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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15320-8.txt b/15320-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a5a7710 --- /dev/null +++ b/15320-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4565 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Romance of the Milky Way, by Lafcadio Hearn + +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: The Romance of the Milky Way + And Other Studies & Stories + +Author: Lafcadio Hearn + +Release Date: March 10, 2005 [EBook #15320] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY *** + + + + +Produced by Ted Garvin, William Flis, and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + Transcriber's Note: Phonetic characters are represented by the + following symbols: + [=x] = any letter "x" with superior macron + + + + +SHORT STORY + + + + +THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY + +AND OTHER STUDIES & STORIES + +BY LAFCADIO HEARN + + +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN AND COMPANY BOSTON AND NEW YORK 1905 + + + + +COPYRIGHT 1905 BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN & COMPANY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED + +PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1905 + + + + +CONTENTS + + + THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY 1 + + GOBLIN POETRY 51 + + "ULTIMATE QUESTIONS" 103 + + THE MIRROR MAIDEN 125 + + THE STORY OF IT[=O] NORISUKÉ 139 + + STRANGER THAN FICTION 167 + + A LETTER FROM JAPAN 179 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +Lafcadio Hearn, known to Nippon as Yakumo Koizumi, was born in +Leucadia in the Ionian Islands, June 27, 1850. His father was an Irish +surgeon in the British Army; his mother was a Greek. Both parents died +while Hearn was still a child, and he was adopted by a great-aunt, +and educated for the priesthood. To this training he owed his +Latin scholarship and, doubtless, something of the subtlety of +his intelligence. He soon found, however, that the prospect of an +ecclesiastical career was alien from his inquiring mind and vivid +temperament, and at the age of nineteen he came to America to seek +his fortune. After working for a time as a proof-reader, he obtained +employment as a newspaper reporter in Cincinnati. Soon he rose to +be an editorial writer, and went in the course of a few years to New +Orleans to join the editorial staff of the "Times-Democrat." Here he +lived until 1887, writing odd fantasies and arabesques for his paper, +contributing articles and sketches to the magazines, and publishing +several curious little books, among them his "Stray Leaves from +Strange Literature," and his translations from Gautier. In the winter +of 1887 he began his pilgrimages to exotic countries, being, as +he wrote to a friend, "a small literary bee in search of inspiring +honey." After a couple of years, spent chiefly in the French West +Indies, with periods of literary work in New York, he went in 1890 +to Japan to prepare a series of articles for a magazine. Here through +some deep affinity of mood with the marvelous people of that country +he seems suddenly to have felt himself at last at home. He married a +Japanese woman; he acquired Japanese citizenship in order to preserve +the succession of his property to his family there; he became a +lecturer in the Imperial University at T[=o]ky[=o]; and in a series +of remarkable books he made himself the interpreter to the Western +World of the very spirit of Japanese life and art. He died there of +paralysis of the heart on the 26th of September, 1904. + + * * * * * + +With the exception of a body of familiar letters now in process of +collection, the present volume contains all of Hearn's writing that +he left uncollected in the magazines or in manuscript of a sufficient +ripeness for publication. It is worth noting, however, that perfect as +is the writing of "Ultimate Questions," and complete as the essay is +in itself, the author regarded it as unfinished, and, had he lived, +would have revised and amplified some portions of it. + +But if this volume lacks the incomparably exquisite touch of its +author in its arrangement and revision, it does, nevertheless, present +him in all of his most characteristic veins, and it is in respect both +to style and to substance perhaps the most mature and significant of +his works. + +In his first days as a writer Hearn had conceived an ideal of his art +as specific as it was ambitious. Early in the eighties he wrote from +New Orleans in an unpublished letter to the Rev. Wayland D. Ball +of Washington: "The lovers of antique loveliness are proving to me +the future possibilities of a long cherished dream,--the English +realization of a Latin style, modeled upon foreign masters, and +rendered even more forcible by that element of _strength_ which +is the characteristic of Northern tongues. This no man can hope +to accomplish, but even a translator may carry his stones to the +master-masons of a new architecture of language." In the realization +of his ideal Hearn took unremitting pains. He gave a minute and +analytical study to the writings of such masters of style as Flaubert +and Gautier, and he chose his miscellaneous reading with a peculiar +care. He wrote again to the same friend: "I never read a book which +does not powerfully impress the imagination; but whatever contains +novel, curious, potent imagery I always read, no matter what +the subject. When the soil of fancy is really well enriched +with innumerable fallen leaves, the flowers of language grow +spontaneously." Finally, to the hard study of technique, to vast +but judicious reading, he added a long, creative brooding time. To +a Japanese friend, Nobushige Amenomori, he wrote in a passage +which contains by implication a deep theory not only of literary +composition, but of all art:-- + +"Now with regard to your own sketch or story. If you are quite +dissatisfied with it, I think this is probably due _not_ to what you +suppose,--imperfection of expression,--but rather to the fact that +some _latent_ thought or emotion has not yet defined itself in your +mind with sufficient sharpness. You feel something and have not been +able to express the feeling--only because you do not yet quite know +what it is. We feel without understanding feeling; and our most +powerful emotions are the most undefinable. This must be so, because +they are inherited accumulations of feeling, and the multiplicity of +them--superimposed one over another--blurs them, and makes them dim, +even though enormously increasing their strength.... _Unconscious_ +brain work is the best to develop such latent feeling or thought. By +quietly writing the thing over and over again, I find that the emotion +or idea often _develops itself_ in the process,--unconsciously. Again, +it is often worth while to _try_ to analyze the feeling that remains +dim. The effort of trying to understand exactly what it is that moves +us sometimes proves successful.... If you have any feeling--no matter +what--strongly latent in the mind (even only a haunting sadness or a +mysterious joy), you may be sure that it is expressible. Some feelings +are, of course, very difficult to develop. I shall show you one +of these days, when we see each other, a page that I worked at for +_months_ before the idea came clearly.... When the best result +comes, it ought to surprise you, for our best work is out of the +Unconscious." + +Through this study, reading, and brooding Lafcadio Hearn's prose +ripened and mellowed consistently to the end. In mere workmanship the +present volume is one of his most admirable, while in its heightened +passages, like the final paragraph of "The Romance of the Milky Way," +the rich, melancholy music, the profound suggestion, are not easily +matched from any but the very greatest English prose. + +In substance the volume is equally significant. In 1884 he wrote to +one of the closest of his friends that he had at last found his +feet intellectually through the reading of Herbert Spencer which +had dispelled all "isms" from his mind and left him "the vague +but omnipotent consolation of the Great Doubt." And in "Ultimate +Questions," which strikes, so to say, the dominant chord of this +volume, we have an almost lyrical expression of the meaning for him of +the Spencerian philosophy and psychology. In it is his characteristic +mingling of Buddhist and Shinto thought with English and French +psychology, strains which in his work "do not simply mix well," as +he says in one of his letters, but "absolutely unite, like chemical +elements--rush together with a shock;"--and in it he strikes his +deepest note. In his steady envisagement of the horror that envelops +the stupendous universe of science, in his power to evoke and revive +old myths and superstitions, and by their glamour to cast a ghostly +light of vanished suns over the darkness of the abyss, he was the most +Lucretian of modern writers. + + * * * * * + +In outward appearance Hearn, the man, was in no way prepossessing. In +the sharply lined picture of him drawn by one of his Japanese comrades +in the "Atlantic" for October, 1905, he appears, "slightly corpulent +in later years, short in stature, hardly five feet high, of somewhat +stooping gait. A little brownish in complexion, and of rather hairy +skin. A thin, sharp, aquiline nose, large protruding eyes, of which +the left was blind and the right very near-sighted." + +The same writer, Nobushige Amenomori, has set down a reminiscence, not +of Hearn the man, but of Hearn the genius, wherewith this introduction +to the last of his writings may fitly conclude: "I shall ever retain +the vivid remembrance of the sight I had when I stayed over night at +his house for the first time. Being used myself also to sit up late, I +read in bed that night. The clock struck one in the morning, but there +was a light in Hearn's study. I heard some low, hoarse coughing. I was +afraid my friend might be ill; so I stepped out of my room and went to +his study. Not wanting, however, to disturb him, if he was at work, +I cautiously opened the door just a little, and peeped in. I saw +my friend intent in writing at his high desk, with his nose almost +touching the paper. Leaf after leaf he wrote on. In a while he held +up his head, and what did I see! It was not the Hearn I was familiar +with; it was another Hearn. His face was mysteriously white; his +large eye gleamed. He appeared like one in touch with some unearthly +presence. + +"Within that homely looking man there burned something pure as the +vestal fire, and in that flame dwelt a mind that called forth life and +poetry out of dust, and grasped the highest themes of human thought." + +F.G. + +September, 1905. + + + + +THE ROMANCE, OF THE MILKY WAY + + + Of old it was said: 'The River of Heaven is the Ghost of + Waters.' We behold it shifting its bed in the course of the + year as an earthly river sometimes does. + + _Ancient Scholar_ + + +Among the many charming festivals celebrated by Old Japan, the most +romantic was the festival of Tanabata-Sama, the Weaving-Lady of the +Milky Way. In the chief cities her holiday is now little observed; and +in T[=o]ky[=o] it is almost forgotten. But in many country districts, +and even in villages, near the capital, it is still celebrated in a +small way. If you happen to visit an old-fashioned country town or +village, on the seventh day of the seventh month (by the ancient +calendar), you will probably notice many freshly-cut bamboos fixed +upon the roofs of the houses, or planted in the ground beside them, +every bamboo having attached to it a number of strips of colored +paper. In some very poor villages you might find that these papers are +white, or of one color only; but the general rule is that the papers +should be of five or seven different colors. Blue, green, red, yellow, +and white are the tints commonly displayed. All these papers are +inscribed with short poems written in praise of Tanabata and her +husband Hikoboshi. After the festival the bamboos are taken down and +thrown into the nearest stream, together with the poems attached to +them. + + * * * * * + +To understand the romance of this old festival, you must know the +legend of those astral divinities to whom offerings used to be made, +even by, the Imperial Household, on the seventh day of the seventh +month. The legend is Chinese. This is the Japanese popular version of +it:-- + +The great god of the firmament had a lovely daughter, Tanabata-tsumé, +who passed her days in weaving garments for her august parent. She +rejoiced in her work, and thought that there was no greater pleasure +than the pleasure of weaving. But one day, as she sat before her loom +at the door of her heavenly dwelling, she saw a handsome peasant lad +pass by, leading an ox, and she fell in love with him. Her august +father, divining her secret wish, gave her the youth for a husband. +But the wedded lovers became too fond of each other, and neglected +their duty to the god of the firmament; the sound of the shuttle was +no longer heard, and the ox wandered, unheeded, over the plains of +heaven. Therefore the great god was displeased, and he separated the +pair. They were sentenced to live thereafter apart, with the Celestial +River between them; but it was permitted them to see each other once +a year, on the seventh night of the seventh moon. On that +night--providing the skies be clear--the birds of heaven make, with +their bodies and wings, a bridge over the stream; and by means of that +bridge the lovers can meet. But if there be rain, the River of Heaven +rises, and becomes so wide that the bridge cannot be formed. So the +husband and wife cannot always meet, even on the seventh night of +the seventh month; it may happen, by reason of bad weather, that they +cannot meet for three or four years at a time. But their love remains +immortally young and eternally patient; and they continue to fulfill +their respective duties each day without fault,--happy in their hope +of being able to meet on the seventh night of the next seventh month. + + * * * * * + +To ancient Chinese fancy, the Milky Way was a luminous river,--the +River of Heaven,--the Silver Stream. It has been stated by Western +writers that Tanabata, the Weaving-Lady, is a star in Lyra; and the +Herdsman, her beloved, a star in Aquila, on the opposite side of the +galaxy. But it were more correct to say that both are represented, to +Far-Eastern imagination, by groups of stars. An old Japanese book puts +the matter thus plainly: "Kengy[=u] (the Ox-Leader) is on the west +side of the Heavenly River, and is represented by three stars in a +row, and looks like a man leading an ox. Shokujo (the Weaving-Lady) +is on the east side of the Heavenly River: three stars so placed as +to appear like the figure of a woman seated at her loom.... The former +presides over all things relating to agriculture; the latter, over all +that relates to women's work." + + * * * * * + +In an old book called Zatsuwa-Shin, it is said that these deities +were of earthly origin. Once in this world they were man and wife, +and lived in China; and the husband was called Ishi, and the wife +Hakuy[=o]. They especially and most devoutly reverenced the Moon. +Every clear evening, after sundown, they waited with eagerness to see +her rise. And when she began to sink towards the horizon, they would +climb to the top of a hill near their house, so that they might be +able to gaze upon her face as long as possible. Then, when she at last +disappeared from view, they would mourn together. At the age of ninety +and nine, the wife died; and her spirit rode up to heaven on a magpie, +and there became a star. The husband, who was then one hundred and +three years old, sought consolation for his bereavement in looking at +the Moon and when he welcomed her rising and mourned her setting, it +seemed to him as if his wife were still beside him. + +One summer night, Hakuy[=o]--now immortally beautiful and +young--descended from heaven upon her magpie, to visit her husband; +and he was made very happy by that visit. But from that time he +could think of nothing but the bliss of becoming a star, and joining +Hakuy[=o] beyond the River of Heaven. At last he also ascended to the +sky, riding upon a crow; and there he became a star-god. But he could +not join Hakuy[=o] at once, as he had hoped;--for between his allotted +place and hers flowed the River of Heaven; and it was not permitted +for either star to cross the stream, because the Master of Heaven +(_Ten-Tei_) daily bathed in its waters. Moreover, there was no bridge. +But on one day every year--the seventh day of the seventh month--they +were allowed to see each other. The Master of Heaven goes always +on that day to the Zenh[=o]do, to hear the preaching of the law of +Buddha; and then the magpies and the crows make, with their hovering +bodies and outspread wings, a bridge over the Celestial Stream; and +Hakuy[=o] crosses that bridge to meet her husband. + +There can be little doubt that the Japanese festival called +Tanabata was originally identical with the festival of the Chinese +Weaving-Goddess, Tchi-Niu; the Japanese holiday seems to have +been especially a woman's holiday, from the earliest times; and +the characters with which the word Tanabata is written signify a +weaving-girl. But as both of the star-deities were worshiped on the +seventh of the seventh month, some Japanese scholars have not been +satisfied with the common explanation of the name, and have stated +that it was originally composed with the word _tané_ (seed, or grain), +and the word _hata_ (loom). Those who accept this etymology make the +appellation, Tanabata-Sama, plural instead of singular, and render +it as "the deities of grain and of the loom,"--that is to say, those +presiding over agriculture and weaving. In old Japanese pictures +the star-gods are represented according to this conception of their +respective attributes;--Hikoboshi being figured as a peasant lad +leading an ox to drink of the Heavenly River, on the farther side of +which Orihimé (Tanabata) appears, weaving at her loom. The garb of +both is Chinese; and the first Japanese pictures of these divinities +were probably copied from some Chinese original. + +In the oldest collection of Japanese poetry extant,--the +Many[=o]sh[=u], dating from 760 A.D.,--the male divinity is usually +called Hikoboshi, and the female Tanabata-tsumé; but in later times +both have been called Tanabata. In Izumo the male deity is popularly +termed O-Tanabata Sama, and the female Mé-Tanabata Sama. Both are +still known by many names. The male is called Kaiboshi as well as +Hikoboshi and Kengy[=u]; while the female is called Asagao-himé +("Morning Glory Princess")[1], Ito-ori-himé ("Thread-Weaving +Princess"), Momoko-himé ("Peach-Child Princess"), Takimono-himé +("Incense Princess"), and Sasagani-himé ("Spider Princess"). Some +of these names are difficult to explain,--especially the last, which +reminds us of the Greek legend of Arachne. Probably the Greek myth and +the Chinese story have nothing whatever in common; but in old Chinese +books there is recorded a curious fact which might well suggest a +relationship. In the time of the Chinese Emperor Ming Hwang (whom the +Japanese call Gens[=o]), it was customary for the ladies of the court, +on the seventh day of the seventh month, to catch spiders and put them +into an incense-box for purposes of divination. On the morning of the +eighth day the box was opened; and if the spiders had spun thick webs +during the night the omen was good. But if they had remained idle the +omen was bad. + +[Footnote 1: Asagao (lit., "morning-face") is the Japanese name for +the beautiful climbing plant which we call "morning glory."] + + * * * * * + +There is a story that, many ages ago, a beautiful woman visited the +dwelling of a farmer in the mountains of Izumo, and taught to the only +daughter of the household an art of weaving never before known. One +evening the beautiful stranger vanished away; and the people knew +that they had seen the Weaving-Lady of Heaven. The daughter of the +farmer became renowned for her skill in weaving. But she would never +marry,--because she had been the companion of Tanabata-Sama. + + * * * * * + +Then there is a Chinese story--delightfully vague--about a man who +once made a visit, unawares, to the Heavenly Land. He had observed +that every year, during the eighth month, a raft of precious wood came +floating to the shore on which he lived; and he wanted to know where +that wood grew. So he loaded a boat with provisions for a two years' +voyage, and sailed away in the direction from which the rafts used to +drift. For months and months he sailed on, over an always placid sea; +and at last he arrived at a pleasant shore, where wonderful trees +were growing. He moored his boat, and proceeded alone into the unknown +land, until he came to the bank of a river whose waters were bright as +silver. On the opposite shore he saw a pavilion; and in the pavilion +a beautiful woman sat weaving; she was white like moonshine, and made +a radiance all about her. Presently he saw a handsome young peasant +approaching, leading an ox to the water; and he asked the young +peasant to tell him the name of the place and the country. But the +youth seemed to be displeased by the question, and answered in a +severe tone: "If you want to know the name of this place, go back +to where you came from, and ask Gen-Kum-Pei."[2] So the voyager, +feeling afraid, hastened to his boat, and returned to China. There he +sought out the sage Gen-Kum-Pei, to whom he related the adventure. +Gen-Kum-Pei clapped his hands for wonder, and exclaimed, "So it was +you!... On the seventh day of the seventh month I was gazing at +the heavens, and I saw that the Herdsman and the Weaver were about +to meet;--but between them was a new Star, which I took to be a +Guest-Star. Fortunate man! you have been to the River of Heaven, and +have looked upon the face of the Weaving-Lady!..." + +[Footnote 2: This is the Japanese reading of the Chinese name.] + + * * * * * + +--It is said that the meeting of the Herdsman and the Weaver can be +observed by any one with good eyes; for whenever it occurs those stars +burn with five different colors. That is why offerings of five colors +are made to the Tanabata divinities, and why the poems composed in +their praise are written upon paper of five different tints. + +But, as I have said before, the pair can meet only in fair weather. +If there be the least rain upon the seventh night, the River of Heaven +will rise, and the lovers must wait another whole year. Therefore the +rain that happens to fall on Tanabata night is called _Namida no Amé_, +"The Rain of Tears." + +When the sky is clear on the seventh night, the lovers are fortunate; +and their stars can be seen to sparkle with delight. If the star +Kengy[=u] then shines very brightly, there will be great rice crops +in the autumn. If the star Shokujo looks brighter than usual, there +will be a prosperous time for weavers, and for every kind of female +industry. + + * * * * * + +In old Japan it was generally supposed that the meeting of the pair +signified good fortune to mortals. Even to-day, in many parts of the +country, children sing a little song on the evening of the Tanabata +festival,--_Tenki ni nari!_ ("O weather, be clear!") In the province +of Iga the young folks also sing a jesting song at the supposed hour +of the lovers' meeting:-- + + Tanabata ya! + Amari isogaba, + Korobubéshi![3] + +But in the province of Izumo, which is a very rainy district, the +contrary belief prevails; and it is thought that if the sky be clear +on the seventh day of the seventh month, misfortune will follow. The +local explanation of this belief is that if the stars can meet, there +will be born from their union many evil deities who will afflict the +country with drought and other calamities. + +[Footnote 3: "Ho! Tanabata! if you hurry too much, you will tumble +down!"] + + * * * * * + +The festival of Tanabata was first celebrated in Japan on the seventh +day of the seventh month of Tomby[=o] Sh[=o]h[=o] (A.D. 755). Perhaps +the Chinese origin of the Tanabata divinities accounts for the fact +that their public worship was at no time represented by many temples. + +I have been able to find record of only one temple to them, called +Tanabata-jinja, which was situated at a village called Hoshiaimura, +in the province of Owari, and surrounded by a grove called +Tanabata-mori.[4] + +[Footnote 4: There is no mention, however, of any such village in any +modern directory.] + +Even before Temby[=o] Sh[=o]h[=o], however, the legend of the +Weaving-Maiden seems to have been well known in Japan; for it is +recorded that on the seventh night of the seventh year of Y[=o]r[=o] +(A.D. 723) the poet Yamagami no Okura composed the song:-- + + Amanogawa, + Ai-muki tachité, + Waga koďshi + Kimi kimasu nari-- + Himo-toki makina![5] + +It would seem that the Tanabata festival was first established +in Japan eleven hundred and fifty years ago, as an Imperial Court +festival only, in accordance with Chinese precedent. Subsequently +the nobility and the military classes everywhere followed imperial +example; and the custom of celebrating the Hoshi-mat-suri, or +Star-Festival,--as it was popularly called,--spread gradually +downwards, until at last the seventh day of the seventh month became, +in the full sense of the term, a national holiday. But the fashion of +its observance varied considerably at different eras and in different +provinces. + +[Footnote 5: For a translation and explanation of this song, see +_infra_, page 30.] + +The ceremonies at the Imperial Court were of the most elaborate +character: a full account of them is given in the _K[=o]ji +Kongen_,--with explanatory illustrations. On the evening of the +seventh day of the seventh month, mattings were laid down on the east +side of that portion of the Imperial Palace called the Seir-y[=o]den; +and upon these mattings were placed four tables of offerings to the +Star-deities. Besides the customary food-offerings, there were placed +upon these tables rice-wine, incense, vases of red lacquer containing +flowers, a harp and flute, and a needle with five eyes, threaded +with threads of five different colors. Black-lacquered oil-lamps were +placed beside the tables, to illuminate the feast. In another part of +the grounds a tub of water was so placed as to reflect the light of +the Tanabata-stars; and the ladies of the Imperial Household attempted +to thread a needle by the reflection. She who succeeded was to be +fortunate during the following year. The court-nobility (_Kugé_) were +obliged to make certain offerings to the Imperial House on the day +of the festival. The character of these offerings, and the manner of +their presentation, were fixed by decree. They were conveyed to the +palace upon a tray, by a veiled lady of rank, in ceremonial dress. +Above her, as she walked, a great red umbrella was borne by an +attendant. On the tray were placed seven _tanzaku_ (longilateral +slips of fine tinted paper for the writing of poems); seven +_kudzu_-leaves;[6] seven inkstones; seven strings of _s[=o]men_ +(a kind of vermicelli); fourteen writing-brushes; and a bunch of +yam-leaves gathered at night, and thickly sprinkled with dew. In the +palace grounds the ceremony began at the Hour of the Tiger,--4 A.M. +Then the inkstones were carefully washed,--prior to preparing the ink +for the writing of poems in praise of the Star-deities,--and each one +set upon a _kudzu_-leaf. One bunch of bedewed yam-leaves was then +laid upon every inkstone; and with this dew, instead of water, the +writing-ink was prepared. All the ceremonies appear to have been +copied from those in vogue at the Chinese court in the time of the +Emperor Ming-Hwang. + +[Footnote 6: _Pueraria Thunbergiana._] + + * * * * * + +It was not until the time of the Tokugawa Sh[=o]gunate that the +Tanabata festival became really a national holiday; and the popular +custom of attaching _tansaku_ of different colors to freshly-cut +bamboos, in celebration of the occasion, dates only from the era +of Bunser (1818). Previously the _tanzaku_ had been made of a very +costly quality of paper; and the old aristocratic ceremonies had been +not less expensive than elaborate. But in the time of the Tokugawa +Sh[=o]gunate a very cheap paper of various colors was manufactured; +and the holiday ceremonies were suffered to assume an inexpensive +form, in which even the poorest classes could indulge. + +The popular customs relating to the festival differed according to +locality. Those of Izumo--where all classes of society, _samurai_ or +common folk, celebrated the holiday in much the same way--used to be +particularly interesting; and a brief account of them will suggest +something of the happy aspects of life in feudal times. At the Hour +of the Tiger, on the seventh night of the seventh month, everybody +was up; and the work of washing the inkstones and writing-brushes +was performed. Then, in the household garden, dew was collected upon +yam-leaves. This dew was called _Amanogawa no suzuki_ ("drops from the +River of Heaven"); and it was used to make fresh ink for writing the +poems which were to be suspended to bamboos planted in the garden. It +was usual for friends to present each other with new inkstones at the +time of the Tanabata festival; and if there were any new inkstones +in the house, the fresh ink was prepared in these. Each member of +the family then wrote poems. The adults composed verses, according to +their ability, in praise of the Star-deities; and the children either +wrote dictation or tried to improvise. Little folk too young to use +the writing-brush without help had their small hands guided, by parent +or elder sister or elder brother, so as to shape on a _tanzaku_ +the character of some single word or phrase relating to the +festival,--such as "Amanogawa," or "Tanabata," or "Kasasagi no Hashi" +(the Bridge of Magpies). In the garden were planted two freshly-cut +bamboos, with branches and leaves entire,--a male bamboo +(_otoko-daké_) and a female bamboo (_onna-daké_). They were set +up about six feet apart, and to a cord extended between them were +suspended paper-cuttings of five colors, and skeins of dyed thread of +five colors. The paper-cuttings represented upper-robes,--_kimono_. +To the leaves and branches of the bamboos were tied the _tanzaku_ +on which poems had been written by the members of the family. +And upon a table, set between the bamboos, or immediately before +them, were placed vessels containing various offerings to the +Star-deities,--fruits, _s[=o]men_, rice-wine, and vegetables of +different kinds, such as cucumbers and watermelons. + +But the most curious Izumo custom relating to the festival was the +_Nému-nagashi_, or "Sleep-wash-away" ceremony. Before day-break the +young folks used to go to some stream, carrying with them bunches +composed of _némuri_-leaves and bean-leaves mixed together. On +reaching the stream, they would fling their bunches of leaves into the +current, and sing a little song:-- + + Nému wa, nagaré yo! + Mamé no ha wa, tomaré! + +These verses might be rendered in two ways; because the word _nému_ +can be taken in the meaning either of _némuri_ (sleep), or of +_nemuri-gi_ or _némunoki_, the "sleep-plant" (mimosa),--while the +syllables _mamé_, as written in _kana_, can signify either "bean," or +"activity," or "strength," "vigor," "health," etc. But the ceremony +was symbolical, and the intended meaning of the song was:-- + + Drowsiness, drift away! + Leaves of vigor, remain! + +After this, all the young folk would jump into the water, to bathe or +swim, in token of their resolve to shed all laziness for the coming +year, and to maintain a vigorous spirit of endeavor. + + * * * * * + +Yet it was probably in Yédo (now T[=o]ky[=o]) that the Tanabata +festival assumed its most picturesque aspects. During the two days +that the celebration lasted,--the sixth and seventh of the seventh +month,--the city used to present the appearance of one vast bamboo +grove; fresh bamboos, with poems attached to them, being erected upon +the roofs of the houses. Peasants were in those days able to do a +great business in bamboos, which were brought into town by hundreds of +wagonloads for holiday use. Another feature of the Yédo festival was +the children's procession, in which bamboos, with poems attached to +them, were carried about the city. To each such bamboo there was also +fastened a red plaque on which were painted, in Chinese characters, +the names of the Tanabata stars. + +But almost everywhere, under the Tokugawa régime, the Tanabata +festival used to be a merry holiday for the young people of all +classes,--a holiday beginning with lantern displays before sunrise, +and lasting well into the following night. Boys and girls on that day +were dressed in their best, and paid visits of ceremony to friends and +neighbors. + + * * * * * + +--The moon of the seventh month used to be called _Tanabata-tsuki_, or +"The Moon of Tanabata." And it was also called _Fumi-tsuki_, or "The +Literary Moon," because during the seventh month poems were everywhere +composed in praise of the Celestial Lovers. + + * * * * * + +I think that my readers ought to be interested in the following +selection of ancient Japanese poems, treating of the Tanabata legend. +All are from the _Many[=o]sh[=u]_. The _Many[=o]sh[=u]_, or "Gathering +of a Myriad Leaves," is a vast collection of poems composed before the +middle of the eighth century. It was compiled by Imperial order, and +completed early in the ninth century. The number of the poems which +it contains is upwards of four thousand; some being "long poems" +(_naga-uta_), but the great majority _tanka_, or compositions limited +to thirty-one syllables; and the authors were courtiers or high +officials. The first eleven _tanka_ hereafter translated were composed +by Yamagami no Okura, Governor of the province of Chikuzen more than +eleven hundred years ago. His fame as a poet is well deserved; for +not a little of his work will bear comparison with some of the finer +epigrams of the Greek Anthology. The following verses, upon the death +of his little son Furubi, will serve as an example:-- + + Wakakeréba + Nichi-yuki shiraji: + Mahi wa sému, + Shitabé no tsukahi + Ohité-tohorasé. + + --[_As he is so young, he cannot know the way.... To the + messenger of the Underworld I will give a bribe, and entreat + him, saying: "Do thou kindly take the little one upon thy back + along the road."_] + +Eight hundred years earlier, the Greek poet Diodorus Zonas of Sardis +had written:-- + + "_Do thou, who rowest the boat of the dead in the water of + this reedy lake, for Hades, stretch out thy hand, dark + Charon, to the son of Kinyras, as he mounts the ladder by the + gang-way, and receive him. For his sandals will cause the lad + to slip, and he fears to set his feet naked on the sand of the + shore._" + +But the charming epigram of Diodorus was inspired only by a myth,--for +the "son of Kinyras" was no other than Adonis,--whereas the verses of +Okura express for us the yearning of a father's heart. + + * * * * * + +--Though the legend of Tanabata was indeed borrowed from China, the +reader will find nothing Chinese in the following compositions. +They represent the old classic poetry at its purest, free from alien +influence; and they offer us many suggestions as to the condition of +Japanese life and thought twelve hundred years ago. Remembering that +they were written before any modern European literature had yet taken +form, one is startled to find how little the Japanese written language +has changed in the course of so many centuries. Allowing for a few +obsolete words, and sundry slight changes of pronunciation, the +ordinary Japanese reader to-day can enjoy these early productions of +his native muse with about as little difficulty as the English reader +finds in studying the poets of the Elizabethan era. Moreover, the +refinement and the simple charm of the _Many[=o]sh[=u]_ compositions +have never been surpassed, and seldom equaled, by later Japanese +poets. + +As for the forty-odd _tanka_ which I have translated, their chief +attraction lies, I think, in what they reveal to us of the human +nature of their authors. Tanabata-tsumé still represents for us the +Japanese wife, worshipfully loving;--Hikoboshi appears to us with none +of the luminosity of the god, but as the young Japanese husband of the +sixth or seventh century, before Chinese ethical convention had begun +to exercise its restraint upon life and literature. Also these poems +interest us by their expression of the early feeling for natural +beauty. In them we find the scenery and the seasons of Japan +transported to the Blue Plain of High Heaven;--the Celestial Stream +with its rapids and shallows, its sudden risings and clamourings +within its stony bed, and its water-grasses bending in the autumn +wind, might well be the Kamogawa;--and the mists that haunt its shores +are the very mists of Arashiyama. The boat of Hikoboshi, impelled +by a single oar working upon a wooden peg, is not yet obsolete; and +at many a country ferry you may still see the _hiki-funé_ in which +Tanabata-tsumé prayed her husband to cross in a night of storm,--a +flat broad barge pulled over the river by cables. And maids and wives +still sit at their doors in country villages, on pleasant autumn days, +to weave as Tanabata-tsumé wove for the sake of her lord and lover. + + * * * * * + +--It will be observed that, in most of these verses, it is not the +wife who dutifully crosses the Celestial River to meet her husband, +but the husband who rows over the stream to meet the wife; and there +is no reference to the Bridge of Birds.... As for my renderings, those +readers who know by experience the difficulty of translating Japanese +verse will be the most indulgent, I fancy. The Romaji system of +spelling has been followed (except in one or two cases where I thought +it better to indicate the ancient syllabication after the method +adopted by Aston); and words or phrases necessarily supplied have been +inclosed in parentheses. + + Amanogawa + Ai-muki tachité, + Waga koďshi + Kimi kimasu nari + Himo-toki makéna! + + [_He is coming, my long-desired lord, whom I have been waiting + to meet here, on the banks of the River of Heaven.... The + moment of loosening my girdle is nigh!_[7]] + +[Footnote 7: The last line alludes to a charming custom of which +mention is made in the most ancient Japanese literature. Lovers, +ere parting, were wont to tie each other's inner girdle (_himo_) and +pledge themselves to leave the knot untouched until the time of their +next meeting. This poem is said to have been composed in the seventh +year of Y[=o]r[=o],--A.D. 723,--eleven hundred and eighty-two years +ago.] + + Hisakata no[8] + Ama no kawasé ni, + Funé ukété, + Koyoď ka kimi ga + Agari kimasan? + +[Footnote 8: _Hisakata-no_ is a "pillow-word" used by the old poets in +relation to celestial objects; and it is often difficult to translate. +Mr. Aston thinks that the literal meaning of _hisakata_ is simply +"long-hard," in the sense of long-enduring,--_hisa_ (long), _katai_ +(hard, or firm),--so that _hisakata-no_ would have the meaning of +"firmamental." Japanese commentators, however, say that the term +is composed with the three words, _hi_ (sun), _sasu_ (shine), and +_kata_ (side);--and this etymology would justify the rendering +of _hisakata-no_ by some such expression as "light-shedding," +"radiance-giving." On the subject of pillow-words, see Aston's +_Grammar of the Japanese Written Language_.] + + [_Over the Rapids of the Everlasting Heaven, floating in his + boat, my lord will doubtless deign to come to me this very + night._] + + Kazé kumo wa + Futatsu no kishi ni + Kayoëdomo, + Waga toho-tsuma no + Koto zo kayowanu! + + [_Though winds and clouds to either bank may freely come or + go, between myself and my faraway spouse no message whatever + may pass._] + + Tsubuté[9] ni mo + Nagé koshitsu-béki, + Amanogawa + Hédatéréba ka mo, + Amata subé-naki! + + [_To the opposite bank one might easily fling a pebble; yet, + being separated from him by the River of Heaven, alas! to hope + for a meeting (except in autumn) is utterly useless._] + +[Footnote 9: The old text has _tabuté_.] + + Aki-kazé no + Fukinishi hi yori + "Itsushika" to--; + Waga machi koîshi + Kimi zo kimaséru. + + [_From the day that the autumn wind began to blow (I kept + saying to myself), "Ah! when shall we meet?"--but now my + beloved, for whom I waited and longed, has come indeed!_] + + Amanogawa + Ito kawa-nami wa + Tatanédomo, + Samorai gatashi-- + Chikaki kono sé wo. + + [_Though the waters of the River of Heaven have not greatly + risen, (yet to cross) this near stream and to wait upon (my + lord and lover) remains impossible._] + + Sodé furaba + Mi mo kawashitsu-béku + Chika-kerédo, + Wataru subé nashi, + Aki nishi aranéba. + + [_Though she is so near that the waving of her (long) sleeves + can be distinctly seen, yet there is no way to cross the + stream before the season of autumn._] + + Kagéroď no + Honoka ni miété + Wakarénaba;-- + Motonaya koďn + Aü-toki madé wa! + + [_When we were separated, I had seen her for a moment + only,--and dimly as one sees a flying midge;[10] now I + must vainly long for her as before, until time of our next + meeting!_] + + Hikoboshi no + Tsuma mukaë-buné + Kogizurashi,-- + Ama-no-Kawara ni + Kiri no tatéru wa. + +[Footnote 10: _Kagéroď_ is an obsolete form of _kagér[=o]_, meaning an +ephemera.] + + [_Methinks that Hikoboshi must be rowing his boat to meet his + wife,--for a mist (as of oar-spray) is rising over the course + of the Heavenly Stream._] + + Kasumi tatsu + Ama-no-Kawara ni, + Kimi matsu to,-- + Ikay[=o] hodo ni + Mono-suso nurenu. + + [_While awaiting my lord on the misty shore of the River of + Heaven, the skirts of my robe have somehow become wet._] + + Amanogawa, + Mi-tsu no nami oto + Sawagu-nari: + Waga matsu-kimi no + Funadé-surashi mo. + + [_On the River of Heaven, at the place of the august + ferry, the sound of the water has become loud: perhaps my + long-awaited lord will soon be coming in his boat._] + + Tanabata no + Sodé maku yoď no + Akatoki wa, + Kawasé no tazu wa + Nakazu to mo yoshi. + + [_As Tanabata (slumbers) with her long sleeves rolled up, + until the reddening of the dawn, do not, O storks of the + river-shallows, awaken her by your cries._[11]] + +[Footnote 11: Lit., "not to cry out (will be) good"--but a literal +translation of the poem is scarcely possible.] + + Amanogawa + Kiri-tachi-wataru: + Ky[=o], ky[=o], to-- + Waga matsu-koďshi + Funadé-surashi! + + [_(She sees that) a mist is spreading across the River of + Heaven.... "To-day, to-day," she thinks, "my long-awaited lord + will probably come over in his boat."_] + + Amanogawa, + Yasu no watari ni, + Funé ukété;-- + Waga tachi-matsu to + Imo ni tsugé koso. + + [_By the ferry of Yasu, on the River of Heaven, the boat is + floating: I pray you tell my younger sister[12] that I stand + here and wait._] + +[Footnote 12: That is to say, "wife." In archaic Japanese the word +_imo_ signified both "wife" and "younger sister." The term might also +be rendered "darling" or "beloved."] + + [=O]-sora yo + Kay[=o] waré sura, + Na ga yué ni, + Amanokawa-ji no + Nazumité zo koshi. + + [_Though I (being a Star-god) can pass freely to and fro, + through the great sky,--yet to cross over the River of Heaven, + for your sake, was weary work indeed!_] + + Yachihoko no + Kami no mi-yo yori + Tomoshi-zuma;-- + Hito-shiri ni keri + Tsugitéshi omoëba. + + [_From the august Age of the + God-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears_,[13] _she had been my spouse in + secret_[14] _only; yet now, because of my constant longing for + her, our relation has become known to men._] + +[Footnote 13: Yachihoko-no-Kami, who has many other names, is +the Great God of Izumo, and is commonly known by his appellation +Oho-kuni-nushi-no-Kami, or the "Deity-Master-of-the Great-Land." He +is locally worshiped also as the god of marriage,--for which reason, +perhaps, the poet thus refers to him.] + +[Footnote 14: Or, "my seldom-visited spouse." The word _tsuma_ +(_zuma_), in ancient Japanese, signified either wife or husband; and +this poem might be rendered so as to express either the wife's or the +husband's thoughts.] + + Amé tsuchi to + Wakaréshi toki yo + Onoga tsuma; + Shika zo té ni aru + Aki matsu aré wa. + + [_From the time when heaven and earth were parted, she has + been my own wife;--yet, to be with her, I must always wait + till autumn._[15]] + +[Footnote 15: By the ancient calendar, the seventh day of the seventh +month would fall in the autumn season.] + + Waga k[=o]ru + Niho no omo wa + Koyoď mo ka + Ama-no-kawara ni + Ishi-makura makan. + + [_With my beloved, of the ruddy-tinted cheeks_,[16] _this + night indeed will I descend into the bed of the River of + Heaven, to sleep on a pillow of stone._] + +[Footnote 16: The literal meaning is "_béni_-tinted face,"--that is to +say, a face of which the cheeks and lips have been tinted with _béni_, +a kind of rouge.] + + Amanogawa. + Mikomori-gusa no + Aki-kazé ni + Nabikafu miréba, + Toki kitarurashi. + + [_When I see the water-grasses of the River of Heaven bend + in the autumn wind (I think to myself): "The time (for our + meeting) seems to have come."