and are disobedient to existing laws."</p>
+
+    <p>The occupation of the Etas is to kill and flay horses, oxen,
+    and other beasts, to stretch drums and make shoes; and if they
+    are very poor, they wander from house to house, working as
+    cobblers, mending old shoes and leather, and so earn a scanty
+    livelihood. Besides this, their daughters and young married
+    women gain a trifle as wandering minstrels, called Torioi,
+    playing on the <i>shamisen</i>, a sort of banjo, and singing
+    ballads. They never marry out of their own fraternity, but
+    remain apart, a despised and shunned race.</p>
+
+    <p>At executions by crucifixion it is the duty of the Etas to
+    transfix the victims with spears; and, besides this, they have
+    to perform all sorts of degrading offices about criminals, such
+    as carrying sick prisoners from their cells to the hall of
+    justice, and burying the bodies of those that have been
+    executed. Thus their race is polluted and accursed, and they
+    are hated accordingly.</p>
+
+    <p>Now this is how the Etas came to be under the jurisdiction
+    of Danzay&eacute;mon:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>When Minamoto no Yoritomo was yet a child, his father,
+    Minamoto no Yoshitomo, fought with Taira no Kiyomori, and was
+    killed by treachery: so his family was ruined; and Yoshitomo's
+    concubine, whose name was Tokiwa, took her children and fled
+    from the house, to save her own and their lives. But Kiyomori,
+    desiring to destroy the family of Yoshitomo root and branch,
+    ordered his retainers to divide themselves into bands, and seek
+    out the children. At last they were found; but Tokiwa was so
+    exceedingly beautiful that Kiyomori was inflamed with love for
+    her, and desired her to become his own concubine. Then Tokiwa
+    told Kiyomori that if <span class="pagenum"><a name="page132"
+       id="page132"></a>[pg 132]</span> he would spare her little
+       ones she would share his couch; but that if he killed her
+       children she would destroy herself rather than yield to his
+       desire. When he heard this, Kiyomori, bewildered by the
+       beauty of Tokiwa, spared the lives of her children, but
+       banished them from the capital.</p>
+
+    <p>So Yoritomo was sent to Hirugakojima, in the province of
+    Idzu; and when he grew up and became a man, he married the
+    daughter of a peasant. After a while Yoritomo left the
+    province, and went to the wars, leaving his wife pregnant; and
+    in due time she was delivered of a male child, to the delight
+    of her parents, who rejoiced that their daughter should bear
+    seed to a nobleman; but she soon fell sick and died, and the
+    old people took charge of the babe. And when they also died,
+    the care of the child fell to his mother's kinsmen, and he grew
+    up to be a peasant.</p>
+
+    <p>Now Kiyomori, the enemy of Yoritomo, had been gathered to
+    his fathers; and Yoritomo had avenged the death of his father
+    by slaying Mun&eacute;mori, the son of Kiyomori; and there was
+    peace throughout the land. And Yoritomo became the chief of all
+    the noble houses in Japan, and first established the government
+    of the country. When Yoritomo had thus raised himself to power,
+    if the son that his peasant wife had born to him had proclaimed
+    himself the son of the mighty prince, he would have been made
+    lord over a province; but he took no thought of this, and
+    remained a tiller of the earth, forfeiting a glorious
+    inheritance; and his descendants after him lived as peasants in
+    the same village, increasing in prosperity and in good repute
+    among their neighbours.</p>
+
+    <p>But the princely line of Yoritomo came to an end in three
+    generations, and the house of H&ocirc;j&ocirc; was all-powerful
+    in the land.</p>
+
+    <p>Now it happened that the head of the house of
+    H&ocirc;j&ocirc; heard that a descendant of Yoritomo was living
+    as a peasant in the land, so he summoned him and
+    said:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"It is a hard thing to see the son of an illustrious house
+    live and die a peasant. I will promote you to the rank of
+    Samurai."</p>
+
+    <p>Then the peasant answered, "My lord, if I become a Samurai,
+    and the retainer of some noble, I shall not be so happy as when
+    I was my own master. If I may not remain a husbandman, let me
+    be a chief over men, however humble they may be."</p>
+
+    <p>But my lord H&ocirc;j&ocirc; was angry at this, and,
+    thinking to punish the peasant for his insolence,
+    said:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Since you wish to become a chief over men, no matter how
+    humble, there is no means of gratifying your strange wish but
+    by making you chief over the Etas of the whole country. So now
+    see that you rule them well."</p>
+
+    <p>When he heard this, the peasant was afraid; but because he
+    had said that he wished to become a chief over men, however
+    humble, he could not choose but become chief of the Etas, he
+    and his children after him for ever; and Danzay&eacute;mon, who
+    rules the Etas at the present time, and lives at Asakusa, is
+    his lineal
+    descendant.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page133"
+       id="page133"></a>[pg 133]</span>
+
+    <h1>FAIRY TALES</h1><span class="pagenum"><a name="page134"
+       id="page134"></a>[pg 134]</span>
+
+    <h2>FAIRY TALES</h2>
+
+    <p>I think that their quaintness is a sufficient apology for
+    the following little children's stories. With the exception of
+    that of the "Elves and the Envious Neighbour," which comes out
+    of a curious book on etymology and proverbial lore, called the
+    Kotowazagusa, these stories are found printed in little
+    separate pamphlets, with illustrations, the stereotype blocks
+    of which have become so worn that the print is hardly legible.
+    These are the first tales which are put into a Japanese child's
+    hands; and it is with these, and such as these, that the
+    Japanese mother hushes her little ones to sleep. Knowing the
+    interest which many children of a larger growth take in such
+    Baby Stories, I was anxious to have collected more of them. I
+    was disappointed, however, for those which I give here are the
+    only ones which I could find in print; and if I asked the
+    Japanese to tell me others, they only thought I was laughing at
+    them, and changed the subject. The stories of the Tongue-cut
+    Sparrow, and the Old Couple and their Dog, have been
+    paraphrased in other works upon Japan; but I am not aware of
+    their having been literally translated
+    before.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page135"
+       id="page135"></a>[pg 135]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW</h3>
+
+    <p>Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman.
+    The old man, who had a kind heart, kept a young sparrow, which
+    he tenderly nurtured. But the dame was a cross-grained old
+    thing; and one day, when the sparrow had pecked at some paste
+    with which she was going to starch her linen, she flew into a
+    great rage, and cut the sparrow's tongue and let it loose. When
+    the old man came home from the hills and found that the bird
+    had flown, he asked what had become of it; so the old woman
+    answered that she had cut its tongue and let it go, because it
+    had stolen her starching-paste. Now the old man, hearing this
+    cruel tale, was sorely grieved, and thought to himself, "Alas!
+    where can my bird be gone? Poor thing! Poor little tongue-cut
+    sparrow! where is your home now?" and he wandered far and wide,
+    seeking for his pet, and crying, "Mr. Sparrow! Mr. Sparrow!
+    where are you living?"</p>
+
+    <p>One day, at the foot of a certain mountain, the old man fell
+    in with the lost bird; and when they had congratulated one
+    another on their mutual safety, the sparrow led the old man to
+    his home, and, having introduced him to his wife and chicks,
+    set before him all sorts of dainties, and entertained him
+    hospitably.</p>
+
+    <p>"Please partake of our humble fare," said the sparrow; "poor
+    as it is, you are very welcome."</p>
+
+    <p>"What a polite sparrow!" answered the old man, who remained
+    for a long time as the sparrow's guest, and was daily feasted
+    right royally. At last the old man said that he must take his
+    leave and return home; and the bird, offering him two wicker
+    baskets, begged him to carry them with him as a parting
+    present. One of the baskets was heavy, and the other was light;
+    so the old man, saying that as he was feeble and stricken in
+    years he would only accept the light one, shouldered it, and
+    trudged off home, leaving the sparrow-family disconsolate at
+    parting from him.</p>
+
+    <p>When the old man got home, the dame grew very angry, and
+    began to scold him, saying, "Well, and pray where have you been
+    this many a day? A pretty thing, indeed, to be gadding about at
+    your time of life!"</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh!" replied he, "I have been on a visit to the sparrows;
+    and when I came away, they gave me this wicker basket as a
+    parting gift." Then they opened the basket to see what was
+    inside, and, lo and behold! it was full of gold and silver and
+    precious things. When the old woman, who was as greedy as she
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page136"
+       id="page136"></a>[pg 136]</span> was cross, saw all the
+       riches displayed before her, she changed her scolding
+       strain, and could not contain herself for joy.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/136.jpg"
+             name="image136"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image136"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/136.jpg"
+             alt="THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW." /></a> THE TONGUE-CUT
+             SPARROW.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>"I'll go and call upon the sparrows, too," said she, "and
+    get a pretty present." So she asked the old man the way to the
+    sparrows' house, and set forth on her journey. Following his
+    directions, she at last met the tongue-cut sparrow, and
+    exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well met! well met! Mr. Sparrow. I have been looking
+    forward to the pleasure of seeing you." So she tried to flatter
+    and cajole the sparrow by soft
+    speeches.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page137"
+       id="page137"></a>[pg 137]</span>
+
+    <p>The bird could not but invite the dame to its home; but it
+    took no pains to feast her, and said nothing about a parting
+    gift. She, however, was not to be put off; so she asked for
+    something to carry away with her in remembrance of her visit.
+    The sparrow accordingly produced two baskets, as before, and
+    the greedy old woman, choosing the heavier of the two, carried
+    it off with her. But when she opened the basket to see what was
+    inside, all sorts of hobgoblins and elves sprang out of it, and
+    began to torment her.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/137.jpg"
+             name="image137"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image137"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/137.jpg"
+             alt="THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW. (2)" /></a> THE
+             TONGUE-CUT SPARROW. (2)
+    </div>
+
+    <p>But the old man adopted a son, and his family grew rich and
+    prosperous. What a happy old
+    man!</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page138"
+       id="page138"></a>[pg 138]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE</h3>
+
+    <p>A long time ago, at a temple called Morinji, in the province
+    of J&ocirc;shiu, there was an old tea-kettle. One day, when the
+    priest of the temple was about to hang it over the hearth to
+    boil the water for his tea, to his amazement, the kettle all of
+    a sudden put forth the head and tail of a badger. What a
+    wonderful kettle, to come out all over fur! The priest,
+    thunderstruck, called in the novices of the temple to see the
+    sight; and whilst they were stupidly staring, one suggesting
+    one thing and another, the kettle, jumping up into the air,
+    began flying about the room. More astonished than ever, the
+    priest and his pupils tried to pursue it; but no thief or cat
+    was ever half so sharp as this wonderful badger-kettle. At
+    last, however, they managed to knock it down and secure it;
+    and, holding it in with their united efforts, they forced it
+    into a box, intending to carry it off and throw it away in some
+    distant place, so that they might be no more plagued by the
+    goblin. For this day their troubles were over; but, as luck
+    would have it, the tinker who was in the habit of working for
+    the temple called in, and the priest suddenly bethought him
+    that it was a pity to throw the kettle away for nothing, and
+    that he might as well get a trifle for it, no matter how small.
+    So he brought out the kettle, which had resumed its former
+    shape and had got rid of its head and tail, and showed it to
+    the tinker. When the tinker saw the kettle, he offered twenty
+    copper coins for it, and the priest was only too glad to close
+    the bargain and be rid of his troublesome piece of furniture.
+    But the tinker trudged off home with his pack and his new
+    purchase. That night, as he lay asleep, he heard a strange
+    noise near his pillow; so he peeped out from under the
+    bedclothes, and there he saw the kettle that he had bought in
+    the temple covered with fur, and walking about on four legs.
+    The tinker started up in a fright to see what it could all
+    mean, when all of a sudden the kettle resumed its former shape.
+    This happened over and over again, until at last the tinker
+    showed the tea-kettle to a friend of his, who said, "This is
+    certainly an accomplished and lucky tea-kettle. You should take
+    it about as a show, with songs and accompaniments of musical
+    instruments, and make it dance and walk on the tight rope."</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/139.jpg"
+             name="image139"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image139"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/139.jpg"
+             alt="THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE." /></a>
+             THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>The tinker, thinking this good advice, made arrangements
+    with a showman, and set up an exhibition. The noise of the
+    kettle's performances soon spread abroad, until even the
+    princes of the land sent to order the tinker to come to them;
+    and he grew rich <!--blank page 139-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page140"
+       id="page140"></a>[pg 140]</span> beyond all his
+       expectations. Even the princesses, too, and the great ladies
+       of the court, took great delight in the dancing kettle, so
+       that no sooner had it shown its tricks in one place than it
+       was time for them to keep some other engagement. At last the
+       tinker grew so rich that he took the kettle back to the
+       temple, where it was laid up as a precious treasure, and
+       worshipped as a saint.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/140.jpg"
+             name="image140"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image140"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/140.jpg"
+             alt="THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE. (2)" />
+             </a> THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE. (2)
+    </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page141"
+       id="page141"></a>[pg 141]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN</h3>
+
+    <p>Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman,
+    who kept a pet white hare, by which they set great store. One
+    day, a badger, that lived hard by, came and ate up the food
+    which had been put out for the hare; so the old man, flying
+    into a great rage, seized the badger, and, tying the beast up
+    to a tree, went off to the mountain to cut wood, while the old
+    woman stopped at home and ground the wheat for the evening
+    porridge. Then the badger, with tears in his eyes, said to the
+    old woman&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Please, dame, please untie this rope!"</p>
+
+    <p>The dame, thinking that it was a cruel thing to see a poor
+    beast in pain, undid the rope; but the ungrateful brute was no
+    sooner loose, than he cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I'll be revenged for this," and was off in a trice.</p>
+
+    <p>When the hare heard this, he went off to the mountain to
+    warn the old man; and whilst the hare was away on this errand,
+    the badger came back, and killed the dame. Then the beast,
+    having assumed the old woman's form, made her dead body into
+    broth, and waited for the old man to come home from the
+    mountain. When he returned, tired and hungry, the pretended old
+    woman said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Come, come; I've made such a nice broth of the badger you
+    hung up. Sit down, and make a good supper of it."</p>
+
+    <p>With these words she set out the broth, and the old man made
+    a hearty meal, licking his lips over it, and praising the
+    savoury mess. But as soon as he had finished eating, the
+    badger, reassuming its natural shape, cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Nasty old man! you've eaten your own wife. Look at her
+    bones, lying in the kitchen sink!" and, laughing
+    contemptuously, the badger ran away, and disappeared.</p>
+
+    <p>Then the old man, horrified at what he had done, set up a
+    great lamentation; and whilst he was bewailing his fate, the
+    hare came home, and, seeing how matters stood, determined to
+    avenge the death of his mistress. So he went back to the
+    mountain, and, falling in with the badger, who was carrying a
+    faggot of sticks on his back, he struck a light and set fire to
+    the sticks, without letting the badger see him. When the badger
+    heard the crackling noise of the faggot burning on his back, he
+    called out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Holloa! what is that noise?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh!" answered the hare, "this is called the Crackling
+    Mountain. There's always this noise
+    here."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page142"
+       id="page142"></a>[pg 142]</span>
+
+    <p>And as the fire gathered strength, and went pop! pop! pop!
+    the badger said again&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh dear! what can this noise be?"</p>
+
+    <p>"This is called the 'Pop! Pop! Mountain,'" answered the
+    hare.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/142.jpg"
+             name="image142"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image142"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/142.jpg"
+             alt="THE HARE AND THE BADGER." /></a> THE HARE AND THE
+             BADGER.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>All at once the fire began to singe the badger's back, so
+    that he fled, howling with pain, and jumped into a river hard
+    by. But, although the water put out the fire, his back was
+    burnt as black as a cinder. The hare, seeing an opportunity for
+    torturing the badger to his heart's content, made a poultice of
+    cayenne <span class="pagenum"><a name="page143"
+       id="page143"></a>[pg 143]</span> pepper, which he carried to
+       the badger's house, and, pretending to condole with him, and
+       to have a sovereign remedy for burns, he applied his hot
+       plaister to his enemy's sore back. Oh! how it smarted and
+       pained! and how the badger yelled and cried!</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/143.jpg"
+             name="image143"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image143"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/143.jpg"
+             alt="THE HARE AND THE BADGER. (2)" /></a> THE HARE AND
+             THE BADGER. (2)
+    </div>
+
+    <p>When, at last, the badger got well again, he went to the
+    hare's house, thinking to reproach him for having caused him so
+    much pain. When he got there, he found that the hare had built
+    himself a boat.</p>
+
+    <p>"What have you built that boat for, Mr. Hare?" said the
+    badger. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page144"
+       id="page144"></a>[pg 144]</span> "I'm going to the capital
+       of the moon,"<a id="footnotetag52"
+       name="footnotetag52"></a><a href="#footnote52"><sup>52</sup></a>
+       answered the hare; "won't you come with me?"</p>
+
+    <p>"I had enough of your company on the Crackling Mountain,
+    where you played me such tricks. I'd rather make a boat for
+    myself," replied the badger, who immediately began building
+    himself a boat of clay.</p>
+
+    <p>The hare, seeing this, laughed in his sleeve; and so the two
+    launched their boats upon the river. The waves came plashing
+    against the two boats; but the hare's boat was built of wood,
+    while that of the badger was made of clay, and, as they rowed
+    down the river, the clay boat began to crumble away; then the
+    hare, seizing his paddle, and brandishing it in the air, struck
+    savagely at the badger's boat, until he had smashed it to
+    pieces, and killed his enemy.</p>
+
+    <p>When the old man heard that his wife's death had been
+    avenged, he was glad in his heart, and more than ever petted
+    and loved the hare, whose brave deeds had caused him to welcome
+    the returning
+    spring.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page145"
+       id="page145"></a>[pg 145]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO
+    BLOSSOM</h3>
+
+    <p>In the old, old days, there lived an honest man with his
+    wife, who had a favourite dog, which they used to feed with
+    fish and titbits from their own kitchen. One day, as the old
+    folks went out to work in their garden, the dog went with them,
+    and began playing about. All of a sudden, the dog stopped
+    short, and began to bark, "Bow, wow, wow!" wagging his tail
+    violently. The old people thought that there must be something
+    nice to eat under the ground, so they brought a spade and began
+    digging, when, lo and behold! the place was full of gold pieces
+    and silver, and all sorts of precious things, which had been
+    buried there. So they gathered the treasure together, and,
+    after giving alms to the poor, bought themselves rice-fields
+    and corn-fields, and became wealthy people.</p>
+
+    <p>Now, in the next house there dwelt a covetous and stingy old
+    man and woman, who, when they heard what had happened, came and
+    borrowed the dog, and, having taken him home, prepared a great
+    feast for him, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"If you please, Mr. Dog, we should be much obliged to you if
+    you would show us a place with plenty of money in it."</p>
+
+    <p>The dog, however, who up to that time had received nothing
+    but cuffs and kicks from his hosts, would not eat any of the
+    dainties which they set before him; so the old people began to
+    get cross, and, putting a rope round the dog's neck, led him
+    out into the garden. But it was all in vain; let them lead him
+    where they might, not a sound would the dog utter: he had no
+    "bow-wow" for them. At last, however, the dog stopped at a
+    certain spot, and began to sniff; so, thinking that this must
+    surely be the lucky place, they dug, and found nothing but a
+    quantity of dirt and nasty offal, over which they had to hold
+    their noses. Furious at being disappointed, the wicked old
+    couple seized the dog, and killed him.</p>
+
+    <p>When the good old man saw that the dog, whom he had lent,
+    did not come home, he went next door to ask what had become of
+    him; and the wicked old man answered that he had killed the
+    dog, and buried him at the root of a pine-tree; so the good old
+    fellow, with, a heavy heart, went to the spot, and, having set
+    out a tray with delicate food, burnt incense, and adorned the
+    grave with flowers, as he shed tears over his lost pet.</p>
+
+    <p>But there was more good luck in store yet for the old
+    people&mdash;the reward of their honesty and virtue. How do you
+    think that <span class="pagenum"><a name="page146"
+       id="page146"></a>[pg 146]</span> happened, my children? It
+       is very wrong to be cruel to dogs and cats.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/146.jpg"
+             name="image146"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image146"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/146.jpg"
+             alt="THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER." />
+             </a> THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>That night, when the good old man was fast asleep in bed,
+    the dog appeared to him, and, after thanking him for all his
+    kindness, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Cause the pine-tree, under which, I am buried, to be cut
+    down and made into a mortar, and use it, thinking of it as if
+    it were myself."</p>
+
+    <p>The old man did as the dog had told him to do, and made a
+    mortar out of the wood of the pine-tree; but when he ground his
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page147"
+       id="page147"></a>[pg 147]</span> rice in it, each grain of
+       rice was turned into some rich treasure. When the wicked old
+       couple saw this, they came to borrow the mortar; but no
+       sooner did they try to use it, than all their rice was
+       turned into filth; so, in a fit of rage, they broke up the
+       mortar and burnt it. But the good old man, little suspecting
+       that his precious mortar had been broken and burnt, wondered
+       why his neighbours did not bring it back to him.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/147.jpg"
+             name="image147"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image147"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/147.jpg"
+             alt="THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER. (2)" />
+        </a> THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER. (2)
+    </div>
+
+    <p>One night the dog appeared to him again in a dream, and told
+    him what had happened, adding that if he would take the ashes
+    of the burnt mortar and sprinkle them on withered trees, the
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page148"
+       id="page148"></a>[pg 148]</span> trees would revive, and
+       suddenly put out flowers. After saying this the dream
+       vanished, and the old man, who heard for the first time of
+       the loss of his mortar, ran off weeping to the neighbours'
+       house, and begged them, at any rate, to give him back the
+       ashes of his treasure. Having obtained these, he returned
+       home, and made a trial of their virtues upon a withered
+       cherry-tree, which, upon being touched by the ashes,
+       immediately began to sprout and blossom. When he saw this
+       wonderful effect, he put the ashes into a basket, and went
+       about the country, announcing himself as an old man who had
+       the power of bringing dead trees to life again.</p>
+
+    <p>A certain prince, hearing of this, and thinking it a mighty
+    strange thing, sent for the old fellow, who showed his power by
+    causing all the withered plum and cherry-trees to shoot out and
+    put forth flowers. So the prince gave him a rich reward of
+    pieces of silk and cloth and other presents, and sent him home
+    rejoicing.</p>
+
+    <p>So soon as the neighbours heard of this they collected all
+    the ashes that remained, and, having put them in a basket, the
+    wicked old man went out into the castle town, and gave out that
+    he was the old man who had the power of reviving dead trees,
+    and causing them to flower. He had not to wait long before he
+    was called into the prince's palace, and ordered to exhibit his
+    power. But when he climbed up into a withered tree, and began
+    to scatter the ashes, not a bud nor a flower appeared; but the
+    ashes all flew into the prince's eyes and mouth, blinding and
+    choking him. When the prince's retainers saw this, they seized
+    the old man, and beat him almost to death, so that he crawled
+    off home in a very sorry plight. When he and his wife found out
+    what a trap they had fallen into, they stormed and scolded and
+    put themselves into a passion; but that did no good at all.</p>
+
+    <p>The good old man and woman, so soon as they heard of their
+    neighbours' distress, sent for them, and, after reproving them
+    for their greed and cruelty, gave them a share of their own
+    riches, which, by repeated strokes of luck, had now increased
+    to a goodly sum. So the wicked old people mended their ways,
+    and led good and virtuous lives ever
+    after.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page149"
+       id="page149"></a>[pg 149]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB</h3>
+
+    <p>If a man thinks only of his own profit, and tries to benefit
+    himself at the expense of others, he will incur the hatred of
+    Heaven. Men should lay up in their hearts the story of the
+    Battle of the Ape and Crab, and teach it, as a profitable
+    lesson, to their children.</p>
+
+    <p>Once upon a time there was a crab who lived in a marsh in a
+    certain part of the country. It fell out one day that, the crab
+    having picked up a rice cake, an ape, who had got a nasty hard
+    persimmon-seed, came up, and begged the crab to make an
+    exchange with him. The crab, who was a simple-minded creature,
+    agreed to this proposal; and they each went their way, the ape
+    chuckling to himself at the good bargain which he had made.</p>
+
+    <p>When the crab got home, he planted the persimmon-seed in his
+    garden, and, as time slipped by, it sprouted, and by degrees
+    grew to be a big tree. The crab watched the growth of his tree
+    with great delight; but when the fruit ripened, and he was
+    going to pluck it, the ape came in, and offered to gather it
+    for him. The crab consenting, the ape climbed up into the tree,
+    and began eating all the ripe fruit himself, while he only
+    threw down the sour persimmons to the crab, inviting him, at
+    the same time, to eat heartily. The crab, however, was not
+    pleased at this arrangement, and thought that it was his turn
+    to play a trick upon the ape; so he called out to him to come
+    down head foremost. The ape did as he was bid; and as he
+    crawled down, head foremost, the ripe fruit all came tumbling
+    out of his pockets, and the crab, having picked up the
+    persimmons, ran off and hid himself in a hole. The ape, seeing
+    this, lay in ambush, and as soon as the crab crept out of his
+    hiding-place gave him a sound drubbing, and went home. Just at
+    this time a friendly egg and a bee, who were the apprentices of
+    a certain rice-mortar, happened to pass that way, and, seeing
+    the crab's piteous condition, tied up his wounds, and, having
+    escorted him home, began to lay plans to be revenged upon the
+    cruel ape.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/150.jpg"
+             name="image150"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image150"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/150.jpg"
+             alt="THE APE AND THE CRAB." /></a> THE APE AND THE
+             CRAB.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>Having agreed upon a scheme, they all went to the ape's
+    house, in his absence; and each one having undertaken to play a
+    certain part, they waited in secret for their enemy to come
+    home. The ape, little dreaming of the mischief that was
+    brewing, returned home, and, having a fancy to drink a cup of
+    tea, began lighting the fire in the hearth, when, all of a
+    sudden, the egg, which was hidden in the ashes, burst with. the
+    heat, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page150"
+       id="page150"></a>[pg 150]</span> bespattered the frightened
+       ape's face, so that he fled, howling with pain, and crying,
+       "Oh! what an unlucky beast I am!" Maddened with the heat of
+       the burst egg, he tried to go to the back of the house, when
+       the bee darted out of a cupboard, and a piece of seaweed,
+       who had joined the party, coming up at the same time, the
+       ape was surrounded by enemies. In despair, he seized the
+       clothes-rack, and fought valiantly for awhile; but he was no
+       match for so many, and was obliged to run away, with the
+       others in hot pursuit after him. Just as he was making his
+       escape by a back door, however, the piece of seaweed tripped
+       <span class="pagenum"><a name="page151"
+       id="page151"></a>[pg 151]</span> him up, and the
+       rice-mortar, closing with him from behind, made an end of
+       him.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/151.jpg"
+             name="image151"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image151"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/151.jpg"
+             alt="THE APE AND THE CRAB. (2)" /></a> THE APE AND THE
+             CRAB. (2)
+    </div>
+
+    <p>So the crab, having punished his enemy, went home in
+    triumph, and lived ever after on terms of brotherly love with
+    the seaweed and the mortar. Was there ever such a fine piece of
+    fun!</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page152"
+       id="page152"></a>[pg 152]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE PEACHLING</h3>
+
+    <p>Many hundred years ago there lived an honest old wood-cutter
+    and his wife. One fine morning the old man went off to the
+    hills with his billhook, to gather a faggot of sticks, while
+    his wife went down to the river to wash the dirty clothes. When
+    she came to the river, she saw a peach floating down the
+    stream; so she picked it up, and carried it home with her,
+    thinking to give it to her husband to eat when he should come
+    in. The old man soon came down from the hills, and the good
+    wife set the peach before him, when, just as she was inviting
+    him to eat it, the fruit split in two, and a little puling baby
+    was born into the world. So the old couple took the babe, and
+    brought it up as their own; and, because it had been born in a
+    peach, they called it
+    <i>Momotar&ocirc;</i>,<a id="footnotetag53"
+       name="footnotetag53"></a><a href="#footnote53"><sup>53</sup></a>
+       or Little Peachling.</p>
+
+    <p>By degrees Little Peachling grew up to be strong and brave,
+    and at last one day he said to his old
+    foster-parents&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I am going to the ogres' island to carry off the riches
+    that they have stored up there. Pray, then, make me some millet
+    dumplings for my journey."</p>
+
+    <p>So the old folks ground the millet, and made the dumplings
+    for him; and Little Peachling, after taking an affectionate
+    leave of them, cheerfully set out on his travels.</p>
+
+    <p>As he was journeying on, he fell in with an ape, who
+    gibbered at him, and said, "Kia! kia! kia! where are you off
+    to, Little Peachling?"</p>
+
+    <p>"I'm going to the ogres' island, to carry off their
+    treasure," answered Little Peachling.</p>
+
+    <p>"What are you carrying at your girdle?"</p>
+
+    <p>"I'm carrying the very best millet dumplings in all
+    Japan."</p>
+
+    <p>"If you'll give me one, I will go with you," said the
+    ape.</p>
+
+    <p>So Little Peachling gave one of his dumplings to the ape,
+    who received it and followed him. When he had gone a little
+    further, he heard a pheasant calling&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Ken! ken! ken!<a id="footnotetag54"
+       name="footnotetag54"></a><a href="#footnote54"><sup>54</sup></a>
+       where are you off to, Master Peachling?"</p>
+
+    <p>Little Peachling answered as before; and the pheasant,
+    having begged and obtained a millet dumpling, entered his
+    service, and followed him. A little while after this, they met
+    a dog, who
+    cried&mdash;</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page153"
+       id="page153"></a>[pg 153]</span>
+
+    <p>"Bow! wow! wow! whither away, Master Peachling?"</p>
+
+    <p>"I'm going off to the ogres' island, to carry off their
+    treasure."</p>
+
+    <p>"If you will give me one of those nice millet dumplings of
+    yours, I will go with you," said the dog.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/153.jpg"
+             name="image153"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image153"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/153.jpg"
+             alt="LITTLE PEACHLING." /></a> LITTLE PEACHLING.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>"With all my heart," said Little Peachling. So he went on
+    his way, with the ape, the pheasant, and the dog following
+    after him.</p>
+
+    <p>When they got to the ogres' island, the pheasant flew over
+    the castle gate, and the ape clambered over the castle wall,
+    while Little Peachling, leading the dog, forced in the gate,
+    and got into the castle. Then they did battle with the ogres,
+    and put <span class="pagenum"><a name="page154"
+       id="page154"></a>[pg 154]</span> them to flight, and took
+       their king prisoner. So all the ogres did homage to Little
+       Peachling, and brought out the treasures which they had laid
+       up. There were caps and coats that made their wearers
+       invisible, jewels which governed the ebb and flow of the
+       tide, coral, musk, emeralds, amber, and tortoiseshell,
+       besides gold and silver. All these were laid before Little
+       Peachling by the conquered ogres.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/154.jpg"
+             name="image154"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image154"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/154.jpg"
+             alt="LITTLE PEACHLING. (2)" /></a> LITTLE PEACHLING.
+             (2)
+    </div>
+
+    <p>So Little Peachling went home laden with riches, and
+    maintained his foster-parents in peace and plenty for the
+    remainder of their
+    lives.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page155"
+       id="page155"></a>[pg 155]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE FOXES' WEDDING</h3>
+
+    <p>Once upon a time there was a young white fox, whose name was
+    Fukuy&eacute;mon. When he had reached the fitting age, he
+    shaved off his forelock<a id="footnotetag55"
+       name="footnotetag55"></a><a href="#footnote55"><sup>55</sup></a>
+       and began to think of taking to himself a beautiful bride.
+       The old fox, his father, resolved to give up his inheritance
+       to his son,<a id="footnotetag56"
+       name="footnotetag56"></a><a href="#footnote56"><sup>56</sup></a>
+       and retired into private life; so the young fox, in
+       gratitude for this, laboured hard and earnestly to increase
+       his patrimony. Now it happened that in a famous old family
+       of foxes there was a beautiful young lady-fox, with such
+       lovely fur that the fame of her jewel-like charms was spread
+       far and wide. The young white fox, who had heard of this,
+       was bent on making her his wife, and a meeting was arranged
+       between them. There was not a fault to be found on either
+       side; so the preliminaries were settled, and the wedding
+       presents sent from the bridegroom to the bride's house, with
+       congratulatory speeches from the messenger, which were duly
+       acknowledged by the person deputed to receive the gifts; the
+       bearers, of course, received the customary fee in copper
+       cash.</p>
+
+    <p>When the ceremonies had been concluded, an auspicious day
+    was chosen for the bride to go to her husband's house, and she
+    was carried off in solemn procession during a shower of rain,
+    the sun shining all the while.<a id="footnotetag57"
+       name="footnotetag57"></a><a href="#footnote57"><sup>57</sup></a>
+       After the ceremonies of drinking wine had been gone through,
+       the bride changed her dress, and the wedding was concluded,
+       without let or hindrance, amid singing and dancing and
+       merry-making.</p>
+
+    <p>The bride and bridegroom lived lovingly together, and a
+    litter of little foxes were born to them, to the great joy of
+    the old grandsire, who treated the little cubs as tenderly as
+    if they had been butterflies or flowers. "They're the very
+    image of their old grandfather," said he, as proud as possible.
+    "As for medicine, bless them, they're so healthy that they'll
+    never need a copper coin's worth!"</p>
+
+    <p>As soon as they were old enough, they were carried off to
+    the temple of Inari Sama, the patron saint of foxes, and the
+    old grand-parents prayed that they might be delivered from dogs
+    and all the other ills to which fox flesh is heir.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/156.jpg"
+             name="image156"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image156"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/156.jpg"
+             alt="THE FOXES' WEDDING." /></a> THE FOXES' WEDDING.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>In this way the white fox by degrees waxed old and
+    prosperous, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page156"
+       id="page156"></a>[pg 156]</span> and his children, year by
+       year, became more and more numerous around him; so that,
+       happy in his family and his business, every recurring spring
+       brought him fresh cause for joy.
+       <span class="pagenum"><a name="page157"
+       id="page157"></a>[pg 157]</span></p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:50%;">
+        <a href="images/157.jpg"
+             name="image157"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image157"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/157.jpg"
+             alt="THE FOXES' WEDDING. (2)" /></a> THE FOXES'
+             WEDDING. (2)
+    </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page158"
+       id="page158"></a>[pg 158]</span>
+
+    <h2>THE HISTORY OF SAKATA KINTOKI</h2>
+
+    <p>A long time ago there was an officer of the Emperor's
+    body-guard, called Sakata Kurando, a young man who, although he
+    excelled in valour and in the arts of war, was of a gentle and
+    loving disposition. This young officer was deeply enamoured of
+    a fair young lady, called Ya&eacute;giri, who lived at
+    Goj&ocirc;zaka, at Kiy&ocirc;to. Now it came to pass that,
+    having incurred the jealousy of certain other persons, Kurando
+    fell into disgrace with the Court, and became a R&ocirc;nin, so
+    he was no longer able to keep up any communication with his
+    love Ya&eacute;giri; indeed, he became so poor that it was a
+    hard matter for him to live. So he left the place and fled, no
+    one knew whither. As for Ya&eacute;giri, lovesick and lorn, and
+    pining for her lost darling, she escaped from the house where
+    she lived, and wandered hither and thither through the country,
+    seeking everywhere for Kurando.</p>
+
+    <p>Now Kurando, when he left the palace, turned tobacco
+    merchant, and, as he was travelling about hawking his goods, it
+    chanced that he fell in with Ya&eacute;giri; so, having
+    communicated to her his last wishes, he took leave of her and
+    put an end to his life.</p>
+
+    <p>Poor Ya&eacute;giri, having buried her lover, went to the
+    Ashigara Mountain, a distant and lonely spot, where she gave
+    birth to a little boy, who, as soon as he was born, was of such
+    wonderful strength that he walked about and ran playing all
+    over the mountain. A woodcutter, who chanced to see the marvel,
+    was greatly frightened at first, and thought the thing
+    altogether uncanny; but after a while he got used to the child,
+    and became quite fond of him, and called him "Little Wonder,"
+    and gave his mother the name of the "Old Woman of the
+    Mountain."</p>
+
+    <p>One day, as "Little Wonder" was playing about, he saw that
+    on the top of a high cedar-tree there was a tengu's
+    nest;<a id="footnotetag58"
+       name="footnotetag58"></a><a href="#footnote58"><sup>58</sup></a>
+       so he began shaking the tree with all his might, until at
+       last the tengu's nest came tumbling down.</p>
+
+    <p>As luck would have it, the famous hero, Minamoto no
+    Yorimitsu, with his retainers, Watanab&eacute; Isuna, Usui
+    Sadamitsu, and several others, had come to the mountain to
+    hunt, and seeing the feat which "Little Wonder" had performed,
+    came to the conclusion that he could be no ordinary child.
+    Minamoto no Yorimitsu ordered Watanab&eacute; Isuna to find out
+    the child's name and parentage. The Old Woman of the Mountain,
+    on being <span class="pagenum"><a name="page159"
+       id="page159"></a>[pg 159]</span> asked about him, answered
+       that she was the wife of Kurando, and that "Little Wonder"
+       was the child of their marriage. And she proceeded to relate
+       all the adventures which had befallen her.</p>
+
+    <p>When Yorimitsu heard her story, he said, "Certainly this
+    child does not belie his lineage. Give the brat to me, and I
+    will make him my retainer." The Old Woman of the Mountain
+    gladly consented, and gave "Little Wonder" to Yorimitsu; but
+    she herself remained in her mountain home. So "Little Wonder"
+    went off with the hero Yorimitsu, who named him Sakata Kintoki;
+    and in aftertimes he became famous and illustrious as a
+    warrior, and his deeds are recited to this day. He is the
+    favourite hero of little children, who carry his portrait in
+    their bosom, and wish that they could emulate his bravery and
+    strength.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page160"
+       id="page160"></a>[pg 160]</span>
+
+    <h2>THE ELVES AND THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR</h2>
+
+    <p>Once upon a time there was a certain man, who, being
+    overtaken by darkness among the mountains, was driven to seek
+    shelter in the trunk of a hollow tree. In the middle of the
+    night, a large company of elves assembled at the place; and the
+    man, peeping out from his hiding-place, was frightened out of
+    his wits. After a while, however, the elves began to feast and
+    drink wine, and to amuse themselves by singing and dancing,
+    until at last the man, caught by the infection of the fun,
+    forgot all about his fright, and crept out of his hollow tree
+    to join in the revels. When the day was about to dawn, the
+    elves said to the man, "You're a very jolly companion, and must
+    come out and have a dance with us again. You must make us a
+    promise, and keep it." So the elves, thinking to bind the man
+    over to return, took a large wen that grew on his forehead and
+    kept it in pawn; upon this they all left the place, and went
+    home. The man walked off to his own house in high glee at
+    having passed a jovial night, and got rid of his wen into the
+    bargain. So he told the story to all his friends, who
+    congratulated him warmly on being cured of his wen. But there
+    was a neighbour of his who was also troubled with a wen of long
+    standing, and, when he heard of his friend's luck, he was
+    smitten with envy, and went off to hunt for the hollow tree, in
+    which, when he had found it, he passed the night.</p>
+
+    <p>Towards midnight the elves came, as he had expected, and
+    began feasting and drinking, with songs and dances as before.
+    As soon as he saw this, he came out of his hollow tree, and
+    began dancing and singing as his neighbour had done. The elves,
+    mistaking him for their former boon-companion, were delighted
+    to see him, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"You're a good fellow to recollect your promise, and we'll
+    give you back your pledge;" so one of the elves, pulling the
+    pawned wen out of his pocket, stuck it on to the man's
+    forehead, on the top of the other wen which he already bad. So
+    the envious neighbour went home weeping, with two wens instead
+    of one. This is a good lesson to people who cannot see the good
+    luck of others, without coveting it for
+    themselves.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page161"
+       id="page161"></a>[pg 161]</span>
+
+    <h2>THE GHOST OF SAKURA</h2>
+
+    <p>The misfortunes and death of the farmer S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;,
+    which, although the preternatural appearances by which they are
+    said to have been followed may raise a smile, are matters of
+    historic notoriety with which every Japanese is familiar,
+    furnish a forcible illustration of the relations which exist
+    between the tenant and the lord of the soil, and of the
+    boundless power for good or for evil exercised by the latter.
+    It is rather remarkable that in a country where the
+    peasant&mdash;placed as he is next to the soldier, and before
+    the artisan and merchant, in the four classes into which the
+    people are divided&mdash;enjoys no small consideration, and
+    where agriculture is protected by law from the inroads of wild
+    vegetation, even to the lopping of overshadowing branches and
+    the cutting down of hedgerow timber, the lord of the manor
+    should be left practically without control in his dealings with
+    his people.</p>
+
+    <p>The land-tax, or rather the yearly rent paid by the tenant,
+    is usually assessed at forty per cent. of the produce; but
+    there is no principle clearly defining it, and frequently the
+    landowner and the cultivator divide the proceeds of the harvest
+    in equal shapes. Rice land is divided into three classes; and,
+    according to these classes, it is computed that one <i>tan</i>
+    (1,800 square feet) of the best land should yield to the owner
+    a revenue of five bags of rice per annum; each of these bags
+    holds four t&ocirc; (a t&ocirc; is rather less than half an
+    imperial bushel), and is worth at present (1868) three riyos,
+    or about sixteen shillings; land of the middle class should
+    yield a revenue of three or four bags. The rent is paid either
+    in rice or in money, according to the actual price of the
+    grain, which varies considerably. It is due in the eleventh
+    month of the year, when the crops have all been gathered, and
+    their market value fixed.</p>
+
+    <p>The rent of land bearing crops other than rice, such as
+    cotton, beans, roots, and so forth, is payable in money during
+    the twelfth month. The choice of the nature of the crops to be
+    grown appears to be left to the tenant.</p>
+
+    <p>The Japanese landlord, when pressed by poverty, does not
+    confine himself to the raising of his legitimate rents: he can
+    always enforce from his needy tenantry the advancement of a
+    year's rent, or the loan of so much money as may be required to
+    meet his immediate necessities. Should the lord be just, the
+    peasant is repaid by instalments, with interest, extending over
+    ten or twenty years. But it too often happens that unjust and
+    merciless lords <span class="pagenum"><a name="page162"
+       id="page162"></a>[pg 162]</span> do not repay such loans,
+       but, on the contrary, press for further advances. Then it is
+       that the farmers, dressed in their grass rain-coats, and
+       carrying sickles and bamboo poles in their hands, assemble
+       before the gate of their lord's palace at the capital, and
+       represent their grievances, imploring the intercession of
+       the retainers, and even of the womankind who may chance to
+       go forth. Sometimes they pay for their temerity by their
+       lives; but, at any rate, they have the satisfaction of
+       bringing shame upon their persecutor, in the eyes of his
+       neighbours and of the populace.</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/162.jpg"
+             name="image162"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image162"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/162.jpg"
+             alt="THE DEPUTATION OF PEASANTS AT THEIR LORD'S GATE." />
+             </a> THE DEPUTATION OF PEASANTS AT THEIR LORD'S GATE.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>The official reports of recent travels in the interior of
+    Japan have fully proved the hard lot with which the peasantry
+    had to put up during the government of the Tycoons, and
+    especially under the Hatamotos, the created nobility of the
+    dynasty. In one province, where the village mayors appear to
+    have seconded the extortions of their lord, they have had to
+    flee before an exasperated population, who, taking advantage of
+    the revolution, laid waste and pillaged their houses, loudly
+    praying for a new and just assessment of the land; while,
+    throughout the country, the farmers have hailed with
+    acclamations the resumption of the sovereign power by the
+    Mikado, and the abolition of the petty nobility who exalted
+    themselves upon the misery of their dependants. Warming
+    themselves in the sunshine of the court at Yedo,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page163"
+       id="page163"></a>[pg 163]</span> the Hatamotos waxed fat and
+       held high revel, and little cared they who groaned or who
+       starved. Money must be found, and it was found.</p>
+
+    <p>It is necessary here to add a word respecting the position
+    of the village mayors, who play so important a part in the
+    tale.</p>
+
+    <p>The peasants of Japan are ruled by three classes of
+    officials: the Nanushi, or mayor; the Kumigashira, or chiefs of
+    companies; and the Hiyakush&ocirc;dai, or farmers'
+    representatives. The village, which is governed by the Nanushi,
+    or mayor, is divided into companies, which, consisting of five
+    families each, are directed by a Kumigashira; these companies,
+    again, are subdivided into groups of five men each, who choose
+    one of their number to represent them in case of their having
+    any petition to present, or any affairs to settle with their
+    superiors. This functionary is the Hiyakush&ocirc;dai. The
+    mayor, the chief of the company, and the representative keep
+    registers of the families and people under their control, and
+    are responsible for their good and orderly behaviour. They pay
+    taxes like the other farmers, but receive a salary, the amount
+    of which depends upon the size and wealth of the village. Five
+    per cent. of the yearly land tax forms the salary of the mayor,
+    and the other officials each receive five per cent. of the tax
+    paid by the little bodies over which they respectively
+    rule.</p>
+
+    <p>The average amount of land for one family to cultivate is
+    about one ch&ocirc;, or 9,000 square yards; but there are
+    farmers who have inherited as much as five or even six
+    ch&ocirc; from their ancestors. There is also a class of
+    farmers called, from their poverty, "water-drinking farmers,"
+    who have no land of their own, but hire that of those who have
+    more than they can keep in their own hands. The rent so paid
+    varies; but good rice land will bring in as high a rent as
+    from &pound;1 18s. to &pound;2 6s. per tan (1,800 square
+    feet).</p>
+
+    <p>Farm labourers are paid from six or seven riyos a year to as
+    much as thirty riyos (the riyo being worth about 5s. 4d.);
+    besides this, they are clothed and fed, not daintily indeed,
+    but amply. The rice which they cultivate is to them an almost
+    unknown luxury: millet is their staple food, and on high days
+    and holidays they receive messes of barley or buckwheat. Where
+    the mulberry-tree is grown, and the silkworm is "educated,"
+    there the labourer receives the highest wage.</p>
+
+    <p>The rice crop on good land should yield twelve and a half
+    fold, and on ordinary land from six to seven fold only.
+    Ordinary arable land is only half as valuable as rice land,
+    which cannot be purchased for less than forty riyos per tan of
+    1,800 square feet. Common hill or wood land is cheaper, again,
+    than arable land; but orchards and groves of the Pawlonia are
+    worth from fifty to sixty riyos per tan.</p>
+
+    <p>With regard to the punishment of crucifixion, by which
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; was put to death, it is inflicted for the
+    following offences:&mdash;parricide (including the murder or
+    striking of parents, uncles,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page164"
+       id="page164"></a>[pg 164]</span> aunts, elder brothers,
+       masters, or teachers) coining counterfeit money, and passing
+       the barriers of the Tycoon's territory without a
+       permit.<a id="footnotetag59"
+       name="footnotetag59"></a><a href="#footnote59"><sup>59</sup></a>
+       The criminal is attached to an upright post with two cross
+       bars, to which his arms and feet are fastened by ropes. He
+       is then transfixed with spears by men belonging to the Eta
+       or Pariah class. I once passed the execution-ground near
+       Yedo, when a body was attached to the cross. The dead man
+       had murdered his employer, and, having been condemned to
+       death by crucifixion, had died in prison before the sentence
+       could be carried out. He was accordingly packed, in a
+       squatting position, in a huge red earthenware jar, which,
+       having been tightly filled up with. salt, was hermetically
+       sealed. On the anniversary of the commission of the crime,
+       the jar was carried down to the execution-ground and broken,
+       and the body was taken out and tied to the cross, the joints
+       of the knees and arms having been cut, to allow of the
+       extension of the stiffened and shrunken limbs; it was then
+       transfixed with spears, and allowed to remain exposed for
+       three days. An open grave, the upturned soil of which seemed
+       almost entirely composed of dead men's remains, waited to
+       receive the dishonoured corpse, over which three or four
+       Etas, squalid and degraded beings, were mounting guard,
+       smoking their pipes by a scanty charcoal fire, and bandying
+       obscene jests. It was a hideous and ghastly warning, had any
+       cared to read the lesson; but the passers-by on the high
+       road took little or no notice of the sight, and a group of
+       chubby and happy children were playing not ten yards from
+       the dead body, as if no strange or uncanny thing were near
+       them.</p>
+
+    <h3>THE GHOST OF SAKURA.<a id="footnotetag60"
+       name="footnotetag60"></a><a href="#footnote60"><sup>60</sup></a></h3>
+
+       <p>How true is the principle laid down by Confucius, that the
+       benevolence of princes is reflected in their country, while
+       their wickedness causes sedition and confusion!</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/165.jpg"
+             name="image165"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image165"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/165.jpg"
+             alt="THE GHOST OF SAKURA." /></a> THE GHOST OF SAKURA.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>In the province of Shim&ocirc;sa, and the district of
+    S&ocirc;ma, Hotta Kaga no Kami was lord of the castle of
+    Sakura, and chief of a family which had for generations
+    produced famous warriors. When Kaga no Kami, who had served in
+    the Gor&ocirc;jiu, the cabinet of the Shogun, died at the
+    castle of Sakura, his eldest son K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute; Masanobu inherited his estates and honours, and was
+    appointed to a seat in the Gor&ocirc;jiu; but he was a
+    different man from the lords who had preceded him. He treated
+    the farmers and peasants unjustly, imposing additional and
+    grievous taxes, so that the tenants on his estates were driven
+    to the last extremity of poverty; and although year after year,
+    and month <span class="pagenum"><a name="page165"
+       id="page165"></a>[pg 165]</span>
+       <span class="pagenum"><a name="page166"
+       id="page166"></a>[pg 166]</span> after month, they prayed
+       for mercy, and remonstrated against this injustice, no heed
+       was paid to them, and the people throughout the villages
+       were reduced to the utmost distress. Accordingly, the chiefs
+       of the one hundred and thirty-six villages, producing a
+       total revenue of 40,000 kokus of rice, assembled together in
+       council and determined unanimously to present a petition to
+       the Government, sealed with their seals, stating that their
+       repeated remonstrances had been taken no notice of by their
+       local authorities. Then they assembled in numbers before the
+       house of one of the councillors of their lord, named
+       Ik&eacute;ura Kazuy&eacute;, in order to show the petition
+       to him first, but even then no notice was taken of them; so
+       they returned home, and resolved, after consulting together,
+       to proceed to their lord's yashiki, or palace, at Yedo, on
+       the seventh day of the tenth month. It was determined, with
+       one accord, that one hundred and forty-three village chiefs
+       should go to Yedo; and the chief of the village of Iwahashi,
+       one S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, a man forty-eight years of age,
+       distinguished for his ability and judgment, ruling a
+       district which produced a thousand kokus, stepped forward,
+       and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"This is by no means an easy matter, my masters. It
+    certainly is of great importance that we should forward our
+    complaint to our lord's palace at Yedo; but what are your
+    plans? Have you any fixed intentions?"</p>
+
+    <p>"It is, indeed, a most important matter," rejoined the
+    others; but they had nothing further to say. Then
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; went on to say&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"We have appealed to the public office of our province, but
+    without avail; we have petitioned the Prince's councillors,
+    also in vain. I know that all that remains for us is to lay our
+    case before our lord's palace at Yedo; and if we go there, it
+    is equally certain that we shall not be listened to&mdash;on
+    the contrary, we shall be cast into prison. If we are not
+    attended to here, in our own province, how much less will the
+    officials at Yedo care for us. We might hand our petition into
+    the litter of one of the Gor&ocirc;jiu, in the public streets;
+    but, even in that case, as our lord is a member of the
+    Gor&ocirc;jiu, none of his peers would care to examine into the
+    rights and wrongs of our complaint, for fear of offending him,
+    and the man who presented the petition in so desperate a manner
+    would lose his life on a bootless errand. If you have made up
+    your minds to this, and are determined, at all hazards, to
+    start, then go to Yedo by all means, and bid a long farewell to
+    parents, children, wives, and relations. This is my
+    opinion."</p>
+
+    <p>The others all agreeing with what S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; said,
+    they determined that, come what might, they would go to Yedo;
+    and they settled to assemble at the village of Funabashi on the
+    thirteenth day of the eleventh month.</p>
+
+    <p>On the appointed day all the village officers met at the
+    place agreed upon,&mdash;S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, the chief of the
+    village of Iwahashi, alone being missing; and as on the
+    following day S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; had not yet arrived, they
+    deputed one of their number, named Rokurobei, to
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page167"
+       id="page167"></a>[pg 167]</span> inquire the reason.
+       Rokurobei arrived at S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;'s house towards four
+       in the afternoon, and found him warming himself quietly over
+       his charcoal brazier, as if nothing were the matter. The
+       messenger, seeing this, said rather testily&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"The chiefs of the villages are all assembled at Funabashi
+    according to covenant, and as you, Master S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;,
+    have not arrived, I have come to inquire whether it is sickness
+    or some other cause that prevents you."</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed," replied S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, "I am sorry that you
+    should have had so much trouble. My intention was to have set
+    out yesterday; but I was taken with a cholic, with which I am
+    often troubled, and, as you may see, I am taking care of
+    myself; so for a day or two I shall not be able to start. Pray
+    be so good as to let the others know this."</p>
+
+    <p>Rokurobei, seeing that there was no help for it, went back
+    to the village of Funabashi and communicated to the others what
+    had occurred. They were all indignant at what they looked upon
+    as the cowardly defection of a man who had spoken so fairly,
+    but resolved that the conduct of one man should not influence
+    the rest, and talked themselves into the belief that the affair
+    which they had in hand would be easily put through; so they
+    agreed with one accord to start and present the petition, and,
+    having arrived at Yedo, put up in the street called
+    Bakuroch&ocirc;. But although they tried to forward their
+    complaint to the various officers of their lord, no one would
+    listen to them; the doors were all shut in their faces, and
+    they had to go back to their inn, crestfallen and without
+    success.</p>
+
+    <p>On the following day, being the 18th of the month, they all
+    met together at a tea-house in an avenue, in front of a shrine
+    of Kwannon Sama;<a id="footnotetag61"
+       name="footnotetag61"></a><a href="#footnote61"><sup>61</sup></a>
+       and having held a consultation, they determined that, as
+       they could hit upon no good expedient, they would again send
+       for S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; to see whether he could devise no
+       plan. Accordingly, on the 19th, Rokurobei and one
+       Jiuy&eacute;mon started for the village of Iwahashi at noon,
+       and arrived the same evening.</p>
+
+    <p>Now the village chief S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, who had made up
+    his mind that the presentation of this memorial was not a
+    matter to be lightly treated, summoned his wife and children
+    and his relations, and said to them&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I am about to undertake a journey to Yedo, for the
+    following reasons:&mdash;Our present lord of the soil has
+    increased the land-tax, in rice and the other imposts, more
+    than tenfold, so that pen and paper would fail to convey an
+    idea of the poverty to which the people are reduced, and the
+    peasants are undergoing the tortures of hell upon earth. Seeing
+    this, the chiefs of the various villages have presented
+    petitions, but with what result is doubtful. My earnest desire,
+    therefore, is to devise some means of escape from this cruel
+    persecution. If my ambitious scheme does not succeed, then
+    shall I return home no more; and even
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page168"
+       id="page168"></a>[pg 168]</span> should I gain my end, it is
+       hard to say how I may be treated by those in power. Let us
+       drink a cup of wine together, for it may be that you shall
+       see my face no more. I give my life to allay the misery of
+       the people of this estate. If I die, mourn not over my fate;
+       weep not for me."</p>
+
+    <p>Having spoken thus, he addressed his wife and his four
+    children, instructing them carefully as to what he desired to
+    be done after his death, and minutely stating every wish of his
+    heart. Then, having drunk a parting cup with them, he
+    cheerfully took leave of all present, and went to a tea-house
+    in the neighbouring village of Funabashi, where the two
+    messengers, Rokurobei and Jiuy&eacute;mon, were anxiously
+    awaiting his arrival, in order that they might recount to him
+    all that had taken place at Yedo.</p>
+
+    <p>"In short," said they, "it appears to us that we have failed
+    completely; and we have come to meet you in order to hear what
+    you propose. If you have any plan to suggest, we would fain be
+    made acquainted with it."</p>
+
+    <p>"We have tried the officers of the district," replied
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, "and we have tried my lord's palace at
+    Yedo. However often we might assemble before my lord's gate, no
+    heed would be given to us. There is nothing left for us but to
+    appeal to the Shogun."</p>
+
+    <p>So they sat talking over their plans until the night was far
+    advanced, and then they went to rest. The winter night was
+    long; but when the cawing of the crows was about to announce
+    the morning, the three friends started on their journey for the
+    tea-house at Asakusa, at which, upon their arrival, they found
+    the other village elders already assembled.</p>
+
+    <p>"Welcome, Master S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;," said they. "How is it
+    that you have come so late? We have petitioned all the officers
+    to no purpose, and we have broken our bones in vain. We are at
+    our wits' end, and can think of no other scheme. If there is
+    any plan which seems good to you, we pray you to act upon
+    it."</p>
+
+    <p>"Sirs," replied S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, speaking very quietly,
+    "although we have met with no better success here than in our
+    own place, there is no use in grieving. In a day or two the
+    Gor&ocirc;jiu will be going to the castle; we must wait for
+    this opportunity, and following one of the litters, thrust in
+    our memorial. This is my opinion: what think you of it, my
+    masters?"</p>
+
+    <p>One and all, the assembled elders were agreed as to the
+    excellence of this advice; and having decided to act upon it,
+    they returned to their inn.</p>
+
+    <p>Then S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; held a secret consultation with
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon, Hanz&ocirc;, Rokurobei, Chinz&ocirc;, and
+    Kinshir&ocirc;, five of the elders, and, with their assistance,
+    drew up the memorial; and having heard that on the 26th of the
+    month, when the Gor&ocirc;jiu should go to the castle,
+    Kuz&eacute; Yamato no Kami would proceed to a palace under the
+    western enclosure of the castle, they kept watch in a place
+    hard by. As soon as they saw the litter of the Gor&ocirc;jiu
+    approach, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page169"
+       id="page169"></a>[pg 169]</span> they drew near to it, and,
+       having humbly stated their grievances, handed in the
+       petition; and as it was accepted, the six elders were
+       greatly elated, and doubted not that their hearts' desire
+       would be attained; so they went off to a tea-house at
+       Riy&ocirc;goku, and Jiuy&eacute;mon said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"We may congratulate ourselves on our success. We have
+    handed in our petition to the Gor&ocirc;jiu, and now we may set
+    our minds at rest; before many days have passed, we shall hear
+    good news from the rulers. To Master S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; is due
+    great praise for his exertions."</p>
+
+    <p>S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, stepping forward, answered, "Although we
+    have presented our memorial to the Gor&ocirc;jiu, the matter
+    will not be so quickly decided; it is therefore useless that so
+    many of us should remain here: let eleven men stay with me, and
+    let the rest return home to their several villages. If we who
+    remain are accused of conspiracy and beheaded, let the others
+    agree to reclaim and bury our corpses. As for the expenses
+    which we shall incur until our suit is concluded, let that be
+    according to our original covenant. For the sake of the hundred
+    and thirty-six villages we will lay down our lives, if needs
+    must, and submit to the disgrace of having our heads exposed as
+    those of common malefactors."</p>
+
+    <p>Then they had a parting feast together, and, after a sad
+    leave-taking, the main body of the elders went home to their
+    own country; while the others, wending their way to their
+    quarters waited patiently to be summoned to the Supreme Court.
+    On the 2d day of the 12th month, S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, having
+    received a summons from the residence of the Gor&ocirc;jiu
+    Kuz&eacute; Yamato no Kami, proceeded to obey it, and was
+    ushered to the porch of the house, where two councillors, named
+    Aijima Gidaiyu and Yamaji Y&ocirc;ri, met him, and
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Some days since you had the audacity to thrust a memorial
+    into the litter of our lord Yamato no Kami. By an extraordinary
+    exercise of clemency, he is willing to pardon this heinous
+    offence; but should you ever again endeavour to force your
+    petitions; upon him, you will be held guilty of riotous
+    conduct;" and with this they gave back the memorial.</p>
+
+    <p>"I humbly admit the justice of his lordship's censure. But
+    oh! my lords, this is no hasty nor ill-considered action. Year
+    after year, affliction upon affliction has been heaped upon us,
+    until at last the people are without even the necessaries of
+    life; and we, seeing no end to the evil, have humbly presented
+    this petition. I pray your lordships of your great mercy to
+    consider our case" and deign to receive our memorial. Vouchsafe
+    to take some measures that the people may live, and our
+    gratitude for your great kindness will know no bounds."</p>
+
+    <p>"Your request is a just one," replied the two councillors
+    after hearing what he said; "but your memorial cannot be
+    received: so you must even take it back."</p>
+
+    <p>With this they gave back the document, and wrote down the
+    names of S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and six of the elders who had
+    accompanied him. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page170"
+       id="page170"></a>[pg 170]</span> There was no help for it:
+       they must take back their petition, and return to their inn.
+       The seven men, dispirited and sorrowful, sat with folded
+       arms considering what was best to be done, what plan should
+       be devised, until at last, when they were at their wits'
+       end, S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; said, in a whisper&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"So our petition, which we gave in after so much pains, has
+    been returned after all! With what f ace can we return to our
+    villages after such a disgrace? I, for one, do not propose to
+    waste my labour for nothing; accordingly, I shall bide my time
+    until some day, when the Shogun shall go forth from the castle,
+    and, lying in wait by the roadside, I shall make known our
+    grievances to him, who is lord over our lord. This is our last
+    chance."</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:75%;">
+        <a href="images/170.jpg"
+             name="image170"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image170"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/170.jpg"
+             alt="S&Ocirc;GOR&Ocirc; THRUSTING THE PETITION INTO THE SHOGUN'S LITTER." />
+        </a> S&Ocirc;GOR&Ocirc; THRUSTING THE PETITION INTO THE
+        SHOGUN'S LITTER.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>The others all applauded this speech, and, having with one
+    accord hardened their hearts, waited for their opportunity.</p>
+
+    <p>Now it so happened that, on the 20th day of the 12th month,
+    the then Shogun, Prince Iy&eacute;mitsu, was pleased to worship
+    at the tombs of his ancestors at
+    Uy&eacute;no;<a id="footnotetag62"
+       name="footnotetag62"></a><a href="#footnote62"><sup>62</sup></a>
+       and S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and the other elders, hearing this,
+       looked upon it as a special favour from the
+       <span class="pagenum"><a name="page171"
+       id="page171"></a>[pg 171]</span> gods, and felt certain that
+       this time they would not fail. So they drew up a fresh
+       memorial, and at the appointed time S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; hid
+       himself under the Sammay&eacute; Bridge, in front of the
+       black gate at Uy&eacute;no. When Prince Iy&eacute;mitsu
+       passed in his litter, S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; clambered up from
+       under the bridge, to the great surprise of the Shogun's
+       attendants, who called out, "Push the fellow on one side;"
+       but, profiting by the confusion, S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, raising
+       his voice and crying, "I wish to humbly present a petition
+       to his Highness in person," thrust forward his memorial,
+       which he had tied on to the end of a bamboo stick six feet
+       long, and tried to put it into the litter; and although
+       there were cries to arrest him, and he was buffeted by the
+       escort, he crawled up to the side of the litter, and the
+       Shogun accepted the document. But S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; was
+       arrested by the escort, and thrown into prison. As for the
+       memorial, his Highness ordered that it should be handed in
+       to the Gor&ocirc;jiu Hotta K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+       Suk&eacute;, the lord of the petitioners.</p>
+       <p>When Hotta K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; had
+       returned home and read the memorial, he summoned his
+       councillor, Kojima Shikibu, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"The officials of my estate are mere bunglers. When the
+    peasants assembled and presented a petition, they refused to
+    receive it, and have thus brought this trouble upon me. Their
+    folly has been beyond belief; however, it cannot be helped. We
+    must remit all the new taxes, and you must inquire how much was
+    paid to the former lord of the castle. As for this
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, he is not the only one who is at the bottom
+    of the conspiracy; however, as this heinous offence of his in
+    going out to lie in wait for the Shogun's procession is
+    unpardonable, we must manage to get him given up to us by the
+    Government, and, as an example for the rest of my people, he
+    shall be crucified&mdash;he and his wife and his children; and,
+    after his death, all that he possesses shall be confiscated.
+    The other six men shall be banished; and that will
+    suffice."</p>
+
+    <p>"My lord," replied Shikibu, prostrating himself, "your
+    lordship's intentions are just. S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, indeed,
+    deserves any punishment for his outrageous crime. But I humbly
+    venture to submit that his wife and children cannot be said to
+    be guilty in the same degree: I implore your lordship
+    mercifully to be pleased to absolve them from so severe a
+    punishment."</p>
+
+    <p>"Where the sin of the father is great, the wife and children
+    cannot be spared," replied K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;;
+    and his councillor, seeing that his heart was hardened, was
+    forced to obey his orders without further remonstrance.</p>
+
+    <p>So K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, having obtained that
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; should be given up to him by the Government,
+    caused him to be brought to his estate of Sakura as a criminal,
+    in a litter covered with nets, and confined him in prison. When
+    his case had been inquired into, a decree was issued by the
+    Lord K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; that he should be
+    punished for a heinous crime; and on the 9th day of the 2d
+    month of the second year of the period styled Sh&ocirc;h&ocirc;
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page172"
+       id="page172"></a>[pg 172]</span> (A.D. 1644) he was
+       condemned to be crucified. Accordingly S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;,
+       his wife and children, and the elders of the hundred and
+       thirty-six villages were brought before the Court-house of
+       Sakura, in which were assembled forty-five chief officers.
+       The elders were then told that, yielding to their petition,
+       their lord was graciously pleased to order that the
+       oppressive taxes should be remitted, and that the dues
+       levied should not exceed those of the olden time. As for
+       S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and his wife, the following sentence was
+       passed upon them:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Whereas you have set yourself up as the head of the
+    villagers; whereas, secondly, you have dared to make light of
+    the Government by petitioning his Highness the Shogun directly,
+    thereby offering an insult to your lord; and whereas, thirdly,
+    you have presented a memorial to the Gor&ocirc;jiu; and,
+    whereas, fourthly, you were privy to a conspiracy: for these
+    four heinous crimes you are sentenced to death by crucifixion.
+    Your wife is sentenced to die in like manner; and your children
+    will be decapitated.</p>
+
+    <p>"This sentence is passed upon the following
+    persons:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, chief of the village of Iwahashi, aged
+    48.</p>
+
+    <p>"His wife, Man, aged 38.</p>
+
+    <p>"His son, Gennosuk&eacute;, aged 13.</p>
+
+    <p>"His son, S&ocirc;hei, aged 10.</p>
+
+    <p>"His son, Kihachi, aged 7."</p>
+
+    <p>The eldest daughter of S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, named Hatsu,
+    nineteen years of age, was married to a man named
+    Jiuy&eacute;mon, in the village of Hakamura, in Shitachi,
+    beyond the river, in the territory of Matsudaira Matsu no Kami
+    (the Prince of Sendai). His second daughter, whose name was
+    Saki, sixteen years of age, was married to one
+    T&ocirc;jiur&ocirc;, chief of a village on the property of my
+    lord Nait&ocirc; Geki. No punishment was decreed against these
+    two women.</p>
+
+    <p>The six elders who had accompanied S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; were
+    told that although by good rights they had merited death, yet
+    by the special clemency of their lord their lives would be
+    spared, but that they were condemned to banishment. Their wives
+    and children would not be attainted, and their property would
+    be spared. The six men were banished to Oshima, in the province
+    of Idzu.</p>
+
+    <p>S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; heard his sentence with pure courage.</p>
+
+    <p>The six men were banished; but three of them lived to be
+    pardoned on the occasion of the death of the Shogun, Prince
+    Genyuin,<a id="footnotetag63"
+       name="footnotetag63"></a><a href="#footnote63"><sup>63</sup></a>
+       and returned to their country.</p>
+
+    <p>According to the above decision, the taxes were remitted;
+    and men and women, young and old, rejoiced over the advantage
+    that had been gained for them by S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and by the
+    six elders, and there was not one that did not mourn for their
+    fate.</p>
+
+    <p>When the officers of the several villages left the
+    Court-house, one Zembei, the chief of the village of Sakato,
+    told the others that he had some important subjects to speak to
+    them upon, and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page173"
+       id="page173"></a>[pg 173]</span> begged them to meet him in
+       the temple called Fukush&ocirc;in. Every man having
+       consented, and the hundred and thirty-six men having
+       assembled at the temple, Zembei addressed them as
+       follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"The success of our petition, in obtaining the reduction of
+    our taxes to the same amount as was levied by our former lord,
+    is owing to Master S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, who has thus thrown away
+    his life for us. He and his wife and children are now to suffer
+    as criminals for the sake of the one hundred and thirty-six
+    villages. That such a thing should take place before our very
+    eyes seems to me not to be borne. What say you, my
+    masters?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Ay! ay! what you say is just from top to bottom," replied
+    the others. Then Hanzay&eacute;mon, the elder of the village of
+    Katsuta, stepped forward and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"As Master Zembei has just said, S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; is
+    condemned to die for a matter in which all the village elders
+    are concerned to a man. We cannot look on unconcerned. Full
+    well I know that it is useless our pleading for
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;; but we may, at least, petition that the
+    lives of his wife and children may be spared."</p>
+
+    <p>The assembled elders having all applauded this speech, they
+    determined to draw up a memorial; and they resolved, should
+    their petition not be accepted by the local authorities, to
+    present it at their lord's palace in Yedo, and, should that
+    fail, to appeal to the Government. Accordingly, before noon on
+    the following day, they all affixed their seals to the
+    memorial, which four of them, including Zembei and
+    Hanzay&eacute;mon, composed, as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"With deep fear we humbly venture to present the following
+    petition, which the elders of the one hundred and thirty-six
+    villages of this estate have sealed with their seals. In
+    consequence of the humble petition which we lately offered up,
+    the taxes have graciously been reduced to the rates levied by
+    the former lord of the estate, and new laws have been
+    vouchsafed to us. With reverence and joy the peasants, great
+    and small, have gratefully acknowledged these favours. With
+    regard to S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, the elder of the village of
+    Iwahashi, who ventured to petition his highness the Shogun in
+    person, thus being guilty of a heinous crime, he has been
+    sentenced to death in the castle-town. With fear and trembling
+    we recognize the justice of his sentence. But in the matter of
+    his wife and children, she is but a woman, and they are so
+    young and innocent that they cannot distinguish the east from
+    the west: we pray that in your great clemency you will remit
+    their sin, and give them up to the representatives of the one
+    hundred and thirty-six villages, for which we shall be ever
+    grateful. We, the elders of the villages, know not to what
+    extent we may be transgressing in presenting this memorial. We
+    were all guilty of affixing our seals to the former petition;
+    but S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, who was chief of a large district,
+    producing a thousand kokus of revenue, and was therefore a man
+    of experience, acted for the others; and we grieve that he
+    alone should suffer <span class="pagenum"><a name="page174"
+       id="page174"></a>[pg 174]</span> for all. Yet in his case we
+       reverently admit that there can be no reprieve. For his wife
+       and children, however, we humbly implore your gracious mercy
+       and consideration.</p>
+
+    <p>"Signed by the elders of the villages of the estate, the 2d
+    year of Sh&ocirc;h&ocirc;, and the 2d month."</p>
+
+    <p>Having drawn up this memorial, the hundred and thirty-six
+    elders, with Zembei at their head, proceeded to the Court-house
+    to present the petition, and found the various officers seated
+    in solemn conclave. Then the clerk took the petition, and,
+    having opened it, read it aloud; and the councillor,
+    Ik&eacute;ura Kazuy&eacute;, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"The petition which you have addressed to us is worthy of
+    all praise. But you must know that this is a matter which is no
+    longer within our control. The affair has been reported to the
+    Government; and although the priests of my lord's ancestral
+    temple have interceded for S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, my lord is so
+    angry that he will not listen even to them, saying that, had he
+    not been one of the Gor&ocirc;jiu, he would have been in danger
+    of being ruined by this man: his high station alone saved him.
+    My lord spoke so severely that the priests themselves dare not
+    recur to the subject. You see, therefore, that it will be no
+    use your attempting to take any steps in the matter, for most
+    certainly your petition will not be received. You had better,
+    then, think no more about it." And with these words he gave
+    back the memorial.</p>
+
+    <p>Zembei and the elders, seeing, to their infinite sorrow,
+    that their mission was fruitless, left the Court-house, and
+    most sorrowfully took counsel together, grinding their teeth in
+    their disappointment when they thought over what the councillor
+    had said as to the futility of their attempt. Out of grief for
+    this, Zembei, with Hanzay&eacute;mon and Heijiur&ocirc;, on the
+    11th day of the 2d month (the day on which S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;
+    and his wife and children suffered), left Ewaradai, the place
+    of execution, and went to the temple Zenk&ocirc;ji, in the
+    province of Shinshiu, and from thence they ascended Mount
+    K&ocirc;ya in Kishiu, and, on the 1st day of the 8th month,
+    shaved their heads and became priests; Zembei changed his name
+    to Kakushin, and Hanzay&eacute;mon changed his to Zensh&ocirc;:
+    as for Heijiur&ocirc;, he fell sick at the end of the 7th
+    month, and on the 11th day of the 8th month died, being
+    forty-seven years old that year. These three men, who had loved
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; as the fishes love water, were true to him
+    to the last. Heijiur&ocirc; was buried on Mount K&ocirc;ya.
+    Kakushin wandered through the country as a priest, praying for
+    the entry of S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and his children into the
+    perfection of paradise; and, after visiting all the shrines and
+    temples, came back at last to his own province of
+    Shim&ocirc;sa, and took up his abode at the temple Riukakuji,
+    in the village of Kano, and in the district of Imban, praying
+    and making offerings on behalf of the souls of
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, his wife and children. Hanzay&eacute;mon,
+    now known as the priest Zensh&ocirc;, remained at Shinagawa, a
+    suburb of Yedo, and, by the charity of good people, collected
+    enough money to erect six
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page175"
+       id="page175"></a>[pg 175]</span> bronze Buddhas, which
+       remain standing to this day. He fell sick and died, at the
+       age of seventy, on the 10th day of the 2d month of the 13th
+       year of the period styled Kambun. Zembei, who, as a priest,
+       had changed his name to Kakushin, died, at the age of
+       seventy-six, on the 17th day of the 10th month of the 2d
+       year of the period styled Emp&ocirc;. Thus did those men,
+       for the sake of S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and his family, give
+       themselves up to works of devotion; and the other villagers
+       also brought food to soothe the spirits of the dead, and
+       prayed for their entry into paradise; and as litanies were
+       repeated without intermission, there can be no doubt that
+       S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; attained salvation.</p>
+
+    <p>"In paradise, where the blessings of God are distributed
+    without favour, the soul learns its faults by the measure of
+    the rewards given. The lusts of the flesh are abandoned; and
+    the soul, purified, attains to the glory of
+    Buddha."<a id="footnotetag64"
+       name="footnotetag64"></a><a href="#footnote64"><sup>64</sup></a></p>
+
+    <p>On the 11th day of the 2d month of the 2d year of
+    Sh&ocirc;h&ocirc;, S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; having been convicted of
+    a heinous crime, a scaffold was erected at Ewaradai, and the
+    councillor who resided at Yedo and the councillor who resided
+    on the estate, with the other officers, proceeded to the place
+    in all solemnity. Then the priests of T&ocirc;k&ocirc;ji, in
+    the village of Sak&eacute;naga, followed by coffin-bearers,
+    took their places in front of the councillors, and
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"We humbly beg leave to present a petition."</p>
+
+    <p>"What have your reverences to say?"</p>
+
+    <p>"We are men who have forsaken the world and entered the
+    priesthood," answered the monks, respectfully; "and we would
+    fain, if it be possible, receive the bodies of those who are to
+    die, that we may bury them decently. It will be a great joy to
+    us if our humble petition be graciously heard and granted."</p>
+
+    <p>"Your request shall be granted; but as the crime of
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; was great, his body must be exposed for
+    three days and three nights, after which the corpse shall be
+    given to you."</p>
+
+    <p>At the hour of the snake (10 A.M.), the hour appointed for
+    the execution, the people from the neighbouring villages and
+    the castle-town, old and young, men and women, flocked to see
+    the sight: numbers there were, too, who came to bid a last
+    farewell to S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, his wife and children, and to
+    put up a prayer for them. When the hour had arrived, the
+    condemned were dragged forth bound, and made to sit upon coarse
+    mats. S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and his wife closed their eyes, for
+    the sight was more than they could bear; and the spectators,
+    with heaving breasts and streaming eyes, cried "Cruel!" and
+    "Pitiless!" and taking sweetmeats and cakes from the bosoms of
+    their dresses threw them to the children. At noon precisely
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and his wife were bound to the crosses,
+    which were then set upright and fixed in the ground. When this
+    had been done, their eldest son Gennosuk&eacute; was led
+    forward to the scaffold, in front of the two parents. Then
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! cruel, cruel! what crime has this poor child committed
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page176"
+       id="page176"></a>[pg 176]</span> that he is treated thus? As
+       for me, it matters not what becomes of me." And the tears
+       trickled down his face.</p>
+
+    <p>The spectators prayed aloud, and shut their eyes; and the
+    executioner himself, standing behind the boy, and saying that
+    it was a pitiless thing that the child should suffer for the
+    father's fault, prayed silently. Then Gennosuk&eacute;, who had
+    remained with his eyes closed, said to his parents&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! my father and mother, I am going before you to
+    paradise, that happy country, to wait for you. My little
+    brothers and I will be on the banks of the river
+    Sandzu,<a id="footnotetag65"
+       name="footnotetag65"></a><a href="#footnote65"><sup>65</sup></a>
+       and stretch out our hands and help you across. Farewell, all
+       you who have come to see us die; and now please cut off my
+       head at once."</p>
+
+    <p>With this he stretched out his neck, murmuring a last
+    prayer; and not only S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and his wife, but even
+    the executioner and the spectators could not repress their
+    tears; but the headsman, unnerved as he was, and touched to the
+    very heart, was forced, on account of his office, to cut off
+    the child's head, and a piteous wail arose from the parents and
+    the spectators.</p>
+
+    <p>Then the younger child S&ocirc;hei said to the headsman,
+    "Sir, I have a sore on my right shoulder: please, cut my head
+    off from the left shoulder, lest you should hurt me. Alas! I
+    know not how to die, nor what I should do."</p>
+
+    <p>When the headsman and the officers present heard the child's
+    artless speech, they wept again for very pity; but there was no
+    help for it, and the head fell off more swiftly than water is
+    drunk up by sand. Then little Kihachi, the third son, who, on
+    account of his tender years, should have been spared, was
+    butchered as he was in his simplicity eating the sweetmeats
+    which had been thrown to him by the spectators.</p>
+
+    <p>When the execution of the children was over, the priests of
+    T&ocirc;k&ocirc;ji took their corpses, and, having placed them
+    in their coffins, carried them away, amidst the lamentations of
+    the bystanders, and buried them with great solemnity.</p>
+
+    <p>Then Shigay&eacute;mon, one of the servants of
+    Danzay&eacute;mon, the chief of the Etas, who had been engaged
+    for the purpose, was just about to thrust his spear, when O
+    Man, S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;'s wife, raising her voice,
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Remember, my husband, that from the first you had made up
+    your mind to this fate. What though our bodies be disgracefully
+    exposed on these crosses?&mdash;we have the promises of the
+    gods before us; therefore, mourn not. Let us fix our minds upon
+    death: we are drawing near to paradise, and shall soon be with
+    the saints. Be calm, my husband. Let us cheerfully lay down our
+    single lives for the good of many. Man lives but for one
+    generation; his name, for many. A good name is more to be
+    prized than life."</p>
+
+    <p>So she spoke; and S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; on the cross, laughing
+    gaily,
+    answered&mdash;</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page177"
+       id="page177"></a>[pg 177]</span>
+
+    <p>"Well said, wife! What though we are punished for the many?
+    Our petition was successful, and there is nothing left to wish
+    for. Now I am happy, for I have attained my heart's desire. The
+    changes and chances of life are manifold. But if I had five
+    hundred lives, and could five hundred times assume this shape
+    of mine, I would die five hundred times to avenge this
+    iniquity. For myself I care not; but that my wife and children
+    should be punished also is too much. Pitiless and cruel! Let my
+    lord fence himself in with iron walls, yet shall my spirit
+    burst through them and crush his bones, as a return for this
+    deed."</p>
+
+    <p>And as he spoke, his eyes became vermilion red, and flashed
+    like the sun or the moon, and he looked like the demon
+    Razetsu.<a id="footnotetag66"
+       name="footnotetag66"></a><a href="#footnote66"><sup>66</sup></a></p>
+
+    <p>"Come," shouted he, "make haste and pierce me with the
+    spear."</p>
+
+    <p>"Your wishes shall be obeyed," said the Eta,
+    Shigay&eacute;mon, and thrust in a spear at his right side
+    until it came out at his left shoulder, and the blood streamed
+    out like a fountain. Then he pierced the wife from the left
+    side; and she, opening her eyes, said in a dying
+    voice&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Farewell, all you who are present. May harm keep far from
+    you. Farewell! farewell!" and as her voice waxed faint, the
+    second spear was thrust in from her right side, and she
+    breathed out her spirit. S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, the colour of his
+    face not even changing, showed no sign of fear, but opening his
+    eyes wide, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Listen, my masters! all you who have come to see this
+    sight. Recollect that I shall pay my thanks to my lord
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; for this day's work. You
+    shall see it for yourselves, so that it shall be talked of for
+    generations to come. As a sign, when I am dead, my head shall
+    turn and face towards the castle. When you see this, doubt not
+    that my words shall come true."</p>
+
+    <p>When he had spoken thus, the officer directing the execution
+    gave a sign to the Eta, Shigay&eacute;mon, and ordered him to
+    finish the execution, so that S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; should speak
+    no more. So Shigay&eacute;mon pierced him twelve or thirteen
+    times, until he died. And when he was dead, his head turned and
+    faced the castle. When the two councillors beheld this miracle,
+    they came down from their raised platform, and knelt down
+    before S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;'s dead body and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Although you were but a peasant on this estate, you
+    conceived a noble plan to succour the other farmers in their
+    distress. You bruised your bones, and crushed your heart, for
+    their sakes. Still, in that you appealed to the Shogun in
+    person, you committed a grievous crime, and made light of your
+    superiors; and for this it was impossible not to punish you.
+    Still we admit that to include your wife and children in your
+    crime, and kill them before your eyes, was a cruel deed. What
+    is done, is done, and regret is of no avail. However, honours
+    shall be paid to your <span class="pagenum"><a name="page178"
+       id="page178"></a>[pg 178]</span> spirit: you shall be
+       canonized as the Saint Daimiy&ocirc;, and you shall be
+       placed among the tutelar deities of my lord's family."</p>
+
+    <p>With these words the two councillors made repeated
+    reverences before the corpse; and in this they showed their
+    faithfulness to their lord. But he, when the matter was
+    reported to him, only laughed scornfully at the idea that the
+    hatred of a peasant could affect his feudal lord; and said that
+    a vassal who had dared to hatch a plot which, had it not been
+    for his high office, would have been sufficient to ruin him,
+    had only met with his deserts. As for causing him to be
+    canonized, let him be as he was. Seeing their lord's anger, his
+    councillors could only obey. But it was not long before he had
+    cause to know that, though S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; was dead, his
+    vengeance was yet alive.</p>
+
+    <p>The relations of S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and the elders of the
+    villages having been summoned to the Court-house, the following
+    document was issued:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Although the property of S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, the elder of
+    the village of Iwahashi, is confiscated, his household
+    furniture shall be made over to his two married daughters; and
+    the village officials will look to it that these few poor
+    things be not stolen by lawless and unprincipled men.</p>
+
+    <p>"His rice-fields and corn-fields, his mountain land and
+    forest land, will be sold by auction. His house and grounds
+    will be given over to the elder of the village. The price
+    fetched by his property will be paid over to the lord of the
+    estate.</p>
+
+    <p>"The above decree will be published, in full, to the
+    peasants of the village; and it is strictly forbidden to find
+    fault with this decision.</p>
+
+    <p>"The 12th day of the 2d month, of the 2d year of the period
+    Sh&ocirc;h&ocirc;."</p>
+
+    <p>The peasants, having heard this degree with all humility,
+    left the Court-house. Then the following punishments were
+    awarded to the officers of the castle, who, by rejecting the
+    petition of the peasants in the first instance, had brought
+    trouble upon their lord:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Dismissed from their office, the resident councillors at
+    Yedo and at the castle-town.</p>
+
+    <p>"Banished from the province, four district governors, and
+    three bailiffs, and nineteen petty officers.</p>
+
+    <p>"Dismissed from office, three metsuk&eacute;s, or censors,
+    and seven magistrates.</p>
+
+    <p>"Condemned to <i>hara-kiri</i>, one district governor and
+    one Yedo bailiff.</p>
+
+    <p>"The severity of this sentence is owing to the injustice of
+    the officials in raising new and unprecedented taxes, and
+    bringing affliction upon the people, and in refusing to receive
+    the petitions of the peasants, without consulting their lord,
+    thus driving them to appeal to the Shogun in person. In their
+    avarice they looked not to the future, but laid too heavy a
+    burden on the peasants, so that they made an appeal to a higher
+    power, endangering the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page179"
+       id="page179"></a>[pg 179]</span> honour of their lord's
+       house. For this bad government the various officials are to
+       be punished as above."</p>
+
+    <p>In this wise was justice carried out at the palace at Yedo
+    and at the Court-house at home. But in the history of the
+    world, from the dark ages down to the present time, there are
+    few instances of one man laying down his life for the many, as
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; did: noble and peasant praise him alike.</p>
+
+    <p>As month after month passed away, towards the fourth year of
+    the period Sh&ocirc;h&ocirc;, the wife of my lord
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, being with child, was
+    seized with violent pains; and retainers were sent to all the
+    different temples and shrines to pray by proxy, but all to no
+    purpose: she continued to suffer as before. Towards the end of
+    the seventh month of the year, there appeared, every night, a
+    preternatural light above the lady's chamber; this was
+    accompanied by hideous sounds as of many people laughing
+    fiendishly, and sometimes by piteous wailings, as though
+    myriads of persons were lamenting. The profound distress caused
+    by this added to her sufferings; so her own privy councillor,
+    an old man, took his place in the adjoining chamber, and kept
+    watch. All of a sudden, he heard a noise as if a number of
+    people were walking on the boards of the roof of my lady's
+    room; then there was a sound of men and women weeping; and
+    when, thunderstruck, the councillor was wondering what it could
+    all be, there came a wild burst of laughter, and all was
+    silent. Early the following morning, the old women who had
+    charge of my lady's household presented themselves before my
+    lord K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Since the middle of last month, the waiting-women have been
+    complaining to us of the ghostly noises by which my lady is
+    nightly disturbed, and they say that they cannot continue to
+    serve her. We have tried to soothe them, by saying that the
+    devils should be exorcised at once, and that there was nothing
+    to be afraid of. Still we feel that their fears are not without
+    reason, and that they really cannot do their work; so we beg
+    that your lordship will take the matter into your
+    consideration."</p>
+
+    <p>"This is a passing strange story of yours; however, I will
+    go myself to-night to my lady's apartments and keep watch. You
+    can come with me."</p>
+
+    <p>Accordingly, that night my lord K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute; sat up in person. At the hour of the rat (midnight)
+    a fearful noise of voices was heard, and S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and
+    his wife, bound to the fatal crosses, suddenly appeared; and
+    the ghosts, seizing the lady by the hand, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"We have come to meet you. The pains you are suffering are
+    terrible, but they are nothing in comparison with those of the
+    hell to which we are about to lead you."</p>
+
+    <p>At these words, K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, seizing
+    his sword, tried to sweep the ghosts away with a terrific cut;
+    but a loud peal of laughter was heard, and the visions faded
+    away. K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, terrified, sent his
+    retainers to the temples and shrines to
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page180"
+       id="page180"></a>[pg 180]</span> pray that the demons might
+       be cast out; but the noises were heard nightly, as before.
+       When the eleventh month of the year came round, the
+       apparitions of human forms in my lady's apartments became
+       more and more frequent and terrible, all the spirits railing
+       at her, and howling out that they had come to fetch her. The
+       women would all scream and faint; and then the ghosts would
+       disappear amid yells of laughter. Night after night this
+       happened, and even in the daytime the visions would manifest
+       themselves; and my lady's sickness grew worse daily, until
+       in the last month of the year she died, of grief and terror.
+       Then the ghost of S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and his wife crucified
+       would appear day and night in the chamber of
+       K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, floating round the
+       room, and glaring at him with red and flaming eyes. The hair
+       of the attendants would stand on end with terror; and if
+       they tried to cut at the spirits, their limbs would be
+       cramped, and their feet and hands would not obey their
+       bidding. K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; would draw the
+       sword that lay by his bedside; but, as often as he did so,
+       the ghosts faded away, only to appear again in a more
+       hideous shape than before, until at last, having exhausted
+       his strength and spirits, even he became terror-stricken.
+       The whole household was thrown into confusion, and day after
+       day mystic rites and incantations were performed by the
+       priests over braziers of charcoal, while prayers were
+       recited without ceasing; but the visions only became more
+       frequent, and there was no sign of their ceasing. After the
+       5th year of Sh&ocirc;h&ocirc;, the style of the years was
+       changed to Keian; and during the 1st year of Keian the
+       spirits continued to haunt the palace; and now they appeared
+       in the chamber of K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s
+       eldest son, surrounding themselves with even more terrors
+       than before; and when K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;
+       was about to go to the Shogun's castle, they were seen
+       howling out their cries of vengeance in the porch of the
+       house. At last the relations of the family and the members
+       of the household took counsel together, and told
+       K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; that without doubt no
+       ordinary means would suffice to lay the ghosts; a shrine
+       must be erected to S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, and divine honours
+       paid to him, after which the apparitions would assuredly
+       cease. K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; having carefully
+       considered the matter and given his consent,
+       S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; was canonized under the name of
+       S&ocirc;go Daimiy&ocirc;, and a shrine was erected in his
+       honour. After divine honours had been paid to him, the awful
+       visions were no more seen, and the ghost of
+       S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; was laid for ever.</p>
+
+    <p>In the 2d year of the period Keian, on the 11th day of the
+    10th month, on the occasion of the festival of first lighting
+    the fire on the hearth, the various Daimios and Hatamotos of
+    distinction went to the castle of the Shogun, at Yedo, to offer
+    their congratulations on this occasion. During the ceremonies,
+    my lord Hotta K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; and Sakai
+    Iwami no Kami, lord of the castle of Matsumoto, in the province
+    of Shinshiu, had a quarrel, the origin of which was not made
+    public; and Sakai Iwami no Kami, although he came of a brave
+    and noble family, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page181"
+       id="page181"></a>[pg 181]</span> received so severe a wound
+       that he died on the following day, at the age of
+       forty-three; and in consequence of this, his family was
+       ruined and disgraced.<a id="footnotetag67"
+       name="footnotetag67"></a><a href="#footnote67"><sup>67</sup></a>
+       My lord K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, by great good
+       fortune, contrived to escape from the castle, and took
+       refuge in his own house, whence, mounting a famous horse
+       called Hira-Abumi,<a id="footnotetag68"
+       name="footnotetag68"></a><a href="#footnote68"><sup>68</sup></a>
+       he fled to his castle of Sakura, in Shim&ocirc;sa,
+       accomplishing the distance, which is about sixty miles, in
+       six hours. When he arrived in front of the castle, he called
+       out in a loud voice to the guard within to open the gate,
+       answering, in reply to their challenge, that he was
+       K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, the lord of the castle.
+       The guard, not believing their ears, sent word to the
+       councillor in charge of the castle, who rushed out to see if
+       the person demanding admittance were really their lord. When
+       he saw K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, he caused the
+       gates to be opened, and, thinking it more than strange,
+       said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Is this indeed you, my lord? What strange chance brings
+    your lordship hither thus late at night, on horseback and
+    alone, without a single follower?"</p>
+
+    <p>With these words he ushered in K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute;, who, in reply to the anxious inquiries of his
+    people as to the cause of his sudden appearance,
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"You may well be astonished. I had a quarrel to-day in the
+    castle at Yedo, with Sakai Iwami no Kami, the lord of the
+    castle of Matsumoto, and I cut him down. I shall soon be
+    pursued; so we must strengthen the fortress, and prepare for an
+    attack."</p>
+
+    <p>The household, hearing this, were greatly alarmed, and the
+    whole castle was thrown into confusion. In the meanwhile the
+    people of K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s palace at Yedo,
+    not knowing whether their lord had fled, were in the greatest
+    anxiety, until a messenger came from Sakura, and reported his
+    arrival there.</p>
+
+    <p>When the quarrel inside the castle of Yedo and
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s flight had been taken
+    cognizance of, he was attainted of treason, and soldiers were
+    sent to seize him, dead or alive. Midzuno Setsu no Kami and
+    Got&ocirc; Yamato no Kami were charged with the execution of
+    the order, and sallied forth, on the 13th day of the 10th
+    month, to carry it out. When they arrived at the town of Sasai,
+    they sent a herald with the following message&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Whereas K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; killed Sakai
+    Iwami no Kami inside the castle of Yedo, and has fled to his
+    own castle without leave, he is attainted of treason; and we,
+    being connected with him by ties of blood and of friendship,
+    have been charged to seize him."</p>
+
+    <p>The herald delivered this message to the councillor of
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, who, pleading as an excuse
+    that his lord was mad, begged the two nobles to intercede for
+    him. Got&ocirc; Yamato no Kami upon this called the councillor
+    to him, and spoke privately
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page182"
+       id="page182"></a>[pg 182]</span> to him, after which the
+       latter took his leave and returned to the castle of
+       Sakura.</p>
+
+    <p>In the meanwhile, after consultation at Yedo, it was decided
+    that, as Got&ocirc; Yamato no Kami and Midzuno Setsu no Kami
+    were related to K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, and might
+    meet with difficulties for that very reason, two other nobles,
+    Ogasawara Iki no Kami and Nagai Hida no Kami, should be sent to
+    assist them, with orders that should any trouble arise they
+    should send a report immediately to Yedo. In consequence of
+    this order, the two nobles, with five thousand men, were about
+    to march for Sakura, on the 15th of the month, when a messenger
+    arrived from that place bearing the following despatch for the
+    Gor&ocirc;jiu, from the two nobles who had preceded
+    them&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"In obedience to the orders of His Highness the Shogun, we
+    proceeded, on the 13th day of this month, to the castle of
+    Sakura, and conducted a thorough investigation of the affair.
+    It is true that K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; has been
+    guilty of treason, but he is out of his mind; his retainers
+    have called in physicians, and he is undergoing treatment by
+    which his senses are being gradually restored, and his mind is
+    being awakened from its sleep. At the time when he slew Sakai
+    Iwami no Kami he was not accountable for his actions, and will
+    be sincerely penitent when he is aware of his crime. We have
+    taken him prisoner, and have the honour to await your
+    instructions; in the meanwhile, we beg by these present to let
+    you know what we have done.</p>
+    <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza">
+    <p class="author">
+    "(Signed) &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; GOT&#212; YAMATO NO KAMI.<br />
+    MIDZUNO SETSU NO KAMI.</p>
+    <p><i>To the Gor&#244;jiu, 2d year of Keian, 2d month, 14th
+    day</i>."</p>
+    </div> </div>
+    <br />
+    <p>This despatch reached Yedo on the 16th of the month, and was
+    read by the Gor&ocirc;jiu after they had left the castle; and
+    in consequence of the report of K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no
+    Suk&eacute;'s madness, the second expedition was put a stop to,
+    and the following instructions were sent to Got&ocirc; Yamato
+    no Kami and Midzuno Setsu no Kami&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"With reference to the affair of Hotta K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute;
+    no Suk&eacute;, lord of the castle of Sakura, in Shim&ocirc;sa,
+    whose quarrel with Sakai Iwami no Kami within the castle of
+    Yedo ended in bloodshed. For this heinous crime and disregard
+    of the sanctity of the castle, it is ordered that
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; be brought as a prisoner to
+    Yedo, in a litter covered with nets, that his case may be
+    judged.</p>
+    <div class="poem"> <div class="stanza">
+    <p>"2d year of Keian, 2d month.</p>
+    <p class="author">(<i>Signed by the Gor&#244;jiu</i>)
+    &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
+                               INABA MINO NO KAMI.<br />
+                               INOUYE KAWACHI NO KAMI.<br />
+                               KAT&#212; ECCHIU NO KAMI."</p>
+    </div> </div>
+    <br />
+
+    <p>Upon the receipt of this despatch, Hotta
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; n&ocirc; Suk&eacute; was immediately
+    placed in a litter covered with a net of green silk, and
+    conveyed to Yedo, strictly guarded by the retainers of the
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page183"
+       id="page183"></a>[pg 183]</span> two nobles; and, having
+       arrived at the capital, was handed over to the charge of
+       Akimoto Tajima no Kami. All his retainers were quietly
+       dispersed; and his empty castle was ordered to be thrown
+       open, and given in charge to Midzuno Iki no Kami.</p>
+
+    <p>At last K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; began to feel
+    that the death of his wife and his own present misfortunes were
+    a just retribution for the death of S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and his
+    wife and children, and he was as one awakened from a dream.
+    Then night and morning, in his repentance, he offered up
+    prayers to the sainted spirit of the dead farmer, and
+    acknowledged and bewailed his crime, vowing that, if his family
+    were spared from ruin and re-established, intercession should
+    be made at the court of the Mikado,<a id="footnotetag69"
+       name="footnotetag69"></a><a href="#footnote69"><sup>69</sup></a>
+       at Kiy&ocirc;to, on behalf of the spirit of
+       S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, so that, being worshipped with even
+       greater honours than before, his name should be handed down
+       to all generations.</p>
+
+    <p>In consequence of this it happened that the spirit of
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; having relaxed in its vindictiveness, and
+    having ceased to persecute the house of Hotta, in the 1st month
+    of the 4th year of Keian, K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;
+    received a summons from the Shogun, and, having been forgiven,
+    was made lord of the castle of Matsuyama, in the province of
+    D&eacute;wa, with a revenue of twenty thousand kokus. In the
+    same year, on the 20th day of the 4th month, the Shogun, Prince
+    Iy&eacute;mitsu, was pleased to depart this life, at the age of
+    forty-eight; and whether by the forgiving spirit of the prince,
+    or by the divine interposition of the sainted
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;, K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute; was
+    promoted to the castle of Utsu no Miya, in the province of
+    Shimotsuk&eacute;, with a revenue of eighty thousand kokus; and
+    his name was changed to Hotta Hida no Kami. He also received
+    again his original castle of Sakura, with a revenue of twenty
+    thousand kokus: so that there can be no doubt that the saint
+    was befriending him. In return for these favours, the shrine of
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; was made as beautiful as a gem. It is
+    needless to say how many of the peasants of the estate flocked
+    to the shrine: any good luck that might befall the people was
+    ascribed to it, and night and day the devout worshipped at
+    it.</p>
+
+    <p>Here follows a copy of the petition which S&ocirc;gor&ocirc;
+    presented to the Shogun&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"We, the elders of the hundred and thirty-six villages of
+    the district of Chiba, in the province of Shim&ocirc;sa, and of
+    the district of Buji, in the province of Kadzusa, most
+    reverently offer up this our humble petition.</p>
+
+    <p>"When our former lord, Doi Shosho, was transferred to
+    another castle, in the 9th year of the period Kany&eacute;,
+    Hotta Kaga no Kami became lord of the castle of Sakura; and in
+    the 17th year of the same period, my lord K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute;
+    no Suk&eacute; succeeded him. Since
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page184"
+       id="page184"></a>[pg 184]</span> that time the taxes laid
+       upon us have been raised in the proportion of one t&ocirc;
+       and two sho to each koku.<a id="footnotetag70"
+       name="footnotetag70"></a><a href="#footnote70"><sup>70</sup></a>
+    </p>
+
+    <p>"<i>Item</i>.&mdash;At the present time, taxes are raised on
+    nineteen of our articles of produce; whereas our former lord
+    only required that we should furnish him with pulse and
+    sesamum, for which he paid in rice.</p>
+
+    <p>"<i>Item</i>.&mdash;Not only are we not paid now for our
+    produce, but, if it is not given in to the day, we are driven
+    and goaded by the officials; and if there be any further delay,
+    we are manacled and severely reprimanded; so that if our own
+    crops fail, we have to buy produce from other districts, and
+    are pushed to the utmost extremity of affliction.</p>
+
+    <p>"<i>Item</i>.&mdash;We have over and over again prayed to be
+    relieved from these burthens, but our petitions are not
+    received. The people are reduced to poverty, so that it is hard
+    for them to live under such grievous taxation. Often they have
+    tried to sell the land which they till, but none can be found
+    to buy; so they have sometimes given over their land to the
+    village authorities, and fled with their wives to other
+    provinces, and seven hundred and thirty men or more have been
+    reduced to begging, one hundred and eighty-five houses have
+    fallen into ruins; land producing seven thousand kokus has been
+    given up, and remains untilled, and eleven temples have fallen
+    into decay in consequence of the ruin of those upon whom they
+    depended.</p>
+
+    <p>"Besides this, the poverty-stricken farmers and women,
+    having been obliged to take refuge in other provinces, and
+    having no abiding-place, have been driven to evil courses and
+    bring men to speak ill of their lord; and the village
+    officials, being unable to keep order, are blamed and reproved.
+    No attention has been paid to our repeated representations upon
+    this point; so we were driven to petition the Gor&ocirc;jiu
+    Kuz&eacute; Yamato no Kami as he was on his way to the castle,
+    but our petition was returned to us. And now, as a last
+    resource, we tremblingly venture to approach his Highness the
+    Shogun in person.</p>
+
+    <p>"The 1st year of the period Sh&ocirc;h&ocirc;, 12th month,
+    20th day.</p>
+
+    <table summary="seal"
+           align="center">
+        <tr>
+            <td><img src="images/seal.jpg"
+                 width="50"
+                 height="37"
+                 alt="seal" /></td>
+
+            <td>"The seals of the elders of the 136 villages."</td>
+        </tr>
+    </table>
+
+    <p>The Shogun at that time was Prince Iy&eacute;mitsu, the
+    grandson of Iy&eacute;yasu. He received the name of Dai-yu-In
+    after his death.</p>
+
+    <p>The Gor&ocirc;jiu at that time were Hotta
+    K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;, Sakai Iwami no Kami, Inaba
+    Mino no Kami, Kat&ocirc; Ecchiu no Kami, Inouy&eacute; Kawachi
+    no Kami.</p>
+
+    <p>The Wakadoshiy&ocirc;ri (or 2d council) were Torii Wakasa no
+    Kami, Tsuchiya Dewa no Kami, and Itakura Naizen no Sho.</p>
+    <hr />
+
+    <p>The belief in ghosts appears to be as universal as that in
+    the immortality of the soul, upon which it depends. Both in
+    China <span class="pagenum"><a name="page185"
+       id="page185"></a>[pg 185]</span> and Japan the departed
+       spirit is invested with the power of revisiting the earth,
+       and, in a visible form, tormenting its enemies and haunting
+       those places where the perishable part of it mourned and
+       suffered. Haunted houses are slow to find tenants, for
+       ghosts almost always come with revengeful intent; indeed,
+       the owners of such houses will almost pay men to live in
+       them, such is the dread which they inspire, and the anxiety
+       to blot out the stigma.</p>
+
+    <p>One cold winter's night at Yedo, as I was sitting, with a
+    few Japanese friends, huddled round the imperfect heat of a
+    brazier of charcoal, the conversation turned upon the story of
+    S&ocirc;gor&ocirc; and upon ghostly apparitions in general.
+    Many a weird tale was told that evening, and I noted down the
+    three or four which follow, for the truth of which the
+    narrators vouched with the utmost confidence.</p>
+
+    <p>About ten years ago there lived a fishmonger, named Zenroku,
+    in the Mikawa-street, at Kanda, in Yedo. He was a poor man,
+    living with his wife and one little boy. His wife fell sick and
+    died, so he engaged an old woman to look after his boy while he
+    himself went out to sell his fish. It happened, one day, that
+    he and the other hucksters of his guild were gambling; and this
+    coming to the ears of the authorities, they were all thrown
+    into prison. Although their offence was in itself a light one,
+    still they were kept for some time in durance while the matter
+    was being investigated; and Zenroku, owing to the damp and foul
+    air of the prison, fell sick with fever. His little child, in
+    the meantime, had been handed over by the authorities to the
+    charge of the petty officers of the ward to which his father
+    belonged, and was being well cared for; for Zenroku was known
+    to be an honest fellow, and his fate excited much compassion.
+    One night Zenroku, pale and emaciated, entered the house in
+    which his boy was living; and all the people joyfully
+    congratulated him on his escape from jail. "Why, we heard that
+    you were sick in prison. This is, indeed, a joyful return."
+    Then Zenroku thanked those who had taken care of the child,
+    saying that he had returned secretly by the favour of his
+    jailers that night; but that on the following day his offence
+    would be remitted, and he should be able to take possession of
+    his house again publicly. For that night, he must return to the
+    prison. With this he begged those present to continue their
+    good offices to his babe; and, with a sad and reluctant
+    expression of countenance, he left the house. On the following
+    day, the officers of that ward were sent for by the prison
+    authorities. They thought that they were summoned that Zenroku
+    might be handed back to them a free man, as he himself had said
+    to them; but to their surprise, they were told that he had died
+    the night before in prison, and were ordered to carry away his
+    dead body for burial. Then they knew that they had seen
+    Zenroku's ghost; and that when he said that he should be
+    returned to them on the morrow, he had alluded to his corpse.
+    So they buried him decently, and brought up his son, who is
+    alive to this day.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page186"
+       id="page186"></a>[pg 186]</span>
+
+    <p>The next story was told by a professor in the college at
+    Yedo, and, although it is not of so modern a date as the last,
+    he stated it to be well authenticated, and one of general
+    notoriety.</p>
+
+    <p>About two hundred years ago there was a chief of the police,
+    named Aoyama Shuzen, who lived in the street called Bancho, at
+    Yedo. His duty was to detect thieves and incendiaries. He was a
+    cruel and violent man, without heart or compassion, and thought
+    nothing of killing or torturing a man to gratify spite or
+    revenge. This man Shuzen had in his house a servant-maid,
+    called O Kiku (the Chrysanthemum), who had lived in the family
+    since her childhood, and was well acquainted with her master's
+    temper. One day O Kiku accidentally broke one of a set of ten
+    porcelain plates, upon which he set a high value. She knew that
+    she would suffer for her carelessness; but she thought that if
+    she concealed the matter her punishment would be still more
+    severe; so she went at once to her master's wife, and, in fear
+    and trembling, confessed what she had done. When Shuzen came
+    home, and heard that one of his favourite plates was broken, he
+    flew into a violent rage, and took the girl to a cupboard,
+    where he left her bound with cords, and every day cut off one
+    of her fingers. O Kiku, tightly bound and in agony, could not
+    move; but at last she contrived to bite or cut the ropes
+    asunder, and, escaping into the garden, threw herself into a
+    well, and was drowned. From that time forth, every night a
+    voice was heard coming from the well, counting one, two, three,
+    and so on up to nine&mdash;the number of the plates that
+    remained unbroken&mdash;and then, when the tenth plate should
+    have been counted, would come a burst of lamentation. The
+    servants of the house, terrified at this, all left their
+    master's service, until Shuzen, not having a single retainer
+    left, was unable to perform his public duties; and when the
+    officers of the government heard of this, he was dismissed from
+    his office. At this time there was a famous priest, called
+    Mikadzuki Sh&ocirc;nin, of the temple Denzuin, who, having been
+    told of the affair, came one night to the house, and, when the
+    ghost began to count the plates, reproved the spirit, and by
+    his prayers and admonitions caused it to cease from troubling
+    the living.</p>
+
+    <p>The laying of disturbed spirits appears to form one of the
+    regular functions of the Buddhist priests; at least, we find
+    them playing a conspicuous part in almost every
+    ghost-story.</p>
+
+    <p>About thirty years ago there stood a house at
+    Mitsum&eacute;, in the Honj&ocirc; of Yedo, which was said to
+    be nightly visited by ghosts, so that no man dared to live in
+    it, and it remained untenanted on that account. However, a man
+    called Miura Tak&eacute;shi, a native of the province of Oshiu,
+    who came to Yedo to set up in business as a fencing-master, but
+    was too poor to hire a house, hearing that there was a haunted
+    house, for which no tenant could be found, and that the owner
+    would let any man live in it rent free, said that he feared
+    neither man nor devil, and obtained leave to occupy the house.
+    So he hired a fencing-room, in which he gave
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page187"
+       id="page187"></a>[pg 187]</span> his lessons by day, and
+       after midnight returned to the haunted house. One night, his
+       wife, who took charge of the house in his absence, was
+       frightened by a fearful noise proceeding from a pond in the
+       garden, and, thinking that this certainly must be the ghost
+       that she had heard so much about, she covered her head with
+       the bed-clothes and remained breathless with terror. When
+       her husband came home, she told him what had happened; and
+       on the following night he returned earlier than usual, and
+       waited for the ghostly noise. At the same time as before, a
+       little after midnight, the same sound was heard&mdash;as
+       though a gun had been fired inside the pond. Opening the
+       shutters, he looked out, and saw something like a black
+       cloud floating on the water, and in the cloud was the form
+       of a bald man. Thinking that there must be some cause for
+       this, he instituted careful inquiries, and learned that the
+       former tenant, some ten years previously, had borrowed money
+       from a blind shampooer,<a id="footnotetag71"
+       name="footnotetag71"></a><a href="#footnote71"><sup>71</sup></a>
+       and, being unable to pay the debt, had murdered his
+       creditor, who began to press him for his money, and had
+       thrown his head into the pond. The fencing-master
+       accordingly collected his pupils and emptied the pond, and
+       found a skull at the bottom of it; so he called in a priest,
+       and buried the skull in a temple, causing prayers to be
+       offered up for the repose of the murdered man's soul. Thus
+       the ghost was laid, and appeared no more.</p>
+
+    <p>The belief in curses hanging over families for generations
+    is as common as that in ghosts and supernatural apparitions.
+    There is a strange story of this nature in the house of Asai,
+    belonging to the Hatamoto class. The ancestor of the present
+    representative, six generations ago, had a certain concubine,
+    who was in love with a man who frequented the house, and wished
+    in her heart to marry him; but, being a virtuous woman, she
+    never thought of doing any evil deed. But the wife of my lord
+    Asai was jealous of the girl, and persuaded her husband that
+    her rival in his affections had gone astray; when he heard this
+    he was very angry, and beat her with a candlestick so that he
+    put out her left eye. The girl, who had indignantly protested
+    her innocence, finding herself so cruelly handled, pronounced a
+    curse against the house; upon which, her master, seizing the
+    candlestick again, dashed out her brains and killed her.
+    Shortly afterwards my lord Asai lost his left eye, and fell
+    sick and died; and from that time forth to this day, it is said
+    that the representatives of the house have all lost their left
+    eyes after the age of forty, and shortly afterwards they have
+    fallen sick and died at the same age as the cruel lord who
+    killed his
+    concubine.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page188"
+       id="page188"></a>[pg 188]</span>
+
+    <h3>NOTE.</h3>
+
+    <p>Of the many fair scenes of Yedo, none is better worth
+    visiting than the temple of Z&ocirc;j&ocirc;ji, one of the two
+    great burial-places of the Shoguns; indeed, if you wish to see
+    the most beautiful spots of any Oriental city, ask for the
+    cemeteries: the homes of the dead are ever the loveliest
+    places. Standing in a park of glorious firs and pines
+    beautifully kept, which contains quite a little town of neat,
+    clean-looking houses, together with thirty-four temples for the
+    use of the priests and attendants of the shrines, the main
+    temple, with its huge red pillars supporting a heavy Chinese
+    roof of grey tiles, is approached through a colossal open hall
+    which leads into a stone courtyard. At one end of this
+    courtyard is a broad flight of steps&mdash;the three or four
+    lower ones of stone, and the upper ones of red wood. At these
+    the visitor is warned by a notice to take off his boots, a
+    request which Englishmen, with characteristic disregard of the
+    feelings of others, usually neglect to comply with. The main
+    hall of the temple is of large proportions, and the high altar
+    is decorated with fine bronze candelabra, incense-burners, and
+    other ornaments, and on two days of the year a very curious
+    collection of pictures representing the five hundred gods,
+    whose images are known to all persons who have visited Canton,
+    is hung along the walls. The big bell outside the main hall is
+    rather remarkable on account of the great beauty of the deep
+    bass waves of sound which it rolls through the city than on
+    account of its size, which is as nothing when compared with
+    that of the big bells of Moscow and Peking; still it is not to
+    be despised even in that respect, for it is ten feet high and
+    five feet eight inches in diameter, while its metal is a foot
+    thick: it was hung up in the year 1673. But the chief objects
+    of interest in these beautiful grounds are the chapels attached
+    to the tombs of the Shoguns.</p>
+
+    <p>It is said that as Prince Iy&eacute;yasu was riding into
+    Yedo to take possession of his new castle, the Abbot of
+    Z&ocirc;j&ocirc;ji, an ancient temple which then stood at
+    Hibiya, near the castle, went forth and waited before the gate
+    to do homage to the Prince. Iy&eacute;yasu, seeing that the
+    Abbot was no ordinary man, stopped and asked his name, and
+    entered the temple to rest himself. The smooth-spoken monk soon
+    found such favour with Iy&eacute;yasu, that he chose
+    Z&ocirc;j&ocirc;ji to be his family temple; and seeing that its
+    grounds were narrow and inconveniently near the castle, he
+    caused it to be removed to its present site. In the year 1610
+    the temple was raised, by the intercession of Iy&eacute;yasu,
+    to the dignity of the Imperial Temples, which, until the last
+    revolution, were presided over by princes of the blood; and to
+    the Abbot was granted the right, on going to the castle, of
+    sitting in his litter as far as the entrance-hall, instead of
+    dismounting at the usual place and proceeding on foot through
+    several gates and courtyards. Nor were the privileges of the
+    temple confined to barren honours, for it was endowed with
+    lands of the value of five thousand kokus of rice yearly.</p>
+
+    <p>When Iy&eacute;yasu died, the shrine called Antoku In was
+    erected in his honour to the south of the main temple. Here, on
+    the seventeenth day of the fourth month, the anniversary of his
+    death, ceremonies are held in honour of his spirit, deified as
+    Gongen Sama, and the place is thrown open to all who may wish
+    to come and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page189"
+       id="page189"></a>[pg 189]</span> pray. But Iy&eacute;yasu is
+       not buried here; his remains lie in a gorgeous shrine among
+       the mountains some eighty miles north of Yedo, at
+       Nikk&ocirc;, a place so beautiful that the Japanese have a
+       rhyming proverb which says, that he who has not seen
+       Nikk&ocirc; should never pronounce the word Kekk&ocirc;
+       (charming, delicious, grand, beautiful).</p>
+
+    <p>Hid&eacute;tada, the son and successor of Iy&eacute;yasu,
+    together with Iy&eacute;nobu, Iy&eacute;tsugu,
+    Iy&eacute;shig&eacute;, Iy&eacute;yoshi, and Iy&eacute;mochi,
+    the sixth, seventh, ninth, twelfth, and fourteenth Shoguns of
+    the Tokugawa dynasty, are buried in three shrines attached to
+    the temple; the remainder, with the exception of
+    Iy&eacute;mitsu, the third Shogun, who lies with his
+    grandfather at Nikk&ocirc;, are buried at Uy&eacute;no.</p>
+
+    <p>The shrines are of exceeding beauty, lying on one side of a
+    splendid avenue of Scotch firs, which border a broad, well-kept
+    gravel walk. Passing through a small gateway of rare design, we
+    come into a large stone courtyard, lined with a long array of
+    colossal stone lanterns, the gift of the vassals of the
+    departed Prince. A second gateway, supported by gilt pillars
+    carved all round with figures of dragons, leads into another
+    court, in which are a bell tower, a great cistern cut out of a
+    single block of stone like a sarcophagus, and a smaller number
+    of lanterns of bronze; these are given by the Go San K&eacute;,
+    the three princely families in which the succession to the
+    office of Shogun was vested. Inside this is a third court,
+    partly covered like a cloister, the approach to which is a
+    doorway of even greater beauty and richness than the last; the
+    ceiling is gilt, and painted with arabesques and with heavenly
+    angels playing on musical instruments, and the panels of the
+    walls are sculptured in high relief with admirable
+    representations of birds and flowers, life-size, life-like, all
+    being coloured to imitate nature. Inside this enclosure stands
+    a shrine, before the closed door of which a priest on one side,
+    and a retainer of the house of Tokugawa on the other, sit
+    mounting guard, mute and immovable as though they themselves
+    were part of the carved ornaments. Passing on one side of the
+    shrine, we come to another court, plainer than the last, and at
+    the back of the little temple inside it is a flight of stone
+    steps, at the top of which, protected by a bronze door, stands
+    a simple monumental urn of bronze on a stone pedestal. Under
+    this is the grave itself; and it has always struck me that
+    there is no small amount of poetical feeling in this simple
+    ending to so much magnificence; the sermon may have been
+    preached by design, or it may have been by accident, but the
+    lesson is there.</p>
+
+    <p>There is little difference between the three shrines, all of
+    which are decorated in the same manner. It is very difficult to
+    do justice to their beauty in words. Writing many thousand
+    miles away from them, I have the memory before me of a place
+    green in winter, pleasant and cool in the hottest summer; of
+    peaceful cloisters, of the fragrance of incense, of the subdued
+    chant of richly robed priests, and the music of bells; of
+    exquisite designs, harmonious colouring, rich gilding. The hum
+    of the vast city outside is unheard here: Iy&eacute;yasu
+    himself, in the mountains of Nikk&ocirc;, has no quieter
+    resting-place than his descendants in the heart of the city
+    over which they ruled.</p>
+
+    <p>Besides the graves of the Shoguns, Z&ocirc;j&ocirc;ji
+    contains other lesser shrines, in which are buried the wives of
+    the second, sixth, and eleventh Shoguns, and the father of
+    Iy&eacute;nobu, the sixth Shogun, who succeeded to the office
+    by adoption. There is also a holy place called
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page190"
+       id="page190"></a>[pg 190]</span> the Satsuma Temple, which
+       has a special interest; in it is a tablet in honour of
+       Tadayoshi, the fifth son of Iy&eacute;yasu, whose title was
+       Matsudaira Satsuma no Kami, and who died young. At his
+       death, five of his retainers, with one Ogasasawara Kemmotsu
+       at their head, disembowelled themselves, that they might
+       follow their young master into the next world. They were
+       buried in this place; and I believe that this is the last
+       instance on record of the ancient Japanese custom of
+       <i>Junshi</i>, that is to say, "dying with the master."</p>
+
+    <p>There are, during the year, several great festivals which
+    are specially celebrated at Z&ocirc;joji; the chief of these
+    are the Kaisanki, or founder's day, which is on the eighteenth
+    day of the seventh month; the twenty-fifth day of the first
+    month, the anniversary of the death of the monk H&ocirc;nen,
+    the founder of the J&ocirc;do sect of Buddhism (that to which
+    the temple belongs); the anniversary of the death of Buddha, on
+    the fifteenth of the second month; the birthday of Buddha, on
+    the eighth day of the fourth month; and from the sixth to the
+    fifteenth of the tenth month.</p>
+
+    <p>At Uy&eacute;no is the second of the burial-grounds of the
+    Shoguns. The Temple T&ocirc;-yei-zan, which stood in the
+    grounds of Uy&eacute;no, was built by Iy&eacute;mitsu, the
+    third of the Shoguns of the house of Tokugawa, in the year
+    1625, in honour of Yakushi Ni&ocirc;rai, the Buddhist
+    &AElig;sculapius. It faces the Ki-mon, or Devil's Gate, of the
+    castle, and was erected upon the model of the temple of
+    Hi-yei-zan, one of the most famous of the holy places of
+    Kiy&ocirc;to. Having founded the temple, the next care of
+    Iy&eacute;mitsu was to pray that Morizumi, the second son of
+    the retired emperor, should come and reside there; and from
+    that time until 1868, the temple was always presided over by a
+    Miya, or member of the Mikado's family, who was specially
+    charged with the care of the tomb of Iy&eacute;yasu at
+    Nikk&ocirc;, and whose position was that of an ecclesiastical
+    chief or primate over the east of Japan.</p>
+
+    <p>The temples in Yedo are not to be compared in point of
+    beauty with those in and about Peking; what is marble there is
+    wood here. Still they are very handsome, and in the days of its
+    magnificence the Temple of Uy&eacute;no was one of the finest.
+    Alas! the main temple, the hall in honour of the sect to which
+    it belongs, the hall of services, the bell-tower, the
+    entrance-hall, and the residence of the prince of the blood,
+    were all burnt down in the battle of Uy&eacute;no, in the
+    summer of 1868, when the Shogun's men made their last stand in
+    Yedo against the troops of the Mikado. The fate of the day was
+    decided by two field-pieces, which the latter contrived to
+    mount on the roof of a neighbouring tea-house; and the Shogun's
+    men, driven out of the place, carried off the Miya in the vain
+    hope of raising his standard in the north as that of a rival
+    Mikado. A few of the lesser temples and tombs, and the
+    beautiful park-like grounds, are but the remnants of the former
+    glory of Uy&eacute;no. Among these is a temple in the form of a
+    roofless stage, in honour of the thousand-handed Kwannon. In
+    the middle ages, during the civil wars between the houses of
+    Gen and Hei, one Morihisa, a captain of the house of Hei, after
+    the destruction of his clan, went and prayed for a thousand
+    days at the temple of the thousand-handed Kwannon at Kiyomidzu,
+    in Kiy&ocirc;to. His retreat having been discovered, he was
+    seized and brought bound to Kamakura, the chief town of the
+    house of Gen. Here he was condemned to die at a place called
+    Yui, by the sea-shore; but every time that the
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page191"
+       id="page191"></a>[pg 191]</span> executioner lifted his
+       sword to strike, the blade was broken by the god Kwannon,
+       and at the same time the wife of Yoritomo, the chief of the
+       house of Gen, was warned in a dream to spare Morihisa's
+       life. So Morihisa was reprieved, and rose to power in the
+       state; and all this was by the miraculous intervention of
+       the god Kwannon, who takes such good care of his faithful
+       votaries. To him this temple is dedicated. A colossal bronze
+       Buddha, twenty-two feet high, set up some two hundred years
+       ago, and a stone lantern, twenty feet high, and twelve feet
+       round at the top, are greatly admired by the Japanese. There
+       are only three such lanterns in the empire; the other two
+       being at Nanzenji&mdash;a temple in Kiy&ocirc;to, and
+       Atsura, a shrine in the province of Owari. All three were
+       erected by the piety of one man, Sakuma Daizen no
+       Suk&eacute;, in the year A.D. 1631.</p>
+
+    <p>Iy&eacute;mitsu, the founder of the temple, was buried with
+    his grandfather, Iy&eacute;yasu, at Nikk&ocirc;; but both of
+    these princes are honoured with shrines here. The Shoguns who
+    are interred at Uy&eacute;no are Iy&eacute;tsuna, Tsunayoshi,
+    Yoshimun&eacute;, Iy&eacute;haru, Iy&eacute;nori, and
+    Iy&eacute;sada, the fourth, fifth, eighth, tenth, eleventh, and
+    thirteenth Princes of the Line. Besides them, are buried five
+    wives of the Shoguns, and the father of the eleventh
+    Shogun.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page192"
+       id="page192"></a>[pg 192]</span>
+
+    <h2>HOW TAJIMA SHUM&Eacute; WAS TORMENTED BY A DEVIL OF HIS OWN
+    CREATION</h2>
+
+    <p>Once upon a time, a certain R&ocirc;nin, Tajima Shum&eacute;
+    by name, an able and well-read man, being on his travels to see
+    the world, went up to Kiy&ocirc;to by the
+    T&ocirc;kaid&ocirc;.<a id="footnotetag72"
+       name="footnotetag72"></a><a href="#footnote72"><sup>72</sup></a>
+       One day, in the neighbourhood of Nagoya, in the province of
+       Owari, he fell in with a wandering priest, with whom he
+       entered into conversation. Finding that they were bound for
+       the same place, they agreed to travel together, beguiling
+       their weary way by pleasant talk on divers matters; and so
+       by degrees, as they became more intimate, they began to
+       speak without restraint about their private affairs; and the
+       priest, trusting thoroughly in the honour of his companion,
+       told him the object of his journey.</p>
+
+    <p>"For some time past," said he, "I have nourished a wish that
+    has engrossed all my thoughts; for I am bent on setting up a
+    molten image in honour of Buddha; with this object I have
+    wandered through various provinces collecting alms and (who
+    knows by what weary toil?) we have succeeded in amassing two
+    hundred ounces of silver&mdash;enough, I trust, to erect a
+    handsome bronze figure."</p>
+
+    <p>What says the proverb? "He who bears a jewel in his bosom
+    bears poison." Hardly had the R&ocirc;nin heard these words of
+    the priest than an evil heart arose within him, and he thought
+    to himself, "Man's life, from the womb to the grave, is made up
+    of good and of ill luck. Here am I, nearly forty years old, a
+    wanderer, without a calling, or even a hope of advancement in
+    the world. To be sure, it seems a shame; yet if I could steal
+    the money this priest is boasting about, I could live at ease
+    for the rest of my days;" and so he began casting about how
+    best he might compass his purpose. But the priest, far from
+    guessing the drift of his comrade's thoughts, journeyed
+    cheerfully on, till they reached the town of Kuana. Here there
+    is an arm of the sea, which is crossed in ferry-boats, that
+    start as soon as some twenty or thirty passengers are gathered
+    together; and in one of these boats the two travellers
+    embarked. About half-way across, the priest was taken with a
+    sudden necessity to go to the side of the boat; and the
+    R&ocirc;nin, following him, tripped him up whilst no one was
+    looking, and flung him into the sea. When the boatmen and
+    passengers heard the splash, and saw the priest
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page193"
+       id="page193"></a>[pg 193]</span> struggling in the water,
+       they were afraid, and made every effort to save him; but the
+       wind was fair, and the boat running swiftly under the
+       bellying sails, so they were soon a few hundred yards off
+       from the drowning man, who sank before the boat could be
+       turned to rescue him.</p>
+
+    <p>When he saw this, the R&ocirc;nin feigned the utmost grief
+    and dismay, and said to his fellow-passengers, "This priest,
+    whom we have just lost, was my cousin: he was going to
+    Kiy&ocirc;to, to visit the shrine of his patron; and as I
+    happened to have business there as well, we settled to travel
+    together. Now, alas! by this misfortune, my cousin is dead, and
+    I am left alone."</p>
+
+    <p>He spoke so feelingly, and wept so freely, that the
+    passengers believed his story, and pitied and tried to comfort
+    him. Then the R&ocirc;nin said to the boatmen&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"We ought, by rights, to report this matter to the
+    authorities; but as I am pressed for time, and the business
+    might bring trouble on yourselves as well, perhaps we had
+    better hush it up for the present; and I will at once go on to
+    Kiy&ocirc;to and tell my cousin's patron, besides writing home
+    about it. What think you, gentlemen?" added he, turning to the
+    other travellers.</p>
+
+    <p>They, of course, were only too glad to avoid any hindrance
+    to their onward journey, and all with one voice agreed to what
+    the R&ocirc;nin had proposed; and so the matter was settled.
+    When, at length, they reached the shore, they left the boat,
+    and every man went his way; but the R&ocirc;nin, overjoyed in
+    his heart, took the wandering priest's luggage, and, putting it
+    with his own, pursued his journey to Kiy&ocirc;to.</p>
+
+    <p>On reaching the capital, the R&ocirc;nin changed his name
+    from Shum&eacute; to Tokubei, and, giving up his position as a
+    Samurai, turned merchant, and traded with the dead man's money.
+    Fortune favouring his speculations, he began to amass great
+    wealth, and lived at his ease, denying himself nothing; and in
+    course of time he married a wife, who bore him a child.</p>
+
+    <p>Thus the days and months wore on, till one fine summer's
+    night, some three years after the priest's death, Tokubei
+    stepped out on to the verandah of his house to enjoy the cool
+    air and the beauty of the moonlight. Feeling dull and lonely,
+    he began musing over all kinds of things, when on a sudden the
+    deed of murder and theft, done so long ago, vividly recurred to
+    his memory, and he thought to himself, "Here am I, grown rich
+    and fat on the money I wantonly stole. Since then, all has gone
+    well with me; yet, had I not been poor, I had never turned
+    assassin nor thief. Woe betide me! what a pity it was!" and as
+    he was revolving the matter in his mind, a feeling of remorse
+    came over him, in spite of all he could do. While his
+    conscience thus smote him, he suddenly, to his utter amazement,
+    beheld the faint outline of a man standing near a fir-tree in
+    the garden: on looking more attentively, he perceived that the
+    man's whole body was thin and worn and the eyes sunken and dim;
+    and in the poor ghost that was before him he recognized the
+    very priest whom he <span class="pagenum"><a name="page194"
+       id="page194"></a>[pg 194]</span> had thrown into the sea at
+       Kuana. Chilled with horror, he looked again, and saw that
+       the priest was smiling in scorn. He would have fled into the
+       house, but the ghost stretched forth its withered arm, and,
+       clutching the back of his neck, scowled at him with a
+       vindictive glare, and a hideous ghastliness of mien, so
+       unspeakably awful that any ordinary man would have swooned
+       with fear. But Tokubei, tradesman though he was, had once
+       been a soldier, and was not easily matched for daring; so he
+       shook off the ghost, and, leaping into the room for his
+       dirk, laid about him boldly enough; but, strike as he would,
+       the spirit, fading into the air, eluded his blows, and
+       suddenly reappeared only to vanish again: and from that time
+       forth Tokubei knew no rest, and was haunted night and
+       day.</p>
+
+    <p>At length, undone by such ceaseless vexation, Tokubei fell
+    ill, and kept muttering, "Oh, misery! misery!&mdash;the
+    wandering priest is coming to torture me!" Hearing his moans
+    and the disturbance he made, the people in the house fancied he
+    was mad, and called in a physician, who prescribed for him. But
+    neither pill nor potion could cure Tokubei, whose strange
+    frenzy soon became the talk of the whole neighbourhood.</p>
+
+    <p>Now it chanced that the story reached the ears of a certain
+    wandering priest who lodged in the next street. When he heard
+    the particulars, this priest gravely shook his head, as though
+    he knew all about it, and sent a friend to Tokubei's house to
+    say that a wandering priest, dwelling hard by, had heard of his
+    illness, and, were it never so grievous, would undertake to
+    heal it by means of his prayers; and Tokubei's wife, driven
+    half wild by her husband's sickness, lost not a moment in
+    sending for the priest, and taking him into the sick man's
+    room.</p>
+
+    <p>But no sooner did Tokubei see the priest than he yelled out,
+    "Help! help! Here is the wandering priest come to torment me
+    again. Forgive! forgive!" and hiding his head under the
+    coverlet, he lay quivering all over. Then the priest turned all
+    present out of the room, put his mouth to the affrighted man's
+    ear, and whispered&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Three years ago, at the Kuana ferry, you flung me into the
+    water; and well you remember it."</p>
+
+    <p>But Tokubei was speechless, and could only quake with
+    fear.</p>
+
+    <p>"Happily," continued the priest, "I had learned to swim and
+    to dive as a boy; so I reached the shore, and, after wandering
+    through many provinces, succeeded in setting up a bronze figure
+    to Buddha, thus fulfilling the wish of my heart. On my journey
+    homewards, I took a lodging in the next street, and there heard
+    of your marvellous ailment. Thinking I could divine its cause,
+    I came to see you, and am glad to find I was not mistaken. You
+    have done a hateful deed; but am I not a priest, and have I not
+    forsaken the things of this world? and would it not ill become
+    me to bear malice? Repent, therefore, and abandon your evil
+    ways. To see you do so I should esteem the height of happiness.
+    Be of good cheer, now, and look me in the face, and you will
+    see that <span class="pagenum"><a name="page195"
+       id="page195"></a>[pg 195]</span> I am really a living man,
+       and no vengeful goblin come to torment you."</p>
+
+    <p>Seeing he had no ghost to deal with, and overwhelmed by the
+    priest's kindness, Tokubei burst into tears, and answered,
+    "Indeed, indeed, I don't know what to say. In a fit of madness
+    I was tempted to kill and rob you. Fortune befriended me ever
+    after; but the richer I grew, the more keenly I felt how wicked
+    I had been, and the more I foresaw that my victim's vengeance
+    would some day overtake me. Haunted by this thought, I lost my
+    nerve, till one night I beheld your spirit, and from that time
+    forth fell ill. But how you managed to escape, and are still
+    alive, is more than I can understand."</p>
+
+    <p>"A guilty man," said the priest, with a smile, "shudders at
+    the rustling of the wind or the chattering of a stork's beak: a
+    murderer's conscience preys upon his mind till he sees what is
+    not. Poverty drives a man to crimes which he repents of in his
+    wealth. How true is the doctrine of
+    M&ocirc;shi,<a id="footnotetag73"
+       name="footnotetag73"></a><a href="#footnote73"><sup>73</sup></a>
+       that the heart of man, pure by nature, is corrupted by
+       circumstances."</p>
+
+    <p>Thus he held forth; and Tokubei, who had long since repented
+    of his crime, implored forgiveness, and gave him a large sum of
+    money, saying, "Half of this is the amount I stole from you
+    three years since; the other half I entreat you to accept as
+    interest, or as a gift."</p>
+
+    <p>The priest at first refused the money; but Tokubei insisted
+    on his accepting it, and did all he could to detain him, but in
+    vain; for the priest went his way, and bestowed the money on
+    the poor and needy. As for Tokubei himself, he soon shook off
+    his disorder, and thenceforward lived at peace with all men,
+    revered both at home and abroad, and ever intent on good and
+    charitable deeds.
