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diff --git a/old/13015.txt b/old/13015.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5dc6f99 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13015.txt @@ -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. 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