_] + + Waga séko ni + Ura-koi oréba, + Amanogawa + Yo-funé kogi-toyomu + Kaji no 'to kikoyu. + + [_When I feel in my heart a sudden longing for my + husband_,[17] _then on the River of Heaven the sound of the + rowing of the night-boat is heard, and the plash of the oar + resounds._] + +[Footnote 17: In ancient Japanese the word _séko_ signified either +husband or elder brother. The beginning of the poem might also be +rendered thus:--"When I feel a secret longing for my husband," etc.] + + T[=o]-zuma to + Tamakura kawashi + Nétaru yo wa, + Tori-gané na naki + Akéba aku to mo! + + [_In the night when I am reposing with my (now) far-away + spouse, having exchanged jewel-pillows_[18] _with her, let not + the cock crow, even though the day should dawn._] + +[Footnote 18: "To exchange jewel-pillows" signifies to use each +other's arms for pillows. This poetical phrase is often used in +the earliest Japanese literature. The word for jewel, _tama_, often +appears in compounds as an equivalent of "precious," "dear," etc.] + + Yorozu-yo ni + Tazusawari ité + Ai mi-domo, + Omoi-sugu-béki + Koi naranaku ni. + + [_Though for a myriad ages we should remain hand-in-hand and + face to face, our exceeding love could never come to an end. + (Why then should Heaven deem it necessary to part us?)_] + + Waga tamé to, + Tanabata-tsumé no, + Sono yado ni, + Oreru shirotai + Nuďt ken kamo? + + [_The white cloth which Tanabata has woven for my sake, in + that dwelling of hers, is now, I think, being made into a robe + for me._] + + Shirakumo no + I-ho é kakurité + T[=o]-kédomo, + Yoď-sarazu min + Imo ga atari wa. + + [_Though she be far-away, and hidden from me by five hundred + layers of white cloud, still shall I turn my gaze each night + toward the dwelling-place of my younger sister (wife)._] + + Aki saréba + Kawagiri tatéru + Amanogawa, + Kawa ni muki-ité + Kru[19] yo zo [=o]ki! + +[Footnote 19: For _kofuru_.] + + [_When autumn comes, and the river-mists spread over the + Heavenly Stream, I turn toward the river, (and long); and the + nights of my longing are many!_] + + Hito-tosé ni + Nanuka no yo nomi + Aü-hito no-- + Koď mo tsuki-néba + Sayo zo aké ni keru! + + [_But once in the whole year, and only upon the seventh night + (of the seventh month), to meet the beloved person--and + lo! The day has dawned before our mutual love could express + itself!_[20]] + +[Footnote 20: Or "satisfy itself." A literal rendering is difficult.] + + Toshi no koď + Koyoď tsukushíté, + Asu yori wa, + Tsuné no gotoku ya + Waga koď oran. + + [_The love-longing of one whole year having ended to-night, + every day from to-morrow I must again pine for him as + before!_] + + Hikoboshi to + Tanabata-tsumé to + Koyoď aü;-- + Ama-no-Kawa to ni + Nami tatsu-na yumé! + + [_Hikoboshi and Tanabata-tsumé are to meet each other + to-night;--ye waves of the River of Heaven, take heed that ye + do not rise!_] + + Aki-kazé no + Fuki tadayowasu + Shirakumo wa, + Tanabata-tsumé no + Amatsu hiré kamo? + + [_Oh! that white cloud driven by the autumn-wind--can it be + the heavenly hiré[21] of Tana-bata-tsumé?_] + +[Footnote 21: At different times, in the history of Japanese female +costume, different articles of dress were called by this name. In the +present instance, the _hiré_ referred to was probably a white scarf, +worn about the neck and carried over the shoulders to the breast, +where its ends were either allowed to hang loose, or were tied into +an ornamental knot. The _hiré_ was often used to make signals with, +much as handkerchiefs are waved to-day for the same purpose;--and the +question uttered in the poem seems to signify: "Can that be Tanabata +waving her scarf--to call me?" In very early times, the ordinary +costumes worn were white.] + + Shiba-shiba mo + Ai minu kimi wo, + Amanogawa + Funa-dé haya séyo + Yo no fukénu ma ni. + + [_Because he is my not-often-to-be-met beloved, hasten to + row the boat across the River of Heaven ere the night be + advanced._] + + Amanogawa + Kiri tachi-watari + Hikoboshi no + Kaji no 'to kikoyu + Yo no fuké-yukéba. + + [_Late in the night, a mist spreads over_] _the River of + Heaven; and the sound of the oar[22] of Hikoboshi is heard._] + +[Footnote 22: Or, "the creaking of the oar." (The word _kaji_ to-day +means "helm";--the single oar, or scull, working upon a pivot, and +serving at once for rudder and oar, being now called _ro_.) The mist +passing across the Amanogawa is, according to commentators, the spray +from the Star-god's oar.] + + Amanogawa + Kawa 'to sayakéshi: + Hikoboshi no + Haya kogu funé no + Nami no sawagi ka? + + [_On the River of Heaven a sound of plashing can be distinctly + heard: is it the sound of the rippling made by Hikoboshi + quickly rowing his boat?_] + + Kono y[=u]bé, + Furikuru amé wa, + Hikoboshi no + Haya kogu funé no + Kaď no chiri ka mo. + + [_Perhaps this evening shower is but the spray (flung down) + from the oar of Hikoboshi, rowing his boat in haste._] + + Waga tama-doko wo + Asu yori wa + Uchi haraď, + Kimi to inézuté + Hitori ka mo nen! + + [_From to-morrow, alas! after having put my jewel-bed in + order, no longer reposing with my lord, I must sleep alone!_] + + Kazé fukité, + Kawa-nami tachinu;-- + Hiki-funé ni + Watari mo kimasé + Yo no fukénu ma ni. + + [_The wind having risen, the waves of the river have become + high;--this night cross over in a towboat,[23] I pray thee, + before the hour be late!_] + +[Footnote 23: Lit. "pull-boat" (_hiki-funé_),--a barge or boat pulled +by a rope.] + + Amanogawa + Nami wa tatsutomo, + Waga funé wa + Iza kogi iden + Yo no fukénu ma ni. + + [_Even though the waves of the River of_ _Heaven run high, I + must row over quickly, before it becomes late in the night._] + + Inishié ni + Oritéshi hata wo; + Kono y[=u]bé + Koromo ni nuďté-- + Kimi matsu aré wo! + + [_Long ago I finished weaving the material; and, this evening, + having finished sewing the garment for him--(why must) I still + wait for my lord?_] + + Amanogawa + Sé wo hayami ka mo? + Nubatama no + Yo wa fuké ni tsutsu, + Awanu Hikoboshi! + +[_Is it that the current of the River of_ _Heaven (has become too) +rapid? The jet-black night[24] advances--and Hikoboshi has not come!_] + +[Footnote 24: _Nubatama no yo_ might better be rendered by some such +phrase as "the berry-black night,"--but the intended effect would be +thus lost in translation. _Nubatama-no_ (a "pillow-word") is written +with characters signifying "like the black fruits of _Karasu-[=O]gi_;" +and the ancient phrase "_nubatama no yo_" therefore may be said +to have the same meaning as our expressions "jet-black night," or +"pitch-dark night."] + + Watashi-mori, + Funé haya watasé;-- + Hito-tosé ni + Futatabi kay[=o] + Kimi naranaku ni! + + [_Oh, ferryman, make speed across the stream!--my lord is not + one who can come and go twice in a year!_] + + Aki kazé no + Fukinishi hi yori, + Amanogawa + Kawasé ni dédachi;-- + Matsu to tsugé koso! + + [_On the very day that the autumn-wind began to blow, I set + out for the shallows of the River of Heaven;--I pray you, tell + my lord that I am waiting here still!_] + + Tanabata no + Funanori surashi,-- + Maso-kagami, + Kiyoki tsuki-yo ni + Kumo tachi-wataru. + + [_Methinks Tanabata must be coming in her boat; for a cloud is + even now passing across the clear face of the moon._[25]] + +[Footnote 25: Composed by the famous poet [=O]tomo no Sukuné +Yakamochi, while gazing at the Milky Way, on the seventh night of +the seventh month of the tenth year of Tampy[=o] (A.D. 738). The +pillow-word in the third line (_maso-kagami_) is untranslatable.] + +--And yet it has been gravely asserted that the old Japanese poets +could find no beauty in starry skies!... + +Perhaps the legend of Tanabata, as it was understood by those old +poets, can make but a faint appeal to Western minds. Nevertheless, +in the silence of transparent nights, before the rising of the moon, +the charm of the ancient tale sometimes descends upon me, out of the +scintillant sky,--to make me forget the monstrous facts of science, +and the stupendous horror of Space. Then I no longer behold the Milky +Way as that awful Ring of the Cosmos, whose hundred million suns are +powerless to lighten the Abyss, but as the very Amanogawa itself,--the +River Celestial. I see the thrill of its shining stream, and the mists +that hover along its verge, and the water-grasses that bend in the +winds of autumn. White Orihimé I see at her starry loom, and the Ox +that grazes on the farther shore;--and I know that the falling dew is +the spray from the Herdsman's oar. And the heaven seems very near and +warm and human; and the silence about me is filled with the dream of +a love unchanging, immortal,--forever yearning and forever young, and +forever left unsatisfied by the paternal wisdom of the gods. + + + + +GOBLIN POETRY + + +Recently, while groping about an old book shop, I found a collection +of Goblin Poetry in three volumes, containing many pictures of +goblins. The title of the collection is _Ky[=o]ka Hyaku-Monogatari_, +or "The Mad Poetry of the _Hyaku-Monogatari_." The _Hyaku-Monogatari_, +or "Hundred Tales," is a famous book of ghost stories. On the subject +of each of the stories, poems were composed at different times +by various persons,--poems of the sort called _Ky[=o]ka_, or Mad +Poetry,--and these were collected and edited to form the three volumes +of which I became the fortunate possessor. The collecting was done by +a certain Takumi Jingor[=o], who wrote under the literary pseudonym +"Temmér Ré[=o]jin" (Ancient of the Temmér Era). Takumi died in the +first year of Bunky[=u] (1861), at the good age of eighty; and his +collection seems to have been published in the sixth year of Kaéď +(1853). The pictures were made by an artist called Masazumi, who +worked under the pseudonym "Ry[=o]sai Kanjin." + +From a prefatory note it appears that Takumi Jingor[=o] published his +collection with the hope of reviving interest in a once popular kind +of poetry which had fallen into neglect before the middle of the +century. The word _ky[=o]ka_ is written with a Chinese character +signifying "insane" or "crazy;" and it means a particular and +extraordinary variety of comic poetry. The form is that of the classic +_tanka_ of thirty-one syllables (arranged 57577);--but the subjects +are always the extreme reverse of classical; and the artistic effects +depend upon methods of verbal jugglery which cannot be explained +without the help of numerous examples. The collection published by +Takumi includes a good deal of matter in which a Western reader can +discover no merit; but the best of it has a distinctly grotesque +quality that reminds one of Hood's weird cleverness in playing with +grim subjects. This quality, and the peculiar Japanese method of +mingling the playful with the terrific, can be suggested and explained +only by reproducing in Romaji the texts of various _ky[=o]ka_, with +translations and notes. + +The selection which I have made should prove interesting, not merely +because it will introduce the reader to a class of Japanese poetry +about which little or nothing has yet been written in English, but +much more because it will afford some glimpses of a supernatural world +which still remains for the most part unexplored. Without knowledge +of Far Eastern superstitions and folk-tales, no real understanding of +Japanese fiction or drama or poetry will ever become possible. + + * * * * * + +There are many hundreds of poems in the three volumes of the _Ky[=o]ka +Hyaku-Monogatari_; but the number of the ghosts and goblins falls +short of the one hundred suggested by the title. There are just +ninety-five. I could not expect to interest my readers in the whole +of this goblinry, and my selection includes less than one seventh +of the subjects. The Faceless Babe, The Long-Tongued Maiden, +The Three-Eyed Monk, The Pillow-Mover, The Thousand Heads, The +Acolyte-with-the-Lantern, The Stone-that-Cries-in-the-Night, +The Goblin-Heron, The Goblin-Wind, The Dragon-Lights, and The +Mountain-Nurse, did not much impress me. I omitted _ky[=o]ka_ dealing +with fancies too gruesome for Western nerves,--such as that of the +_Obumédori_,--also those treating of merely local tradition. +The subjects chosen represent national rather than provincial +folklore,--old beliefs (mostly of Chinese origin) once prevalent +throughout the country, and often referred to in its popular +literature. + + +I. KITSUNÉ-BI + +The Will-o'-the-wisp is called _kitsuné-bi_ ("fox-fire"), because +the goblin-fox was formerly supposed to create it. In old Japanese +pictures it is represented as a tongue of pale red flame, hovering +in darkness, and shedding no radiance upon the surfaces over which it +glides. + +To understand some of the following _ky[=o]ka_ on the subject, the +reader should know that certain superstitions about the magical power +of the fox have given rise to several queer folk-sayings,--one of +which relates to marrying a stranger. Formerly a good citizen was +expected to marry within his own community, not outside of it; and the +man who dared to ignore traditional custom in this regard would have +found it difficult to appease the communal indignation. Even to-day +the villager who, after a long absence from his birthplace, returns +with a strange bride, is likely to hear unpleasant things said,--such +as: "_Wakaranai-mono we hippaté-kita!... Doko no uma no honé da ka?_" +("Goodness knows what kind of a thing he has dragged here after him! +Where did he pick up that old horse-bone?") The expression _uma no +honé_, "old horse-bone," requires explanation. + +A goblin-fox has the power to assume many shapes; but, for the purpose +of deceiving _men_, he usually takes the form of a pretty woman. When +he wants to create a charming phantom of this kind, he picks up an old +horse-bone or cow-bone, and holds it in his mouth. Presently the bone +becomes luminous; and the figure of a woman defines about it,--the +figure of a courtesan or singing-girl.... So the village query about +the man who marries a strange wife, "What old horse-bone has he picked +up?" signifies really, "What wanton has bewitched him?" It further +implies the suspicion that the stranger may be of outcast blood: a +certain class of women of pleasure having been chiefly recruited, from +ancient time, among the daughters of Éta and other pariah-people. + + Hi tomoshité + Kitsuné no kwaséshi, + Asobimé[26] wa-- + Izuka no uma no + Honé ni ya aruran! + +[Footnote 26: _Asobimé_, a courtesan: lit., "sporting-woman." The Éta +and other pariah classes furnished a large proportion of these women. +The whole meaning of the poem is as follows: "See that young wanton +with her lantern! It is a pretty sight--but so is the sight of a fox, +when the creature kindles his goblin-fire and assumes the shape of +a girl. And just as your fox-woman will prove to be no more than an +old horse-bone, so that young courtesan, whose beauty deludes men to +folly, may be nothing better than an Éta."] + + [_--Ah the wanton (lighting her lantern)!--so a fox-fire is + kindled in the time of fox-transformation!... Perhaps she is + really nothing more than an old horse-bone from somewhere or + other...._] + + Kitsuné-bi no + Moyuru ni tsukété, + Waga tama no + Kiyuru y[=o] nari + Kokoro-hoso-michi! + + [_Because of that Fox-fire burning there, the very soul of me + is like to be extinguished in this narrow path (or, in this + heart-depressing solitude)._[27]] + +[Footnote 27: The supposed utterance of a belated traveler frightened +by a will-o'-the-wisp. The last line allows of two readings. +_Kokoro-hosoi_ means "timid;" and _hosoi michi_ (_hoso-michi_) means a +"narrow path," and, by implication, a "lonesome path."] + + +II. RIKOMBY[=O] + +The term _Rikomby[=o]_ is composed with the word _rikon_, signifying +a "shade," "ghost," or "spectre," and the word _by[=o]_, signifying +"sickness," "disease." An almost literal rendering would be +"ghost-sickness." In Japanese-English dictionaries you will find the +meaning of _Rikomby[=o]_ given as "hypochondria;" and doctors really +use the term in this modern sense. But the ancient meaning was _a +disorder of the mind which produced a Double_; and there is a whole +strange literature about this weird disease. It used to be supposed, +both in China and Japan, that under the influence of intense grief +or longing, caused by love, the spirit of the suffering person would +create a Double. Thus the victim of _Rikomby[=o]_ would appear to have +two bodies, exactly alike; and one of these bodies would go to join +the absent beloved, while the other remained at home. (In my "Exotics +and Retrospectives," under the title "A Question in the Zen Texts," +the reader will find a typical Chinese story on the subject,--the +story of the girl Ts'ing.) Some form of the primitive belief in +doubles and wraiths probably exists in every part of the world; but +this Far Eastern variety is of peculiar interest because the double +is supposed to be caused by love, and the subjects of the affliction +to belong to the gentler sex.... The term _Rikomby[=o]_ seems to be +applied to the apparition as well as to the mental disorder supposed +to produce the apparition: it signifies "doppelgänger" as well as +"ghost-disease." + + * * * * * + +--With these necessary explanations, the quality of the following +_ky[=o]ka_ can be understood. A picture which appears in the _Ky[=o]ka +Hyaku-Monogatari_ shows a maid-servant anxious to offer a cup of tea +to her mistress,--a victim of the "ghost-sickness." The servant cannot +distinguish between the original and the apparitional shapes before +her; and the difficulties of the situation are suggested in the first +of the _ky[=o]ka_ which I have translated:-- + + Ko-ya, soré to? + Ayamé mo wakanu + Rikomby[=o]: + Izuré we tsuma to + Hiku zo wazuraü! + + [_Which one is this?--which one is that? Between the two + shapes of the Rikomby[=o] it is not possible to distinguish. + To find out which is the real wife--that will be an affliction + of spirit indeed!_] + + Futatsu naki + Inochi nagara mo + Kakégaë no + Karada no miyuru-- + Kage no wazurai! + + [_Two lives there certainly are not;--nevertheless an extra + body is visible, by reason of the Shadow-Sickness._] + + Naga-tabi no + Oto we shitaďté + Mi futatsu ni + Naru wa onna no + S[=a]ru rikomby[=o]. + + [_Yearning after her far-journeying husband, the woman has + thus become two bodies, by reason of her ghostly sickness._] + + Miru kagé mo + Naki wazurai no + Rikomby[=o],-- + Omoi no hoka ni + Futatsu miru kagé! + + [_Though (it was said that), because of her ghostly sickness, + there was not even a shadow of her left to be seen,--yet, + contrary to expectation, there are two shadows of her to be + seen!_[28]] + +[Footnote 28: The Japanese say of a person greatly emaciated by +sickness, _miru-kagé mo naki_: "Even a visible shadow of him is +not!"--Another rendering is made possible by the fact that the same +expression is used in the sense of "unfit to be seen,"--"though the +face of the person afflicted with this ghostly sickness is unfit to be +seen, yet by reason of her secret longing [for another man] there are +now two of her faces to be seen." The phrase _omoi no hoka_, in the +fourth line, means "contrary to expectation;" but it is ingeniously +made to suggest also the idea of secret longing.] + + Rikomby[=o] + Hito ni kakushité + Oku-zashiki, + Omoté y dëasanu + Kagé no wazurai. + + [_Afflicted with the Rikomby[=o], she hides away from people + in the back room, and never approaches the front of the + house,--because of her Shadow-disease._[29]] + +[Footnote 29: There is a curious play on words in the fourth line. +The word _omoté_, meaning "the front," might, in reading, be sounded +as _omotté_, "thinking." The verses therefore might also be thus +translated:--"She keeps her real thoughts hidden in the back part +of the house, and never allows them to be seen in the front part of +the house,--because she is suffering from the 'Shadow-Sickness' [of +love]."] + + Mi wa koko ni; + Tama wa otoko ni + Soďné suru;-- + Kokoro mo shiraga + Haha ga kaih[=o]. + + [_Here her body lies; but her soul is far away, asleep in the + arms of a man;--and the white-haired mother, little knowing + her daughter's heart, is nursing (only the body)._[30]] + +[Footnote 30: There is a double meaning, suggested rather than +expressed, in the fourth line. The word _shiraga_, "white-hair," +suggests _shirazu_, "not knowing."] + + Tamakushigé + Futatsu no sugata + Misénuru wa, + Awasé-kagami no + Kagé no wazurai. + + [_If, when seated before her toilet-stand, she sees two faces + reflected in her mirror,--that might be caused by the + mirror doubling itself under the influence of the + Shadow-Sickness._[31]] + +[Footnote 31: There is in this poem a multiplicity of suggestion +impossible to render in translation. While making her toilet, the +Japanese woman uses two mirrors (_awasé-kagami_)--one of which, a +hand-mirror, serves to show her the appearance of the back part of +her coiffure, by reflecting it into the larger stationary mirror. But +in this case of Rikomby[=o], the woman sees more than her face and +the back of her head in the larger mirror: she sees her own double. +The verses indicate that one of the mirrors may have caught the +Shadow-Sickness, and doubled itself. And there is a further suggestion +of the ghostly sympathy said to exist between a mirror and the soul of +its possessor.] + + +III. [=O]-GAMA + +In the old Chinese and Japanese literature the toad is credited with +supernatural capacities,--such as the power to call down clouds, the +power to make rain, the power to exhale from its mouth a magical +mist which creates the most beautiful illusions. Some toads are good +spirits,--friends of holy men; and in Japanese art a famous Rishi +called "Gama-Sennin" (Toad Rishi) is usually represented with a white +toad resting upon his shoulder, or squatting beside him. Some toads +are evil goblins, and create phantasms for the purpose of luring men +to destruction. A typical story about a creature of this class will be +found in my "Kott[=o]," entitled "The Story of Chug[=o]r[=o]." + + Mé wa kagami, + Kuchi wa tarai no + Hodo ni aku: + Gama mo késh[=o] no + Mono to kos[=o] shiré. + + [_The eye of it, widely open, like a (round) mirror; the mouth + of it opening like a wash-basin--by these things you may know + that the Toad is a goblin-thing (or, that the Toad is a toilet + article)._[32]] + +[Footnote 32: There are two Japanese words, _kesh[=o]_, which in +_kana_ are written alike and pronounced alike, though represented +by very different Chinese characters. As written in _kana_, the +term _kesh[=o]-no-mono_ may signify either "toilet articles" or "a +monstrous being," "a goblin."] + + +IV. SHINKIR[=O] + +The term _Shinkir[=o]_ is used in the meaning of "mirage," and also as +another name for H[=o]rai, the Elf-land of Far Eastern fable. Various +beings in Japanese myth are credited with power to delude mortals +by creating a mirage of H[=o]rai. In old pictures one may see a toad +represented in the act of exhaling from its mouth a vapor that shapes +the apparition of H[=o]rai. + +But the creature especially wont to produce this illusion is the +_Hamaguri_,--a Japanese mollusk much resembling a clam. Opening its +shell, it sends into the air a purplish misty breath; and that mist +takes form and defines, in tints of mother-of-pearl, the luminous +vision of H[=o]rai and the palace of the Dragon-King. + + Hamaguri no + Kuchi aku toki ya, + Shinkir[=o]! + Yo ni shiraré ken + Tatsu-no-miya-himé! + + [_When the hamaguri opens its mouth--lo! Shinkir[=o] + appears!... Then all can clearly see the Maiden-Princess of + the Dragon-Palace._] + + Shinkir[=o]-- + Tatsu no miyako no + Hinagata[33] wo + Shio-hi no oki ni + Misuru hamaguri! + + [_Lo! in the offing at ebb-tide, the hamaguri makes visible + the miniature image of Shinkir[=o]--the Dragon-Capital!_] + +[Footnote 33: _Hinagata_ means especially "a model," "a miniature +copy," "a drawn plan," etc.] + + +V. ROKURO-KUBI + +The etymological meaning of _Rokuro-Kubi_ can scarcely be indicated +by any English rendering. The term _rokuro_ is indifferently used to +designate many revolving objects--objects as dissimilar as a pulley, +a capstan, a windlass, a turning lathe, and a potter's wheel. Such +renderings of Rokuro-Kubi as "Whirling-Neck" and "Rotating-Neck" are +unsatisfactory;--for the idea which the term suggests to Japanese +fancy is that of a neck which revolves, _and lengthens or retracts +according to the direction of the revolution_.... As for the ghostly +meaning of the expression, a Rokuro-Kubi is either (1) a person whose +neck lengthens prodigiously during sleep, so that the head can wander +about in all directions, seeking what it may devour, or (2) a person +able to detach his or her head completely from the body, and to rejoin +it to the neck afterwards. (About this last mentioned variety of +_Rokuro-Kubi_ there is a curious story in my "Kwaidan," translated +from the Japanese.) In Chinese mythology the being whose neck is so +constructed as to allow of the head being completely detached belongs +to a special class; but in Japanese folk-tale this distinction is not +always maintained. One of the bad habits attributed to the Rokuro-Kubi +is that of drinking the oil in night-lamps. In Japanese pictures the +Rokuro-Kubi is usually depicted as a woman; and old books tell us +that a woman might become a Rokuro-Kubi without knowing it,--much as +a somnambulist walks about while asleep, without being aware of the +fact.... The following verses about the Rokuro-Kubi have been selected +from a group of twenty in the _Ky[=o]ka Hyaku-Monogatari_:-- + + Nemidaré no + Nagaki kami woba + Furi-wakété, + Chi hiro ni nobasu + Rokuro-Kubi kana! + + [_Oh!... Shaking loose her long hair disheveled by sleep, the + Rokuro-Kubi stretches her neck to the length of a thousand + fathoms!_] + + "Atama naki + Bakémono nari"--to + Rokuro-Kubi, + Mité odorokan + Onoga karada we. + + [_Will not the Rokuro-Kubi, viewing with_ _astonishment her + own body (left behind) cry out, "Oh, what a headless goblin + have you become!_"] + + Tsuka-no-ma ni + Hari we tsutawaru, + Rokuro-Kubi + Kéta-kéta warau-- + Kao no kowasa yo! + + [_Swiftly gliding along the roof-beam (and among the props + of the roof), the Rokuro-Kubi laughs with the sound of + "kéta-kéta"--oh! the fearfulness of her face!_[34]] + +[Footnote 34: It is not possible to render all the double meanings in +this composition. _Tsuka-no-ma_ signifies "in a moment" or "quickly"; +but it may also mean "in the space [_ma_] between the roof-props" +[_tsuka_]. "_Kéta_" means a cross-beam, but _kéta-kéta warau_ means to +chuckle or laugh in a mocking way. Ghosts are said to laugh with the +sound of kéta-kéta.] + + Roku shaku no + By[=o]bu ni nobiru + Rokuro-Kubi + Mité wa, go shaku no + Mi wo chijimi-kéri! + + [_Beholding the Rokuro-Kubi rise up above the six-foot screen, + any five-foot person would have become shortened by fear (or, + "the stature of any person five feet high would have been + diminished")._[35]] + +[Footnote 35: The ordinary height of a full screen is six Japanese +feet.] + + +VI. YUKI-ONNA + +The Snow-Woman, or Snow-Spectre, assumes various forms; but in most +of the old folk-tales she appears as a beautiful phantom, whose +embrace is death. (A very curious story about her can be found in my +"Kwaidan.") + + Yuki-Onna-- + Yos[=o] kushi mo + Atsu k[=o]ri; + Sasu-k[=o]gai ya + K[=o]ri naruran. + + [_As for the Snow-Woman,--even her best comb, if I mistake + not, is made of thick ice; and her hair-pin[36], too, is + probably made of ice._] + +[Footnote 36: _K[=o]gai_ is the name now given to a quadrangular bar +of tortoise-shell passed under the coiffure, which leaves only the +ends of the bar exposed. The true hair-pin is called _kanzashi_.] + + Honrai wa + K[=u] naru mono ka, + Yuki-Onna? + Yoku-yoku mireba + Ichi-butsu mo nashi! + + [_Was she, then, a delusion from the very first, that + Snow-Woman,--a thing that vanishes into empty space? When I + look carefully all about me, not one trace of her is to be + seen!_] + + Yo-akéréba + Kiété yuku é wa + Shirayuki[37] no + Onna to mishi mo + Yanagi nari-keri! + + [_Having vanished at daybreak (that Snow-Woman), none + could say whither she had gone. But what had seemed to be a + snow-white woman became indeed a willow-tree!_] + +[Footnote 37: The term _shirayuki_, as here used, offers an example +of what Japanese poets call _Keny[=o]gen_, or "double-purpose words." +Joined to the words immediately following, it makes the phrase +"white-snow woman" (_shirayuki no onna_);--united with the words +immediately preceding, it suggests the reading, "whither-gone +not-knowing" (_yuku é wa shira[zu]_).] + + Yuki-Onna + Mité wa yasathiku, + Matsu wo ori + Nama-daké hishigu + Chikara ari-keri! + + [_Though the Snow-Woman appears to sight slender and gentle, + yet, to snap the pine-trees asunder and to crush the live + bamboos, she must have had strength._] + + Samukésa ni + Zotto[38] wa surédo + Yuki-Onna,-- + Yuki oré no naki + Yanagi-goshi ka mo! + +[_Though the Snow-Woman makes one shiver by her coldness,--ah, the +willowy grace of her form cannot be broken by the snow (i.e. charms us +in spite of the cold)._] + +[Footnote 38: _Zotto_ is a difficult word to render literally: perhaps +the nearest English equivalent is "thrilling." _Zotto suru_ signifies +"to cause a thrill" or "to give a shock," or "to make shiver;" +and of a very beautiful person it is said "_Zotto-suru hodo no +bijin_,"--meaning! "She is so pretty that it gives one a shock merely +to look at her." The term _yanagi-goshi_ ("willow-loins") in the last +line is a common expression designating a slender and graceful figure; +and the reader should observe that the first half of the term is +ingeniously made to do double duty here,--suggesting, with the +context, not only the grace of willow branches weighed down by snow, +but also the grace of a human figure that one must stop to admire, in +spite of the cold.] + + +VII. FUNA-Y[=U]RÉĎ + +The spirits of the drowned are said to follow after ships, calling for +a bucket or a water-dipper (_hishaku_). To refuse the bucket or the +dipper is dangerous; but the bottom of the utensil should be knocked +out before the request is complied with, and the spectres must not +be allowed to see this operation performed. If an undamaged bucket +or dipper be thrown to the ghosts, it will be used to fill and to +sink the ship. These phantoms are commonly called _Funa-Y[=u]réď_ +("Ship-Ghosts"). + +The spirits of those warriors of the Héďké clan who perished in the +great sea-fight at Dan-no-ura, in the year 1185, are famous among +Funa-Y[=u]réď. Taďra no Tomomori, one of the chiefs of the clan, is +celebrated in this weird rôle: old pictures represent him, followed by +the ghosts of his warriors, running over the waves to attack passing +ships. Once he menaced a vessel in which Benkéď, the celebrated +retainer of Yoshitsuné, was voyaging; and Benkéď was able to save +the ship only by means of his Buddhist rosary, which frightened the +spectres away.... + +Tomomori is frequently pictured as walking upon the sea, carrying +a ship's anchor on his back. He and his fellow-ghosts are said to +have been in the habit of uprooting and making off with the anchors +of vessels imprudently moored in their particular domain,--the +neighborhood of Shimonoséki. + + Erimoto yé + Mizu kakéraruru + Kokochi seri, + "Hishaku kasé" ch[=o] + Funé no kowané ni. + + [_As if the nape of our necks had been sprinkled with cold + water,--so we felt while listening_ _to the voice of the + ship-ghost, saying:--"Lend me a dipper!"_[39]] + +[Footnote 39: _Hishaku_, a wooden dipper with a long handle, used to +transfer water from a bucket to smaller vessels.] + + Y[=u]rei ni + Kasu-hishaku yori + Ichi-hayaku + Onoré ga koshi mo + Nukéru sench[=o]. + + [_The loins of the captain himself were knocked out very much + more quickly than the bottom of the dipper that was to be + given to the ghost._[40]] + +[Footnote 40: The common expression _Koshi ga nukéru_ (to have one's +loins taken out) means to be unable to stand up by reason of fear. +The suggestion is that while the captain was trying to knock out the +bottom of a dipper, before giving it to the ghost, he fell senseless +from fright.] + + Benkéď no + Zuzu no kuriki ni + Tomomori no + Sugata mo ukamu-- + Funé no y[=u]réď. + + [_By the virtue of Benkéď's rosary, even_ _the ship-following + ghost--even the apparition of Tomomori--is saved._] + + Y[=u]réď wa + Ki naru Izumi no + Hito nagara, + Aö-umibara ni + Nadoté itsuran? + + [_Since any ghost must be an inhabitant of the Yellow Springs, + how should a ghost appear on the Blue Sea-Plain?_[41]] + +[Footnote 41: The Underworld of the Dead--_Yomi_ or K[=o]sen--is +called "The Yellow Springs;" these names being written with two +Chinese characters respectively signifying "yellow" and "fountain." A +very ancient term for the ocean, frequently used in the old Shint[=o] +rituals, is "The Blue Sea-Plain."] + + Sono sugata, + Ikari wo [=o]té, + Tsuki-matoü + Funé no hésaki ya + Tomomori no réď! + + [_That Shape, carrying the anchor on its back, and following + after the ship--now at the bow and now at the stern--ah, the + ghost of Tomomori._[42]] + +[Footnote 42: There is an untranslatable play upon words in the last +two lines. The above rendering includes two possible readings.] + + Tsumi fukaki + Umi ni shidzumishi, + Y[=u]réď no + "Ukaman" toté ya! + Funé ni sugaréru. + + [_Crying, "Now perchance I shall be saved!" The ghost + that sank into the deep Sea of Sin clings to the passing + ship!_[43]] + +[Footnote 43: There is more weirdness in this poem than the above +rendering suggests. The word _ukaman_ in the fourth line can be +rendered as "shall perhaps float," or as "shall perhaps be saved" (in +the Buddhist sense of salvation),--as there are two verbs _ukami_. +According to an old superstition, the spirits of the drowned must +continue to dwell in the waters _until such time as they can lure the +living to destruction_. When the ghost of any drowned person succeeds +in drowning somebody, it may be able to obtain rebirth, and to leave +the sea forever. The exclamation of the ghost in this poem really +means, "Now perhaps I shall be able to drown somebody." (A very +similar superstition is said to exist on the Breton coast.) A common +Japanese saying about a child or any person who follows another +too closely and persistently is: _Kawa de shinda-y[=u]réď no yona +tsuré-hoshigaru!_--"Wants to follow you everywhere like the ghost of +a drowned person."] + + Ukaman to + Funé we shitaëru + Yuréď wa, + Shidzumishi híto no + Omoď naruran. + + [_The ghosts following after our ship in their efforts to rise + again (or, "to be saved") might perhaps be the (last vengeful) + thoughts of drowned men.[44]] + +[Footnote 44: Here I cannot attempt to render the various plays upon +words; but the term "_omoď_" needs explanation. It means "thought" +or "thoughts;" but in colloquial phraseology it is often used as a +euphemism for a dying person's last desire of vengeance. In various +dramas it has been used in the signification of "avenging ghost." Thus +the exclamation, "His _thought_ has come back!"--in reference to a +dead man--really means: "His angry ghost appears!"] + + Uraméshiki + Sugata wa sugoki + Yuréď no, + Kaji we jama suru + Funé no Tomomori. + + [_With vengeful aspect, the grisly ghost of Tomomori + (rises) at the stern of the ship to hinder the play of her + rudder._[45]] + +[Footnote 45: There is a double meaning given by the use of the name +_Tomomori_ in the last line. _Tomo_ means "the stern" of a ship; +_mori_ means "to leak." So the poem suggests that the ghost of +Tomomori not only interferes with the ship's rudder, but causes her +to leak.] + + Ochi-irité, + Uwo no éjiki to + Nari ni ken;-- + Funa-y[=u]réď mo + Nama-kusaki kazé. + + [_Having perished in the sea, (those Héďké) would probably + have become food for fishes. (Anyhow, whenever) the + ship-following ghosts (appear), the wind has a smell of raw + fish!_[46]] + +[Footnote 46: _Namakusaki-kaze_ really means a wind having a "raw +stench;" but the smell of bait is suggested by the second line of the +poem. A literal rendering is not possible in this case; the art of the +composition being altogether suggestive.] + + +VIII. HÉĎKÉGANĚ + +Readers can find in my "Kott[=o]" a paper about the Héďké-Crabs, +which have on their upper shells various wrinklings that resemble the +outlines of an angry face. At Shimono-séki dried specimens of these +curious creatures are offered for sale.... The Héďké-Crabs are said to +be the transformed angry spirits of the Héďké warriors who perished at +Dan-no-ura. + + Shiwo-hi ni wa + Séďzoroë shité, + Héďkégani + Ukiyo no sama we + Yoko ni niramitsu. + + [_Marshaled (on the beach) at the ebb of the tide, the + Héďké-crabs obliquely glare at the apparition of this + miserable world._[47]] + +[Footnote 47: _Hi_, the third syllable of the first line of the poem, +does duty for _hi_, signifying "ebb," and for _hikata_, "dry beach." +_Séďzoroë_ is a noun signifying "battle-array"--in the sense of +the Roman term _acies_;--and _séďzoroé shité_ means "drawn up in +battle-array."] + + Saikai ni + Shizumi-nurédomo, + Héďkégani + K[=o]ra no iro mo + Yahari aka-hata. + + [_Though (the Héďké) long ago sank and perished in the Western + Sea, the Héďké-crabs still display_ _upon their upper shells + the color of the Red Standard._[48]] + +[Footnote 48: The ensign of the Héďké, or Taďra clan was red; while +that of their rivals, the Genji or Minamot[=o], was white.] + + Maké-ikusa + Munen to muné ni + Hasami ken;-- + Kao mo makka ni + Naru Héďkégani. + + [_Because of the pain of defeat, claws have grown on their + breasts, I think;--even the faces of the Héďké-crabs have + become crimson (with anger and shame)._] + + Mikata mina + Oshi-tsubusaréshi + Héďkégani + Ikon we muné ni + Hasami mochikéri. + + [_All the (Héďké) party having been utterly crushed, claws + have grown upon the breasts of the Héďké-crabs because of the + resentment in their hearts._[49]] + +[Footnote 49: The use of the word _hasami_ in the fifth line is a +very good example of _keny[=o]gen_. There is a noun _hasami_, meaning +the nippers of a crab, or a pair of scissors; and there is a verb +_hasami_, meaning to harbor, to cherish, or to entertain. (_Ikon wo +hasamu_ means "to harbor resentment against.") Reading the word only +in connection with those which follow it, we have the phrase _hasami +mochikéri_, "got claws;" but, reading it with the words preceding, +we have the expression _ikon wo muné ni hasami_, "resentment in their +breasts nourishing."] + + +IX. YANARI + +Modern dictionaries ignore the uncanny significations of the word +_Yanari_,--only telling us that it means the sound of the shaking of +a house during an earthquake. But the word used to mean the noise of +the shaking of a house moved by a goblin; and the invisible shaker was +also called _Yanari_. When, without apparent cause, some house would +shudder and creak and groan in the night, folk used to suppose that it +was being shaken from without by supernatural malevolence. + + Tokonoma ni + Ikéshi tachiki mo + Taoré-keri; + Yanari ni yama no + Ugoku kakémono! + + [_Even the live tree set in the alcove has fallen down; and + the mountains in the hanging picture tremble to the quaking + made by the Yanari!_[50]] + +[Footnote 50: The _tokonoma_ in a Japanese room is a sort of +ornamental recess or alcove, in which a picture is usually hung, and +vases of flowers, or a dwarf tree, are placed.] + + +X. SAKASA-BASHIRA + +The term _Sakasa-bashira_ (in these _ky[=o]ka_ often shortened into +_saka-bashira_) literally means "upside-down post." A wooden post or +pillar, especially a house-post, should be set up according to the +original position of the tree from which it was hewn,--that is to say, +with the part nearest to the roots downward. To erect a house-post in +the contrary way is thought to be unlucky;--formerly such a blunder +was believed to involve unpleasant consequences of a ghostly kind, +because an "upside-down" pillar would do malignant things. It would +moan and groan in the night, and move all its cracks like mouths, and +open all its knots like eyes. Moreover, the spirit of it (for every +house-post has a spirit) would detach its long body from the timber, +and wander about the rooms, head-downwards, making faces at people. +Nor was this all. A _Sakasa-bashira_ knew how to make all the affairs +of a household go wrong,--how to foment domestic quarrels,--how to +contrive misfortune for each of the family and the servants,--how +to render existence almost insupportable until such time as the +carpenter's blunder should be discovered and remedied. + + Saka-bashira + Tatéshi wa tazo ya? + Kokoro ni mo + Fushi aru hito no + Shiwaza naruran. + + [_Who set the house-pillar upside-down? Surely that must have + been the work of a man with a knot in his heart._] + + Hidayama we + Kiri-kité tatéshi + Saka-bashira-- + Nanno takumi[51] no + Shiwaza naruran? + + [_That house-pillar hewn in the mountains of Hida, and thence + brought here and erected upside-down--what carpenter's work + can it be? (or, "for what evil design can this deed have been + done?")_] + +[Footnote 51: The word _takumi_, as written in _kana_, may signify +either "carpenter" or "intrigue," "evil plot," "wicked device." Thus +two readings are possible. According to one reading, the post was +fixed upside-down through inadvertence; according to the other, it was +so fixed with malice prepense.] + + Uë shita wo + Chigaëté tatéshi + Hashira ni wa + Sakasama-goto no + Uréď aranan. + + [_As for that house-pillar mistakenly planted upside-down, it + will certainly cause adversity and sorrow._[52]] + +[Footnote 52: Lit., "upside-down-matter-sorrow." _Sakasama-goto_, +"up-side-down affair," is a common expression for calamity, +contrariety, adversity, vexation.] + + Kabé ni mimi + Arité, kiké to ka? + Sakashima ni + Tateshi hashira ni + Yanari suru oto! + + [_O Ears that be in the wall![53] listen, will ye? to the + groaning and the creaking of the house-post that was planted + upside-down!_] + +[Footnote 53: Alluding to the proverb, _Kabé ni mimi ari_ ("There are +ears in the wall"), which signifies: "Be careful how you talk about +other people, even in private."] + + Uri-iyé no + Aruji we toëba, + Oto arité: + Waré mé ga kuchi wo + Aku saka-bashira. + + [_When I inquired for the master of the house that was + for sale, there came to me only a strange sound by way of + reply,--the sound of the upside-down house-post opening its + eyes and mouth![54] (i.e. its cracks)._] + +[Footnote 54: There is a pun in the fourth line which suggests more +than even a free translation can express. _Waré_ means "I," or "mine," +or "one's own," etc., according to circumstances; and _waré mé_ +(written separately) might be rendered "its own eyes." But _warémé_ +(one word) means a crack, rent, split, or fissure. The reader should +remember that the term _saka-bashira_ means not only "upside-down +post," but also the goblin or spectre of the upside-down post.] + + Omoďkiya! + Sakasa-bashira no + Hashira-kaké + Kakinishit uta mo + Yamai ari to wa! + + [_Who could have thought it!--even the poem inscribed upon + the pillar-tablet, attached to the pillar which was planted + upside-down, has taken the same (ghostly) sickness._[55]] + +[Footnote 55: That is to say, "Even the poem on the tablet is +up-side-down,"--all wrong. _Hashira-kaké_ ("pillar-suspended thing") +is the name given to a thin tablet of fine wood, inscribed or painted, +which is hung to a post by way of ornament.] + + +XI. BAKÉ-JIZÖ + +The figure of the Bodhi-sattva Jizö, the savior of children's ghosts, +is one of the most beautiful and humane in Japanese Buddhism. Statues +of this divinity may be seen in almost every village and by every +roadside. But some statues of Jizö are said to do uncanny things--such +as to walk about at night in various disguises. A statue of this kind +is called a _Baké-Jiz[=o]_[56],--meaning a Jiz[=o]; that undergoes +transformation. A conventional picture shows a little boy about to +place the customary child's-offering of rice-cakes before the stone +image of Jiz[=o],--not suspecting that the statue moves, and is slowly +bending down towards him. + +[Footnote 56: Perhaps the term might be rendered "Shape-changing +Jiz[=o]." The verb _bakéru_ means to change shape, to undergo +metamorphosis, to haunt, and many other supernatural things.] + + Nanigé naki + Ishi no Jiz[=o] no + Sugata saë, + Yo wa osoroshiki + Mikagé to zo naki. + + [_Though the stone Jiz[=o] looks as if nothing were the matter + with it, they say that at night it assumes an awful aspect + (or, "Though this image appears to be a common stone Jiz[=o], + they say that at night it becomes an awful Jiz[=o]; of + granite."