+    <!--blank page 196-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page197"
+       id="page197"></a>[pg 197]</span></p>
+
+    <h1>CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS</h1><!--blank page 198-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page199"
+       id="page199"></a>[pg 199]</span>
+
+    <h2>CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS</h2>
+
+    <p>Cats, foxes, and badgers are regarded with superstitious awe
+    by the Japanese, who attribute to them the power of assuming
+    the human shape in order to bewitch mankind. Like the fairies
+    of our Western tales, however, they work for good as well as
+    for evil ends. To do them a good turn is to secure powerful
+    allies; but woe betide him who injures them!&mdash;he and his
+    will assuredly suffer for it. Cats and foxes seem to have been
+    looked upon as uncanny beasts all the world over; but it is new
+    to me that badgers should have a place in fairy-land. The
+    island of Shikoku, the southernmost of the great Japanese
+    islands, appears to be the part of the country in which the
+    badger is regarded with the greatest veneration. Among the many
+    tricks which he plays upon the human race is one, of which I
+    have a clever representation carved in ivory. Lying in wait in
+    lonely places after dusk, the badger watches for benighted
+    wayfarers: should one appear, the beast, drawing a long breath,
+    distends his belly and drums delicately upon it with his
+    clenched fist, producing such entrancing tones, that the
+    traveller cannot resist turning aside to follow the sound,
+    which, Will-o'-the-wisp-like, recedes as he advances, until it
+    lures him on to his destruction. Love is, however, the most
+    powerful engine which the cat, the fox, and the badger alike
+    put forth for the ruin of man. No German poet ever imagined a
+    more captivating water-nymph than the fair virgins by whom the
+    knight of Japanese romance is assailed: the true hero
+    recognizes and slays the beast; the weaker mortal yields and
+    perishes.</p>
+
+    <p>The Japanese story-books abound with tales about the pranks
+    of these creatures, which, like ghosts, even play a part in the
+    histories of ancient and noble families. I have collected a few
+    of these, and now beg a hearing for a distinguished and
+    two-tailed<a id="footnotetag74"
+       name="footnotetag74"></a><a href="#footnote74"><sup>74</sup></a>
+       connection of Puss in Boots and the Chatte
+       Blanche.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page200"
+       id="page200"></a>[pg 200]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE VAMPIRE CAT OF NAB&Eacute;SHIMA</h3>
+
+    <p>There is a tradition in the
+    Nab&eacute;shima<a id="footnotetag75"
+       name="footnotetag75"></a><a href="#footnote75"><sup>75</sup></a>
+       family that, many years ago, the Prince of Hizen was
+       bewitched and cursed by a cat that had been kept by one of
+       his retainers. This prince had in his house a lady of rare
+       beauty, called O Toyo: amongst all his ladies she was the
+       favourite, and there was none who could rival her charms and
+       accomplishments. One day the Prince went out into the garden
+       with O Toyo, and remained enjoying the fragrance of the
+       flowers until sunset, when they returned to the palace,
+       never noticing that they were being followed by a large cat.
+       Having parted with her lord, O Toyo retired to her own room
+       and went to bed. At midnight she awoke with a start, and
+       became aware of a huge cat that crouched watching her; and
+       when she cried out, the beast sprang on her, and, fixing its
+       cruel teeth in her delicate throat, throttled her to death.
+       What a piteous end for so fair a dame, the darling of her
+       prince's heart, to die suddenly, bitten to death by a cat!
+       Then the cat, having scratched out a grave under the
+       verandah, buried the corpse of O Toyo, and assuming her
+       form, began to bewitch the Prince.</p>
+
+    <p>But my lord the Prince knew nothing of all this, and little
+    thought that the beautiful creature who caressed and fondled
+    him was an impish and foul beast that had slain his mistress
+    and assumed her shape in order to drain out his life's blood.
+    Day by day, as time went on, the Prince's strength dwindled
+    away; the colour of his face was changed, and became pale and
+    livid; and he was as a man suffering from a deadly sickness.
+    Seeing this, his councillors and his wife became greatly
+    alarmed; so they summoned the physicians, who prescribed
+    various remedies for him; but the more medicine he took, the
+    more serious did his illness appear, and no treatment was of
+    any avail. But most of all did he suffer in the night-time,
+    when his sleep would be troubled and disturbed by hideous
+    dreams. In consequence of this, his councillors nightly
+    appointed a hundred of his retainers to sit up and watch over
+    him; but, strange to say, towards ten o'clock on the very first
+    night that the watch was set, the guard were seized with a
+    sudden and unaccountable drowsiness, which they could not
+    resist, until one by one every man had fallen asleep. Then the
+    false O Toyo came in and harassed the Prince until morning. The
+    following night the same thing occurred, and the Prince was
+    subjected to the imp's tyranny, <!--blank page 201-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page202"
+       id="page202"></a>[pg 202]</span> while his guards slept
+       helplessly around him. Night after night this was repeated,
+       until at last three of the Prince's councillors determined
+       themselves to sit up on guard, and see whether they could
+       overcome this mysterious drowsiness; but they fared no
+       better than the others, and by ten o'clock were fast asleep.
+       The next day the three councillors held a solemn conclave,
+       and their chief, one Isahaya Buzen, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"This is a marvellous thing, that a guard of a hundred men
+    should thus be overcome by sleep. Of a surety, the spell that
+    is upon my lord and upon his guard must be the work of
+    witchcraft. Now, as all our efforts are of no avail, let us
+    seek out Ruiten, the chief priest of the temple called
+    Miy&ocirc; In, and beseech him to put up prayers for the
+    recovery of my lord."</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/201.jpg"
+             name="image201"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image201"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/201.jpg"
+             alt="THE CAT OF NAB&Eacute;SHIMA." /></a> THE CAT OF
+             NAB&Eacute;SHIMA.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>And the other councillors approving what Isahaya Buzen had
+    said, they went to the priest Ruiten and engaged him to recite
+    litanies that the Prince might be restored to health.</p>
+
+    <p>So it came to pass that Ruiten, the chief priest of
+    Miy&ocirc; In, offered up prayers nightly for the Prince. One
+    night, at the ninth hour (midnight), when he had finished his
+    religious exercises and was preparing to lie down to sleep, he
+    fancied that he heard a noise outside in the garden, as if some
+    one were washing himself at the well. Deeming this passing
+    strange, he looked down from the window; and there in the
+    moonlight he saw a handsome young soldier, some twenty-four
+    years of age, washing himself, who, when he had finished
+    cleaning himself and had put on his clothes, stood before the
+    figure of Buddha and prayed fervently for the recovery of my
+    lord the Prince. Ruiten looked on with admiration; and the
+    young man, when he had made an end of his prayer, was going
+    away; but the priest stopped him, calling out to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir, I pray you to tarry a little: I have something to say
+    to you."</p>
+
+    <p>"At your reverence's service. What may you please to
+    want?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Pray be so good as to step up here, and have a little
+    talk."</p>
+
+    <p>"By your reverence's leave;" and with this he went
+    upstairs.</p>
+
+    <p>Then Ruiten said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir, I cannot conceal my admiration that you, being so
+    young a man, should have so loyal a spirit. I am Ruiten, the
+    chief priest of this temple, who am engaged in praying for the
+    recovery of my lord. Pray what is your name?"</p>
+
+    <p>"My name, sir, is It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da, and I am serving in
+    the infantry of Nab&eacute;shima. Since my lord has been sick,
+    my one desire has been to assist in nursing him; but, being
+    only a simple soldier, I am not of sufficient rank to come into
+    his presence, so I have no resource but to pray to the gods of
+    the country and to Buddha that my lord may regain his
+    health."</p>
+
+    <p>When Ruiten heard this, he shed tears in admiration of the
+    fidelity of It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Your purpose is, indeed, a good one; but what a strange
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page203"
+       id="page203"></a>[pg 203]</span> sickness this is that my
+       lord is afflicted with! Every night he suffers from horrible
+       dreams; and the retainers who sit up with him are all seized
+       with a mysterious sleep, so that not one can keep awake. It
+       is very wonderful."</p>
+
+    <p>"Yes," replied S&ocirc;da, after a moment's reflection,
+    "this certainly must be witchcraft. If I could but obtain leave
+    to sit up one night with the Prince, I would fain see whether I
+    could not resist this drowsiness and detect the goblin."</p>
+
+    <p>At last the priest said, "I am in relations of friendship
+    with Isahaya Buzen, the chief councillor of the Prince. I will
+    speak to him of you and of your loyalty, and will intercede
+    with him that you may attain your wish."</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed, sir, I am most thankful. I am not prompted by any
+    vain thought of self-advancement, should I succeed: all I wish
+    for is the recovery of my lord. I commend myself to your kind
+    favour."</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, then, to-morrow night I will take you with me to the
+    councillor's house."</p>
+
+    <p>"Thank you, sir, and farewell." And so they parted.</p>
+
+    <p>On the following evening It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da returned to
+    the temple Miy&ocirc; In, and having found Ruiten, accompanied
+    him to the house of Isahaya Buzen: then the priest, leaving
+    S&ocirc;da outside, went in to converse with the councillor,
+    and inquire after the Prince's health.</p>
+
+    <p>"And pray, sir, how is my lord? Is he in any better
+    condition since I have been offering up prayers for him?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed, no; his illness is very severe. We are certain that
+    he must be the victim of some foul sorcery; but as there are no
+    means of keeping a guard awake after ten o'clock, we cannot
+    catch a sight of the goblin, so we are in the greatest
+    trouble."</p>
+
+    <p>"I feel deeply for you: it must be most distressing.
+    However, I have something to tell you. I think that I have
+    found a man who will detect the goblin; and I have brought him
+    with me."</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed! who is the man?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, he is one of my lord's foot-soldiers, named It&ocirc;
+    S&ocirc;da, a faithful fellow, and I trust that you will grant
+    his request to be permitted to sit up with my lord."</p>
+
+    <p>"Certainly, it is wonderful to find so much loyalty and zeal
+    in a common soldier," replied Isahaya Buzen, after a moment's
+    reflection; "still it is impossible to allow a man of such low
+    rank to perform the office of watching over my lord."</p>
+
+    <p>"It is true that he is but a common soldier," urged the
+    priest; "but why not raise his rank in consideration of his
+    fidelity, and then let him mount guard?"</p>
+
+    <p>"It would be time enough to promote him after my lord's
+    recovery. But come, let me see this It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da, that
+    I may know what manner of man he is: if he pleases me, I will
+    consult with the other councillors, and perhaps we may grant
+    his request." <span class="pagenum"><a name="page204"
+       id="page204"></a>[pg 204]</span> "I will bring him in
+       forthwith," replied Ruiten, who thereupon went out to fetch
+       the young man.</p>
+
+    <p>When he returned, the priest presented It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da
+    to the councillor, who looked at him attentively, and, being
+    pleased with his comely and gentle appearance, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"So I hear that you are anxious to be permitted to mount
+    guard in my lord's room at night. Well, I must consult with the
+    other councillors, and we will see what can be done for
+    you."</p>
+
+    <p>When the young soldier heard this he was greatly elated, and
+    took his leave, after warmly thanking Buiten, who had helped
+    him to gain his object. The next day the councillors held a
+    meeting, and sent for It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da, and told him that
+    he might keep watch with the other retainers that very night.
+    So he went his way in high spirits, and at nightfall, having
+    made all his preparations, took his place among the hundred
+    gentlemen who were on duty in the prince's bed-room.</p>
+
+    <p>Now the Prince slept in the centre of the room, and the
+    hundred guards around him sat keeping themselves awake with
+    entertaining conversation and pleasant conceits. But, as ten
+    o'clock approached, they began to doze off as they sat; and in
+    spite of all their endeavours to keep one another awake, by
+    degrees they all fell asleep. It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da all this
+    while felt an irresistible desire to sleep creeping over him,
+    and, though he tried by all sorts of ways to rouse himself, he
+    saw that there was no help for it, but by resorting to an
+    extreme measure, for which he had already made his
+    preparations. Drawing out a piece of oil paper which he had
+    brought with him, and spreading it over the mats, he sat down
+    upon it; then he took the small knife which he carried in the
+    sheath of his dirk, and stuck it into his own thigh. For awhile
+    the pain of the wound kept him awake; but as the slumber by
+    which he was assailed was the work of sorcery, little by little
+    he became drowsy again. Then he twisted the knife round and
+    round in his thigh, so that the pain becoming very violent, he
+    was proof against the feeling of sleepiness, and kept a
+    faithful watch. Now the oil paper which he had spread under his
+    legs was in order to prevent the blood, which might spurt from
+    his wound, from defiling the mats.</p>
+
+    <p>So It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da remained awake, but the rest of the
+    guard slept; and as he watched, suddenly the sliding-doors of
+    the Prince's room were drawn open, and he saw a figure coming
+    in stealthily, and, as it drew nearer, the form was that of a
+    marvellously beautiful woman some twenty-three years of age.
+    Cautiously she looked around her; and when she saw that all the
+    guard were asleep, she smiled an ominous smile, and was going
+    up to the Prince's bedside, when she perceived that in one
+    corner of the room there was a man yet awake. This seemed to
+    startle her, but she went up to S&ocirc;da and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I am not used to seeing you here. Who are you?"</p>
+
+    <p>"My name is It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da, and this is the first
+    night that I have been on
+    guard."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page205"
+       id="page205"></a>[pg 205]</span>
+
+    <p>"A troublesome office, truly! Why, here are all the rest of
+    the guard asleep. How is it that you alone are awake? You are a
+    trusty watchman."</p>
+
+    <p>"There is nothing to boast about. I'm asleep myself, fast
+    and sound."</p>
+
+    <p>"What is that wound on your knee? It is all red with
+    blood."</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! I felt very sleepy; so I stuck my knife into my thigh,
+    and the pain of it has kept me awake."</p>
+
+    <p>"What wondrous loyalty!" said the lady.</p>
+
+    <p>"Is it not the duty of a retainer to lay down his life for
+    his master? Is such a scratch as this worth thinking
+    about?"</p>
+
+    <p>Then the lady went up to the sleeping prince and said, "How
+    fares it with my lord to-night?" But the Prince, worn out with
+    sickness, made no reply. But S&ocirc;da was watching her
+    eagerly, and guessed that it was O Toyo, and made up his mind
+    that if she attempted to harass the Prince he would kill her on
+    the spot. The goblin, however, which in the form of O Toyo had
+    been tormenting the Prince every night, and had come again that
+    night for no other purpose, was defeated by the watchfulness of
+    It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da; for whenever she drew near to the sick
+    man, thinking to put her spells upon him, she would turn and
+    look behind her, and there she saw It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da glaring
+    at her; so she had no help for it but to go away again, and
+    leave the Prince undisturbed.</p>
+
+    <p>At last the day broke, and the other officers, when they
+    awoke and opened their eyes, saw that It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da had
+    kept awake by stabbing himself in the thigh; and they were
+    greatly ashamed, and went home crestfallen.</p>
+
+    <p>That morning It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da went to the house of
+    Isahaya Buzen, and told him all that had occurred the previous
+    night. The councillors were all loud in their praises of
+    It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da's behaviour, and ordered him to keep watch
+    again that night. At the same hour, the false O Toyo came and
+    looked all round the room, and all the guard were asleep,
+    excepting It&ocirc; S&ocirc;da, who was wide awake; and so,
+    being again frustrated, she returned to her own apartments.</p>
+
+    <p>Now as since S&ocirc;da had been on guard the Prince had
+    passed quiet nights, his sickness began to get better, and
+    there was great joy in the palace, and S&ocirc;da was promoted
+    and rewarded with an estate. In the meanwhile O Toyo, seeing
+    that her nightly visits bore no fruits, kept away; and from
+    that time forth the night-guard were no longer subject to fits
+    of drowsiness. This coincidence struck S&ocirc;da as very
+    strange, so he went to Isahaya Buzen and told him that of a
+    certainty this O Toyo was no other than a goblin. Isahaya Buzen
+    reflected for a while, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, then, how shall we kill the foul thing?"</p>
+
+    <p>"I will go to the creature's room, as if nothing were the
+    matter, and try to kill her; but in case she should try to
+    escape, I will beg you to order eight men to stop outside and
+    lie in wait for
+    her."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page206"
+       id="page206"></a>[pg 206]</span>
+
+    <p>Having agreed upon this plan, S&ocirc;da went at nightfall
+    to O Toyo's apartment, pretending to have been sent with a
+    message from the Prince. When she saw him arrive, she
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"What message have you brought me from my lord?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! nothing in particular. Be so look as to look at this
+    letter;" and as he spoke, he drew near to her, and suddenly
+    drawing his dirk cut at her; but the goblin, springing back,
+    seized a halberd, and glaring fiercely at S&ocirc;da,
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"How dare you behave like this to one of your lord's ladies?
+    I will have you dismissed;" and she tried to strike S&ocirc;da
+    with the halberd. But S&ocirc;da fought desperately with his
+    dirk; and the goblin, seeing that she was no match for him,
+    threw away the halberd, and from a beautiful woman became
+    suddenly transformed into a cat, which, springing up the sides
+    of the room, jumped on to the roof. Isahaya Buzen and his eight
+    men who were watching outside shot at the cat, but missed it,
+    and the beast made good its escape.</p>
+
+    <p>So the cat fled to the mountains, and did much mischief
+    among the surrounding people, until at last the Prince of Hizen
+    ordered a great hunt, and the beast was killed.</p>
+
+    <p>But the Prince recovered from his sickness; and It&ocirc;
+    S&ocirc;da was richly
+    rewarded.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page207"
+       id="page207"></a>[pg 207]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT</h3>
+
+    <p>About sixty years ago, in the summertime, a man went to pay
+    a visit at a certain house at Osaka, and, in the course of
+    conversation, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I have eaten some very extraordinary cakes to-day," and on
+    being asked what he meant, he told the following
+    story:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I received the cakes from the relatives of a family who
+    were celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the death of a
+    cat that had belonged to their ancestors. When I asked the
+    history of the affair, I was told that, in former days, a young
+    girl of the family, when she was about sixteen years old, used
+    always to be followed about by a tom-cat, who was reared in the
+    house, so much so that the two were never separated for an
+    instant. When her father perceived this, he was very angry,
+    thinking that the tom-cat, forgetting the kindness with which
+    he had been treated for years in the house, had fallen in love
+    with his daughter, and intended to cast a spell upon her; so he
+    determined that he must kill the beast. As he was planning this
+    in secret, the cat overheard him, and that night went to his
+    pillow, and, assuming a human voice, said to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"'You suspect me of being in love with your daughter; and
+    although you might well be justified in so thinking, your
+    suspicions are groundless. The fact is this:&mdash;There is a
+    very large old rat who has been living for many years in your
+    granary. Now it is this old rat who is in love with my young
+    mistress, and this is why I dare not leave her side for a
+    moment, for fear the old rat should carry her off. Therefore I
+    pray you to dispel your suspicions. But as I, by myself, am no
+    match for the rat, there is a famous cat, named Buchi, at the
+    house of Mr. So-and-so, at Ajikawa: if you will borrow that
+    cat, we will soon make an end of the old rat.'</p>
+
+    <p>"When the father awoke from his dream, he thought it so
+    wonderful, that he told the household of it; and the following
+    day he got up very early and went off to Ajikawa, to inquire
+    for the house which the cat had indicated, and had no
+    difficulty in finding it; so he called upon the master of the
+    house, and told him what his own cat had said, and how he
+    wished to borrow the cat Buchi for a little while.</p>
+
+    <p>"'That's a very easy matter to settle,' said the other:
+    'pray take him with you at once;' and accordingly the father
+    went home with the cat Buchi in charge. That night he put the
+    two cats into the granary; and after a little while, a
+    frightful clatter was heard, and then all was still again; so
+    the people of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page208"
+       id="page208"></a>[pg 208]</span> house opened the door, and
+       crowded out to see what had happened; and there they beheld
+       the two cats and the rat all locked together, and panting
+       for breath; so they cut the throat of the rat, which was as
+       big as either of the cats: then they attended to the two
+       cats; but, although they gave them
+       ginseng<a id="footnotetag76"
+       name="footnotetag76"></a><a href="#footnote76"><sup>76</sup></a>
+       and other restoratives, they both got weaker and weaker,
+       until at last they died. So the rat was thrown into the
+       river; but the two cats were buried with all honours in a
+       neighbouring
+       temple."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page209"
+       id="page209"></a>[pg 209]</span>
+
+    <h3>HOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS HEAD SHAVED BY THE
+    FOXES</h3>
+
+    <p>In the village of Iwahara, in the province of Shinshiu,
+    there dwelt a family which had acquired considerable wealth in
+    the wine trade. On some auspicious occasion it happened that a
+    number of guests were gathered together at their house,
+    feasting on wine and fish; and as the wine-cup went round, the
+    conversation turned upon foxes. Among the guests was a certain
+    carpenter, Tokutar&ocirc; by name, a man about thirty years of
+    age, of a stubborn and obstinate turn, who said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, sirs, you've been talking for some time of men being
+    bewitched by foxes; surely you must be under their influence
+    yourselves, to say such things. How on earth can foxes have
+    such power over men? At any rate, men must be great fools to be
+    so deluded. Let's have no more of this nonsense."</p>
+
+    <p>Upon this a man who was sitting by him answered&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Tokutar&ocirc; little knows what goes on in the world, or
+    he would not speak so. How many myriads of men are there who
+    have been bewitched by foxes? Why, there have been at least
+    twenty or thirty men tricked by the brutes on the Maki Moor
+    alone. It's hard to disprove facts that have happened before
+    our eyes."</p>
+
+    <p>"You're no better than a pack of born idiots," said
+    Tokutar&ocirc;. "I will engage to go out to the Maki Moor this
+    very night and prove it. There is not a fox in all Japan that
+    can make a fool of Tokutar&ocirc;."</p>
+
+    <p>"Thus he spoke in his pride; but the others were all angry
+    with him for boasting, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"If you return without anything having happened, we will pay
+    for five measures of wine and a thousand copper cash worth of
+    fish; and if you are bewitched, you shall do as much for
+    us."</p>
+
+    <p>Tokutar&ocirc; took the bet, and at nightfall set forth for
+    the Maki Moor by himself. As he neared the moor, he saw before
+    him a small bamboo grove, into which a fox ran; and it
+    instantly occurred to him that the foxes of the moor would try
+    to bewitch him. As he was yet looking, he suddenly saw the
+    daughter of the headman of the village of Upper
+    Horikan&eacute;, who was married to the headman of the village
+    of Maki.</p>
+
+    <p>"Pray, where are you going to, Master Tokutar&ocirc;?" said
+    she.</p>
+
+    <p>"I am going to the village hard by."</p>
+
+    <p>"Then, as you will have to pass my native place, if you will
+    allow me, I will accompany you so far."</p>
+
+    <p>Tokutar&ocirc; thought this very odd, and made up his mind
+    that it was a fox trying to make a fool of him; he accordingly
+    determined to turn the tables on the fox, and answered&mdash;
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page210"
+       id="page210"></a>[pg 210]</span> "It is a long time since I
+       have had the pleasure of seeing you; and as it seems that
+       your house is on my road, I shall be glad to escort you so
+       far."</p>
+
+    <p>With this he walked behind her, thinking he should certainly
+    see the end of a fox's tail peeping out; but, look as he might,
+    there was nothing to be seen. At last they came to the village
+    of Upper Horikan&eacute;; and when they reached the cottage of
+    the girl's father, the family all came out, surprised to see
+    her.</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh dear! oh dear! here is our daughter come: I hope there
+    is nothing the matter."</p>
+
+    <p>And so they went on, for some time, asking a string of
+    questions.</p>
+
+    <p>In the meanwhile, Tokutar&ocirc; went round to the kitchen
+    door, at the back of the house, and, beckoning out the master
+    of the house, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"The girl who has come with me is not really your daughter.
+    As I was going to the Maki Moor, when I arrived at the bamboo
+    grove, a fox jumped up in front of me, and when it had dashed
+    into the grove it immediately took the shape of your daughter,
+    and offered to accompany me to the village; so I pretended to
+    be taken in by the brute, and came with it so far."</p>
+
+    <p>On hearing this, the master of the house put his head on one
+    side, and mused a while; then, calling his wife, he repeated
+    the story to her, in a whisper.</p>
+
+    <p>But she flew into a great rage with Tokutar&ocirc;, and
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"This is a pretty way of insulting people's daughters. The
+    girl is our daughter, and there's no mistake about it. How dare
+    you invent such lies?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Well," said Tokutar&ocirc;, "you are quite right to say so;
+    but still there is no doubt that this is a case of
+    witchcraft."</p>
+
+    <p>Seeing how obstinately he held to his opinion, the old folks
+    were sorely perplexed, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"What do you think of doing?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Pray leave the matter to me: I'll soon strip the false skin
+    off, and show the beast to you in its true colours. Do you two
+    go into the store-closet, and wait there."</p>
+
+    <p>With this he went into the kitchen, and, seizing the girl by
+    the back of the neck, forced her down by the hearth.</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! Master Tokutar&ocirc;, what means this brutal violence?
+    Mother! father! help!"</p>
+
+    <p>So the girl cried and screamed; but Tokutar&ocirc; only
+    laughed, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"So you thought to bewitch me, did you? From the moment you
+    jumped into the wood, I was on the look-out for you to play me
+    some trick. I'll soon make you show what you really are;" and
+    as he said this, he twisted her two hands behind her back, and
+    trod upon her, and tortured her; but she only wept, and
+    cried&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! it hurts, it hurts!"</p>
+
+    <p>"If this is not enough to make you show your true form, I'll
+    roast you to death;" and he piled firewood on the hearth, and,
+    tucking up her dress, scorched her
+    severely.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page211"
+       id="page211"></a>[pg 211]</span>
+
+    <p>"Oh! oh! this is more than I can bear;" and with this she
+    expired.</p>
+
+    <p>The two old people then came running in from the rear of the
+    house, and, pushing aside Tokutar&ocirc;, folded their daughter
+    in their arms, and put their hands to her mouth to feel whether
+    she still breathed; but life was extinct, and not the sign of a
+    fox's tail was to be seen about her. Then they seized
+    Tokutar&ocirc; by the collar, and cried&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"On pretence that our true daughter was a fox, you have
+    roasted her to death. Murderer! Here, you there, bring ropes
+    and cords, and secure this Tokutar&ocirc;!"</p>
+
+    <p>So the servants obeyed, and several of them seized
+    Tokutar&ocirc; and bound him to a pillar. Then the master of
+    the house, turning to Tokutar&ocirc;, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"You have murdered our daughter before our very eyes. I
+    shall report the matter to the lord of the manor, and you will
+    assuredly pay for this with your head. Be prepared for the
+    worst."</p>
+
+    <p>And as he said this, glaring fiercely at Tokutar&ocirc;,
+    they carried the corpse of his daughter into the store-closet.
+    As they were sending to make the matter known in the village of
+    Maki, and taking other measures, who should come up but the
+    priest of the temple called Anrakuji, in the village of
+    Iwahara, with an acolyte and a servant, who called out in a
+    loud voice from the front door&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Is all well with the honourable master of this house? I
+    have been to say prayers to-day in a neighbouring village, and
+    on my way back I could not pass the door without at least
+    inquiring after your welfare. If you are at home, I would fain
+    pay my respects to you."</p>
+
+    <p>As he spoke thus in a loud voice, he was heard from the back
+    of the house; and the master got up and went out, and, after
+    the usual compliments on meeting had been exchanged,
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I ought to have the honour of inviting you to step inside
+    this evening; but really we are all in the greatest trouble,
+    and I must beg you to excuse my impoliteness."</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed! Pray, what may be the matter?" replied the priest.
+    And when the master of the house had told the whole story, from
+    beginning to end, he was thunderstruck, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Truly, this must be a terrible distress to you." Then the
+    priest looked on one side, and saw Tokutar&ocirc; bound, and
+    exclaimed, "Is not that Tokutar&ocirc; that I see there?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, your reverence," replied Tokutar&ocirc;, piteously, "it
+    was this, that, and the other: and I took it into my head that
+    the young lady was a fox, and so I killed her. But I pray your
+    reverence to intercede for me, and save my life;" and as he
+    spoke, the tears started from his eyes.</p>
+
+    <p>"To be sure," said the priest, "you may well bewail
+    yourself; however, if I save your life, will you consent to
+    become my disciple, and enter the priesthood?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Only save my life, and I'll become your disciple with all
+    my heart."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page212"
+       id="page212"></a>[pg 212]</span>
+
+    <p>When the priest heard this, he called out the parents, and
+    said to them&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"It would seem that, though I am but a foolish old priest,
+    my coming here to-day has been unusually well timed. I have a
+    request to make of you. Your putting Tokutar&ocirc; to death
+    won't bring your daughter to life again. I have heard his
+    story, and there certainly was no malice prepense on his part
+    to kill your daughter. What he did, he did thinking to do a
+    service to your family; and it would surely be better to hush
+    the matter up. He wishes, moreover, to give himself over to me,
+    and to become my disciple."</p>
+
+    <p>"It is as you say," replied the father and mother, speaking
+    together. "Revenge will not recall our daughter. Please dispel
+    our grief, by shaving his head and making a priest of him on
+    the spot."</p>
+
+    <p>"I'll shave him at once, before your eyes," answered the
+    priest, who immediately caused the cords which bound
+    Tokutar&ocirc; to be untied, and, putting on his priest's
+    scarf, made him join his hands together in a posture of prayer.
+    Then the reverend man stood up behind him, razor in hand, and,
+    intoning a hymn, gave two or three strokes of the razor, which
+    he then handed to his acolyte, who made a clean shave of
+    Tokutar&ocirc;'s hair. When the latter had finished his
+    obeisance to the priest, and the ceremony was over, there was a
+    loud burst of laughter; and at the same moment the day broke,
+    and Tokutar&ocirc; found himself alone, in the middle of a
+    large moor. At first, in his surprise, he thought that it was
+    all a dream, and was much annoyed at having been tricked by the
+    foxes. He then passed his hand over his head, and found that he
+    was shaved quite bald. There was nothing for it but to get up,
+    wrap a handkerchief round his head, and go back to the place
+    where his friends were assembled.</p>
+
+    <p>"Hallo, Tokutar&ocirc;! so you've come back. Well, how about
+    the foxes?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Really, gentlemen," replied he, bowing, "I am quite ashamed
+    to appear before you."</p>
+
+    <p>Then he told them the whole story, and, when he had
+    finished, pulled off the kerchief, and showed his bald
+    pate.</p>
+
+    <p>"What a capital joke!" shouted his listeners, and amid roars
+    of laughter, claimed the bet of fish, and wine. It was duly
+    paid; but Tokutar&ocirc; never allowed his hair to grow again,
+    and renounced the world, and became a priest under the name of
+    Sainen.</p>
+
+    <p>There are a great many stories told of men being shaved by
+    the foxes; but this story came under the personal observation
+    of Mr. Sh&ocirc;minsai, a teacher of the city of Yedo, during a
+    holiday trip which he took to the country where the event
+    occurred; and I<a id="footnotetag77"
+       name="footnotetag77"></a><a href="#footnote77"><sup>77</sup></a>
+       have recorded it in the very selfsame words in which he told
+       it to me.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page213"
+       id="page213"></a>[pg 213]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE GRATEFUL FOXES</h3>
+
+    <p>One fine spring day, two friends went out to a moor to
+    gather fern, attended by a boy with a bottle of wine and a box
+    of provisions. As they were straying about, they saw at the
+    foot of a hill a fox that had brought out its cub to play; and
+    whilst they looked on, struck by the strangeness of the sight,
+    three children came up from a neighbouring village with baskets
+    in their hands, on the same errand as themselves. As soon as
+    the children saw the foxes, they picked up a bamboo stick and
+    took the creatures stealthily in the rear; and when the old
+    foxes took to flight, they surrounded them and beat them with
+    the stick, so that they ran away as fast as their legs could
+    carry them; but two of the boys held down the cub, and, seizing
+    it by the scruff of the neck, went off in high glee.</p>
+
+    <p>The two friends were looking on all the while, and one of
+    them, raising his voice, shouted out, "Hallo! you boys! what
+    are you doing with that fox?"</p>
+
+    <p>The eldest of the boys replied, "We're going to take him
+    home and sell him to a young man in our village. He'll buy him,
+    and then he'll boil him in a pot and eat him."</p>
+
+    <p>"Well," replied the other, after considering the matter
+    attentively, "I suppose it's all the same to you whom you sell
+    him to. You'd better let me have him."</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, but the young man from our village promised us a good
+    round sum if we could find a fox, and got us to come out to the
+    hills and catch one; and so we can't sell him to you at any
+    price."</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, I suppose it cannot be helped, then; but how much
+    would the young man give you for the cub?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, he'll give us three hundred cash at least."</p>
+
+    <p>"Then I'll give you half a bu;<a id="footnotetag78"
+       name="footnotetag78"></a><a href="#footnote78"><sup>78</sup></a>
+       and so you'll gain five hundred cash by the
+       transaction."</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, we'll sell him for that, sir. How shall we hand him
+    over to you?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Just tie him up here," said the other; and so he made fast
+    the cub round the neck with the string of the napkin in which
+    the luncheon-box was wrapped, and gave half a bu to the three
+    boys, who ran away
+    delighted.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page214"
+       id="page214"></a>[pg 214]</span>
+
+    <p>The man's friend, upon this, said to him, "Well, certainly
+    you have got queer tastes. What on earth are you going to keep
+    the fox for?"</p>
+
+    <p>"How very unkind of you to speak of my tastes like that. If
+    we had not interfered just now, the fox's cub would have lost
+    its life. If we had not seen the affair, there would have been
+    no help for it. How could I stand by and see life taken? It was
+    but a little I spent&mdash;only half a bu&mdash;to save the
+    cub, but had it cost a fortune I should not have grudged it. I
+    thought you were intimate enough with me to know my heart; but
+    to-day you have accused me of being eccentric, and I see how
+    mistaken I have been in you. However, our friendship shall
+    cease from this day forth."</p>
+
+    <p>And when he had said this with a great deal of firmness, the
+    other, retiring backwards and bowing with his hands on his
+    knees, replied&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed, indeed, I am filled with admiration at the goodness
+    of your heart. When I hear you speak thus, I feel more than
+    ever how great is the love I bear you. I thought that you might
+    wish to use the cub as a sort of decoy to lead the old ones to
+    you, that you might pray them to bring prosperity and virtue to
+    your house. When I called you eccentric just now, I was but
+    trying your heart, because I had some suspicions of you; and
+    now I am truly ashamed of myself."</p>
+
+    <p>And as he spoke, still bowing, the other replied, "Really!
+    was that indeed your thought? Then I pray you to forgive me for
+    my violent language."</p>
+
+    <p>When the two friends had thus become reconciled, they
+    examined the cub, and saw that it had a slight wound in its
+    foot, and could not walk; and while they were thinking what
+    they should do, they spied out the herb called "Doctor's
+    Nakas&eacute;," which was just sprouting; so they rolled up a
+    little of it in their fingers and applied it to the part. Then
+    they pulled out some boiled rice from their luncheon-box and
+    offered it to the cub, but it showed no sign of wanting to eat;
+    so they stroked it gently on the back, and petted it; and as
+    the pain of the wound seemed to have subsided, they were
+    admiring the properties of the herb, when, opposite to them,
+    they saw the old foxes sitting watching them by the side of
+    some stacks of rice straw.</p>
+
+    <p>"Look there! the old foxes have come back, out of fear for
+    their cub's safety. Come, we will set it free!" And with these
+    words they untied the string round the cub's neck, and turned
+    its head towards the spot where the old foxes sat; and as the
+    wounded foot was no longer painful, with one bound it dashed to
+    its parents' side and licked them all over for joy, while they
+    seemed to bow their thanks, looking towards the two friends.
+    So, with peace in their hearts, the latter went off to another
+    place, and, choosing a pretty spot, produced the wine bottle
+    and ate their noon-day meal; and after a pleasant day, they
+    returned to their homes, and became firmer friends than
+    ever.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page215"
+       id="page215"></a>[pg 215]</span>
+
+    <p>Now the man who had rescued the fox's cub was a tradesman in
+    good circumstances: he had three or four agents and two
+    maid-servants, besides men-servants; and altogether he lived in
+    a liberal manner. He was married, and this union had brought
+    him one son, who had reached his tenth year, but had been
+    attacked by a strange disease which defied all the physician's
+    skill and drugs. At last a famous physician prescribed the
+    liver taken from a live fox, which, as he said, would certainly
+    effect a cure. If that were not forthcoming, the most expensive
+    medicine in the world would not restore the boy to health. When
+    the parents heard this, they were at their wits' end. However,
+    they told the state of the case to a man who lived on the
+    mountains. "Even though our child should die for it," they
+    said, "we will not ourselves deprive other creatures of their
+    lives; but you, who live among the hills, are sure to hear when
+    your neighbours go out fox-hunting. We don't care what price we
+    might have to pay for a fox's liver; pray, buy one for us at
+    any expense." So they pressed him to exert himself on their
+    behalf; and he, having promised faithfully to execute the
+    commission, went his way.</p>
+
+    <p>In the night of the following day there came a messenger,
+    who announced himself as coming from the person who had
+    undertaken to procure the fox's liver; so the master of the
+    house went out to see him.</p>
+
+    <p>"I have come from Mr. So-and-so. Last night the fox's liver
+    that you required fell into his hands; so he sent me to bring
+    it to you." With these words the messenger produced a small
+    jar, adding, "In a few days he will let you know the
+    price."</p>
+
+    <p>When he had delivered his message, the master of the house
+    was greatly pleased, and said, "Indeed, I am deeply grateful
+    for this kindness, which will save my son's life."</p>
+
+    <p>Then the goodwife came out, and received the jar with every
+    mark of politeness.</p>
+
+    <p>"We must make a present to the messenger."</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed, sir, I've already been paid for my trouble."</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, at any rate, you must stop the night here."</p>
+
+    <p>"Thank you, sir: I've a relation in the next village whom I
+    have not seen for a long while, and I will pass the night with
+    him;" and so he took his leave, and went away.</p>
+
+    <p>The parents lost no time in sending to let the physician
+    know that they had procured the fox's liver. The next day the
+    doctor came and compounded a medicine for the patient, which at
+    once produced a good effect, and there was no little joy in the
+    household. As luck would have it, three days after this the man
+    whom they had commissioned to buy the fox's liver came to the
+    house; so the goodwife hurried out to meet him and welcome
+    him.</p>
+
+    <p>"How quickly you fulfilled our wishes, and how kind of you
+    to send at once! The doctor prepared the medicine, and now our
+    boy can get up and walk about the room; and it's all owing to
+    your goodness."</p>
+
+    <p>"Wait a bit!" cried the guest, who did not know what to make
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page216"
+       id="page216"></a>[pg 216]</span> of the joy of the two
+       parents. "The commission with which you entrusted me about
+       the fox's liver turned out to be a matter of impossibility,
+       so I came to-day to make my excuses; and now I really can't
+       understand what you are so grateful to me for."</p>
+
+    <p>"We are thanking you, sir," replied the master of the house,
+    bowing with his hands on the ground, "for the fox's liver which
+    we asked you to procure for us."</p>
+
+    <p>"I really am perfectly unaware of having sent you a fox's
+    liver: there must be some mistake here. Pray inquire carefully
+    into the matter."</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, this is very strange. Four nights ago, a man of some
+    five or six and thirty years of age came with a verbal message
+    from you, to the effect that you had sent him with a fox's
+    liver, which you had just procured, and said that he would come
+    and tell us the price another day. When we asked him to spend
+    the night here, he answered that he would lodge with a relation
+    in the next village, and went away."</p>
+
+    <p>The visitor was more and more lost in amazement, and;
+    leaning his head on one side in deep thought, confessed that he
+    could make nothing of it. As for the husband and wife, they
+    felt quite out of countenance at having thanked a man so warmly
+    for favours of which he denied all knowledge; and so the
+    visitor took his leave, and went home.</p>
+
+    <p>That night there appeared at the pillow of the master of the
+    house a woman of about one or two and thirty years of age, who
+    said, "I am the fox that lives at such-and-such a mountain.
+    Last spring, when I was taking out my cub to play, it was
+    carried off by some boys, and only saved by your goodness. The
+    desire to requite this kindness pierced me to the quick. At
+    last, when calamity attacked your house, I thought that I might
+    be of use to you. Your son's illness could not be cured without
+    a liver taken from a live fox, so to repay your kindness I
+    killed my cub and took out its liver; then its sire, disguising
+    himself as a messenger, brought it to your house."</p>
+
+    <p>And as she spoke, the fox shed tears; and the master of the
+    house, wishing to thank her, moved in bed, upon which his wife
+    awoke and asked him what was the matter; but he too, to her
+    great astonishment, was biting the pillow and weeping
+    bitterly.</p>
+
+    <p>"Why are you weeping thus?" asked she.</p>
+
+    <p>At last he sat up in bed, and said, "Last spring, when I was
+    out on a pleasure excursion, I was the means of saving the life
+    of a fox's cub, as I told you at the time. The other day I told
+    Mr. So-and-so that, although my son were to die before my eyes,
+    I would not be the means of killing a fox on purpose; but asked
+    him, in case he heard of any hunter killing a fox, to buy it
+    for me. How the foxes came to hear of this I don't know; but
+    the foxes to whom I had shown kindness killed their own cub and
+    took out the liver; and the old dog-fox, disguising himself as
+    a messenger from the person to whom we had confided the
+    commission, came here with it. His mate has just been at my
+    pillow-side and <!--blank page 217-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page218"
+       id="page218"></a>[pg 218]</span> told me all about it; hence
+       it was that, in spite of myself, I was moved to tears."</p>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:75%;">
+        <a href="images/217.jpg"
+             name="image217"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image217"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/217.jpg"
+             alt="THE FEAST OF INARI SAMA." /></a> THE FEAST OF
+             INARI SAMA.
+    </div>
+
+    <p>When she heard this, the goodwife likewise was blinded by
+    her tears, and for a while they lay lost in thought; but at
+    last, coming to themselves, they lighted the lamp on the shelf
+    on which the family idol stood, and spent the night in reciting
+    prayers and praises, and the next day they published the matter
+    to the household and to their relations and friends. Now,
+    although there are instances of men killing their own children
+    to requite a favour, there is no other example of foxes having
+    done such a thing; so the story became the talk of the whole
+    country.</p>
+
+    <p>Now, the boy who had recovered through the efficacy of this
+    medicine selected the prettiest spot on the premises to erect a
+    shrine to Inari Sama,<a id="footnotetag79"
+       name="footnotetag79"></a><a href="#footnote79"><sup>79</sup></a>
+       the Fox God, and offered sacrifice to the two old foxes, for
+       whom he purchased the highest rank at the court of the
+       Mikado.</p>
+    <hr />
+
+    <p>The passage in the tale which speaks of rank being purchased
+    for the foxes at the court of the Mikado is, of course, a piece
+    of nonsense. "The saints who are worshipped in Japan," writes a
+    native authority, "are men who, in the remote ages, when the
+    country was developing itself, were sages, and by their great
+    and virtuous deeds having earned the gratitude of future
+    generations, received divine honours after their death. How can
+    the Son of Heaven, who is the father and mother of his people,
+    turn dealer in ranks and honours? If rank were a matter of
+    barter, it would cease to be a reward to the virtuous."</p>
+
+    <p>All matters connected with the shrines of the Shint&ocirc;,
+    or indigenous religion, are confided to the superintendence of
+    the families of Yoshida and Fushimi, Kug&eacute;s or nobles of
+    the Mikado's court at Kiy&ocirc;to. The affairs of the Buddhist
+    or imported religion are under the care of the family of
+    Kanjuji. As it is necessary that those who as priests perform
+    the honourable office of serving the gods should be persons of
+    some standing, a certain small rank is procured for them
+    through the intervention of the representatives of the above
+    noble families, who, on the issuing of the required
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page219"
+       id="page219"></a>[pg 219]</span> patent, receive as their
+       perquisite a fee, which, although insignificant in itself,
+       is yet of importance to the poor Kug&eacute;s, whose
+       penniless condition forms a great contrast to the wealth of
+       their inferiors in rank, the Daimios. I believe that this is
+       the only case in which rank can be bought or sold in Japan.
+       In China, on the contrary, in spite of what has been written
+       by Meadows and other admirers of the examination system, a
+       man can be what he pleases by paying for it; and the coveted
+       button, which is nominally the reward of learning and
+       ability, is more often the prize of wealthy ignorance.</p>
+
+    <p>The saints who are alluded to above are the saints of the
+    whole country, as distinct from those who for special deeds are
+    locally worshipped. To this innumerable class frequent allusion
+    is made in these Tales.</p>
+
+    <p>Touching the remedy of the fox's liver, prescribed in the
+    tale, I may add that there would be nothing strange in this to
+    a person acquainted with the Chinese pharmacopoeia, which the
+    Japanese long exclusively followed, although they are now
+    successfully studying the art of healing as practised in the
+    West. When I was at Peking, I saw a Chinese physician prescribe
+    a decoction of three scorpions for a child struck down with
+    fever; and on another occasion a groom of mine, suffering from
+    dysentery, was treated with acupuncture of the tongue. The art
+    of medicine would appear to be at the present time in China
+    much in the state in which it existed in Europe in the
+    sixteenth century, when the excretions and secretions of all
+    manner of animals, saurians, and venomous snakes and insects,
+    and even live bugs, were administered to patients. "Some
+    physicians," says Matthiolus, "use the ashes of scorpions,
+    burnt alive, for retention caused by either renal or vesical
+    calculi. But I have myself thoroughly experienced the utility
+    of an oil I make myself, whereof scorpions form a very large
+    portion of the ingredients. If only the region of the heart and
+    all the pulses of the body be anointed with it, it will free
+    the patients from the effects of all kinds of poisons taken by
+    the mouth, corrosive ones excepted." Decoctions of Egyptian
+    mummies were much commended, and often prescribed with due
+    academical solemnity; and the bones of the human skull,
+    pulverized and administered with oil, were used as a specific
+    in cases of renal calculus. (See Petri Andre&aelig; Matthioli
+    Opera, 1574.)</p>
+
+    <p>These remarks were made to me by a medical gentleman to whom
+    I mentioned the Chinese doctor's prescription of scorpion tea,
+    and they seem to me so curious that I insert them for
+    comparison's sake.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page220"
+       id="page220"></a>[pg 220]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE BADGER'S MONEY</h3>
+
+    <p>It is a common saying among men, that to forget favours
+    received is the part of a bird or a beast: an ungrateful man
+    will be ill spoken of by all the world. And yet even birds and
+    beasts will show gratitude; so that a man who does not requite
+    a favour is worse even than dumb brutes. Is not this a
+    disgrace?</p>
+
+    <p>Once upon a time, in a hut at a place called
+    Nam&eacute;kata, in Hitachi, there lived an old priest famous
+    neither for learning nor wisdom, but bent only on passing his
+    days in prayer and meditation. He had not even a child to wait
+    upon him, but prepared his food with his own hands. Night and
+    morning he recited the prayer "Namu Amida
+    Butsu,"<a id="footnotetag80"
+       name="footnotetag80"></a><a href="#footnote80"><sup>80</sup></a>
+       intent upon that alone. Although the fame of his virtue did
+       not reach far, yet his neighbours respected and revered him,
+       and often brought him food and raiment; and when his roof or
+       his walls fell out of repair, they would mend them for him;
+       so for the things of this world he took no thought.</p>
+
+    <p>One very cold night, when he little thought any one was
+    outside, he heard a voice calling "Your reverence! your
+    reverence!" So he rose and went out to see who it was, and
+    there he beheld an old badger standing. Any ordinary man would
+    have been greatly alarmed at the apparition; but the priest,
+    being such as he has been described above, showed no sign of
+    fear, but asked the creature its business. Upon this the badger
+    respectfully bent its knees, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Hitherto, sir, my lair has been in the mountains, and of
+    snow or frost I have taken no heed; but now I am growing old,
+    and this severe cold is more than I can bear. I pray you to let
+    me enter and warm myself at the fire of your cottage, that I
+    may live through this bitter night."</p>
+
+    <p>When the priest heard what a helpless state the beast was
+    reduced to, he was filled with pity, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"That's a very slight matter: make haste and come in and
+    warm yourself."</p>
+
+    <p>The badger, delighted with so good a reception, went into
+    the hut, and squatting down by the fire began to warm itself;
+    and the priest, with renewed fervour, recited his prayers and
+    struck his bell before the image of Buddha, looking straight
+    before him. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page221"
+       id="page221"></a>[pg 221]</span> After two hours the badger
+       took its leave, with profuse expressions of thanks, and went
+       out; and from that time forth it came every night to the
+       hut. As the badger would collect and bring with it dried
+       branches and dead leaves from the hills for firewood, the
+       priest at last became very friendly with it, and got used to
+       its company; so that if ever, as the night wore on, the
+       badger did not arrive, he used to miss it, and wonder why it
+       did not come. When the winter was over, and the spring-time
+       came at the end of the second month, the Badger gave up its
+       visits, and was no more seen; but, on the return of the
+       winter, the beast resumed its old habit of coming to the
+       hut. When this practice had gone on for ten years, one day
+       the badger said to the priest, "Through your reverence's
+       kindness for all these years, I have been able to pass the
+       winter nights in comfort. Your favours are such, that during
+       all my life, and even after my death, I must remember them.
+       What can I do to requite them? If there is anything that you
+       wish for, pray tell me."</p>
+
+    <p>The priest, smiling at this speech, answered, "Being such as
+    I am, I have no desire and no wishes. Glad as I am to hear your
+    kind intentions, there is nothing that I can ask you to do for
+    me. You need feel no anxiety on my account. As long as I live,
+    when the winter comes, you shall be welcome here." The badger,
+    on hearing this, could not conceal its admiration of the depth
+    of the old man's benevolence; but having so much to be grateful
+    for, it felt hurt at not being able to requite it. As this
+    subject was often renewed between them, the priest at last,
+    touched by the goodness of the badger's heart, said, "Since I
+    have shaven my head, renounced the world, and forsaken the
+    pleasures of this life, I have no desire to gratify, yet I own
+    I should like to possess three riyos in gold. Food and raiment
+    I receive by the favour of the villagers, so I take no heed for
+    those things. Were I to die to-morrow, and attain my wish of
+    being born again into the next world, the same kind folk have
+    promised to meet and bury my body. Thus, although I have no
+    other reason to wish for money, still if I had three riyos I
+    would offer them up at some holy shrine, that masses and
+    prayers might be said for me, whereby I might enter into
+    salvation. Yet I would not get this money by violent or
+    unlawful means; I only think of what might be if I had it. So
+    you see, since you have expressed such kind feelings towards
+    me, I have told you what is on my mind." When the priest had
+    done speaking, the badger leant its head on one side with a
+    puzzled and anxious look, so much so that the old man was sorry
+    he had expressed a wish which seemed to give the beast trouble,
+    and tried to retract what he had said. "Posthumous honours,
+    after all, are the wish of ordinary men. I, who am a priest,
+    ought not to entertain such thoughts, or to want money; so pray
+    pay no attention to what I have said;" and the badger, feigning
+    assent to what the priest had impressed upon it, returned to
+    the hills as usual.</p>
+
+    <p>From that time forth the badger came no more to the hut.
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page222"
+       id="page222"></a>[pg 222]</span> The priest thought this
+       very strange, but imagined either that the badger stayed
+       away because it did not like to come without the money, or
+       that it had been killed in an attempt to steal it; and he
+       blamed himself for having added to his sins for no purpose,
+       repenting when it was too late: persuaded, however, that the
+       badger must have been killed, he passed his time in putting
+       up prayers upon prayers for it.</p>
+
+    <p>After three years had gone by, one night the old man heard a
+    voice near his door calling out, "Your reverence! your
+    reverence!"</p>
+
+    <p>As the voice was like that of the badger, he jumped up as
+    soon as he heard it, and ran out to open the door; and there,
+    sure enough, was the badger. The priest, in great delight,
+    cried out, "And so you are safe and sound, after all! Why have
+    you been so long without coming here? I have been expecting you
+    anxiously this long while."</p>
+
+    <p>So the badger came into the hut, and said, "If the money
+    which you required had been for unlawful purposes, I could
+    easily have procured as much as ever you might have wanted; but
+    when I heard that it was to be offered to a temple for masses
+    for your soul, I thought that, if I were to steal the hidden
+    treasure of some other man, you could not apply to a sacred
+    purpose money which had been obtained at the expense of his
+    sorrow. So I went to the island of Sado,<a id="footnotetag81"
+       name="footnotetag81"></a><a href="#footnote81"><sup>81</sup></a>
+       and gathering the sand and earth which had been cast away as
+       worthless by the miners, fused it afresh in the fire; and at
+       this work I spent months and days." As the badger finished
+       speaking, the priest looked at the money which it had
+       produced, and sure enough he saw that it was bright and new
+       and clean; so he took the money, and received it
+       respectfully, raising it to his head.</p>
+
+    <p>"And so you have had all this toil and labour on account of
+    a foolish speech of mine? I have obtained my heart's desire,
+    and am truly thankful."</p>
+
+    <p>As he was thanking the badger with great politeness and
+    ceremony, the beast said, "In doing this I have but fulfilled
+    my own wish; still I hope that you will tell this thing to no
+    man."</p>
+
+    <p>"Indeed," replied the priest, "I cannot choose but tell this
+    story. For if I keep this money in my poor hut, it will be
+    stolen by thieves: I must either give it to some one to keep
+    for me, or else at once offer it up at the temple. And when I
+    do this, when people see a poor old priest with a sum of money
+    quite unsuited to his station, they will think it very
+    suspicious, and I shall have to tell the tale as it occurred;
+    but as I shall say that the badger that gave me the money has
+    ceased coming to my hut, you need not fear being waylaid, but
+    can come, as of old, and shelter yourself from the cold." To
+    this the badger nodded assent; and as long as the old priest
+    lived, it came and spent the winter nights with him.</p>
+
+    <p>From this story, it is plain that even beasts have a sense
+    of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page223"
+       id="page223"></a>[pg 223]</span> gratitude: in this quality
+       dogs excel all other beasts. Is not the story of the dog of
+       Totorib&eacute; Yorodzu written in the Annals of Japan?
+       I<a id="footnotetag82"
+       name="footnotetag82"></a><a href="#footnote82"><sup>82</sup></a>
+       have heard that many anecdotes of this nature have been
+       collected and printed in a book, which I have not yet seen;
+       but as the facts which I have recorded relate to a badger,
+       they appear to me to be passing
+       strange.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page224"
+       id="page224"></a>[pg 224]</span>
+
+    <h3>THE PRINCE AND THE BADGER</h3>
+
+    <p>In days of yore there lived a forefather of the Prince of
+    Tosa who went by the name of Yamanouchi Kadzutoyo. At the age
+    of fourteen this prince was amazingly fond of fishing, and
+    would often go down to the river for sport. And it came to pass
+    one day that he had gone thither with but one retainer, and had
+    made a great haul, that a violent shower suddenly came on. Now,
+    the prince had no rain-coat with him, and was in so sorry a
+    plight that he took shelter under a willow-tree and waited for
+    the weather to clear; but the storm showed no sign of abating,
+    and there was no help for it, so he turned to the retainer and
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"This rain is not likely to stop for some time, so we had
+    better hurry home."</p>
+
+    <p>As they trudged homeward, night fell, and it grew very dark;
+    and their road lay over a long bank, by the side of which they
+    found a girl, about sixteen years old, weeping bitterly. Struck
+    with wonder, they looked steadfastly at her, and perceived that
+    she was exceedingly comely. While Kadzutoyo stood doubting what
+    so strange a sight could portend, his retainer, smitten with
+    the girl's charms, stepped up to her and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Little sister, tell us whose daughter you are, and how it
+    comes that you are out by yourself at night in such a storm of
+    rain. Surely it is passing strange."</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir," replied she, looking up through her tears, "I am the
+    daughter of a poor man in the castle town. My mother died when
+    I was seven years old, and my father has now wedded a shrew,
+    who loathes and ill-uses me; and in the midst of my grief he is
+    gone far away on his business, so I was left alone with my
+    stepmother; and this very night she spited and beat me till I
+    could bear it no longer, and was on my way to my aunt's, who
+    dwells in yonder village, when the shower came on; but as I lay
+    waiting for the rain to stop, I was seized with a spasm, to
+    which I am subject, and was in great pain, when I had the good
+    luck to fall in with your worships."</p>
+
+    <p>As she spoke, the retainer fell deeply in love with her
+    matchless beauty, whilst his lord Kadzutoyo, who from the
+    outset had not uttered a word, but stood brooding over the
+    matter, straightway drew his sword and cut off her head. But
+    the retainer stood aghast, and cried out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! my young lord, what wicked deed is this that you've
+    done? The murder of a man's daughter will bring trouble upon
+    us, for you may rely on the business not ending here."</p>
+
+    <p>"You don't know what you're talking about," answered
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page225"
+       id="page225"></a>[pg 225]</span> Kadzutoyo: "only don't tell
+       any one about it, that is all I ask;" and so they went home
+       in silence.</p>
+
+    <p>As Kadzutoyo was very tired, he went to bed, and slept
+    undisturbed by any sense of guilt; for he was brave and
+    fearless. But the retainer grew very uneasy, and went to his
+    young lord's parents and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I had the honour of attending my young lord out fishing
+    to-day, and we were driven home by the rain. And as we came
+    back by the bank, we descried a girl with a spasm in her
+    stomach, and her my young lord straightway slew; and although
+    he has bidden me tell it to no one, I cannot conceal it from my
+    lord and my lady."</p>
+
+    <p>Kadzutoyo's parents were sore amazed, bewailing their son's
+    wickedness, and went at once to his room and woke him; his
+    father shed tears and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh! dastardly cut-throat that you are! how dare you kill
+    another man's daughter without provocation? Such unspeakable
+    villany is unworthy a Samurai's son. Know, that the duty of
+    every Samurai is to keep watch over the country, and to protect
+    the people; and such is his daily task. For sword and dirk are
+    given to men that they may slay rebels, and faithfully serve
+    their prince, and not that they may go about committing sin and
+    killing the daughters of innocent men. Whoever is fool enough
+    not to understand this will repeat his misdeed, and will
+    assuredly bring shame on his kindred. Grieved as I am that I
+    should take away the life which I gave you, I cannot suffer you
+    to bring dishonour on our house; so prepare to meet your
+    fate!"</p>
+
+    <p>With these words he drew his sword; but Kadzutoyo, without a
+    sign of fear, said to his father&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Your anger, sir, is most just; but remember that I have
+    studied the classics and understand the laws of right and
+    wrong, and be sure I would never kill another man without good
+    cause. The girl whom I slew was certainly no human being, but
+    some foul goblin: feeling certain of this, I cut her down.
+    To-morrow I beg you will send your retainers to look for the
+    corpse; and if it really be that of a human being, I shall give
+    you no further trouble, but shall disembowel myself."</p>
+
+    <p>Upon this the father sheathed his sword, and awaited
+    daybreak. When the morning came, the old prince, in sad
+    distress, bade his retainers lead him to the bank; and there he
+    saw a huge badger, with his head cut off, lying dead by the
+    roadside; and the prince was lost in wonder at his son's
+    shrewdness. But the retainer did not know what to make of it,
+    and still had his doubts. The prince, however, returned home,
+    and sending for his son, said to him&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"It's very strange that the creature which appeared to your
+    retainer to be a girl, should have seemed to you to be a
+    badger."</p>
+
+    <p>"My lord's wonder is just," replied Kadzutoyo, smiling: "she
+    appeared as a girl to me as well. But here was a young girl, at
+    night, far from any inhabited place. Stranger still was her
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page226"
+       id="page226"></a>[pg 226]</span> wondrous beauty; and
+       strangest of all that, though it was pouring with rain,
+       there was not a sign of wet on her clothes; and when my
+       retainer asked how long she had been there, she said she had
+       been on the bank in pain for some time; so I had no further
+       doubt but that she was a goblin, and I killed her."</p>
+
+    <p>"But what made you think she must be a goblin because her
+    clothes were dry?"</p>
+
+    <p>"The beast evidently thought that, if she could bewitch us
+    with her beauty, she might get at the fish my retainer was
+    carrying; but she forgot that, as it was raining, it would not
+    do for her clothes not to be wet; so I detected and killed
+    her."</p>
+
+    <p>When the old prince heard his son speak thus, he was filled
+    with admiration for the youth's sagacity; so, conceiving that
+    Kadzutoyo had given reliable proof of wisdom and prudence, he
+    resolved to abdicate;<a id="footnotetag83"
+       name="footnotetag83"></a><a href="#footnote83"><sup>83</sup></a>
+       and Kadzutoyo was proclaimed Prince of Tosa in his
+       stead.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page227"
+       id="page227"></a>[pg 227]</span>
+
+    <h1>JAPANESE
+    SERMONS</h1><span class="pagenum"><a name="page228"
+       id="page228"></a>[pg 228]</span>
+
+    <div class="figcenter"
+         style="width:100%;">
+        <a href="images/228.jpg"
+             name="image228"
+             target="blank"
+             id="image228"><img width="100%"
+             src="images/228.jpg"
+             alt=" A JAPANESE SERMON." /></a> A JAPANESE SERMON.
+    </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page229"
+       id="page229"></a>[pg 229]</span>
+
+    <h2>JAPANESE SERMONS</h2>
+
+    <p>"Sermons preached here on 8th, 18th, and 28th days of every
+    month." Such was the purport of a placard, which used to tempt
+    me daily, as I passed the temple Ch&ocirc;-&ocirc;-ji. Having
+    ascertained that neither the preacher nor his congregation
+    would have any objection to my hearing one of these sermons, I
+    made arrangements to attend the service, accompanied by two
+    friends, my artist, and a scribe to take notes.</p>
+
+    <p>We were shown into an apartment adjoining a small
+    chapel&mdash;a room opening on to a tastily arranged garden,
+    wealthy in stone lanterns and dwarfed trees. In the portion of
+    the room reserved for the priest stood a high table, covered
+    with a cloth of white and scarlet silk, richly embroidered with
+    flowers and arabesques; upon this stood a bell, a tray
+    containing the rolls of the sacred books, and a small
+    incense-burner of ancient Chinese porcelain. Before the table
+    was a hanging drum, and behind it was one of those high,
+    back-breaking arm-chairs which adorn every Buddhist temple. In
+    one corner of the space destined for the accommodation of the
+    faithful was a low writing-desk, at which sat, or rather
+    squatted, a lay clerk, armed with a huge pair of horn
+    spectacles, through which he glared, goblin-like, at the
+    people, as they came to have their names and the amount of
+    their offerings to the temple registered. These latter must
+    have been small things, for the congregation seemed poor
+    enough. It was principally composed of old women, nuns with
+    bald shiny pates and grotesque faces, a few petty tradesmen,
+    and half-a-dozen chubby children, perfect little models of
+    decorum and devoutness. One lady there was, indeed, who seemed
+    a little better to do in the world than the rest; she was
+    nicely dressed, and attended by a female servant; she came in
+    with a certain little consequential rustle, and displayed some
+    coquetry, and a very pretty bare foot, as she took her place,
+    and, pulling out a dandy little pipe and tobacco-pouch, began
+    to smoke. Fire-boxes and spittoons, I should mention, were
+    freely handed about; so that half-an-hour which passed before
+    the sermon began was agreeably spent. In the meanwhile, mass
+    was being celebrated in the main hall of the temple, and the
+    monotonous nasal drone of the plain chant was faintly heard in
+    the distance. So soon as this was over, the lay clerk sat
+    himself down by the hanging drum, and, to its accompaniment,
+    began intoning the prayer, "Na Mu Miy&ocirc; H&ocirc; Ren Go
+    Kiy&ocirc;," the congregation fervently joining in unison with
+    him. These words, repeated over and over again, are the
+    distinctive prayer of the Buddhist sect of Nichiren, to which
+    the temple <span class="pagenum"><a name="page230"
+       id="page230"></a>[pg 230]</span> Ch&ocirc;-&ocirc;-ji is
+       dedicated. They are approximations to Sanscrit sounds, and
+       have no meaning in Japanese, nor do the worshippers in using
+       them know their precise value.</p>
+
+    <p>Soon the preacher, gorgeous in red and white robes, made his
+    appearance, following an acolyte, who carried the sacred book
+    called <i>Hokk&eacute;</i> (upon which the sect of Nichiren is
+    founded) on a tray covered with scarlet and gold brocade.
+    Having bowed to the sacred picture which hung over the
+    <i>tokonoma</i>&mdash;that portion of the Japanese room which
+    is raised a few inches above the rest of the floor, and which
+    is regarded as the place of honour&mdash;his reverence took his
+    seat at the table, and adjusted his robes; then, tying up the
+    muscles of his face into a knot, expressive of utter
+    abstraction, he struck the bell upon the table thrice, burnt a
+    little incense, and read a passage from the sacred book, which
+    he reverently lifted to his head. The congregation joined in
+    chorus, devout but unintelligent; for the Word, written in
+    ancient Chinese, is as obscure to the ordinary Japanese
+    worshipper as are the Latin liturgies to a high-capped Norman
+    peasant-woman. While his flock wrapped up copper cash in paper,
+    and threw them before the table as offerings, the priest next
+    recited a passage alone, and the lay clerk irreverently entered
+    into a loud dispute with one of the congregation, touching some
+    payment or other. The preliminary ceremonies ended, a small
+    shaven-pated boy brought in a cup of tea, thrice afterwards to
+    be replenished, for his reverence's refreshment; and he, having
+    untied his face, gave a broad grin, cleared his throat,
+    swallowed his tea, and beamed down upon us, as jolly, rosy a
+    priest as ever donned stole or scarf. His discourse, which was
+    delivered in the most familiar and easy manner, was an
+    <i>extempore</i> dissertation on certain passages from the
+    sacred books. Whenever he paused or made a point, the
+    congregation broke in with a cry of "Nammiy&ocirc;!" a
+    corruption of the first three words of the prayer cited above,
+    to which they always contrived to give an expression or
+    intonation in harmony with the preacher's meaning.</p>
+
+    <p>"It is a matter of profound satisfaction to me," began his
+    reverence Nichirin, smiling blandly at his audience, "to see so
+    many gentlemen and ladies gathered together here this day, in
+    the fidelity of their hearts, to do honour to the feast of
+    Kishimojin."<a id="footnotetag84"
+       name="footnotetag84"></a><a href="#footnote84"><sup>84</sup></a></p>
+
+    <p>"Nammiy&ocirc;! nammiy&ocirc;!" self-depreciatory, from the
+    congregation.</p>
+
+    <p>"I feel certain that your piety cannot fail to find favour
+    with Kishimojin. Kishimojin ever mourns over the tortures of
+    mankind, who are dwelling in a house of fire, and she ever
+    earnestly strives to find some means of delivering them.</p>
+
+    <p>"Nammiy&ocirc;! nammiy&ocirc;!" grateful and
+    reverential.</p>
+
+    <p>"Notwithstanding this, it is useless your worshipping
+    Kishimojin, and professing to believe in her, unless you have
+    truth in your hearts; for she will not receive your offerings.
+    Man, from <span class="pagenum"><a name="page231"
+       id="page231"></a>[pg 231]</span> his very birth, is a
+       creature of requirements; he is for ever seeking and
+       praying. Both you who listen, and I who preach, have all of
+       us our wants and wishes. If there be any person here who
+       flatters himself that he has no wishes and no wants, let him
+       reflect. Does not every one wish and pray that heaven and
+       earth may stand for ever, that his country and family may
+       prosper, that there may be plenty in the land, and that the
+       people may be healthy and happy? The wishes of men, however,
+       are various and many; and these wishes, numberless as they
+       are, are all known to the gods from the beginning. It is no
+       use praying, unless you have truth in your heart. For
+       instance, the prayer <i>Na Mu</i> is a prayer committing
+       your bodies to the care of the gods; if, when you utter it,
+       your hearts are true and single, of a surety your request
+       will be granted. Now, this is not a mere statement made by
+       Nichiren, the holy founder of this sect; it is the sacred
+       teaching of Buddha himself, and may not be doubted."</p>
+
+    <p>"Nammiy&ocirc;! nammiy&ocirc;!" with profound
+    conviction.</p>
+
+    <p>"The heart of man is, by nature, upright and true; but there
+    are seven passions<a id="footnotetag85"
+       name="footnotetag85"></a><a href="#footnote85"><sup>85</sup></a>
+       by which it is corrupted. Buddha is alarmed when he sees the
+       fires by which the world is being consumed. These fires are
+       the five lusts of this sinful world; and the five lusts are,
+       the desire for fair sights, sweet sounds, fragrant smells,
+       dainty meats, and rich trappings. Man is no sooner endowed
+       with a body than he is possessed by these lusts, which
+       become his very heart; and, it being a law that every man
+       follows the dictates of his heart, in this way the body, the
+       lusts of the flesh, the heart, and the dictates of the
+       heart, blaze up in the consuming fire. 'Alas! for this
+       miserable world!' said the divine Buddha."</p>
+
+    <p>"Nammiy&ocirc;! nammiy&ocirc;!" mournful, and with much
+    head-shaking.</p>
+
+    <p>"There is not so foul thing under heaven as the human body.
+    The body exudes grease, the eyes distil gums, the nose is full
+    of mucus, the mouth of slobbering spittle; nor are these the
+    most impure secretions of the body. What a mistake it is to
+    look upon this impure body as clean and perfect! Unless we
+    listen to the teachings of Buddha, how shall we be washed and
+    purified?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Nammiy&ocirc;, nammiy&ocirc;!" from an impure and very
+    miserable sinner, under ten years of age.</p>
+
+    <p>"The lot of man is uncertain, and for ever running out of
+    the beaten track. Why go to look at the flowers, and take
+    delight in their beauty? When you return home, you will see the
+    vanity of your pleasure. Why purchase fleeting joys of loose
+    women? How long do you retain the delicious taste of the
+    dainties you feast upon? For ever <i>wishing</i> to do this,
+    <i>wishing</i> to see that, <i>wishing</i> to eat rare dishes,
+    <i>wishing</i> to wear fine clothes, you pass a lifetime in
+    fanning the flames which consume you. What terrible matter for
+    thought is this! In the poems of the priest Saigiyo it is
+    written, 'Verily I have been familiar with the
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page232"
+       id="page232"></a>[pg 232]</span> flowers; yet are they
+       withered and scattered, and we are parted. How sad!' The
+       beauty of the convolvulus, how bright it is!&mdash;and yet
+       in one short morning it closes its petals and fades. In the
+       book called <i>Rin Jo Bo Satsu</i><a id="footnotetag86"
+       name="footnotetag86"></a><a href="#footnote86"><sup>86</sup></a>
+       we are told how a certain king once went to take his
+       pleasure in his garden, and gladden his eyes with the beauty
+       of his flowers. After a while he fell asleep; and as he
+       slumbered, the women of his train began pulling the flowers
+       to pieces. When the king awoke, of all the glory of his
+       flowers there remained but a few torn and faded petals.
+       Seeing this, the king said, 'The flowers pass away and die;
+       so is it with mankind: we are born, we grow old, we sicken
+       and die; we are as fleeting as the lightning's flash, as
+       evanescent as the morning dew.' I know not whether any of
+       you here present ever fix your thoughts upon death; yet it
+       is a rare thing for a man to live for a hundred years. How
+       piteous a thing it is that in this short and transient life
+       men should consume themselves in a fire of lust! and if we
+       think to escape from this fire, how shall we succeed save
+       only by the teaching of the divine Buddha?"</p>
+
+    <p>"Nammiy&ocirc;! nammiy&ocirc;!" meekly and entreatingly.</p>
+
+    <p>"Since Buddha himself escaped from the burning flames of the
+    lusts of the flesh, his only thought has been for the salvation
+    of mankind. Once upon a time there was a certain heretic,
+    called Rokutsuponji, a reader of auguries, cunning in astrology
+    and in the healing art. It happened, one day, that this
+    heretic, being in company with Buddha, entered a forest, which
+    was full of dead men's skulls. Buddha, taking up one of the
+    skulls and tapping it thus" (here the preacher tapped the
+    reading-desk with his fan), "said, 'What manner of man was this
+    bone when alive?&mdash;and, now that he is dead, in what part
+    of the world has he been born again?' The heretic, auguring
+    from the sound which the skull, when struck, gave forth, began
+    to tell its past history, and to prophesy the future. Then
+    Buddha, tapping another skull, again asked the same question.
+    The heretic answered&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"'Verily, as to this skull, whether it belonged to a man or
+    a woman, whence its owner came or whither he has gone, I know
+    not. What think you of it?"</p>
+
+    <p>"'Ask me not,' answered Buddha. But the heretic pressed him,
+    and entreated him to answer; then Buddha said, 'Verily this is
+    the skull of one of my disciples, who forsook the lusts of the
+    flesh.'</p>
+
+    <p>"Then the heretic wondered, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"'Of a truth, this is a thing the like of which no man has
+    yet seen. Here am I, who know the manner of the life and of the
+    death even of the ants that creep. Verily, I thought that no
+    thing could escape my ken; yet here lies one of your disciples,
+    than whom there lives no nobler thing, and I am at fault. From
+    this day forth I will enter your sect, praying only that I may
+    receive your teaching.'</p>
+
+    <p>"Thus did this learned heretic become a disciple of Buddha.
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page233"
+       id="page233"></a>[pg 233]</span> If such an one as he was
+       converted, how much the more should after-ages of ordinary
+       men feel that it is through. Buddha alone that they can hope
+       to overcome the sinful lusts of the flesh! These lusts are
+       the desires which agitate our hearts: if we are free from
+       these desires, our hearts will be bright and pure, and there
+       is nothing, save the teaching of Buddha, which can ensure us
+       this freedom. Following the commands of Buddha, and
+       delivered by him from our desires, we may pass our lives in
+       peace and happiness."</p>
+
+    <p>"Nammiy&ocirc;! nammiy&ocirc;!" with triumphant
+    exultation.</p>
+
+    <p>"In the sacred books we read of conversion from a state of
+    sin to a state of salvation. Now this salvation is not a
+    million miles removed from us; nor need we die and be born
+    again into another world in order to reach it. He who lays
+    aside his carnal lusts and affections, at once and of a
+    certainty becomes equal to Buddha. When we recite the prayer
+    <i>Na Mu Miy&ocirc; H&ocirc; Ren Go Kiy&ocirc;</i>, we are
+    praying to enter this state of peace and happiness. By what
+    instruction, other than that of Nichiren, the holy founder of
+    this sect, can we expect to attain this end? If we do attain
+    it, there will be no difference between our state and that of
+    Buddha and of Nichiren. With this view we have learnt from the
+    pious founder of our sect that we must continually and
+    thankfully repeat the prayer <i>Na Mu Miy&ocirc; H&ocirc; Ren
+    Go Kiy&ocirc;</i>, turning our hearts away from lies, and
+    embracing the truth."</p>
+
+    <p>Such were the heads of the sermon as they were taken down by
+    my scribe. At its conclusion, the priest, looking about him
+    smiling, as if the solemn truths he had been inculcating were
+    nothing but a very good joke, was greeted by long and loud
+    cries of "Nammiy&ocirc;! nammiy&ocirc;!" by all the
+    congregation. Then the lay clerk sat himself down again by the
+    hanging drum; and the service ended as it had begun, by prayer
+    in chorus, during which the priest retired, the sacred book
+    being carried out before him by his acolyte.</p>
+
+    <p>Although occasionally, as in the above instance, sermons are
+    delivered as part of a service on special days of the month,
+    they are more frequently preached in courses, the delivery
+    occupying about a fortnight, during which two sermons are given
+    each day. Frequently the preachers are itinerant priests, who
+    go about the towns and villages lecturing in the main hall of
+    some temple or in the guest-room of the resident priest.</p>
+
+    <p>There are many books of sermons published in Japan, all of
+    which have some merit and much quaintness: none that I have
+    seen are, however, to my taste, to be compared to the
+    "Kiu-&ocirc; D&ocirc;-wa," of which the following three sermons
+    compose the first volume. They are written by a priest
+    belonging to the Shingaku sect&mdash;a sect professing to
+    combine all that is excellent in the Buddhist, Confucian, and
+    Shin T&ocirc; teaching. It maintains the original goodness of
+    the human heart; and teaches that we have only to follow the
+    dictates of the conscience implanted in us at our birth, in
+    order to steer in the right path. The texts are taken
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page234"
+       id="page234"></a>[pg 234]</span> from the Chinese classical
+       books, in the same way as our preachers take theirs from the
+       Bible. Jokes, stories which are sometimes untranslatable
+       into our more fastidious tongue, and pointed applications to
+       members of the congregation, enliven the discourses; it
+       being a principle with the Japanese preacher that it is not
+       necessary to bore his audience into
+       virtue.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page235"
+       id="page235"></a>[pg 235]</span>
+
+    <h3>SERMON I</h3>
+
+    <h4>(THE SERMONS OF KIU-&Ocirc;, VOL. I)</h4>
+
+    <p>M&ocirc;shi<a id="footnotetag87"
+       name="footnotetag87"></a><a href="#footnote87"><sup>87</sup></a>
+       says, "Benevolence is the heart of man; righteousness is the
+       path of man. How lamentable a thing is it to leave the path
+       and go astray, to cast away the heart and not know where to
+       seek for it!"</p>
+
+    <p>The text is taken from the first chapter of K&ocirc;shi (the
+    commentator), on M&ocirc;shi.</p>
+
+    <p>Now this quality, which we call benevolence, has been the
+    subject of commentaries by many teachers; but as these
+    commentaries have been difficult of comprehension, they are too
+    hard to enter the ears of women and children. It is of this
+    benevolence that, using examples and illustrations, I propose
+    to treat.</p>
+
+    <p>A long time ago, there lived at Ki&ocirc;to a great
+    physician, called Ima&ocirc;ji&mdash;I forget his other name:
+    he was a very famous man. Once upon a time, a man from a place
+    called Kuramaguchi advertised for sale a medicine which he had
+    compounded against the cholera, and got Ima&ocirc;ji to write a
+    puff for him. Ima&ocirc;ji, instead of calling the medicine in
+    the puff a specific against the cholera, misspelt the word
+    cholera so as to make it simpler. When the man who had employed
+    him went and taxed him with this, and asked him why he had done
+    so, he answered, with a smile&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"As Kuramaguchi is an approach to the capital from the
+    country, the passers-by are but poor peasants and woodmen from
+    the hills: if I had written 'cholera' at length, they would
+    have been puzzled by it; so I wrote it in a simple way, that
+    should pass current with every one. Truth itself loses its
+    value if people don't understand it. What does it signify how I
+    spelt the word cholera, so long as the efficacy of the medicine
+    is unimpaired?"</p>
+
+    <p>Now, was not that delightful? In the same way the doctrines
+    of the sages are mere gibberish to women and children who
+    cannot understand them. Now, my sermons are not written for the
+    learned: I address myself to farmers and tradesmen, who, hard
+    pressed by their daily business, have no time for study, with
+    the wish to make known to them the teachings of the sages; and,
+    carrying out the ideas of my teacher, I will make my meaning
+    pretty plain, by bringing forward examples and quaint stories.
+    Thus, by blending together the doctrines of the Shint&ocirc;,
+    Buddhist, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page236"
+       id="page236"></a>[pg 236]</span> and other schools, we shall
+       arrive at something near the true principle of things. Now,
+       positively, you must not laugh if I introduce a light story
+       now and then. Levity is not my object: I only want to put
+       things in a plain and easy manner.</p>
+
+    <p>Well, then, the quality which we call benevolence is, in
+    fact, a perfection; and it is this perfection which M&ocirc;shi
+    spoke of as the heart of man. With this perfect heart, men, by
+    serving their parents, attain to filial piety; by serving their
+    masters they attain to fidelity; and if they treat their wives,
+    their brethren, and their friends in the same spirit, then the
+    principles of the five relations of life will harmonize without
+    difficulty. As for putting perfection into practice, parents
+    have the special duties of parents; children have the special
+    duties of children; husbands have the special duties of
+    husbands; wives have the special duties of wives. It is when
+    all these special duties are performed without a fault that
+    true benevolence is reached; and that again is the true heart
+    of man.</p>
+
+    <p>For example, take this fan: any one who sees it knows it to
+    be a fan; and, knowing it to be a fan, no one would think of
+    using it to blow his nose in. The special use of a fan is for
+    visits of ceremony; or else it is opened in order to raise a
+    cooling breeze: it serves no other purpose. In the same way,
+    this reading-desk will not do as a substitute for a shelf;
+    again, it will not do instead of a pillow: so you see that a
+    reading-desk also has its special functions, for which you must
+    use it. So, if you look at your parents in the light of your
+    parents, and treat them with filial piety, that is the special
+    duty of children; that is true benevolence; that is the heart
+    of man. Now although you may think that, when I speak in this
+    way, I am speaking of others, and not of yourselves, believe me
+    that the heart of every one of you is by nature pure
+    benevolence. I am just taking down your hearts as a shopman
+    does goods from his shelves, and pointing out the good and bad
+    qualities of each; but if you will not lay what I say to your
+    own accounts, but persist in thinking that it is all anybody's
+    business but yours, all my labour will be lost.</p>
+
+    <p>Listen! You who answer your parents rudely, and cause them
+    to weep; you who bring grief and trouble on your masters; you
+    who cause your husbands to fly into passions; you who cause
+    your wives to mourn; you who hate your younger brothers, and
+    treat your elder brothers with contempt; you who sow sorrow
+    broadcast over the world;&mdash;what are you doing but blowing
+    your noses in fans, and using reading-desks as pillows? I don't
+    mean to say that there are any such persons here; still there
+    are plenty of them to be found&mdash;say in the back streets in
+    India, for instance. Be so good as to mind what I have
+    said.</p>
+
+    <p>Consider, carefully, if a man is born with a naturally bad
+    disposition, what a dreadful thing that is! Happily, you and I
+    were born with perfect hearts, which we would not change for a
+    thousand&mdash;no, not for ten thousand pieces of gold: is not
+    this something to be thankful
+    for?</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page237"
+       id="page237"></a>[pg 237]</span>
+
+    <p>This perfect heart is called in my discourses, "the original
+    heart of man." It is true that benevolence is also called the
+    original heart of man; still there is a slight difference
+    between the two. However, as the inquiry into this difference
+    would be tedious, it is sufficient for you to look upon this
+    original heart of man as a perfect thing, and you will fall
+    into no error. It is true that I have not the honour of the
+    personal acquaintance of every one of you who are present:
+    still I know that your hearts are perfect. The proof of this,
+    that if you say that which you ought not to say, or do that
+    which you ought not to do, your hearts within you are, in some
+    mysterious way, immediately conscious of wrong. When the man
+    that has a perfect heart does that which is imperfect, it is
+    because his heart has become warped and turned to evil. This
+    law holds good for all mankind. What says the old
+    song?&mdash;"When the roaring waterfall is shivered by the
+    night-storm, the moonlight is reflected in each scattered
+    drop."<a id="footnotetag88"
+       name="footnotetag88"></a><a href="#footnote88"><sup>88</sup></a>
+       Although there is but one moon, she suffices to illuminate
+       each little scattered drop. Wonderful are the laws of
+       Heaven! So the principle of benevolence, which is but one,
+       illumines all the particles that make up mankind. Well,
+       then, the perfection of the human heart can be calculated to
+       a nicety, So, if we follow the impulses of our perfect heart
+       in whatever we undertake, we shall perform our special
+       duties, and filial piety and fidelity will come to us
+       spontaneously. You see the doctrines of this school of
+       philosophy are quickly learnt. If you once thoroughly
+       understand this, there will be no difference between your
+       conduct and that of a man who has studied a hundred years.
+       Therefore I pray you to follow the impulses of your natural
+       heart; place it before you as a teacher, and study its
+       precepts. Your heart is a convenient teacher to employ too:
+       for there is no question of paying fees; and no need to go
+       out in the heat of summer, or the cold of winter, to pay
+       visits of ceremony to your master to inquire after his
+       health. What admirable teaching this is, by means of which
+       you can learn filial piety and fidelity so easily! Still,
+       suspicions are apt to arise in men's minds about things that
+       are seen to be acquired too cheaply; but here you can buy a
+       good thing cheap, and spare yourselves the vexation of
+       having paid an extravagant price for it. I repeat, follow
+       the impulses of your hearts with all your might. In the
+       <i>Chin-yo</i>, the second of the books of Confucius, it is
+       certified beyond a doubt that the impulses of nature are the
+       true path to follow; therefore you may set to work in this
+       direction with your minds at ease.</p>
+
+    <p>Righteousness, then, is the true path, and righteousness is
+    the avoidance of all that is imperfect. If a man avoids that
+    which is imperfect, there is no need to point out how dearly he
+    will be beloved by all his fellows. Hence it is that the
+    ancients have defined righteousness as that which ought to
+    be&mdash;that which is fitting. If a man be a retainer, it is
+    good that he should <span class="pagenum"><a name="page238"
+       id="page238"></a>[pg 238]</span> perform his service to his
+       lord with all his might. If a woman be married, it is good
+       that she should treat her parents-in-law with filial piety,
+       and her husband with reverence. For the rest, whatever is
+       good, that is righteousness and the true path of man.</p>
+
+    <p>The duty of man has been compared by the wise men of old to
+    a high road. If you want to go to Yedo or to Nagasaki, if you
+    want to go out to the front of the house or to the back of the
+    house, if you wish to go into the next room or into some closet
+    or other, there is a right road to each of these places: if you
+    do not follow the right road, scrambling over the roofs of
+    houses and through ditches, crossing mountains and desert
+    places, you will be utterly lost and bewildered. In the same
+    way, if a man does that which is not good, he is going astray
+    from the high road. Filial piety in children, virtue in wives,
+    truth among friends&mdash;but why enumerate all these things,
+    which are patent?&mdash;all these are the right road, and good;
+    but to grieve parents, to anger husbands, to hate and to breed
+    hatred in others, these are all bad things, these are all the
+    wrong road. To follow these is to plunge into rivers, to run on
+    to thorns, to jump into ditches, and brings thousands upon ten
+    thousands of disasters. It is true that, if we do not pay great
+    attention, we shall not be able to follow the right road.
+    Fortunately, we have heard by tradition the words of the
+    learned Nakazawa D&ocirc;ni: I will tell you about that, all in
+    good time.</p>
+
+    <p>It happened that, once, the learned Nakazawa went to preach
+    at Ik&eacute;da, in the province of Sesshiu, and lodged with a
+    rich family of the lower class. The master of the house, who
+    was particularly fond of sermons, entertained the preacher
+    hospitably, and summoned his daughter, a girl some fourteen or
+    fifteen years old, to wait upon him at dinner. This young lady
+    was not only extremely pretty, but also had charming manners;
+    so she arranged bouquets of flowers, and made tea, and played
+    upon the harp, and laid herself out to please the learned man
+    by singing songs. The preacher thanked her parents for all
+    this, and said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Really, it must be a very difficult thing to educate a
+    young lady up to such a pitch as this."</p>
+
+    <p>The parents, carried away by their feelings,
+    replied&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Yes; when she is married, she will hardly bring shame upon
+    her husband's family. Besides what she did just now, she can
+    weave garlands of flowers round torches, and we had her taught
+    to paint a little;" and as they began to show a little conceit,
+    the preacher said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I am sure this is something quite out of the common run. Of
+    course she knows how to rub the shoulders and loins, and has
+    learnt the art of shampooing?"</p>
+
+    <p>The master of the house bristled up at this and
+    answered&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I may be very poor, but I've not fallen so low as to let my
+    daughter learn shampooing."</p>
+
+    <p>The learned man, smiling, replied, "I think you are making a
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page239"
+       id="page239"></a>[pg 239]</span> mistake when you put
+       yourself in a rage. No matter whether her family be rich or
+       poor, when a woman is performing her duties in her husband's
+       house, she must look upon her husband's parents as her own.
+       If her honoured father-in-law or mother-in-law fall ill, her
+       being able to plait flowers and paint pictures and make tea
+       will be of no use in the sick-room. To shampoo her
+       parents-in-law, and nurse them affectionately, without
+       employing either shampooer or servant-maid, is the right
+       path of a daughter-in-law. Do you mean to say that your
+       daughter has not yet learnt shampooing, an art which is
+       essential to her following the right path of a wife? That is
+       what I meant to ask just now. So useful a study is very
+       important."</p>
+
+    <p>At this the master of the house was ashamed, and blushing
+    made many apologies, as I have heard. Certainly, the harp and
+    guitar are very good things in their way; but to attend to
+    nursing their parents is the right road of children. Lay this
+    story to heart, and consider attentively where the right road
+    lies. People who live near haunts of pleasure become at last so
+    fond of pleasure, that they teach their daughters nothing but
+    how to play on the harp and guitar, and train them up in the
+    manners and ways of singing-girls, but teach them next to
+    nothing of their duties as daughters; and then very often they
+    escape from their parents' watchfulness, and elope. Nor is this
+    the fault of the girls themselves, but the fault of the
+    education which they have received from their parents. I do not
+    mean to say that the harp and guitar, and songs and dramas, are
+    useless things. If you consider them attentively, all our songs
+    incite to virtue and condemn vice. In the song called "The Four
+    Sleeves," for instance, there is the passage, "If people knew
+    beforehand all the misery that it brings, there would be less
+    going out with young ladies, to look at the flowers at night."
+    Please give your attention to this piece of poetry. This is the
+    meaning of it:&mdash;When a young man and a young lady set up a
+    flirtation without the consent of their parents, they think
+    that it will all be very delightful, and find themselves very
+    much deceived. If they knew what a sad and cruel world this is,
+    they would not act as they do. The quotation is from a song of
+    remorse. This sort of thing but too often happens in the
+    world.</p>
+
+    <p>When a man marries a wife, he thinks how happy he will be,
+    and how pleasant it will be keeping house on his own account;
+    but, before the bottom of the family kettle has been scorched
+    black, he will be like a man learning to swim in a field, with
+    his ideas all turned topsy-turvy, and, contrary to all his
+    expectations, he will find the pleasures of housekeeping to be
+    all a delusion. Look at that woman there. Haunted by her cares,
+    she takes no heed of her hair, nor of her personal appearance.
+    With her head all untidy, her apron tied round her as a girdle,
+    with a baby twisted into the bosom of her dress, she carries
+    some wretched bean sauce which she has been out to buy. What
+    sort of creature is this? This all comes of not listening to
+    the warnings <span class="pagenum"><a name="page240"
+       id="page240"></a>[pg 240]</span> of parents, and of not
+       waiting for the proper time, but rushing suddenly into
+       housekeeping. And who is to blame in the matter? Passion,
+       which does not pause to reflect. A child of five or six
+       years will never think of learning to play the guitar for
+       its own pleasure. What a ten-million times miserable thing
+       it is, when parents, making their little girls hug a great
+       guitar, listen with pleasure to the poor little things
+       playing on instruments big enough for them to climb upon,
+       and squeaking out songs in their shrill treble voices! Now I
+       must beg you to listen to me carefully. If you get confused
+       and don't keep a sharp look-out, your children, brought up
+       upon harp and guitar playing, will be abandoning their
+       parents, and running away secretly. Depend upon it, from all
+       that is licentious and meretricious something monstrous will
+       come forth. The poet who wrote the "Four Sleeves" regarded
+       it as the right path of instruction to convey a warning
+       against vice. But the theatre and dramas and fashionable
+       songs, if the moral that they convey is missed, are a very
+       great mistake. Although you may think it very right and
+       proper that a young lady should practise nothing but the
+       harp and guitar until her marriage, I tell you that it is
+       not so; for if she misses the moral of her songs and music,
+       there is the danger of her falling in love with some man and
+       eloping. While on this subject, I have an amusing story to
+       tell you.</p>
+
+    <p>Once upon a time, a frog, who lived at Ki&ocirc;to, had long
+    been desirous of going to see Osaka. One spring, having made up
+    his mind, he started off to see Osaka and all its famous
+    places. By a series of hops on all-fours he reached a temple
+    opposite Nishi-no-oka, and thence by the western road he
+    arrived at Yamazaki, and began to ascend the mountain called
+    Ten&ocirc;zan. Now it so happened that a frog from Osaka had
+    determined to visit Ki&ocirc;to, and had also ascended
+    Ten&ocirc;zan; and on the summit the two frogs met, made
+    acquaintance, and told one another their intentions. So they
+    began to complain about all the trouble they had gone through,
+    and had only arrived half-way after all: if they went on to
+    Osaka and Ki&ocirc;to, their legs and loins would certainly not
+    hold out. Here was the famous mountain of Ten&ocirc;zan, from
+    the top of which the whole of Ki&ocirc;to and Osaka could be
+    seen: if they stood on tiptoe and stretched their backs, and
+    looked at the view, they would save themselves from stiff legs.
+    Having come to this conclusion, they both stood up on tiptoe,
+    and looked about them; when the Ki&ocirc;to frog
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Really, looking at the famous places of Osaka, which I have
+    heard so much about, they don't seem to me to differ a bit from
+    Ki&ocirc;to. Instead of giving myself any further trouble to go
+    on, I shall just return home."</p>
+
+    <p>The Osaka frog, blinking with his eyes, said, with a
+    contemptuous smile, "Well, I have heard a great deal of talk
+    about this Ki&ocirc;to being as beautiful as the flowers, but
+    it is just Osaka over again. We had better go home."</p>
+
+    <p>And so the two frogs, politely bowing to one another, hopped
+    off home with an important
+    swagger.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page241"
+       id="page241"></a>[pg 241]</span>
+
+    <p>Now, although this is a very funny little story, you will
+    not understand the drift of it at once. The frogs thought that
+    they were looking in front of them; but as, when they stood up,
+    their eyes were in the back of their heads, each was looking at
+    his native place, all the while that he believed himself to be
+    looking at the place he wished to go to. The frogs stared to
+    any amount, it is true; but then they did not take care that
+    the object looked at was the right object, and so it was that
+    they fell into error. Please, listen attentively. A certain
+    poet says&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Wonderful are the frogs! Though they go on all-fours in an
+    attitude of humility, their eyes are always turned ambitiously
+    upwards."</p>
+
+    <p>A delightful poem! Men, although they say with their mouths,
+    "Yes, yes, your wishes shall be obeyed,&mdash;certainly,
+    certainly, you are perfectly right," are like frogs, with their
+    eyes turned upwards. Vain fools! meddlers ready to undertake
+    any job, however much above their powers! This is what is
+    called in the text, "casting away your heart, and not knowing
+    where to seek for it." Although these men profess to undertake
+    any earthly thing, when it comes to the point, leave them to
+    themselves, and they are unequal to the task; and if you tell
+    them this, they answer&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"By the labour of our own bodies we earn our money; and the
+    food of our mouths is of our own getting. We are under
+    obligation to no man. If we did not depend upon ourselves, how
+    could we live in the world?"</p>
+
+    <p>There are plenty of people who use these words,
+    <i>myself</i> and <i>my own</i>, thoughtlessly and at random.
+    How false is this belief that they profess! If there were no
+    system of government by superiors, but an anarchy, these
+    people, who vaunt themselves and their own powers, would not
+    stand for a day. In the old days, at the time of the war at
+    Ichi-no-tani, Minamoto no
+    Yoshitsun&eacute;<a id="footnotetag89"
+       name="footnotetag89"></a><a href="#footnote89"><sup>89</sup></a>
+       left Mikusa, in the province of Tamba, and attacked Settsu.
+       Overtaken by the night among the mountains, he knew not what
+       road to follow; so he sent for his retainer, Benkei, of the
+       Temple called Musashi, and told him to light the big torches
+       which they had agreed upon. Benkei received his orders and
+       transmitted them to the troops, who immediately dispersed
+       through all the valleys, and set fire to the houses of the
+       inhabitants, so that one and all blazed up, and, thanks to
+       the light of this fire, they reached Ichi-no-tani, as the
+       story goes. If you think attentively, you will see the
+       allusion. Those who boast about <i>my</i> warehouse,
+       <i>my</i> house, <i>my</i> farm, <i>my</i> daughter,
+       <i>my</i> wife, hawking about this "<i>my</i>" of theirs
+       like pedlers, let there once come trouble and war in the
+       world, and, for all their vain-gloriousness, they will be as
+       helpless as turtles. Let them be thankful that peace is
+       established throughout the world. The humane Government
+       reaches to every frontier: the officials of every department
+       keep watch <span class="pagenum"><a name="page242"
+       id="page242"></a>[pg 242]</span> night and day. When a man
+       sleeps under his roof at night, how can he say that it is
+       thanks to himself that he stretches his limbs in slumber?
+       You go your rounds to see whether the shutters are closed
+       and the front door fast, and, having taken every precaution,
+       you lay yourself down to rest in peace: and what a
+       precaution after all! A board, four-tenths of an inch thick,
+       planed down front and rear until it is only two-tenths of an
+       inch thick. A fine precaution, in very truth!&mdash;a
+       precaution which may be blown down with a breath. Do you
+       suppose such a thing as that would frighten a thief from
+       breaking in? This is the state of the case. Here are men
+       who, by the benevolence and virtue of their rulers, live in
+       a delightful world, and yet, forgetting the mysterious
+       providence that watches over them, keep on singing their own
+       praises. Selfish egotists!</p>
+
+    <p>"My property amounts to five thousand ounces of silver. I
+    may sleep with my eyes turned up, and eat and take my pleasure,
+    if I live for five hundred or for seven hundred years. I have
+    five warehouses and twenty-five houses. I hold other people's
+    bills for fifteen hundred ounces of silver." So he dances a
+    fling<a id="footnotetag90"
+       name="footnotetag90"></a><a href="#footnote90"><sup>90</sup></a>
+       for joy, and has no fear lest poverty should come upon him
+       for fifty or a hundred years. Minds like frogs, with eyes in
+       the middle of their backs! Foolhardy thoughts! A trusty
+       castle of defence indeed! How little can it be depended
+       upon! And when such men are sleeping quietly, how can they
+       tell that they may not be turned into those big torches we
+       were talking about just now, or that a great earthquake will
+       not be upheaved? These are the chances of this fitful world.
+       With regard to the danger of too great reliance, I have a
+       little tale to tell you. Be so good as to wake up from your
+       drowsiness, and listen attentively.</p>
+
+    <p>There is a certain powerful shell-fish, called the
+    Sazay&eacute;, with a very strong operculum. Now this creature,
+    if it hears that there is any danger astir, shuts up its shell
+    from within, with a loud noise, and thinks itself perfectly
+    safe. One day a Tai and another fish, lost in envy at this,
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"What a strong castle this is of yours, Mr. Sazay&eacute;!
+    When you shut up your lid from within, nobody can so much as
+    point a finger at you. A capital figure you make, sir."</p>
+
+    <p>When he heard this, the Sazay&eacute;, stroking his beard,
+    replied&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, gentlemen, although you are so good as to say so,
+    it's nothing to boast of in the way of safety; yet I must admit
+    that, when I shut myself up thus, I do not feel much
+    anxiety."</p>
+
+    <p>And as he was speaking thus, with the pride that apes
+    humility, there came the noise of a great splash; and the
+    shell-fish, shutting up his lid as quickly as possible, kept
+    quite still, and thought to himself, what in the world the
+    noise could be. Could it be a net? Could it be a fish-hook?
+    What a bore it was, always having to keep such a sharp
+    look-out! Were the Tai and the other fish caught, he wondered;
+    and he felt quite anxious about them: however, at any rate, he
+    was safe. And so the time
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page243"
+       id="page243"></a>[pg 243]</span> passed; and when he thought
+       all was safe, he stealthily opened his shell, and slipped
+       out his head and looked all round him, and there seemed to
+       be something wrong&mdash;something with which he was not
+       familiar. As he looked a little more carefully, lo and
+       behold there he was in a fishmonger's shop, and with a card
+       marked "sixteen cash" on his back.</p>
+
+    <p>Isn't that a funny story? And so, at one fell swoop, all
+    your boasted wealth of houses and warehouses, and cleverness
+    and talent, and rank and power, are taken away. Poor
+    shell-fish! I think there are some people not unlike them to be
+    found in China and India. How little self is to be depended
+    upon! There is a moral poem which says, "It is easier to ascend
+    to the cloudy heaven without a ladder than to depend entirely
+    on oneself." This is what is meant by the text, "If a man casts
+    his heart from him, he knows not where to seek for it." Think
+    twice upon everything that you do. To take no care for the
+    examination of that which relates to yourself, but to look only
+    at that which concerns others, is to cast your heart from you.
+    Casting your heart from you does not mean that your heart
+    actually leaves you: what is meant is, that you do not examine
+    your own conscience. Nor must you think that what I have said
+    upon this point of self-confidences applies only to wealth and
+    riches. To rely on your talents, to rely on the services you
+    have rendered, to rely on your cleverness, to rely on your
+    judgment, to rely on your strength, to rely on your rank, and
+    to think yourself secure in the possession of these, is to
+    place yourselves in the same category with the shell-fish in
+    the story. In all things examine your own consciences: the
+    examination of your own hearts is above all things
+    essential.</p>
+
+    <p>(The preacher leaves his
+    place.)</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page244"
+       id="page244"></a>[pg 244]</span>
+
+    <h3>SERMON II</h3>
+
+    <h4>(THE SERMONS OF KIU-&Ocirc;, VOL. I)</h4>
+
+    <p>"If a man loses a fowl or a dog, he knows how to reclaim it.
+    If he loses his soul, he knows not how to reclaim it. The true
+    path of learning has no other function than to teach us how to
+    reclaim lost souls." This parable has been declared to us by
+    M&ocirc;shi. If a dog, or a chicken, or a pet cat does not come
+    home at the proper time, its master makes a great fuss about
+    hunting for it, and wonders can it have been killed by a dog or
+    by a snake, or can some man have stolen it; and ransacking the
+    three houses opposite, and his two next-door neighbours'
+    houses, as if he were seeking for a lost child, cries, "Pray,
+    sir, has my tortoiseshell cat been with you? Has my pet chicken
+    been here?" That is the way in which men run about under such
+    circumstances. It's a matter of the utmost importance.</p>
+
+    <p>And yet to lose a dog or a tame chicken is no such terrible
+    loss after all. But the soul, which is called the lord of the
+    body, is the master of our whole selves. If men part with this
+    soul for the sake of other things, then they become deaf to the
+    admonitions of their parents, and the instructions of their
+    superiors are to them as the winds of heaven. Teaching is to
+    them like pouring water over a frog's face; they blink their
+    eyes, and that is all; they say, "Yes, yes!" with their mouths,
+    but their hearts are gone, and, seeing, they are blind,
+    hearing, they are deaf. Born whole and sound, by their own
+    doing they enter the fraternity of cripples. Such are all those
+    who lose their souls. Nor do they think of inquiring or looking
+    for their lost soul. "It is my parents' fault; it is my
+    master's fault; it is my husband's fault; it is my elder
+    brother's fault; it is Hachibei who is a rogue; it is 0 Matsu
+    who is a bad woman." They content themselves with looking at
+    the faults of others, and do not examine their own consciences,
+    nor search their own hearts. Is not this a cruel state of
+    things? They set up a hue and cry for a lost dog or a pet
+    chicken, but for this all-important soul of theirs they make no
+    search. What mistaken people! For this reason the sages,
+    mourning over such a state of things, have taught us what is
+    the right path of man; and it is the receiving of this teaching
+    that is called learning. The main object of learning is the
+    examination and searching of our own hearts; therefore the text
+    says, "The true path of learning has no other function than to
+    teach us how to reclaim lost souls." This is an exhaustive
+    exposition of the functions of learning.
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page245"
+       id="page245"></a>[pg 245]</span> That learning has no other
+       object, we have this gracious pledge and guarantee from the
+       sage. As for the mere study of the antiquities and annals of
+       China and Japan, and investigation into literature, these
+       cannot be called learning, which is above all things an
+       affair of the soul. All the commentaries and all the books
+       of all the teachers in the world are but so many directories
+       by which to find out the whereabouts of our own souls. This
+       search after our own souls is that which I alluded to just
+       now as the examination of our consciences. To disregard the
+       examination of our consciences is a terrible thing, of which
+       it is impossible to foresee the end; on the other hand, to
+       practise it is most admirable, for by this means we can on
+       the spot attain filial piety and fidelity to our masters.
+       Virtue and vice are the goals to which the examination and
+       non-examination of our consciences lead. As it has been
+       rightly said, benevolence and malice are the two roads which
+       man follows. Upon this subject I have a terrible and yet a
+       very admirable story to tell you. Although I dare say you
+       are very drowsy, I must beg you to listen to me.</p>
+
+    <p>In a certain part of the country there was a well-to-do
+    farmer, whose marriage had brought him one son, whom he petted
+    beyond all measure, as a cow licks her calf. So by degrees the
+    child became very sly: he used to pull the horses' tails, and
+    blow smoke into the bulls' nostrils, and bully the neighbours'
+    children in petty ways and make them cry. From a peevish child
+    he grew to be a man, and unbearably undutiful to his parents.
+    Priding himself on a little superior strength, he became a
+    drunkard and a gambler, and learned to wrestle at fairs. He
+    would fight and quarrel for a trifle, and spent his time in
+    debauchery and riotous living. If his parents remonstrated with
+    him, he would raise his voice and abuse them, using scurrilous
+    language. "It's all very well your abusing me for being
+    dissolute and disobedient. But, pray, who asked you to bring me
+    into the world? You brought me into the world, and I have to
+    thank you for its miseries; so now, if you hate dissolute
+    people, you had better put me back where I came from, and I
+    shall be all right again." This was the sort of insolent answer
+    he would give his parents, who, at their wits' end, began to
+    grow old in years. And as he by degrees grew more and more of a
+    bully, unhappy as he made them, still he was their darling, and
+    they could not find it in their hearts to turn him out of the
+    house and disinherit him. So they let him pursue his selfish
+    course; and he went on from worse to worse, knocking people
+    down, breaking their arms, and getting up great disturbances.
+    It is unnecessary to speak of his parents' feelings. Even his
+    relations and friends felt as if nails were being hammered into
+    their breasts. He was a thoroughly wicked man.</p>
+
+    <p>Now no one is from his mother's womb so wicked as this; but
+    those who persist in selfishness lose their senses, and
+    gradually reach this pitch of wickedness. What a terrible thing
+    is this throwing away of our hearts!</p>
+
+    <p>Well, this man's relations and friends very properly urged
+    his <span class="pagenum"><a name="page246"
+       id="page246"></a>[pg 246]</span> parents to disown him; but
+       he was an only child, and so his parents, although they
+       said, "To-day we really will disinherit him," or "To-morrow
+       we really will break off all relations with him," still it
+       was all empty talk; and the years and months passed by,
+       until the scapegrace reached his twenty-sixth year, having
+       heaped wickedness upon wickedness; and who can tell how much
+       trouble he brought upon his family, who were always afraid
+       of hearing of some new enormity? At last they held a family
+       council, and told the parents that matters had come to such
+       a pass that if they did not disown their son the rest of the
+       family must needs break off all communication with them: if
+       he were allowed to go on in his evil courses, the whole
+       village, not to speak of his relations, would be disgraced;
+       so either the parents, against whom, however, there was no
+       ill-will felt, must be cut by the family, or they must
+       disinherit their son: to this appeal they begged to have a
+       distinct answer. The parents, reflecting that to separate
+       themselves from their relations, even for the sake of their
+       own son, would be an act of disrespect to their ancestors,
+       determined to invite their relations to assemble and draw up
+       a petition to the Government for leave to disinherit their
+       son, to which petition the family would all affix their
+       seals according to form; so they begged them to come in the
+       evening, and bring their seals with them. This was their
+       answer.</p>
+
+    <p>There is an old saw which says, "The old cow licks her calf,
+    and the tigress carries her cub in her mouth." If the instinct
+    of beasts and birds prompt them to love their young, how much
+    the more must it be a bitter thing for a man to have to disown
+    his own son! All this trouble was the consequence of this youth
+    casting his heart from him. Had he examined his own conscience,
+    the storm of waves and of wind would not have arisen, and all
+    would have been calm. But as he refused to listen to his
+    conscience, his parents, much against their will, were forced
+    to visit him with the punishment of disinheritance, which he
+    had brought upon himself. A sad thing indeed! In the poems of
+    his Reverence Tokuhon, a modern poet, there is the following
+    passage: "Since Buddha thus winds himself round our hearts, let
+    the man who dares to disregard him fear for his life." The
+    allusion is to the great mercy and love of the gods. The gods
+    wish to make men examine their consciences, and, day and night,
+    help men to discern that which is evil; but, although they
+    point out our desires and pleasures, our lusts and passions, as
+    things to be avoided, men turn their backs upon their own
+    consciences. The love of the gods is like the love of parents
+    for their children, and men treat the gods as undutiful
+    children treat their parents. "Men who dare to disregard the
+    gods, let them fear for their lives." I pray you who hear me,
+    one and all, to examine your own consciences and be saved.</p>
+
+    <p>To return to the story of the vagabond son. As it happened,
+    that day he was gambling in a neighbouring village, when a
+    friend from his own place came up and told him that his
+    relations had <span class="pagenum"><a name="page247"
+       id="page247"></a>[pg 247]</span> met together to disinherit
+       him; and that, fine fellow as he was, he would find it a
+       terrible thing to be disowned. Before he had heard him half
+       out, the other replied in a loud voice&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"What, do you mean to say that they are holding a family
+    council to-night to disinherit me? What a good joke! I'm sure I
+    don't want to be always seeing my father's and mother's
+    blubbering faces; it makes me quite sick to think of them: it's
+    quite unbearable. I'm able to take care of myself; and, if I
+    choose to go over to China, or to live in India, I should like
+    to know who is to prevent me? This is the very thing above all
+    others for me. I'll go off to the room where they are all
+    assembled, and ask them why they want to disinherit me. I'll
+    just swagger like Danjur&ocirc; <a id="footnotetag91"
+       name="footnotetag91"></a><a href="#footnote91"><sup>91</sup></a>
+       the actor, and frighten them into giving me fifty or
+       seventy ounces of silver to get rid of me, and put the money
+       in my purse, and be off to Ki&ocirc;to or Osaka, where I'll
+       set up a tea-house on my own account; and enjoy myself to my
+       heart's content! I hope this will be a great night for me,
+       so I'll just drink a cup of wine for luck beforehand."</p>
+
+    <p>And so, with a lot of young devils of his own sort, be fell
+    to drinking wine in teacups,<a id="footnotetag92"
+       name="footnotetag92"></a><a href="#footnote92"><sup>92</sup></a>
+       so that before nightfall they were all as drunk as mud.
+       Well, then, on the strength of this wine, as he was setting
+       out for his father's house, he said, "Now, then, to try my
+       luck," and stuck a long dirk in his girdle. He reached his
+       own village just before nightfall, thinking to burst into
+       the place where he imagined his relations to be gathered
+       together, turning their wisdom-pockets inside out, to shake
+       out their small provision of intelligence in consultation;
+       and he fancied that, if he blustered and bullied, he would
+       certainly get a hundred ounces of silver out of them. Just
+       as he was about to enter the house, he reflected&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"If I show my face in the room where my relations are
+    gathered together, they will all look down on the ground and
+    remain silent; so if I go in shouting and raging, it will be
+    quite out of harmony; but if they abuse me, then I shall be in
+    the right if I jump in on them and frighten them well. The best
+    plan will be for me to step out of the bamboo grove which is
+    behind the house, and to creep round the verandah, and I can
+    listen to these fellows holding their consultation: they will
+    certainly be raking up all sorts of scandal about me. It will
+    be all in harmony, then, if I kick down the shutters and
+    sliding-doors with a noise like thunder. And what fun it will
+    be!"</p>
+
+    <p>As he thought thus to himself, he pulled off his iron-heeled
+    sandals, and stuck them in his girdle, and, girding up his
+    dress round his waist, left the bamboo grove at the back of the
+    house, and, jumping over the garden wicket, went round the
+    verandah and looked in. Peeping through a chink in the
+    shutters, he could <span class="pagenum"><a name="page248"
+       id="page248"></a>[pg 248]</span> see his relations gathered
+       together in council, speaking in whispers. The family were
+       sitting in a circle, and one and all were affixing their
+       seals to the petition of disinheritance. At last, having
+       passed from hand to hand, the document came round to where
+       the two parents were sitting. Their son, seeing this,
+       said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Come, now, it's win or lose! My parents' signing the paper
+    shall be the sign for me to kick open the door and jump into
+    the middle of them."</p>
+
+    <p>So, getting ready for a good kick, he held his breath and
+    looked on.</p>
+
+    <p>What terrible perversion man can allow his heart to come to!
+    M&ocirc;shi has said that man by nature is good; but although
+    not a particle of fault can be found with what he has said,
+    when the evil we have learned becomes a second nature, men
+    reach this fearful degree of wickedness. When men come to this
+    pass, K&ocirc;shi<a id="footnotetag93"
+       name="footnotetag93"></a><a href="#footnote93"><sup>93</sup></a>
+       and M&ocirc;shi themselves might preach to them for a
+       thousand days, and they would not have strength to reform.
+       Such hardened sinners deserve to be roasted in iron pots in
+       the nethermost hell. Now, I am going to tell you how it came
+       about that the vagabond son turned over a new leaf and
+       became dutiful, and finally entered paradise. The poet says,
+       "Although the hearts of parents are not surrounded by dark
+       night, how often they stray from the right road in their
+       affection for their children!"</p>
+
+    <p>When the petition of disinheritance came round to the place
+    where the two parents were sitting, the mother lifted up her
+    voice and wept aloud; and the father, clenching his toothless
+    gums to conceal his emotion, remained with his head bent down:
+    presently, in a husky voice, he said, "Wife, give me the
+    seal!"</p>
+
+    <p>But she returned no answer, and with tears in her eyes took
+    a leather purse, containing the seal, out of a drawer of the
+    cupboard and placed it before her husband. All this time the
+    vagabond son, holding his breath, was peeping in from outside
+    the shutters. In the meanwhile, the old man slowly untied the
+    strings of the purse, and took out the seal, and smeared on the
+    colouring matter. Just as he was about to seal the document,
+    his wife clutched at his hand and said, "Oh, pray wait a
+    little."</p>
+
+    <p>The father replied, "Now that all our relations are looking
+    on, you must not speak in this weak manner."</p>
+
+    <p>But she would not listen to what he said, but went
+    on&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Pray listen to what I have to say. It is true that if we
+    were to give over our house to our undutiful son, in less than
+    three years the grass would be growing in its place, for he
+    would be ruined. Still, if we disinherit our child&mdash;the
+    only child that we have, either in heaven or upon
+    earth&mdash;we shall have to adopt another in his place.
+    Although, if the adopted son turned out honest and dutiful, and
+    inherited our property, all would be well; still, what
+    certainty is there of his doing so? If, on the other hand, the
+    adopted son turned out to be a prodigal, and laid waste
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page249"
+       id="page249"></a>[pg 249]</span> our house, what unlucky
+       parents we should be! And who can say that this would not be
+       the case? If we are to be ruined for the sake of an equally
+       wicked adopted son, I had rather lose our home for the sake
+       of our own son, and, leaving out old familiar village as
+       beggars, seek for our lost boy on foot. This is my fervent
+       wish. During fifty years that we have lived together, this
+       has been the only favour that I have ever asked of you. Pray
+       listen to my prayer, and put a stop to this act of
+       disinheritance. Even though I should become a beggar for my
+       son's sake, I could feel no resentment against him."</p>
+
+    <p>So she spoke, sobbing aloud. The relations, who heard this,
+    looked round at one another, and watched the father to see what
+    he would do; and he (who knows with what thoughts in his head?)
+    put back the seal into the leather purse, and quickly drew the
+    strings together, and pushed back the petition to the
+    relations.</p>
+
+    <p>"Certainly," said he, "I have lost countenance, and am
+    disgraced before all my family; however, I think that what the
+    good wife has just said is right and proper, and from
+    henceforth I renounce all thoughts of disinheriting my son. Of
+    course you will all see a weakness of purpose in what I say,
+    and laugh at me as the cause of my son's undutiful conduct. But
+    laugh away: it won't hurt me. Certainly, if I don't disinherit
+    this son of mine, my house will be ruined before three years
+    are over our heads. To lay waste the house of generations upon
+    generations of my ancestors is a sin against those ancestors;
+    of this I am well aware. Further, if I don't disinherit my son,
+    you gentlemen will all shun me. I know that I am cutting myself
+    off from my relations. Of course you think that when I leave
+    this place I shall be dunning you to bestow your charity upon
+    me; and that is why you want to break off relations with me.
+    Pray don't make yourselves uneasy. I care no more for my duties
+    to the world, for my impiety to my ancestors, or for my
+    separation from my family. Our son is our only darling, and we
+    mean to go after him, following him as beggars on foot. This is
+    our desire. We shall trouble you for no alms and for no
+    charity. However we may die, we have but one life to lose. For
+    our darling son's sake, we will lay ourselves down and die by
+    the roadside. There our bodies shall be manure for the trees of
+    the avenue. And all this we will endure cheerfully, and not
+    utter a complaint. Make haste and return home, therefore, all
+    of you. From to-morrow we are no longer on speaking terms. As
+    for what you may say to me on my son's account, I do not
+    care."</p>
+
+    <p>And as his wife had done, he lifted up his voice and wept,
+    shedding manly tears. As for her, when she heard that the act
+    of disinheritance was not to be drawn up, her tears were
+    changed to tears of joy. The rest of the family remained in
+    mute astonishment at so unheard-of a thing, and could only
+    stare at the faces of the two old people.</p>
+
+    <p>You see how bewildered parents must be by their love for
+    their children, to be so merciful towards them. As a cat
+    carrying her <span class="pagenum"><a name="page250"
+       id="page250"></a>[pg 250]</span> young in her mouth screens
+       it from the sun at one time and brings it under the light at
+       another, so parents act by their children, screening their
+       bad points and bringing out in relief their good qualities.
+       They care neither for the abuse of others, nor for their
+       duties to their ancestors, nor for the wretched future in
+       store for themselves. Carried away by their infatuation for
+       their children, and intoxicated upon intoxication, the
+       hearts of parents are to be pitied for their pitifulness. It
+       is not only the two parents in my story who are in this
+       plight; the hearts of all parents of children all over the
+       world are the same. In the poems of the late learned Ishida
+       it is written, "When I look round me and see the hearts of
+       parents bewildered by their love for their children, I
+       reflect that my own father and mother must be like them."
+       This is certainly a true saying.</p>
+
+    <p>To return to the story: the halo of his parents' great
+    kindness and pity penetrated the very bowels of the prodigal
+    son. What an admirable thing! When he heard it, terrible and
+    sly devil as he had been, he felt as if his whole body had been
+    squeezed in a press; and somehow or other, although the tears
+    rose in his breast, he could not for shame lift up his voice
+    and weep. Biting the sleeve of his dress, he lay down on the
+    ground and shed tears in silence. What says the verse of the
+    reverend priest Eni? "To shed tears of gratitude one knows not
+    why." A very pretty poem indeed! So then the vagabond son, in
+    his gratitude to his parents, could neither stand nor sit. You
+    see the original heart of man is by nature bright virtue, but
+    by our selfish pursuit of our own inclinations the brilliancy
+    of our original virtue is hidden.</p>
+
+    <p>To continue: the prodigal was pierced to the core by the
+    great mercy shown by his parents, and the brilliancy of his own
+    original good heart was enticed back to him. The sunlight came
+    forth, and what became of all the clouds of self-will and
+    selfishness? The clouds were all dispelled, and from the bottom
+    of his soul there sprang the desire to thank his parents for
+    their goodness. We all know the story of the rush-cutter who
+    saw the moon rising between the trees on a moorland hill so
+    brightly, that he fancied it must have been scoured with the
+    scouring-rush which grew near the spot. When a man, who has
+    been especially wicked, repents and returns to his original
+    heart, he becomes all the more excellent, and his brightness is
+    as that of the rising moon scoured. What an admirable thing
+    this is! So the son thought to enter the room at once and beg
+    his parents' forgiveness; but he thought to himself, "Wait a
+    bit. If I burst suddenly into the room like this, the relations
+    will all be frightened and not know what to make of it, and
+    this will be a trouble to my parents. I will put on an innocent
+    face, as if I did not know what has been going on, and I'll go
+    in by the front door, and beg the relations to intercede for me
+    with my parents." With stealthy step he left the back of the
+    house, and went round to the front. When he arrived there, he
+    purposely made a great noise with his iron-heeled sandals, and
+    gave a loud cough to clear his throat, and entered
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page251"
+       id="page251"></a>[pg 251]</span> the room. The relations
+       were all greatly alarmed; and his parents, when they saw the
+       face of their wicked son, both shed tears. As for the son,
+       he said not a word, but remained weeping, with his head bent
+       down. After a while, he addressed the relations and said,
+       "Although I have frequently been threatened with
+       disinheritance, and although in those days I made light of
+       it, to-night, when I heard that this family council had
+       assembled, I somehow or other felt my heart beset by anxiety
+       and grief. However I may have heaped wickedness upon
+       wickedness up to the present moment, as I shall certainly
+       now mend my ways, I pray you to delay for a while to-night's
+       act of disinheritance. I do not venture to ask for a long
+       delay,&mdash;I ask but for thirty days; and if within that
+       time I shall not have given proofs of repentance, disinherit
+       me: I shall not have a word to say. I pray you, gentlemen,
+       to intercede with my parents that they may grant this delay
+       of thirty days, and to present them my humble apologies."
+       With this he rubbed his head on the mat, as a humble
+       suppliant, in a manner most foreign to his nature.</p>
+
+    <p>The relations, after hearing the firm and resolute answer of
+    the parents, had shifted about in their places; but, although
+    they were on the point of leaving the house, had remained
+    behind, sadly out of harmony; when the son came in, and happily
+    with a word set all in tune again. So the relations addressed
+    the parents, and said, "Pray defer to-night's affair;" and laid
+    the son's apologies at their feet. As for the parents, who
+    would not have disinherited their son even had he not repented,
+    how much the more when they heard what he said did they weep
+    for joy; and the relations, delighted at the happy event,
+    exhorted the son to become really dutiful; and so that night's
+    council broke up. So this son in the turn of a hand became a
+    pious son, and the way in which he served his parents was that
+    of a tender and loving child. His former evil ways he
+    extinguished utterly.</p>
+
+    <p>The fame of this story rose high in the world; and, before
+    half a year had passed, it reached the ears of the lord of the
+    manor, who, when he had put on his noble spectacles and
+    investigated the case, appointed the son to be the head man of
+    his village. You may judge by this what this son's filial piety
+    effected. Three years after these events, his mother, who was
+    on her death-bed, very sick, called for him and said, "When
+    some time since the consultation was being held about
+    disinheriting you, by some means or other your heart was
+    turned, and since then you have been a dutiful son above all
+    others. If at that time you had not repented, and I had died in
+    the meanwhile, my soul would have gone to hell without fail,
+    because of my foolish conduct towards you. But, now that you
+    have repented, there is nothing that weighs upon me, and there
+    can be no mistake about my going to paradise. So the fact of my
+    becoming one of the saints will all be the work of your filial
+    piety." And the story goes, that with these words the mother,
+    lifting up her hands in prayer, died.</p>
+
+    <p>To be sure, by the deeds of the present life we may obtain a
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page252"
+       id="page252"></a>[pg 252]</span> glimpse into the future. If
+       a man's heart is troubled by his misdeeds in this life, it
+       will again be tortured in the next. The troubled heart is
+       hell. The heart at rest is paradise. The trouble or peace of
+       parents depends upon their children. If their children are
+       virtuous, parents are as the saints: if their children are
+       wicked, parents suffer the tortures of the damned. If once
+       your youthful spirits, in a fit of heedlessness, have led
+       you to bring trouble upon your parents and cause them to
+       weep, just consider the line of argument which I have been
+       following. From this time forth repent and examine your own
+       hearts. If you will become dutiful, your parents from this
+       day will live happy as the saints. But if you will not
+       repent, but persist in your evil ways, your parents will
+       suffer the pains of hell. Heaven and hell are matters of
+       repentance or non-repentance. Repentance is the finding of
+       the lost heart, and is also the object of learning. I shall
+       speak to you further upon this point to-morrow
+       evening.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page253"
+       id="page253"></a>[pg 253]</span>
+
+    <h3>SERMON III</h3>
+
+    <h4>(THE SERMONS OF KIU-&Ocirc;, VOL. 1)</h4>
+
+    <p>M&ocirc;shi has said, "There is the third finger. If a man's
+    third or nameless finger be bent, so that he cannot straighten
+    it, although his bent finger may cause him no pain, still if he
+    hears of some one who can cure it, he will think nothing of
+    undertaking a long journey from <i>Shin</i> to
+    <i>So</i><a id="footnotetag94"
+       name="footnotetag94"></a><a href="#footnote94"><sup>94</sup></a>
+       to consult him upon this deformed finger; for he knows it is
+       to be hateful to have a finger unlike those of other men.
+       But he cares not a jot if his heart be different to that of
+       other men; and this is how men disregard the true order of
+       things."</p>
+
+    <p>Now this is the next chapter to the one about benevolence
+    being the true heart of man, which I expounded to you the other
+    night. True learning has no other aim than that of reclaiming
+    lost souls; and, in connection with this, M&ocirc;shi has thus
+    again declared in a parable the all-importance of the human
+    heart.</p>
+
+    <p>The nameless finger is that which is next to the little
+    finger. The thumb is called the parent-finger; the first finger
+    is called the index; the long is called the middle finger; but
+    the third finger has no name. It is true that it is sometimes
+    called the finger for applying rouge; but that is only a name
+    given it by ladies, and is not in general use. So, having no
+    name, it is called the nameless finger. And how comes it to
+    have no name? Why, because it is of all the fingers the least
+    useful. When we clutch at or grasp things, we do so by the
+    strength of the thumb and little finger. If a man scratches his
+    head, he does it with the forefinger; if he wishes to test the
+    heat of the wine<a id="footnotetag95"
+       name="footnotetag95"></a><a href="#footnote95"><sup>95</sup></a>
+       in the kettle, he uses the little finger. Thus, although
+       each finger has its uses and duties, the nameless finger
+       alone is of no use: it is not in our way if we have it, and
+       we do not miss it if we lose it. Of the whole body it is the
+       meanest member: if it be crooked so that we cannot
+       straighten it, it neither hurts nor itches; as M&ocirc;shi
+       says in the text, it causes no pain; even if we were without
+       it, we should be none the worse off. Hence, what though it
+       should be bent, it would be better, since it causes no pain,
+       to leave it as it is. Yet if a person, having such a crooked
+       finger, hears of a clever doctor who can set it straight, no
+       matter at how great a distance he may be, he will be off to
+       consult this doctor. And pray why? Because he feels ashamed
+       of having <span class="pagenum"><a name="page254"
+       id="page254"></a>[pg 254]</span> a finger a little different
+       from the rest of the world, and so he wants to be cured, and
+       will think nothing of travelling from Shin to So&mdash;a
+       distance of a thousand miles&mdash;for the purpose. To be
+       sure, men are very susceptible and keenly alive to a sense
+       of shame; and in this they are quite right. The feeling of
+       shame at what is wrong is the commencement of virtue. The
+       perception of shame is inborn in men; but there are two ways
+       of perceiving shame. There are some men who are sensible of
+       shame for what regards their bodies, but who are ignorant of
+       shame for what concerns their hearts; and a terrible mistake
+       they make. There is nothing which can be compared in
+       importance to the heart. The heart is said to be the lord of
+       the body, which it rules as a master rules his house. Shall
+       the lord, who is the heart, be ailing and his sickness be
+       neglected, while his servants, who are the members only, are
+       cared for? If the knee be lacerated, apply tinder to stop
+       the bleeding; if the moxa should suppurate, spread a
+       plaster; if a cold be caught, prepare medicine and garlic
+       and gruel, and ginger wine! For a trifle, you will doctor
+       and care for your bodies, and yet for your hearts you will
+       take no care. Although you are born of mankind, if your
+       hearts resemble those of devils, of foxes, of snakes, or of
+       crows, rather than the hearts of men, you take no heed,
+       caring for your bodies alone. Whence can you have fallen
+       into such a mistake? It is a folly of old standing too, for
+       it was to that that M&ocirc;shi pointed when he said that to
+       be cognizant of a deformed finger and ignore the deformities
+       of the soul was to disregard the true order of things. This
+       is what it is, not to distinguish between that which is
+       important and that which is unimportant&mdash;to pick up a
+       trifle and pass by something of value. The instinct of man
+       prompts him to prefer the great to the small, the important
+       to the unimportant.</p>
+
+    <p>If a man is invited out to a feast by his relations or
+    acquaintances, when the guests are assembled and the principal
+    part of the feast has disappeared, he looks all round him, with
+    the eyeballs starting out of his head, and glares at his
+    neighbours, and, comparing the little titbits of roast fowl or
+    fish put before them, sees that they are about half an inch
+    bigger than those set before him; then, blowing out his belly
+    with rage, he thinks, "What on earth can the host be about?
+    Master Tarubei is a guest, but so am I: what does the fellow
+    mean by helping me so meanly? There must be some malice or
+    ill-will here." And so his mind is prejudiced against the host.
+    Just be so good as to reflect upon this. Does a man show his
+    spite by grudging a bit of roast fowl or meat? And yet even in
+    such trifles as these do men show how they try to obtain what
+    is great, and show their dislike of what is small. How can men
+    be conscious of shame for a deformed finger, and count it as no
+    misfortune that their hearts are crooked? That is how they
+    abandon the substance for the shadow.</p>
+
+    <p>M&ocirc;shi severely censures the disregard of the true
+    order of things. What mistaken and bewildered creatures men
+    are! <span class="pagenum"><a name="page255"
+       id="page255"></a>[pg 255]</span> What says the old song?
+       "Hidden far among the mountains, the tree which seems to be
+       rotten, if its core be yet alive, may be made to bear
+       flowers." What signifies it if the hand or the foot be
+       deformed? The heart is the important thing. If the heart be
+       awry, what though your skin be fair, your nose aquiline,
+       your hair beautiful? All these strike the eye alone, and are
+       utterly useless. It is as if you were to put horse-dung into
+       a gold-lacquer luncheon-box. This is what is called a fair
+       outside, deceptive in appearance.</p>
+
+    <p>There's the scullery-maid been washing out the pots at the
+    kitchen sink, and the scullion Chokichi comes up and says to
+    her, "You've got a lot of charcoal smut sticking to your nose,"
+    and points out to her the ugly spot. The scullery-maid is
+    delighted to be told of this, and answers, "Really! whereabouts
+    is it?" Then she twists a towel round her finger, and, bending
+    her head till mouth and forehead are almost on a level, she
+    squints at her nose, and twiddles away with her fingers as if
+    she were the famous Got&ocirc;<a id="footnotetag96"
+       name="footnotetag96"></a><a href="#footnote96"><sup>96</sup></a>
+       at work, carving the ornaments of a sword-handle. "I say,
+       Master Chokichi, is it off yet?" "Not a bit of it. You've
+       smeared it all over your cheeks now." "Oh dear! oh dear!
+       where can it be?" And so she uses the water-basin as a
+       looking-glass, and washes her face clean; then she says to
+       herself, "What a dear boy Chokichi is!" and thinks it
+       necessary, out of gratitude, to give him relishes with his
+       supper by the ladleful, and thanks him over and over again.
+       But if this same Chokichi were to come up to her and say,
+       "Now, really, how lazy you are! I wish you could manage to
+       be rather less of a shrew," what do you think the
+       scullery-maid would answer then? Reflect for a moment. "Drat
+       the boy's impudence! If I were of a bad heart or an angular
+       disposition, should I be here helping him? You go and be
+       hung! You see if I take the trouble to wash your dirty
+       bedclothes for you any more." And she gets to be a perfect
+       devil, less only the horns.</p>
+
+    <p>There are other people besides the poor scullery-maid who
+    are in the same way. "Excuse me, Mr. Gundabei, but the
+    embroidered crest on your dress of ceremony seems to be a
+    little on one side." Mr. Gundabei proceeds to adjust his dress
+    with great precision. "Thank you, sir. I am ten million times
+    obliged to you for your care. If ever there should be any
+    matter in which I can be of service to you, I beg that you will
+    do me the favour of letting me know;" and, with a beaming face,
+    he expresses his gratitude. Now for the other side of the
+    picture. "Really, Mr. Gundabei, you are very foolish; you don't
+    seem to understand at all. I beg you to be of a frank and
+    honest heart: it really makes me quite sad to see a man's heart
+    warped in this way." What is his answer? He turns his sword in
+    his girdle ready to draw, and plays the devil's tattoo upon the
+    hilt: it looks as if it must end in a fight
+    soon.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page256"
+       id="page256"></a>[pg 256]</span>
+
+    <p>In fact, if you help a man in anything which has to do with
+    a fault of the body, he takes it very kindly, and sets about
+    mending matters. If any one helps another to rectify a fault of
+    the heart, he has to deal with a man in the dark, who flies in
+    a rage, and does not care to amend. How out of tune all this
+    is! And yet there are men who are bewildered up to this point.
+    Nor is this a special and extraordinary failing. This mistaken
+    perception of the great and the small, of colour and of
+    substance, is common to us all&mdash;to you and to me.</p>
+
+    <p>Please give me your attention. The form strikes the eye; but
+    the heart strikes not the eye. Therefore, that the heart should
+    be distorted and turned awry causes no pain. This all results
+    from the want of sound judgment; and that is why we cannot
+    afford to be careless.</p>
+
+    <p>The master of a certain house calls his servant Chokichi,
+    who sits dozing in the kitchen. "Here, Chokichi! The guests are
+    all gone; come and clear away the wine and fish in the back
+    room."</p>
+
+    <p>Chokichi rubs his eyes, and with a sulky answer goes into
+    the back room, and, looking about him, sees all the nice things
+    paraded on the trays and in the bowls. It's wonderful how his
+    drowsiness passes away: no need for any one to hurry him now.
+    His eyes glare with greed, as he says, "Hullo! here's a lot of
+    tempting things! There's only just one help of that omelette
+    left in the tray. What a hungry lot of guests! What's this? It
+    looks like fish rissoles;" and with this he picks out one, and
+    crams his mouth full; when, on one side, a mess of young
+    cuttlefish, in a Chinese<a id="footnotetag97"
+       name="footnotetag97"></a><a href="#footnote97"><sup>97</sup></a>
+       porcelain bowl, catches his eyes. There the little beauties
+       sit in a circle, like Buddhist priests in religious
+       meditation! "Oh, goodness! how nice!" and just as he is
+       dipping his finger and thumb in, he hears his master's
+       footstep; and knowing that he is doing wrong, he crams his
+       prize into the pocket of his sleeve, and stoops down to take
+       away the wine-kettle and cups; and as he does this, out
+       tumble the cuttlefish from his sleeve. The master sees
+       it.</p>
+
+    <p>"What's that?"</p>
+
+    <p>Chokichi, pretending not to know what has happened, beats
+    the mats, and keeps on saying, "Come again the day before
+    yesterday; come again the day before
+    yesterday."<a id="footnotetag98"
+       name="footnotetag98"></a><a href="#footnote98"><sup>98</sup></a></p>
+
+    <p>But it's no use his trying to persuade his master that the
+    little cuttlefish are spiders, for they are not the least like
+    them. It's no use hiding things,&mdash;they are sure to come to
+    light; and so it is with the heart,&mdash;its purposes will
+    out. If the heart is enraged, the dark veins stand out on the
+    forehead; if the heart is grieved, tears rise to the eyes; if
+    the heart is joyous, dimples appear in
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page257"
+       id="page257"></a>[pg 257]</span> the cheeks; if the heart is
+       merry, the face smiles: thus it is that the face reflects
+       the emotions of the heart. It is not because the eyes are
+       filled with tears that the heart is sad; nor because the
+       veins stand out on the forehead that the heart is enraged.
+       It is the heart which leads the way in everything. All the
+       important sensations of the heart are apparent in the
+       outward appearance. In the "Great Learning" of K&ocirc;shi
+       it is written, "The truth of what is within appears upon the
+       surface." How then is the heart a thing which can be hidden?
+       To answer when reproved, to hum tunes when scolded, show a
+       diseased heart; and if this disease is not quickly taken in
+       hand, it will become chronic, and the remedy become
+       difficult: perhaps the disease may be so virulent that even
+       Giba and Henjaku<a id="footnotetag99"
+       name="footnotetag99"></a><a href="#footnote99"><sup>99</sup></a>
+       in consultation could not effect a cure. So, before the
+       disease has gained strength, I invite you to the study of
+       the moral essays entitled <i>Shin-gaku</i> (the Learning of
+       the Heart). If you once arrive at the possession of your
+       heart as it was originally by nature, what an admirable
+       thing that will be! In that case your conscience will point
+       out to you even the slightest wrong bias or selfishness.</p>
+
+    <p>While upon this subject, I may tell you a story which was
+    related to me by a friend of mine. It is a story which the
+    master of a certain money-changer's shop used to be very fond
+    of telling. An important part of a money-changer's business is
+    to distinguish between good and bad gold and silver. In the
+    different establishments, the ways of teaching the apprentices
+    this art vary; however, the plan adopted by the money-changer
+    was as follows:&mdash;At first he would show them no bad
+    silver, but would daily put before them good money only; when
+    they had become thoroughly familiar with the sight of good
+    money, if he stealthily put a little base coin among the good,
+    he found that they would detect it immediately,&mdash;they saw
+    it as plainly as you see things when you throw light on a
+    mirror. This faculty of detecting base money at a glance was
+    the result of having learned thoroughly to understand good
+    money. Having once been taught in this way, the apprentices
+    would not make a mistake about a piece of base coin during
+    their whole lives, as I have heard. I can't vouch for the truth
+    of this; but it is very certain that the principle, applied to
+    moral instruction, is an excellent one,&mdash;it is a most safe
+    mode of study. However, I was further told that if, after
+    having thus learned to distinguish good money, a man followed
+    some other trade for six months or a year, and gave up handling
+    money, he would become just like any other inexperienced
+    person, unable to distinguish the good from the base.</p>
+
+    <p>Please reflect upon this attentively. If you once render
+    yourself familiar with the nature of the uncorrupted heart,
+    from that time forth you will be immediately conscious of the
+    slightest inclination towards bias or selfishness. And why?
+    Because the natural heart is illumined. When a man has once
+    learned that which is perfect, he will never consent to accept
+    that which is <span class="pagenum"><a name="page258"
+       id="page258"></a>[pg 258]</span> imperfect; but if, after
+       having acquired this knowledge, he again keeps his natural
+       heart at a distance, and gradually forgets to recognize that
+       which is perfect, he finds himself in the dark again, and
+       that he can no longer distinguish base money from good. I
+       beg you to take care. If a man falls into bad habits, he is
+       no longer able to perceive the difference between the good
+       impulses of his natural heart and the evil impulses of his
+       corrupt heart. With this benighted heart as a
+       starting-point, he can carry out none of his intentions, and
+       he has to lift his shoulders sighing and sighing again. A
+       creature much to be pitied indeed! Then he loses all
+       self-reliance, so that, although it would be better for him
+       to hold his tongue and say nothing about it, if he is in the
+       slightest trouble or distress, he goes and confesses the
+       crookedness of his heart to every man he meets. What a
+       wretched state for a man to be in! For this reason, I beg
+       you to learn thoroughly the true silver of the heart, in
+       order that you may make no mistake about the base coin. I
+       pray that you and I, during our whole lives, may never leave
+       the path of true principles.</p>
+
+    <p>I have an amusing story to tell you in connection with this,
+    if you will be so good as to listen.</p>
+
+    <p>Once upon a time, when the autumn nights were beginning to
+    grow chilly, five or six tradesmen in easy circumstances had
+    assembled together to have a chat; and, having got ready their
+    picnic box and wine-flask, went off to a temple on the hills,
+    where a friendly priest lived, that they might listen to the
+    stags roaring. With this intention they went to call upon the
+    priest, and borrowed the guests'
+    apartments<a id="footnotetag100"
+       name="footnotetag100"></a><a href="#footnote100"><sup>100</sup></a>
+       of the monastery; and as they were waiting to hear the deer
+       roar, some of the party began to compose poetry. One would
+       write a verse of Chinese poetry, and another would write a
+       verse of seventeen syllables; and as they were passing the
+       wine-cup the hour of sunset came, but not a deer had uttered
+       a call; eight o'clock came, and ten o'clock came; still not
+       a sound from the deer.</p>
+
+    <p>"What can this mean?" said one. "The deer surely ought to be
+    roaring."</p>
+
+    <p>But, in spite of their waiting, the deer would not roar. At
+    last the friends got sleepy, and, bored with writing songs and
+    verses, began to yawn, and gave up twaddling about the woes and
+    troubles of life; and as they were all silent, one of them, a
+    man fifty years of age, stopping the circulation of the
+    wine-cup, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, certainly, gentlemen, thanks to you, we have spent
+    the evening in very pleasant conversation. However, although I
+    am enjoying myself mightily in this way, my people at home must
+    be getting anxious, and so I begin to think that we ought to
+    leave off drinking."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page259"
+       id="page259"></a>[pg 259]</span>
+
+    <p>"Why so?" said the others.</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, I'll tell you. You know that my only son is
+    twenty-two years of age this year, and a troublesome fellow be
+    is, too. When I'm at home, he lends a hand sulkily enough in
+    the shop: but as soon as he no longer sees the shadow of me, he
+    hoists sail and is off to some bad haunt. Although our
+    relations and connections are always preaching to him, not a
+    word has any more effect that wind blowing into a horse's ear.
+    When I think that I shall have to leave my property to such a
+    fellow as that, it makes my heart grow small indeed. Although,
+    thanks to those to whom I have succeeded, I want for nothing,
+    still, when I think of my son, I shed tears of blood night and
+    day."</p>
+
+    <p>And as he said this with a sigh, a man of some forty-five or
+    forty-six years said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"No, no; although you make so much of your misfortunes, your
+    son is but a little extravagant after all. There's no such
+    great cause for grief there. I've got a very different story to
+    tell. Of late years my shopmen, for one reason or another, have
+    been running me into debt, thinking nothing of a debt of fifty
+    or seventy ounces; and so the ledgers get all wrong. Just think
+    of that. Here have I been keeping these fellows ever since they
+    were little children unable to blow their own noses, and now,
+    as soon as they come to be a little useful in the shop, they
+    begin running up debts, and are no good whatever to their
+    master. You see, you only have to spend your money upon your
+    own son."</p>
+
+    <p>Then another gentleman said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, I think that to spend money upon your shop-people is
+    no such great hardship after all. Now I've been in something
+    like trouble lately. I can't get a penny out of my customers.
+    One man owes me fifteen ounces; another owes me twenty-five
+    ounces. Really that is enough to make a man feel as if his
+    heart was worn away."</p>
+
+    <p>When he had finished speaking, an old gentleman, who was
+    sitting opposite, playing with his fan, said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Certainly, gentlemen, your grievances are not without
+    cause; still, to be perpetually asked for a little money, or to
+    back a bill, by one's relations or friends, and to have a lot
+    of hangers-on dependent on one, as I have, is a worse case
+    still."</p>
+
+    <p>But before the old gentleman had half finished speaking, his
+    neighbour called out&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"No, no; all you gentlemen are in luxury compared to me.
+    Please listen to what I have to suffer. My wife and my mother
+    can't hit it off anyhow. All day long they're like a couple of
+    cows butting at one another with their horns. The house is as
+    unendurable as if it were full of smoke. I often think it would
+    be better to send my wife back to her village; but then I've
+    got two little children. If I interfere and take my wife's
+    part, my mother gets low-spirited. If I scold my wife, she says
+    that I treat her so brutally because she's not of the same
+    flesh and <span class="pagenum"><a name="page260"
+       id="page260"></a>[pg 260]</span> blood; and then she hates
+       me. The trouble and anxiety are beyond description: I'm like
+       a post stuck up between them."</p>
+
+    <p>And so they all twaddled away in chorus, each about his own
+    troubles. At last one of the gentlemen, recollecting himself,
+    said&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Well, gentlemen, certainly the deer ought to be roaring;
+    but we've been so engrossed with our conversation, that we
+    don't know whether we have missed hearing them or not."</p>
+
+    <p>With this he pulled aside the sliding-door of the verandah
+    and looked out, and, lo and behold! a great big stag was
+    standing perfectly silent in front of the garden.</p>
+
+    <p>"Hullo!" said the man to the deer, "what's this? Since
+    you've been there all the time, why did you not roar?"</p>
+
+    <p>Then the stag answered, with an innocent face&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Oh, I came here to listen to the lamentations of you
+    gentlemen."</p>
+
+    <p>Isn't that a funny story?</p>
+
+    <p>Old and young, men and women, rich and poor, never cease
+    grumbling from morning till night. All this is the result of a
+    diseased heart. In short, for the sake of a very trifling
+    inclination or selfish pursuit, they will do any wrong in order
+    to effect that which is impossible. This is want of judgment,
+    and this brings all sorts of trouble upon the world. If once
+    you gain possession of a perfect heart, knowing that which is
+    impossible to be impossible, and recognizing that that which is
+    difficult is difficult, you will not attempt to spare yourself
+    trouble unduly. What says the Chin-Yo?<a id="footnotetag101"
+       name="footnotetag101"></a><a href="#footnote101"><sup>101</sup></a>
+       The wise man, whether his lot be cast amongst rich or poor,
+       amongst barbarians or in sorrow, understands his position by
+       his own instinct. If men do not understand this, they think
+       that the causes of pain and pleasure are in the body.
+       Putting the heart on one side, they earnestly strive after
+       the comforts of the body, and launch into extravagance, the
+       end of which is miserly parsimony. Instead of pleasure they
+       meet with grief of the heart, and pass their lives in
+       weeping and wailing. In one way or another, everything in
+       this world depends upon the heart. I implore every one of
+       you to take heed that tears fall not to your
+       lot.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page261"
+       id="page261"></a>[pg 261]</span>
+
+    <h1>APPENDICES</h1><!--blank page 262-->
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page263"
+       id="page263"></a>[pg 263]</span>
+
+    <h2>APPENDIX A</h2>
+
+    <h3>AN ACCOUNT OF THE HARA-KIRI</h3>
+
+    <h4>(FROM A RARE JAPANESE MS.)</h4>
+
+    <p>Seppuku <i>(hara-kiri)</i> is the mode of suicide adopted
+    amongst Samurai when they have no alternative but to die. Some
+    there are who thus commit suicide of their own free will;
+    others there are who, having committed some crime which does
+    not put them outside the pale of the privileges of the Samurai
+    class, are ordered by their superiors to put an end to their
+    own lives. It is needless to say that it is absolutely
+    necessary that the principal, the witnesses, and the seconds
+    who take part in the affair should be acquainted with all the
+    ceremonies to be observed. A long time ago, a certain Daimio
+    invited a number of persons, versed in the various ceremonies,
+    to call upon him to explain the different forms to be observed
+    by the official witnesses who inspect and verify the head,
+    &amp;c., and then to instruct him in the ceremonies to be
+    observed in the act of suicide; then he showed all these rites
+    to his son and to all his retainers. Another person has said
+    that, as the ceremonies to be gone through by principal,
+    witnesses, and seconds are all very important matters, men
+    should familiarize themselves with a thing which is so
+    terrible, in order that, should the time come for them to take
+    part in it, they may not be taken by surprise.</p>
+
+    <p>The witnesses go to see and certify the suicide. For
+    seconds, men are wanted who have distinguished themselves in
+    the military arts. In old days, men used to bear these things
+    in mind; but now-a-days the fashion is to be ignorant of such
+    ceremonies, and if upon rare occasions a criminal is handed
+    over to a Daimio's charge, that he may perform
+    <i>hara-kiri,</i> it often happens, at the time of execution,
+    that there is no one among all the prince's retainers who is
+    competent to act as second, in which case a man has to be
+    engaged in a hurry from some other quarter to cut off the head
+    of the criminal, and for that day he changes his name and
+    becomes a retainer of the prince, either of the middle or
+    lowest class, and the affair is entrusted to him, and so the
+    difficulty is got over: nor is this considered to be a
+    disgrace. It is a great breach of decorum if the second, who is
+    a most important officer, commits any mistake (such as not
+    striking off the head at a blow) in the presence of the
+    witnesses sent by the Government. On this account a skilful
+    person must be employed; and, to hide the
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page264"
+       id="page264"></a>[pg 264]</span> unmanliness of his own
+       people, a prince must perform the ceremony in this imperfect
+       manner. Every Samurai should be able to cut off a man's
+       head: therefore, to have to employ a stranger to act as
+       second is to incur the charge of ignorance of the arts of
+       war, and is a bitter mortification. However, young men,
+       trusting to their youthful ardour, are apt to be careless,
+       and are certain to make a mistake. Some people there are
+       who, not lacking in skill on ordinary occasions, lose their
+       presence of mind in public, and cannot do themselves
+       justice. It is all the more important, therefore, as the act
+       occurs but rarely, that men who are liable to be called upon
+       to be either principals or seconds or witnesses in the
+       <i>hara-kiri</i> should constantly be examined in their
+       skill as swordsmen, and should be familiar with all the
+       rites, in order that when the time comes they may not lose
+       their presence of mind.</p>
+
+    <p>According to one authority, capital punishment may be
+    divided into two kinds&mdash;beheading and strangulation. The
+    ceremony of <i>hara-kiri</i> was added afterwards in the case
+    of persons belonging to the military class being condemned to
+    death. This was first instituted in the days of the
+    Ashikaga<a id="footnotetag102"
+       name="footnotetag102"></a><a href="#footnote102"><sup>102</sup></a>
+       dynasty. At that time the country was in a state of utter
+       confusion; and there were men who, although fighting, were
+       neither guilty of high treason nor of infidelity to their
+       feudal lords, but who by the chances of war were taken
+       prisoners. To drag out such men as these, bound as
+       criminals, and cut their heads off, was intolerably cruel;
+       accordingly, men hit upon a ceremonious mode of suicide by
+       disembowelling, in order to comfort the departed spirit.
+       Even at present, where it becomes necessary to put to death
+       a man who has been guilty of some act not unworthy of a
+       Samurai, at the time of the execution witnesses are sent to
+       the house; and the criminal, having bathed and put on new
+       clothes, in obedience to the commands of his superiors, puts
+       an end to himself, but does not on that account forfeit his
+       rank as a Samurai. This is a law for which, in all truth,
+       men should be grateful.</p>
+
+    <h4>ON THE PREPARATION OF THE PLACE OF EXECUTION</h4>
+
+    <p>In old days the ceremony of <i>hara-kiri</i> used to be
+    performed in a temple. In the third year of the period called
+    Kan-yei (A.D. 1626), a certain person, having been guilty of
+    treason, was ordered to disembowel himself, on the fourteenth
+    day of the first month, in the temple of Kichij&ocirc;ji, at
+    Komagom&eacute;, in Yedo. Eighteen years later, the retainer of
+    a certain Daimio, having had a dispute with a sailor belonging
+    to an Osaka coasting-ship, killed the sailor; and, an
+    investigation having been made into the matter by the Governor
+    of Osaka, the retainer was ordered to perform
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page265"
+       id="page265"></a>[pg 265]</span> <i>hara-kiri</i>, on the
+       twentieth day of the sixth month, in the temple called
+       Sokusanji, in Osaka. During the period Sh&ocirc;h&ocirc;
+       (middle of seventeenth century), a certain man, having been
+       guilty of heinous misconduct, performed <i>hara-kiri</i> in
+       the temple called Shimpukuji, in the K&ocirc;ji-street of
+       Yedo. On the fourth day of the fifth month of the second
+       year of the period Meir&eacute;ki (A.D. 1656), a certain
+       man, for having avenged the death of his cousin's husband at
+       a place called Shimidzudani, in the K&ocirc;ji-street,
+       disembowelled himself in the temple called Honseiji. On the
+       twenty-sixth day of the sixth month of the eighth year of
+       the period Yemp&ocirc; (A.D. 1680), at the funeral
+       ceremonies in honour of the anniversary of the death of
+       Genyuin Sama, a former Shogun, Nait&ocirc; Idzumi no Kami,
+       having a cause of hatred against Nagai Shinano no Kami,
+       killed him at one blow with a short sword, in the main hall
+       of the temple called Z&ocirc;j&ocirc;ji (the burial-place of
+       the Shoguns in Yedo). Idzumi no Kami was arrested by the
+       officers present, and on the following day performed
+       <i>hara-kiri</i> at Kirid&ocirc;shi, in the temple called
+       Seiriuji.</p>
+
+    <p>In modern times the ceremony has taken place at night,
+    either in the palace or in the garden of a Daimio, to whom the
+    condemned man has been given in charge. Whether it takes place
+    in the palace or in the garden depends upon the rank of the
+    individual. Daimios and Hatamotos, as a matter of course, and
+    the higher retainers of the Shogun, disembowel themselves in
+    the palace: retainers of lower rank should do so in the garden.
+    In the case of vassals of feudatories, according to the rank of
+    their families, those who, being above the grade of captains,
+    carry the b&acirc;ton,<a id="footnotetag103"
+       name="footnotetag103"></a><a href="#footnote103"><sup>103</sup></a>
+       should perform <i>hara-kiri</i> in the palace; all others in
+       the garden. If, when the time comes, the persons engaged in
+       the ceremony are in any doubt as to the proper rules to be
+       followed, they should inquire of competent persons, and
+       settle the question. At the beginning of the eighteenth
+       century, during the period Genroku, when Asano Takumi no
+       Kami<a id="footnotetag104"
+       name="footnotetag104"></a><a href="#footnote104"><sup>104</sup></a>
+       disembowelled himself in the palace of a Daimio called
+       Tamura, as the whole thing was sudden and unexpected, the
+       garden was covered with matting, and on the top of this
+       thick mats were laid and a carpet, and the affair was
+       concluded so; but there are people who say that it was wrong
+       to treat a Daimio thus, as if he had been an ordinary
+       Samurai. But it is said that in old times it was the custom
+       that the ceremony should take place upon a leather carpet
+       spread in the garden; and further, that the proper place is
+       inside a picket fence tied together in the garden: so it is
+       wrong for persons who are only acquainted with one form of
+       the ceremony to accuse Tamura of having acted improperly.
+       If, however, the object was to save the house from the
+       pollution of blood, then the accusation of ill-will may well
+       be brought; for the preparation of the place is of great
+       importance.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page266"
+       id="page266"></a>[pg 266]</span>
+
+    <p>Formerly it was the custom that, for personages of
+    importance, the enclosure within the picket fence should be of
+    thirty-six feet square. An entrance was made to the south, and
+    another to the north: the door to the south was called
+    <i>Shugiy&ocirc;mon</i> ("the door of the practice of virtue");
+    that to the north was called <i>Umbanmon</i> ("the door of the
+    warm basin"<a id="footnotetag105"
+       name="footnotetag105"></a><a href="#footnote105"><sup>105</sup></a>).
+       Two mats, with white binding, were arranged in the shape of
+       a hammer, the one at right angles to the other; six feet of
+       white silk, four feet broad, were stretched on the mat,
+       which was placed lengthwise; at the four corners were
+       erected four posts for curtains. In front of the two mats
+       was erected a portal, eight feet high by six feet broad, in
+       the shape of the portals in front of temples, made of a fine
+       sort of bamboo wrapped in white<a id="footnotetag106"
+       name="footnotetag106"></a><a href="#footnote106"><sup>106</sup></a>
+       silk. White curtains, four feet broad, were hung at the four
+       corners, and four flags, six feet long, on which should be
+       inscribed four quotations from the sacred books. These
+       flags, it is said, were immediately after the ceremony
+       carried away to the grave. At night two lights were placed,
+       one upon either side of the two mats. The candles were
+       placed in saucers upon stands of bamboo, four feet high,
+       wrapped in white silk. The person who was to disembowel
+       himself, entering the picket fence by the north entrance,
+       took his place upon the white silk upon the mat facing the
+       north. Some there were, however, who said that he should sit
+       facing the west: in that case the whole place must be
+       prepared accordingly. The seconds enter the enclosure by the
+       south entrance, at the same time as the principal enters by
+       the north, and take their places on the mat that is placed
+       crosswise.</p>
+
+    <p>Nowadays, when the <i>hara-kiri</i> is performed inside the
+    palace, a temporary place is made on purpose, either in the
+    garden or in some unoccupied spot; but if the criminal is to
+    die on the day on which he is given in charge, or on the next
+    day, the ceremony, having to take place so quickly, is
+    performed in the reception-room. Still, even if there is a
+    lapse of time between the period of giving the prisoner in
+    charge and the execution, it is better that the ceremony should
+    take place in a decent room in the house than in a place made
+    on purpose. If it is heard that, for fear of dirtying his
+    house, a man has made a place expressly, he will be blamed for
+    it. It surely can be no disgrace to the house of a soldier that
+    he was ordered to perform the last offices towards a Samurai
+    who died by <i>hara-kiri</i>. To slay his enemy against whom he
+    has cause of hatred, and then to kill himself, is the part of a
+    noble Samurai; and it is sheer nonsense to look upon the place
+    where he has disembowelled himself as polluted. In the
+    beginning of the eighteenth century, seventeen of the retainers
+    of Asano Takumi no Kami performed <i>hara-kiri</i> in the
+    garden of a palace at Shirokan&eacute;, in Yedo. When it was
+    over, the people of the palace called upon the priests of a
+    sect named Shugenja to <span class="pagenum"><a name="page267"
+       id="page267"></a>[pg 267]</span> come and purify the place;
+       but when the lord of the palace heard this, he ordered the
+       place to be left as it was; for what need was there to
+       purify a place where faithful Samurai had died by their own
+       hand? But in other palaces to which the remainder of the
+       retainers of Takumi no Kami were entrusted, it is said that
+       the places of execution were purified. But the people of
+       that day praised Kumamoto Ko (the Prince of Higo), to whom
+       the palace at Shirokan&eacute; belonged. It is a currish
+       thing to look upon death in battle or by <i>hara-kiri</i> as
+       a pollution: this is a thing to bear in mind. In modern
+       times the place of <i>hara-kiri</i> is eighteen feet square
+       in all cases; in the centre is a place to sit upon, and the
+       condemned man is made to sit facing the witnesses; at other
+       times he is placed with his side to the witnesses: this is
+       according to the nature of the spot. In some cases the
+       seconds turn their backs to the witnesses. It is open to
+       question, however, whether this is not a breach of
+       etiquette. The witnesses should be consulted upon these
+       arrangements. If the witnesses have no objection, the
+       condemned man should be placed directly opposite to them.
+       The place where the witnesses are seated should be removed
+       more than twelve or eighteen feet from the condemned man.
+       The place from which the sentence is read should also be
+       close by. The writer has been furnished with a plan of the
+       <i>hara-kiri</i> as it is performed at present. Although the
+       ceremony is gone through in other ways also, still it is
+       more convenient to follow the manner indicated.</p>
+
+    <p>If the execution takes place in a room, a kerchief of five
+    breadths of white cotton cloth or a quilt should be laid down,
+    and it is also said that two mats should be prepared; however,
+    as there are already mats in the room, there is no need for
+    special mats: two red rugs should be spread over all, sewed
+    together, one on the top of the other; for if the white cotton
+    cloth be used alone, the blood will soak through on to the
+    mats; therefore it is right the rugs should be spread. On the
+    twenty-third day of the eighth month of the fourth year of the
+    period Yenkiy&ocirc; (A.D. 1740), at the <i>hara-kiri</i> of a
+    certain person there were laid down a white cloth, eight feet
+    square, and on that a quilt of light green cotton, six feet
+    square, and on that a cloth of white hemp, six feet square, and
+    on that two rugs. On the third day of the ninth month of the
+    ninth year of the period Temp&ocirc; (A.D. 1838), at the
+    <i>hara-kiri</i> of a certain person it is said that there were
+    spread a large double cloth of white cotton, and on that two
+    rugs. But, of these two occasions, the first must be commended
+    for its careful preparation. If the execution be at night,
+    candlesticks of white wood should be placed at each of the four
+    corners, lest the seconds be hindered in their work. In the
+    place where the witnesses are to sit, ordinary candlesticks
+    should be placed, according to etiquette; but an excessive
+    illumination is not decorous. Two screens covered with white
+    paper should be set up, behind the shadow of which are
+    concealed the dirk upon a tray, a bucket to hold the head after
+    it has been cut off, an incense-burner, a pail of water,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page268"
+       id="page268"></a>[pg 268]</span> and a basin. The above
+       rules apply equally to the ceremonies observed when the
+       <i>hara-kiri</i> takes place in a garden. In the latter case
+       the place is hung round with a white curtain, which need not
+       be new for the occasion. Two mats, a white cloth, and a rug
+       are spread. If the execution is at night, lanterns of white
+       paper are placed on bamboo poles at the four corners. The
+       sentence having been read inside the house, the persons
+       engaged in the ceremony proceed to the place of execution;
+       but, according to circumstances, the sentence may be read at
+       the place itself. In the case of Asano Takumi no Kami, the
+       sentence was read out in the house, and he afterwards
+       performed <i>hara-kiri</i> in the garden. On the third day
+       of the fourth month of the fourth year of the period Tenmei
+       (A.D. 1784), a Hatamoto named Sano, having received his
+       sentence in the supreme court-house, disembowelled himself
+       in the garden in front of the prison. When the ceremony
+       takes place in the garden, matting must be spread all the
+       way to the place, so that sandals need not be worn. The
+       reason for this is that some men in that position suffer
+       from a rush of blood to the head, from nervousness, so their
+       sandals might slip off their feet without their being aware
+       of their loss; and as this would have a very bad appearance,
+       it is better to spread matting. Care must be taken lest, in
+       spreading the matting, a place be left where two mats join,
+       against which the foot might trip. The white screens and
+       other things are prepared as has been directed above. If any
+       curtailment is made, it must be done as well as
+       circumstances will permit. According to the crime of which a
+       man who is handed over to any Daimio's charge is guilty, it
+       is known whether he will have to perform <i>hara-kiri</i>;
+       and the preparations should be made accordingly. Asano
+       Takumi no Kami was taken to the palace of Tamura Sama at the
+       hour of the monkey (between three and five in the
+       afternoon), took off his dress of ceremony, partook of a
+       bowl of soup and five dishes, and drank two cups of warm
+       water, and at the hour of the cock (between five and seven
+       in the evening) disembowelled himself. A case of this kind
+       requires much attention; for great care should be taken that
+       the preparations be carried on without the knowledge of the
+       principal. If a temporary room has been built expressly for
+       the occasion, to avoid pollution to the house, it should be
+       kept a secret. It once happened that a criminal was received
+       in charge at the palace of a certain nobleman, and when his
+       people were about to erect a temporary building for the
+       ceremony, they wrote to consult some of the parties
+       concerned; the letter ran as follows&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"The house in which we live is very small and inconvenient
+    in all respects. We have ordered the guard to treat our
+    prisoner with all respect; but our retainers who are placed on
+    guard are much inconvenienced for want of space; besides, in
+    the event of fire breaking out or any extraordinary event
+    taking place, the place is so small that it would be difficult
+    to get out. We are thinking, therefore, of adding an apartment
+    to the original building,
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page269"
+       id="page269"></a>[pg 269]</span> so that the guard may be
+       able at all times to go in and out freely, and that if, in
+       case of fire or otherwise, we should have to leave the
+       house, we may do so easily. We beg to consult you upon this
+       point."</p>
+
+    <p>When a Samurai has to perform <i>hara-kiri</i> by the
+    command of his own feudal lord, the ceremony should take place
+    in one of the lesser palaces of the clan. Once upon a time, a
+    certain prince of the Inouy&eacute; clan, having a just cause
+    of offence against his steward, who was called Ishikawa
+    T&ocirc;zay&eacute;mon, and wishing to punish him, caused him
+    to be killed in his principal palace at Kandabashi, in Yedo.
+    When this matter was reported to the Shogun, having been
+    convicted of disrespect of the privileges of the city, he was
+    ordered to remove to his lesser palace at Asakusa. Now,
+    although the <i>hara-kiri</i> cannot be called properly an
+    execution, still, as it only differs from an ordinary execution
+    in that by it the honour of the Samurai is not affected, it is
+    only a question of degree; it is a matter of ceremonial. If the
+    principal palace<a id="footnotetag107"
+       name="footnotetag107"></a><a href="#footnote107"><sup>107</sup></a>
+       is a long distance from the Shogun's castle, then the
+       <i>hara-kiri</i> may take place there; but there can be no
+       objection whatever to its taking place in a minor palace.
+       Nowadays, when a man is condemned to <i>hara-kiri</i> by a
+       Daimio, the ceremony usually takes place in one of the
+       lesser palaces; the place commonly selected is an open space
+       near the horse-exercising ground, and the preparations which
+       I have described above are often shortened according to
+       circumstances.</p>
+
+    <p>When a retainer is suddenly ordered to perform
+    <i>hara-kiri</i> during a journey, a temple or shrine should be
+    hired for the occasion. On these hurried occasions, coarse
+    mats, faced with finer matting or common mats, may be used. If
+    the criminal is of rank to have an armour-bearer, a carpet of
+    skin should be spread, should one be easily procurable. The
+    straps of the skin (which are at the head) should, according to
+    old custom, be to the front, so that the fur may point
+    backwards. In old days, when the ceremony took place in a
+    garden, a carpet of skin was spread. To hire a temple for the
+    purpose of causing a man to perform <i>hara-kiri</i> was of
+    frequent occurrence: it is doubtful whether it may be done at
+    the present time. This sort of question should be referred
+    beforehand to some competent person, that the course to be
+    adopted may be clearly understood.</p>
+
+    <p>In the period Kambun (A.D. 1661-1673) a Prince Sakai,
+    travelling through the Bishiu territory, hired a temple or
+    shrine for one of his retainers to disembowel himself in; and
+    so the affair was
+    concluded.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page270"
+       id="page270"></a>[pg 270]</span>
+
+    <h4>ON THE CEREMONIES OBSERVED AT THE HARA-KIRI OF A PERSON
+    GIVEN IN CHARGE TO A DAIMIO.</h4>
+
+    <p>When a man has been ordered by the Government to disembowel
+    himself, the public censors, who have been appointed to act as
+    witnesses, write to the prince who has the criminal in charge,
+    to inform them that they will go to his palace on public
+    business. This message is written directly to the chief, and is
+    sent by an assistant censor; and a suitable answer is returned
+    to it. Before the ceremony, the witnesses send an assistant
+    censor to see the place, and look at a plan of the house, and
+    to take a list of the names of the persons who are to be
+    present; he also has an interview with the <i>kaishaku</i>, or
+    seconds, and examines them upon the way of performing the
+    ceremonies. When all the preparations have been made, he goes
+    to fetch the censors; and they all proceed together to the
+    place of execution, dressed in their hempen-cloth dress of
+    ceremony. The retainers of the palace are collected to do
+    obeisance in the entrance-yard; and the lord, to whom the
+    criminal has been entrusted, goes as far as the front porch to
+    meet the censors, and conducts them to the front
+    reception-room. The chief censor then announces to the lord of
+    the palace that he has come to read out the sentence of such an
+    one who has been condemned to perform <i>hara-kiri</i>, and
+    that the second censor has come to witness the execution of the
+    sentence. The lord of the palace then inquires whether he is
+    expected to attend the execution in person, and, if any of the
+    relations or family of the criminal should beg to receive his
+    remains, whether their request should be complied with; after
+    this he announces that he will order everything to be made
+    ready, and leaves the room. Tea, a fire-box for smoking, and
+    sweetmeats are set before the censors; but they decline to
+    accept any hospitality until their business shall have been
+    concluded. The minor officials follow the same rule. If the
+    censors express a wish to see the place of execution, the
+    retainers of the palace show the way, and their lord
+    accompanies them; in this, however, he may be replaced by one
+    of his <i>kar&ocirc;</i> or councillors. They then return, and
+    take their seats in the reception-room. After this, when all
+    the preparations have been made, the master of the house leads
+    the censors to the place where the sentence is to be read; and
+    it is etiquette that they should wear both sword and
+    dirk.<a id="footnotetag108"
+       name="footnotetag108"></a><a href="#footnote108"><sup>108</sup></a>
+       The lord of the palace takes his place on one side; the
+       inferior censors sit on either side in a lower place. The
+       councillors and other officers of the palace also take their
+       places. One of the councillors present, addressing the
+       censors without moving from his place, asks whether he shall
+       bring forth the prisoner.</p>
+
+    <p>Previously to this, the retainers of the palace, going to
+    the room where the prisoner is confined, inform him that, as
+    the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page271"
+       id="page271"></a>[pg 271]</span> censors have arrived, he
+       should change his dress, and the attendants bring out a
+       change of clothes upon a large tray: it is when he has
+       finished his toilet that the witnesses go forth and take
+       their places in the appointed order, and the principal is
+       then introduced. He is preceded by one man, who should be of
+       the rank of <i>Mono-gashira</i> (retainer of the fourth
+       rank), who wears a dirk, but no sword. Six men act as
+       attendants; they should be of the fifth or sixth rank; they
+       walk on either side of the principal. They are followed by
+       one man who should be of the rank of <i>Y&ocirc;nin</i>
+       (councillor of the second class). When they reach the place,
+       the leading man draws on one side and sits down, and the six
+       attendants sit down on either side of the principal. The
+       officer who follows him sits down behind him, and the chief
+       censor reads the sentence.</p>
+
+    <p>When the reading of the sentence is finished, the principal
+    leaves the room and again changes his clothes, and the chief
+    censor immediately leaves the palace; but the lord of the
+    palace does not conduct him to the door. The second censor
+    returns to the reception-room until the principal has changed
+    his clothes. When the principal has taken his seat at the place
+    of execution, the councillors of the palace announce to the
+    second censor that all is ready; he then proceeds to the place,
+    wearing his sword and dirk. The lord of the palace, also
+    wearing his sword and dirk, takes his seat on one side. The
+    inferior censors and councillors sit in front of the censor:
+    they wear the dirk only. The assistant second brings a dirk
+    upon a tray, and, having placed it in front of the principal,
+    withdraws on one side: when the principal leans his head
+    forward, his chief second strikes off his head, which is
+    immediately shown to the censor, who identifies it, and tells
+    the master of the palace that he is satisfied, and thanks him
+    for all his trouble. The corpse, as it lies, is hidden by a
+    white screen which is set up around it, and incense is brought
+    out. The witnesses leave the place. The lord of the palace
+    accompanies them as far as the porch, and the retainers
+    prostrate themselves in the yard as before. The retainers who
+    should be present at the place of execution are one or two
+    councillors (<i>Kar&ocirc;</i>), two or three second
+    councillors (<i>Y&ocirc;nin</i>), two or three
+    <i>Mono-gashira</i>, one chief of the palace (<i>Rusui</i>),
+    six attendants, one chief second, two assistant seconds, one
+    man to carry incense, who need not be a person of
+    rank&mdash;any Samurai will do. They attend to the setting up
+    of the white screen.</p>
+
+    <p>The duty of burying the corpse and of setting the place in
+    order again devolves upon four men; these are selected from
+    Samurai of the middle or lower class; during the performance of
+    their duties, they hitch up their trousers and wear neither
+    sword nor dirk. Their names are previously sent in to the
+    censor, who acts as witness; and to the junior censors, should
+    they desire it. Before the arrival of the chief censor, the
+    requisite utensils for extinguishing a fire are prepared,
+    firemen are <span class="pagenum"><a name="page272"
+       id="page272"></a>[pg 272]</span>
+       engaged,<a id="footnotetag109"
+       name="footnotetag109"></a><a href="#footnote109"><sup>109</sup></a>
+       and officers constantly go the rounds to watch against fire.
+       From the time when the chief censor comes into the house
+       until he leaves it, no one is allowed to enter the premises.
+       The servants on guard at the entrance porch should wear
+       their hempen dresses of ceremony. Everything in the palace
+       should be conducted with decorum, and the strictest
+       attention paid in all things.</p>
+
+    <p>When any one is condemned to <i>hara-kiri</i>, it would be
+    well that people should go to the palace of the Prince of Higo,
+    and learn what transpired at the execution of the R&ocirc;nins
+    of Asano Takumi no Kami. A curtain was hung round the garden in
+    front of the reception-room; three mats were laid down, and
+    upon these was placed a white cloth. The condemned men were
+    kept in the reception-room, and summoned, one by one; two men,
+    one on each side, accompanied them; the second, followed
+    behind; and they proceeded together to the place of execution.
+    When the execution was concluded in each case, the corpse was
+    hidden from the sight of the chief witness by a white screen,
+    folded up in white cloth, placed on a mat, and carried off to
+    the rear by two foot-soldiers; it was then placed in a coffin.
+    The blood-stained ground was sprinkled with sand, and swept
+    clean; fresh mats were laid down, and the place prepared anew;
+    after which the next man was summoned to come forth.</p>
+
+    <h4>ON CERTAIN THINGS TO BE BORNE IN MIND BY THE
+    WITNESSES.</h4>
+
+    <p>When a clansman is ordered by his feudal lord to perform
+    <i>hara-kiri</i>, the sentence must be read out by the censor
+    of the clan, who also acts as witness. He should take his place
+    in front of the criminal, at a distance of twelve feet;
+    according to some books, the distance should be eighteen feet,
+    and he should sit obliquely, not facing the criminal; he should
+    lay his sword down by his side, but, if he pleases, he may wear
+    it in his girdle; he must read out the sentence distinctly. If
+    the sentence be a long document, to begin reading in a very
+    loud voice and afterwards drop into a whisper has an appearance
+    of faint-heartedness; but to read it throughout in a low voice
+    is worse still: it should be delivered clearly from beginning
+    to end. It is the duty of the chief witness to set an example
+    of fortitude to the other persons who are to take part in the
+    execution. When the second has finished his work, he carries
+    the head to the chief witness, who, after inspecting it, must
+    declare that he has identified it; he then should take his
+    sword, and leave his place. It is sufficient, however, that the
+    head should be struck off without being carried to the chief
+    witness; in that case, the second receives his instructions
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page273"
+       id="page273"></a>[pg 273]</span> beforehand. On rising, the
+       chief witness should step out with his left foot and turn to
+       the left. If the ceremony takes place out of doors, the
+       chief witness, wearing his sword and dirk, should sit upon a
+       box; he must wear his hempen dress of ceremony; he may hitch
+       his trousers up slightly; according to his rank, he may wear
+       his full dress&mdash;that is, wings over his full dress. It
+       is the part of the chief witness to instruct the seconds and
+       others in the duties which they have to perform, and also to
+       preconcert measures in the event of any mishap
+       occurring.</p>
+
+    <p>If whilst the various persons to be engaged in the ceremony
+    are rubbing up their military lore, and preparing themselves
+    for the event, any other person should come in, they should
+    immediately turn the conversation. Persons of the rank of
+    Samurai should be familiar with all the details of the
+    <i>hara-kiri</i>; and to be seen discussing what should be done
+    in case anything went wrong, and so forth, would have an
+    appearance of ignorance. If, however, an intimate friend should
+    go to the place, rather than have any painful concealment, he
+    may be consulted upon the whole affair.</p>
+
+    <p>When the sentence has been read, it is probable that the
+    condemned man will have some last words to say to the chief
+    witness. It must depend on the nature of what he has to say
+    whether it will be received or not. If he speaks in a confused
+    or bewildered manner, no attention is paid to it: his second
+    should lead him away, of his own accord or at a sign from the
+    chief witness.</p>
+
+    <p>If the condemned man be a person who has been given in
+    charge to a prince by the Government, the prince after the
+    reading of the sentence should send his retainers to the
+    prisoner with a message to say that the decrees of the
+    Government are not to be eluded, but that if he has any last
+    wishes to express, they are ordered by their lord to receive
+    them. If the prisoner is a man of high rank, the lord of the
+    palace should go in person to hear his last wishes.</p>
+
+    <p>The condemned man should answer in the following
+    way&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Sir, I thank you for your careful consideration, but I have
+    nothing that I wish to say. I am greatly indebted to you for
+    the great kindness which I have received since I have been
+    under your charge. I beg you to take my respects to your lord
+    and to the gentlemen of your clan who have treated me so well."
+    Or he may say, "Sirs, I have nothing to say; yet, since you are
+    so kind as to think of me, I should be obliged if you would
+    deliver such and such a message to such an one." This is the
+    proper and becoming sort of speech for the occasion. If the
+    prisoner entrusts them with any message, the retainers should
+    receive it in such a manner as to set his mind at rest. Should
+    he ask for writing materials in order to write a letter, as
+    this is forbidden by the law, they should tell him so, and not
+    grant his request. Still they must feel that it is painful to
+    refuse the request of a dying man, and must do their best to
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page274"
+       id="page274"></a>[pg 274]</span> assist him. They must
+       exhaust every available kindness and civility, as was done
+       in the period Genroku, in the case of the R&ocirc;nins of
+       Asano Takumi no Kami. The Prince of Higo, after the sentence
+       had been read, caused paper and writing materials to be
+       taken to their room. If the prisoner is light-headed from
+       excitement, it is no use furnishing him with writing
+       materials. It must depend upon circumstances; but when a man
+       has murdered another, having made up his mind to abide by
+       the consequences, then that man's execution should be
+       carried through with all honour. When a man kills another on
+       the spot, in a fit of ungovernable passion, and then is
+       bewildered and dazed by his own act, the same pains need not
+       be taken to conduct matters punctiliously. If the prisoner
+       be a careful man, he will take an early opportunity after he
+       has been given in charge to express his wishes. To carry
+       kindness so far as to supply writing materials and the like
+       is not obligatory. If any doubt exists upon the point, the
+       chief witness may be consulted.</p>
+
+    <p>After the R&ocirc;nins of Asano Takumi no Kami had heard
+    their sentence in the palace of Matsudaira Oki no Kami, that
+    Daimio in person went and took leave of them, and calling Oishi
+    Chikara,<a id="footnotetag110"
+       name="footnotetag110"></a><a href="#footnote110"><sup>110</sup></a>
+       the son of their chief, to him, said, "I have heard that
+       your mother is at home in your own country; how she will
+       grieve when she hears of your death and that of your father,
+       I can well imagine. If you have any message that you wish to
+       leave for her, tell me, without standing upon ceremony, and
+       I will transmit it without delay." For a while Chikara kept
+       his head bent down towards the ground; at last he drew back
+       a little, and, lifting his head, said, "I humbly thank your
+       lordship for what you have been pleased to say. My father
+       warned me from the first that our crime was so great that,
+       even were we to be pardoned by a gracious judgment upon one
+       count, I must not forget that there would be a hundred
+       million counts against us for which we must commit suicide:
+       and that if I disregarded his words his hatred would pursue
+       me after death. My father impressed this upon me at the
+       temple called Sengakuji, and again when I was separated from
+       him to be taken to the palace of Prince Sengoku. Now my
+       father and myself have been condemned to perform
+       <i>hara-kiri</i>, according to the wish of our hearts. Still
+       I cannot forget to think of my mother. When we parted at
+       Kiy&ocirc;to, she told me that our separation would be for
+       long, and she bade me not to play the coward when I thought
+       of her. As I took a long leave of her then, I have no
+       message to send to her now." When he spoke thus, Oki no Kami
+       and all his retainers, who were drawn up around him, were
+       moved to tears in admiration of his heroism.</p>
+
+    <p>Although it is right that the condemned man should bathe and
+    partake of wine and food, these details should be curtailed.
+    Even should he desire these favours, it must depend upon his
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page275"
+       id="page275"></a>[pg 275]</span> conduct whether they be
+       granted or refused. He should be caused to die as quickly as
+       possible. Should he wish for some water to drink, it should
+       be given to him. If in his talk he should express himself
+       like a noble Samurai, all pains should be exhausted in
+       carrying out his execution. Yet however careful a man he may
+       be, as he nears his death his usual demeanour will undergo a
+       change. If the execution is delayed, in all probability it
+       will cause the prisoner's courage to fail him; therefore, as
+       soon as the sentence shall have been passed, the execution
+       should be brought to a conclusion. This, again, is a point
+       for the chief witness to remember.</p>
+
+    <h4>CONCERNING SECONDS (KAISHAKU).</h4>
+
+    <p>When the condemned man is one who has been given in charge
+    for execution, six attendants are employed; when the execution
+    is within the clan, then two or three attendants will suffice;
+    the number, however, must depend upon the rank of the
+    principal. Men of great nerve and strength must be selected for
+    the office; they must wear their hempen dress of ceremony, and
+    tuck up their trousers; they must on no account wear either
+    sword or dirk, but have a small poniard hidden in their bosom:
+    these are the officers who attend upon the condemned man when
+    he changes his dress, and who sit by him on the right hand and
+    on the left hand to guard him whilst the sentence is being
+    read. In the event of any mistake occurring (such as the
+    prisoner attempting to escape), they knock him down; and should
+    he be unable to stand or to walk, they help to support him. The
+    attendants accompanying the principal to the place of
+    execution, if they are six in number, four of them take their
+    seats some way off and mount guard, while the other two should
+    sit close behind the principal. They must understand that
+    should there be any mistake they must throw the condemned man,
+    and, holding him down, cut off his head with their poniard, or
+    stab him to death. If the second bungles in cutting off the
+    head and the principal attempts to rise, it is the duty of the
+    attendants to kill him. They must help him to take off his
+    upper garments and bare his body. In recent times, however,
+    there have been cases where the upper garments have not been
+    removed: this depends upon circumstances. The setting up of the
+    white screen, and the laying the corpse in the coffin, are
+    duties which, although they may be performed by other officers,
+    originally devolved upon the six attendants. When a common man
+    is executed, he is bound with cords, and so made to take his
+    place; but a Samurai wears his dress of ceremony, is presented
+    with a dagger, and dies thus. There ought to be no anxiety lest
+    such a man should attempt to escape; still, as there is no
+    knowing what these six attendants may be called upon to do, men
+    should be selected who thoroughly understand their
+    business.</p>
+
+    <p>The seconds are three in number&mdash;the chief second, the
+    assistant <span class="pagenum"><a name="page276"
+       id="page276"></a>[pg 276]</span> second, and the inferior
+       second. When the execution is carried out with proper
+       solemnity, three men are employed; still a second and
+       assistant second are sufficient. If three men serve as
+       seconds, their several duties are as follows:&mdash;The
+       chief second strikes off the head; that is his duty: he is
+       the most important officer in the execution by
+       <i>hara-kiri.</i> The assistant second brings forward the
+       tray, on which is placed the dirk; that is his duty: he must
+       perform his part in such a manner that the principal second
+       is not hindered in his work. The assistant second is the
+       officer of second importance in the execution. The third or
+       inferior second carries the head to the chief witness for
+       identification; and in the event of something suddenly
+       occurring to hinder either of the other two seconds, he
+       should bear in mind that he must be ready to act as his
+       substitute: his is an office of great importance, and a
+       proper person must be selected to fill it.</p>
+
+    <p>Although there can be no such thing as a <i>kaishaku</i>
+    (second) in any case except in one of <i>hara-kiri,</i> still
+    in old times guardians and persons who assisted others were
+    also called <i>kaishaku</i>: the reason for this is because the
+    <i>kaishaku</i>, or second, comes to the assistance of the
+    principal. If the principal were to make any mistake at the
+    fatal moment, it would be a disgrace to his dead body: it is in
+    order to prevent such mistakes that the <i>kaishaku,</i> or
+    second, is employed. It is the duty of the <i>kaishaku</i> to
+    consider this as his first duty.</p>
+
+    <p>When a man is appointed to act as second to another, what
+    shall be said of him if he accepts the office with a smiling
+    face? Yet must he not put on a face of distress. It is as well
+    to attempt to excuse oneself from performing the duty. There is
+    no heroism in cutting a man's head off well, and it is a
+    disgrace to do it in a bungling manner; yet must not a man
+    allege lack of skill as a pretext for evading the office, for
+    it is an unworthy thing that a Samurai should want the skill
+    required to behead a man. If there are any that advocate
+    employing young men as seconds, it should rather be said that
+    their hands are inexpert. To play the coward and yield up the
+    office to another man is out of the question. When a man is
+    called upon to perform the office, he should express his
+    readiness to use his sword (the dirk may be employed, but the
+    sword is the proper weapon). As regards the sword, the second
+    should borrow that of the principal: if there is any objection
+    to this, he should receive a sword from his lord; he should not
+    use his own sword. When the assistant seconds have been
+    appointed, the three should take counsel together about the
+    details of the place of execution, when they have been
+    carefully instructed by their superiors in all the ceremonies;
+    and having made careful inquiry, should there be anything
+    wrong, they should appeal to their superiors for instruction.
+    The seconds wear their dresses of ceremony when the criminal is
+    a man given in charge by the Government: when he is one of
+    their own clan, they need only wear the trousers of the
+    Samurai. In old days it is said that they were dressed in the
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page277"
+       id="page277"></a>[pg 277]</span> same way as the principal;
+       and some authorities assert that at the <i>hara-kiri</i> of
+       a nobleman of high rank the seconds should wear white
+       clothes, and that the handle of the sword should be wrapped
+       in white silk. If the execution takes place in the house,
+       they should partially tuck up their trousers; if in the
+       garden, they should tuck them up entirely.</p>
+
+    <p>The seconds should address the principal, and say, "Sir, we
+    have been appointed to act as your seconds; we pray you to set
+    your mind at rest," and so forth; but this must depend upon the
+    rank of the criminal. At this time, too, if the principal has
+    any last wish to express, the second should receive it, and
+    should treat him with every consideration in order to relieve
+    his anxiety. If the second has been selected by the principal
+    on account of old friendship between them, or if the latter,
+    during the time that he has been in charge, has begged some
+    special retainer of the palace to act as his second in the
+    event of his being condemned to death, the person so selected
+    should thank the principal for choosing so unworthy a person,
+    and promise to beg his lord to allow him to act as second: so
+    he should answer, and comfort him, and having reported the
+    matter to his lord, should act as second. He should take that
+    opportunity to borrow his principal's sword in some such terms
+    as the following: "As I am to have the honour of being your
+    second, I would fain borrow your sword for the occasion. It may
+    be a consolation to you to perish by your own sword, with which
+    you are familiar." If, however, the principal declines, and
+    prefers to be executed with the second's sword, his wish must
+    be complied with. If the second should make an awkward cut with
+    his own sword, it is a disgrace to him; therefore he should
+    borrow some one else's sword, so that the blame may rest with
+    the sword, and not with the swordsman. Although this is the
+    rule, and although every Samurai should wear a sword fit to cut
+    off a man's head, still if the principal has begged to be
+    executed with the second's own sword, it must be done as he
+    desires.</p>
+
+    <p>It is probable that the condemned man will inquire of his
+    second about the arrangements which have been made: he must
+    attend therefore to rendering himself capable of answering all
+    such questions. Once upon a time, when the condemned man
+    inquired of his second whether his head would be cut off at the
+    moment when he received the tray with the dirk upon it, "No,"
+    replied the second; "at the moment when you stab yourself with
+    the dirk your head will be cut off." At the execution of one
+    San&ocirc;, he told his second that, when he had stabbed
+    himself in the belly, he would utter a cry; and begged him to
+    be cool when he cut off his head. The second replied that he
+    would do as he wished, but begged him in the meantime to take
+    the tray with the dirk, according to proper form. When
+    San&ocirc; reached out his hand to take the tray, the second
+    cut off his head immediately. Now, although this was not
+    exactly right, still as the second acted so in order to save a
+    Samurai from the disgrace of performing
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page278"
+       id="page278"></a>[pg 278]</span> the <i>hara-kiri</i>
+       improperly (by crying out), it can never be wrong for a
+       second to act kindly, If the principal urgently requests to
+       be allowed really to disembowel himself, his wish may,
+       according to circumstances, be granted; but in this case
+       care must be taken that no time be lost in striking off the
+       head. The custom of striking off the head, the prisoner only
+       going through the semblance of disembowelling himself, dates
+       from the period Yemp&ocirc; (about 190 years ago).</p>
+
+    <p>When the principal has taken his place, the second strips
+    his right shoulder of the dress of ceremony, which he allows to
+    fall behind his sleeve, and, drawing his sword, lays down the
+    scabbard, taking care that his weapon is not seen by the
+    principal; then he takes his place on the left of the principal
+    and close behind him. The principal should sit facing the west,
+    and the second facing the north, and in that position should he
+    strike the blow. When the second perceives the assistant second
+    bring out the tray on which is laid the dirk, he must brace up
+    his nerves and settle his heart beneath his navel: when the
+    tray is laid down, he must put himself in position to strike
+    the blow. He should step out first with the left foot, and then
+    change so as to bring his right foot forward: this is the
+    position which he should assume to strike; he may, however,
+    reverse the position of his feet. When the principal removes
+    his upper garments, the second must poise his sword: when the
+    principal reaches out his hand to draw the tray towards him, as
+    he leans his head forward a little, is the exact moment for the
+    second to strike. There are all sorts of traditions about this.
+    Some say that the principal should take the tray and raise it
+    respectfully to his head, and set it down; and that this is the
+    moment to strike. There are three rules for the time of cutting
+    off the head: the first is when the dirk is laid on the tray;
+    the second is when the principal looks at the left side of his
+    belly before inserting the dirk; the third is when he inserts
+    the dirk. If these three moments are allowed to pass, it
+    becomes a difficult matter to cut off the head: so says
+    tradition. However, four moments for cutting are also recorded:
+    first, when the assistant second retires after having laid down
+    the stand on which is the dirk; second, when the principal
+    draws the stand towards him; third, when he takes the dirk in
+    his hand; fourth, when he makes the incision into the belly.
+    Although all four ways are approved, still the first is too
+    soon; the last three are right and proper. In short, the blow
+    should be struck without delay. If he has struck off the head
+    at a blow without failure, the second, taking care not to raise
+    his sword, but holding it point downwards, should retire
+    backward a little and wipe his weapon kneeling; he should have
+    plenty of white paper ready in his girdle or in his bosom to
+    wipe away the blood and rub up his sword; having replaced his
+    sword in its scabbard, he should readjust his upper garments
+    and take his seat to the rear. When the head has fallen, the
+    junior second should enter, and, taking up the head, present it
+    to the witness for inspection. When he
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page279"
+       id="page279"></a>[pg 279]</span> has identified it, the
+       ceremony is concluded. If there is no assistant or junior
+       second, the second, as soon as he has cut off the head,
+       carrying his sword reversed in his left hand, should take
+       the head in his right hand, holding it by the top-knot of
+       hair, should advance towards the witness, passing on the
+       right side of the corpse, and show the right profile of the
+       head to the witness, resting the chin of the head upon the
+       hilt of his sword, and kneeling on his left knee; then
+       returning again round by the left of the corpse, kneeling on
+       his left knee, and carrying the head in his left hand and
+       resting it on the edge of his sword, he should again show
+       the left profile to the witness. It is also laid down as
+       another rule, that the second, laying down his sword, should
+       take out paper from the bosom of his dress, and placing the
+       head in the palm of his left hand, and taking the top-knot
+       of hair in his right hand, should lay the head upon the
+       paper, and so submit it for inspection. Either way may be
+       said to be right.</p>
+
+    <p>NOTE.&mdash;To lay down thick paper, and place the head on
+    it, shows a disposition to pay respect to the head; to place it
+    on the edge of the sword is insulting: the course pursued must
+    depend upon the rank of the person. If the ceremony is to be
+    curtailed, it may end with the cutting off of the head: that
+    must be settled beforehand, in consultation with the witness.
+    In the event of the second making a false cut, so as not to
+    strike off the head at a blow, the second must take the head by
+    the top-knot, and, pressing it down, cut it off. Should he take
+    bad aim and cut the shoulder by mistake, and should the
+    principal rise and cry out, before he has time to writhe, he
+    should hold him down and stab him to death, and then cut off
+    his head, or the assistant seconds, who are sitting behind,
+    should come forward and hold him down, while the chief second
+    cuts off his head. It may be necessary for the second, after he
+    has cut off the head, to push down the body, and then take up
+    the head for inspection. If the body does not fall at once,
+    which is said to be sometimes the case, the second should pull
+    the feet to make it fall.</p>
+
+    <p>There are some who say that the perfect way for the second
+    to cut off the head is not to cut right through the neck at a
+    blow, but to leave a little uncut, and, as the head hangs by
+    the skin, to seize the top-knot and slice it off, and then
+    submit it for inspection. The reason of this is, lest, the head
+    being struck off at a blow, the ceremony should be confounded
+    with an ordinary execution. According to the old authorities,
+    this is the proper and respectful manner. After the head is cut
+    off, the eyes are apt to blink, and the mouth to move, and to
+    bite the pebbles and sand. This being hateful to see, at what
+    amongst Samurai is so important an occasion, and being a
+    shameful thing, it is held to be best not to let the head fall,
+    but to hold back a little in delivering the blow. Perhaps this
+    may be right; yet it is a very difficult matter to cut so as to
+    leave the head hanging by a little flesh, and there is the
+    danger of missing the cut; and as any mistake in the cut is
+    most horrible to see, it is better to strike a fair blow at
+    once. Others say that, even when the head is struck off at a
+    blow, the semblance of slicing it off should be gone through
+    afterwards; yet be it borne in mind that; this is
+    unnecessary.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page280"
+       id="page280"></a>[pg 280]</span>
+
+    <p>Three methods of carrying the sword are recognized amongst
+    those skilled in swordsmanship. If the rank of the principal be
+    high, the sword is raised aloft; if the principal and second
+    are of equal rank, the sword is carried at the centre of the
+    body; if the principal be of inferior rank, the sword is
+    allowed to hang downwards. The proper position for the second
+    to strike from is kneeling on one knee, but there is no harm in
+    his standing up: others say that, if the execution takes place
+    inside the house, the second should kneel; if in the garden, he
+    should stand. These are not points upon which to insist
+    obstinately: a man should strike in whatever position is most
+    convenient to him.</p>
+
+    <p>The chief duty for the assistant second to bear in mind is
+    the bringing in of the tray with the dirk, which should be
+    produced very quietly when the principal takes his place: it
+    should be placed so that the condemned man may have to stretch
+    his hand well out in order to reach it.<a id="footnotetag111"
+       name="footnotetag111"></a><a href="#footnote111"><sup>111</sup></a>
+       The assistant second then returns to his own place; but if
+       the condemned man shows any signs of agitation, the
+       assistant second must lend his assistance, so that the head
+       may be properly cut off. It once happened that the condemned
+       man, having received the tray from the assistant second,
+       held it up for a long time without putting it down, until
+       those near him had over and over again urged him to set it
+       down. It also happens that after the tray has been set down,
+       and the assistant second has retired, the condemned man does
+       not put out his hand to take it; then must the assistant
+       second press him to take it. Also the principal may ask that
+       the tray be placed a little nearer to him, in which case his
+       wish must be granted. The tray may also be placed in such a
+       way that the assistant second, holding it in his left hand,
+       may reach the dirk to the condemned man, who leans forward
+       to take it. Which is the best of all these ways is
+       uncertain. The object to aim at is, that the condemned man
+       should lean forward to receive the blow. Whether the
+       assistant second retires, or not, must depend upon the
+       attitude assumed by the condemned man.</p>
+
+    <p>If the prisoner be an unruly, violent man, a fan, instead of
+    a dirk, should be placed upon the tray; and should he object to
+    this, he should be told, in answer, that the substitution of
+    the fan is an ancient custom. This may occur sometimes. It is
+    said that once upon a time, in one of the palaces of the
+    Daimios, a certain brave matron murdered a man, and having been
+    allowed to die with all the honours of the <i>hara-kiri,</i> a
+    fan was placed upon the tray, and her head was cut off. This
+    may be considered right and proper. If the condemned man
+    appears inclined to be turbulent, the seconds, without showing
+    any sign of alarm, should hurry to his side, and, urging him to
+    get ready, quickly cause him to make all his preparations with
+    speed, and to sit down in his place; the chief second, then
+    drawing his sword, should get ready to strike, and, ordering
+    him to proceed as fast as possible with the ceremony of
+    receiving the tray, should perform his duty without appearing
+    to be afraid.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page281"
+       id="page281"></a>[pg 281]</span>
+
+    <p>A certain Prince Kat&ocirc;, having condemned one of his
+    councillors to death, assisted at the ceremony behind a curtain
+    of slips of bamboo. The councillor, whose name was Katayama,
+    was bound, and during that time glared fiercely at the curtain,
+    and showed no signs of fear. The chief second was a man named
+    Jihei, who had always been used to treat Katayama with great
+    respect. So Jihei, sword in hand, said to Katayama, "Sir, your
+    last moment has arrived: be so good as to turn your cheek so
+    that your head may be straight." When Katayama heard this, he
+    replied, "Fellow, you are insolent;" and as he was looking
+    round, Jihei struck the fatal blow. The lord Kat&ocirc;
+    afterwards inquired of Jihei what was the reason of this; and
+    he replied that, as he saw that the prisoner was meditating
+    treason, he determined to kill him at once, and put a stop to
+    this rebellious spirit. This is a pattern for other seconds to
+    bear in mind.</p>
+
+    <p>When the head has been struck off, it becomes the duty of
+    the junior second to take it up by the top-knot, and, placing
+    it upon some thick paper laid over the palm of his hand, to
+    carry it for inspection by the witness. This ceremony has been
+    explained above. If the head be bald, he should pierce the left
+    ear with the stiletto carried in the scabbard of his dirk, and
+    so carry it to be identified. He must carry thick paper in the
+    bosom of his dress. Inside the paper he shall place a bag with
+    rice bran and ashes, in order that he may carry the head
+    without being sullied by the blood. When the identification of
+    the head is concluded, the junior second's duty is to place it
+    in a bucket.</p>
+
+    <p>If anything should occur to hinder the chief second, the
+    assistant second must take his place. It happened on one
+    occasion that before the execution took place the chief second
+    lost his nerve, yet he cut off the head without any difficulty;
+    but when it came to taking up the head for inspection, his
+    nervousness so far got the better of him as to be extremely
+    inconvenient. This is a thing against which persons acting as
+    seconds have to guard.</p>
+    <hr />
+
+    <p>As a corollary to the above elaborate statement of the
+    ceremonies proper to be observed at the <i>hara-kiri</i>, I may
+    here describe an instance of such an execution which I was sent
+    officially to witness. The condemned man was Taki
+    Zenzabur&ocirc;, an officer of the Prince of Bizen, who gave
+    the order to fire upon the foreign settlement at Hiogo in the
+    month of February 1868,&mdash;an attack to which I have alluded
+    in the preamble to the story of the Eta Maiden and the
+    Hatamoto. Up to that time no foreigner had witnessed such an
+    execution, which was rather looked upon as a traveller's
+    fable.</p>
+
+    <p>The ceremony, which was ordered by the Mikado himself, took
+    place at 10.30 at night in the temple of Seifukuji, the
+    headquarters of the Satsuma troops at Hiogo. A witness was sent
+    from each of the foreign legations. We were seven foreigners in
+    all.</p>
+
+    <p>We were conducted to the temple by officers of the Princes
+    of Satsuma and Choshiu. Although the ceremony was to be
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page282"
+       id="page282"></a>[pg 282]</span> conducted in the most
+       private manner, the casual remarks which we overheard in the
+       streets, and a crowd lining the principal entrance to the
+       temple, showed that it was a matter of no little interest to
+       the public. The courtyard of the temple presented a most
+       picturesque sight; it was crowded with soldiers standing
+       about in knots round large fires, which threw a dim
+       flickering light over the heavy eaves and quaint gable-ends
+       of the sacred buildings. We were shown into an inner room,
+       where we were to wait until the preparation for the ceremony
+       was completed: in the next room to us were the high Japanese
+       officers. After a long interval, which seemed doubly long
+       from the silence which prevailed, It&ocirc; Shunsk&eacute;,
+       the provisional Governor of Hiogo, came and took down our
+       names, and informed us that seven <i>kenshi</i>, sheriffs or
+       witnesses, would attend on the part of the Japanese. He and
+       another officer represented the Mikado; two captains of
+       Satsuma's infantry, and two of Choshiu's, with a
+       representative of the Prince of Bizen, the clan of the
+       condemned man, completed the number, which was probably
+       arranged in order to tally with that of the foreigners.
+       It&ocirc; Shunsk&eacute; further inquired whether we wished
+       to put any questions to the prisoner. We replied in the
+       negative.</p>
+
+    <p>A further delay then ensued, after which we were invited to
+    follow the Japanese witnesses into the <i>hondo</i> or main
+    hall of the temple, where the ceremony was to be performed. It
+    was an imposing scene. A large hall with a high roof supported
+    by dark pillars of wood. From the ceiling hung a profusion of
+    those huge gilt lamps and ornaments peculiar to Buddhist
+    temples. In front of the high altar, where the floor, covered
+    with beautiful white mats, is raised some three or four inches
+    from the ground, was laid a rug of scarlet felt. Tall candles
+    placed at regular intervals gave out a dim mysterious light,
+    just sufficient to let all the proceedings be seen. The seven
+    Japanese took their places on the left of the raised floor, the
+    seven foreigners on the right. No other person was present.</p>
+
+    <p>After an interval of a few minutes of anxious suspense, Taki
+    Zenzabur&ocirc;, a stalwart man, thirty-two years of age, with
+    a noble air, walked into the hall attired in his dress of
+    ceremony, with the peculiar hempen-cloth wings which are worn
+    on great occasions. He was accompanied by a <i>kaishaku</i> and
+    three officers, who wore the <i>jimbaori</i> or war surcoat
+    with gold-tissue facings. The word <i>kaishaku</i>, it should
+    be observed, is one to which our word <i>executioner</i> is no
+    equivalent term. The office is that of a gentleman: in many
+    cases it is performed by a kinsman or friend of the condemned,
+    and the relation between them is rather that of principal and
+    second than that of victim and executioner. In this instance
+    the <i>kaishaku</i> was a pupil of Taki Zenzabur&ocirc;, and
+    was selected by the friends of the latter from among their own
+    number for his skill in swordsmanship.</p>
+
+    <p>With the <i>kaishaku</i> on his left hand, Taki
+    Zenzabur&ocirc; advanced slowly towards the Japanese witnesses,
+    and the two bowed before
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page283"
+       id="page283"></a>[pg 283]</span> them, then drawing near to
+       the foreigners they saluted us in the same way, perhaps even
+       with more deference: in each case the salutation was
+       ceremoniously returned. Slowly, and with great dignity, the
+       condemned man mounted on to the raised floor, prostrated
+       himself before the high altar twice, and
+       seated<a id="footnotetag112"
+       name="footnotetag112"></a><a href="#footnote112"><sup>112</sup></a>
+       himself on the felt carpet with his back to the high altar,
+       the <i>kaishaku</i> crouching on his left-hand side. One of
+       the three attendant officers then came forward, bearing a
+       stand of the kind used in temples for offerings, on which,
+       wrapped in paper, lay the <i>wakizashi</i>, the short sword
+       or dirk of the Japanese, nine inches and a half in length,
+       with a point and an edge as sharp as a razor's. This he
+       handed, prostrating himself, to the condemned man, who
+       received it reverently, raising it to his head with both
+       hands, and placed it in front of himself.</p>
+
+    <p>After another profound obeisance, Taki Zenzabur&ocirc;, in a
+    voice which betrayed just so much emotion and hesitation as
+    might be expected from a man who is making a painful
+    confession, but with no sign of either in his face or manner,
+    spoke as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"I, and I alone, unwarrantably gave the order to fire on the
+    foreigners at K&ocirc;b&eacute;, and again as they tried to
+    escape. For this crime I disembowel myself, and I beg you who
+    are present to do me the honour of witnessing the act."</p>
+
+    <p>Bowing once more, the speaker allowed his upper garments to
+    slip down to his girdle, and remained naked to the waist.
+    Carefully, according to custom, he tucked his sleeves under his
+    knees to prevent himself from falling backwards; for a noble
+    Japanese gentleman should die falling forwards. Deliberately,
+    with a steady hand, he took the dirk that lay before him; he
+    looked at it wistfully, almost affectionately; for a moment he
+    seemed to collect his thoughts for the last time, and then
+    stabbing himself deeply below the waist on the left-hand side,
+    he drew the dirk slowly across to the right side, and, turning
+    it in the wound, gave a slight cut upwards. During this
+    sickeningly painful operation he never moved a muscle of his
+    face. When he drew out the dirk, he leaned forward and
+    stretched out his neck; an expression of pain for the first
+    time crossed his face, but he uttered no sound. At that moment
+    the <i>kaishaku</i>, who, still crouching by his side, had been
+    keenly watching his every movement, sprang to his feet, poised
+    his sword for a second in the air; there was a flash, a heavy,
+    ugly thud, a crashing fall; with one blow the head had been
+    severed from the body.</p>
+
+    <p>A dead silence followed, broken only by the hideous noise of
+    the blood throbbing out of the inert heap before us, which but
+    a moment before had been a brave and chivalrous man. It was
+    horrible.</p>
+
+    <p>The <i>kaishaku</i> made a low bow, wiped his sword with a
+    piece of paper which he had ready for the purpose, and retired
+    from <span class="pagenum"><a name="page284"
+       id="page284"></a>[pg 284]</span> the raised floor; and the
+       stained dirk was solemnly borne away, a bloody proof of the
+       execution.</p>
+
+    <p>The two representatives of the Mikado then left their
+    places, and, crossing over to where the foreign witnesses sat,
+    called us to witness that the sentence of death upon Taki
+    Zenzabur&ocirc; had been faithfully carried out. The ceremony
+    being at an end, we left the temple.</p>
+
+    <p>The ceremony, to which the place and the hour gave an
+    additional solemnity, was characterized throughout by that
+    extreme dignity and punctiliousness which are the distinctive
+    marks of the proceedings of Japanese gentlemen of rank; and it
+    is important to note this fact, because it carries with it the
+    conviction that the dead man was indeed the officer who had
+    committed the crime, and no substitute. While profoundly
+    impressed by the terrible scene it was impossible at the same
+    time not to be filled with admiration of the firm and manly
+    bearing of the sufferer, and of the nerve with which the
+    <i>kaishaku</i> performed his last duty to his master. Nothing
+    could more strongly show the force of education. The Samurai,
+    or gentleman of the military class, from his earliest years
+    learns to look upon the <i>hara-kiri</i> as a ceremony in which
+    some day he may be called upon to play a part as principal or
+    second. In old-fashioned families, which hold to the traditions
+    of ancient chivalry, the child is instructed in the rite and
+    familiarized with the idea as an honourable expiation of crime
+    or blotting out of disgrace. If the hour comes, he is prepared
+    for it, and gravely faces an ordeal which early training has
+    robbed of half its horrors. In what other country in the world
+    does a man learn that the last tribute of affection which he
+    may have to pay to his best friend may be to act as his
+    executioner?</p>
+
+    <p>Since I wrote the above, we have heard that, before his
+    entry into the fatal hall, Taki Zenzabur&ocirc; called round
+    him all those of his own clan who were present, many of whom
+    had carried out his order to fire, and, addressing them in a
+    short speech, acknowledged the heinousness of his crime and the
+    justice of his sentence, and warned them solemnly to avoid any
+    repetition of attacks upon foreigners. They were also addressed
+    by the officers of the Mikado, who urged them to bear no
+    ill-will against us on account of the fate of their
+    fellow-clansman. They declared that they entertained no such
+    feeling.</p>
+
+    <p>The opinion has been expressed that it would have been
+    politic for the foreign representatives at the last moment to
+    have interceded for the life of Taki Zenzabur&ocirc;. The
+    question is believed to have been debated among the
+    representatives themselves. My own belief is that mercy,
+    although it might have produced the desired effect among the
+    more civilized clans, would have been mistaken for weakness and
+    fear by those wilder people who have not yet a personal
+    knowledge of foreigners. The offence&mdash;an attack upon the
+    flags and subjects of all the Treaty Powers, which lack of
+    skill, not of will, alone prevented from ending in a
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page285"
+       id="page285"></a>[pg 285]</span> universal
+       massacre&mdash;was the gravest that has been committed upon
+       foreigners since their residence in Japan. Death was
+       undoubtedly deserved, and the form chosen was in Japanese
+       eyes merciful and yet judicial. The crime might have
+       involved a war and cost hundreds of lives; it was wiped out
+       by one death. I believe that, in the interest of Japan as
+       well as in our own, the course pursued was wise, and it was
+       very satisfactory to me to find that one of the ablest
+       Japanese ministers, with whom I had a discussion upon the
+       subject, was quite of my opinion.</p>
+
+    <p>The ceremonies observed at the <i>hara-kiri</i> appear to
+    vary slightly in detail in different parts of Japan; but the
+    following memorandum upon the subject of the rite, as it used
+    to be practised at Yedo during the rule of the Tycoon, clearly
+    establishes its judicial character. I translated it from a
+    paper drawn up for me by a Japanese who was able to speak of
+    what he had seen himself. Three different ceremonies are
+    described:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>1st. <i>Ceremonies observed at the "hara-kiri" of a Hatamoto
+    (petty noble of the Tycoon's court) in prison.</i>&mdash;This
+    is conducted with great secrecy. Six mats are spread in a large
+    courtyard of the prison; an <i>ometsuk&eacute;</i> (officer
+    whose duties appear to consist in the surveillance of other
+    officers), assisted by two other <i>ometsuk&eacute;s</i> of the
+    second and third class, acts as <i>kenshi</i> (sheriff or
+    witness), and sits in front of the mats. The condemned man,
+    attired in his dress of ceremony, and wearing his wings of
+    hempen cloth, sits in the centre of the mats. At each of the
+    four corners of the mats sits a prison official. Two officers
+    of the Governor of the city act as <i>kaishaku</i>
+    (executioners or seconds), and take their place, one on the
+    right hand and the other on the left hand of the condemned. The
+    <i>kaishaku</i> on the left side, announcing his name and
+    surname, says, bowing, "I have the honour to act as
+    <i>kaishaku</i> to you; have you any last wishes to confide to
+    me?" The condemned man thanks him and accepts the offer or not,
+    as the case may be. He then bows to the sheriff, and a wooden
+    dirk nine and a half inches long is placed before him at a
+    distance of three feet, wrapped in paper, and lying on a stand
+    such as is used for offerings in temples. As he reaches forward
+    to take the wooden sword, and stretches out his neck, the
+    <i>kaifihaku</i> on his left-hand side draws his sword and
+    strikes off his head. The <i>kaishaku</i> on the right-hand
+    side takes up the head and shows it to the sheriff. The body is
+    given to the relations of the deceased for burial. His property
+    is confiscated.</p>
+
+    <p>2nd. <i>The ceremonies observed at the "hara-kiri" of a
+    Daimio's retainer.</i>&mdash;When the retainer of a Daimio is
+    condemned to perform the <i>hara-kiri,</i> four mats are placed
+    in the yard of the <i>yashiki</i> or palace. The condemned man,
+    dressed in his robes of ceremony and wearing his wings of
+    hempen cloth, sits in the centre. An officer acts as chief
+    witness, with a second witness under him. Two officers, who act
+    as <i>kaishaku</i>, are on the right and left of the condemned
+    man; four officers are placed at the corners of the mats. The
+    <i>kaishaku</i>, as in the former case, offers to execute
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page286"
+       id="page286"></a>[pg 286]</span> the last wishes of the
+       condemned. A dirk nine and a half inches long is placed
+       before him on a stand. In this case the dirk is a real dirk,
+       which the man takes and stabs himself with on the left side,
+       below the navel, drawing it across to the right side. At
+       this moment, when he leans forward in pain, the
+       <i>kaishaku</i> on the left-hand side cuts off the head. The
+       <i>kaishaku</i> on the right-hand side takes up the head,
+       and shows it to the sheriff. The body is given to the
+       relations for burial. In most cases the property of the
+       deceased is confiscated.</p>
+
+    <p>3rd. <i>Self-immolation of a Daimio on account of
+    disgrace</i>.&mdash;When a Daimio had been guilty of treason or
+    offended against the Tycoon, inasmuch as the family was
+    disgraced, and an apology could neither be offered nor
+    accepted, the offending Daimio was condemned to
+    <i>hara-kiri</i>. Calling his councillors around him, he
+    confided to them his last will and testament for transmission
+    to the Tycoon. Then, clothing himself in his court dress, he
+    disembowelled himself, and cut his own throat. His councillors
+    then reported the matter to the Government, and a coroner was
+    sent to investigate it. To him the retainers handed the last
+    will and testament of their lord, and be took it to the
+    Gor&ocirc;jiu (first council), who transmitted it to the
+    Tycoon. If the offence was heinous, such as would involve the
+    ruin of the whole family, by the clemency of the Tycoon, half
+    the property might be confiscated, and half returned to the
+    heir; if the offence was trivial, the property was inherited
+    intact by the heir, and the family did not suffer.</p>
+
+    <p>In all cases where the criminal disembowels himself of his
+    own accord without condemnation and without investigation,
+    inasmuch as he is no longer able to defend himself, the offence
+    is considered as non-proven, and the property is not
+    confiscated. In the year 1869 a motion was brought forward in
+    the Japanese parliament by one Ono Seigor&ocirc;, clerk of the
+    house, advocating the abolition of the practice of
+    <i>hara-kiri</i>. Two hundred members out of a house of 209
+    voted against the motion, which was supported by only three
+    speakers, six members not voting on either side. In this debate
+    the <i>seppuku, or hara-kiri</i>, was called "the very shrine
+    of the Japanese national spirit, and the embodiment in practice
+    of devotion to principle," "a great ornament to the empire," "a
+    pillar of the constitution," "a valuable institution, tending
+    to the honour of the nobles, and based on a compassionate
+    feeling towards the official caste," "a pillar of religion and
+    a spur to virtue." The whole debate (which is well worth
+    reading, and an able translation of which by Mr. Aston has
+    appeared in a recent Blue Book) shows the affection with which
+    the Japanese cling to the traditions of a chivalrous past. It
+    is worthy of notice that the proposer, Ono Seigor&ocirc;, who
+    on more than one occasion rendered himself conspicuous by
+    introducing motions based upon an admiration of our Western
+    civilization, was murdered not long after this debate took
+    place.</p>
+
+    <p>There are many stories on record of extraordinary heroism
+    being <span class="pagenum"><a name="page287"
+       id="page287"></a>[pg 287]</span> displayed in the
+       <i>hara-kiri.</i> The case of a young fellow, only twenty
+       years old, of the Choshiu clan, which was told me the other
+       day by an eye-witness, deserves mention as a marvellous
+       instance of determination. Not content with giving himself
+       the one necessary cut, he slashed himself thrice
+       horizontally and twice vertically. Then he stabbed himself
+       in the throat until the dirk protruded on the other side,
+       with its sharp edge to the front; setting his teeth in one
+       supreme effort, he drove the knife forward with both hands
+       through his throat, and fell dead.</p>
+
+    <p>One more story and I have done. During the revolution, when
+    the Tycoon, beaten on every side, fled ignominiously to Yedo,
+    he is said to have determined to fight no more, but to yield
+    everything. A member of his second council went to him and
+    said, "Sir, the only way for you now to retrieve the honour of
+    the family of Tokugawa is to disembowel yourself; and to prove
+    to you that I am sincere and disinterested in what I say, I am
+    here ready to disembowel myself with you." The Tycoon flew into
+    a great rage, saying that he would listen to no such nonsense,
+    and left the room. His faithful retainer, to prove his honesty,
+    retired to another part of the castle, and solemnly performed
+    the
+    <i>hara-kiri.</i></p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page288"
+       id="page288"></a>[pg 288]</span>
+
+    <h2>APPENDIX B</h2>
+
+    <h3>THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY</h3>
+
+    <h4>(FROM THE "SHO-REI HIKKI"&mdash;RECORD OF CEREMONIES.)</h4>
+
+    <p>The ceremonies observed at marriages are various, and it is
+    not right for a man, exceeding the bounds of his condition in
+    life, to transgress against the rules which are laid down. When
+    the middle-man has arranged the preliminaries of the marriage
+    between the two parties, he carries the complimentary present,
+    which is made at the time of betrothal, from the future
+    bridegroom to his destined bride; and if this present is
+    accepted, the lady's family can no longer retract their
+    promise. This is the beginning of the contract. The usual
+    betrothal presents are as follows. Persons of the higher
+    classes send a robe of white silk; a piece of gold embroidery
+    for a girdle; a piece of silk stuff; a piece of white silk,
+    with a lozenge pattern, and other silk stuffs (these are made
+    up into a pile of three layers); fourteen barrels of wine, and
+    seven sorts of condiments. Persons of the middle class send a
+    piece of white silk stuff; a piece of gold embroidery for a
+    girdle; a piece of white silk, with a lozenge pattern, and
+    other silk stuffs (these are made up into a pile of two
+    layers); ten barrels of wine, and five sorts of condiments. The
+    lower classes send a robe of white silk, a robe of coloured
+    silk, in a pile of one layer, together with six barrels of wine
+    and three sorts of condiments. To the future father-in-law is
+    sent a sword, with a scabbard for slinging, such as is worn in
+    war-time, together with a list of the presents; to the
+    mother-in-law, a silk robe, with wine and condiments. Although
+    all these presents are right and proper for the occasion, still
+    they must be regulated according to the means of the persons
+    concerned. The future father-in-law sends a present of equal
+    value in return to his son-in-law, but the bride elect sends no
+    return present to her future husband; the present from the
+    father-in-law must by no means be omitted, but according to his
+    position, if he be poor, he need only send wine and
+    condiments.</p>
+
+    <p>In sending the presents care must be taken not to fold the
+    silk robe. The two silk robes that are sent on the marriage
+    night must be placed with the collars stitched together in a
+    peculiar fashion.</p>
+
+    <p>The ceremonies of sending the litter to fetch the bride on
+    the wedding night are as follows. In families of good position,
+    one <span class="pagenum"><a name="page289"
+       id="page289"></a>[pg 289]</span> of the principal retainers
+       on either side is deputed to accompany the bride and to
+       receive her. Matting is spread before the entrance-door,
+       upon which the bride's litter is placed, while the two
+       principal retainers congratulate one another, and the
+       officers of the bridegroom receive the litter. If a bucket
+       containing clams, to make the wedding broth, has been sent
+       with the bride, it is carried and received by a person of
+       distinction. Close by the entrance-door a fire is lighted on
+       the right hand and on the left. These fires are called
+       garden-torches. In front of the corridor along which the
+       litter passes, on the right hand and on the left, two men
+       and two women, in pairs, place two mortars, right and left,
+       in which they pound rice; as the litter passes, the pounded
+       rice from the left-hand side is moved across to the right,
+       and the two are mixed together into one. This is called the
+       blending of the rice-meal.<a id="footnotetag113"
+       name="footnotetag113"></a><a href="#footnote113"><sup>113</sup></a>
+       Two candles are lighted, the one on the right hand and the
+       other on the left of the corridor; and after the litter has
+       passed, the candle on the left is passed over to the right,
+       and, the two wicks being brought together, the candles are
+       extinguished. These last three ceremonies are only performed
+       at the weddings of persons of high rank; they are not
+       observed at the weddings of ordinary persons. The bride
+       takes with her to her husband's house, as presents, two
+       silken robes sewed together in a peculiar manner, a dress of
+       ceremony with wings of hempen cloth, an upper girdle and an
+       under girdle, a fan, either five or seven pocket-books, and
+       a sword: these seven presents are placed on a long tray, and
+       their value must depend upon the means of the family.</p>
+
+    <p>The dress of the bride is a white silk robe with a lozenge
+    pattern, over an under-robe, also of white silk. Over her head
+    she wears a veil of white silk, which, when she sits down, she
+    allows to fall about her as a mantle.</p>
+
+    <p>The bride's furniture and effects are all arranged for her
+    by female attendants from her own house on a day previous to
+    the wedding; and the bridegroom's effects are in like manner
+    arranged by the women of his own house.</p>
+
+    <p>When the bride meets her husband in the room where the
+    relations are assembled, she takes her seat for this once in
+    the place of honour, her husband sitting in a lower place, not
+    directly opposite to her, but diagonally, and discreetly
+    avoiding her glance.</p>
+
+    <p>On the raised part of the floor are laid out beforehand two
+    trays, the preparations for a feast, a table on which are two
+    wagtails,<a id="footnotetag114"
+       name="footnotetag114"></a><a href="#footnote114"><sup>114</sup></a>
+       a second table with a representation of Elysium, fowls,
+       <span class="pagenum"><a name="page290"
+       id="page290"></a>[pg 290]</span> fish, two wine-bottles,
+       three wine-cups, and two sorts of kettles for warming wine.
+       The ladies go out to meet the bride, and invite her into a
+       dressing-room, and, when she has smoothed her dress, bring
+       her into the room, and she and the bridegroom take their
+       seats in the places appointed for them. The two trays are
+       then brought out, and the ladies-in-waiting, with
+       complimentary speeches, hand dried fish and seaweed, such as
+       accompany presents, and dried chestnuts to the couple. Two
+       married ladies then each take one of the wine-bottles which
+       have been prepared, and place them in the lower part of the
+       room. Then two handmaids, who act as wine-pourers, bring the
+       kettles and place them in the lower part of the room. The
+       two wine-bottles have respectively a male and female
+       butterfly, made of paper, attached to them. The female
+       butterfly is laid on its back, and the wine is poured from
+       the bottle into the kettle. The male butterfly is then taken
+       and laid on the female butterfly, and the wine from the
+       bottle is poured into the same kettle, and the whole is
+       transferred with due ceremony to another kettle of different
+       shape, which the wine-pourers place in front of themselves.
+       Little low dining-tables are laid, one for each person,
+       before the bride and bridegroom, and before the bride's
+       ladies-in-waiting; the woman deputed to pour the wine takes
+       the three wine-cups and places them one on the top of the
+       other before the bridegroom, who drinks two
+       cups<a id="footnotetag115"
+       name="footnotetag115"></a><a href="#footnote115"><sup>115</sup></a>
+       from the upper cup, and pours a little wine from the full
+       kettle into the empty kettle. The pouring together of the
+       wine on the wedding night is symbolical of the union that is
+       being contracted. The bridegroom next pours out a third cup
+       of wine and drinks it, and the cup is carried by the ladies
+       to the bride, who drinks three cups, and pours a little wine
+       from one kettle into the other, as the bridegroom did. A cup
+       is then set down and put on the other two, and they are
+       carried back to the raised floor and arranged as before.
+       After this, condiments are set out on the right-hand side of
+       a little table, and the wine-pourers place the three cups
+       before the bride, who drinks three cups from the second cup,
+       which is passed to the bridegroom; he also drinks three cups
+       as before, and the cups are piled up and arranged in their
+       original place, by the wine-pourers. A different sort of
+       condiment is next served on the left-hand side; and the
+       three cups are again placed before the bridegroom, who
+       drinks three cups from the third cup, and the bride does the
+       same. When the cups and tables have been put back in their
+       places, the bridegroom, rising
+       <span class="pagenum"><a name="page291"
+       id="page291"></a>[pg 291]</span> from his seat, rests
+       himself for a while. During this time soup of fishes' fins
+       and wine are served to the bride's ladies-in-waiting and to
+       the serving-women. They are served with a single wine-cup of
+       earthenware, placed upon a small square tray, and this again
+       is set upon a long tray, and a wine-kettle with all sorts of
+       condiments is brought from the kitchen. When this part of
+       the feast is over, the room is put in order, and the bride
+       and bridegroom take their seats again. Soups and a
+       preparation of rice are now served, and two earthenware
+       cups, gilt and silvered, are placed on a tray, on which
+       there is a representation of the island of
+       Takasago.<a id="footnotetag116"
+       name="footnotetag116"></a><a href="#footnote116"><sup>116</sup></a>
+       This time butterflies of gold and silver paper are attached
+       to the wine-kettles. The bridegroom drinks a cup or two, and
+       the ladies-in-waiting offer more condiments to the couple.
+       Rice, with hot water poured over it, according to custom,
+       and carp soup are brought in, and, the wine having been
+       heated, cups of lacquer ware are produced; and it is at this
+       time that the feast commences. (Up to now the eating and
+       drinking has been merely a form.) Twelve plates of
+       sweetmeats and tea are served; and the dinner consists of
+       three courses, one course of seven dishes, one of five
+       dishes, and one of three dishes, or else two courses of five
+       dishes and one of three dishes, according to the means of
+       the family. The above ceremonies are those which are proper
+       only in families of the highest rank, and are by no means
+       fitting for the lower classes, who must not step out of the
+       proper bounds of their position.</p>
+
+    <p>There is a popular tradition that, in the ceremony of
+    drinking wine on the wedding night, the bride should drink
+    first, and then hand the cup to the bridegroom; but although
+    there are some authorities upon ceremonies who are in favour of
+    this course, it is undoubtedly a very great mistake. In the
+    "Record of Rites," by Confucius, it is written, "The man stands
+    in importance before the woman: it is the right of the strong
+    over the weak. Heaven ranks before earth; the prince ranks
+    before his minister. This law of honour is one." Again, in the
+    "Book of History," by Confucius, it is written, "The hen that
+    crows in the morning brings misfortune." In our own literature
+    in the Jusho (Book of the Gods), "When the goddesses saw the
+    gods for the first time, they were the first to cry cut, 'Oh!
+    what beautiful males!' But the gods were greatly displeased,
+    and said, 'We, who are so strong and powerful, should by rights
+    have been the first to speak; how is it that, on the contrary,
+    these females speak first? This is indeed vulgar.'" Again it is
+    written, "When the gods brought forth the cripple Hiruko, the
+    Lord of Heaven, answering, said that his misfortune was a
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page292"
+       id="page292"></a>[pg 292]</span> punishment upon the
+       goddesses who had presumed to speak first." The same rule
+       therefore exists in China and in Japan, and it is held to be
+       unlucky that the wife should take precedence: with this
+       warning people should be careful how they commit a breach of
+       etiquette, although it may be sanctioned by the vulgar.</p>
+
+    <p>At the wedding of the lower classes, the bride and her
+    ladies and friends have a feast, but the bridegroom has no
+    feast; and when the bride's feast is over, the bridegroom is
+    called in and is presented with the bride's wine-cup; but as
+    the forms observed are very vulgar, it is not worth while to
+    point out the rules which guide them. As this night is
+    essentially of importance to the married couple only, there are
+    some writers on ceremonies who have laid down that no feast
+    need be prepared for the bride's ladies, and in my opinion they
+    are right: for the husband and wife at the beginning of their
+    intercourse to be separated, and for the bride alone to be
+    feasted like an ordinary guest, appears to be an inauspicious
+    opening. I have thus pointed out two ill-omened customs which
+    are to be avoided.</p>
+
+    <p>The ceremonies observed at the weddings of persons of
+    ordinary rank are as follows:&mdash;The feast which is prepared
+    is in proportion to the means of the individuals. There must be
+    three wine-cups set out upon a tray. The ceremony of drinking
+    wine three times is gone through, as described above, after
+    which the bride changes her dress, and a feast of three courses
+    is produced&mdash;two courses of five dishes and one of three
+    dishes, or one course of five dishes, one of three, and one of
+    two, according to the means of the family. A tray, with a
+    representation of the island of Takasago, is brought out, and
+    the wine is heated; sweetmeats of five or seven sorts are also
+    served in boxes or trays; and when the tea comes in, the
+    bridegroom gets up, and goes to rest himself. If the wine
+    kettles are of tin, they must not be set out in the room: they
+    must be brought in from the kitchen; and in that case the paper
+    butterflies are not attached to them.</p>
+
+    <p>In old times the bride and bridegroom used to change their
+    dress three or five times during the ceremony; but at the
+    present time, after the nine cups of wine have been drunk, in
+    the manner recorded above, the change of dress takes place
+    once. The bride puts on the silk robe which she has received
+    from the bridegroom, while he dons the dress of ceremony which
+    has been brought by the bride.</p>
+
+    <p>When these ceremonies have been observed, the bride's ladies
+    conduct her to the apartments of her parents-in-law. The bride
+    carries with her silk robes, as presents for her parents and
+    brothers and sister-in-law. A tray is brought out, with three
+    wine-cups, which are set before the parents-in-law and the
+    bride. The father-in-law drinks three cups and hands the cup to
+    the bride, who, after she has drunk two cups, receives a
+    present from her father-in-law; she then drinks a third cup,
+    and returns <span class="pagenum"><a name="page293"
+       id="page293"></a>[pg 293]</span> the cup to her
+       father-in-law, who again drinks three cups. Fish is then
+       brought in, and, in the houses of ordinary persons, a
+       preparation of rice. Upon this the mother-in-law, taking the
+       second cup, drinks three cups and passes the cup to the
+       bride, who drinks two cups and receives a present from her
+       mother-in-law: she then drinks a third cup and gives back
+       the cup to the mother-in-law, who drinks three cups again.
+       Condiments are served, and, in ordinary houses, soup; after
+       which the bride drinks once from the third cup and hands it
+       to her father-in-law, who drinks thrice from it; the bride
+       again drinks twice from it, and after her the mother-in-law
+       drinks thrice. The parents-in-law and the bride thus have
+       drunk in all nine times. If there are any brothers or
+       sisters-in-law, soup and condiments are served, and a single
+       porcelain wine-cup is placed before them on a tray, and they
+       drink at the word of command of the father-in-law. It is not
+       indispensable that soup should be served upon this occasion.
+       If the parents of the bridegroom are dead, instead of the
+       above ceremony, he leads his bride to make her obeisances
+       before the tablets on which their names are inscribed.</p>
+
+    <p>In old days, after the ceremonies recorded above had been
+    gone through, the bridegroom used to pay a visit of ceremony to
+    the bride's parents; but at the present time the visit is paid
+    before the wedding, and although the forms observed on the
+    occasion resemble those of the ancient times, still they are
+    different, and it would be well that we should resume the old
+    fashion. The two trays which had been used at the wedding
+    feast, loaded with fowl and fish and condiments neatly
+    arranged, used to be put into a long box and sent to the
+    father-in-law's house. Five hundred and eighty cakes of rice in
+    lacquer boxes were also sent. The modern practice of sending
+    the rice cakes in a bucket is quite contrary to etiquette: no
+    matter how many lacquer boxes may be required for the purpose,
+    they are the proper utensils for sending the cakes in. Three,
+    five, seven, or ten men's loads of presents, according to the
+    means of the family, are also offered. The son-in-law gives a
+    sword and a silk robe to his father-in-law, and a silk robe to
+    his mother-in-law, and also gives presents to his brothers and
+    sisters-in-law. (The ceremony of drinking wine is the same as
+    that which takes place between the bride and her
+    parents-in-law, with a very slight deviation: the bridegroom
+    receives no presents from his mother-in-law, and when the third
+    cup is drunk the son-in-law drinks before the father-in-law). A
+    return visit is paid by the bride's parents to the bridegroom,
+    at which similar forms are observed.</p>
+
+    <p>At the weddings of the great, the bridal chamber is composed
+    of three rooms thrown into one,<a id="footnotetag117"
+       name="footnotetag117"></a><a href="#footnote117"><sup>117</sup></a>
+       and newly decorated. If there are only two rooms available,
+       a third room is built for the occasion. The presents, which
+       have been mentioned above, are set
+       <span class="pagenum"><a name="page294"
+       id="page294"></a>[pg 294]</span> out on two trays. Besides
+       these, the bridegroom's clothes are hung up upon
+       clothes-racks. The mattress and bedclothes are placed in a
+       closet. The bride's effects must all be arranged by the
+       women who are sent on a previous day for the purpose, or it
+       may be done whilst the bride is changing her clothes. The
+       shrine for the image of the family god is placed on a shelf
+       adjoining the sleeping-place. There is a proper place for
+       the various articles of furniture. The
+       <i>kaiok&eacute;</i><a id="footnotetag118"
+       name="footnotetag118"></a><a href="#footnote118"><sup>118</sup></a>
+       is placed on the raised floor; but if there be no raised
+       floor, it is placed in a closet with the door open, so that
+       it may be conspicuously seen. The books are arranged on a
+       book-shelf or on a cabinet; if there be neither shelf nor
+       cabinet, they are placed on the raised floor. The bride's
+       clothes are set out on a clothes-rack; in families of high
+       rank, seven robes are hung up on the rack; five of these are
+       taken away and replaced by others, and again three are taken
+       away and replaced by others; and there are either two or
+       three clothes-racks: the towel-rack is set up in a place of
+       more honour than the clothes-racks. If there is no
+       dressing-room, the bride's bedclothes and dressing furniture
+       are placed in the sleeping-room. No screens are put up on
+       the bridal night, but a fitting place is chosen for them on
+       the following day. All these ceremonies must be in
+       proportion to the means of the family.</p>
+
+    <h3>NOTE.</h3>
+
+    <p>The author of the "Sho-rei Hikki" makes no allusion to the
+    custom of shaving the eyebrows and blackening the teeth of
+    married women, in token of fidelity to their lords. In the
+    upper classes, young ladies usually blacken their teeth before
+    leaving their father's house to enter that of their husbands,
+    and complete the ceremony by shaving their eyebrows immediately
+    after the wedding, or, at any rate, not later than upon the
+    occasion of their first pregnancy.</p>
+
+    <p>The origin of the fashion is lost in antiquity. As a proof
+    that it existed before the eleventh century, A.D., a curious
+    book called "Teij&ocirc; Zakki," or the Miscellaneous Writings
+    of Teij&ocirc;, cites the diary of Murasaki Shikibu, the
+    daughter of one Tam&eacute;soki, a retainer of the house of
+    Echizen, a lady of the court and famous poetess, the authoress
+    of a book called "Genji-mono-gatari," and other works. In her
+    diary it is written that on the last night of the fifth year of
+    the period Kank&ocirc; (A.D. 1008), in order that she might
+    appear to advantage on New Year's Day, she retired to the
+    privacy of her own apartment, and repaired the deficiencies of
+    her personal appearance by re-blackening her teeth, and
+    otherwise adorning herself. Allusion is also made to the custom
+    in the "Yeiga-mono-gatari," an ancient book by the same
+    authoress.</p>
+
+    <p>The Emperor and nobles of his court are also in the habit of
+    blackening their teeth; but the custom is gradually dying out
+    in their case. It is said to have originated with one Hanazono
+    Arishito, who held the high rank of <i>Sa-Daijin,</i> or
+    "minister of the left," at the commencement of the twelfth
+    century, in the reign of
+    <span class="pagenum"><a name="page295"
+       id="page295"></a>[pg 295]</span> the Emperor Toba. Being a,
+       man of refined and sensual tastes, this minister plucked out
+       his eyebrows, shaved his beard, blackened his teeth,
+       powdered his face white, and rouged his lips in order to
+       render himself as like a woman as possible. In the middle of
+       the twelfth century, the nobles of the court, who went to
+       the wars, all blackened their teeth; and from this time
+       forth the practice became a fashion of the court. The
+       followers of the chiefs of the H&ocirc;j&ocirc; dynasty also
+       blackened their teeth, as an emblem of their fidelity; and
+       this was called the Odawara fashion, after the castle town
+       of the family. Thus a custom, which had its origin in a love
+       of sensuality and pleasure, became mistaken for the sign of
+       a good and faithful spirit.</p>
+
+    <p>The fashion of blackening the teeth entails no little
+    trouble upon its followers, for the colour must be renewed
+    every day, or at least every other day. Strange and repelling
+    as the custom appears at first, the eye soon learns to look
+    without aversion upon a well-blacked and polished set of teeth;
+    but when the colour begins to wear away, and turns to a dullish
+    grey, streaked with black, the mouth certainly becomes most
+    hideous. Although no one who reads this is likely to put a
+    recipe for blackening the teeth to a practical test, I append
+    one furnished to me by a fashionable chemist and druggist in
+    Yedo:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"Take three pints of water, and, having warmed it, add half
+    a teacupful of wine. Put into this mixture a quantity of
+    red-hot iron; allow it to stand for five or six days, when
+    there will be a scum on the top of the mixture, which should
+    then be poured into a small teacup and placed near a fire. When
+    it is warm, powdered gallnuts and iron filings should be added
+    to it, and the whole should be warmed again. The liquid is then
+    painted on to the teeth by means of a soft feather brush, with
+    more powdered gallnuts and iron, and, after several
+    applications, the desired colour will be obtained."</p>
+
+    <p>The process is said to be a preservative of the teeth, and I
+    have known men who were habitual sufferers from toothache to
+    prefer the martyrdom of ugliness to that of pain, and apply the
+    black colouring when the paroxysms were severe. One man told me
+    that he experienced immediate relief by the application, and
+    that so long as he blackened his teeth he was quite free from
+    pain.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page296"
+       id="page296"></a>[pg 296]</span>
+
+    <h3>ON THE BIRTH AND BEARING OF CHILDREN</h3>
+
+    <h4>(FROM THE "SHO-REI HIKKI.")</h4>
+
+    <p>In the fifth month of a woman's pregnancy, a very lucky day
+    is selected for the ceremony of putting on a girdle, which is
+    of white and red silk, folded, and eight feet in length. The
+    husband produces it from the left sleeve of his dress; and the
+    wife receives it in the right sleeve of her dress, and girds it
+    on for the first time. This ceremony is only performed once.
+    When the child is born, the white part of the girdle is dyed
+    sky-blue, with a peculiar mark on it, and is made into clothes
+    for the child. These, however, are not the first clothes which
+    it wears. The dyer is presented with wine and condiments when
+    the girdle is entrusted to him. It is also customary to beg
+    some matron, who has herself had an easy confinement, for the
+    girdle which she wore during her pregnancy; and this lady is
+    called the girdle-mother. The borrowed girdle is tied on with
+    that given by the husband, and the girdle-mother at this time
+    gives and receives a present.</p>
+
+    <p>The furniture of the lying-in chamber is as
+    follows:&mdash;Two tubs for placing under-petticoats in; two
+    tubs to hold the placenta; a piece of furniture like an
+    arm-chair, without legs, for the mother to lean
+    against;<a id="footnotetag119"
+       name="footnotetag119"></a><a href="#footnote119"><sup>119</sup></a>
+       a stool, which is used by the lady who embraces the loins of
+       the woman in labour to support her, and which is afterwards
+       used by the midwife in washing the child; several pillows of
+       various sizes, that the woman in child-bed may ease her head
+       at her pleasure; new buckets, basins, and ladles of various
+       sizes. Twenty-four baby-robes, twelve of silk and twelve of
+       cotton, must be prepared; the hems must be dyed
+       saffron-colour. There must be an apron for the midwife, if
+       the infant is of high rank, in order that, when she washes
+       it, she may not place it immediately on her own knees: this
+       apron should be made of a kerchief of cotton. When the child
+       is taken out of the warm water, its body must be dried with
+       a kerchief of fine cotton, unhemmed.</p>
+
+    <p>On the seventy-fifth or hundred and twentieth day after its
+    birth, the baby leaves off its baby-linen; and this day is kept
+    as <span class="pagenum"><a name="page297"
+       id="page297"></a>[pg 297]</span> a holiday. Although it is
+       the practice generally to dress up children in various kinds
+       of silk, this is very wrong, as the two principles of life
+       being thereby injured, the child contracts disease; and on
+       this account the ancients strictly forbade the practice. In
+       modern times the child is dressed up in beautiful clothes;
+       but to put a cap on its head, thinking to make much of it,
+       when, on the contrary, it is hurtful to the child, should be
+       avoided. It would be an excellent thing if rich people, out
+       of care for the health of their children, would put a stop
+       to a practice to which fashion clings.</p>
+
+    <p>On the hundred and twentieth day after their birth children,
+    whether male or female, are weaned.<a id="footnotetag120"
+       name="footnotetag120"></a><a href="#footnote120"><sup>120</sup></a>
+       This day is fixed, and there is no need to choose a lucky
+       day. If the child be a boy, it is fed by a gentleman of the
+       family; if a girl, by a lady. The ceremony is as
+       follows:&mdash;The child is brought out and given to the
+       weaning father or sponsor. He takes it on his left knee. A
+       small table is prepared. The sponsor who is to feed the
+       child, taking some rice which has been offered to the gods,
+       places it on the corner of the little table which is by him;
+       He dips his chop-sticks thrice in this rice, and very
+       quietly places them in the mouth of the child, pretending to
+       give it some of the juice of the rice. Five cakes of rice
+       meal are also placed on the left side of the little table,
+       and with these he again pretends to feed the child three
+       times. When this ceremony is over, the child is handed back
+       to its guardian, and three wine-cups are produced on a tray.
+       The sponsor drinks three cups, and presents the cup to the
+       child. When the child has been made to pretend to drink two
+       cups, it receives a present from its sponsor, after which
+       the child is supposed to drink a third time. Dried fish is
+       then brought in, and the baby, having drunk thrice, passes
+       the cup to its sponsor, who drinks thrice. More fish of a
+       different kind is brought in. The drinking is repeated, and
+       the weaning father receives a present from the child. The
+       guardian, according to rules of propriety, should be near
+       the child. A feast should be prepared, according to the
+       means of the family. If the child be a girl, a weaning
+       mother performs this ceremony, and suitable presents must be
+       offered on either side. The wine-drinking is gone through as
+       above.</p>
+
+    <p>On the fifteenth day of the eleventh month of the child's
+    third year, be the child boy or girl, its hair is allowed to
+    grow. (Up to this time the whole head has been shaven: now
+    three patches are allowed to grow, one on each side and one at
+    the back of the head.) On this occasion also a sponsor is
+    selected. A large tray, on which are a comb, scissors, paper
+    string, a piece of string for tying the hair in a knot, cotton
+    wool, and the bit of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page298"
+       id="page298"></a>[pg 298]</span> dried fish or seaweed which
+       accompanies presents, one of each, and seven rice
+       straws&mdash;these seven articles must be
+       prepared.<a id="footnotetag121"
+       name="footnotetag121"></a><a href="#footnote121"><sup>121</sup></a></p>
+
+    <p>The child is placed facing the point of the compass which is
+    auspicious for that year, and the sponsor, if the child be a
+    boy, takes the scissors and gives three snips at the hair on
+    the left temple, three on the right, and three in the centre.
+    He then takes the piece of cotton wool and spreads it over the
+    child's head, from the forehead, so as to make it hang down
+    behind his neck, and he places the bit of dried fish or seaweed
+    and the seven straws at the bottom of the piece of cotton wool,
+    attaching them to the wool, and ties them in two loops, like a
+    man's hair, with a piece of paper string; he then makes a
+    woman's knot with two pieces of string. The ceremony of
+    drinking wine is the same as that gone through at the weaning.
+    If the child is a girl, a lady acts as sponsor; the
+    hair-cutting is begun from the right temple instead of from the
+    left. There is no difference in the rest of the ceremony.</p>
+
+    <p>On the fifth day of the eleventh month of the child's fourth
+    year he is invested with the <i>hakama</i>, or loose trousers
+    worn by the Samurai. On this occasion again a sponsor is called
+    in. The child receives from the sponsor a dress of ceremony, on
+    which are embroidered storks and tortoises (emblems of
+    longevity&mdash;the stork is said to live a thousand years, the
+    tortoise ten thousand), fir-trees (which, being evergreen, and
+    not changing their colour, are emblematic of an unchangingly
+    virtuous heart), and bamboos (emblematic of an upright and
+    straight mind). The child is placed upright on a chequer-board,
+    facing the auspicious point of the compass, and invested with
+    the dress of ceremony. It also receives a sham sword and dirk.
+    The usual ceremony of drinking wine is observed.</p>
+
+    <p>NOTE.&mdash;In order to understand the following ceremony,
+    it is necessary to recollect that the child at three years of
+    age is allowed to grow its hair in three patches. By degrees
+    the hair is allowed to grow, the crown alone being shaved, and
+    a forelock left. At ten or eleven years of age the boy's head
+    is dressed like a man's, with the exception of this
+    forelock.</p>
+
+    <p>The ceremony of cutting off the forelock used in old days to
+    include the ceremony of putting on the noble's cap; but as this
+    has gone out of fashion, there is no need to treat of it.</p>
+
+    <p>Any time after the youth has reached the age of fifteen,
+    according to the cleverness and ability which he shows, a lucky
+    day is chosen for this most important ceremony, after which the
+    boy takes his place amongst full-grown men. A person of
+    virtuous character is chosen as sponsor or "cap-father."
+    Although the man's real name (that name which is only known to
+    his intimate relations and friends, not the one by which he
+    usually goes in society) is usually determined before this
+    date, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page299"
+       id="page299"></a>[pg 299]</span> if it be not so, he
+       receives his real name from his sponsor on this day. In old
+       days there used to be a previous ceremony of cutting the
+       hair off the forehead in a straight line, so as to make two
+       angles: up to this time the youth wore long sleeves like a
+       woman, and from that day he wore short sleeves. This was
+       called the "half cutting." The poorer classes have a habit
+       of shortening the sleeves before this period; but that is
+       contrary to all rule, and is an evil custom.</p>
+
+    <p>A common tray is produced, on which is placed an earthenware
+    wine-cup. The sponsor drinks thrice, and hands the cup to the
+    young man, who, having also drunk thrice, gives back the cup to
+    the sponsor, who again drinks thrice, and then proceeds to tie
+    up the young man's hair.</p>
+
+    <p>There are three ways of tying the hair, and there is also a
+    particular fashion of letting the forelock grow long; and when
+    this is the case, the forelock is only clipped. (This is
+    especially the fashion among the nobles of the Mikado's court.)
+    This applies only to persons who wear the court cap, and not to
+    gentlemen of lower grade. Still, these latter persons, if they
+    wish to go through the ceremony in its entirety, may do so
+    without impropriety. Gentlemen of the Samurai or military class
+    cut off the whole of the forelock. The sponsor either ties up
+    the hair of the young man, or else, placing the forelock on a
+    willow board, cuts it off with a knife, or else, amongst
+    persons of very high rank, he only pretends to do so, and goes
+    into another room whilst the real cutting is going on, and then
+    returns to the same room. The sponsor then, without letting the
+    young man see what he is doing, places the lock which has been
+    cut into the pocket of his left sleeve, and, leaving the room,
+    gives it to the young man's guardians, who wrap it in paper and
+    offer it up at the shrine of the family gods. But this is
+    wrong. The locks should be well wrapped up in paper and kept in
+    the house until the man's death, to serve as a reminder of the
+    favours which a man receives from his father and mother in his
+    childhood; when he dies, it should be placed in his coffin and
+    buried with him. The wine-drinking and presents are as
+    before.</p>
+    <hr />
+
+    <p>In the "Sho-rei Hikki," the book from which the above is
+    translated, there is no notice of the ceremony of naming the
+    child: the following is a translation from a Japanese
+    MS.:&mdash;</p>
+
+    <p>"On the seventh day after its birth, the child receives its
+    name; the ceremony is called the congratulations of the seventh
+    night. On this day some one of the relations of the family, who
+    holds an exalted position, either from his rank or virtues,
+    selects a name for the child, which name he keeps until the
+    time of the cutting of the forelock, when he takes the name
+    which he is to bear as a man. This second name is called
+    <i>Yeboshina</i>,<a id="footnotetag122"
+       name="footnotetag122"></a><a href="#footnote122"><sup>122</sup></a>
+       the cap-name, which is compounded of syllables taken from an
+       <span class="pagenum"><a name="page300"
+       id="page300"></a>[pg 300]</span> old name of the family and
+       from the name of the sponsor. If the sponsor afterwards
+       change his name, his name-child must also change his name.
+       For instance, Minamoto no Yoshitsun&eacute;, the famous
+       warrior, as a child was called Ushiwakamaru; when he grew up
+       to be a man, he was called Kur&ocirc;; and his real name was
+       Yoshitsun&eacute;."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page301"
+       id="page301"></a>[pg 301]</span>
+
+    <h3>FUNERAL RITES</h3>
+
+    <h4>(FROM THE "SHO-REI HIKKI.")</h4>
+
+    <p>On the death of a parent, the mourning clothes worn are made
+    of coarse hempen cloth, and during the whole period of mourning
+    these must be worn night and day. As the burial of his parents
+    is the most important ceremony which a man has to go through
+    during his whole life, when the occasion comes, in order that
+    there be no confusion, he must employ some person to teach him
+    the usual and proper rites. Above all things to be reprehended
+    is the burning of the dead: they should be interred without
+    burning.<a id="footnotetag123"
+       name="footnotetag123"></a><a href="#footnote123"><sup>123</sup></a>
+       The ceremonies to be observed at a funeral should by rights
+       have been learned before there is occasion to put them in
+       practice. If a man have no father or mother, he is sure to
+       have to bury other relations; and so he should not disregard
+       this study. There are some authorities who select lucky days
+       and hours and lucky places for burying the dead, but this is
+       wrong; and when they talk about curses being brought upon
+       posterity by not observing these auspicious seasons and
+       places, they make a great mistake. It is a matter of course
+       that an auspicious day must be chosen so far as avoiding
+       wind and rain is concerned, that men may bury their dead
+       without their minds being distracted; and it is important to
+       choose a fitting cemetery, lest in after days the tomb
+       should be damaged by rain, or by men walking over it, or by
+       the place being turned into a field, or built upon. When
+       invited to a friend's or neighbour's funeral, a man should
+       avoid putting on smart clothes and dresses of ceremony; and
+       when he follows the coffin, he should not speak in a loud
+       voice to the person next him, for that is very rude; and
+       even should he have occasion to do so, he should avoid
+       entering wine-shops or tea-houses on his return from the
+       funeral.</p>
+
+    <p>The list of persons present at a funeral should be written
+    on slips of paper, and firmly bound together. It may be written
+    as any other list, only it must not be written beginning at the
+    right hand, as is usually the case, but from the left hand (as
+    is the case in European books).</p>
+
+    <p>On the day of burial, during the funeral service, incense is
+    burned in the temple before the tablet on which is inscribed
+    the name under which the dead person enters
+    salvation.<a id="footnotetag124"
+       name="footnotetag124"></a><a href="#footnote124"><sup>124</sup></a>
+       The <span class="pagenum"><a name="page302"
+       id="page302"></a>[pg 302]</span> incense-burners, having
+       washed their hands, one by one, enter the room where the
+       tablet is exposed, and advance half-way up to the tablet,
+       facing it; producing incense wrapped in paper from their
+       bosoms, they hold it in their left hands, and, taking a
+       pinch with the right hand, they place the packet in their
+       left sleeve. If the table on which the tablet is placed be
+       high, the person offering incense half raises himself from
+       his crouching position; if the table be low, he remains
+       crouching to burn the incense, after which he takes three
+       steps backwards, with bows and reverences, and retires six
+       feet, when he again crouches down to watch the
+       incense-burning, and bows to the priests who are sitting in
+       a row with their chief at their head, after which he rises
+       and leaves the room. Up to the time of burning the incense
+       no notice is taken of the priest. At the ceremony of burning
+       incense before the grave, the priests are not saluted. The
+       packet of incense is made of fine paper folded in three,
+       both ways.</p>
+
+    <h3>NOTE.</h3>
+
+    <p>The reason why the author of the "Sho-rei Hikki" has treated
+    so briefly of the funeral ceremonies is probably that these
+    rites, being invariably entrusted to the Buddhist priesthood,
+    vary according to the sect of the latter; and, as there are no
+    less than fifteen sects of Buddhism in Japan, it would be a
+    long matter to enter into the ceremonies practised by each.
+    Should Buddhism be swept out of Japan, as seems likely to be
+    the case, men will probably return to the old rites which
+    obtained before its introduction in the sixth century of our
+    era. What those rites were I have been unable to learn.</p>
+
+    <h2>THE END</h2>
+    <hr class="full" />
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote1"
+                    name="footnote1"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag1">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>According to Japanese tradition, in the fifth year of the
+        Emperor K&ocirc;rei (286 B.C.), the earth opened in the
+        province of Omi, near Ki&ocirc;to, and Lake Biwa, sixty
+        miles long by about eighteen broad, was formed in the shape
+        of a <i>Biwa</i>, or four-stringed lute, from which it
+        takes its name. At the same time, to compensate for the
+        depression of the earth, but at a distance of over three
+        hundred miles from the lake, rose Fuji-Yama, the last
+        eruption of which was in the year 1707. The last great
+        earthquake at Yedo took place about fifteen years ago.
+        Twenty thousand souls are said to have perished in it, and
+        the dead were carried away and buried by cartloads; many
+        persons, trying to escape from their falling and burning
+        houses, were caught in great clefts, which yawned suddenly
+        in the earth, and as suddenly closed upon the victims,
+        crushing them to death. For several days heavy shocks
+        continued to be felt, and the people camped out, not daring
+        to return to such houses as had been spared, nor to build
+        up those which lay in ruins.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote2"
+                    name="footnote2"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag2">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The word <i>R&ocirc;nin</i> means, literally, a
+        "wave-man"; one who is tossed about hither and thither, as
+        a wave of the sea. It is used to designate persons of
+        gentle blood, entitled to bear arms, who, having become
+        separated from their feudal lords by their own act, or by
+        dismissal, or by fate, wander about the country in the
+        capacity of somewhat disreputable knights-errant, without
+        ostensible means of living, in some cases offering
+        themselves for hire to new masters, in others supporting
+        themselves by pillage; or who, falling a grade in the
+        social scale, go into trade, and become simple wardsmen.
+        Sometimes it happens that for political reasons a man will
+        become R&ocirc;nin, in order that his lord may not be
+        implicated in some deed of blood in which he is about to
+        engage. Sometimes, also, men become R&ocirc;nins, and leave
+        their native place for a while, until some scrape in which
+        they have become entangled shall have blown over; after
+        which they return to their former allegiance. Nowadays it
+        is not unusual for men to become R&ocirc;nins for a time,
+        and engage themselves in the service of foreigners at the
+        open ports, even in menial capacities, in the hope that
+        they may pick up something of the language and lore of
+        Western folks. I know instances of men of considerable
+        position who have adopted this course in their zeal for
+        education.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote3"
+                    name="footnote3"></a><b>Footnote 3:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag3">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The full title of the Tycoon was Sei-i-tai-Shogun,
+        "Barbarian-repressing Commander-in-chief." The style Tai
+        Kun, Great Prince, was borrowed, in order to convey the
+        idea of sovereignty to foreigners, at the time of the
+        conclusion of the Treaties. The envoys sent by the Mikado
+        from Ki&ocirc;to to communicate to the Shogun the will of
+        his sovereign were received with Imperial honours, and the
+        duty of entertaining them was confided to nobles of rank.
+        The title Sei-i-tai-Shogun was first borne by Minamoto no
+        Yoritomo, in the seventh month of the year A.D. 1192.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote4"
+                    name="footnote4"></a><b>Footnote 4:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag4">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Councillor, lit. "elder." The councillors of daimios
+        were of two classes: the <i>Kar&ocirc;</i>, or "elder," an
+        hereditary office, held by cadets of the Prince's family,
+        and the <i>Y&ocirc;nin</i>, or "man of business," who was
+        selected on account of his merits. These "councillors" play
+        no mean part in Japanese history.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote5"
+                    name="footnote5"></a><b>Footnote 5:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag5">(return)</a>
+
+        <p><i>Samurai</i>, a man belonging to the
+        <i>Buk&eacute;</i> or military class, entitled to bear
+        arms.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote6"
+                    name="footnote6"></a><b>Footnote 6:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag6">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>It is usual for a Japanese, when bent upon some deed of
+        violence, the end of which, in his belief, justifies the
+        means, to carry about with him a document, such as that
+        translated above, in which he sets forth his motives, that
+        his character may be cleared after death.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote7"
+                    name="footnote7"></a><b>Footnote 7:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag7">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The dirk with which Asano Takumi no Kumi disembowelled
+        himself and with which Oishi Kuranosuk&eacute; cut off
+        K&ocirc;tsuk&eacute; no Suk&eacute;'s head.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote8"
+                    name="footnote8"></a><b>Footnote 8:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag8">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A purist in Japanese matters may object to the use of
+        the words <i>hara-kiri</i> instead of the more elegant
+        expression <i>Seppuku</i>. I retain the more vulgar form as
+        being better known, and therefore more convenient.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote9"
+                    name="footnote9"></a><b>Footnote 9:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag9">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The Chinese, and the Japanese following them, divide the
+        day of twenty-four hours into twelve periods, each of which
+        has a sign something like the signs of the
+        Zodiac:&mdash;</p>
+        <pre>
+    Midnight until two in the morning is represented by the rat.
+      2 a.m.  "     4 a.m.          "            "          ox.
+      4 a.m.  "     6 a.m.          "            "          tiger.
+      6 a.m.  "     8 a.m.          "            "          hare.
+      8 a.m.  "    10 a.m.          "            "          dragon.
+     10 a.m.  "    12 noon          "            "          snake.
+     12 noon  "     2 p.m.          "            "          horse.
+      2 p.m.  "     4 p.m.          "            "          ram.
+      4 p.m.  "     6 p.m.          "            "          ape.
+      6 p.m.  "     8 p.m.          "            "          cock.
+      8 p.m.  "    10 p.m.          "            "          hog.
+     10 p.m.  "    Midnight         "            "          fox.
+</pre>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote10"
+                    name="footnote10"></a><b>Footnote 10:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag10">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Fud&ocirc;, literally "the motionless": Buddha in the
+        state called Nirvana.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote11"
+                    name="footnote11"></a><b>Footnote 11:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag11">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>It will be readily understood that the customs and
+        ceremonies to which I have alluded belong only to the gross
+        superstitions with which ignorance has overlaid that pure
+        Buddhism of which Professor Max M&uuml;ller has pointed out
+        the very real beauties.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote12"
+                    name="footnote12"></a><b>Footnote 12:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag12">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Japanese cities are divided into wards, and every
+        tradesman and artisan is under the authority of the chief
+        of the ward in which he resides. The word
+        <i>ch&ocirc;nin</i>, or wardsman, is generally used in
+        contradistinction to the word <i>samurai</i>, which has
+        already been explained as denoting a man belonging to the
+        military class.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote13"
+                    name="footnote13"></a><b>Footnote 13:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag13">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The name Yoshiwara, which is becoming generic for
+        "Flower Districts,"&mdash;<i>Anglic&eacute;</i>, quarters
+        occupied by brothels,&mdash;is sometimes derived from the
+        town Yoshiwara, in Sunshine, because it was said that the
+        women of that place furnished a large proportion of the
+        beauties of the Yedo Yoshiwara. The correct derivation is
+        probably that given below.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote14"
+                    name="footnote14"></a><b>Footnote 14:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag14">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Those who are interested in this branch of social
+        science, will find much curious information upon the
+        subject of prostitution in Japan in a pamphlet published at
+        Yokohama, by Dr. Newton, R.N., a philanthropist who has
+        been engaged for the last two years in establishing a Lock
+        Hospital at that place. In spite of much opposition, from
+        prejudice and ignorance, his labours have been crowned by
+        great success.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote15"
+                    name="footnote15"></a><b>Footnote 15:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag15">(return)</a>
+
+        <p><i>The Legacy of Iy&eacute;yasu</i>, translated by F.
+        Lowder. Yokohama, 1868. (Printed for private
+        circulation.)</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote16"
+                    name="footnote16"></a><b>Footnote 16:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag16">(return)</a>
+
+        <p><i>Hatamotos.</i> The Hatamotos were the feudatory
+        nobles of the Shogun or Tycoon. The office of Taikun having
+        been abolished, the Hatamotos no longer exist. For further
+        information respecting them, see the note at the end of the
+        story.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote17"
+                    name="footnote17"></a><b>Footnote 17:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag17">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The first Council of the Shogun's ministers; literally,
+        "assembly of imperial elders."</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote18"
+                    name="footnote18"></a><b>Footnote 18:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag18">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A physician attending a personage of exalted rank has
+        always to drink half the potion he prescribes as a test of
+        his good faith.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote19"
+                    name="footnote19"></a><b>Footnote 19:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag19">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Goddess of the sun, and ancestress of the Mikados.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote20"
+                    name="footnote20"></a><b>Footnote 20:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag20">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>"In respect to revenging injury done to master or
+        father, it is granted by the wise and virtuous (Confucius)
+        that you and the injurer cannot live together under the
+        canopy of heaven.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote21"
+                    name="footnote21"></a><b>Footnote 21:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag21">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>See the story of Kazuma's Revenge.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote22"
+                    name="footnote22"></a><b>Footnote 22:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag22">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The tiny Japanese pipe contains but two or three whiffs;
+        and as the tobacco is rolled up tightly in the fingers
+        before it is inserted, the ash, when shaken out, is a
+        little fire-ball from which a second pipe is lighted.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote23"
+                    name="footnote23"></a><b>Footnote 23:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag23">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>It is an act of rudeness to offer a large wine-cup. As,
+        however, the same cup is returned to the person who has
+        offered it, the ill carries with it its own remedy. At a
+        Japanese feast the same cup is passed from hand to hand,
+        each person rinsing it in a bowl of water after using it,
+        and before offering it to another.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote24"
+                    name="footnote24"></a><b>Footnote 24:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag24">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The giving of presents from inferiors to superiors is a
+        common custom.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote25"
+                    name="footnote25"></a><b>Footnote 25:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag25">(return)</a>
+
+        <p><i>T&ocirc;ken</i>, a nickname given to Gombei, after a
+        savage dog that he killed. As a Ch&ocirc;nin, or wardsman,
+        he had no surname.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote26"
+                    name="footnote26"></a><b>Footnote 26:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag26">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>See the story of Gompachi and Komurasaki.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote27"
+                    name="footnote27"></a><b>Footnote 27:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag27">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The swords of Muramasa, although so finely tempered that
+        they are said to cut hard iron as though it were a melon,
+        have the reputation of being unlucky: they are supposed by
+        the superstitious to hunger after taking men's lives, and
+        to be unable to repose in their scabbards. The principal
+        duty of a sword is to preserve tranquillity in the world,
+        by punishing the wicked and protecting the good. But the
+        bloodthirsty swords of Muramasa rather have the effect of
+        maddening their owners, so that they either kill others
+        indiscriminately or commit suicide. At the end of the
+        sixteenth century Prince Tokugawa Iy&eacute;yasu was in the
+        habit of carrying a spear made by Muramasa, with which he
+        often scratched or cut himself by mistake. Hence the
+        Tokugawa family avoid girding on Muramasa blades, which are
+        supposed to be specially unlucky to their race. The murders
+        of Gompachi, who wore a sword by this maker, also
+        contributed to give his weapons a bad name.</p>
+
+        <p>The swords of one T&ocirc;shir&ocirc; Yoshimitsu, on the
+        other hand, are specially auspicious to the Tokugawa
+        family, for the following reason. After Iy&eacute;yasu had
+        been defeated by Tak&eacute;ta Katsuyori, at the battle of
+        the river Tenrin, he took refuge in the house of a village
+        doctor, intending to put an end to his existence by
+        <i>hara-kiri,</i> and drawing his dirk, which was made by
+        Yoshimitsu, tried to plunge it into his belly, when, to his
+        surprise, the blade turned. Thinking that the dirk must be
+        a bad one, he took up an iron mortar for grinding medicines
+        and tried it upon that, and the point entered and
+        transfixed the mortar. He was about to stab himself a
+        second time, when his followers, who had missed him, and
+        had been searching for him everywhere, came up, and seeing
+        their master about to kill himself, stayed his hand, and
+        took away the dirk by force. Then they set him upon his
+        horse and compelled him to fly to his own province of
+        Mikawa, whilst they kept his pursuers at bay. After this,
+        when, by the favour of Heaven, Iy&eacute;yasu became
+        Shogun, it was considered that of a surety there must have
+        been a good spirit in the blade that refused to drink his
+        blood; and ever since that time the blades of Yoshimitsu
+        have been considered lucky in his family.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote28"
+                    name="footnote28"></a><b>Footnote 28:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag28">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The halberd is the special arm of the Japanese woman of
+        gentle blood. That which was used by Kasa Gozen, one of the
+        ladies of Yoshitsun&eacute;, the hero of the twelfth
+        century, is still preserved at Asakusa. In old-fashioned
+        families young ladies are regularly instructed in fencing
+        with the halberds.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote29"
+                    name="footnote29"></a><b>Footnote 29:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag29">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>See Note at end of story.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote30"
+                    name="footnote30"></a><b>Footnote 30:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag30">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The lowest classes in Japan are buried in a squatting
+        position, in a sort of barrel. One would have expected a
+        person of Ch&ocirc;bei's condition and means to have
+        ordered a square box. It is a mistake to suppose the
+        burning of the dead to be universal in Japan: only about
+        thirty per cent of the lower classes, chiefly belonging to
+        the Mont&ocirc; sect of Buddhism, are burnt. The rich and
+        noble are buried in several square coffins, one inside the
+        other, in a sitting position; and their bodies are
+        partially preserved from decay by filling the nose, ears,
+        and mouth with vermilion. In the case of the very wealthy,
+        the coffin is completely filled in with vermilion. The
+        family of the Princes of Mito, and some other nobles, bury
+        their dead in a recumbent position.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote31"
+                    name="footnote31"></a><b>Footnote 31:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag31">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>It is customary, on the occasion of a first visit to a
+        house, to carry a present to the owner, who gives something
+        of equal value on returning the visit.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote32"
+                    name="footnote32"></a><b>Footnote 32:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag32">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>This sort of bath, in which the water is heated by the
+        fire of a furnace which is lighted from outside, is called
+        <i>Goy&eacute;mon-buro,</i> or Goy&eacute;mon's bath, after
+        a notorious robber named Goy&eacute;mon, who attempted the
+        life of Taiko Sama, the famous general and ruler of the
+        sixteenth century, and suffered for his crimes by being
+        boiled to death in oil&mdash;a form of execution which is
+        now obsolete.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote33"
+                    name="footnote33"></a><b>Footnote 33:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag33">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>This gate was destroyed by fire a few years since.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote34"
+                    name="footnote34"></a><b>Footnote 34:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag34">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Sir Rutherford Alcock, in his book upon Japan, states
+        that the portraits of the most famous courtesans of Yedo
+        are yearly hung up in the temple at Asakusa. No such
+        pictures are to be seen now, and no Japanese of whom I have
+        made inquiries have heard of such a custom. The priests of
+        the temple deny that their fane was ever so polluted, and
+        it is probable that the statement is but one of the many
+        strange mistakes into which an imperfect knowledge of the
+        language led the earlier travellers in Japan. In spite of
+        all that has been said by persons who have had no
+        opportunity of associating and exchanging ideas with the
+        educated men of Japan, I maintain that in no country is the
+        public harlot more abhorred and looked down upon.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote35"
+                    name="footnote35"></a><b>Footnote 35:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag35">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>In Dr. Hepburn's Dictionary of the Japanese language,
+        the Chinese characters given for the word <i>Shiba-i</i>
+        are <i>chi chang</i> (<i>keih chang</i>, Morrison's
+        Dictionary), "theatrical arena." The characters which are
+        usually written, and which are etymologically correct, are
+        <i>chih ch&uuml;</i> (<i>che keu</i>, Morrison), "the place
+        of plants or turf plot."</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote36"
+                    name="footnote36"></a><b>Footnote 36:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag36">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>This refers to the Chinese doctrine of the Yang and Yin,
+        the male and female influences pervading all creation.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote37"
+                    name="footnote37"></a><b>Footnote 37:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag37">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>I allude to the <i>Tai Hei Nem-piy&ocirc;,</i> or Annals
+        of the Great Peace, a very rare work, only two or three
+        copies of which have found their way into the libraries of
+        foreigners.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote38"
+                    name="footnote38"></a><b>Footnote 38:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag38">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The note at the end of the Story of the Grateful Foxes
+        contains an account of Inari Sama, and explains how the
+        foxes minister to him.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote39"
+                    name="footnote39"></a><b>Footnote 39:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag39">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>This is a literal translation of a Japanese proverb.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote40"
+                    name="footnote40"></a><b>Footnote 40:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag40">(return)</a>
+
+        <p><i>Shikoku</i>, one of the southern islands separated
+        from the chief island of Japan by the beautiful "Inland
+        Sea;" it is called <i>Shikoku</i>, or the "Four Provinces,"
+        because it is divided into the four provinces, <i>Awa,
+        Sanuki, Iyo,</i> and <i>Tosa</i>.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote41"
+                    name="footnote41"></a><b>Footnote 41:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag41">(return)</a>
+
+        <p><i>Suk&eacute;sada</i>, a famous family of swordsmiths,
+        belonging to the Bizen clan. The Bizen men are notoriously
+        good armourers, and their blades fetch high prices. The
+        sword of Jiuy&eacute;mon is said to have been made by one
+        of the Suk&eacute;sada who lived about 290 years ago.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote42"
+                    name="footnote42"></a><b>Footnote 42:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag42">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The O before women's names signifies "<i>Imperial</i>,"
+        and is simply an honorific.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote43"
+                    name="footnote43"></a><b>Footnote 43:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag43">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The original is a proverbial expression like "Timeo
+        Danaos et dona ferentes."</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote44"
+                    name="footnote44"></a><b>Footnote 44:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag44">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The <i>abacus</i>, or counting-board, is the means of
+        calculation in use throughout the Continent from St.