_[57])] + +[Footnote 57: The Japanese word for granite is _mikagé_; and there is +also an honorific term _mikagé_, applied to divinities and emperors, +which signifies "august aspect," "sacred presence," etc.... No literal +rendering can suggest the effect, in the fifth line, of the latter +reading. _Kagé_ signifies "shadow," "aspect," and "power"--especially +occult power; the honorific prefix _mi_, attached to names and +attributes of divinities, may be rendered "august."] + + +XII. UMI-B[=O]ZU + +Place a large cuttlefish on a table, body upwards and tentacles +downwards--and you will have before you the grotesque reality that +first suggested the fancy of the _Umi-B[=o]zu_, or Priest of the Sea. +For the great bald body in this position, with the staring eyes below, +bears a distorted resemblance to the shaven head of a priest; while +the crawling tentacles underneath (which are in some species united +by a dark web) suggests the wavering motion of the priest's upper +robe.... The Umi-B[=o]zu figures a good deal in the literature of +Japanese goblinry, and in the old-fashioned picture-books. He rises +from the deep in foul weather to seize his prey. + + Ita hitoë + Shita wa Jigoku ni, + Sumizomé no + B[=o]zu no umi ni + Déru mo ayashina! + + [_Since there is but the thickness of a single plank (between + the voyager and the sea), and underneath is Hell, 'tis indeed + a weird thing that a black-robed priest should rise from + the sea (or, "'tis surely a marvelous happening that," + etc.!_[58])] + +[Footnote 58: The puns are too much for me.... _Ayashii_ means +"suspicious," "marvelous," "supernatural," "weird," "doubtful."--In +the first two lines there is a reference to the Buddhist proverb: +_Funa-ita ichi-mai shita wa Jigoku_ ("under the thickness of a single +ship's-plank is Hell"). (See my _Gleanings in Buddha-Fields_, p. 206, +for another reference to this saying.)] + + +XIII. FUDA-HÉGASHI[59] + +Homes are protected from evil spirits by holy texts and charms. In any +Japanese village, or any city by-street, you can see these texts when +the sliding-doors are closed at night: they are not visible by day, +when the sliding-doors have been pushed back into the _tobukuro_. +Such texts are called _o-fuda_ (august scripts): they are written in +Chinese characters upon strips of white paper, which are attached +to the door with rice-paste; and there are many kinds of them. Some +are texts selected from sutras--such as the Sűtra of Transcendent +Wisdom (Pragńa-Pâramitâ-Hridaya-Sűtra), or the Sűtra of the Lotos of +the Good Law (Saddharma-Pundarikâ-Sűtra). Some are texts from the +dhâranîs,--which are magical. Some are invocations only, indicating +the Buddhist sect of the household.... Besides these you may see +various smaller texts, or little prints, pasted above or beside +windows or apertures,--some being names of Shinto gods; others, +symbolical pictures only, or pictures of Buddhas and Bodhi-sattvas. +All are holy charms,--_o-fuda_: they protect the houses; and no goblin +or ghost can enter by night into a dwelling so protected, unless the +_o-fuda_ be removed. + +[Footnote 59: _Hégashi_ is the causative form of the verb _hégu_, +"to pull off," "peel off," "strip off," "split off." The term +_Fuda-hégashi_ signifies "Make-peel-off-august-charm Ghost." In my +_Ghostly Japan_ the reader can find a good Japanese story about a +_Fuda-hégashi_.] + +Vengeful ghosts cannot themselves remove an _o-fuda_; but they will +endeavor by threats or promises or bribes to make some person remove +it for them. A ghost that wants to have the _o-fuda_ pulled off a door +is called a _Fuda-hégashi_. + + Hégasan to + Rokuji-no-fuda wo, + Yuréď mo + Nam'mai d[=a] to + Kazoëté zo mini. + + [_Even the ghost that would remove the charms written with six + characters actually tries to count them, repeating: "How many + sheets are there?" (or, repeating, "Hail to thee, O Buddha + Amitábha!"[60])_] + +[Footnote 60: The fourth line gives these two readings:-- + +_Nam'mai da?_--"How many sheets are there?" + +_Nam[u] A[m]ida!_--"Hail, O Amitâbha!" + +The invocation, _Namu Amida Butsu_, is chiefly used by members of the +great Shin sect; but it is also used by other sects, and especially in +praying for the dead. While repeating it, the person praying numbers +the utterances upon his Buddhist rosary; and this custom is suggested +by the use of the word _kazoëté_, "counting."] + + Tada ichi no + Kami no o-fuda wa + Sasuga ni mo + Noriké naku to mo + Hégashi kanékéri. + + [_Of the august written-charms of the god (which were pasted + upon the walls of the house), not even one could by any effort + be pulled off, though the rice-paste with which they had been + fastened was all gone._] + + +XIV. FURU-TSUBAKI + +The old Japanese, like the old Greeks, had their flower-spirits and +their hamadryads, concerning whom some charming stories are told. They +also believed in trees inhabited by malevolent beings,--goblin trees. +Among other weird trees, the beautiful _tsubaki_ (_Camellia Japonica_) +was said to be an unlucky tree;--this was said, at least, of the +red-flowering variety, the white-flowering kind having a better +reputation and being prized as a rarity. The large fleshy crimson +flowers have this curious habit: they detach themselves bodily from +the stem, when they begin to fade; and they fall with an audible thud. +To old Japanese fancy the falling of these heavy red flowers was like +the falling of human heads under the sword; and the dull sound of +their dropping was said to be like the thud made by a severed head +striking the ground. Nevertheless the tsubaki seems to have been +a favorite in Japanese gardens because of the beauty of its glossy +foliage; and its flowers were used for the decoration of alcoves. But +in samurai homes it was a rule never to place tsubaki-flowers in an +alcove _during war-time_. + +The reader will notice that in the following _ky[=o]ka_--which, as +grotesques, seem to me the best in the collection--the goblin-tsubaki +is called _furu-tsubaki_, "old tsubaki." The young tree was not +supposed to have goblin-propensities,--these being developed only +after many years. Other uncanny trees--such as the willow and the +_énoki_--were likewise said to become dangerous only as they became +old; and a similar belief prevailed on the subject of uncanny animals, +such as the cat--innocent in kittenhood, but devilish in age. + + Yo-arashi ni + Chishiho itadaku + Furu tsubaki, + Hota-hota ochiru + Hana no nama-kubi. + + [_When by the night-storm is shaken the blood-crowned and + ancient tsubaki-tree, then one by one fall the gory heads of + the flowers, (with the sound of) hota-hota!_[61]] + +[Footnote 61: The word _furu_ in the third line is made to do double +duty,--as the adjective, _furu[i]_, "ancient"; and as the verb _furu_, +"to shake." The old term _nama-kuhi_ (lit., "raw head") means a human +head, freshly-severed, from which the blood is still oozing.] + + Kusa mo ki mo + Némuréru koro no + Sayo kazé ni, + Méhana no ugoku + Furu-tsubaki kana! + + [_When even the grass and the trees are sleeping under the + faint wind of the night,--then do the eyes and the noses of + the old tsubaki-tree (or "the buds and the flowers of the old + tsubaki-tree") move!_[62]] + +[Footnote 62: Two Japanese words are written, in _kana_, as "mé"--one +meaning "a bud;" the other "eye." The syllables "hana" in like +fashion, may signify either "flower" or "nose." As a grotesque, this +little poem is decidedly successful.] + + Tomoshibi no + Kagé ayashigé ni + Miyénuru wa + Abura shiborishi + Furu-tsubaki ka-mo? + + [_As for (the reason why) the light of that lamp appears to be + a Weirdness,[63]--perhaps the oil was expressed from (the nuts + of) the ancient tsu-baki?_] + +[Footnote 63: _Ayashigé_ is a noun formed from the adjective _ayashi_, +"suspicious," "strange," "supernatural," "doubtful." The word _kagé_ +signifies both "light" and "shadow,"--and is here used with double +suggestiveness. The vegetable oil used in the old Japanese lamps +used to be obtained from the nuts of the _tsubaki_. The reader should +remember that the expression "ancient tsubaki" is equivalent to the +expression "goblin-tsubaki,"--the tsubaki being supposed to turn into +a goblin-tree only when it becomes old.] + + * * * * * + +--Nearly all the stories and folk-beliefs about which these _ky[=o]ka_ +were written seem to have come from China; and most of the Japanese +tales of tree-spirits appear to have had a Chinese origin. As the +flower-spirits and hamadryads of the Far East are as yet little +known to Western readers, the following Chinese story may be found +interesting. + + * * * * * + +There was a Chinese scholar--called, in Japanese books, T[=o] no +Busanshi--who was famous for his love of flowers. He was particularly +fond of peonies, and cultivated them with great skill and +patience.[64] + +[Footnote 64: The tree-peony (_botan_) is here referred to,--a flower +much esteemed in Japan. It is said to have been introduced from China +during the eighth century; and no less than five hundred varieties of +it are now cultivated by Japanese gardeners.] + +One day a very comely girl came to the house of Busanshi, and begged +to be taken into his service. She said that circumstances obliged +her to seek humble employment, but that she had received a literary +education, and therefore wished to enter, if possible, into the +service of a scholar. Busanshi was charmed by her beauty, and took her +into his household without further questioning. She proved to be much +more than a good domestic: indeed, the nature of her accomplishments +made Busanshi suspect that she had been brought up in the court of +some prince, or in the palace of some great lord. She displayed +a perfect knowledge of the etiquette and the polite arts which +are taught only to ladies of the highest rank; and she possessed +astonishing skill in calligraphy, in painting, and in every kind of +poetical composition. Busanshi presently fell in love with her, and +thought only of how to please her. When scholar-friends or other +visitors of importance came to the house, he would send for the new +maid that she might entertain and wait upon his guests; and all who +saw her were amazed by her grace and charm. + +One day Busanshi received a visit from the great Teki-Shin-Ketsu, a +famous teacher of moral doctrine; and the maid did not respond to her +master's call. Busanshi went himself to seek her, being desirous that +Teki-Shin-Ketsu should see her and admire her; but she was nowhere to +be found. After having searched the whole house in vain, Busanshi was +returning to the guest-room when he suddenly caught sight of the maid, +gliding soundlessly before him along a corridor. He called to her, and +hurried after her. Then she turned half-round, and flattened herself +against the wall like a spider; and as he reached her she sank +backwards into the wall, so that there remained of her nothing visible +but a colored shadow,--level like a picture painted on the plaster. +But the shadow moved its lips and eyes, and spoke to him in a whisper, +saying:-- + +"Pardon me that I did not obey your august call!... I am not a +mankind-person;--I am only the Soul of a Peony. Because you loved +peonies so much, I was able to take human shape, and to serve you. +But now this Teki-Shin-Ketsu has come,--and he is a person of dreadful +propriety,--and I dare not keep this form any longer.... I must return +to the place from which I came." + +Then she sank back into the wall, and vanished altogether: there was +nothing where she had been except the naked plaster. And Busanshi +never saw her again. + +This story is written in a Chinese book which the Japanese call +"Kai-ten-i-ji." + + + + +"ULTIMATE QUESTIONS" + + +A memory of long ago.... I am walking upon a granite pavement that +rings like iron, between buildings of granite bathed in the light of +a cloudless noon. Shadows are short and sharp: there is no stir in the +hot bright air; and the sound of my footsteps, strangely loud, is the +only sound in the street.... Suddenly an odd feeling comes to me, +with a sort of tingling shock,--a feeling, or suspicion, of universal +illusion. The pavement, the bulks of hewn stone, the iron rails, +and all things visible, are dreams! Light, color, form, weight, +solidity--all sensed existences--are but phantoms of being, +manifestations only of one infinite ghostliness for which the language +of man has not any word.... + +This experience had been produced by study of the first volume of +the Synthetic Philosophy, which an American friend had taught me +how to read. I did not find it easy reading; partly because I am a +slow thinker, but chiefly because my mind had never been trained to +sustained effort in such directions. To learn the "First Principles" +occupied me many months: no other volume of the series gave me equal +trouble. I would read one section at a time,--rarely two,--never +venturing upon a fresh section until I thought that I had made sure +of the preceding. Very cautious and slow my progress was, like that +of a man mounting, for the first time, a long series of ladders in +darkness. Reaching the light at last, I caught a sudden new vision of +things,--a momentary perception of the illusion of surfaces,--and from +that time the world never again appeared to me quite the same as it +had appeared before. + + * * * * * + +--This memory of more than twenty years ago, and the extraordinary +thrill of the moment, were recently revived for me by the reading of +the essay "Ultimate Questions," in the last and not least precious +volume bequeathed us by the world's greatest thinker. The essay +contains his final utterance about the riddle of life and death, +as that riddle presented itself to his vast mind in the dusk of a +lifetime of intellectual toil. Certainly the substance of what he had +to tell us might have been inferred from the Synthetic Philosophy; +but the particular interest of this last essay is made by the writer's +expression of personal sentiment regarding the problem that troubles +all deep thinkers. Perhaps few of us could have remained satisfied +with his purely scientific position. Even while fully accepting his +declaration of the identity of the power that "wells up in us under +the form of consciousness" with that Power Unknowable which shapes +all things, most disciples of the master must have longed for some +chance to ask him directly, "But how do _you_ feel in regard to the +prospect of personal dissolution?" And this merely emotional question +he has answered as frankly and as fully as any of us could have +desired,--perhaps even more frankly. "Old people," he remarks +apologetically, "must have many reflections in common. Doubtless +one which I have now in mind is very familiar. For years past, when +watching the unfolding buds in the spring, there has arisen the +thought, 'Shall I ever again see the buds unfold? Shall I ever again +be awakened at dawn by the song of the thrush?' Now that the end is +not likely to be long postponed, there results an increasing tendency +to meditate upon ultimate questions."... Then he tells us that these +ultimate questions--"of the How and the Why, of the Whence and the +Whither"--occupy much more space in the minds of those who cannot +accept the creed of Christendom, than the current conception fills +in the minds of the majority of men. The enormity of the problem of +existence becomes manifest only to those who have permitted themselves +to think freely and widely and deeply, with all such aids to thought +as exact science can furnish; and the larger the knowledge of the +thinker, the more pressing and tremendous the problem appears, and the +more hopelessly unanswerable. To Herbert Spencer himself it must have +assumed a vastness beyond the apprehension of the average mind; and +it weighed upon him more and more inexorably the nearer he approached +to death. He could not avoid the conviction--plainly suggested in his +magnificent Psychology and in other volumes of his great work--that +there exists no rational evidence for any belief in the continuance of +conscious personality after death:-- + + "After studying primitive beliefs, and finding that there is + no origin for the idea of an after-life, save the conclusion + which the savage draws, from the notion suggested by dreams, + of a wandering double which comes back on awaking, and + which goes away for an indefinite time at death;--and after + contemplating the inscrutable relation between brain and + consciousness, and finding that we can get no evidence of the + existence of the last without the activity of the first,--we + seem obliged to relinquish the thought that consciousness + continues after physical organization has become inactive." + +In this measured utterance there is no word of hope; but there is +at least a carefully stated doubt, which those who will may try +to develop into the germ of a hope. The guarded phrase, "we _seem_ +obliged to relinquish," certainly suggests that, although in the +present state of human knowledge we have no reason to believe in the +perpetuity of consciousness, some larger future knowledge might help +us to a less forlorn prospect. From the prospect as it now appears +even this mightiest of thinkers recoiled:-- + + ... "But it seems a strange and repugnant conclusion that with + the cessation of consciousness at death there ceases to be any + knowledge of having existed. With his last breath it becomes + to each the same thing as though he had never lived. + + "And then the consciousness itself--what is it during the time + that it continues? And what becomes of it when it ends? We can + only infer that it is a specialized and individualized form + of that Infinite and Eternal Energy which transcends both our + knowledge and our imagination; and that at death its elements + lapse into that Infinite and Eternal Energy whence they were + derived." + + * * * * * + +--_With his last breath it becomes to each the same thing as though +he had never lived?_ To the individual, perhaps--surely not to the +humanity made wiser and better by his labors.... But the world must +pass away: will it thereafter be the same for the universe as if +humanity had never existed? That might depend upon the possibilities +of future inter-planetary communication.... But the whole universe +of suns and planets must also perish: thereafter will it be the same +as if no intelligent life had ever toiled and suffered upon those +countless worlds? We have at least the certainty that the energies +of life cannot be destroyed, and the strong probability that +they will help to form another life and thought in universes +yet to be evolved.... Nevertheless, allowing for all imagined +possibilities,--granting even the likelihood of some inapprehensible +relation between all past and all future conditioned-being,--the +tremendous question remains: What signifies the whole of apparitional +existence to the Unconditioned? As flickers of sheet-lightning leave +no record in the night, so in that Darkness a million billion trillion +universes might come and go, and leave no trace of their having been. + + * * * * * + +To every aspect of the problem Herbert Spencer must have given +thought; but he has plainly declared that the human intellect, as at +present constituted, can offer no solution. The greatest mind that +this world has yet produced--the mind that systematized all human +knowledge, that revolutionized modern science, that dissipated +materialism forever, that revealed to us the ghostly unity of all +existence, that reestablished all ethics upon an immutable and eternal +foundation,--the mind that could expound with equal lucidity, and by +the same universal formula, the history of a gnat or the history of a +sun--confessed itself, before the Riddle of Existence, scarcely less +helpless than the mind of a child. + +But for me the supreme value of this last essay is made by the fact +that in its pathetic statement of uncertainties and probabilities one +can discern something very much resembling a declaration of faith. +Though assured that we have yet no foundation for any belief in the +persistence of consciousness after the death of the brain, we are +bidden to remember that the ultimate nature of consciousness remains +inscrutable. Though we cannot surmise the relation of consciousness +to the unseen, we are reminded that it must be considered as a +manifestation of the Infinite Energy, and that its elements, if +dissociated by death, will return to the timeless and measureless +Source of Life.... Science to-day also assures us that whatever +existence has been--all individual life that ever moved in animal +or plant,--all feeling and thought that ever stirred in human +consciousness--must have flashed self-record beyond the sphere of +sentiency; and though we cannot know, we cannot help imagining that +the best of such registration may be destined to perpetuity. On this +latter subject, for obvious reasons, Herbert Spencer has remained +silent; but the reader may ponder a remarkable paragraph in the final +sixth edition of the "First Principles,"--a paragraph dealing with +the hypothesis that consciousness may belong to the cosmic ether. +This hypothesis has not been lightly dismissed by him; and even while +proving its inadequacy, he seems to intimate that it may represent +imperfectly some truth yet inapprehensible by the human mind:-- + + "The only supposition having consistency is that that in which + consciousness inheres is the all-pervading ether. This we + know can be affected by molecules of matter in motion, and + conversely can affect the motions of molecules;--as witness + the action of light on the retina. In pursuance of this + supposition we may assume that the ether, which pervades not + only all space but all matter, is, under special conditions in + certain parts of the nervous system, capable of being affected + by the nervous changes in such way as to result in feeling, + and is reciprocally capable under these conditions of + affecting the nervous changes. But if we accept this + explanation, we must assume that the potentiality of feeling + is universal, and that the evolution of feeling in the ether + takes place only under the extremely complex conditions + occurring in certain nervous centres. This, however, is but + a semblance of an explanation, since we know not what the + ether is, and since, by confession of those most capable of + judging, no hypothesis that has been framed accounts for + all its powers. Such an explanation may be said to do no + more than symbolize the phenomena by symbols of unknown + natures."--["First Principles," § 71 _c_, definitive edition + of 1900.] + + --"Inscrutable is this complex consciousness which has + slowly evolved out of infantine vacuity--consciousness + which, in other shapes, is manifested by animate beings at + large--consciousness which, during the development of every + creature, makes its appearance out of what seems unconscious + matter; _suggesting the thought that consciousness, in some + rudimentary form, is omnipresent._"[65] + +[Footnote 65: _Autobiography_, vol. ii, p. 470.] + +--Of all modern thinkers, Spencer was perhaps the most careful to +avoid giving encouragement to any hypothesis unsupported by powerful +evidence. Even the simple sum of his own creed is uttered only, +with due reservation, as a statement of three probabilities: that +consciousness represents a specialized and individualized form of the +infinite Energy; that it is dissolved by death; and that its elements +then return to the source of all being. As for our mental attitude +toward the infinite Mystery, his advice is plain. We must resign +ourselves to the eternal law, and endeavor to vanquish our ancient +inheritance of superstitious terrors, remembering that, "merciless as +is the Cosmic process worked out by an Unknown Power, yet vengeance is +nowhere to be found in it."[66] + +[Footnote 66: _Facts and Comments_, p. 201.] + + * * * * * + +In the same brief essay there is another confession of singular +interest,--an acknowledgment of the terror of Space. To even the +ordinary mind, the notion of infinite Space, as forced upon us by +those monstrous facts of astronomy which require no serious study +to apprehend, is terrifying;--I mean the mere vague idea of that +everlasting Night into which the blazing of millions of suns can bring +neither light nor warmth. But to the intellect of Herbert Spencer the +idea of Space must have presented itself after a manner incomparably +more mysterious and stupendous. The mathematician alone will +comprehend the full significance of the paragraph dealing with the +Geometry of Position and the mystery of space-relations,--or the +startling declaration that "even could we penetrate the mysteries of +existence, there would remain still more transcendent mysteries." +But Herbert Spencer tells us that, apart from the conception of these +geometrical mysteries, the problem of naked Space itself became for +him, in the twilight of his age, an obsession and a dismay:-- + + ... "And then comes the thought of this universal matrix + itself, anteceding alike creation or evolution, whichever be + assumed, and infinitely transcending both, alike in extent and + duration; since both, if conceived at all, must be conceived + as having had beginnings, while Space had no beginning. The + thought of this blank form of existence which, explored in + all directions as far as imagination can reach, has, beyond + that, an unexplored region compared with which the part which + imagination has traversed is but infinitesimal,--the thought + of a Space compared with which our immeasurable sidereal + system dwindles to a point is a thought too overwhelming to + be dwelt upon. Of late years the consciousness that without + origin or cause infinite Space has ever existed and must ever + exist, produces in me a feeling from which I shrink." + + * * * * * + +How the idea of infinite Space may affect a mind incomparably more +powerful than my own, I cannot know;--neither can I divine the nature +of certain problems which the laws of space-relation present to the +geometrician. But when I try to determine the cause of the horror +which that idea evokes within my own feeble imagination, I am able +to distinguish different elements of the emotion,--particular forms +of terror responding to particular ideas (rational and irrational) +suggested by the revelations of science. One feeling--perhaps the +main element of the horror--is made by the thought of being _prisoned_ +forever and ever within that unutterable Viewlessness which occupies +infinite Space. + +Behind this feeling there is more than the thought of eternal +circumscription;--there is also the idea of being perpetually +penetrated, traversed, thrilled by the Nameless;--there is likewise +the certainty that no least particle of innermost secret Self could +shun the eternal touch of It;--there is furthermore the tremendous +conviction that could the Self of me rush with the swiftness of +light,--with more than the swiftness of light,--beyond all galaxies, +beyond durations of time so vast that Science knows no sign by which +their magnitudes might be indicated,--and still flee onward, onward, +downward, upward,--always, always,--never could that Self of me reach +nearer to any verge, never speed farther from any centre. For, in that +Silence, all vastitude and height and depth and time and direction are +swallowed up: relation therein could have no meaning but for the speck +of my fleeting consciousness,--atom of terror pulsating alone through +atomless, soundless, nameless, illimitable potentiality. + +And the idea of that potentiality awakens another quality of +horror,--the horror of infinite Possibility. For this Inscrutable that +pulses through substance as if substance were not at all,--so subtly +that none can feel the flowing of its tides, yet so swiftly that no +life-time would suffice to count the number of the oscillations which +it makes within the fraction of one second,--thrills to us out of +endlessness;--and the force of infinity dwells in its lightest tremor; +the weight of eternity presses behind its faintest shudder. To that +phantom-Touch, the tinting of a blossom or the dissipation of a +universe were equally facile: here it caresses the eye with the charm +and illusion of color; there it bestirs into being a cluster of giant +suns. All that human mind is capable of conceiving as possible +(and how much also that human mind must forever remain incapable of +conceiving?) may be wrought anywhere, everywhere, by a single tremor +of that Abyss.... + + * * * * * + +Is it true, as some would have us believe, that the fear of the +extinction of self is the terror supreme?... For the thought of +personal perpetuity in the infinite vortex is enough to evoke sudden +trepidations that no tongue can utter,--fugitive instants of a horror +too vast to enter wholly into consciousness: a horror that can be +endured in swift black glimpsings only. And the trust that we are one +with the Absolute--dim points of thrilling in the abyss of It--can +prove a consoling faith only to those who find themselves obliged to +think that consciousness dissolves with the crumbling of the brain.... +It seems to me that few (or none) dare to utter frankly those +stupendous doubts and fears which force mortal intelligence to +recoil upon itself at every fresh attempt to pass the barrier of the +Knowable. Were that barrier unexpectedly pushed back,--were knowledge +to be suddenly and vastly expanded beyond its present limits,--perhaps +we should find ourselves unable to endure the revelation.... + + * * * * * + +Mr. Percival Lowell's astonishing book, "Mars," sets one to thinking +about the results of being able to hold communication with the +habitants of an older and a wiser world,--some race of beings more +highly evolved than we, both intellectually and morally, and able to +interpret a thousand mysteries that still baffle our science. Perhaps, +in such event, we should not find ourselves able to comprehend the +methods, even could we borrow the results, of wisdom older than all +our civilization by myriads or hundreds of myriads of years. But would +not the sudden advent of larger knowledge from some elder planet prove +for us, by reason, of the present moral condition of mankind, nothing +less than a catastrophe?--might it not even result in the extinction +of the human species?... + +The rule seems to be that the dissemination of dangerous higher +knowledge, before the masses of a people are ethically prepared to +receive it, will always be prevented by the conservative instinct; and +we have reason to suppose (allowing for individual exceptions) that +the power to gain higher knowledge is developed only as the moral +ability to profit by such knowledge is evolved. I fancy that if the +power of holding intellectual converse with other worlds could now +serve us, we should presently obtain it. But if, by some astonishing +chance,--as by the discovery, let us suppose, of some method of +ether-telegraphy,--this power were prematurely acquired, its exercise +would in all probability be prohibited.... Imagine, for example, what +would have happened during the Middle Ages to the person guilty of +discovering means to communicate with the people of a neighboring +planet! Assuredly that inventor and his apparatus and his records +would have been burned; every trace and memory of his labors would +have been extirpated. Even to-day the sudden discovery of truths +unsupported by human experience, the sudden revelation of facts +totally opposed to existing convictions, might evoke some frantic +revival of superstitious terrors,--some religious panic-fury that +would strangle science, and replunge the world in mental darkness +for a thousand years. + + + + +THE MIRROR MAIDEN + + +In the period of the Ashikaga Sh[=o]gunate the shrine of +Ogawachi-My[=o]jin, at Minami-Isé, fell into decay; and the daimy[=o] +of the district, the Lord Kitahataké, found himself unable, by reason +of war and other circumstances, to provide for the reparation of the +building. Then the Shint[=o] priest in charge, Matsumura Hy[=o]go, +sought help at Ky[=o]to from the great daimy[=o] Hosokawa, who was +known to have influence with the Sh[=o]gun. The Lord Hosokawa received +the priest kindly, and promised to speak to the Sh[=o]gun about the +condition of Ogawachi-My[=o]jin. But he said that, in any event, a +grant for the restoration of the temple could not be made without +due investigation and considerable delay; and he advised Matsumura to +remain in the capital while the matter was being arranged. Matsumura +therefore brought his family to Ky[=o]to, and rented a house in the +old Ky[=o]goku quarter. + +This house, although handsome and spacious, had been long unoccupied. +It was said to be an unlucky house. On the northeast side of it there +was a well; and several former tenants had drowned themselves in +that well, without any known cause. But Matsumura, being a Shint[=o] +priest, had no fear of evil spirits; and he soon made himself very +comfortable in his new home. + + * * * * * + +In the summer of that year there was a great drought. For months no +rain had fallen in the Five Home-Provinces; the river-beds dried +up, the wells failed; and even in the capital there was a dearth of +water. But the well in Matsumura's garden remained nearly full; and +the water--which was very cold and clear, with a faint bluish +tinge--seemed to be supplied by a spring. During the hot season many +people came from all parts of the city to beg for water; and Matsumura +allowed them to draw as much as they pleased. Nevertheless the supply +did not appear to be diminished. + +But one morning the dead body of a young servant, who had been sent +from a neighboring residence to fetch water, was found floating in +the well. No cause for a suicide could be imagined; and Matsumura, +remembering many unpleasant stories about the well, began to suspect +some invisible malevolence. He went to examine the well, with the +intention of having a fence built around it; and while standing there +alone he was startled by a sudden motion in the water, as of something +alive. The motion soon ceased; and then he perceived, clearly +reflected in the still surface, the figure of a young woman, +apparently about nineteen or twenty years of age. She seemed to be +occupied with her toilet: he distinctly saw her touching her lips +with _béni_[67] At first her face was visible in profile only; but +presently she turned towards him and smiled. Immediately he felt a +strange shock at his heart, and a dizziness came upon him like the +dizziness of wine, and everything became dark, except that smiling +face,--white and beautiful as moonlight, and always seeming to grow +more beautiful, and to be drawing him down--down--down into the +darkness. But with a desperate effort he recovered his will and closed +his eyes. When he opened them again, the face was gone, and the light +had returned; and he found himself leaning down over the curb of the +well. A moment more of that dizziness,--a moment more of that dazzling +lure,--and he would never again have looked upon the sun... + +[Footnote 67: A kind of rouge, now used only to color the lips.] + +Returning to the house, he gave orders to his people not to approach +the well under any circumstances, or allow any person to draw water +from it. And the next day he had a strong fence built round the well. + + * * * * * + +About a week after the fence had been built, the long drought was +broken by a great rain-storm, accompanied by wind and lightning and +thunder,--thunder so tremendous that the whole city shook to the +rolling of it, as if shaken by an earthquake. For three days and three +nights the downpour and the lightnings and the thunder continued; and +the Kamogawa rose as it had never risen before, carrying away many +bridges. During the third night of the storm, at the Hour of the Ox, +there was heard a knocking at the door of the priest's dwelling, and +the voice of a woman pleading for admittance. But Matsumura, warned by +his experience at the well, forbade his servants to answer the appeal. +He went himself to the entrance, and asked,-- + +"Who calls?" + +A feminine voice responded:-- + +"Pardon! it is I,--Yayoi![68]... I have something to say to Matsumura +Sama,--something of great moment. Please open!"... + +[Footnote 68: This name, though uncommon, is still in use.] + +Matsumura half opened the door, very cautiously; and he saw the same +beautiful face that had smiled upon him from the well. But it was not +smiling now: it had a very sad look. + +"Into my house you shall not come," the priest exclaimed. "You are not +a human being, but a Well-Person.... Why do you thus wickedly try to +delude and destroy people?" + +The Well-Person made answer in a voice musical as a tinkling of jewels +(_tama-wo-korogasu-koë_.):-- + +"It is of that very matter that I want to speak.... I have never +wished to injure human beings. But from ancient time a Poison-Dragon +dwelt in that well. He was the Master of the Well; and because of him +the well was always full. Long ago I fell into the water there, and +so became subject to him; and he had power to make me lure people to +death, in order that he might drink their blood. But now the Heavenly +Ruler has commanded the Dragon to dwell hereafter in the lake called +Torii-no-Iké, in the Province of Shinsh[=u]; and the gods have decided +that he shall never be allowed to return to this city. So to-night, +after he had gone away, I was able to come out, to beg for your kindly +help. There is now very little water in the well, because of the +Dragon's departure; and if you will order search to be made, my body +will be found there. I pray you to save my body from the well without +delay; and I shall certainly return your benevolence."... + +So saying, she vanished into the night. + + * * * * * + +Before dawn the tempest had passed; and when the sun arose there was +no trace of cloud in the pure blue sky. Matsumura sent at an early +hour for well-cleaners to search the well. Then, to everybody's +surprise, the well proved to be almost dry. It was easily cleaned; and +at the bottom of it were found some hair-ornaments of a very ancient +fashion, and a metal mirror of curious form--but no trace of any body, +animal or human. + +Matusmura imagined, however, that the mirror might yield some +explanation of the mystery; for every such mirror is a weird thing, +having a soul of its own,--and the soul of a mirror is feminine. This +mirror, which seemed to be very old, was deeply crusted with scurf. +But when it had been carefully cleaned, by the priest's order, it +proved to be of rare and costly workmanship; and there were wonderful +designs upon the back of it,--also several characters. Some of the +characters had become indistinguishable; but there could still be +discerned part of a date, and ideographs signifying, "_third month, +the third day_." Now the third month used to be termed _Yayoi_ +(meaning, the Month of Increase); and the third day of the third +month, which is a festival day, is still called _Yayoi-no-sekku_. +Remembering that the Well-Person called herself "Yayoi," Matsumura +felt almost sure that his ghostly visitant had been none other than +the Soul of the Mirror. + +He therefore resolved to treat the mirror with all the consideration +due to a Spirit. After having caused it to be carefully repolished +and resilvered, he had a case of precious wood made for it, and a +particular room in the house prepared to receive it. On the evening +of the same day that it had been respectfully deposited in that room, +Yayoi herself unexpectedly appeared before the priest as he sat alone +in his study. She looked even more lovely than before; but the light +of her beauty was now soft as the light of a summer moon shining +through pure white clouds. After having humbly saluted Matsumura, she +said in her sweetly tinkling voice:-- + +"Now that you have saved me from solitude and sorrow, I have come to +thank you.... I am indeed, as you supposed, the Spirit of the Mirror. +It was in the time of the Emperor Saimei that I was first brought here +from Kudara; and I dwelt in the august residence until the time of +the Emperor Saga, when I was augustly bestowed upon the Lady Kamo, +Naishinn[=o] of the Imperial Court.[69] Thereafter I became an +heirloom in the House of Fuji-wara, and so remained until the period +of H[=o]gen, when I was dropped into the well. There I was left and +forgotten during the years of the great war.[70] The Master of the +Well[71] was a venomous Dragon, who used to live in a lake that once +covered a great part of this district. After the lake had been filled +in, by government order, in order that houses might be built upon +the place of it, the Dragon took possession of the well; and when I +fell into the well I became subject to him; and he compelled me to +lure many people to their deaths. But the gods have banished him +forever.... Now I have one more favor to beseech: I entreat that you +will cause me to be offered up to the Sh[=o]gun, the Lord Yoshimasa, +who by descent is related to my former possessors. Do me but this last +great kindness, and it will bring you good-fortune.... But I have also +to warn you of a danger. In this house, after to-morrow, you must +not stay, because it will be destroyed."... And with these words of +warning Yayoi disappeared. + +[Footnote 69: The Emperor Saimei reigned from 655 to 662 (A.D.); +the Emperor Saga from 810 to 842.--Kudara was an ancient kingdom in +southwestern Korea, frequently mentioned in early Japanese history.