+        Petersburg to Peking, in Corea, Japan, and the Liukiu
+        Islands.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote45"
+                    name="footnote45"></a><b>Footnote 45:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag45">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Foxes, badgers, and cats. See the stories respecting
+        their tricks.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote46"
+                    name="footnote46"></a><b>Footnote 46:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag46">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>See the Introduction to the Story of Ch&ocirc;bei of
+        Bandzuin.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote47"
+                    name="footnote47"></a><b>Footnote 47:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag47">(return)</a>
+
+        <p><i>Hichi</i>, the first half of <i>Hichirobei</i>,
+        signifies seven.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote48"
+                    name="footnote48"></a><b>Footnote 48:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag48">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The apprentice addresses his patron as "father."</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote49"
+                    name="footnote49"></a><b>Footnote 49:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag49">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The exposure of the head, called <i>Gokumon</i>, is a
+        disgraceful addition to the punishment of beheading. A
+        document, placed on the execution-ground, sets forth the
+        crime which has called forth the punishment.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote50"
+                    name="footnote50"></a><b>Footnote 50:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag50">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The Japanese Gog and Magog.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote51"
+                    name="footnote51"></a><b>Footnote 51:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag51">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The author of the history called "Kokushi Riyaku"
+        explains this fable as being an account of the first
+        eclipse.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote52"
+                    name="footnote52"></a><b>Footnote 52:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag52">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The mountains in the moon are supposed to resemble a
+        hare in shape. Hence there is a fanciful connection between
+        the hare and the moon.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote53"
+                    name="footnote53"></a><b>Footnote 53:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag53">(return)</a>
+
+        <p><i>Momo</i> means a peach, and <i>Tar&ocirc;</i> is the
+        termination of the names of eldest sons,
+        as <i>Hikotar&ocirc;</i>, <i>Tokutar&ocirc;</i>, &amp;c. In
+        modern times, however, the termination has been applied
+        indifferently to any male child.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote54"
+                    name="footnote54"></a><b>Footnote 54:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag54">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The country folk in Japan pretend that the pheasant's
+        call is a sign of an approaching earthquake.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote55"
+                    name="footnote55"></a><b>Footnote 55:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag55">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>See the Appendix on "Ceremonies."</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote56"
+                    name="footnote56"></a><b>Footnote 56:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag56">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>See the note on the word Inkiy&ocirc;, in the story of the
+        "Prince and the Badger."</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote57"
+                    name="footnote57"></a><b>Footnote 57:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag57">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A shower during sunshine, which we call "the devil
+        beating his wife," is called in Japan "the fox's bride
+        going to her husband's house."</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote58"
+                    name="footnote58"></a><b>Footnote 58:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag58">(return)</a>
+
+        <p><i>Tengu</i>, or the Heavenly Dog, a hobgoblin who
+        infests desert places, and is invoked to frighten naughty
+        little children.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote59"
+                    name="footnote59"></a><b>Footnote 59:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag59">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>This last crime is, of course, now obsolete.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote60"
+                    name="footnote60"></a><b>Footnote 60:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag60">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The story, which also forms the subject of a play, is
+        published, but with altered names, in order that offence
+        may not be given to the Hotta family. The real names are
+        preserved here. The events related took place during the
+        rule of the Shogun Iy&eacute;mitsu, in the first half of
+        the seventeenth century.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote61"
+                    name="footnote61"></a><b>Footnote 61:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag61">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A Buddhist deity.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote62"
+                    name="footnote62"></a><b>Footnote 62:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag62">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Destroyed during the revolution, in the summer of 1868,
+        by the troops of the Mikado. See note on the tombs of the
+        Shoguns, at the end of the story.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote63"
+                    name="footnote63"></a><b>Footnote 63:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag63">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The name assigned after death to Iy&eacute;tsuna, the
+        fourth of the dynasty of Tokugawa, who died on the 8th day
+        of the 5th month of the year A.D. 1680.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote64"
+                    name="footnote64"></a><b>Footnote 64:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag64">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Buddhist text.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote65"
+                    name="footnote65"></a><b>Footnote 65:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag65">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The Buddhist Styx, which separates paradise from hell,
+        across which the dead are ferried by an old woman, for whom
+        a small piece of money is buried with them.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote66"
+                    name="footnote66"></a><b>Footnote 66:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag66">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A Buddhist fiend.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote67"
+                    name="footnote67"></a><b>Footnote 67:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag67">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>In the old days, if a noble was murdered, and died
+        outside his own house, he was disgraced, and his estates
+        were forfeited. When the Regent of the Shogun was murdered,
+        some years since, outside the castle of Yedo, by a legal
+        fiction it was given out that he had died in his own
+        palace, in order that his son might succeed to his
+        estates.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote68"
+                    name="footnote68"></a><b>Footnote 68:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag68">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Level stirrups.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote69"
+                    name="footnote69"></a><b>Footnote 69:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag69">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>In the days of Shogun's power, the Mikado remained the
+        Fountain of Honour, and, as chief of the national religion
+        and the direct descendant of the gods, dispensed divine
+        honours.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote70"
+                    name="footnote70"></a><b>Footnote 70:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag70">(return)</a>
+
+        <table summary="sho and koku"
+               align="center">
+            <tr>
+                <td>10 Sho = 1 T&ocirc;.</td>
+            </tr>
+
+            <tr>
+                <td>10 T&ocirc; = 1 Koku.</td>
+            </tr>
+        </table>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote71"
+                    name="footnote71"></a><b>Footnote 71:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag71">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The apparently poor shaven-pated and blind shampooers of
+        Japan drive a thriving trade as money-lenders. They give
+        out small sums at an interest of 20 per cent. per
+        month&mdash;210 per cent. per annum&mdash;and woe betide
+        the luckless wight who falls into their clutches.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote72"
+                    name="footnote72"></a><b>Footnote 72:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag72">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The road of the Eastern Sea, the famous high-road
+        leading from Kiy&ocirc;to to Yedo. The name is also used to
+        indicate the provinces through which it runs.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote73"
+                    name="footnote73"></a><b>Footnote 73:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag73">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Mencius.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote74"
+                    name="footnote74"></a><b>Footnote 74:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag74">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Cats are found in Japan, as in the Isle of Man, with
+        stumps, where they should have tails. Sometimes this is the
+        result of art, sometimes of a natural shortcoming. The cats
+        of Yedo are of bad repute as mousers, their energies being
+        relaxed by much petting at the hands of ladies. The Cat of
+        Nab&eacute;shima, so says tradition, was a monster with two
+        tails.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote75"
+                    name="footnote75"></a><b>Footnote 75:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag75">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The family of the Prince of Hizen, one of the eighteen
+        chief Daimios of Japan.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote76"
+                    name="footnote76"></a><b>Footnote 76:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag76">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A restorative in high repute. The best sorts are brought
+        from Corea.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote77"
+                    name="footnote77"></a><b>Footnote 77:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag77">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The author of the "Kanzen-Yawa," the book from which the
+        story is taken.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote78"
+                    name="footnote78"></a><b>Footnote 78:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag78">(return)</a>
+
+        <p><i>Bu</i>. This coin is generally called by foreigners
+        "ichibu," which means "one bu." To talk of "<i>a hundred
+        ichibus</i>" is as though a Japanese were to say "<i>a
+        hundred one shillings."</i> Four bus make a
+        <i>riyo&gt;,</i> or ounce; and any sum above three bus is
+        spoken of as so many riyos and bus&mdash;as 101 riyos and
+        three bus equal 407 bus. The bu is worth about 1s. 4d.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote79"
+                    name="footnote79"></a><b>Footnote 79:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag79">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Inari Sama is the title under which was deified a
+        certain mythical personage, called Uga, to whom tradition
+        attributes the honour of having first discovered and
+        cultivated the rice-plant. He is represented carrying a few
+        ears of rice, and is symbolized by a snake guarding a bale
+        of rice grain. The foxes wait upon him, and do his bidding.
+        Inasmuch as rice is the most important and necessary
+        product of Japan, the honours which Inari Sama receives are
+        extraordinary. Almost every house in the country contains
+        somewhere about the grounds a pretty little shrine in his
+        honour; and on a certain day of the second month of the
+        year his feast is celebrated with much beating of drums and
+        other noises, in which the children take a special delight.
+        "On this day," says the &Ocirc;-Satsuy&ocirc;, a Japanese
+        cyclop&aelig;dia, "at Yedo, where there are myriads upon
+        myriads of shrines to Inari Sama, there are all sorts of
+        ceremonies. Long banners with inscriptions are erected,
+        lamps and lanterns are hung up, and the houses are decked
+        with various dolls and figures; the sound of flutes and
+        drums is heard, the people dance and make holiday according
+        to their fancy. In short, it is the most bustling festival
+        of the Yedo year."</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote80"
+                    name="footnote80"></a><b>Footnote 80:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag80">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A Buddhist prayer, in which something approaching to the
+        sounds of the original Sanscrit has been preserved. The
+        meaning of the prayer is explained as, "Save us, eternal
+        Buddha!" Many even of the priests who repeat it know it
+        only as a formula, without understanding it.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote81"
+                    name="footnote81"></a><b>Footnote 81:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag81">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>An island on the west coast of Japan, famous for its
+        gold mines.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote82"
+                    name="footnote82"></a><b>Footnote 82:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag82">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The author of the tale.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote83"
+                    name="footnote83"></a><b>Footnote 83:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag83">(return)</a>
+
+        <p><i>Inkiy&ocirc;</i>, abdication. The custom of
+        abdication is common among all classes, from the Emperor
+        down to his meanest subject. The Emperor abdicates after
+        consultation with his ministers: the Shogun has to obtain
+        the permission of the Emperor; the Daimios, that of the
+        Shogun. The abdication of the Emperor was called
+        <i>Sent&ocirc;</i>; that of the Shogun,
+        <i>Oyosh&ocirc;</i>; in all other ranks it is called
+        <i>Inkiy&ocirc;</i>. It must be remembered that the princes
+        of Japan, in becoming Inkiy&ocirc;, resign the semblance
+        and the name, but not the reality of power. Both in their
+        own provinces and in the country at large they play a most
+        important part. The ex-Princes of Tosa, Uwajima and Owari,
+        are far more notable men in Japan than the actual holders
+        of the titles.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote84"
+                    name="footnote84"></a><b>Footnote 84:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag84">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Kishimojin, a female deity of the Buddhists.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote85"
+                    name="footnote85"></a><b>Footnote 85:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag85">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The seven passions are joy, anger, sadness, fear, love,
+        hatred, and desire.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote86"
+                    name="footnote86"></a><b>Footnote 86:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag86">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>One of the Buddhist classics.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote87"
+                    name="footnote87"></a><b>Footnote 87:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag87">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>M&ocirc;shi, the Japanese pronunciation of the name of
+        the Chinese philosopher M&ecirc;ng Tse, whom Europeans call
+        Mencius.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote88"
+                    name="footnote88"></a><b>Footnote 88:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag88">(return)</a>
+
+        <div class="poem">
+            <div class="stanza">
+                <p>"The moon looks on many brooks;</p>
+
+                <p class="i2">The brooks see but one
+                moon."&mdash;T. MOORE.</p>
+            </div>
+        </div>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote89"
+                    name="footnote89"></a><b>Footnote 89:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag89">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The younger brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo, who first
+        established the government of the Shoguns. The battle of
+        Ichi-no-tani took place in the year A.D. 1184.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote90"
+                    name="footnote90"></a><b>Footnote 90:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag90">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Literally, "a dance of the Province of Tosa."</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote91"
+                    name="footnote91"></a><b>Footnote 91:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag91">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A famous actor of Yedo, who lived 195 years ago. He was
+        born at Sakura, in Shim&ocirc;sa.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote92"
+                    name="footnote92"></a><b>Footnote 92:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag92">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The ordinary wine-cup holding only a thimbleful, to
+        drink wine out of teacups is a great piece of
+        debauchery&mdash;like drinking brandy in tumblers.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote93"
+                    name="footnote93"></a><b>Footnote 93:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag93">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>K&ocirc;shi is the Japanese pronunciation of the name of
+        the Chinese philosopher Kung Ts&#363;, or Kung Fu Ts&#363;,
+        whom we call Confucius.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote94"
+                    name="footnote94"></a><b>Footnote 94:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag94">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Ancient divisions of China.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote95"
+                    name="footnote95"></a><b>Footnote 95:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag95">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Wine is almost always drunk hot.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote96"
+                    name="footnote96"></a><b>Footnote 96:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag96">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A famous gold- and silver-smith of the olden time. A
+        Benvenuto Cellini among the Japanese. His mark on a piece
+        of metal work enhances its value tenfold.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote97"
+                    name="footnote97"></a><b>Footnote 97:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag97">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Curiosities, such as porcelain or enamel or carved jade
+        from China, are highly esteemed by the Japanese. A great
+        quantity of the porcelain of Japan is stamped with
+        counterfeit Chinese marks of the Ming dynasty.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote98"
+                    name="footnote98"></a><b>Footnote 98:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag98">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>An incantation used to invite spiders, which are
+        considered unlucky by the superstitious, to come again at
+        the Greek Kalends.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote99"
+                    name="footnote99"></a><b>Footnote 99:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag99">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Two famous Indian and Chinese physicians.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote100"
+                    name="footnote100"></a><b>Footnote 100:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag100">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>All the temples in China and Japan have guests'
+        apartments, which may be secured for a trifle, either for a
+        long or short period. It is false to suppose that there is
+        any desecration of a sacred shrine in the act of using it
+        as a hostelry; it is the custom of the country.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote101"
+                    name="footnote101"></a><b>Footnote 101:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag101">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The second book of Confucius.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote102"
+                    name="footnote102"></a><b>Footnote 102:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag102">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Ashikaga, third dynasty of Shoguns, flourished from A.D.
+        1336 to 1568. The practice of suicide by disembowelling is
+        of great antiquity. This is the time when the ceremonies
+        attending it were invented.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote103"
+                    name="footnote103"></a><b>Footnote 103:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag103">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A b&acirc;ton with a tassel of paper strips, used for
+        giving directions in war-time.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote104"
+                    name="footnote104"></a><b>Footnote 104:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag104">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>See the story of the Forty-seven R&ocirc;nins.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote105"
+                    name="footnote105"></a><b>Footnote 105:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag105">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>No Japanese authority that I have been able to consult
+        gives any explanation of this singular name.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote106"
+                    name="footnote106"></a><b>Footnote 106:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag106">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>White, in China and Japan, is the colour of
+        mourning.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote107"
+                    name="footnote107"></a><b>Footnote 107:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag107">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The principal yashikis (palaces) of the nobles are for
+        the most part immediately round the Shogun's castle, in the
+        enclosure known as the official quarter. Their proximity to
+        the palace forbids their being made the scenes of
+        executions.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote108"
+                    name="footnote108"></a><b>Footnote 108:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag108">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A Japanese removes his sword on entering a house,
+        retaining only his dirk.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote109"
+                    name="footnote109"></a><b>Footnote 109:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag109">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>In Japan, where fires are of daily occurrence, the
+        fire-buckets and other utensils form part of the gala dress
+        of the house of a person of rank.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote110"
+                    name="footnote110"></a><b>Footnote 110:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag110">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Oishi Chikara was separated from his father, who was one
+        of the seventeen delivered over to the charge of the Prince
+        of Higo.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote111"
+                    name="footnote111"></a><b>Footnote 111:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag111">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>It should be placed about three feet away from him.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote112"
+                    name="footnote112"></a><b>Footnote 112:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag112">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Seated himself&mdash;that is, in the Japanese fashion,
+        his knees and toes touching the ground, and his body
+        resting on his heels. In this position, which is one of
+        respect, he remained until his death.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote113"
+                    name="footnote113"></a><b>Footnote 113:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag113">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Cf. Gibbon on Roman Marriages, <i>Decline and Fall of
+        the Roman Empire</i>, vol. iv. p. 345: "The contracting
+        parties were seated on the same sheepskin; they tasted a
+        salt cake of <i>far</i>, or rice; and this
+        <i>confarreation</i>, which denoted the ancient food of
+        Italy, served as an emblem of their mystic union of mind
+        and body."</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote114"
+                    name="footnote114"></a><b>Footnote 114:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag114">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The god who created Japan is called Kunitokodachi no
+        Mikoto. Seven generations of gods after his time existed
+        Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto&mdash;the first a
+        god, the second a goddess. As these two divine beings were
+        standing upon the floating bridge of heaven, two wagtails
+        came; and the gods, watching the amorous dalliance of the
+        two birds, invented the art of love. From their union thus
+        inaugurated sprang the mountains, the rivers, the grass,
+        the trees, the remainder of the gods, and mankind. Another
+        fable is, that as the two gods were standing on the
+        floating bridge of heaven, Izanagi no Mikoto, taking the
+        heavenly jewelled spear, stirred up the sea, and the drops
+        which fell from the point of it congealed and became an
+        island, which was called <i>Onokoro-jima</i>, on which the
+        two gods, descending from heaven, took up their abode.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote115"
+                    name="footnote115"></a><b>Footnote 115:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag115">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Each cup contains but a sip.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote116"
+                    name="footnote116"></a><b>Footnote 116:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag116">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>In the island of Takasago, in the province of Harima,
+        stands a pine-tree, called the "pine of mutual old age." At
+        the root the tree is single, but towards the centre it
+        springs into two stems&mdash;an old, old pine, models of
+        which are used at weddings as a symbol that the happy pair
+        shall reach old age together. Its evergreen leaves are an
+        emblem of the unchanging constancy of the heart. Figures of
+        an old man and woman under the tree are the spirits of the
+        old pine.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote117"
+                    name="footnote117"></a><b>Footnote 117:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag117">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>The partitions of a Japanese suite of apartments being
+        merely composed of paper sliding-screens, any number of
+        rooms, according to the size of the house, can be thrown
+        into one at a moment's notice.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote118"
+                    name="footnote118"></a><b>Footnote 118:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag118">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>A <i>kaiok&eacute;</i> is a kind of lacquer basin for
+        washing the hands and face.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote119"
+                    name="footnote119"></a><b>Footnote 119:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag119">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>Women in Japan are delivered in a kneeling position, and
+        after the birth of the child they remain night and day in a
+        squatting position, leaning back against a support, for
+        twenty-one days, after which they are allowed to recline.
+        Up to that time the recumbent position is supposed to
+        produce a dangerous rush of blood to the head.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote120"
+                    name="footnote120"></a><b>Footnote 120:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag120">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>This is only a nominal weaning. Japanese children are
+        not really weaned until far later than is ordinary in
+        Europe; and it is by no means uncommon to see a mother in
+        the poorer classes suckling a hulking child of from five to
+        seven years old. One reason given for this practice is,
+        that by this means the danger of having to provide for
+        large families is lessened.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote121"
+                    name="footnote121"></a><b>Footnote 121:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag121">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>For a few days previous to the ceremony the child's head
+        is not shaved.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote122"
+                    name="footnote122"></a><b>Footnote 122:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag122">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>From <i>Yeboshi</i>, a court cap, and <i>Na</i>, a
+        name.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote123"
+                    name="footnote123"></a><b>Footnote 123:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag123">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>On the subject of burning the dead, see a note to the
+        story of Ch&ocirc;bei of Bandzuin.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+
+    <blockquote class="footnote">
+        <a id="footnote124"
+                    name="footnote124"></a><b>Footnote 124:</b>
+                    <a href="#footnotetag124">(return)</a>
+
+        <p>After death a person receives a new name. For instance,
+        the famous Prince Tokugawa Iy&eacute;yasu entered salvation
+        as Gongen Sama. This name is called <i>okurina</i>, or the
+        accompanying name.</p>
+    </blockquote>
+    <br />
+    <br />
+    <hr class="full" />
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALES OF OLD JAPAN***</p>
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@@ -0,0 +1,14090 @@
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Tales of Old Japan, by Algernon Bertram
+Freeman-Mitford
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Tales of Old Japan
+
+Author: Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford
+
+Release Date: July 24, 2004  [eBook #13015]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALES OF OLD JAPAN***
+
+
+E-text prepared by Jonathan Ingram, Sandra Brown, and the Project
+Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+Note: The author, Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford (1837-1916), Lord
+      Redesdale, was in the British Foreign Service as a young man.
+      He was assigned to the legation in Japan for several years and
+      acquired a life-long fascination with Japanese culture. This
+      book has been a standard source of information about Japanese
+      folklore and customs since its original publication in 1871 and
+      has been in print ever since.
+
+      Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
+      file which includes the original illustrations.
+      See 13015-h.htm or 13015-h.zip:
+      (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/1/13015/13015-h/13015-h.htm)
+      or
+      (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/1/13015/13015-h.zip)
+
+
+
+
+
+TALES OF OLD JAPAN
+
+by
+
+LORD REDESDALE, G.C.V.O., K.C.B.
+Formerly Second Secretary to the British Legation in Japan
+
+With Illustrations Drawn and Cut on Wood by Japanese Artists
+
+1910
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THE RONINS INVITE KOTSUKE NO SUKE TO PERFORM
+HARA-KIRI.]
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+In the Introduction to the story of the Forty-seven Ronins, I have
+said almost as much as is needful by way of preface to my stories.
+
+Those of my readers who are most capable of pointing out the many
+shortcomings and faults of my work, will also be the most indulgent
+towards me; for any one who has been in Japan, and studied Japanese,
+knows the great difficulties by which the learner is beset.
+
+For the illustrations, at least, I feel that I need make no apology.
+Drawn, in the first instance, by one Odake, an artist in my employ,
+they were cut on wood by a famous wood-engraver at Yedo, and are
+therefore genuine specimens of Japanese art. Messrs. Dalziel, on
+examining the wood blocks, pointed out to me, as an interesting fact,
+that the lines are cut with the grain of the wood, after the manner of
+Albert Duerer and some of the old German masters,--a process which has
+been abandoned by modern European wood-engravers.
+
+It will be noticed that very little allusion is made in these Tales to
+the Emperor and his Court. Although I searched diligently, I was able
+to find no story in which they played a conspicuous part.
+
+Another class to which no allusion is made is that of the Goshi. The
+Goshi are a kind of yeomen, or bonnet-lairds, as they would be called
+over the border, living on their own land, and owning no allegiance to
+any feudal lord. Their rank is inferior to that of the Samurai, or men
+of the military class, between whom and the peasantry they hold a
+middle place. Like the Samurai, they wear two swords, and are in many
+cases prosperous and wealthy men claiming a descent more ancient than
+that of many of the feudal Princes. A large number of them are
+enrolled among the Emperor's body-guard; and these have played a
+conspicuous part in the recent political changes in Japan, as the most
+conservative and anti-foreign element in the nation.
+
+With these exceptions, I think that all classes are fairly
+represented in my stories.
+
+The feudal system has passed away like a dissolving view before the
+eyes of those who have lived in Japan during the last few years. But
+when they arrived there it was in full force, and there is not an
+incident narrated in the following pages, however strange it may
+appear to Europeans, for the possibility and probability of which
+those most competent to judge will not vouch. Nor, as many a recent
+event can prove, have heroism, chivalry, and devotion gone out of the
+land altogether. We may deplore and inveigh against the Yamato
+Damashi, or Spirit of Old Japan, which still breathes in the soul of
+the Samurai, but we cannot withhold our admiration from the
+self-sacrifices which men will still make for the love of their
+country.
+
+The first two of the Tales have already appeared in the _Fortnightly
+Review,_ and two of the Sermons, with a portion of the Appendix on the
+subject of the Hara-Kiri, in the pages of the _Cornhill Magazine_. I
+have to thank the editors of those periodicals for permission to
+reprint them here.
+
+LONDON, January 7, 1871
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+THE FORTY-SEVEN RONINS
+
+THE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI
+
+KAZUMA'S REVENGE
+
+A STORY OF THE OTOKODATE OF YEDO
+
+THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUYEMON
+
+THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO
+
+FAIRY TALES
+
+  THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
+  THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE
+  THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN
+  THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO BLOSSOM
+  THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB
+  THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE PEACHLING
+  THE FOXES' WEDDING
+  THE HISTORY OF SAKATA KINTOKI
+  THE ELVES AND THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR
+
+THE GHOST OF SAKURA
+
+HOW TAJIMA SHUME WAS TORMENTED BY A DEVIL OF HIS OWN CREATION
+
+CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS
+
+  THE VAMPIRE CAT OF NABESHIMA
+  THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT
+  HOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS HEAD SHAVED BY THE FOXES
+  THE GRATEFUL FOXES
+  THE BADGER'S MONEY
+  THE PRINCE AND THE BADGER
+
+JAPANESE SERMONS
+
+  THE SERMONS OF KIU-O, VOL. I. SERMON I.
+          "          "          SERMON II.
+          "          "          SERMON III.
+
+APPENDICES:--
+
+  AN ACCOUNT OF THE HARA-KIRI
+  THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY
+  ON THE BIRTH AND REARING OF CHILDREN
+  FUNERAL RITES
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  THE RONINS INVITE ROTSUKE NO SUKE TO PERFORM HARA-KIRI
+  THE WELL IN WHICH THE HEAD WAS WASHED
+  THE SATSUMA MAN INSULTS OISHI KURANOSUKE
+  THE TOMBS OF THE RONINS
+  THE TOMB OF THE SHIYOKU
+  GOMPACHI AWAKENED BY THE MAIDEN IN THE ROBBERS' DEN
+  FORGING THE SWORD
+  MATAGORO KILLS YUKIYE
+  THE DEATH OF DANYEMON
+  TRICKS OF SWORDSMANSHIP AT ASAKUSA
+  THE DEATH OF CHOBEI OF BANDZUIN
+  FUNAKOSHI JIUYEMON ON BOARD THE PIRATE SHIP
+  JIUYEMON PUNISHES HIS WIFE AND THE WRESTLER
+  FUNAKOSHI JIUYEMON AND THE GOBLINS
+  "GOKUMON"
+  CHAMPION WRESTLER
+  A WRESTLING MATCH
+  GENZABURO'S MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN
+  THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
+  THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW (2)
+  THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE
+  THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE (2)
+  THE HARE AND THE BADGER
+  THE HARE AND THE BADGER (2)
+  THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER
+  THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER (2)
+  THE APE AND THE CRAB
+  THE APE AND THE CRAB (2)
+  LITTLE PEACHLING
+  LITTLE PEACHLING (2)
+  THE FOXES' WEDDING
+  THE FOXES' WEDDING (2)
+  THE DEPUTATION OF PEASANTS AT THEIR LORD'S GATE
+  THE GHOST OF SAKURA
+  SOGORO THRUSTING THE PETITION INTO THE SHOGUN'S LITTER
+  THE CAT OF NABESHIMA
+  THE FEAST OF INARI SAMA
+  A JAPANESE SERMON
+
+
+
+
+THE FORTY-SEVEN RONINS
+
+
+The books which have been written of late years about Japan have
+either been compiled from official records, or have contained the
+sketchy impressions of passing travellers. Of the inner life of the
+Japanese the world at large knows but little: their religion, their
+superstitions, their ways of thought, the hidden springs by which they
+move--all these are as yet mysteries. Nor is this to be wondered at.
+The first Western men who came in contact with Japan--I am speaking
+not of the old Dutch and Portuguese traders and priests, but of the
+diplomatists and merchants of eleven years ago--met with a cold
+reception. Above all things, the native Government threw obstacles in
+the way of any inquiry into their language, literature, and history.
+The fact was that the Tycoon's Government--with whom alone, so long as
+the Mikado remained in seclusion in his sacred capital at Kioto, any
+relations were maintained--knew that the Imperial purple with which
+they sought to invest their chief must quickly fade before the strong
+sunlight which would be brought upon it so soon as there should be
+European linguists capable of examining their books and records. No
+opportunity was lost of throwing dust in the eyes of the new-comers,
+whom, even in the most trifling details, it was the official policy to
+lead astray. Now, however, there is no cause for concealment; the _Roi
+Faineant_ has shaken off his sloth, and his _Maire du Palais_,
+together, and an intelligible Government, which need not fear scrutiny
+from abroad, is the result: the records of the country being but so
+many proofs of the Mikado's title to power, there is no reason for
+keeping up any show of mystery. The path of inquiry is open to all;
+and although there is yet much to be learnt, some knowledge has been
+attained, in which it may interest those who stay at home to share.
+
+The recent revolution in Japan has wrought changes social as well as
+political; and it may be that when, in addition to the advance which
+has already been made, railways and telegraphs shall have connected
+the principal points of the Land of Sunrise, the old Japanese, such
+as he was and had been for centuries when we found him eleven short
+years ago, will have become extinct. It has appeared to me that no
+better means could be chosen of preserving a record of a curious and
+fast disappearing civilization than the translation of some of the
+most interesting national legends and histories, together with other
+specimens of literature bearing upon the same subject. Thus the
+Japanese may tell their own tale, their translator only adding here
+and there a few words of heading or tag to a chapter, where an
+explanation or amplification may seem necessary. I fear that the long
+and hard names will often make my tales tedious reading, but I believe
+that those who will bear with the difficulty will learn more of the
+character of the Japanese people than by skimming over descriptions of
+travel and adventure, however brilliant. The lord and his retainer,
+the warrior and the priest, the humble artisan and the despised Eta or
+pariah, each in his turn will become a leading character in my budget
+of stories; and it is out of the mouths of these personages that I
+hope to show forth a tolerably complete picture of Japanese society.
+
+Having said so much by way of preface, I beg my readers to fancy
+themselves wafted away to the shores of the Bay of Yedo--a fair,
+smiling landscape: gentle slopes, crested by a dark fringe of pines
+and firs, lead down to the sea; the quaint eaves of many a temple and
+holy shrine peep out here and there from the groves; the bay itself is
+studded with picturesque fisher-craft, the torches of which shine by
+night like glow-worms among the outlying forts; far away to the west
+loom the goblin-haunted heights of Oyama, and beyond the twin hills of
+the Hakone Pass--Fuji-Yama, the Peerless Mountain, solitary and grand,
+stands in the centre of the plain, from which it sprang vomiting
+flames twenty-one centuries ago.[1] For a hundred and sixty years the
+huge mountain has been at peace, but the frequent earthquakes still
+tell of hidden fires, and none can say when the red-hot stones and
+ashes may once more fall like rain over five provinces.
+
+In the midst of a nest of venerable trees in Takanawa, a suburb of
+Yedo, is hidden Sengakuji, or the Spring-hill Temple, renowned
+throughout the length and breadth of the land for its cemetery, which
+contains the graves of the Forty-seven. Ronins,[2] famous in Japanese
+history, heroes of Japanese drama, the tale of whose deeds I am about
+to transcribe.
+
+On the left-hand side of the main court of the temple is a chapel, in
+which, surmounted by a gilt figure of Kwanyin, the goddess of mercy,
+are enshrined the images of the forty-seven men, and of the master
+whom they loved so well. The statues are carved in wood, the faces
+coloured, and the dresses richly lacquered; as works of art they have
+great merit--the action of the heroes, each armed with his favourite
+weapon, being wonderfully life-like and spirited. Some are venerable
+men, with thin, grey hair (one is seventy-seven years old); others are
+mere boys of sixteen. Close by the chapel, at the side of a path
+leading up the hill, is a little well of pure water, fenced in and
+adorned with a tiny fernery, over which is an inscription, setting
+forth that "This is the well in which the head was washed; you must
+not wash your hands or your feet here." A little further on is a
+stall, at which a poor old man earns a pittance by selling books,
+pictures, and medals, commemorating the loyalty of the Forty-seven;
+and higher up yet, shaded by a grove of stately trees, is a neat
+inclosure, kept up, as a signboard announces, by voluntary
+contributions, round which are ranged forty-eight little tombstones,
+each decked with evergreens, each with its tribute of water and
+incense for the comfort of the departed spirit. There were forty-seven
+Ronins; there are forty-eight tombstones, and the story of the
+forty-eighth is truly characteristic of Japanese ideas of honour.
+Almost touching the rail of the graveyard is a more imposing monument
+under which lies buried the lord, whose death his followers piously
+avenged.
+
+[Footnote 1: According to Japanese tradition, in the fifth year of the
+Emperor Korei (286 B.C.), the earth opened in the province of Omi,
+near Kioto, and Lake Biwa, sixty miles long by about eighteen broad,
+was formed in the shape of a _Biwa_, or four-stringed lute, from which
+it takes its name. At the same time, to compensate for the depression
+of the earth, but at a distance of over three hundred miles from the
+lake, rose Fuji-Yama, the last eruption of which was in the year 1707.
+The last great earthquake at Yedo took place about fifteen years ago.
+Twenty thousand souls are said to have perished in it, and the dead
+were carried away and buried by cartloads; many persons, trying to
+escape from their falling and burning houses, were caught in great
+clefts, which yawned suddenly in the earth, and as suddenly closed
+upon the victims, crushing them to death. For several days heavy
+shocks continued to be felt, and the people camped out, not daring to
+return to such houses as had been spared, nor to build up those which
+lay in ruins.]
+
+[Footnote 2: The word _Ronin_ means, literally, a "wave-man"; one who
+is tossed about hither and thither, as a wave of the sea. It is used
+to designate persons of gentle blood, entitled to bear arms, who,
+having become separated from their feudal lords by their own act, or
+by dismissal, or by fate, wander about the country in the capacity of
+somewhat disreputable knights-errant, without ostensible means of
+living, in some cases offering themselves for hire to new masters, in
+others supporting themselves by pillage; or who, falling a grade in
+the social scale, go into trade, and become simple wardsmen. Sometimes
+it happens that for political reasons a man will become Ronin, in
+order that his lord may not be implicated in some deed of blood in
+which he is about to engage. Sometimes, also, men become Ronins, and
+leave their native place for a while, until some scrape in which they
+have become entangled shall have blown over; after which they return
+to their former allegiance. Nowadays it is not unusual for men to
+become Ronins for a time, and engage themselves in the service of
+foreigners at the open ports, even in menial capacities, in the hope
+that they may pick up something of the language and lore of Western
+folks. I know instances of men of considerable position who have
+adopted this course in their zeal for education.]
+
+And now for the story.
+
+At the beginning of the eighteenth century there lived a daimio,
+called Asano Takumi no Kami, the Lord of the castle of Ako, in the
+province of Harima. Now it happened that an Imperial ambassador from
+the Court of the Mikado having been sent to the Shogun[3] at Yedo,
+Takumi no Kami and another noble called Kamei Sama were appointed to
+receive and feast the envoy; and a high official, named Kira Kotsuke
+no Suke, was named to teach them the proper ceremonies to be observed
+upon the occasion. The two nobles were accordingly forced to go daily
+to the castle to listen to the instructions of Kotsuke no Suke. But
+this Kotsuke no Suke was a man greedy of money; and as he deemed that
+the presents which the two daimios, according to time-honoured custom,
+had brought him in return for his instruction were mean and unworthy,
+he conceived a great hatred against them, and took no pains in
+teaching them, but on the contrary rather sought to make
+laughing-stocks of them. Takumi no Kami, restrained by a stern sense
+of duty, bore his insults with patience; but Kamei Sama, who had less
+control over his temper, was violently incensed, and determined to
+kill Kotsuke no Suke.
+
+[Footnote 3: The full title of the Tycoon was Sei-i-tai-Shogun,
+"Barbarian-repressing Commander-in-chief." The style Tai Kun, Great
+Prince, was borrowed, in order to convey the idea of sovereignty to
+foreigners, at the time of the conclusion of the Treaties. The envoys
+sent by the Mikado from Kioto to communicate to the Shogun the will of
+his sovereign were received with Imperial honours, and the duty of
+entertaining them was confided to nobles of rank. The title
+Sei-i-tai-Shogun was first borne by Minamoto no Yoritomo, in the
+seventh month of the year A.D. 1192.]
+
+[Illustration: THE WELL IN WHICH THE HEAD WAS WASHED.]
+
+One night when his duties at the castle were ended, Kamei Sama
+returned to his own palace, and having summoned his councillors[4] to
+a secret conference, said to them: "Kotsuke no Suke has insulted
+Takumi no Kami and myself during our service in attendance on the
+Imperial envoy. This is against all decency, and I was minded to kill
+him on the spot; but I bethought me that if I did such a deed within
+the precincts of the castle, not only would my own life be forfeit,
+but my family and vassals would be ruined: so I stayed my hand. Still
+the life of such a wretch is a sorrow to the people, and to-morrow
+when I go to Court I will slay him: my mind is made up, and I will
+listen to no remonstrance." And as he spoke his face became livid with
+rage.
+
+[Footnote 4: Councillor, lit. "elder." The councillors of daimios were
+of two classes: the _Karo_, or "elder," an hereditary office, held by
+cadets of the Prince's family, and the _Yonin_, or "man of business,"
+who was selected on account of his merits. These "councillors" play no
+mean part in Japanese history.]
+
+Now one of Kamei Sama's councillors was a man of great judgment, and
+when he saw from his lord's manner that remonstrance would be useless,
+he said: "Your lordship's words are law; your servant will make all
+preparations accordingly; and to-morrow, when your lordship goes to
+Court, if this Kotsuke no Suke should again be insolent, let him die
+the death." And his lord was pleased at this speech, and waited with
+impatience for the day to break, that he might return to Court and
+kill his enemy.
+
+But the councillor went home, and was sorely troubled, and thought
+anxiously about what his prince had said. And as he reflected, it
+occurred to him that since Kotsuke no Suke had the reputation of being
+a miser he would certainly be open to a bribe, and that it was better
+to pay any sum, no matter how great, than that his lord and his house
+should be ruined. So he collected all the money he could, and, giving
+it to his servants to carry, rode off in the night to Kotsuke no
+Suke's palace, and said to his retainers: "My master, who is now in
+attendance upon the Imperial envoy, owes much thanks to my Lord
+Kotsuke no Suke, who has been at so great pains to teach him the
+proper ceremonies to be observed during the reception of the Imperial
+envoy. This is but a shabby present which he has sent by me, but he
+hopes that his lordship will condescend to accept it, and commends
+himself to his lordship's favour." And, with these words, he produced
+a thousand ounces of silver for Kotsuke no Suke, and a hundred ounces
+to be distributed among his retainers.
+
+When the latter saw the money their eyes sparkled with pleasure, and
+they were profuse in their thanks; and begging the councillor to wait
+a little, they went and told their master of the lordly present which
+had arrived with a polite message from Kamei Sama. Kotsuke no Suke in
+eager delight sent for the councillor into an inner chamber, and,
+after thanking him, promised on the morrow to instruct his master
+carefully in all the different points of etiquette. So the councillor,
+seeing the miser's glee, rejoiced at the success of his plan; and
+having taken his leave returned home in high spirits. But Kamei Sama,
+little thinking how his vassal had propitiated his enemy, lay brooding
+over his vengeance, and on the following morning at daybreak went to
+Court in solemn procession.
+
+When Kotsuke no Suke met him his manner had completely changed, and
+nothing could exceed his courtesy. "You have come early to Court this
+morning, my Lord Kamei," said he. "I cannot sufficiently admire your
+zeal. I shall have the honour to call your attention to several points
+of etiquette to-day. I must beg your lordship to excuse my previous
+conduct, which must have seemed very rude; but I am naturally of a
+cross-grained disposition, so I pray you to forgive me." And as he
+kept on humbling himself and making fair speeches, the heart of Kamei
+Sama was gradually softened, and he renounced his intention of killing
+him. Thus by the cleverness of his councillor was Kamei Sama, with all
+his house, saved from ruin.
+
+Shortly after this, Takumi no Kami, who had sent no present, arrived
+at the castle, and Kotsuke no Suke turned him into ridicule even more
+than before, provoking him with sneers and covert insults; but Takumi
+no Kami affected to ignore all this, and submitted himself patiently
+to Kotsuke no Suke's orders.
+
+This conduct, so far from producing a good effect, only made Kotsuke
+no Suke despise him the more, until at last he said haughtily: "Here,
+my Lord of Takumi, the ribbon of my sock has come untied; be so good
+as to tie it up for me."
+
+Takumi no Kami, although burning with rage at the affront, still
+thought that as he was on duty he was bound to obey, and tied up the
+ribbon of the sock. Then Kotsuke no Suke, turning from him, petulantly
+exclaimed: "Why, how clumsy you are! You cannot so much as tie up the
+ribbon of a sock properly! Any one can see that you are a boor from
+the country, and know nothing of the manners of Yedo." And with a
+scornful laugh he moved towards an inner room.
+
+But the patience of Takumi no Kami was exhausted; this last insult was
+more than he could bear.
+
+"Stop a moment, my lord," cried he.
+
+"Well, what is it?" replied the other. And, as he turned round, Takumi
+no Kami drew his dirk, and aimed a blow at his head; but Kotsuke no
+Suke, being protected by the Court cap which he wore, the wound was
+but a scratch, so he ran away; and Takumi no Kami, pursuing him, tried
+a second time to cut him down, but, missing his aim, struck his dirk
+into a pillar. At this moment an officer, named Kajikawa Yosobei,
+seeing the affray, rushed up, and holding back the infuriated noble,
+gave Kotsuke no Suke time to make good his escape.
+
+Then there arose a great uproar and confusion, and Takumi no Kami was
+arrested and disarmed, and confined in one of the apartments of the
+palace under the care of the censors. A council was held, and the
+prisoner was given over to the safeguard of a daimio, called Tamura
+Ukiyo no Daibu, who kept him in close custody in his own house, to
+the great grief of his wife and of his retainers; and when the
+deliberations of the council were completed, it was decided that, as
+he had committed an outrage and attacked another man within the
+precincts of the palace, he must perform _hara-kiri_,--that is, commit
+suicide by disembowelling; his goods must be confiscated, and his
+family ruined. Such was the law. So Takumi no Kami performed
+_hara-kiri_, his castle of Ako was confiscated, and his retainers
+having become Ronins, some of them took service with other daimios,
+and others became merchants.
+
+Now amongst these retainers was his principal councillor, a man called
+Oishi Kuranosuke, who, with forty-six other faithful dependants,
+formed a league to avenge their master's death by killing Kotsuke no
+Suke. This Oishi Kuranosuke was absent at the castle of Ako at the
+time of the affray, which, had he been with his prince, would never
+have occurred; for, being a wise man, he would not have failed to
+propitiate Kotsuke no Suke by sending him suitable presents; while the
+councillor who was in attendance on the prince at Yedo was a dullard,
+who neglected this precaution, and so caused the death of his master
+and the ruin of his house.
+
+So Oishi Kuranosuke and his forty-six companions began to lay their
+plans of vengeance against Kotsuke no Suke; but the latter was so well
+guarded by a body of men lent to him by a daimio called Uyesugi Sama,
+whose daughter he had married, that they saw that the only way of
+attaining their end would be to throw their enemy off his guard. With
+this object they separated and disguised themselves, some as
+carpenters or craftsmen, others as merchants; and their chief,
+Kuranosuke, went to Kioto, and built a house in the quarter called
+Yamashina, where he took to frequenting houses of the worst repute,
+and gave himself up to drunkenness and debauchery, as if nothing were
+further from his mind than revenge. Kotsuke no Suke, in the meanwhile,
+suspecting that Takumi no Kami's former retainers would be scheming
+against his life, secretly sent spies to Kioto, and caused a faithful
+account to be kept of all that Kuranosuke did. The latter, however,
+determined thoroughly to delude the enemy into a false security, went
+on leading a dissolute life with harlots and winebibbers. One day, as
+he was returning home drunk from some low haunt, he fell down in the
+street and went to sleep, and all the passers-by laughed him to scorn.
+It happened that a Satsuma man saw this, and said: "Is not this Oishi
+Kuranosuke, who was a councillor of Asano Takumi no Kami, and who, not
+having the heart to avenge his lord, gives himself up to women and
+wine? See how he lies drunk in the public street! Faithless beast!
+Fool and craven! Unworthy the name of a Samurai!"[5]
+
+[Footnote 5: _Samurai_, a man belonging to the _Buke_ or military
+class, entitled to bear arms.]
+
+[Illustration: THE SATSUMA MAN INSULTS OISHI KURANOSUKE.]
+
+And he trod on Kuranosuke's face as he slept, and spat upon him; but
+when Kotsuke no Suke's spies reported all this at Yedo, he was greatly
+relieved at the news, and felt secure from danger.
+
+One day Kuranosuke's wife, who was bitterly grieved to see her husband
+lead this abandoned life, went to him and said: "My lord, you told me
+at first that your debauchery was but a trick to make your enemy relax
+in watchfulness. But indeed, indeed, this has gone too far. I pray and
+beseech you to put some restraint upon yourself."
+
+"Trouble me not," replied Kuranosuke, "for I will not listen to your
+whining. Since my way of life is displeasing to you, I will divorce
+you, and you may go about your business; and I will buy some pretty
+young girl from one of the public-houses, and marry her for my
+pleasure. I am sick of the sight of an old woman like you about the
+house, so get you gone--the sooner the better."
+
+So saying, he flew into a violent rage, and his wife, terror-stricken,
+pleaded piteously for mercy.
+
+"Oh, my lord! unsay those terrible words! I have been your faithful
+wife for twenty years, and have borne you three children; in sickness
+and in sorrow I have been with you; you cannot be so cruel as to turn
+me out of doors now. Have pity! have pity!"
+
+"Cease this useless wailing. My mind is made up, and you must go; and
+as the children are in my way also, you are welcome to take them with
+you."
+
+When she heard her husband speak thus, in her grief she sought her
+eldest son, Oishi Chikara, and begged him to plead for her, and pray
+that she might be pardoned. But nothing would turn Kuranosuke from his
+purpose, so his wife was sent away, with the two younger children, and
+went back to her native place. But Oishi Chikara remained with his
+father.
+
+The spies communicated all this without fail to Kotsuke no Suke, and
+he, when he heard how Kuranosuke, having turned his wife and children
+out of doors and bought a concubine, was grovelling in a life of
+drunkenness and lust, began to think that he had no longer anything to
+fear from the retainers of Takumi no Kami, who must be cowards,
+without the courage to avenge their lord. So by degrees he began to
+keep a less strict watch, and sent back half of the guard which had
+been lent to him by his father-in-law, Uyesugi Sama. Little did he
+think how he was falling into the trap laid for him by Kuranosuke,
+who, in his zeal to slay his lord's enemy, thought nothing of
+divorcing his wife and sending away his children! Admirable and
+faithful man!
+
+In this way Kuranosuke continued to throw dust in the eyes of his foe,
+by persisting in his apparently shameless conduct; but his associates
+all went to Yedo, and, having in their several capacities as workmen
+and pedlars contrived to gain access to Kotsuke no Suke's house, made
+themselves familiar with the plan of the building and the arrangement
+of the different rooms, and ascertained the character of the inmates,
+who were brave and loyal men, and who were cowards; upon all of which
+matters they sent regular reports to Kuranosuke. And when at last it
+became evident from the letters which arrived from Yedo that Kotsuke
+no Suke was thoroughly off his guard, Kuranosuke rejoiced that the day
+of vengeance was at hand; and, having appointed a trysting-place at
+Yedo, he fled secretly from Kioto, eluding the vigilance of his
+enemy's spies. Then the forty-seven men, having laid all their plans,
+bided their time patiently.
+
+It was now midwinter, the twelfth month of the year, and the cold was
+bitter. One night, during a heavy fall of snow, when the whole world
+was hushed, and peaceful men were stretched in sleep upon the mats,
+the Ronins determined that no more favourable opportunity could occur
+for carrying out their purpose. So they took counsel together, and,
+having divided their band into two parties, assigned to each man his
+post. One band, led by Oishi Kuranosuke, was to attack the front gate,
+and the other, under his son Oishi Chikara, was to attack the postern
+of Kotsuke no Suke's house; but as Chikara was only sixteen years of
+age, Yoshida Chiuzayemon was appointed to act as his guardian. Further
+it was arranged that a drum, beaten at the order of Kuranosuke, should
+be the signal for the simultaneous attack; and that if any one slew
+Kotsuke no Suke and cut off his head he should blow a shrill whistle,
+as a signal to his comrades, who would hurry to the spot, and, having
+identified the head, carry it off to the temple called Sengakuji, and
+lay it as an offering before the tomb of their dead lord. Then they
+must report their deed to the Government, and await the sentence of
+death which would surely be passed upon them. To this the Ronins one
+and all pledged themselves. Midnight was fixed upon as the hour, and
+the forty-seven comrades, having made all ready for the attack,
+partook of a last farewell feast together, for on the morrow they must
+die. Then Oishi Kuranosuke addressed the band, and said--
+
+"To-night we shall attack our enemy in his palace; his retainers will
+certainly resist us, and we shall be obliged to kill them. But to slay
+old men and women and children is a pitiful thing; therefore, I pray
+you each one to take great heed lest you kill a single helpless
+person." His comrades all applauded this speech, and so they remained,
+waiting for the hour of midnight to arrive.
+
+When the appointed hour came, the Ronins set forth. The wind howled
+furiously, and the driving snow beat in their faces; but little cared
+they for wind or snow as they hurried on their road, eager for
+revenge. At last they reached Kotsuke no Suke's house, and divided
+themselves into two bands; and Chikara, with twenty-three men, went
+round to the back gate. Then four men, by means of a ladder of ropes
+which they hung on to the roof of the porch, effected an entry into
+the courtyard; and, as they saw signs that all the inmates of the
+house were asleep, they went into the porter's lodge where the guard
+slept, and, before the latter had time to recover from their
+astonishment, bound them. The terrified guard prayed hard for mercy,
+that their lives might be spared; and to this the Ronins agreed on
+condition that the keys of the gate should be given up; but the others
+tremblingly said that the keys were kept in the house of one of their
+officers, and that they had no means of obtaining them. Then the
+Ronins lost patience, and with a hammer dashed in pieces the big
+wooden bolt which secured the gate, and the doors flew open to the
+right and to the left. At the same time Chikara and his party broke in
+by the back gate.
+
+Then Oishi Kuranosuke sent a messenger to the neighbouring houses,
+bearing the following message:--"We, the Ronins who were formerly in
+the service of Asano Takumi no Kami, are this night about to break
+into the palace of Kotsuke no Suke, to avenge our lord. As we are
+neither night robbers nor ruffians, no hurt will be done to the
+neighbouring houses. We pray you to set your minds at rest." And as
+Kotsuke no Suke was hated by his neighbours for his covetousness, they
+did not unite their forces to assist him. Another precaution was yet
+taken. Lest any of the people inside should run out to call the
+relations of the family to the rescue, and these coming in force
+should interfere with the plans of the Ronins, Kuranosuke stationed
+ten of his men armed with bows on the roof of the four sides of the
+courtyard, with orders to shoot any retainers who might attempt to
+leave the place. Having thus laid all his plans and posted his men,
+Kuranosuke with his own hand beat the drum and gave the signal for
+attack.
+
+Ten of Kotsuke no Suke's retainers, hearing the noise, woke up; and,
+drawing their swords, rushed into the front room to defend their
+master. At this moment the Ronins, who had burst open the door of the
+front hall, entered the same room. Then arose a furious fight between
+the two parties, in the midst of which Chikara, leading his men
+through the garden, broke into the back of the house; and Kotsuke no
+Suke, in terror of his life, took refuge, with his wife and female
+servants, in a closet in the verandah; while the rest of his
+retainers, who slept in the barrack outside the house, made ready to
+go to the rescue. But the Ronins who had come in by the front door,
+and were fighting with the ten retainers, ended by overpowering and
+slaying the latter without losing one of their own number; after
+which, forcing their way bravely towards the back rooms, they were
+joined by Chikara and his men, and the two bands were united in one.
+
+By this time the remainder of Kotsuke no Suke's men had come in, and
+the fight became general; and Kuranosuke, sitting on a camp-stool,
+gave his orders and directed the Ronins. Soon the inmates of the house
+perceived that they were no match for their enemy, so they tried to
+send out intelligence of their plight to Uyesugi Sama, their lord's
+father-in-law, begging him to come to the rescue with all the force
+at his command. But the messengers were shot down by the archers whom
+Kuranosuke had posted on the roof. So no help coming, they fought on
+in despair. Then Kuranosuke cried out with a loud voice: "Kotsuke no
+Suke alone is our enemy; let some one go inside and bring him forth.
+dead or alive!"
+
+Now in front of Kotsuke no Suke's private room stood three brave
+retainers with drawn swords. The first was Kobayashi Hehachi, the
+second was Waku Handaiyu, and the third was Shimidzu Ikkaku, all good
+men and true, and expert swordsmen. So stoutly did these men lay about
+them that for a while they kept the whole of the Ronins at bay, and at
+one moment even forced them back. When Oishi Kuranosuke saw this, he
+ground his teeth with rage, and shouted to his men: "What! did not
+every man of you swear to lay down his life in avenging his lord, and
+now are you driven back by three men? Cowards, not fit to be spoken
+to! to die fighting in a master's cause should be the noblest ambition
+of a retainer!" Then turning to his own son Chikara, he said, "Here,
+boy! engage those men, and if they are too strong for you, die!"
+
+Spurred by these words, Chikara seized a spear and gave battle to Waku
+Handaiyu, but could not hold his ground, and backing by degrees, was
+driven out into the garden, where he missed his footing and slipped
+into a pond, but as Handaiyu, thinking to kill him, looked down into
+the pond, Chikara cut his enemy in the leg and caused him to fall, and
+then, crawling out of the water dispatched him. In the meanwhile
+Kobayashi Hehachi and Shimidzu Ikkaku had been killed by the other
+Ronins, and of all Kotsuke no Suke's retainers not one fighting man
+remained. Chikara, seeing this, went with his bloody sword in his hand
+into a back room to search for Kotsuke no Suke, but he only found the
+son of the latter, a young lord named Kira Sahioye, who, carrying a
+halberd, attacked him, but was soon wounded and fled. Thus the whole
+of Kotsuke no Suke's men having been killed, there was an end of the
+fighting; but as yet there was no trace of Kotsuke no Suke to be
+found.
+
+Then Kuranosuke divided his men into several parties and searched the
+whole house, but all in vain; women and children weeping were alone to
+be seen. At this the forty-seven men began to lose heart in regret,
+that after all their toil they had allowed their enemy to escape them,
+and there was a moment when in their despair they agreed to commit
+suicide together upon the spot; but they determined to make one more
+effort. So Kuranosuke went into Kotsuke no Suke's sleeping-room, and
+touching the quilt with his hands, exclaimed, "I have just felt the
+bed-clothes and they are yet warm, and so methinks that our enemy is
+not far off. He must certainly be hidden somewhere in the house."
+Greatly excited by this, the Ronins renewed their search. Now in the
+raised part of the room, near the place of honour, there was a picture
+hanging; taking down this picture, they saw that there was a large
+hole in the plastered wall, and on thrusting a spear in they could
+feel nothing beyond it. So one of the Ronins, called Yazama Jiutaro,
+got into the hole, and found that on the other side there was a little
+courtyard, in which there stood an outhouse for holding charcoal and
+firewood. Looking into the outhouse, he spied something white at the
+further end, at which he struck with his spear, when two armed men
+sprang out upon him and tried to cut him down, but he kept them back
+until one of his comrades came up and killed one of the two men and
+engaged the other, while Jiutaro entered the outhouse and felt about
+with his spear. Again seeing something white, he struck it with his
+lance, when a cry of pain betrayed that it was a man; so he rushed up,
+and the man in white clothes, who had been wounded in the thigh, drew
+a dirk and aimed a blow at him. But Jiutaro wrested the dirk from him,
+and clutching him by the collar, dragged him out of the outhouse. Then
+the other Ronin came up, and they examined the prisoner attentively,
+and saw that he was a noble-looking man, some sixty years of age,
+dressed in a white satin sleeping-robe, which was stained by the blood
+from the thigh-wound which, Jiutaro had inflicted. The two men felt
+convinced that this was no other than Kotsuke no Suke, and they asked
+him his name, but he gave no answer, so they gave the signal whistle,
+and all their comrades collected together at the call; then Oishi
+Kuranosuke, bringing a lantern, scanned the old man's features, and it
+was indeed Kotsuke no Suke; and if further proof were wanting, he
+still bore a scar on his forehead where their master, Asano Takumi no
+Kami, had wounded him during the affray in the castle. There being no
+possibility of mistake, therefore, Oishi Kuranosuke went down on his
+knees, and addressing the old man very respectfully, said--
+
+"My lord, we are the retainers of Asano Takumi no Kami. Last year your
+lordship and our master quarrelled in the palace, and our master was
+sentenced to _hara-kiri,_ and his family was ruined. We have come
+to-night to avenge him, as is the duty of faithful and loyal men. I
+pray your lordship to acknowledge the justice of our purpose. And now,
+my lord, we beseech you to perform _hara-kiri_. I myself shall have
+the honour to act as your second, and when, with all humility, I shall
+have received your lordship's head, it is my intention to lay it as an
+offering upon the grave of Asano Takumi no Kami."
+
+Thus, in consideration of the high rank of Kotsuke no Suke, the Ronins
+treated him with the greatest courtesy, and over and over again
+entreated him to perform _hara-kiri._ But he crouched speechless and
+trembling. At last Kuranosuke, seeing that it was vain to urge him to
+die the death of a nobleman, forced him down, and cut off his head
+with the same dirk with which Asano Takumi no Kami had killed himself.
+Then the forty-seven comrades, elated at having accomplished their
+design, placed the head in a bucket, and prepared to depart; but
+before leaving the house they carefully extinguished all the lights
+and fires in the place, lest by any accident a fire should break out
+and the neighbours suffer.
+
+As they were on their way to Takanawa, the suburb in which the temple
+called Sengakuji stands, the day broke; and the people flocked out to
+see the forty-seven men, who, with their clothes and arms all
+blood-stained, presented a terrible appearance; and every one praised
+them, wondering at their valour and faithfulness. But they expected
+every moment that Kotsuke no Suke's father-in-law would attack them
+and carry off the head, and made ready to die bravely sword in hand.
+However, they reached Takanawa in safety, for Matsudaira Aki no Kami,
+one of the eighteen chief daimios of Japan, of whose house Asano
+Takumi no Kami had been a cadet, had been highly pleased when he heard
+of the last night's work, and he had made ready to assist the Ronins
+in case they were attacked. So Kotsuke no Suke's father-in-law dared
+not pursue them.
+
+At about seven in the morning they came opposite to the palace of
+Matsudaira Mutsu no Kami, the Prince of Sendai, and the Prince,
+hearing of it, sent for one of his councillors and said: "The
+retainers of Takumi no Kami have slain their lord's enemy, and are
+passing this way; I cannot sufficiently admire their devotion, so, as
+they must be tired and hungry after their night's work, do you go and
+invite them to come in here, and set some gruel and a cup of wine
+before them."
+
+So the councillor went out and said to Oishi Kuranosuke: "Sir, I am a
+councillor of the Prince of Sendai, and my master bids me beg you, as
+you must be worn out after all you have undergone, to come in and
+partake of such poor refreshment as we can offer you. This is my
+message to you from my lord."
+
+"I thank you, sir," replied Kuranosuke. "It is very good of his
+lordship to trouble himself to think of us. We shall accept his
+kindness gratefully."
+
+So the forty-seven Ronins went into the palace, and were feasted with
+gruel and wine, and all the retainers of the Prince of Sendai came and
+praised them.
+
+Then Kuranosuke turned to the councillor and said, "Sir, we are truly
+indebted to you for this kind hospitality; but as we have still to
+hurry to Sengakuji, we must needs humbly take our leave." And, after
+returning many thanks to their hosts, they left the palace of the
+Prince of Sendai and hastened to Sengakuji, where they were met by the
+abbot of the monastery, who went to the front gate to receive them,
+and led them to the tomb of Takumi no Kami.
+
+And when they came to their lord's grave, they took the head of
+Kotsuke no Suke, and having washed it clean in a well hard by, laid it
+as an offering before the tomb. When they had done this, they engaged
+the priests of the temple to come and read prayers while they burnt
+incense: first Oishi Kuranosuke burnt incense, and then his son Oishi
+Chikara, and after them the other forty-five men performed the same
+ceremony. Then Kuranosuke, having given all the money that he had by
+him to the abbot, said--
+
+"When we forty-seven men shall have performed _hara-kiri_, I beg you
+to bury us decently. I rely upon your kindness. This is but a trifle
+that I have to offer; such as it is, let it be spent in masses for our
+souls!"
+
+And the abbot, marvelling at the faithful courage of the men, with
+tears in his eyes pledged himself to fulfil their wishes. So the
+forty-seven Ronins, with their minds at rest, waited patiently until
+they should receive the orders of the Government.
+
+At last they were summoned to the Supreme Court, where the governors
+of Yedo and the public censors had assembled; and the sentence passed
+upon them was as follows: "Whereas, neither respecting the dignity of
+the city nor fearing the Government, having leagued yourselves
+together to slay your enemy, you violently broke into the house of
+Kira Kotsuke no Suke by night and murdered him, the sentence of the
+Court is, that, for this audacious conduct, you perform _hara-kiri_."
+When the sentence had been read, the forty-seven Ronins were divided
+into four parties, and handed over to the safe keeping of four
+different daimios; and sheriffs were sent to the palaces of those
+daimios in whose presence the Ronins were made to perform _hara-kiri_.
+But, as from the very beginning they had all made up their minds that
+to this end they must come, they met their death nobly; and their
+corpses were carried to Sengakuji, and buried in front of the tomb of
+their master, Asano Takumi no Kami. And when the fame of this became
+noised abroad, the people flocked to pray at the graves of these
+faithful men.
+
+[Illustration: THE TOMBS OF THE RONINS.]
+
+Among those who came to pray was a Satsuma man, who, prostrating
+himself before the grave of Oishi Kuranosuke, said: "When I saw you
+lying drunk by the roadside at Yamashina, in Kioto, I knew not that
+you were plotting to avenge your lord; and, thinking you to be a
+faithless man, I trampled on you and spat in your face as I passed.
+And now I have come to ask pardon and offer atonement for the insult
+of last year." With those words he prostrated himself again before the
+grave, and, drawing a dirk from his girdle, stabbed himself in the
+belly and died. And the chief priest of the temple, taking pity upon
+him, buried him by the side of the Ronins; and his tomb still remains
+to be seen with those of the forty-seven comrades.
+
+This is the end of the story of the forty-seven Ronins.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A terrible picture of fierce heroism which it is impossible not to
+admire. In the Japanese mind this feeling of admiration is unmixed,
+and hence it is that the forty-seven Ronins receive almost divine
+honours. Pious hands still deck their graves with green boughs and
+burn incense upon them; the clothes and arms which they wore are
+preserved carefully in a fire-proof store-house attached to the
+temple, and exhibited yearly to admiring crowds, who behold them
+probably with little less veneration than is accorded to the relics of
+Aix-la-Chapelle or Treves; and once in sixty years the monks of
+Sengakuji reap quite a harvest for the good of their temple by holding
+a commemorative fair or festival, to which the people flock during
+nearly two months.
+
+A silver key once admitted me to a private inspection of the relics.
+We were ushered, my friend and myself, into a back apartment of the
+spacious temple, overlooking one of those marvellous miniature
+gardens, cunningly adorned with rockeries and dwarf trees, in which
+the Japanese delight. One by one, carefully labelled and indexed boxes
+containing the precious articles were brought out and opened by the
+chief priest. Such a curious medley of old rags and scraps of metal
+and wood! Home-made chain armour, composed of wads of leather secured
+together by pieces of iron, bear witness to the secrecy with which the
+Ronins made ready for the fight. To have bought armour would have
+attracted attention, so they made it with their own hands. Old
+moth-eaten surcoats, bits of helmets, three flutes, a writing-box that
+must have been any age at the time of the tragedy, and is now tumbling
+to pieces; tattered trousers of what once was rich silk brocade, now
+all unravelled and befringed; scraps of leather, part of an old
+gauntlet, crests and badges, bits of sword handles, spear-heads and
+dirks, the latter all red with rust, but with certain patches more
+deeply stained as if the fatal clots of blood were never to be blotted
+out: all these were reverently shown to us. Among the confusion and
+litter were a number of documents, Yellow with age and much worn at
+the folds. One was a plan of Kotsuke no Suke's house, which one of
+the Ronins obtained by marrying the daughter of the builder who
+designed it. Three of the manuscripts appeared to me so curious that I
+obtained leave to have copies taken of them.
+
+The first is the receipt given by the retainers of Kotsuke no Suke's
+son in return for the head of their lord's father, which the priests
+restored to the family, and runs as follows:--
+
+  "MEMORANDUM:--
+  ITEM. ONE HEAD.
+  ITEM. ONE PAPER PARCEL.
+  The above articles are acknowledged to have been received.
+               Signed, { SAYADA MAGOBELI.  (_Loc. sigill._)
+                       { SAITO KUNAI.      (_Loc. sigill._)
+
+  "To the priests deputed from the Temple Sengakuji,
+      His Reverence SEKISHI,
+      His Reverence ICHIDON."
+
+The second paper is a document explanatory of their conduct, a copy of
+which was found on the person of each of the forty-seven men:--
+
+   "Last year, in the third month, Asano Takumi no Kami, upon the
+   occasion of the entertainment of the Imperial ambassador, was
+   driven, by the force of circumstances, to attack and wound my
+   Lord Kotsuke no Suke in the castle, in order to avenge an
+   insult offered to him. Having done this without considering the
+   dignity of the place, and having thus disregarded all rules of
+   propriety, he was condemned to _hara-kiri,_ and his property
+   and castle of Ako were forfeited to the State, and were
+   delivered up by his retainers to the officers deputed by the
+   Shogun to receive them. After this his followers were all
+   dispersed. At the time of the quarrel the high officials
+   present prevented Asano Takumi no Kami from carrying out his
+   intention of killing his enemy, my Lord Kotsuke no Suke. So
+   Asano Takumi no Kami died without having avenged himself, and
+   this was more than his retainers could endure. It is impossible
+   to remain under the same heaven with the enemy of lord or
+   father; for this reason we have dared to declare enmity against
+   a personage of so exalted rank. This day we shall attack Kira
+   Kotsuke no Suke, in order to finish the deed of vengeance which
+   was begun by our dead lord. If any honourable person should
+   find our bodies after death, he is respectfully requested to
+   open and read this document.
+
+   "15th year of Genroku. 12th month.
+
+   "Signed, OISHI KURANOSUKE, Retainer of Asano
+   Takumi no Kami, and forty-six others."[6]
+
+[Footnote 6: It is usual for a Japanese, when bent upon some deed of
+violence, the end of which, in his belief, justifies the means, to
+carry about with him a document, such as that translated above, in
+which he sets forth his motives, that his character may be cleared
+after death.]
+
+The third manuscript is a paper which the Forty-seven Ronins laid upon
+the tomb of their master, together with the head of Kira Kotsuke no
+Suke:--
+
+   "The 15th year of Genroku, the 12th month, and 15th day. We
+   have come this day to do homage here, forty-seven men in all,
+   from Oishi Kuranosuke down to the foot-soldier, Terasaka
+   Kichiyemon, all cheerfully about to lay down our lives on your
+   behalf. We reverently announce this to the honoured spirit of
+   our dead master. On the 14th day of the third month of last
+   year our honoured master was pleased to attack Kira Kotsuke no
+   Suke, for what reason we know not. Our honoured master put an
+   end to his own life, but Kira Kotsuke no Suke lived. Although
+   we fear that after the decree issued by the Government this
+   plot of ours will be displeasing to our honoured master, still
+   we, who have eaten of your food, could not without blushing
+   repeat the verse, 'Thou shalt not live under the same heaven
+   nor tread the same earth with the enemy of thy father or lord,'
+   nor could we have dared to leave hell and present ourselves
+   before you in paradise, unless we had carried out the vengeance
+   which you began. Every day that we waited seemed as three
+   autumns to us. Verily, we have trodden the snow for one day,
+   nay, for two days, and have tasted food but once. The old and
+   decrepit, the sick and ailing, have come forth gladly to lay
+   down their lives. Men might laugh at us, as at grasshoppers
+   trusting in the strength of their arms, and thus shame our
+   honoured lord; but we could not halt in our deed of vengeance.
+   Having taken counsel together last night, we have escorted my
+   Lord Kotsuke no Suke hither to your tomb. This dirk,[7] by
+   which our honoured lord set great store last year, and
+   entrusted to our care, we now bring back. If your noble spirit
+   be now present before this tomb, we pray you, as a sign, to
+   take the dirk, and, striking the head of your enemy with it a
+   second time, to dispel your hatred for ever. This is the
+   respectful statement of forty-seven men."
+
+[Footnote 7: The dirk with which Asano Takumi no Kumi disembowelled
+himself and with which Oishi Kuranosuke cut off Kotsuke no Suke's
+head.]
+
+The text, "Thou shalt not live under the same heaven with the enemy of
+thy father," is based upon the Confucian books. Dr. Legge, in his
+"Life and Teachings of Confucius," p. 113, has an interesting
+paragraph summing up the doctrine of the sage upon the subject of
+revenge.
+
+   "In the second book of the 'Le Ke' there is the following
+   passage:--'With the slayer of his father a man may not live
+   under the same heaven; against the slayer of his brother a man
+   must never have to go home to fetch a weapon; with the slayer
+   of his friend a man may not live in the same State.' The _lex
+   talionis_ is here laid down in its fullest extent. The 'Chow
+   Le' tells us of a provision made against the evil consequences
+   of the principle by the appointment of a minister called 'The
+   Reconciler.' The provision is very inferior to the cities of
+   refuge which were set apart by Moses for the manslayer to flee
+   to from the fury of the avenger. Such as it was, however, it
+   existed, and it is remarkable that Confucius, when consulted on
+   the subject, took no notice of it, but affirmed the duty of
+   blood-revenge in the strongest and most unrestricted terms. His
+   disciple, Tsze Hea, asked him, 'What course is to be pursued in
+   the murder of a father or mother?' He replied, 'The son must
+   sleep upon a matting of grass with his shield for his pillow;
+   he must decline to take office; he must not live under the same
+   heaven with the slayer. When he meets him in the market-place
+   or the court, he must have his weapon ready to strike him.'
+   'And what is the course in the murder of a brother?' 'The
+   surviving brother must not take office in the same State with
+   the slayer; yet, if he go on his prince's service to the State
+   where the slayer is, though he meet him, he must not fight with
+   him.' 'And what is the course in the murder of an uncle or
+   cousin?' 'In this case the nephew or cousin is not the
+   principal. If the principal, on whom the revenge devolves, can
+   take it, he has only to stand behind with his weapon in his
+   hand, and support him.'"
+
+I will add one anecdote to show the sanctity which is attached to the
+graves of the Forty-seven. In the month of September 1868, a certain
+man came to pray before the grave of Oishi Chikara. Having finished
+his prayers, he deliberately performed _hara-kiri_,[8] and, the belly
+wound not being mortal, dispatched himself by cutting his throat. Upon
+his person were found papers setting forth that, being a Ronin and
+without means of earning a living, he had petitioned to be allowed to
+enter the clan of the Prince of Choshiu, which he looked upon as the
+noblest clan in the realm; his petition having been refused, nothing
+remained for him but to die, for to be a Ronin was hateful to him, and
+he would serve no other master than the Prince of Choshiu: what more
+fitting place could he find in which to put an end to his life than
+the graveyard of these Braves? This happened at about two hundred
+yards' distance from my house, and when I saw the spot an hour or two
+later, the ground was all bespattered with blood, and disturbed by the
+death-struggles of the man.
+
+[Footnote 8: A purist in Japanese matters may object to the use of the
+words _hara-kiri_ instead of the more elegant expression _Seppuku_. I
+retain the more vulgar form as being better known, and therefore more
+convenient.]
+
+
+
+
+THE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI
+
+
+Within two miles or so from Yedo, and yet well away from the toil and
+din of the great city, stands the village of Meguro. Once past the
+outskirts of the town, the road leading thither is bounded on either
+side by woodlands rich in an endless variety of foliage, broken at
+intervals by the long, low line of villages and hamlets. As we draw
+near to Meguro, the scenery, becoming more and more rustic, increases
+in beauty. Deep shady lanes, bordered by hedgerows as luxurious as any
+in England, lead down to a valley of rice fields bright with the
+emerald green of the young crops. To the right and to the left rise
+knolls of fantastic shape, crowned with a profusion of Cryptomerias,
+Scotch firs and other cone-bearing trees, and fringed with thickets of
+feathery bamboos, bending their stems gracefully to the light summer
+breeze. Wherever there is a spot shadier and pleasanter to look upon
+than the rest, there may be seen the red portal of a shrine which the
+simple piety of the country folk has raised to Inari Sama, the patron
+god of farming, or to some other tutelary deity of the place. At the
+eastern outlet of the valley a strip of blue sea bounds the horizon;
+westward are the distant mountains. In the foreground, in front of a
+farmhouse, snug-looking, with its roof of velvety-brown thatch, a
+troop of sturdy urchins, suntanned and stark naked, are frisking in
+the wildest gambols, all heedless of the scolding voice of the
+withered old grandam who sits spinning and minding the house, while
+her son and his wife are away toiling at some outdoor labour. Close at
+our feet runs a stream of pure water, in which a group of countrymen
+are washing the vegetables which they will presently shoulder and
+carry off to sell by auction in the suburbs of Yedo. Not the least
+beauty of the scene consists in the wondrous clearness of an
+atmosphere so transparent that the most distant outlines are scarcely
+dimmed, while the details of the nearer ground stand out in sharp,
+bold relief, now lit by the rays of a vertical sun, now darkened under
+the flying shadows thrown by the fleecy clouds which sail across the
+sky. Under such a heaven, what painter could limn the lights and
+shades which flit over the woods, the pride of Japan, whether in late
+autumn, when the russets and yellows of our own trees are mixed with
+the deep crimson glow of the maples, or in spring-time, when plum and
+cherry trees and wild camellias--giants, fifty feet high--are in full
+blossom?
+
+All that we see is enchanting, but there is a strange stillness in the
+groves; rarely does the song of a bird break the silence; indeed, I
+know but one warbler whose note has any music in it, the _uguisu_, by
+some enthusiasts called the Japanese nightingale--at best, a king in
+the kingdom of the blind. The scarcity of animal life of all
+descriptions, man and mosquitoes alone excepted, is a standing wonder
+to the traveller; the sportsman must toil many a weary mile to get a
+shot at boar, or deer, or pheasant; and the plough of the farmer and
+the trap of the poacher, who works in and out of season, threaten to
+exterminate all wild creatures; unless, indeed, the Government should,
+as they threatened in the spring of 1869, put in force some adaptation
+of European game-laws. But they are lukewarm in the matter; a little
+hawking on a duck-pond satisfies the cravings of the modern Japanese
+sportsman, who knows that, game-laws or no game-laws, the wild fowl
+will never fail in winter; and the days are long past when my Lord the
+Shogun used to ride forth with a mighty company to the wild places
+about Mount Fuji, there camping out and hunting the boar, the deer,
+and the wolf, believing that in so doing he was fostering a manly and
+military spirit in the land.
+
+There is one serious drawback to the enjoyment of the beauties of the
+Japanese country, and that is the intolerable affront which is
+continually offered to one's sense of smell; the whole of what should
+form the sewerage of the city is carried out on the backs of men and
+horses, to be thrown upon the fields; and, if you would avoid the
+overpowering nuisance, you must walk handkerchief in hand, ready to
+shut out the stench which assails you at every moment.
+
+It would seem natural, while writing of the Japanese country, to say a
+few words about the peasantry, their relation to the lord of the soil,
+and their government. But these I must reserve for another place. At
+present our dealings are with the pretty village of Meguro.
+
+At the bottom of a little lane, close to the entrance of the village,
+stands an old shrine of the Shinto (the form of hero-worship which
+existed in Japan before the introduction of Confucianism or of
+Buddhism), surrounded by lofty Cryptomerias. The trees around a Shinto
+shrine are specially under the protection of the god to whom the altar
+is dedicated; and, in connection with them, there is a kind of magic
+still respected by the superstitious, which recalls the waxen dolls,
+through the medium of which sorcerers of the middle ages in Europe,
+and indeed those of ancient Greece, as Theocritus tells us, pretended
+to kill the enemies of their clients. This is called _Ushi no toki
+mairi,_ or "going to worship at the hour of the ox,"[9] and is
+practised by jealous women who wish to be revenged upon their
+faithless lovers.
+
+[Footnote 9: The Chinese, and the Japanese following them, divide the
+day of twenty-four hours into twelve periods, each of which has a sign
+something like the signs of the Zodiac:--
+  Midnight until two in the morning is represented by the rat.
+    2 a.m.  "     4 a.m.          "            "          ox.
+    4 a.m.  "     6 a.m.          "            "          tiger.
+    6 a.m.  "     8 a.m.          "            "          hare.
+    8 a.m.  "    10 a.m.          "            "          dragon.
+   10 a.m.  "    12 noon          "            "          snake.
+   12 noon  "     2 p.m.          "            "          horse.
+    2 p.m.  "     4 p.m.          "            "          ram.
+    4 p.m.  "     6 p.m.          "            "          ape.
+    6 p.m.  "     8 p.m.          "            "          cock.
+    8 p.m.  "    10 p.m.          "            "          hog.
+   10 p.m.  "    Midnight         "            "          fox.]
+
+When the world is at rest, at two in the morning, the hour of which
+the ox is the symbol, the woman rises; she dons a white robe and high
+sandals or clogs; her coif is a metal tripod, in which are thrust
+three lighted candles; around her neck she hangs a mirror, which falls
+upon her bosom; in her left hand she carries a small straw figure, the
+effigy of the lover who has abandoned her, and in her right she grasps
+a hammer and nails, with which she fastens the figure to one of the
+sacred trees that surround the shrine. There she prays for the death
+of the traitor, vowing that, if her petition be heard, she will
+herself pull out the nails which now offend the god by wounding the
+mystic tree. Night after night she comes to the shrine, and each night
+she strikes in two or more nails, believing that every nail will
+shorten her lover's life, for the god, to save his tree, will surely
+strike him dead.
+
+Meguro is one of the many places round Yedo to which the good citizens
+flock for purposes convivial or religious, or both; hence it is that,
+cheek by jowl with the old shrines and temples, you will find many a
+pretty tea-house, standing at the rival doors of which Mesdemoiselles
+Sugar, Wave of the Sea, Flower, Seashore, and Chrysanthemum are
+pressing in their invitations to you to enter and rest. Not beautiful
+these damsels, if judged by our standard, but the charm of Japanese
+women lies in their manner and dainty little ways, and the tea-house
+girl, being a professional decoy-duck, is an adept in the art of
+flirting,--_en tout bien tout honneur_, be it remembered; for she is
+not to be confounded with the frail beauties of the Yoshiwara, nor
+even with her sisterhood near the ports open to foreigners, and to
+their corrupting influence. For, strange as it seems, our contact all
+over the East has an evil effect upon the natives.
+
+In one of the tea-houses a thriving trade is carried on in the sale of
+wooden tablets, some six inches square, adorned with the picture of a
+pink cuttlefish on a bright blue ground. These are ex-votos, destined
+to be offered up at the Temple of Yakushi Niurai, the Buddhist
+AEsculapius, which stands opposite, and concerning the foundation of
+which the following legend is told.
+
+In the days of old there was a priest called Jikaku, who at the age of
+forty years, it being the autumn of the tenth year of the period
+called Tencho (A.D. 833), was suffering from disease of the eyes,
+which had attacked him three years before. In order to be healed from
+this disease he carved a figure of Yakushi Niurai, to which he used
+to offer up his prayers. Five years later he went to China, taking
+with him the figure as his guardian saint, and at a place called
+Kairetsu it protected him from robbers and wild beasts and from other
+calamities. There he passed his time in studying the sacred laws both
+hidden and revealed, and after nine years set sail to return to Japan.
+When he was on the high seas a storm arose, and a great fish attacked
+and tried to swamp the ship, so that the rudder and mast were broken,
+and the nearest shore being that of a land inhabited by devils, to
+retreat or to advance was equally dangerous. Then the holy man prayed
+to the patron saint whose image he carried, and as he prayed, behold
+the true Yakushi Niurai appeared in the centre of the ship, and said
+to him--
+
+"Verily, thou hast travelled far that the sacred laws might be
+revealed for the salvation of many men; now, therefore, take my image,
+which thou carriest in thy bosom, and cast it into the sea, that the
+wind may abate, and that thou mayest be delivered from this land of
+devils."
+
+The commands of the saints must be obeyed, so with tears in his eyes,
+the priest threw into the sea the sacred image which he loved. Then
+did the wind abate, and the waves were stilled, and the ship went on
+her course as though she were being drawn by unseen hands until she
+reached a safe haven. In the tenth month of the same year the priest
+again set sail, trusting to the power of his patron saint, and reached
+the harbour of Tsukushi without mishap. For three years he prayed that
+the image which he had cast away might be restored to him, until at
+last one night he was warned in a dream that on the sea-shore at
+Matsura Yakushi Niurai would appear to him. In consequence of this
+dream he went to the province of Hizen, and landed on the sea-shore at
+Hirato, where, in the midst of a blaze of light, the image which he
+had carved appeared to him twice, riding on the back of a cuttlefish.
+Thus was the image restored to the world by a miracle. In
+commemoration of his recovery from the disease of the eyes and of his
+preservation from the dangers of the sea, that these things might be
+known to all posterity, the priest established the worship of Tako
+Yakushi Niurai ("Yakushi Niurai of the Cuttlefish") and came to
+Meguro, where he built the Temple of Fudo Sama,[10] another Buddhist
+divinity. At this time there was an epidemic of small-pox in the
+village, so that men fell down and died in the street, and the holy
+man prayed to Fudo Sama that the plague might be stayed. Then the god
+appeared to him, and said--
+
+"The saint Yakushi Niurai of the Cuttlefish, whose image thou
+carriest, desires to have his place in this village, and he will heal
+this plague. Thou shalt, therefore, raise a temple to him here that
+not only this small-pox, but other diseases for future generations,
+may be cured by his power."
+
+[Footnote 10: Fudo, literally "the motionless": Buddha in the state
+called Nirvana.]
+
+Hearing this, the priest shed tears of gratitude, and having chosen a
+piece of fine wood, carved a large figure of his patron saint of the
+cuttlefish, and placed the smaller image inside of the larger, and
+laid it up in this temple, to which people still flock that they may
+be healed of their diseases.
+
+Such is the story of the miracle, translated from a small ill-printed
+pamphlet sold by the priests of the temple, all the decorations of
+which, even to a bronze lantern in the middle of the yard, are in the
+form of a cuttlefish, the sacred emblem of the place.
+
+What pleasanter lounge in which to while away a hot day could a man
+wish for than the shade of the trees borne by the hill on which stands
+the Temple of Fudo Sama? Two jets of pure water springing from the
+rock are voided by spouts carved in the shape of dragons into a stone
+basin enclosed by rails, within which it is written that "no woman may
+enter." If you are in luck, you may cool yourself by watching some
+devotee, naked save his loin-cloth, performing the ceremony called
+_Suigiyo_; that is to say, praying under the waterfall that his soul
+may be purified through his body. In winter it requires no small pluck
+to go through this penance, yet I have seen a penitent submit to it
+for more than a quarter of an hour on a bitterly cold day in January.
+In summer, on the other hand, the religious exercise called
+_Hiyakudo_, or "the hundred times," which may also be seen here to
+advantage, is no small trial of patience. It consists in walking
+backwards and forwards a hundred times between two points within the
+sacred precincts, repeating a prayer each time. The count is kept
+either upon the fingers or by depositing a length of twisted straw
+each time that the goal is reached; at this temple the place allotted
+for the ceremony is between a grotesque bronze figure of Tengu Sama
+("the Dog of Heaven"), the terror of children, a most hideous monster
+with a gigantic nose, which it is beneficial to rub with a finger
+afterwards to be applied to one's own nose, and a large brown box
+inscribed with the characters _Hiyaku Do_ in high relief, which may
+generally be seen full of straw tallies. It is no sinecure to be a
+good Buddhist, for the gods are not lightly to be propitiated. Prayer
+and fasting, mortification of the flesh, abstinence from wine, from
+women, and from favourite dishes, are the only passports to rising in
+office, prosperity in trade, recovery from sickness, or a happy
+marriage with a beloved maiden. Nor will mere faith without works be
+efficient. A votive tablet of proportionate value to the favour prayed
+for, or a sum of money for the repairs of the shrine or temple, is
+necessary to win the favour of the gods. Poorer persons will cut off
+the queue of their hair and offer that up; and at Horinouchi, a temple
+in great renown some eight or nine miles from Yedo, there is a rope
+about two inches and a half in diameter and about six fathoms long,
+entirely made of human hair so given to the gods; it lies coiled up,
+dirty, moth-eaten, and uncared for, at one end of a long shed full of
+tablets and pictures, by the side of a rude native fire-engine. The
+taking of life being displeasing to Buddha, outside many of the
+temples old women and children earn a livelihood by selling sparrows,
+small eels, carp, and tortoises, which the worshipper sets free in
+honour of the deity, within whose territory cocks and hens and doves,
+tame and unharmed, perch on every jutty, frieze, buttress, and coigne
+of vantage.
+
+But of all the marvellous customs that I wot of in connection with
+Japanese religious exercises, none appears to me so strange as that of
+spitting at the images of the gods, more especially at the statues of
+the Ni-o, the two huge red or red and green statues which, like Gog
+and Magog, emblems of strength, stand as guardians of the chief
+Buddhist temples. The figures are protected by a network of iron wire,
+through which the votaries, praying the while, spit pieces of paper,
+which they had chewed up into a pulp. If the pellet sticks to the
+statue, the omen is favourable; if it falls, the prayer is not
+accepted. The inside of the great bell at the Tycoon's burial-ground,
+and almost every holy statue throughout the country, are all covered
+with these outspittings from pious mouths.[11]
+
+[Footnote 11: It will be readily understood that the customs and
+ceremonies to which I have alluded belong only to the gross
+superstitions with which ignorance has overlaid that pure Buddhism of
+which Professor Max Mueller has pointed out the very real beauties.]
+
+[Illustration: THE TOMB OF THE SHIYOKU.]
+
+Through all this discourse about temples and tea-houses, I am coming
+by degrees to the goal of our pilgrimage--two old stones, mouldering
+away in a rank, overgrown graveyard hard by, an old old
+burying-ground, forgotten by all save those who love to dig out the
+tales of the past. The key is kept by a ghoulish old dame, almost as
+time-worn and mildewed as the tomb over which she watches. Obedient to
+our call, and looking forward to a fee ten times greater than any
+native would give her, she hobbles out, and, opening the gate, points
+out the stone bearing the inscription, the "Tomb of the Shiyoku"
+(fabulous birds, which, living one within the other--a mysterious
+duality contained in one body--are the emblem of connubial love and
+fidelity). By this stone stands another, graven with a longer legend,
+which runs as follows:--
+
+"In the old days of Genroku, she pined for the beauty of her lover,
+who was as fair to look upon as the flowers; and now beneath the moss
+of this old tombstone all has perished of her save her name. Amid the
+changes of a fitful world, this tomb is decaying under the dew and
+rain; gradually crumbling beneath its own dust, its outline alone
+remains. Stranger! bestow an alms to preserve this stone; and we,
+sparing neither pain nor labour, will second you with all our hearts.
+Erecting it again, let us preserve it from decay for future
+generations, and let us write the following verse upon it:--'These two
+birds, beautiful as the cherry-blossoms, perished before their time,
+like flowers broken down by the wind before they have borne seed.'"
+
+Under the first stone is the dust of Gompachi, robber and murderer,
+mixed with that of his true love Komurasaki, who lies buried with him.
+Her sorrows and constancy have hallowed the place, and pious people
+still come to burn incense and lay flowers before the grave. How she
+loved him even in death may be seen from the following old-world
+story.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+About two hundred and thirty years ago there lived in the service of a
+daimio of the province of Inaba a young man, called Shirai Gompachi,
+who, when he was but sixteen years of age, had already won a name for
+his personal beauty and valour, and for his skill in the use of arms.
+Now it happened that one day a dog belonging to him fought with
+another dog belonging to a fellow-clansman, and the two masters, being
+both passionate youths, disputing as to whose dog had had the best of
+the fight, quarrelled and came to blows, and Gompachi slew his
+adversary; and in consequence of this he was obliged to flee from his
+country, and make his escape to Yedo.
+
+And so Gompachi set out on his travels.
+
+One night, weary and footsore, he entered what appeared to him to be a
+roadside inn, ordered some refreshment, and went to bed, little
+thinking of the danger that menaced him: for as luck would have it,
+this inn turned out to be the trysting-place of a gang of robbers,
+into whose clutches he had thus unwittingly fallen. To be sure,
+Gompachi's purse was but scantily furnished, but his sword and dirk
+were worth some three hundred ounces of silver, and upon these the
+robbers (of whom there were ten) had cast envious eyes, and had
+determined to kill the owner for their sake; but he, all unsuspicious,
+slept on in fancied security.
+
+In the middle of the night he was startled from his deep slumbers by
+some one stealthily opening the sliding door which led into his room,
+and rousing himself with an effort, he beheld a beautiful young girl,
+fifteen years of age, who, making signs to him not to stir, came up to
+his bedside, and said to him in a whisper--
+
+"Sir, the master of this house is the chief of a gang of robbers, who
+have been plotting to murder you this night for the sake of your
+clothes and your sword. As for me, I am the daughter of a rich
+merchant in Mikawa: last year the robbers came to our house, and
+carried off my father's treasure and myself. I pray you, sir, take me
+with you, and let us fly from this dreadful place."
+
+She wept as she spoke, and Gompachi was at first too much startled to
+answer; but being a youth of high courage and a cunning fencer to
+boot, he soon recovered his presence of mind, and determined to kill
+the robbers, and to deliver the girl out of their hands. So he
+replied--
+
+"Since you say so, I will kill these thieves, and rescue you this very
+night; only do you, when I begin the fight, run outside the house,
+that you may be out of harm's way, and remain in hiding until I join
+you."
+
+Upon this understanding the maiden left him, and went her way. But he
+lay awake, holding his breath and watching; and when the thieves crept
+noiselessly into the room, where they supposed him to be fast asleep,
+he cut down the first man that entered, and stretched him dead at his
+feet. The other nine, seeing this, laid about them with their drawn
+swords, but Gompachi, fighting with desperation, mastered them at
+last, and slew them. After thus ridding himself of his enemies, he
+went outside the house and called to the girl, who came running to his
+side, and joyfully travelled on with him to Mikawa, where her father
+dwelt; and when they reached Mikawa, he took the maiden to the old
+man's house, and told him how, when he had fallen among thieves, his
+daughter had come to him in his hour of peril, and saved him out of
+her great pity; and how he, in return, rescuing her from her
+servitude, had brought her back to her home. When the old folks saw
+their daughter whom they had lost restored to them, they were beside
+themselves with joy, and shed tears for very happiness; and, in their
+gratitude, they pressed Gompachi to remain with them, and they
+prepared feasts for him, and entertained him hospitably: but their
+daughter, who had fallen in love with him for his beauty and knightly
+valour, spent her days in thinking of him, and of him alone. The young
+man, however, in spite of the kindness of the old merchant, who
+wished to adopt him as his son, and tried hard to persuade him to
+consent to this, was fretting to go to Yedo and take service as an
+officer in the household of some noble lord; so he resisted the
+entreaties of the father and the soft speeches of the daughter, and
+made ready to start on his journey; and the old merchant, seeing that
+he would not be turned from his purpose, gave him a parting gift of
+two hundred ounces of silver, and sorrowfully bade him farewell.
+
+[Illustration: GOMPACHI AWAKENED BY THE MAIDEN IN THE ROBBERS' DEN.]
+
+But alas for the grief of the maiden, who sat sobbing her heart out
+and mourning over her lover's departure! He, all the while thinking
+more of ambition than of love, went to her and comforted her, and
+said: "Dry your eyes, sweetheart, and weep no more, for I shall soon
+come back to you. Do you, in the meanwhile, be faithful and true to
+me, and tend your parents with filial piety."
+
+So she wiped away her tears and smiled again, when she heard him
+promise that he would soon return to her. And Gompachi went his way,
+and in due time came near to Yedo.
+
+But his dangers were not yet over; for late one night, arriving at a
+place called Suzugamori, in the neighbourhood of Yedo, he fell in with
+six highwaymen, who attacked him, thinking to make short work of
+killing and robbing him. Nothing daunted, he drew his sword, and
+dispatched two out of the six; but, being weary and worn out with his
+long journey, he was sorely pressed, and the struggle was going hard
+with him, when a wardsman,[12] who happened to pass that way riding in
+a chair, seeing the affray, jumped down from his chair and drawing his
+dirk came to the rescue, and between them they put the robbers to
+flight.
+
+[Footnote 12: Japanese cities are divided into wards, and every
+tradesman and artisan is under the authority of the chief of the ward
+in which he resides. The word _chonin_, or wardsman, is generally used
+in contradistinction to the word _samurai_, which has already been
+explained as denoting a man belonging to the military class.]
+
+Now it turned out that this kind tradesman, who had so happily come to
+the assistance of Gompachi, was no other than Chobei of Bandzuin, the
+chief of the _Otokodate_, or Friendly Society of the wardsmen of
+Yedo--a man famous in the annals of the city, whose life, exploits,
+and adventures are recited to this day, and form the subject of
+another tale.
+
+When the highwaymen had disappeared, Gompachi, turning to his
+deliverer, said--
+
+"I know not who you may be, sir, but I have to thank you for rescuing
+me from a great danger."
+
+And as he proceeded to express his gratitude, Chobei replied--
+
+"I am but a poor wardsman, a humble man in my way, sir; and if the
+robbers ran away, it was more by good luck than owing to any merit of
+mine. But I am filled with admiration at the way you fought; you
+displayed a courage and a skill that were beyond your years, sir."
+
+"Indeed," said the young man, smiling with pleasure at hearing
+himself praised; "I am still young and inexperienced, and am quite
+ashamed of my bungling style of fencing."
+
+"And now may I ask you, sir, whither you are bound?"
+
+"That is almost more than I know myself, for I am a _ronin,_ and have
+no fixed purpose in view."
+
+"That is a bad job," said Chobei, who felt pity for the lad. "However,
+if you will excuse my boldness in making such an offer, being but a
+wardsman, until you shall have taken service I would fain place my
+poor house at your disposal."
+
+Gompachi accepted the offer of his new but trusty friend with thanks;
+so Chobei led him to his house, where he lodged him and hospitably
+entertained him for some months. And now Gompachi, being idle and
+having nothing to care for, fell into bad ways, and began to lead a
+dissolute life, thinking of nothing but gratifying his whims and
+passions; he took to frequenting the Yoshiwara, the quarter of the
+town which is set aside for tea-houses and other haunts of wild young
+men, where his handsome face and figure attracted attention, and soon
+made him a great favourite with all the beauties of the neighbourhood.
+
+About this time men began to speak loud in praise of the charms of
+Komurasaki, or "Little Purple," a young girl who had recently come to
+the Yoshiwara, and who in beauty and accomplishments outshone all her
+rivals. Gompachi, like the rest of the world, heard so much of her
+fame that he determined to go to the house where she dwelt, at the
+sign of "The Three Sea-coasts," and judge for himself whether she
+deserved all that men said of her. Accordingly he set out one day, and
+having arrived at "The Three Sea-coasts," asked to see Komurasaki; and
+being shown into the room where she was sitting, advanced towards her;
+but when their eyes met, they both started back with a cry of
+astonishment, for this Komurasaki, the famous beauty of the Yoshiwara,
+proved to be the very girl whom several months before Gompachi had
+rescued from the robbers' den, and restored to her parents in Mikawa.
+He had left her in prosperity and affluence, the darling child of a
+rich father, when they had exchanged vows of love and fidelity; and
+now they met in a common stew in Yedo. What a change! what a contrast!
+How had the riches turned to rust, the vows to lies!
+
+"What is this?" cried Gompachi, when he had recovered from his
+surprise. "How is it that I find you here pursuing this vile calling,
+in the Yoshiwara? Pray explain this to me, for there is some mystery
+beneath all this which I do not understand."
+
+But Komurasaki--who, having thus unexpectedly fallen in with her lover
+that she had yearned for, was divided between joy and shame--answered,
+weeping--
+
+"Alas! my tale is a sad one, and would be long to tell. After you left
+us last year, calamity and reverses fell upon our house; and when my
+parents became poverty-stricken, I was at my wits' end to know how to
+support them: so I sold this wretched body of mine to the master of
+this house, and sent the money to my father and mother; but, in spite
+of this, troubles and misfortunes multiplied upon them, and now, at
+last, they have died of misery and grief. And, oh! lives there in this
+wide world so unhappy a wretch as I! But now that I have met you
+again--you who are so strong--help me who am weak. You saved me
+once--do not, I implore you, desert me now!!" and as she told her
+piteous tale the tears streamed from her eyes.
+
+"This is, indeed, a sad story," replied Gompachi, much affected by the
+recital. "There must have been a wonderful run of bad luck to bring
+such misfortune upon your house, which but a little while ago I
+recollect so prosperous. However, mourn no more, for I will not
+forsake you. It is true that I am too poor to redeem you from your
+servitude, but at any rate I will contrive so that you shall be
+tormented no more. Love me, therefore, and put your trust in me." When
+she heard him speak so kindly she was comforted, and wept no more, but
+poured out her whole heart to him, and forgot her past sorrows in the
+great joy of meeting him again.
+
+When it became time for them to separate, he embraced her tenderly and
+returned to Chobei's house; but he could not banish Komurasaki from
+his mind, and all day long he thought of her alone; and so it came
+about that he went daily to the Yoshiwara to see her, and if any
+accident detained him, she, missing the accustomed visit, would become
+anxious and write to him to inquire the cause of his absence. At last,
+pursuing this course of life, his stock of money ran short, and as,
+being a _ronin_ and without any fixed employment, he had no means of
+renewing his supplies, he was ashamed of showing himself penniless at
+"The Three Sea-coasts." Then it was that a wicked spirit arose within
+him, and he went out and murdered a man, and having robbed him of his
+money carried it to the Yoshiwara.
+
+From bad to worse is an easy step, and the tiger that has once tasted
+blood is dangerous. Blinded and infatuated by his excessive love,
+Gompachi kept on slaying and robbing, so that, while his outer man was
+fair to look upon, the heart within him was that of a hideous devil.
+At last his friend Chobei could no longer endure the sight of him, and
+turned him out of his house; and as, sooner or later, virtue and vice
+meet with their reward, it came to pass that Gompachi's crimes became
+notorious, and the Government having set spies upon his track, he was
+caught red-handed and arrested; and his evil deeds having been fully
+proved against him, he was carried off to the execution ground at
+Suzugamori, the "Bell Grove," and beheaded as a common male-factor.
+
+Now when Gompachi was dead, Chobei's old affection for the young man
+returned, and, being a kind and pious man, he went and claimed his
+body and head, and buried him at Meguro, in the grounds of the Temple
+called Boronji.
+
+When Komurasaki heard the people at Yoshiwara gossiping about her
+lover's end, her grief knew no bounds, so she fled secretly from "The
+Three Sea-coasts," and came to Meguro and threw herself upon the
+newly-made grave. Long she prayed and bitterly she wept over the tomb
+of him whom, with all his faults, she had loved so well, and then,
+drawing a dagger from her girdle, she plunged it in her breast and
+died. The priests of the temple, when they saw what had happened,
+wondered greatly and were astonished at the loving faithfulness of
+this beautiful girl, and taking compassion on her, they laid her side
+by side with Gompachi in one grave, and over the grave they placed a
+stone which remains to this day, bearing the inscription "The Tomb of
+the Shiyoku." And still the people of Yedo visit the place, and still
+they praise the beauty of Gompachi and the filial piety and fidelity
+of Komurasaki.
+
+Let us linger for a moment longer in the old graveyard. The word which
+I have translated a few lines above as "loving faithfulness" means
+literally "chastity." When Komurasaki sold herself to supply the wants
+of her ruined parents, she was not, according to her lights,
+forfeiting her claim to virtue. On the contrary, she could perform no
+greater act of filial piety, and, so far from incurring reproach among
+her people, her self-sacrifice would be worthy of all praise in their
+eyes. This idea has led to grave misunderstanding abroad, and indeed
+no phase of Japanese life has been so misrepresented as this. I have
+heard it stated, and seen it printed, that it is no disgrace for a
+respectable Japanese to sell his daughter, that men of position and
+family often choose their wives from such places as "The Three
+Sea-coasts," and that up to the time of her marriage the conduct of a
+young girl is a matter of no importance whatever. Nothing could be
+more unjust or more untrue. It is only the neediest people that sell
+their children to be waitresses, singers, or prostitutes. It does
+occasionally happen that the daughter of a _Samurai_, or gentleman, is
+found in a house of ill-fame, but such a case could only occur at the
+death or utter ruin of the parents, and an official investigation of
+the matter has proved it to be so exceptional, that the presence of a
+young lady in such a place is an enormous attraction, her superior
+education and accomplishments shedding a lustre over the house. As for
+gentlemen marrying women of bad character, are not such things known
+in Europe? Do ladies of the _demi-monde_ never make good marriages?
+_Mesalliances_ are far rarer in Japan than with us. Certainly among
+the lowest class of the population such, marriages may occasionally
+occur, for it often happens that a woman can lay by a tempting dowry
+out of her wretched earnings-, but amongst the gentry of the country
+they are unknown.
+
+And yet a girl is not disgraced if for her parents' sake she sells
+herself to a life of misery so great, that, when a Japanese enters a
+house of ill-fame, he is forced to leave his sword and dirk at the
+door for two reasons--first, to prevent brawling; secondly, because it
+is known that some of the women inside so loathe their existence that
+they would put an end to it, could they get hold of a weapon.
+
+It is a curious fact that in all the Daimio's castle-towns, with the
+exception of some which are also seaports, open prostitution is
+strictly forbidden, although, if report speaks truly, public morality
+rather suffers than gains by the prohibition.
+
+The misapprehension which exists upon the subject of prostitution in
+Japan may be accounted for by the fact that foreign writers, basing
+their judgment upon the vice of the open ports, have not hesitated to
+pronounce the Japanese women unchaste. As fairly might a Japanese,
+writing about England, argue from the street-walkers of Portsmouth or
+Plymouth to the wives, sisters, and daughters of these very authors.
+In some respects the gulf fixed between virtue and vice in Japan is
+even greater than in England. The Eastern courtesan is confined to a
+certain quarter of the town, and distinguished by a peculiarly gaudy
+costume, and by a head-dress which consists of a forest of light
+tortoiseshell hair-pins, stuck round her head like a saint's glory--a
+glory of shame which a modest woman would sooner die than wear. Vice
+jostling virtue in the public places; virtue imitating the fashions
+set by vice, and buying trinkets or furniture at the sale of vice's
+effects--these are social phenomena which the East knows not.
+
+The custom prevalent among the lower orders of bathing in public
+bath-houses without distinction of the sexes, is another circumstance
+which has tended to spread abroad very false notions upon the subject
+of the chastity of the Japanese women. Every traveller is shocked by
+it, and every writer finds in it matter for a page of pungent
+description. Yet it is only those who are so poor (and they must be
+poor indeed) that they cannot afford a bath at home, who, at the end
+of their day's work, go to the public bath-house to refresh themselves
+before sitting down to their evening meal: having been used to the
+scene from their childhood, they see no indelicacy in it; it is a
+matter of course, and _honi soit qui mal y pense_: certainly there is
+far less indecency and immorality resulting from this public bathing,
+than from the promiscuous herding together of all sexes and ages which
+disgraces our own lodging-houses in the great cities, and the hideous
+hovels in which some of our labourers have to pass their lives; nor
+can it be said that there is more confusion of sexes amongst the
+lowest orders in Japan than in Europe. Speaking upon the subject once
+with a Japanese gentleman, I observed that we considered it an act of
+indecency for men and women to wash together. He shrugged his
+shoulders as he answered, "But then Westerns have such prurient
+minds." Some time ago, at the open port of Yokohama, the Government,
+out of deference to the prejudices of foreigners, forbade the men and
+women to bathe together, and no doubt this was the first step towards
+putting down the practice altogether: as for women tubbing in the open
+streets of Yedo, I have read of such things in books written by
+foreigners; but during a residence of three years and a half, in which
+time I crossed and recrossed every part of the great city at all hours
+of the day, I never once saw such a sight. I believe myself that it
+can only be seen at certain hot mineral springs in remote country
+districts.
+
+The best answer to the general charge of immorality which has been
+brought against the Japanese women during their period of unmarried
+life, lies in the fact that every man who can afford to do so keeps
+the maidens of his family closely guarded in the strictest seclusion.
+The daughter of poverty, indeed, must work and go abroad, but not a
+man is allowed to approach the daughter of a gentleman; and she is
+taught that if by accident any insult should be offered to her, the
+knife which she carries at her girdle is meant for use, and not
+merely as a badge of her rank. Not long ago a tragedy took place in
+the house of one of the chief nobles in Yedo. One of My Lady's
+tire-women, herself a damsel of gentle blood, and gifted with rare
+beauty, had attracted the attention of a retainer in the palace, who
+fell desperately in love with her. For a long time the strict rules of
+decorum by which she was hedged in prevented him from declaring his
+passion; but at last he contrived to gain access to her presence, and
+so far forgot himself, that she, drawing her poniard, stabbed him in
+the eye, so that he was carried off fainting, and presently died. The
+girl's declaration, that the dead man had attempted to insult her, was
+held to be sufficient justification of her deed, and, instead of being
+blamed, she was praised and extolled for her valour and chastity. As
+the affair had taken place within the four walls of a powerful noble,
+there was no official investigation into the matter, with which the
+authorities of the palace were competent to deal. The truth of this
+story was vouched for by two or three persons whose word I have no
+reason to doubt, and who had themselves been mixed up in it; I can
+bear witness that it is in complete harmony with Japanese ideas; and
+certainly it seems more just that Lucretia should kill Tarquin than
+herself.
+
+The better the Japanese people come to be known and understood, the
+more, I am certain, will it be felt that a great injustice has been
+done them in the sweeping attacks which have been made upon their
+women. Writers are agreed, I believe, that their matrons are, as a
+rule, without reproach. If their maidens are chaste, as I contend that
+from very force of circumstances they cannot help being, what becomes
+of all these charges of vice and immodesty? Do they not rather recoil
+upon the accusers, who would appear to have studied the Japanese woman
+only in the harlot of Yokohama?
+
+Having said so much, I will now try to give some account of the famous
+Yoshiwara[13] of Yedo, to which frequent allusion will have to be made
+in the course of these tales.
+
+[Footnote 13: The name Yoshiwara, which is becoming generic for
+"Flower Districts,"--_Anglice_, quarters occupied by brothels,--is
+sometimes derived from the town Yoshiwara, in Sunshine, because it was
+said that the women of that place furnished a large proportion of the
+beauties of the Yedo Yoshiwara. The correct derivation is probably
+that given below.]
+
+At the end of the sixteenth century the courtesans of Yedo lived in
+three special places: these were the street called Koji-machi, in
+which dwelt the women who came from Kioto; the Kamakura Street, and a
+spot opposite the great bridge, in which last two places lived women
+brought from Suruga. Besides these there afterwards came women from
+Fushimi and from Nara, who lodged scattered here and there throughout
+the town. This appears to have scandalized a certain reformer, named
+Shoji Jinyemon, who, in the year 1612, addressed a memorial to the
+Government, petitioning that the women who lived in different parts of
+the town should be collected in one "Flower Quarter." His petition was
+granted in the year 1617, and he fixed upon a place called Fukiyacho,
+which, on account of the quantities of rushes which grew there, was
+named _Yoshi-Wara,_ or the rush-moor, a name which now-a-days, by a
+play upon the word _yoshi,_ is written with two Chinese characters,
+signifying the "good," or "lucky moor." The place was divided into
+four streets, called the Yedo Street, the Second Yedo Street, the
+Kioto Street, and the Second Kioto Street.
+
+In the eighth month of the year 1655, when Yedo was beginning to
+increase in size and importance, the Yoshiwara, preserving its name,
+was transplanted bodily to the spot which it now occupies at the
+northern end of the town. And the streets in it were named after the
+places from which the greater number of their inhabitants originally
+came, as the "Sakai Street," the "Fushimi Street," &c.
+
+The official Guide to the Yoshiwara for 1869 gives a return of 153
+brothels, containing 3,289 courtesans of all classes, from the
+_Oiran_, or proud beauty, who, dressed up in gorgeous brocade of gold
+and silver, with painted face and gilded lips, and with her teeth
+fashionably blacked, has all the young bloods of Yedo at her feet,
+down to the humble _Shinzo_, or white-toothed woman, who rots away her
+life in the common stews. These figures do not, however, represent the
+whole of the prostitution of Yedo; the Yoshiwara is the chief, but not
+the only, abiding-place of the public women. At Fukagawa there is
+another Flower District, built upon the same principle as the
+Yoshiwara; while at Shinagawa, Shinjiku, Itabashi, Senji, and
+Kadzukappara, the hotels contain women who, nominally only waitresses,
+are in reality prostitutes. There are also women called _Jigoku-Omna,_
+or hell-women, who, without being borne on the books of any brothel,
+live in their own houses, and ply their trade in secret. On the whole,
+I believe the amount of prostitution in Yedo to be wonderfully small,
+considering the vast size of the city.
+
+There are 394 tea-houses in the Yoshiwara, which are largely used as
+places of assignation, and which on those occasions are paid, not by
+the visitors frequenting them, but by the keepers of the brothels. It
+is also the fashion to give dinners and drinking-parties at these
+houses, for which the services of _Taikomochi_, or jesters, among whom
+there are thirty-nine chief celebrities, and of singing and dancing
+girls, are retained. The Guide to the Yoshiwara gives a list of
+fifty-five famous singing-girls, besides a host of minor stars. These
+women are not to be confounded with the courtesans. Their conduct is
+very closely watched by their masters, and they always go out to
+parties in couples or in bands, so that they may be a check upon one
+another. Doubtless, however, in spite of all precautions, the shower
+of gold does from time to time find its way to Danae's lap; and to be
+the favoured lover of a fashionable singer or dancer is rather a
+feather in the cap of a fast young Japanese gentleman. The fee paid to
+singing-girls for performing during a space of two hours is one
+shilling and fourpence each; for six hours the fee is quadrupled, and
+it is customary to give the girls a _hana_, or present, for
+themselves, besides their regular pay, which goes to the master of the
+troupe to which they belong.
+
+Courtesans, singing women, and dancers are bought by contractors,
+either as children, when they are educated for their calling, or at a
+more advanced age, when their accomplishments and charms render them
+desirable investments. The engagement is never made life-long, for
+once past the flower of their youth the poor creatures would be mere
+burthens upon their masters; a courtesan is usually bought until she
+shall have reached the age of twenty-seven, after which she becomes
+her own property. Singers remain longer in harness, but even they
+rarely work after the age of thirty, for Japanese women, like
+Italians, age quickly, and have none of that intermediate stage
+between youth and old age, which seems to be confined to countries
+where there is a twilight.
+
+Children destined to be trained as singers are usually bought when
+they are five or six years old, a likely child fetching from about
+thirty-five to fifty shillings; the purchaser undertakes the education
+of his charge, and brings the little thing up as his own child. The
+parents sign a paper absolving him from all responsibility in case of
+sickness or accident; but they know that their child will be well
+treated and cared for, the interests of the buyer being their material
+guarantee. Girls of fifteen or upwards who are sufficiently
+accomplished to join a company of singers fetch ten times the price
+paid for children; for in their case there is no risk and no expense
+of education.
+
+Little children who are bought for purposes of prostitution at the age
+of five or six years fetch about the same price as those that are
+bought to be singers. During their novitiate they are employed to wait
+upon the _Oiran_, or fashionable courtesans, in the capacity of little
+female pages (_Kamuro_). They are mostly the children of distressed
+persons, or orphans, whom their relatives cruelly sell rather than be
+at the expense and trouble of bringing them up. Of the girls who enter
+the profession later in life, some are orphans, who have no other
+means of earning a livelihood; others sell their bodies out of filial
+piety, that they may succour their sick or needy parents; others are
+married women, who enter the Yoshiwara to supply the wants of their
+husbands; and a very small proportion is recruited from girls who have
+been seduced and abandoned, perhaps sold, by faithless lovers.
+
+The time to see the Yoshiwara to the best advantage is just after
+nightfall, when the lamps are lighted. Then it is that the women--who
+for the last two hours have been engaged in gilding their lips and
+painting their eyebrows black, and their throats and bosoms a snowy
+white, carefully leaving three brown Van-dyke-collar points where the
+back of the head joins the neck, in accordance with one of the
+strictest rules of Japanese cosmetic science--leave the back rooms,
+and take their places, side by side, in a kind of long narrow cage,
+the wooden bars of which open on to the public thoroughfare. Here they
+sit for hours, gorgeous in dresses of silk and gold and silver
+embroidery, speechless and motionless as wax figures, until they shall
+have attracted the attention of some of the passers-by, who begin to
+throng the place. At Yokohama indeed, and at the other open ports, the
+women of the Yoshiwara are loud in their invitations to visitors,
+frequently relieving the monotony of their own language by some
+blasphemous term of endearment picked up from British and American
+seamen; but in the Flower District at Yedo, and wherever Japanese
+customs are untainted, the utmost decorum prevails. Although the shape
+which vice takes is ugly enough, still it has this merit, that it is
+unobtrusive. Never need the pure be contaminated by contact with the
+impure; he who goes to the Yoshiwara, goes there knowing full well
+what he will find, but the virtuous man may live through his life
+without having this kind of vice forced upon his sight. Here again do
+the open ports contrast unfavourably with other places: Yokohama at
+night is as leprous a place as the London Haymarket.[14]
+
+[Footnote 14: Those who are interested in this branch of social
+science, will find much curious information upon the subject of
+prostitution in Japan in a pamphlet published at Yokohama, by Dr.
+Newton, R.N., a philanthropist who has been engaged for the last two
+years in establishing a Lock Hospital at that place. In spite of much
+opposition, from prejudice and ignorance, his labours have been
+crowned by great success.]
+
+A public woman or singer on entering her profession assumes a _nom de
+guerre_, by which she is known until her engagement is at an end. Some
+of these names are so pretty and quaint that I will take a few
+specimens from the _Yoshiwara Saiken_, the guidebook upon which this
+notice is based. "Little Pine," "Little Butterfly," "Brightness of the
+Flowers," "The Jewel River," "Gold Mountain," "Pearl Harp," "The Stork
+that lives a Thousand Years," "Village of Flowers," "Sea Beach," "The
+Little Dragon," "Little Purple," "Silver," "Chrysanthemum,"
+"Waterfall," "White Brightness," "Forest of Cherries,"--these and a
+host of other quaint conceits are the one prettiness of a very foul
+place.
+
+
+
+
+KAZUMA'S REVENGE
+
+
+It is a law that he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. In
+Japan, where there exists a large armed class over whom there is
+practically little or no control, party and clan broils, and single
+quarrels ending in bloodshed and death, are matters of daily
+occurrence; and it has been observed that Edinburgh in the olden time,
+when the clansmen, roistering through the streets at night, would pass
+from high words to deadly blows, is perhaps the best European parallel
+of modern Yedo or Kioto.
+
+It follows that of all his possessions the Samurai sets most store by
+his sword, his constant companion, his ally, defensive and offensive.
+The price of a sword by a famous maker reaches a high sum: a Japanese
+noble will sometimes be found girding on a sword, the blade of which
+unmounted is worth from six hundred to a thousand riyos, say from L200
+to L300, and the mounting, rich in cunning metal work, will be of
+proportionate value. These swords are handed down as heirlooms from
+father to son, and become almost a part of the wearer's own self.
+Iyeyasu, the founder of the last dynasty of Shoguns, wrote in his
+Legacy,[15] a code of rules drawn up for the guidance of his
+successors and their advisers in the government, "The girded sword is
+the living soul of the Samurai. In the case of a Samurai forgetting
+his sword, act as is appointed: it may not be overlooked."
+
+[Footnote 15: _The Legacy of Iyeyasu_, translated by F. Lowder.
+Yokohama, 1868. (Printed for private circulation.)]
+
+The occupation of a swordsmith is an honourable profession, the
+members of which are men of gentle blood. In a country where trade is
+looked down upon as degrading, it is strange to find this single
+exception to the general rule. The traditions of the craft are many
+and curious. During the most critical moment of the forging of the
+sword, when the steel edge is being welded into the body of the iron
+blade, it is a custom which still obtains among old-fashioned
+armourers to put on the cap and robes worn by the Kuge, or nobles of
+the Mikado's court, and, closing the doors of the workshop, to labour
+in secrecy and freedom from interruption, the half gloom adding to the
+mystery of the operation. Sometimes the occasion is even invested with
+a certain sanctity, a tasselled cord of straw, such as is hung before
+the shrines of the Kami, or native gods of Japan, being suspended
+between two bamboo poles in the forge, which for the nonce is
+converted into a holy altar.
+
+At Osaka, I lived opposite to one Kusano Yoshiaki, a swordsmith, a
+most intelligent and amiable gentleman, who was famous throughout his
+neighbourhood for his good and charitable deeds. His idea was that,
+having been bred up to a calling which trades in life and death, he
+was bound, so far as in him lay, to atone for this by seeking to
+alleviate the suffering which is in the world; and he carried out his
+principle to the extent of impoverishing himself. No neighbour ever
+appealed to him in vain for help in tending the sick or burying the
+dead. No beggar or lazar was ever turned from his door without
+receiving some mark of his bounty, whether in money or in kind. Nor
+was his scrupulous honesty less remarkable than his charity. While
+other smiths are in the habit of earning large sums of money by
+counterfeiting the marks of the famous makers of old, he was able to
+boast that he had never turned out a weapon which bore any other mark
+than his own. From his father and his forefathers he inherited his
+trade, which, in his turn, he will hand over to his son--a
+hard-working, honest, and sturdy man, the clank of whose hammer and
+anvil may be heard from daybreak to sundown.
+
+[Illustration: FORGING THE SWORD.]
+
+The trenchant edge of the Japanese sword is notorious. It is said that
+the best blades will in the hands of an expert swordsman cut through
+the dead bodies of three men, laid one upon the other, at a blow. The
+swords of the Shogun used to be tried upon the corpses of executed
+criminals; the public headsman was entrusted with the duty, and for a
+"nose medicine," or bribe of two bus (about three shillings), would
+substitute the weapon of a private individual for that of his Lord.
+Dogs and beggars, lying helpless by the roadside, not unfrequently
+serve to test a ruffian's sword; but the executioner earns many a fee
+from those who wish to see how their blades will cut off a head.
+
+The statesman who shall enact a law forbidding the carrying of this
+deadly weapon will indeed have deserved well of his country; but it
+will be a difficult task to undertake, and a dangerous one. I would
+not give much for that man's life. The hand of every swashbuckler in
+the empire would be against him. One day as we were talking over this
+and other kindred subjects, a friend of mine, a man of advanced and
+liberal views, wrote down his opinion, _more Japonico_, in a verse of
+poetry which ran as follows:--"I would that all the swords and dirks
+in the country might be collected in one place and molten down, and
+that, from the metal so produced, one huge sword might be forged,
+which, being the only blade left, should be the girded sword of Great
+Japan."
+
+The following history is in more senses than one a "Tale of a Sword."
+
+About two hundred and fifty years ago Ikeda Kunaishoyu was Lord of the
+Province of Inaba. Among his retainers were two gentlemen, named
+Watanabe Yukiye and Kawai Matazayemon, who were bound together by
+strong ties of friendship, and were in the habit of frequently
+visiting at one another's houses. One day Yukiye was sitting
+conversing with Matazayemon in the house of the latter, when, on a
+sudden, a sword that was lying in the raised part of the room caught
+his eye. As he saw it, he started and said--
+
+"Pray tell me, how came you by that sword?"
+
+"Well, as you know, when my Lord Ikeda followed my Lord Tokugawa
+Iyeyasu to fight at Nagakude, my father went in his train; and it was
+at the battle of Nagakude that he picked up this sword."
+
+"My father went too, and was killed in the fight, and this sword,
+which was an heirloom in our family for many generations, was lost at
+that time. As it is of great value in my eyes, I do wish that, if you
+set no special store by it, you would have the great kindness to
+return it to me."
+
+"That is a very easy matter, and no more than what one friend should
+do by another. Pray take it."
+
+Upon this Yukiye gratefully took the sword, and having carried it home
+put it carefully away.
+
+At the beginning of the ensuing year Matazayemon fell sick and died,
+and Yukiye, mourning bitterly for the loss of his good friend, and
+anxious to requite the favour which he had received in the matter of
+his father's sword, did many acts of kindness to the dead man's
+son--a young man twenty-two years of age, named Matagoro.
+
+Now this Matagoro was a base-hearted cur, who had begrudged the sword
+that his father had given to Yukiye, and complained publicly and often
+that Yukiye had never made any present in return; and in this way
+Yukiye got a bad name in my Lord's palace as a stingy and illiberal
+man.
+
+But Yukiye had a son, called Kazuma, a youth sixteen years of age, who
+served as one of the Prince's pages of honour. One evening, as he and
+one of his brother pages were talking together, the latter said--
+
+"Matagoro is telling everybody that your father accepted a handsome
+sword from him and never made him any present in return, and people
+are beginning to gossip about it."
+
+"Indeed," replied the other, "my father received that sword from
+Matagoro's father as a mark of friendship and good-will, and,
+considering that it would be an insult to send a present of money in
+return, thought to return the favour by acts of kindness towards
+Matagoro. I suppose it is money he wants."
+
+When Kazuma's service was over, he returned home, and went to his
+father's room to tell him the report that was being spread in the
+palace, and begged him to send an ample present of money to Matagoro.
+Yukrye reflected for a while, and said--
+
+"You are too young to understand the right line of conduct in such
+matters. Matagoro's father and myself were very close friends; so,
+seeing that he had ungrudgingly given me back the sword of my
+ancestors, I, thinking to requite his kindness at his death, rendered
+important services to Matagoro. It would be easy to finish the matter
+by sending a present of money; but I had rather take the sword and
+return it than be under an obligation to this mean churl, who knows
+not the laws which regulate the intercourse and dealings of men of
+gentle blood."
+
+So Yukiye, in his anger, took the sword to Matagoro's house, and said
+to him--
+
+"I have come to your house this night for no other purpose than to
+restore to you the sword which your father gave me;" and with this he
+placed the sword before Matagoro.
+
+"Indeed," replied the other, "I trust that you will not pain me by
+returning a present which my father made you."
+
+"Amongst men of gentle birth," said Yukiye, laughing scornfully, "it
+is the custom to requite presents, in the first place by kindness, and
+afterwards by a suitable gift offered with a free heart. But it is no
+use talking to such as you, who are ignorant of the first principles
+of good breeding; so I have the honour to give you back the sword."
+
+As Yukiye went on bitterly to reprove Matagoro, the latter waxed very
+wroth, and, being a ruffian, would have killed Yukiye on the spot; but
+he, old man as he was, was a skilful swordsman, so Matagoro,
+craven-like, determined to wait until he could attack him unawares.
+Little suspecting any treachery, Yukiye started to return home, and
+Matagoro, under the pretence of attending him to the door, came behind
+him with his sword drawn and cut him in the shoulder. The older man,
+turning round, drew and defended himself; but having received a severe
+wound in the first instance, he fainted away from loss of blood, and
+Matagoro slew him.
+
+The mother of Matagoro, startled by the noise, came out; and when she
+saw what had been done, she was afraid, and said--"Passionate man!
+what have you done? You are a murderer; and now your life will be
+forfeit. What terrible deed is this!"
+
+"I have killed him now, and there's nothing to be done. Come, mother,
+before the matter becomes known, let us fly together from this house."
+
+"I will follow you; do you go and seek out my Lord Abe Shirogoro, a
+chief among the Hatamotos,[16] who was my foster-child. You had better
+fly to him for protection, and remain in hiding."
+
+[Footnote 16: _Hatamotos._ The Hatamotos were the feudatory nobles of
+the Shogun or Tycoon. The office of Taikun having been abolished, the
+Hatamotos no longer exist. For further information respecting them,
+see the note at the end of the story.]
+
+So the old woman persuaded her son to make his escape, and sent him to
+the palace of Shirogoro.
+
+Now it happened that at this time the Hatamotos had formed themselves
+into a league against the powerful Daimios; and Abe Shirogoro, with
+two other noblemen, named Kondo Noborinosuke and Midzuno Jiurozayemon,
+was at the head of the league. It followed, as a matter of course,
+that his forces were frequently recruited by vicious men, who had no
+means of gaining their living, and whom he received and entreated
+kindly without asking any questions as to their antecedents; how much
+the more then, on being applied to for an asylum by the son of his own
+foster-mother, did he willingly extend his patronage to him, and
+guarantee him against all danger. So he called a meeting of the
+principal Hatamotos, and introduced Matagoro to them, saying--"This
+man is a retainer of Ikeda Kunaishoyu, who, having cause of hatred
+against a man named Watanabe Yukiye, has slain him, and has fled to me
+for protection; this man's mother suckled me when I was an infant,
+and, right or wrong, I will befriend him. If, therefore, Ikeda
+Kunaishoyu should send to require me to deliver him up, I trust that
+you will one and all put forth your strength and help me to defend
+him."
+
+"Ay! that will we, with pleasure!" replied Kondo Noborinosuke. "We
+have for some time had cause to complain of the scorn with which the
+Daimios have treated us. Let Ikeda Kunaishoyu send to claim this man,
+and we will show him the power of the Hatamotos."
+
+All the other Hatamotos, with one accord, applauded this
+determination, and made ready their force for an armed resistance,
+should my Lord Kunaishoyu send to demand the surrender of Matugoro.
+But the latter remained as a welcome guest in the house of Abe
+Shirogoro.
+
+[Illustration: MATAGORO KILLS YUKIYE.]
+
+Now when Watanabe Kazuma saw that, as the night advanced, his father
+Yukiye did not return home, he became anxious, and went to the house
+of Matagoro to seek for him, and finding to his horror that he was
+murdered, fell upon the corpse and, embraced it, weeping. On a sudden,
+it flashed across him that this must assuredly be the handiwork of
+Matagoro; so he rushed furiously into the house, determined to kill
+his father's murderer upon the spot. But Matagoro had already fled,
+and he found only the mother, who was making her preparations for
+following her son to the house of Abe Shirogoro: so he bound the old
+woman, and searched all over the house for her son; but, seeing that
+his search was fruitless, he carried off the mother, and handed her
+over to one of the elders of the clan, at the same time laying
+information against Matagoro as his father's murderer. When the affair
+was reported to the Prince, he was very angry, and ordered that the
+old woman should remain bound and be cast into prison until the
+whereabouts of her son should be discovered. Then Kazuma buried his
+father's corpse with great pomp, and the widow and the orphan mourned
+over their loss.
+
+It soon became known amongst the people of Abe Shirogoro that the
+mother of Matagoro had been imprisoned for her son's crime, and they
+immediately set about planning her rescue; so they sent to the palace
+of my Lord Kunaishoyu a messenger, who, when he was introduced to the
+councillor of the Prince, said--
+
+"We have heard that, in consequence of the murder of Yukiye, my lord
+has been pleased to imprison the mother of Matagoro. Our master
+Shirogoro has arrested the criminal, and will deliver him up to you.
+But the mother has committed no crime, so we pray that she may be
+released from a cruel imprisonment: she was the foster-mother of our
+master, and he would fain intercede to save her life. Should you
+consent to this, we, on our side, will give up the murderer, and hand
+him over to you in front of our master's gate to-morrow."
+
+The councillor repeated this message to the Prince, who, in his
+pleasure at being able to give Kazuma his revenge on the morrow,
+immediately agreed to the proposal, and the messenger returned
+triumphant at the success of the scheme. On the following day, the
+Prince ordered the mother of Matagoro to be placed in a litter and
+carried to the Hatamoto's dwelling, in charge of a retainer named
+Sasawo Danyemon, who, when he arrived at the door of Abe Shirogoro's
+house, said--
+
+"I am charged to hand over to you the mother of Matagoro, and, in
+exchange, I am authorized to receive her son at your hands."
+
+"We will immediately give him up to you; but, as the mother and son
+are now about to bid an eternal farewell to one another, we beg you to
+be so kind as to tarry a little."
+
+With this the retainers of Shirogoro led the old woman inside their
+master's house, and Sasawo Danyemon remained waiting outside, until at
+last he grew impatient, and ventured to hurry on the people within.
+
+"We return you many thanks," replied they, "for your kindness in
+bringing us the mother; but, as the son cannot go with you at present,
+you had better return home as quickly as possible. We are afraid we
+have put you to much trouble." And so they mocked him.
+
+When Danyemon saw that he had not only been cheated into giving up the
+old woman, but was being made a laughing-stock of into the bargain, he
+flew into a great rage, and thought to break into the house and seize
+Matagoro and his mother by force; but, peeping into the courtyard, he
+saw that it was filled with Hatamotos, carrying guns and naked swords.
+Not caring then to die fighting a hopeless battle, and at the same
+time feeling that, after having been so cheated, he would be put to
+shame before his lord, Sasawo Danyemon went to the burial-place of his
+ancestors, and disembowelled himself in front of their graves.
+
+[Illustration: THE DEATH OF DANYEMON.]
+
+When the Prince heard how his messenger had been treated, he was
+indignant, and summoning his councillors resolved, although he was
+suffering from sickness, to collect his retainers and attack Abe
+Shirogoro; and the other chief Daimios, when the matter became
+publicly known, took up the cause, and determined that the Hatamotos
+must be chastised for their insolence. On their side, the Hatamotos
+put forth all their efforts to resist the Daimios. So Yedo became
+disturbed, and the riotous state of the city caused great anxiety to
+the Government, who took counsel together how they might restore
+peace. As the Hatamotos were directly under the orders of the Shogun,
+it was no difficult matter to put them down: the hard question to
+solve was how to put a restraint upon the great Daimios. However, one
+of the Gorojin,[17] named Matsudaira Idzu no Kami, a man of great
+intelligence, hit upon a plan by which he might secure this end.
+
+[Footnote 17: The first Council of the Shogun's ministers; literally,
+"assembly of imperial elders."]
+
+There was at this time in the service of the Shogun a physician, named
+Nakarai Tsusen, who was in the habit of frequenting the palace of my
+Lord Kunaishoyu, and who for some time past had been treating him for
+the disease from which he was suffering. Idzu no Kami sent secretly
+for this physician, and, summoning him to his private room, engaged
+him in conversation, in the midst of which he suddenly dropped his
+voice and said to him in a whisper--
+
+"Listen, Tsusen. You have received great favours at the hands of the
+Shogun. The Government is now sorely straitened: are you willing to
+carry your loyalty so far as to lay down your life on its behalf?"
+
+"Ay, my lord; for generations my forefathers have held their property
+by the grace of the Shogun. I am willing this night to lay down my
+life for my Prince, as a faithful vassal should."
+
+"Well, then, I will tell you. The great Daimios and the Hatamotos
+have fallen out about this affair of Matagoro, and lately it has
+seemed as if they meant to come to blows. The country will be
+agitated, and the farmers and townsfolk suffer great misery, if we
+cannot quell the tumult. The Hatamotos will be easily kept under, but
+it will be no light task to pacify the great Daimios. If you are
+willing to lay down your life in carrying out a stratagem of mine,
+peace will be restored to the country; but your loyalty will be your
+death."
+
+"I am ready to sacrifice my life in this service."
+
+"This is my plan. You have been attending my Lord Kunaishoyu in his
+sickness; to-morrow you must go to see him, and put poison in his
+physic. If we can kill him, the agitation will cease. This is the
+service which I ask of you."
+
+Tsusen agreed to undertake the deed; and on the following day, when he
+went to see Kunaishoyu, he carried with him poisoned drugs. Half the
+draught he drank himself,[18] and thus put the Prince off his guard,
+so that he swallowed the remainder fearlessly. Tsusen, seeing this,
+hurried away, and as he was carried home in his litter the death-agony
+seized him, and he died, vomiting blood.
+
+[Footnote 18: A physician attending a personage of exalted rank has
+always to drink half the potion he prescribes as a test of his good
+faith.]
+
+My Lord Kunaishoyu died in the same way in great torture, and in the
+confusion attending upon his death and funeral ceremonies the struggle
+which was impending with the Hatamotos was delayed.
+
+In the meanwhile the Gorojiu Idzu no Kami summoned the three leaders
+of the Hatamotos and addressed them as follows--
+
+"The secret plottings and treasonable, turbulent conduct of you three
+men, so unbecoming your position as Hatamotos, have enraged my lord
+the Shogun to such a degree, that he has been pleased to order that
+you be imprisoned in a temple, and that your patrimony be given over
+to your next heirs."
+
+Accordingly the three Hatamotos, after having been severely
+admonished, were confined in a temple called Kanyeiji; and the
+remaining Hatamotos, scared by this example, dispersed in peace. As
+for the great Daimios, inasmuch as after the death of my Lord
+Kunaishoyu the Hatamotos were all dispersed, there was no enemy left
+for them to fight with; so the tumult was quelled, and peace was
+restored.
+
+Thus it happened that Matagoro lost his patron; so, taking his mother
+with him, he went and placed himself under the protection of an old
+man named Sakurai Jiuzayemon. This old man was a famous teacher of
+lance exercise, and enjoyed both wealth and honour; so he took in
+Matagoro, and having engaged as a guard thirty Ronins, all resolute
+fellows and well skilled in the arts of war, they all fled together to
+a distant place called Sagara.
+
+All this time Watanabe Kazuma had been brooding over his father's
+death, and thinking how he should be revenged upon the murderer; so
+when my Lord Kunaishoyu suddenly died, he went to the young Prince
+who succeeded him and obtained leave of absence to go and seek out
+his father's enemy. Now Kazuma's elder sister was married to a man
+named Araki Matayemon, who at that time was famous as the first
+swordsman in Japan. As Kazuma was but sixteen years of age, this
+Matayemon, taking into consideration his near relationship as
+son-in-law to the murdered man, determined to go forth with the lad,
+as his guardian, and help him to seek out Matagoro; and two of
+Matayemon's retainers, named Ishidome Busuke and Ikezoye Magohachi,
+made up their minds, at all hazards, to follow their master. The
+latter, when he heard their intention, thanked them, but refused the
+offer, saying that as he was now about to engage in a vendetta in
+which his life would be continually in jeopardy, and as it would be a
+lasting grief to him should either of them receive a wound in such a
+service, he must beg them to renounce their intention; but they
+answered--
+
+"Master, this is a cruel speech of yours. All these years have we
+received nought but kindness and favours at your hands; and now that
+you are engaged in the pursuit of this murderer, we desire to follow
+you, and, if needs must, to lay down our lives in your service.
+Furthermore, we have heard that the friends of this Matagoro are no
+fewer than thirty-six men; so, however bravely you may fight, you will
+be in peril from the superior numbers of your enemy. However, if you
+are pleased to persist in your refusal to take us, we have made up our
+minds that there is no resource for us but to disembowel ourselves on
+the spot."
+
+When Matayemon and Kazuma heard these words, they wondered at these
+faithful and brave men, and were moved to tears. Then Matayemon said--
+
+"The kindness of you two brave fellows is without precedent. Well,
+then, I will accept your services gratefully."
+
+Then the two men, having obtained their wish, cheerfully followed
+their master; and the four set out together upon their journey to seek
+out Matagoro, of whose whereabouts they were completely ignorant.
+
+Matagoro in the meanwhile had made his way, with the old man Sakurai
+Jiuzayemon and his thirty Ronins, to Osaka. But, strong as they were
+in numbers, they travelled in great secrecy. The reason for this was
+that the old man's younger brother, Sakurai Jinsuke, a fencing-master
+by profession, had once had a fencing-match with Matayemon, Kazuma's
+brother-in-law, and had been shamefully beaten; so that the party were
+greatly afraid of Matayemon, and felt that, since he was taking up
+Kazuma's cause and acting as his guardian, they might be worsted in
+spite of their numbers: so they went on their way with great caution,
+and, having reached Osaka, put up at an inn in a quarter called
+Ikutama, and hid from Kazuma and Matayemon.
+
+The latter also in good time reached Osaka, and spared no pains to
+seek out Matagoro. One evening towards dusk, as Matayemon was walking
+in the quarter where the enemy were staying, he saw a man, dressed as
+a gentleman's servant, enter a cook-shop and order some buckwheat
+porridge for thirty-six men, and looking attentively at the man, he
+recognized him as the servant of Sakurai Jiuzayemon; so he hid himself
+in a dark place and watched, and heard the fellow say--
+
+"My master, Sakurai Jiuzayemon, is about to start for Sagara to-morrow
+morning, to return thanks to the gods for his recovery from a sickness
+from which he has been suffering; so I am in a great hurry."
+
+With these words the servant hastened away; and Matayemon, entering
+the shop, called for some porridge, and as he ate it, made some
+inquiries as to the man who had just given so large an order for
+buckwheat porridge. The master of the shop answered that he was the
+attendant of a party of thirty-six gentlemen who were staying at such
+and such an inn. Then Matayemon, having found out all that he wanted
+to know, went home and told Kazuma, who was delighted at the prospect
+of carrying his revenge into execution on the morrow. That same
+evening Matayemon sent one of his two faithful retainers as a spy to
+the inn, to find out at what hour Matagoro was to set out on the
+following morning; and he ascertained from the servants of the inn,
+that the party was to start at daybreak for Sagara, stopping at Ise to
+worship at the shrine of Tersho Daijin.[19]
+
+[Footnote 19: Goddess of the sun, and ancestress of the Mikados.]