--A +_Naishinn[=o]_ was of Imperial blood. In the ancient court-hierarchy +there were twenty-five ranks or grades of noble ladies;--that of +_Naishinno_ was seventh in order of precedence.] + +[Footnote 70: For centuries the wives of the emperors and the ladies +of the Imperial Court were chosen from the Fujiwara clan--The period +called H[=o]gen lasted from 1156 to 1159: the war referred to is the +famous war between the Taira and Minamoto clans.] + +[Footnote 71: In old-time belief every lake or spring had its +invisible guardian, supposed to sometimes take the form of a serpent +or dragon. The spirit of a lake or pond was commonly spoken of +as _Iké-no-Mushi_, the Master of the Lake. Here we find the title +"Master" given to a dragon living in a well; but the guardian of wells +is really the god Suijin.] + + * * * * * + +Matsumura was able to profit by this premonition. He removed his +people and his belongings to another district the next day; and almost +immediately afterwards another storm arose, even more violent than the +first, causing a flood which swept away the house in which he had been +residing. + +Some time later, by favor of the Lord Hosokawa, Matsumura was enabled +to obtain an audience of the Sh[=o]gun Yoshimasa, to whom he presented +the mirror, together with a written account of its wonderful history. +Then the prediction of the Spirit of the Mirror was fulfilled; for the +Sh[=o]gun, greatly pleased with this strange gift, not only bestowed +costly presents upon Matsumura, but also made an ample grant of money +for the rebuilding of the Temple of Ogawachi-My[=o]jin. + + + + +THE STORY OF IT[=O] NORISUKÉ + + +In the town of Uji, in the province of Yamashiro, there lived, about +six hundred years ago, a young samurai named It[=o] Tatéwaki Norisuké, +whose ancestors were of the Héďké clan. It[=o] was of handsome person +and amiable character, a good scholar and apt at arms. But his family +were poor; and he had no patron among the military nobility,--so +that his prospects were small. He lived in a very quiet way, devoting +himself to the study of literature, and having (says the Japanese +story-teller) "only the Moon and the Wind for friends." + +One autumn evening, as he was taking a solitary walk in the +neighborhood of the hill called Kotobikiyama, he happened to overtake +a young girl who was following the same path. She was richly dressed, +and seemed to be about eleven or twelve years old. It[=o] greeted her, +and said, "The sun will soon be setting, damsel, and this is rather a +lonesome place. May I ask if you have lost your way?" She looked up +at him with a bright smile, and answered deprecatingly: "Nay! I am +a _miya-dzukai_,[72] serving in this neighborhood; and I have only a +little way to go." + +[Footnote 72: August-residence servant.] + +By her use of the term _miya-dzukai_, It[=o] knew that the girl must +be in the service of persons of rank; and her statement surprised him, +because he had never heard of any family of distinction residing in +that vicinity. But he only said: "I am returning to Uji, where my home +is. Perhaps you will allow me to accompany you on the way, as this is +a very lonesome place." She thanked him gracefully, seeming pleased +by his offer; and they walked on together, chatting as they went. She +talked about the weather, the flowers, the butterflies, and the birds; +about a visit that she had once made to Uji, about the famous sights +of the capital, where she had been born;--and the moments passed +pleasantly for It[=o], as he listened to her fresh prattle. Presently, +at a turn in the road, they entered a hamlet, densely shadowed by a +grove of young trees. + + * * * * * + +[Here I must interrupt the story to tell you that, without having +actually seen them, you cannot imagine how dark some Japanese country +villages remain even in the brightest and hottest weather. In the +neighborhood of T[=o]ky[=o] itself there are many villages of this +kind. At a short distance from such a settlement you see no houses: +nothing is visible but a dense grove of evergreen trees. The grove, +which is usually composed of young cedars and bamboos, serves to +shelter the village from storms, and also to supply timber for various +purposes. So closely are the trees planted that there is no room to +pass between the trunks of them: they stand straight as masts, and +mingle their crests so as to form a roof that excludes the sun. Each +thatched cottage occupies a clear space in the plantation, the trees +forming a fence about it, double the height of the building. Under +the trees it is always twilight, even at high noon; and the houses, +morning or evening, are half in shadow. What makes the first +impression of such a village almost disquieting is, not the +transparent gloom, which has a certain weird charm of its own, but +the stillness. There may be fifty or a hundred dwellings; but you see +nobody; and you hear no sound but the twitter of invisible birds, the +occasional crowing of cocks, and the shrilling of cicadć. Even the +cicadć, however, find these groves too dim, and sing faintly; being +sun-lovers, they prefer the trees outside the village. I forgot to +say that you may sometimes hear a viewless shuttle--_chaka-ton, +chaka-ton_;--but that familiar sound, in the great green silence, +seems an elfish happening. The reason of the hush is simply that the +people are not at home. All the adults, excepting some feeble elders, +have gone to the neighboring fields, the women carrying their babies +on their backs; and most of the children have gone to the nearest +school, perhaps not less than a mile away. Verily, in these dim +hushed villages, one seems to behold the mysterious perpetuation of +conditions recorded in the texts of Kwang-Tze:-- + + "_The ancients who had the nourishment of the world wished for + nothing, and the world had enough:--they did nothing, and all + things were transformed:--their stillness was abysmal, and the + people were all composed._"] + + * * * * * + +... The village was very dark when It[=o] reached it; for the sun +had set, and the after-glow made no twilight in the shadowing of the +trees. "Now, kind sir," the child said, pointing to a narrow lane +opening upon the main road, "I have to go this way." "Permit me, then, +to see you home," It[=o] responded; and he turned into the lane with +her, feeling rather than seeing his way. But the girl soon stopped +before a small gate, dimly visible in the gloom,--a gate of +trelliswork, beyond which the lights of a dwelling could be seen. +"Here," she said, "is the honorable residence in which I serve. As you +have come thus far out of your way, kind sir, will you not deign to +enter and to rest a while?" It[=o] assented. He was pleased by the +informal invitation; and he wished to learn what persons of superior +condition had chosen to reside in so lonesome a village. He knew that +sometimes a family of rank would retire in this manner from public +life, by reason of government displeasure or political trouble; and +he imagined that such might be the history of the occupants of the +dwelling before him. Passing the gate, which his young guide opened +for him, he found himself in a large quaint garden. A miniature +landscape, traversed by a winding stream, was faintly distinguishable. +"Deign for one little moment to wait," the child said; "I go to +announce the honorable coming;" and hurried toward the house. It was +a spacious house, but seemed very old, and built in the fashion of +another time. The sliding doors were not closed; but the lighted +interior was concealed by a beautiful bamboo curtain extending +along the gallery front. Behind it shadows were moving--shadows of +women;--and suddenly the music of a _koto_ rippled into the night. So +light and sweet was the playing that It[=o] could scarcely believe the +evidence of his senses. A slumbrous feeling of delight stole over him +as he listened,--a delight strangely mingled with sadness. He wondered +how any woman could have learned to play thus,--wondered whether the +player could be a woman,--wondered even whether he was hearing earthly +music; for enchantment seemed to have entered into his blood with the +sound of it. + + * * * * * + +The soft music ceased; and almost at the same moment It[=o] found the +little _miya-dzukai_ beside him. "Sir," she said, "it is requested +that you will honorably enter." She conducted him to the entrance, +where he removed his sandals; and an aged woman, whom he thought to be +the _R[=o]jo_, or matron of the household, came to welcome him at the +threshold. The old woman then led him through many apartments to a +large and well-lighted room in the rear of the house, and with many +respectful salutations requested him to take the place of honor +accorded to guests of distinction. He was surprised by the stateliness +of the chamber, and the curious beauty of its decorations. Presently +some maid-servants brought refreshments; and he noticed that the cups +and other vessels set before him were of rare and costly workmanship, +and ornamented with a design indicating the high rank of the +possessor. More and more he wondered what noble person had chosen +this lonely retreat, and what happening could have inspired the wish +for such solitude. But the aged attendant suddenly interrupted his +reflections with the question: + +"Am I wrong in supposing that you are It[=o] Sama, of Uji,--It[=o] +Tatéwaki Norisuké?" + +It[=o] bowed in assent. He had not told his name to the little +_miya-dzukai_, and the manner of the inquiry startled him. + +"Please do not think my question rude," continued the attendant. "An +old woman like myself may ask questions without improper curiosity. +When you came to the house, I thought that I knew your face; and I +asked your name only to clear away all doubt, before speaking of +other matters. I have some thing of moment to tell you. You often pass +through this village, and our young Himégimi-Sama[73] happened one +morning to see you going by; and ever since that moment she has been +thinking about you, day and night. Indeed, she thought so much that +she became ill; and we have been very uneasy about her. For that +reason I took means to find out your name and residence; and I was on +the point of sending you a letter when--so unexpectedly!--you came to +our gate with the little attendant. Now, to say how happy I am to see +you is not possible; it seems almost too fortunate a happening to be +true! Really I think that this meeting must have been brought about by +the favor of Enmusubi-no-Kami,--that great God of Izumo who ties the +knots of fortunate union. And now that so lucky a destiny has led you +hither, perhaps you will not refuse--if there be no obstacle in the +way of such a union--to make happy the heart of our Himégimi-Sama?" + +[Footnote 73: A scarcely translatable honorific title compounded of +the word _himé_ (princess) and _kimi_ (sovereign, master or mistress, +lord or lady, etc.).] + +For the moment It[=o] did not know how to reply. If the old woman had +spoken the truth, an extraordinary chance was being offered to him. +Only a great passion could impel the daughter of a noble house to +seek, of her own will, the affection of an obscure and masterless +samurai, possessing neither wealth nor any sort of prospects. On the +other hand, it was not in the honorable nature of the man to further +his own interests by taking advantage of a feminine weakness. +Moreover, the circumstances were disquietingly mysterious. Yet how to +decline the proposal, so unexpectedly made, troubled him not a little. +After a short silence, he replied:-- + +"There would be no obstacle, as I have no wife, and no betrothed, and +no relation with any woman. Until now I have lived with my parents; +and the matter of my marriage was never discussed by them. You must +know that I am a poor samurai, without any patron among persons of +rank; and I did not wish to marry until I could find some chance to +improve my condition. As to the proposal which you have done me +the very great honor to make, I can only say that I know myself yet +unworthy of the notice of any noble maiden." + +The old woman smiled as if pleased by these words, and responded:-- + +"Until you have seen our Himégimi-Sama, it were better that you make +no decision. Perhaps you will feel no hesitation after you have seen +her. Deign now to come with me, that I may present you to her." + +She conducted him to another larger guest-room, where preparations for +a feast had been made, and having shown him the place of honor, left +him for a moment alone. She returned accompanied by the Himégimi-Sama; +and, at the first sight of the young mistress, It[=o] felt again +the strange thrill of wonder and delight that had come to him in +the garden, as he listened to the music of the _koto_. Never had he +dreamed of so beautiful a being. Light seemed to radiate from her +presence, and to shine through her garments, as the light of the moon +through flossy clouds; her loosely flowing hair swayed about her +as she moved, like the boughs of the drooping willow bestirred by +the breezes of spring; her lips were like flowers of the peach +besprinkled with morning dew. It[=o] was bewildered by the vision. +He asked himself whether he was not looking upon the person of +Amano-kawara-no-Ori-Himé herself,--the Weaving-Maiden who dwells by +the shining River of Heaven. + +Smiling, the aged woman turned to the fair one, who remained +speechless, with downcast eyes and flushing cheeks, and said to her:-- + +"See, my child!--at the moment when we could least have hoped for such +a thing, the very person whom you wished to meet has come of his own +accord. So fortunate a happening could have been brought about only by +the will of the high gods. To think of it makes me weep for joy." And +she sobbed aloud. "But now," she continued, wiping away her tears +with her sleeve, "it only remains for you both--unless either prove +unwilling, which I doubt--to pledge yourselves to each other, and to +partake of your wedding feast." + + * * * * * + +It[=o] answered by no word: the incomparable vision before him had +numbed his will and tied his tongue. Maid-servants entered, bearing +dishes and wine: the wedding feast was spread before the pair; and the +pledges were given. It[=o] nevertheless remained as in a trance: the +marvel of the adventure, and the wonder of the beauty of the bride, +still bewildered him. A gladness, beyond aught that he had ever known +before, filled his heart--like a great silence. But gradually he +recovered his wonted calm; and thereafter he found himself able to +converse without embarrassment. Of the wine he partook freely; and +he ventured to speak, in a self-depreciating but merry way, about the +doubts and fears that had oppressed him. Meanwhile the bride remained +still as moonlight, never lifting her eyes, and replying only by a +blush or a smile when he addressed her. + +It[=o] said to the aged attendant:-- + +"Many times, in my solitary walks, I have passed through this village +without knowing of the existence of this honorable dwelling. And ever +since entering here, I have been wondering why this noble household +should have chosen so lonesome a place of sojourn.... Now that your +Himégimi-Sama and I have become pledged to each other, it seems to me +a strange thing that I do not yet know the name of her august family." + +At this utterance, a shadow passed over the kindly face of the old +woman; and the bride, who had yet hardly spoken, turned pale, and +appeared to become painfully anxious. After some moments of silence, +the aged woman responded:-- + +"To keep our secret from you much longer would be difficult; and I +think that, under any circumstances, you should be made aware of the +facts, now that you are one of us. Know then, Sir It[=o], that your +bride is the daughter of Shigéhira-Ky[=o], the great and unfortunate +San-mi Chüj[=o]." + +At those words--"Shigéhira-Ky[=o], San-mi Chüj[=o]"--the young +samurai felt a chill, as of ice, strike through all his veins. +Shigéhira-Ky[=o], the great Héďké general and statesman, had been dust +for centuries. And It[=o] suddenly understood that everything around +him--the chamber and the lights and the banquet--was a dream of the +past; that the forms before him were not people, but shadows of people +dead. + +But in another instant the icy chill had passed; and the charm +returned, and seemed to deepen about him; and he felt no fear. Though +his bride had come to him out of Yomi,--out of the place of the Yellow +Springs of death,--his heart had been wholly won. Who weds a ghost +must become a ghost;--yet he knew himself ready to die, not once, but +many times, rather than betray by word or look one thought that might +bring a shadow of pain to the brow of the beautiful illusion before +him. Of the affection proffered he had no misgiving: the truth had +been told him when any unloving purpose might better have been served +by deception. But these thoughts and emotions passed in a flash, +leaving him resolved to accept the strange situation as it had +presented itself, and to act just as he would have done if chosen, in +the years of Jü-ei, by Shigéhira's daughter. + +"Ah, the pity of it!" he exclaimed; "I have heard of the cruel fate of +the august Lord Shigéhira." + +"Ay," responded the aged woman, sobbing as she spoke;--"it was indeed +a cruel fate. His horse, you know, was killed by an arrow, and fell +upon him; and when he called for help, those who had lived upon his +bounty deserted him in his need. Then he was taken prisoner, and sent +to Kamakura, where they treated him shamefully, and at last put him +to death.[74] His wife and child--this dear maid here--were then in +hiding; for everywhere the Héďké were being sought out and killed. +When the news of the Lord Shigéhira's death reached us, the pain +proved too great for the mother to bear, so the child was left with +no one to care for her but me,--since her kindred had all perished or +disappeared. She was only five years old. I had been her milk-nurse, +and I did what I could for her. Year after year we wandered from place +to place, traveling in pilgrim-garb.... But these tales of grief are +ill-timed," exclaimed the nurse, wiping away her tears;--"pardon +the foolish heart of an old woman who cannot forget the past. See! +the little maid whom I fostered has now become a Himégimi-Sama +indeed!--were we living in the good days of the Emperor Takakura, what +a destiny might be reserved for her! However, she has obtained the +husband whom she desired; that is the greatest happiness.... But the +hour is late. The bridal-chamber has been prepared; and I must now +leave you to care for each other until morning." + +[Footnote 74: Shigéhira, after a brave fight in defense of the +capital,--then held by the Taďra (or Héďké) party,--was surprised and +routed by Yoshitsuné, leader of the Minamoto forces. A soldier named +Iyénaga, who was a skilled archer, shot down Shigéhira's horse; and +Shigéhira fell under the struggling animal. He cried to an attendant +to bring another horse; but the man fled. Shigéhira was then +captured by Iyénaga, and eventually given up to Yoritomo, head of +the Minamoto clan, who caused him to be sent in a cage to Kamakura. +There, after sundry humiliations, he was treated for a time with +consideration,--having been able, by a Chinese poem, to touch even the +cruel heart of Yoritomo. But in the following year he was executed by +request of the Buddhist priests of Nanto, against whom he had formerly +waged war by order of Kiyomori.] + +She rose, and sliding back the screens parting the guest-room from +the adjoining chamber, ushered them to their sleeping apartment. Then, +with many words of joy and congratulation, she withdrew; and It[=o] +was left alone with his bride. + +As they reposed together, It[=o] said:-- + +"Tell me, my loved one, when was it that you first wished to have me +for your husband." + +(For everything appeared so real that he had almost ceased to think of +the illusion woven around him.) + +She answered, in a voice like a dove's voice:-- + +"My august lord and husband, it was at the temple of Ishiyama, where +I went with my foster-mother, that I saw you for the first time. And +because of seeing you, the world became changed to me from that hour +and moment. But you do not remember, because our meeting was not in +this, your present life: it was very, very long ago. Since that time +you have passed through many deaths and births, and have had many +comely bodies. But I have remained always that which you see me now: +I could not obtain another body, nor enter into another state of +existence, because of my great wish for you. My dear lord and husband, +I have waited for you through many ages of men." + +And the bridegroom felt nowise afraid at hearing these strange words, +but desired nothing more in life, or in all his lives to come, than to +feel her arms about him, and to hear the caress of her voice. + + * * * * * + +But the pealing of a temple-bell proclaimed the coming of dawn. Birds +began to twitter; a morning breeze set all the trees a-whispering. +Suddenly the old nurse pushed apart the sliding screens of the +bridal-chamber, and exclaimed:-- + +"My children, it is time to separate! By daylight you must not be +together, even for an instant: that were fatal! You must bid each +other good-by." + +Without a word, It[=o] made ready to depart. He vaguely understood +the warning uttered, and resigned himself wholly to destiny. His will +belonged to him no more; he desired only to please his shadowy bride. + +She placed in his hands a little _suzuri_, or ink-stone, curiously +carved, and said:-- + +"My young lord and husband is a scholar; therefore this small gift +will probably not be despised by him. It is of strange fashion because +it is old, having been augustly bestowed upon my father by the favor +of the Emperor Takakura. For that reason only, I thought it to be a +precious thing." + +It[=o], in return, besought her to accept for a remembrance the +_k[=o]gai_[75] of his sword, which were decorated with inlaid work of +silver and gold, representing plum-flowers and nightingales. + +[Footnote 75: This was the name given to a pair of metal rods attached +to a sword-sheath, and used like chop-sticks. They were sometimes +exquisitely ornamented.] + +Then the little _miya-dzukai_ came to guide him through the garden, +and his bride with her foster-mother accompanied him to the threshold. + +As he turned at the foot of the steps to make his parting salute, the +old woman said:-- + +"We shall meet again the next Year of the Boar, at the same hour of +the same day of the same month that you came here. This being the Year +of the Tiger, you will have to wait ten years. But, for reasons which +I must not say, we shall not be able to meet again in this place; +we are going to the neighborhood of Ky[=o]to, where the good Emperor +Takakura and our fathers and many of our people are dwelling. All the +Héďké will be rejoiced by your coming. We shall send a _kago_[76] for +you on the appointed day." + +[Footnote 76: A kind of palanquin.] + + * * * * * + +Above the village the stars were burning as It[=o] passed the gate; +but on reaching the open road he saw the dawn brightening beyond +leagues of silent fields. In his bosom he carried the gift of his +bride. The charm of her voice lingered in his ears,--and nevertheless, +had it not been for the memento which he touched with questioning +fingers, he could have persuaded himself that the memories of the +night were memories of sleep, and that his life still belonged to him. + +But the certainty that he had doomed himself evoked no least regret: +he was troubled only by the pain of separation, and the thought of the +seasons that would have to pass before the illusion could be renewed +for him. Ten years!--and every day of those years would seem how long! +The mystery of the delay he could not hope to solve; the secret ways +of the dead are known to the gods alone. + + * * * * * + +Often and often, in his solitary walks, It[=o] revisited the village +at Kotobikiyama, vaguely hoping to obtain another glimpse of the past. +But never again, by night or by day, was he able to find the rustic +gate in the shadowed lane; never again could he perceive the figure of +the little _miya-dzukai_, walking alone in the sunset-glow. + +The village people, whom he questioned carefully, thought him +bewitched. No person of rank, they said, had ever dwelt in the +settlement; and there had never been, in the neighborhood, any such +garden as he described. But there had once been a great Buddhist +temple near the place of which he spoke; and some gravestones of the +temple-cemetery were still to be seen. It[=o] discovered the monuments +in the middle of a dense thicket. They were of an ancient Chinese +form, and were covered with moss and lichens. The characters that had +been cut upon them could no longer be deciphered. + + * * * * * + +Of his adventure It[=o] spoke to no one. But friends and kindred soon +perceived a great change in his appearance and manner. Day by day he +seemed to become more pale and thin, though physicians declared that +he had no bodily ailment; he looked like a ghost, and moved like +a shadow. Thoughtful and solitary he had always been, but now he +appeared indifferent to everything which had formerly given him +pleasure,--even to those literary studies by means of which he +might have hoped to win distinction. To his mother--who thought that +marriage might quicken his former ambition, and revive his interest in +life--he said that he had made a vow to marry no living woman. And the +months dragged by. + +At last came the Year of the Boar, and the season of autumn; but I to +could no longer take the solitary walks that he loved. He could not +even rise from his bed. His life was ebbing, though none could divine +the cause; and he slept so deeply and so long that his sleep was often +mistaken for death. + +Out of such a sleep he was startled, one bright evening, by the voice +of a child; and he saw at his bedside the little _miya-dsukai_ who had +guided him, ten years before, to the gate of the vanished garden. She +saluted him, and smiled, and said: "I am bidden to tell you that you +will be received to-night at Öhara, near Ky[=o]to, where the new home +is, and that a _kago_ has been sent for you." Then she disappeared. + +It[=o] knew that he was being summoned away from the light of the sun; +but the message so rejoiced him that he found strength to sit up and +call his mother. To her he then for the first time related the story +of his bridal, and he showed her the ink-stone which had been given +him. He asked that it should be placed in his coffin,--and then he +died. + + * * * * * + +The ink-stone was buried with him. But before the funeral ceremonies +it was examined by experts, who said that it had been made in the +period of _J[=o]-an_(1169 A.D.), and that it bore the seal-mark of an +artist who had lived in the time of the Emperor Takakura. + + + + +STRANGER THAN FICTION + + +It was a perfect West Indian day. My friend the notary and I were +crossing the island by a wonderful road which wound up through tropic +forest to the clouds, and thence looped down again, through gold-green +slopes of cane, and scenery amazing of violet and blue and ghost-gray +peaks, to the roaring coast of the trade winds. All the morning we had +been ascending,--walking after our carriage, most of the time, for the +sake of the brave little mule;--and the sea had been climbing behind +us till it looked like a monstrous wall of blue, pansy-blue, under the +ever heightening horizon. The heat was like the heat of a vapor-bath, +but the air was good to breathe with its tropical odor,--an odor made +up of smells of strange saps, queer spicy scents of mould, exhalations +of aromatic decay. Moreover, the views were glimpses of Paradise; and +it was a joy to watch the torrents roaring down their gorges under +shadows of tree-fern and bamboo. + +My friend stopped the carriage before a gateway set into a hedge full +of flowers that looked like pink-and-white butterflies. "I have to +make a call here," he said;--"come in with me." We dismounted, and he +knocked on the gate with the butt of his whip. Within, at the end of +a shady garden, I could see the porch of a planter's house; beyond +were rows of cocoa palms, and glimpses of yellowing cane. Presently +a negro, wearing only a pair of canvas trousers and a great straw +hat, came hobbling to open the gate,--followed by a multitude, an +astonishing multitude, of chippering chickens. Under the shadow of +that huge straw hat I could not see the negro's face; but I noticed +that his limbs and body were strangely shrunken,--looked as if +withered to the bone. A weirder creature I had never beheld; and I +wondered at his following of chickens. + +"Eh!" exclaimed the notary, "your chickens are as lively as ever!... I +want to see Madame Floran." + +"_Moin ké di_," the goblin responded huskily, in his patois; and he +limped on before us, all the chickens hopping and cheeping at his +withered heels. + +"That fellow," my friend observed, "was bitten by a _fer-de-lance_ +about eight or nine years ago. He got cured, or at least half-cured, +in some extraordinary way; but ever since then he has been a skeleton. +See how he limps!" + +The skeleton passed out of sight behind the house, and we waited a +while at the front porch. Then a métisse--turbaned in wasp colors, and +robed in iris colors, and wonderful to behold--came to tell us that +Madame hoped we would rest ourselves in the garden, as the house was +very warm. Chairs and a little table were then set for us in a shady +place, and the métisse brought out lemons, sugar-syrup, a bottle of +the clear plantation rum that smells like apple juice, and ice-cold +water in a _dobanne_ of thick red clay. My friend prepared the +refreshments; and then our hostess came to greet us, and to sit with +us,--a nice old lady with hair like newly minted silver. I had never +seen a smile sweeter than that with which she bade us welcome; and I +wondered whether she could ever have been more charming in her Creole +girlhood than she now appeared,--with her kindly wrinkles, and argent +hair, and frank, black, sparkling eyes.... + + * * * * * + +In the conversation that followed I was not able to take part, as +it related only to some question of title. The notary soon arranged +whatever there was to arrange; and, after some charmingly spoken words +of farewell from the gentle lady, we took our departure. Again the +mummified negro hobbled before us, to open the gate,--followed by +all his callow rabble of chickens. As we resumed our places in the +carriage we could still hear the chippering of the creatures, pursuing +after that ancient scarecrow. + +"Is it African sorcery?" I queried.... "How does he bewitch those +chickens?" + +"Queer--is it not?" the notary responded as we drove away. "That negro +must now be at least eighty years old; and he may live for twenty +years more,--the wretch!" + +The tone in which my friend uttered this epithet--_le +miserable!_--somewhat surprised me, as I knew him to be one of the +kindliest men in the world, and singularly free from prejudice. I +suspected that a story was coming, and I waited for it in silence. + +"Listen," said the notary, after a pause, during which we left the +plantation well behind us; "that old sorcerer, as you call him, was +born upon the estate, a slave. The estate belonged to M. Floran,--the +husband of the lady whom we visited; and she was a cousin, and the +marriage was a love-match. They had been married about two years when +the revolt occurred (fortunately there were no children),--the black +revolt of eighteen hundred and forty-eight. Several planters were +murdered; and M. Floran was one of the first to be killed. And the old +negro whom we saw to-day--the old sorcerer, as you call him--left the +plantation, and joined the rising: do you understand?" + +"Yes," I said; "but he might have done that through fear of the mob." + +"Certainly: the other hands did the same. But it was he that killed M. +Floran,--for no reason whatever,--cut him up with a cutlass. M. Floran +was riding home when the attack was made,--about a mile below the +plantation.... Sober, that negro would not have dared to face M. +Floran: the scoundrel was drunk, of course,--raving drunk. Most of +the blacks had been drinking tafia, with dead wasps in it, to give +themselves courage." + +"But," I interrupted, "how does it happen that the fellow is still on +the Floran plantation?" + +"Wait a moment!... When the military got control of the mob, search +was made everywhere for the murderer of M. Floran; but he could not +be found. He was lying out in the cane,--in M. Floran's cane!--like a +field-rat, like a snake. One morning, while the gendarmes were still +looking for him, he rushed into the house, and threw himself down in +front of Madame, weeping and screaming, '_Aďe-yaďe-yaďe-yaďe!--moin +té tchoué y! moin té tchoué y!--aďe-yaďe-yaďe!_' Those were his very +words:--'I killed him! I killed him!' And he begged for mercy. When +he was asked why he killed M. Floran, he cried out that it was the +devil--_diabe-ŕ_--that had made him do it!... Well, Madame forgave +him!" + +"But how could she?" I queried. + +"Oh, she had always been very religious," my friend +responded,--"sincerely religious. She only said, 'May God pardon me +as I now pardon you!' She made her servants hide the creature and feed +him; and they kept him hidden until the excitement was over. Then she +sent him back to work; and he has been working for her ever since. Of +course he is now too old to be of any use in the field;--he only takes +care of the chickens." + +"But how," I persisted, "could the relatives allow Madame to forgive +him?" + +"Well, Madame insisted that he was not mentally responsible,--that he +was only a poor fool who had killed without knowing what he was doing; +and she argued that if _she_ could forgive him, others could more +easily do the same. There was a consultation; and the relatives +decided so to arrange matters that Madame could have her own way." + +"But why?" + +"Because they knew that she found a sort of religious consolation--a +kind of religious comfort--in forgiving the wretch. She imagined +that it was her duty as a Christian, not only to forgive him, but to +take care of him. We thought that she was mistaken,--but we could +understand.... Well, there is an example of what religion can do."... + + * * * * * + +The surprise of a new fact, or the sudden perception of something +never before imagined, may cause an involuntary smile. Unconsciously +I smiled, while my friend was yet speaking; and the good notary's brow +darkened. + +"Ah, you laugh!" he exclaimed,--"you laugh! That is wrong!--that is a +mistake!... But you do not believe: you do not know what it is,--the +true religion,--the real Christianity!" + +Earnestly I made answer:-- + +"Pardon me! I do believe every word of what you have told me. If I +laughed unthinkingly, it was only because I could not help wondering" +... + +"At what?" he questioned gravely. + +"At the marvelous instinct of that negro." + +"Ah, yes!" he returned approvingly. "Yes, the cunning of the animal +it was,--the instinct of the brute!... She was the only person in the +world who could have saved him." + +"And he knew it," I ventured to add. + +"No--no--no!" my friend emphatically dissented,--"he never could have +known it! He only _felt_ it!... Find me an instinct like that, and I +will show you a brain incapable of any knowledge, any thinking, any +understanding: not the mind of a man, but the brain of a beast!" + + + + +A LETTER FROM JAPAN + + +Tokyo, August 1, 1904. + +Here, in this quiet suburb, where the green peace is broken only by +the voices of children at play and the shrilling of cicadć, it is +difficult to imagine that, a few hundred miles away, there is being +carried on one of the most tremendous wars of modern times, between +armies aggregating more than half a million of men, or that, on the +intervening sea, a hundred ships of war have been battling. This +contest, between the mightiest of Western powers and a people that +began to study Western science only within the recollection of many +persons still in vigorous life, is, on one side at least, a struggle +for national existence. It was inevitable, this struggle,--might +perhaps have been delayed, but certainly not averted. Japan has +boldly challenged an empire capable of threatening simultaneously +the civilizations of the East and the West,--a medićval power that, +unless vigorously checked, seems destined to absorb Scandinavia and +to dominate China. For all industrial civilization the contest is one +of vast moment;--for Japan it is probably the supreme crisis in her +national life. As to what her fleets and her armies have been doing, +the world is fully informed; but as to what her people are doing at +home, little has been written. + +To inexperienced observation they would appear to be doing nothing +unusual; and this strange calm is worthy of record. At the +beginning of hostilities an Imperial mandate was issued, bidding all +non-combatants to pursue their avocations as usual, and to trouble +themselves as little as possible about exterior events;--and this +command has been obeyed to the letter. It would be natural to suppose +that all the sacrifices, tragedies, and uncertainties of the contest +had thrown their gloom over the life of the capital in especial; but +there is really nothing whatever to indicate a condition of anxiety or +depression. On the contrary, one is astonished by the joyous tone of +public confidence, and the admirably restrained pride of the nation +in its victories. Western tides have strewn the coast with Japanese +corpses; regiments have been blown out of existence in the storming of +positions defended by wire-entanglements; battleships have been lost: +yet at no moment has there been the least public excitement. The +people are following their daily occupations just as they did before +the war; the cheery aspect of things is just the same; the theatres +and flower displays are not less well patronized. The life of +T[=o]ky[=o] has been, to outward seeming, hardly more affected by the +events of the war than the life of nature beyond it, where the flowers +are blooming and the butterflies hovering as in other summers. Except +after the news of some great victory,--celebrated with fireworks and +lantern processions,--there are no signs of public emotion; and but +for the frequent distribution of newspaper extras, by runners ringing +bells, you could almost persuade yourself that the whole story of the +war is an evil dream. + +Yet there has been, of necessity, a vast amount of suffering--viewless +and voiceless suffering--repressed by that sense of social and +patriotic duty which is Japanese religion. As a seventeen-syllable +poem of the hour tells us, the news of every victory must bring pain +as well as joy:-- + + G[=o]gwai no + Tabi teki mikata + Goké ga fuč. + + [_Each time that an extra is circulated the widows of foes and + friends have increased in multitude._] + +The great quiet and the smiling tearlessness testify to the more than +Spartan discipline of the race. Anciently the people were trained, not +only to conceal their emotions, but to speak in a cheerful voice and +to show a pleasant face under any stress of moral suffering; and they +are obedient to that teaching to-day. It would still be thought a +shame to betray personal sorrow for the loss of those who die for +Emperor and fatherland. The public seem to view the events of the war +as they would watch the scenes of a popular play. They are interested +without being excited; and their extraordinary self-control is +particularly shown in various manifestations of the "Play-impulse." +Everywhere the theatres are producing war dramas (based upon actual +fact); the newspapers and magazines are publishing war stories and +novels; the cinematograph exhibits the monstrous methods of modern +warfare; and numberless industries are turning out objects of art or +utility designed to commemorate the Japanese triumphs. + +But the present psychological condition, the cheerful and even playful +tone of public feeling, can be indicated less by any general statement +than by the mention of ordinary facts,--every-day matters recorded in +the writer's diary. + + * * * * * + +Never before were the photographers so busy; it is said that they +have not been able to fulfill half of the demands made upon them. +The hundreds of thousands of men sent to the war wished to leave +photographs with their families, and also to take with them portraits +of parents, children, and other beloved persons. The nation was being +photographed during the past six months. + +A fact of sociological interest is that photography has added +something new to the poetry of the domestic faith. From the time of +its first introduction, photography became popular in Japan; and none +of those superstitions, which inspire fear of the camera among less +civilized races, offered any obstacle to the rapid development of a +new industry. It is true that there exists some queer-folk beliefs +about photographs,--ideas of mysterious relation between the +sun-picture and the person imaged. For example: if, in the photograph +of a group, one figure appear indistinct or blurred, that is thought +to be an omen of sickness or death. But this superstition has its +industrial value: it has compelled photographers to be careful about +their work,--especially in these days of war, when everybody wants to +have a good clear portrait, because the portrait might be needed for +another purpose than preservation in an album. + +During the last twenty years there has gradually come into existence +the custom of placing the photograph of a dead parent, brother, +husband, or child, beside the mortuary tablet kept in the Buddhist +household shrine. For this reason, also, the departing soldier wishes +to leave at home a good likeness of himself. + +The rites of domestic affection, in old samurai families, are not +confined to the cult of the dead. On certain occasions, the picture +of the absent parent, husband, brother, or betrothed, is placed in +the alcove of the guest-room, and a feast laid out before it. The +photograph, in such cases, is fixed upon a little stand (_dai_); and +the feast is served as if the person were present. This pretty custom +of preparing a meal for the absent is probably more ancient than any +art of portraiture; but the modern photograph adds to the human poetry +of the rite. In feudal time it was the rule to set the repast facing +the direction in which the absent person had gone--north, south, east, +or west. After a brief interval the covers of the vessels containing +the cooked food were lifted and examined. If the lacquered inner +surface was thickly beaded with vapor, all was well; but if +the surface was dry, that was an omen of death, a sign that the +disembodied spirit had returned to absorb the essence of the +offerings. + + * * * * * + +As might have been expected, in a country where the "play-impulse" is +stronger, perhaps, than in any other part of the world, the Zeitgeist +found manifestation in the flower displays of the year. I visited +those in my neighborhood, which is the Quarter of the Gardeners. This +quarter is famous for its azaleas (_tsutsuji_); and every spring +the azalea gardens attract thousands of visitors,--not only by the +wonderful exhibition then made of shrubs which look like solid masses +of blossom (ranging up from snowy white, through all shades of pink, +to a flamboyant purple) but also by displays of effigies: groups +of figures ingeniously formed with living leaves and flowers. These +figures, life-size, usually represent famous incidents of history or +drama. In many cases--though not in all--the bodies and the costumes +are composed of foliage and flowers trained to grow about a framework; +while the faces, feet, and hands are represented by some kind of +flesh-colored composition. + +This year, however, a majority of the displays represented scenes +of the war,--such as an engagement between Japanese infantry and +mounted Cossacks, a night attack by torpedo boats, the sinking of +a battleship. In the last-mentioned display, Russian bluejackets +appeared, swimming for their lives in a rough sea;--the pasteboard +waves and the swimming figures being made to rise and fall by the +pulling of a string; while the crackling of quick-firing guns was +imitated by a mechanism contrived with sheets of zinc. + +It is said that Admiral T[=o]g[=o] sent to T[=o]ky[=o] for some +flowering-trees in pots--inasmuch as his responsibilities allowed him +no chance of seeing the cherry-flowers and the plum-blossoms in their +season,--and that the gardeners responded even too generously. + + * * * * * + +Almost immediately after the beginning of hostilities, thousands of +"war pictures"--mostly cheap lithographs--were published. The drawing +and coloring were better than those of the prints issued at the +time of the war with China; but the details were to a great extent +imaginary,--altogether imaginary as to the appearance of Russian +troops. Pictures of the engagements with the Russian fleet were +effective, despite some lurid exaggeration. The most startling things +were pictures of Russian defeats in Korea, published before a single +military engagement had taken place;--the artist had "flushed to +anticipate the scene." In these prints the Russians were depicted +as fleeing in utter rout, leaving their officers--very fine-looking +officers--dead upon the field; while the Japanese infantry, with +dreadfully determined faces, were coming up at a double. The propriety +and the wisdom of thus pictorially predicting victory, and easy +victory to boot, may be questioned. But I am told that the custom of +so doing is an old one; and it is thought that to realize the common +hope thus imaginatively is lucky. At all events, there is no attempt +at deception in these pictorial undertakings;--they help to keep up +the public courage, and they ought to be pleasing to the gods. + +Some of the earlier pictures have now been realized in grim fact. +The victories in China had been similarly foreshadowed: they amply +justified the faith of the artist.... To-day the war pictures continue +to multiply; but they have changed character. The inexorable truth +of the photograph, and the sketches of the war correspondent, now +bring all the vividness and violence of fact to help the artist's +imagination. There was something naďve and theatrical in the drawings +of anticipation; but the pictures of the hour represent the most +tragic reality,--always becoming more terrible. At this writing, Japan +has yet lost no single battle; but not a few of her victories have +been dearly won. + +To enumerate even a tenth of the various articles ornamented with +designs inspired by the war--articles such as combs, clasps, fans, +brooches, card-cases, purses--would require a volume. Even cakes and +confectionery are stamped with naval or military designs; and the +glass or paper windows of shops--not to mention the signboards--have +pictures of Japanese victories painted upon them. At night the shop +lanterns proclaim the pride of the nation in its fleets and armies; +and a whole chapter might easily be written about the new designs in +transparencies and toy lanterns. A new revolving lantern--turned by +the air-current which its own flame creates--has become very popular. +It represents a charge of Japanese infantry upon Russian defenses; +and holes pierced in the colored paper, so as to produce a continuous +vivid flashing while the transparency revolves, suggest the exploding +of shells and the volleying of machine guns. + +Some displays of the art-impulse, as inspired by the war, have been +made in directions entirely unfamiliar to Western experience,--in +the manufacture, for example, of women's hair ornaments and dress +materials. Dress goods decorated with war pictures have actually +become a fashion,--especially crępe silks for underwear, and figured +silk linings for cloaks and sleeves. More remarkable than these +are the new hairpins;--by hairpins I mean those long double-pronged +ornaments of flexible metal which are called _kanzashi_, and are more +or less ornamented according to the age of the wearer. (The _kanzashi_ +made for young girls are highly decorative; those worn by older folk +are plain, or adorned only with a ball of coral or polished stone.) +The new hairpins might be called commemorative: one, of which the +decoration represents a British and a Japanese flag intercrossed, +celebrates the Anglo-Japanese alliance; another represents an +officer's cap and sword; and the best of all is surmounted by a +tiny metal model of a battleship. The battleship-pin is not merely +fantastic: it is actually pretty! + +As might have been expected, military and naval subjects occupy a +large place among the year's designs for toweling. The towel designs +celebrating naval victories have been particularly successful: they +are mostly in white, on a blue ground; or in black, on a white ground. +One of the best--blue and white--represented only a flock of gulls +wheeling about the masthead of a sunken iron-clad, and, far away, the +silhouettes of Japanese battleships passing to the horizon.... What +especially struck me in this, and in several other designs, was the +original manner in which the Japanese artist had seized upon the +traits of the modern battleship,--the powerful and sinister lines of +its shape,--just as he would have caught for us the typical character +of a beetle or a lobster. The lines have been just enough exaggerated +to convey, at one glance, the real impression made by the aspect of +these iron monsters,--vague impression of bulk and force and menace, +very difficult to express by ordinary methods of drawing. + +Besides towels decorated with artistic sketches of this sort, there +have been placed upon the market many kinds of towels bearing comic +war pictures,--caricatures or cartoons which are amusing without being +malignant. It will be remembered that at the time of the first attack +made upon the Port Arthur squadron, several of the Russian officers +were in the Dalny theatre,--never dreaming that the Japanese would +dare to strike the first blow. This incident has been made the subject +of a towel design. At one end of the towel is a comic study of the +faces of the Russians, delightedly watching the gyrations of a +ballet dancer. At the other end is a study of the faces of the same +commanders when they find, on returning to the port, only the masts +of their battleships above water. Another towel shows a procession +of fish in front of a surgeon's office--waiting their turns to be +relieved of sundry bayonets, swords, revolvers, and rifles, which have +stuck in their throats. A third towel picture represents a Russian +diver examining, with a prodigious magnifying-glass, the holes made by +torpedoes in the hull of a sunken cruiser. Comic verses or legends, in +cursive text, are printed beside these pictures. + +The great house of Mitsui, which placed the best of these designs on +the market, also produced some beautiful souvenirs of the war, in +the shape of _fukusa_. (A _fukusa_ is an ornamental silk covering, +or wrapper, put over presents sent to friends on certain occasions, +and returned after the present has been received.) These are made of +the heaviest and costliest silk, and inclosed within appropriately +decorated covers. Upon one _fukusa_ is a colored picture of the +cruisers Nisshin and Kasuga, under full steam; and upon another has +been printed, in beautiful Chinese characters, the full text of the +Imperial Declaration of war. + +But the strangest things that I have seen in this line of production +were silk dresses for baby girls,--figured stuffs which, when looked +at from a little distance, appeared incomparably pretty, owing to the +masterly juxtaposition of tints and colors. On closer inspection the +charming design proved to be composed entirely of war pictures,--or, +rather, fragments of pictures, blended into one astonishing +combination: naval battles; burning warships; submarine mines +exploding; torpedo boats attacking; charges of Cossacks repulsed by +Japanese infantry; artillery rushing into position; storming of forts; +long lines of soldiery advancing through mist. Here were colors of +blood and fire, tints of morning haze and evening glow, noon-blue +and starred night-purple, sea-gray and field-green,--most wonderful +thing!... I suppose that the child of a military or naval officer +might, without impropriety, be clad in such a robe. But then--the +unspeakable pity of things! + + * * * * * + +The war toys are innumerable: I can attempt to mention only a few of +the more remarkable kinds. + +Japanese children play many sorts of card games, some of which are +old, others quite new. There are poetical card games, for example, +played with a pack of which each card bears the text of a poem, or +part of a poem; and the player should be able to remember the name of +the author of any quotation in the set. Then there are geographical +card games, in which each of the cards used bears the name, and +perhaps a little picture, of some famous site, town, or temple; and +the player should be able to remember the district and province in +which the mentioned place is situated. The latest novelty in this line +is a pack of cards with pictures upon them of the Russian war vessels; +and the player should be able to state what has become of every vessel +named,--whether sunk, disabled, or confined in Port Arthur. + +There is another card game in which the battleships, cruisers, and +torpedo craft of both Japan and Russia are represented. The winner in +this game destroys his "captures" by tearing the cards taken. But the +shops keep packages of each class of warship cards in stock; and when +all the destroyers or cruisers of one country have been put _hors +de combat_, the defeated party can purchase new vessels abroad. One +torpedo boat costs about one farthing; but five torpedo boats can be +bought for a penny. + +The toy-shops are crammed with models of battleships,--in wood, clay, +porcelain, lead, and tin,--of many sizes and prices. Some of the +larger ones, moved by clockwork, are named after Japanese battleships: +Shikishima, Fuji, Mikasa. One mechanical toy represents the sinking of +a Russian vessel by a Japanese torpedo boat. Among cheaper things of +this class is a box of colored sand, for the representation of naval +engagements. Children arrange the sand so as to resemble waves; and +with each box of sand are sold two fleets of tiny leaden vessels. The +Japanese ships are white, and the Russian black; and explosions of +torpedoes are to be figured by small cuttings of vermilion paper, +planted in the sand. + + * * * * * + +The children of the poorest classes make their own war toys; and I +have been wondering whether those ancient feudal laws (translated +by Professor Wigmore), which fixed the cost and quality of toys to +be given to children, did not help to develop that ingenuity which +the little folk display. Recently I saw a group of children in +our neighborhood playing at the siege of Port Arthur, with fleets +improvised out of scraps of wood and some rusty nails. A tub of water +represented Port Arthur. Battleships were figured by bits of plank, +into which chop-sticks had been fixed to represent masts, and rolls of +paper to represent funnels. Little flags, appropriately colored, were +fastened to the masts with rice paste. Torpedo boats were imaged by +splinters, into each of which a short thick nail had been planted to +indicate a smokestack. Stationary submarine mines were represented +by small squares of wood, each having one long nail driven into it; +and these little things, when dropped into water with the nail-head +downwards, would keep up a curious bobbing motion for a long time. +Other squares of wood, having clusters of short nails driven into +them, represented floating mines: and the mimic battleships were made +to drag for these, with lines of thread. The pictures in the Japanese +papers had doubtless helped the children to imagine the events of the +war with tolerable accuracy. + +Naval caps for children have become, of course, more in vogue than +ever before. Some of the caps bear, in Chinese characters of burnished +metal, the name of a battleship, or the words _Nippon Teikoku_ +(Empire of Japan),--disposed like the characters upon the cap of a +blue-jacket. On some caps, however, the ship's name appears in English +letters,--Yashima, Fuji, etc. + + * * * * * + +The play-impulse, I had almost forgotten to say, is shared by the +soldiers themselves,--though most of those called to the front do not +expect to return in the body. They ask only to be remembered at the +Spirit-Invoking Shrine (_Sh[=o]konsha_), where the shades of all who +die for Emperor and country are believed to gather. The men of the +regiments temporarily quartered in our suburb, on their way to the +war, found time to play at mimic war with the small folk of the +neighborhood. (At all times Japanese soldiers are very kind to +children; and the children here march with them, join in their +military songs, and correctly salute their officers, feeling sure +that the gravest officer will return the salute of a little child.) +When the last regiment went away, the men distributed toys among +the children assembled at the station to give them a parting +cheer,--hairpins, with military symbols for ornament, to the girls; +wooden infantry and tin cavalry to the boys. The oddest present was +a small clay model of a Russian soldier's head, presented with the +jocose promise: "If we come back, we shall bring you some real ones." +In the top of the head there is a small wire loop, to which a rubber +string can be attached. At the time of the war with China, little clay +models of Chinese heads, with very long queues, were favorite toys. + + * * * * * + +The war has also suggested a variety of new designs for that charming +object, the _toko-niwa_. Few of my readers know what a _toko-niwa_, or +"alcove-garden," is. It is a miniature garden--perhaps less than two +feet square--contrived within an ornamental shallow basin of porcelain +or other material, and placed in the alcove of a guest-room by way +of decoration. You may see there a tiny pond; a streamlet crossed by +humped bridges of Chinese pattern; dwarf trees forming a grove, and +shading the model of a Shinto temple; imitations in baked clay of +stone lanterns,--perhaps even the appearance of a hamlet of thatched +cottages. If the _toko-niwa_ be not too small, you may see real fish +swimming in the pond, or a pet tortoise crawling among the rockwork. +Sometimes the miniature garden represents H[=o]rai, and the palace of +the Dragon-King. + +Two new varieties have come into fashion. One is a model of Port +Arthur, showing the harbor and the forts; and with the materials for +the display there is sold a little map, showing how to place certain +tiny battle-ships, representing the imprisoned and the investing +fleets. The other _toko-niwa_ represents a Korean or Chinese +landscape, with hill ranges and rivers and woods; and the appearance +of a battle is created by masses of toy soldiers--cavalry, infantry, +and artillery--in all positions of attack and defense. Minute forts of +baked clay, bristling with cannon about the size of small pins, occupy +elevated positions. When properly arranged the effect is panoramic. +The soldiers in the foreground are about an inch long; those a little +farther away about half as long; and those upon the hills are no +larger than flies. + +But the most remarkable novelty of this sort yet produced is a kind +of _toko-niwa_ recently on display at a famous shop in Ginza. A label +bearing the inscription, _Kaď-téď no Ikken_ (View of the Ocean-Bed) +sufficiently explained the design. The _suďbon_, or "water-tray," +containing the display was half filled with rocks and sand so as to +resemble a sea-bottom; and little fishes appeared swarming in the +fore-ground. A little farther back, upon an elevation, stood Otohimé, +the Dragon-King's daughter, surrounded by her maiden attendants, and +gazing, with just the shadow of a smile, at two men in naval uniform +who were shaking hands,--dead heroes of the war: Admiral Makaroff and +Commander Hirosé!... These had esteemed each other in life; and it was +a happy thought thus to represent their friendly meeting in the world +of Spirits. + + * * * * * + +Though his name is perhaps unfamiliar to English readers, Commander +Takeo Hirosé has become, deservedly, one of Japan's national heroes. +On the 27th of March, during the second attempt made to block the +entrance to Port Arthur, he was killed while endeavoring to help a +comrade,--a comrade who had formerly saved him from death. For five +years Hirosé had been a naval attaché at St. Petersburg, and had made +many friends in Russian naval and military circles. From boyhood his +life had been devoted to study and duty; and it was commonly said of +him that he had no particle of selfishness in his nature. Unlike most +of his brother officers, he remained unmarried,--holding that no man +who might be called on at any moment to lay down his life for his +country had a moral right to marry. The only amusements in which +he was ever known to indulge were physical exercises; and he was +acknowledged one of the best _j[=u]jutsu_ (wrestlers) in the empire. +The heroism of his death, at the age of thirty-six, had much less to +do with the honors paid to his memory than the self-denying heroism of +his life. + +Now his picture is in thousands of homes, and his name is celebrated +in every village. It is celebrated also by the manufacture of +various souvenirs, which are sold by myriads. For example, there +is a new fashion in sleeve-buttons, called _Kinen-botan_, or +"Commemoration-buttons." Each button bears a miniature portrait of +the commander, with the inscription, _Shichi-sh[=o] h[=o]koku_, "Even +in seven successive lives--for love of country." It is recorded that +Hirosé often cited, to friends who criticised his ascetic devotion to +duty, the famous utterance of Kusunoki Masashigé, who declared, ere +laying down his life for the Emperor Go-Daigo, that he desired to die +for his sovereign in seven successive existences. + +But the highest honor paid to the memory of Hirosé is of a sort now +possible only in the East, though once possible also in the West, when +the Greek or Roman patriot-hero might be raised, by the common love of +his people, to the place of the Immortals.... Wine-cups of porcelain +have been made, decorated with his portrait; and beneath the portrait +appears, in ideographs of gold, the inscription, _Gunshin Hirosé +Ch[=u]sa_. The character "gun" signifies war; the character "_shin_" +a god,--either in the sense of _divus_ or _deus_, according to +circumstances; and the Chinese text, read in the Japanese way, is +_Ikusa no Kami_. Whether that stern and valiant spirit is really +invoked by the millions who believe that no brave soul is doomed to +extinction, no well-spent life laid down in vain, no heroism cast +away, I do not know. But, in any event, human affection and gratitude +can go no farther than this; and it must be confessed that Old Japan +is still able to confer honors worth dying for. + + * * * * * + +Boys and girls in all the children's schools are now singing the Song +of Hirosé Ch[=u]sa, which is a marching song. The words and the +music are published in a little booklet, with a portrait of the late +commander upon the cover. Everywhere, and at all hours of the day, one +hears this song being sung:-- + + _He whose every word and deed gave to men an example of what + the war-folk of the_ _Empire of Nippon should be,--Commander + Hirosé: is he really dead?_ + + _Though the body die, the spirit dies not. He who wished to + be reborn seven times into this world, for the sake of + serving his country, for the sake of requiting the Imperial + favor,--Commander Hirosé: has he really died?_ + + _"Since I am a son of the Country of the Gods, the fire of the + evil-hearted Russians cannot touch me!"--The sturdy Takeo who + spoke thus: can he really be dead?..._ + + _Nay! that glorious war-death meant undying fame;--beyond a + thousand years the valiant heart shall live;--as to a god of + war shall reverence be paid to him...._ + + * * * * * + +Observing the playful confidence of this wonderful people in their +struggle for existence against the mightiest power of the West,--their +perfect trust in the wisdom of their leaders and the valor of their +armies,--the good humor of their irony when mocking the enemy's +blunders,--their strange capacity to find, in the world-stirring +events of the hour, the same amusement that they would find in +watching a melodrama,--one is tempted to ask: "What would be the +moral consequence of a national defeat?"... It would depend, I think, +upon circumstances. Were Kuropatkin able to fulfill his rash threat +of invading Japan, the nation would probably rise as one man. But +otherwise the knowledge of any great disaster would be bravely borne. +From time unknown Japan has been a land of cataclysms,--earth-quakes +that ruin cities in the space of a moment; tidal waves, two hundred +miles long, sweeping whole coast populations out of existence; floods +submerging hundreds of leagues of well-tilled fields; eruptions +burying provinces. Calamities like this have disciplined the race in +resignation and in patience; and it has been well trained also to bear +with courage all the misfortunes of war. Even by the foreign peoples +that have been most closely in contact with her, the capacities of +Japan remained unguessed. Perhaps her power to resist aggression is +far surpassed by her power to endure. + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Romance of the Milky Way, by Lafcadio Hearn + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY *** + +***** This file should be named 15320-8.txt or 15320-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/3/2/15320/ + +Produced by Ted Garvin, William Flis, and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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: The Romance of the Milky Way + And Other Studies & Stories + +Author: Lafcadio Hearn + +Release Date: March 10, 2005 [EBook #15320] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY *** + + + + +Produced by Ted Garvin, William Flis, and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + +</pre> + + <h4>SHORT STORY</h4> + + <h1>THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY</h1> + + <h2>AND OTHER STUDIES & STORIES</h2> + + <h2>BY LAFCADIO HEARN</h2> + + <h4>HOUGHTON MIFFLIN AND COMPANY<br /> + BOSTON AND NEW YORK 1905</h4> + + <h4>COPYRIGHT 1905 BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN & COMPANY ALL RIGHTS + RESERVED</h4> + + <h4>PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1905</h4> + + <h2>CONTENTS</h2> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY + <a href="#page1">1</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>GOBLIN POETRY <a href="#page51">51</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>"ULTIMATE QUESTIONS" <a href="#page103">103</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>THE MIRROR MAIDEN <a href="#page125">125</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>THE STORY OF ITŌ NORISUKÉ + <a href="#page139">139</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>STRANGER THAN FICTION <a href="#page167">167</a></p> + </div> + + <div class="stanza"> + <p>A LETTER FROM JAPAN <a href="#page179">179</a></p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="pagevii" + id="pagevii"></a>[pg vii]</span> + + <h2>INTRODUCTION</h2> + + <p>Lafcadio Hearn, known to Nippon as Yakumo Koizumi, was born + in Leucadia in the Ionian Islands, June 27, 1850. His father + was an Irish surgeon in the British Army; his mother was a + Greek. Both parents died while Hearn was still a child, and he + was adopted by a great-aunt, and educated for the priesthood. + To this training he owed his Latin scholarship and, doubtless, + something of the subtlety of his intelligence. He soon found, + however, that the prospect of an ecclesiastical career was + alien from his inquiring mind and vivid temperament, and at the + age of nineteen he came to America to seek his fortune. After + working for a time as a proof-reader, he obtained employment as + a newspaper reporter in Cincinnati. Soon he rose to be an + editorial writer, and went in the course of a few years to New + Orleans to join the editorial staff of the "Times-Democrat." + Here he lived until 1887, writing odd fantasies and arabesques + for his paper, contributing articles and sketches + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pageviii" + id="pageviii"></a>[pg viii]</span> to the magazines, and + publishing several curious little books, among them his + "Stray Leaves from Strange Literature," and his translations + from Gautier. In the winter of 1887 he began his pilgrimages + to exotic countries, being, as he wrote to a friend, "a + small literary bee in search of inspiring honey." After a + couple of years, spent chiefly in the French West Indies, + with periods of literary work in New York, he went in 1890 + to Japan to prepare a series of articles for a magazine. + Here through some deep affinity of mood with the marvelous + people of that country he seems suddenly to have felt + himself at last at home. He married a Japanese woman; he + acquired Japanese citizenship in order to preserve the + succession of his property to his family there; he became a + lecturer in the Imperial University at Tōkyō; and + in a series of remarkable books he made himself the + interpreter to the Western World of the very spirit of + Japanese life and art. He died there of paralysis of the + heart on the 26th of September, 1904.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>With the exception of a body of familiar letters now in + process of collection, the present volume contains all of + Hearn's writing <span class="pagenum"><a name="pageix" + id="pageix"></a>[pg ix]</span> that he left uncollected in + the magazines or in manuscript of a sufficient ripeness for + publication. It is worth noting, however, that perfect as is + the writing of "Ultimate Questions," and complete as the + essay is in itself, the author regarded it as unfinished, + and, had he lived, would have revised and amplified some + portions of it.</p> + + <p>But if this volume lacks the incomparably exquisite touch of + its author in its arrangement and revision, it does, + nevertheless, present him in all of his most characteristic + veins, and it is in respect both to style and to substance + perhaps the most mature and significant of his works.</p> + + <p>In his first days as a writer Hearn had conceived an ideal + of his art as specific as it was ambitious. Early in the + eighties he wrote from New Orleans in an unpublished letter to + the Rev. Wayland D. Ball of Washington: "The lovers of antique + loveliness are proving to me the future possibilities of a long + cherished dream,—the English realization of a Latin + style, modeled upon foreign masters, and rendered even more + forcible by that element of <i>strength</i> which is the + characteristic of Northern tongues. This no man can hope to + accomplish, but even a translator + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pagex" + id="pagex"></a>[pg x]</span> may carry his stones to the + master-masons of a new architecture of language." In the + realization of his ideal Hearn took unremitting pains. He + gave a minute and analytical study to the writings of such + masters of style as Flaubert and Gautier, and he chose his + miscellaneous reading with a peculiar care. He wrote again + to the same friend: "I never read a book which does not + powerfully impress the imagination; but whatever contains + novel, curious, potent imagery I always read, no matter what + the subject. When the soil of fancy is really well enriched + with innumerable fallen leaves, the flowers of language grow + spontaneously." Finally, to the hard study of technique, to + vast but judicious reading, he added a long, creative + brooding time. To a Japanese friend, Nobushige Amenomori, he + wrote in a passage which contains by implication a deep + theory not only of literary composition, but of all + art:—</p> + + <p>"Now with regard to your own sketch or story. If you are + quite dissatisfied with it, I think this is probably due + <i>not</i> to what you suppose,—imperfection of + expression,—but rather to the fact that some + <i>latent</i> thought or emotion has not yet defined itself in + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexi" + id="pagexi"></a>[pg xi]</span> your mind with sufficient + sharpness. You feel something and have not been able to + express the feeling—only because you do not yet quite + know what it is. We feel without understanding feeling; and + our most powerful emotions are the most undefinable. This + must be so, because they are inherited accumulations of + feeling, and the multiplicity of them—superimposed one + over another—blurs them, and makes them dim, even + though enormously increasing their strength.... + <i>Unconscious</i> brain work is the best to develop such + latent feeling or thought. By quietly writing the thing over + and over again, I find that the emotion or idea often + <i>develops itself</i> in the process,—unconsciously. + Again, it is often worth while to <i>try</i> to analyze the + feeling that remains dim. The effort of trying to understand + exactly what it is that moves us sometimes proves + successful.... If you have any feeling—no matter + what—strongly latent in the mind (even only a haunting + sadness or a mysterious joy), you may be sure that it is + expressible. Some feelings are, of course, very difficult to + develop. I shall show you one of these days, when we see + each other, a page that I worked at for <i>months</i> before + the idea came clearly.... When the best result comes, it + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexii" + id="pagexii"></a>[pg xii]</span> ought to surprise you, for + our best work is out of the Unconscious."</p> + + <p>Through this study, reading, and brooding Lafcadio Hearn's + prose ripened and mellowed consistently to the end. In mere + workmanship the present volume is one of his most admirable, + while in its heightened passages, like the final paragraph of + "The Romance of the Milky Way," the rich, melancholy music, the + profound suggestion, are not easily matched from any but the + very greatest English prose.</p> + + <p>In substance the volume is equally significant. In 1884 he + wrote to one of the closest of his friends that he had at last + found his feet intellectually through the reading of Herbert + Spencer which had dispelled all "isms" from his mind and left + him "the vague but omnipotent consolation of the Great Doubt." + And in "Ultimate Questions," which strikes, so to say, the + dominant chord of this volume, we have an almost lyrical + expression of the meaning for him of the Spencerian philosophy + and psychology. In it is his characteristic mingling of + Buddhist and Shinto thought with English and French psychology, + strains which in his work "do not simply mix well," as he says + in one of his letters, but "absolutely unite, like chemical + <span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexiii" + id="pagexiii"></a>[pg xiii]</span> elements—rush + together with a shock;"—and in it he strikes his + deepest note. In his steady envisagement of the horror that + envelops the stupendous universe of science, in his power to + evoke and revive old myths and superstitions, and by their + glamour to cast a ghostly light of vanished suns over the + darkness of the abyss, he was the most Lucretian of modern + writers.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>In outward appearance Hearn, the man, was in no way + prepossessing. In the sharply lined picture of him drawn by one + of his Japanese comrades in the "Atlantic" for October, 1905, + he appears, "slightly corpulent in later years, short in + stature, hardly five feet high, of somewhat stooping gait. A + little brownish in complexion, and of rather hairy skin. A + thin, sharp, aquiline nose, large protruding eyes, of which the + left was blind and the right very near-sighted."</p> + + <p>The same writer, Nobushige Amenomori, has set down a + reminiscence, not of Hearn the man, but of Hearn the genius, + wherewith this introduction to the last of his writings may + fitly conclude: "I shall ever retain the vivid remembrance of + the sight I had when I stayed over night at his house for the + first time. Being <span class="pagenum"><a name="pagexiv" + id="pagexiv"></a>[pg xiv]</span> used myself also to sit up + late, I read in bed that night. The clock struck one in the + morning, but there was a light in Hearn's study. I heard + some low, hoarse coughing. I was afraid my friend might be + ill; so I stepped out of my room and went to his study. Not + wanting, however, to disturb him, if he was at work, I + cautiously opened the door just a little, and peeped in. I + saw my friend intent in writing at his high desk, with his + nose almost touching the paper. Leaf after leaf he wrote on. + In a while he held up his head, and what did I see! It was + not the Hearn I was familiar with; it was another Hearn. His + face was mysteriously white; his large eye gleamed. He + appeared like one in touch with some unearthly presence.</p> + + <p>"Within that homely looking man there burned something pure + as the vestal fire, and in that flame dwelt a mind that called + forth life and poetry out of dust, and grasped the highest + themes of human thought."</p> + + <p class="author">F.G.</p> + + <p>September, 1905.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page1" + id="page1"></a>[pg 1]</span> + + <h2>THE ROMANCE, OF THE MILKY WAY</h2> + + <blockquote> + <p>Of old it was said: 'The River of Heaven is the Ghost of + Waters.' We behold it shifting its bed in the course of the + year as an earthly river sometimes does.</p> + + <p class="author"><i>Ancient Scholar</i></p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page3" + id="page3"></a>[pg 3]</span> + + <p>Among the many charming festivals celebrated by Old Japan, + the most romantic was the festival of Tanabata-Sama, the + Weaving-Lady of the Milky Way. In the chief cities her holiday + is now little observed; and in Tōkyō it is almost + forgotten. But in many country districts, and even in villages, + near the capital, it is still celebrated in a small way. If you + happen to visit an old-fashioned country town or village, on + the seventh day of the seventh month (by the ancient calendar), + you will probably notice many freshly-cut bamboos fixed upon + the roofs of the houses, or planted in the ground beside them, + every bamboo having attached to it a number of strips of + colored <span class="pagenum"><a name="page4" + id="page4"></a>[pg 4]</span> paper. In some very poor + villages you might find that these papers are white, or of + one color only; but the general rule is that the papers + should be of five or seven different colors. Blue, green, + red, yellow, and white are the tints commonly displayed. All + these papers are inscribed with short poems written in + praise of Tanabata and her husband Hikoboshi. After the + festival the bamboos are taken down and thrown into the + nearest stream, together with the poems attached to + them.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>To understand the romance of this old festival, you must + know the legend of those astral divinities to whom offerings + used to be made, even by, the Imperial Household, on the + seventh day of the seventh month. The legend is Chinese. This + is the Japanese popular version of it:—</p> + + <p>The great god of the firmament had a lovely daughter, + Tanabata-tsumé, who passed her days in weaving garments for her + august parent. She rejoiced in her work, and thought that there + was no greater pleasure than the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page5" + id="page5"></a>[pg 5]</span> pleasure of weaving. But one + day, as she sat before her loom at the door of her heavenly + dwelling, she saw a handsome peasant lad pass by, leading an + ox, and she fell in love with him. Her august father, + divining her secret wish, gave her the youth for a husband. + But the wedded lovers became too fond of each other, and + neglected their duty to the god of the firmament; the sound + of the shuttle was no longer heard, and the ox wandered, + unheeded, over the plains of heaven. Therefore the great god + was displeased, and he separated the pair. They were + sentenced to live thereafter apart, with the Celestial River + between them; but it was permitted them to see each other + once a year, on the seventh night of the seventh moon. On + that night—providing the skies be clear—the + birds of heaven make, with their bodies and wings, a bridge + over the stream; and by means of that bridge the lovers can + meet. But if there be rain, the River of Heaven rises, and + becomes so wide that the bridge cannot be formed. So the + husband and wife cannot always meet, even on the seventh + night of the seventh <span class="pagenum"><a name="page6" + id="page6"></a>[pg 6]</span> month; it may happen, by reason + of bad weather, that they cannot meet for three or four + years at a time. But their love remains immortally young and + eternally patient; and they continue to fulfill their + respective duties each day without fault,—happy in + their hope of being able to meet on the seventh night of the + next seventh month.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>To ancient Chinese fancy, the Milky Way was a luminous + river,—the River of Heaven,—the Silver Stream. It + has been stated by Western writers that Tanabata, the + Weaving-Lady, is a star in Lyra; and the Herdsman, her beloved, + a star in Aquila, on the opposite side of the galaxy. But it + were more correct to say that both are represented, to + Far-Eastern imagination, by groups of stars. An old Japanese + book puts the matter thus plainly: "Kengyū (the Ox-Leader) + is on the west side of the Heavenly River, and is represented + by three stars in a row, and looks like a man leading an ox. + Shokujo (the Weaving-Lady) is on the east side of the Heavenly + River: three stars <span class="pagenum"><a name="page7" + id="page7"></a>[pg 7]</span> so placed as to appear like the + figure of a woman seated at her loom.... The former presides + over all things relating to agriculture; the latter, over + all that relates to women's work."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>In an old book called Zatsuwa-Shin, it is said that these + deities were of earthly origin. Once in this world they were + man and wife, and lived in China; and the husband was called + Ishi, and the wife Hakuyō. They especially and most + devoutly reverenced the Moon. Every clear evening, after + sundown, they waited with eagerness to see her rise. And when + she began to sink towards the horizon, they would climb to the + top of a hill near their house, so that they might be able to + gaze upon her face as long as possible. Then, when she at last + disappeared from view, they would mourn together. At the age of + ninety and nine, the wife died; and her spirit rode up to + heaven on a magpie, and there became a star. The husband, who + was then one hundred and three years old, sought consolation + for his bereavement in looking at the Moon and when he welcomed + her <span class="pagenum"><a name="page8" + id="page8"></a>[pg 8]</span> rising and mourned her setting, + it seemed to him as if his wife were still beside him.</p> + + <p>One summer night, Hakuyō—now immortally beautiful + and young—descended from heaven upon her magpie, to visit + her husband; and he was made very happy by that visit. But from + that time he could think of nothing but the bliss of becoming a + star, and joining Hakuyō beyond the River of Heaven. At + last he also ascended to the sky, riding upon a crow; and there + he became a star-god. But he could not join Hakuyō at + once, as he had hoped;—for between his allotted place and + hers flowed the River of Heaven; and it was not permitted for + either star to cross the stream, because the Master of Heaven + (<i>Ten-Tei</i>) daily bathed in its waters. Moreover, there + was no bridge. But on one day every year—the seventh day + of the seventh month—they were allowed to see each other. + The Master of Heaven goes always on that day to the + Zenhōdo, to hear the preaching of the law of Buddha; and + then the magpies and the crows make, with their hovering bodies + and outspread wings, a bridge over the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page9" + id="page9"></a>[pg 9]</span> Celestial Stream; and + Hakuyō crosses that bridge to meet her husband.</p> + + <p>There can be little doubt that the Japanese festival called + Tanabata was originally identical with the festival of the + Chinese Weaving-Goddess, Tchi-Niu; the Japanese holiday seems + to have been especially a woman's holiday, from the earliest + times; and the characters with which the word Tanabata is + written signify a weaving-girl. But as both of the star-deities + were worshiped on the seventh of the seventh month, some + Japanese scholars have not been satisfied with the common + explanation of the name, and have stated that it was originally + composed with the word <i>tané</i> (seed, or grain), and the + word <i>hata</i> (loom). Those who accept this etymology make + the appellation, Tanabata-Sama, plural instead of singular, and + render it as "the deities of grain and of the loom,"—that + is to say, those presiding over agriculture and weaving. In old + Japanese pictures the star-gods are represented according to + this conception of their respective attributes;—Hikoboshi + being figured as a peasant lad + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page10" + id="page10"></a>[pg 10]</span> leading an ox to drink of the + Heavenly River, on the farther side of which Orihimé + (Tanabata) appears, weaving at her loom. The garb of both is + Chinese; and the first Japanese pictures of these divinities + were probably copied from some Chinese original.</p> + + <p>In the oldest collection of Japanese poetry + extant,—the Manyōshū, dating from 760 + A.D.,—the male divinity is usually called Hikoboshi, and + the female Tanabata-tsumé; but in later times both have been + called Tanabata. In Izumo the male deity is popularly termed + O-Tanabata Sama, and the female Mé-Tanabata Sama. Both are + still known by many names. The male is called Kaiboshi as well + as Hikoboshi and Kengyū; while the female is called + Asagao-himé ("Morning Glory Princess")<a id="footnotetag1" + name="footnotetag1"></a><a href="#footnote1"><sup>1</sup></a>, + Ito-ori-himé ("Thread-Weaving Princess"), Momoko-himé + ("Peach-Child Princess"), Takimono-himé ("Incense + Princess"), and Sasagani-himé ("Spider Princess"). Some of + these names are difficult to explain,—especially + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page11" + id="page11"></a>[pg 11]</span> the last, which reminds us of + the Greek legend of Arachne. Probably the Greek myth and the + Chinese story have nothing whatever in common; but in old + Chinese books there is recorded a curious fact which might + well suggest a relationship. In the time of the Chinese + Emperor Ming Hwang (whom the Japanese call Gensō), it + was customary for the ladies of the court, on the seventh + day of the seventh month, to catch spiders and put them into + an incense-box for purposes of divination. On the morning of + the eighth day the box was opened; and if the spiders had + spun thick webs during the night the omen was good. But if + they had remained idle the omen was bad.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>There is a story that, many ages ago, a beautiful woman + visited the dwelling of a farmer in the mountains of Izumo, and + taught to the only daughter of the household an art of weaving + never before known. One evening the beautiful stranger vanished + away; and the people knew that they had seen the Weaving-Lady + of Heaven. The daughter of the farmer + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page12" + id="page12"></a>[pg 12]</span> became renowned for her skill + in weaving. But she would never marry,—because she had + been the companion of Tanabata-Sama.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Then there is a Chinese story—delightfully + vague—about a man who once made a visit, unawares, to the + Heavenly Land. He had observed that every year, during the + eighth month, a raft of precious wood came floating to the + shore on which he lived; and he wanted to know where that wood + grew. So he loaded a boat with provisions for a two years' + voyage, and sailed away in the direction from which the rafts + used to drift. For months and months he sailed on, over an + always placid sea; and at last he arrived at a pleasant shore, + where wonderful trees were growing. He moored his boat, and + proceeded alone into the unknown land, until he came to the + bank of a river whose waters were bright as silver. On the + opposite shore he saw a pavilion; and in the pavilion a + beautiful woman sat weaving; she was white like moonshine, and + made a radiance all about her. Presently he saw a handsome + young peasant <span class="pagenum"><a name="page13" + id="page13"></a>[pg 13]</span> approaching, leading an ox to + the water; and he asked the young peasant to tell him the + name of the place and the country. But the youth seemed to + be displeased by the question, and answered in a severe + tone: "If you want to know the name of this place, go back + to where you came from, and ask + Gen-Kum-Pei."<a id="footnotetag2" + name="footnotetag2"></a><a href="#footnote2"><sup>2</sup></a> + So the voyager, feeling afraid, hastened to his boat, and + returned to China. There he sought out the sage Gen-Kum-Pei, + to whom he related the adventure. Gen-Kum-Pei clapped his + hands for wonder, and exclaimed, "So it was you!... On the + seventh day of the seventh month I was gazing at the + heavens, and I saw that the Herdsman and the Weaver were + about to meet;—but between them was a new Star, which + I took to be a Guest-Star. Fortunate man! you have been to + the River of Heaven, and have looked upon the face of the + Weaving-Lady!..."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>—It is said that the meeting of the Herdsman and the + Weaver can be observed by + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page14" + id="page14"></a>[pg 14]</span> any one with good eyes; for + whenever it occurs those stars burn with five different + colors. That is why offerings of five colors are made to the + Tanabata divinities, and why the poems composed in their + praise are written upon paper of five different tints.</p> + + <p>But, as I have said before, the pair can meet only in fair + weather. If there be the least rain upon the seventh night, the + River of Heaven will rise, and the lovers must wait another + whole year. Therefore the rain that happens to fall on Tanabata + night is called <i>Namida no Amé</i>, "The Rain of Tears."</p> + + <p>When the sky is clear on the seventh night, the lovers are + fortunate; and their stars can be seen to sparkle with delight. + If the star Kengyū then shines very brightly, there will + be great rice crops in the autumn. If the star Shokujo looks + brighter than usual, there will be a prosperous time for + weavers, and for every kind of female industry.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>In old Japan it was generally supposed that the meeting of + the pair signified <span class="pagenum"><a name="page15" + id="page15"></a>[pg 15]</span> good fortune to mortals. Even + to-day, in many parts of the country, children sing a little + song on the evening of the Tanabata festival,—<i>Tenki + ni nari!</i> ("O weather, be clear!") In the province of Iga + the young folks also sing a jesting song at the supposed + hour of the lovers' meeting:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Tanabata ya!</p> + + <p>Amari isogaba,</p> + + <p class="i2">Korobubéshi!<a id="footnotetag3" + name="footnotetag3"></a><a href="#footnote3"><sup>3</sup></a></p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>But in the province of Izumo, which is a very rainy + district, the contrary belief prevails; and it is thought that + if the sky be clear on the seventh day of the seventh month, + misfortune will follow. The local explanation of this belief is + that if the stars can meet, there will be born from their union + many evil deities who will afflict the country with drought and + other calamities.</p> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page16" + id="page16"></a>[pg 16]</span> + + <p>The festival of Tanabata was first celebrated in Japan on + the seventh day of the seventh month of Tombyō + Shōhō (A.D. 755). Perhaps the Chinese origin of the + Tanabata divinities accounts for the fact that their public + worship was at no time represented by many temples.