+
+Matayemon made his preparations accordingly, and, with Kazuma and his
+two retainers, started before dawn. Beyond Uyeno, in the province of
+Iga, the castle-town of the Daimio Todo Idzumi no Kami, there is a
+wide and lonely moor; and this was the place upon which they fixed for
+the attack upon the enemy. When they had arrived at the spot,
+Matayemon went into a tea-house by the roadside, and wrote a petition
+to the governor of the Daimio's castle-town for permission to carry
+out the vendetta within its precincts;[20] then he addressed Kazuma,
+and said--
+
+"When we fall in with Matagoro and begin the fight, do you engage and
+slay your father's murderer; attack him and him only, and I will keep
+off his guard of Ronins;" then turning to his two retainers, "As for
+you, keep close to Kazuma; and should the Ronins attempt to rescue
+Matagoro, it will be your duty to prevent them, and succour Kazuma."
+And having further laid down each man's duties with great minuteness,
+they lay in wait for the arrival of the enemy. Whilst they were
+resting in the tea-house, the governor of the castle-town arrived,
+and, asking for Matayemou, said--
+
+"I have the honour to be the governor of the castle-town of Todo
+Idzumi no Kami. My lord, having learnt your intention of slaying your
+enemy within the precincts of his citadel, gives his consent; and as a
+proof of his admiration of your fidelity and valour, he has further
+sent you a detachment of infantry, one hundred strong, to guard the
+place; so that should any of the thirty-six men attempt to escape, you
+may set your mind at ease, for flight will be impossible."
+
+[Footnote 20: "In respect to revenging injury done to master or
+father, it is granted by the wise and virtuous (Confucius) that you
+and the injurer cannot live together under the canopy of heaven.
+
+"A person harbouring such vengeance shall notify the same in writing
+to the Criminal Court; and although no check or hindrance may be
+offered to his carrying out his desire within the period allowed for
+that purpose, it is forbidden that the chastisement of an enemy be
+attended with riot.
+
+"Fellows who neglect to give notice of their intended revenge are like
+wolves of pretext, and their punishment or pardon should depend upon
+the circumstances of the case."--_Legacy of Iyeyasu_, ut supra.]
+
+When Matayemon and Kazurna had expressed their thanks for his
+lordship's gracious kindness, the governor took his leave and returned
+home. At last the enemy's train was seen in the distance. First came
+Sakurai Jiuzayemon and his younger brother Jinsuke; and next to them
+followed Kawai Matagoro and Takenouchi Gentan. These four men, who
+were the bravest and the foremost of the band of Ronins, were riding
+on pack-horses, and the remainder were marching on foot, keeping close
+together.
+
+As they drew near, Kazuma, who was impatient to avenge his father,
+stepped boldly forward and shouted in a loud voice--
+
+"Here stand I, Kazuma, the son of Yukiye, whom you, Matagoro,
+treacherously slew, determined to avenge my father's death. Come
+forth, then, and do battle with me, and let us see which of us twain
+is the better man."
+
+And before the Ronins had recovered from their astonishment, Matayemon
+said--
+
+"I, Arake Matayemon, the son-in-law of Yukiye, have come to second
+Kazuma in his deed of vengeance. Win or lose, you must give us
+battle."
+
+When the thirty-six men heard the name of Matayemon, they were greatly
+afraid; but Sakurai Jiuzayemon urged them to be upon their guard, and
+leaped from his horse; and Matayemon, springing forward with his drawn
+sword, cleft him from the shoulder to the nipple of his breast, so
+that he fell dead. Sakurai Jinsuke, seeing his brother killed before
+his eyes, grew furious, and shot an arrow at Matayemon, who deftly cut
+the shaft in two with his dirk as it flew; and Jinsuke, amazed at this
+feat, threw away his bow and attacked Matayemon, who, with his sword
+in his right hand and his dirk in his left, fought with desperation.
+The other Ronins attempted to rescue Jinsuke, and, in the struggle,
+Kazuma, who had engaged Matagoro, became separated from Matayemon,
+whose two retainers, Busuke and Magohachi, bearing in mind their
+master's orders, killed five Ronins who had attacked Kazuma, but were
+themselves badly wounded. In the meantime, Matayemon, who had killed
+seven of the Ronins, and who the harder he was pressed the more
+bravely he fought, soon cut down three more, and the remainder dared
+not approach him. At this moment there came up one Kano Tozayemon, a
+retainer of the lord of the castle-town, and an old friend of
+Matayemon, who, when he heard that Matayemon was this day about to
+avenge his father-in-law, had seized his spear and set out, for the
+sake of the good-will between them, to help him, and act as his
+second, and said--
+
+"Sir Matayemon, hearing of the perilous adventure in which you have
+engaged, I have come out to offer myself as your second."
+
+Matayemon, hearing this, was rejoiced, and fought with renewed vigour.
+Then one of the Ronins, named Takenouchi Gentan, a very brave man,
+leaving his companions to do battle with Matayemon, came to the rescue
+of Matagoro, who was being hotly pressed by Kazuma, and, in attempting
+to prevent this, Busuke fell covered with wounds. His companion
+Magohachi, seeing him fall, was in great anxiety; for should any harm
+happen to Kazuma, what excuse could he make to Matayemon? So, wounded
+as he was, he too engaged Takenouchi Gentan, and, being crippled by
+the gashes he had received, was in deadly peril. Then the man who had
+come up from the castle-town to act as Matayemon's second cried out--
+
+"See there, Sir Matayemon, your follower who is fighting with Gentan
+is in great danger. Do you go to his rescue, and second Sir Kazuma: I
+will give an account of the others!"
+
+"Great thanks to you, sir. I will go and second Kazuma."
+
+So Matayemon went to help Kazuma, whilst his second and the infantry
+soldiers kept back the surviving Ronins, who, already wearied by their
+fight with Matayemon, were unfit for any further exertion. Kazuma
+meanwhile was still fighting with Matagoro, and the issue of the
+conflict was doubtful; and Takenouchi Gentan, in his attempt to rescue
+Matagoro, was being kept at bay by Magohachi, who, weakened by his
+wounds, and blinded by the blood which was streaming into his eyes
+from a cut in the forehead, had given himself up for lost when
+Matayemon came and cried--
+
+"Be of good cheer, Magohachi; it is I, Matayemon, who have come to the
+rescue. You are badly hurt; get out of harm's way, and rest yourself."
+
+Then Magohachi, who until then had been kept up by his anxiety for
+Kazuma's safety, gave in, and fell fainting from loss of blood; and
+Matayemon worsted and slew Gentan; and even then, although be had
+received two wounds, he was not exhausted, but drew near to Kazuma and
+said--
+
+"Courage, Kazuma! The Ronins are all killed, and there now remains
+only Matagoro, your father's murderer. Fight and win!"
+
+The youth, thus encouraged, redoubled his efforts; but Matagoro,
+losing heart, quailed and fell. So Kazuma's vengeance was fulfilled,
+and the desire of his heart was accomplished.
+
+The two faithful retainers, who had died in their loyalty, were buried
+with great ceremony, and Kazuma carried the head of Matagoro and
+piously laid it upon his father's tomb.
+
+So ends the tale of Kazuma's revenge.
+
+I fear that stories of which killing and bloodshed form the principal
+features can hardly enlist much sympathy in these peaceful days.
+Still, when such tales are based upon history, they are interesting to
+students of social phenomena. The story of Kazuma's revenge is mixed
+up with events which at the present time are peculiarly significant: I
+mean the feud between the great Daimios and the Hatamotos. Those who
+have followed the modern history of Japan will see that the recent
+struggle, which has ended in the ruin of the Tycoon's power and the
+abolition of his office, was the outburst of a hidden fire which had
+been smouldering for centuries. But the repressive might had been
+gradually weakened, and contact with Western powers had rendered still
+more odious a feudality which men felt to be out of date. The
+revolution which has ended in the triumph of the Daimios over the
+Tycoon, is also the triumph of the vassal over his feudal lord, and is
+the harbinger of political life to the people at large. In the time of
+Iyeyasu the burden might be hateful, but it had to be borne; and so it
+would have been to this day, had not circumstances from without broken
+the spell. The Japanese Daimio, in advocating the isolation of his
+country, was hugging the very yoke which he hated. Strange to say,
+however, there are still men who, while they embrace the new political
+creed, yet praise the past, and look back with regret upon the day
+when Japan stood alone, without part or share in the great family of
+nations.
+
+NOTE.--_Hatamoto_. This word means "_under the flag_." The Hatamotos
+were men who, as their name implied, rallied round the standard of the
+Shogun, or Tycoon, in war-time. They were eighty thousand in number.
+When Iyeyasu left the Province of Mikawa and became Shogun, the
+retainers whom he ennobled, and who received from him grants of land
+yielding revenue to the amount of ten thousand kokus of rice a year,
+and from that down to one hundred kokus, were called _Hatamoto_. In
+return for these grants of land, the Hatamotos had in war-time to
+furnish a contingent of soldiers in proportion to their revenue. For
+every thousand kokus of rice five men were required. Those Hatamotos
+whose revenue fell short of a thousand kokus substituted a quota of
+money. In time of peace most of the minor offices of the Tycoon's
+government were filled by Hatamotos, the more important places being
+held by the Fudai, or vassal Daimios of the Shogun. Seven years ago,
+in imitation of the customs of foreign nations, a standing army was
+founded; and then the Hatamotos had to contribute their quota of men
+or of money, whether the country were at peace or at war. When the
+Shogun was reduced in 1868 to the rank of a simple Daimio, his revenue
+of eight million kokus reverted to the Government, with the exception
+of seven hundred thousand kokus. The title of Hatamoto exists no more,
+and those who until a few months ago held the rank are for the most
+part ruined or dispersed. From having been perhaps the proudest and
+most overbearing class in Japan, they are driven to the utmost straits
+of poverty. Some have gone into trade, with the heirlooms of their
+families as their stock; others are wandering through the country as
+Ronins; while a small minority have been allowed to follow the fallen
+fortunes of their master's family, the present chief of which is known
+as the Prince of Tokugawa. Thus are the eighty thousand dispersed.
+
+The koku of rice, in which all revenue is calculated, is of varying
+value. At the cheapest it is worth rather more than a pound sterling,
+and sometimes almost three times as much. The salaries of officials
+being paid in rice, it follows that there is a large and influential
+class throughout the country who are interested in keeping up the
+price of the staple article of food. Hence the opposition with which a
+free trade in rice has met, even in famine times. Hence also the
+frequent so-called "Rice Riots."
+
+The amounts at which the lands formerly held by the chief Daimios, but
+now patriotically given up by them to the Mikado, were assessed, sound
+fabulous. The Prince of Kaga alone had an income of more than one
+million two hundred thousand kokus. Yet these great proprietors were,
+latterly at least, embarrassed men. They had many thousand mouths to
+feed, and were mulcted of their dues right and left; while their mania
+for buying foreign ships and munitions of war, often at exorbitant
+prices, had plunged them heavily in debt.
+
+
+
+
+A STORY OF THE OTOKODATE OF YEDO;
+
+
+BEING THE SUPPLEMENT OF
+
+THE STORY OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI
+
+
+The word Otokodate occurs several times in these Tales; and as I
+cannot convey its full meaning by a simple translation, I must
+preserve it in the text, explaining it by the following note, taken
+from the Japanese of a native scholar.
+
+The Otokodate were friendly associations of brave men bound together
+by an obligation to stand by one another in weal or in woe, regardless
+of their own lives, and without inquiring into one another's
+antecedents. A bad man, however, having joined the Otokodate must
+forsake his evil ways; for their principle was to treat the oppressor
+as an enemy, and to help the feeble as a father does his child. If
+they had money, they gave it to those that had none, and their
+charitable deeds won for them the respect of all men. The head of the
+society was called its "Father"; if any of the others, who were his
+apprentices, were homeless, they lived with the Father and served him,
+paying him at the same time a small fee, in consideration of which, if
+they fell sick or into misfortune, he took charge of them and assisted
+them.
+
+The Father of the Otokodate pursued the calling of farming out coolies
+to the Daimios and great personages for their journeys to and from
+Yedo, and in return for this received from them rations in rice. He
+had more influence with the lower classes even than the officials; and
+if the coolies had struck work or refused to accompany a Daimio on his
+journey, a word from the Father would produce as many men as might be
+required. When Prince Tokugawa Iyemochi, the last but one of the
+Shoguns, left Yedo for Kioto, one Shimmon Tatsugoro, chief of the
+Otokodate, undertook the management of his journey, and some three or
+four years ago was raised to the dignity of Hatamoto for many faithful
+services. After the battle of Fushimi, and the abolition of the
+Shogunate, he accompanied the last of the Shoguns in his retirement.
+
+In old days there were also Otokodate among the Hatamotos; this was
+after the civil wars of the time of Iyeyasu, when, though the country
+was at peace, the minds of men were still in a state of high
+excitement, and could not be reconciled to the dulness of a state of
+rest; it followed that broils and faction fights were continually
+taking place among the young men of the Samurai class, and that those
+who distinguished themselves by their personal strength and valour
+were looked up to as captains. Leagues after the manner of those
+existing among the German students were formed in different quarters
+of the city, under various names, and used to fight for the honour of
+victory. When the country became more thoroughly tranquil, the custom
+of forming these leagues amongst gentlemen fell into disuse.
+
+The past tense is used in speaking even of the Otokodate of the lower
+classes; for although they nominally exist, they have no longer the
+power and importance which they enjoyed at the time to which these
+stories belong. They then, like the 'prentices of Old London, played a
+considerable part in the society of the great cities, and that man was
+lucky, were he gentle Samurai or simple wardsman, who could claim the
+Father of the Otokodate for his friend.
+
+The word, taken by itself, means a manly or plucky fellow.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Chobei of Bandzuin was the chief of the Otokodate of Yedo. He was
+originally called Itaro, and was the son of a certain Ronin who lived
+in the country. One day, when he was only ten years of age, he went
+out with a playfellow to bathe in the river; and as the two were
+playing they quarrelled over their game, and Itaro, seizing the other
+boy, threw him into the river and drowned him.
+
+Then he went home, and said to his father--
+
+"I went to play by the river to-day, with a friend; and as he was rude
+to me, I threw him into the water and killed him."
+
+When his father heard him speak thus, quite calmly, as if nothing had
+happened, he was thunderstruck, and said--
+
+"This is indeed a fearful thing. Child as you are, you will have to
+pay the penalty of your deed; so to-night you must fly to Yedo in
+secret, and take service with some noble Samurai, and perhaps in time
+you may become a soldier yourself."
+
+With these words he gave him twenty ounces of silver and a fine sword,
+made by the famous swordsmith Rai Kunitoshi, and sent him out of the
+province with all dispatch. The following morning the parents of the
+murdered child came to claim that Itaro should be given up to their
+vengeance; but it was too late, and all they could do was to bury
+their child and mourn for his loss.
+
+Itaro made his way to Yedo in hot haste, and there found employment as
+a shop-boy; but soon tiring of that sort of life, and burning to
+become a soldier, he found means at last to enter the service of a
+certain Hatamoto called Sakurai Shozayemon, and changed his name to
+Tsunehei. Now this Sakurai Shozayemon had a son, called Shonosuke, a
+young man in his seventeenth year, who grew so fond of Tsunehei that
+he took him with him wherever he went, and treated him in all ways as
+an equal.
+
+When Shonosuke went to the fencing-school Tsunehei would accompany
+him, and thus, as he was by nature strong and active, soon became a
+good swordsman.
+
+One day, when Shozayemon had gone out, his son Shonosuke said to
+Tsunehei--
+
+"You know how fond my father is of playing at football: it must be
+great sport. As he has gone out to-day, suppose you and I have a
+game?"
+
+"That will be rare sport," answered Tsunehei. "Let us make haste and
+play, before my lord comes home."
+
+So the two boys went out into the garden, and began trying to kick the
+football; but, lacking skill, do what they would, they could not lift
+it from the ground. At last Shonosuke, with a vigorous kick, raised
+the football; but, having missed his aim, it went tumbling over the
+wall into the next garden, which belonged to one Hikosaka Zempachi, a
+teacher of lance exercise, who was known to be a surly, ill-tempered
+fellow.
+
+"Oh, dear! what shall we do?" said Shonosuke. "We have lost my
+father's football in his absence; and if we go and ask for it back
+from that churlish neighbour of ours, we shall only be scolded and
+sworn at for our pains."
+
+"Oh, never mind," answered Tsunehei; "I will go and apologize for our
+carelessness, and get the football back."
+
+"Well, but then you will be chidden, and I don't want that."
+
+"Never mind me. Little care I for his cross words." So Tsunehei went
+to the next-door house to reclaim the ball.
+
+Now it so happened that Zempachi, the surly neighbour, had been
+walking in his garden whilst the two youths were playing; and as he
+was admiring the beauty of his favourite chrysanthemums, the football
+came flying over the wall and struck him full in the face. Zempachi,
+not used to anything but flattery and coaxing, flew into a violent
+rage at this; and while he was thinking how he would revenge himself
+upon any one who might be sent to ask for the lost ball, Tsunehei came
+in, and said to one of Zempachi's servants--
+
+"I am sorry to say that in my lord's absence I took his football, and,
+in trying to play with it, clumsily kicked it over your wall. I beg
+you to excuse my carelessness, and to be so good as to give me back
+the ball."
+
+The servant went in and repeated this to Zempachi, who worked himself
+up into a great rage, and ordered Tsunehei to be brought before him,
+and said--
+
+"Here, fellow, is your name Tsunehei?"
+
+"Yes, sir, at your service. I am almost afraid to ask pardon for my
+carelessness; but please forgive me, and let me have the ball."
+
+"I thought your master, Shozayemon, was to blame for this; but it
+seems that it was you who kicked the football."
+
+"Yes, sir. I am sure I am very sorry for what I have done. Please, may
+I ask for the ball?" said Tsunehei, bowing humbly.
+
+For a while Zempachi made no answer, but at length he said--
+
+"Do you know, villain, that your dirty football struck me in the
+face? I ought, by rights, to kill you on the spot for this; but I will
+spare your life this time, so take your football and be off." And with
+that he went up to Tsunehei and beat him, and kicked him in the head,
+and spat in his face.
+
+Then Tsunehei, who up to that time had demeaned himself very humbly,
+in his eagerness to get back the football, jumped up in a fury, and
+said--
+
+"I made ample apologies to you for my carelessness, and now you have
+insulted and struck me. Ill-mannered ruffian! take back the
+ball,--I'll none of it;" and he drew his dirk, and cutting the
+football in two, threw it at Zempachi, and returned home.
+
+But Zempachi, growing more and more angry, called one of his servants,
+and said to him--
+
+"That fellow, Tsunehei, has been most insolent: go next door and find
+out Shozayemon, and tell him that I have ordered you to bring back
+Tsunehei, that I may kill him."
+
+So the servant went to deliver the message.
+
+In the meantime Tsunehei went back to his master's house; and when
+Shonosuke saw him, he said--
+
+"Well, of course you have been ill treated; but did you get back the
+football?"
+
+"When I went in, I made many apologies; but I was beaten, and kicked
+in the head, and treated with the greatest indignity. I would have
+killed that wretch, Zempachi, at once, but that I knew that, if I did
+so while I was yet a member of your household, I should bring trouble
+upon your family. For your sake I bore this ill-treatment patiently;
+but now I pray you let me take leave of you and become a Ronin, that I
+may be revenged upon this man."
+
+"Think well what you are doing," answered Shonosuke. "After all, we
+have only lost a football; and my father will not care, nor upbraid
+us."
+
+But Tsimehei would not listen to him, and was bent upon wiping out the
+affront that he had received. As they were talking, the messenger
+arrived from Zempachi, demanding the surrender of Tsunehei, on the
+ground that he had insulted him: to this Shonosuke replied that his
+father was away from home, and that in his absence he could do
+nothing.
+
+At last Shozayemon came home; and when he heard what had happened he
+was much grieved, and at a loss what to do, when a second messenger
+arrived from Zempachi, demanding that Tsunehei should be given up
+without delay. Then Shozayemon, seeing that the matter was serious,
+called the youth to him, and said--
+
+"This Zempachi is heartless and cruel, and if you go to his house will
+assuredly kill you; take, therefore, these fifty riyos, and fly to
+Osaka or Kioto, where you may safely set up in business."
+
+"Sir," answered Tsunehei, with tears of gratitude for his lord's
+kindness, "from my heart I thank you for your great goodness; but I
+have been insulted and trampled upon, and, if I lay down my life in
+the attempt, I will repay Zempachi for what he has this day done."
+
+"Well, then, since you needs must be revenged, go and fight, and may
+success attend you! Still, as much depends upon the blade you carry,
+and I fear yours is likely to be but a sorry weapon, I will give you a
+sword;" and with this he offered Tsunehei his own.
+
+"Nay, my lord," replied Tsunehei; "I have a famous sword, by Rai
+Kunitoshi, which my father gave me. I have never shown it to your
+lordship, but I have it safely stowed away in my room."
+
+When Shozayemon saw and examined the sword, he admired it greatly, and
+said, "This is indeed a beautiful blade, and one on which you may
+rely. Take it, then, and bear yourself nobly in the fight; only
+remember that Zempachi is a cunning spearsman, and be sure to be very
+cautious."
+
+So Tsunehei, after thanking his lord for his manifold kindnesses, took
+an affectionate leave, and went to Zempachi's house, and said to the
+servant--
+
+"It seems that your master wants to speak to me. Be so good as to take
+me to see him."
+
+So the servant led him into the garden, where Zempachi, spear in hand,
+was waiting to kill him. When Zempachi saw him, he cried out--
+
+"Ha! so you have come back; and now for your insolence, this day I
+mean to kill you with my own hand."
+
+"Insolent yourself!" replied Tsunehei. "Beast, and no Samurai! Come,
+let us see which of us is the better man."
+
+Furiously incensed, Zempachi thrust with his spear at Tsunehei; but
+he, trusting to his good sword, attacked Zempachi, who, cunning
+warrior as he was, could gain no advantage. At last Zempachi, losing
+his temper, began fighting less carefully, so that Tsunehei found an
+opportunity of cutting the shaft of his spear. Zempachi then drew his
+sword, and two of his retainers came up to assist him; but Tsunehei
+killed one of them, and wounded Zempachi in the forehead. The second
+retainer fled affrighted at the youth's valour, and Zempachi was
+blinded by the blood which flowed from the wound on his forehead. Then
+Tsunehei said--
+
+"To kill one who is as a blind man were unworthy a soldier. Wipe the
+blood from your eyes, Sir Zempachi, and let us fight it out fairly."
+
+So Zempachi, wiping away his blood, bound a kerchief round his head,
+and fought again desperately. But at last the pain of his wound and
+the loss of blood overcame him, and Tsunehei cut him down with a wound
+in the shoulder and easily dispatched him.
+
+Then Tsunehei went and reported the whole matter to the Governor of
+Yedo, and was put in prison until an inquiry could be made. But the
+Chief Priest of Bandzuin, who had heard of the affair, went and told
+the governor all the bad deeds of Zempachi, and having procured
+Tsunehei's pardon, took him home and employed him as porter in the
+temple. So Tsunehei changed his name to Chobei, and earned much
+respect in the neighbourhood, both for his talents and for his many
+good works. If any man were in distress, he would help him, heedless
+of his own advantage or danger, until men came to look up to him as to
+a father, and many youths joined him and became his apprentices. So he
+built a house at Hanakawado, in Asakusa, and lived there with his
+apprentices, whom he farmed out as spearsmen and footmen to the
+Daimios and Hatamotos, taking for himself the tithe of their earnings.
+But if any of them were sick or in trouble, Chobei would nurse and
+support them, and provide physicians and medicine. And the fame of his
+goodness went abroad until his apprentices were more than two thousand
+men, and were employed in every part of the city. But as for Chobei,
+the more he prospered, the more he gave in charity, and all men
+praised his good and generous heart.
+
+This was the time when the Hatamotos had formed themselves into bands
+of Otokodate,[21] of which Midzuno Jiurozayemon, Kondo Noborinosuke,
+and Abe Shirogoro were the chiefs. And the leagues of the nobles
+despised the leagues of the wardsmen, and treated them with scorn, and
+tried to put to shame Chobei and his brave men; but the nobles'
+weapons recoiled upon themselves, and, whenever they tried to bring
+contempt upon Chobei, they themselves were brought to ridicule. So
+there was great hatred on both sides.
+
+[Footnote 21: See the story of Kazuma's Revenge.]
+
+One day, that Chobei went to divert himself in a tea-house in the
+Yoshiwara, he saw a felt carpet spread in an upper room, which had
+been adorned as for some special occasion; and he asked the master of
+the house what guest of distinction was expected. The landlord replied
+that my Lord Jiurozayemon, the chief of the Otokodate of the
+Hatamotos, was due there that afternoon. On hearing this, Chobei
+replied that as he much wished to meet my Lord Jiurozayemon, he would
+lie down and await his coming. The landlord was put out at this, and
+knew not what to say; but yet he dare not thwart Chobei, the powerful
+chief of the Otokodate. So Chobei took off his clothes and laid
+himself down upon the carpet. After a while my Lord Jiurozayemon
+arrived, and going upstairs found a man of large stature lying naked
+upon the carpet which had been spread for him.
+
+"What low ruffian is this?" shouted he angrily to the landlord.
+
+"My lord, it is Chobei, the chief of the Otokodate," answered the man,
+trembling.
+
+Jiurozayemon at once suspected that Chobei was doing this to insult
+him; so he sat down by the side of the sleeping man, and lighting his
+pipe began to smoke. When he had finished his pipe, he emptied the
+burning ashes into Chobei's navel; but Chobei, patiently bearing the
+pain, still feigned sleep. Ten times did Jiurozayemon fill his
+pipe,[22] and ten times he shook out the burning ashes on to Chobei's
+navel; but he neither stirred nor spoke. Then Jiurozayemon, astonished
+at his fortitude, shook him, and roused him, saying--
+
+"Chobei! Chobei! wake up, man."
+
+"What is the matter?" said Chobei, rubbing his eyes as though he were
+awaking from a deep sleep; then seeing Jiurozayemon, he pretended to
+be startled, and said, "Oh, my lord, I know not who you are; but I
+have been very rude to your lordship. I was overcome with wine, and
+fell asleep: I pray your lordship to forgive me."
+
+"Is your name Chobei?"
+
+"Yes, my lord, at your service. A poor wardsman, and ignorant of good
+manners, I have been very rude; but I pray your lordship to excuse my
+ill-breeding."
+
+"Nay, nay; we have all heard the fame of Chobei, of Bandzuin, and I
+hold myself lucky to have met you this day. Let us be friends."
+
+"It is a great honour for a humble wardsman to meet a nobleman face to
+face."
+
+[Footnote 22: The tiny Japanese pipe contains but two or three whiffs;
+and as the tobacco is rolled up tightly in the fingers before it is
+inserted, the ash, when shaken out, is a little fire-ball from which a
+second pipe is lighted.]
+
+As they were speaking, the waitresses brought in fish and wine, and
+Jiurozayemon pressed Chobei to feast with him; and thinking to annoy
+Chobei, offered him a large wine-cup,[23] which, however, he drank
+without shrinking, and then returned to his entertainer, who was by no
+means so well able to bear the fumes of the wine. Then Jiurozayemon
+hit upon another device for annoying Chobei, and, hoping to frighten
+him, said--
+
+"Here, Chobei, let me offer you some fish;" and with those words he
+drew his sword, and, picking up a cake of baked fish upon the point of
+it, thrust it towards the wardsman's mouth. Any ordinary man would
+have been afraid to accept the morsel so roughly offered; but Chobei
+simply opened his mouth, and taking the cake off the sword's point ate
+it without wincing. Whilst Jiurozayemon was wondering in his heart
+what manner of man this was, that nothing could daunt, Chobei said to
+him--
+
+"This meeting with your lordship has been an auspicious occasion to
+me, and I would fain ask leave to offer some humble gift to your
+lordship in memory of it.[24] Is there anything which your lordship
+would specially fancy?"
+
+"I am very fond of cold macaroni."
+
+[Footnote 23: It is an act of rudeness to offer a large wine-cup. As,
+however, the same cup is returned to the person who has offered it,
+the ill carries with it its own remedy. At a Japanese feast the same
+cup is passed from hand to hand, each person rinsing it in a bowl of
+water after using it, and before offering it to another.]
+
+
+[Footnote 24: The giving of presents from inferiors to superiors is a
+common custom.]
+
+"Then I shall have the honour of ordering some for your lordship;" and
+with this Chobei went downstairs, and calling one of his apprentices,
+named Token Gombei,[25] who was waiting for him, gave him a hundred
+riyos (about L28), and bade him collect all the cold macaroni to be
+found in the neighbouring cook-shops and pile it up in front of the
+tea-house. So Gombei went home, and, collecting Chobei's apprentices,
+sent them out in all directions to buy the macaroni. Jiurozayemon all
+this while was thinking of the pleasure he would have in laughing at
+Chobei for offering him a mean and paltry present; but when, by
+degrees, the macaroni began to be piled mountain-high around the
+tea-house, he saw that he could not make a fool of Chobei, and went
+home discomfited.
+
+[Footnote 25: _Token_, a nickname given to Gombei, after a savage dog
+that he killed. As a Chonin, or wardsman, he had no surname.]
+
+It has already been told how Shirai Gompachi was befriended and helped
+by Chobei.[26] His name will occur again in this story.
+
+[Footnote 26: See the story of Gompachi and Komurasaki.]
+
+At this time there lived in the province of Yamato a certain Daimio,
+called Honda Dainaiki, who one day, when surrounded by several of his
+retainers, produced a sword, and bade them look at it and say from
+what smith's workshop the blade had come.
+
+"I think this must be a Masamune blade," said one Fuwa Banzayemon.
+
+"No," said Nagoya Sanza, after examining the weapon attentively, "this
+certainly is a Muramasa."[27]
+
+[Footnote 27: The swords of Muramasa, although so finely tempered that
+they are said to cut hard iron as though it were a melon, have the
+reputation of being unlucky: they are supposed by the superstitious to
+hunger after taking men's lives, and to be unable to repose in their
+scabbards. The principal duty of a sword is to preserve tranquillity
+in the world, by punishing the wicked and protecting the good. But the
+bloodthirsty swords of Muramasa rather have the effect of maddening
+their owners, so that they either kill others indiscriminately or
+commit suicide. At the end of the sixteenth century Prince Tokugawa
+Iyeyasu was in the habit of carrying a spear made by Muramasa, with
+which he often scratched or cut himself by mistake. Hence the Tokugawa
+family avoid girding on Muramasa blades, which are supposed to be
+specially unlucky to their race. The murders of Gompachi, who wore a
+sword by this maker, also contributed to give his weapons a bad name.
+
+The swords of one Toshiro Yoshimitsu, on the other hand, are specially
+auspicious to the Tokugawa family, for the following reason. After
+Iyeyasu had been defeated by Taketa Katsuyori, at the battle of the
+river Tenrin, he took refuge in the house of a village doctor,
+intending to put an end to his existence by _hara-kiri,_ and drawing
+his dirk, which was made by Yoshimitsu, tried to plunge it into his
+belly, when, to his surprise, the blade turned. Thinking that the dirk
+must be a bad one, he took up an iron mortar for grinding medicines
+and tried it upon that, and the point entered and transfixed the
+mortar. He was about to stab himself a second time, when his
+followers, who had missed him, and had been searching for him
+everywhere, came up, and seeing their master about to kill himself,
+stayed his hand, and took away the dirk by force. Then they set him
+upon his horse and compelled him to fly to his own province of Mikawa,
+whilst they kept his pursuers at bay. After this, when, by the favour
+of Heaven, Iyeyasu became Shogun, it was considered that of a surety
+there must have been a good spirit in the blade that refused to drink
+his blood; and ever since that time the blades of Yoshimitsu have been
+considered lucky in his family.]
+
+A third Samurai, named Takagi Umanojo, pronounced it to be the work
+of Shidzu Kanenji; and as they could not agree, but each maintained
+his opinion, their lord sent for a famous connoisseur to decide the
+point; and the sword proved, as Sanza had said, to be a genuine
+Muramasa. Sanza was delighted at the verdict; but the other two went
+home rather crestfallen. Umanojo, although he had been worsted in the
+argument, bore no malice nor ill-will in his heart; but Banzayemon,
+who was a vainglorious personage, puffed up with the idea of his own
+importance, conceived a spite against Sanza, and watched for an
+opportunity to put him to shame. At last, one day Banzayemon, eager to
+be revenged upon Sanza, went to the Prince, and said, "Your lordship
+ought to see Sanza fence; his swordsmanship is beyond all praise. I
+know that I am no match for him; still, if it will please your
+lordship, I will try a bout with him;" and the Prince, who was a mere
+stripling, and thought it would be rare sport, immediately sent for
+Sanza and desired he would fence with Banzayemon. So the two went out
+into the garden, and stood up facing each other, armed with wooden
+swords. Now Banzayemon was proud of his skill, and thought he had no
+equal in fencing; so he expected to gain an easy victory over Sanza,
+and promised himself the luxury of giving his adversary a beating that
+should fully make up for the mortification which he had felt in the
+matter of the dispute about the sword. It happened, however, that he
+had undervalued the skill of Sanza, who, when he saw that his
+adversary was attacking him savagely and in good earnest, by a rapid
+blow struck Banzayemon so sharply on the wrist that he dropped the
+sword, and, before he could pick it up again, delivered a second cut
+on the shoulder, which sent him rolling over in the dust. All the
+officers present, seeing this, praised Sanza's skill, and Banzayemon,
+utterly stricken with shame, ran away home and hid himself.
+
+After this affair Sanza rose high in the favour of his lord; and
+Banzayemon, who was more than ever jealous of him, feigned sickness,
+and stayed at home devising schemes for Sanza's ruin.
+
+Now it happened that the Prince, wishing to have the Muramasa blade
+mounted, sent for Sanza and entrusted it to his care, ordering him to
+employ the most cunning workmen in the manufacture of the
+scabbard-hilt and ornaments; and Sanza, having received the blade,
+took it home, and put it carefully away. When Banzayemon heard of
+this, he was overjoyed; for he saw that his opportunity for revenge
+had come. He determined, if possible, to kill Sanza, but at any rate
+to steal the sword which had been committed to his care by the Prince,
+knowing full well that if Sanza lost the sword he and his family would
+be ruined. Being a single man, without wife or child, he sold his
+furniture, and, turning all his available property into money, made
+ready to fly the country. When his preparations were concluded, he
+went in the middle of the night to Sanza's house and tried to get in
+by stealth; but the doors and shutters were all carefully bolted from
+the inside, and there was no hole by which he could effect an
+entrance. All was still, however, and the people of the house were
+evidently fast asleep; so he climbed up to the second storey, and,
+having contrived to unfasten a window, made his way in. With soft,
+cat-like footsteps he crept downstairs, and, looking into one of the
+rooms, saw Sanza and his wife sleeping on the mats, with their little
+son Kosanza, a boy of thirteen, curled up in his quilt between them.
+The light in the night-lamp was at its last flicker, but, peering
+through the gloom, he could just see the Prince's famous Muramasa
+sword lying on a sword-rack in the raised part of the room: so he
+crawled stealthily along until he could reach it, and stuck it in his
+girdle. Then, drawing near to Sanza, he bestrode his sleeping body,
+and, brandishing the sword made a thrust at his throat; but in his
+excitement his hand shook, so that he missed his aim, and only
+scratched Sanza, who, waking with a start and trying to jump up, felt
+himself held down by a man standing over him. Stretching out his
+hands, he would have wrestled with his enemy; when Banzayemon, leaping
+back, kicked over the night-lamp, and throwing open the shutters,
+dashed into the garden. Snatching up his sword, Sanza rushed out after
+him; and his wife, having lit a lantern and armed herself with a
+halberd,[28] went out, with her son Kosanza, who carried a drawn dirk,
+to help her husband. Then Banzayemon, who was hiding in the shadow of
+a large pine-tree, seeing the lantern and dreading detection, seized a
+stone and hurled it at the light, and, chancing to strike it, put it
+out, and then scrambling over the fence unseen, fled into the
+darkness. When Sanza had searched all over the garden in vain, he
+returned to his room and examined his wound, which proving very
+slight, he began to look about to see whether the thief had carried
+off anything; but when his eye fell upon the place where the Muramasa
+sword had lain, he saw that it was gone. He hunted everywhere, but it
+was not to be found. The precious blade with which his Prince had
+entrusted him had been stolen, and the blame would fall heavily upon
+him. Filled with grief and shame at the loss, Sanza and his wife and
+child remained in great anxiety until the morning broke, when he
+reported the matter to one of the Prince's councillors, and waited in
+seclusion until he should receive his lord's commands.
+
+[Footnote 28: The halberd is the special arm of the Japanese woman of
+gentle blood. That which was used by Kasa Gozen, one of the ladies of
+Yoshitsune, the hero of the twelfth century, is still preserved at
+Asakusa. In old-fashioned families young ladies are regularly
+instructed in fencing with the halberds.]
+
+It soon became known that Banzayemon, who had fled the province, was
+the thief; and the councillors made their report accordingly to the
+Prince, who, although he expressed his detestation of the mean action
+of Banzayemon, could not absolve Sanza from blame, in that he had not
+taken better precautions to insure the safety of the sword that had
+been committed to his trust. It was decided, therefore, that Sanza
+should be dismissed from his service, and that his goods should be
+confiscated; with the proviso that should he be able to find
+Banzayemon, and recover the lost Muramasa blade, he should be restored
+to his former position. Sanza, who from the first had made up his mind
+that his punishment would be severe, accepted the decree without a
+murmur; and, having committed his wife and son to the care of his
+relations, prepared to leave the country as a Ronin and search for
+Banzayemon.
+
+Before starting, however, he thought that he would go to his
+brother-officer, Takagi Umanojo, and consult with him as to what
+course he should pursue to gain his end. But this Umanojo, who was by
+nature a churlish fellow, answered him unkindly, and said--
+
+"It is true that Banzayemon is a mean thief; but still it was through
+your carelessness that the sword was lost. It is of no avail your
+coming to me for help: you must get it back as best you may."
+
+"Ah!" replied Sanza, "I see that you too bear me a grudge because I
+defeated you in the matter of the judgment of the sword. You are no
+better than Banzayemon yourself."
+
+And his heart was bitter against his fellow men, and he left the house
+determined to kill Umanojo first and afterwards to track out
+Banzayemon; so, pretending to start on his journey, he hid in an inn,
+and waited for an opportunity to attack Umanojo.
+
+One day Umanojo, who was very fond of fishing, had taken his son
+Umanosuke, a lad of sixteen, down to the sea-shore with him; and as
+the two were enjoying themselves, all of a sudden they perceived a
+Samurai running towards them, and when he drew near they saw that it
+was Sanza. Umanojo, thinking that Sanza had come back in order to talk
+over some important matter, left his angling and went to meet him.
+Then Sanza cried out--
+
+"Now, Sir Umanojo, draw and defend yourself. What! were you in league
+with Banzayemon to vent your spite upon me? Draw, sir, draw! You have
+spirited away your accomplice; but, at any rate, you are here
+yourself, and shall answer for your deed. It is no use playing the
+innocent; your astonished face shall not save you. Defend yourself,
+coward and traitor!" and with these words Sanza flourished his naked
+sword.
+
+"Nay, Sir Sanza," replied the other, anxious by a soft answer to turn
+away his wrath; "I am innocent of this deed. Waste not your valour on
+so poor a cause."
+
+"Lying knave!" said Sanza; "think not that you can impose upon me. I
+know your treacherous heart;" and, rushing upon Umanojo, he cut him on
+the forehead so that he fell in agony upon the sand.
+
+Umanosuke in the meanwhile, who had been fishing at some distance from
+his father, rushed up when he saw him in this perilous situation and
+threw a stone at Sanza, hoping to distract his attention; but, before
+he could reach the spot, Sanza had delivered the death-blow, and
+Umanojo lay a corpse upon the beach.
+
+"Stop, Sir Sanza--murderer of my father!" cried Umanosuke, drawing
+his sword, "stop and do battle with me, that I may avenge his death."
+
+"That you should wish to slay your father's enemy," replied Sanza, "is
+but right and proper; and although I had just cause of quarrel with
+your father, and killed him, as a Samurai should, yet would I gladly
+forfeit my life to you here; but my life is precious to me for one
+purpose--that I may punish Banzayemon and get back the stolen sword.
+When I shall have restored that sword to my lord, then will I give you
+your revenge, and you may kill me. A soldier's word is truth; but, as
+a pledge that I will fulfil my promise, I will give to you, as
+hostages, my wife and boy. Stay your avenging hand, I pray you, until
+my desire shall have been attained."
+
+Umanosuke, who was a brave and honest youth, as famous in the clan for
+the goodness of his heart as for his skill in the use of arms, when he
+heard Sanza's humble petition, relented, and said--
+
+"I agree to wait, and will take your wife and boy as hostages for your
+return."
+
+"I humbly thank you," said Sanza. "When I shall have chastised
+Banzayemon, I will return, and you shall claim your revenge."
+
+So Sanza went his way to Yedo to seek for Banzayemon, and Umanosuke
+mourned over his father's grave.
+
+Now Banzayemon, when he arrived in Yedo, found himself friendless and
+without the means of earning his living, when by accident he heard of
+the fame of Chobei of Bandzuin, the chief of the Otokodate, to whom he
+applied for assistance; and having entered the fraternity, supported
+himself by giving fencing-lessons. He had been plying his trade for
+some time, and had earned some little reputation, when Sanza reached
+the city and began his search for him. But the days and months passed
+away, and, after a year's fruitless seeking, Sanza, who had spent all
+his money without obtaining a clue to the whereabouts of his enemy,
+was sorely perplexed, and was driven to live by his wits as a
+fortune-teller. Work as he would, it was a hard matter for him to gain
+the price of his daily food, and, in spite of all his pains, his
+revenge seemed as far off as ever, when he bethought him that the
+Yoshiwara was one of the most bustling places in the city, and that if
+he kept watch there, sooner or later he would be sure to fall in with
+Banzayemon. So be bought a hat of plaited bamboo, that completely
+covered his face, and lay in wait at the Yoshiwara.
+
+One day Banzayemon and two of Chobei's apprentices Token Gombei and
+Shirobei, who, from his wild and indocile nature, was surnamed "the
+Colt," were amusing themselves and drinking in an upper storey of a
+tea-house in the Yoshiwara, when Token Gombei, happening to look down
+upon the street below, saw a Samurai pass by, poorly clad in worn-out
+old clothes, but whose poverty-stricken appearance contrasted with
+his proud and haughty bearing.
+
+"Look there!" said Gombei, calling the attention of the others; "look
+at that Samurai. Dirty and ragged as his coat is, how easy it is to
+see that he is of noble birth! Let us wardsmen dress ourselves up in
+never so fine clothes, we could not look as he does."
+
+"Ay," said Shirobei, "I wish we could make friends with him, and ask
+him up here to drink a cup of wine with us. However, it would not be
+seemly for us wardsmen to go and invite a person of his condition."
+
+"We can easily get over that difficulty," said Banzayemon. "As I am a
+Samurai myself, there will be no impropriety in my going and saying a
+few civil words to him, and bringing him in."
+
+The other two having joyfully accepted the offer, Banzayemon ran
+downstairs, and went up to the strange Samurai and saluted him,
+saying--
+
+"I pray you to wait a moment, Sir Samurai. My name is Fuwa Banzayemon
+at your service. I am a Ronin, as I judge from your appearance that
+you are yourself. I hope you will not think me rude if I venture to
+ask you to honour me with your friendship, and to come into this
+tea-house to drink a cup of wine with me and two of my friends."
+
+The strange Samurai, who was no other than Sanza, looking at the
+speaker through the interstices of his deep bamboo hat, and
+recognizing his enemy Banzayemon, gave a start of surprise, and,
+uncovering his head, said sternly--
+
+"Have you forgotten my face, Banzayemon?"
+
+For a moment Banzayemon was taken aback, but quickly recovering
+himself, he replied, "Ah! Sir Sanza, you may well be angry with me;
+but since I stole the Muramasa sword and fled to Yedo I have known no
+peace: I have been haunted by remorse for my crime. I shall not resist
+your vengeance: do with me as it shall seem best to you; or rather
+take my life, and let there be an end of this quarrel."
+
+"Nay," answered Sanza, "to kill a man who repents him of his sins is a
+base and ignoble action. When you stole from me the Muramasa blade
+which had been confided to my care by my lord, I became a disgraced
+and ruined man. Give me back that sword, that I may lay it before my
+lord, and I will spare your life. I seek to slay no man needlessly."
+
+"Sir Sanza, I thank you for your mercy. At this moment I have not the
+sword by me, but if you will go into yonder tea-house and wait awhile,
+I will fetch it and deliver it into your hands."
+
+Sanza having consented to this, the two men entered the tea-house,
+where Banzayemon's two companions were waiting for them. But
+Banzayemon, ashamed of his own evil deed, still pretended that Sanza
+was a stranger, and introduced him as such, saying--
+
+"Come Sir Samurai, since we have the honour of your company, let me
+offer you a wine-cup."
+
+Banzayemon and the two men pressed the wine-cup upon Sanza so often
+that the fumes gradually got into his head and he fell asleep; the two
+wardsmen, seeing this, went out for a walk, and Banzayemon, left alone
+with the sleeping man, began to revolve fresh plots against him in his
+mind. On a sudden, a thought struck him. Noiselessly seizing Sanza's
+sword, which he had laid aside on entering the room, he stole softly
+downstairs with it, and, carrying it into the back yard, pounded and
+blunted its edge with a stone, and having made it useless as a weapon,
+he replaced it in its scabbard, and running upstairs again laid it in
+its place without disturbing Sanza, who, little suspecting treachery,
+lay sleeping off the effects of the wine. At last, however, he awoke,
+and, ashamed at having been overcome by drink, he said to Banzayemon--
+
+"Come, Banzayemon, we have dallied too long; give me the Muramasa
+sword, and let me go."
+
+"Of course," replied the other, sneeringly, "I am longing to give it
+back to you; but unfortunately, in my poverty, I have been obliged to
+pawn it for fifty ounces of silver. If you have so much money about
+you, give it to me and I will return the sword to you."
+
+"Wretch!" cried Sanza, seeing that Banzayemon was trying to fool him,
+"have I not had enough of your vile tricks? At any rate, if I cannot
+get back the sword, your head shall be laid before my lord in its
+place. Come," added he, stamping his foot impatiently, "defend
+yourself."
+
+"With all my heart. But not here in this tea-house. Let us go to the
+Mound, and fight it out."
+
+"Agreed! There is no need for us to bring trouble on the landlord.
+Come to the Mound of the Yoshiwara."
+
+So they went to the Mound, and drawing their swords, began to fight
+furiously. As the news soon spread abroad through the Yoshiwara that a
+duel was being fought upon the Mound, the people flocked out to see
+the sight; and among them came Token Gombei and Shirobei, Banzayemon's
+companions, who, when they saw that the combatants were their own
+friend and the strange Samurai, tried to interfere and stop the fight,
+but, being hindered by the thickness of the crowd, remained as
+spectators. The two men fought desperately, each driven by fierce rage
+against the other; but Sanza, who was by far the better fencer of the
+two, once, twice, and again dealt blows which should have cut
+Banzayemon down, and yet no blood came forth. Sanza, astonished at
+this, put forth all his strength, and fought so skilfully, that all
+the bystanders applauded him, and Banzayemon, though he knew his
+adversary's sword to be blunted, was so terrified that he stumbled and
+fell. Sanza, brave soldier that he was, scorned to strike a fallen
+foe, and bade him rise and fight again. So they engaged again, and
+Sanza, who from the beginning had had the advantage, slipped and fell
+in his turn; Banzayemon, forgetting the mercy which had been shown to
+him, rushed up, with bloodthirsty joy glaring in his eyes, and stabbed
+Sanza in the side as he lay on the ground. Faint as he was, he could
+not lift his hand to save himself; and his craven foe was about to
+strike him again, when the bystanders all cried shame upon his
+baseness. Then Gombei and Shirobei lifted up their voices and said--
+
+"Hold, coward! Have you forgotten how your own life was spared but a
+moment since? Beast of a Samurai, we have been your friends hitherto,
+but now behold in us the avengers of this brave man."
+
+With these words the two men drew their dirks, and the spectators fell
+back as they rushed in upon Banzayemon, who, terror-stricken by their
+fierce looks and words, fled without having dealt the death-blow to
+Sanza. They tried to pursue him, but he made good his escape, so the
+two men returned to help the wounded man. When he came to himself by
+dint of their kind treatment, they spoke to him and comforted him, and
+asked him what province he came from, that they might write to his
+friends and tell them what had befallen him. Sanza, in a voice faint
+from pain and loss of blood, told them his name and the story of the
+stolen sword, and of his enmity against Banzayemon. "But," said he,
+"just now, when I was fighting, I struck Banzayemon more than once,
+and without effect. How could that have been?" Then they looked at his
+sword, which had fallen by his side, and saw that the edge was all
+broken away. More than ever they felt indignant at the baseness of
+Banzayemon's heart, and redoubled their kindness to Sanza; but, in.
+spite of all their efforts, he grew weaker and weaker, until at last
+his breathing ceased altogether. So they buried the corpse honourably
+in an adjoining temple, and wrote to Sanza's wife and son, describing
+to them the manner of his death.
+
+Now when Sanza's wife, who had long been anxiously expecting her
+husband's return, opened the letter and learned the cruel
+circumstances of his death, she and her son Kosanza mourned bitterly
+over his loss. Then Kosanza, who was now fourteen years old, said to
+his mother--
+
+"Take comfort, mother; for I will go to Yedo and seek out this
+Banzayemon, my father's murderer, and I will surely avenge his death.
+Now, therefore, make ready all that I need for this journey."
+
+And as they were consulting over the manner of their revenge,
+Umanosuke, the son of Umanojo, whom Sanza had slain, having heard of
+the death of his father's enemy, came to the house. But he came with
+no hostile intent. True, Sanza had killed his father, but the widow
+and the orphan were guiltless, and he bore them no ill-will; on the
+contrary, he felt that Banzayemon was their common enemy. It was he
+who by his evil deeds had been the cause of all the mischief that had
+arisen, and now again, by murdering Sanza, he had robbed Umanosuke of
+his revenge. In this spirit he said to Kosanza--
+
+"Sir Kosanza, I hear that your father has been cruelly murdered by
+Banzayemon at Yedo. I know that you will avenge the death of your
+father, as the son of a soldier should: if, therefore, you will accept
+my poor services, I will be your second, and will help you to the best
+of my ability. Banzayemon shall be my enemy, as he is yours."
+
+"Nay, Sir Umanosuke, although I thank you from my heart, I cannot
+accept this favour at your hands. My father Sanza slew your noble
+father: that you should requite this misfortune thus is more than
+kind, but I cannot think of suffering you to risk your life on my
+behalf."
+
+"Listen to me," replied Umanosuke, smiling, "and you will think it
+less strange that I should offer to help you. Last year, when my
+father lay a bleeding corpse on the sea-shore, your father made a
+covenant with me that he would return to give me my revenge, so soon
+as he should have regained the stolen sword. Banzayemon, by murdering
+him on the Mound of the Yoshiwara, has thwarted me in this; and now
+upon whom can I avenge my father's death but upon him whose baseness
+was indeed its cause? Now, therefore, I am determined to go with you
+to Yedo, and not before the murders of our two fathers shall have been
+fully atoned for will we return to our own country."
+
+When Kosanza heard this generous speech, he could not conceal his
+admiration; and the widow, prostrating herself at Umanosuke's feet,
+shed tears of gratitude.
+
+The two youths, having agreed to stand by one another, made all ready
+for their journey, and obtained leave from their prince to go in
+search of the traitor Banzayemon. They reached Yedo without meeting
+with any adventures, and, taking up their abode at a cheap inn, began
+to make their inquiries; but, although they sought far and wide, they
+could learn no tidings of their enemy. When three months had passed
+thus, Kosanza began to grow faint-hearted at their repeated failures;
+but Umanosuke supported and comforted him, urging him to fresh
+efforts. But soon a great misfortune befell them: Kosanza fell sick
+with ophthalmia, and neither the tender nursing of his friend, nor the
+drugs and doctors upon whom Umanosuke spent all their money, had any
+effect on the suffering boy, who soon became stone blind. Friendless
+and penniless, the one deprived of his eyesight and only a clog upon
+the other, the two youths were thrown upon their own resources. Then
+Umanosuke, reduced to the last extremity of distress, was forced to
+lead out Kosanza to Asakusa to beg sitting by the roadside, whilst he
+himself, wandering hither and thither, picked up what he could from
+the charity of those who saw his wretched plight. But all this while
+he never lost sight of his revenge, and almost thanked the chance
+which had made him a beggar, for the opportunity which it gave him of
+hunting out strange and hidden haunts of vagabond life into which in
+his more prosperous condition he could not have penetrated. So he
+walked to and fro through the city, leaning on a stout staff, in which
+he had hidden his sword, waiting patiently for fortune to bring him
+face to face with Banzayemon.
+
+[Illustration: TRICKS OF SWORDSMANSHIP AT ASAKUSA.]
+
+Now Banzayemon, after he had killed Sanza on the Mound of the
+Yoshiwara, did not dare to show his face again in the house of Chobei,
+the Father of the Otokodate; for he knew that the two men, Token
+Gombei and Shirobei "the loose Colt," would not only bear an evil
+report of him, but would even kill him if he fell into their hands, so
+great had been their indignation at his cowardly Conduct; so he
+entered a company of mountebanks, and earned his living by showing
+tricks of swordsmanship, and selling tooth-powder at the Okuyama, at
+Asakusa.[29] One day, as he was going towards Asakusa to ply his
+trade, he caught sight of a blind beggar, in whom, in spite of his
+poverty-stricken and altered appearance, he recognized the son of his
+enemy. Rightly he judged that, in spite of the boy's apparently
+helpless condition, the discovery boded no weal for him; so mounting
+to the upper storey of a tea-house hard by, he watched to see who
+should come to Kosanza's assistance. Nor had he to wait long, for
+presently he saw a second beggar come up and speak words of
+encouragement and kindness to the blind youth; and looking
+attentively, he saw that the new-comer was Umanosuke. Having thus
+discovered who was on his track, he went home and sought means of
+killing the two beggars; so he lay in wait and traced them to the poor
+hut where they dwelt, and one night, when he knew Umanosuke to be
+absent, he crept in. Kosanza, being blind, thought that the footsteps
+were those of Umanosuke, and jumped up to welcome him; but he, in his
+heartless cruelty, which not even the boy's piteous state could move,
+slew Kosanza as he helplessly stretched out his hands to feel for his
+friend. The deed was yet unfinished when Umanosuke returned, and,
+hearing a scuffle inside the hut, drew the sword which was hidden in
+his staff and rushed in; but Banzayemon, profiting by the darkness,
+eluded him and fled from the hut. Umanosuke followed swiftly after
+him; but just as he was on the point of catching him, Banzayemon,
+making a sweep backwards with his drawn sword, wounded Umanosuke in
+the thigh, so that he stumbled and fell, and the murderer, swift of
+foot, made good his escape. The wounded youth tried to pursue him
+again, but being compelled by the pain of his wound to desist,
+returned home and found his blind companion lying dead, weltering in
+his own blood. Cursing his unhappy fate, he called in the beggars of
+the fraternity to which he belonged, and between them they buried
+Kosanza, and he himself being too poor to procure a surgeon's aid, or
+to buy healing medicaments for his wound, became a cripple.
+
+[Footnote 29: See Note at end of story.]
+
+It was at this time that Shirai Gompachi, who was living under the
+protection of Chobei, the Father of the Otokodate, was in love with
+Komurasaki, the beautiful courtesan who lived at the sign of the Three
+Sea-shores, in the Yoshiwara. He had long exhausted the scanty
+supplies which he possessed, and was now in the habit of feeding his
+purse by murder and robbery, that he might have means to pursue his
+wild and extravagant life. One night, when he was out on his cutthroat
+business, his fellows, who had long suspected that he was after no
+good, sent one of their number, named Seibei, to watch him. Gompachi,
+little dreaming that any one was following him, swaggered along the
+street until he fell in with a wardsman, whom he cut down and robbed;
+but the booty proving small, he waited for a second chance, and,
+seeing a light moving in the distance, hid himself in the shadow of a
+large tub for catching rain-water till the bearer of the lantern
+should come up. When the man drew near, Gompachi saw that he was
+dressed as a traveller, and wore a long dirk; so he sprung out from
+his lurking-place and made to kill him; but the traveller nimbly
+jumped on one side, and proved no mean adversary, for he drew his dirk
+and fought stoutly for his life. However, he was no match for so
+skilful a swordsman as Gompachi, who, after a sharp struggle,
+dispatched him, and carried off his purse, which contained two hundred
+riyos. Overjoyed at having found so rich a prize, Gompachi was making
+off for the Yoshiwara, when Seibei, who, horror-stricken, had seen
+both murders, came up and began to upbraid him for his wickedness. But
+Gompachi was so smooth-spoken and so well liked by his comrades, that
+he easily persuaded Seibei to hush the matter up, and accompany him to
+the Yoshiwara for a little diversion. As they were talking by the way,
+Seibei said to Gompachi--
+
+"I bought a new dirk the other day, but I have not had an opportunity
+to try it yet. You have had so much experience in swords that you
+ought to be a good judge. Pray look at this dirk, and tell me whether
+you think it good for anything."
+
+"We'll soon see what sort of metal it is made of," answered Gompachi.
+"We'll just try it on the first beggar we come across."
+
+At first Seibei was horrified by this cruel proposal, but by degrees
+he yielded to his companion's persuasions; and so they went on their
+way until Seibei spied out a crippled beggar lying asleep on the bank
+outside the Yoshiwara. The sound of their footsteps aroused the
+beggar, who seeing a Samurai and a wardsman pointing at him, and
+evidently speaking about him, thought that their consultation could
+bode him no good. So he pretended to be still asleep, watching them
+carefully all the while; and when Seibei went up to him, brandishing
+his dirk, the beggar, avoiding the blow, seized Seibei's arm, and
+twisting it round, flung him into the ditch below. Gompachi, seeing
+his companion's discomfiture, attacked the beggar, who, drawing a
+sword from his staff, made such lightning-swift passes that, crippled
+though he was, and unable to move his legs freely, Gompachi could not
+overpower him; and although Seibei crawled out of the ditch and came
+to his assistance, the beggar, nothing daunted, dealt his blows about
+him to such good purpose that he wounded Seibei in the temple and arm.
+Then Gompachi, reflecting that after all he had no quarrel with the
+beggar, and that he had better attend to Seibei's wounds than go on
+fighting to no purpose, drew Seibei away, leaving the beggar, who was
+too lame to follow them, in peace. When he examined Seibei's wounds,
+he found that they were so severe that they must give up their night's
+frolic and go home. So they went back to the house of Chobei, the
+Father of the Otokodate, and Seibei, afraid to show himself with his
+sword-cuts, feigned sickness, and went to bed. On the following
+morning Chobei, happening to need his apprentice Seibei's services,
+sent for him, and was told that he was sick; so he went to the room,
+where he lay abed, and, to his astonishment, saw the cut upon his
+temple. At first the wounded man refused to answer any questions as to
+how he had been hurt; but at last, on being pressed by Chobei, he told
+the whole story of what had taken place the night before. When Chobei
+heard the tale, be guessed that the valiant beggar must be some noble
+Samurai in disguise, who, having a wrong to avenge, was biding his
+time to meet with his enemy; and wishing to help so brave a man, he
+went in the evening, with his two faithful apprentices, Token Gombei
+and Shirobei "the loose Colt," to the bank outside the Yoshiwara to
+seek out the beggar. The latter, not one whit frightened by the
+adventure of the previous night, had taken his place as usual, and was
+lying on the bank, when Chobei came up to him, and said--
+
+"Sir, I am Chobei, the chief of the Otokodate, at your service. I have
+learnt with deep regret that two of my men insulted and attacked you
+last night. However, happily, even Gompachi, famous swordsman though
+he be, was no match for you, and had to beat a retreat before you. I
+know, therefore, that you must be a noble Samurai, who by some ill
+chance have become a cripple and a beggar. Now, therefore, I pray you
+tell me all your story; for, humble wardsman as I am, I may be able to
+assist you, if you will condescend to allow me."
+
+The cripple at first tried to shun Chobei's questions; but at last,
+touched by the honesty and kindness of his speech, he replied--
+
+"Sir, my name is Takagi Umanosuke, and I am a native of Yamato;" and
+then he went on to narrate all the misfortunes which the wickedness of
+Banzayemon had brought about.
+
+"This is indeed a strange story," said Chobei who had listened with
+indignation. "This Banzayemon, before I knew the blackness of his
+heart, was once under my protection. But after he murdered Sanza, hard
+by here, he was pursued by these two apprentices of mine, and since
+that day he has been no more to my house."
+
+When he had introduced the two apprentices to Umanosuke, Chobei pulled
+forth a suit of silk clothes befitting a gentleman, and having made
+the crippled youth lay aside his beggar's raiment, led him to a bath,
+and had his hair dressed. Then he bade Token Gombei lodge him and take
+charge of him, and, having sent for a famous physician, caused
+Umanosuke to undergo careful treatment for the wound in his thigh. In
+the course of two months the pain had almost disappeared, so that he
+could stand easily; and when, after another month, he could walk about
+a little, Chobei removed him to his own house, pretending to his wife
+and apprentices that he was one of his own relations who had come on a
+visit to him.
+
+After a while, when Umanosuke had become quite cured, he went one day
+to worship at a famous temple, and on his way home after dark he was
+overtaken by a shower of rain, and took shelter under the eaves of a
+house, in a part of the city called Yanagiwara, waiting for the sky to
+clear. Now it happened that this same night Gompachi had gone out on
+one of his bloody expeditions, to which his poverty and his love for
+Komurasaki drove him in spite of himself, and, seeing a Samurai
+standing in the gloom, he sprang upon him before he had recognized
+Umanosuke, whom he knew as a friend of his patron Chobei. Umanosuke
+drew and defended himself, and soon contrived to slash Gompachi on the
+forehead; so that the latter, seeing himself overmatched, fled under
+the cover of the night. Umanosuke, fearing to hurt his recently healed
+wound, did not give chase, and went quietly back to Chobei's house.
+When Gompachi returned home, he hatched a story to deceive Chobei as
+to the cause of the wound on his forehead. Chobei, however, having
+overheard Umanosuke reproving Gompachi for his wickedness, soon became
+aware of the truth; and not caring to keep a robber and murderer near
+him, gave Gompachi a present of money, and bade him return to his
+house no more.
+
+And now Chobei, seeing that Umanosuke had recovered his strength,
+divided his apprentices into bands, to hunt out Banzayemon, in order
+that the vendetta might be accomplished. It soon was reported to him
+that Banzayemon was earning his living among the mountebanks of
+Asakusa; so Chobei communicated this intelligence to Umanosuke, who
+made his preparations accordingly; and on the following morning the
+two went to Asakusa, where Banzayemon was astonishing a crowd of
+country boors by exhibiting tricks with his sword.
+
+Then Umanosuke, striding through the gaping rabble, shouted out--
+
+"False, murderous coward, your day has come! I, Umanosuke, the son of
+Umanojo, have come to demand vengeance for the death of three innocent
+men who have perished by your treachery. If you are a man, defend
+yourself. This day shall your soul see hell!"
+
+With these words he rushed furiously upon Banzayemon, who, seeing
+escape to be impossible, stood upon his guard. But his coward's heart
+quailed before the avenger, and he soon lay bleeding at his enemy's
+feet.
+
+But who shall say how Umanosuke thanked Chobei for his assistance; or
+how, when he had returned to his own country, he treasured up his
+gratitude in his heart, looking upon Chobei as more than a second
+father?
+
+Thus did Chobei use his power to punish the wicked, and to reward the
+good--giving of his abundance to the poor, and succouring the
+unfortunate, so that his name was honoured far and near. It remains
+only to record the tragical manner of his death.
+
+We have already told how my lord Midzuno Jiurozayemon, the chief of
+the associated nobles, had been foiled in his attempts to bring shame
+upon Chobei, the Father of the Otokodate; and how, on the contrary,
+the latter, by his ready wit, never failed to make the proud noble's
+weapons recoil upon him. The failure of these attempts rankled in the
+breast of Jiurozayemon, who hated Chobei with an intense hatred, and
+sought to be revenged upon him. One day he sent a retainer to Chobei's
+house with a message to the effect that on the following day my lord
+Jiurozayemon would be glad to see Chobei at his house, and to offer
+him a cup of wine, in return for the cold macaroni with which his
+lordship had been feasted some time since. Chobei immediately
+suspected that in sending this friendly summons the cunning noble was
+hiding a dagger in a smile; however, he knew that if he stayed away
+out of fear he would be branded as a coward, and made a laughing-stock
+for fools to jeer at. Not caring that Jiurozayemon should succeed in
+his desire to put him to shame, he sent for his favourite apprentice,
+Token Gombei, and said to him--
+
+"I have been invited to a drinking-bout by Midzuno Jiurozayemon. I
+know full well that this is but a stratagem to requite me for having
+fooled him, and maybe his hatred will go the length of killing me.
+However, I shall go and take my chance; and if I detect any sign of
+foul play, I'll try to serve the world by ridding it of a tyrant, who
+passes his life in oppressing the helpless farmers and wardsmen. Now
+as, even if I succeed in killing him in his own house, my life must
+pay forfeit for the deed, do you come to-morrow night with a
+burying-tub,[30] and fetch my corpse from this Jiurozayemon's house."
+
+[Footnote 30: The lowest classes in Japan are buried in a squatting
+position, in a sort of barrel. One would have expected a person of
+Chobei's condition and means to have ordered a square box. It is a
+mistake to suppose the burning of the dead to be universal in Japan:
+only about thirty per cent of the lower classes, chiefly belonging to
+the Monto sect of Buddhism, are burnt. The rich and noble are buried
+in several square coffins, one inside the other, in a sitting
+position; and their bodies are partially preserved from decay by
+filling the nose, ears, and mouth with vermilion. In the case of the
+very wealthy, the coffin is completely filled in with vermilion. The
+family of the Princes of Mito, and some other nobles, bury their dead
+in a recumbent position.]
+
+Token Gombei, when he heard the "Father" speak thus, was horrified,
+and tried to dissuade him from obeying the invitation. But Chobei's
+mind was fixed, and, without heeding Gombei's remonstrances, he
+proceeded to give instructions as to the disposal of his property
+after his death, and to settle all his earthly affairs.
+
+On the following day, towards noon, he made ready to go to
+Jiurozayemon's house, bidding one of his apprentices precede him with
+a complimentary present.[31] Jiurozayemon, who was waiting with
+impatience for Chobei to come, so soon as he heard of his arrival
+ordered his retainers to usher him into his presence; and Chobei,
+having bade his apprentices without fail to come and fetch him that
+night, went into the house.
+
+[Footnote 31: It is customary, on the occasion of a first visit to a
+house, to carry a present to the owner, who gives something of equal
+value on returning the visit.]
+
+No sooner had he reached the room next to that in which Jiurozayemon
+was sitting than he saw that his suspicions of treachery were well
+founded; for two men with drawn swords rushed upon him, and tried to
+cut him down. Deftly avoiding their blows, however, he tripped up the
+one, and kicking the other in the ribs, sent him reeling and
+breathless against the wall; then, as calmly as if nothing had
+happened he presented himself before Jiurozayemon, who, peeping
+through a chink in the sliding-doors, had watched his retainers'
+failure.
+
+"Welcome, welcome, Master Chobei," said he. "I always had heard that
+you were a man of mettle, and I wanted to see what stuff you were made
+of; so I bade my retainers put your courage to the test. That was a
+masterly throw of yours. Well, you must excuse this churlish
+reception: come and sit down by me."
+
+"Pray do not mention it, my lord," said Chobei, smiling rather
+scornfully. "I know that my poor skill is not to be measured with
+that of a noble Samurai; and if these two good gentlemen had the worst
+of it just now, it was mere luck--that's all."
+
+So, after the usual compliments had been exchanged, Chobei sat down by
+Jiurozayemon, and the attendants brought in wine and condiments.
+Before they began to drink, however, Jiurozayemon said--
+
+"You must be tired and exhausted with your walk this hot day, Master
+Chobei. I thought that perhaps a bath might refresh you, so I ordered
+my men to get it ready for you. Would you not like to bathe and make
+yourself comfortable?"
+
+Chobei suspected that this was a trick to strip him, and take him
+unawares when he should have laid aside his dirk. However, he answered
+cheerfully--
+
+"Your lordship is very good. I shall be glad to avail myself of your
+kind offer. Pray excuse me for a few moments."
+
+So he went to the bath-room, and, leaving his clothes outside, he got
+into the bath, with the full conviction that it would be the place of
+his death. Yet he never trembled nor quailed, determined that, if he
+needs must die, no man should say he had been a coward. Then
+Jiurozayemon, calling to his attendants, said--
+
+"Quick! lock the door of the bath-room! We hold him fast now. If he
+gets out, more than one life will pay the price of his. He's a match
+for any six of you in fair fight. Lock the door, I say, and light up
+the fire under the bath;[32] and we'll boil him to death, and be rid
+of him. Quick, men, quick!"
+
+[Footnote 32: This sort of bath, in which the water is heated by the
+fire of a furnace which is lighted from outside, is called
+_Goyemon-buro,_ or Goyemon's bath, after a notorious robber named
+Goyemon, who attempted the life of Taiko Sama, the famous general and
+ruler of the sixteenth century, and suffered for his crimes by being
+boiled to death in oil--a form of execution which is now obsolete.]
+
+So they locked the door, and fed the fire until the water hissed and
+bubbled within; and Chobei, in his agony, tried to burst open the
+door, but Jiurozayemon ordered his men to thrust their spears through
+the partition wall and dispatch him. Two of the spears Chobei clutched
+and broke short off; but at last he was struck by a mortal blow under
+the ribs, and died a brave man by the hands of cowards.
+
+[Illustration: THE DEATH OF CHOBEI OF BANDZUIN.]
+
+That evening Token Gombei, who, to the astonishment of Chobei's wife,
+had bought a burying-tub, came, with seven other apprentices, to fetch
+the Father of the Otokodate from Jiurozayemon's house; and when the
+retainers saw them, they mocked at them, and said--
+
+"What, have you come to fetch your drunken master home in a litter?"
+
+"Nay," answered Gombei, "but we have brought a coffin for his dead
+body, as he bade us."
+
+When the retainers heard this, they marvelled at the courage of
+Chobei, who had thus wittingly come to meet his fate. So Chobei's
+corpse was placed in the burying-tub, and handed over to his
+apprentices, who swore to avenge his death. Far and wide, the poor and
+friendless mourned for this good man. His son Chomatsu inherited his
+property; and his wife remained a faithful widow until her dying day,
+praying that she might sit with him in paradise upon the cup of the
+same lotus-flower.
+
+Many a time did the apprentices of Chobei meet together to avenge him;
+but Jiurozayemon eluded all their efforts, until, having been
+imprisoned by the Government in the temple called Kanyeiji, at Uyeno,
+as is related in the story of "Kazuma's Revenge," he was placed beyond
+the reach of their hatred.
+
+So lived and so died Chobei of Bandzuin, the Father of the Otokodate
+of Yedo.
+
+
+
+
+
+NOTE ON ASAKUSA
+
+_Translated from a native book called the "Yedo Hanjoki," or Guide to
+the prosperous City of Yedo, and other sources._
+
+Asakusa is the most bustling place in all Yedo. It is famous for the
+Temple Sensoji, on the hill of Kinriu, or the Golden Dragon, which
+from morning till night is thronged with visitors, rich and poor, old
+and young, flocking in sleeve to sleeve. The origin of the temple was
+as follows:--In the days of the Emperor Suiko, who reigned in the
+thirteenth century A.D., a certain noble, named Hashi no Nakatomo,
+fell into disgrace and left the Court; and having become a Ronin, or
+masterless man, he took up his abode on the Golden Dragon Hill, with
+two retainers, being brothers, named Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma
+Takenari. These three men being reduced to great straits, and without
+means of earning their living, became fishermen. Now it happened that
+on the 6th day of the 3rd month of the 36th year of the reign of the
+Emperor Suiko (A.D. 1241), they went down in the morning to the
+Asakusa River to ply their trade; and having cast their nets took no
+fish, but at every throw they pulled up a figure of the Buddhist god
+Kwannon, which they threw into the river again. They sculled their
+boat away to another spot, but the same luck followed them, and
+nothing came to their nets save the figure of Kwannon. Struck by the
+miracle, they carried home the image, and, after fervent prayer, built
+a temple on the Golden Dragon Hill, in which they enshrined it. The
+temple thus founded was enriched by the benefactions of wealthy and
+pious persons, whose care raised its buildings to the dignity of the
+first temple in Yedo. Tradition says that the figure of Kwannon which
+was fished up in the net was one inch and eight-tenths in height.
+
+The main hall of the temple is sixty feet square, and is adorned with
+much curious workmanship of gilding and of silvering, so that no place
+can be more excellently beautiful. There are two gates in front of it.
+The first is called the Gate of the Spirits of the Wind and of the
+Thunder, and is adorned with figures of those two gods. The Wind-god,
+whose likeness is that of a devil, carries the wind-bag; and the
+Thunder-god, who is also shaped like a devil, carries a drum and a
+drumstick.[33] The second gate is called the Gate of the gods Nio, or
+the Two Princes, whose colossal statues, painted red, and hideous to
+look upon, stand on either side of it. Between the gates is an
+approach four hundred yards in length, which is occupied by the stalls
+of hucksters, who sell toys and trifles for women and children, and by
+foul and loathsome beggars. Passing through the gate of the gods Nio,
+the main hall of the temple strikes the eye. Countless niches and
+shrines of the gods stand outside it, and an old woman earns her
+livelihood at a tank filled with water, to which the votaries of the
+gods come and wash themselves that they may pray with clean hands.
+Inside are the images of the gods, lanterns, incense-burners,
+candlesticks, a huge moneybox, into which the offerings of the pious
+are thrown, and votive tablets[34] representing the famous gods and
+goddesses, heroes and heroines, of old. Behind the chief building is a
+broad space called the _okuyama_, where young and pretty waitresses,
+well dressed and painted, invite the weary pilgrims and holiday-makers
+to refresh themselves with tea and sweetmeats. Here, too, are all
+sorts of sights to be seen, such as wild beasts, performing monkeys,
+automata, conjurers, wooden and paper figures, which take the place of
+the waxworks of the West, acrobats, and jesters for the amusement of
+women and children. Altogether it is a lively and a joyous scene;
+there is not its equal in the city.
+
+[Footnote 33: This gate was destroyed by fire a few years since.]
+
+[Footnote 34: Sir Rutherford Alcock, in his book upon Japan, states
+that the portraits of the most famous courtesans of Yedo are yearly
+hung up in the temple at Asakusa. No such pictures are to be seen now,
+and no Japanese of whom I have made inquiries have heard of such a
+custom. The priests of the temple deny that their fane was ever so
+polluted, and it is probable that the statement is but one of the many
+strange mistakes into which an imperfect knowledge of the language led
+the earlier travellers in Japan. In spite of all that has been said by
+persons who have had no opportunity of associating and exchanging
+ideas with the educated men of Japan, I maintain that in no country is
+the public harlot more abhorred and looked down upon.]
+
+At Asakusa, as indeed all over Yedo, are to be found fortunetellers,
+who prey upon the folly of the superstitious. With a treatise on
+physiognomy laid on a desk before them, they call out to this man that
+he has an ill-omened forehead, and to that man that the space between
+his nose and his lips is unlucky. Their tongues wag like flowing water
+until the passers-by are attracted to their stalls. If the seer finds
+a customer, he closes his eyes, and, lifting the divining-sticks
+reverently to his forehead, mutters incantations between his teeth.
+Then, suddenly parting the sticks in two bundles, he prophesies good
+or evil, according to the number in each. With a magnifying-glass he
+examines his dupe's face and the palms of his hands. By the fashion of
+his clothes and his general manner the prophet sees whether he is a
+countryman or from the city. "I am afraid, sir," says he, "you have
+not been altogether fortunate in life, but I foresee that great luck
+awaits you in two or three months;" or, like a clumsy doctor who makes
+his diagnosis according to his patient's fancies, if he sees his
+customer frowning and anxious, he adds, "Alas! in seven or eight
+months you must beware of great misfortune. But I cannot tell you all
+about it for a slight fee:" with a long sigh he lays down the
+divining-sticks on the desk, and the frightened boor pays a further
+fee to hear the sum of the misfortune which threatens him, until, with
+three feet of bamboo slips and three inches of tongue, the clever
+rascal has made the poor fool turn his purse inside out.
+
+The class of diviners called _Ichiko_ profess to give tidings of the
+dead, or of those who have gone to distant countries. The Ichiko
+exactly corresponds to the spirit medium of the West. The trade is
+followed by women, of from fifteen or sixteen to some fifty years of
+age, who walk about the streets, carrying on their backs a
+divining-box about a foot square; they have no shop or stall, but
+wander about, and are invited into their customers' houses. The
+ceremony of divination is very simple. A porcelain bowl filled with
+water is placed upon a tray, and the customer, having written the name
+of the person with whom he wishes to hold communion on a long slip of
+paper, rolls it into a spill, which he dips into the water, and thrice
+sprinkles the Ichiko, or medium. She, resting her elbow upon her
+divining-box, and leaning her head upon her hand, mutters prayers and
+incantations until she has summoned the soul of the dead or absent
+person, which takes possession of her, and answers questions through
+her mouth. The prophecies which the Ichiko utters during her trance
+are held in high esteem by the superstitious and vulgar.
+
+Hard by Asakusa is the theatre street. The theatres are called
+_Shiba-i_,[35] "turf places," from the fact that the first theatrical
+performances were held on a turf plot. The origin of the drama in
+Japan, as elsewhere, was religious. In the reign of the Emperor Heijo
+(A.D. 805), there was a sudden volcanic depression of the earth close
+by a pond called Sarusawa, or the Monkey's Marsh, at Nara, in the
+province of Yamato, and a poisonous smoke issuing from the cavity
+struck down with sickness all those who came within its baneful
+influence; so the people brought quantities of firewood, which they
+burnt in order that the poisonous vapour might be dispelled. The fire,
+being the male influence, would assimilate with and act as an antidote
+upon the mephitic smoke, which was a female influence.[36] Besides
+this, as a further charm to exorcise the portent, the dance called
+Sambaso, which is still performed as a prelude to theatrical
+exhibitions by an actor dressed up as a venerable old man, emblematic
+of long life and felicity, was danced on a plot of turf in front of
+the Temple Kofukuji. By these means the smoke was dispelled, and the
+drama was originated. The story is to be found in the _Zoku Nihon Ki_,
+or supplementary history of Japan.
+
+[Footnote 35: In Dr. Hepburn's Dictionary of the Japanese language,
+the Chinese characters given for the word _Shiba-i_ are _chi chang_
+(_keih chang_, Morrison's Dictionary), "theatrical arena." The
+characters which are usually written, and which are etymologically
+correct, are _chih chue_ (_che keu_, Morrison), "the place of plants or
+turf plot."]
+
+[Footnote 36: This refers to the Chinese doctrine of the Yang and Yin,
+the male and female influences pervading all creation.]
+
+Three centuries later, during the reign of the Emperor Toba (A.D.
+1108), there lived a woman called Iso no Zenji, who is looked upon as
+the mother of the Japanese drama. Her performances, however, seem only
+to have consisted in dancing or posturing dressed up in the costume of
+the nobles of the Court, from which fact her dance was called
+Otoko-mai, or the man's dance. Her name is only worth mentioning on
+account of the respect in which her memory is held by actors.
+
+It was not until the year A.D. 1624 that a man named Saruwaka
+Kanzaburo, at the command of the Shogun, opened the first theatre in
+Yedo in the Nakabashi, or Middle Bridge Street, where it remained
+until eight years later, when it was removed to the Ningiyo, or Doll
+Street. The company of this theatre was formed by two families named
+Miako and Ichimura, who did not long enjoy their monopoly, for in the
+year 1644 we find a third family, that of Yamamura, setting up a rival
+theatre in the Kobiki, or Sawyer Street.
+
+In the year 1651, the Asiatic prejudice in favour of keeping persons
+of one calling in one place exhibited itself by the removal of the
+playhouses to their present site, and the street was called the
+Saruwaka Street, after Saruwaka Kanzaburo, the founder of the drama in
+Yedo.
+
+Theatrical performances go on from six in the morning until six in the
+evening. Just as the day is about to dawn in the east, the sound of
+the drum is heard, and the dance Sambaso is danced as a prelude, and
+after this follow the dances of the famous actors of old; these are
+called the extra performances (_waki kiyogen_).
+
+The dance of Nakamura represents the demon Shudendoji, an ogre who was
+destroyed by the hero Yorimitsu according to the following legend:--At
+the beginning of the eleventh century, when Ichijo the Second was
+Emperor, lived the hero Yorimitsu. Now it came to pass that in those
+days the people of Kioto were sorely troubled by an evil spirit, which
+took up its abode near the Rasho gate. One night, as Yorimitsu was
+making merry with his retainers, he said, "Who dares go and defy the
+demon of the Rasho gate, and set up a token that he has been there?"
+"That dare I," answered Tsuna, who, having donned his coat of mail,
+mounted his horse, and rode out through the dark bleak night to the
+Rasho gate. Having written his name upon the gate, he was about to
+turn homewards when his horse began to shiver with fear, and a huge
+hand coming forth from the gate seized the back of the knight's
+helmet. Tsuna, nothing daunted, struggled to get free, but in vain, so
+drawing his sword he cut off the demon's arm, and the spirit with a
+howl fled into the night. But Tsuna carried home the arm in triumph,
+and locked it up in a box. One night the demon, having taken the shape
+of Tsuna's aunt, came to him and said, "I pray thee show me the arm of
+the fiend." Tsuna answered, "I have shown it to no man, and yet to
+thee I will show it." So he brought forth the box and opened it, when
+suddenly a black cloud shrouded the figure of the supposed aunt, and
+the demon, having regained its arm, disappeared. From that time forth
+the people were more than ever troubled by the demon, who carried off
+to the hills all the fairest virgins of Kioto, whom he ravished and
+ate, so that there was scarce a beautiful damsel left in the city.
+Then was the Emperor very sorrowful, and he commanded Yorimitsu to
+destroy the monster; and the hero, having made ready, went forth with
+four trusty knights and another great captain to search among the
+hidden places of the mountains. One day as they were journeying far
+from the haunts of men, they fell in with an old man, who, having
+bidden them to enter his dwelling, treated them kindly, and set before
+them wine to drink; and when they went away, and took their leave of
+him, he gave them a present of more wine to take away with them. Now
+this old man was a mountain god. As they went on their way they met a
+beautiful lady, who was washing blood-stained clothes in the waters of
+the valley, weeping bitterly the while. When they asked her why she
+shed tears, she answered, "Sirs, I am a woman from Kioto, whom the
+demon has carried off; he makes me wash his clothes, and when he is
+weary of me, he will kill and eat me. I pray your lordships to save
+me." Then the six heroes bade the woman lead them to the ogre's cave,
+where a hundred devils were mounting guard and waiting upon him. The
+woman, having gone in first, told the fiend of their coming; and he,
+thinking to slay and eat them, called them to him; so they entered the
+cave, which reeked with the smell of the flesh and blood of men, and
+they saw Shudendoji, a huge monster with the face of a little child.
+The six men offered him the wine which they had received from the
+mountain god, and he, laughing in his heart, drank and made merry, so
+that little by little the fumes of the wine got into his head, and he
+fell asleep. The heroes, themselves feigning sleep, watched for a
+moment when the devils were all off their guard to put on their armour
+and steal one by one into the demon's chamber. Then Yorimitsu, seeing
+that all was still, drew his sword, and cut off Shudendoji's head,
+which sprung up and bit at his head; luckily, however, Yorimitsu had
+put on two helmets, the one over the other, so he was not hurt. When
+all the devils had been slain, the heroes and the woman returned to
+Kioto carrying with them the head of Shudendoji, which was laid before
+the Emperor; and the fame of their action was spread abroad under
+heaven.
+
+This Shudendoji is the ogre represented in the Nakamura dance. The
+Ichimura dance represents the seven gods of wealth; and the Morita
+dance represents a large ape, and is emblematical of drinking wine.
+
+As soon as the sun begins to rise in the heaven, sign-boards all
+glistening with paintings and gold are displayed, and the playgoers
+flock in crowds to the theatre. The farmers and country-folk hurry
+over their breakfast, and the women and children, who have got up in
+the middle of the night to paint and adorn themselves, come from all
+the points of the compass to throng the gallery, which is hung with
+curtains as bright as the rainbow in the departing clouds. The place
+soon becomes so crowded that the heads of the spectators are like the
+scales on a dragon's back. When the play begins, if the subject be
+tragic the spectators are so affected that they weep till they have to
+wring their sleeves dry. If the piece be comic they laugh till their
+chins are out of joint. The tricks and stratagems of the drama baffle
+description, and the actors are as graceful as the flight of the
+swallow. The triumph of persecuted virtue and the punishment of
+wickedness invariably crown the story. When a favourite actor makes
+his appearance, his entry is hailed with cheers. Fun and diversion are
+the order of the day, and rich and poor alike forget the cares which
+they have left behind them at home; and yet it is not all idle
+amusement, for there is a moral taught, and a practical sermon
+preached in every play.
+
+The subjects of the pieces are chiefly historical, feigned names being
+substituted for those of the real heroes. Indeed, it is in the popular
+tragedies that we must seek for an account of many of the events of
+the last two hundred and fifty years; for only one very bald
+history[37] of those times has been published, of which but a limited
+number of copies were struck off from copper plates, and its
+circulation was strictly forbidden by the Shogun's Government. The
+stories are rendered with great minuteness and detail, so much so,
+that it sometimes takes a series of representations to act out one
+piece in its entirety. The Japanese are far in advance of the Chinese
+in their scenery and properties, and their pieces are sometimes
+capitally got up: a revolving stage enables them to shift from one
+scene to another with great rapidity. First-rate actors receive as
+much as a thousand riyos (about L300) as their yearly salary. This,
+however, is a high rate of pay, and many a man has to strut before the
+public for little more than his daily rice; to a clever young actor it
+is almost enough reward to be allowed to enter a company in which
+there is a famous star. The salary of the actor, however, may depend
+upon the success of the theatre; for dramatic exhibitions are often
+undertaken as speculations by wealthy persons, who pay their company
+in proportion to their own profit. Besides his regular pay, a popular
+Japanese actor has a small mine of wealth in his patrons, who open
+their purses freely for the privilege of frequenting the greenroom.,
+The women's parts are all taken by men, as they used to be with us in
+ancient days. Touching the popularity of plays, it is related that in
+the year 1833, when two actors called Bando Shuka and Segawa Roko,
+both famous players of women's parts, died at the same time, the
+people of Yedo mourned to heaven and to earth; and if a million riyos
+could have brought back their lives, the money would have been
+forthcoming. Thousands flocked to their funeral, and the richness of
+their coffins and of the clothes laid upon them was admired by all.
+
+[Footnote 37: I allude to the _Tai Hei Nem-piyo,_ or Annals of the
+Great Peace, a very rare work, only two or three copies of which have
+found their way into the libraries of foreigners.]
+
+"When I heard this," says Terakado Seiken, the author of the _Yedo
+Hanjoki_, "I lifted my eyes to heaven and heaved a great sigh. When my
+friend Saito Shimei, a learned and good man, died, there was barely
+enough money to bury him; his needy pupils and friends subscribed to
+give him a humble coffin. Alas! alas! here was a teacher who from his
+youth up had honoured his parents, and whose heart know no guile: if
+his friends were in need, he ministered to their wants; he grudged no
+pains to teach his fellow-men; his good-will and charity were beyond
+praise; under the blue sky and bright day he never did a shameful
+deed. His merits were as those of the sages of old; but because he
+lacked the cunning of a fox or badger he received no patronage from
+the wealthy, and, remaining poor to the day of his death, never had an
+opportunity of making his worth known. Alas! alas!"
+
+The drama is exclusively the amusement of the middle and lower
+classes. Etiquette, sternest of tyrants, forbids the Japanese of high
+rank to be seen at any public exhibition, wrestling-matches alone
+excepted. Actors are, however, occasionally engaged to play in private
+for the edification of my lord and his ladies; and there is a kind of
+classical opera, called No, which is performed on stages specially
+built for the purpose in the palaces of the principal nobles. These
+No represent the entertainments by which the Sun Goddess was lured out
+of the cave in which she had hidden, a fable said to be based upon an
+eclipse. In the reign of the Emperor Yomei (A.D. 586-593), Hada
+Kawakatsu, a man born in Japan, but of Chinese extraction, was
+commanded by the Emperor to arrange an entertainment for the
+propitiation of the gods and the prosperity of the country. Kawakatsu
+wrote thirty-three plays, introducing fragments of Japanese poetry
+with accompaniments of musical instruments. Two performers, named
+Taketa and Hattori, having especially distinguished themselves in
+these entertainments, were ordered to prepare other similar plays, and
+their productions remain to the present day. The pious intention of
+the No being to pray for the prosperity of the country, they are held
+in the highest esteem by the nobles of the Court, the Daimios, and the
+military class: in old days they alone performed in these plays, but
+now ordinary actors take part in them.
+
+The No are played in sets. The first of the set is specially dedicated
+to the propitiation of the gods; the second is performed in full
+armour, and is designed to terrify evil spirits, and to insure the
+punishment of malefactors; the third is of a gentler intention, and
+its special object is the representation of all that is beautiful and
+fragrant and delightful. The performers wear hideous wigs and masks,
+not unlike those of ancient Greece, and gorgeous brocade dresses. The
+masks, which belong to what was the private company of the Shogun, are
+many centuries old, and have been carefully preserved as heirlooms
+from generation to generation; being made of very thin wood lacquered
+over, and kept each in a silken bag, they have been uninjured by the
+lapse of time.
+
+During the Duke of Edinburgh's stay in Yedo, this company was engaged
+to give a performance in the Yashiki of the Prince of Kishiu, which
+has the reputation of being the handsomest palace in all Yedo. So far
+as I know, such an exhibition had never before been witnessed by
+foreigners, and it may be interesting to give an account of it.
+Opposite the principal reception-room, where his Royal Highness sat,
+and separated from it by a narrow courtyard, was a covered stage,
+approached from the greenroom by a long gallery at an angle of
+forty-five degrees. Half-a-dozen musicians, clothed in dresses of
+ceremony, marched slowly down the gallery, and, having squatted down
+on the stage, bowed gravely. The performances then began. There was no
+scenery, nor stage appliances; the descriptions of the chorus or of
+the actors took their place. The dialogue and choruses are given in a
+nasal recitative, accompanied by the mouth-organ, flute, drum, and
+other classical instruments, and are utterly unintelligible. The
+ancient poetry is full of puns and plays upon words, and it was with
+no little difficulty that, with the assistance of a man of letters, I
+prepared beforehand the arguments of the different pieces.
+
+The first play was entitled _Hachiman of the Bow_. Hachiman is the
+name under which the Emperor Ojin (A.C. 270-312) was deified as the
+God of War. He is specially worshipped on account of his miraculous
+birth; his mother, the Empress Jingo, having, by the virtue of a magic
+stone which she wore at her girdle, borne him in her womb for three
+years, during which she made war upon and conquered the Coreans. The
+time of the plot is laid in the reign of the Emperor Uda the Second
+(A.D. 1275-1289). In the second month of the year pilgrims are
+flocking to the temple of Hachiman at Mount Otoko, between Osaka and
+Kioto. All this is explained by the chorus. A worshipper steps forth,
+sent by the Emperor, and delivers a congratulatory oration upon the
+peace and prosperity of the land. The chorus follows in the same
+strain: they sing the praises of Hachiman and of the reigning Emperor.
+An old man enters, bearing something which appears to be a bow in a
+brocade bag. On being asked who he is, the old man answers that he is
+an aged servant of the shrine, and that he wishes to present his
+mulberry-wood bow to the Emperor; being too humble to draw near to his
+Majesty he has waited for this festival, hoping that an opportunity
+might present itself. He explains that with this bow, and with certain
+arrows made of the Artemisia, the heavenly gods pacified the world. On
+being asked to show his bow, he refuses; it is a mystic protector of
+the country, which in old days was overshadowed by the mulberry-tree.
+The peace which prevails in the land is likened to a calm at sea. The
+Emperor is the ship, and his subjects the water. The old man dwells
+upon the ancient worship of Hachiman, and relates how his mother, the
+Empress Jingo, sacrificed to the gods before invading Corea, and how
+the present prosperity of the country is to be attributed to the
+acceptance of those sacrifices. After having revealed himself as the
+god Hachiman in disguise, the old man disappears. The worshipper,
+awe-struck, declares that he must return to Kioto and tell the Emperor
+what he has seen. The chorus announces that sweet music and fragrant
+perfumes issue from the mountain, and the piece ends with
+felicitations upon the visible favour of the gods, and especially of
+Hachiman.
+
+The second piece was _Tsunemasa_. Tsunemasa was a hero of the twelfth
+century, who died in the civil wars; he was famous for his skill in
+playing on the _biwa_, a sort of four-stringed lute.
+
+A priest enters, and announces that his name is Giyokei, and that
+before he retired from the world he held high rank at Court. He
+relates how Tsunemasa, in his childhood the favourite of the Emperor,
+died in the wars by the western seas. During his lifetime the Emperor
+gave him a lute, called Sei-zan, "the Azure Mountain"; this lute at
+his death was placed in a shrine erected to his honour, and at his
+funeral music and plays were performed during seven days within the
+palace, by the special grace of the Emperor. The scene is laid at the
+shrine. The lonely and awesome appearance of the spot is described.
+Although the sky is clear, the wind rustles through the trees like the
+sound of falling rain; and although it is now summer-time, the
+moonlight on the sand looks like hoar-frost. All nature is sad and
+downcast. The ghost appears, and sings that it is the spirit of
+Tsunemasa, and has come to thank those who have piously celebrated his
+obsequies. No one answers him, and the spirit vanishes, its voice
+becoming fainter and fainter, an unreal and illusory vision haunting
+the scenes amid which its life was spent. The priest muses on the
+portent. Is it a dream or a reality? Marvellous! The ghost, returning,
+speaks of former days, when it lived as a child in the palace, and
+received the Azure Mountain lute from the Emperor--that lute with the
+four strings of which its hand was once so familiar, and the
+attraction of which now draws it from the grave. The chorus recites
+the virtues of Tsunemasa--his benevolence, justice, humanity,
+talents, and truth; his love of poetry and music; the trees, the
+flowers, the birds, the breezes, the moon--all had a charm for him.
+The ghost begins to play upon the Azure Mountain lute, and the sounds
+produced from the magical instrument are so delicate, that all think
+it is a shower falling from heaven. The priest declares that it is not
+rain, but the sound of the enchanted lute. The sound of the first and
+second strings is as the sound of gentle rain, or of the wind stirring
+the pine-trees; and the sound of the third and fourth strings is as
+the song of birds and pheasants calling to their young. A rhapsody in
+praise of music follows. Would that such strains could last for ever!
+The ghost bewails its fate that it cannot remain to play on, but must
+return whence it came. The priest addresses the ghost, and asks
+whether the vision is indeed the spirit of Tsunemasa. Upon this the
+ghost calls out in an agony of sorrow and terror at having been seen
+by mortal eyes, and bids that the lamps be put out: on its return to
+the abode of the dead it will suffer for having shown itself: it
+describes the fiery torments which will be its lot. Poor fool! it has
+been lured to its destruction, like the insect of summer that flies
+into the flame. Summoning the winds to its aid, it puts out the
+lights, and disappears.
+
+_The Suit of Feathers_ is the title of a very pretty conceit which
+followed. A fisherman enters, and in a long recitative describes the
+scenery at the sea-shore of Miwo, in the province of Suruga, at the
+foot of Fuji-Yama, the Peerless Mountain. The waves are still, and
+there is a great calm; the fishermen are all out plying their trade.
+The speaker's name is Hakuriyo, a fisherman living in the pine-grove
+of Miwo. The rains are now over, and the sky is serene; the sun rises
+bright and red over the pine-trees and rippling sea; while last
+night's moon is yet seen faintly in the heaven. Even he, humble fisher
+though he be, is softened by the beauty of the nature which surrounds
+him. A breeze springs up, the weather will change; clouds and waves
+will succeed sunshine and calm; the fishermen must get them home
+again. No; it is but the gentle breath of spring, after all; it
+scarcely stirs the stout fir-trees, and the waves are hardly heard to
+break upon the shore. The men may go forth in safety. The fisherman
+then relates how, while he was wondering at the view, flowers began to
+rain from the sky, and sweet music filled the air, which was perfumed
+by a mystic fragrance. Looking up, he saw hanging on a pine-tree a
+fairy's suit of feathers, which he took home, and showed to a friend,
+intending to keep it as a relic in his house. A heavenly fairy makes
+her appearance, and claims the suit of feathers; but the fisherman
+holds to his treasure trove. She urges the impiety of his act--a
+mortal has no right to take that which belongs to the fairies. He
+declares that he will hand down the feather suit to posterity as one
+of the treasures of the country. The fairy bewails her lot; without
+her wings how can she return to heaven? She recalls the familiar joys
+of heaven, now closed to her; she sees the wild geese and the gulls
+flying to the skies, and longs for their power of flight; the tide has
+its ebb and its flow, and the sea-breezes blow whither they list: for
+her alone there is no power of motion, she must remain on earth. At
+last, touched by her plaint, the fisherman consents to return the
+feather suit, on condition that the fairy shall dance and play
+heavenly music for him. She consents, but must first obtain the
+feather suit, without which she cannot dance. The fisherman refuses
+to give it up, lest she should fly away to heaven without redeeming
+her pledge. The fairy reproaches him for his want of faith: how should
+a heavenly being be capable of falsehood? He is ashamed, and gives her
+the feather suit, which she dons, and begins to dance, singing of the
+delights of heaven, where she is one of the fifteen attendants who
+minister to the moon. The fisherman is so transported with joy, that
+he fancies himself in heaven, and wishes to detain the fairy to dwell
+with him for ever. A song follows in praise of the scenery and of the
+Peerless Mountain capped with the snows of spring. When her dance is
+concluded, the fairy, wafted away by the sea-breeze, floats past the
+pine-grove to Ukishima and Mount Ashidaka, over Mount Fuji, till she
+is seen dimly like a cloud in the distant sky, and vanishes into thin
+air.
+
+The last of the No was _The Little Smith_, the scene of which is laid
+in the reign of the Emperor Ichijo (A.D. 987--1011). A noble of the
+court enters, and proclaims himself to be Tachibana Michinari. He has
+been commanded by the Emperor, who has seen a dream of good omen on
+the previous night, to order a sword of the smith Munechika of Sanjo.
+He calls Munechika, who comes out, and, after receiving the order,
+expresses the difficulty he is in, having at that time no fitting mate
+to help him; he cannot forge a blade alone. The excuse is not
+admitted; the smith pleads hard to be saved from the shame of a
+failure. Driven to a compliance, there is nothing left for it but to
+appeal to the gods for aid. He prays to the patron god of his family,
+Inari Sama.[38] A man suddenly appears, and calls the smith; this man
+is the god Inari Sama in disguise. The smith asks who is his visitor,
+and how does he know him by name. The stranger answers, "Thou hast
+been ordered to make a blade for the Emperor." "This is passing
+strange," says the smith. "I received the order but a moment since;
+how comest thou to know of it?" "Heaven has a voice which is heard upon
+the earth. Walls have ears, and stones tell tales.[39] There are no
+secrets in the world. The flash of the blade ordered by him who is
+above the clouds (the Emperor) is quickly seen. By the grace of the
+Emperor the sword shall be quickly made." Here follows the praise of
+certain famous blades, and an account of the part they played in
+history, with special reference to the sword which forms one of the
+regalia. The sword which the Emperor has sent for shall be inferior to
+none of these; the smith may set his heart at rest. The smith,
+awe-struck, expresses his wonder, and asks again who is addressing
+him. He is bidden to go and deck out his anvil, and a supernatural
+power will help him. The visitor disappears in a cloud. The smith
+prepares his anvil, at the four corners of which he places images of
+the gods, while above it he stretches the straw rope and paper
+pendants hung up in temples to shut out foul or ill-omened influences.
+He prays for strength to make the blade, not for his own glory, but
+for the honour of the Emperor. A young man, a fox in disguise,
+appears, and helps Munechika to forge the steel. The noise of the
+anvil resounds to heaven and over the earth. The chorus announces that
+the blade is finished; on one side is the mark of Munechika, on the
+other is graven "The Little Fox" in clear characters.
+
+[Footnote 38: The note at the end of the Story of the Grateful Foxes
+contains an account of Inari Sama, and explains how the foxes minister
+to him.]
+
+[Footnote 39: This is a literal translation of a Japanese proverb.]
+
+The subjects of the No are all taken from old legends of the country;
+a shrine at Miwo, by the sea-shore, marks the spot where the suit of
+feathers was found, and the miraculously forged sword is supposed to
+be in the armoury of the Emperor to this day. The beauty of the
+poetry--and it is very beautiful--is marred by the want of scenery and
+by the grotesque dresses and make-up. In the _Suit of Feathers_, for
+instance, the fairy wears a hideous mask and a wig of scarlet elf
+locks: the suit of feathers itself is left entirely to the
+imagination; and the heavenly dance is a series of whirls, stamps, and
+jumps, accompanied by unearthly yells and shrieks; while the vanishing
+into thin air is represented by pirouettes something like the motion
+of a dancing dervish. The intoning of the recitative is unnatural and
+unintelligible, so much so that not even a highly educated Japanese
+could understand what is going on unless he were previously acquainted
+with the piece. This, however, is supposing that which is not, for the
+No are as familiarly known as the masterpieces of our own dramatists.
+
+The classical severity of the No is relieved by the introduction
+between the pieces of light farces called Kiyogen. The whole
+entertainment having a religious intention, the Kiyogen stand to the
+No in the same relation as the small shrines to the main temple; they,
+too, are played for the propitiation of the gods, and for the
+softening of men's hearts. The farces are acted without wigs or masks;
+the dialogue is in the common spoken language, and there being no
+musical accompaniment it is quite easy to follow. The plots of the two
+farces which were played before the Duke of Edinburgh are as
+follows:--
+
+In the _Ink Smearing_ the hero is a man from a distant part of the
+country, who, having a petition to prefer, comes to the capital, where
+he is detained for a long while. His suit being at last successful, he
+communicates the joyful news to his servant, Tarokaja (the
+conventional name of the Leporello of these farces). The two
+congratulate one another. To while away his idle hours during his
+sojourn at the capital the master has entered into a flirtation with a
+certain young lady: master and servant now hold a consultation as to
+whether the former should not go and take leave of her. Tarokaja is of
+opinion that as she is of a very jealous nature, his master ought to
+go. Accordingly the two set out to visit her, the servant leading the
+way. Arrived at her house, the gentleman goes straight in without the
+knowledge of the lady, who, coming out and meeting Tarokaja, asks
+after his master. He replies that his master is inside the house. She
+refuses to believe him, and complains that, for some time past, his
+visits have been few and far between. Why should he come now? Surely
+Tarokaja is hoaxing her. The servant protests that he is telling the
+truth, and that his master really has entered the house. She, only
+half persuaded, goes in, and finds that my lord is indeed there. She
+welcomes him, and in the same breath upbraids him. Some other lady has
+surely found favour in his eyes. What fair wind has wafted him back to
+her? He replies that business alone has kept him from her; he hopes
+that all is well with her. With her, indeed, all is well, and there is
+no change; but she fears that his heart is changed. Surely, surely he
+has found mountains upon mountains of joy elsewhere, even now,
+perhaps, he is only calling on his way homeward from some haunt of
+pleasure. What pleasure can there be away from her? answers he.
+Indeed, his time has not been his own, else he would have come sooner.
+Why, then, did he not send his servant to explain? Tarokaja here puts
+in his oar, and protests that, between running on errands and dancing
+attendance upon his lord, he has not had a moment to himself. "At any
+rate," says the master, "I must ask for your congratulations; for my
+suit, which was so important, has prospered." The lady expresses her
+happiness, and the gentleman then bids his servant tell her the object
+of their visit. Tarokaja objects to this; his lord had better tell his
+own story. While the two are disputing as to who shall speak, the
+lady's curiosity is aroused. "What terrible tale is this that neither
+of you dare tell? Pray let one or other of you speak." At last the
+master explains that he has come to take leave of her, as he must
+forthwith return to his own province. The girl begins to weep, and the
+gentleman following suit, the two shed tears in concert. She uses all
+her art to cajole him, and secretly produces from her sleeve a cup of
+water, with which she smears her eyes to imitate tears. He, deceived
+by the trick, tries to console her, and swears that as soon as he
+reaches his own country he will send a messenger to fetch her; but she
+pretends to weep all the more, and goes on rubbing her face with
+water. Tarokaja, in the meanwhile, detects the trick, and, calling his
+master on one side, tells him what she is doing. The gentleman,
+however, refuses to believe him, and scolds him right roundly for
+telling lies. The lady calls my lord to her, and weeping more bitterly
+than ever, tries to coax him to remain. Tarokaja slyly fills another
+cup, with ink and water, and substitutes it for the cup of clear
+water. She, all unconcerned, goes on smearing her face. At last she
+lifts her face, and her lover, seeing it all black and sooty, gives a
+start. What can be the matter with the girl's face? Tarokaja, in an
+aside, explains what he has done. They determine to put her to shame.
+The lover, producing from his bosom a box containing a mirror, gives
+it to the girl, who, thinking that it is a parting gift, at first
+declines to receive it. It is pressed upon her; she opens the box and
+sees the reflection of her dirty face. Master and man burst out
+laughing. Furious, she smears Tarokaja's face with the ink; he
+protests that he is not the author of the trick, and the girl flies at
+her lover and rubs his face too. Both master and servant run off,
+pursued by the girl.
+
+The second farce was shorter than the first, and was called _The Theft
+of the Sword_. A certain gentleman calls his servant Tarokaja, and
+tells him that he is going out for a little diversion. Bidding
+Tarokaja follow him, he sets out. On their way they meet another
+gentleman, carrying a handsome sword in his hand, and going to worship
+at the Kitano shrine at Kioto. Tarokaja points out the beauty of the
+sword to his master, and says what a fine thing it would be if they
+could manage to obtain possession of it. Tarokaja borrows his master's
+sword, and goes up to the stranger, whose attention is taken up by
+looking at the wares set out for sale in a shop. Tarokaja lays his
+hand on the guard of the stranger's sword; and the latter, drawing it,
+turns round, and tries to cut the thief down. Tarokaja takes to his
+heels, praying hard that his life may be spared. The stranger takes
+away the sword which Tarokaja has borrowed from his master, and goes
+on his way to the shrine, carrying the two swords. Tarokaja draws a
+long breath of relief when he sees that his life is not forfeited; but
+what account is he to give of his master's sword which he has lost.
+There is no help for it, he must go back and make a clean breast of
+it. His master is very angry; and the two, after consulting together,
+await the stranger's return from the shrine. The latter makes his
+appearance and announces that he is going home. Tarokaja's master
+falls upon the stranger from behind, and pinions him, ordering
+Tarokaja to fetch a rope and bind him. The knave brings the cord; but,
+while he is getting it ready, the stranger knocks him over with his
+sword. His master calls out to him to get up quickly and bind the
+gentleman from behind, and not from before. Tarokaja runs behind the
+struggling pair, but is so clumsy that he slips the noose over his
+master's head by mistake, and drags him down. The stranger, seeing
+this, runs away laughing with the two swords. Tarokaja, frightened at
+his blunder, runs off too, his master pursuing him off the stage. A
+general run off, be it observed, something like the "spill-and-pelt"
+scene in an English pantomime, is the legitimate and invariable
+termination of the Kiyogen.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE ON THE GAME OF FOOTBALL.
+
+
+The game of football is in great favour at the Japanese Court. The
+days on which it takes place are carefully noted in the "Daijokwan
+Nishi," or Government Gazette. On the 25th of February, 1869, for
+instance, we find two entries: "The Emperor wrote characters of good
+omen," and "The game of football was played at the palace." The game
+was first introduced from China in the year of the Empress Kokiyoku,
+in the middle of the seventh century. The Emperor Mommu, who reigned
+at the end of the same century, was the first emperor who took part in
+the sport. His Majesty Toba the Second became very expert at it, as
+also did the noble Asukai Chiujo, and from that time a sort of
+football club was formed at the palace. During the days of the extreme
+poverty of the Mikado and his Court, the Asukai family,
+notwithstanding their high rank, were wont to eke out their scanty
+income by giving lessons in the art of playing football.
+
+
+
+
+THE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUYEMON
+
+
+The doughty deeds and marvellous experiences of Funakoshi Jiuyemon are
+perhaps, like those of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, rather
+traditional than historical; but even if all or part of the deeds
+which popular belief ascribes to him be false, his story conveys a
+true picture of manners and customs. Above all, the manner of the
+vengeance which he wreaked upon the wife who had dishonoured him, and
+upon her lover, shows the high importance which the Japanese attach to
+the sanctity of the marriage tie.
+
+The 50th and 51st chapters of the "Legacy of Iyeyasu," already quoted,
+say: "If a married woman of the agricultural, artisan, or commercial
+class shall secretly have intercourse with another man, it is not
+necessary for the husband to enter a complaint against the persons
+thus confusing the great relation of mankind, but he may put them both
+to death. Nevertheless, should he slay one of them and spare the
+other, his guilt is the same as that of the unrighteous persons.
+
+"In the event, however, of advice being sought, the parties not having
+been slain, accede to the wishes of the complainant with, regard to
+putting them to death or not.
+
+"Mankind, in whose bodies the male and female elements induce a
+natural desire towards the same object, do not look upon such
+practices with aversion; and the adjudication of such cases is a
+matter of special deliberation and consultation.
+
+"Men and women of the military class are expected to know better than
+to occasion disturbance by violating existing regulations; and such an
+one breaking the regulations by lewd, trifling, or illicit intercourse
+shall at once be punished, without deliberation or consultation. It is
+not the same in this case as in that of agriculturists, artisans, and
+traders."
+
+As a criminal offence, adultery was, according to the ancient laws of
+Japan, punished by crucifixion. In more modern times it has been
+punished by decapitation and the disgraceful exposure of the head
+after death; but if the murder of the injured husband accompany the
+crime of adultery, then the guilty parties are crucified to this day.
+At the present time the husband is no longer allowed to take the law
+into his own hands: he must report the matter to the Government, and
+trust to the State to avenge his honour.
+
+Sacred as the marriage tie is so long as it lasts, the law which cuts
+it is curiously facile, or rather there is no law: a man may turn his
+wife out of doors, as it may suit his fancy. An example of this
+practice was shown in the story of "The Forty-seven Ronins." A husband
+has but to report the matter to his lord, and the ceremony of divorce
+is completed. Thus, in the days of the Shoguns' power, a Hatamoto who
+had divorced his wife reported the matter to the Shogun. A Daimio's
+retainer reports the matter to his Prince.
+
+The facility of divorce, however, seems to be but rarely taken
+advantage of: this is probably owing to the practice of keeping
+concubines. It has often been asked, Are the Japanese polygamists? The
+answer is, Yes and no. They marry but one wife; but a man may,
+according to his station and means, have one or more concubines in
+addition. The Emperor has twelve concubines, called Kisaki; and
+Iyeyasu, alluding forcibly to excess in this respect as _teterrima
+belli causa_, laid down that the princes might have eight, high
+officers five, and ordinary Samurai two handmaids. "In the olden
+times," he writes, "the downfall of castles and the overthrow of
+kingdoms all proceeded from this alone. Why is not the indulgence of
+passions guarded against?"
+
+The difference between the position of the wife and that of the
+concubine is marked. The legitimate wife is to the handmaid as a lord
+is to his vassal. Concubinage being a legitimate institution, the son
+of a handmaid is no bastard, nor is he in any way the child of shame;
+and yet, as a general rule, the son of the bondwoman is not heir with
+the son of the free, for the son of the wife inherits before the son
+of a concubine, even where the latter be the elder; and it frequently
+happens that a noble, having children by his concubines but none by
+his wife, selects a younger brother of his own, or even adopts the son
+of some relative, to succeed him in the family honours. The family
+line is considered to be thus more purely preserved. The law of
+succession is, however, extremely lax. Excellent personal merits will
+sometimes secure to the left-handed son the inheritance of his
+ancestors; and it often occurs that the son of a concubine, who is
+debarred from succeeding to his own father, is adopted as the heir of
+a relation or friend of even higher rank. When the wife of a noble has
+a daughter but no son, the practice is to adopt a youth of suitable
+family and age, who marries the girl and inherits as a son.
+
+The principle of adoption is universal among all classes, from the
+Emperor down to his meanest subject; nor is the family line considered
+to have been broken because an adopted son has succeeded to the
+estates. Indeed, should a noble die without heir male, either begotten
+or adopted, his lands are forfeited to the State. It is a matter of
+care that the person adopted should be himself sprung from a stock of
+rank suited to that of the family into which he is to be received.
+
+Sixteen and upwards being considered the marriageable age for a man,
+it is not usual for persons below that age to adopt an heir; yet an
+infant at the point of death may adopt a person older than himself,
+that the family line may not become extinct.
+
+An account of the marriage ceremony will be found in the Appendix upon
+the subject.
+
+In the olden time, in the island of Shikoku[40] there lived one
+Funakoshi Jiuyemon, a brave Samurai and accomplished man, who was in
+great favour with the prince, his master. One day, at a drinking-bout,
+a quarrel sprung up between him and a brother-officer, which resulted
+in a duel upon the spot, in which Jiuyemon killed his adversary. When
+Jiuyemon awoke to a sense of what he had done, he was struck with
+remorse, and he thought to disembowel himself; but, receiving a
+private summons from his lord, he went to the castle, and the prince
+said to him--
+
+"So it seems that you have been getting drunk and quarrelling, and
+that you have killed one of your friends; and now I suppose you will
+have determined to perform _hara-kiri_. It is a great pity, and in the
+face of the laws I can do nothing for you openly. Still, if you will
+escape and fly from this part of the country for a while, in two
+years' time the affair will have blown over, and I will allow you to
+return."
+
+[Footnote 40: _Shikoku_, one of the southern islands separated from
+the chief island of Japan by the beautiful "Inland Sea;" it is called
+_Shikoku_, or the "Four Provinces," because it is divided into the
+four provinces, _Awa, Sanuki, Iyo,_ and _Tosa_.]
+
+And with these words the prince presented him with a fine sword, made
+by Sukesada,[41] and a hundred ounces of silver, and, having bade him
+farewell, entered his private apartments; and Jiuyemon, prostrating
+himself, wept tears of gratitude; then, taking the sword and the
+money, he went home and prepared to fly from the province, and
+secretly took leave of his relations, each of whom made him some
+parting present. These gifts, together with his own money, and what he
+had received from the prince, made up a sum of two hundred and fifty
+ounces of silver, with which and his Sukesada sword he escaped under
+cover of darkness, and went to a sea-port called Marugame, in the
+province of Sanuki, where he proposed to wait for an opportunity of
+setting sail for Osaka. As ill luck would have it, the wind being
+contrary, he had to remain three days idle; but at last the wind
+changed; so he went down to the beach, thinking that he should
+certainly find a junk about to sail; and as he was looking about him,
+a sailor came up, and said--
+
+"If your honour is minded to take a trip to Osaka, my ship is bound
+thither, and I should be glad to take you with me as passenger."
+
+"That's exactly what I wanted. I will gladly take a passage," replied
+Jiuyemon, who was delighted at the chance.
+
+[Footnote 41: _Sukesada_, a famous family of swordsmiths, belonging to
+the Bizen clan. The Bizen men are notoriously good armourers, and
+their blades fetch high prices. The sword of Jiuyemon is said to have
+been made by one of the Sukesada who lived about 290 years ago.]
+
+"Well, then, we must set sail at once, so please come on board
+without delay."
+
+So Jiuyemon went with him and embarked; and as they left the harbour
+and struck into the open sea, the moon was just rising above the
+eastern hills, illumining the dark night like a noonday sun; and
+Jiuyemon, taking his place in the bows of the ship, stood wrapt in
+contemplation of the beauty of the scene.
+
+[Illustration: JIUYEMON ON BOARD THE PIRATE SHIP.]
+
+Now it happened that the captain of the ship, whose name was Akagoshi
+Kuroyemon, was a fierce pirate who, attracted by Jiuyemon's well-to-do
+appearance, had determined to decoy him on board, that he might murder
+and rob him; and while Jiuyemon was looking at the moon, the pirate
+and his companions were collected in the stern of the ship, taking
+counsel together in whispers as to how they might slay him. He, on the
+other hand, having for some time past fancied their conduct somewhat
+strange, bethought him that it was not prudent to lay aside his sword,
+so he went towards the place where he had been sitting, and had left
+his weapon lying, to fetch it, when he was stopped by three of the
+pirates, who blocked up the gangway, saying--
+
+"Stop, Sir Samurai! Unluckily for you, this ship in which you have
+taken a passage belongs to the pirate Akagoshi Kuroyemon. Come, sir!
+whatever money you may chance to have about you is our prize."
+
+When Jiuyemon heard this he was greatly startled at first, but soon
+recovered himself, and being an expert wrestler, kicked over two of
+the pirates, and made for his sword; but in the meanwhile Shichirohei,
+the younger brother of the pirate captain, had drawn the sword, and
+brought it towards him, saying--
+
+"If you want your sword, here it is!" and with that he cut at him; but
+Jiuyemon avoided the blow, and closing with the ruffian, got back his
+sword. Ten of the pirates then attacked him with spear and sword; but
+he, putting his back against the bows of the ship, showed such good
+fight that he killed three of his assailants, and the others stood
+off, not daring to approach him. Then the pirate captain, Akagoshi
+Kuroyemon, who had been watching the fighting from the stern, seeing
+that his men stood no chance against Jiuyemon's dexterity, and that he
+was only losing them to no purpose, thought to shoot him with a
+matchlock. Even Jiuyemon, brave as he was, lost heart when he saw the
+captain's gun pointed at him, and tried to jump into the sea; but one
+of the pirates made a dash at him with a boat-hook, and caught him by
+the sleeve; then Jiuyemon, in despair, took the fine Sukesada sword
+which he had received from his prince, and throwing it at his captor,
+pierced him through the breast so that he fell dead, and himself
+plunging into the sea swam for his life. The pirate captain shot at
+him and missed him, and the rest of the crew made every endeavour to
+seize him with their boat-hooks, that they might avenge the death of
+their mates; but it was all in vain, and Jiuyemon, having shaken off
+his clothes that he might swim the better, made good his escape. So
+the pirates threw the bodies of their dead comrades into the sea, and
+the captain was partly consoled for their loss by the possession of
+the Sukesada sword with which one of them had been transfixed.
+
+As soon as Jiuyemon jumped over the ship's side, being a good swimmer,
+he took a long dive, which carried him well out of danger, and struck
+out vigorously; and although he was tired and distressed by his
+exertions, he braced himself up to greater energy, and faced the waves
+boldly. At last, in the far distance, to his great joy, he spied a
+light, for which he made, and found that it was a ship carrying
+lanterns marked with the badge of the governor of Osaka; so he hailed
+her, saying--
+
+"I have fallen into great trouble among pirates: pray rescue me."
+
+"Who and what are you?" shouted an officer, some forty years of age.
+
+"My name is Funakoshi Jiuyemon, and I have unwittingly fallen in with
+pirates this night. I have escaped so far: I pray you save me, lest I
+die."
+
+"Hold on to this, and come up," replied the other, holding out the
+butt end of a spear to him, which he caught hold of and clambered up
+the ship's side. When the officer saw before him a handsome gentleman,
+naked all but his loincloth, and with his hair all in disorder, he
+called to his servants to bring some of his own clothes, and, having
+dressed him in them, said--
+
+"What clan do you belong to, sir?"
+
+"Sir, I am a Ronin, and was on my way to Osaka; but the sailors of the
+ship on which I had embarked were pirates;" and so he told the whole
+story of the fight and of his escape.
+
+"Well done, sir!" replied the other, astonished at his prowess. "My
+name is Kajiki Tozayemon, at your service. I am an officer attached to
+the governor of Osaka. Pray, have you any friends in that city?"
+
+"No, sir, I have no friends there; but as in two years I shall be able
+to return to my own country, and re-enter my lord's service, I thought
+during that time to engage in trade and live as a common wardsman."
+
+"Indeed, that's a poor prospect! However, if you will allow me, I will
+do all that is in my power to assist you. Pray excuse the liberty I am
+taking in making such a proposal."
+
+Jiuyemon warmly thanked Kajiki Tozayemon for his kindness; and so they
+reached Osaka without further adventures.
+
+Jiuyemon, who had secreted in his girdle the two hundred and fifty
+ounces which he had brought with him from home, bought a small house,
+and started in trade as a vendor of perfumes, tooth-powder, combs, and
+other toilet articles; and Kajiki Tozayemon, who treated him with
+great kindness, and rendered him many services, prompted him, as he
+was a single man, to take to himself a wife. Acting upon this advice,
+he married a singing-girl, called O Hiyaku.[42]
+
+[Footnote 42: The O before women's names signifies "_Imperial_," and
+is simply an honorific.]
+
+Now this O Hiyaku, although at first she seemed very affectionately
+disposed towards Jiuyemon, had been, during the time that she was a
+singer, a woman of bad and profligate character; and at this time
+there was in Osaka a certain wrestler, named Takasegawa Kurobei, a
+very handsome man, with whom O Hiyaku fell desperately in love; so
+that at last, being by nature a passionate woman, she became
+unfaithful to Jiuyemon. The latter, little suspecting that anything
+was amiss, was in the habit of spending his evenings at the house of
+his patron Kajiki Tozayemon, whose son, a youth of eighteen, named
+Tonoshin, conceived a great friendship for Jiuyemon, and used
+constantly to invite him to play a game at checkers; and it was on
+these occasions that O Hiyaku, profiting by her husband's absence,
+used to arrange her meetings with the wrestler Takasegawa.
+
+One evening, when Jiuyemon, as was his wont, had gone out to play at
+checkers with Kajiki Tonoshin, O Hiyaku took advantage of the occasion
+to go and fetch the wrestler, and invite him to a little feast; and as
+they were enjoying themselves over their wine, O Hiyaku said to him--
+
+"Ah! Master Takasegawa, how wonderfully chance favours us! and how
+pleasant these stolen interviews are! How much nicer still it would
+be if we could only be married. But, as long as Jiuyemon is in the
+way, it is impossible; and that is my one cause of distress."
+
+"It's no use being in such a hurry. If you only have patience, we
+shall be able to marry, sure enough. What you have got to look out for
+now is, that Jiuyemon does not find out what we are about. I suppose
+there is no chance of his coming home to-night, is there?"
+
+"Oh dear, no! You need not be afraid. He is gone to Kajiki's house to
+play checkers; so he is sure to spend the night there."
+
+And so the guilty couple went on gossiping, with their minds at ease,
+until at last they dropped off asleep.
+
+In the meanwhile Jiuyemon, in the middle of his game at checkers, was
+seized with a sudden pain in his stomach, and said to Kajiki Tonoshin,
+"Young sir, I feel an unaccountable pain in my stomach. I think I had
+better go home, before it gets worse."
+
+"That is a bad job. Wait a little, and I will give you some physic;
+but, at any rate, you had better spend the night here."
+
+"Many thanks for your kindness," replied Jiuyemon; "but I had rather
+go home."
+
+So he took his leave, and went off to his own house, bearing the pain
+as best he might. When he arrived in front of his own door, he tried
+to open it; but the lock was fastened, and he could not get in, so he
+rapped violently at the shutters to try and awaken his wife. When O
+Hiyaku heard the noise, she woke with a start, and roused the
+wrestler, saying to him in a whisper--
+
+"Get up! get up! Jiuyemon has come back. You must hide as fast as
+possible."
+
+"Oh dear! oh dear!" said the wrestler, in a great fright; "here's a
+pretty mess! Where on earth shall I hide myself?" and he stumbled
+about in every direction looking for a hiding-place, but found none.
+
+Jiuyemon, seeing that his wife did not come to open the door, got
+impatient at last, and forced it open by unfixing the sliding shutter
+and, entering the house, found himself face to face with his wife and
+her lover, who were both in such confusion that they did not know what
+to do. Jiuyemon, however, took no notice of them, but lit his pipe and
+sat smoking and watching them in silence. At last the wrestler,
+Takasegawa, broke the silence by saying--
+
+"I thought, sir, that I should be sure to have the pleasure of finding
+you at home this evening, so I came out to call upon you. When I got
+here, the Lady O Hiyaku was so kind as to offer me some wine; and I
+drank a little more than was good for me, so that it got into my head,
+and I fell asleep. I must really apologize for having taken such a
+liberty in your absence; but, indeed, although appearances are against
+us, there has been nothing wrong."
+
+"Certainly," said O Hiyaku, coming to her lover's support, "Master
+Takasegawa is not at all to blame. It was I who invited him to drink
+wine; so I hope you will excuse him."
+
+Jiuyemon sat pondering the matter over in his mind for a moment, and
+then said to the wrestler, "You say that you are innocent; but, of
+course, that is a lie. It's no use trying to conceal your fault.
+However, next year I shall, in all probability, return to my own
+country, and then you may take O Hiyaku and do what you will with her:
+far be it from me to care what becomes of a woman with such a stinking
+heart."
+
+When the wrestler and O Hiyaku heard Jiuyemon say this quite quietly,
+they could not speak, but held their peace for very shame.
+
+"Here, you Takasegawa," pursued he; "you may stop here to-night, if
+you like it, and go home to-morrow."
+
+"Thank you, sir," replied the wrestler, "I am much obliged to you; but
+the fact is, that I have some pressing business in another part of the
+town, so, with your permission, I will take my leave;" and so he went
+out, covered with confusion.
+
+As for the faithless wife, O Hiyaku, she was in great agitation,
+expecting to be severely reprimanded at least; but Jiuyemon took no
+notice of her, and showed no anger; only from that day forth, although
+she remained in his house as his wife, he separated himself from her
+entirely.
+
+Matters went on in this way for some time, until at last, one fine
+day, O Hiyaku, looking out of doors, saw the wrestler Takasegawa
+passing in the street, so she called out to him--
+
+"Dear me, Master Takasegawa, can that be you! What a long time it is
+since we have met! Pray come in, and have a chat."
+
+"Thank you, I am much obliged to you; but as I do not like the sort of
+scene we had the other day, I think I had rather not accept your
+invitation."
+
+"Pray do not talk in such a cowardly manner. Next year, when Jiuyemon
+goes back to his own country, he is sure to give me this house, and
+then you and I can marry and live as happily as possible."
+
+"I don't like being in too great a hurry to accept fair offers."[43]
+
+[Footnote 43: The original is a proverbial expression like "Timeo
+Danaos et dona ferentes."]
+
+"Nonsense! There's no need for showing such delicacy about accepting
+what is given you."
+
+And as she spoke, she caught the wrestler by the hand and led him into
+the house. After they had talked together for some time, she said:--
+
+"Listen to me, Master Takasegawa. I have been thinking over all this
+for some time, and I see no help for it but to kill Jiuyemon and make
+an end of him."
+
+"What do you want to do that for?"
+
+"As long as he is alive, we cannot be married. What I propose is that
+you should buy some poison, and I will put it secretly into his food.
+When he is dead, we can be happy to our hearts' content."
+
+At first Takasegawa was startled and bewildered by the audacity of
+their scheme; but forgetting the gratitude which he owed to Jiuyemon
+for sparing his life on the previous occasion, he replied:--
+
+"Well, I think it can be managed. I have a friend who is a physician,
+so I will get him to compound some poison for me, and will send it to
+you. You must look out for a moment when your husband is not on his
+guard, and get him to take it."
+
+Having agreed upon this, Takasegawa went away, and, having employed a
+physician to make up the poison, sent it to O Hiyaku in a letter,
+suggesting that the poison should be mixed up with a sort of macaroni,
+of which Jiuyemon was very fond. Having read the letter, she put it
+carefully away in a drawer of her cupboard, and waited until Jiuyemon
+should express a wish to eat some macaroni.
+
+One day, towards the time of the New Year, when O Hiyaku had gone out
+to a party with a few of her friends, it happened that Jiuyemon, being
+alone in the house, was in want of some little thing, and, failing to
+find it anywhere, at last bethought himself to look for it in O
+Hiyaku's cupboard; and as he was searching amongst the odds and ends
+which it contained, he came upon the fatal letter. When he read the
+scheme for putting poison in his macaroni, he was taken aback, and
+said to himself, "When I caught those two beasts in their wickedness I
+spared them, because their blood would have defiled my sword; and now
+they are not even grateful for my mercy. Their crime is beyond all
+power of language to express, and I will kill them together."
+
+So he put back the letter in its place, and waited for his wife to
+come home. So soon as she made her appearance he said--
+
+"You have come home early, O Hiyaku. I feel very dull and lonely this
+evening; let us have a little wine."
+
+And as he spoke without any semblance of anger, it never entered O
+Hiyaku's mind that he had seen the letter; so she went about her
+household duties with a quiet mind.
+
+The following evening, as Jiuyemon was sitting in his shop casting up
+his accounts, with his counting-board[44] in his hand, Takasegawa
+passed by, and Jiuyemon called out to him, saying:--
+
+"Well met, Takasegawa! I was just thinking of drinking a cup of wine
+to-night; but I have no one to keep me company, and it is dull work
+drinking alone. Pray come in, and drink a bout with me."
+
+[Footnote 44: The _abacus_, or counting-board, is the means of
+calculation in use throughout the Continent from St. Petersburg to
+Peking, in Corea, Japan, and the Liukiu Islands.]
+
+"Thank you, sir, I shall have much pleasure," replied the wrestler,
+who little expected what the other was aiming at; and so he went in,
+and they began to drink and feast.
+
+"It's very cold to-night," said Jiuyemon, after a while; "suppose we
+warm up a little macaroni, and eat it nice and hot. Perhaps, however,
+you do not like it?"
+
+"Indeed, I am very fond of it, on the contrary."
+
+"That is well. O Hiyaku, please go and buy a little for us."
+
+"Directly," replied his wife, who hurried off to buy the paste,
+delighted at the opportunity for carrying out her murderous design
+upon her husband. As soon she had prepared it, she poured it into
+bowls and set it before the two men; but into her husband's bowl only
+she put poison. Jiuyemon, who well knew what she had done, did not eat
+the mess at once, but remained talking about this, that, and the
+other; and the wrestler, out of politeness, was obliged to wait also.
+All of a sudden, Jiuyemon cried out--
+
+"Dear me! whilst we have been gossiping, the macaroni has been getting
+cold. Let us put it all together and warm it up again. As no one has
+put his lips to his bowl yet, it will all be clean; so none need be
+wasted." And with these words he took the macaroni that was in the
+three bowls, and, pouring it altogether into an iron pot, boiled it up
+again. This time Jiuyemon served out the food himself, and, setting it
+before his wife and the wrestler, said--
+
+"There! make haste and eat it up before it gets cold."
+
+Jiuyemon, of course, did not eat any of the mess; and the would-be
+murderers, knowing that sufficient poison had been originally put into
+Jiuyemon's bowl to kill them all three, and that now the macaroni,
+having been well mixed up, would all be poisoned, were quite taken
+aback, and did not know what to do.
+
+"Come! make haste, or it will be quite cold. You said you liked it, so
+I sent to buy it on purpose. O Hiyaku! come and make a hearty meal. I
+will eat some presently."
+
+At this the pair looked very foolish, and knew not what to answer; at
+last the wrestler got up and said--
+
+"I do not feel quite well. I must beg to take my leave; and, if you
+will allow me, I will come and accept your hospitality to-morrow
+instead."
+
+"Dear me! I am sorry to hear you are not well. However, O Hiyaku,
+there will be all the more macaroni for you."
+
+As for O Hiyaku, she put a bold face upon the matter, and replied that
+she had supped already, and had no appetite for any more.
+
+Then Jiuyemon, looking at them both with a scornful smile, said--
+
+"It seems that you, neither of you, care to eat this macaroni;
+however, as you, Takasegawa, are unwell, I will give you some
+excellent medicine;" and going to the cupboard, he drew out the
+letter, and laid it before the wrestler. When O Hiyaku and the
+wrestler saw that their wicked schemes had been brought to light, they
+were struck dumb with shame.
+
+Takasegawa, seeing that denial was useless, drew his dirk and cut at
+Jiuyemon; but he, being nimble and quick, dived under the wrestler's
+arm, and seizing his right hand from behind, tightened his grasp upon
+it until it became numbed, and the dirk fell to the ground; for,
+powerful man as the wrestler was, he was no match for Jiuyemon, who
+held him in so fast a grip that he could not move. Then Jiuyemon took
+the dirk which had fallen to the ground, and said:--
+
+"Oh! I thought that you, being a wrestler, would at least be a strong
+man, and that there would be some pleasure in fighting you; but I see
+that you are but a poor feckless creature, after all. It would have
+defiled my sword to have killed such an ungrateful hound with it; but
+luckily here is your own dirk, and I will slay you with that."
+
+Takasegawa struggled to escape, but in vain; and O Hiyaku, seizing a
+large kitchen knife, attacked Jiuyemon; but he, furious, kicked her in
+the loins so violently that she fell powerless, then brandishing the
+dirk, he cleft the wrestler from the shoulder down to the nipple of
+his breast, and the big man fell in his agony. O Hiyaku, seeing this,
+tried to fly; but Jiuyemon, seizing her by the hair of the head,
+stabbed her in the bosom, and, placing her by her lover's side, gave
+her the death-blow.
+
+[Illustration: JIUYEMON PUNISHES HIS WIFE AND THE WRESTLER.]
+
+On the following day, he sent in a report of what he had done to the
+governor of Osaka, and buried the corpses; and from that time forth he
+remained a single man, and pursued his trade as a seller of perfumery
+and such-like wares; and his leisure hours he continued to spend as
+before, at the house of his patron, Kajiki Tozayemon.
+
+One day, when Jiuyemon went to call upon Kajiki Tozayemon, he was told
+by the servant-maid, who met him at the door, that her master was out,
+but that her young master, Tonoshin, was at home; so, saying that he
+would go in and pay his respects to the young gentleman, he entered
+the house; and as he suddenly pushed open the sliding-door of the room
+in which Tonoshin was sitting, the latter gave a great start, and his
+face turned pale and ghastly.
+
+"How now, young sir!" said Jiuyemon, laughing at him, "surely you are
+not such a coward as to be afraid because the sliding-doors are
+opened? That is not the way in which a brave Samurai should behave."
+
+"Really I am quite ashamed of myself," replied the other, blushing at
+the reproof; "but the fact is that I had some reason for being
+startled. Listen to me, Sir Jiuyemon, and I will tell you all about
+it. To-day, when I went to the academy to study, there were a great
+number of my fellow-students gathered together, and one of them said
+that a ruinous old shrine, about two miles and a half to the east of
+this place, was the nightly resort of all sorts of hobgoblins, who
+have been playing pranks and bewitching the people for some time
+past; and he proposed that we should all draw lots, and that the one
+upon whom the lot fell should go to-night and exorcise those evil
+beings; and further that, as a proof of his having gone, he should
+write his name upon a pillar in the shrine. All the rest agreed that
+this would be very good sport; so I, not liking to appear a coward,
+consented to take my chance with the rest; and, as ill luck would
+have it, the lot fell upon me. I was thinking over this as you came
+in, and so it was that when you suddenly opened the door, I could not
+help giving a start."