</p> + + <p>I have been able to find record of only one temple to them, + called Tanabata-jinja, which was situated at a village called + Hoshiaimura, in the province of Owari, and surrounded by a + grove called Tanabata-mori.<a id="footnotetag4" + name="footnotetag4"></a><a href="#footnote4"><sup>4</sup></a></p> + + <p>Even before Tembyō Shōhō, however, the legend + of the Weaving-Maiden seems to have been well known in Japan; + for it is recorded that on the seventh night of the seventh + year of Yōrō (A.D. 723) the poet Yamagami no Okura + composed the song:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amanogawa,</p> + + <p>Ai-muki tachité,</p> + + <p class="i2">Waga + koďshi</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page17" + id="page17"></a>[pg 17]</span> + + <p>Kimi kimasu nari—</p> + + <p>Himo-toki makina!<a id="footnotetag5" + name="footnotetag5"></a><a href="#footnote5"><sup>5</sup></a></p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>It would seem that the Tanabata festival was first + established in Japan eleven hundred and fifty years ago, as an + Imperial Court festival only, in accordance with Chinese + precedent. Subsequently the nobility and the military classes + everywhere followed imperial example; and the custom of + celebrating the Hoshi-mat-suri, or Star-Festival,—as it + was popularly called,—spread gradually downwards, until + at last the seventh day of the seventh month became, in the + full sense of the term, a national holiday. But the fashion of + its observance varied considerably at different eras and in + different provinces.</p> + + <p>The ceremonies at the Imperial Court were of the most + elaborate character: a full account of them is given in the + <i>Kōji Kongen</i>,—with explanatory illustrations. + On the evening of the seventh day of the seventh month, + mattings <span class="pagenum"><a name="page18" + id="page18"></a>[pg 18]</span> were laid down on the east + side of that portion of the Imperial Palace called the + Seir-yōden; and upon these mattings were placed four + tables of offerings to the Star-deities. Besides the + customary food-offerings, there were placed upon these + tables rice-wine, incense, vases of red lacquer containing + flowers, a harp and flute, and a needle with five eyes, + threaded with threads of five different colors. + Black-lacquered oil-lamps were placed beside the tables, to + illuminate the feast. In another part of the grounds a tub + of water was so placed as to reflect the light of the + Tanabata-stars; and the ladies of the Imperial Household + attempted to thread a needle by the reflection. She who + succeeded was to be fortunate during the following year. The + court-nobility (<i>Kugé</i>) were obliged to make certain + offerings to the Imperial House on the day of the festival. + The character of these offerings, and the manner of their + presentation, were fixed by decree. They were conveyed to + the palace upon a tray, by a veiled lady of rank, in + ceremonial dress. Above her, as she walked, a great red + umbrella was borne <span class="pagenum"><a name="page19" + id="page19"></a>[pg 19]</span> by an attendant. On the tray + were placed seven <i>tanzaku</i> (longilateral slips of fine + tinted paper for the writing of poems); seven + <i>kudzu</i>-leaves;<a id="footnotetag6" + name="footnotetag6"></a><a href="#footnote6"><sup>6</sup></a> + seven inkstones; seven strings of <i>sōmen</i> (a kind + of vermicelli); fourteen writing-brushes; and a bunch of + yam-leaves gathered at night, and thickly sprinkled with + dew. In the palace grounds the ceremony began at the Hour of + the Tiger,—4 A.M. Then the inkstones were carefully + washed,—prior to preparing the ink for the writing of + poems in praise of the Star-deities,—and each one set + upon a <i>kudzu</i>-leaf. One bunch of bedewed yam-leaves + was then laid upon every inkstone; and with this dew, + instead of water, the writing-ink was prepared. All the + ceremonies appear to have been copied from those in vogue at + the Chinese court in the time of the Emperor Ming-Hwang.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>It was not until the time of the Tokugawa Shōgunate + that the Tanabata festival became really a national holiday; + and the popular custom of attaching <i>tansaku</i> of different + colors <span class="pagenum"><a name="page20" + id="page20"></a>[pg 20]</span> to freshly-cut bamboos, in + celebration of the occasion, dates only from the era of + Bunser (1818). Previously the <i>tanzaku</i> had been made + of a very costly quality of paper; and the old aristocratic + ceremonies had been not less expensive than elaborate. But + in the time of the Tokugawa Shōgunate a very cheap + paper of various colors was manufactured; and the holiday + ceremonies were suffered to assume an inexpensive form, in + which even the poorest classes could indulge.</p> + + <p>The popular customs relating to the festival differed + according to locality. Those of Izumo—where all classes + of society, <i>samurai</i> or common folk, celebrated the + holiday in much the same way—used to be particularly + interesting; and a brief account of them will suggest something + of the happy aspects of life in feudal times. At the Hour of + the Tiger, on the seventh night of the seventh month, everybody + was up; and the work of washing the inkstones and + writing-brushes was performed. Then, in the household garden, + dew was collected upon yam-leaves. This dew was called + <i>Amanogawa no suzuki</i> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page21" + id="page21"></a>[pg 21]</span> ("drops from the River of + Heaven"); and it was used to make fresh ink for writing the + poems which were to be suspended to bamboos planted in the + garden. It was usual for friends to present each other with + new inkstones at the time of the Tanabata festival; and if + there were any new inkstones in the house, the fresh ink was + prepared in these. Each member of the family then wrote + poems. The adults composed verses, according to their + ability, in praise of the Star-deities; and the children + either wrote dictation or tried to improvise. Little folk + too young to use the writing-brush without help had their + small hands guided, by parent or elder sister or elder + brother, so as to shape on a <i>tanzaku</i> the character of + some single word or phrase relating to the + festival,—such as "Amanogawa," or "Tanabata," or + "Kasasagi no Hashi" (the Bridge of Magpies). In the garden + were planted two freshly-cut bamboos, with branches and + leaves entire,—a male bamboo (<i>otoko-daké</i>) and a + female bamboo (<i>onna-daké</i>). They were set up about six + feet apart, and to a cord extended between them were + suspended <span class="pagenum"><a name="page22" + id="page22"></a>[pg 22]</span> paper-cuttings of five + colors, and skeins of dyed thread of five colors. The + paper-cuttings represented upper-robes,—<i>kimono</i>. + To the leaves and branches of the bamboos were tied the + <i>tanzaku</i> on which poems had been written by the + members of the family. And upon a table, set between the + bamboos, or immediately before them, were placed vessels + containing various offerings to the + Star-deities,—fruits, <i>sōmen</i>, rice-wine, + and vegetables of different kinds, such as cucumbers and + watermelons.</p> + + <p>But the most curious Izumo custom relating to the festival + was the <i>Nému-nagashi</i>, or "Sleep-wash-away" ceremony. + Before day-break the young folks used to go to some stream, + carrying with them bunches composed of <i>némuri</i>-leaves and + bean-leaves mixed together. On reaching the stream, they would + fling their bunches of leaves into the current, and sing a + little song:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Nému wa, nagaré yo!</p> + + <p>Mamé no ha wa, tomaré!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>These verses might be rendered in two ways; + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page23" + id="page23"></a>[pg 23]</span> because the word <i>nému</i> + can be taken in the meaning either of <i>némuri</i> (sleep), + or of <i>nemuri-gi</i> or <i>némunoki</i>, the "sleep-plant" + (mimosa),—while the syllables <i>mamé</i>, as written + in <i>kana</i>, can signify either "bean," or "activity," or + "strength," "vigor," "health," etc. But the ceremony was + symbolical, and the intended meaning of the song + was:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Drowsiness, drift away!</p> + + <p>Leaves of vigor, remain!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>After this, all the young folk would jump into the water, to + bathe or swim, in token of their resolve to shed all laziness + for the coming year, and to maintain a vigorous spirit of + endeavor.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Yet it was probably in Yédo (now Tōkyō) that the + Tanabata festival assumed its most picturesque aspects. During + the two days that the celebration lasted,—the sixth and + seventh of the seventh month,—the city used to present + the appearance of one vast bamboo grove; fresh bamboos, with + poems attached to them, being erected upon the roofs of the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page24" + id="page24"></a>[pg 24]</span> houses. Peasants were in + those days able to do a great business in bamboos, which + were brought into town by hundreds of wagonloads for holiday + use. Another feature of the Yédo festival was the children's + procession, in which bamboos, with poems attached to them, + were carried about the city. To each such bamboo there was + also fastened a red plaque on which were painted, in Chinese + characters, the names of the Tanabata stars.</p> + + <p>But almost everywhere, under the Tokugawa régime, the + Tanabata festival used to be a merry holiday for the young + people of all classes,—a holiday beginning with lantern + displays before sunrise, and lasting well into the following + night. Boys and girls on that day were dressed in their best, + and paid visits of ceremony to friends and neighbors.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>—The moon of the seventh month used to be called + <i>Tanabata-tsuki</i>, or "The Moon of Tanabata." And it was + also called <i>Fumi-tsuki</i>, or "The Literary Moon," because + during the seventh month poems were everywhere + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page25" + id="page25"></a>[pg 25]</span> composed in praise of the + Celestial Lovers.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>I think that my readers ought to be interested in the + following selection of ancient Japanese poems, treating of the + Tanabata legend. All are from the <i>Manyōshū</i>. + The <i>Manyōshū</i>, or "Gathering of a Myriad + Leaves," is a vast collection of poems composed before the + middle of the eighth century. It was compiled by Imperial + order, and completed early in the ninth century. The number of + the poems which it contains is upwards of four thousand; some + being "long poems" (<i>naga-uta</i>), but the great majority + <i>tanka</i>, or compositions limited to thirty-one syllables; + and the authors were courtiers or high officials. The first + eleven <i>tanka</i> hereafter translated were composed by + Yamagami no Okura, Governor of the province of Chikuzen more + than eleven hundred years ago. His fame as a poet is well + deserved; for not a little of his work will bear comparison + with <span class="pagenum"><a name="page26" + id="page26"></a>[pg 26]</span> some of the finer epigrams of + the Greek Anthology. The following verses, upon the death of + his little son Furubi, will serve as an example:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Wakakeréba</p> + + <p>Nichi-yuki shiraji:</p> + + <p class="i2">Mahi wa sému,</p> + + <p>Shitabé no tsukahi</p> + + <p>Ohité-tohorasé.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>—[<i>As he is so young, he cannot know the way.... + To the messenger of the Underworld I will give a bribe, and + entreat him, saying: "Do thou kindly take the little one + upon thy back along the road."</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>Eight hundred years earlier, the Greek poet Diodorus Zonas + of Sardis had written:—</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"<i>Do thou, who rowest the boat of the dead in the + water of this reedy lake, for Hades, stretch out thy hand, + dark Charon, to the son of Kinyras, as he mounts the ladder + by the gang-way, and receive him. For his sandals will + cause the lad to slip, and he fears to set his feet naked + on the sand of the shore.</i>"</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page27" + id="page27"></a>[pg 27]</span> + + <p>But the charming epigram of Diodorus was inspired only by a + myth,—for the "son of Kinyras" was no other than + Adonis,—whereas the verses of Okura express for us the + yearning of a father's heart.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>—Though the legend of Tanabata was indeed borrowed + from China, the reader will find nothing Chinese in the + following compositions. They represent the old classic poetry + at its purest, free from alien influence; and they offer us + many suggestions as to the condition of Japanese life and + thought twelve hundred years ago. Remembering that they were + written before any modern European literature had yet taken + form, one is startled to find how little the Japanese written + language has changed in the course of so many centuries. + Allowing for a few obsolete words, and sundry slight changes of + pronunciation, the ordinary Japanese reader to-day can enjoy + these early productions of his native muse with about as little + difficulty as the English reader finds in studying the poets of + the Elizabethan era. Moreover, the refinement and the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page28" + id="page28"></a>[pg 28]</span> simple charm of the + <i>Manyōshū</i> compositions have never been + surpassed, and seldom equaled, by later Japanese poets.</p> + + <p>As for the forty-odd <i>tanka</i> which I have translated, + their chief attraction lies, I think, in what they reveal to us + of the human nature of their authors. Tanabata-tsumé still + represents for us the Japanese wife, worshipfully + loving;—Hikoboshi appears to us with none of the + luminosity of the god, but as the young Japanese husband of the + sixth or seventh century, before Chinese ethical convention had + begun to exercise its restraint upon life and literature. Also + these poems interest us by their expression of the early + feeling for natural beauty. In them we find the scenery and the + seasons of Japan transported to the Blue Plain of High + Heaven;—the Celestial Stream with its rapids and + shallows, its sudden risings and clamourings within its stony + bed, and its water-grasses bending in the autumn wind, might + well be the Kamogawa;—and the mists that haunt its shores + are the very mists of Arashiyama. The boat of Hikoboshi, + impelled by a single oar working upon a + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page29" + id="page29"></a>[pg 29]</span> wooden peg, is not yet + obsolete; and at many a country ferry you may still see the + <i>hiki-funé</i> in which Tanabata-tsumé prayed her husband + to cross in a night of storm,—a flat broad barge + pulled over the river by cables. And maids and wives still + sit at their doors in country villages, on pleasant autumn + days, to weave as Tanabata-tsumé wove for the sake of her + lord and lover.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>—It will be observed that, in most of these verses, it + is not the wife who dutifully crosses the Celestial River to + meet her husband, but the husband who rows over the stream to + meet the wife; and there is no reference to the Bridge of + Birds.... As for my renderings, those readers who know by + experience the difficulty of translating Japanese verse will be + the most indulgent, I fancy. The Romaji system of spelling has + been followed (except in one or two cases where I thought it + better to indicate the ancient syllabication after the method + adopted by Aston); and words or phrases necessarily supplied + have been inclosed in + parentheses.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page30" + id="page30"></a>[pg 30]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amanogawa</p> + + <p>Ai-muki tachité,</p> + + <p class="i2">Waga koďshi</p> + + <p>Kimi kimasu nari</p> + + <p>Himo-toki makéna!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>He is coming, my long-desired lord, whom I have been + waiting to meet here, on the banks of the River of + Heaven.... The moment of loosening my girdle is + nigh!</i><a id="footnotetag7" + name="footnotetag7"></a><a href="#footnote7"><sup>7</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Hisakata no<a id="footnotetag8" + name="footnotetag8"></a><a href="#footnote8"><sup>8</sup></a></p> + + <p>Ama no kawasé ni,</p> + + <p class="i2">Funé ukété,</p> + + <p>Koyoď ka kimi ga</p> + + <p class="i2">Agari kimasan?</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page31" + id="page31"></a>[pg 31]</span> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Over the Rapids of the Everlasting Heaven, floating + in his boat, my lord will doubtless deign to come to me + this very night.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Kazé kumo wa</p> + + <p>Futatsu no kishi ni</p> + + <p class="i2">Kayoëdomo,</p> + + <p>Waga toho-tsuma no</p> + + <p>Koto zo kayowanu!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Though winds and clouds to either bank may freely + come or go, between myself and my faraway spouse no message + whatever may pass.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Tsubuté<a id="footnotetag9" + name="footnotetag9"></a><a href="#footnote9"><sup>9</sup></a> + ni mo</p> + + <p>Nagé koshitsu-béki,</p> + + <p class="i2">Amanogawa</p> + + <p>Hédatéréba ka mo,</p> + + <p>Amata subé-naki!</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page32" + id="page32"></a>[pg 32]</span> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>To the opposite bank one might easily fling a + pebble; yet, being separated from him by the River of + Heaven, alas! to hope for a meeting (except in autumn) is + utterly useless.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Aki-kazé no</p> + + <p>Fukinishi hi yori</p> + + <p class="i2">"Itsushika" to—;</p> + + <p>Waga machi koîshi</p> + + <p>Kimi zo kimaséru.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>From the day that the autumn wind began to blow (I + kept saying to myself), "Ah! when shall we meet?"—but + now my beloved, for whom I waited and longed, has come + indeed!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amanogawa</p> + + <p>Ito kawa-nami wa</p> + + <p class="i2">Tatanédomo,</p> + + <p>Samorai gatashi—</p> + + <p>Chikaki kono sé wo.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Though the waters of the River of Heaven have not + greatly risen, (yet to cross) this near stream and to wait + upon (my lord and lover) remains impossible.</i>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page33" + id="page33"></a>[pg 33]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Sodé furaba</p> + + <p>Mi mo kawashitsu-béku</p> + + <p class="i2">Chika-kerédo,</p> + + <p>Wataru subé nashi,</p> + + <p>Aki nishi aranéba.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Though she is so near that the waving of her (long) + sleeves can be distinctly seen, yet there is no way to + cross the stream before the season of autumn.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Kagéroď no</p> + + <p>Honoka ni miété</p> + + <p class="i2">Wakarénaba;—</p> + + <p>Motonaya koďn</p> + + <p>Aü-toki madé wa!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>When we were separated, I had seen her for a moment + only,—and dimly as one sees a flying + midge;<a id="footnotetag10" + name="footnotetag10"></a><a href="#footnote10"><sup>10</sup></a> + now I must vainly long for her as before, until time of + our next meeting!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Hikoboshi no</p> + + <p>Tsuma mukaë-buné</p> + + <p class="i2">Kogizurashi,—</p> + + <p>Ama-no-Kawara ni</p> + + <p>Kiri no tatéru wa.</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page34" + id="page34"></a>[pg 34]</span> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Methinks that Hikoboshi must be rowing his boat to + meet his wife,—for a mist (as of oar-spray) is rising + over the course of the Heavenly Stream.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Kasumi tatsu</p> + + <p>Ama-no-Kawara ni,</p> + + <p class="i2">Kimi matsu to,—</p> + + <p>Ikayō hodo ni</p> + + <p>Mono-suso nurenu.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>While awaiting my lord on the misty shore of the + River of Heaven, the skirts of my robe have somehow become + wet.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amanogawa,</p> + + <p>Mi-tsu no nami oto</p> + + <p class="i2">Sawagu-nari:</p> + + <p>Waga matsu-kimi no</p> + + <p>Funadé-surashi mo.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>On the River of Heaven, at the place of the august + ferry, the sound of the water has become loud: perhaps my + long-awaited lord will soon be coming in his boat.</i>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page35" + id="page35"></a>[pg 35]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Tanabata no</p> + + <p>Sodé maku yoď no</p> + + <p class="i2">Akatoki wa,</p> + + <p>Kawasé no tazu wa</p> + + <p>Nakazu to mo yoshi.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>As Tanabata (slumbers) with her long sleeves rolled + up, until the reddening of the dawn, do not, O storks of + the river-shallows, awaken her by your + cries.</i><a id="footnotetag11" + name="footnotetag11"></a><a href="#footnote11"><sup>11</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amanogawa</p> + + <p>Kiri-tachi-wataru:</p> + + <p class="i2">Kyō, kyō, to—</p> + + <p>Waga matsu-koďshi</p> + + <p>Funadé-surashi!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>(She sees that) a mist is spreading across the River + of Heaven.... "To-day, to-day," she thinks, "my + long-awaited lord will probably come over in his + boat."</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amanogawa,</p> + + <p>Yasu no watari ni,</p> + + <p class="i2">Funé + ukété;—</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page36" + id="page36"></a>[pg 36]</span> + + <p>Waga tachi-matsu to</p> + + <p>Imo ni tsugé koso.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>By the ferry of Yasu, on the River of Heaven, the + boat is floating: I pray you tell my younger + sister<a id="footnotetag12" + name="footnotetag12"></a><a href="#footnote12"><sup>12</sup></a> + that I stand here and wait.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Ō-sora yo</p> + + <p>Kayō waré sura,</p> + + <p class="i2">Na ga yué ni,</p> + + <p>Amanokawa-ji no</p> + + <p>Nazumité zo koshi.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Though I (being a Star-god) can pass freely to and + fro, through the great sky,—yet to cross over the + River of Heaven, for your sake, was weary work + indeed!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Yachihoko no</p> + + <p>Kami no mi-yo yori</p> + + <p class="i2">Tomoshi-zuma;—</p> + + <p>Hito-shiri ni keri</p> + + <p>Tsugitéshi omoëba.</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page37" + id="page37"></a>[pg 37]</span> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>From the august Age of the + God-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears</i>,<a id="footnotetag13" + name="footnotetag13"></a><a href="#footnote13"><sup>13</sup></a> + <i>she had been my spouse in + secret</i><a id="footnotetag14" + name="footnotetag14"></a><a href="#footnote14"><sup>14</sup></a> + <i>only; yet now, because of my constant longing for + her, our relation has become known to men.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amé tsuchi to</p> + + <p>Wakaréshi toki yo</p> + + <p class="i2">Onoga tsuma;</p> + + <p>Shika zo té ni aru</p> + + <p>Aki matsu aré wa.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>From the time when heaven and earth were parted, she + has been my own wife;—yet, to be with her, I must + always wait till autumn.</i><a id="footnotetag15" + name="footnotetag15"></a><a href="#footnote15"><sup>15</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Waga kōru</p> + + <p>Niho no omo + wa</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page38" + id="page38"></a>[pg 38]</span> + + <p class="i2">Koyoď mo ka</p> + + <p>Ama-no-kawara ni</p> + + <p>Ishi-makura makan.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>With my beloved, of the ruddy-tinted + cheeks</i>,<a id="footnotetag16" + name="footnotetag16"></a><a href="#footnote16"><sup>16</sup></a> + <i>this night indeed will I descend into the bed of the + River of Heaven, to sleep on a pillow of stone.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amanogawa.</p> + + <p>Mikomori-gusa no</p> + + <p class="i2">Aki-kazé ni</p> + + <p>Nabikafu miréba,</p> + + <p>Toki kitarurashi.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>When I see the water-grasses of the River of Heaven + bend in the autumn wind (I think to myself): "The time (for + our meeting) seems to have come."</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Waga séko ni</p> + + <p>Ura-koi oréba,</p> + + <p class="i2">Amanogawa</p> + + <p>Yo-funé kogi-toyomu</p> + + <p>Kaji no 'to kikoyu.</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page39" + id="page39"></a>[pg 39]</span> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>When I feel in my heart a sudden longing for my + husband</i>,<a id="footnotetag17" + name="footnotetag17"></a><a href="#footnote17"><sup>17</sup></a> + <i>then on the River of Heaven the sound of the rowing + of the night-boat is heard, and the plash of the oar + resounds.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Tō-zuma to</p> + + <p>Tamakura kawashi</p> + + <p class="i2">Nétaru yo wa,</p> + + <p>Tori-gané na naki</p> + + <p>Akéba aku to mo!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>In the night when I am reposing with my (now) + far-away spouse, having exchanged + jewel-pillows</i><a id="footnotetag18" + name="footnotetag18"></a><a href="#footnote18"><sup>18</sup></a> + <i>with her, let not the cock crow, even though the day + should dawn.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Yorozu-yo ni</p> + + <p>Tazusawari ité</p> + + <p class="i2">Ai + mi-domo,</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page40" + id="page40"></a>[pg 40]</span> + + <p>Omoi-sugu-béki</p> + + <p>Koi naranaku ni.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Though for a myriad ages we should remain + hand-in-hand and face to face, our exceeding love could + never come to an end. (Why then should Heaven deem it + necessary to part us?)</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Waga tamé to,</p> + + <p>Tanabata-tsumé no,</p> + + <p class="i2">Sono yado ni,</p> + + <p>Oreru shirotai</p> + + <p>Nuďt ken kamo?</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>The white cloth which Tanabata has woven for my + sake, in that dwelling of hers, is now, I think, being made + into a robe for me.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Shirakumo no</p> + + <p>I-ho é kakurité</p> + + <p class="i2">Tō-kédomo,</p> + + <p>Yoď-sarazu min</p> + + <p>Imo ga atari wa.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Though she be far-away, and hidden from me by five + hundred layers of white cloud, still shall I turn my gaze + each night toward the dwelling-place of my younger sister + (wife).</i>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page41" + id="page41"></a>[pg 41]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Aki saréba</p> + + <p>Kawagiri tatéru</p> + + <p class="i2">Amanogawa,</p> + + <p>Kawa ni muki-ité</p> + + <p>Kru<a id="footnotetag19" + name="footnotetag19"></a><a href="#footnote19"><sup>19</sup></a> + yo zo ōki!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>When autumn comes, and the river-mists spread over + the Heavenly Stream, I turn toward the river, (and long); + and the nights of my longing are many!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Hito-tosé ni</p> + + <p>Nanuka no yo nomi</p> + + <p class="i2">Aü-hito no—</p> + + <p>Koď mo tsuki-néba</p> + + <p>Sayo zo aké ni keru!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>But once in the whole year, and only upon the + seventh night (of the seventh month), to meet the beloved + person—and lo! The day has dawned before our mutual + love could express itself!</i><a id="footnotetag20" + name="footnotetag20"></a><a href="#footnote20"><sup>20</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Toshi no koď</p> + + <p>Koyoď tsukushíté,</p> + + <p class="i2">Asu yori + wa,</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page42" + id="page42"></a>[pg 42]</span> + + <p>Tsuné no gotoku ya</p> + + <p>Waga koď oran.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>The love-longing of one whole year having ended + to-night, every day from to-morrow I must again pine for + him as before!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Hikoboshi to</p> + + <p>Tanabata-tsumé to</p> + + <p class="i2">Koyoď aü;—</p> + + <p>Ama-no-Kawa to ni</p> + + <p>Nami tatsu-na yumé!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Hikoboshi and Tanabata-tsumé are to meet each other + to-night;—ye waves of the River of Heaven, take heed + that ye do not rise!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Aki-kazé no</p> + + <p>Fuki tadayowasu</p> + + <p class="i2">Shirakumo wa,</p> + + <p>Tanabata-tsumé no</p> + + <p>Amatsu hiré kamo?</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Oh! that white cloud driven by the + autumn-wind—can it be the heavenly + hiré<a id="footnotetag21" + name="footnotetag21"></a><a href="#footnote21"><sup>21</sup></a> + of Tana-bata-tsumé?</i>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page43" + id="page43"></a>[pg 43]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Shiba-shiba mo</p> + + <p>Ai minu kimi wo,</p> + + <p class="i2">Amanogawa</p> + + <p>Funa-dé haya séyo</p> + + <p>Yo no fukénu ma ni.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Because he is my not-often-to-be-met beloved, hasten + to row the boat across the River of Heaven ere the night be + advanced.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amanogawa</p> + + <p>Kiri tachi-watari</p> + + <p class="i2">Hikoboshi no</p> + + <p>Kaji no 'to kikoyu</p> + + <p>Yo no fuké-yukéba.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Late in the night, a mist spreads over</i>] + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page44" + id="page44"></a>[pg 44]</span> <i>the River of Heaven; + and the sound of the oar<a id="footnotetag22" + name="footnotetag22"></a><a href="#footnote22"><sup>22</sup></a> + of Hikoboshi is heard.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amanogawa</p> + + <p>Kawa 'to sayakéshi:</p> + + <p class="i2">Hikoboshi no</p> + + <p>Haya kogu funé no</p> + + <p>Nami no sawagi ka?</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>On the River of Heaven a sound of plashing can be + distinctly heard: is it the sound of the rippling made by + Hikoboshi quickly rowing his boat?</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Kono yūbé,</p> + + <p>Furikuru amé wa,</p> + + <p class="i2">Hikoboshi no</p> + + <p>Haya kogu funé no</p> + + <p>Kaď no chiri ka mo.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Perhaps this evening shower is but the spray (flung + down) from the oar of Hikoboshi, rowing his boat in + haste.</i>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page45" + id="page45"></a>[pg 45]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p>Waga tama-doko wo</p> + + <p class="i2">Asu yori wa</p> + + <p class="i2">Uchi haraď,</p> + + <p>Kimi to inézuté</p> + + <p>Hitori ka mo nen!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>From to-morrow, alas! after having put my jewel-bed + in order, no longer reposing with my lord, I must sleep + alone!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Kazé fukité,</p> + + <p>Kawa-nami tachinu;—</p> + + <p class="i2">Hiki-funé ni</p> + + <p>Watari mo kimasé</p> + + <p>Yo no fukénu ma ni.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>The wind having risen, the waves of the river have + become high;—this night cross over in a + towboat,<a id="footnotetag23" + name="footnotetag23"></a><a href="#footnote23"><sup>23</sup></a> + I pray thee, before the hour be late!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amanogawa</p> + + <p>Nami wa tatsutomo,</p> + + <p class="i2">Waga funé wa</p> + + <p>Iza kogi iden</p> + + <p>Yo no fukénu ma ni.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Even though the waves of the River of</i> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page46" + id="page46"></a>[pg 46]</span> <i>Heaven run high, I + must row over quickly, before it becomes late in the + night.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Inishié ni</p> + + <p>Oritéshi hata wo;</p> + + <p class="i2">Kono yūbé</p> + + <p>Koromo ni nuďté—</p> + + <p>Kimi matsu aré wo!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Long ago I finished weaving the material; and, this + evening, having finished sewing the garment for + him—(why must) I still wait for my lord?</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Amanogawa</p> + + <p>Sé wo hayami ka mo?</p> + + <p class="i2">Nubatama no</p> + + <p>Yo wa fuké ni tsutsu,</p> + + <p>Awanu Hikoboshi!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>[<i>Is it that the current of the River of</i> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page47" + id="page47"></a>[pg 47]</span> <i>Heaven (has become too) + rapid? The jet-black night<a id="footnotetag24" + name="footnotetag24"></a><a href="#footnote24"><sup>24</sup></a> + advances—and Hikoboshi has not come!</i>]</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Watashi-mori,</p> + + <p>Funé haya watasé;—</p> + + <p class="i2">Hito-tosé ni</p> + + <p>Futatabi kayō</p> + + <p>Kimi naranaku ni!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Oh, ferryman, make speed across the stream!—my + lord is not one who can come and go twice in a + year!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Aki kazé no</p> + + <p>Fukinishi hi yori,</p> + + <p class="i2">Amanogawa</p> + + <p>Kawasé ni dédachi;—</p> + + <p>Matsu to tsugé koso!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>On the very day that the autumn-wind began to blow, + I set out for the shallows of the River of Heaven;—I + pray you, tell my lord that I am waiting here + still!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Tanabata no</p> + + <p>Funanori surashi,—</p> + + <p class="i2"> + Maso-kagami,</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page48" + id="page48"></a>[pg 48]</span> + + <p>Kiyoki tsuki-yo ni</p> + + <p>Kumo tachi-wataru.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Methinks Tanabata must be coming in her boat; for a + cloud is even now passing across the clear face of the + moon.</i><a id="footnotetag25" + name="footnotetag25"></a><a href="#footnote25"><sup>25</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>—And yet it has been gravely asserted that the old + Japanese poets could find no beauty in starry skies!...</p> + + <p>Perhaps the legend of Tanabata, as it was understood by + those old poets, can make but a faint appeal to Western minds. + Nevertheless, in the silence of transparent nights, before the + rising of the moon, the charm of the ancient tale sometimes + descends upon me, out of the scintillant sky,—to make me + forget the monstrous facts of science, and the stupendous + horror of Space. Then I no longer behold the Milky Way as that + awful Ring of the Cosmos, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page49" + id="page49"></a>[pg 49]</span> whose hundred million suns + are powerless to lighten the Abyss, but as the very + Amanogawa itself,—the River Celestial. I see the + thrill of its shining stream, and the mists that hover along + its verge, and the water-grasses that bend in the winds of + autumn. White Orihimé I see at her starry loom, and the Ox + that grazes on the farther shore;—and I know that the + falling dew is the spray from the Herdsman's oar. And the + heaven seems very near and warm and human; and the silence + about me is filled with the dream of a love unchanging, + immortal,—forever yearning and forever young, and + forever left unsatisfied by the paternal wisdom of the + gods.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page51" + id="page51"></a>[pg 51]</span> + + <h2>GOBLIN POETRY</h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="page53" + id="page53"></a>[pg 53]</span> + + <p>Recently, while groping about an old book shop, I found a + collection of Goblin Poetry in three volumes, containing many + pictures of goblins. The title of the collection is + <i>Kyōka Hyaku-Monogatari</i>, or "The Mad Poetry of the + <i>Hyaku-Monogatari</i>." The <i>Hyaku-Monogatari</i>, or + "Hundred Tales," is a famous book of ghost stories. On the + subject of each of the stories, poems were composed at + different times by various persons,—poems of the sort + called <i>Kyōka</i>, or Mad Poetry,—and these were + collected and edited to form the three volumes of which I + became the fortunate possessor. The collecting was done by a + certain Takumi Jingorō, who wrote under the literary + pseudonym <span class="pagenum"><a name="page54" + id="page54"></a>[pg 54]</span> "Temmér Réōjin" (Ancient + of the Temmér Era). Takumi died in the first year of + Bunkyū (1861), at the good age of eighty; and his + collection seems to have been published in the sixth year of + Kaéď (1853). The pictures were made by an artist called + Masazumi, who worked under the pseudonym "Ryōsai + Kanjin."</p> + + <p>From a prefatory note it appears that Takumi Jingorō + published his collection with the hope of reviving interest in + a once popular kind of poetry which had fallen into neglect + before the middle of the century. The word <i>kyōka</i> is + written with a Chinese character signifying "insane" or + "crazy;" and it means a particular and extraordinary variety of + comic poetry. The form is that of the classic <i>tanka</i> of + thirty-one syllables (arranged 57577);—but the subjects + are always the extreme reverse of classical; and the artistic + effects depend upon methods of verbal jugglery which cannot be + explained without the help of numerous examples. The collection + published by Takumi includes a good deal of matter in which a + Western reader can discover no merit; but the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page55" + id="page55"></a>[pg 55]</span> best of it has a distinctly + grotesque quality that reminds one of Hood's weird + cleverness in playing with grim subjects. This quality, and + the peculiar Japanese method of mingling the playful with + the terrific, can be suggested and explained only by + reproducing in Romaji the texts of various + <i>kyōka</i>, with translations and notes.</p> + + <p>The selection which I have made should prove interesting, + not merely because it will introduce the reader to a class of + Japanese poetry about which little or nothing has yet been + written in English, but much more because it will afford some + glimpses of a supernatural world which still remains for the + most part unexplored. Without knowledge of Far Eastern + superstitions and folk-tales, no real understanding of Japanese + fiction or drama or poetry will ever become possible.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>There are many hundreds of poems in the three volumes of the + <i>Kyōka Hyaku-Monogatari</i>; but the number of the + ghosts and goblins falls short of the one hundred suggested by + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page56" + id="page56"></a>[pg 56]</span> the title. There are just + ninety-five. I could not expect to interest my readers in + the whole of this goblinry, and my selection includes less + than one seventh of the subjects. The Faceless Babe, The + Long-Tongued Maiden, The Three-Eyed Monk, The Pillow-Mover, + The Thousand Heads, The Acolyte-with-the-Lantern, The + Stone-that-Cries-in-the-Night, The Goblin-Heron, The + Goblin-Wind, The Dragon-Lights, and The Mountain-Nurse, did + not much impress me. I omitted <i>kyōka</i> dealing + with fancies too gruesome for Western nerves,—such as + that of the <i>Obumédori</i>,—also those treating of + merely local tradition. The subjects chosen represent + national rather than provincial folklore,—old beliefs + (mostly of Chinese origin) once prevalent throughout the + country, and often referred to in its popular + literature.</p> + + <h3>I. KITSUNÉ-BI</h3> + + <p>The Will-o'-the-wisp is called <i>kitsuné-bi</i> + ("fox-fire"), because the goblin-fox was formerly supposed to + create it. In old Japanese + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page57" + id="page57"></a>[pg 57]</span> pictures it is represented as + a tongue of pale red flame, hovering in darkness, and + shedding no radiance upon the surfaces over which it + glides.</p> + + <p>To understand some of the following <i>kyōka</i> on the + subject, the reader should know that certain superstitions + about the magical power of the fox have given rise to several + queer folk-sayings,—one of which relates to marrying a + stranger. Formerly a good citizen was expected to marry within + his own community, not outside of it; and the man who dared to + ignore traditional custom in this regard would have found it + difficult to appease the communal indignation. Even to-day the + villager who, after a long absence from his birthplace, returns + with a strange bride, is likely to hear unpleasant things + said,—such as: "<i>Wakaranai-mono we hippaté-kita!... + Doko no uma no honé da ka?</i>" ("Goodness knows what kind of a + thing he has dragged here after him! Where did he pick up that + old horse-bone?") The expression <i>uma no honé</i>, "old + horse-bone," requires + explanation.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page58" + id="page58"></a>[pg 58]</span> + + <p>A goblin-fox has the power to assume many shapes; but, for + the purpose of deceiving <i>men</i>, he usually takes the form + of a pretty woman. When he wants to create a charming phantom + of this kind, he picks up an old horse-bone or cow-bone, and + holds it in his mouth. Presently the bone becomes luminous; and + the figure of a woman defines about it,—the figure of a + courtesan or singing-girl.... So the village query about the + man who marries a strange wife, "What old horse-bone has he + picked up?" signifies really, "What wanton has bewitched him?" + It further implies the suspicion that the stranger may be of + outcast blood: a certain class of women of pleasure having been + chiefly recruited, from ancient time, among the daughters of + Éta and other pariah-people.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Hi tomoshité</p> + + <p>Kitsuné no kwaséshi,</p> + + <p class="i2">Asobimé<a id="footnotetag26" + name="footnotetag26"></a><a href="#footnote26"><sup>26</sup></a> + wa—</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page59" + id="page59"></a>[pg 59]</span> + + <p>Izuka no uma no</p> + + <p>Honé ni ya aruran!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>—Ah the wanton (lighting her + lantern)!—so a fox-fire is kindled in the time of + fox-transformation!... Perhaps she is really nothing more + than an old horse-bone from somewhere or other....</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Kitsuné-bi no</p> + + <p>Moyuru ni tsukété,</p> + + <p class="i2">Waga tama no</p> + + <p>Kiyuru yō nari</p> + + <p>Kokoro-hoso-michi!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Because of that Fox-fire burning there, the very + soul of me is like to be extinguished in this narrow path + (or, in this heart-depressing + solitude).