+
+"If you only think for a moment," said Jiuyemon, "you will see that
+there is nothing to fear. How can beasts[45] and hobgoblins exercise
+any power over men? However, do not let the matter trouble you. I will
+go in your place to-night, and see if I cannot get the better of these
+goblins, if any there be, having done which, I will write your name
+upon the pillar, so that everybody may think that you have been
+there."
+
+[Footnote 45: Foxes, badgers, and cats. See the stories respecting
+their tricks.]
+
+
+"Oh! thank you: that will indeed be a service. You can dress yourself
+up in my clothes, and nobody will be the wiser. I shall be truly
+grateful to you."
+
+So Jiuyemon having gladly undertaken the job, as soon as the night set
+in made his preparations, and went to the place indicated--an
+uncanny-looking, tumble-down, lonely old shrine, all overgrown with
+moss and rank vegetation. However, Jiuyemon, who was afraid of
+nothing, cared little for the appearance of the place, and having made
+himself as comfortable as he could in so dreary a spot, sat down on
+the floor, lit his pipe, and kept a sharp look-out for the goblins. He
+had not been waiting long before he saw a movement among the bushes;
+and presently he was surrounded by a host of elfish-looking creatures,
+of all shapes and kinds, who came and made hideous faces at him.
+Jiuyemon quietly knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and then, jumping
+up, kicked over first one and then another of the elves, until several
+of them lay sprawling in the grass; and the rest made off, greatly
+astonished at this unexpected reception. When Jiuyemon took his
+lantern and examined the fallen goblins attentively, he saw that they
+were all Tonoshin's fellow-students, who had painted their faces, and
+made themselves hideous, to frighten their companion, whom they knew
+to be a coward: all they got for their pains, however, was a good
+kicking from Jiuyemon, who left them groaning over their sore bones,
+and went home chuckling to himself at the result of the adventure.
+
+[Illustration: FUNAKOSHI JIUYEMON AND THE GOBLINS.]
+
+The fame of this exploit soon became noised about Osaka, so that all
+men praised Jiuyemon's courage; and shortly after this he was elected
+chief of the Otokodate,[46] or friendly society of the wardsmen, and
+busied himself no longer with his trade, but lived on the
+contributions of his numerous apprentices.
+
+[Footnote 46: See the Introduction to the Story of Chobei of
+Bandzuin.]
+
+Now Kajiki Tonoshin was in love with a singing girl named Kashiku,
+upon whom he was in the habit of spending a great deal of money. She,
+however, cared nothing for him, for she had a sweetheart named
+Hichirobei, whom she used to contrive to meet secretly, although, in
+order to support her parents, she was forced to become the mistress of
+Tonoshin. One evening, when the latter was on guard at the office of
+his chief, the Governor of Osaka, Kashiku sent word privately to
+Hichirobei, summoning him to go to her house, as the coast would be
+clear.
+
+While the two were making merry over a little feast, Tonoshin, who had
+persuaded a friend to take his duty for him on the plea of urgent
+business, knocked at the door, and Kashiku, in a great fright, hid her
+lover in a long clothes-box, and went to let in Tonoshin, who, on
+entering the room and seeing the litter of the supper lying about,
+looked more closely, and perceived a man's sandals, on which, by the
+light of a candle, he saw the figure seven.[47] Tonoshin had heard
+some ugly reports of Kashiku's proceedings with this man Hichirobei,
+and when he saw this proof before his eyes he grew very angry; but he
+suppressed his feelings, and, pointing to the wine-cups and bowls,
+said:--
+
+"Whom have you been feasting with to-night?"
+
+"Oh!" replied Kashiku, who, notwithstanding her distress, was obliged
+to invent an answer, "I felt so dull all alone here, that I asked an
+old woman from next door to come in and drink a cup of wine with me,
+and have a chat."
+
+[Footnote 47: _Hichi_, the first half of _Hichirobei_, signifies
+seven.]
+
+All this while Tonoshin was looking for the hidden lover; but, as he
+could not see him, he made up his mind that Kashiku must have let him
+out by the back door; so he secreted one of the sandals in his sleeve
+as evidence, and, without seeming to suspect anything, said:--
+
+"Well, I shall be very busy this evening, so I must go home."
+
+"Oh! won't you stay a little while? It is very dull here, when I am
+all alone without you. Pray stop and keep me company."
+
+But Tonoshin made no reply, and went home. Then Kashiku saw that one
+of the sandals was missing, and felt certain that he must have carried
+it off as proof; so she went in great trouble to open the lid of the
+box, and let out Hichirobei. When the two lovers talked over the
+matter, they agreed that, as they both were really in love, let
+Tonoshin kill them if he would, they would gladly die together: they
+would enjoy the present; let the future take care of itself.
+
+The following morning Kashiku sent a messenger to Tonoshin to implore
+his pardon; and he, being infatuated by the girl's charms, forgave
+her, and sent a present of thirty ounces of silver to her lover,
+Hichirobei, on the condition that he was never to see her again; but,
+in spite of this, Kashiku and Hichirobei still continued their secret
+meetings.
+
+It happened that Hichirobei, who was a gambler by profession, had an
+elder brother called Chobei, who kept a wine-shop in the Ajikawa
+Street, at Osaka; so Tonoshin thought that he could not do better than
+depute Jiuyemon to go and seek out this man Chobei, and urge him to
+persuade his younger brother to give up his relations with Kashiku;
+acting upon this resolution, he went to call upon Jiuyemon, and said
+to him--
+
+"Sir Jiuyemon, I have a favour to ask of you in connection with that
+girl Kashiku, whom you know all about. You are aware that I paid
+thirty ounces of silver to her lover Hichirobei to induce him to give
+up going to her house; but, in spite of this, I cannot help suspecting
+that they still meet one another. It seems that this Hichirobei has an
+elder brother--one Chobei; now, if you would go to this man and tell
+him to reprove his brother for his conduct, you would be doing me a
+great service. You have so often stood my friend, that I venture to
+pray you to oblige me in this matter, although I feel that I am
+putting you to great inconvenience."
+
+Jiuyemon, out of gratitude for the kindness which he had received at
+the hands of Kajiki Tozayemon, was always willing to serve Tonoshin;
+so he went at once to find out Chobei, and said to him--
+
+"My name, sir, is Jiuyemon, at your service; and I have come to beg
+your assistance in a matter of some delicacy."
+
+"What can I do to oblige you, sir?" replied Chobei, who felt bound to
+be more than usually civil, as his visitor was the chief of the
+Otokodate.
+
+"It is a small matter, sir," said Jiuyemon. "Your younger brother
+Hichirobei is intimate with a woman named Kashiku, whom he meets in
+secret. Now, this Kashiku is the mistress of the son of a gentleman to
+whom I am under great obligation: he bought her of her parents for a
+large sum of money, and, besides this, he paid your brother thirty
+ounces of silver some time since, on condition of his separating
+himself from the girl; in spite of this, it appears that your brother
+continues to see her, and I have come to beg that you will remonstrate
+with your brother on his conduct, and make him give her up."
+
+"That I certainly will. Pray do not be uneasy; I will soon find means
+to put a stop to my brother's bad behaviour."
+
+And so they went on talking of one thing and another, until Jiuyemon,
+whose eyes had been wandering about the room, spied out a very long
+dirk lying on a cupboard, and all at once it occurred to him that this
+was the very sword which had been a parting gift to him from his lord:
+the hilt, the mountings, and the tip of the scabbard were all the
+same, only the blade had been shortened and made into a long dirk.
+Then he looked more attentively at Chobei's features, and saw that he
+was no other than Akagoshi Kuroyemon, the pirate chief. Two years had
+passed by, but he could not forget that face.
+
+Jiuyemon would have liked to have arrested him at once; but thinking
+that it would be a pity to give so vile a robber a chance of escape,
+he constrained himself, and, taking his leave, went straightway and
+reported the matter to the Governor of Osaka. When the officers of
+justice heard of the prey that awaited them, they made their
+preparations forthwith. Three men of the secret police went to
+Chobei's wine-shop, and, having called for wine, pretended to get up a
+drunken brawl; and as Chobei went up to them and tried to pacify them,
+one of the policemen seized hold of him, and another tried to pinion
+him. It at once flashed across Chobei's mind that his old misdeeds had
+come to light at last, so with a desperate effort he shook off the two
+policemen and knocked them down, and, rushing into the inner room,
+seized the famous Sukesada sword and sprang upstairs. The three
+policemen, never thinking that he could escape, mounted the stairs
+close after him; but Chobei with a terrible cut cleft the front man's
+head in sunder, and the other two fell back appalled at their
+comrade's fate. Then Chobei climbed on to the roof, and, looking out,
+perceived that the house was surrounded on all sides by armed men.
+Seeing this, he made up his mind that his last moment was come, but,
+at any rate, he determined to sell his life dearly, and to die
+fighting; so he stood up bravely, when one of the officers, coming up
+from the roof of a neighbouring house, attacked him with a spear; and
+at the same time several other soldiers clambered up. Chobei, seeing
+that he was overmatched, jumped down, and before the soldiers below
+had recovered from their surprise he had dashed through their ranks,
+laying about him right and left, and cutting down three men. At top
+speed he fled, with his pursuers close behind him; and, seeing the
+broad river ahead of him, jumped into a small boat that lay moored
+there, of which the boatmen, frightened at the sight of his bloody
+sword, left him in undisputed possession. Chobei pushed off, and
+sculled vigorously into the middle of the river; and the
+officers--there being no other boat near--were for a moment baffled.
+One of them, however, rushing down the river bank, hid himself on a
+bridge, armed with. a spear, and lay in wait for Chobei to pass in his
+boat; but when the little boat came up, he missed his aim, and only
+scratched Chobei's elbow; and he, seizing the spear, dragged down his
+adversary into the river, and killed him as he was struggling in the
+water; then, sculling for his life, he gradually drew near to the sea.
+The other officers in the mean time had secured ten boats, and, having
+come up with Chobei, surrounded him; but he, having formerly been a
+pirate, was far better skilled in the management of a boat than his
+pursuers, and had no great difficulty in eluding them; so at last he
+pushed out to sea, to the great annoyance of the officers, who
+followed him closely.
+
+Then Jiuyemon, who had come up, said to one of the officers on the
+shore--
+
+"Have you caught him yet?"
+
+"No; the fellow is so brave and so cunning that our men can do nothing
+with him."
+
+"He's a determined ruffian, certainly. However, as the fellow has got
+my sword, I mean to get it back by fair means or foul: will you allow
+me to undertake the job of seizing him?"
+
+"Well, you may try; and you will have officers to assist you, if you
+are in peril."
+
+Jiuyemon, having received this permission, stripped off his clothes
+and jumped into the sea, carrying with him a policeman's mace, to the
+great astonishment of all the bystanders. When he got near Chobei's
+boat, he dived and came up alongside, without the pirate perceiving
+him until he had clambered into the boat. Chobei had the good Sukesada
+sword, and Jiuyemon was armed with nothing but a mace; but Chobei, on
+the other hand, was exhausted with his previous exertions, and was
+taken by surprise at a moment when he was thinking of nothing but how
+he should scull away from the pursuing boats; so it was not long
+before Jiuyemon mastered and secured him.
+
+For this feat, besides recovering his Sukesada sword, Jiuyemon
+received many rewards and great praise from the Governor of Osaka. But
+the pirate Chobei was cast into prison.
+
+Hichirobei, when he heard of his brother's capture, was away from
+home; but seeing that he too would be sought for, he determined to
+escape to Yedo at once, and travelled along the Tokaido, the great
+highroad, as far as Kuana. But the secret police had got wind of his
+movements, and one of them was at his heels disguised as a beggar, and
+waiting for an opportunity to seize him.
+
+Hichirobei in the meanwhile was congratulating himself on his escape;
+and, little suspecting that he would be in danger so far away from
+Osaka, he went to a house of pleasure, intending to divert himself at
+his ease. The policeman, seeing this, went to the master of the house
+and said--
+
+"The guest who has just come in is a notorious thief, and I am on his
+track, waiting to arrest him. Do you watch for the moment when he
+falls asleep, and let me know. Should he escape, the blame will fall
+upon you."
+
+The master of the house, who was greatly taken aback, consented of
+course; so he told the woman of the house to hide Hichirobei's dirk,
+and as soon as the latter, wearied with his journey, had fallen
+asleep, he reported it to the policeman, who went upstairs, and having
+bound Hichirobei as he lay wrapped up in his quilt, led him back to
+Osaka to be imprisoned with his brother.
+
+When Kashiku became aware of her lover's arrest, she felt certain that
+it was the handiwork of Jiuyemon; so she determined to kill him, were
+it only that she might die with Hichirobei. So hiding a kitchen knife
+in the bosom of her dress, she went at midnight to Jiuyemon's house,
+and looked all round to see if there were no hole or cranny by which
+she might slip in unobserved; but every door was carefully closed, so
+she was obliged to knock at the door and feign an excuse.
+
+"Let me in! let me in! I am a servant-maid in the house of Kajiki
+Tozayemon, and am charged with a letter on most pressing business to
+Sir Jiuyemon."
+
+Hearing this, one of Jiuyemon's servants, thinking her tale was true,
+rose and opened the door; and Kashiku, stabbing him in the face, ran
+past him into the house. Inside she met another apprentice, who had
+got up, aroused by the noise; him too she stabbed in the belly, but as
+he fell he cried out to Jiuyemon, saying:--
+
+"Father, father![48] take care! Some murderous villain has broken into
+the house."
+
+[Footnote 48: The apprentice addresses his patron as "father."]
+
+[Illustration: "GOKUMON."]
+
+And Kashiku, desperate, stopped his further utterance by cutting his
+throat. Jiuyemon, hearing his apprentice cry out, jumped up, and,
+lighting his night-lamp, looked about him in the half-gloom, and saw
+Kashiku with the bloody knife, hunting for him that she might kill
+him. Springing upon her before she saw him, he clutched her right
+hand, and, having secured her, bound her with cords so that she could
+not move. As soon as he had recovered from his surprise, he looked
+about him, and searched the house, when, to his horror, he found one
+of his apprentices dead, and the other lying bleeding from a frightful
+gash across the face. With the first dawn of day, he reported the
+affair to the proper authorities, and gave Kashiku in custody. So,
+after due examination, the two pirate brothers and the girl Kashiku
+were executed, and their heads were exposed together.[49]
+
+[Footnote 49: The exposure of the head, called _Gokumon_, is a
+disgraceful addition to the punishment of beheading. A document,
+placed on the execution-ground, sets forth the crime which has called
+forth the punishment.]
+
+Now the fame of all the valiant deeds of Jiuyemon having reached his
+own country, his lord ordered that he should be pardoned for his
+former offence, and return to his allegiance; so, after thanking
+Kajiki Tozayemon for the manifold favours which he had received at his
+hands, he went home, and became a Samurai as before.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The fat wrestlers of Japan, whose heavy paunches and unwieldy, puffy
+limbs, however much they may be admired by their own country people,
+form a striking contrast to our Western notions of training, have
+attracted some attention from travellers; and those who are interested
+in athletic sports may care to learn something about them.
+
+The first historical record of wrestling occurs in the sixth year of
+the Emperor Suinin (24 B.C.), when one Taima no Kehaya, a noble of
+great stature and strength, boasting that there was not his match
+under heaven, begged the Emperor that his strength might be put to the
+test. The Emperor accordingly caused the challenge to be proclaimed;
+and one Nomi no Shikune answered it, and having wrestled with Kehaya,
+kicked him in the ribs and broke his bones, so that he died. After
+this Shikune was promoted to high office, and became further famous in
+Japanese history as having substituted earthen images for the living
+men who, before his time, used to be buried with the coffin of the
+Mikado.
+
+In the year A.D. 858 the throne of Japan was wrestled for. The Emperor
+Buntoku had two sons, called Koreshito and Koretaka, both of whom
+aspired to the throne. Their claims were decided in a wrestling match,
+in which one Yoshiro was the champion of Koreshito, and Natora the
+champion of Koretaka. Natora having been defeated, Koreshito ascended
+his father's throne under the style of Seiwa.
+
+In the eighth century, when Nara was the capital of Japan, the Emperor
+Shomu instituted wrestling as part of the ceremonies of the autumn
+festival of the Five Grains, or Harvest Home; and as the year proved a
+fruitful one, the custom was continued as auspicious. The strong men
+of the various provinces were collected, and one Kiyobayashi was
+proclaimed the champion of Japan. Many a brave and stout man tried a
+throw with him, but none could master him. Rules of the ring were now
+drawn up; and in order to prevent disputes, Kiyobayashi was appointed
+by the Emperor to be the judge of wrestling-matches, and was
+presented, as a badge of his office, with a fan, upon which were
+inscribed the words the "Prince of Lions."
+
+The wrestlers were divided into wrestlers of the eastern and of the
+western provinces, Omi being taken as the centre province. The eastern
+wrestlers wore in their hair the badge of the hollyhock; the western
+wrestlers took for their sign the gourd-flower. Hence the passage
+leading up to the wrestling-stage was called the "Flower Path."
+Forty-eight various falls were fixed upon as fair--twelve throws,
+twelve lifts, twelve twists, and twelve throws over the back. All
+other throws not included in these were foul, and it was the duty of
+the umpire to see that no unlawful tricks were resorted to. It was
+decided that the covered stage should be composed of sixteen
+rice-bales, in the shape of one huge bale, supported by four pillars
+at the four points of the compass, each pillar being painted a
+different colour, thus, together with certain paper pendants, making
+up five colours, to symbolize the Five Grains.
+
+[Illustration: CHAMPION WRESTLER.]
+
+The civil wars by which the country was disturbed for a while put a
+stop to the practice of wrestling; but when peace was restored it was
+proposed to re-establish the athletic games, and the umpire
+Kiyobayashi, the "Prince of Lions," was sought for; but he had died or
+disappeared, and could not be found, and there was no umpire
+forthcoming. The various provinces were searched for a man who might
+fill his place, and one Yoshida Iyetsugu, a Ronin of the province of
+Echizen, being reported to be well versed in the noble science, was
+sent for to the capital, and proved to be a pupil of Kiyobayashi. The
+Emperor, having approved him, ordered that the fan of the "Prince of
+Lions" should be made over to him, and gave him the title of Bungo no
+Kami, and commanded that his name in the ring should be Oi-Kaze, the
+"Driving Wind." Further, as a sign that there should not be two
+styles of wrestling, a second fan was given to him bearing the
+inscription, "A single flavour is a beautiful custom." The right of
+acting as umpire in wrestling-matches was vested in his family, that
+the "Driving Wind" might for future generations preside over athletic
+sports. In ancient days, the prizes for the three champion wrestlers
+were a bow, a bowstring, and an arrow: these are still brought into
+the ring, and, at the end of the bout, the successful competitors go
+through a variety of antics with them.
+
+To the champion wrestlers--to two or three men only in a
+generation--the family of the "Driving Wind" awards the privilege of
+wearing a rope-girdle. In the time of the Shogunate these champions
+used to wrestle before the Shogun.
+
+At the beginning of the 17th century (A.D. 1606) wrestling-matches, as
+forming a regular part of a religious ceremony, were discontinued.
+They are still held, however, at the shrines of Kamo, at Kioto, and of
+Kasuga, in Yamato. They are also held at Kamakura every year, and at
+the shrines of the patron saints of the various provinces, in
+imitation of the ancient customs.
+
+In the year 1623 one Akashi Shiganosuke obtained leave from the
+Government to hold public wrestling-matches in the streets of Yedo.
+In the year 1644 was held the first wrestling-match for the purpose
+of raising a collection for building a temple. This was done by
+the priests of Kofukuji, in Yamashiro. In the year 1660 the same
+expedient was resorted to in Yedo, and the custom of getting up
+wrestling-matches for the benefit of temple funds holds good to this
+day.
+
+The following graphic description of a Japanese wrestling-match is
+translated from the "Yedo Hanjoki":--
+
+"From daybreak till eight in the morning a drum is beaten to announce
+that there will be wrestling. The spectators rise early for the sight.
+The adversaries having been settled, the wrestlers enter the ring from
+the east and from the west. Tall stalwart men are they, with sinews
+and bones of iron. Like the Gods Nio,[50] they stand with their arms
+akimbo, and, facing one another, they crouch in their strength. The
+umpire watches until the two men draw their breath at the same time,
+and with his fan gives the signal. They jump up and close with one
+another, like tigers springing on their prey, or dragons playing with
+a ball. Each is bent on throwing the other by twisting or by lifting
+him. It is no mere trial of brute strength; it is a tussle of skill
+against skill. Each of the forty-eight throws is tried in turn. From
+left to right, and from right to left, the umpire hovers about,
+watching for the victory to declare itself. Some of the spectators
+back the east, others back the west. The patrons of the ring are so
+excited that they feel the strength tingling within them; they clench
+their fists, and watch their men, without so much as blinking their
+eyes. At last one man, east or west, gains the advantage, and the
+umpire lifts his fan in token of victory. The plaudits of the
+bystanders shake the neighbourhood, and they throw their clothes or
+valuables into the ring, to be redeemed afterwards in money; nay, in
+his excitement, a man will even tear off his neighbour's jacket and
+throw it in."
+
+[Footnote 50: The Japanese Gog and Magog.]
+
+[Illustration: A WRESTLING MATCH.]
+
+Before beginning their tussle, the wrestlers work up their strength by
+stamping their feet and slapping their huge thighs. This custom is
+derived from the following tale of the heroic or mythological age:--
+
+After the seven ages of the heavenly gods came the reign of Tensho
+Daijin, the Sun Goddess, and first Empress of Japan. Her younger
+brother, Sosanoeo no Mikoto, was a mighty and a brave hero, but
+turbulent, and delighted in hunting the deer and the boar. After
+killing these beasts, he would throw their dead bodies into the sacred
+hall of his sister, and otherwise defile her dwelling. When he had
+done this several times, his sister was angry, and hid in the cave
+called the Rock Gate of Heaven; and when her face was not seen, there
+was no difference between the night and the day. The heroes who served
+her, mourning over this, went to seek her; but she placed a huge stone
+in front of the cave, and would not come forth. The heroes, seeing
+this, consulted together, and danced and played antics before the cave
+to lure her out. Tempted by curiosity to see the sight, she opened the
+gate a little and peeped out. Then the hero Tajikarao, or "Great
+Strength," clapping his hands and stamping his feet, with a great
+effort grasped and threw down the stone door, and the heroes fetched
+back the Sun Goddess.[51] As Tajikarao is the patron god of Strength,
+wrestlers, on entering the ring, still commemorate his deed by
+clapping their hands and stamping their feet as a preparation for
+putting forth their strength.
+
+[Footnote 51: The author of the history called "Kokushi Riyaku"
+explains this fable as being an account of the first eclipse.]
+
+The great Daimios are in the habit of attaching wrestlers to their
+persons, and assigning to them a yearly portion of rice. It is usual
+for these athletes to take part in funeral or wedding processions, and
+to escort the princes on journeys. The rich wardsmen or merchants give
+money to their favourite wrestlers, and invite them to their houses to
+drink wine and feast. Though low, vulgar fellows, they are allowed
+something of the same familiarity which is accorded to prize-fighters,
+jockeys, and the like, by their patrons in our own country.
+
+The Japanese wrestlers appear to have no regular system of training;
+they harden their naturally powerful limbs by much beating, and by
+butting at wooden posts with their shoulders. Their diet is stronger
+than that of the ordinary Japanese, who rarely touch meat.
+
+
+
+
+THE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO
+
+
+It will be long before those who were present at the newly opened port
+of Kobe on the 4th of February, 1868, will forget that day. The civil
+war was raging, and the foreign Legations, warned by the flames of
+burning villages, no less than by the flight of the Shogun and his
+ministers, had left Osaka, to take shelter at Kobe, where they were
+not, as at the former place, separated from their ships by more than
+twenty miles of road, occupied by armed troops in a high state of
+excitement, with the alternative of crossing in tempestuous weather a
+dangerous bar, which had already taken much valuable life. It was a
+fine winter's day, and the place was full of bustle, and of the going
+and coming of men busy with the care of housing themselves and their
+goods and chattels. All of a sudden, a procession of armed men,
+belonging to the Bizen clan, was seen to leave the town, and to
+advance along the high road leading to Osaka; and without apparent
+reason--it was said afterwards that two Frenchmen had crossed the line
+of march--there was a halt, a stir, and a word of command given. Then
+the little clouds of white smoke puffed up, and the sharp "ping" of
+the rifle bullets came whizzing over the open space, destined for a
+foreign settlement, as fast as the repeating breech-loaders could be
+discharged. Happily, the practice was very bad; for had the men of
+Bizen been good shots, almost all the principal foreign officials in
+the country, besides many merchants and private gentlemen, must have
+been killed: as it was, only two or three men were wounded. If they
+were bad marksmen, however, they were mighty runners; for they soon
+found that they had attacked a hornets' nest. In an incredibly short
+space of time, the guards of the different Legations and the sailors
+and marines from the ships of war were in hot chase after the enemy,
+who were scampering away over the hills as fast as their legs could
+carry them, leaving their baggage ingloriously scattered over the
+road, as many a cheap lacquered hat and flimsy paper cartridge-box,
+preserved by our Blue Jackets as trophies, will testify. So good was
+the stampede, that the enemy's loss amounted only to one aged coolie,
+who, being too decrepit to run, was taken prisoner, after having had
+seventeen revolver shots fired at him without effect; and the only
+injury that our men inflicted was upon a solitary old woman, who was
+accidently shot through the leg.
+
+If it had not been for the serious nature of the offence given, which
+was an attack upon the flags of all the treaty Powers, and for the
+terrible retribution which was of necessity exacted, the whole affair
+would have been recollected chiefly for the ludicrous events which it
+gave rise to. The mounted escort of the British Legation executed a
+brilliant charge of cavalry down an empty road; a very pretty line of
+skirmishers along the fields fired away a great deal of ammunition
+with no result; earthworks were raised, and Kobe was held in military
+occupation for three days, during which there were alarms, cutting-out
+expeditions with armed boats, steamers seized, and all kinds of
+martial effervescence. In fact, it was like fox-hunting: it had "all
+the excitement of war, with only ten per cent. of the danger."
+
+The first thought of the kind-hearted doctor of the British Legation
+was for the poor old woman who had been wounded, and was bemoaning
+herself piteously. When she was carried in, a great difficulty arose,
+which, I need hardly say, was overcome; for the poor old creature
+belonged to the Etas, the Pariah race, whose presence pollutes the
+house even of the poorest and humblest Japanese; and the native
+servants strongly objected to her being treated as a human being,
+saying that the Legation would be for ever defiled if she were
+admitted within its sacred precincts. No account of Japanese society
+would be complete without a notice of the Etas; and the following
+story shows well, I think, the position which they hold.
+
+Their occupation is to slay beasts, work leather, attend upon
+criminals, and do other degrading work. Several accounts are given of
+their origin; the most probable of which is, that when Buddhism, the
+tenets of which forbid the taking of life, was introduced, those who
+lived by the infliction of death became accursed in the land, their
+trade being made hereditary, as was the office of executioner in some
+European countries. Another story is, that they are the descendants of
+the Tartar invaders left behind by Kublai Khan. Some further facts
+connected with the Etas are given in a note at the end of the tale.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Once upon a time, some two hundred years ago, there lived at a place
+called Honjo, in Yedo, a Hatamoto named Takoji Genzaburo; his age was
+about twenty-four or twenty-five, and he was of extraordinary personal
+beauty. His official duties made it incumbent on him to go to the
+Castle by way of the Adzuma Bridge, and here it was that a strange
+adventure befel him. There was a certain Eta, who used to earn his
+living by going out every day to the Adzuma Bridge, and mending the
+sandals of the passers-by. Whenever Genzaburo crossed the bridge, the
+Eta used always to bow to him. This struck him as rather strange; but
+one day when Genzaburo was out alone, without any retainers following
+him, and was passing the Adzuma Bridge, the thong of his sandal
+suddenly broke: this annoyed him very much; however, he recollected
+the Eta cobbler who always used to bow to him so regularly, so he went
+to the place where he usually sat, and ordered him to mend his sandal,
+saying to him: "Tell me why it is that every time that I pass by
+this bridge, you salute me so respectfully."
+
+[Illustration: GENZABURO'S MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN.]
+
+When the Eta heard this, he was put out of countenance, and for a
+while he remained silent; but at last taking courage, he said to
+Genzaburo, "Sir, having been honoured with your commands, I am quite
+put to shame. I was originally a gardener, and used to go to your
+honour's house and lend a hand in trimming up the garden. In those
+days your honour was very young, and I myself little better than a
+child; and so I used to play with your honour, and received many
+kindnesses at your hands. My name, sir, is Chokichi. Since those days
+I have fallen by degrees info dissolute habits, and little by little
+have sunk to be the vile thing that you now see me."
+
+When Genzaburo heard this he was very much surprised, and,
+recollecting his old friendship for his playmate, was filled with
+pity, and said, "Surely, surely, you have fallen very low. Now all you
+have to do is to presevere and use your utmost endeavours to find a
+means of escape from the class into which you have fallen, and become
+a wardsman again. Take this sum: small as it is, let it be a
+foundation for more to you." And with these words he took ten riyos
+out of his pouch and handed them to Chokichi, who at first refused to
+accept the present, but, when it was pressed upon him, received it
+with thanks. Genzaburo was leaving him to go home, when two wandering
+singing-girls came up and spoke to Chokichi; so Genzaburo looked to
+see what the two women were like. One was a woman of some twenty years
+of age, and the other was a peerlessly beautiful girl of sixteen; she
+was neither too fat nor too thin, neither too tall nor too short; her
+face was oval, like a melon-seed, and her complexion fair and white;
+her eyes were narrow and bright, her teeth small and even; her nose
+was aquiline, and her mouth delicately formed, with lovely red lips;
+her eyebrows were long and fine; she had a profusion of long black
+hair; she spoke modestly, with a soft sweet voice; and when she
+smiled, two lovely dimples appeared in her cheeks; in all her
+movements she was gentle and refined. Genzaburo fell in love with her
+at first sight; and she, seeing what a handsome man he was, equally
+fell in love with him; so that the woman that was with her, perceiving
+that they were struck with one another, led her away as fast as
+possible.
+
+Genzaburo remained as one stupefied, and, turning to Chokichi, said,
+"Are you acquainted with those two women who came up just now?"
+
+"Sir," replied Chokichi, "those are two women of our people. The elder
+woman is called O Kuma, and the girl, who is only sixteen years old,
+is named O Koyo. She is the daughter of one Kihachi, a chief of the
+Etas. She is a very gentle girl, besides being so exceedingly pretty;
+and all our people are loud in her praise."
+
+When he heard this, Genzaburo remained lost in thought for a while,
+and then said to Chokichi, "I want you to do something for me. Are
+you prepared to serve me in whatever respect I may require you?"
+
+Chokichi answered that he was prepared to do anything in his power to
+oblige his honour. Upon this Genzaburo smiled and said, "Well, then, I
+am willing to employ you in a certain matter; but as there are a great
+number of passers-by here, I will go and wait for you in a tea-house
+at Hanakawado; and when you have finished your business here, you can
+join me, and I will speak to you." With these words Genzaburo left
+him, and went off to the tea-house.
+
+When Chokichi had finished his work, he changed his clothes, and,
+hurrying to the tea-house, inquired for Genzaburo, who was waiting for
+him upstairs. Chokichi went up to him, and began to thank him for the
+money which he had bestowed upon him. Genzaburo smiled, and handed him
+a wine-cup, inviting him to drink, and said--
+
+"I will tell you the service upon which I wish to employ you. I have
+set my heart upon that girl O Koyo, whom I met to-day upon the Adzuma
+Bridge, and you must arrange a meeting between us."
+
+When Chokichi heard these words, he was amazed and frightened, and for
+a while he made no answer. At last he said---
+
+"Sir, there is nothing that I would not do for you after the favours
+that I have received from you. If this girl were the daughter of any
+ordinary man, I would move heaven and earth to comply with your
+wishes; but for your honour, a handsome and noble Hatamoto, to take
+for his concubine the daughter of an Eta is a great mistake. By giving
+a little money you can get the handsomest woman in the town. Pray,
+sir, abandon the idea."
+
+Upon this Genzaburo was offended, and said--
+
+"This is no matter for you to give advice in. I have told you to get
+me the girl, and you must obey."
+
+Chokichi, seeing that all that he could say would be of no avail,
+thought over in his mind how to bring about a meeting between
+Genzaburo and O Koyo, and replied--
+
+"Sir, I am afraid when I think of the liberty that I have taken. I
+will go to Kihachi's house, and will use my best endeavours with him
+that I may bring the girl to you. But for to-day, it is getting late,
+and night is coming on; so I will go and speak to her father
+to-morrow."
+
+Genzaburo was delighted to find Chokichi willing to serve him.
+
+"Well," said he, "the day after to-morrow I will await you at the
+tea-house at Oji, and you can bring O Koyo there. Take this present,
+small as it is, and do your best for me."
+
+With this he pulled out three riyos from his pocket and handed them to
+Chokichi. who declined the money with thanks, saying that he had
+already received too much, and could accept no more; but Genzaburo
+pressed him, adding, that if the wish of his heart were accomplished
+he would do still more for him. So Chokichi, in great glee at the good
+luck which had befallen him, began to revolve all sorts of schemes in
+his mind; and the two parted.
+
+But O Koyo, who had fallen in love at first sight with Genzaburo on
+the Adzuma Bridge, went home and could think of nothing but him. Sad
+and melancholy she sat, and her friend O Kuma tried to comfort her in
+various ways; but O Koyo yearned, with all her heart, for Genzaburo;
+and the more she thought over the matter, the better she perceived
+that she, as the daughter of an Eta, was no match for a noble
+Hatamoto. And yet, in spite of this, she pined for him, and bewailed
+her own vile condition.
+
+Now it happened that her friend O Kuma was in love with Chokichi, and
+only cared for thinking and speaking of him; one day, when Chokichi
+went to pay a visit at the house of Kihachi the Eta chief, O Kuma,
+seeing him come, was highly delighted, and received him very politely;
+and Chokichi, interrupting her, said--
+
+"O Kuma, I want you to answer me a question: where has O Koyo gone to
+amuse herself to-day?"
+
+"Oh, you know the gentleman who was talking with you the other day, at
+the Adzuma Bridge? Well, O Koyo has fallen desperately in love with
+him, and she says that she is too low-spirited and out of sorts to get
+up yet."
+
+Chokichi was greatly pleased to hear this, and said to O Kuma--
+
+"How delightful! Why, O Koyo has fallen in love with the very
+gentleman who is burning with passion for her, and who has employed me
+to help him in the matter. However, as he is a noble Hatamoto, and his
+whole family would be ruined if the affair became known to the world,
+we must endeavour to keep it as secret as possible."
+
+"Dear me!" replied O Kuma; "when O Koyo hears this, how happy she will
+be, to be sure! I must go and tell her at once."
+
+"Stop!" said Chokichi, detaining her; "if her father, Master Kihachi,
+is willing, we will tell O Koyo directly. You had better wait here a
+little until I have consulted him;" and with this he went into an
+inner chamber to see Kihachi; and, after talking over the news of the
+day, told him how Genzaburo had fallen passionately in love with O
+Koyo, and had employed him as a go-between. Then he described how he
+had received kindness at the hands of Genzaburo when he was in better
+circumstances, dwelt on the wonderful personal beauty of his lordship,
+and upon the lucky chance by which he and O Koyo had come to meet each
+other.
+
+When Kihachi heard this story, he was greatly flattered, and said--
+
+"I am sure I am very much obliged to you. For one of our daughters,
+whom even the common people despise and shun as a pollution, to be
+chosen as the concubine of a noble Hatamoto--what could be a greater
+matter for congratulation!"
+
+So he prepared a feast for Chokichi, and went off at once to tell O
+Koyo the news. As for the maiden, who had fallen over head and ears in
+love, there was no difficulty in obtaining her consent to all that was
+asked of her.
+
+Accordingly Chokichi, having arranged to bring the lovers together on
+the following day at Oji, was preparing to go and report the glad
+tidings to Genzaburo; but O Koyo, who knew that her friend O Kuma was
+in love with Chokichi, and thought that if she could throw them into
+one another's arms, they, on their side, would tell no tales about
+herself and Genzaburo, worked to such good purpose that she gained her
+point. At last Chokichi, tearing himself from the embraces of O Kuma,
+returned to Genzaburo, and told him how he had laid his plans so as,
+without fail, to bring O Koyo to him, the following day, at Oji, and
+Genzaburo, beside himself with impatience, waited for the morrow.
+
+The next day Genzaburo, having made his preparations, and taking
+Chokichi with him, went to the tea-house at Oji, and sat drinking
+wine, waiting for his sweetheart to come.
+
+As for O Koyo, who was half in ecstasies, and half shy at the idea of
+meeting on this day the man of her heart's desire, she put on her
+holiday clothes, and went with O Kuma to Oji; and as they went out
+together, her natural beauty being enhanced by her smart dress, all
+the people turned round to look at her, and praise her pretty face.
+And so after a while, they arrived at Oji, and went into the tea-house
+that had been agreed upon; and Chokichi, going out to meet them,
+exclaimed--
+
+"Dear me, Miss O Koyo, his lordship has been all impatience waiting
+for you: pray make haste and come in."
+
+But, in spite of what he said, O Koyo, on account of her virgin
+modesty, would not go in. O Kuma, however, who was not quite so
+particular, cried out--
+
+"Why, what is the meaning of this? As you've come here, O Koyo, it's a
+little late for you to be making a fuss about being shy. Don't be a
+little fool, but come in with me at once." And with these words she
+caught fast hold of O Koyo's hand, and, pulling her by force into the
+room, made her sit down by Genzaburo.
+
+When Genzaburo saw how modest she was, he reassured her, saying--
+
+"Come, what is there to be so shy about? Come a little nearer to me,
+pray."
+
+"Thank you, sir. How could I, who am such a vile thing, pollute your
+nobility by sitting by your side?" And, as she spoke, the blushes
+mantled over her face; and the more Genzaburo looked at her, the more
+beautiful she appeared in his eyes, and the more deeply he became
+enamoured of her charms. In the meanwhile he called for wine and fish,
+and all four together made a feast of it. When Chokichi and O Kuma
+saw how the land lay, they retired discreetly into another chamber,
+and Genzaburo and O Koyo were left alone together, looking at one
+another.
+
+"Come," said Genzaburo, smiling, "hadn't you better sit a little
+closer to me?"
+
+"Thank you, sir; really I'm afraid."
+
+But Genzaburo, laughing at her for her idle fears, said--
+
+"Don't behave as if you hated me."
+
+"Oh, dear! I'm sure I don't hate you, sir. That would be very rude;
+and, indeed, it's not the case. I loved you when I first saw you at
+the Adzuma Bridge, and longed for you with all my heart; but I knew
+what a despised race I belonged to, and that I was no fitting match
+for you, and so I tried to be resigned. But I am very young and
+inexperienced, and so I could not help thinking of you, and you alone;
+and then Chokichi came, and when I heard what you had said about me, I
+thought, in the joy of my heart, that it must be a dream of
+happiness."
+
+And as she spoke these words, blushing timidly, Genzaburo was dazzled
+with her beauty, and said---
+
+"Well, you're a clever child. I'm sure, now, you must have some
+handsome young lover of your own, and that is why you don't care to
+come and drink wine and sit by me. Am I not right, eh?"
+
+"Ah, sir, a nobleman like you is sure to have a beautiful wife at
+home; and then you are so handsome that, of course, all the pretty
+young ladies are in love with you."
+
+"Nonsense! Why, how clever you are at flattering and paying
+compliments! A pretty little creature like you was just made to turn
+all the men's heads--a little witch."
+
+"Ah! those are hard things to say of a poor girl! Who could think of
+falling in love with such a wretch as I am? Now, pray tell me all
+about your own sweetheart: I do so long to hear about her."
+
+"Silly child! I'm not the sort of man to put thoughts into the heads
+of fair ladies. However, it is quite true that there is some one whom
+I want to marry."
+
+At this O Koyo began to feel jealous.
+
+"Ah!" said she, "how happy that some one must be! Do, pray, tell me
+the whole story." And a feeling of jealous spite came over her, and
+made her quite unhappy.
+
+Genzaburo laughed as he answered--
+
+"Well, that some one is yourself, and nobody else. There!" and as he
+spoke, he gently tapped the dimple on her cheek with his finger; and O
+Koyo's heart beat so, for very joy, that, for a little while, she
+remained speechless. At last she turned her face towards Genzaburo,
+and said--
+
+"Alas! your lordship is only trifling with me, when you know that what
+you have just been pleased to propose is the darling wish of my heart.
+Would that I could only go into your house as a maid-servant, in any
+capacity, however mean, that I might daily feast my eyes on your
+handsome face!"
+
+"Ah! I see that you think yourself very clever at hoaxing men, and so
+you must needs tease me a little;" and, as he spoke, he took her hand,
+and drew her close up to him, and she, blushing again, cried--
+
+"Oh! pray wait a moment, while I shut the sliding-doors."
+
+"Listen to me, O Koyo! I am not going to forget the promise which I
+made you just now; nor need you be afraid of my harming you; but take
+care that you do not deceive me."
+
+"Indeed, sir, the fear is rather that you should set your heart on
+others; but, although I am no fashionable lady, take pity on me, and
+love me well and long."
+
+"Of course! I shall never care for another woman but you."
+
+"Pray, pray, never forget those words that you have just spoken."
+
+"And now," replied Genzaburo, "the night is advancing, and, for
+to-day, we must part; but we will arrange matters, so as to meet again
+in this tea-house. But, as people would make remarks if we left the
+tea-house together, I will go out first."
+
+And so, much against their will, they tore themselves from one
+another, Genzaburo returning to his house, and O Koyo going home, her
+heart filled with joy at having found the man for whom she had pined;
+and from that day forth they used constantly to meet in secret at the
+tea-house; and Genzaburo, in his infatuation, never thought that the
+matter must surely become notorious after a while, and that he himself
+would be banished, and his family ruined: he only took care for the
+pleasure of the moment.
+
+Now Chokichi, who had brought about the meeting between Genzaburo and
+his love, used to go every day to the tea-house at Oji, taking with
+him O Koyo; and Genzaburo neglected all his duties for the pleasure of
+these secret meetings. Chokichi saw this with great regret, and
+thought to himself that if Genzaburo gave himself up entirely to
+pleasure, and laid aside his duties, the secret would certainly be
+made public, and Genzaburo would bring ruin on himself and his family;
+so he began to devise some plan by which he might separate them, and
+plotted as eagerly to estrange them as he had formerly done to
+introduce them to one another.
+
+At last he hit upon a device which satisfied him. Accordingly one day
+he went to O Koyo's house, and, meeting her father Kihachi, said to
+him--
+
+"I've got a sad piece of news to tell you. The family of my lord
+Genzaburo have been complaining bitterly of his conduct in carrying on
+his relationship with your daughter, and of the ruin which exposure
+would bring upon the whole house; so they have been using their
+influence to persuade him to hear reason, and give up the connection.
+Now his lordship feels deeply for the damsel, and yet he cannot
+sacrifice his family for her sake. For the first time, he has become
+alive to the folly of which he has been guilty, and, full of remorse,
+he has commissioned me to devise some stratagem to break off the
+affair. Of course, this has taken me by surprise; but as there is no
+gainsaying the right of the case, I have had no option but to promise
+obedience: this promise I have come to redeem; and now, pray, advise
+your daughter to think no more of his lordship."
+
+When Kihachi heard this he was surprised and distressed, and told O
+Koyo immediately; and she, grieving over the sad news, took no thought
+either of eating or drinking, but remained gloomy and desolate.
+
+In the meanwhile, Chokichi went off to Genzaburo's house, and told him
+that O Koyo had been taken suddenly ill, and could not go to meet him,
+and begged him to wait patiently until she should send to tell him of
+her recovery. Genzaburo, never suspecting the story to be false,
+waited for thirty days, and still Chokichi brought him no tidings of O
+Koyo. At last he met Chokichi, and besought him to arrange a meeting
+for him with O Koyo.
+
+"Sir," replied Chokichi, "she is not yet recovered; so it would be
+difficult to bring her to see your honour. But I have been thinking
+much about this affair, sir. If it becomes public, your honour's
+family will be plunged in ruin. I pray you, sir, to forget all about O
+Koyo."
+
+"It's all very well for you to give me advice," answered Genzaburo,
+surprised; "but, having once bound myself to O Koyo, it would be a
+pitiful thing to desert her; I therefore implore you once more to
+arrange that I may meet her."
+
+However, he would not consent upon any account; so Genzaburo returned
+home, and, from that time forth, daily entreated Chokichi to bring O
+Koyo to him, and, receiving nothing but advice from him in return, was
+very sad and lonely.
+
+One day Genzaburo, intent on ridding himself of the grief he felt at
+his separation from O Koyo, went to the Yoshiwara, and, going into a
+house of entertainment, ordered a feast to be prepared, but, in the
+midst of gaiety, his heart yearned all the while for his lost love,
+and his merriment was but mourning in disguise. At last the night wore
+on; and as he was retiring along the corridor, he saw a man of about
+forty years of age, with long hair, coming towards him, who, when he
+saw Genzaburo, cried out, "Dear me! why this must be my young lord
+Genzaburo who has come out to enjoy himself."
+
+Genzaburo thought this rather strange; but, looking at the man
+attentively, recognized him as a retainer whom he had had in his
+employ the year before, and said--
+
+"This is a curious meeting: pray, what have you been about since you
+left my service? At any rate, I may congratulate you on being well and
+strong. Where are you living now?"
+
+"Well, sir, since I parted from you I have been earning a living as a
+fortune-teller at Kanda, and have changed my name to Kaji Sazen. I am
+living in a poor and humble house; but if your lordship, at your
+leisure, would honour me with a visit--"
+
+"Well, it's a lucky chance that has brought us together, and I
+certainly will go and see you; besides, I want you to do something for
+me. Shall you be at home the day after to-morrow?"
+
+"Certainly, sir, I shall make a point of being at home."
+
+"Very well, then, the day after to-morrow I will go to your house."
+
+"I shall be at your service, sir. And now, as it is getting late, I
+will take my leave for to-night."
+
+"Good night, then. We shall meet the day after to-morrow." And so the
+two parted, and went their several ways to rest.
+
+On the appointed day Genzaburo made his preparations, and went in
+disguise, without any retainers, to call upon Sazen, who met him at
+the porch of his house, and said, "This is a great honour! My lord
+Genzaburo is indeed welcome. My house is very mean, but let me invite
+your lordship to come into an inner chamber."
+
+"Pray," replied Genzaburo, "don't make any ceremony for me. Don't put
+yourself to any trouble on my account."
+
+And so he passed in, and Sazen called to his wife to prepare wine and
+condiments; and they began to feast. At last Genzaburo, looking Sazen
+in the face, said, "There is a service which I want you to render
+me--a very secret service; but as if you were to refuse me, I should
+be put to shame, before I tell you what that service is, I must know
+whether you are willing to assist me in anything that I may require of
+you."
+
+"Yes; if it is anything that is within my power, I am at your
+disposal."
+
+"Well, then," said Genzaburo, greatly pleased, and drawing ten riyos
+from his bosom, "this is but a small present to make to you on my
+first visit, but pray accept it."
+
+"No, indeed! I don't know what your lordship wishes of me; but, at any
+rate, I cannot receive this money. I really must beg your lordship to
+take it back again."
+
+But Genzaburo pressed it upon him by force, and at last he was obliged
+to accept the money. Then Genzaburo told him the whole story of his
+loves with O Koyo--how he had first met her and fallen in love with
+her at the Adzuma Bridge; how Chokichi had introduced her to him at
+the tea-house at Oji, and then when she fell ill, and he wanted to see
+her again, instead of bringing her to him, had only given him good
+advice; and so Genzaburo drew a lamentable picture of his state of
+despair.
+
+Sazen listened patiently to his story, and, after reflecting for a
+while, replied, "Well, sir, it's not a difficult matter to set right:
+and yet it will require some little management. However, if your
+lordship will do me the honour of coming to see me again the day after
+to-morrow, I will cast about me in the meanwhile, and will let you
+know then the result of my deliberations."
+
+When Genzaburo heard this he felt greatly relieved, and, recommending
+Sazen to do his best in the matter, took his leave and returned home.
+That very night Sazen, after thinking over all that Genzaburo had told
+him, laid his plans accordingly, and went off to the house of Kihachi,
+the Eta chief, and told him the commission with which he had been
+entrusted.
+
+Kihachi was of course greatly astonished, and said, "Some time ago,
+sir, Chokichi came here and said that my lord Genzaburo, having been
+rebuked by his family for his profligate behaviour, had determined to
+break off his connection with my daughter. Of course I knew that the
+daughter of an Eta was no fitting match for a nobleman; so when
+Chokichi came and told me the errand upon which he had been sent, I
+had no alternative but to announce to my daughter that she must give
+up all thought of his lordship. Since that time she has been fretting
+and pining and starving for love. But when I tell her what you have
+just said, how glad and happy she will be! Let me go and talk to her
+at once." And with these words, he went to O Koyo's room; and when he
+looked upon her thin wasted face, and saw how sad she was, he felt
+more and more pity for her, and said, "Well, O Koyo, are you in better
+spirits to-day? Would you like something to eat?"
+
+"Thank you, I have no appetite."
+
+"Well, at any rate, I have some news for you that will make you happy.
+A messenger has come from my lord Genzaburo, for whom your heart
+yearns."
+
+At this O Koyo, who had been crouching down like a drooping flower,
+gave a great start, and cried out, "Is that really true? Pray tell me
+all about it as quickly as possible."
+
+"The story which Chokichi came and told us, that his lordship wished
+to break off the connection, was all an invention. He has all along
+been wishing to meet you, and constantly urged Chokichi to bring you a
+message from him. It is Chokichi who has been throwing obstacles in
+the way. At last his lordship has secretly sent a man, called Kaji
+Sazen, a fortune-teller, to arrange an interview between you. So now,
+my child, you may cheer up, and go to meet your lover as soon as you
+please."
+
+When O Koyo heard this, she was so happy that she thought it must all
+be a dream, and doubted her own senses.
+
+Kihachi in the meanwhile rejoined Sazen in the other room, and, after
+telling him of the joy with which his daughter had heard the news, put
+before him wine and other delicacies. "I think," said Sazen, "that the
+best way would be for O Koyo to live secretly in my lord Genzaburo's
+house; but as it will never do for all the world to know of it, it
+must be managed very quietly; and further, when I get home, I must
+think out some plan to lull the suspicions of that fellow Chokichi,
+and let you know my idea by letter. Meanwhile O Koyo had better come
+home with me to-night: although she is so terribly out of spirits now,
+she shall meet Genzaburo the day after to-morrow."
+
+Kihachi reported this to O Koyo; and as her pining for Genzaburo was
+the only cause of her sickness, she recovered her spirits at once,
+and, saying that she would go with Sazen immediately, joyfully made
+her preparations. Then Sazen, having once more warned Kihachi to keep
+the matter secret from Chokichi, and to act upon the letter which he
+should send him, returned home, taking with him O Koyo; and after O
+Koyo had bathed and dressed her hair, and painted herself and put on
+beautiful clothes, she came out looking so lovely that no princess in
+the land could vie with her; and Sazen, when he saw her, said to
+himself that it was no wonder that Genzaburo had fallen in love with
+her; then, as it was getting late, he advised her to go to rest, and,
+after showing her to her apartments, went to his own room and wrote
+his letter to Kihachi, containing the scheme which he had devised.
+When Kihachi received his instructions, he was filled with admiration
+at Sazen's ingenuity, and, putting on an appearance of great alarm and
+agitation, went off immediately to call on Chokichi, and said to him--
+
+"Oh, Master Chokichi, such a terrible thing has happened! Pray, let me
+tell you all about it."
+
+"Indeed! what can it be?"
+
+"Oh! sir," answered Kihachi, pretending to wipe away his tears, "my
+daughter O Koyo, mourning over her separation from my lord Genzaburo,
+at first refused all sustenance, and remained nursing her sorrows
+until, last night, her woman's heart failing to bear up against her
+great grief, she drowned herself in the river, leaving behind her a
+paper on which she had written her intention."
+
+When Chokichi heard this, he was thunderstruck, and exclaimed, "Can
+this really be true! And when I think that it was I who first
+introduced her to my lord, I am ashamed to look you in the face."
+
+"Oh, say not so: misfortunes are the punishment due for our misdeeds
+in a former state of existence. I bear you no ill-will. This money
+which I hold in my hand was my daughter's; and in her last
+instructions she wrote to beg that it might be given, after her death,
+to you, through whose intervention she became allied with a nobleman:
+so please accept it as my daughter's legacy to you;" and as he spoke,
+he offered him three riyos.
+
+"You amaze me!" replied the other. "How could I, above all men, who
+have so much to reproach myself with in my conduct towards you, accept
+this money?"
+
+"Nay; it was my dead daughter's wish. But since you reproach yourself
+in the matter when you think of her, I will beg you to put up a prayer
+and to cause masses to be said for her."
+
+At last, Chokichi, after much persuasion, and greatly to his own
+distress, was obliged to accept the money; and when Kihachi had
+carried out all Sazen's instructions, he returned home, laughing in
+his sleeve.
+
+Chokichi was sorely grieved to hear of O Koyo's death, and remained
+thinking over the sad news; when all of a sudden looking about him,
+he saw something like a letter lying on the spot where Kihachi had
+been sitting, so he picked it up and read it; and, as luck would have
+it, it was the very letter which contained Sazen's instructions to
+Kihachi, and in which the whole story which had just affected him so
+much was made up. When he perceived the trick that had been played
+upon him, he was very angry, and exclaimed, "To think that I should
+have been so hoaxed by that hateful old dotard, and such a fellow as
+Sazen! And Genzaburo, too!--out of gratitude for the favours which I
+had received from him in old days, I faithfully gave him good advice,
+and all in vain. Well, they've gulled me once; but I'll be even with
+them yet, and hinder their game before it is played out!" And so he
+worked himself up into a fury, and went off secretly to prowl about
+Sazen's house to watch for O Koyo, determined to pay off Genzaburo and
+Sazen for their conduct to him.
+
+In the meanwhile Sazen, who did not for a moment suspect what had
+happened, when the day which had been fixed upon by him and Genzaburo
+arrived, made O Koyo put on her best clothes, smartened up his house,
+and got ready a feast against Genzaburo's arrival. The latter came
+punctually to his time, and, going in at once, said to the
+fortune-teller, "Well, have you succeeded in the commission with which
+I entrusted you?"
+
+At first Sazen pretended to be vexed at the question, and said, "Well,
+sir, I've done my best; but it's not a matter which can be settled in
+a hurry. However, there's a young lady of high birth and wonderful
+beauty upstairs, who has come here secretly to have her fortune told;
+and if your lordship would like to come with me and see her, you can
+do so."
+
+But Genzaburo, when he heard that he was not to meet O Koyo, lost
+heart entirely, and made up his mind to go home again. Sazen, however,
+pressed him so eagerly, that at last he went upstairs to see this
+vaunted beauty; and Sazen, drawing aside a screen, showed him O Koyo,
+who was sitting there. Genzaburo gave a great start, and, turning to
+Sazen, said, "Well, you certainly are a first-rate hand at keeping up
+a hoax. However, I cannot sufficiently praise the way in which you
+have carried out my instructions."
+
+"Pray, don't mention it, sir. But as it is a long time since you have
+met the young lady, you must have a great deal to say to one another;
+so I will go downstairs, and, if you want anything, pray call me." And
+so he went downstairs and left them.
+
+Then Genzaburo, addressing O Koyo, said, "Ah! it is indeed a long time
+since we met. How happy it makes me to see you again! Why, your face
+has grown quite thin. Poor thing! have you been unhappy?" And O Koyo,
+with the tears starting from her eyes for joy, hid her face; and her
+heart was so full that she could not speak. But Genzaburo, passing his
+hand gently over her head and back, and comforting her, said, "Come,
+sweetheart, there is no need to sob so. Talk to me a little, and let
+me hear your voice."
+
+At last O Koyo raised her head and said, "Ah! when I was separated
+from you by the tricks of Chokichi, and thought that I should never
+meet you again, how tenderly I thought of you! I thought I should have
+died, and waited for my hour to come, pining all the while for you.
+And when at last, as I lay between life and death, Sazen came with a
+message from you, I thought it was all a dream." And as she spoke, she
+bent her head and sobbed again; and in Genzaburo's eyes she seemed
+more beautiful than ever, with her pale, delicate face; and he loved
+her better than before. Then she said, "If I were to tell you all I
+have suffered until to-day, I should never stop."
+
+"Yes," replied Genzaburo, "I too have suffered much;" and so they told
+one another their mutual griefs, and from that day forth they
+constantly met at Sazen's house.
+
+One day, as they were feasting and enjoying themselves in an upper
+storey in Sazen's house, Chokichi came to the house and said, "I beg
+pardon; but does one Master Sazen live here?"
+
+"Certainly, sir: I am Sazen, at your service. Pray where are you
+from?"
+
+"Well, sir, I have a little business to transact with you. May I make
+so bold as to go in?" And with these words, he entered the house.
+
+"But who and what are you?" said Sazen.
+
+"Sir, I am an Eta; and my name is Chokichi. I beg to bespeak your
+goodwill for myself: I hope we may be friends."
+
+Sazen was not a little taken aback at this; however, he put on an
+innocent face, as though he had never heard of Chokichi before, and
+said, "I never heard of such a thing! Why, I thought you were some
+respectable person; and you have the impudence to tell me that your
+name is Chokichi, and that you're one of those accursed Etas. To think
+of such a shameless villain coming and asking to be friends with me,
+forsooth! Get you gone!--the quicker, the better: your presence
+pollutes the house."
+
+Chokichi smiled contemptuously, as he answered, "So you deem the
+presence of an Eta in your house a pollution--eh? Why, I thought you
+must be one of us."
+
+"Insolent knave! Begone as fast as possible."
+
+"Well, since you say that I defile your house, you had better get rid
+of O Koyo as well. I suppose she must equally be a pollution to it."
+
+This put Sazen rather in a dilemma; however, he made up his mind not
+to show any hesitation, and said, "What are you talking about? There
+is no O Koyo here; and I never saw such a person in my life."
+
+Chokichi quietly drew out of the bosom of his dress the letter from
+Sazen to Kihachi, which he had picked up a few days before, and,
+showing it to Sazen, replied, "If you wish to dispute the genuineness
+of this paper, I will report the whole matter to the Governor of Yedo;
+and Genzaburo's family will be ruined, and the rest of you who are
+parties in this affair will come in for your share of trouble. Just
+wait a little."
+
+And as he pretended to leave the house, Sazen, at his wits' end, cried
+out, "Stop! stop! I want to speak to you. Pray, stop and listen
+quietly. It is quite true, as you said, that O Koyo is in my house;
+and really your indignation is perfectly just. Come! let us talk over
+matters a little. Now you yourself were originally a respectable man;
+and although you have fallen in life, there is no reason why your
+disgrace should last for ever. All that you want in order to enable
+you to escape out of this fraternity of Etas is a little money. Why
+should you not get this from Genzaburo, who is very anxious to keep
+his intrigue with O Koyo secret?"
+
+Chokichi laughed disdainfully. "I am ready to talk with you; but I
+don't want any money. All I want is to report the affair to the
+authorities, in order that I may be revenged for the fraud that was
+put upon me."
+
+"Won't you accept twenty-five riyos?"
+
+"Twenty-five riyos! No, indeed! I will not take a fraction less than a
+hundred; and if I cannot get them I will report the whole matter at
+once."
+
+Sazen, after a moment's consideration, hit upon a scheme, and
+answered, smiling, "Well, Master Chokichi, you're a fine fellow, and I
+admire your spirit. You shall have the hundred riyos you ask for; but,
+as I have not so much money by me at present, I will go to Genzaburo's
+house and fetch it. It's getting dark now, but it's not very late; so
+I'll trouble you to come with me, and then I can give you the money
+to-night."
+
+Chokichi consenting to this, the pair left the house together.
+
+Now Sazen, who as a Ronin wore a long dirk in his girdle, kept looking
+out for a moment when Chokichi should be off his guard, in order to
+kill him; but Chokichi kept his eyes open, and did not give Sazen a
+chance. At last Chokichi, as ill-luck would have it, stumbled against
+a stone and fell; and Sazen, profiting by the chance, drew his dirk
+and stabbed him in the side; and as Chokichi, taken by surprise, tried
+to get up, he cut him severely over the head, until at last he fell
+dead. Sazen then looking around him, and seeing, to his great delight,
+that there was no one near, returned home. The following day,
+Chokichi's body was found by the police; and when they examined it,
+they found nothing upon it save a paper, which they read, and which
+proved to be the very letter which Sazen had sent to Kihachi, and
+which Chokichi had picked up. The matter was immediately reported to
+the governor, and, Sazen having been summoned, an investigation was
+held. Sazen, cunning and bold murderer as he was, lost his
+self-possession when he saw what a fool he had been not to get back
+from Chokichi the letter which he had written, and, when he was put to
+a rigid examination under torture, confessed that he had hidden O
+Koyo at Genzaburo's instigation, and then killed Chokichi, who had
+found out the secret. Upon this the governor, after consulting about
+Genzaburo's case, decided that, as he had disgraced his position as a
+Hatamoto by contracting an alliance with the daughter of an Eta, his
+property should be confiscated, his family blotted out, and himself
+banished. As for Kihachi, the Eta chief, and his daughter O Koyo, they
+were handed over for punishment to the chief of the Etas, and by him
+they too were banished; while Sazen, against whom the murder of
+Chokichi had been fully proved, was executed according to law.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE
+
+
+At Asakusa, in Yedo, there lives a man called Danzayemon, the chief of
+the Etas. This man traces his pedigree back to Minamoto no Yoritomo,
+who founded the Shogunate in the year A.D. 1192. The whole of the Etas
+in Japan are under his jurisdiction; his subordinates are called
+Koyagashira, or "chiefs of the huts"; and he and they constitute the
+government of the Etas. In the "Legacy of Iyeyasu," already quoted,
+the 36th Law provides as follows:--"All wandering mendicants, such as
+male sorcerers, female diviners, hermits, blind people, beggars, and
+tanners (Etas), have had from of old their respective rulers. Be not
+disinclined, however, to punish any such who give rise to disputes, or
+who overstep the boundaries of their own classes and are disobedient
+to existing laws."
+
+The occupation of the Etas is to kill and flay horses, oxen, and other
+beasts, to stretch drums and make shoes; and if they are very poor,
+they wander from house to house, working as cobblers, mending old
+shoes and leather, and so earn a scanty livelihood. Besides this,
+their daughters and young married women gain a trifle as wandering
+minstrels, called Torioi, playing on the _shamisen_, a sort of banjo,
+and singing ballads. They never marry out of their own fraternity, but
+remain apart, a despised and shunned race.
+
+At executions by crucifixion it is the duty of the Etas to transfix
+the victims with spears; and, besides this, they have to perform all
+sorts of degrading offices about criminals, such as carrying sick
+prisoners from their cells to the hall of justice, and burying the
+bodies of those that have been executed. Thus their race is polluted
+and accursed, and they are hated accordingly.
+
+Now this is how the Etas came to be under the jurisdiction of
+Danzayemon:--
+
+When Minamoto no Yoritomo was yet a child, his father, Minamoto no
+Yoshitomo, fought with Taira no Kiyomori, and was killed by treachery:
+so his family was ruined; and Yoshitomo's concubine, whose name was
+Tokiwa, took her children and fled from the house, to save her own and
+their lives. But Kiyomori, desiring to destroy the family of Yoshitomo
+root and branch, ordered his retainers to divide themselves into
+bands, and seek out the children. At last they were found; but Tokiwa
+was so exceedingly beautiful that Kiyomori was inflamed with love for
+her, and desired her to become his own concubine. Then Tokiwa told
+Kiyomori that if he would spare her little ones she would share his
+couch; but that if he killed her children she would destroy herself
+rather than yield to his desire. When he heard this, Kiyomori,
+bewildered by the beauty of Tokiwa, spared the lives of her children,
+but banished them from the capital.
+
+So Yoritomo was sent to Hirugakojima, in the province of Idzu; and
+when he grew up and became a man, he married the daughter of a
+peasant. After a while Yoritomo left the province, and went to the
+wars, leaving his wife pregnant; and in due time she was delivered of
+a male child, to the delight of her parents, who rejoiced that their
+daughter should bear seed to a nobleman; but she soon fell sick and
+died, and the old people took charge of the babe. And when they also
+died, the care of the child fell to his mother's kinsmen, and he grew
+up to be a peasant.
+
+Now Kiyomori, the enemy of Yoritomo, had been gathered to his fathers;
+and Yoritomo had avenged the death of his father by slaying Munemori,
+the son of Kiyomori; and there was peace throughout the land. And
+Yoritomo became the chief of all the noble houses in Japan, and first
+established the government of the country. When Yoritomo had thus
+raised himself to power, if the son that his peasant wife had born to
+him had proclaimed himself the son of the mighty prince, he would have
+been made lord over a province; but he took no thought of this, and
+remained a tiller of the earth, forfeiting a glorious inheritance; and
+his descendants after him lived as peasants in the same village,
+increasing in prosperity and in good repute among their neighbours.
+
+But the princely line of Yoritomo came to an end in three generations,
+and the house of Hojo was all-powerful in the land.
+
+Now it happened that the head of the house of Hojo heard that a
+descendant of Yoritomo was living as a peasant in the land, so he
+summoned him and said:--
+
+"It is a hard thing to see the son of an illustrious house live and
+die a peasant. I will promote you to the rank of Samurai."
+
+Then the peasant answered, "My lord, if I become a Samurai, and the
+retainer of some noble, I shall not be so happy as when I was my own
+master. If I may not remain a husbandman, let me be a chief over men,
+however humble they may be."
+
+But my lord Hojo was angry at this, and, thinking to punish the
+peasant for his insolence, said:--
+
+"Since you wish to become a chief over men, no matter how humble,
+there is no means of gratifying your strange wish but by making you
+chief over the Etas of the whole country. So now see that you rule
+them well."
+
+When he heard this, the peasant was afraid; but because he had said
+that he wished to become a chief over men, however humble, he could
+not choose but become chief of the Etas, he and his children after him
+for ever; and Danzayemon, who rules the Etas at the present time, and
+lives at Asakusa, is his lineal descendant.
+
+
+
+
+FAIRY TALES
+
+
+
+
+FAIRY TALES
+
+
+I think that their quaintness is a sufficient apology for the
+following little children's stories. With the exception of that of the
+"Elves and the Envious Neighbour," which comes out of a curious book
+on etymology and proverbial lore, called the Kotowazagusa, these
+stories are found printed in little separate pamphlets, with
+illustrations, the stereotype blocks of which have become so worn that
+the print is hardly legible. These are the first tales which are put
+into a Japanese child's hands; and it is with these, and such as
+these, that the Japanese mother hushes her little ones to sleep.
+Knowing the interest which many children of a larger growth take in
+such Baby Stories, I was anxious to have collected more of them. I was
+disappointed, however, for those which I give here are the only ones
+which I could find in print; and if I asked the Japanese to tell me
+others, they only thought I was laughing at them, and changed the
+subject. The stories of the Tongue-cut Sparrow, and the Old Couple and
+their Dog, have been paraphrased in other works upon Japan; but I am
+not aware of their having been literally translated before.
+
+
+
+
+THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW
+
+
+Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman. The old man,
+who had a kind heart, kept a young sparrow, which he tenderly
+nurtured. But the dame was a cross-grained old thing; and one day,
+when the sparrow had pecked at some paste with which she was going to
+starch her linen, she flew into a great rage, and cut the sparrow's
+tongue and let it loose. When the old man came home from the hills and
+found that the bird had flown, he asked what had become of it; so the
+old woman answered that she had cut its tongue and let it go, because
+it had stolen her starching-paste. Now the old man, hearing this cruel
+tale, was sorely grieved, and thought to himself, "Alas! where can my
+bird be gone? Poor thing! Poor little tongue-cut sparrow! where is
+your home now?" and he wandered far and wide, seeking for his pet, and
+crying, "Mr. Sparrow! Mr. Sparrow! where are you living?"
+
+One day, at the foot of a certain mountain, the old man fell in with
+the lost bird; and when they had congratulated one another on their
+mutual safety, the sparrow led the old man to his home, and, having
+introduced him to his wife and chicks, set before him all sorts of
+dainties, and entertained him hospitably.
+
+"Please partake of our humble fare," said the sparrow; "poor as it is,
+you are very welcome."
+
+"What a polite sparrow!" answered the old man, who remained for a long
+time as the sparrow's guest, and was daily feasted right royally. At
+last the old man said that he must take his leave and return home; and
+the bird, offering him two wicker baskets, begged him to carry them
+with him as a parting present. One of the baskets was heavy, and the
+other was light; so the old man, saying that as he was feeble and
+stricken in years he would only accept the light one, shouldered it,
+and trudged off home, leaving the sparrow-family disconsolate at
+parting from him.
+
+When the old man got home, the dame grew very angry, and began to
+scold him, saying, "Well, and pray where have you been this many a
+day? A pretty thing, indeed, to be gadding about at your time of
+life!"
+
+"Oh!" replied he, "I have been on a visit to the sparrows; and when I
+came away, they gave me this wicker basket as a parting gift." Then
+they opened the basket to see what was inside, and, lo and behold! it
+was full of gold and silver and precious things. When the old woman,
+who was as greedy as she was cross, saw all the riches displayed
+before her, she changed her scolding strain, and could not contain
+herself for joy.
+
+[Illustration: THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW.]
+
+"I'll go and call upon the sparrows, too," said she, "and get a pretty
+present." So she asked the old man the way to the sparrows' house, and
+set forth on her journey. Following his directions, she at last met
+the tongue-cut sparrow, and exclaimed--
+
+
+"Well met! well met! Mr. Sparrow. I have been looking forward to the
+pleasure of seeing you." So she tried to flatter and cajole the
+sparrow by soft speeches.
+
+The bird could not but invite the dame to its home; but it took no
+pains to feast her, and said nothing about a parting gift. She,
+however, was not to be put off; so she asked for something to carry
+away with her in remembrance of her visit. The sparrow accordingly
+produced two baskets, as before, and the greedy old woman, choosing
+the heavier of the two, carried it off with her. But when she opened
+the basket to see what was inside, all sorts of hobgoblins and elves
+sprang out of it, and began to torment her.
+
+[Illustration: THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW. (2)]
+
+But the old man adopted a son, and his family grew rich and
+prosperous. What a happy old man!
+
+
+
+
+THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE
+
+
+A long time ago, at a temple called Morinji, in the province of
+Joshiu, there was an old tea-kettle. One day, when the priest of the
+temple was about to hang it over the hearth to boil the water for his
+tea, to his amazement, the kettle all of a sudden put forth the head
+and tail of a badger. What a wonderful kettle, to come out all over
+fur! The priest, thunderstruck, called in the novices of the temple to
+see the sight; and whilst they were stupidly staring, one suggesting
+one thing and another, the kettle, jumping up into the air, began
+flying about the room. More astonished than ever, the priest and his
+pupils tried to pursue it; but no thief or cat was ever half so sharp
+as this wonderful badger-kettle. At last, however, they managed to
+knock it down and secure it; and, holding it in with their united
+efforts, they forced it into a box, intending to carry it off and
+throw it away in some distant place, so that they might be no more
+plagued by the goblin. For this day their troubles were over; but, as
+luck would have it, the tinker who was in the habit of working for the
+temple called in, and the priest suddenly bethought him that it was a
+pity to throw the kettle away for nothing, and that he might as well
+get a trifle for it, no matter how small. So he brought out the
+kettle, which had resumed its former shape and had got rid of its head
+and tail, and showed it to the tinker. When the tinker saw the kettle,
+he offered twenty copper coins for it, and the priest was only too
+glad to close the bargain and be rid of his troublesome piece of
+furniture. But the tinker trudged off home with his pack and his new
+purchase. That night, as he lay asleep, he heard a strange noise near
+his pillow; so he peeped out from under the bedclothes, and there he
+saw the kettle that he had bought in the temple covered with fur, and
+walking about on four legs. The tinker started up in a fright to see
+what it could all mean, when all of a sudden the kettle resumed its
+former shape. This happened over and over again, until at last the
+tinker showed the tea-kettle to a friend of his, who said, "This is
+certainly an accomplished and lucky tea-kettle. You should take it
+about as a show, with songs and accompaniments of musical instruments,
+and make it dance and walk on the tight rope."
+
+[Illustration: THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE.]
+
+The tinker, thinking this good advice, made arrangements with a
+showman, and set up an exhibition. The noise of the kettle's
+performances soon spread abroad, until even the princes of the land
+sent to order the tinker to come to them; and he grew rich beyond
+all his expectations. Even the princesses, too, and the great ladies
+of the court, took great delight in the dancing kettle, so that no
+sooner had it shown its tricks in one place than it was time for them
+to keep some other engagement. At last the tinker grew so rich that he
+took the kettle back to the temple, where it was laid up as a precious
+treasure, and worshipped as a saint.
+
+[Illustration: THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE. (2)]
+
+
+
+
+THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN
+
+
+Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman, who kept a
+pet white hare, by which they set great store. One day, a badger, that
+lived hard by, came and ate up the food which had been put out for the
+hare; so the old man, flying into a great rage, seized the badger,
+and, tying the beast up to a tree, went off to the mountain to cut
+wood, while the old woman stopped at home and ground the wheat for the
+evening porridge. Then the badger, with tears in his eyes, said to the
+old woman--
+
+"Please, dame, please untie this rope!"
+
+The dame, thinking that it was a cruel thing to see a poor beast in
+pain, undid the rope; but the ungrateful brute was no sooner loose,
+than he cried out--
+
+"I'll be revenged for this," and was off in a trice.
+
+When the hare heard this, he went off to the mountain to warn the old
+man; and whilst the hare was away on this errand, the badger came
+back, and killed the dame. Then the beast, having assumed the old
+woman's form, made her dead body into broth, and waited for the old
+man to come home from the mountain. When he returned, tired and
+hungry, the pretended old woman said--
+
+"Come, come; I've made such a nice broth of the badger you hung up.
+Sit down, and make a good supper of it."
+
+With these words she set out the broth, and the old man made a hearty
+meal, licking his lips over it, and praising the savoury mess. But as
+soon as he had finished eating, the badger, reassuming its natural
+shape, cried out--
+
+"Nasty old man! you've eaten your own wife. Look at her bones, lying
+in the kitchen sink!" and, laughing contemptuously, the badger ran
+away, and disappeared.
+
+Then the old man, horrified at what he had done, set up a great
+lamentation; and whilst he was bewailing his fate, the hare came home,
+and, seeing how matters stood, determined to avenge the death of his
+mistress. So he went back to the mountain, and, falling in with the
+badger, who was carrying a faggot of sticks on his back, he struck a
+light and set fire to the sticks, without letting the badger see him.
+When the badger heard the crackling noise of the faggot burning on his
+back, he called out--
+
+"Holloa! what is that noise?"
+
+"Oh!" answered the hare, "this is called the Crackling Mountain.
+There's always this noise here."
+
+And as the fire gathered strength, and went pop! pop! pop! the badger
+said again--
+
+"Oh dear! what can this noise be?"
+
+"This is called the 'Pop! Pop! Mountain,'" answered the hare.
+
+[Illustration: THE HARE AND THE BADGER.]
+
+All at once the fire began to singe the badger's back, so that he
+fled, howling with pain, and jumped into a river hard by. But,
+although the water put out the fire, his back was burnt as black as a
+cinder. The hare, seeing an opportunity for torturing the badger to
+his heart's content, made a poultice of cayenne pepper, which he
+carried to the badger's house, and, pretending to condole with him,
+and to have a sovereign remedy for burns, he applied his hot plaister
+to his enemy's sore back. Oh! how it smarted and pained! and how the
+badger yelled and cried!
+
+[Illustration: THE HARE AND THE BADGER. (2)]
+
+When, at last, the badger got well again, he went to the hare's house,
+thinking to reproach him for having caused him so much pain. When he
+got there, he found that the hare had built himself a boat.
+
+"What have you built that boat for, Mr. Hare?" said the badger.
+
+"I'm going to the capital of the moon,"[52] answered the hare; "won't
+you come with me?"
+
+[Footnote 52: The mountains in the moon are supposed to resemble a
+hare in shape. Hence there is a fanciful connection between the hare
+and the moon.]
+
+"I had enough of your company on the Crackling Mountain, where you
+played me such tricks. I'd rather make a boat for myself," replied the
+badger, who immediately began building himself a boat of clay.
+
+The hare, seeing this, laughed in his sleeve; and so the two launched
+their boats upon the river. The waves came plashing against the two
+boats; but the hare's boat was built of wood, while that of the badger
+was made of clay, and, as they rowed down the river, the clay boat
+began to crumble away; then the hare, seizing his paddle, and
+brandishing it in the air, struck savagely at the badger's boat, until
+he had smashed it to pieces, and killed his enemy.
+
+When the old man heard that his wife's death had been avenged, he was
+glad in his heart, and more than ever petted and loved the hare, whose
+brave deeds had caused him to welcome the returning spring.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO BLOSSOM
+
+
+In the old, old days, there lived an honest man with his wife, who had
+a favourite dog, which they used to feed with fish and titbits from
+their own kitchen. One day, as the old folks went out to work in their
+garden, the dog went with them, and began playing about. All of a
+sudden, the dog stopped short, and began to bark, "Bow, wow, wow!"
+wagging his tail violently. The old people thought that there must be
+something nice to eat under the ground, so they brought a spade and
+began digging, when, lo and behold! the place was full of gold pieces
+and silver, and all sorts of precious things, which had been buried
+there. So they gathered the treasure together, and, after giving alms
+to the poor, bought themselves rice-fields and corn-fields, and became
+wealthy people.
+
+Now, in the next house there dwelt a covetous and stingy old man and
+woman, who, when they heard what had happened, came and borrowed the
+dog, and, having taken him home, prepared a great feast for him, and
+said--
+
+"If you please, Mr. Dog, we should be much obliged to you if you would
+show us a place with plenty of money in it."
+
+The dog, however, who up to that time had received nothing but cuffs
+and kicks from his hosts, would not eat any of the dainties which they
+set before him; so the old people began to get cross, and, putting a
+rope round the dog's neck, led him out into the garden. But it was all
+in vain; let them lead him where they might, not a sound would the dog
+utter: he had no "bow-wow" for them. At last, however, the dog stopped
+at a certain spot, and began to sniff; so, thinking that this must
+surely be the lucky place, they dug, and found nothing but a quantity
+of dirt and nasty offal, over which they had to hold their noses.
+Furious at being disappointed, the wicked old couple seized the dog,
+and killed him.
+
+When the good old man saw that the dog, whom he had lent, did not come
+home, he went next door to ask what had become of him; and the wicked
+old man answered that he had killed the dog, and buried him at the
+root of a pine-tree; so the good old fellow, with, a heavy heart, went
+to the spot, and, having set out a tray with delicate food, burnt
+incense, and adorned the grave with flowers, as he shed tears over his
+lost pet.
+
+But there was more good luck in store yet for the old people--the
+reward of their honesty and virtue. How do you think that happened,
+my children? It is very wrong to be cruel to dogs and cats.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER.]
+
+That night, when the good old man was fast asleep in bed, the dog
+appeared to him, and, after thanking him for all his kindness, said--
+
+"Cause the pine-tree, under which, I am buried, to be cut down and
+made into a mortar, and use it, thinking of it as if it were myself."
+
+The old man did as the dog had told him to do, and made a mortar out
+of the wood of the pine-tree; but when he ground his rice in it, each
+grain of rice was turned into some rich treasure. When the wicked old
+couple saw this, they came to borrow the mortar; but no sooner did
+they try to use it, than all their rice was turned into filth; so, in
+a fit of rage, they broke up the mortar and burnt it. But the good old
+man, little suspecting that his precious mortar had been broken and
+burnt, wondered why his neighbours did not bring it back to him.
+
+[Illustration: THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER. (2)]
+
+One night the dog appeared to him again in a dream, and told him what
+had happened, adding that if he would take the ashes of the burnt
+mortar and sprinkle them on withered trees, the trees would revive,
+and suddenly put out flowers. After saying this the dream vanished,
+and the old man, who heard for the first time of the loss of his
+mortar, ran off weeping to the neighbours' house, and begged them, at
+any rate, to give him back the ashes of his treasure. Having obtained
+these, he returned home, and made a trial of their virtues upon a
+withered cherry-tree, which, upon being touched by the ashes,
+immediately began to sprout and blossom. When he saw this wonderful
+effect, he put the ashes into a basket, and went about the country,
+announcing himself as an old man who had the power of bringing dead
+trees to life again.
+
+A certain prince, hearing of this, and thinking it a mighty strange
+thing, sent for the old fellow, who showed his power by causing all
+the withered plum and cherry-trees to shoot out and put forth flowers.
+So the prince gave him a rich reward of pieces of silk and cloth and
+other presents, and sent him home rejoicing.
+
+So soon as the neighbours heard of this they collected all the ashes
+that remained, and, having put them in a basket, the wicked old man
+went out into the castle town, and gave out that he was the old man
+who had the power of reviving dead trees, and causing them to flower.
+He had not to wait long before he was called into the prince's palace,
+and ordered to exhibit his power. But when he climbed up into a
+withered tree, and began to scatter the ashes, not a bud nor a flower
+appeared; but the ashes all flew into the prince's eyes and mouth,
+blinding and choking him. When the prince's retainers saw this, they
+seized the old man, and beat him almost to death, so that he crawled
+off home in a very sorry plight. When he and his wife found out what a
+trap they had fallen into, they stormed and scolded and put
+themselves into a passion; but that did no good at all.
+
+The good old man and woman, so soon as they heard of their neighbours'
+distress, sent for them, and, after reproving them for their greed and
+cruelty, gave them a share of their own riches, which, by repeated
+strokes of luck, had now increased to a goodly sum. So the wicked old
+people mended their ways, and led good and virtuous lives ever after.
+
+
+
+
+THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB
+
+
+If a man thinks only of his own profit, and tries to benefit himself
+at the expense of others, he will incur the hatred of Heaven. Men
+should lay up in their hearts the story of the Battle of the Ape and
+Crab, and teach it, as a profitable lesson, to their children.
+
+Once upon a time there was a crab who lived in a marsh in a certain
+part of the country. It fell out one day that, the crab having picked
+up a rice cake, an ape, who had got a nasty hard persimmon-seed, came
+up, and begged the crab to make an exchange with him. The crab, who
+was a simple-minded creature, agreed to this proposal; and they each
+went their way, the ape chuckling to himself at the good bargain which
+he had made.
+
+When the crab got home, he planted the persimmon-seed in his garden,
+and, as time slipped by, it sprouted, and by degrees grew to be a big
+tree. The crab watched the growth of his tree with great delight; but
+when the fruit ripened, and he was going to pluck it, the ape came in,
+and offered to gather it for him. The crab consenting, the ape climbed
+up into the tree, and began eating all the ripe fruit himself, while
+he only threw down the sour persimmons to the crab, inviting him, at
+the same time, to eat heartily. The crab, however, was not pleased at
+this arrangement, and thought that it was his turn to play a trick
+upon the ape; so he called out to him to come down head foremost. The
+ape did as he was bid; and as he crawled down, head foremost, the ripe
+fruit all came tumbling out of his pockets, and the crab, having
+picked up the persimmons, ran off and hid himself in a hole. The ape,
+seeing this, lay in ambush, and as soon as the crab crept out of his
+hiding-place gave him a sound drubbing, and went home. Just at this
+time a friendly egg and a bee, who were the apprentices of a certain
+rice-mortar, happened to pass that way, and, seeing the crab's piteous
+condition, tied up his wounds, and, having escorted him home, began to
+lay plans to be revenged upon the cruel ape.
+
+[Illustration: THE APE AND THE CRAB.]
+
+Having agreed upon a scheme, they all went to the ape's house, in his
+absence; and each one having undertaken to play a certain part, they
+waited in secret for their enemy to come home. The ape, little
+dreaming of the mischief that was brewing, returned home, and, having
+a fancy to drink a cup of tea, began lighting the fire in the hearth,
+when, all of a sudden, the egg, which was hidden in the ashes, burst
+with. the heat, and bespattered the frightened ape's face, so that he
+fled, howling with pain, and crying, "Oh! what an unlucky beast I am!"
+Maddened with the heat of the burst egg, he tried to go to the back of
+the house, when the bee darted out of a cupboard, and a piece of
+seaweed, who had joined the party, coming up at the same time, the ape
+was surrounded by enemies. In despair, he seized the clothes-rack, and
+fought valiantly for awhile; but he was no match for so many, and was
+obliged to run away, with the others in hot pursuit after him. Just as
+he was making his escape by a back door, however, the piece of seaweed
+tripped him up, and the rice-mortar, closing with him from behind,
+made an end of him.
+
+[Illustration: THE APE AND THE CRAB. (2)]
+
+So the crab, having punished his enemy, went home in triumph, and
+lived ever after on terms of brotherly love with the seaweed and the
+mortar. Was there ever such a fine piece of fun!
+
+
+
+
+THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE PEACHLING
+
+
+Many hundred years ago there lived an honest old wood-cutter and his
+wife. One fine morning the old man went off to the hills with his
+billhook, to gather a faggot of sticks, while his wife went down to
+the river to wash the dirty clothes. When she came to the river, she
+saw a peach floating down the stream; so she picked it up, and carried
+it home with her, thinking to give it to her husband to eat when he
+should come in. The old man soon came down from the hills, and the
+good wife set the peach before him, when, just as she was inviting him
+to eat it, the fruit split in two, and a little puling baby was born
+into the world. So the old couple took the babe, and brought it up as
+their own; and, because it had been born in a peach, they called it
+_Momotaro_,[53] or Little Peachling.
+
+[Footnote 53: _Momo_ means a peach, and _Taro_ is the termination of
+the names of eldest sons, as _Hikotaro_, _Tokutaro_, &c. In modern
+times, however, the termination has been applied indifferently to any
+male child.]
+
+By degrees Little Peachling grew up to be strong and brave, and at
+last one day he said to his old foster-parents--
+
+"I am going to the ogres' island to carry off the riches that they
+have stored up there. Pray, then, make me some millet dumplings for my
+journey."
+
+So the old folks ground the millet, and made the dumplings for him;
+and Little Peachling, after taking an affectionate leave of them,
+cheerfully set out on his travels.
+
+As he was journeying on, he fell in with an ape, who gibbered at him,
+and said, "Kia! kia! kia! where are you off to, Little Peachling?"
+
+"I'm going to the ogres' island, to carry off their treasure,"
+answered Little Peachling.
+
+"What are you carrying at your girdle?"
+
+"I'm carrying the very best millet dumplings in all Japan."
+
+"If you'll give me one, I will go with you," said the ape.
+
+So Little Peachling gave one of his dumplings to the ape, who received
+it and followed him. When he had gone a little further, he heard a
+pheasant calling--
+
+"Ken! ken! ken![54] where are you off to, Master Peachling?"
+
+[Footnote 54: The country folk in Japan pretend that the pheasant's
+call is a sign of an approaching earthquake.]
+
+Little Peachling answered as before; and the pheasant, having begged
+and obtained a millet dumpling, entered his service, and followed him.
+A little while after this, they met a dog, who cried--
+
+"Bow! wow! wow! whither away, Master Peachling?"
+
+"I'm going off to the ogres' island, to carry off their treasure."
+
+"If you will give me one of those nice millet dumplings of yours, I
+will go with you," said the dog.
+
+[Illustration: LITTLE PEACHLING.]
+
+"With all my heart," said Little Peachling. So he went on his way,
+with the ape, the pheasant, and the dog following after him.
+
+When they got to the ogres' island, the pheasant flew over the castle
+gate, and the ape clambered over the castle wall, while Little
+Peachling, leading the dog, forced in the gate, and got into the
+castle. Then they did battle with the ogres, and put them to flight,
+and took their king prisoner. So all the ogres did homage to Little
+Peachling, and brought out the treasures which they had laid up. There
+were caps and coats that made their wearers invisible, jewels which
+governed the ebb and flow of the tide, coral, musk, emeralds, amber,
+and tortoiseshell, besides gold and silver. All these were laid before
+Little Peachling by the conquered ogres.
+
+[Illustration: LITTLE PEACHLING. (2)]
+
+So Little Peachling went home laden with riches, and maintained his
+foster-parents in peace and plenty for the remainder of their lives.
+
+
+
+
+THE FOXES' WEDDING
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a young white fox, whose name was
+Fukuyemon. When he had reached the fitting age, he shaved off his
+forelock[55] and began to think of taking to himself a beautiful
+bride. The old fox, his father, resolved to give up his inheritance to
+his son,[56] and retired into private life; so the young fox, in
+gratitude for this, laboured hard and earnestly to increase his
+patrimony. Now it happened that in a famous old family of foxes there
+was a beautiful young lady-fox, with such lovely fur that the fame of
+her jewel-like charms was spread far and wide. The young white fox,
+who had heard of this, was bent on making her his wife, and a meeting
+was arranged between them. There was not a fault to be found on either
+side; so the preliminaries were settled, and the wedding presents sent
+from the bridegroom to the bride's house, with congratulatory speeches
+from the messenger, which were duly acknowledged by the person deputed
+to receive the gifts; the bearers, of course, received the customary
+fee in copper cash.
+
+[Footnote 55: See the Appendix on "Ceremonies."]
+
+[Footnote 56: See the note on the word Inkiyo, in the story of the
+"Prince and the Badger."]
+
+When the ceremonies had been concluded, an auspicious day was chosen
+for the bride to go to her husband's house, and she was carried off in
+solemn procession during a shower of rain, the sun shining all the
+while.[57] After the ceremonies of drinking wine had been gone
+through, the bride changed her dress, and the wedding was concluded,
+without let or hindrance, amid singing and dancing and merry-making.
+
+[Footnote 57: A shower during sunshine, which we call "the devil
+beating his wife," is called in Japan "the fox's bride going to her
+husband's house."]
+
+The bride and bridegroom lived lovingly together, and a litter of
+little foxes were born to them, to the great joy of the old grandsire,
+who treated the little cubs as tenderly as if they had been
+butterflies or flowers. "They're the very image of their old
+grandfather," said he, as proud as possible. "As for medicine, bless
+them, they're so healthy that they'll never need a copper coin's
+worth!"
+
+As soon as they were old enough, they were carried off to the temple
+of Inari Sama, the patron saint of foxes, and the old grand-parents
+prayed that they might be delivered from dogs and all the other ills
+to which fox flesh is heir.
+
+[Illustration: THE FOXES' WEDDING.]
+
+In this way the white fox by degrees waxed old and prosperous, and
+his children, year by year, became more and more numerous around him;
+so that, happy in his family and his business, every recurring spring
+brought him fresh cause for joy. [Illustration: THE FOXES' WEDDING.
+(2)]
+
+
+
+
+THE HISTORY OF SAKATA KINTOKI
+
+
+A long time ago there was an officer of the Emperor's body-guard,
+called Sakata Kurando, a young man who, although he excelled in valour
+and in the arts of war, was of a gentle and loving disposition. This
+young officer was deeply enamoured of a fair young lady, called
+Yaegiri, who lived at Gojozaka, at Kiyoto. Now it came to pass that,
+having incurred the jealousy of certain other persons, Kurando fell
+into disgrace with the Court, and became a Ronin, so he was no longer
+able to keep up any communication with his love Yaegiri; indeed, he
+became so poor that it was a hard matter for him to live. So he left
+the place and fled, no one knew whither. As for Yaegiri, lovesick and
+lorn, and pining for her lost darling, she escaped from the house
+where she lived, and wandered hither and thither through the country,
+seeking everywhere for Kurando.
+
+Now Kurando, when he left the palace, turned tobacco merchant, and, as
+he was travelling about hawking his goods, it chanced that he fell in
+with Yaegiri; so, having communicated to her his last wishes, he took
+leave of her and put an end to his life.
+
+Poor Yaegiri, having buried her lover, went to the Ashigara Mountain,
+a distant and lonely spot, where she gave birth to a little boy, who,
+as soon as he was born, was of such wonderful strength that he walked
+about and ran playing all over the mountain. A woodcutter, who chanced
+to see the marvel, was greatly frightened at first, and thought the
+thing altogether uncanny; but after a while he got used to the child,
+and became quite fond of him, and called him "Little Wonder," and gave
+his mother the name of the "Old Woman of the Mountain."
+
+One day, as "Little Wonder" was playing about, he saw that on the top
+of a high cedar-tree there was a tengu's nest;[58] so he began shaking
+the tree with all his might, until at last the tengu's nest came
+tumbling down.
+
+[Footnote 58: _Tengu_, or the Heavenly Dog, a hobgoblin who infests
+desert places, and is invoked to frighten naughty little children.]
+
+As luck would have it, the famous hero, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, with
+his retainers, Watanabe Isuna, Usui Sadamitsu, and several others, had
+come to the mountain to hunt, and seeing the feat which "Little
+Wonder" had performed, came to the conclusion that he could be no
+ordinary child. Minamoto no Yorimitsu ordered Watanabe Isuna to find
+out the child's name and parentage. The Old Woman of the Mountain, on
+being asked about him, answered that she was the wife of Kurando, and
+that "Little Wonder" was the child of their marriage. And she
+proceeded to relate all the adventures which had befallen her.
+
+When Yorimitsu heard her story, he said, "Certainly this child does
+not belie his lineage. Give the brat to me, and I will make him my
+retainer." The Old Woman of the Mountain gladly consented, and gave
+"Little Wonder" to Yorimitsu; but she herself remained in her mountain
+home. So "Little Wonder" went off with the hero Yorimitsu, who named
+him Sakata Kintoki; and in aftertimes he became famous and illustrious
+as a warrior, and his deeds are recited to this day. He is the
+favourite hero of little children, who carry his portrait in their
+bosom, and wish that they could emulate his bravery and strength.
+
+
+
+
+THE ELVES AND THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR
+
+
+Once upon a time there was a certain man, who, being overtaken by
+darkness among the mountains, was driven to seek shelter in the trunk
+of a hollow tree. In the middle of the night, a large company of elves
+assembled at the place; and the man, peeping out from his
+hiding-place, was frightened out of his wits. After a while, however,
+the elves began to feast and drink wine, and to amuse themselves by
+singing and dancing, until at last the man, caught by the infection of
+the fun, forgot all about his fright, and crept out of his hollow tree
+to join in the revels. When the day was about to dawn, the elves said
+to the man, "You're a very jolly companion, and must come out and have
+a dance with us again. You must make us a promise, and keep it." So
+the elves, thinking to bind the man over to return, took a large wen
+that grew on his forehead and kept it in pawn; upon this they all left
+the place, and went home. The man walked off to his own house in high
+glee at having passed a jovial night, and got rid of his wen into the
+bargain. So he told the story to all his friends, who congratulated
+him warmly on being cured of his wen. But there was a neighbour of his
+who was also troubled with a wen of long standing, and, when he heard
+of his friend's luck, he was smitten with envy, and went off to hunt
+for the hollow tree, in which, when he had found it, he passed the
+night.
+
+Towards midnight the elves came, as he had expected, and began
+feasting and drinking, with songs and dances as before. As soon as he
+saw this, he came out of his hollow tree, and began dancing and
+singing as his neighbour had done. The elves, mistaking him for their
+former boon-companion, were delighted to see him, and said--
+
+"You're a good fellow to recollect your promise, and we'll give you
+back your pledge;" so one of the elves, pulling the pawned wen out of
+his pocket, stuck it on to the man's forehead, on the top of the other
+wen which he already bad. So the envious neighbour went home weeping,
+with two wens instead of one. This is a good lesson to people who
+cannot see the good luck of others, without coveting it for
+themselves.
+
+
+
+
+THE GHOST OF SAKURA
+
+
+The misfortunes and death of the farmer Sogoro, which, although the
+preternatural appearances by which they are said to have been followed
+may raise a smile, are matters of historic notoriety with which every
+Japanese is familiar, furnish a forcible illustration of the relations
+which exist between the tenant and the lord of the soil, and of the
+boundless power for good or for evil exercised by the latter. It is
+rather remarkable that in a country where the peasant--placed as he is
+next to the soldier, and before the artisan and merchant, in the four
+classes into which the people are divided--enjoys no small
+consideration, and where agriculture is protected by law from the
+inroads of wild vegetation, even to the lopping of overshadowing
+branches and the cutting down of hedgerow timber, the lord of the
+manor should be left practically without control in his dealings with
+his people.
+
+The land-tax, or rather the yearly rent paid by the tenant, is usually
+assessed at forty per cent. of the produce; but there is no principle
+clearly defining it, and frequently the landowner and the cultivator
+divide the proceeds of the harvest in equal shapes. Rice land is
+divided into three classes; and, according to these classes, it is
+computed that one _tan_ (1,800 square feet) of the best land should
+yield to the owner a revenue of five bags of rice per annum; each of
+these bags holds four to (a to is rather less than half an imperial
+bushel), and is worth at present (1868) three riyos, or about sixteen
+shillings; land of the middle class should yield a revenue of three or
+four bags. The rent is paid either in rice or in money, according to
+the actual price of the grain, which varies considerably. It is due in
+the eleventh month of the year, when the crops have all been gathered,
+and their market value fixed.
+
+The rent of land bearing crops other than rice, such as cotton, beans,
+roots, and so forth, is payable in money during the twelfth month. The
+choice of the nature of the crops to be grown appears to be left to
+the tenant.
+
+The Japanese landlord, when pressed by poverty, does not confine
+himself to the raising of his legitimate rents: he can always enforce
+from his needy tenantry the advancement of a year's rent, or the loan
+of so much money as may be required to meet his immediate necessities.
+Should the lord be just, the peasant is repaid by instalments, with
+interest, extending over ten or twenty years. But it too often happens
+that unjust and merciless lords do not repay such loans, but, on the
+contrary, press for further advances. Then it is that the farmers,
+dressed in their grass rain-coats, and carrying sickles and bamboo
+poles in their hands, assemble before the gate of their lord's palace
+at the capital, and represent their grievances, imploring the
+intercession of the retainers, and even of the womankind who may
+chance to go forth. Sometimes they pay for their temerity by their
+lives; but, at any rate, they have the satisfaction of bringing shame
+upon their persecutor, in the eyes of his neighbours and of the
+populace.
+
+[Illustration: THE DEPUTATION OF PEASANTS AT THEIR LORD'S GATE.]
+
+The official reports of recent travels in the interior of Japan have
+fully proved the hard lot with which the peasantry had to put up
+during the government of the Tycoons, and especially under the
+Hatamotos, the created nobility of the dynasty. In one province, where
+the village mayors appear to have seconded the extortions of their
+lord, they have had to flee before an exasperated population, who,
+taking advantage of the revolution, laid waste and pillaged their
+houses, loudly praying for a new and just assessment of the land;
+while, throughout the country, the farmers have hailed with
+acclamations the resumption of the sovereign power by the Mikado, and
+the abolition of the petty nobility who exalted themselves upon the
+misery of their dependants. Warming themselves in the sunshine of the
+court at Yedo, the Hatamotos waxed fat and held high revel, and
+little cared they who groaned or who starved. Money must be found, and
+it was found.
+
+It is necessary here to add a word respecting the position of the
+village mayors, who play so important a part in the tale.
+
+The peasants of Japan are ruled by three classes of officials: the
+Nanushi, or mayor; the Kumigashira, or chiefs of companies; and the
+Hiyakushodai, or farmers' representatives. The village, which is
+governed by the Nanushi, or mayor, is divided into companies, which,
+consisting of five families each, are directed by a Kumigashira; these
+companies, again, are subdivided into groups of five men each, who
+choose one of their number to represent them in case of their having
+any petition to present, or any affairs to settle with their
+superiors. This functionary is the Hiyakushodai. The mayor, the chief
+of the company, and the representative keep registers of the families
+and people under their control, and are responsible for their good and
+orderly behaviour. They pay taxes like the other farmers, but receive
+a salary, the amount of which depends upon the size and wealth of the
+village. Five per cent. of the yearly land tax forms the salary of the
+mayor, and the other officials each receive five per cent. of the tax
+paid by the little bodies over which they respectively rule.
+
+The average amount of land for one family to cultivate is about one
+cho, or 9,000 square yards; but there are farmers who have inherited
+as much as five or even six cho from their ancestors. There is also a
+class of farmers called, from their poverty, "water-drinking farmers,"
+who have no land of their own, but hire that of those who have more
+than they can keep in their own hands. The rent so paid varies; but
+good rice land will bring in as high a rent as from L1 18s. to L2 6s.
+per tan (1,800 square feet).
+
+Farm labourers are paid from six or seven riyos a year to as much as
+thirty riyos (the riyo being worth about 5s. 4d.); besides this, they
+are clothed and fed, not daintily indeed, but amply. The rice which
+they cultivate is to them an almost unknown luxury: millet is their
+staple food, and on high days and holidays they receive messes of
+barley or buckwheat. Where the mulberry-tree is grown, and the
+silkworm is "educated," there the labourer receives the highest wage.
+
+The rice crop on good land should yield twelve and a half fold, and on
+ordinary land from six to seven fold only. Ordinary arable land is
+only half as valuable as rice land, which cannot be purchased for less
+than forty riyos per tan of 1,800 square feet. Common hill or wood
+land is cheaper, again, than arable land; but orchards and groves of
+the Pawlonia are worth from fifty to sixty riyos per tan.
+
+With regard to the punishment of crucifixion, by which Sogoro was put
+to death, it is inflicted for the following offences:--parricide
+(including the murder or striking of parents, uncles, aunts, elder
+brothers, masters, or teachers) coining counterfeit money, and passing
+the barriers of the Tycoon's territory without a permit.[59] The
+criminal is attached to an upright post with two cross bars, to which
+his arms and feet are fastened by ropes. He is then transfixed with
+spears by men belonging to the Eta or Pariah class. I once passed the
+execution-ground near Yedo, when a body was attached to the cross. The
+dead man had murdered his employer, and, having been condemned to
+death by crucifixion, had died in prison before the sentence could be
+carried out. He was accordingly packed, in a squatting position, in a
+huge red earthenware jar, which, having been tightly filled up with.
+salt, was hermetically sealed. On the anniversary of the commission of
+the crime, the jar was carried down to the execution-ground and
+broken, and the body was taken out and tied to the cross, the joints
+of the knees and arms having been cut, to allow of the extension of
+the stiffened and shrunken limbs; it was then transfixed with spears,
+and allowed to remain exposed for three days. An open grave, the
+upturned soil of which seemed almost entirely composed of dead men's
+remains, waited to receive the dishonoured corpse, over which three or
+four Etas, squalid and degraded beings, were mounting guard, smoking
+their pipes by a scanty charcoal fire, and bandying obscene jests. It
+was a hideous and ghastly warning, had any cared to read the lesson;
+but the passers-by on the high road took little or no notice of the
+sight, and a group of chubby and happy children were playing not ten
+yards from the dead body, as if no strange or uncanny thing were near
+them.
+
+[Footnote 59: This last crime is, of course, now obsolete.]
+
+THE GHOST OF SAKURA.[60]
+
+[Footnote 60: The story, which also forms the subject of a play, is
+published, but with altered names, in order that offence may not be
+given to the Hotta family. The real names are preserved here. The
+events related took place during the rule of the Shogun Iyemitsu, in
+the first half of the seventeenth century.]
+
+How true is the principle laid down by Confucius, that the benevolence
+of princes is reflected in their country, while their wickedness
+causes sedition and confusion!
+
+[Illustration: THE GHOST OF SAKURA.]
+
+In the province of Shimosa, and the district of Soma, Hotta Kaga no
+Kami was lord of the castle of Sakura, and chief of a family which had
+for generations produced famous warriors. When Kaga no Kami, who had
+served in the Gorojiu, the cabinet of the Shogun, died at the castle
+of Sakura, his eldest son Kotsuke no Suke Masanobu inherited his
+estates and honours, and was appointed to a seat in the Gorojiu; but
+he was a different man from the lords who had preceded him. He treated
+the farmers and peasants unjustly, imposing additional and grievous
+taxes, so that the tenants on his estates were driven to the last
+extremity of poverty; and although year after year, and month after
+month, they prayed for mercy, and remonstrated against this injustice,
+no heed was paid to them, and the people throughout the villages were
+reduced to the utmost distress. Accordingly, the chiefs of the one
+hundred and thirty-six villages, producing a total revenue of 40,000
+kokus of rice, assembled together in council and determined
+unanimously to present a petition to the Government, sealed with their
+seals, stating that their repeated remonstrances had been taken no
+notice of by their local authorities. Then they assembled in numbers
+before the house of one of the councillors of their lord, named Ikeura
+Kazuye, in order to show the petition to him first, but even then no
+notice was taken of them; so they returned home, and resolved, after
+consulting together, to proceed to their lord's yashiki, or palace, at
+Yedo, on the seventh day of the tenth month. It was determined, with
+one accord, that one hundred and forty-three village chiefs should go
+to Yedo; and the chief of the village of Iwahashi, one Sogoro, a man
+forty-eight years of age, distinguished for his ability and judgment,
+ruling a district which produced a thousand kokus, stepped forward,
+and said--
+
+"This is by no means an easy matter, my masters. It certainly is of
+great importance that we should forward our complaint to our lord's
+palace at Yedo; but what are your plans? Have you any fixed
+intentions?"
+
+"It is, indeed, a most important matter," rejoined the others; but
+they had nothing further to say. Then Sogoro went on to say--
+
+"We have appealed to the public office of our province, but without
+avail; we have petitioned the Prince's councillors, also in vain. I
+know that all that remains for us is to lay our case before our lord's
+palace at Yedo; and if we go there, it is equally certain that we
+shall not be listened to--on the contrary, we shall be cast into
+prison. If we are not attended to here, in our own province, how much
+less will the officials at Yedo care for us. We might hand our
+petition into the litter of one of the Gorojiu, in the public streets;
+but, even in that case, as our lord is a member of the Gorojiu, none
+of his peers would care to examine into the rights and wrongs of our
+complaint, for fear of offending him, and the man who presented the
+petition in so desperate a manner would lose his life on a bootless
+errand. If you have made up your minds to this, and are determined, at
+all hazards, to start, then go to Yedo by all means, and bid a long
+farewell to parents, children, wives, and relations. This is my
+opinion."
+
+The others all agreeing with what Sogoro said, they determined that,
+come what might, they would go to Yedo; and they settled to assemble
+at the village of Funabashi on the thirteenth day of the eleventh
+month.
+
+On the appointed day all the village officers met at the place agreed
+upon,--Sogoro, the chief of the village of Iwahashi, alone being
+missing; and as on the following day Sogoro had not yet arrived, they
+deputed one of their number, named Rokurobei, to inquire the reason.
+Rokurobei arrived at Sogoro's house towards four in the afternoon, and
+found him warming himself quietly over his charcoal brazier, as if
+nothing were the matter. The messenger, seeing this, said rather
+testily--
+
+"The chiefs of the villages are all assembled at Funabashi according
+to covenant, and as you, Master Sogoro, have not arrived, I have come
+to inquire whether it is sickness or some other cause that prevents
+you."
+
+"Indeed," replied Sogoro, "I am sorry that you should have had so much
+trouble. My intention was to have set out yesterday; but I was taken
+with a cholic, with which I am often troubled, and, as you may see, I
+am taking care of myself; so for a day or two I shall not be able to
+start. Pray be so good as to let the others know this."
+
+Rokurobei, seeing that there was no help for it, went back to the
+village of Funabashi and communicated to the others what had occurred.
+They were all indignant at what they looked upon as the cowardly
+defection of a man who had spoken so fairly, but resolved that the
+conduct of one man should not influence the rest, and talked
+themselves into the belief that the affair which they had in hand
+would be easily put through; so they agreed with one accord to start
+and present the petition, and, having arrived at Yedo, put up in the
+street called Bakurocho. But although they tried to forward their
+complaint to the various officers of their lord, no one would listen
+to them; the doors were all shut in their faces, and they had to go
+back to their inn, crestfallen and without success.
+
+On the following day, being the 18th of the month, they all met
+together at a tea-house in an avenue, in front of a shrine of Kwannon
+Sama;[61] and having held a consultation, they determined that, as
+they could hit upon no good expedient, they would again send for
+Sogoro to see whether he could devise no plan. Accordingly, on the
+19th, Rokurobei and one Jiuyemon started for the village of Iwahashi
+at noon, and arrived the same evening.
+
+[Footnote 61: A Buddhist deity.]
+
+Now the village chief Sogoro, who had made up his mind that the
+presentation of this memorial was not a matter to be lightly treated,
+summoned his wife and children and his relations, and said to them--
+
+"I am about to undertake a journey to Yedo, for the following
+reasons:--Our present lord of the soil has increased the land-tax, in
+rice and the other imposts, more than tenfold, so that pen and paper
+would fail to convey an idea of the poverty to which the people are
+reduced, and the peasants are undergoing the tortures of hell upon
+earth. Seeing this, the chiefs of the various villages have presented
+petitions, but with what result is doubtful. My earnest desire,
+therefore, is to devise some means of escape from this cruel
+persecution. If my ambitious scheme does not succeed, then shall I
+return home no more; and even should I gain my end, it is hard to say
+how I may be treated by those in power. Let us drink a cup of wine
+together, for it may be that you shall see my face no more. I give my
+life to allay the misery of the people of this estate. If I die, mourn
+not over my fate; weep not for me."
+
+Having spoken thus, he addressed his wife and his four children,
+instructing them carefully as to what he desired to be done after his
+death, and minutely stating every wish of his heart. Then, having
+drunk a parting cup with them, he cheerfully took leave of all
+present, and went to a tea-house in the neighbouring village of
+Funabashi, where the two messengers, Rokurobei and Jiuyemon, were
+anxiously awaiting his arrival, in order that they might recount to
+him all that had taken place at Yedo.
+
+"In short," said they, "it appears to us that we have failed
+completely; and we have come to meet you in order to hear what you
+propose. If you have any plan to suggest, we would fain be made
+acquainted with it."
+
+"We have tried the officers of the district," replied Sogoro, "and we
+have tried my lord's palace at Yedo. However often we might assemble
+before my lord's gate, no heed would be given to us. There is nothing
+left for us but to appeal to the Shogun."
+
+So they sat talking over their plans until the night was far advanced,
+and then they went to rest. The winter night was long; but when the
+cawing of the crows was about to announce the morning, the three
+friends started on their journey for the tea-house at Asakusa, at
+which, upon their arrival, they found the other village elders already
+assembled.
+
+"Welcome, Master Sogoro," said they. "How is it that you have come so
+late? We have petitioned all the officers to no purpose, and we have
+broken our bones in vain. We are at our wits' end, and can think of no
+other scheme. If there is any plan which seems good to you, we pray
+you to act upon it."
+
+"Sirs," replied Sogoro, speaking very quietly, "although we have met
+with no better success here than in our own place, there is no use in
+grieving. In a day or two the Gorojiu will be going to the castle; we
+must wait for this opportunity, and following one of the litters,
+thrust in our memorial. This is my opinion: what think you of it, my
+masters?"
+
+One and all, the assembled elders were agreed as to the excellence of
+this advice; and having decided to act upon it, they returned to their
+inn.
+
+Then Sogoro held a secret consultation with Jiuyemon, Hanzo,
+Rokurobei, Chinzo, and Kinshiro, five of the elders, and, with their
+assistance, drew up the memorial; and having heard that on the 26th of
+the month, when the Gorojiu should go to the castle, Kuze Yamato no
+Kami would proceed to a palace under the western enclosure of the
+castle, they kept watch in a place hard by. As soon as they saw the
+litter of the Gorojiu approach, they drew near to it, and, having
+humbly stated their grievances, handed in the petition; and as it was
+accepted, the six elders were greatly elated, and doubted not that
+their hearts' desire would be attained; so they went off to a
+tea-house at Riyogoku, and Jiuyemon said--
+
+"We may congratulate ourselves on our success. We have handed in our
+petition to the Gorojiu, and now we may set our minds at rest; before
+many days have passed, we shall hear good news from the rulers. To
+Master Sogoro is due great praise for his exertions."
+
+Sogoro, stepping forward, answered, "Although we have presented our
+memorial to the Gorojiu, the matter will not be so quickly decided; it
+is therefore useless that so many of us should remain here: let eleven
+men stay with me, and let the rest return home to their several
+villages. If we who remain are accused of conspiracy and beheaded, let
+the others agree to reclaim and bury our corpses. As for the expenses
+which we shall incur until our suit is concluded, let that be
+according to our original covenant. For the sake of the hundred and
+thirty-six villages we will lay down our lives, if needs must, and
+submit to the disgrace of having our heads exposed as those of common
+malefactors."
+
+Then they had a parting feast together, and, after a sad leave-taking,
+the main body of the elders went home to their own country; while the
+others, wending their way to their quarters waited patiently to be
+summoned to the Supreme Court. On the 2d day of the 12th month,
+Sogoro, having received a summons from the residence of the Gorojiu
+Kuze Yamato no Kami, proceeded to obey it, and was ushered to the
+porch of the house, where two councillors, named Aijima Gidaiyu and
+Yamaji Yori, met him, and said--
+
+"Some days since you had the audacity to thrust a memorial into the
+litter of our lord Yamato no Kami. By an extraordinary exercise of
+clemency, he is willing to pardon this heinous offence; but should you
+ever again endeavour to force your petitions; upon him, you will be
+held guilty of riotous conduct;" and with this they gave back the
+memorial.
+
+"I humbly admit the justice of his lordship's censure. But oh! my
+lords, this is no hasty nor ill-considered action. Year after year,
+affliction upon affliction has been heaped upon us, until at last the
+people are without even the necessaries of life; and we, seeing no end
+to the evil, have humbly presented this petition. I pray your
+lordships of your great mercy to consider our case" and deign to
+receive our memorial. Vouchsafe to take some measures that the people
+may live, and our gratitude for your great kindness will know no
+bounds."
+
+"Your request is a just one," replied the two councillors after
+hearing what he said; "but your memorial cannot be received: so you
+must even take it back."
+
+With this they gave back the document, and wrote down the names of
+Sogoro and six of the elders who had accompanied him. There was no
+help for it: they must take back their petition, and return to their
+inn. The seven men, dispirited and sorrowful, sat with folded arms
+considering what was best to be done, what plan should be devised,
+until at last, when they were at their wits' end, Sogoro said, in a
+whisper--
+
+"So our petition, which we gave in after so much pains, has been
+returned after all! With what f ace can we return to our villages
+after such a disgrace? I, for one, do not propose to waste my labour
+for nothing; accordingly, I shall bide my time until some day, when
+the Shogun shall go forth from the castle, and, lying in wait by the
+roadside, I shall make known our grievances to him, who is lord over
+our lord. This is our last chance."
+
+[Illustration: SOGORO THRUSTING THE PETITION INTO THE SHOGUN'S
+LITTER.]
+
+The others all applauded this speech, and, having with one accord
+hardened their hearts, waited for their opportunity.
+
+Now it so happened that, on the 20th day of the 12th month, the then
+Shogun, Prince Iyemitsu, was pleased to worship at the tombs of his
+ancestors at Uyeno;[62] and Sogoro and the other elders, hearing this,
+looked upon it as a special favour from the gods, and felt certain
+that this time they would not fail. So they drew up a fresh memorial,
+and at the appointed time Sogoro hid himself under the Sammaye Bridge,
+in front of the black gate at Uyeno. When Prince Iyemitsu passed in
+his litter, Sogoro clambered up from under the bridge, to the great
+surprise of the Shogun's attendants, who called out, "Push the fellow
+on one side;" but, profiting by the confusion, Sogoro, raising his
+voice and crying, "I wish to humbly present a petition to his Highness
+in person," thrust forward his memorial, which he had tied on to the
+end of a bamboo stick six feet long, and tried to put it into the
+litter; and although there were cries to arrest him, and he was
+buffeted by the escort, he crawled up to the side of the litter, and
+the Shogun accepted the document. But Sogoro was arrested by the
+escort, and thrown into prison. As for the memorial, his Highness
+ordered that it should be handed in to the Gorojiu Hotta Kotsuke no
+Suke, the lord of the petitioners.
+
+[Footnote 62: Destroyed during the revolution, in the summer of 1868,
+by the troops of the Mikado. See note on the tombs of the Shoguns, at
+the end of the story.]
+
+When Hotta Kotsuke no Suke had returned home and read the memorial, he
+summoned his councillor, Kojima Shikibu, and said--
+
+"The officials of my estate are mere bunglers. When the peasants
+assembled and presented a petition, they refused to receive it, and
+have thus brought this trouble upon me. Their folly has been beyond
+belief; however, it cannot be helped. We must remit all the new taxes,
+and you must inquire how much was paid to the former lord of the
+castle. As for this Sogoro, he is not the only one who is at the
+bottom of the conspiracy; however, as this heinous offence of his in
+going out to lie in wait for the Shogun's procession is unpardonable,
+we must manage to get him given up to us by the Government, and, as an
+example for the rest of my people, he shall be crucified--he and his
+wife and his children; and, after his death, all that he possesses
+shall be confiscated. The other six men shall be banished; and that
+will suffice."
+
+"My lord," replied Shikibu, prostrating himself, "your lordship's
+intentions are just. Sogoro, indeed, deserves any punishment for his
+outrageous crime. But I humbly venture to submit that his wife and
+children cannot be said to be guilty in the same degree: I implore
+your lordship mercifully to be pleased to absolve them from so severe
+a punishment."
+
+"Where the sin of the father is great, the wife and children cannot be
+spared," replied Kotsuke no Suke; and his councillor, seeing that his
+heart was hardened, was forced to obey his orders without further
+remonstrance.
+
+So Kotsuke no Suke, having obtained that Sogoro should be given up to
+him by the Government, caused him to be brought to his estate of
+Sakura as a criminal, in a litter covered with nets, and confined him
+in prison. When his case had been inquired into, a decree was issued
+by the Lord Kotsuke no Suke that he should be punished for a heinous
+crime; and on the 9th day of the 2d month of the second year of the
+period styled Shoho (A.D. 1644) he was condemned to be crucified.
+Accordingly Sogoro, his wife and children, and the elders of the
+hundred and thirty-six villages were brought before the Court-house of
+Sakura, in which were assembled forty-five chief officers. The elders
+were then told that, yielding to their petition, their lord was
+graciously pleased to order that the oppressive taxes should be
+remitted, and that the dues levied should not exceed those of the
+olden time. As for Sogoro and his wife, the following sentence was
+passed upon them:--
+
+"Whereas you have set yourself up as the head of the villagers;
+whereas, secondly, you have dared to make light of the Government by
+petitioning his Highness the Shogun directly, thereby offering an
+insult to your lord; and whereas, thirdly, you have presented a
+memorial to the Gorojiu; and, whereas, fourthly, you were privy to a
+conspiracy: for these four heinous crimes you are sentenced to death
+by crucifixion. Your wife is sentenced to die in like manner; and your
+children will be decapitated.
+
+"This sentence is passed upon the following persons:--
+
+"Sogoro, chief of the village of Iwahashi, aged 48.
+
+"His wife, Man, aged 38.
+
+"His son, Gennosuke, aged 13.
+
+"His son, Sohei, aged 10.
+
+"His son, Kihachi, aged 7."
+
+The eldest daughter of Sogoro, named Hatsu, nineteen years of age, was
+married to a man named Jiuyemon, in the village of Hakamura, in
+Shitachi, beyond the river, in the territory of Matsudaira Matsu no
+Kami (the Prince of Sendai). His second daughter, whose name was Saki,
+sixteen years of age, was married to one Tojiuro, chief of a village
+on the property of my lord Naito Geki. No punishment was decreed
+against these two women.
+
+The six elders who had accompanied Sogoro were told that although by
+good rights they had merited death, yet by the special clemency of
+their lord their lives would be spared, but that they were condemned
+to banishment. Their wives and children would not be attainted, and
+their property would be spared. The six men were banished to Oshima,
+in the province of Idzu.
+
+Sogoro heard his sentence with pure courage.
+
+The six men were banished; but three of them lived to be pardoned on
+the occasion of the death of the Shogun, Prince Genyuin,[63] and
+returned to their country.
+
+[Footnote 63: The name assigned after death to Iyetsuna, the fourth of
+the dynasty of Tokugawa, who died on the 8th day of the 5th month of
+the year A.D. 1680.]
+
+According to the above decision, the taxes were remitted; and men and
+women, young and old, rejoiced over the advantage that had been gained
+for them by Sogoro and by the six elders, and there was not one that
+did not mourn for their fate.
+
+When the officers of the several villages left the Court-house, one
+Zembei, the chief of the village of Sakato, told the others that he
+had some important subjects to speak to them upon, and begged them to
+meet him in the temple called Fukushoin. Every man having consented,
+and the hundred and thirty-six men having assembled at the temple,
+Zembei addressed them as follows:--
+
+"The success of our petition, in obtaining the reduction of our taxes
+to the same amount as was levied by our former lord, is owing to
+Master Sogoro, who has thus thrown away his life for us. He and his
+wife and children are now to suffer as criminals for the sake of the
+one hundred and thirty-six villages. That such a thing should take
+place before our very eyes seems to me not to be borne. What say you,
+my masters?"
+
+"Ay! ay! what you say is just from top to bottom," replied the others.
+Then Hanzayemon, the elder of the village of Katsuta, stepped forward
+and said--
+
+"As Master Zembei has just said, Sogoro is condemned to die for a
+matter in which all the village elders are concerned to a man. We
+cannot look on unconcerned. Full well I know that it is useless our
+pleading for Sogoro; but we may, at least, petition that the lives of
+his wife and children may be spared."
+
+The assembled elders having all applauded this speech, they determined
+to draw up a memorial; and they resolved, should their petition not be
+accepted by the local authorities, to present it at their lord's
+palace in Yedo, and, should that fail, to appeal to the Government.
+Accordingly, before noon on the following day, they all affixed their
+seals to the memorial, which four of them, including Zembei and
+Hanzayemon, composed, as follows:--
+
+"With deep fear we humbly venture to present the following petition,
+which the elders of the one hundred and thirty-six villages of this
+estate have sealed with their seals. In consequence of the humble
+petition which we lately offered up, the taxes have graciously been
+reduced to the rates levied by the former lord of the estate, and new
+laws have been vouchsafed to us. With reverence and joy the peasants,
+great and small, have gratefully acknowledged these favours. With
+regard to Sogoro, the elder of the village of Iwahashi, who ventured
+to petition his highness the Shogun in person, thus being guilty of a
+heinous crime, he has been sentenced to death in the castle-town. With
+fear and trembling we recognize the justice of his sentence. But in
+the matter of his wife and children, she is but a woman, and they are
+so young and innocent that they cannot distinguish the east from the
+west: we pray that in your great clemency you will remit their sin,
+and give them up to the representatives of the one hundred and
+thirty-six villages, for which we shall be ever grateful. We, the
+elders of the villages, know not to what extent we may be
+transgressing in presenting this memorial. We were all guilty of
+affixing our seals to the former petition; but Sogoro, who was chief
+of a large district, producing a thousand kokus of revenue, and was
+therefore a man of experience, acted for the others; and we grieve
+that he alone should suffer for all. Yet in his case we reverently
+admit that there can be no reprieve. For his wife and children,
+however, we humbly implore your gracious mercy and consideration.
+
+"Signed by the elders of the villages of the estate, the 2d year of
+Shoho, and the 2d month."
+
+Having drawn up this memorial, the hundred and thirty-six elders, with
+Zembei at their head, proceeded to the Court-house to present the
+petition, and found the various officers seated in solemn conclave.
+Then the clerk took the petition, and, having opened it, read it
+aloud; and the councillor, Ikeura Kazuye, said--
+
+"The petition which you have addressed to us is worthy of all praise.
+But you must know that this is a matter which is no longer within our
+control. The affair has been reported to the Government; and although
+the priests of my lord's ancestral temple have interceded for Sogoro,
+my lord is so angry that he will not listen even to them, saying that,
+had he not been one of the Gorojiu, he would have been in danger of
+being ruined by this man: his high station alone saved him. My lord
+spoke so severely that the priests themselves dare not recur to the
+subject. You see, therefore, that it will be no use your attempting to
+take any steps in the matter, for most certainly your petition will
+not be received. You had better, then, think no more about it." And
+with these words he gave back the memorial.
+
+Zembei and the elders, seeing, to their infinite sorrow, that their
+mission was fruitless, left the Court-house, and most sorrowfully took
+counsel together, grinding their teeth in their disappointment when
+they thought over what the councillor had said as to the futility of
+their attempt. Out of grief for this, Zembei, with Hanzayemon and
+Heijiuro, on the 11th day of the 2d month (the day on which Sogoro and
+his wife and children suffered), left Ewaradai, the place of
+execution, and went to the temple Zenkoji, in the province of
+Shinshiu, and from thence they ascended Mount Koya in Kishiu, and, on
+the 1st day of the 8th month, shaved their heads and became priests;
+Zembei changed his name to Kakushin, and Hanzayemon changed his to
+Zensho: as for Heijiuro, he fell sick at the end of the 7th month, and
+on the 11th day of the 8th month died, being forty-seven years old
+that year. These three men, who had loved Sogoro as the fishes love
+water, were true to him to the last. Heijiuro was buried on Mount
+Koya. Kakushin wandered through the country as a priest, praying for
+the entry of Sogoro and his children into the perfection of paradise;
+and, after visiting all the shrines and temples, came back at last to
+his own province of Shimosa, and took up his abode at the temple
+Riukakuji, in the village of Kano, and in the district of Imban,
+praying and making offerings on behalf of the souls of Sogoro, his
+wife and children. Hanzayemon, now known as the priest Zensho,
+remained at Shinagawa, a suburb of Yedo, and, by the charity of good
+people, collected enough money to erect six bronze Buddhas, which
+remain standing to this day. He fell sick and died, at the age of
+seventy, on the 10th day of the 2d month of the 13th year of the
+period styled Kambun. Zembei, who, as a priest, had changed his name
+to Kakushin, died, at the age of seventy-six, on the 17th day of the
+10th month of the 2d year of the period styled Empo. Thus did those
+men, for the sake of Sogoro and his family, give themselves up to
+works of devotion; and the other villagers also brought food to soothe
+the spirits of the dead, and prayed for their entry into paradise; and
+as litanies were repeated without intermission, there can be no doubt
+that Sogoro attained salvation.
+
+"In paradise, where the blessings of God are distributed without
+favour, the soul learns its faults by the measure of the rewards
+given. The lusts of the flesh are abandoned; and the soul, purified,
+attains to the glory of Buddha."[64]
+
+[Footnote 64: Buddhist text.]
+
+On the 11th day of the 2d month of the 2d year of Shoho, Sogoro having
+been convicted of a heinous crime, a scaffold was erected at Ewaradai,
+and the councillor who resided at Yedo and the councillor who resided
+on the estate, with the other officers, proceeded to the place in all
+solemnity. Then the priests of Tokoji, in the village of Sakenaga,
+followed by coffin-bearers, took their places in front of the
+councillors, and said--
+
+"We humbly beg leave to present a petition."
+
+"What have your reverences to say?"
+
+"We are men who have forsaken the world and entered the priesthood,"
+answered the monks, respectfully; "and we would fain, if it be
+possible, receive the bodies of those who are to die, that we may bury
+them decently. It will be a great joy to us if our humble petition be
+graciously heard and granted."
+
+"Your request shall be granted; but as the crime of Sogoro was great,
+his body must be exposed for three days and three nights, after which
+the corpse shall be given to you."
+
+At the hour of the snake (10 A.M.), the hour appointed for the
+execution, the people from the neighbouring villages and the
+castle-town, old and young, men and women, flocked to see the sight:
+numbers there were, too, who came to bid a last farewell to Sogoro,
+his wife and children, and to put up a prayer for them. When the hour
+had arrived, the condemned were dragged forth bound, and made to sit
+upon coarse mats. Sogoro and his wife closed their eyes, for the sight
+was more than they could bear; and the spectators, with heaving
+breasts and streaming eyes, cried "Cruel!" and "Pitiless!" and taking
+sweetmeats and cakes from the bosoms of their dresses threw them to
+the children. At noon precisely Sogoro and his wife were bound to the
+crosses, which were then set upright and fixed in the ground. When
+this had been done, their eldest son Gennosuke was led forward to the
+scaffold, in front of the two parents. Then Sogoro cried out--
+
+"Oh! cruel, cruel! what crime has this poor child committed that he
+is treated thus? As for me, it matters not what becomes of me." And
+the tears trickled down his face.
+
+The spectators prayed aloud, and shut their eyes; and the executioner
+himself, standing behind the boy, and saying that it was a pitiless
+thing that the child should suffer for the father's fault, prayed
+silently. Then Gennosuke, who had remained with his eyes closed, said
+to his parents--
+
+"Oh! my father and mother, I am going before you to paradise, that
+happy country, to wait for you. My little brothers and I will be on
+the banks of the river Sandzu,[65] and stretch out our hands and help
+you across. Farewell, all you who have come to see us die; and now
+please cut off my head at once."
+
+[Footnote 65: The Buddhist Styx, which separates paradise from hell,
+across which the dead are ferried by an old woman, for whom a small
+piece of money is buried with them.]
+
+With this he stretched out his neck, murmuring a last prayer; and not
+only Sogoro and his wife, but even the executioner and the spectators
+could not repress their tears; but the headsman, unnerved as he was,
+and touched to the very heart, was forced, on account of his office,
+to cut off the child's head, and a piteous wail arose from the parents
+and the spectators.
+
+Then the younger child Sohei said to the headsman, "Sir, I have a sore
+on my right shoulder: please, cut my head off from the left shoulder,
+lest you should hurt me. Alas! I know not how to die, nor what I
+should do."
+
+When the headsman and the officers present heard the child's artless
+speech, they wept again for very pity; but there was no help for it,
+and the head fell off more swiftly than water is drunk up by sand.
+Then little Kihachi, the third son, who, on account of his tender
+years, should have been spared, was butchered as he was in his
+simplicity eating the sweetmeats which had been thrown to him by the
+spectators.
+
+When the execution of the children was over, the priests of Tokoji
+took their corpses, and, having placed them in their coffins, carried
+them away, amidst the lamentations of the bystanders, and buried them
+with great solemnity.
+
+Then Shigayemon, one of the servants of Danzayemon, the chief of the
+Etas, who had been engaged for the purpose, was just about to thrust
+his spear, when O Man, Sogoro's wife, raising her voice, said--
+
+"Remember, my husband, that from the first you had made up your mind
+to this fate. What though our bodies be disgracefully exposed on these
+crosses?--we have the promises of the gods before us; therefore, mourn
+not. Let us fix our minds upon death: we are drawing near to paradise,
+and shall soon be with the saints. Be calm, my husband. Let us
+cheerfully lay down our single lives for the good of many. Man lives
+but for one generation; his name, for many. A good name is more to be
+prized than life."
+
+So she spoke; and Sogoro on the cross, laughing gaily, answered--
+
+"Well said, wife! What though we are punished for the many? Our
+petition was successful, and there is nothing left to wish for. Now I
+am happy, for I have attained my heart's desire. The changes and
+chances of life are manifold. But if I had five hundred lives, and
+could five hundred times assume this shape of mine, I would die five
+hundred times to avenge this iniquity. For myself I care not; but that
+my wife and children should be punished also is too much. Pitiless and
+cruel! Let my lord fence himself in with iron walls, yet shall my
+spirit burst through them and crush his bones, as a return for this
+deed."
+
+And as he spoke, his eyes became vermilion red, and flashed like the
+sun or the moon, and he looked like the demon Razetsu.[66]
+
+[Footnote 66: A Buddhist fiend.]
+
+"Come," shouted he, "make haste and pierce me with the spear."
+
+"Your wishes shall be obeyed," said the Eta, Shigayemon, and thrust in
+a spear at his right side until it came out at his left shoulder, and
+the blood streamed out like a fountain. Then he pierced the wife from
+the left side; and she, opening her eyes, said in a dying voice--
+
+"Farewell, all you who are present. May harm keep far from you.
+Farewell! farewell!" and as her voice waxed faint, the second spear
+was thrust in from her right side, and she breathed out her spirit.
+Sogoro, the colour of his face not even changing, showed no sign of
+fear, but opening his eyes wide, said--
+
+"Listen, my masters! all you who have come to see this sight.
+Recollect that I shall pay my thanks to my lord Kotsuke no Suke for
+this day's work. You shall see it for yourselves, so that it shall be
+talked of for generations to come. As a sign, when I am dead, my head
+shall turn and face towards the castle. When you see this, doubt not
+that my words shall come true."
+
+When he had spoken thus, the officer directing the execution gave a
+sign to the Eta, Shigayemon, and ordered him to finish the execution,
+so that Sogoro should speak no more. So Shigayemon pierced him twelve
+or thirteen times, until he died. And when he was dead, his head
+turned and faced the castle. When the two councillors beheld this
+miracle, they came down from their raised platform, and knelt down
+before Sogoro's dead body and said--
+
+"Although you were but a peasant on this estate, you conceived a noble
+plan to succour the other farmers in their distress. You bruised your
+bones, and crushed your heart, for their sakes. Still, in that you
+appealed to the Shogun in person, you committed a grievous crime, and
+made light of your superiors; and for this it was impossible not to
+punish you. Still we admit that to include your wife and children in
+your crime, and kill them before your eyes, was a cruel deed. What is
+done, is done, and regret is of no avail. However, honours shall be
+paid to your spirit: you shall be canonized as the Saint Daimiyo, and
+you shall be placed among the tutelar deities of my lord's family."
+
+With these words the two councillors made repeated reverences before
+the corpse; and in this they showed their faithfulness to their lord.
+But he, when the matter was reported to him, only laughed scornfully
+at the idea that the hatred of a peasant could affect his feudal lord;
+and said that a vassal who had dared to hatch a plot which, had it not
+been for his high office, would have been sufficient to ruin him, had
+only met with his deserts. As for causing him to be canonized, let him
+be as he was. Seeing their lord's anger, his councillors could only
+obey. But it was not long before he had cause to know that, though
+Sogoro was dead, his vengeance was yet alive.
+
+The relations of Sogoro and the elders of the villages having been
+summoned to the Court-house, the following document was issued:--
+
+"Although the property of Sogoro, the elder of the village of
+Iwahashi, is confiscated, his household furniture shall be made over
+to his two married daughters; and the village officials will look to
+it that these few poor things be not stolen by lawless and
+unprincipled men.
+
+"His rice-fields and corn-fields, his mountain land and forest land,
+will be sold by auction. His house and grounds will be given over to
+the elder of the village. The price fetched by his property will be
+paid over to the lord of the estate.
+
+"The above decree will be published, in full, to the peasants of the
+village; and it is strictly forbidden to find fault with this
+decision.
+
+"The 12th day of the 2d month, of the 2d year of the period Shoho."
+
+The peasants, having heard this degree with all humility, left the
+Court-house. Then the following punishments were awarded to the
+officers of the castle, who, by rejecting the petition of the peasants
+in the first instance, had brought trouble upon their lord:--
+
+"Dismissed from their office, the resident councillors at Yedo and at
+the castle-town.
+
+"Banished from the province, four district governors, and three
+bailiffs, and nineteen petty officers.
+
+"Dismissed from office, three metsukes, or censors, and seven
+magistrates.
+
+"Condemned to _hara-kiri_, one district governor and one Yedo bailiff.
+
+"The severity of this sentence is owing to the injustice of the
+officials in raising new and unprecedented taxes, and bringing
+affliction upon the people, and in refusing to receive the petitions
+of the peasants, without consulting their lord, thus driving them to
+appeal to the Shogun in person. In their avarice they looked not to
+the future, but laid too heavy a burden on the peasants, so that they
+made an appeal to a higher power, endangering the honour of their
+lord's house. For this bad government the various officials are to be
+punished as above."
+
+In this wise was justice carried out at the palace at Yedo and at the
+Court-house at home. But in the history of the world, from the dark
+ages down to the present time, there are few instances of one man
+laying down his life for the many, as Sogoro did: noble and peasant
+praise him alike.
+
+As month after month passed away, towards the fourth year of the
+period Shoho, the wife of my lord Kotsuke no Suke, being with child,
+was seized with violent pains; and retainers were sent to all the
+different temples and shrines to pray by proxy, but all to no purpose:
+she continued to suffer as before. Towards the end of the seventh
+month of the year, there appeared, every night, a preternatural light
+above the lady's chamber; this was accompanied by hideous sounds as of
+many people laughing fiendishly, and sometimes by piteous wailings, as
+though myriads of persons were lamenting. The profound distress caused
+by this added to her sufferings; so her own privy councillor, an old
+man, took his place in the adjoining chamber, and kept watch. All of a
+sudden, he heard a noise as if a number of people were walking on the
+boards of the roof of my lady's room; then there was a sound of men
+and women weeping; and when, thunderstruck, the councillor was
+wondering what it could all be, there came a wild burst of laughter,
+and all was silent. Early the following morning, the old women who had
+charge of my lady's household presented themselves before my lord
+Kotsuke no Suke, and said--
+
+"Since the middle of last month, the waiting-women have been
+complaining to us of the ghostly noises by which my lady is nightly
+disturbed, and they say that they cannot continue to serve her. We
+have tried to soothe them, by saying that the devils should be
+exorcised at once, and that there was nothing to be afraid of. Still
+we feel that their fears are not without reason, and that they really
+cannot do their work; so we beg that your lordship will take the
+matter into your consideration."
+
+"This is a passing strange story of yours; however, I will go myself
+to-night to my lady's apartments and keep watch. You can come with
+me."
+
+Accordingly, that night my lord Kotsuke no Suke sat up in person. At
+the hour of the rat (midnight) a fearful noise of voices was heard,
+and Sogoro and his wife, bound to the fatal crosses, suddenly
+appeared; and the ghosts, seizing the lady by the hand, said--
+
+"We have come to meet you. The pains you are suffering are terrible,
+but they are nothing in comparison with those of the hell to which we
+are about to lead you."
+
+At these words, Kotsuke no Suke, seizing his sword, tried to sweep the
+ghosts away with a terrific cut; but a loud peal of laughter was
+heard, and the visions faded away. Kotsuke no Suke, terrified, sent
+his retainers to the temples and shrines to pray that the demons
+might be cast out; but the noises were heard nightly, as before. When
+the eleventh month of the year came round, the apparitions of human
+forms in my lady's apartments became more and more frequent and
+terrible, all the spirits railing at her, and howling out that they
+had come to fetch her. The women would all scream and faint; and then
+the ghosts would disappear amid yells of laughter. Night after night
+this happened, and even in the daytime the visions would manifest
+themselves; and my lady's sickness grew worse daily, until in the last
+month of the year she died, of grief and terror. Then the ghost of
+Sogoro and his wife crucified would appear day and night in the
+chamber of Kotsuke no Suke, floating round the room, and glaring at
+him with red and flaming eyes. The hair of the attendants would stand
+on end with terror; and if they tried to cut at the spirits, their
+limbs would be cramped, and their feet and hands would not obey their
+bidding. Kotsuke no Suke would draw the sword that lay by his bedside;
+but, as often as he did so, the ghosts faded away, only to appear
+again in a more hideous shape than before, until at last, having
+exhausted his strength and spirits, even he became terror-stricken.
+The whole household was thrown into confusion, and day after day
+mystic rites and incantations were performed by the priests over
+braziers of charcoal, while prayers were recited without ceasing; but
+the visions only became more frequent, and there was no sign of their
+ceasing. After the 5th year of Shoho, the style of the years was
+changed to Keian; and during the 1st year of Keian the spirits
+continued to haunt the palace; and now they appeared in the chamber of
+Kotsuke no Suke's eldest son, surrounding themselves with even more
+terrors than before; and when Kotsuke no Suke was about to go to the
+Shogun's castle, they were seen howling out their cries of vengeance
+in the porch of the house. At last the relations of the family and the
+members of the household took counsel together, and told Kotsuke no
+Suke that without doubt no ordinary means would suffice to lay the
+ghosts; a shrine must be erected to Sogoro, and divine honours paid to
+him, after which the apparitions would assuredly cease. Kotsuke no
+Suke having carefully considered the matter and given his consent,
+Sogoro was canonized under the name of Sogo Daimiyo, and a shrine was
+erected in his honour. After divine honours had been paid to him, the
+awful visions were no more seen, and the ghost of Sogoro was laid for
+ever.
+
+In the 2d year of the period Keian, on the 11th day of the 10th month,
+on the occasion of the festival of first lighting the fire on the
+hearth, the various Daimios and Hatamotos of distinction went to the
+castle of the Shogun, at Yedo, to offer their congratulations on this
+occasion. During the ceremonies, my lord Hotta Kotsuke no Suke and
+Sakai Iwami no Kami, lord of the castle of Matsumoto, in the province
+of Shinshiu, had a quarrel, the origin of which was not made public;
+and Sakai Iwami no Kami, although he came of a brave and noble
+family, received so severe a wound that he died on the following day,
+at the age of forty-three; and in consequence of this, his family was
+ruined and disgraced.[67] My lord Kotsuke no Suke, by great good
+fortune, contrived to escape from the castle, and took refuge in his
+own house, whence, mounting a famous horse called Hira-Abumi,[68] he
+fled to his castle of Sakura, in Shimosa, accomplishing the distance,
+which is about sixty miles, in six hours. When he arrived in front of
+the castle, he called out in a loud voice to the guard within to open
+the gate, answering, in reply to their challenge, that he was Kotsuke
+no Suke, the lord of the castle. The guard, not believing their ears,
+sent word to the councillor in charge of the castle, who rushed out to
+see if the person demanding admittance were really their lord. When he
+saw Kotsuke no Suke, he caused the gates to be opened, and, thinking
+it more than strange, said--
+
+"Is this indeed you, my lord? What strange chance brings your lordship
+hither thus late at night, on horseback and alone, without a single
+follower?"
+
+[Footnote 67: In the old days, if a noble was murdered, and died
+outside his own house, he was disgraced, and his estates were
+forfeited. When the Regent of the Shogun was murdered, some years
+since, outside the castle of Yedo, by a legal fiction it was given out
+that he had died in his own palace, in order that his son might
+succeed to his estates.]
+
+[Footnote 68: Level stirrups.]
+
+With these words he ushered in Kotsuke no Suke, who, in reply to the
+anxious inquiries of his people as to the cause of his sudden
+appearance, said--
+
+"You may well be astonished. I had a quarrel to-day in the castle at
+Yedo, with Sakai Iwami no Kami, the lord of the castle of Matsumoto,
+and I cut him down. I shall soon be pursued; so we must strengthen the
+fortress, and prepare for an attack."
+
+The household, hearing this, were greatly alarmed, and the whole
+castle was thrown into confusion. In the meanwhile the people of
+Kotsuke no Suke's palace at Yedo, not knowing whether their lord had
+fled, were in the greatest anxiety, until a messenger came from
+Sakura, and reported his arrival there.
+
+When the quarrel inside the castle of Yedo and Kotsuke no Suke's
+flight had been taken cognizance of, he was attainted of treason, and
+soldiers were sent to seize him, dead or alive. Midzuno Setsu no Kami
+and Goto Yamato no Kami were charged with the execution of the order,
+and sallied forth, on the 13th day of the 10th month, to carry it out.
+When they arrived at the town of Sasai, they sent a herald with the
+following message--
+
+"Whereas Kotsuke no Suke killed Sakai Iwami no Kami inside the castle
+of Yedo, and has fled to his own castle without leave, he is attainted
+of treason; and we, being connected with him by ties of blood and of
+friendship, have been charged to seize him."
+
+The herald delivered this message to the councillor of Kotsuke no
+Suke, who, pleading as an excuse that his lord was mad, begged the two
+nobles to intercede for him. Goto Yamato no Kami upon this called the
+councillor to him, and spoke privately to him, after which the latter
+took his leave and returned to the castle of Sakura.
+
+In the meanwhile, after consultation at Yedo, it was decided that, as
+Goto Yamato no Kami and Midzuno Setsu no Kami were related to Kotsuke
+no Suke, and might meet with difficulties for that very reason, two
+other nobles, Ogasawara Iki no Kami and Nagai Hida no Kami, should be
+sent to assist them, with orders that should any trouble arise they
+should send a report immediately to Yedo. In consequence of this
+order, the two nobles, with five thousand men, were about to march for
+Sakura, on the 15th of the month, when a messenger arrived from that
+place bearing the following despatch for the Gorojiu, from the two
+nobles who had preceded them--
+
+   "In obedience to the orders of His Highness the Shogun, we
+   proceeded, on the 13th day of this month, to the castle of
+   Sakura, and conducted a thorough investigation of the affair.
+   It is true that Kotsuke no Suke has been guilty of treason, but
+   he is out of his mind; his retainers have called in physicians,
+   and he is undergoing treatment by which his senses are being
+   gradually restored, and his mind is being awakened from its
+   sleep. At the time when he slew Sakai Iwami no Kami he was not
+   accountable for his actions, and will be sincerely penitent
+   when he is aware of his crime. We have taken him prisoner, and
+   have the honour to await your instructions; in the meanwhile,
+   we beg by these present to let you know what we have done.
+
+                            "(Signed)    GOTO YAMATO NO KAMI.
+                                         MIDZUNO SETSU NO KAMI.
+   _To the Gorojiu, 2d year of Keian, 2d month, 14th day_."
+
+This despatch reached Yedo on the 16th of the month, and was read by
+the Gorojiu after they had left the castle; and in consequence of the
+report of Kotsuke no Suke's madness, the second expedition was put a
+stop to, and the following instructions were sent to Goto Yamato no
+Kami and Midzuno Setsu no Kami--
+
+   "With reference to the affair of Hotta Kotsuke no Suke, lord of
+   the castle of Sakura, in Shimosa, whose quarrel with Sakai
+   Iwami no Kami within the castle of Yedo ended in bloodshed. For
+   this heinous crime and disregard of the sanctity of the castle,
+   it is ordered that Kotsuke no Suke be brought as a prisoner to
+   Yedo, in a litter covered with nets, that his case may be
+   judged.
+
+   "2d year of Keian, 2d month.
+               (_Signed by the Gorojiu_)    INABA MINO NO KAMI.
+                                            INOUYE KAWACHI NOKAMI.
+                                            KATO ECCHIU NO KAMI."
+
+Upon the receipt of this despatch, Hotta Kotsuke no Suke was
+immediately placed in a litter covered with a net of green silk, and
+conveyed to Yedo, strictly guarded by the retainers of the two
+nobles; and, having arrived at the capital, was handed over to the
+charge of Akimoto Tajima no Kami. All his retainers were quietly
+dispersed; and his empty castle was ordered to be thrown open, and
+given in charge to Midzuno Iki no Kami.
+
+At last Kotsuke no Suke began to feel that the death of his wife and
+his own present misfortunes were a just retribution for the death of
+Sogoro and his wife and children, and he was as one awakened from a
+dream. Then night and morning, in his repentance, he offered up
+prayers to the sainted spirit of the dead farmer, and acknowledged and
+bewailed his crime, vowing that, if his family were spared from ruin
+and re-established, intercession should be made at the court of the
+Mikado,[69] at Kiyoto, on behalf of the spirit of Sogoro, so that,
+being worshipped with even greater honours than before, his name
+should be handed down to all generations.
+
+[Footnote 69: In the days of Shogun's power, the Mikado remained the
+Fountain of Honour, and, as chief of the national religion and the
+direct descendant of the gods, dispensed divine honours.]
+
+In consequence of this it happened that the spirit of Sogoro having
+relaxed in its vindictiveness, and having ceased to persecute the
+house of Hotta, in the 1st month of the 4th year of Keian, Kotsuke no
+Suke received a summons from the Shogun, and, having been forgiven,
+was made lord of the castle of Matsuyama, in the province of Dewa,
+with a revenue of twenty thousand kokus. In the same year, on the 20th
+day of the 4th month, the Shogun, Prince Iyemitsu, was pleased to
+depart this life, at the age of forty-eight; and whether by the
+forgiving spirit of the prince, or by the divine interposition of the
+sainted Sogoro, Kotsuke no Suke was promoted to the castle of Utsu no
+Miya, in the province of Shimotsuke, with a revenue of eighty thousand
+kokus; and his name was changed to Hotta Hida no Kami. He also
+received again his original castle of Sakura, with a revenue of twenty
+thousand kokus: so that there can be no doubt that the saint was
+befriending him. In return for these favours, the shrine of Sogoro was
+made as beautiful as a gem. It is needless to say how many of the
+peasants of the estate flocked to the shrine: any good luck that might
+befall the people was ascribed to it, and night and day the devout
+worshipped at it.
+
+Here follows a copy of the petition which Sogoro presented to the
+Shogun--
+
+"We, the elders of the hundred and thirty-six villages of the district
+of Chiba, in the province of Shimosa, and of the district of Buji, in
+the province of Kadzusa, most reverently offer up this our humble
+petition.
+
+"When our former lord, Doi Shosho, was transferred to another castle,
+in the 9th year of the period Kanye, Hotta Kaga no Kami became lord of
+the castle of Sakura; and in the 17th year of the same period, my lord
+Kotsuke no Suke succeeded him. Since that time the taxes laid upon us
+have been raised in the proportion of one to and two sho to each
+koku.[70]
+
+[Footnote 70: 10 Sho = 1 To. 10 To = 1 Koku.]
+
+"_Item_.--At the present time, taxes are raised on nineteen of our
+articles of produce; whereas our former lord only required that we
+should furnish him with pulse and sesamum, for which he paid in rice.
+
+"_Item_.--Not only are we not paid now for our produce, but, if it is
+not given in to the day, we are driven and goaded by the officials;
+and if there be any further delay, we are manacled and severely
+reprimanded; so that if our own crops fail, we have to buy produce
+from other districts, and are pushed to the utmost extremity of
+affliction.
+
+"_Item_.--We have over and over again prayed to be relieved from these
+burthens, but our petitions are not received. The people are reduced
+to poverty, so that it is hard for them to live under such grievous
+taxation. Often they have tried to sell the land which they till, but
+none can be found to buy; so they have sometimes given over their land
+to the village authorities, and fled with their wives to other
+provinces, and seven hundred and thirty men or more have been reduced
+to begging, one hundred and eighty-five houses have fallen into ruins;
+land producing seven thousand kokus has been given up, and remains
+untilled, and eleven temples have fallen into decay in consequence of
+the ruin of those upon whom they depended.
+
+"Besides this, the poverty-stricken farmers and women, having been
+obliged to take refuge in other provinces, and having no
+abiding-place, have been driven to evil courses and bring men to speak
+ill of their lord; and the village officials, being unable to keep
+order, are blamed and reproved. No attention has been paid to our
+repeated representations upon this point; so we were driven to
+petition the Gorojiu Kuze Yamato no Kami as he was on his way to the
+castle, but our petition was returned to us. And now, as a last
+resource, we tremblingly venture to approach his Highness the Shogun
+in person.
+
+"The 1st year of the period Shoho, 12th month, 20th day.
+
+[Illustration: Seal] "The seals of the elders of the 136 villages."
+
+The Shogun at that time was Prince Iyemitsu, the grandson of Iyeyasu.
+He received the name of Dai-yu-In after his death.
+
+The Gorojiu at that time were Hotta Kotsuke no Suke, Sakai Iwami no
+Kami, Inaba Mino no Kami, Kato Ecchiu no Kami, Inouye Kawachi no Kami.
+
+The Wakadoshiyori (or 2d council) were Torii Wakasa no Kami, Tsuchiya
+Dewa no Kami, and Itakura Naizen no Sho.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The belief in ghosts appears to be as universal as that in the
+immortality of the soul, upon which it depends. Both in China and
+Japan the departed spirit is invested with the power of revisiting the
+earth, and, in a visible form, tormenting its enemies and haunting
+those places where the perishable part of it mourned and suffered.
+Haunted houses are slow to find tenants, for ghosts almost always come
+with revengeful intent; indeed, the owners of such houses will almost
+pay men to live in them, such is the dread which they inspire, and the
+anxiety to blot out the stigma.
+
+One cold winter's night at Yedo, as I was sitting, with a few Japanese
+friends, huddled round the imperfect heat of a brazier of charcoal,
+the conversation turned upon the story of Sogoro and upon ghostly
+apparitions in general. Many a weird tale was told that evening, and I
+noted down the three or four which follow, for the truth of which the
+narrators vouched with the utmost confidence.
+
+About ten years ago there lived a fishmonger, named Zenroku, in the
+Mikawa-street, at Kanda, in Yedo. He was a poor man, living with his
+wife and one little boy. His wife fell sick and died, so he engaged an
+old woman to look after his boy while he himself went out to sell his
+fish. It happened, one day, that he and the other hucksters of his
+guild were gambling; and this coming to the ears of the authorities,
+they were all thrown into prison. Although their offence was in itself
+a light one, still they were kept for some time in durance while the
+matter was being investigated; and Zenroku, owing to the damp and foul
+air of the prison, fell sick with fever. His little child, in the
+meantime, had been handed over by the authorities to the charge of the
+petty officers of the ward to which his father belonged, and was being
+well cared for; for Zenroku was known to be an honest fellow, and his
+fate excited much compassion. One night Zenroku, pale and emaciated,
+entered the house in which his boy was living; and all the people
+joyfully congratulated him on his escape from jail. "Why, we heard
+that you were sick in prison. This is, indeed, a joyful return." Then
+Zenroku thanked those who had taken care of the child, saying that he
+had returned secretly by the favour of his jailers that night; but
+that on the following day his offence would be remitted, and he should
+be able to take possession of his house again publicly. For that
+night, he must return to the prison. With this he begged those present
+to continue their good offices to his babe; and, with a sad and
+reluctant expression of countenance, he left the house. On the
+following day, the officers of that ward were sent for by the prison
+authorities. They thought that they were summoned that Zenroku might
+be handed back to them a free man, as he himself had said to them; but
+to their surprise, they were told that he had died the night before in
+prison, and were ordered to carry away his dead body for burial. Then
+they knew that they had seen Zenroku's ghost; and that when he said
+that he should be returned to them on the morrow, he had alluded to
+his corpse. So they buried him decently, and brought up his son, who
+is alive to this day.
+
+The next story was told by a professor in the college at Yedo, and,
+although it is not of so modern a date as the last, he stated it to be
+well authenticated, and one of general notoriety.
+
+About two hundred years ago there was a chief of the police, named
+Aoyama Shuzen, who lived in the street called Bancho, at Yedo. His
+duty was to detect thieves and incendiaries. He was a cruel and
+violent man, without heart or compassion, and thought nothing of
+killing or torturing a man to gratify spite or revenge. This man
+Shuzen had in his house a servant-maid, called O Kiku (the
+Chrysanthemum), who had lived in the family since her childhood, and
+was well acquainted with her master's temper. One day O Kiku
+accidentally broke one of a set of ten porcelain plates, upon which he
+set a high value. She knew that she would suffer for her carelessness;
+but she thought that if she concealed the matter her punishment would
+be still more severe; so she went at once to her master's wife, and,
+in fear and trembling, confessed what she had done. When Shuzen came
+home, and heard that one of his favourite plates was broken, he flew
+into a violent rage, and took the girl to a cupboard, where he left
+her bound with cords, and every day cut off one of her fingers. O
+Kiku, tightly bound and in agony, could not move; but at last she
+contrived to bite or cut the ropes asunder, and, escaping into the
+garden, threw herself into a well, and was drowned. From that time
+forth, every night a voice was heard coming from the well, counting
+one, two, three, and so on up to nine--the number of the plates that
+remained unbroken--and then, when the tenth plate should have been
+counted, would come a burst of lamentation. The servants of the house,
+terrified at this, all left their master's service, until Shuzen, not
+having a single retainer left, was unable to perform his public
+duties; and when the officers of the government heard of this, he was
+dismissed from his office. At this time there was a famous priest,
+called Mikadzuki Shonin, of the temple Denzuin, who, having been told
+of the affair, came one night to the house, and, when the ghost began
+to count the plates, reproved the spirit, and by his prayers and
+admonitions caused it to cease from troubling the living.
+
+The laying of disturbed spirits appears to form one of the regular
+functions of the Buddhist priests; at least, we find them playing a
+conspicuous part in almost every ghost-story.
+
+About thirty years ago there stood a house at Mitsume, in the Honjo of
+Yedo, which was said to be nightly visited by ghosts, so that no man
+dared to live in it, and it remained untenanted on that account.
+However, a man called Miura Takeshi, a native of the province of
+Oshiu, who came to Yedo to set up in business as a fencing-master, but
+was too poor to hire a house, hearing that there was a haunted house,
+for which no tenant could be found, and that the owner would let any
+man live in it rent free, said that he feared neither man nor devil,
+and obtained leave to occupy the house. So he hired a fencing-room, in
+which he gave his lessons by day, and after midnight returned to the
+haunted house. One night, his wife, who took charge of the house in
+his absence, was frightened by a fearful noise proceeding from a pond
+in the garden, and, thinking that this certainly must be the ghost
+that she had heard so much about, she covered her head with the
+bed-clothes and remained breathless with terror. When her husband came
+home, she told him what had happened; and on the following night he
+returned earlier than usual, and waited for the ghostly noise. At the
+same time as before, a little after midnight, the same sound was
+heard--as though a gun had been fired inside the pond. Opening the
+shutters, he looked out, and saw something like a black cloud floating
+on the water, and in the cloud was the form of a bald man. Thinking
+that there must be some cause for this, he instituted careful
+inquiries, and learned that the former tenant, some ten years
+previously, had borrowed money from a blind shampooer,[71] and, being
+unable to pay the debt, had murdered his creditor, who began to press
+him for his money, and had thrown his head into the pond. The
+fencing-master accordingly collected his pupils and emptied the pond,
+and found a skull at the bottom of it; so he called in a priest, and
+buried the skull in a temple, causing prayers to be offered up for the
+repose of the murdered man's soul. Thus the ghost was laid, and
+appeared no more.
+
+[Footnote 71: The apparently poor shaven-pated and blind shampooers of
+Japan drive a thriving trade as money-lenders. They give out small
+sums at an interest of 20 per cent. per month--210 per cent. per
+annum--and woe betide the luckless wight who falls into their
+clutches.]
+
+The belief in curses hanging over families for generations is as
+common as that in ghosts and supernatural apparitions. There is a
+strange story of this nature in the house of Asai, belonging to the
+Hatamoto class. The ancestor of the present representative, six
+generations ago, had a certain concubine, who was in love with a man
+who frequented the house, and wished in her heart to marry him; but,
+being a virtuous woman, she never thought of doing any evil deed. But
+the wife of my lord Asai was jealous of the girl, and persuaded her
+husband that her rival in his affections had gone astray; when he
+heard this he was very angry, and beat her with a candlestick so that
+he put out her left eye. The girl, who had indignantly protested her
+innocence, finding herself so cruelly handled, pronounced a curse
+against the house; upon which, her master, seizing the candlestick
+again, dashed out her brains and killed her. Shortly afterwards my
+lord Asai lost his left eye, and fell sick and died; and from that
+time forth to this day, it is said that the representatives of the
+house have all lost their left eyes after the age of forty, and
+shortly afterwards they have fallen sick and died at the same age as
+the cruel lord who killed his concubine.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+
+Of the many fair scenes of Yedo, none is better worth visiting than
+the temple of Zojoji, one of the two great burial-places of the
+Shoguns; indeed, if you wish to see the most beautiful spots of any
+Oriental city, ask for the cemeteries: the homes of the dead are ever
+the loveliest places. Standing in a park of glorious firs and pines
+beautifully kept, which contains quite a little town of neat,
+clean-looking houses, together with thirty-four temples for the use of
+the priests and attendants of the shrines, the main temple, with its
+huge red pillars supporting a heavy Chinese roof of grey tiles, is
+approached through a colossal open hall which leads into a stone
+courtyard. At one end of this courtyard is a broad flight of
+steps--the three or four lower ones of stone, and the upper ones of
+red wood. At these the visitor is warned by a notice to take off his
+boots, a request which Englishmen, with characteristic disregard of
+the feelings of others, usually neglect to comply with. The main hall
+of the temple is of large proportions, and the high altar is decorated
+with fine bronze candelabra, incense-burners, and other ornaments, and
+on two days of the year a very curious collection of pictures
+representing the five hundred gods, whose images are known to all
+persons who have visited Canton, is hung along the walls. The big bell
+outside the main hall is rather remarkable on account of the great
+beauty of the deep bass waves of sound which it rolls through the city
+than on account of its size, which is as nothing when compared with
+that of the big bells of Moscow and Peking; still it is not to be
+despised even in that respect, for it is ten feet high and five feet
+eight inches in diameter, while its metal is a foot thick: it was hung
+up in the year 1673. But the chief objects of interest in these
+beautiful grounds are the chapels attached to the tombs of the
+Shoguns.
+
+It is said that as Prince Iyeyasu was riding into Yedo to take
+possession of his new castle, the Abbot of Zojoji, an ancient temple
+which then stood at Hibiya, near the castle, went forth and waited
+before the gate to do homage to the Prince. Iyeyasu, seeing that the
+Abbot was no ordinary man, stopped and asked his name, and entered the
+temple to rest himself. The smooth-spoken monk soon found such favour
+with Iyeyasu, that he chose Zojoji to be his family temple; and seeing
+that its grounds were narrow and inconveniently near the castle, he
+caused it to be removed to its present site. In the year 1610 the
+temple was raised, by the intercession of Iyeyasu, to the dignity of
+the Imperial Temples, which, until the last revolution, were presided
+over by princes of the blood; and to the Abbot was granted the right,
+on going to the castle, of sitting in his litter as far as the
+entrance-hall, instead of dismounting at the usual place and
+proceeding on foot through several gates and courtyards. Nor were the
+privileges of the temple confined to barren honours, for it was
+endowed with lands of the value of five thousand kokus of rice yearly.
+
+When Iyeyasu died, the shrine called Antoku In was erected in his
+honour to the south of the main temple. Here, on the seventeenth day
+of the fourth month, the anniversary of his death, ceremonies are held
+in honour of his spirit, deified as Gongen Sama, and the place is
+thrown open to all who may wish to come and pray. But Iyeyasu is not
+buried here; his remains lie in a gorgeous shrine among the mountains
+some eighty miles north of Yedo, at Nikko, a place so beautiful that
+the Japanese have a rhyming proverb which says, that he who has not
+seen Nikko should never pronounce the word Kekko (charming, delicious,
+grand, beautiful).
+
+Hidetada, the son and successor of Iyeyasu, together with Iyenobu,
+Iyetsugu, Iyeshige, Iyeyoshi, and Iyemochi, the sixth, seventh, ninth,
+twelfth, and fourteenth Shoguns of the Tokugawa dynasty, are buried in
+three shrines attached to the temple; the remainder, with the
+exception of Iyemitsu, the third Shogun, who lies with his grandfather
+at Nikko, are buried at Uyeno.
+
+The shrines are of exceeding beauty, lying on one side of a splendid
+avenue of Scotch firs, which border a broad, well-kept gravel walk.
+Passing through a small gateway of rare design, we come into a large
+stone courtyard, lined with a long array of colossal stone lanterns,
+the gift of the vassals of the departed Prince. A second gateway,
+supported by gilt pillars carved all round with figures of dragons,
+leads into another court, in which are a bell tower, a great cistern
+cut out of a single block of stone like a sarcophagus, and a smaller
+number of lanterns of bronze; these are given by the Go San Ke, the
+three princely families in which the succession to the office of
+Shogun was vested. Inside this is a third court, partly covered like a
+cloister, the approach to which is a doorway of even greater beauty
+and richness than the last; the ceiling is gilt, and painted with
+arabesques and with heavenly angels playing on musical instruments,
+and the panels of the walls are sculptured in high relief with
+admirable representations of birds and flowers, life-size, life-like,
+all being coloured to imitate nature. Inside this enclosure stands a
+shrine, before the closed door of which a priest on one side, and a
+retainer of the house of Tokugawa on the other, sit mounting guard,
+mute and immovable as though they themselves were part of the carved
+ornaments. Passing on one side of the shrine, we come to another
+court, plainer than the last, and at the back of the little temple
+inside it is a flight of stone steps, at the top of which, protected
+by a bronze door, stands a simple monumental urn of bronze on a stone
+pedestal. Under this is the grave itself; and it has always struck me
+that there is no small amount of poetical feeling in this simple
+ending to so much magnificence; the sermon may have been preached by
+design, or it may have been by accident, but the lesson is there.
+
+There is little difference between the three shrines, all of which are
+decorated in the same manner. It is very difficult to do justice to
+their beauty in words. Writing many thousand miles away from them, I
+have the memory before me of a place green in winter, pleasant and
+cool in the hottest summer; of peaceful cloisters, of the fragrance of
+incense, of the subdued chant of richly robed priests, and the music
+of bells; of exquisite designs, harmonious colouring, rich gilding.
+The hum of the vast city outside is unheard here: Iyeyasu himself, in
+the mountains of Nikko, has no quieter resting-place than his
+descendants in the heart of the city over which they ruled.
+
+Besides the graves of the Shoguns, Zojoji contains other lesser
+shrines, in which are buried the wives of the second, sixth, and
+eleventh Shoguns, and the father of Iyenobu, the sixth Shogun, who
+succeeded to the office by adoption. There is also a holy place
+called the Satsuma Temple, which has a special interest; in it is a
+tablet in honour of Tadayoshi, the fifth son of Iyeyasu, whose title
+was Matsudaira Satsuma no Kami, and who died young. At his death, five
+of his retainers, with one Ogasasawara Kemmotsu at their head,
+disembowelled themselves, that they might follow their young master
+into the next world. They were buried in this place; and I believe
+that this is the last instance on record of the ancient Japanese
+custom of _Junshi_, that is to say, "dying with the master."
+
+There are, during the year, several great festivals which are
+specially celebrated at Zojoji; the chief of these are the Kaisanki,
+or founder's day, which is on the eighteenth day of the seventh month;
+the twenty-fifth day of the first month, the anniversary of the death
+of the monk Honen, the founder of the Jodo sect of Buddhism (that to
+which the temple belongs); the anniversary of the death of Buddha, on
+the fifteenth of the second month; the birthday of Buddha, on the
+eighth day of the fourth month; and from the sixth to the fifteenth of
+the tenth month.
+
+At Uyeno is the second of the burial-grounds of the Shoguns. The
+Temple To-yei-zan, which stood in the grounds of Uyeno, was built by
+Iyemitsu, the third of the Shoguns of the house of Tokugawa, in the
+year 1625, in honour of Yakushi Niorai, the Buddhist AEsculapius. It
+faces the Ki-mon, or Devil's Gate, of the castle, and was erected upon
+the model of the temple of Hi-yei-zan, one of the most famous of the
+holy places of Kiyoto. Having founded the temple, the next care of
+Iyemitsu was to pray that Morizumi, the second son of the retired
+emperor, should come and reside there; and from that time until 1868,
+the temple was always presided over by a Miya, or member of the
+Mikado's family, who was specially charged with the care of the tomb
+of Iyeyasu at Nikko, and whose position was that of an ecclesiastical
+chief or primate over the east of Japan.
+
+The temples in Yedo are not to be compared in point of beauty with
+those in and about Peking; what is marble there is wood here. Still
+they are very handsome, and in the days of its magnificence the Temple
+of Uyeno was one of the finest. Alas! the main temple, the hall in
+honour of the sect to which it belongs, the hall of services, the
+bell-tower, the entrance-hall, and the residence of the prince of the
+blood, were all burnt down in the battle of Uyeno, in the summer of
+1868, when the Shogun's men made their last stand in Yedo against the
+troops of the Mikado. The fate of the day was decided by two
+field-pieces, which the latter contrived to mount on the roof of a
+neighbouring tea-house; and the Shogun's men, driven out of the place,
+carried off the Miya in the vain hope of raising his standard in the
+north as that of a rival Mikado. A few of the lesser temples and
+tombs, and the beautiful park-like grounds, are but the remnants of
+the former glory of Uyeno. Among these is a temple in the form of a
+roofless stage, in honour of the thousand-handed Kwannon. In the
+middle ages, during the civil wars between the houses of Gen and Hei,
+one Morihisa, a captain of the house of Hei, after the destruction of
+his clan, went and prayed for a thousand days at the temple of the
+thousand-handed Kwannon at Kiyomidzu, in Kiyoto. His retreat having
+been discovered, he was seized and brought bound to Kamakura, the
+chief town of the house of Gen. Here he was condemned to die at a
+place called Yui, by the sea-shore; but every time that the
+executioner lifted his sword to strike, the blade was broken by the
+god Kwannon, and at the same time the wife of Yoritomo, the chief of
+the house of Gen, was warned in a dream to spare Morihisa's life. So
+Morihisa was reprieved, and rose to power in the state; and all this
+was by the miraculous intervention of the god Kwannon, who takes such
+good care of his faithful votaries. To him this temple is dedicated. A
+colossal bronze Buddha, twenty-two feet high, set up some two hundred
+years ago, and a stone lantern, twenty feet high, and twelve feet
+round at the top, are greatly admired by the Japanese. There are only
+three such lanterns in the empire; the other two being at Nanzenji--a
+temple in Kiyoto, and Atsura, a shrine in the province of Owari. All
+three were erected by the piety of one man, Sakuma Daizen no Suke, in
+the year A.D. 1631.
+
+Iyemitsu, the founder of the temple, was buried with his grandfather,
+Iyeyasu, at Nikko; but both of these princes are honoured with shrines
+here. The Shoguns who are interred at Uyeno are Iyetsuna, Tsunayoshi,
+Yoshimune, Iyeharu, Iyenori, and Iyesada, the fourth, fifth, eighth,
+tenth, eleventh, and thirteenth Princes of the Line. Besides them, are
+buried five wives of the Shoguns, and the father of the eleventh
+Shogun.
+
+
+
+
+HOW TAJIMA SHUME WAS TORMENTED BY A DEVIL OF HIS OWN CREATION
+
+
+Once upon a time, a certain Ronin, Tajima Shume by name, an able and
+well-read man, being on his travels to see the world, went up to
+Kiyoto by the Tokaido.[72] One day, in the neighbourhood of Nagoya, in
+the province of Owari, he fell in with a wandering priest, with whom
+he entered into conversation. Finding that they were bound for the
+same place, they agreed to travel together, beguiling their weary way
+by pleasant talk on divers matters; and so by degrees, as they became
+more intimate, they began to speak without restraint about their
+private affairs; and the priest, trusting thoroughly in the honour of
+his companion, told him the object of his journey.
+
+[Footnote 72: The road of the Eastern Sea, the famous high-road
+leading from Kiyoto to Yedo. The name is also used to indicate the
+provinces through which it runs.]
+
+"For some time past," said he, "I have nourished a wish that has
+engrossed all my thoughts; for I am bent on setting up a molten image
+in honour of Buddha; with this object I have wandered through various
+provinces collecting alms and (who knows by what weary toil?) we have
+succeeded in amassing two hundred ounces of silver--enough, I trust,
+to erect a handsome bronze figure."
+
+What says the proverb? "He who bears a jewel in his bosom bears
+poison." Hardly had the Ronin heard these words of the priest than an
+evil heart arose within him, and he thought to himself, "Man's life,
+from the womb to the grave, is made up of good and of ill luck. Here
+am I, nearly forty years old, a wanderer, without a calling, or even a
+hope of advancement in the world. To be sure, it seems a shame; yet if
+I could steal the money this priest is boasting about, I could live at
+ease for the rest of my days;" and so he began casting about how best
+he might compass his purpose. But the priest, far from guessing the
+drift of his comrade's thoughts, journeyed cheerfully on, till they
+reached the town of Kuana. Here there is an arm of the sea, which is
+crossed in ferry-boats, that start as soon as some twenty or thirty
+passengers are gathered together; and in one of these boats the two
+travellers embarked. About half-way across, the priest was taken with
+a sudden necessity to go to the side of the boat; and the Ronin,
+following him, tripped him up whilst no one was looking, and flung him
+into the sea. When the boatmen and passengers heard the splash, and
+saw the priest struggling in the water, they were afraid, and made
+every effort to save him; but the wind was fair, and the boat running
+swiftly under the bellying sails, so they were soon a few hundred
+yards off from the drowning man, who sank before the boat could be
+turned to rescue him.
+
+When he saw this, the Ronin feigned the utmost grief and dismay, and
+said to his fellow-passengers, "This priest, whom we have just lost,
+was my cousin: he was going to Kiyoto, to visit the shrine of his
+patron; and as I happened to have business there as well, we settled
+to travel together. Now, alas! by this misfortune, my cousin is dead,
+and I am left alone."
+
+He spoke so feelingly, and wept so freely, that the passengers
+believed his story, and pitied and tried to comfort him. Then the
+Ronin said to the boatmen--
+
+"We ought, by rights, to report this matter to the authorities; but as
+I am pressed for time, and the business might bring trouble on
+yourselves as well, perhaps we had better hush it up for the present;
+and I will at once go on to Kiyoto and tell my cousin's patron,
+besides writing home about it. What think you, gentlemen?" added he,
+turning to the other travellers.
+
+They, of course, were only too glad to avoid any hindrance to their
+onward journey, and all with one voice agreed to what the Ronin had
+proposed; and so the matter was settled. When, at length, they reached
+the shore, they left the boat, and every man went his way; but the
+Ronin, overjoyed in his heart, took the wandering priest's luggage,
+and, putting it with his own, pursued his journey to Kiyoto.
+
+On reaching the capital, the Ronin changed his name from Shume to
+Tokubei, and, giving up his position as a Samurai, turned merchant,
+and traded with the dead man's money. Fortune favouring his
+speculations, he began to amass great wealth, and lived at his ease,
+denying himself nothing; and in course of time he married a wife, who
+bore him a child.
+
+Thus the days and months wore on, till one fine summer's night, some
+three years after the priest's death, Tokubei stepped out on to the
+verandah of his house to enjoy the cool air and the beauty of the
+moonlight. Feeling dull and lonely, he began musing over all kinds of
+things, when on a sudden the deed of murder and theft, done so long
+ago, vividly recurred to his memory, and he thought to himself, "Here
+am I, grown rich and fat on the money I wantonly stole. Since then,
+all has gone well with me; yet, had I not been poor, I had never
+turned assassin nor thief. Woe betide me! what a pity it was!" and as
+he was revolving the matter in his mind, a feeling of remorse came
+over him, in spite of all he could do. While his conscience thus smote
+him, he suddenly, to his utter amazement, beheld the faint outline of
+a man standing near a fir-tree in the garden: on looking more
+attentively, he perceived that the man's whole body was thin and worn
+and the eyes sunken and dim; and in the poor ghost that was before him
+he recognized the very priest whom he had thrown into the sea at
+Kuana. Chilled with horror, he looked again, and saw that the priest
+was smiling in scorn. He would have fled into the house, but the ghost
+stretched forth its withered arm, and, clutching the back of his neck,
+scowled at him with a vindictive glare, and a hideous ghastliness of
+mien, so unspeakably awful that any ordinary man would have swooned
+with fear. But Tokubei, tradesman though he was, had once been a
+soldier, and was not easily matched for daring; so he shook off the
+ghost, and, leaping into the room for his dirk, laid about him boldly
+enough; but, strike as he would, the spirit, fading into the air,
+eluded his blows, and suddenly reappeared only to vanish again: and
+from that time forth Tokubei knew no rest, and was haunted night and
+day.
+
+At length, undone by such ceaseless vexation, Tokubei fell ill, and
+kept muttering, "Oh, misery! misery!--the wandering priest is coming
+to torture me!" Hearing his moans and the disturbance he made, the
+people in the house fancied he was mad, and called in a physician, who
+prescribed for him. But neither pill nor potion could cure Tokubei,
+whose strange frenzy soon became the talk of the whole neighbourhood.
+
+Now it chanced that the story reached the ears of a certain wandering
+priest who lodged in the next street. When he heard the particulars,
+this priest gravely shook his head, as though he knew all about it,
+and sent a friend to Tokubei's house to say that a wandering priest,
+dwelling hard by, had heard of his illness, and, were it never so
+grievous, would undertake to heal it by means of his prayers; and
+Tokubei's wife, driven half wild by her husband's sickness, lost not a
+moment in sending for the priest, and taking him into the sick man's
+room.
+
+But no sooner did Tokubei see the priest than he yelled out, "Help!
+help! Here is the wandering priest come to torment me again. Forgive!
+forgive!" and hiding his head under the coverlet, he lay quivering all
+over. Then the priest turned all present out of the room, put his
+mouth to the affrighted man's ear, and whispered--
+
+"Three years ago, at the Kuana ferry, you flung me into the water; and
+well you remember it."
+
+But Tokubei was speechless, and could only quake with fear.
+
+"Happily," continued the priest, "I had learned to swim and to dive as
+a boy; so I reached the shore, and, after wandering through many
+provinces, succeeded in setting up a bronze figure to Buddha, thus
+fulfilling the wish of my heart. On my journey homewards, I took a
+lodging in the next street, and there heard of your marvellous
+ailment. Thinking I could divine its cause, I came to see you, and am
+glad to find I was not mistaken. You have done a hateful deed; but am
+I not a priest, and have I not forsaken the things of this world? and
+would it not ill become me to bear malice? Repent, therefore, and
+abandon your evil ways. To see you do so I should esteem the height of
+happiness. Be of good cheer, now, and look me in the face, and you
+will see that I am really a living man, and no vengeful goblin come
+to torment you."
+
+Seeing he had no ghost to deal with, and overwhelmed by the priest's
+kindness, Tokubei burst into tears, and answered, "Indeed, indeed, I
+don't know what to say. In a fit of madness I was tempted to kill and
+rob you. Fortune befriended me ever after; but the richer I grew, the
+more keenly I felt how wicked I had been, and the more I foresaw that
+my victim's vengeance would some day overtake me. Haunted by this
+thought, I lost my nerve, till one night I beheld your spirit, and
+from that time forth fell ill. But how you managed to escape, and are
+still alive, is more than I can understand."
+
+"A guilty man," said the priest, with a smile, "shudders at the
+rustling of the wind or the chattering of a stork's beak: a murderer's
+conscience preys upon his mind till he sees what is not. Poverty
+drives a man to crimes which he repents of in his wealth. How true is
+the doctrine of Moshi,[73] that the heart of man, pure by nature, is
+corrupted by circumstances."
+
+[Footnote 73: Mencius.]
+
+Thus he held forth; and Tokubei, who had long since repented of his
+crime, implored forgiveness, and gave him a large sum of money,
+saying, "Half of this is the amount I stole from you three years
+since; the other half I entreat you to accept as interest, or as a
+gift."
+
+The priest at first refused the money; but Tokubei insisted on his
+accepting it, and did all he could to detain him, but in vain; for the
+priest went his way, and bestowed the money on the poor and needy. As
+for Tokubei himself, he soon shook off his disorder, and thenceforward
+lived at peace with all men, revered both at home and abroad, and ever
+intent on good and charitable deeds.
+
+
+
+
+CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS
+
+
+
+
+CONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS
+
+
+Cats, foxes, and badgers are regarded with superstitious awe by the
+Japanese, who attribute to them the power of assuming the human shape
+in order to bewitch mankind. Like the fairies of our Western tales,
+however, they work for good as well as for evil ends. To do them a
+good turn is to secure powerful allies; but woe betide him who injures
+them!--he and his will assuredly suffer for it. Cats and foxes seem to
+have been looked upon as uncanny beasts all the world over; but it is
+new to me that badgers should have a place in fairy-land. The island
+of Shikoku, the southernmost of the great Japanese islands, appears to
+be the part of the country in which the badger is regarded with the
+greatest veneration. Among the many tricks which he plays upon the
+human race is one, of which I have a clever representation carved in
+ivory. Lying in wait in lonely places after dusk, the badger watches
+for benighted wayfarers: should one appear, the beast, drawing a long
+breath, distends his belly and drums delicately upon it with his
+clenched fist, producing such entrancing tones, that the traveller
+cannot resist turning aside to follow the sound, which,
+Will-o'-the-wisp-like, recedes as he advances, until it lures him on
+to his destruction. Love is, however, the most powerful engine which
+the cat, the fox, and the badger alike put forth for the ruin of man.
+No German poet ever imagined a more captivating water-nymph than the
+fair virgins by whom the knight of Japanese romance is assailed: the
+true hero recognizes and slays the beast; the weaker mortal yields and
+perishes.
+
+The Japanese story-books abound with tales about the pranks of these
+creatures, which, like ghosts, even play a part in the histories of
+ancient and noble families. I have collected a few of these, and now
+beg a hearing for a distinguished and two-tailed[74] connection of
+Puss in Boots and the Chatte Blanche.
+
+[Footnote 74: Cats are found in Japan, as in the Isle of Man, with
+stumps, where they should have tails. Sometimes this is the result of
+art, sometimes of a natural shortcoming. The cats of Yedo are of bad
+repute as mousers, their energies being relaxed by much petting at the
+hands of ladies. The Cat of Nabeshima, so says tradition, was a
+monster with two tails.]
+
+
+
+
+THE VAMPIRE CAT OF NABESHIMA
+
+
+There is a tradition in the Nabeshima[75] family that, many years ago,
+the Prince of Hizen was bewitched and cursed by a cat that had been
+kept by one of his retainers. This prince had in his house a lady of
+rare beauty, called O Toyo: amongst all his ladies she was the
+favourite, and there was none who could rival her charms and
+accomplishments. One day the Prince went out into the garden with O
+Toyo, and remained enjoying the fragrance of the flowers until sunset,
+when they returned to the palace, never noticing that they were being
+followed by a large cat. Having parted with her lord, O Toyo retired
+to her own room and went to bed. At midnight she awoke with a start,
+and became aware of a huge cat that crouched watching her; and when
+she cried out, the beast sprang on her, and, fixing its cruel teeth in
+her delicate throat, throttled her to death. What a piteous end for so
+fair a dame, the darling of her prince's heart, to die suddenly,
+bitten to death by a cat! Then the cat, having scratched out a grave
+under the verandah, buried the corpse of O Toyo, and assuming her
+form, began to bewitch the Prince.
+
+[Footnote 75: The family of the Prince of Hizen, one of the eighteen
+chief Daimios of Japan.]
+
+But my lord the Prince knew nothing of all this, and little thought
+that the beautiful creature who caressed and fondled him was an impish
+and foul beast that had slain his mistress and assumed her shape in
+order to drain out his life's blood. Day by day, as time went on, the
+Prince's strength dwindled away; the colour of his face was changed,
+and became pale and livid; and he was as a man suffering from a deadly
+sickness. Seeing this, his councillors and his wife became greatly
+alarmed; so they summoned the physicians, who prescribed various
+remedies for him; but the more medicine he took, the more serious did
+his illness appear, and no treatment was of any avail. But most of all
+did he suffer in the night-time, when his sleep would be troubled and
+disturbed by hideous dreams. In consequence of this, his councillors
+nightly appointed a hundred of his retainers to sit up and watch over
+him; but, strange to say, towards ten o'clock on the very first night
+that the watch was set, the guard were seized with a sudden and
+unaccountable drowsiness, which they could not resist, until one by
+one every man had fallen asleep. Then the false O Toyo came in and
+harassed the Prince until morning. The following night the same thing
+occurred, and the Prince was subjected to the imp's tyranny, while
+his guards slept helplessly around him. Night after night this was
+repeated, until at last three of the Prince's councillors determined
+themselves to sit up on guard, and see whether they could overcome
+this mysterious drowsiness; but they fared no better than the others,
+and by ten o'clock were fast asleep. The next day the three
+councillors held a solemn conclave, and their chief, one Isahaya
+Buzen, said--
+
+"This is a marvellous thing, that a guard of a hundred men should thus
+be overcome by sleep. Of a surety, the spell that is upon my lord and
+upon his guard must be the work of witchcraft. Now, as all our efforts
+are of no avail, let us seek out Ruiten, the chief priest of the
+temple called Miyo In, and beseech him to put up prayers for the
+recovery of my lord."
+
+[Illustration: THE CAT OF NABESHIMA.]
+
+And the other councillors approving what Isahaya Buzen had said, they
+went to the priest Ruiten and engaged him to recite litanies that the
+Prince might be restored to health.
+
+So it came to pass that Ruiten, the chief priest of Miyo In, offered
+up prayers nightly for the Prince. One night, at the ninth hour
+(midnight), when he had finished his religious exercises and was
+preparing to lie down to sleep, he fancied that he heard a noise
+outside in the garden, as if some one were washing himself at the
+well. Deeming this passing strange, he looked down from the window;
+and there in the moonlight he saw a handsome young soldier, some
+twenty-four years of age, washing himself, who, when he had finished
+cleaning himself and had put on his clothes, stood before the figure
+of Buddha and prayed fervently for the recovery of my lord the Prince.
+Ruiten looked on with admiration; and the young man, when he had made
+an end of his prayer, was going away; but the priest stopped him,
+calling out to him--
+
+"Sir, I pray you to tarry a little: I have something to say to you."
+
+"At your reverence's service. What may you please to want?"
+
+"Pray be so good as to step up here, and have a little talk."
+
+"By your reverence's leave;" and with this he went upstairs.
+
+Then Ruiten said--
+
+"Sir, I cannot conceal my admiration that you, being so young a man,
+should have so loyal a spirit. I am Ruiten, the chief priest of this
+temple, who am engaged in praying for the recovery of my lord. Pray
+what is your name?"
+
+"My name, sir, is Ito Soda, and I am serving in the infantry of
+Nabeshima. Since my lord has been sick, my one desire has been to
+assist in nursing him; but, being only a simple soldier, I am not of
+sufficient rank to come into his presence, so I have no resource but
+to pray to the gods of the country and to Buddha that my lord may
+regain his health."
+
+When Ruiten heard this, he shed tears in admiration of the fidelity of
+Ito Soda, and said--
+
+"Your purpose is, indeed, a good one; but what a strange sickness
+this is that my lord is afflicted with! Every night he suffers from
+horrible dreams; and the retainers who sit up with him are all seized
+with a mysterious sleep, so that not one can keep awake. It is very
+wonderful."
+
+"Yes," replied Soda, after a moment's reflection, "this certainly must
+be witchcraft. If I could but obtain leave to sit up one night with
+the Prince, I would fain see whether I could not resist this
+drowsiness and detect the goblin."
+
+At last the priest said, "I am in relations of friendship with Isahaya
+Buzen, the chief councillor of the Prince. I will speak to him of you
+and of your loyalty, and will intercede with him that you may attain
+your wish."
+
+"Indeed, sir, I am most thankful. I am not prompted by any vain
+thought of self-advancement, should I succeed: all I wish for is the
+recovery of my lord. I commend myself to your kind favour."
+
+"Well, then, to-morrow night I will take you with me to the
+councillor's house."
+
+"Thank you, sir, and farewell." And so they parted.
+
+On the following evening Ito Soda returned to the temple Miyo In, and
+having found Ruiten, accompanied him to the house of Isahaya Buzen:
+then the priest, leaving Soda outside, went in to converse with the
+councillor, and inquire after the Prince's health.
+
+"And pray, sir, how is my lord? Is he in any better condition since I
+have been offering up prayers for him?"
+
+"Indeed, no; his illness is very severe. We are certain that he must
+be the victim of some foul sorcery; but as there are no means of
+keeping a guard awake after ten o'clock, we cannot catch a sight of
+the goblin, so we are in the greatest trouble."
+
+"I feel deeply for you: it must be most distressing. However, I have
+something to tell you. I think that I have found a man who will detect
+the goblin; and I have brought him with me."
+
+"Indeed! who is the man?"
+
+"Well, he is one of my lord's foot-soldiers, named Ito Soda, a
+faithful fellow, and I trust that you will grant his request to be
+permitted to sit up with my lord."
+
+"Certainly, it is wonderful to find so much loyalty and zeal in a
+common soldier," replied Isahaya Buzen, after a moment's reflection;
+"still it is impossible to allow a man of such low rank to perform the
+office of watching over my lord."
+
+"It is true that he is but a common soldier," urged the priest; "but
+why not raise his rank in consideration of his fidelity, and then let
+him mount guard?"
+
+"It would be time enough to promote him after my lord's recovery. But
+come, let me see this Ito Soda, that I may know what manner of man he
+is: if he pleases me, I will consult with the other councillors, and
+perhaps we may grant his request."
+
+"I will bring him in forthwith," replied Ruiten, who thereupon went
+out to fetch the young man.
+
+When he returned, the priest presented Ito Soda to the councillor, who
+looked at him attentively, and, being pleased with his comely and
+gentle appearance, said--
+
+"So I hear that you are anxious to be permitted to mount guard in my
+lord's room at night. Well, I must consult with the other councillors,
+and we will see what can be done for you."
+
+When the young soldier heard this he was greatly elated, and took his
+leave, after warmly thanking Buiten, who had helped him to gain his
+object. The next day the councillors held a meeting, and sent for Ito
+Soda, and told him that he might keep watch with the other retainers
+that very night. So he went his way in high spirits, and at nightfall,
+having made all his preparations, took his place among the hundred
+gentlemen who were on duty in the prince's bed-room.
+
+Now the Prince slept in the centre of the room, and the hundred guards
+around him sat keeping themselves awake with entertaining conversation
+and pleasant conceits. But, as ten o'clock approached, they began to
+doze off as they sat; and in spite of all their endeavours to keep one
+another awake, by degrees they all fell asleep. Ito Soda all this
+while felt an irresistible desire to sleep creeping over him, and,
+though he tried by all sorts of ways to rouse himself, he saw that
+there was no help for it, but by resorting to an extreme measure, for
+which he had already made his preparations. Drawing out a piece of oil
+paper which he had brought with him, and spreading it over the mats,
+he sat down upon it; then he took the small knife which he carried in
+the sheath of his dirk, and stuck it into his own thigh. For awhile
+the pain of the wound kept him awake; but as the slumber by which he
+was assailed was the work of sorcery, little by little he became
+drowsy again. Then he twisted the knife round and round in his thigh,
+so that the pain becoming very violent, he was proof against the
+feeling of sleepiness, and kept a faithful watch. Now the oil paper
+which he had spread under his legs was in order to prevent the blood,
+which might spurt from his wound, from defiling the mats.
+
+So Ito Soda remained awake, but the rest of the guard slept; and as he
+watched, suddenly the sliding-doors of the Prince's room were drawn
+open, and he saw a figure coming in stealthily, and, as it drew
+nearer, the form was that of a marvellously beautiful woman some
+twenty-three years of age. Cautiously she looked around her; and when
+she saw that all the guard were asleep, she smiled an ominous smile,
+and was going up to the Prince's bedside, when she perceived that in
+one corner of the room there was a man yet awake. This seemed to
+startle her, but she went up to Soda and said--
+
+"I am not used to seeing you here. Who are you?"
+
+"My name is Ito Soda, and this is the first night that I have been on
+guard."
+
+"A troublesome office, truly! Why, here are all the rest of the guard
+asleep. How is it that you alone are awake? You are a trusty
+watchman."
+
+"There is nothing to boast about. I'm asleep myself, fast and sound."
+
+"What is that wound on your knee? It is all red with blood."
+
+"Oh! I felt very sleepy; so I stuck my knife into my thigh, and the
+pain of it has kept me awake."
+
+"What wondrous loyalty!" said the lady.
+
+"Is it not the duty of a retainer to lay down his life for his master?
+Is such a scratch as this worth thinking about?"
+
+Then the lady went up to the sleeping prince and said, "How fares it
+with my lord to-night?" But the Prince, worn out with sickness, made
+no reply. But Soda was watching her eagerly, and guessed that it was O
+Toyo, and made up his mind that if she attempted to harass the Prince
+he would kill her on the spot. The goblin, however, which in the form
+of O Toyo had been tormenting the Prince every night, and had come
+again that night for no other purpose, was defeated by the
+watchfulness of Ito Soda; for whenever she drew near to the sick man,
+thinking to put her spells upon him, she would turn and look behind
+her, and there she saw Ito Soda glaring at her; so she had no help for
+it but to go away again, and leave the Prince undisturbed.
+
+At last the day broke, and the other officers, when they awoke and
+opened their eyes, saw that Ito Soda had kept awake by stabbing
+himself in the thigh; and they were greatly ashamed, and went home
+crestfallen.
+
+That morning Ito Soda went to the house of Isahaya Buzen, and told him
+all that had occurred the previous night. The councillors were all
+loud in their praises of Ito Soda's behaviour, and ordered him to keep
+watch again that night. At the same hour, the false O Toyo came and
+looked all round the room, and all the guard were asleep, excepting
+Ito Soda, who was wide awake; and so, being again frustrated, she
+returned to her own apartments.
+
+Now as since Soda had been on guard the Prince had passed quiet
+nights, his sickness began to get better, and there was great joy in
+the palace, and Soda was promoted and rewarded with an estate. In the
+meanwhile O Toyo, seeing that her nightly visits bore no fruits, kept
+away; and from that time forth the night-guard were no longer subject
+to fits of drowsiness. This coincidence struck Soda as very strange,
+so he went to Isahaya Buzen and told him that of a certainty this O
+Toyo was no other than a goblin. Isahaya Buzen reflected for a while,
+and said--
+
+"Well, then, how shall we kill the foul thing?"
+
+"I will go to the creature's room, as if nothing were the matter, and
+try to kill her; but in case she should try to escape, I will beg you
+to order eight men to stop outside and lie in wait for her."
+
+Having agreed upon this plan, Soda went at nightfall to O Toyo's
+apartment, pretending to have been sent with a message from the
+Prince. When she saw him arrive, she said--
+
+"What message have you brought me from my lord?"
+
+"Oh! nothing in particular. Be so look as to look at this letter;" and
+as he spoke, he drew near to her, and suddenly drawing his dirk cut at
+her; but the goblin, springing back, seized a halberd, and glaring
+fiercely at Soda, said--
+
+"How dare you behave like this to one of your lord's ladies? I will
+have you dismissed;" and she tried to strike Soda with the halberd.
+But Soda fought desperately with his dirk; and the goblin, seeing that
+she was no match for him, threw away the halberd, and from a beautiful
+woman became suddenly transformed into a cat, which, springing up the
+sides of the room, jumped on to the roof. Isahaya Buzen and his eight
+men who were watching outside shot at the cat, but missed it, and the
+beast made good its escape.
+
+So the cat fled to the mountains, and did much mischief among the
+surrounding people, until at last the Prince of Hizen ordered a great
+hunt, and the beast was killed.
+
+But the Prince recovered from his sickness; and Ito Soda was richly
+rewarded.
+
+
+
+
+THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT
+
+
+About sixty years ago, in the summertime, a man went to pay a visit at
+a certain house at Osaka, and, in the course of conversation, said--
+
+"I have eaten some very extraordinary cakes to-day," and on being
+asked what he meant, he told the following story:--
+
+"I received the cakes from the relatives of a family who were
+celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the death of a cat that had
+belonged to their ancestors. When I asked the history of the affair, I
+was told that, in former days, a young girl of the family, when she
+was about sixteen years old, used always to be followed about by a
+tom-cat, who was reared in the house, so much so that the two were
+never separated for an instant. When her father perceived this, he was
+very angry, thinking that the tom-cat, forgetting the kindness with
+which he had been treated for years in the house, had fallen in love
+with his daughter, and intended to cast a spell upon her; so he
+determined that he must kill the beast. As he was planning this in
+secret, the cat overheard him, and that night went to his pillow, and,
+assuming a human voice, said to him--
+
+"'You suspect me of being in love with your daughter; and although you
+might well be justified in so thinking, your suspicions are
+groundless. The fact is this:--There is a very large old rat who has
+been living for many years in your granary. Now it is this old rat who
+is in love with my young mistress, and this is why I dare not leave
+her side for a moment, for fear the old rat should carry her off.
+Therefore I pray you to dispel your suspicions. But as I, by myself,
+am no match for the rat, there is a famous cat, named Buchi, at the
+house of Mr. So-and-so, at Ajikawa: if you will borrow that cat, we
+will soon make an end of the old rat.'
+
+"When the father awoke from his dream, he thought it so wonderful,
+that he told the household of it; and the following day he got up very
+early and went off to Ajikawa, to inquire for the house which the cat
+had indicated, and had no difficulty in finding it; so he called upon
+the master of the house, and told him what his own cat had said, and
+how he wished to borrow the cat Buchi for a little while.
+
+"'That's a very easy matter to settle,' said the other: 'pray take him
+with you at once;' and accordingly the father went home with the cat
+Buchi in charge. That night he put the two cats into the granary; and
+after a little while, a frightful clatter was heard, and then all was
+still again; so the people of the house opened the door, and crowded
+out to see what had happened; and there they beheld the two cats and
+the rat all locked together, and panting for breath; so they cut the
+throat of the rat, which was as big as either of the cats: then they
+attended to the two cats; but, although they gave them ginseng[76] and
+other restoratives, they both got weaker and weaker, until at last
+they died. So the rat was thrown into the river; but the two cats were
+buried with all honours in a neighbouring temple."
+
+[Footnote 76: A restorative in high repute. The best sorts are brought
+from Corea.]
+
+
+
+
+HOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS HEAD SHAVED BY THE FOXES
+
+
+In the village of Iwahara, in the province of Shinshiu, there dwelt a
+family which had acquired considerable wealth in the wine trade. On
+some auspicious occasion it happened that a number of guests were
+gathered together at their house, feasting on wine and fish; and as
+the wine-cup went round, the conversation turned upon foxes. Among the
+guests was a certain carpenter, Tokutaro by name, a man about thirty
+years of age, of a stubborn and obstinate turn, who said--
+
+"Well, sirs, you've been talking for some time of men being bewitched
+by foxes; surely you must be under their influence yourselves, to say
+such things. How on earth can foxes have such power over men? At any
+rate, men must be great fools to be so deluded. Let's have no more of
+this nonsense."
+
+Upon this a man who was sitting by him answered--
+
+"Tokutaro little knows what goes on in the world, or he would not
+speak so. How many myriads of men are there who have been bewitched by
+foxes? Why, there have been at least twenty or thirty men tricked by
+the brutes on the Maki Moor alone. It's hard to disprove facts that
+have happened before our eyes."
+
+"You're no better than a pack of born idiots," said Tokutaro. "I will
+engage to go out to the Maki Moor this very night and prove it. There
+is not a fox in all Japan that can make a fool of Tokutaro."
+
+"Thus he spoke in his pride; but the others were all angry with him
+for boasting, and said--
+
+"If you return without anything having happened, we will pay for five
+measures of wine and a thousand copper cash worth of fish; and if you
+are bewitched, you shall do as much for us."
+
+Tokutaro took the bet, and at nightfall set forth for the Maki Moor by
+himself. As he neared the moor, he saw before him a small bamboo
+grove, into which a fox ran; and it instantly occurred to him that the
+foxes of the moor would try to bewitch him. As he was yet looking, he
+suddenly saw the daughter of the headman of the village of Upper
+Horikane, who was married to the headman of the village of Maki.
+
+"Pray, where are you going to, Master Tokutaro?" said she.
+
+"I am going to the village hard by."
+
+"Then, as you will have to pass my native place, if you will allow me,
+I will accompany you so far."
+
+Tokutaro thought this very odd, and made up his mind that it was a fox
+trying to make a fool of him; he accordingly determined to turn the
+tables on the fox, and answered--"It is a long time since I have had
+the pleasure of seeing you; and as it seems that your house is on my
+road, I shall be glad to escort you so far."
+
+With this he walked behind her, thinking he should certainly see the
+end of a fox's tail peeping out; but, look as he might, there was
+nothing to be seen. At last they came to the village of Upper
+Horikane; and when they reached the cottage of the girl's father, the
+family all came out, surprised to see her.
+
+"Oh dear! oh dear! here is our daughter come: I hope there is nothing
+the matter."
+
+And so they went on, for some time, asking a string of questions.
+
+In the meanwhile, Tokutaro went round to the kitchen door, at the back
+of the house, and, beckoning out the master of the house, said--
+
+"The girl who has come with me is not really your daughter. As I was
+going to the Maki Moor, when I arrived at the bamboo grove, a fox
+jumped up in front of me, and when it had dashed into the grove it
+immediately took the shape of your daughter, and offered to accompany
+me to the village; so I pretended to be taken in by the brute, and
+came with it so far."
+
+On hearing this, the master of the house put his head on one side, and
+mused a while; then, calling his wife, he repeated the story to her,
+in a whisper.
+
+But she flew into a great rage with Tokutaro, and said--
+
+"This is a pretty way of insulting people's daughters. The girl is our
+daughter, and there's no mistake about it. How dare you invent such
+lies?"
+
+"Well," said Tokutaro, "you are quite right to say so; but still there
+is no doubt that this is a case of witchcraft."
+
+Seeing how obstinately he held to his opinion, the old folks were
+sorely perplexed, and said--
+
+"What do you think of doing?"
+
+"Pray leave the matter to me: I'll soon strip the false skin off, and
+show the beast to you in its true colours. Do you two go into the
+store-closet, and wait there."
+
+With this he went into the kitchen, and, seizing the girl by the back
+of the neck, forced her down by the hearth.
+
+"Oh! Master Tokutaro, what means this brutal violence? Mother! father!
+help!"
+
+So the girl cried and screamed; but Tokutaro only laughed, and said--
+
+"So you thought to bewitch me, did you? From the moment you jumped
+into the wood, I was on the look-out for you to play me some trick.
+I'll soon make you show what you really are;" and as he said this, he
+twisted her two hands behind her back, and trod upon her, and tortured
+her; but she only wept, and cried--
+
+"Oh! it hurts, it hurts!"
+
+"If this is not enough to make you show your true form, I'll roast you
+to death;" and he piled firewood on the hearth, and, tucking up her
+dress, scorched her severely.
+
+"Oh! oh! this is more than I can bear;" and with this she expired.
+
+The two old people then came running in from the rear of the house,
+and, pushing aside Tokutaro, folded their daughter in their arms, and
+put their hands to her mouth to feel whether she still breathed; but
+life was extinct, and not the sign of a fox's tail was to be seen
+about her. Then they seized Tokutaro by the collar, and cried--
+
+"On pretence that our true daughter was a fox, you have roasted her to
+death. Murderer! Here, you there, bring ropes and cords, and secure
+this Tokutaro!"
+
+So the servants obeyed, and several of them seized Tokutaro and bound
+him to a pillar. Then the master of the house, turning to Tokutaro,
+said--
+
+"You have murdered our daughter before our very eyes. I shall report
+the matter to the lord of the manor, and you will assuredly pay for
+this with your head. Be prepared for the worst."
+
+And as he said this, glaring fiercely at Tokutaro, they carried the
+corpse of his daughter into the store-closet. As they were sending to
+make the matter known in the village of Maki, and taking other
+measures, who should come up but the priest of the temple called
+Anrakuji, in the village of Iwahara, with an acolyte and a servant,
+who called out in a loud voice from the front door--
+
+"Is all well with the honourable master of this house? I have been to
+say prayers to-day in a neighbouring village, and on my way back I
+could not pass the door without at least inquiring after your welfare.
+If you are at home, I would fain pay my respects to you."
+
+As he spoke thus in a loud voice, he was heard from the back of the
+house; and the master got up and went out, and, after the usual
+compliments on meeting had been exchanged, said--
+
+"I ought to have the honour of inviting you to step inside this
+evening; but really we are all in the greatest trouble, and I must beg
+you to excuse my impoliteness."
+
+"Indeed! Pray, what may be the matter?" replied the priest. And when
+the master of the house had told the whole story, from beginning to
+end, he was thunderstruck, and said--
+
+"Truly, this must be a terrible distress to you." Then the priest
+looked on one side, and saw Tokutaro bound, and exclaimed, "Is not
+that Tokutaro that I see there?"
+
+"Oh, your reverence," replied Tokutaro, piteously, "it was this, that,
+and the other: and I took it into my head that the young lady was a
+fox, and so I killed her. But I pray your reverence to intercede for
+me, and save my life;" and as he spoke, the tears started from his
+eyes.
+
+"To be sure," said the priest, "you may well bewail yourself; however,
+if I save your life, will you consent to become my disciple, and enter
+the priesthood?"
+
+"Only save my life, and I'll become your disciple with all my heart."
+
+When the priest heard this, he called out the parents, and said to
+them--
+
+"It would seem that, though I am but a foolish old priest, my coming
+here to-day has been unusually well timed. I have a request to make of
+you. Your putting Tokutaro to death won't bring your daughter to life
+again. I have heard his story, and there certainly was no malice
+prepense on his part to kill your daughter. What he did, he did
+thinking to do a service to your family; and it would surely be better
+to hush the matter up. He wishes, moreover, to give himself over to
+me, and to become my disciple."
+
+"It is as you say," replied the father and mother, speaking together.
+"Revenge will not recall our daughter. Please dispel our grief, by
+shaving his head and making a priest of him on the spot."
+
+"I'll shave him at once, before your eyes," answered the priest, who
+immediately caused the cords which bound Tokutaro to be untied, and,
+putting on his priest's scarf, made him join his hands together in a
+posture of prayer. Then the reverend man stood up behind him, razor in
+hand, and, intoning a hymn, gave two or three strokes of the razor,
+which he then handed to his acolyte, who made a clean shave of
+Tokutaro's hair. When the latter had finished his obeisance to the
+priest, and the ceremony was over, there was a loud burst of laughter;
+and at the same moment the day broke, and Tokutaro found himself
+alone, in the middle of a large moor. At first, in his surprise, he
+thought that it was all a dream, and was much annoyed at having been
+tricked by the foxes. He then passed his hand over his head, and found
+that he was shaved quite bald. There was nothing for it but to get up,
+wrap a handkerchief round his head, and go back to the place where his
+friends were assembled.
+
+"Hallo, Tokutaro! so you've come back. Well, how about the foxes?"
+
+"Really, gentlemen," replied he, bowing, "I am quite ashamed to appear
+before you."
+
+Then he told them the whole story, and, when he had finished, pulled
+off the kerchief, and showed his bald pate.
+
+"What a capital joke!" shouted his listeners, and amid roars of
+laughter, claimed the bet of fish, and wine. It was duly paid; but
+Tokutaro never allowed his hair to grow again, and renounced the
+world, and became a priest under the name of Sainen.
+
+
+There are a great many stories told of men being shaved by the foxes;
+but this story came under the personal observation of Mr. Shominsai, a
+teacher of the city of Yedo, during a holiday trip which he took to
+the country where the event occurred; and I[77] have recorded it in
+the very selfsame words in which he told it to me.
+
+[Footnote 77: The author of the "Kanzen-Yawa," the book from which the
+story is taken.]
+
+
+
+
+THE GRATEFUL FOXES
+
+
+One fine spring day, two friends went out to a moor to gather fern,
+attended by a boy with a bottle of wine and a box of provisions. As
+they were straying about, they saw at the foot of a hill a fox that
+had brought out its cub to play; and whilst they looked on, struck by
+the strangeness of the sight, three children came up from a
+neighbouring village with baskets in their hands, on the same errand
+as themselves. As soon as the children saw the foxes, they picked up a
+bamboo stick and took the creatures stealthily in the rear; and when
+the old foxes took to flight, they surrounded them and beat them with
+the stick, so that they ran away as fast as their legs could carry
+them; but two of the boys held down the cub, and, seizing it by the
+scruff of the neck, went off in high glee.
+
+The two friends were looking on all the while, and one of them,
+raising his voice, shouted out, "Hallo! you boys! what are you doing
+with that fox?"
+
+The eldest of the boys replied, "We're going to take him home and sell
+him to a young man in our village. He'll buy him, and then he'll boil
+him in a pot and eat him."
+
+"Well," replied the other, after considering the matter attentively,
+"I suppose it's all the same to you whom you sell him to. You'd better
+let me have him."
+
+"Oh, but the young man from our village promised us a good round sum
+if we could find a fox, and got us to come out to the hills and catch
+one; and so we can't sell him to you at any price."
+
+"Well, I suppose it cannot be helped, then; but how much would the
+young man give you for the cub?"
+
+"Oh, he'll give us three hundred cash at least."
+
+"Then I'll give you half a bu;[78] and so you'll gain five hundred
+cash by the transaction."
+
+[Footnote 78: _Bu_. This coin is generally called by foreigners
+"ichibu," which means "one bu." To talk of "_a hundred ichibus_" is as
+though a Japanese were to say "_a hundred one shillings."_ Four bus
+make a _riyo>,_ or ounce; and any sum above three bus is spoken of as
+so many riyos and bus--as 101 riyos and three bus equal 407 bus. The
+bu is worth about 1s. 4d.]
+
+"Oh, we'll sell him for that, sir. How shall we hand him over to you?"
+
+"Just tie him up here," said the other; and so he made fast the cub
+round the neck with the string of the napkin in which the luncheon-box
+was wrapped, and gave half a bu to the three boys, who ran away
+delighted.
+
+The man's friend, upon this, said to him, "Well, certainly you have
+got queer tastes. What on earth are you going to keep the fox for?"
+
+"How very unkind of you to speak of my tastes like that. If we had not
+interfered just now, the fox's cub would have lost its life. If we had
+not seen the affair, there would have been no help for it. How could I
+stand by and see life taken? It was but a little I spent--only half a
+bu--to save the cub, but had it cost a fortune I should not have
+grudged it. I thought you were intimate enough with me to know my
+heart; but to-day you have accused me of being eccentric, and I see
+how mistaken I have been in you. However, our friendship shall cease
+from this day forth."
+
+And when he had said this with a great deal of firmness, the other,
+retiring backwards and bowing with his hands on his knees, replied--
+
+"Indeed, indeed, I am filled with admiration at the goodness of your
+heart. When I hear you speak thus, I feel more than ever how great is
+the love I bear you. I thought that you might wish to use the cub as a
+sort of decoy to lead the old ones to you, that you might pray them to
+bring prosperity and virtue to your house. When I called you eccentric
+just now, I was but trying your heart, because I had some suspicions
+of you; and now I am truly ashamed of myself."
+
+And as he spoke, still bowing, the other replied, "Really! was that
+indeed your thought? Then I pray you to forgive me for my violent
+language."
+
+When the two friends had thus become reconciled, they examined the
+cub, and saw that it had a slight wound in its foot, and could not
+walk; and while they were thinking what they should do, they spied out
+the herb called "Doctor's Nakase," which was just sprouting; so they
+rolled up a little of it in their fingers and applied it to the part.
+Then they pulled out some boiled rice from their luncheon-box and
+offered it to the cub, but it showed no sign of wanting to eat; so
+they stroked it gently on the back, and petted it; and as the pain of
+the wound seemed to have subsided, they were admiring the properties
+of the herb, when, opposite to them, they saw the old foxes sitting
+watching them by the side of some stacks of rice straw.
+
+"Look there! the old foxes have come back, out of fear for their cub's
+safety. Come, we will set it free!" And with these words they untied
+the string round the cub's neck, and turned its head towards the spot
+where the old foxes sat; and as the wounded foot was no longer
+painful, with one bound it dashed to its parents' side and licked them
+all over for joy, while they seemed to bow their thanks, looking
+towards the two friends. So, with peace in their hearts, the latter
+went off to another place, and, choosing a pretty spot, produced the
+wine bottle and ate their noon-day meal; and after a pleasant day,
+they returned to their homes, and became firmer friends than ever.
+
+Now the man who had rescued the fox's cub was a tradesman in good
+circumstances: he had three or four agents and two maid-servants,
+besides men-servants; and altogether he lived in a liberal manner. He
+was married, and this union had brought him one son, who had reached
+his tenth year, but had been attacked by a strange disease which
+defied all the physician's skill and drugs. At last a famous physician
+prescribed the liver taken from a live fox, which, as he said, would
+certainly effect a cure. If that were not forthcoming, the most
+expensive medicine in the world would not restore the boy to health.
+When the parents heard this, they were at their wits' end. However,
+they told the state of the case to a man who lived on the mountains.
+"Even though our child should die for it," they said, "we will not
+ourselves deprive other creatures of their lives; but you, who live
+among the hills, are sure to hear when your neighbours go out
+fox-hunting. We don't care what price we might have to pay for a fox's
+liver; pray, buy one for us at any expense." So they pressed him to
+exert himself on their behalf; and he, having promised faithfully to
+execute the commission, went his way.
+
+In the night of the following day there came a messenger, who
+announced himself as coming from the person who had undertaken to
+procure the fox's liver; so the master of the house went out to see
+him.
+
+"I have come from Mr. So-and-so. Last night the fox's liver that you
+required fell into his hands; so he sent me to bring it to you." With
+these words the messenger produced a small jar, adding, "In a few days
+he will let you know the price."
+
+When he had delivered his message, the master of the house was greatly
+pleased, and said, "Indeed, I am deeply grateful for this kindness,
+which will save my son's life."
+
+Then the goodwife came out, and received the jar with every mark of
+politeness.
+
+"We must make a present to the messenger."
+
+"Indeed, sir, I've already been paid for my trouble."
+
+"Well, at any rate, you must stop the night here."
+
+"Thank you, sir: I've a relation in the next village whom I have not
+seen for a long while, and I will pass the night with him;" and so he
+took his leave, and went away.
+
+The parents lost no time in sending to let the physician know that
+they had procured the fox's liver. The next day the doctor came and
+compounded a medicine for the patient, which at once produced a good
+effect, and there was no little joy in the household. As luck would
+have it, three days after this the man whom they had commissioned to
+buy the fox's liver came to the house; so the goodwife hurried out to
+meet him and welcome him.
+
+"How quickly you fulfilled our wishes, and how kind of you to send at
+once! The doctor prepared the medicine, and now our boy can get up and
+walk about the room; and it's all owing to your goodness."
+
+"Wait a bit!" cried the guest, who did not know what to make of the
+joy of the two parents. "The commission with which you entrusted me
+about the fox's liver turned out to be a matter of impossibility, so I
+came to-day to make my excuses; and now I really can't understand what
+you are so grateful to me for."
+
+"We are thanking you, sir," replied the master of the house, bowing
+with his hands on the ground, "for the fox's liver which we asked you
+to procure for us."
+
+"I really am perfectly unaware of having sent you a fox's liver: there
+must be some mistake here. Pray inquire carefully into the matter."
+
+"Well, this is very strange. Four nights ago, a man of some five or
+six and thirty years of age came with a verbal message from you, to
+the effect that you had sent him with a fox's liver, which you had
+just procured, and said that he would come and tell us the price
+another day. When we asked him to spend the night here, he answered
+that he would lodge with a relation in the next village, and went
+away."
+
+The visitor was more and more lost in amazement, and; leaning his head
+on one side in deep thought, confessed that he could make nothing of
+it. As for the husband and wife, they felt quite out of countenance at
+having thanked a man so warmly for favours of which he denied all
+knowledge; and so the visitor took his leave, and went home.
+
+That night there appeared at the pillow of the master of the house a
+woman of about one or two and thirty years of age, who said, "I am the
+fox that lives at such-and-such a mountain. Last spring, when I was
+taking out my cub to play, it was carried off by some boys, and only
+saved by your goodness. The desire to requite this kindness pierced me
+to the quick. At last, when calamity attacked your house, I thought
+that I might be of use to you. Your son's illness could not be cured
+without a liver taken from a live fox, so to repay your kindness I
+killed my cub and took out its liver; then its sire, disguising
+himself as a messenger, brought it to your house."
+
+And as she spoke, the fox shed tears; and the master of the house,
+wishing to thank her, moved in bed, upon which his wife awoke and
+asked him what was the matter; but he too, to her great astonishment,
+was biting the pillow and weeping bitterly.
+
+"Why are you weeping thus?" asked she.
+
+At last he sat up in bed, and said, "Last spring, when I was out on a
+pleasure excursion, I was the means of saving the life of a fox's cub,
+as I told you at the time. The other day I told Mr. So-and-so that,
+although my son were to die before my eyes, I would not be the means
+of killing a fox on purpose; but asked him, in case he heard of any
+hunter killing a fox, to buy it for me. How the foxes came to hear of
+this I don't know; but the foxes to whom I had shown kindness killed
+their own cub and took out the liver; and the old dog-fox, disguising
+himself as a messenger from the person to whom we had confided the
+commission, came here with it. His mate has just been at my
+pillow-side and told me all about it; hence it was that, in spite of
+myself, I was moved to tears."
+
+[Illustration: THE FEAST OF INARI SAMA.]
+
+When she heard this, the goodwife likewise was blinded by her tears,
+and for a while they lay lost in thought; but at last, coming to
+themselves, they lighted the lamp on the shelf on which the family
+idol stood, and spent the night in reciting prayers and praises, and
+the next day they published the matter to the household and to their
+relations and friends. Now, although there are instances of men
+killing their own children to requite a favour, there is no other
+example of foxes having done such a thing; so the story became the
+talk of the whole country.
+
+Now, the boy who had recovered through the efficacy of this medicine
+selected the prettiest spot on the premises to erect a shrine to Inari
+Sama,[79] the Fox God, and offered sacrifice to the two old foxes, for
+whom he purchased the highest rank at the court of the Mikado.
+
+
+[Footnote 79: Inari Sama is the title under which was deified a
+certain mythical personage, called Uga, to whom tradition attributes
+the honour of having first discovered and cultivated the rice-plant.
+He is represented carrying a few ears of rice, and is symbolized by a
+snake guarding a bale of rice grain. The foxes wait upon him, and do
+his bidding. Inasmuch as rice is the most important and necessary
+product of Japan, the honours which Inari Sama receives are
+extraordinary. Almost every house in the country contains somewhere
+about the grounds a pretty little shrine in his honour; and on a
+certain day of the second month of the year his feast is celebrated
+with much beating of drums and other noises, in which the children
+take a special delight. "On this day," says the O-Satsuyo, a Japanese
+cyclopaedia, "at Yedo, where there are myriads upon myriads of shrines
+to Inari Sama, there are all sorts of ceremonies. Long banners with
+inscriptions are erected, lamps and lanterns are hung up, and the
+houses are decked with various dolls and figures; the sound of flutes
+and drums is heard, the people dance and make holiday according to
+their fancy. In short, it is the most bustling festival of the Yedo
+year."]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The passage in the tale which speaks of rank being purchased for the
+foxes at the court of the Mikado is, of course, a piece of nonsense.
+"The saints who are worshipped in Japan," writes a native authority,
+"are men who, in the remote ages, when the country was developing
+itself, were sages, and by their great and virtuous deeds having
+earned the gratitude of future generations, received divine honours
+after their death. How can the Son of Heaven, who is the father and
+mother of his people, turn dealer in ranks and honours? If rank were a
+matter of barter, it would cease to be a reward to the virtuous."
+
+All matters connected with the shrines of the Shinto, or indigenous
+religion, are confided to the superintendence of the families of
+Yoshida and Fushimi, Kuges or nobles of the Mikado's court at Kiyoto.
+The affairs of the Buddhist or imported religion are under the care of
+the family of Kanjuji. As it is necessary that those who as priests
+perform the honourable office of serving the gods should be persons of
+some standing, a certain small rank is procured for them through the
+intervention of the representatives of the above noble families, who,
+on the issuing of the required patent, receive as their perquisite a
+fee, which, although insignificant in itself, is yet of importance to
+the poor Kuges, whose penniless condition forms a great contrast to
+the wealth of their inferiors in rank, the Daimios. I believe that
+this is the only case in which rank can be bought or sold in Japan. In
+China, on the contrary, in spite of what has been written by Meadows
+and other admirers of the examination system, a man can be what he
+pleases by paying for it; and the coveted button, which is nominally
+the reward of learning and ability, is more often the prize of wealthy
+ignorance.
+
+The saints who are alluded to above are the saints of the whole
+country, as distinct from those who for special deeds are locally
+worshipped. To this innumerable class frequent allusion is made in
+these Tales.
+
+Touching the remedy of the fox's liver, prescribed in the tale, I may
+add that there would be nothing strange in this to a person acquainted
+with the Chinese pharmacopoeia, which the Japanese long exclusively
+followed, although they are now successfully studying the art of
+healing as practised in the West. When I was at Peking, I saw a
+Chinese physician prescribe a decoction of three scorpions for a child
+struck down with fever; and on another occasion a groom of mine,
+suffering from dysentery, was treated with acupuncture of the tongue.
+The art of medicine would appear to be at the present time in China
+much in the state in which it existed in Europe in the sixteenth
+century, when the excretions and secretions of all manner of animals,
+saurians, and venomous snakes and insects, and even live bugs, were
+administered to patients. "Some physicians," says Matthiolus, "use the
+ashes of scorpions, burnt alive, for retention caused by either renal
+or vesical calculi. But I have myself thoroughly experienced the
+utility of an oil I make myself, whereof scorpions form a very large
+portion of the ingredients. If only the region of the heart and all
+the pulses of the body be anointed with it, it will free the patients
+from the effects of all kinds of poisons taken by the mouth, corrosive
+ones excepted." Decoctions of Egyptian mummies were much commended,
+and often prescribed with due academical solemnity; and the bones of
+the human skull, pulverized and administered with oil, were used as a
+specific in cases of renal calculus. (See Petri Andreae Matthioli
+Opera, 1574.)
+
+These remarks were made to me by a medical gentleman to whom I
+mentioned the Chinese doctor's prescription of scorpion tea, and they
+seem to me so curious that I insert them for comparison's sake.
+
+
+
+
+THE BADGER'S MONEY
+
+
+It is a common saying among men, that to forget favours received is
+the part of a bird or a beast: an ungrateful man will be ill spoken of
+by all the world. And yet even birds and beasts will show gratitude;
+so that a man who does not requite a favour is worse even than dumb
+brutes. Is not this a disgrace?
+
+Once upon a time, in a hut at a place called Namekata, in Hitachi,
+there lived an old priest famous neither for learning nor wisdom, but
+bent only on passing his days in prayer and meditation. He had not
+even a child to wait upon him, but prepared his food with his own
+hands. Night and morning he recited the prayer "Namu Amida Butsu,"[80]
+intent upon that alone. Although the fame of his virtue did not reach
+far, yet his neighbours respected and revered him, and often brought
+him food and raiment; and when his roof or his walls fell out of
+repair, they would mend them for him; so for the things of this world
+he took no thought.
+
+[Footnote 80: A Buddhist prayer, in which something approaching to the
+sounds of the original Sanscrit has been preserved. The meaning of the
+prayer is explained as, "Save us, eternal Buddha!" Many even of the
+priests who repeat it know it only as a formula, without understanding
+it.]
+
+One very cold night, when he little thought any one was outside, he
+heard a voice calling "Your reverence! your reverence!" So he rose and
+went out to see who it was, and there he beheld an old badger
+standing. Any ordinary man would have been greatly alarmed at the
+apparition; but the priest, being such as he has been described above,
+showed no sign of fear, but asked the creature its business. Upon this
+the badger respectfully bent its knees, and said--
+
+"Hitherto, sir, my lair has been in the mountains, and of snow or
+frost I have taken no heed; but now I am growing old, and this severe
+cold is more than I can bear. I pray you to let me enter and warm
+myself at the fire of your cottage, that I may live through this
+bitter night."
+
+When the priest heard what a helpless state the beast was reduced to,
+he was filled with pity, and said--
+
+"That's a very slight matter: make haste and come in and warm
+yourself."
+
+The badger, delighted with so good a reception, went into the hut, and
+squatting down by the fire began to warm itself; and the priest, with
+renewed fervour, recited his prayers and struck his bell before the
+image of Buddha, looking straight before him. After two hours the
+badger took its leave, with profuse expressions of thanks, and went
+out; and from that time forth it came every night to the hut. As the
+badger would collect and bring with it dried branches and dead leaves
+from the hills for firewood, the priest at last became very friendly
+with it, and got used to its company; so that if ever, as the night
+wore on, the badger did not arrive, he used to miss it, and wonder why
+it did not come. When the winter was over, and the spring-time came at
+the end of the second month, the Badger gave up its visits, and was no
+more seen; but, on the return of the winter, the beast resumed its old
+habit of coming to the hut. When this practice had gone on for ten
+years, one day the badger said to the priest, "Through your
+reverence's kindness for all these years, I have been able to pass the
+winter nights in comfort. Your favours are such, that during all my
+life, and even after my death, I must remember them. What can I do to
+requite them? If there is anything that you wish for, pray tell me."
+
+The priest, smiling at this speech, answered, "Being such as I am, I
+have no desire and no wishes. Glad as I am to hear your kind
+intentions, there is nothing that I can ask you to do for me. You need
+feel no anxiety on my account. As long as I live, when the winter
+comes, you shall be welcome here." The badger, on hearing this, could
+not conceal its admiration of the depth of the old man's benevolence;
+but having so much to be grateful for, it felt hurt at not being able
+to requite it. As this subject was often renewed between them, the
+priest at last, touched by the goodness of the badger's heart, said,
+"Since I have shaven my head, renounced the world, and forsaken the
+pleasures of this life, I have no desire to gratify, yet I own I
+should like to possess three riyos in gold. Food and raiment I receive
+by the favour of the villagers, so I take no heed for those things.
+Were I to die to-morrow, and attain my wish of being born again into
+the next world, the same kind folk have promised to meet and bury my
+body. Thus, although I have no other reason to wish for money, still
+if I had three riyos I would offer them up at some holy shrine, that
+masses and prayers might be said for me, whereby I might enter into
+salvation. Yet I would not get this money by violent or unlawful
+means; I only think of what might be if I had it. So you see, since
+you have expressed such kind feelings towards me, I have told you what
+is on my mind." When the priest had done speaking, the badger leant
+its head on one side with a puzzled and anxious look, so much so that
+the old man was sorry he had expressed a wish which seemed to give the
+beast trouble, and tried to retract what he had said. "Posthumous
+honours, after all, are the wish of ordinary men. I, who am a priest,
+ought not to entertain such thoughts, or to want money; so pray pay no
+attention to what I have said;" and the badger, feigning assent to
+what the priest had impressed upon it, returned to the hills as usual.
+
+From that time forth the badger came no more to the hut. The priest
+thought this very strange, but imagined either that the badger stayed
+away because it did not like to come without the money, or that it had
+been killed in an attempt to steal it; and he blamed himself for
+having added to his sins for no purpose, repenting when it was too
+late: persuaded, however, that the badger must have been killed, he
+passed his time in putting up prayers upon prayers for it.
+
+After three years had gone by, one night the old man heard a voice
+near his door calling out, "Your reverence! your reverence!"
+
+As the voice was like that of the badger, he jumped up as soon as he
+heard it, and ran out to open the door; and there, sure enough, was
+the badger. The priest, in great delight, cried out, "And so you are
+safe and sound, after all! Why have you been so long without coming
+here? I have been expecting you anxiously this long while."
+
+So the badger came into the hut, and said, "If the money which you
+required had been for unlawful purposes, I could easily have procured
+as much as ever you might have wanted; but when I heard that it was to
+be offered to a temple for masses for your soul, I thought that, if I
+were to steal the hidden treasure of some other man, you could not
+apply to a sacred purpose money which had been obtained at the expense
+of his sorrow. So I went to the island of Sado,[81] and gathering the
+sand and earth which had been cast away as worthless by the miners,
+fused it afresh in the fire; and at this work I spent months and
+days." As the badger finished speaking, the priest looked at the money
+which it had produced, and sure enough he saw that it was bright and
+new and clean; so he took the money, and received it respectfully,
+raising it to his head.
+
+
+[Footnote 81: An island on the west coast of Japan, famous for its
+gold mines.]
+
+"And so you have had all this toil and labour on account of a foolish
+speech of mine? I have obtained my heart's desire, and am truly
+thankful."
+
+As he was thanking the badger with great politeness and ceremony, the
+beast said, "In doing this I have but fulfilled my own wish; still I
+hope that you will tell this thing to no man."
+
+"Indeed," replied the priest, "I cannot choose but tell this story.
+For if I keep this money in my poor hut, it will be stolen by thieves:
+I must either give it to some one to keep for me, or else at once
+offer it up at the temple. And when I do this, when people see a poor
+old priest with a sum of money quite unsuited to his station, they
+will think it very suspicious, and I shall have to tell the tale as it
+occurred; but as I shall say that the badger that gave me the money
+has ceased coming to my hut, you need not fear being waylaid, but can
+come, as of old, and shelter yourself from the cold." To this the
+badger nodded assent; and as long as the old priest lived, it came and
+spent the winter nights with him.
+
+From this story, it is plain that even beasts have a sense of
+gratitude: in this quality dogs excel all other beasts. Is not the
+story of the dog of Totoribe Yorodzu written in the Annals of Japan?
+I[82] have heard that many anecdotes of this nature have been
+collected and printed in a book, which I have not yet seen; but as the
+facts which I have recorded relate to a badger, they appear to me to
+be passing strange.
+
+[Footnote 82: The author of the tale.]
+
+
+
+
+THE PRINCE AND THE BADGER
+
+
+In days of yore there lived a forefather of the Prince of Tosa who
+went by the name of Yamanouchi Kadzutoyo. At the age of fourteen this
+prince was amazingly fond of fishing, and would often go down to the
+river for sport. And it came to pass one day that he had gone thither
+with but one retainer, and had made a great haul, that a violent
+shower suddenly came on. Now, the prince had no rain-coat with him,
+and was in so sorry a plight that he took shelter under a willow-tree
+and waited for the weather to clear; but the storm showed no sign of
+abating, and there was no help for it, so he turned to the retainer
+and said--
+
+"This rain is not likely to stop for some time, so we had better hurry
+home."
+
+As they trudged homeward, night fell, and it grew very dark; and their
+road lay over a long bank, by the side of which they found a girl,
+about sixteen years old, weeping bitterly. Struck with wonder, they
+looked steadfastly at her, and perceived that she was exceedingly
+comely. While Kadzutoyo stood doubting what so strange a sight could
+portend, his retainer, smitten with the girl's charms, stepped up to
+her and said--
+
+"Little sister, tell us whose daughter you are, and how it comes that
+you are out by yourself at night in such a storm of rain. Surely it is
+passing strange."
+
+"Sir," replied she, looking up through her tears, "I am the daughter
+of a poor man in the castle town. My mother died when I was seven
+years old, and my father has now wedded a shrew, who loathes and
+ill-uses me; and in the midst of my grief he is gone far away on his
+business, so I was left alone with my stepmother; and this very night
+she spited and beat me till I could bear it no longer, and was on my
+way to my aunt's, who dwells in yonder village, when the shower came
+on; but as I lay waiting for the rain to stop, I was seized with a
+spasm, to which I am subject, and was in great pain, when I had the
+good luck to fall in with your worships."
+
+As she spoke, the retainer fell deeply in love with her matchless
+beauty, whilst his lord Kadzutoyo, who from the outset had not uttered
+a word, but stood brooding over the matter, straightway drew his sword
+and cut off her head. But the retainer stood aghast, and cried out--
+
+"Oh! my young lord, what wicked deed is this that you've done? The
+murder of a man's daughter will bring trouble upon us, for you may
+rely on the business not ending here."
+
+"You don't know what you're talking about," answered Kadzutoyo: "only
+don't tell any one about it, that is all I ask;" and so they went home
+in silence.
+
+As Kadzutoyo was very tired, he went to bed, and slept undisturbed by
+any sense of guilt; for he was brave and fearless. But the retainer
+grew very uneasy, and went to his young lord's parents and said--
+
+"I had the honour of attending my young lord out fishing to-day, and
+we were driven home by the rain. And as we came back by the bank, we
+descried a girl with a spasm in her stomach, and her my young lord
+straightway slew; and although he has bidden me tell it to no one, I
+cannot conceal it from my lord and my lady."
+
+Kadzutoyo's parents were sore amazed, bewailing their son's
+wickedness, and went at once to his room and woke him; his father shed
+tears and said--
+
+"Oh! dastardly cut-throat that you are! how dare you kill another
+man's daughter without provocation? Such unspeakable villany is
+unworthy a Samurai's son. Know, that the duty of every Samurai is to
+keep watch over the country, and to protect the people; and such is
+his daily task. For sword and dirk are given to men that they may slay
+rebels, and faithfully serve their prince, and not that they may go
+about committing sin and killing the daughters of innocent men.
+Whoever is fool enough not to understand this will repeat his misdeed,
+and will assuredly bring shame on his kindred. Grieved as I am that I
+should take away the life which I gave you, I cannot suffer you to
+bring dishonour on our house; so prepare to meet your fate!"
+
+With these words he drew his sword; but Kadzutoyo, without a sign of
+fear, said to his father--
+
+"Your anger, sir, is most just; but remember that I have studied the
+classics and understand the laws of right and wrong, and be sure I
+would never kill another man without good cause. The girl whom I slew
+was certainly no human being, but some foul goblin: feeling certain of
+this, I cut her down. To-morrow I beg you will send your retainers to
+look for the corpse; and if it really be that of a human being, I
+shall give you no further trouble, but shall disembowel myself."
+
+Upon this the father sheathed his sword, and awaited daybreak. When
+the morning came, the old prince, in sad distress, bade his retainers
+lead him to the bank; and there he saw a huge badger, with his head
+cut off, lying dead by the roadside; and the prince was lost in wonder
+at his son's shrewdness. But the retainer did not know what to make of
+it, and still had his doubts. The prince, however, returned home, and
+sending for his son, said to him--
+
+"It's very strange that the creature which appeared to your retainer
+to be a girl, should have seemed to you to be a badger."
+
+"My lord's wonder is just," replied Kadzutoyo, smiling: "she appeared
+as a girl to me as well. But here was a young girl, at night, far from
+any inhabited place. Stranger still was her wondrous beauty; and
+strangest of all that, though it was pouring with rain, there was not
+a sign of wet on her clothes; and when my retainer asked how long she
+had been there, she said she had been on the bank in pain for some
+time; so I had no further doubt but that she was a goblin, and I
+killed her."
+
+"But what made you think she must be a goblin because her clothes were
+dry?"
+
+"The beast evidently thought that, if she could bewitch us with her
+beauty, she might get at the fish my retainer was carrying; but she
+forgot that, as it was raining, it would not do for her clothes not to
+be wet; so I detected and killed her."
+
+When the old prince heard his son speak thus, he was filled with
+admiration for the youth's sagacity; so, conceiving that Kadzutoyo had
+given reliable proof of wisdom and prudence, he resolved to
+abdicate;[83] and Kadzutoyo was proclaimed Prince of Tosa in his
+stead.
+
+[Footnote 83: _Inkiyo_, abdication. The custom of abdication is common
+among all classes, from the Emperor down to his meanest subject. The
+Emperor abdicates after consultation with his ministers: the Shogun
+has to obtain the permission of the Emperor; the Daimios, that of the
+Shogun. The abdication of the Emperor was called _Sento_; that of the
+Shogun, _Oyosho_; in all other ranks it is called _Inkiyo_. It must be
+remembered that the princes of Japan, in becoming Inkiyo, resign the
+semblance and the name, but not the reality of power. Both in their
+own provinces and in the country at large they play a most important
+part. The ex-Princes of Tosa, Uwajima and Owari, are far more notable
+men in Japan than the actual holders of the titles.]
+
+
+
+
+JAPANESE SERMONS
+
+[Illustration: A JAPANESE SERMON.]
+
+
+
+
+JAPANESE SERMONS
+
+
+"Sermons preached here on 8th, 18th, and 28th days of every month."
+Such was the purport of a placard, which used to tempt me daily, as I
+passed the temple Cho-o-ji. Having ascertained that neither the
+preacher nor his congregation would have any objection to my hearing
+one of these sermons, I made arrangements to attend the service,
+accompanied by two friends, my artist, and a scribe to take notes.
+
+We were shown into an apartment adjoining a small chapel--a room
+opening on to a tastily arranged garden, wealthy in stone lanterns and
+dwarfed trees. In the portion of the room reserved for the priest
+stood a high table, covered with a cloth of white and scarlet silk,
+richly embroidered with flowers and arabesques; upon this stood a
+bell, a tray containing the rolls of the sacred books, and a small
+incense-burner of ancient Chinese porcelain. Before the table was a
+hanging drum, and behind it was one of those high, back-breaking
+arm-chairs which adorn every Buddhist temple. In one corner of the
+space destined for the accommodation of the faithful was a low
+writing-desk, at which sat, or rather squatted, a lay clerk, armed
+with a huge pair of horn spectacles, through which he glared,
+goblin-like, at the people, as they came to have their names and the
+amount of their offerings to the temple registered. These latter must
+have been small things, for the congregation seemed poor enough. It
+was principally composed of old women, nuns with bald shiny pates and
+grotesque faces, a few petty tradesmen, and half-a-dozen chubby
+children, perfect little models of decorum and devoutness. One lady
+there was, indeed, who seemed a little better to do in the world than
+the rest; she was nicely dressed, and attended by a female servant;
+she came in with a certain little consequential rustle, and displayed
+some coquetry, and a very pretty bare foot, as she took her place,
+and, pulling out a dandy little pipe and tobacco-pouch, began to
+smoke. Fire-boxes and spittoons, I should mention, were freely handed
+about; so that half-an-hour which passed before the sermon began was
+agreeably spent. In the meanwhile, mass was being celebrated in the
+main hall of the temple, and the monotonous nasal drone of the plain
+chant was faintly heard in the distance. So soon as this was over, the
+lay clerk sat himself down by the hanging drum, and, to its
+accompaniment, began intoning the prayer, "Na Mu Miyo Ho Ren Go Kiyo,"
+the congregation fervently joining in unison with him. These words,
+repeated over and over again, are the distinctive prayer of the
+Buddhist sect of Nichiren, to which the temple Cho-o-ji is dedicated.
+They are approximations to Sanscrit sounds, and have no meaning in
+Japanese, nor do the worshippers in using them know their precise
+value.
+
+Soon the preacher, gorgeous in red and white robes, made his
+appearance, following an acolyte, who carried the sacred book called
+_Hokke_ (upon which the sect of Nichiren is founded) on a tray covered
+with scarlet and gold brocade. Having bowed to the sacred picture
+which hung over the _tokonoma_--that portion of the Japanese room
+which is raised a few inches above the rest of the floor, and which is
+regarded as the place of honour--his reverence took his seat at the
+table, and adjusted his robes; then, tying up the muscles of his face
+into a knot, expressive of utter abstraction, he struck the bell upon
+the table thrice, burnt a little incense, and read a passage from the
+sacred book, which he reverently lifted to his head. The congregation
+joined in chorus, devout but unintelligent; for the Word, written in
+ancient Chinese, is as obscure to the ordinary Japanese worshipper as
+are the Latin liturgies to a high-capped Norman peasant-woman. While
+his flock wrapped up copper cash in paper, and threw them before the
+table as offerings, the priest next recited a passage alone, and the
+lay clerk irreverently entered into a loud dispute with one of the
+congregation, touching some payment or other. The preliminary
+ceremonies ended, a small shaven-pated boy brought in a cup of tea,
+thrice afterwards to be replenished, for his reverence's refreshment;
+and he, having untied his face, gave a broad grin, cleared his throat,
+swallowed his tea, and beamed down upon us, as jolly, rosy a priest as
+ever donned stole or scarf. His discourse, which was delivered in the
+most familiar and easy manner, was an _extempore_ dissertation on
+certain passages from the sacred books. Whenever he paused or made a
+point, the congregation broke in with a cry of "Nammiyo!" a corruption
+of the first three words of the prayer cited above, to which they
+always contrived to give an expression or intonation in harmony with
+the preacher's meaning.
+
+"It is a matter of profound satisfaction to me," began his reverence
+Nichirin, smiling blandly at his audience, "to see so many gentlemen
+and ladies gathered together here this day, in the fidelity of their
+hearts, to do honour to the feast of Kishimojin."[84]
+
+[Footnote 84: Kishimojin, a female deity of the Buddhists.]
+
+"Nammiyo! nammiyo!" self-depreciatory, from the congregation.
+
+"I feel certain that your piety cannot fail to find favour with
+Kishimojin. Kishimojin ever mourns over the tortures of mankind, who
+are dwelling in a house of fire, and she ever earnestly strives to
+find some means of delivering them.
+
+"Nammiyo! nammiyo!" grateful and reverential.
+
+"Notwithstanding this, it is useless your worshipping Kishimojin, and
+professing to believe in her, unless you have truth in your hearts;
+for she will not receive your offerings. Man, from his very birth, is
+a creature of requirements; he is for ever seeking and praying. Both
+you who listen, and I who preach, have all of us our wants and wishes.
+If there be any person here who flatters himself that he has no wishes
+and no wants, let him reflect. Does not every one wish and pray that
+heaven and earth may stand for ever, that his country and family may
+prosper, that there may be plenty in the land, and that the people may
+be healthy and happy? The wishes of men, however, are various and
+many; and these wishes, numberless as they are, are all known to the
+gods from the beginning. It is no use praying, unless you have truth
+in your heart. For instance, the prayer _Na Mu_ is a prayer committing
+your bodies to the care of the gods; if, when you utter it, your
+hearts are true and single, of a surety your request will be granted.
+Now, this is not a mere statement made by Nichiren, the holy founder
+of this sect; it is the sacred teaching of Buddha himself, and may not
+be doubted."
+
+"Nammiyo! nammiyo!" with profound conviction.
+
+"The heart of man is, by nature, upright and true; but there are seven
+passions[85] by which it is corrupted. Buddha is alarmed when he sees
+the fires by which the world is being consumed. These fires are the
+five lusts of this sinful world; and the five lusts are, the desire
+for fair sights, sweet sounds, fragrant smells, dainty meats, and rich
+trappings. Man is no sooner endowed with a body than he is possessed
+by these lusts, which become his very heart; and, it being a law that
+every man follows the dictates of his heart, in this way the body, the
+lusts of the flesh, the heart, and the dictates of the heart, blaze up
+in the consuming fire. 'Alas! for this miserable world!' said the
+divine Buddha."
+
+[Footnote 85: The seven passions are joy, anger, sadness, fear, love,
+hatred, and desire.]
+
+"Nammiyo! nammiyo!" mournful, and with much head-shaking.
+
+"There is not so foul thing under heaven as the human body. The body
+exudes grease, the eyes distil gums, the nose is full of mucus, the
+mouth of slobbering spittle; nor are these the most impure secretions
+of the body. What a mistake it is to look upon this impure body as
+clean and perfect! Unless we listen to the teachings of Buddha, how
+shall we be washed and purified?"
+
+"Nammiyo, nammiyo!" from an impure and very miserable sinner, under
+ten years of age.
+
+"The lot of man is uncertain, and for ever running out of the beaten
+track. Why go to look at the flowers, and take delight in their
+beauty? When you return home, you will see the vanity of your
+pleasure. Why purchase fleeting joys of loose women? How long do you
+retain the delicious taste of the dainties you feast upon? For ever
+_wishing_ to do this, _wishing_ to see that, _wishing_ to eat rare
+dishes, _wishing_ to wear fine clothes, you pass a lifetime in fanning
+the flames which consume you. What terrible matter for thought is
+this! In the poems of the priest Saigiyo it is written, 'Verily I have
+been familiar with the flowers; yet are they withered and scattered,
+and we are parted. How sad!' The beauty of the convolvulus, how bright
+it is!--and yet in one short morning it closes its petals and fades.
+In the book called _Rin Jo Bo Satsu_[86] we are told how a certain
+king once went to take his pleasure in his garden, and gladden his
+eyes with the beauty of his flowers. After a while he fell asleep; and
+as he slumbered, the women of his train began pulling the flowers to
+pieces. When the king awoke, of all the glory of his flowers there
+remained but a few torn and faded petals. Seeing this, the king said,
+'The flowers pass away and die; so is it with mankind: we are born, we
+grow old, we sicken and die; we are as fleeting as the lightning's
+flash, as evanescent as the morning dew.' I know not whether any of
+you here present ever fix your thoughts upon death; yet it is a rare
+thing for a man to live for a hundred years. How piteous a thing it is
+that in this short and transient life men should consume themselves in
+a fire of lust! and if we think to escape from this fire, how shall we
+succeed save only by the teaching of the divine Buddha?"
+
+[Footnote 86: One of the Buddhist classics.]
+
+"Nammiyo! nammiyo!" meekly and entreatingly.
+
+"Since Buddha himself escaped from the burning flames of the lusts of
+the flesh, his only thought has been for the salvation of mankind.
+Once upon a time there was a certain heretic, called Rokutsuponji, a
+reader of auguries, cunning in astrology and in the healing art. It
+happened, one day, that this heretic, being in company with Buddha,
+entered a forest, which was full of dead men's skulls. Buddha, taking
+up one of the skulls and tapping it thus" (here the preacher tapped
+the reading-desk with his fan), "said, 'What manner of man was this
+bone when alive?--and, now that he is dead, in what part of the world
+has he been born again?' The heretic, auguring from the sound which
+the skull, when struck, gave forth, began to tell its past history,
+and to prophesy the future. Then Buddha, tapping another skull, again
+asked the same question. The heretic answered--
+
+"'Verily, as to this skull, whether it belonged to a man or a woman,
+whence its owner came or whither he has gone, I know not. What think
+you of it?"
+
+"'Ask me not,' answered Buddha. But the heretic pressed him, and
+entreated him to answer; then Buddha said, 'Verily this is the skull
+of one of my disciples, who forsook the lusts of the flesh.'
+
+"Then the heretic wondered, and said--
+
+"'Of a truth, this is a thing the like of which no man has yet seen.
+Here am I, who know the manner of the life and of the death even of
+the ants that creep. Verily, I thought that no thing could escape my
+ken; yet here lies one of your disciples, than whom there lives no
+nobler thing, and I am at fault. From this day forth I will enter your
+sect, praying only that I may receive your teaching.'
+
+"Thus did this learned heretic become a disciple of Buddha. If such
+an one as he was converted, how much the more should after-ages of
+ordinary men feel that it is through. Buddha alone that they can hope
+to overcome the sinful lusts of the flesh! These lusts are the desires
+which agitate our hearts: if we are free from these desires, our
+hearts will be bright and pure, and there is nothing, save the
+teaching of Buddha, which can ensure us this freedom. Following the
+commands of Buddha, and delivered by him from our desires, we may pass
+our lives in peace and happiness."
+
+"Nammiyo! nammiyo!" with triumphant exultation.
+
+"In the sacred books we read of conversion from a state of sin to a
+state of salvation. Now this salvation is not a million miles removed
+from us; nor need we die and be born again into another world in order
+to reach it. He who lays aside his carnal lusts and affections, at
+once and of a certainty becomes equal to Buddha. When we recite the
+prayer _Na Mu Miyo Ho Ren Go Kiyo_, we are praying to enter this state
+of peace and happiness. By what instruction, other than that of
+Nichiren, the holy founder of this sect, can we expect to attain this
+end? If we do attain it, there will be no difference between our state
+and that of Buddha and of Nichiren. With this view we have learnt from
+the pious founder of our sect that we must continually and thankfully
+repeat the prayer _Na Mu Miyo Ho Ren Go Kiyo_, turning our hearts away
+from lies, and embracing the truth."
+
+Such were the heads of the sermon as they were taken down by my
+scribe. At its conclusion, the priest, looking about him smiling, as
+if the solemn truths he had been inculcating were nothing but a very
+good joke, was greeted by long and loud cries of "Nammiyo! nammiyo!"
+by all the congregation. Then the lay clerk sat himself down again by
+the hanging drum; and the service ended as it had begun, by prayer in
+chorus, during which the priest retired, the sacred book being carried
+out before him by his acolyte.
+
+Although occasionally, as in the above instance, sermons are delivered
+as part of a service on special days of the month, they are more
+frequently preached in courses, the delivery occupying about a
+fortnight, during which two sermons are given each day. Frequently the
+preachers are itinerant priests, who go about the towns and villages
+lecturing in the main hall of some temple or in the guest-room of the
+resident priest.
+
+There are many books of sermons published in Japan, all of which have
+some merit and much quaintness: none that I have seen are, however, to
+my taste, to be compared to the "Kiu-o Do-wa," of which the following
+three sermons compose the first volume. They are written by a priest
+belonging to the Shingaku sect--a sect professing to combine all that
+is excellent in the Buddhist, Confucian, and Shin To teaching. It
+maintains the original goodness of the human heart; and teaches that
+we have only to follow the dictates of the conscience implanted in us
+at our birth, in order to steer in the right path. The texts are
+taken from the Chinese classical books, in the same way as our
+preachers take theirs from the Bible. Jokes, stories which are
+sometimes untranslatable into our more fastidious tongue, and pointed
+applications to members of the congregation, enliven the discourses;
+it being a principle with the Japanese preacher that it is not
+necessary to bore his audience into virtue.
+
+
+
+
+SERMON I
+
+(THE SERMONS OF KIU-O, VOL. I)
+
+
+Moshi[87] says, "Benevolence is the heart of man; righteousness is the
+path of man. How lamentable a thing is it to leave the path and go
+astray, to cast away the heart and not know where to seek for it!"
+
+[Footnote 87: Moshi, the Japanese pronunciation of the name of the
+Chinese philosopher Meng Tse, whom Europeans call Mencius.]
+
+The text is taken from the first chapter of Koshi (the commentator),
+on Moshi.
+
+Now this quality, which we call benevolence, has been the subject of
+commentaries by many teachers; but as these commentaries have been
+difficult of comprehension, they are too hard to enter the ears of
+women and children. It is of this benevolence that, using examples and
+illustrations, I propose to treat.
+
+A long time ago, there lived at Kioto a great physician, called
+Imaoji--I forget his other name: he was a very famous man. Once upon a
+time, a man from a place called Kuramaguchi advertised for sale a
+medicine which he had compounded against the cholera, and got Imaoji
+to write a puff for him. Imaoji, instead of calling the medicine in
+the puff a specific against the cholera, misspelt the word cholera so
+as to make it simpler. When the man who had employed him went and
+taxed him with this, and asked him why he had done so, he answered,
+with a smile--
+
+"As Kuramaguchi is an approach to the capital from the country, the
+passers-by are but poor peasants and woodmen from the hills: if I had
+written 'cholera' at length, they would have been puzzled by it; so I
+wrote it in a simple way, that should pass current with every one.
+Truth itself loses its value if people don't understand it. What does
+it signify how I spelt the word cholera, so long as the efficacy of
+the medicine is unimpaired?"
+
+Now, was not that delightful? In the same way the doctrines of the
+sages are mere gibberish to women and children who cannot understand
+them. Now, my sermons are not written for the learned: I address
+myself to farmers and tradesmen, who, hard pressed by their daily
+business, have no time for study, with the wish to make known to them
+the teachings of the sages; and, carrying out the ideas of my teacher,
+I will make my meaning pretty plain, by bringing forward examples and
+quaint stories. Thus, by blending together the doctrines of the
+Shinto, Buddhist, and other schools, we shall arrive at something
+near the true principle of things. Now, positively, you must not laugh
+if I introduce a light story now and then. Levity is not my object: I
+only want to put things in a plain and easy manner.
+
+Well, then, the quality which we call benevolence is, in fact, a
+perfection; and it is this perfection which Moshi spoke of as the
+heart of man. With this perfect heart, men, by serving their parents,
+attain to filial piety; by serving their masters they attain to
+fidelity; and if they treat their wives, their brethren, and their
+friends in the same spirit, then the principles of the five relations
+of life will harmonize without difficulty. As for putting perfection
+into practice, parents have the special duties of parents; children
+have the special duties of children; husbands have the special duties
+of husbands; wives have the special duties of wives. It is when all
+these special duties are performed without a fault that true
+benevolence is reached; and that again is the true heart of man.
+
+For example, take this fan: any one who sees it knows it to be a fan;
+and, knowing it to be a fan, no one would think of using it to blow
+his nose in. The special use of a fan is for visits of ceremony; or
+else it is opened in order to raise a cooling breeze: it serves no
+other purpose. In the same way, this reading-desk will not do as a
+substitute for a shelf; again, it will not do instead of a pillow: so
+you see that a reading-desk also has its special functions, for which
+you must use it. So, if you look at your parents in the light of your
+parents, and treat them with filial piety, that is the special duty of
+children; that is true benevolence; that is the heart of man. Now
+although you may think that, when I speak in this way, I am speaking
+of others, and not of yourselves, believe me that the heart of every
+one of you is by nature pure benevolence. I am just taking down your
+hearts as a shopman does goods from his shelves, and pointing out the
+good and bad qualities of each; but if you will not lay what I say to
+your own accounts, but persist in thinking that it is all anybody's
+business but yours, all my labour will be lost.
+
+Listen! You who answer your parents rudely, and cause them to weep;
+you who bring grief and trouble on your masters; you who cause your
+husbands to fly into passions; you who cause your wives to mourn; you
+who hate your younger brothers, and treat your elder brothers with
+contempt; you who sow sorrow broadcast over the world;--what are you
+doing but blowing your noses in fans, and using reading-desks as
+pillows? I don't mean to say that there are any such persons here;
+still there are plenty of them to be found--say in the back streets in
+India, for instance. Be so good as to mind what I have said.
+
+Consider, carefully, if a man is born with a naturally bad
+disposition, what a dreadful thing that is! Happily, you and I were
+born with perfect hearts, which we would not change for a
+thousand--no, not for ten thousand pieces of gold: is not this
+something to be thankful for?
+
+This perfect heart is called in my discourses, "the original heart of
+man." It is true that benevolence is also called the original heart of
+man; still there is a slight difference between the two. However, as
+the inquiry into this difference would be tedious, it is sufficient
+for you to look upon this original heart of man as a perfect thing,
+and you will fall into no error. It is true that I have not the honour
+of the personal acquaintance of every one of you who are present:
+still I know that your hearts are perfect. The proof of this, that if
+you say that which you ought not to say, or do that which you ought
+not to do, your hearts within you are, in some mysterious way,
+immediately conscious of wrong. When the man that has a perfect heart
+does that which is imperfect, it is because his heart has become
+warped and turned to evil. This law holds good for all mankind. What
+says the old song?--"When the roaring waterfall is shivered by the
+night-storm, the moonlight is reflected in each scattered drop."[88]
+Although there is but one moon, she suffices to illuminate each little
+scattered drop. Wonderful are the laws of Heaven! So the principle of
+benevolence, which is but one, illumines all the particles that make
+up mankind. Well, then, the perfection of the human heart can be
+calculated to a nicety, So, if we follow the impulses of our perfect
+heart in whatever we undertake, we shall perform our special duties,
+and filial piety and fidelity will come to us spontaneously. You see
+the doctrines of this school of philosophy are quickly learnt. If you
+once thoroughly understand this, there will be no difference between
+your conduct and that of a man who has studied a hundred years.
+Therefore I pray you to follow the impulses of your natural heart;
+place it before you as a teacher, and study its precepts. Your heart
+is a convenient teacher to employ too: for there is no question of
+paying fees; and no need to go out in the heat of summer, or the cold
+of winter, to pay visits of ceremony to your master to inquire after
+his health. What admirable teaching this is, by means of which you
+can learn filial piety and fidelity so easily! Still, suspicions are
+apt to arise in men's minds about things that are seen to be acquired
+too cheaply; but here you can buy a good thing cheap, and spare
+yourselves the vexation of having paid an extravagant price for it. I
+repeat, follow the impulses of your hearts with all your might. In the
+_Chin-yo_, the second of the books of Confucius, it is certified
+beyond a doubt that the impulses of nature are the true path to
+follow; therefore you may set to work in this direction with your
+minds at ease.
+
+[Footnote 88:
+  "The moon looks on many brooks;
+    The brooks see but one moon."--T. MOORE.]
+
+Righteousness, then, is the true path, and righteousness is the
+avoidance of all that is imperfect. If a man avoids that which is
+imperfect, there is no need to point out how dearly he will be beloved
+by all his fellows. Hence it is that the ancients have defined
+righteousness as that which ought to be--that which is fitting. If a
+man be a retainer, it is good that he should perform his service to
+his lord with all his might. If a woman be married, it is good that
+she should treat her parents-in-law with filial piety, and her husband
+with reverence. For the rest, whatever is good, that is righteousness
+and the true path of man.
+
+The duty of man has been compared by the wise men of old to a high
+road. If you want to go to Yedo or to Nagasaki, if you want to go out
+to the front of the house or to the back of the house, if you wish to
+go into the next room or into some closet or other, there is a right
+road to each of these places: if you do not follow the right road,
+scrambling over the roofs of houses and through ditches, crossing
+mountains and desert places, you will be utterly lost and bewildered.
+In the same way, if a man does that which is not good, he is going
+astray from the high road. Filial piety in children, virtue in wives,
+truth among friends--but why enumerate all these things, which are
+patent?--all these are the right road, and good; but to grieve
+parents, to anger husbands, to hate and to breed hatred in others,
+these are all bad things, these are all the wrong road. To follow
+these is to plunge into rivers, to run on to thorns, to jump into
+ditches, and brings thousands upon ten thousands of disasters. It is
+true that, if we do not pay great attention, we shall not be able to
+follow the right road. Fortunately, we have heard by tradition the
+words of the learned Nakazawa Doni: I will tell you about that, all in
+good time.
+
+It happened that, once, the learned Nakazawa went to preach at Ikeda,
+in the province of Sesshiu, and lodged with a rich family of the lower
+class. The master of the house, who was particularly fond of sermons,
+entertained the preacher hospitably, and summoned his daughter, a girl
+some fourteen or fifteen years old, to wait upon him at dinner. This
+young lady was not only extremely pretty, but also had charming
+manners; so she arranged bouquets of flowers, and made tea, and played
+upon the harp, and laid herself out to please the learned man by
+singing songs. The preacher thanked her parents for all this, and
+said--
+
+"Really, it must be a very difficult thing to educate a young lady up
+to such a pitch as this."
+
+The parents, carried away by their feelings, replied--
+
+"Yes; when she is married, she will hardly bring shame upon her
+husband's family. Besides what she did just now, she can weave
+garlands of flowers round torches, and we had her taught to paint a
+little;" and as they began to show a little conceit, the preacher
+said--
+
+"I am sure this is something quite out of the common run. Of course
+she knows how to rub the shoulders and loins, and has learnt the art
+of shampooing?"
+
+The master of the house bristled up at this and answered--
+
+"I may be very poor, but I've not fallen so low as to let my daughter
+learn shampooing."
+
+The learned man, smiling, replied, "I think you are making a mistake
+when you put yourself in a rage. No matter whether her family be rich
+or poor, when a woman is performing her duties in her husband's house,
+she must look upon her husband's parents as her own. If her honoured
+father-in-law or mother-in-law fall ill, her being able to plait
+flowers and paint pictures and make tea will be of no use in the
+sick-room. To shampoo her parents-in-law, and nurse them
+affectionately, without employing either shampooer or servant-maid, is
+the right path of a daughter-in-law. Do you mean to say that your
+daughter has not yet learnt shampooing, an art which is essential to
+her following the right path of a wife? That is what I meant to ask
+just now. So useful a study is very important."
+
+At this the master of the house was ashamed, and blushing made many
+apologies, as I have heard. Certainly, the harp and guitar are very
+good things in their way; but to attend to nursing their parents is
+the right road of children. Lay this story to heart, and consider
+attentively where the right road lies. People who live near haunts of
+pleasure become at last so fond of pleasure, that they teach their
+daughters nothing but how to play on the harp and guitar, and train
+them up in the manners and ways of singing-girls, but teach them next
+to nothing of their duties as daughters; and then very often they
+escape from their parents' watchfulness, and elope. Nor is this the
+fault of the girls themselves, but the fault of the education which
+they have received from their parents. I do not mean to say that the
+harp and guitar, and songs and dramas, are useless things. If you
+consider them attentively, all our songs incite to virtue and condemn
+vice. In the song called "The Four Sleeves," for instance, there is
+the passage, "If people knew beforehand all the misery that it brings,
+there would be less going out with young ladies, to look at the
+flowers at night." Please give your attention to this piece of poetry.
+This is the meaning of it:--When a young man and a young lady set up a
+flirtation without the consent of their parents, they think that it
+will all be very delightful, and find themselves very much deceived.
+If they knew what a sad and cruel world this is, they would not act as
+they do. The quotation is from a song of remorse. This sort of thing
+but too often happens in the world.
+
+When a man marries a wife, he thinks how happy he will be, and how
+pleasant it will be keeping house on his own account; but, before the
+bottom of the family kettle has been scorched black, he will be like a
+man learning to swim in a field, with his ideas all turned
+topsy-turvy, and, contrary to all his expectations, he will find the
+pleasures of housekeeping to be all a delusion. Look at that woman
+there. Haunted by her cares, she takes no heed of her hair, nor of her
+personal appearance. With her head all untidy, her apron tied round
+her as a girdle, with a baby twisted into the bosom of her dress, she
+carries some wretched bean sauce which she has been out to buy. What
+sort of creature is this? This all comes of not listening to the
+warnings of parents, and of not waiting for the proper time, but
+rushing suddenly into housekeeping. And who is to blame in the matter?
+Passion, which does not pause to reflect. A child of five or six years
+will never think of learning to play the guitar for its own pleasure.
+What a ten-million times miserable thing it is, when parents, making
+their little girls hug a great guitar, listen with pleasure to the
+poor little things playing on instruments big enough for them to climb
+upon, and squeaking out songs in their shrill treble voices! Now I
+must beg you to listen to me carefully. If you get confused and don't
+keep a sharp look-out, your children, brought up upon harp and guitar
+playing, will be abandoning their parents, and running away secretly.
+Depend upon it, from all that is licentious and meretricious something
+monstrous will come forth. The poet who wrote the "Four Sleeves"
+regarded it as the right path of instruction to convey a warning
+against vice. But the theatre and dramas and fashionable songs, if the
+moral that they convey is missed, are a very great mistake. Although
+you may think it very right and proper that a young lady should
+practise nothing but the harp and guitar until her marriage, I tell
+you that it is not so; for if she misses the moral of her songs and
+music, there is the danger of her falling in love with some man and
+eloping. While on this subject, I have an amusing story to tell you.
+
+Once upon a time, a frog, who lived at Kioto, had long been desirous
+of going to see Osaka. One spring, having made up his mind, he started
+off to see Osaka and all its famous places. By a series of hops on
+all-fours he reached a temple opposite Nishi-no-oka, and thence by the
+western road he arrived at Yamazaki, and began to ascend the mountain
+called Tenozan. Now it so happened that a frog from Osaka had
+determined to visit Kioto, and had also ascended Tenozan; and on the
+summit the two frogs met, made acquaintance, and told one another
+their intentions. So they began to complain about all the trouble they
+had gone through, and had only arrived half-way after all: if they
+went on to Osaka and Kioto, their legs and loins would certainly not
+hold out. Here was the famous mountain of Tenozan, from the top of
+which the whole of Kioto and Osaka could be seen: if they stood on
+tiptoe and stretched their backs, and looked at the view, they would
+save themselves from stiff legs. Having come to this conclusion, they
+both stood up on tiptoe, and looked about them; when the Kioto frog
+said--
+
+"Really, looking at the famous places of Osaka, which I have heard so
+much about, they don't seem to me to differ a bit from Kioto. Instead
+of giving myself any further trouble to go on, I shall just return
+home."
+
+The Osaka frog, blinking with his eyes, said, with a contemptuous
+smile, "Well, I have heard a great deal of talk about this Kioto being
+as beautiful as the flowers, but it is just Osaka over again. We had
+better go home."
+
+And so the two frogs, politely bowing to one another, hopped off home
+with an important swagger.
+
+Now, although this is a very funny little story, you will not
+understand the drift of it at once. The frogs thought that they were
+looking in front of them; but as, when they stood up, their eyes were
+in the back of their heads, each was looking at his native place, all
+the while that he believed himself to be looking at the place he
+wished to go to. The frogs stared to any amount, it is true; but then
+they did not take care that the object looked at was the right object,
+and so it was that they fell into error. Please, listen attentively. A
+certain poet says--
+
+"Wonderful are the frogs! Though they go on all-fours in an attitude
+of humility, their eyes are always turned ambitiously upwards."
+
+A delightful poem! Men, although they say with their mouths, "Yes,
+yes, your wishes shall be obeyed,--certainly, certainly, you are
+perfectly right," are like frogs, with their eyes turned upwards. Vain
+fools! meddlers ready to undertake any job, however much above their
+powers! This is what is called in the text, "casting away your heart,
+and not knowing where to seek for it." Although these men profess to
+undertake any earthly thing, when it comes to the point, leave them to
+themselves, and they are unequal to the task; and if you tell them
+this, they answer--
+
+"By the labour of our own bodies we earn our money; and the food of
+our mouths is of our own getting. We are under obligation to no man.
+If we did not depend upon ourselves, how could we live in the world?"
+
+There are plenty of people who use these words, _myself_ and _my own_,
+thoughtlessly and at random. How false is this belief that they
+profess! If there were no system of government by superiors, but an
+anarchy, these people, who vaunt themselves and their own powers,
+would not stand for a day. In the old days, at the time of the war at
+Ichi-no-tani, Minamoto no Yoshitsune[89] left Mikusa, in the province
+of Tamba, and attacked Settsu. Overtaken by the night among the
+mountains, he knew not what road to follow; so he sent for his
+retainer, Benkei, of the Temple called Musashi, and told him to light
+the big torches which they had agreed upon. Benkei received his orders
+and transmitted them to the troops, who immediately dispersed through
+all the valleys, and set fire to the houses of the inhabitants, so
+that one and all blazed up, and, thanks to the light of this fire,
+they reached Ichi-no-tani, as the story goes. If you think
+attentively, you will see the allusion. Those who boast about _my_
+warehouse, _my_ house, _my_ farm, _my_ daughter, _my_ wife, hawking
+about this "_my_" of theirs like pedlers, let there once come trouble
+and war in the world, and, for all their vain-gloriousness, they will
+be as helpless as turtles. Let them be thankful that peace is
+established throughout the world. The humane Government reaches to
+every frontier: the officials of every department keep watch night
+and day. When a man sleeps under his roof at night, how can he say
+that it is thanks to himself that he stretches his limbs in slumber?
+You go your rounds to see whether the shutters are closed and the
+front door fast, and, having taken every precaution, you lay yourself
+down to rest in peace: and what a precaution after all! A board,
+four-tenths of an inch thick, planed down front and rear until it is
+only two-tenths of an inch thick. A fine precaution, in very truth!--a
+precaution which may be blown down with a breath. Do you suppose such
+a thing as that would frighten a thief from breaking in? This is the
+state of the case. Here are men who, by the benevolence and virtue of
+their rulers, live in a delightful world, and yet, forgetting the
+mysterious providence that watches over them, keep on singing their
+own praises. Selfish egotists!
+
+[Footnote 89: The younger brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo, who first
+established the government of the Shoguns. The battle of Ichi-no-tani
+took place in the year A.D. 1184.]
+
+"My property amounts to five thousand ounces of silver. I may sleep
+with my eyes turned up, and eat and take my pleasure, if I live for
+five hundred or for seven hundred years. I have five warehouses and
+twenty-five houses. I hold other people's bills for fifteen hundred
+ounces of silver." So he dances a fling[90] for joy, and has no fear
+lest poverty should come upon him for fifty or a hundred years. Minds
+like frogs, with eyes in the middle of their backs! Foolhardy
+thoughts! A trusty castle of defence indeed! How little can it be
+depended upon! And when such men are sleeping quietly, how can they
+tell that they may not be turned into those big torches we were
+talking about just now, or that a great earthquake will not be
+upheaved? These are the chances of this fitful world. With regard to
+the danger of too great reliance, I have a little tale to tell you. Be
+so good as to wake up from your drowsiness, and listen attentively.
+
+[Footnote 90: Literally, "a dance of the Province of Tosa."]
+
+There is a certain powerful shell-fish, called the Sazaye, with a very
+strong operculum. Now this creature, if it hears that there is any
+danger astir, shuts up its shell from within, with a loud noise, and
+thinks itself perfectly safe. One day a Tai and another fish, lost in
+envy at this, said--
+
+"What a strong castle this is of yours, Mr. Sazaye! When you shut up
+your lid from within, nobody can so much as point a finger at you. A
+capital figure you make, sir."
+
+When he heard this, the Sazaye, stroking his beard, replied--
+
+"Well, gentlemen, although you are so good as to say so, it's nothing
+to boast of in the way of safety; yet I must admit that, when I shut
+myself up thus, I do not feel much anxiety."
+
+And as he was speaking thus, with the pride that apes humility, there
+came the noise of a great splash; and the shell-fish, shutting up his
+lid as quickly as possible, kept quite still, and thought to himself,
+what in the world the noise could be. Could it be a net? Could it be a
+fish-hook? What a bore it was, always having to keep such a sharp
+look-out! Were the Tai and the other fish caught, he wondered; and he
+felt quite anxious about them: however, at any rate, he was safe. And
+so the time passed; and when he thought all was safe, he stealthily
+opened his shell, and slipped out his head and looked all round him,
+and there seemed to be something wrong--something with which he was
+not familiar. As he looked a little more carefully, lo and behold
+there he was in a fishmonger's shop, and with a card marked "sixteen
+cash" on his back.
+
+Isn't that a funny story? And so, at one fell swoop, all your boasted
+wealth of houses and warehouses, and cleverness and talent, and rank
+and power, are taken away. Poor shell-fish! I think there are some
+people not unlike them to be found in China and India. How little self
+is to be depended upon! There is a moral poem which says, "It is
+easier to ascend to the cloudy heaven without a ladder than to depend
+entirely on oneself." This is what is meant by the text, "If a man
+casts his heart from him, he knows not where to seek for it." Think
+twice upon everything that you do. To take no care for the examination
+of that which relates to yourself, but to look only at that which
+concerns others, is to cast your heart from you. Casting your heart
+from you does not mean that your heart actually leaves you: what is
+meant is, that you do not examine your own conscience. Nor must you
+think that what I have said upon this point of self-confidences
+applies only to wealth and riches. To rely on your talents, to rely on
+the services you have rendered, to rely on your cleverness, to rely on
+your judgment, to rely on your strength, to rely on your rank, and to
+think yourself secure in the possession of these, is to place
+yourselves in the same category with the shell-fish in the story. In
+all things examine your own consciences: the examination of your own
+hearts is above all things essential.
+
+(The preacher leaves his place.)
+
+
+
+
+SERMON II
+
+(THE SERMONS OF KIU-O, VOL. I)
+
+
+"If a man loses a fowl or a dog, he knows how to reclaim it. If he
+loses his soul, he knows not how to reclaim it. The true path of
+learning has no other function than to teach us how to reclaim lost
+souls." This parable has been declared to us by Moshi. If a dog, or a
+chicken, or a pet cat does not come home at the proper time, its
+master makes a great fuss about hunting for it, and wonders can it
+have been killed by a dog or by a snake, or can some man have stolen
+it; and ransacking the three houses opposite, and his two next-door
+neighbours' houses, as if he were seeking for a lost child, cries,
+"Pray, sir, has my tortoiseshell cat been with you? Has my pet chicken
+been here?" That is the way in which men run about under such
+circumstances. It's a matter of the utmost importance.