</i><a id="footnotetag27" + name="footnotetag27"></a><a href="#footnote27"><sup>27</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page60" + id="page60"></a>[pg 60]</span> + + <h3>II. RIKOMBYŌ</h3> + + <p>The term <i>Rikombyō</i> is composed with the word + <i>rikon</i>, signifying a "shade," "ghost," or "spectre," and + the word <i>byō</i>, signifying "sickness," "disease." An + almost literal rendering would be "ghost-sickness." In + Japanese-English dictionaries you will find the meaning of + <i>Rikombyō</i> given as "hypochondria;" and doctors + really use the term in this modern sense. But the ancient + meaning was <i>a disorder of the mind which produced a + Double</i>; and there is a whole strange literature about this + weird disease. It used to be supposed, both in China and Japan, + that under the influence of intense grief or longing, caused by + love, the spirit of the suffering person would create a Double. + Thus the victim of <i>Rikombyō</i> would appear to have + two bodies, exactly alike; and one of these bodies would go to + join the absent beloved, while the other remained at home. (In + my "Exotics and Retrospectives," under the title "A Question in + the Zen Texts," the reader will find a typical + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page61" + id="page61"></a>[pg 61]</span> Chinese story on the + subject,—the story of the girl Ts'ing.) Some form of + the primitive belief in doubles and wraiths probably exists + in every part of the world; but this Far Eastern variety is + of peculiar interest because the double is supposed to be + caused by love, and the subjects of the affliction to belong + to the gentler sex.... The term <i>Rikombyō</i> seems + to be applied to the apparition as well as to the mental + disorder supposed to produce the apparition: it signifies + "doppelgänger" as well as "ghost-disease."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>—With these necessary explanations, the quality of the + following <i>kyōka</i> can be understood. A picture which + appears in the <i>Kyōka Hyaku-Monogatari</i> shows a + maid-servant anxious to offer a cup of tea to her + mistress,—a victim of the "ghost-sickness." The servant + cannot distinguish between the original and the apparitional + shapes before her; and the difficulties of the situation are + suggested in the first of the <i>kyōka</i> which I have + translated:—</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page62" + id="page62"></a>[pg 62]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Ko-ya, soré to?</p> + + <p>Ayamé mo wakanu</p> + + <p class="i2">Rikombyō:</p> + + <p>Izuré we tsuma to</p> + + <p>Hiku zo wazuraü!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Which one is this?—which one is that? Between + the two shapes of the Rikombyō it is not possible to + distinguish. To find out which is the real wife—that + will be an affliction of spirit indeed!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Futatsu naki</p> + + <p>Inochi nagara mo</p> + + <p class="i2">Kakégaë no</p> + + <p>Karada no miyuru—</p> + + <p>Kage no wazurai!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Two lives there certainly are + not;—nevertheless an extra body is visible, by reason + of the Shadow-Sickness.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Naga-tabi no</p> + + <p>Oto we shitaďté</p> + + <p class="i2">Mi futatsu ni</p> + + <p>Naru wa onna no</p> + + <p>Sāru rikombyō.</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page63" + id="page63"></a>[pg 63]</span> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Yearning after her far-journeying husband, the woman + has thus become two bodies, by reason of her ghostly + sickness.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Miru kagé mo</p> + + <p>Naki wazurai no</p> + + <p class="i2">Rikombyō,—</p> + + <p>Omoi no hoka ni</p> + + <p>Futatsu miru kagé!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Though (it was said that), because of her ghostly + sickness, there was not even a shadow of her left to be + seen,—yet, contrary to expectation, there are two + shadows of her to be seen!</i><a id="footnotetag28" + name="footnotetag28"></a><a href="#footnote28"><sup>28</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Rikombyō</p> + + <p>Hito ni kakushité</p> + + <p class="i2"> + Oku-zashiki,</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page64" + id="page64"></a>[pg 64]</span> + + <p>Omoté y dëasanu</p> + + <p>Kagé no wazurai.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Afflicted with the Rikombyō, she hides away + from people in the back room, and never approaches the + front of the house,—because of her + Shadow-disease.</i><a id="footnotetag29" + name="footnotetag29"></a><a href="#footnote29"><sup>29</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Mi wa koko ni;</p> + + <p>Tama wa otoko ni</p> + + <p class="i2">Soďné suru;—</p> + + <p>Kokoro mo shiraga</p> + + <p>Haha ga kaihō.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Here her body lies; but her soul is far away, asleep + in the arms of a man;—and the white-haired mother, + little knowing her daughter's heart, is nursing (only the + body).</i><a id="footnotetag30" + name="footnotetag30"></a><a href="#footnote30"><sup>30</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page65" + id="page65"></a>[pg 65]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Tamakushigé</p> + + <p>Futatsu no sugata</p> + + <p class="i2">Misénuru wa,</p> + + <p>Awasé-kagami no</p> + + <p>Kagé no wazurai.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>If, when seated before her toilet-stand, she sees + two faces reflected in her mirror,—that might be + caused by the mirror doubling itself under the influence of + the Shadow-Sickness.</i><a id="footnotetag31" + name="footnotetag31"></a><a href="#footnote31"><sup>31</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <h3>III. Ō-GAMA</h3> + + <p>In the old Chinese and Japanese literature the toad is + credited with supernatural + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page66" + id="page66"></a>[pg 66]</span> capacities,—such as the + power to call down clouds, the power to make rain, the power + to exhale from its mouth a magical mist which creates the + most beautiful illusions. Some toads are good + spirits,—friends of holy men; and in Japanese art a + famous Rishi called "Gama-Sennin" (Toad Rishi) is usually + represented with a white toad resting upon his shoulder, or + squatting beside him. Some toads are evil goblins, and + create phantasms for the purpose of luring men to + destruction. A typical story about a creature of this class + will be found in my "Kottō," entitled "The Story of + Chugōrō."</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Mé wa kagami,</p> + + <p>Kuchi wa tarai no</p> + + <p class="i2">Hodo ni aku:</p> + + <p>Gama mo késhō no</p> + + <p>Mono to kosō shiré.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>The eye of it, widely open, like a (round) mirror; + the mouth of it opening like a wash-basin—by these + things you may know that the Toad is a goblin-thing (or, + that the Toad is a toilet + article).</i><a id="footnotetag32" + name="footnotetag32"></a><a href="#footnote32"><sup>32</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page67" + id="page67"></a>[pg 67]</span> + + <h3>IV. SHINKIRŌ</h3> + + <p>The term <i>Shinkirō</i> is used in the meaning of + "mirage," and also as another name for Hōrai, the Elf-land + of Far Eastern fable. Various beings in Japanese myth are + credited with power to delude mortals by creating a mirage of + Hōrai. In old pictures one may see a toad represented in + the act of exhaling from its mouth a vapor that shapes the + apparition of Hōrai.</p> + + <p>But the creature especially wont to produce this illusion is + the <i>Hamaguri</i>,—a Japanese mollusk much resembling a + clam. Opening its shell, it sends into the air a purplish misty + breath; and that mist takes form and defines, in tints of + mother-of-pearl, the luminous vision of Hōrai and the + palace of the Dragon-King.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Hamaguri no</p> + + <p>Kuchi aku toki + ya,</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page68" + id="page68"></a>[pg 68]</span> + + <p class="i2">Shinkirō!</p> + + <p>Yo ni shiraré ken</p> + + <p>Tatsu-no-miya-himé!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>When the hamaguri opens its mouth—lo! + Shinkirō appears!... Then all can clearly see the + Maiden-Princess of the Dragon-Palace.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Shinkirō—</p> + + <p>Tatsu no miyako no</p> + + <p class="i2">Hinagata<a id="footnotetag33" + name="footnotetag33"></a><a href="#footnote33"><sup>33</sup></a> + wo</p> + + <p>Shio-hi no oki ni</p> + + <p>Misuru hamaguri!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Lo! in the offing at ebb-tide, the hamaguri makes + visible the miniature image of Shinkirō—the + Dragon-Capital!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <h3>V. ROKURO-KUBI</h3> + + <p>The etymological meaning of <i>Rokuro-Kubi</i> can scarcely + be indicated by any English rendering. The term <i>rokuro</i> + is indifferently used to designate many revolving + objects—objects <span class="pagenum"><a name="page69" + id="page69"></a>[pg 69]</span> as dissimilar as a pulley, a + capstan, a windlass, a turning lathe, and a potter's wheel. + Such renderings of Rokuro-Kubi as "Whirling-Neck" and + "Rotating-Neck" are unsatisfactory;—for the idea which + the term suggests to Japanese fancy is that of a neck which + revolves, <i>and lengthens or retracts according to the + direction of the revolution</i>.... As for the ghostly + meaning of the expression, a Rokuro-Kubi is either (1) a + person whose neck lengthens prodigiously during sleep, so + that the head can wander about in all directions, seeking + what it may devour, or (2) a person able to detach his or + her head completely from the body, and to rejoin it to the + neck afterwards. (About this last mentioned variety of + <i>Rokuro-Kubi</i> there is a curious story in my "Kwaidan," + translated from the Japanese.) In Chinese mythology the + being whose neck is so constructed as to allow of the head + being completely detached belongs to a special class; but in + Japanese folk-tale this distinction is not always + maintained. One of the bad habits attributed to the + Rokuro-Kubi is that of drinking the oil in night-lamps. In + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page70" + id="page70"></a>[pg 70]</span> Japanese pictures the + Rokuro-Kubi is usually depicted as a woman; and old books + tell us that a woman might become a Rokuro-Kubi without + knowing it,—much as a somnambulist walks about while + asleep, without being aware of the fact.... The following + verses about the Rokuro-Kubi have been selected from a group + of twenty in the <i>Kyōka + Hyaku-Monogatari</i>:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Nemidaré no</p> + + <p>Nagaki kami woba</p> + + <p class="i2">Furi-wakété,</p> + + <p>Chi hiro ni nobasu</p> + + <p>Rokuro-Kubi kana!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Oh!... Shaking loose her long hair disheveled by + sleep, the Rokuro-Kubi stretches her neck to the length of + a thousand fathoms!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">"Atama naki</p> + + <p>Bakémono nari"—to</p> + + <p class="i2">Rokuro-Kubi,</p> + + <p>Mité odorokan</p> + + <p>Onoga karada we.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Will not the Rokuro-Kubi, viewing with</i> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page71" + id="page71"></a>[pg 71]</span> <i>astonishment her own + body (left behind) cry out, "Oh, what a headless goblin + have you become!</i>"]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Tsuka-no-ma ni</p> + + <p>Hari we tsutawaru,</p> + + <p class="i2">Rokuro-Kubi</p> + + <p>Kéta-kéta warau—</p> + + <p>Kao no kowasa yo!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Swiftly gliding along the roof-beam (and among the + props of the roof), the Rokuro-Kubi laughs with the sound + of "kéta-kéta"—oh! the fearfulness of her + face!</i><a id="footnotetag34" + name="footnotetag34"></a><a href="#footnote34"><sup>34</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Roku shaku no</p> + + <p>Byōbu ni nobiru</p> + + <p class="i2">Rokuro-Kubi</p> + + <p>Mité wa, go shaku no</p> + + <p>Mi wo chijimi-kéri!</p> + </div> + </div><span class="pagenum"><a name="page72" + id="page72"></a>[pg 72]</span> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Beholding the Rokuro-Kubi rise up above the six-foot + screen, any five-foot person would have become shortened by + fear (or, "the stature of any person five feet high would + have been diminished").</i><a id="footnotetag35" + name="footnotetag35"></a><a href="#footnote35"><sup>35</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <h3>VI. YUKI-ONNA</h3> + + <p>The Snow-Woman, or Snow-Spectre, assumes various forms; but + in most of the old folk-tales she appears as a beautiful + phantom, whose embrace is death. (A very curious story about + her can be found in my "Kwaidan.")</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Yuki-Onna—</p> + + <p>Yosō kushi mo</p> + + <p class="i2">Atsu kōri;</p> + + <p>Sasu-kōgai ya</p> + + <p>Kōri naruran.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>As for the Snow-Woman,—even her best comb, if + I mistake not, is made of thick ice; and her + hair-pin<a id="footnotetag36" + name="footnotetag36"></a><a href="#footnote36"><sup>36</sup></a>, + too, is probably made of ice.</i>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page73" + id="page73"></a>[pg 73]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Honrai wa</p> + + <p>Kū naru mono ka,</p> + + <p class="i2">Yuki-Onna?</p> + + <p>Yoku-yoku mireba</p> + + <p>Ichi-butsu mo nashi!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Was she, then, a delusion from the very first, that + Snow-Woman,—a thing that vanishes into empty space? + When I look carefully all about me, not one trace of her is + to be seen!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Yo-akéréba</p> + + <p>Kiété yuku é wa</p> + + <p class="i2">Shirayuki<a id="footnotetag37" + name="footnotetag37"></a><a href="#footnote37"><sup>37</sup></a> + no</p> + + <p>Onna to mishi mo</p> + + <p>Yanagi nari-keri!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Having vanished at daybreak (that Snow-Woman), none + could say whither she had gone. But what had seemed to be a + snow-white woman became indeed a willow-tree!</i>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page74" + id="page74"></a>[pg 74]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Yuki-Onna</p> + + <p>Mité wa yasathiku,</p> + + <p class="i2">Matsu wo ori</p> + + <p>Nama-daké hishigu</p> + + <p>Chikara ari-keri!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Though the Snow-Woman appears to sight slender and + gentle, yet, to snap the pine-trees asunder and to crush + the live bamboos, she must have had strength.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Samukésa ni</p> + + <p>Zotto<a id="footnotetag38" + name="footnotetag38"></a><a href="#footnote38"><sup>38</sup></a> + wa surédo</p> + + <p class="i2"> + Yuki-Onna,—</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page75" + id="page75"></a>[pg 75]</span> + + <p>Yuki oré no naki</p> + + <p>Yanagi-goshi ka mo!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <p>[<i>Though the Snow-Woman makes one shiver by her + coldness,—ah, the willowy grace of her form cannot be + broken by the snow (i.e. charms us in spite of the + cold).</i>]</p> + + <h3>VII. FUNA-YŪRÉĎ</h3> + + <p>The spirits of the drowned are said to follow after ships, + calling for a bucket or a water-dipper (<i>hishaku</i>). To + refuse the bucket or the dipper is dangerous; but the bottom of + the utensil should be knocked out before the request is + complied with, and the spectres must not be allowed to see this + operation performed. If an undamaged bucket or dipper be thrown + to the ghosts, it will be used to fill and to sink the ship. + These phantoms are commonly called <i>Funa-Yūréď</i> + ("Ship-Ghosts").</p> + + <p>The spirits of those warriors of the Héďké clan who perished + in the great sea-fight at Dan-no-ura, in the year 1185, are + famous among Funa-Yūréď. Taďra no Tomomori, one + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page76" + id="page76"></a>[pg 76]</span> of the chiefs of the clan, is + celebrated in this weird rôle: old pictures represent him, + followed by the ghosts of his warriors, running over the + waves to attack passing ships. Once he menaced a vessel in + which Benkéď, the celebrated retainer of Yoshitsuné, was + voyaging; and Benkéď was able to save the ship only by means + of his Buddhist rosary, which frightened the spectres + away....</p> + + <p>Tomomori is frequently pictured as walking upon the sea, + carrying a ship's anchor on his back. He and his fellow-ghosts + are said to have been in the habit of uprooting and making off + with the anchors of vessels imprudently moored in their + particular domain,—the neighborhood of Shimonoséki.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Erimoto yé</p> + + <p>Mizu kakéraruru</p> + + <p class="i2">Kokochi seri,</p> + + <p>"Hishaku kasé" chō</p> + + <p>Funé no kowané ni.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>As if the nape of our necks had been sprinkled with + cold water,—so we felt while listening</i> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page77" + id="page77"></a>[pg 77]</span> <i>to the voice of the + ship-ghost, saying:—"Lend me a + dipper!"</i><a id="footnotetag39" + name="footnotetag39"></a><a href="#footnote39"><sup>39</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Yūrei ni</p> + + <p>Kasu-hishaku yori</p> + + <p class="i2">Ichi-hayaku</p> + + <p>Onoré ga koshi mo</p> + + <p>Nukéru senchō.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>The loins of the captain himself were knocked out + very much more quickly than the bottom of the dipper that + was to be given to the ghost.</i><a id="footnotetag40" + name="footnotetag40"></a><a href="#footnote40"><sup>40</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Benkéď no</p> + + <p>Zuzu no kuriki ni</p> + + <p class="i2">Tomomori no</p> + + <p>Sugata mo ukamu—</p> + + <p>Funé no yūréď.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>By the virtue of Benkéď's rosary, even</i> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page78" + id="page78"></a>[pg 78]</span> <i>the ship-following + ghost—even the apparition of Tomomori—is + saved.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Yūréď wa</p> + + <p>Ki naru Izumi no</p> + + <p class="i2">Hito nagara,</p> + + <p>Aö-umibara ni</p> + + <p>Nadoté itsuran?</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Since any ghost must be an inhabitant of the Yellow + Springs, how should a ghost appear on the Blue + Sea-Plain?</i><a id="footnotetag41" + name="footnotetag41"></a><a href="#footnote41"><sup>41</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Sono sugata,</p> + + <p>Ikari wo ōté,</p> + + <p class="i2">Tsuki-matoü</p> + + <p>Funé no hésaki ya</p> + + <p>Tomomori no réď!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>That Shape, carrying the anchor on its back, and + following after the ship—now at the bow and now at + the stern—ah, the ghost of + Tomomori.</i><a id="footnotetag42" + name="footnotetag42"></a><a href="#footnote42"><sup>42</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page79" + id="page79"></a>[pg 79]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Tsumi fukaki</p> + + <p>Umi ni shidzumishi,</p> + + <p class="i2">Yūréď no</p> + + <p>"Ukaman" toté ya!</p> + + <p>Funé ni sugaréru.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Crying, "Now perchance I shall be saved!" The ghost + that sank into the deep Sea of Sin clings to the passing + ship!</i><a id="footnotetag43" + name="footnotetag43"></a><a href="#footnote43"><sup>43</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page80" + id="page80"></a>[pg 80]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Ukaman to</p> + + <p>Funé we shitaëru</p> + + <p class="i2">Yuréď wa,</p> + + <p>Shidzumishi híto no</p> + + <p>Omoď naruran.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>The ghosts following after our ship in their efforts + to rise again (or, "to be saved") might perhaps be the + (last vengeful) thoughts of drowned + men.</i><a id="footnotetag44" + name="footnotetag44"></a><a href="#footnote44"><sup>44</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Uraméshiki</p> + + <p>Sugata wa sugoki</p> + + <p class="i2">Yuréď no,</p> + + <p>Kaji we jama suru</p> + + <p>Funé no Tomomori.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>With vengeful aspect, the grisly ghost of Tomomori + (rises) at the stern of the ship to hinder the play of her + rudder.</i><a id="footnotetag45" + name="footnotetag45"></a><a href="#footnote45"><sup>45</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page81" + id="page81"></a>[pg 81]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Ochi-irité,</p> + + <p>Uwo no éjiki to</p> + + <p class="i2">Nari ni ken;—</p> + + <p>Funa-yūréď mo</p> + + <p>Nama-kusaki kazé.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Having perished in the sea, (those Héďké) would + probably have become food for fishes. (Anyhow, whenever) + the ship-following ghosts (appear), the wind has a smell of + raw fish!</i><a id="footnotetag46" + name="footnotetag46"></a><a href="#footnote46"><sup>46</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <h3>VIII. HÉĎKÉGANÍ</h3> + + <p>Readers can find in my "Kottō" a paper about the + Héďké-Crabs, which have on their upper shells various + wrinklings that resemble the outlines of an angry face. At + Shimono-séki dried specimens of these curious creatures + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page82" + id="page82"></a>[pg 82]</span> are offered for sale.... The + Héďké-Crabs are said to be the transformed angry spirits of + the Héďké warriors who perished at Dan-no-ura.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Shiwo-hi ni wa</p> + + <p>Séďzoroë shité,</p> + + <p class="i2">Héďkégani</p> + + <p>Ukiyo no sama we</p> + + <p>Yoko ni niramitsu.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Marshaled (on the beach) at the ebb of the tide, the + Héďké-crabs obliquely glare at the apparition of this + miserable world.</i><a id="footnotetag47" + name="footnotetag47"></a><a href="#footnote47"><sup>47</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Saikai ni</p> + + <p>Shizumi-nurédomo,</p> + + <p class="i2">Héďkégani</p> + + <p>Kōra no iro mo</p> + + <p>Yahari aka-hata.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Though (the Héďké) long ago sank and perished in the + Western Sea, the Héďké-crabs still display</i> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page83" + id="page83"></a>[pg 83]</span> <i>upon their upper + shells the color of the Red + Standard.</i><a id="footnotetag48" + name="footnotetag48"></a><a href="#footnote48"><sup>48</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Maké-ikusa</p> + + <p>Munen to muné ni</p> + + <p class="i2">Hasami ken;—</p> + + <p>Kao mo makka ni</p> + + <p>Naru Héďkégani.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Because of the pain of defeat, claws have grown on + their breasts, I think;—even the faces of the + Héďké-crabs have become crimson (with anger and + shame).</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Mikata mina</p> + + <p>Oshi-tsubusaréshi</p> + + <p class="i2">Héďkégani</p> + + <p>Ikon we muné ni</p> + + <p>Hasami mochikéri.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>All the (Héďké) party having been utterly crushed, + claws have grown upon the breasts of the Héďké-crabs + because of the resentment in their + hearts.</i><a id="footnotetag49" + name="footnotetag49"></a><a href="#footnote49"><sup>49</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page84" + id="page84"></a>[pg 84]</span> + + <h3>IX. YANARI</h3> + + <p>Modern dictionaries ignore the uncanny significations of the + word <i>Yanari</i>,—only telling us that it means the + sound of the shaking of a house during an earthquake. But the + word used to mean the noise of the shaking of a house moved by + a goblin; and the invisible shaker was also called + <i>Yanari</i>. When, without apparent cause, some house would + shudder and creak and groan in the night, folk used to suppose + that it was being shaken from without by supernatural + malevolence.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Tokonoma ni</p> + + <p>Ikéshi tachiki mo</p> + + <p class="i2"> + Taoré-keri;</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page85" + id="page85"></a>[pg 85]</span> + + <p>Yanari ni yama no</p> + + <p>Ugoku kakémono!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Even the live tree set in the alcove has fallen + down; and the mountains in the hanging picture tremble to + the quaking made by the Yanari!</i><a id="footnotetag50" + name="footnotetag50"></a><a href="#footnote50"><sup>50</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <h3>X. SAKASA-BASHIRA</h3> + + <p>The term <i>Sakasa-bashira</i> (in these <i>kyōka</i> + often shortened into <i>saka-bashira</i>) literally means + "upside-down post." A wooden post or pillar, especially a + house-post, should be set up according to the original position + of the tree from which it was hewn,—that is to say, with + the part nearest to the roots downward. To erect a house-post + in the contrary way is thought to be unlucky;—formerly + such a blunder was believed to involve unpleasant consequences + of a ghostly kind, because an "upside-down" pillar would do + malignant things. It would moan and groan in the night, and + move all its cracks <span class="pagenum"><a name="page86" + id="page86"></a>[pg 86]</span> like mouths, and open all its + knots like eyes. Moreover, the spirit of it (for every + house-post has a spirit) would detach its long body from the + timber, and wander about the rooms, head-downwards, making + faces at people. Nor was this all. A <i>Sakasa-bashira</i> + knew how to make all the affairs of a household go + wrong,—how to foment domestic quarrels,—how to + contrive misfortune for each of the family and the + servants,—how to render existence almost insupportable + until such time as the carpenter's blunder should be + discovered and remedied.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Saka-bashira</p> + + <p>Tatéshi wa tazo ya?</p> + + <p class="i2">Kokoro ni mo</p> + + <p>Fushi aru hito no</p> + + <p>Shiwaza naruran.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Who set the house-pillar upside-down? Surely that + must have been the work of a man with a knot in his + heart.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Hidayama we</p> + + <p>Kiri-kité tatéshi</p> + + <p class="i2"> + Saka-bashira—</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page87" + id="page87"></a>[pg 87]</span> + + <p>Nanno takumi<a id="footnotetag51" + name="footnotetag51"></a><a href="#footnote51"><sup>51</sup></a> + no</p> + + <p>Shiwaza naruran?</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>That house-pillar hewn in the mountains of Hida, and + thence brought here and erected upside-down—what + carpenter's work can it be? (or, "for what evil design can + this deed have been done?")</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Uë shita wo</p> + + <p>Chigaëté tatéshi</p> + + <p class="i2">Hashira ni wa</p> + + <p>Sakasama-goto no</p> + + <p>Uréď aranan.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>As for that house-pillar mistakenly planted + upside-down, it will certainly cause adversity and + sorrow.</i><a id="footnotetag52" + name="footnotetag52"></a><a href="#footnote52"><sup>52</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Kabé ni mimi</p> + + <p>Arité, kiké to ka?</p> + + <p class="i2">Sakashima + ni</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page88" + id="page88"></a>[pg 88]</span> + + <p>Tateshi hashira ni</p> + + <p>Yanari suru oto!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>O Ears that be in the wall!<a id="footnotetag53" + name="footnotetag53"></a><a href="#footnote53"><sup>53</sup></a> + listen, will ye? to the groaning and the creaking of the + house-post that was planted upside-down!</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Uri-iyé no</p> + + <p>Aruji we toëba,</p> + + <p class="i2">Oto arité:</p> + + <p>Waré mé ga kuchi wo</p> + + <p>Aku saka-bashira.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>When I inquired for the master of the house that was + for sale, there came to me only a strange sound by way of + reply,—the sound of the upside-down house-post + opening its eyes and mouth!<a id="footnotetag54" + name="footnotetag54"></a><a href="#footnote54"><sup>54</sup></a> + (i.e. its cracks).</i>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page89" + id="page89"></a>[pg 89]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Omoïkiya!</p> + + <p>Sakasa-bashira no</p> + + <p class="i2">Hashira-kaké</p> + + <p>Kakinishit uta mo</p> + + <p>Yamai ari to wa!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Who could have thought it!—even the poem + inscribed upon the pillar-tablet, attached to the pillar + which was planted upside-down, has taken the same (ghostly) + sickness.</i><a id="footnotetag55" + name="footnotetag55"></a><a href="#footnote55"><sup>55</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <h3>XI. BAKÉ-JIZÖ</h3> + + <p>The figure of the Bodhi-sattva Jizö, the savior of + children's ghosts, is one of the most beautiful and humane in + Japanese Buddhism. Statues of this divinity may be seen in + almost every village and by every roadside. But some statues of + Jizö are said to do uncanny + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page90" + id="page90"></a>[pg 90]</span> things—such as to walk + about at night in various disguises. A statue of this kind + is called a <i>Baké-Jizō</i><a id="footnotetag56" + name="footnotetag56"></a><a href="#footnote56"><sup>56</sup></a>,—meaning + a Jizō; that undergoes transformation. A conventional + picture shows a little boy about to place the customary + child's-offering of rice-cakes before the stone image of + Jizō,—not suspecting that the statue moves, and + is slowly bending down towards him.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Nanigé naki</p> + + <p>Ishi no Jizō no</p> + + <p class="i2">Sugata saë,</p> + + <p>Yo wa osoroshiki</p> + + <p>Mikagé to zo naki.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Though the stone Jizō looks as if nothing were + the matter with it, they say that at night it assumes an + awful aspect (or, "Though this image appears to be a common + stone Jizō, they say that at night it becomes an awful + Jizō; of granite."</i><a id="footnotetag57" + name="footnotetag57"></a><a href="#footnote57"><sup>57</sup></a>)]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page91" + id="page91"></a>[pg 91]</span> + + <h3>XII. UMI-BŌZU</h3> + + <p>Place a large cuttlefish on a table, body upwards and + tentacles downwards—and you will have before you the + grotesque reality that first suggested the fancy of the + <i>Umi-Bōzu</i>, or Priest of the Sea. For the great bald + body in this position, with the staring eyes below, bears a + distorted resemblance to the shaven head of a priest; while the + crawling tentacles underneath (which are in some species united + by a dark web) suggests the wavering motion of the priest's + upper robe.... The Umi-Bōzu figures a good deal in the + literature of Japanese goblinry, and in the old-fashioned + picture-books. He rises from the deep in foul weather to seize + his prey.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page92" + id="page92"></a>[pg 92]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Ita hitoë</p> + + <p>Shita wa Jigoku ni,</p> + + <p class="i2">Sumizomé no</p> + + <p>Bōzu no umi ni</p> + + <p>Déru mo ayashina!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Since there is but the thickness of a single plank + (between the voyager and the sea), and underneath is Hell, + 'tis indeed a weird thing that a black-robed priest should + rise from the sea (or, "'tis surely a marvelous happening + that," etc.!</i><a id="footnotetag58" + name="footnotetag58"></a><a href="#footnote58"><sup>58</sup></a>)]</p> + </blockquote> + + <h3>XIII. FUDA-HÉGASHI<a id="footnotetag59" + name="footnotetag59"></a><a href="#footnote59"><sup>59</sup></a></h3> + + <p>Homes are protected from evil spirits by holy texts and + charms. In any Japanese <span class="pagenum"><a name="page93" + id="page93"></a>[pg 93]</span> village, or any city + by-street, you can see these texts when the sliding-doors + are closed at night: they are not visible by day, when the + sliding-doors have been pushed back into the + <i>tobukuro</i>. Such texts are called <i>o-fuda</i> (august + scripts): they are written in Chinese characters upon strips + of white paper, which are attached to the door with + rice-paste; and there are many kinds of them. Some are texts + selected from sutras—such as the Sűtra of Transcendent + Wisdom (Pragńa-Pâramitâ-Hridaya-Sűtra), or the Sűtra of the + Lotos of the Good Law (Saddharma-Pundarikâ-Sűtra). Some are + texts from the dhâranîs,—which are magical. Some are + invocations only, indicating the Buddhist sect of the + household.... Besides these you may see various smaller + texts, or little prints, pasted above or beside windows or + apertures,—some being names of Shinto gods; others, + symbolical pictures only, or pictures of Buddhas and + Bodhi-sattvas. All are holy charms,—<i>o-fuda</i>: + they protect the houses; and no goblin or ghost can enter by + night into a dwelling so protected, unless the <i>o-fuda</i> + be removed.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page94" + id="page94"></a>[pg 94]</span> + + <p>Vengeful ghosts cannot themselves remove an <i>o-fuda</i>; + but they will endeavor by threats or promises or bribes to make + some person remove it for them. A ghost that wants to have the + <i>o-fuda</i> pulled off a door is called a + <i>Fuda-hégashi</i>.</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Hégasan to</p> + + <p>Rokuji-no-fuda wo,</p> + + <p class="i2">Yuréď mo</p> + + <p>Nam'mai dā to</p> + + <p>Kazoëté zo mini.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Even the ghost that would remove the charms written + with six characters actually tries to count them, + repeating: "How many sheets are there?" (or, repeating, + "Hail to thee, O Buddha Amitábha!"<a id="footnotetag60" + name="footnotetag60"></a><a href="#footnote60"><sup>60</sup></a>)</i>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page95" + id="page95"></a>[pg 95]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Tada ichi no</p> + + <p>Kami no o-fuda wa</p> + + <p class="i2">Sasuga ni mo</p> + + <p>Noriké naku to mo</p> + + <p>Hégashi kanékéri.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Of the august written-charms of the god (which were + pasted upon the walls of the house), not even one could by + any effort be pulled off, though the rice-paste with which + they had been fastened was all gone.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <h3>XIV. FURU-TSUBAKI</h3> + + <p>The old Japanese, like the old Greeks, had their + flower-spirits and their hamadryads, concerning whom some + charming stories are told. They also believed in trees + inhabited by malevolent beings,—goblin trees. Among other + weird trees, the beautiful <i>tsubaki</i> (<i>Camellia + Japonica</i>) was said to be an unlucky tree;—this was + said, at least, of the red-flowering variety, the + white-flowering kind having a better reputation and being + prized as a rarity. The large fleshy crimson flowers have this + curious habit: they detach themselves bodily from the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page96" + id="page96"></a>[pg 96]</span> stem, when they begin to + fade; and they fall with an audible thud. To old Japanese + fancy the falling of these heavy red flowers was like the + falling of human heads under the sword; and the dull sound + of their dropping was said to be like the thud made by a + severed head striking the ground. Nevertheless the tsubaki + seems to have been a favorite in Japanese gardens because of + the beauty of its glossy foliage; and its flowers were used + for the decoration of alcoves. But in samurai homes it was a + rule never to place tsubaki-flowers in an alcove <i>during + war-time</i>.</p> + + <p>The reader will notice that in the following + <i>kyōka</i>—which, as grotesques, seem to me the + best in the collection—the goblin-tsubaki is called + <i>furu-tsubaki</i>, "old tsubaki." The young tree was not + supposed to have goblin-propensities,—these being + developed only after many years. Other uncanny trees—such + as the willow and the <i>énoki</i>—were likewise said to + become dangerous only as they became old; and a similar belief + prevailed on the subject of uncanny animals, such as the + cat—innocent in kittenhood, but devilish in + age.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page97" + id="page97"></a>[pg 97]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Yo-arashi ni</p> + + <p>Chishiho itadaku</p> + + <p class="i2">Furu tsubaki,</p> + + <p>Hota-hota ochiru</p> + + <p>Hana no nama-kubi.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>When by the night-storm is shaken the blood-crowned + and ancient tsubaki-tree, then one by one fall the gory + heads of the flowers, (with the sound of) + hota-hota!</i><a id="footnotetag61" + name="footnotetag61"></a><a href="#footnote61"><sup>61</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Kusa mo ki mo</p> + + <p>Némuréru koro no</p> + + <p class="i2">Sayo kazé ni,</p> + + <p>Méhana no ugoku</p> + + <p>Furu-tsubaki kana!</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>When even the grass and the trees are sleeping under + the faint wind of the night,—then do the eyes and the + noses of the old tsubaki-tree (or "the buds and the flowers + of the old tsubaki-tree") move!</i><a id="footnotetag62" + name="footnotetag62"></a><a href="#footnote62"><sup>62</sup></a>]</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page98" + id="page98"></a>[pg 98]</span> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Tomoshibi no</p> + + <p>Kagé ayashigé ni</p> + + <p class="i2">Miyénuru wa</p> + + <p>Abura shiborishi</p> + + <p>Furu-tsubaki ka-mo?</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>As for (the reason why) the light of that lamp + appears to be a Weirdness,<a id="footnotetag63" + name="footnotetag63"></a><a href="#footnote63"><sup>63</sup></a>—perhaps + the oil was expressed from (the nuts of) the ancient + tsu-baki?</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + <hr /> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page99" + id="page99"></a>[pg 99]</span> + + <p>—Nearly all the stories and folk-beliefs about which + these <i>kyōka</i> were written seem to have come from + China; and most of the Japanese tales of tree-spirits appear to + have had a Chinese origin. As the flower-spirits and hamadryads + of the Far East are as yet little known to Western readers, the + following Chinese story may be found interesting.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>There was a Chinese scholar—called, in Japanese books, + Tō no Busanshi—who was famous for his love of + flowers. He was particularly fond of peonies, and cultivated + them with great skill and patience.<a id="footnotetag64" + name="footnotetag64"></a><a href="#footnote64"><sup>64</sup></a></p> + + <p>One day a very comely girl came to the house of Busanshi, + and begged to be taken into his service. She said that + circumstances obliged her to seek humble employment, but that + she had received a literary education, and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page100" + id="page100"></a>[pg 100]</span> therefore wished to enter, + if possible, into the service of a scholar. Busanshi was + charmed by her beauty, and took her into his household + without further questioning. She proved to be much more than + a good domestic: indeed, the nature of her accomplishments + made Busanshi suspect that she had been brought up in the + court of some prince, or in the palace of some great lord. + She displayed a perfect knowledge of the etiquette and the + polite arts which are taught only to ladies of the highest + rank; and she possessed astonishing skill in calligraphy, in + painting, and in every kind of poetical composition. + Busanshi presently fell in love with her, and thought only + of how to please her. When scholar-friends or other visitors + of importance came to the house, he would send for the new + maid that she might entertain and wait upon his guests; and + all who saw her were amazed by her grace and charm.</p> + + <p>One day Busanshi received a visit from the great + Teki-Shin-Ketsu, a famous teacher of moral doctrine; and the + maid did not respond to her master's call. Busanshi went + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page101" + id="page101"></a>[pg 101]</span> himself to seek her, being + desirous that Teki-Shin-Ketsu should see her and admire her; + but she was nowhere to be found. After having searched the + whole house in vain, Busanshi was returning to the + guest-room when he suddenly caught sight of the maid, + gliding soundlessly before him along a corridor. He called + to her, and hurried after her. Then she turned half-round, + and flattened herself against the wall like a spider; and as + he reached her she sank backwards into the wall, so that + there remained of her nothing visible but a colored + shadow,—level like a picture painted on the plaster. + But the shadow moved its lips and eyes, and spoke to him in + a whisper, saying:—</p> + + <p>"Pardon me that I did not obey your august call!... I am not + a mankind-person;—I am only the Soul of a Peony. Because + you loved peonies so much, I was able to take human shape, and + to serve you. But now this Teki-Shin-Ketsu has come,—and + he is a person of dreadful propriety,—and I dare not keep + this form any longer.... I must return to the place from which + I came."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page102" + id="page102"></a>[pg 102]</span> + + <p>Then she sank back into the wall, and vanished altogether: + there was nothing where she had been except the naked plaster. + And Busanshi never saw her again.</p> + + <p>This story is written in a Chinese book which the Japanese + call "Kai-ten-i-ji."</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page103" + id="page103"></a>[pg 103]</span> + + <h2>"ULTIMATE + QUESTIONS"</h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="page105" + id="page105"></a>[pg 105]</span> + + <p>A memory of long ago.... I am walking upon a granite + pavement that rings like iron, between buildings of granite + bathed in the light of a cloudless noon. Shadows are short and + sharp: there is no stir in the hot bright air; and the sound of + my footsteps, strangely loud, is the only sound in the + street.... Suddenly an odd feeling comes to me, with a sort of + tingling shock,—a feeling, or suspicion, of universal + illusion. The pavement, the bulks of hewn stone, the iron + rails, and all things visible, are dreams! Light, color, form, + weight, solidity—all sensed existences—are but + phantoms of being, manifestations only of one infinite + ghostliness for which the language of man has not any + word....</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page106" + id="page106"></a>[pg 106]</span> + + <p>This experience had been produced by study of the first + volume of the Synthetic Philosophy, which an American friend + had taught me how to read. I did not find it easy reading; + partly because I am a slow thinker, but chiefly because my mind + had never been trained to sustained effort in such directions. + To learn the "First Principles" occupied me many months: no + other volume of the series gave me equal trouble. I would read + one section at a time,—rarely two,—never venturing + upon a fresh section until I thought that I had made sure of + the preceding. Very cautious and slow my progress was, like + that of a man mounting, for the first time, a long series of + ladders in darkness. Reaching the light at last, I caught a + sudden new vision of things,—a momentary perception of + the illusion of surfaces,—and from that time the world + never again appeared to me quite the same as it had appeared + before.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>—This memory of more than twenty years ago, and the + extraordinary thrill of the moment, were recently revived for + me by the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page107" + id="page107"></a>[pg 107]</span> reading of the essay + "Ultimate Questions," in the last and not least precious + volume bequeathed us by the world's greatest thinker. The + essay contains his final utterance about the riddle of life + and death, as that riddle presented itself to his vast mind + in the dusk of a lifetime of intellectual toil. Certainly + the substance of what he had to tell us might have been + inferred from the Synthetic Philosophy; but the particular + interest of this last essay is made by the writer's + expression of personal sentiment regarding the problem that + troubles all deep thinkers. Perhaps few of us could have + remained satisfied with his purely scientific position. Even + while fully accepting his declaration of the identity of the + power that "wells up in us under the form of consciousness" + with that Power Unknowable which shapes all things, most + disciples of the master must have longed for some chance to + ask him directly, "But how do <i>you</i> feel in regard to + the prospect of personal dissolution?" And this merely + emotional question he has answered as frankly and as fully + as any of us could have desired,—perhaps + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page108" + id="page108"></a>[pg 108]</span> even more frankly. "Old + people," he remarks apologetically, "must have many + reflections in common. Doubtless one which I have now in + mind is very familiar. For years past, when watching the + unfolding buds in the spring, there has arisen the thought, + 'Shall I ever again see the buds unfold? Shall I ever again + be awakened at dawn by the song of the thrush?' Now that the + end is not likely to be long postponed, there results an + increasing tendency to meditate upon ultimate questions."