+
+And yet to lose a dog or a tame chicken is no such terrible loss after
+all. But the soul, which is called the lord of the body, is the master
+of our whole selves. If men part with this soul for the sake of other
+things, then they become deaf to the admonitions of their parents, and
+the instructions of their superiors are to them as the winds of
+heaven. Teaching is to them like pouring water over a frog's face;
+they blink their eyes, and that is all; they say, "Yes, yes!" with
+their mouths, but their hearts are gone, and, seeing, they are blind,
+hearing, they are deaf. Born whole and sound, by their own doing they
+enter the fraternity of cripples. Such are all those who lose their
+souls. Nor do they think of inquiring or looking for their lost soul.
+"It is my parents' fault; it is my master's fault; it is my husband's
+fault; it is my elder brother's fault; it is Hachibei who is a rogue;
+it is Matsu who is a bad woman." They content themselves with looking
+at the faults of others, and do not examine their own consciences, nor
+search their own hearts. Is not this a cruel state of things? They set
+up a hue and cry for a lost dog or a pet chicken, but for this
+all-important soul of theirs they make no search. What mistaken
+people! For this reason the sages, mourning over such a state of
+things, have taught us what is the right path of man; and it is the
+receiving of this teaching that is called learning. The main object of
+learning is the examination and searching of our own hearts; therefore
+the text says, "The true path of learning has no other function than
+to teach us how to reclaim lost souls." This is an exhaustive
+exposition of the functions of learning. That learning has no other
+object, we have this gracious pledge and guarantee from the sage. As
+for the mere study of the antiquities and annals of China and Japan,
+and investigation into literature, these cannot be called learning,
+which is above all things an affair of the soul. All the commentaries
+and all the books of all the teachers in the world are but so many
+directories by which to find out the whereabouts of our own souls.
+This search after our own souls is that which I alluded to just now as
+the examination of our consciences. To disregard the examination of
+our consciences is a terrible thing, of which it is impossible to
+foresee the end; on the other hand, to practise it is most admirable,
+for by this means we can on the spot attain filial piety and fidelity
+to our masters. Virtue and vice are the goals to which the examination
+and non-examination of our consciences lead. As it has been rightly
+said, benevolence and malice are the two roads which man follows. Upon
+this subject I have a terrible and yet a very admirable story to tell
+you. Although I dare say you are very drowsy, I must beg you to listen
+to me.
+
+In a certain part of the country there was a well-to-do farmer, whose
+marriage had brought him one son, whom he petted beyond all measure,
+as a cow licks her calf. So by degrees the child became very sly: he
+used to pull the horses' tails, and blow smoke into the bulls'
+nostrils, and bully the neighbours' children in petty ways and make
+them cry. From a peevish child he grew to be a man, and unbearably
+undutiful to his parents. Priding himself on a little superior
+strength, he became a drunkard and a gambler, and learned to wrestle
+at fairs. He would fight and quarrel for a trifle, and spent his time
+in debauchery and riotous living. If his parents remonstrated with
+him, he would raise his voice and abuse them, using scurrilous
+language. "It's all very well your abusing me for being dissolute and
+disobedient. But, pray, who asked you to bring me into the world? You
+brought me into the world, and I have to thank you for its miseries;
+so now, if you hate dissolute people, you had better put me back where
+I came from, and I shall be all right again." This was the sort of
+insolent answer he would give his parents, who, at their wits' end,
+began to grow old in years. And as he by degrees grew more and more of
+a bully, unhappy as he made them, still he was their darling, and they
+could not find it in their hearts to turn him out of the house and
+disinherit him. So they let him pursue his selfish course; and he went
+on from worse to worse, knocking people down, breaking their arms, and
+getting up great disturbances. It is unnecessary to speak of his
+parents' feelings. Even his relations and friends felt as if nails
+were being hammered into their breasts. He was a thoroughly wicked
+man.
+
+Now no one is from his mother's womb so wicked as this; but those who
+persist in selfishness lose their senses, and gradually reach this
+pitch of wickedness. What a terrible thing is this throwing away of
+our hearts!
+
+Well, this man's relations and friends very properly urged his
+parents to disown him; but he was an only child, and so his parents,
+although they said, "To-day we really will disinherit him," or
+"To-morrow we really will break off all relations with him," still it
+was all empty talk; and the years and months passed by, until the
+scapegrace reached his twenty-sixth year, having heaped wickedness
+upon wickedness; and who can tell how much trouble he brought upon his
+family, who were always afraid of hearing of some new enormity? At
+last they held a family council, and told the parents that matters had
+come to such a pass that if they did not disown their son the rest of
+the family must needs break off all communication with them: if he
+were allowed to go on in his evil courses, the whole village, not to
+speak of his relations, would be disgraced; so either the parents,
+against whom, however, there was no ill-will felt, must be cut by the
+family, or they must disinherit their son: to this appeal they begged
+to have a distinct answer. The parents, reflecting that to separate
+themselves from their relations, even for the sake of their own son,
+would be an act of disrespect to their ancestors, determined to invite
+their relations to assemble and draw up a petition to the Government
+for leave to disinherit their son, to which petition the family would
+all affix their seals according to form; so they begged them to come
+in the evening, and bring their seals with them. This was their
+answer.
+
+There is an old saw which says, "The old cow licks her calf, and the
+tigress carries her cub in her mouth." If the instinct of beasts and
+birds prompt them to love their young, how much the more must it be a
+bitter thing for a man to have to disown his own son! All this trouble
+was the consequence of this youth casting his heart from him. Had he
+examined his own conscience, the storm of waves and of wind would not
+have arisen, and all would have been calm. But as he refused to listen
+to his conscience, his parents, much against their will, were forced
+to visit him with the punishment of disinheritance, which he had
+brought upon himself. A sad thing indeed! In the poems of his
+Reverence Tokuhon, a modern poet, there is the following passage:
+"Since Buddha thus winds himself round our hearts, let the man who
+dares to disregard him fear for his life." The allusion is to the
+great mercy and love of the gods. The gods wish to make men examine
+their consciences, and, day and night, help men to discern that which
+is evil; but, although they point out our desires and pleasures, our
+lusts and passions, as things to be avoided, men turn their backs upon
+their own consciences. The love of the gods is like the love of
+parents for their children, and men treat the gods as undutiful
+children treat their parents. "Men who dare to disregard the gods, let
+them fear for their lives." I pray you who hear me, one and all, to
+examine your own consciences and be saved.
+
+To return to the story of the vagabond son. As it happened, that day
+he was gambling in a neighbouring village, when a friend from his own
+place came up and told him that his relations had met together to
+disinherit him; and that, fine fellow as he was, he would find it a
+terrible thing to be disowned. Before he had heard him half out, the
+other replied in a loud voice--
+
+"What, do you mean to say that they are holding a family council
+to-night to disinherit me? What a good joke! I'm sure I don't want to
+be always seeing my father's and mother's blubbering faces; it makes
+me quite sick to think of them: it's quite unbearable. I'm able to
+take care of myself; and, if I choose to go over to China, or to live
+in India, I should like to know who is to prevent me? This is the very
+thing above all others for me. I'll go off to the room where they are
+all assembled, and ask them why they want to disinherit me. I'll just
+swagger like Danjuro [91] the actor, and frighten them into giving me
+fifty or seventy ounces of silver to get rid of me, and put the money
+in my purse, and be off to Kioto or Osaka, where I'll set up a
+tea-house on my own account; and enjoy myself to my heart's content! I
+hope this will be a great night for me, so I'll just drink a cup of
+wine for luck beforehand."
+
+[Footnote 91: A famous actor of Yedo, who lived 195 years ago. He was
+born at Sakura, in Shimosa.]
+
+And so, with a lot of young devils of his own sort, be fell to
+drinking wine in teacups,[92] so that before nightfall they were all
+as drunk as mud. Well, then, on the strength of this wine, as he was
+setting out for his father's house, he said, "Now, then, to try my
+luck," and stuck a long dirk in his girdle. He reached his own village
+just before nightfall, thinking to burst into the place where he
+imagined his relations to be gathered together, turning their
+wisdom-pockets inside out, to shake out their small provision of
+intelligence in consultation; and he fancied that, if he blustered and
+bullied, he would certainly get a hundred ounces of silver out of
+them. Just as he was about to enter the house, he reflected--
+
+[Footnote 92: The ordinary wine-cup holding only a thimbleful, to
+drink wine out of teacups is a great piece of debauchery--like
+drinking brandy in tumblers.]
+
+"If I show my face in the room where my relations are gathered
+together, they will all look down on the ground and remain silent; so
+if I go in shouting and raging, it will be quite out of harmony; but
+if they abuse me, then I shall be in the right if I jump in on them
+and frighten them well. The best plan will be for me to step out of
+the bamboo grove which is behind the house, and to creep round the
+verandah, and I can listen to these fellows holding their
+consultation: they will certainly be raking up all sorts of scandal
+about me. It will be all in harmony, then, if I kick down the shutters
+and sliding-doors with a noise like thunder. And what fun it will be!"
+
+As he thought thus to himself, he pulled off his iron-heeled sandals,
+and stuck them in his girdle, and, girding up his dress round his
+waist, left the bamboo grove at the back of the house, and, jumping
+over the garden wicket, went round the verandah and looked in. Peeping
+through a chink in the shutters, he could see his relations gathered
+together in council, speaking in whispers. The family were sitting in
+a circle, and one and all were affixing their seals to the petition of
+disinheritance. At last, having passed from hand to hand, the document
+came round to where the two parents were sitting. Their son, seeing
+this, said--
+
+"Come, now, it's win or lose! My parents' signing the paper shall be
+the sign for me to kick open the door and jump into the middle of
+them."
+
+So, getting ready for a good kick, he held his breath and looked on.
+
+What terrible perversion man can allow his heart to come to! Moshi has
+said that man by nature is good; but although not a particle of fault
+can be found with what he has said, when the evil we have learned
+becomes a second nature, men reach this fearful degree of wickedness.
+When men come to this pass, Koshi[93] and Moshi themselves might
+preach to them for a thousand days, and they would not have strength
+to reform. Such hardened sinners deserve to be roasted in iron pots in
+the nethermost hell. Now, I am going to tell you how it came about
+that the vagabond son turned over a new leaf and became dutiful, and
+finally entered paradise. The poet says, "Although the hearts of
+parents are not surrounded by dark night, how often they stray from
+the right road in their affection for their children!"
+
+[Footnote 93: Koshi is the Japanese pronunciation of the name of the
+Chinese philosopher Kung Ts[=u], or Kung Fu Ts[=u], whom we call
+Confucius.]
+
+When the petition of disinheritance came round to the place where the
+two parents were sitting, the mother lifted up her voice and wept
+aloud; and the father, clenching his toothless gums to conceal his
+emotion, remained with his head bent down: presently, in a husky
+voice, he said, "Wife, give me the seal!"
+
+But she returned no answer, and with tears in her eyes took a leather
+purse, containing the seal, out of a drawer of the cupboard and placed
+it before her husband. All this time the vagabond son, holding his
+breath, was peeping in from outside the shutters. In the meanwhile,
+the old man slowly untied the strings of the purse, and took out the
+seal, and smeared on the colouring matter. Just as he was about to
+seal the document, his wife clutched at his hand and said, "Oh, pray
+wait a little."
+
+The father replied, "Now that all our relations are looking on, you
+must not speak in this weak manner."
+
+But she would not listen to what he said, but went on--
+
+"Pray listen to what I have to say. It is true that if we were to give
+over our house to our undutiful son, in less than three years the
+grass would be growing in its place, for he would be ruined. Still, if
+we disinherit our child--the only child that we have, either in heaven
+or upon earth--we shall have to adopt another in his place. Although,
+if the adopted son turned out honest and dutiful, and inherited our
+property, all would be well; still, what certainty is there of his
+doing so? If, on the other hand, the adopted son turned out to be a
+prodigal, and laid waste our house, what unlucky parents we should
+be! And who can say that this would not be the case? If we are to be
+ruined for the sake of an equally wicked adopted son, I had rather
+lose our home for the sake of our own son, and, leaving out old
+familiar village as beggars, seek for our lost boy on foot. This is my
+fervent wish. During fifty years that we have lived together, this has
+been the only favour that I have ever asked of you. Pray listen to my
+prayer, and put a stop to this act of disinheritance. Even though I
+should become a beggar for my son's sake, I could feel no resentment
+against him."
+
+So she spoke, sobbing aloud. The relations, who heard this, looked
+round at one another, and watched the father to see what he would do;
+and he (who knows with what thoughts in his head?) put back the seal
+into the leather purse, and quickly drew the strings together, and
+pushed back the petition to the relations.
+
+"Certainly," said he, "I have lost countenance, and am disgraced
+before all my family; however, I think that what the good wife has
+just said is right and proper, and from henceforth I renounce all
+thoughts of disinheriting my son. Of course you will all see a
+weakness of purpose in what I say, and laugh at me as the cause of my
+son's undutiful conduct. But laugh away: it won't hurt me. Certainly,
+if I don't disinherit this son of mine, my house will be ruined before
+three years are over our heads. To lay waste the house of generations
+upon generations of my ancestors is a sin against those ancestors; of
+this I am well aware. Further, if I don't disinherit my son, you
+gentlemen will all shun me. I know that I am cutting myself off from
+my relations. Of course you think that when I leave this place I shall
+be dunning you to bestow your charity upon me; and that is why you
+want to break off relations with me. Pray don't make yourselves
+uneasy. I care no more for my duties to the world, for my impiety to
+my ancestors, or for my separation from my family. Our son is our only
+darling, and we mean to go after him, following him as beggars on
+foot. This is our desire. We shall trouble you for no alms and for no
+charity. However we may die, we have but one life to lose. For our
+darling son's sake, we will lay ourselves down and die by the
+roadside. There our bodies shall be manure for the trees of the
+avenue. And all this we will endure cheerfully, and not utter a
+complaint. Make haste and return home, therefore, all of you. From
+to-morrow we are no longer on speaking terms. As for what you may say
+to me on my son's account, I do not care."
+
+And as his wife had done, he lifted up his voice and wept, shedding
+manly tears. As for her, when she heard that the act of disinheritance
+was not to be drawn up, her tears were changed to tears of joy. The
+rest of the family remained in mute astonishment at so unheard-of a
+thing, and could only stare at the faces of the two old people.
+
+You see how bewildered parents must be by their love for their
+children, to be so merciful towards them. As a cat carrying her young
+in her mouth screens it from the sun at one time and brings it under
+the light at another, so parents act by their children, screening
+their bad points and bringing out in relief their good qualities. They
+care neither for the abuse of others, nor for their duties to their
+ancestors, nor for the wretched future in store for themselves.
+Carried away by their infatuation for their children, and intoxicated
+upon intoxication, the hearts of parents are to be pitied for their
+pitifulness. It is not only the two parents in my story who are in
+this plight; the hearts of all parents of children all over the world
+are the same. In the poems of the late learned Ishida it is written,
+"When I look round me and see the hearts of parents bewildered by
+their love for their children, I reflect that my own father and mother
+must be like them." This is certainly a true saying.
+
+To return to the story: the halo of his parents' great kindness and
+pity penetrated the very bowels of the prodigal son. What an admirable
+thing! When he heard it, terrible and sly devil as he had been, he
+felt as if his whole body had been squeezed in a press; and somehow or
+other, although the tears rose in his breast, he could not for shame
+lift up his voice and weep. Biting the sleeve of his dress, he lay
+down on the ground and shed tears in silence. What says the verse of
+the reverend priest Eni? "To shed tears of gratitude one knows not
+why." A very pretty poem indeed! So then the vagabond son, in his
+gratitude to his parents, could neither stand nor sit. You see the
+original heart of man is by nature bright virtue, but by our selfish
+pursuit of our own inclinations the brilliancy of our original virtue
+is hidden.
+
+To continue: the prodigal was pierced to the core by the great mercy
+shown by his parents, and the brilliancy of his own original good
+heart was enticed back to him. The sunlight came forth, and what
+became of all the clouds of self-will and selfishness? The clouds were
+all dispelled, and from the bottom of his soul there sprang the desire
+to thank his parents for their goodness. We all know the story of the
+rush-cutter who saw the moon rising between the trees on a moorland
+hill so brightly, that he fancied it must have been scoured with the
+scouring-rush which grew near the spot. When a man, who has been
+especially wicked, repents and returns to his original heart, he
+becomes all the more excellent, and his brightness is as that of the
+rising moon scoured. What an admirable thing this is! So the son
+thought to enter the room at once and beg his parents' forgiveness;
+but he thought to himself, "Wait a bit. If I burst suddenly into the
+room like this, the relations will all be frightened and not know what
+to make of it, and this will be a trouble to my parents. I will put on
+an innocent face, as if I did not know what has been going on, and
+I'll go in by the front door, and beg the relations to intercede for
+me with my parents." With stealthy step he left the back of the house,
+and went round to the front. When he arrived there, he purposely made
+a great noise with his iron-heeled sandals, and gave a loud cough to
+clear his throat, and entered the room. The relations were all
+greatly alarmed; and his parents, when they saw the face of their
+wicked son, both shed tears. As for the son, he said not a word, but
+remained weeping, with his head bent down. After a while, he addressed
+the relations and said, "Although I have frequently been threatened
+with disinheritance, and although in those days I made light of it,
+to-night, when I heard that this family council had assembled, I
+somehow or other felt my heart beset by anxiety and grief. However I
+may have heaped wickedness upon wickedness up to the present moment,
+as I shall certainly now mend my ways, I pray you to delay for a while
+to-night's act of disinheritance. I do not venture to ask for a long
+delay,--I ask but for thirty days; and if within that time I shall not
+have given proofs of repentance, disinherit me: I shall not have a
+word to say. I pray you, gentlemen, to intercede with my parents that
+they may grant this delay of thirty days, and to present them my
+humble apologies." With this he rubbed his head on the mat, as a
+humble suppliant, in a manner most foreign to his nature.
+
+The relations, after hearing the firm and resolute answer of the
+parents, had shifted about in their places; but, although they were on
+the point of leaving the house, had remained behind, sadly out of
+harmony; when the son came in, and happily with a word set all in tune
+again. So the relations addressed the parents, and said, "Pray defer
+to-night's affair;" and laid the son's apologies at their feet. As for
+the parents, who would not have disinherited their son even had he not
+repented, how much the more when they heard what he said did they weep
+for joy; and the relations, delighted at the happy event, exhorted the
+son to become really dutiful; and so that night's council broke up. So
+this son in the turn of a hand became a pious son, and the way in
+which he served his parents was that of a tender and loving child. His
+former evil ways he extinguished utterly.
+
+The fame of this story rose high in the world; and, before half a year
+had passed, it reached the ears of the lord of the manor, who, when he
+had put on his noble spectacles and investigated the case, appointed
+the son to be the head man of his village. You may judge by this what
+this son's filial piety effected. Three years after these events, his
+mother, who was on her death-bed, very sick, called for him and said,
+"When some time since the consultation was being held about
+disinheriting you, by some means or other your heart was turned, and
+since then you have been a dutiful son above all others. If at that
+time you had not repented, and I had died in the meanwhile, my soul
+would have gone to hell without fail, because of my foolish conduct
+towards you. But, now that you have repented, there is nothing that
+weighs upon me, and there can be no mistake about my going to
+paradise. So the fact of my becoming one of the saints will all be the
+work of your filial piety." And the story goes, that with these words
+the mother, lifting up her hands in prayer, died.
+
+To be sure, by the deeds of the present life we may obtain a glimpse
+into the future. If a man's heart is troubled by his misdeeds in this
+life, it will again be tortured in the next. The troubled heart is
+hell. The heart at rest is paradise. The trouble or peace of parents
+depends upon their children. If their children are virtuous, parents
+are as the saints: if their children are wicked, parents suffer the
+tortures of the damned. If once your youthful spirits, in a fit of
+heedlessness, have led you to bring trouble upon your parents and
+cause them to weep, just consider the line of argument which I have
+been following. From this time forth repent and examine your own
+hearts. If you will become dutiful, your parents from this day will
+live happy as the saints. But if you will not repent, but persist in
+your evil ways, your parents will suffer the pains of hell. Heaven and
+hell are matters of repentance or non-repentance. Repentance is the
+finding of the lost heart, and is also the object of learning. I shall
+speak to you further upon this point to-morrow evening.
+
+
+
+
+SERMON III
+
+(THE SERMONS OF KIU-O, VOL. 1)
+
+
+Moshi has said, "There is the third finger. If a man's third or
+nameless finger be bent, so that he cannot straighten it, although his
+bent finger may cause him no pain, still if he hears of some one who
+can cure it, he will think nothing of undertaking a long journey from
+_Shin_ to _So_[94] to consult him upon this deformed finger; for he
+knows it is to be hateful to have a finger unlike those of other men.
+But he cares not a jot if his heart be different to that of other men;
+and this is how men disregard the true order of things."
+
+[Footnote 94: Ancient divisions of China.]
+
+Now this is the next chapter to the one about benevolence being the
+true heart of man, which I expounded to you the other night. True
+learning has no other aim than that of reclaiming lost souls; and, in
+connection with this, Moshi has thus again declared in a parable the
+all-importance of the human heart.
+
+The nameless finger is that which is next to the little finger. The
+thumb is called the parent-finger; the first finger is called the
+index; the long is called the middle finger; but the third finger has
+no name. It is true that it is sometimes called the finger for
+applying rouge; but that is only a name given it by ladies, and is not
+in general use. So, having no name, it is called the nameless finger.
+And how comes it to have no name? Why, because it is of all the
+fingers the least useful. When we clutch at or grasp things, we do so
+by the strength of the thumb and little finger. If a man scratches his
+head, he does it with the forefinger; if he wishes to test the heat of
+the wine[95] in the kettle, he uses the little finger. Thus, although
+each finger has its uses and duties, the nameless finger alone is of
+no use: it is not in our way if we have it, and we do not miss it if
+we lose it. Of the whole body it is the meanest member: if it be
+crooked so that we cannot straighten it, it neither hurts nor itches;
+as Moshi says in the text, it causes no pain; even if we were without
+it, we should be none the worse off. Hence, what though it should be
+bent, it would be better, since it causes no pain, to leave it as it
+is. Yet if a person, having such a crooked finger, hears of a clever
+doctor who can set it straight, no matter at how great a distance he
+may be, he will be off to consult this doctor. And pray why? Because
+he feels ashamed of having a finger a little different from the rest
+of the world, and so he wants to be cured, and will think nothing of
+travelling from Shin to So--a distance of a thousand miles--for the
+purpose. To be sure, men are very susceptible and keenly alive to a
+sense of shame; and in this they are quite right. The feeling of shame
+at what is wrong is the commencement of virtue. The perception of
+shame is inborn in men; but there are two ways of perceiving shame.
+There are some men who are sensible of shame for what regards their
+bodies, but who are ignorant of shame for what concerns their hearts;
+and a terrible mistake they make. There is nothing which can be
+compared in importance to the heart. The heart is said to be the lord
+of the body, which it rules as a master rules his house. Shall the
+lord, who is the heart, be ailing and his sickness be neglected, while
+his servants, who are the members only, are cared for? If the knee be
+lacerated, apply tinder to stop the bleeding; if the moxa should
+suppurate, spread a plaster; if a cold be caught, prepare medicine and
+garlic and gruel, and ginger wine! For a trifle, you will doctor and
+care for your bodies, and yet for your hearts you will take no care.
+Although you are born of mankind, if your hearts resemble those of
+devils, of foxes, of snakes, or of crows, rather than the hearts of
+men, you take no heed, caring for your bodies alone. Whence can you
+have fallen into such a mistake? It is a folly of old standing too,
+for it was to that that Moshi pointed when he said that to be
+cognizant of a deformed finger and ignore the deformities of the soul
+was to disregard the true order of things. This is what it is, not to
+distinguish between that which is important and that which is
+unimportant--to pick up a trifle and pass by something of value. The
+instinct of man prompts him to prefer the great to the small, the
+important to the unimportant.
+
+[Footnote 95: Wine is almost always drunk hot.]
+
+If a man is invited out to a feast by his relations or acquaintances,
+when the guests are assembled and the principal part of the feast has
+disappeared, he looks all round him, with the eyeballs starting out of
+his head, and glares at his neighbours, and, comparing the little
+titbits of roast fowl or fish put before them, sees that they are
+about half an inch bigger than those set before him; then, blowing out
+his belly with rage, he thinks, "What on earth can the host be about?
+Master Tarubei is a guest, but so am I: what does the fellow mean by
+helping me so meanly? There must be some malice or ill-will here." And
+so his mind is prejudiced against the host. Just be so good as to
+reflect upon this. Does a man show his spite by grudging a bit of
+roast fowl or meat? And yet even in such trifles as these do men show
+how they try to obtain what is great, and show their dislike of what
+is small. How can men be conscious of shame for a deformed finger, and
+count it as no misfortune that their hearts are crooked? That is how
+they abandon the substance for the shadow.
+
+Moshi severely censures the disregard of the true order of things.
+What mistaken and bewildered creatures men are! What says the old
+song? "Hidden far among the mountains, the tree which seems to be
+rotten, if its core be yet alive, may be made to bear flowers." What
+signifies it if the hand or the foot be deformed? The heart is the
+important thing. If the heart be awry, what though your skin be fair,
+your nose aquiline, your hair beautiful? All these strike the eye
+alone, and are utterly useless. It is as if you were to put horse-dung
+into a gold-lacquer luncheon-box. This is what is called a fair
+outside, deceptive in appearance.
+
+There's the scullery-maid been washing out the pots at the kitchen
+sink, and the scullion Chokichi comes up and says to her, "You've got
+a lot of charcoal smut sticking to your nose," and points out to her
+the ugly spot. The scullery-maid is delighted to be told of this, and
+answers, "Really! whereabouts is it?" Then she twists a towel round
+her finger, and, bending her head till mouth and forehead are almost
+on a level, she squints at her nose, and twiddles away with her
+fingers as if she were the famous Goto[96] at work, carving the
+ornaments of a sword-handle. "I say, Master Chokichi, is it off yet?"
+"Not a bit of it. You've smeared it all over your cheeks now." "Oh
+dear! oh dear! where can it be?" And so she uses the water-basin as a
+looking-glass, and washes her face clean; then she says to herself,
+"What a dear boy Chokichi is!" and thinks it necessary, out of
+gratitude, to give him relishes with his supper by the ladleful, and
+thanks him over and over again. But if this same Chokichi were to come
+up to her and say, "Now, really, how lazy you are! I wish you could
+manage to be rather less of a shrew," what do you think the
+scullery-maid would answer then? Reflect for a moment. "Drat the boy's
+impudence! If I were of a bad heart or an angular disposition, should
+I be here helping him? You go and be hung! You see if I take the
+trouble to wash your dirty bedclothes for you any more." And she gets
+to be a perfect devil, less only the horns.
+
+[Footnote 96: A famous gold- and silver-smith of the olden time. A
+Benvenuto Cellini among the Japanese. His mark on a piece of metal
+work enhances its value tenfold.]
+
+There are other people besides the poor scullery-maid who are in the
+same way. "Excuse me, Mr. Gundabei, but the embroidered crest on your
+dress of ceremony seems to be a little on one side." Mr. Gundabei
+proceeds to adjust his dress with great precision. "Thank you, sir. I
+am ten million times obliged to you for your care. If ever there
+should be any matter in which I can be of service to you, I beg that
+you will do me the favour of letting me know;" and, with a beaming
+face, he expresses his gratitude. Now for the other side of the
+picture. "Really, Mr. Gundabei, you are very foolish; you don't seem
+to understand at all. I beg you to be of a frank and honest heart: it
+really makes me quite sad to see a man's heart warped in this way."
+What is his answer? He turns his sword in his girdle ready to draw,
+and plays the devil's tattoo upon the hilt: it looks as if it must end
+in a fight soon.
+
+In fact, if you help a man in anything which has to do with a fault
+of the body, he takes it very kindly, and sets about mending matters.
+If any one helps another to rectify a fault of the heart, he has to
+deal with a man in the dark, who flies in a rage, and does not care to
+amend. How out of tune all this is! And yet there are men who are
+bewildered up to this point. Nor is this a special and extraordinary
+failing. This mistaken perception of the great and the small, of
+colour and of substance, is common to us all--to you and to me.
+
+Please give me your attention. The form strikes the eye; but the heart
+strikes not the eye. Therefore, that the heart should be distorted and
+turned awry causes no pain. This all results from the want of sound
+judgment; and that is why we cannot afford to be careless.
+
+The master of a certain house calls his servant Chokichi, who sits
+dozing in the kitchen. "Here, Chokichi! The guests are all gone; come
+and clear away the wine and fish in the back room."
+
+Chokichi rubs his eyes, and with a sulky answer goes into the back
+room, and, looking about him, sees all the nice things paraded on the
+trays and in the bowls. It's wonderful how his drowsiness passes away:
+no need for any one to hurry him now. His eyes glare with greed, as he
+says, "Hullo! here's a lot of tempting things! There's only just one
+help of that omelette left in the tray. What a hungry lot of guests!
+What's this? It looks like fish rissoles;" and with this he picks out
+one, and crams his mouth full; when, on one side, a mess of young
+cuttlefish, in a Chinese[97] porcelain bowl, catches his eyes. There
+the little beauties sit in a circle, like Buddhist priests in
+religious meditation! "Oh, goodness! how nice!" and just as he is
+dipping his finger and thumb in, he hears his master's footstep; and
+knowing that he is doing wrong, he crams his prize into the pocket of
+his sleeve, and stoops down to take away the wine-kettle and cups; and
+as he does this, out tumble the cuttlefish from his sleeve. The master
+sees it.
+
+[Footnote 97: Curiosities, such as porcelain or enamel or carved jade
+from China, are highly esteemed by the Japanese. A great quantity of
+the porcelain of Japan is stamped with counterfeit Chinese marks of
+the Ming dynasty.]
+
+"What's that?"
+
+Chokichi, pretending not to know what has happened, beats the mats,
+and keeps on saying, "Come again the day before yesterday; come again
+the day before yesterday."[98]
+
+[Footnote 98: An incantation used to invite spiders, which are
+considered unlucky by the superstitious, to come again at the Greek
+Kalends.]
+
+But it's no use his trying to persuade his master that the little
+cuttlefish are spiders, for they are not the least like them. It's no
+use hiding things,--they are sure to come to light; and so it is with
+the heart,--its purposes will out. If the heart is enraged, the dark
+veins stand out on the forehead; if the heart is grieved, tears rise
+to the eyes; if the heart is joyous, dimples appear in the cheeks; if
+the heart is merry, the face smiles: thus it is that the face reflects
+the emotions of the heart. It is not because the eyes are filled with
+tears that the heart is sad; nor because the veins stand out on the
+forehead that the heart is enraged. It is the heart which leads the
+way in everything. All the important sensations of the heart are
+apparent in the outward appearance. In the "Great Learning" of Koshi
+it is written, "The truth of what is within appears upon the surface."
+How then is the heart a thing which can be hidden? To answer when
+reproved, to hum tunes when scolded, show a diseased heart; and if
+this disease is not quickly taken in hand, it will become chronic, and
+the remedy become difficult: perhaps the disease may be so virulent
+that even Giba and Henjaku[99] in consultation could not effect a
+cure. So, before the disease has gained strength, I invite you to the
+study of the moral essays entitled _Shin-gaku_ (the Learning of the
+Heart). If you once arrive at the possession of your heart as it was
+originally by nature, what an admirable thing that will be! In that
+case your conscience will point out to you even the slightest wrong
+bias or selfishness.
+
+[Footnote 99: Two famous Indian and Chinese physicians.]
+
+While upon this subject, I may tell you a story which was related to
+me by a friend of mine. It is a story which the master of a certain
+money-changer's shop used to be very fond of telling. An important
+part of a money-changer's business is to distinguish between good and
+bad gold and silver. In the different establishments, the ways of
+teaching the apprentices this art vary; however, the plan adopted by
+the money-changer was as follows:--At first he would show them no bad
+silver, but would daily put before them good money only; when they had
+become thoroughly familiar with the sight of good money, if he
+stealthily put a little base coin among the good, he found that they
+would detect it immediately,--they saw it as plainly as you see things
+when you throw light on a mirror. This faculty of detecting base money
+at a glance was the result of having learned thoroughly to understand
+good money. Having once been taught in this way, the apprentices would
+not make a mistake about a piece of base coin during their whole
+lives, as I have heard. I can't vouch for the truth of this; but it is
+very certain that the principle, applied to moral instruction, is an
+excellent one,--it is a most safe mode of study. However, I was
+further told that if, after having thus learned to distinguish good
+money, a man followed some other trade for six months or a year, and
+gave up handling money, he would become just like any other
+inexperienced person, unable to distinguish the good from the base.
+
+Please reflect upon this attentively. If you once render yourself
+familiar with the nature of the uncorrupted heart, from that time
+forth you will be immediately conscious of the slightest inclination
+towards bias or selfishness. And why? Because the natural heart is
+illumined. When a man has once learned that which is perfect, he will
+never consent to accept that which is imperfect; but if, after having
+acquired this knowledge, he again keeps his natural heart at a
+distance, and gradually forgets to recognize that which is perfect, he
+finds himself in the dark again, and that he can no longer distinguish
+base money from good. I beg you to take care. If a man falls into bad
+habits, he is no longer able to perceive the difference between the
+good impulses of his natural heart and the evil impulses of his
+corrupt heart. With this benighted heart as a starting-point, he can
+carry out none of his intentions, and he has to lift his shoulders
+sighing and sighing again. A creature much to be pitied indeed! Then
+he loses all self-reliance, so that, although it would be better for
+him to hold his tongue and say nothing about it, if he is in the
+slightest trouble or distress, he goes and confesses the crookedness
+of his heart to every man he meets. What a wretched state for a man to
+be in! For this reason, I beg you to learn thoroughly the true silver
+of the heart, in order that you may make no mistake about the base
+coin. I pray that you and I, during our whole lives, may never leave
+the path of true principles.
+
+I have an amusing story to tell you in connection with this, if you
+will be so good as to listen.
+
+Once upon a time, when the autumn nights were beginning to grow
+chilly, five or six tradesmen in easy circumstances had assembled
+together to have a chat; and, having got ready their picnic box and
+wine-flask, went off to a temple on the hills, where a friendly priest
+lived, that they might listen to the stags roaring. With this
+intention they went to call upon the priest, and borrowed the guests'
+apartments[100] of the monastery; and as they were waiting to hear the
+deer roar, some of the party began to compose poetry. One would write
+a verse of Chinese poetry, and another would write a verse of
+seventeen syllables; and as they were passing the wine-cup the hour of
+sunset came, but not a deer had uttered a call; eight o'clock came,
+and ten o'clock came; still not a sound from the deer.
+
+[Footnote 100: All the temples in China and Japan have guests'
+apartments, which may be secured for a trifle, either for a long or
+short period. It is false to suppose that there is any desecration of
+a sacred shrine in the act of using it as a hostelry; it is the custom
+of the country.]
+
+"What can this mean?" said one. "The deer surely ought to be roaring."
+
+But, in spite of their waiting, the deer would not roar. At last the
+friends got sleepy, and, bored with writing songs and verses, began to
+yawn, and gave up twaddling about the woes and troubles of life; and
+as they were all silent, one of them, a man fifty years of age,
+stopping the circulation of the wine-cup, said--
+
+"Well, certainly, gentlemen, thanks to you, we have spent the evening
+in very pleasant conversation. However, although I am enjoying myself
+mightily in this way, my people at home must be getting anxious, and
+so I begin to think that we ought to leave off drinking."
+
+"Why so?" said the others.
+
+"Well, I'll tell you. You know that my only son is twenty-two years of
+age this year, and a troublesome fellow be is, too. When I'm at home,
+he lends a hand sulkily enough in the shop: but as soon as he no
+longer sees the shadow of me, he hoists sail and is off to some bad
+haunt. Although our relations and connections are always preaching to
+him, not a word has any more effect that wind blowing into a horse's
+ear. When I think that I shall have to leave my property to such a
+fellow as that, it makes my heart grow small indeed. Although, thanks
+to those to whom I have succeeded, I want for nothing, still, when I
+think of my son, I shed tears of blood night and day."
+
+And as he said this with a sigh, a man of some forty-five or forty-six
+years said--
+
+"No, no; although you make so much of your misfortunes, your son is
+but a little extravagant after all. There's no such great cause for
+grief there. I've got a very different story to tell. Of late years my
+shopmen, for one reason or another, have been running me into debt,
+thinking nothing of a debt of fifty or seventy ounces; and so the
+ledgers get all wrong. Just think of that. Here have I been keeping
+these fellows ever since they were little children unable to blow
+their own noses, and now, as soon as they come to be a little useful
+in the shop, they begin running up debts, and are no good whatever to
+their master. You see, you only have to spend your money upon your own
+son."
+
+Then another gentleman said--
+
+"Well, I think that to spend money upon your shop-people is no such
+great hardship after all. Now I've been in something like trouble
+lately. I can't get a penny out of my customers. One man owes me
+fifteen ounces; another owes me twenty-five ounces. Really that is
+enough to make a man feel as if his heart was worn away."
+
+When he had finished speaking, an old gentleman, who was sitting
+opposite, playing with his fan, said--
+
+"Certainly, gentlemen, your grievances are not without cause; still,
+to be perpetually asked for a little money, or to back a bill, by
+one's relations or friends, and to have a lot of hangers-on dependent
+on one, as I have, is a worse case still."
+
+But before the old gentleman had half finished speaking, his neighbour
+called out--
+
+"No, no; all you gentlemen are in luxury compared to me. Please listen
+to what I have to suffer. My wife and my mother can't hit it off
+anyhow. All day long they're like a couple of cows butting at one
+another with their horns. The house is as unendurable as if it were
+full of smoke. I often think it would be better to send my wife back
+to her village; but then I've got two little children. If I interfere
+and take my wife's part, my mother gets low-spirited. If I scold my
+wife, she says that I treat her so brutally because she's not of the
+same flesh and blood; and then she hates me. The trouble and anxiety
+are beyond description: I'm like a post stuck up between them."
+
+And so they all twaddled away in chorus, each about his own troubles.
+At last one of the gentlemen, recollecting himself, said--
+
+"Well, gentlemen, certainly the deer ought to be roaring; but we've
+been so engrossed with our conversation, that we don't know whether we
+have missed hearing them or not."
+
+With this he pulled aside the sliding-door of the verandah and looked
+out, and, lo and behold! a great big stag was standing perfectly
+silent in front of the garden.
+
+"Hullo!" said the man to the deer, "what's this? Since you've been
+there all the time, why did you not roar?"
+
+Then the stag answered, with an innocent face--
+
+"Oh, I came here to listen to the lamentations of you gentlemen."
+
+Isn't that a funny story?
+
+Old and young, men and women, rich and poor, never cease grumbling
+from morning till night. All this is the result of a diseased heart.
+In short, for the sake of a very trifling inclination or selfish
+pursuit, they will do any wrong in order to effect that which is
+impossible. This is want of judgment, and this brings all sorts of
+trouble upon the world. If once you gain possession of a perfect
+heart, knowing that which is impossible to be impossible, and
+recognizing that that which is difficult is difficult, you will not
+attempt to spare yourself trouble unduly. What says the Chin-Yo?[101]
+The wise man, whether his lot be cast amongst rich or poor, amongst
+barbarians or in sorrow, understands his position by his own instinct.
+If men do not understand this, they think that the causes of pain and
+pleasure are in the body. Putting the heart on one side, they
+earnestly strive after the comforts of the body, and launch into
+extravagance, the end of which is miserly parsimony. Instead of
+pleasure they meet with grief of the heart, and pass their lives in
+weeping and wailing. In one way or another, everything in this world
+depends upon the heart. I implore every one of you to take heed that
+tears fall not to your lot.
+
+[Footnote 101: The second book of Confucius.]
+
+
+
+
+APPENDICES
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX A
+
+
+
+
+AN ACCOUNT OF THE HARA-KIRI
+
+(FROM A RARE JAPANESE MS.)
+
+
+Seppuku _(hara-kiri)_ is the mode of suicide adopted amongst Samurai
+when they have no alternative but to die. Some there are who thus
+commit suicide of their own free will; others there are who, having
+committed some crime which does not put them outside the pale of the
+privileges of the Samurai class, are ordered by their superiors to put
+an end to their own lives. It is needless to say that it is absolutely
+necessary that the principal, the witnesses, and the seconds who take
+part in the affair should be acquainted with all the ceremonies to be
+observed. A long time ago, a certain Daimio invited a number of
+persons, versed in the various ceremonies, to call upon him to explain
+the different forms to be observed by the official witnesses who
+inspect and verify the head, &c., and then to instruct him in the
+ceremonies to be observed in the act of suicide; then he showed all
+these rites to his son and to all his retainers. Another person has
+said that, as the ceremonies to be gone through by principal,
+witnesses, and seconds are all very important matters, men should
+familiarize themselves with a thing which is so terrible, in order
+that, should the time come for them to take part in it, they may not
+be taken by surprise.
+
+The witnesses go to see and certify the suicide. For seconds, men are
+wanted who have distinguished themselves in the military arts. In old
+days, men used to bear these things in mind; but now-a-days the
+fashion is to be ignorant of such ceremonies, and if upon rare
+occasions a criminal is handed over to a Daimio's charge, that he may
+perform _hara-kiri,_ it often happens, at the time of execution, that
+there is no one among all the prince's retainers who is competent to
+act as second, in which case a man has to be engaged in a hurry from
+some other quarter to cut off the head of the criminal, and for that
+day he changes his name and becomes a retainer of the prince, either
+of the middle or lowest class, and the affair is entrusted to him, and
+so the difficulty is got over: nor is this considered to be a
+disgrace. It is a great breach of decorum if the second, who is a most
+important officer, commits any mistake (such as not striking off the
+head at a blow) in the presence of the witnesses sent by the
+Government. On this account a skilful person must be employed; and, to
+hide the unmanliness of his own people, a prince must perform the
+ceremony in this imperfect manner. Every Samurai should be able to cut
+off a man's head: therefore, to have to employ a stranger to act as
+second is to incur the charge of ignorance of the arts of war, and is
+a bitter mortification. However, young men, trusting to their youthful
+ardour, are apt to be careless, and are certain to make a mistake.
+Some people there are who, not lacking in skill on ordinary occasions,
+lose their presence of mind in public, and cannot do themselves
+justice. It is all the more important, therefore, as the act occurs
+but rarely, that men who are liable to be called upon to be either
+principals or seconds or witnesses in the _hara-kiri_ should
+constantly be examined in their skill as swordsmen, and should be
+familiar with all the rites, in order that when the time comes they
+may not lose their presence of mind.
+
+According to one authority, capital punishment may be divided into two
+kinds--beheading and strangulation. The ceremony of _hara-kiri_ was
+added afterwards in the case of persons belonging to the military
+class being condemned to death. This was first instituted in the days
+of the Ashikaga[102] dynasty. At that time the country was in a state
+of utter confusion; and there were men who, although fighting, were
+neither guilty of high treason nor of infidelity to their feudal
+lords, but who by the chances of war were taken prisoners. To drag out
+such men as these, bound as criminals, and cut their heads off, was
+intolerably cruel; accordingly, men hit upon a ceremonious mode of
+suicide by disembowelling, in order to comfort the departed spirit.
+Even at present, where it becomes necessary to put to death a man who
+has been guilty of some act not unworthy of a Samurai, at the time of
+the execution witnesses are sent to the house; and the criminal,
+having bathed and put on new clothes, in obedience to the commands of
+his superiors, puts an end to himself, but does not on that account
+forfeit his rank as a Samurai. This is a law for which, in all truth,
+men should be grateful.
+
+[Footnote 102: Ashikaga, third dynasty of Shoguns, flourished from
+A.D. 1336 to 1568. The practice of suicide by disembowelling is of
+great antiquity. This is the time when the ceremonies attending it
+were invented.]
+
+
+ON THE PREPARATION OF THE PLACE OF EXECUTION
+
+In old days the ceremony of _hara-kiri_ used to be performed in a
+temple. In the third year of the period called Kan-yei (A.D. 1626), a
+certain person, having been guilty of treason, was ordered to
+disembowel himself, on the fourteenth day of the first month, in the
+temple of Kichijoji, at Komagome, in Yedo. Eighteen years later, the
+retainer of a certain Daimio, having had a dispute with a sailor
+belonging to an Osaka coasting-ship, killed the sailor; and, an
+investigation having been made into the matter by the Governor of
+Osaka, the retainer was ordered to perform _hara-kiri_, on the
+twentieth day of the sixth month, in the temple called Sokusanji, in
+Osaka. During the period Shoho (middle of seventeenth century), a
+certain man, having been guilty of heinous misconduct, performed
+_hara-kiri_ in the temple called Shimpukuji, in the Koji-street of
+Yedo. On the fourth day of the fifth month of the second year of the
+period Meireki (A.D. 1656), a certain man, for having avenged the
+death of his cousin's husband at a place called Shimidzudani, in the
+Koji-street, disembowelled himself in the temple called Honseiji. On
+the twenty-sixth day of the sixth month of the eighth year of the
+period Yempo (A.D. 1680), at the funeral ceremonies in honour of the
+anniversary of the death of Genyuin Sama, a former Shogun, Naito
+Idzumi no Kami, having a cause of hatred against Nagai Shinano no
+Kami, killed him at one blow with a short sword, in the main hall of
+the temple called Zojoji (the burial-place of the Shoguns in Yedo).
+Idzumi no Kami was arrested by the officers present, and on the
+following day performed _hara-kiri_ at Kiridoshi, in the temple called
+Seiriuji.
+
+In modern times the ceremony has taken place at night, either in the
+palace or in the garden of a Daimio, to whom the condemned man has
+been given in charge. Whether it takes place in the palace or in the
+garden depends upon the rank of the individual. Daimios and Hatamotos,
+as a matter of course, and the higher retainers of the Shogun,
+disembowel themselves in the palace: retainers of lower rank should do
+so in the garden. In the case of vassals of feudatories, according to
+the rank of their families, those who, being above the grade of
+captains, carry the baton,[103] should perform _hara-kiri_ in the
+palace; all others in the garden. If, when the time comes, the persons
+engaged in the ceremony are in any doubt as to the proper rules to be
+followed, they should inquire of competent persons, and settle the
+question. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, during the
+period Genroku, when Asano Takumi no Kami[104] disembowelled himself
+in the palace of a Daimio called Tamura, as the whole thing was sudden
+and unexpected, the garden was covered with matting, and on the top of
+this thick mats were laid and a carpet, and the affair was concluded
+so; but there are people who say that it was wrong to treat a Daimio
+thus, as if he had been an ordinary Samurai. But it is said that in
+old times it was the custom that the ceremony should take place upon a
+leather carpet spread in the garden; and further, that the proper
+place is inside a picket fence tied together in the garden: so it is
+wrong for persons who are only acquainted with one form of the
+ceremony to accuse Tamura of having acted improperly. If, however, the
+object was to save the house from the pollution of blood, then the
+accusation of ill-will may well be brought; for the preparation of the
+place is of great importance.
+
+[Footnote 103: A baton with a tassel of paper strips, used for giving
+directions in war-time.]
+
+[Footnote 104: See the story of the Forty-seven Ronins.]
+
+Formerly it was the custom that, for personages of importance, the
+enclosure within the picket fence should be of thirty-six feet square.
+An entrance was made to the south, and another to the north: the door
+to the south was called _Shugiyomon_ ("the door of the practice of
+virtue"); that to the north was called _Umbanmon_ ("the door of the
+warm basin"[105]). Two mats, with white binding, were arranged in the
+shape of a hammer, the one at right angles to the other; six feet of
+white silk, four feet broad, were stretched on the mat, which was
+placed lengthwise; at the four corners were erected four posts for
+curtains. In front of the two mats was erected a portal, eight feet
+high by six feet broad, in the shape of the portals in front of
+temples, made of a fine sort of bamboo wrapped in white[106] silk.
+White curtains, four feet broad, were hung at the four corners, and
+four flags, six feet long, on which should be inscribed four
+quotations from the sacred books. These flags, it is said, were
+immediately after the ceremony carried away to the grave. At night two
+lights were placed, one upon either side of the two mats. The candles
+were placed in saucers upon stands of bamboo, four feet high, wrapped
+in white silk. The person who was to disembowel himself, entering the
+picket fence by the north entrance, took his place upon the white silk
+upon the mat facing the north. Some there were, however, who said that
+he should sit facing the west: in that case the whole place must be
+prepared accordingly. The seconds enter the enclosure by the south
+entrance, at the same time as the principal enters by the north, and
+take their places on the mat that is placed crosswise.
+
+[Footnote 105: No Japanese authority that I have been able to consult
+gives any explanation of this singular name.]
+
+[Footnote 106: White, in China and Japan, is the colour of mourning.]
+
+Nowadays, when the _hara-kiri_ is performed inside the palace, a
+temporary place is made on purpose, either in the garden or in some
+unoccupied spot; but if the criminal is to die on the day on which he
+is given in charge, or on the next day, the ceremony, having to take
+place so quickly, is performed in the reception-room. Still, even if
+there is a lapse of time between the period of giving the prisoner in
+charge and the execution, it is better that the ceremony should take
+place in a decent room in the house than in a place made on purpose.
+If it is heard that, for fear of dirtying his house, a man has made a
+place expressly, he will be blamed for it. It surely can be no
+disgrace to the house of a soldier that he was ordered to perform the
+last offices towards a Samurai who died by _hara-kiri_. To slay his
+enemy against whom he has cause of hatred, and then to kill himself,
+is the part of a noble Samurai; and it is sheer nonsense to look upon
+the place where he has disembowelled himself as polluted. In the
+beginning of the eighteenth century, seventeen of the retainers of
+Asano Takumi no Kami performed _hara-kiri_ in the garden of a palace
+at Shirokane, in Yedo. When it was over, the people of the palace
+called upon the priests of a sect named Shugenja to come and purify
+the place; but when the lord of the palace heard this, he ordered the
+place to be left as it was; for what need was there to purify a place
+where faithful Samurai had died by their own hand? But in other
+palaces to which the remainder of the retainers of Takumi no Kami were
+entrusted, it is said that the places of execution were purified. But
+the people of that day praised Kumamoto Ko (the Prince of Higo), to
+whom the palace at Shirokane belonged. It is a currish thing to look
+upon death in battle or by _hara-kiri_ as a pollution: this is a thing
+to bear in mind. In modern times the place of _hara-kiri_ is eighteen
+feet square in all cases; in the centre is a place to sit upon, and
+the condemned man is made to sit facing the witnesses; at other times
+he is placed with his side to the witnesses: this is according to the
+nature of the spot. In some cases the seconds turn their backs to the
+witnesses. It is open to question, however, whether this is not a
+breach of etiquette. The witnesses should be consulted upon these
+arrangements. If the witnesses have no objection, the condemned man
+should be placed directly opposite to them. The place where the
+witnesses are seated should be removed more than twelve or eighteen
+feet from the condemned man. The place from which the sentence is read
+should also be close by. The writer has been furnished with a plan of
+the _hara-kiri_ as it is performed at present. Although the ceremony
+is gone through in other ways also, still it is more convenient to
+follow the manner indicated.
+
+If the execution takes place in a room, a kerchief of five breadths of
+white cotton cloth or a quilt should be laid down, and it is also said
+that two mats should be prepared; however, as there are already mats
+in the room, there is no need for special mats: two red rugs should be
+spread over all, sewed together, one on the top of the other; for if
+the white cotton cloth be used alone, the blood will soak through on
+to the mats; therefore it is right the rugs should be spread. On the
+twenty-third day of the eighth month of the fourth year of the period
+Yenkiyo (A.D. 1740), at the _hara-kiri_ of a certain person there were
+laid down a white cloth, eight feet square, and on that a quilt of
+light green cotton, six feet square, and on that a cloth of white
+hemp, six feet square, and on that two rugs. On the third day of the
+ninth month of the ninth year of the period Tempo (A.D. 1838), at the
+_hara-kiri_ of a certain person it is said that there were spread a
+large double cloth of white cotton, and on that two rugs. But, of
+these two occasions, the first must be commended for its careful
+preparation. If the execution be at night, candlesticks of white wood
+should be placed at each of the four corners, lest the seconds be
+hindered in their work. In the place where the witnesses are to sit,
+ordinary candlesticks should be placed, according to etiquette; but an
+excessive illumination is not decorous. Two screens covered with white
+paper should be set up, behind the shadow of which are concealed the
+dirk upon a tray, a bucket to hold the head after it has been cut off,
+an incense-burner, a pail of water, and a basin. The above rules
+apply equally to the ceremonies observed when the _hara-kiri_ takes
+place in a garden. In the latter case the place is hung round with a
+white curtain, which need not be new for the occasion. Two mats, a
+white cloth, and a rug are spread. If the execution is at night,
+lanterns of white paper are placed on bamboo poles at the four
+corners. The sentence having been read inside the house, the persons
+engaged in the ceremony proceed to the place of execution; but,
+according to circumstances, the sentence may be read at the place
+itself. In the case of Asano Takumi no Kami, the sentence was read out
+in the house, and he afterwards performed _hara-kiri_ in the garden.
+On the third day of the fourth month of the fourth year of the period
+Tenmei (A.D. 1784), a Hatamoto named Sano, having received his
+sentence in the supreme court-house, disembowelled himself in the
+garden in front of the prison. When the ceremony takes place in the
+garden, matting must be spread all the way to the place, so that
+sandals need not be worn. The reason for this is that some men in that
+position suffer from a rush of blood to the head, from nervousness, so
+their sandals might slip off their feet without their being aware of
+their loss; and as this would have a very bad appearance, it is better
+to spread matting. Care must be taken lest, in spreading the matting,
+a place be left where two mats join, against which the foot might
+trip. The white screens and other things are prepared as has been
+directed above. If any curtailment is made, it must be done as well as
+circumstances will permit. According to the crime of which a man who
+is handed over to any Daimio's charge is guilty, it is known whether
+he will have to perform _hara-kiri_; and the preparations should be
+made accordingly. Asano Takumi no Kami was taken to the palace of
+Tamura Sama at the hour of the monkey (between three and five in the
+afternoon), took off his dress of ceremony, partook of a bowl of soup
+and five dishes, and drank two cups of warm water, and at the hour of
+the cock (between five and seven in the evening) disembowelled
+himself. A case of this kind requires much attention; for great care
+should be taken that the preparations be carried on without the
+knowledge of the principal. If a temporary room has been built
+expressly for the occasion, to avoid pollution to the house, it should
+be kept a secret. It once happened that a criminal was received in
+charge at the palace of a certain nobleman, and when his people were
+about to erect a temporary building for the ceremony, they wrote to
+consult some of the parties concerned; the letter ran as follows--
+
+"The house in which we live is very small and inconvenient in all
+respects. We have ordered the guard to treat our prisoner with all
+respect; but our retainers who are placed on guard are much
+inconvenienced for want of space; besides, in the event of fire
+breaking out or any extraordinary event taking place, the place is so
+small that it would be difficult to get out. We are thinking,
+therefore, of adding an apartment to the original building, so that
+the guard may be able at all times to go in and out freely, and that
+if, in case of fire or otherwise, we should have to leave the house,
+we may do so easily. We beg to consult you upon this point."
+
+When a Samurai has to perform _hara-kiri_ by the command of his own
+feudal lord, the ceremony should take place in one of the lesser
+palaces of the clan. Once upon a time, a certain prince of the Inouye
+clan, having a just cause of offence against his steward, who was
+called Ishikawa Tozayemon, and wishing to punish him, caused him to be
+killed in his principal palace at Kandabashi, in Yedo. When this
+matter was reported to the Shogun, having been convicted of disrespect
+of the privileges of the city, he was ordered to remove to his lesser
+palace at Asakusa. Now, although the _hara-kiri_ cannot be called
+properly an execution, still, as it only differs from an ordinary
+execution in that by it the honour of the Samurai is not affected, it
+is only a question of degree; it is a matter of ceremonial. If the
+principal palace[107] is a long distance from the Shogun's castle,
+then the _hara-kiri_ may take place there; but there can be no
+objection whatever to its taking place in a minor palace. Nowadays,
+when a man is condemned to _hara-kiri_ by a Daimio, the ceremony
+usually takes place in one of the lesser palaces; the place commonly
+selected is an open space near the horse-exercising ground, and the
+preparations which I have described above are often shortened
+according to circumstances.
+
+[Footnote 107: The principal yashikis (palaces) of the nobles are for
+the most part immediately round the Shogun's castle, in the enclosure
+known as the official quarter. Their proximity to the palace forbids
+their being made the scenes of executions.]
+
+When a retainer is suddenly ordered to perform _hara-kiri_ during a
+journey, a temple or shrine should be hired for the occasion. On these
+hurried occasions, coarse mats, faced with finer matting or common
+mats, may be used. If the criminal is of rank to have an
+armour-bearer, a carpet of skin should be spread, should one be easily
+procurable. The straps of the skin (which are at the head) should,
+according to old custom, be to the front, so that the fur may point
+backwards. In old days, when the ceremony took place in a garden, a
+carpet of skin was spread. To hire a temple for the purpose of causing
+a man to perform _hara-kiri_ was of frequent occurrence: it is
+doubtful whether it may be done at the present time. This sort of
+question should be referred beforehand to some competent person, that
+the course to be adopted may be clearly understood.
+
+In the period Kambun (A.D. 1661-1673) a Prince Sakai, travelling
+through the Bishiu territory, hired a temple or shrine for one of his
+retainers to disembowel himself in; and so the affair was concluded.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE CEREMONIES OBSERVED AT THE HARA-KIRI OF A PERSON GIVEN IN
+CHARGE TO A DAIMIO.
+
+When a man has been ordered by the Government to disembowel himself,
+the public censors, who have been appointed to act as witnesses, write
+to the prince who has the criminal in charge, to inform them that they
+will go to his palace on public business. This message is written
+directly to the chief, and is sent by an assistant censor; and a
+suitable answer is returned to it. Before the ceremony, the witnesses
+send an assistant censor to see the place, and look at a plan of the
+house, and to take a list of the names of the persons who are to be
+present; he also has an interview with the _kaishaku_, or seconds, and
+examines them upon the way of performing the ceremonies. When all the
+preparations have been made, he goes to fetch the censors; and they
+all proceed together to the place of execution, dressed in their
+hempen-cloth dress of ceremony. The retainers of the palace are
+collected to do obeisance in the entrance-yard; and the lord, to whom
+the criminal has been entrusted, goes as far as the front porch to
+meet the censors, and conducts them to the front reception-room. The
+chief censor then announces to the lord of the palace that he has come
+to read out the sentence of such an one who has been condemned to
+perform _hara-kiri_, and that the second censor has come to witness
+the execution of the sentence. The lord of the palace then inquires
+whether he is expected to attend the execution in person, and, if any
+of the relations or family of the criminal should beg to receive his
+remains, whether their request should be complied with; after this he
+announces that he will order everything to be made ready, and leaves
+the room. Tea, a fire-box for smoking, and sweetmeats are set before
+the censors; but they decline to accept any hospitality until their
+business shall have been concluded. The minor officials follow the
+same rule. If the censors express a wish to see the place of
+execution, the retainers of the palace show the way, and their lord
+accompanies them; in this, however, he may be replaced by one of his
+_karo_ or councillors. They then return, and take their seats in the
+reception-room. After this, when all the preparations have been made,
+the master of the house leads the censors to the place where the
+sentence is to be read; and it is etiquette that they should wear both
+sword and dirk.[108] The lord of the palace takes his place on one
+side; the inferior censors sit on either side in a lower place. The
+councillors and other officers of the palace also take their places.
+One of the councillors present, addressing the censors without moving
+from his place, asks whether he shall bring forth the prisoner.
+
+[Footnote 108: A Japanese removes his sword on entering a house,
+retaining only his dirk.]
+
+Previously to this, the retainers of the palace, going to the room
+where the prisoner is confined, inform him that, as the censors have
+arrived, he should change his dress, and the attendants bring out a
+change of clothes upon a large tray: it is when he has finished his
+toilet that the witnesses go forth and take their places in the
+appointed order, and the principal is then introduced. He is preceded
+by one man, who should be of the rank of _Mono-gashira_ (retainer of
+the fourth rank), who wears a dirk, but no sword. Six men act as
+attendants; they should be of the fifth or sixth rank; they walk on
+either side of the principal. They are followed by one man who should
+be of the rank of _Yonin_ (councillor of the second class). When they
+reach the place, the leading man draws on one side and sits down, and
+the six attendants sit down on either side of the principal. The
+officer who follows him sits down behind him, and the chief censor
+reads the sentence.
+
+When the reading of the sentence is finished, the principal leaves the
+room and again changes his clothes, and the chief censor immediately
+leaves the palace; but the lord of the palace does not conduct him to
+the door. The second censor returns to the reception-room until the
+principal has changed his clothes. When the principal has taken his
+seat at the place of execution, the councillors of the palace announce
+to the second censor that all is ready; he then proceeds to the place,
+wearing his sword and dirk. The lord of the palace, also wearing his
+sword and dirk, takes his seat on one side. The inferior censors and
+councillors sit in front of the censor: they wear the dirk only. The
+assistant second brings a dirk upon a tray, and, having placed it in
+front of the principal, withdraws on one side: when the principal
+leans his head forward, his chief second strikes off his head, which
+is immediately shown to the censor, who identifies it, and tells the
+master of the palace that he is satisfied, and thanks him for all his
+trouble. The corpse, as it lies, is hidden by a white screen which is
+set up around it, and incense is brought out. The witnesses leave the
+place. The lord of the palace accompanies them as far as the porch,
+and the retainers prostrate themselves in the yard as before. The
+retainers who should be present at the place of execution are one or
+two councillors (_Karo_), two or three second councillors (_Yonin_),
+two or three _Mono-gashira_, one chief of the palace (_Rusui_), six
+attendants, one chief second, two assistant seconds, one man to carry
+incense, who need not be a person of rank--any Samurai will do. They
+attend to the setting up of the white screen.
+
+The duty of burying the corpse and of setting the place in order again
+devolves upon four men; these are selected from Samurai of the middle
+or lower class; during the performance of their duties, they hitch up
+their trousers and wear neither sword nor dirk. Their names are
+previously sent in to the censor, who acts as witness; and to the
+junior censors, should they desire it. Before the arrival of the chief
+censor, the requisite utensils for extinguishing a fire are prepared,
+firemen are engaged,[109] and officers constantly go the rounds to
+watch against fire. From the time when the chief censor comes into the
+house until he leaves it, no one is allowed to enter the premises. The
+servants on guard at the entrance porch should wear their hempen
+dresses of ceremony. Everything in the palace should be conducted with
+decorum, and the strictest attention paid in all things.
+
+[Footnote 109: In Japan, where fires are of daily occurrence, the
+fire-buckets and other utensils form part of the gala dress of the
+house of a person of rank.]
+
+When any one is condemned to _hara-kiri_, it would be well that people
+should go to the palace of the Prince of Higo, and learn what
+transpired at the execution of the Ronins of Asano Takumi no Kami. A
+curtain was hung round the garden in front of the reception-room;
+three mats were laid down, and upon these was placed a white cloth.
+The condemned men were kept in the reception-room, and summoned, one
+by one; two men, one on each side, accompanied them; the second,
+followed behind; and they proceeded together to the place of
+execution. When the execution was concluded in each case, the corpse
+was hidden from the sight of the chief witness by a white screen,
+folded up in white cloth, placed on a mat, and carried off to the rear
+by two foot-soldiers; it was then placed in a coffin. The
+blood-stained ground was sprinkled with sand, and swept clean; fresh
+mats were laid down, and the place prepared anew; after which the next
+man was summoned to come forth.
+
+
+ON CERTAIN THINGS TO BE BORNE IN MIND BY THE WITNESSES.
+
+When a clansman is ordered by his feudal lord to perform _hara-kiri_,
+the sentence must be read out by the censor of the clan, who also acts
+as witness. He should take his place in front of the criminal, at a
+distance of twelve feet; according to some books, the distance should
+be eighteen feet, and he should sit obliquely, not facing the
+criminal; he should lay his sword down by his side, but, if he
+pleases, he may wear it in his girdle; he must read out the sentence
+distinctly. If the sentence be a long document, to begin reading in a
+very loud voice and afterwards drop into a whisper has an appearance
+of faint-heartedness; but to read it throughout in a low voice is
+worse still: it should be delivered clearly from beginning to end. It
+is the duty of the chief witness to set an example of fortitude to the
+other persons who are to take part in the execution. When the second
+has finished his work, he carries the head to the chief witness, who,
+after inspecting it, must declare that he has identified it; he then
+should take his sword, and leave his place. It is sufficient, however,
+that the head should be struck off without being carried to the chief
+witness; in that case, the second receives his instructions
+beforehand. On rising, the chief witness should step out with his left
+foot and turn to the left. If the ceremony takes place out of doors,
+the chief witness, wearing his sword and dirk, should sit upon a box;
+he must wear his hempen dress of ceremony; he may hitch his trousers
+up slightly; according to his rank, he may wear his full dress--that
+is, wings over his full dress. It is the part of the chief witness to
+instruct the seconds and others in the duties which they have to
+perform, and also to preconcert measures in the event of any mishap
+occurring.
+
+If whilst the various persons to be engaged in the ceremony are
+rubbing up their military lore, and preparing themselves for the
+event, any other person should come in, they should immediately turn
+the conversation. Persons of the rank of Samurai should be familiar
+with all the details of the _hara-kiri_; and to be seen discussing
+what should be done in case anything went wrong, and so forth, would
+have an appearance of ignorance. If, however, an intimate friend
+should go to the place, rather than have any painful concealment, he
+may be consulted upon the whole affair.
+
+When the sentence has been read, it is probable that the condemned man
+will have some last words to say to the chief witness. It must depend
+on the nature of what he has to say whether it will be received or
+not. If he speaks in a confused or bewildered manner, no attention is
+paid to it: his second should lead him away, of his own accord or at a
+sign from the chief witness.
+
+If the condemned man be a person who has been given in charge to a
+prince by the Government, the prince after the reading of the sentence
+should send his retainers to the prisoner with a message to say that
+the decrees of the Government are not to be eluded, but that if he has
+any last wishes to express, they are ordered by their lord to receive
+them. If the prisoner is a man of high rank, the lord of the palace
+should go in person to hear his last wishes.
+
+The condemned man should answer in the following way--
+
+"Sir, I thank you for your careful consideration, but I have nothing
+that I wish to say. I am greatly indebted to you for the great
+kindness which I have received since I have been under your charge. I
+beg you to take my respects to your lord and to the gentlemen of your
+clan who have treated me so well." Or he may say, "Sirs, I have
+nothing to say; yet, since you are so kind as to think of me, I should
+be obliged if you would deliver such and such a message to such an
+one." This is the proper and becoming sort of speech for the occasion.
+If the prisoner entrusts them with any message, the retainers should
+receive it in such a manner as to set his mind at rest. Should he ask
+for writing materials in order to write a letter, as this is forbidden
+by the law, they should tell him so, and not grant his request. Still
+they must feel that it is painful to refuse the request of a dying
+man, and must do their best to assist him. They must exhaust every
+available kindness and civility, as was done in the period Genroku, in
+the case of the Ronins of Asano Takumi no Kami. The Prince of Higo,
+after the sentence had been read, caused paper and writing materials
+to be taken to their room. If the prisoner is light-headed from
+excitement, it is no use furnishing him with writing materials. It
+must depend upon circumstances; but when a man has murdered another,
+having made up his mind to abide by the consequences, then that man's
+execution should be carried through with all honour. When a man kills
+another on the spot, in a fit of ungovernable passion, and then is
+bewildered and dazed by his own act, the same pains need not be taken
+to conduct matters punctiliously. If the prisoner be a careful man, he
+will take an early opportunity after he has been given in charge to
+express his wishes. To carry kindness so far as to supply writing
+materials and the like is not obligatory. If any doubt exists upon the
+point, the chief witness may be consulted.
+
+After the Ronins of Asano Takumi no Kami had heard their sentence in
+the palace of Matsudaira Oki no Kami, that Daimio in person went and
+took leave of them, and calling Oishi Chikara,[110] the son of their
+chief, to him, said, "I have heard that your mother is at home in your
+own country; how she will grieve when she hears of your death and that
+of your father, I can well imagine. If you have any message that you
+wish to leave for her, tell me, without standing upon ceremony, and I
+will transmit it without delay." For a while Chikara kept his head
+bent down towards the ground; at last he drew back a little, and,
+lifting his head, said, "I humbly thank your lordship for what you
+have been pleased to say. My father warned me from the first that our
+crime was so great that, even were we to be pardoned by a gracious
+judgment upon one count, I must not forget that there would be a
+hundred million counts against us for which we must commit suicide:
+and that if I disregarded his words his hatred would pursue me after
+death. My father impressed this upon me at the temple called
+Sengakuji, and again when I was separated from him to be taken to the
+palace of Prince Sengoku. Now my father and myself have been condemned
+to perform _hara-kiri_, according to the wish of our hearts. Still I
+cannot forget to think of my mother. When we parted at Kiyoto, she
+told me that our separation would be for long, and she bade me not to
+play the coward when I thought of her. As I took a long leave of her
+then, I have no message to send to her now." When he spoke thus, Oki
+no Kami and all his retainers, who were drawn up around him, were
+moved to tears in admiration of his heroism.
+
+[Footnote 110: Oishi Chikara was separated from his father, who was
+one of the seventeen delivered over to the charge of the Prince of
+Higo.]
+
+Although it is right that the condemned man should bathe and partake
+of wine and food, these details should be curtailed. Even should he
+desire these favours, it must depend upon his conduct whether they be
+granted or refused. He should be caused to die as quickly as possible.
+Should he wish for some water to drink, it should be given to him. If
+in his talk he should express himself like a noble Samurai, all pains
+should be exhausted in carrying out his execution. Yet however careful
+a man he may be, as he nears his death his usual demeanour will
+undergo a change. If the execution is delayed, in all probability it
+will cause the prisoner's courage to fail him; therefore, as soon as
+the sentence shall have been passed, the execution should be brought
+to a conclusion. This, again, is a point for the chief witness to
+remember.
+
+
+CONCERNING SECONDS (KAISHAKU).
+
+When the condemned man is one who has been given in charge for
+execution, six attendants are employed; when the execution is within
+the clan, then two or three attendants will suffice; the number,
+however, must depend upon the rank of the principal. Men of great
+nerve and strength must be selected for the office; they must wear
+their hempen dress of ceremony, and tuck up their trousers; they must
+on no account wear either sword or dirk, but have a small poniard
+hidden in their bosom: these are the officers who attend upon the
+condemned man when he changes his dress, and who sit by him on the
+right hand and on the left hand to guard him whilst the sentence is
+being read. In the event of any mistake occurring (such as the
+prisoner attempting to escape), they knock him down; and should he be
+unable to stand or to walk, they help to support him. The attendants
+accompanying the principal to the place of execution, if they are six
+in number, four of them take their seats some way off and mount guard,
+while the other two should sit close behind the principal. They must
+understand that should there be any mistake they must throw the
+condemned man, and, holding him down, cut off his head with their
+poniard, or stab him to death. If the second bungles in cutting off
+the head and the principal attempts to rise, it is the duty of the
+attendants to kill him. They must help him to take off his upper
+garments and bare his body. In recent times, however, there have been
+cases where the upper garments have not been removed: this depends
+upon circumstances. The setting up of the white screen, and the laying
+the corpse in the coffin, are duties which, although they may be
+performed by other officers, originally devolved upon the six
+attendants. When a common man is executed, he is bound with cords, and
+so made to take his place; but a Samurai wears his dress of ceremony,
+is presented with a dagger, and dies thus. There ought to be no
+anxiety lest such a man should attempt to escape; still, as there is
+no knowing what these six attendants may be called upon to do, men
+should be selected who thoroughly understand their business.
+
+The seconds are three in number--the chief second, the assistant
+second, and the inferior second. When the execution is carried out
+with proper solemnity, three men are employed; still a second and
+assistant second are sufficient. If three men serve as seconds, their
+several duties are as follows:--The chief second strikes off the head;
+that is his duty: he is the most important officer in the execution by
+_hara-kiri._ The assistant second brings forward the tray, on which is
+placed the dirk; that is his duty: he must perform his part in such a
+manner that the principal second is not hindered in his work. The
+assistant second is the officer of second importance in the execution.
+The third or inferior second carries the head to the chief witness for
+identification; and in the event of something suddenly occurring to
+hinder either of the other two seconds, he should bear in mind that he
+must be ready to act as his substitute: his is an office of great
+importance, and a proper person must be selected to fill it.
+
+Although there can be no such thing as a _kaishaku_ (second) in any
+case except in one of _hara-kiri,_ still in old times guardians and
+persons who assisted others were also called _kaishaku_: the reason
+for this is because the _kaishaku_, or second, comes to the assistance
+of the principal. If the principal were to make any mistake at the
+fatal moment, it would be a disgrace to his dead body: it is in order
+to prevent such mistakes that the _kaishaku,_ or second, is employed.
+It is the duty of the _kaishaku_ to consider this as his first duty.
+
+When a man is appointed to act as second to another, what shall be
+said of him if he accepts the office with a smiling face? Yet must he
+not put on a face of distress. It is as well to attempt to excuse
+oneself from performing the duty. There is no heroism in cutting a
+man's head off well, and it is a disgrace to do it in a bungling
+manner; yet must not a man allege lack of skill as a pretext for
+evading the office, for it is an unworthy thing that a Samurai should
+want the skill required to behead a man. If there are any that
+advocate employing young men as seconds, it should rather be said that
+their hands are inexpert. To play the coward and yield up the office
+to another man is out of the question. When a man is called upon to
+perform the office, he should express his readiness to use his sword
+(the dirk may be employed, but the sword is the proper weapon). As
+regards the sword, the second should borrow that of the principal: if
+there is any objection to this, he should receive a sword from his
+lord; he should not use his own sword. When the assistant seconds have
+been appointed, the three should take counsel together about the
+details of the place of execution, when they have been carefully
+instructed by their superiors in all the ceremonies; and having made
+careful inquiry, should there be anything wrong, they should appeal to
+their superiors for instruction. The seconds wear their dresses of
+ceremony when the criminal is a man given in charge by the Government:
+when he is one of their own clan, they need only wear the trousers of
+the Samurai. In old days it is said that they were dressed in the
+same way as the principal; and some authorities assert that at the
+_hara-kiri_ of a nobleman of high rank the seconds should wear white
+clothes, and that the handle of the sword should be wrapped in white
+silk. If the execution takes place in the house, they should partially
+tuck up their trousers; if in the garden, they should tuck them up
+entirely.
+
+The seconds should address the principal, and say, "Sir, we have been
+appointed to act as your seconds; we pray you to set your mind at
+rest," and so forth; but this must depend upon the rank of the
+criminal. At this time, too, if the principal has any last wish to
+express, the second should receive it, and should treat him with every
+consideration in order to relieve his anxiety. If the second has been
+selected by the principal on account of old friendship between them,
+or if the latter, during the time that he has been in charge, has
+begged some special retainer of the palace to act as his second in the
+event of his being condemned to death, the person so selected should
+thank the principal for choosing so unworthy a person, and promise to
+beg his lord to allow him to act as second: so he should answer, and
+comfort him, and having reported the matter to his lord, should act as
+second. He should take that opportunity to borrow his principal's
+sword in some such terms as the following: "As I am to have the honour
+of being your second, I would fain borrow your sword for the occasion.
+It may be a consolation to you to perish by your own sword, with which
+you are familiar." If, however, the principal declines, and prefers to
+be executed with the second's sword, his wish must be complied with.
+If the second should make an awkward cut with his own sword, it is a
+disgrace to him; therefore he should borrow some one else's sword, so
+that the blame may rest with the sword, and not with the swordsman.
+Although this is the rule, and although every Samurai should wear a
+sword fit to cut off a man's head, still if the principal has begged
+to be executed with the second's own sword, it must be done as he
+desires.
+
+It is probable that the condemned man will inquire of his second about
+the arrangements which have been made: he must attend therefore to
+rendering himself capable of answering all such questions. Once upon a
+time, when the condemned man inquired of his second whether his head
+would be cut off at the moment when he received the tray with the dirk
+upon it, "No," replied the second; "at the moment when you stab
+yourself with the dirk your head will be cut off." At the execution of
+one Sano, he told his second that, when he had stabbed himself in the
+belly, he would utter a cry; and begged him to be cool when he cut off
+his head. The second replied that he would do as he wished, but begged
+him in the meantime to take the tray with the dirk, according to
+proper form. When Sano reached out his hand to take the tray, the
+second cut off his head immediately. Now, although this was not
+exactly right, still as the second acted so in order to save a Samurai
+from the disgrace of performing the _hara-kiri_ improperly (by crying
+out), it can never be wrong for a second to act kindly, If the
+principal urgently requests to be allowed really to disembowel
+himself, his wish may, according to circumstances, be granted; but in
+this case care must be taken that no time be lost in striking off the
+head. The custom of striking off the head, the prisoner only going
+through the semblance of disembowelling himself, dates from the period
+Yempo (about 190 years ago).
+
+When the principal has taken his place, the second strips his right
+shoulder of the dress of ceremony, which he allows to fall behind his
+sleeve, and, drawing his sword, lays down the scabbard, taking care
+that his weapon is not seen by the principal; then he takes his place
+on the left of the principal and close behind him. The principal
+should sit facing the west, and the second facing the north, and in
+that position should he strike the blow. When the second perceives the
+assistant second bring out the tray on which is laid the dirk, he must
+brace up his nerves and settle his heart beneath his navel: when the
+tray is laid down, he must put himself in position to strike the blow.
+He should step out first with the left foot, and then change so as to
+bring his right foot forward: this is the position which he should
+assume to strike; he may, however, reverse the position of his feet.
+When the principal removes his upper garments, the second must poise
+his sword: when the principal reaches out his hand to draw the tray
+towards him, as he leans his head forward a little, is the exact
+moment for the second to strike. There are all sorts of traditions
+about this. Some say that the principal should take the tray and raise
+it respectfully to his head, and set it down; and that this is the
+moment to strike. There are three rules for the time of cutting off
+the head: the first is when the dirk is laid on the tray; the second
+is when the principal looks at the left side of his belly before
+inserting the dirk; the third is when he inserts the dirk. If these
+three moments are allowed to pass, it becomes a difficult matter to
+cut off the head: so says tradition. However, four moments for cutting
+are also recorded: first, when the assistant second retires after
+having laid down the stand on which is the dirk; second, when the
+principal draws the stand towards him; third, when he takes the dirk
+in his hand; fourth, when he makes the incision into the belly.
+Although all four ways are approved, still the first is too soon; the
+last three are right and proper. In short, the blow should be struck
+without delay. If he has struck off the head at a blow without
+failure, the second, taking care not to raise his sword, but holding
+it point downwards, should retire backward a little and wipe his
+weapon kneeling; he should have plenty of white paper ready in his
+girdle or in his bosom to wipe away the blood and rub up his sword;
+having replaced his sword in its scabbard, he should readjust his
+upper garments and take his seat to the rear. When the head has
+fallen, the junior second should enter, and, taking up the head,
+present it to the witness for inspection. When he has identified it,
+the ceremony is concluded. If there is no assistant or junior second,
+the second, as soon as he has cut off the head, carrying his sword
+reversed in his left hand, should take the head in his right hand,
+holding it by the top-knot of hair, should advance towards the
+witness, passing on the right side of the corpse, and show the right
+profile of the head to the witness, resting the chin of the head upon
+the hilt of his sword, and kneeling on his left knee; then returning
+again round by the left of the corpse, kneeling on his left knee, and
+carrying the head in his left hand and resting it on the edge of his
+sword, he should again show the left profile to the witness. It is
+also laid down as another rule, that the second, laying down his
+sword, should take out paper from the bosom of his dress, and placing
+the head in the palm of his left hand, and taking the top-knot of hair
+in his right hand, should lay the head upon the paper, and so submit
+it for inspection. Either way may be said to be right.
+
+NOTE.--To lay down thick paper, and place the head on it, shows a
+disposition to pay respect to the head; to place it on the edge of the
+sword is insulting: the course pursued must depend upon the rank of
+the person. If the ceremony is to be curtailed, it may end with the
+cutting off of the head: that must be settled beforehand, in
+consultation with the witness. In the event of the second making a
+false cut, so as not to strike off the head at a blow, the second must
+take the head by the top-knot, and, pressing it down, cut it off.
+Should he take bad aim and cut the shoulder by mistake, and should the
+principal rise and cry out, before he has time to writhe, he should
+hold him down and stab him to death, and then cut off his head, or the
+assistant seconds, who are sitting behind, should come forward and
+hold him down, while the chief second cuts off his head. It may be
+necessary for the second, after he has cut off the head, to push down
+the body, and then take up the head for inspection. If the body does
+not fall at once, which is said to be sometimes the case, the second
+should pull the feet to make it fall.
+
+There are some who say that the perfect way for the second to cut off
+the head is not to cut right through the neck at a blow, but to leave
+a little uncut, and, as the head hangs by the skin, to seize the
+top-knot and slice it off, and then submit it for inspection. The
+reason of this is, lest, the head being struck off at a blow, the
+ceremony should be confounded with an ordinary execution. According to
+the old authorities, this is the proper and respectful manner. After
+the head is cut off, the eyes are apt to blink, and the mouth to move,
+and to bite the pebbles and sand. This being hateful to see, at what
+amongst Samurai is so important an occasion, and being a shameful
+thing, it is held to be best not to let the head fall, but to hold
+back a little in delivering the blow. Perhaps this may be right; yet
+it is a very difficult matter to cut so as to leave the head hanging
+by a little flesh, and there is the danger of missing the cut; and as
+any mistake in the cut is most horrible to see, it is better to strike
+a fair blow at once. Others say that, even when the head is struck off
+at a blow, the semblance of slicing it off should be gone through
+afterwards; yet be it borne in mind that; this is unnecessary.
+
+Three methods of carrying the sword are recognized amongst those
+skilled in swordsmanship. If the rank of the principal be high, the
+sword is raised aloft; if the principal and second are of equal rank,
+the sword is carried at the centre of the body; if the principal be of
+inferior rank, the sword is allowed to hang downwards. The proper
+position for the second to strike from is kneeling on one knee, but
+there is no harm in his standing up: others say that, if the execution
+takes place inside the house, the second should kneel; if in the
+garden, he should stand. These are not points upon which to insist
+obstinately: a man should strike in whatever position is most
+convenient to him.
+
+The chief duty for the assistant second to bear in mind is the
+bringing in of the tray with the dirk, which should be produced very
+quietly when the principal takes his place: it should be placed so
+that the condemned man may have to stretch his hand well out in order
+to reach it.[111] The assistant second then returns to his own place;
+but if the condemned man shows any signs of agitation, the assistant
+second must lend his assistance, so that the head may be properly cut
+off. It once happened that the condemned man, having received the tray
+from the assistant second, held it up for a long time without putting
+it down, until those near him had over and over again urged him to set
+it down. It also happens that after the tray has been set down, and
+the assistant second has retired, the condemned man does not put out
+his hand to take it; then must the assistant second press him to take
+it. Also the principal may ask that the tray be placed a little nearer
+to him, in which case his wish must be granted. The tray may also be
+placed in such a way that the assistant second, holding it in his left
+hand, may reach the dirk to the condemned man, who leans forward to
+take it. Which is the best of all these ways is uncertain. The object
+to aim at is, that the condemned man should lean forward to receive
+the blow. Whether the assistant second retires, or not, must depend
+upon the attitude assumed by the condemned man.
+
+[Footnote 111: It should be placed about three feet away from him.]
+
+If the prisoner be an unruly, violent man, a fan, instead of a dirk,
+should be placed upon the tray; and should he object to this, he
+should be told, in answer, that the substitution of the fan is an
+ancient custom. This may occur sometimes. It is said that once upon a
+time, in one of the palaces of the Daimios, a certain brave matron
+murdered a man, and having been allowed to die with all the honours of
+the _hara-kiri,_ a fan was placed upon the tray, and her head was cut
+off. This may be considered right and proper. If the condemned man
+appears inclined to be turbulent, the seconds, without showing any
+sign of alarm, should hurry to his side, and, urging him to get ready,
+quickly cause him to make all his preparations with speed, and to sit
+down in his place; the chief second, then drawing his sword, should
+get ready to strike, and, ordering him to proceed as fast as possible
+with the ceremony of receiving the tray, should perform his duty
+without appearing to be afraid.
+
+A certain Prince Kato, having condemned one of his councillors to
+death, assisted at the ceremony behind a curtain of slips of bamboo.
+The councillor, whose name was Katayama, was bound, and during that
+time glared fiercely at the curtain, and showed no signs of fear. The
+chief second was a man named Jihei, who had always been used to treat
+Katayama with great respect. So Jihei, sword in hand, said to
+Katayama, "Sir, your last moment has arrived: be so good as to turn
+your cheek so that your head may be straight." When Katayama heard
+this, he replied, "Fellow, you are insolent;" and as he was looking
+round, Jihei struck the fatal blow. The lord Kato afterwards inquired
+of Jihei what was the reason of this; and he replied that, as he saw
+that the prisoner was meditating treason, he determined to kill him at
+once, and put a stop to this rebellious spirit. This is a pattern for
+other seconds to bear in mind.
+
+When the head has been struck off, it becomes the duty of the junior
+second to take it up by the top-knot, and, placing it upon some thick
+paper laid over the palm of his hand, to carry it for inspection by
+the witness. This ceremony has been explained above. If the head be
+bald, he should pierce the left ear with the stiletto carried in the
+scabbard of his dirk, and so carry it to be identified. He must carry
+thick paper in the bosom of his dress. Inside the paper he shall place
+a bag with rice bran and ashes, in order that he may carry the head
+without being sullied by the blood. When the identification of the
+head is concluded, the junior second's duty is to place it in a
+bucket.
+
+If anything should occur to hinder the chief second, the assistant
+second must take his place. It happened on one occasion that before
+the execution took place the chief second lost his nerve, yet he cut
+off the head without any difficulty; but when it came to taking up the
+head for inspection, his nervousness so far got the better of him as
+to be extremely inconvenient. This is a thing against which persons
+acting as seconds have to guard.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+As a corollary to the above elaborate statement of the ceremonies
+proper to be observed at the _hara-kiri_, I may here describe an
+instance of such an execution which I was sent officially to witness.
+The condemned man was Taki Zenzaburo, an officer of the Prince of
+Bizen, who gave the order to fire upon the foreign settlement at Hiogo
+in the month of February 1868,--an attack to which I have alluded in
+the preamble to the story of the Eta Maiden and the Hatamoto. Up to
+that time no foreigner had witnessed such an execution, which was
+rather looked upon as a traveller's fable.
+
+The ceremony, which was ordered by the Mikado himself, took place at
+10.30 at night in the temple of Seifukuji, the headquarters of the
+Satsuma troops at Hiogo. A witness was sent from each of the foreign
+legations. We were seven foreigners in all.
+
+We were conducted to the temple by officers of the Princes of Satsuma
+and Choshiu. Although the ceremony was to be conducted in the most
+private manner, the casual remarks which we overheard in the streets,
+and a crowd lining the principal entrance to the temple, showed that
+it was a matter of no little interest to the public. The courtyard of
+the temple presented a most picturesque sight; it was crowded with
+soldiers standing about in knots round large fires, which threw a dim
+flickering light over the heavy eaves and quaint gable-ends of the
+sacred buildings. We were shown into an inner room, where we were to
+wait until the preparation for the ceremony was completed: in the next
+room to us were the high Japanese officers. After a long interval,
+which seemed doubly long from the silence which prevailed, Ito
+Shunske, the provisional Governor of Hiogo, came and took down our
+names, and informed us that seven _kenshi_, sheriffs or witnesses,
+would attend on the part of the Japanese. He and another officer
+represented the Mikado; two captains of Satsuma's infantry, and two of
+Choshiu's, with a representative of the Prince of Bizen, the clan of
+the condemned man, completed the number, which was probably arranged
+in order to tally with that of the foreigners. Ito Shunske further
+inquired whether we wished to put any questions to the prisoner. We
+replied in the negative.
+
+A further delay then ensued, after which we were invited to follow the
+Japanese witnesses into the _hondo_ or main hall of the temple, where
+the ceremony was to be performed. It was an imposing scene. A large
+hall with a high roof supported by dark pillars of wood. From the
+ceiling hung a profusion of those huge gilt lamps and ornaments
+peculiar to Buddhist temples. In front of the high altar, where the
+floor, covered with beautiful white mats, is raised some three or four
+inches from the ground, was laid a rug of scarlet felt. Tall candles
+placed at regular intervals gave out a dim mysterious light, just
+sufficient to let all the proceedings be seen. The seven Japanese took
+their places on the left of the raised floor, the seven foreigners on
+the right. No other person was present.
+
+After an interval of a few minutes of anxious suspense, Taki
+Zenzaburo, a stalwart man, thirty-two years of age, with a noble air,
+walked into the hall attired in his dress of ceremony, with the
+peculiar hempen-cloth wings which are worn on great occasions. He was
+accompanied by a _kaishaku_ and three officers, who wore the
+_jimbaori_ or war surcoat with gold-tissue facings. The word
+_kaishaku_, it should be observed, is one to which our word
+_executioner_ is no equivalent term. The office is that of a
+gentleman: in many cases it is performed by a kinsman or friend of the
+condemned, and the relation between them is rather that of principal
+and second than that of victim and executioner. In this instance the
+_kaishaku_ was a pupil of Taki Zenzaburo, and was selected by the
+friends of the latter from among their own number for his skill in
+swordsmanship.
+
+With the _kaishaku_ on his left hand, Taki Zenzaburo advanced slowly
+towards the Japanese witnesses, and the two bowed before them, then
+drawing near to the foreigners they saluted us in the same way,
+perhaps even with more deference: in each case the salutation was
+ceremoniously returned. Slowly, and with great dignity, the condemned
+man mounted on to the raised floor, prostrated himself before the high
+altar twice, and seated[112] himself on the felt carpet with his back
+to the high altar, the _kaishaku_ crouching on his left-hand side. One
+of the three attendant officers then came forward, bearing a stand of
+the kind used in temples for offerings, on which, wrapped in paper,
+lay the _wakizashi_, the short sword or dirk of the Japanese, nine
+inches and a half in length, with a point and an edge as sharp as a
+razor's. This he handed, prostrating himself, to the condemned man,
+who received it reverently, raising it to his head with both hands,
+and placed it in front of himself.
+
+[Footnote 112: Seated himself--that is, in the Japanese fashion, his
+knees and toes touching the ground, and his body resting on his heels.
+In this position, which is one of respect, he remained until his
+death.]
+
+After another profound obeisance, Taki Zenzaburo, in a voice which
+betrayed just so much emotion and hesitation as might be expected from
+a man who is making a painful confession, but with no sign of either
+in his face or manner, spoke as follows:--
+
+"I, and I alone, unwarrantably gave the order to fire on the
+foreigners at Kobe, and again as they tried to escape. For this crime
+I disembowel myself, and I beg you who are present to do me the honour
+of witnessing the act."
+
+Bowing once more, the speaker allowed his upper garments to slip down
+to his girdle, and remained naked to the waist. Carefully, according
+to custom, he tucked his sleeves under his knees to prevent himself
+from falling backwards; for a noble Japanese gentleman should die
+falling forwards. Deliberately, with a steady hand, he took the dirk
+that lay before him; he looked at it wistfully, almost affectionately;
+for a moment he seemed to collect his thoughts for the last time, and
+then stabbing himself deeply below the waist on the left-hand side, he
+drew the dirk slowly across to the right side, and, turning it in the
+wound, gave a slight cut upwards. During this sickeningly painful
+operation he never moved a muscle of his face. When he drew out the
+dirk, he leaned forward and stretched out his neck; an expression of
+pain for the first time crossed his face, but he uttered no sound. At
+that moment the _kaishaku_, who, still crouching by his side, had been
+keenly watching his every movement, sprang to his feet, poised his
+sword for a second in the air; there was a flash, a heavy, ugly thud,
+a crashing fall; with one blow the head had been severed from the
+body.
+
+A dead silence followed, broken only by the hideous noise of the blood
+throbbing out of the inert heap before us, which but a moment before
+had been a brave and chivalrous man. It was horrible.
+
+The _kaishaku_ made a low bow, wiped his sword with a piece of paper
+which he had ready for the purpose, and retired from the raised
+floor; and the stained dirk was solemnly borne away, a bloody proof of
+the execution.
+
+The two representatives of the Mikado then left their places, and,
+crossing over to where the foreign witnesses sat, called us to witness
+that the sentence of death upon Taki Zenzaburo had been faithfully
+carried out. The ceremony being at an end, we left the temple.
+
+The ceremony, to which the place and the hour gave an additional
+solemnity, was characterized throughout by that extreme dignity and
+punctiliousness which are the distinctive marks of the proceedings of
+Japanese gentlemen of rank; and it is important to note this fact,
+because it carries with it the conviction that the dead man was indeed
+the officer who had committed the crime, and no substitute. While
+profoundly impressed by the terrible scene it was impossible at the
+same time not to be filled with admiration of the firm and manly
+bearing of the sufferer, and of the nerve with which the _kaishaku_
+performed his last duty to his master. Nothing could more strongly
+show the force of education. The Samurai, or gentleman of the military
+class, from his earliest years learns to look upon the _hara-kiri_ as
+a ceremony in which some day he may be called upon to play a part as
+principal or second. In old-fashioned families, which hold to the
+traditions of ancient chivalry, the child is instructed in the rite
+and familiarized with the idea as an honourable expiation of crime or
+blotting out of disgrace. If the hour comes, he is prepared for it,
+and gravely faces an ordeal which early training has robbed of half
+its horrors. In what other country in the world does a man learn that
+the last tribute of affection which he may have to pay to his best
+friend may be to act as his executioner?
+
+Since I wrote the above, we have heard that, before his entry into the
+fatal hall, Taki Zenzaburo called round him all those of his own clan
+who were present, many of whom had carried out his order to fire, and,
+addressing them in a short speech, acknowledged the heinousness of his
+crime and the justice of his sentence, and warned them solemnly to
+avoid any repetition of attacks upon foreigners. They were also
+addressed by the officers of the Mikado, who urged them to bear no
+ill-will against us on account of the fate of their fellow-clansman.
+They declared that they entertained no such feeling.
+
+The opinion has been expressed that it would have been politic for the
+foreign representatives at the last moment to have interceded for the
+life of Taki Zenzaburo. The question is believed to have been debated
+among the representatives themselves. My own belief is that mercy,
+although it might have produced the desired effect among the more
+civilized clans, would have been mistaken for weakness and fear by
+those wilder people who have not yet a personal knowledge of
+foreigners. The offence--an attack upon the flags and subjects of all
+the Treaty Powers, which lack of skill, not of will, alone prevented
+from ending in a universal massacre--was the gravest that has been
+committed upon foreigners since their residence in Japan. Death was
+undoubtedly deserved, and the form chosen was in Japanese eyes
+merciful and yet judicial. The crime might have involved a war and
+cost hundreds of lives; it was wiped out by one death. I believe that,
+in the interest of Japan as well as in our own, the course pursued was
+wise, and it was very satisfactory to me to find that one of the
+ablest Japanese ministers, with whom I had a discussion upon the
+subject, was quite of my opinion.
+
+The ceremonies observed at the _hara-kiri_ appear to vary slightly in
+detail in different parts of Japan; but the following memorandum upon
+the subject of the rite, as it used to be practised at Yedo during the
+rule of the Tycoon, clearly establishes its judicial character. I
+translated it from a paper drawn up for me by a Japanese who was able
+to speak of what he had seen himself. Three different ceremonies are
+described:--
+
+1st. _Ceremonies observed at the "hara-kiri" of a Hatamoto (petty
+noble of the Tycoon's court) in prison._--This is conducted with great
+secrecy. Six mats are spread in a large courtyard of the prison; an
+_ometsuke_ (officer whose duties appear to consist in the surveillance
+of other officers), assisted by two other _ometsukes_ of the second
+and third class, acts as _kenshi_ (sheriff or witness), and sits in
+front of the mats. The condemned man, attired in his dress of
+ceremony, and wearing his wings of hempen cloth, sits in the centre of
+the mats. At each of the four corners of the mats sits a prison
+official. Two officers of the Governor of the city act as _kaishaku_
+(executioners or seconds), and take their place, one on the right hand
+and the other on the left hand of the condemned. The _kaishaku_ on the
+left side, announcing his name and surname, says, bowing, "I have the
+honour to act as _kaishaku_ to you; have you any last wishes to
+confide to me?" The condemned man thanks him and accepts the offer or
+not, as the case may be. He then bows to the sheriff, and a wooden
+dirk nine and a half inches long is placed before him at a distance of
+three feet, wrapped in paper, and lying on a stand such as is used for
+offerings in temples. As he reaches forward to take the wooden sword,
+and stretches out his neck, the _kaifihaku_ on his left-hand side
+draws his sword and strikes off his head. The _kaishaku_ on the
+right-hand side takes up the head and shows it to the sheriff. The
+body is given to the relations of the deceased for burial. His
+property is confiscated.
+
+2nd. _The ceremonies observed at the "hara-kiri" of a Daimio's
+retainer._--When the retainer of a Daimio is condemned to perform the
+_hara-kiri,_ four mats are placed in the yard of the _yashiki_ or
+palace. The condemned man, dressed in his robes of ceremony and
+wearing his wings of hempen cloth, sits in the centre. An officer acts
+as chief witness, with a second witness under him. Two officers, who
+act as _kaishaku_, are on the right and left of the condemned man;
+four officers are placed at the corners of the mats. The _kaishaku_,
+as in the former case, offers to execute the last wishes of the
+condemned. A dirk nine and a half inches long is placed before him on
+a stand. In this case the dirk is a real dirk, which the man takes and
+stabs himself with on the left side, below the navel, drawing it
+across to the right side. At this moment, when he leans forward in
+pain, the _kaishaku_ on the left-hand side cuts off the head. The
+_kaishaku_ on the right-hand side takes up the head, and shows it to
+the sheriff. The body is given to the relations for burial. In most
+cases the property of the deceased is confiscated.
+
+3rd. _Self-immolation of a Daimio on account of disgrace_.--When a
+Daimio had been guilty of treason or offended against the Tycoon,
+inasmuch as the family was disgraced, and an apology could neither be
+offered nor accepted, the offending Daimio was condemned to
+_hara-kiri_. Calling his councillors around him, he confided to them
+his last will and testament for transmission to the Tycoon. Then,
+clothing himself in his court dress, he disembowelled himself, and cut
+his own throat. His councillors then reported the matter to the
+Government, and a coroner was sent to investigate it. To him the
+retainers handed the last will and testament of their lord, and be
+took it to the Gorojiu (first council), who transmitted it to the
+Tycoon. If the offence was heinous, such as would involve the ruin of
+the whole family, by the clemency of the Tycoon, half the property
+might be confiscated, and half returned to the heir; if the offence
+was trivial, the property was inherited intact by the heir, and the
+family did not suffer.
+
+In all cases where the criminal disembowels himself of his own accord
+without condemnation and without investigation, inasmuch as he is no
+longer able to defend himself, the offence is considered as
+non-proven, and the property is not confiscated. In the year 1869 a
+motion was brought forward in the Japanese parliament by one Ono
+Seigoro, clerk of the house, advocating the abolition of the practice
+of _hara-kiri_. Two hundred members out of a house of 209 voted
+against the motion, which was supported by only three speakers, six
+members not voting on either side. In this debate the _seppuku, or
+hara-kiri_, was called "the very shrine of the Japanese national
+spirit, and the embodiment in practice of devotion to principle," "a
+great ornament to the empire," "a pillar of the constitution," "a
+valuable institution, tending to the honour of the nobles, and based
+on a compassionate feeling towards the official caste," "a pillar of
+religion and a spur to virtue." The whole debate (which is well worth
+reading, and an able translation of which by Mr. Aston has appeared in
+a recent Blue Book) shows the affection with which the Japanese cling
+to the traditions of a chivalrous past. It is worthy of notice that
+the proposer, Ono Seigoro, who on more than one occasion rendered
+himself conspicuous by introducing motions based upon an admiration of
+our Western civilization, was murdered not long after this debate took
+place.
+
+There are many stories on record of extraordinary heroism being
+displayed in the _hara-kiri._ The case of a young fellow, only twenty
+years old, of the Choshiu clan, which was told me the other day by an
+eye-witness, deserves mention as a marvellous instance of
+determination. Not content with giving himself the one necessary cut,
+he slashed himself thrice horizontally and twice vertically. Then he
+stabbed himself in the throat until the dirk protruded on the other
+side, with its sharp edge to the front; setting his teeth in one
+supreme effort, he drove the knife forward with both hands through his
+throat, and fell dead.
+
+One more story and I have done. During the revolution, when the
+Tycoon, beaten on every side, fled ignominiously to Yedo, he is said
+to have determined to fight no more, but to yield everything. A member
+of his second council went to him and said, "Sir, the only way for you
+now to retrieve the honour of the family of Tokugawa is to disembowel
+yourself; and to prove to you that I am sincere and disinterested in
+what I say, I am here ready to disembowel myself with you." The Tycoon
+flew into a great rage, saying that he would listen to no such
+nonsense, and left the room. His faithful retainer, to prove his
+honesty, retired to another part of the castle, and solemnly performed
+the _hara-kiri._
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX B
+
+
+
+
+THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY
+
+(FROM THE "SHO-REI HIKKI"--RECORD OF CEREMONIES.)
+
+
+The ceremonies observed at marriages are various, and it is not right
+for a man, exceeding the bounds of his condition in life, to
+transgress against the rules which are laid down. When the middle-man
+has arranged the preliminaries of the marriage between the two
+parties, he carries the complimentary present, which is made at the
+time of betrothal, from the future bridegroom to his destined bride;
+and if this present is accepted, the lady's family can no longer
+retract their promise. This is the beginning of the contract. The
+usual betrothal presents are as follows. Persons of the higher classes
+send a robe of white silk; a piece of gold embroidery for a girdle; a
+piece of silk stuff; a piece of white silk, with a lozenge pattern,
+and other silk stuffs (these are made up into a pile of three layers);
+fourteen barrels of wine, and seven sorts of condiments. Persons of
+the middle class send a piece of white silk stuff; a piece of gold
+embroidery for a girdle; a piece of white silk, with a lozenge
+pattern, and other silk stuffs (these are made up into a pile of two
+layers); ten barrels of wine, and five sorts of condiments. The lower
+classes send a robe of white silk, a robe of coloured silk, in a pile
+of one layer, together with six barrels of wine and three sorts of
+condiments. To the future father-in-law is sent a sword, with a
+scabbard for slinging, such as is worn in war-time, together with a
+list of the presents; to the mother-in-law, a silk robe, with wine and
+condiments. Although all these presents are right and proper for the
+occasion, still they must be regulated according to the means of the
+persons concerned. The future father-in-law sends a present of equal
+value in return to his son-in-law, but the bride elect sends no return
+present to her future husband; the present from the father-in-law must
+by no means be omitted, but according to his position, if he be poor,
+he need only send wine and condiments.
+
+In sending the presents care must be taken not to fold the silk robe.
+The two silk robes that are sent on the marriage night must be placed
+with the collars stitched together in a peculiar fashion.
+
+The ceremonies of sending the litter to fetch the bride on the wedding
+night are as follows. In families of good position, one of the
+principal retainers on either side is deputed to accompany the bride
+and to receive her. Matting is spread before the entrance-door, upon
+which the bride's litter is placed, while the two principal retainers
+congratulate one another, and the officers of the bridegroom receive
+the litter. If a bucket containing clams, to make the wedding broth,
+has been sent with the bride, it is carried and received by a person
+of distinction. Close by the entrance-door a fire is lighted on the
+right hand and on the left. These fires are called garden-torches. In
+front of the corridor along which the litter passes, on the right hand
+and on the left, two men and two women, in pairs, place two mortars,
+right and left, in which they pound rice; as the litter passes, the
+pounded rice from the left-hand side is moved across to the right, and
+the two are mixed together into one. This is called the blending of
+the rice-meal.[113] Two candles are lighted, the one on the right hand
+and the other on the left of the corridor; and after the litter has
+passed, the candle on the left is passed over to the right, and, the
+two wicks being brought together, the candles are extinguished. These
+last three ceremonies are only performed at the weddings of persons of
+high rank; they are not observed at the weddings of ordinary persons.
+The bride takes with her to her husband's house, as presents, two
+silken robes sewed together in a peculiar manner, a dress of ceremony
+with wings of hempen cloth, an upper girdle and an under girdle, a
+fan, either five or seven pocket-books, and a sword: these seven
+presents are placed on a long tray, and their value must depend upon
+the means of the family.
+
+[Footnote 113: Cf. Gibbon on Roman Marriages, _Decline and Fall of the
+Roman Empire_, vol. iv. p. 345: "The contracting parties were seated
+on the same sheepskin; they tasted a salt cake of _far_, or rice; and
+this _confarreation_, which denoted the ancient food of Italy, served
+as an emblem of their mystic union of mind and body."]
+
+The dress of the bride is a white silk robe with a lozenge pattern,
+over an under-robe, also of white silk. Over her head she wears a veil
+of white silk, which, when she sits down, she allows to fall about her
+as a mantle.
+
+The bride's furniture and effects are all arranged for her by female
+attendants from her own house on a day previous to the wedding; and
+the bridegroom's effects are in like manner arranged by the women of
+his own house.
+
+When the bride meets her husband in the room where the relations are
+assembled, she takes her seat for this once in the place of honour,
+her husband sitting in a lower place, not directly opposite to her,
+but diagonally, and discreetly avoiding her glance.
+
+On the raised part of the floor are laid out beforehand two trays, the
+preparations for a feast, a table on which are two wagtails,[114] a
+second table with a representation of Elysium, fowls, fish, two
+wine-bottles, three wine-cups, and two sorts of kettles for warming
+wine. The ladies go out to meet the bride, and invite her into a
+dressing-room, and, when she has smoothed her dress, bring her into
+the room, and she and the bridegroom take their seats in the places
+appointed for them. The two trays are then brought out, and the
+ladies-in-waiting, with complimentary speeches, hand dried fish and
+seaweed, such as accompany presents, and dried chestnuts to the
+couple. Two married ladies then each take one of the wine-bottles
+which have been prepared, and place them in the lower part of the
+room. Then two handmaids, who act as wine-pourers, bring the kettles
+and place them in the lower part of the room. The two wine-bottles
+have respectively a male and female butterfly, made of paper, attached
+to them. The female butterfly is laid on its back, and the wine is
+poured from the bottle into the kettle. The male butterfly is then
+taken and laid on the female butterfly, and the wine from the bottle
+is poured into the same kettle, and the whole is transferred with due
+ceremony to another kettle of different shape, which the wine-pourers
+place in front of themselves. Little low dining-tables are laid, one
+for each person, before the bride and bridegroom, and before the
+bride's ladies-in-waiting; the woman deputed to pour the wine takes
+the three wine-cups and places them one on the top of the other before
+the bridegroom, who drinks two cups[115] from the upper cup, and pours
+a little wine from the full kettle into the empty kettle. The pouring
+together of the wine on the wedding night is symbolical of the union
+that is being contracted. The bridegroom next pours out a third cup of
+wine and drinks it, and the cup is carried by the ladies to the bride,
+who drinks three cups, and pours a little wine from one kettle into
+the other, as the bridegroom did. A cup is then set down and put on
+the other two, and they are carried back to the raised floor and
+arranged as before. After this, condiments are set out on the
+right-hand side of a little table, and the wine-pourers place the
+three cups before the bride, who drinks three cups from the second
+cup, which is passed to the bridegroom; he also drinks three cups as
+before, and the cups are piled up and arranged in their original
+place, by the wine-pourers. A different sort of condiment is next
+served on the left-hand side; and the three cups are again placed
+before the bridegroom, who drinks three cups from the third cup, and
+the bride does the same. When the cups and tables have been put back
+in their places, the bridegroom, rising from his seat, rests himself
+for a while. During this time soup of fishes' fins and wine are served
+to the bride's ladies-in-waiting and to the serving-women. They are
+served with a single wine-cup of earthenware, placed upon a small
+square tray, and this again is set upon a long tray, and a wine-kettle
+with all sorts of condiments is brought from the kitchen. When this
+part of the feast is over, the room is put in order, and the bride and
+bridegroom take their seats again. Soups and a preparation of rice are
+now served, and two earthenware cups, gilt and silvered, are placed on
+a tray, on which there is a representation of the island of
+Takasago.[116] This time butterflies of gold and silver paper are
+attached to the wine-kettles. The bridegroom drinks a cup or two, and
+the ladies-in-waiting offer more condiments to the couple. Rice, with
+hot water poured over it, according to custom, and carp soup are
+brought in, and, the wine having been heated, cups of lacquer ware are
+produced; and it is at this time that the feast commences. (Up to now
+the eating and drinking has been merely a form.) Twelve plates of
+sweetmeats and tea are served; and the dinner consists of three
+courses, one course of seven dishes, one of five dishes, and one of
+three dishes, or else two courses of five dishes and one of three
+dishes, according to the means of the family. The above ceremonies are
+those which are proper only in families of the highest rank, and are
+by no means fitting for the lower classes, who must not step out of
+the proper bounds of their position.
+
+[Footnote 114: The god who created Japan is called Kunitokodachi no
+Mikoto. Seven generations of gods after his time existed Izanagi no
+Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto--the first a god, the second a goddess.
+As these two divine beings were standing upon the floating bridge of
+heaven, two wagtails came; and the gods, watching the amorous
+dalliance of the two birds, invented the art of love. From their union
+thus inaugurated sprang the mountains, the rivers, the grass, the
+trees, the remainder of the gods, and mankind. Another fable is, that
+as the two gods were standing on the floating bridge of heaven,
+Izanagi no Mikoto, taking the heavenly jewelled spear, stirred up the
+sea, and the drops which fell from the point of it congealed and
+became an island, which was called _Onokoro-jima_, on which the two
+gods, descending from heaven, took up their abode.]
+
+[Footnote 115: Each cup contains but a sip.]
+
+[Footnote 116: In the island of Takasago, in the province of Harima,
+stands a pine-tree, called the "pine of mutual old age." At the root
+the tree is single, but towards the centre it springs into two
+stems--an old, old pine, models of which are used at weddings as a
+symbol that the happy pair shall reach old age together. Its evergreen
+leaves are an emblem of the unchanging constancy of the heart. Figures
+of an old man and woman under the tree are the spirits of the old
+pine.]
+
+There is a popular tradition that, in the ceremony of drinking wine on
+the wedding night, the bride should drink first, and then hand the cup
+to the bridegroom; but although there are some authorities upon
+ceremonies who are in favour of this course, it is undoubtedly a very
+great mistake. In the "Record of Rites," by Confucius, it is written,
+"The man stands in importance before the woman: it is the right of the
+strong over the weak. Heaven ranks before earth; the prince ranks
+before his minister. This law of honour is one." Again, in the "Book
+of History," by Confucius, it is written, "The hen that crows in the
+morning brings misfortune." In our own literature in the Jusho (Book
+of the Gods), "When the goddesses saw the gods for the first time,
+they were the first to cry cut, 'Oh! what beautiful males!' But the
+gods were greatly displeased, and said, 'We, who are so strong and
+powerful, should by rights have been the first to speak; how is it
+that, on the contrary, these females speak first? This is indeed
+vulgar.'" Again it is written, "When the gods brought forth the
+cripple Hiruko, the Lord of Heaven, answering, said that his
+misfortune was a punishment upon the goddesses who had presumed to
+speak first." The same rule therefore exists in China and in Japan,
+and it is held to be unlucky that the wife should take precedence:
+with this warning people should be careful how they commit a breach of
+etiquette, although it may be sanctioned by the vulgar.
+
+At the wedding of the lower classes, the bride and her ladies and
+friends have a feast, but the bridegroom has no feast; and when the
+bride's feast is over, the bridegroom is called in and is presented
+with the bride's wine-cup; but as the forms observed are very vulgar,
+it is not worth while to point out the rules which guide them. As this
+night is essentially of importance to the married couple only, there
+are some writers on ceremonies who have laid down that no feast need
+be prepared for the bride's ladies, and in my opinion they are right:
+for the husband and wife at the beginning of their intercourse to be
+separated, and for the bride alone to be feasted like an ordinary
+guest, appears to be an inauspicious opening. I have thus pointed out
+two ill-omened customs which are to be avoided.
+
+The ceremonies observed at the weddings of persons of ordinary rank
+are as follows:--The feast which is prepared is in proportion to the
+means of the individuals. There must be three wine-cups set out upon a
+tray. The ceremony of drinking wine three times is gone through, as
+described above, after which the bride changes her dress, and a feast
+of three courses is produced--two courses of five dishes and one of
+three dishes, or one course of five dishes, one of three, and one of
+two, according to the means of the family. A tray, with a
+representation of the island of Takasago, is brought out, and the wine
+is heated; sweetmeats of five or seven sorts are also served in boxes
+or trays; and when the tea comes in, the bridegroom gets up, and goes
+to rest himself. If the wine kettles are of tin, they must not be set
+out in the room: they must be brought in from the kitchen; and in that
+case the paper butterflies are not attached to them.
+
+In old times the bride and bridegroom used to change their dress three
+or five times during the ceremony; but at the present time, after the
+nine cups of wine have been drunk, in the manner recorded above, the
+change of dress takes place once. The bride puts on the silk robe
+which she has received from the bridegroom, while he dons the dress of
+ceremony which has been brought by the bride.
+
+When these ceremonies have been observed, the bride's ladies conduct
+her to the apartments of her parents-in-law. The bride carries with
+her silk robes, as presents for her parents and brothers and
+sister-in-law. A tray is brought out, with three wine-cups, which are
+set before the parents-in-law and the bride. The father-in-law drinks
+three cups and hands the cup to the bride, who, after she has drunk
+two cups, receives a present from her father-in-law; she then drinks a
+third cup, and returns the cup to her father-in-law, who again drinks
+three cups. Fish is then brought in, and, in the houses of ordinary
+persons, a preparation of rice. Upon this the mother-in-law, taking
+the second cup, drinks three cups and passes the cup to the bride, who
+drinks two cups and receives a present from her mother-in-law: she
+then drinks a third cup and gives back the cup to the mother-in-law,
+who drinks three cups again. Condiments are served, and, in ordinary
+houses, soup; after which the bride drinks once from the third cup and
+hands it to her father-in-law, who drinks thrice from it; the bride
+again drinks twice from it, and after her the mother-in-law drinks
+thrice. The parents-in-law and the bride thus have drunk in all nine
+times. If there are any brothers or sisters-in-law, soup and
+condiments are served, and a single porcelain wine-cup is placed
+before them on a tray, and they drink at the word of command of the
+father-in-law. It is not indispensable that soup should be served upon
+this occasion. If the parents of the bridegroom are dead, instead of
+the above ceremony, he leads his bride to make her obeisances before
+the tablets on which their names are inscribed.
+
+In old days, after the ceremonies recorded above had been gone
+through, the bridegroom used to pay a visit of ceremony to the bride's
+parents; but at the present time the visit is paid before the wedding,
+and although the forms observed on the occasion resemble those of the
+ancient times, still they are different, and it would be well that we
+should resume the old fashion. The two trays which had been used at
+the wedding feast, loaded with fowl and fish and condiments neatly
+arranged, used to be put into a long box and sent to the
+father-in-law's house. Five hundred and eighty cakes of rice in
+lacquer boxes were also sent. The modern practice of sending the rice
+cakes in a bucket is quite contrary to etiquette: no matter how many
+lacquer boxes may be required for the purpose, they are the proper
+utensils for sending the cakes in. Three, five, seven, or ten men's
+loads of presents, according to the means of the family, are also
+offered. The son-in-law gives a sword and a silk robe to his
+father-in-law, and a silk robe to his mother-in-law, and also gives
+presents to his brothers and sisters-in-law. (The ceremony of drinking
+wine is the same as that which takes place between the bride and her
+parents-in-law, with a very slight deviation: the bridegroom receives
+no presents from his mother-in-law, and when the third cup is drunk
+the son-in-law drinks before the father-in-law). A return visit is
+paid by the bride's parents to the bridegroom, at which similar forms
+are observed.
+
+At the weddings of the great, the bridal chamber is composed of three
+rooms thrown into one,[117] and newly decorated. If there are only two
+rooms available, a third room is built for the occasion. The presents,
+which have been mentioned above, are set out on two trays. Besides
+these, the bridegroom's clothes are hung up upon clothes-racks. The
+mattress and bedclothes are placed in a closet. The bride's effects
+must all be arranged by the women who are sent on a previous day for
+the purpose, or it may be done whilst the bride is changing her
+clothes. The shrine for the image of the family god is placed on a
+shelf adjoining the sleeping-place. There is a proper place for the
+various articles of furniture. The _kaioke_[118] is placed on the
+raised floor; but if there be no raised floor, it is placed in a
+closet with the door open, so that it may be conspicuously seen. The
+books are arranged on a book-shelf or on a cabinet; if there be
+neither shelf nor cabinet, they are placed on the raised floor. The
+bride's clothes are set out on a clothes-rack; in families of high
+rank, seven robes are hung up on the rack; five of these are taken
+away and replaced by others, and again three are taken away and
+replaced by others; and there are either two or three clothes-racks:
+the towel-rack is set up in a place of more honour than the
+clothes-racks. If there is no dressing-room, the bride's bedclothes
+and dressing furniture are placed in the sleeping-room. No screens are
+put up on the bridal night, but a fitting place is chosen for them on
+the following day. All these ceremonies must be in proportion to the
+means of the family.
+
+[Footnote 117: The partitions of a Japanese suite of apartments being
+merely composed of paper sliding-screens, any number of rooms,
+according to the size of the house, can be thrown into one at a
+moment's notice.]
+
+[Footnote 118: A _kaioke_ is a kind of lacquer basin for washing the
+hands and face.]
+
+
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+The author of the "Sho-rei Hikki" makes no allusion to the custom of
+shaving the eyebrows and blackening the teeth of married women, in
+token of fidelity to their lords. In the upper classes, young ladies
+usually blacken their teeth before leaving their father's house to
+enter that of their husbands, and complete the ceremony by shaving
+their eyebrows immediately after the wedding, or, at any rate, not
+later than upon the occasion of their first pregnancy.
+
+The origin of the fashion is lost in antiquity. As a proof that it
+existed before the eleventh century, A.D., a curious book called
+"Teijo Zakki," or the Miscellaneous Writings of Teijo, cites the diary
+of Murasaki Shikibu, the daughter of one Tamesoki, a retainer of the
+house of Echizen, a lady of the court and famous poetess, the
+authoress of a book called "Genji-mono-gatari," and other works. In
+her diary it is written that on the last night of the fifth year of
+the period Kanko (A.D. 1008), in order that she might appear to
+advantage on New Year's Day, she retired to the privacy of her own
+apartment, and repaired the deficiencies of her personal appearance by
+re-blackening her teeth, and otherwise adorning herself. Allusion is
+also made to the custom in the "Yeiga-mono-gatari," an ancient book by
+the same authoress.
+
+The Emperor and nobles of his court are also in the habit of
+blackening their teeth; but the custom is gradually dying out in their
+case. It is said to have originated with one Hanazono Arishito, who
+held the high rank of _Sa-Daijin,_ or "minister of the left," at the
+commencement of the twelfth century, in the reign of the Emperor
+Toba. Being a, man of refined and sensual tastes, this minister
+plucked out his eyebrows, shaved his beard, blackened his teeth,
+powdered his face white, and rouged his lips in order to render
+himself as like a woman as possible. In the middle of the twelfth
+century, the nobles of the court, who went to the wars, all blackened
+their teeth; and from this time forth the practice became a fashion of
+the court. The followers of the chiefs of the Hojo dynasty also
+blackened their teeth, as an emblem of their fidelity; and this was
+called the Odawara fashion, after the castle town of the family. Thus
+a custom, which had its origin in a love of sensuality and pleasure,
+became mistaken for the sign of a good and faithful spirit.
+
+The fashion of blackening the teeth entails no little trouble upon its
+followers, for the colour must be renewed every day, or at least every
+other day. Strange and repelling as the custom appears at first, the
+eye soon learns to look without aversion upon a well-blacked and
+polished set of teeth; but when the colour begins to wear away, and
+turns to a dullish grey, streaked with black, the mouth certainly
+becomes most hideous. Although no one who reads this is likely to put
+a recipe for blackening the teeth to a practical test, I append one
+furnished to me by a fashionable chemist and druggist in Yedo:--
+
+"Take three pints of water, and, having warmed it, add half a
+teacupful of wine. Put into this mixture a quantity of red-hot iron;
+allow it to stand for five or six days, when there will be a scum on
+the top of the mixture, which should then be poured into a small
+teacup and placed near a fire. When it is warm, powdered gallnuts and
+iron filings should be added to it, and the whole should be warmed
+again. The liquid is then painted on to the teeth by means of a soft
+feather brush, with more powdered gallnuts and iron, and, after
+several applications, the desired colour will be obtained."
+
+The process is said to be a preservative of the teeth, and I have
+known men who were habitual sufferers from toothache to prefer the
+martyrdom of ugliness to that of pain, and apply the black colouring
+when the paroxysms were severe. One man told me that he experienced
+immediate relief by the application, and that so long as he blackened
+his teeth he was quite free from pain.
+
+
+
+
+ON THE BIRTH AND BEARING OF CHILDREN
+
+(FROM THE "SHO-REI HIKKI.")
+
+
+In the fifth month of a woman's pregnancy, a very lucky day is
+selected for the ceremony of putting on a girdle, which is of white
+and red silk, folded, and eight feet in length. The husband produces
+it from the left sleeve of his dress; and the wife receives it in the
+right sleeve of her dress, and girds it on for the first time. This
+ceremony is only performed once. When the child is born, the white
+part of the girdle is dyed sky-blue, with a peculiar mark on it, and
+is made into clothes for the child. These, however, are not the first
+clothes which it wears. The dyer is presented with wine and condiments
+when the girdle is entrusted to him. It is also customary to beg some
+matron, who has herself had an easy confinement, for the girdle which
+she wore during her pregnancy; and this lady is called the
+girdle-mother. The borrowed girdle is tied on with that given by the
+husband, and the girdle-mother at this time gives and receives a
+present.
+
+The furniture of the lying-in chamber is as follows:--Two tubs for
+placing under-petticoats in; two tubs to hold the placenta; a piece of
+furniture like an arm-chair, without legs, for the mother to lean
+against;[119] a stool, which is used by the lady who embraces the
+loins of the woman in labour to support her, and which is afterwards
+used by the midwife in washing the child; several pillows of various
+sizes, that the woman in child-bed may ease her head at her pleasure;
+new buckets, basins, and ladles of various sizes. Twenty-four
+baby-robes, twelve of silk and twelve of cotton, must be prepared; the
+hems must be dyed saffron-colour. There must be an apron for the
+midwife, if the infant is of high rank, in order that, when she washes
+it, she may not place it immediately on her own knees: this apron
+should be made of a kerchief of cotton. When the child is taken out of
+the warm water, its body must be dried with a kerchief of fine cotton,
+unhemmed.
+
+[Footnote 119: Women in Japan are delivered in a kneeling position,
+and after the birth of the child they remain night and day in a
+squatting position, leaning back against a support, for twenty-one
+days, after which they are allowed to recline. Up to that time the
+recumbent position is supposed to produce a dangerous rush of blood to
+the head.]
+
+On the seventy-fifth or hundred and twentieth day after its birth, the
+baby leaves off its baby-linen; and this day is kept as a holiday.
+Although it is the practice generally to dress up children in various
+kinds of silk, this is very wrong, as the two principles of life being
+thereby injured, the child contracts disease; and on this account the
+ancients strictly forbade the practice. In modern times the child is
+dressed up in beautiful clothes; but to put a cap on its head,
+thinking to make much of it, when, on the contrary, it is hurtful to
+the child, should be avoided. It would be an excellent thing if rich
+people, out of care for the health of their children, would put a stop
+to a practice to which fashion clings.
+
+On the hundred and twentieth day after their birth children, whether
+male or female, are weaned.[120] This day is fixed, and there is no
+need to choose a lucky day. If the child be a boy, it is fed by a
+gentleman of the family; if a girl, by a lady. The ceremony is as
+follows:--The child is brought out and given to the weaning father or
+sponsor. He takes it on his left knee. A small table is prepared. The
+sponsor who is to feed the child, taking some rice which has been
+offered to the gods, places it on the corner of the little table which
+is by him; He dips his chop-sticks thrice in this rice, and very
+quietly places them in the mouth of the child, pretending to give it
+some of the juice of the rice. Five cakes of rice meal are also placed
+on the left side of the little table, and with these he again pretends
+to feed the child three times. When this ceremony is over, the child
+is handed back to its guardian, and three wine-cups are produced on a
+tray. The sponsor drinks three cups, and presents the cup to the
+child. When the child has been made to pretend to drink two cups, it
+receives a present from its sponsor, after which the child is supposed
+to drink a third time. Dried fish is then brought in, and the baby,
+having drunk thrice, passes the cup to its sponsor, who drinks thrice.
+More fish of a different kind is brought in. The drinking is repeated,
+and the weaning father receives a present from the child. The
+guardian, according to rules of propriety, should be near the child. A
+feast should be prepared, according to the means of the family. If the
+child be a girl, a weaning mother performs this ceremony, and suitable
+presents must be offered on either side. The wine-drinking is gone
+through as above.
+
+[Footnote 120: This is only a nominal weaning. Japanese children are
+not really weaned until far later than is ordinary in Europe; and it
+is by no means uncommon to see a mother in the poorer classes suckling
+a hulking child of from five to seven years old. One reason given for
+this practice is, that by this means the danger of having to provide
+for large families is lessened.]
+
+On the fifteenth day of the eleventh month of the child's third year,
+be the child boy or girl, its hair is allowed to grow. (Up to this
+time the whole head has been shaven: now three patches are allowed to
+grow, one on each side and one at the back of the head.) On this
+occasion also a sponsor is selected. A large tray, on which are a
+comb, scissors, paper string, a piece of string for tying the hair in
+a knot, cotton wool, and the bit of dried fish or seaweed which
+accompanies presents, one of each, and seven rice straws--these seven
+articles must be prepared.[121]
+
+[Footnote 121: For a few days previous to the ceremony the child's
+head is not shaved.]
+
+The child is placed facing the point of the compass which is
+auspicious for that year, and the sponsor, if the child be a boy,
+takes the scissors and gives three snips at the hair on the left
+temple, three on the right, and three in the centre. He then takes the
+piece of cotton wool and spreads it over the child's head, from the
+forehead, so as to make it hang down behind his neck, and he places
+the bit of dried fish or seaweed and the seven straws at the bottom of
+the piece of cotton wool, attaching them to the wool, and ties them in
+two loops, like a man's hair, with a piece of paper string; he then
+makes a woman's knot with two pieces of string. The ceremony of
+drinking wine is the same as that gone through at the weaning. If the
+child is a girl, a lady acts as sponsor; the hair-cutting is begun
+from the right temple instead of from the left. There is no difference
+in the rest of the ceremony.
+
+On the fifth day of the eleventh month of the child's fourth year he
+is invested with the _hakama_, or loose trousers worn by the Samurai.
+On this occasion again a sponsor is called in. The child receives from
+the sponsor a dress of ceremony, on which are embroidered storks and
+tortoises (emblems of longevity--the stork is said to live a thousand
+years, the tortoise ten thousand), fir-trees (which, being evergreen,
+and not changing their colour, are emblematic of an unchangingly
+virtuous heart), and bamboos (emblematic of an upright and straight
+mind). The child is placed upright on a chequer-board, facing the
+auspicious point of the compass, and invested with the dress of
+ceremony. It also receives a sham sword and dirk. The usual ceremony
+of drinking wine is observed.
+
+NOTE.--In order to understand the following ceremony, it is necessary
+to recollect that the child at three years of age is allowed to grow
+its hair in three patches. By degrees the hair is allowed to grow, the
+crown alone being shaved, and a forelock left. At ten or eleven years
+of age the boy's head is dressed like a man's, with the exception of
+this forelock.
+
+The ceremony of cutting off the forelock used in old days to include
+the ceremony of putting on the noble's cap; but as this has gone out
+of fashion, there is no need to treat of it.
+
+Any time after the youth has reached the age of fifteen, according to
+the cleverness and ability which he shows, a lucky day is chosen for
+this most important ceremony, after which the boy takes his place
+amongst full-grown men. A person of virtuous character is chosen as
+sponsor or "cap-father." Although the man's real name (that name which
+is only known to his intimate relations and friends, not the one by
+which he usually goes in society) is usually determined before this
+date, if it be not so, he receives his real name from his sponsor on
+this day. In old days there used to be a previous ceremony of cutting
+the hair off the forehead in a straight line, so as to make two
+angles: up to this time the youth wore long sleeves like a woman, and
+from that day he wore short sleeves. This was called the "half
+cutting." The poorer classes have a habit of shortening the sleeves
+before this period; but that is contrary to all rule, and is an evil
+custom.
+
+A common tray is produced, on which is placed an earthenware wine-cup.
+The sponsor drinks thrice, and hands the cup to the young man, who,
+having also drunk thrice, gives back the cup to the sponsor, who again
+drinks thrice, and then proceeds to tie up the young man's hair.
+
+There are three ways of tying the hair, and there is also a particular
+fashion of letting the forelock grow long; and when this is the case,
+the forelock is only clipped. (This is especially the fashion among
+the nobles of the Mikado's court.) This applies only to persons who
+wear the court cap, and not to gentlemen of lower grade. Still, these
+latter persons, if they wish to go through the ceremony in its
+entirety, may do so without impropriety. Gentlemen of the Samurai or
+military class cut off the whole of the forelock. The sponsor either
+ties up the hair of the young man, or else, placing the forelock on a
+willow board, cuts it off with a knife, or else, amongst persons of
+very high rank, he only pretends to do so, and goes into another room
+whilst the real cutting is going on, and then returns to the same
+room. The sponsor then, without letting the young man see what he is
+doing, places the lock which has been cut into the pocket of his left
+sleeve, and, leaving the room, gives it to the young man's guardians,
+who wrap it in paper and offer it up at the shrine of the family gods.
+But this is wrong. The locks should be well wrapped up in paper and
+kept in the house until the man's death, to serve as a reminder of the
+favours which a man receives from his father and mother in his
+childhood; when he dies, it should be placed in his coffin and buried
+with him. The wine-drinking and presents are as before.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the "Sho-rei Hikki," the book from which the above is translated,
+there is no notice of the ceremony of naming the child: the following
+is a translation from a Japanese MS.:--
+
+"On the seventh day after its birth, the child receives its name; the
+ceremony is called the congratulations of the seventh night. On this
+day some one of the relations of the family, who holds an exalted
+position, either from his rank or virtues, selects a name for the
+child, which name he keeps until the time of the cutting of the
+forelock, when he takes the name which he is to bear as a man. This
+second name is called _Yeboshina_,[122] the cap-name, which is
+compounded of syllables taken from an old name of the family and from
+the name of the sponsor. If the sponsor afterwards change his name,
+his name-child must also change his name. For instance, Minamoto no
+Yoshitsune, the famous warrior, as a child was called Ushiwakamaru;
+when he grew up to be a man, he was called Kuro; and his real name was
+Yoshitsune."
+
+
+[Footnote 122: From _Yeboshi_, a court cap, and _Na_, a name.]
+
+
+
+
+FUNERAL RITES
+
+(FROM THE "SHO-REI HIKKI.")
+
+
+On the death of a parent, the mourning clothes worn are made of coarse
+hempen cloth, and during the whole period of mourning these must be
+worn night and day. As the burial of his parents is the most important
+ceremony which a man has to go through during his whole life, when the
+occasion comes, in order that there be no confusion, he must employ
+some person to teach him the usual and proper rites. Above all things
+to be reprehended is the burning of the dead: they should be interred
+without burning.[123] The ceremonies to be observed at a funeral
+should by rights have been learned before there is occasion to put
+them in practice. If a man have no father or mother, he is sure to
+have to bury other relations; and so he should not disregard this
+study. There are some authorities who select lucky days and hours and
+lucky places for burying the dead, but this is wrong; and when they
+talk about curses being brought upon posterity by not observing these
+auspicious seasons and places, they make a great mistake. It is a
+matter of course that an auspicious day must be chosen so far as
+avoiding wind and rain is concerned, that men may bury their dead
+without their minds being distracted; and it is important to choose a
+fitting cemetery, lest in after days the tomb should be damaged by
+rain, or by men walking over it, or by the place being turned into a
+field, or built upon. When invited to a friend's or neighbour's
+funeral, a man should avoid putting on smart clothes and dresses of
+ceremony; and when he follows the coffin, he should not speak in a
+loud voice to the person next him, for that is very rude; and even
+should he have occasion to do so, he should avoid entering wine-shops
+or tea-houses on his return from the funeral.
+
+[Footnote 123: On the subject of burning the dead, see a note to the
+story of Chobei of Bandzuin.]
+
+The list of persons present at a funeral should be written on slips of
+paper, and firmly bound together. It may be written as any other list,
+only it must not be written beginning at the right hand, as is usually
+the case, but from the left hand (as is the case in European books).
+
+On the day of burial, during the funeral service, incense is burned in
+the temple before the tablet on which is inscribed the name under
+which the dead person enters salvation.[124] The incense-burners,
+having washed their hands, one by one, enter the room where the tablet
+is exposed, and advance half-way up to the tablet, facing it;
+producing incense wrapped in paper from their bosoms, they hold it in
+their left hands, and, taking a pinch with the right hand, they place
+the packet in their left sleeve. If the table on which the tablet is
+placed be high, the person offering incense half raises himself from
+his crouching position; if the table be low, he remains crouching to
+burn the incense, after which he takes three steps backwards, with
+bows and reverences, and retires six feet, when he again crouches down
+to watch the incense-burning, and bows to the priests who are sitting
+in a row with their chief at their head, after which he rises and
+leaves the room. Up to the time of burning the incense no notice is
+taken of the priest. At the ceremony of burning incense before the
+grave, the priests are not saluted. The packet of incense is made of
+fine paper folded in three, both ways.
+
+[Footnote 124: After death a person receives a new name. For instance,
+the famous Prince Tokugawa Iyeyasu entered salvation as Gongen Sama.
+This name is called _okurina_, or the accompanying name.]
+
+
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+The reason why the author of the "Sho-rei Hikki" has treated so
+briefly of the funeral ceremonies is probably that these rites, being
+invariably entrusted to the Buddhist priesthood, vary according to the
+sect of the latter; and, as there are no less than fifteen sects of
+Buddhism in Japan, it would be a long matter to enter into the
+ceremonies practised by each. Should Buddhism be swept out of Japan,
+as seems likely to be the case, men will probably return to the old
+rites which obtained before its introduction in the sixth century of
+our era. What those rites were I have been unable to learn.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TALES OF OLD JAPAN***
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