... + Then he tells us that these ultimate questions—"of the + How and the Why, of the Whence and the Whither"—occupy + much more space in the minds of those who cannot accept the + creed of Christendom, than the current conception fills in + the minds of the majority of men. The enormity of the + problem of existence becomes manifest only to those who have + permitted themselves to think freely and widely and deeply, + with all such aids to thought as exact science can furnish; + and the larger the knowledge of the thinker, the more + pressing and tremendous the problem appears, and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page109" + id="page109"></a>[pg 109]</span> the more hopelessly + unanswerable. To Herbert Spencer himself it must have + assumed a vastness beyond the apprehension of the average + mind; and it weighed upon him more and more inexorably the + nearer he approached to death. He could not avoid the + conviction—plainly suggested in his magnificent + Psychology and in other volumes of his great work—that + there exists no rational evidence for any belief in the + continuance of conscious personality after death:—</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"After studying primitive beliefs, and finding that + there is no origin for the idea of an after-life, save the + conclusion which the savage draws, from the notion + suggested by dreams, of a wandering double which comes back + on awaking, and which goes away for an indefinite time at + death;—and after contemplating the inscrutable + relation between brain and consciousness, and finding that + we can get no evidence of the existence of the last without + the activity of the first,—we seem obliged to + relinquish the thought that consciousness continues after + physical organization has become inactive."</p> + </blockquote><span class="pagenum"><a name="page110" + id="page110"></a>[pg 110]</span> + + <p>In this measured utterance there is no word of hope; but + there is at least a carefully stated doubt, which those who + will may try to develop into the germ of a hope. The guarded + phrase, "we <i>seem</i> obliged to relinquish," certainly + suggests that, although in the present state of human knowledge + we have no reason to believe in the perpetuity of + consciousness, some larger future knowledge might help us to a + less forlorn prospect. From the prospect as it now appears even + this mightiest of thinkers recoiled:—</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>... "But it seems a strange and repugnant conclusion + that with the cessation of consciousness at death there + ceases to be any knowledge of having existed. With his last + breath it becomes to each the same thing as though he had + never lived.</p> + + <p>"And then the consciousness itself—what is it + during the time that it continues? And what becomes of it + when it ends? We can only infer that it is a specialized + and individualized form of that Infinite and Eternal Energy + which transcends both our knowledge and our imagination; + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page111" + id="page111"></a>[pg 111]</span> and that at death its + elements lapse into that Infinite and Eternal Energy + whence they were derived."</p> + </blockquote> + <hr /> + + <p>—<i>With his last breath it becomes to each the same + thing as though he had never lived?</i> To the individual, + perhaps—surely not to the humanity made wiser and better + by his labors.... But the world must pass away: will it + thereafter be the same for the universe as if humanity had + never existed? That might depend upon the possibilities of + future inter-planetary communication.... But the whole universe + of suns and planets must also perish: thereafter will it be the + same as if no intelligent life had ever toiled and suffered + upon those countless worlds? We have at least the certainty + that the energies of life cannot be destroyed, and the strong + probability that they will help to form another life and + thought in universes yet to be evolved.... Nevertheless, + allowing for all imagined possibilities,—granting even + the likelihood of some inapprehensible relation between all + past and all future <span class="pagenum"><a name="page112" + id="page112"></a>[pg 112]</span> + conditioned-being,—the tremendous question remains: + What signifies the whole of apparitional existence to the + Unconditioned? As flickers of sheet-lightning leave no + record in the night, so in that Darkness a million billion + trillion universes might come and go, and leave no trace of + their having been.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>To every aspect of the problem Herbert Spencer must have + given thought; but he has plainly declared that the human + intellect, as at present constituted, can offer no solution. + The greatest mind that this world has yet produced—the + mind that systematized all human knowledge, that revolutionized + modern science, that dissipated materialism forever, that + revealed to us the ghostly unity of all existence, that + reestablished all ethics upon an immutable and eternal + foundation,—the mind that could expound with equal + lucidity, and by the same universal formula, the history of a + gnat or the history of a sun—confessed itself, before the + Riddle of Existence, scarcely less helpless than the mind of a + child.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page113" + id="page113"></a>[pg 113]</span> + + <p>But for me the supreme value of this last essay is made by + the fact that in its pathetic statement of uncertainties and + probabilities one can discern something very much resembling a + declaration of faith. Though assured that we have yet no + foundation for any belief in the persistence of consciousness + after the death of the brain, we are bidden to remember that + the ultimate nature of consciousness remains inscrutable. + Though we cannot surmise the relation of consciousness to the + unseen, we are reminded that it must be considered as a + manifestation of the Infinite Energy, and that its elements, if + dissociated by death, will return to the timeless and + measureless Source of Life.... Science to-day also assures us + that whatever existence has been—all individual life that + ever moved in animal or plant,—all feeling and thought + that ever stirred in human consciousness—must have + flashed self-record beyond the sphere of sentiency; and though + we cannot know, we cannot help imagining that the best of such + registration may be destined to perpetuity. On this latter + subject, for <span class="pagenum"><a name="page114" + id="page114"></a>[pg 114]</span> obvious reasons, Herbert + Spencer has remained silent; but the reader may ponder a + remarkable paragraph in the final sixth edition of the + "First Principles,"—a paragraph dealing with the + hypothesis that consciousness may belong to the cosmic + ether. This hypothesis has not been lightly dismissed by + him; and even while proving its inadequacy, he seems to + intimate that it may represent imperfectly some truth yet + inapprehensible by the human mind:—</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"The only supposition having consistency is that that in + which consciousness inheres is the all-pervading ether. + This we know can be affected by molecules of matter in + motion, and conversely can affect the motions of + molecules;—as witness the action of light on the + retina. In pursuance of this supposition we may assume that + the ether, which pervades not only all space but all + matter, is, under special conditions in certain parts of + the nervous system, capable of being affected by the + nervous changes in such way as to result in feeling, and is + reciprocally capable under these conditions of affecting + the nervous changes. But if we accept this explanation, we + must assume that the potentiality + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page115" + id="page115"></a>[pg 115]</span> of feeling is + universal, and that the evolution of feeling in the + ether takes place only under the extremely complex + conditions occurring in certain nervous centres. This, + however, is but a semblance of an explanation, since we + know not what the ether is, and since, by confession of + those most capable of judging, no hypothesis that has + been framed accounts for all its powers. Such an + explanation may be said to do no more than symbolize the + phenomena by symbols of unknown natures."—["First + Principles," § 71 <i>c</i>, definitive edition of + 1900.]</p> + + <p>—"Inscrutable is this complex consciousness which + has slowly evolved out of infantine + vacuity—consciousness which, in other shapes, is + manifested by animate beings at large—consciousness + which, during the development of every creature, makes its + appearance out of what seems unconscious matter; + <i>suggesting the thought that consciousness, in some + rudimentary form, is omnipresent.</i>"<a id="footnotetag65" + name="footnotetag65"></a><a href="#footnote65"><sup>65</sup></a></p> + </blockquote> + + <p>—Of all modern thinkers, Spencer was perhaps the most + careful to avoid giving encouragement to any hypothesis + unsupported <span class="pagenum"><a name="page116" + id="page116"></a>[pg 116]</span> by powerful evidence. Even + the simple sum of his own creed is uttered only, with due + reservation, as a statement of three probabilities: that + consciousness represents a specialized and individualized + form of the infinite Energy; that it is dissolved by death; + and that its elements then return to the source of all + being. As for our mental attitude toward the infinite + Mystery, his advice is plain. We must resign ourselves to + the eternal law, and endeavor to vanquish our ancient + inheritance of superstitious terrors, remembering that, + "merciless as is the Cosmic process worked out by an Unknown + Power, yet vengeance is nowhere to be found in + it."<a id="footnotetag66" + name="footnotetag66"></a><a href="#footnote66"><sup>66</sup></a></p> + <hr /> + + <p>In the same brief essay there is another confession of + singular interest,—an acknowledgment of the terror of + Space. To even the ordinary mind, the notion of infinite + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page117" + id="page117"></a>[pg 117]</span> Space, as forced upon us by + those monstrous facts of astronomy which require no serious + study to apprehend, is terrifying;—I mean the mere + vague idea of that everlasting Night into which the blazing + of millions of suns can bring neither light nor warmth. But + to the intellect of Herbert Spencer the idea of Space must + have presented itself after a manner incomparably more + mysterious and stupendous. The mathematician alone will + comprehend the full significance of the paragraph dealing + with the Geometry of Position and the mystery of + space-relations,—or the startling declaration that + "even could we penetrate the mysteries of existence, there + would remain still more transcendent mysteries." But Herbert + Spencer tells us that, apart from the conception of these + geometrical mysteries, the problem of naked Space itself + became for him, in the twilight of his age, an obsession and + a dismay:—</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>... "And then comes the thought of this universal matrix + itself, anteceding alike creation or evolution, whichever + be assumed, and infinitely + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page118" + id="page118"></a>[pg 118]</span> transcending both, + alike in extent and duration; since both, if conceived + at all, must be conceived as having had beginnings, + while Space had no beginning. The thought of this blank + form of existence which, explored in all directions as + far as imagination can reach, has, beyond that, an + unexplored region compared with which the part which + imagination has traversed is but + infinitesimal,—the thought of a Space compared + with which our immeasurable sidereal system dwindles to + a point is a thought too overwhelming to be dwelt upon. + Of late years the consciousness that without origin or + cause infinite Space has ever existed and must ever + exist, produces in me a feeling from which I + shrink."</p> + </blockquote> + <hr /> + + <p>How the idea of infinite Space may affect a mind + incomparably more powerful than my own, I cannot + know;—neither can I divine the nature of certain problems + which the laws of space-relation present to the geometrician. + But when I try to determine the cause of the horror which that + idea evokes within my own feeble imagination, I am able to + distinguish different elements of the emotion,—particular + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page119" + id="page119"></a>[pg 119]</span> forms of terror responding + to particular ideas (rational and irrational) suggested by + the revelations of science. One feeling—perhaps the + main element of the horror—is made by the thought of + being <i>prisoned</i> forever and ever within that + unutterable Viewlessness which occupies infinite Space.</p> + + <p>Behind this feeling there is more than the thought of + eternal circumscription;—there is also the idea of being + perpetually penetrated, traversed, thrilled by the + Nameless;—there is likewise the certainty that no least + particle of innermost secret Self could shun the eternal touch + of It;—there is furthermore the tremendous conviction + that could the Self of me rush with the swiftness of + light,—with more than the swiftness of + light,—beyond all galaxies, beyond durations of time so + vast that Science knows no sign by which their magnitudes might + be indicated,—and still flee onward, onward, downward, + upward,—always, always,—never could that Self of me + reach nearer to any verge, never speed farther from any centre. + For, in that Silence, all vastitude + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page120" + id="page120"></a>[pg 120]</span> and height and depth and + time and direction are swallowed up: relation therein could + have no meaning but for the speck of my fleeting + consciousness,—atom of terror pulsating alone through + atomless, soundless, nameless, illimitable potentiality.</p> + + <p>And the idea of that potentiality awakens another quality of + horror,—the horror of infinite Possibility. For this + Inscrutable that pulses through substance as if substance were + not at all,—so subtly that none can feel the flowing of + its tides, yet so swiftly that no life-time would suffice to + count the number of the oscillations which it makes within the + fraction of one second,—thrills to us out of + endlessness;—and the force of infinity dwells in its + lightest tremor; the weight of eternity presses behind its + faintest shudder. To that phantom-Touch, the tinting of a + blossom or the dissipation of a universe were equally facile: + here it caresses the eye with the charm and illusion of color; + there it bestirs into being a cluster of giant suns. All that + human mind is capable of conceiving as possible (and how much + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page121" + id="page121"></a>[pg 121]</span> also that human mind must + forever remain incapable of conceiving?) may be wrought + anywhere, everywhere, by a single tremor of that + Abyss....</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Is it true, as some would have us believe, that the fear of + the extinction of self is the terror supreme?... For the + thought of personal perpetuity in the infinite vortex is enough + to evoke sudden trepidations that no tongue can + utter,—fugitive instants of a horror too vast to enter + wholly into consciousness: a horror that can be endured in + swift black glimpsings only. And the trust that we are one with + the Absolute—dim points of thrilling in the abyss of + It—can prove a consoling faith only to those who find + themselves obliged to think that consciousness dissolves with + the crumbling of the brain.... It seems to me that few (or + none) dare to utter frankly those stupendous doubts and fears + which force mortal intelligence to recoil upon itself at every + fresh attempt to pass the barrier of the Knowable. Were that + barrier unexpectedly pushed + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page122" + id="page122"></a>[pg 122]</span> back,—were knowledge + to be suddenly and vastly expanded beyond its present + limits,—perhaps we should find ourselves unable to + endure the revelation....</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Mr. Percival Lowell's astonishing book, "Mars," sets one to + thinking about the results of being able to hold communication + with the habitants of an older and a wiser world,—some + race of beings more highly evolved than we, both intellectually + and morally, and able to interpret a thousand mysteries that + still baffle our science. Perhaps, in such event, we should not + find ourselves able to comprehend the methods, even could we + borrow the results, of wisdom older than all our civilization + by myriads or hundreds of myriads of years. But would not the + sudden advent of larger knowledge from some elder planet prove + for us, by reason, of the present moral condition of mankind, + nothing less than a catastrophe?—might it not even result + in the extinction of the human species?...</p> + + <p>The rule seems to be that the dissemination of dangerous + higher knowledge, before + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page123" + id="page123"></a>[pg 123]</span> the masses of a people are + ethically prepared to receive it, will always be prevented + by the conservative instinct; and we have reason to suppose + (allowing for individual exceptions) that the power to gain + higher knowledge is developed only as the moral ability to + profit by such knowledge is evolved. I fancy that if the + power of holding intellectual converse with other worlds + could now serve us, we should presently obtain it. But if, + by some astonishing chance,—as by the discovery, let + us suppose, of some method of ether-telegraphy,—this + power were prematurely acquired, its exercise would in all + probability be prohibited.... Imagine, for example, what + would have happened during the Middle Ages to the person + guilty of discovering means to communicate with the people + of a neighboring planet! Assuredly that inventor and his + apparatus and his records would have been burned; every + trace and memory of his labors would have been extirpated. + Even to-day the sudden discovery of truths unsupported by + human experience, the sudden revelation of facts totally + opposed to <span class="pagenum"><a name="page124" + id="page124"></a>[pg 124]</span> existing convictions, might + evoke some frantic revival of superstitious + terrors,—some religious panic-fury that would strangle + science, and replunge the world in mental darkness for a + thousand years.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page125" + id="page125"></a>[pg 125]</span> + + <h2>THE MIRROR + MAIDEN</h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="page127" + id="page127"></a>[pg 127]</span> + + <p>In the period of the Ashikaga Shōgunate the shrine of + Ogawachi-Myōjin, at Minami-Isé, fell into decay; and the + daimyō of the district, the Lord Kitahataké, found himself + unable, by reason of war and other circumstances, to provide + for the reparation of the building. Then the Shintō priest + in charge, Matsumura Hyōgo, sought help at Kyōto from + the great daimyō Hosokawa, who was known to have influence + with the Shōgun. The Lord Hosokawa received the priest + kindly, and promised to speak to the Shōgun about the + condition of Ogawachi-Myōjin. But he said that, in any + event, a grant for the restoration of the temple could not be + made without due investigation and considerable + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page128" + id="page128"></a>[pg 128]</span> delay; and he advised + Matsumura to remain in the capital while the matter was + being arranged. Matsumura therefore brought his family to + Kyōto, and rented a house in the old Kyōgoku + quarter.</p> + + <p>This house, although handsome and spacious, had been long + unoccupied. It was said to be an unlucky house. On the + northeast side of it there was a well; and several former + tenants had drowned themselves in that well, without any known + cause. But Matsumura, being a Shintō priest, had no fear + of evil spirits; and he soon made himself very comfortable in + his new home.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>In the summer of that year there was a great drought. For + months no rain had fallen in the Five Home-Provinces; the + river-beds dried up, the wells failed; and even in the capital + there was a dearth of water. But the well in Matsumura's garden + remained nearly full; and the water—which was very cold + and clear, with a faint bluish tinge—seemed to be + supplied by a spring. During the hot season many + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page129" + id="page129"></a>[pg 129]</span> people came from all parts + of the city to beg for water; and Matsumura allowed them to + draw as much as they pleased. Nevertheless the supply did + not appear to be diminished.</p> + + <p>But one morning the dead body of a young servant, who had + been sent from a neighboring residence to fetch water, was + found floating in the well. No cause for a suicide could be + imagined; and Matsumura, remembering many unpleasant stories + about the well, began to suspect some invisible malevolence. He + went to examine the well, with the intention of having a fence + built around it; and while standing there alone he was startled + by a sudden motion in the water, as of something alive. The + motion soon ceased; and then he perceived, clearly reflected in + the still surface, the figure of a young woman, apparently + about nineteen or twenty years of age. She seemed to be + occupied with her toilet: he distinctly saw her touching her + lips with <i>béni</i><a id="footnotetag67" + name="footnotetag67"></a><a href="#footnote67"><sup>67</sup></a> + At first her face was visible in profile only; but presently + she turned towards him and smiled. Immediately he felt a + strange shock <span class="pagenum"><a name="page130" + id="page130"></a>[pg 130]</span> at his heart, and a + dizziness came upon him like the dizziness of wine, and + everything became dark, except that smiling + face,—white and beautiful as moonlight, and always + seeming to grow more beautiful, and to be drawing him + down—down—down into the darkness. But with a + desperate effort he recovered his will and closed his eyes. + When he opened them again, the face was gone, and the light + had returned; and he found himself leaning down over the + curb of the well. A moment more of that dizziness,—a + moment more of that dazzling lure,—and he would never + again have looked upon the sun...</p> + + <p>Returning to the house, he gave orders to his people not to + approach the well under any circumstances, or allow any person + to draw water from it. And the next day he had a strong fence + built round the well.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>About a week after the fence had been built, the long + drought was broken by a great rain-storm, accompanied by wind + and lightning and thunder,—thunder so tremendous + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page131" + id="page131"></a>[pg 131]</span> that the whole city shook + to the rolling of it, as if shaken by an earthquake. For + three days and three nights the downpour and the lightnings + and the thunder continued; and the Kamogawa rose as it had + never risen before, carrying away many bridges. During the + third night of the storm, at the Hour of the Ox, there was + heard a knocking at the door of the priest's dwelling, and + the voice of a woman pleading for admittance. But Matsumura, + warned by his experience at the well, forbade his servants + to answer the appeal. He went himself to the entrance, and + asked,—</p> + + <p>"Who calls?"</p> + + <p>A feminine voice responded:—</p> + + <p>"Pardon! it is I,—Yayoi!<a id="footnotetag68" + name="footnotetag68"></a><a href="#footnote68"><sup>68</sup></a>... + I have something to say to Matsumura Sama,—something + of great moment. Please open!"...</p> + + <p>Matsumura half opened the door, very cautiously; and he saw + the same beautiful face that had smiled upon him from the well. + But it was not smiling now: it had a very sad look.</p> + + <p>"Into my house you shall not come," + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page132" + id="page132"></a>[pg 132]</span> the priest exclaimed. "You + are not a human being, but a Well-Person.... Why do you thus + wickedly try to delude and destroy people?"</p> + + <p>The Well-Person made answer in a voice musical as a tinkling + of jewels (<i>tama-wo-korogasu-koë</i>.):—</p> + + <p>"It is of that very matter that I want to speak.... I have + never wished to injure human beings. But from ancient time a + Poison-Dragon dwelt in that well. He was the Master of the + Well; and because of him the well was always full. Long ago I + fell into the water there, and so became subject to him; and he + had power to make me lure people to death, in order that he + might drink their blood. But now the Heavenly Ruler has + commanded the Dragon to dwell hereafter in the lake called + Torii-no-Iké, in the Province of Shinshū; and the gods + have decided that he shall never be allowed to return to this + city. So to-night, after he had gone away, I was able to come + out, to beg for your kindly help. There is now very little + water in the well, because of the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page133" + id="page133"></a>[pg 133]</span> Dragon's departure; and if + you will order search to be made, my body will be found + there. I pray you to save my body from the well without + delay; and I shall certainly return your + benevolence."...</p> + + <p>So saying, she vanished into the night.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Before dawn the tempest had passed; and when the sun arose + there was no trace of cloud in the pure blue sky. Matsumura + sent at an early hour for well-cleaners to search the well. + Then, to everybody's surprise, the well proved to be almost + dry. It was easily cleaned; and at the bottom of it were found + some hair-ornaments of a very ancient fashion, and a metal + mirror of curious form—but no trace of any body, animal + or human.</p> + + <p>Matusmura imagined, however, that the mirror might yield + some explanation of the mystery; for every such mirror is a + weird thing, having a soul of its own,—and the soul of a + mirror is feminine. This mirror, which seemed to be very old, + was deeply crusted with scurf. But when it had been carefully + cleaned, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page134" + id="page134"></a>[pg 134]</span> by the priest's order, it + proved to be of rare and costly workmanship; and there were + wonderful designs upon the back of it,—also several + characters. Some of the characters had become + indistinguishable; but there could still be discerned part + of a date, and ideographs signifying, "<i>third month, the + third day</i>." Now the third month used to be termed + <i>Yayoi</i> (meaning, the Month of Increase); and the third + day of the third month, which is a festival day, is still + called <i>Yayoi-no-sekku</i>. Remembering that the + Well-Person called herself "Yayoi," Matsumura felt almost + sure that his ghostly visitant had been none other than the + Soul of the Mirror.</p> + + <p>He therefore resolved to treat the mirror with all the + consideration due to a Spirit. After having caused it to be + carefully repolished and resilvered, he had a case of precious + wood made for it, and a particular room in the house prepared + to receive it. On the evening of the same day that it had been + respectfully deposited in that room, Yayoi herself unexpectedly + appeared before the priest as he sat alone in his study. She + looked even more lovely than + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page135" + id="page135"></a>[pg 135]</span> before; but the light of + her beauty was now soft as the light of a summer moon + shining through pure white clouds. After having humbly + saluted Matsumura, she said in her sweetly tinkling + voice:—</p> + + <p>"Now that you have saved me from solitude and sorrow, I have + come to thank you.... I am indeed, as you supposed, the Spirit + of the Mirror. It was in the time of the Emperor Saimei that I + was first brought here from Kudara; and I dwelt in the august + residence until the time of the Emperor Saga, when I was + augustly bestowed upon the Lady Kamo, Naishinnō of the + Imperial Court.<a id="footnotetag69" + name="footnotetag69"></a><a href="#footnote69"><sup>69</sup></a> + Thereafter I became an heirloom in the House of Fuji-wara, + and so remained until the period of Hōgen, when I was + dropped into the well. There I was left and forgotten during + the years <span class="pagenum"><a name="page136" + id="page136"></a>[pg 136]</span> of the great + war.<a id="footnotetag70" + name="footnotetag70"></a><a href="#footnote70"><sup>70</sup></a> + The Master of the Well<a id="footnotetag71" + name="footnotetag71"></a><a href="#footnote71"><sup>71</sup></a> + was a venomous Dragon, who used to live in a lake that once + covered a great part of this district. After the lake had + been filled in, by government order, in order that houses + might be built upon the place of it, the Dragon took + possession of the well; and when I fell into the well I + became subject to him; and he compelled me to lure many + people to their deaths. But the gods have banished him + forever.... Now I have one more favor to beseech: I entreat + that you will cause me to be offered up to the Shōgun, + the Lord Yoshimasa, who by descent is related to my former + possessors. Do me but this last great kindness, and it will + bring you <span class="pagenum"><a name="page137" + id="page137"></a>[pg 137]</span> good-fortune.... But I have + also to warn you of a danger. In this house, after + to-morrow, you must not stay, because it will be + destroyed."... And with these words of warning Yayoi + disappeared.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Matsumura was able to profit by this premonition. He removed + his people and his belongings to another district the next day; + and almost immediately afterwards another storm arose, even + more violent than the first, causing a flood which swept away + the house in which he had been residing.</p> + + <p>Some time later, by favor of the Lord Hosokawa, Matsumura + was enabled to obtain an audience of the Shōgun Yoshimasa, + to whom he presented the mirror, together with a written + account of its wonderful history. Then the prediction of the + Spirit of the Mirror was fulfilled; for the Shōgun, + greatly pleased with this strange gift, not only bestowed + costly presents upon Matsumura, but also made an ample grant of + money for the rebuilding of the Temple of + Ogawachi-Myōjin.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page139" + id="page139"></a>[pg 139]</span> + + <h2>THE STORY OF ITŌ + NORISUKÉ</h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="page141" + id="page141"></a>[pg 141]</span> + + <p>In the town of Uji, in the province of Yamashiro, there + lived, about six hundred years ago, a young samurai named + Itō Tatéwaki Norisuké, whose ancestors were of the Héďké + clan. Itō was of handsome person and amiable character, a + good scholar and apt at arms. But his family were poor; and he + had no patron among the military nobility,—so that his + prospects were small. He lived in a very quiet way, devoting + himself to the study of literature, and having (says the + Japanese story-teller) "only the Moon and the Wind for + friends."</p> + + <p>One autumn evening, as he was taking a solitary walk in the + neighborhood of the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page142" + id="page142"></a>[pg 142]</span> hill called Kotobikiyama, + he happened to overtake a young girl who was following the + same path. She was richly dressed, and seemed to be about + eleven or twelve years old. Itō greeted her, and said, + "The sun will soon be setting, damsel, and this is rather a + lonesome place. May I ask if you have lost your way?" She + looked up at him with a bright smile, and answered + deprecatingly: "Nay! I am a + <i>miya-dzukai</i>,<a id="footnotetag72" + name="footnotetag72"></a><a href="#footnote72"><sup>72</sup></a> + serving in this neighborhood; and I have only a little way + to go."</p> + + <p>By her use of the term <i>miya-dzukai</i>, Itō knew + that the girl must be in the service of persons of rank; and + her statement surprised him, because he had never heard of any + family of distinction residing in that vicinity. But he only + said: "I am returning to Uji, where my home is. Perhaps you + will allow me to accompany you on the way, as this is a very + lonesome place." She thanked him gracefully, seeming pleased by + his offer; and they walked on together, chatting as they went. + She talked about the weather, the flowers, the butterflies, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page143" + id="page143"></a>[pg 143]</span> and the birds; about a + visit that she had once made to Uji, about the famous sights + of the capital, where she had been born;—and the + moments passed pleasantly for Itō, as he listened to + her fresh prattle. Presently, at a turn in the road, they + entered a hamlet, densely shadowed by a grove of young + trees.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>[Here I must interrupt the story to tell you that, without + having actually seen them, you cannot imagine how dark some + Japanese country villages remain even in the brightest and + hottest weather. In the neighborhood of Tōkyō itself + there are many villages of this kind. At a short distance from + such a settlement you see no houses: nothing is visible but a + dense grove of evergreen trees. The grove, which is usually + composed of young cedars and bamboos, serves to shelter the + village from storms, and also to supply timber for various + purposes. So closely are the trees planted that there is no + room to pass between the trunks of them: they stand straight as + masts, and mingle their crests so as to form a roof that + excludes <span class="pagenum"><a name="page144" + id="page144"></a>[pg 144]</span> the sun. Each thatched + cottage occupies a clear space in the plantation, the trees + forming a fence about it, double the height of the building. + Under the trees it is always twilight, even at high noon; + and the houses, morning or evening, are half in shadow. What + makes the first impression of such a village almost + disquieting is, not the transparent gloom, which has a + certain weird charm of its own, but the stillness. There may + be fifty or a hundred dwellings; but you see nobody; and you + hear no sound but the twitter of invisible birds, the + occasional crowing of cocks, and the shrilling of cicadć. + Even the cicadć, however, find these groves too dim, and + sing faintly; being sun-lovers, they prefer the trees + outside the village. I forgot to say that you may sometimes + hear a viewless shuttle—<i>chaka-ton, + chaka-ton</i>;—but that familiar sound, in the great + green silence, seems an elfish happening. The reason of the + hush is simply that the people are not at home. All the + adults, excepting some feeble elders, have gone to the + neighboring fields, the women carrying their babies on their + backs; and most <span class="pagenum"><a name="page145" + id="page145"></a>[pg 145]</span> of the children have gone + to the nearest school, perhaps not less than a mile away. + Verily, in these dim hushed villages, one seems to behold + the mysterious perpetuation of conditions recorded in the + texts of Kwang-Tze:—</p> + + <blockquote> + <p>"<i>The ancients who had the nourishment of the world + wished for nothing, and the world had enough:—they + did nothing, and all things were transformed:—their + stillness was abysmal, and the people were all + composed.</i>"]</p> + </blockquote> + <hr /> + + <p>... The village was very dark when Itō reached it; for + the sun had set, and the after-glow made no twilight in the + shadowing of the trees. "Now, kind sir," the child said, + pointing to a narrow lane opening upon the main road, "I have + to go this way." "Permit me, then, to see you home," Itō + responded; and he turned into the lane with her, feeling rather + than seeing his way. But the girl soon stopped before a small + gate, dimly visible in the gloom,—a gate of trelliswork, + beyond which the lights of a dwelling could be seen. "Here," + she said, "is the honorable residence in which I serve. + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page146" + id="page146"></a>[pg 146]</span> As you have come thus far + out of your way, kind sir, will you not deign to enter and + to rest a while?" Itō assented. He was pleased by the + informal invitation; and he wished to learn what persons of + superior condition had chosen to reside in so lonesome a + village. He knew that sometimes a family of rank would + retire in this manner from public life, by reason of + government displeasure or political trouble; and he imagined + that such might be the history of the occupants of the + dwelling before him. Passing the gate, which his young guide + opened for him, he found himself in a large quaint garden. A + miniature landscape, traversed by a winding stream, was + faintly distinguishable. "Deign for one little moment to + wait," the child said; "I go to announce the honorable + coming;" and hurried toward the house. It was a spacious + house, but seemed very old, and built in the fashion of + another time. The sliding doors were not closed; but the + lighted interior was concealed by a beautiful bamboo curtain + extending along the gallery front. Behind it shadows were + moving—shadows of women;—and suddenly + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page147" + id="page147"></a>[pg 147]</span> the music of a <i>koto</i> + rippled into the night. So light and sweet was the playing + that Itō could scarcely believe the evidence of his + senses. A slumbrous feeling of delight stole over him as he + listened,—a delight strangely mingled with sadness. He + wondered how any woman could have learned to play + thus,—wondered whether the player could be a + woman,—wondered even whether he was hearing earthly + music; for enchantment seemed to have entered into his blood + with the sound of it.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The soft music ceased; and almost at the same moment + Itō found the little <i>miya-dzukai</i> beside him. "Sir," + she said, "it is requested that you will honorably enter." She + conducted him to the entrance, where he removed his sandals; + and an aged woman, whom he thought to be the <i>Rōjo</i>, + or matron of the household, came to welcome him at the + threshold. The old woman then led him through many apartments + to a large and well-lighted room in the rear of the house, and + with many respectful salutations requested him to take the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page148" + id="page148"></a>[pg 148]</span> place of honor accorded to + guests of distinction. He was surprised by the stateliness + of the chamber, and the curious beauty of its decorations. + Presently some maid-servants brought refreshments; and he + noticed that the cups and other vessels set before him were + of rare and costly workmanship, and ornamented with a design + indicating the high rank of the possessor. More and more he + wondered what noble person had chosen this lonely retreat, + and what happening could have inspired the wish for such + solitude. But the aged attendant suddenly interrupted his + reflections with the question:</p> + + <p>"Am I wrong in supposing that you are Itō Sama, of + Uji,—Itō Tatéwaki Norisuké?"</p> + + <p>Itō bowed in assent. He had not told his name to the + little <i>miya-dzukai</i>, and the manner of the inquiry + startled him.</p> + + <p>"Please do not think my question rude," continued the + attendant. "An old woman like myself may ask questions without + improper curiosity. When you came to the house, I thought that + I knew your face; and I <span class="pagenum"><a name="page149" + id="page149"></a>[pg 149]</span> asked your name only to + clear away all doubt, before speaking of other matters. I + have some thing of moment to tell you. You often pass + through this village, and our young + Himégimi-Sama<a id="footnotetag73" + name="footnotetag73"></a><a href="#footnote73"><sup>73</sup></a> + happened one morning to see you going by; and ever since + that moment she has been thinking about you, day and night. + Indeed, she thought so much that she became ill; and we have + been very uneasy about her. For that reason I took means to + find out your name and residence; and I was on the point of + sending you a letter when—so unexpectedly!—you + came to our gate with the little attendant. Now, to say how + happy I am to see you is not possible; it seems almost too + fortunate a happening to be true! Really I think that this + meeting must have been brought about by the favor of + Enmusubi-no-Kami,—that great God of Izumo who ties the + knots of fortunate union. And now that so lucky a destiny + has led you hither, perhaps you will not refuse—if + there <span class="pagenum"><a name="page150" + id="page150"></a>[pg 150]</span> be no obstacle in the way + of such a union—to make happy the heart of our + Himégimi-Sama?"</p> + + <p>For the moment Itō did not know how to reply. If the + old woman had spoken the truth, an extraordinary chance was + being offered to him. Only a great passion could impel the + daughter of a noble house to seek, of her own will, the + affection of an obscure and masterless samurai, possessing + neither wealth nor any sort of prospects. On the other hand, it + was not in the honorable nature of the man to further his own + interests by taking advantage of a feminine weakness. Moreover, + the circumstances were disquietingly mysterious. Yet how to + decline the proposal, so unexpectedly made, troubled him not a + little. After a short silence, he replied:—</p> + + <p>"There would be no obstacle, as I have no wife, and no + betrothed, and no relation with any woman. Until now I have + lived with my parents; and the matter of my marriage was never + discussed by them. You must know that I am a poor samurai, + without any patron among persons of rank; and I did not + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page151" + id="page151"></a>[pg 151]</span> wish to marry until I could + find some chance to improve my condition. As to the proposal + which you have done me the very great honor to make, I can + only say that I know myself yet unworthy of the notice of + any noble maiden."</p> + + <p>The old woman smiled as if pleased by these words, and + responded:—</p> + + <p>"Until you have seen our Himégimi-Sama, it were better that + you make no decision. Perhaps you will feel no hesitation after + you have seen her. Deign now to come with me, that I may + present you to her."</p> + + <p>She conducted him to another larger guest-room, where + preparations for a feast had been made, and having shown him + the place of honor, left him for a moment alone. She returned + accompanied by the Himégimi-Sama; and, at the first sight of + the young mistress, Itō felt again the strange thrill of + wonder and delight that had come to him in the garden, as he + listened to the music of the <i>koto</i>. Never had he dreamed + of so beautiful a being. Light seemed to radiate from her + presence, and to shine through her garments, as the light of + the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page152" + id="page152"></a>[pg 152]</span> moon through flossy clouds; + her loosely flowing hair swayed about her as she moved, like + the boughs of the drooping willow bestirred by the breezes + of spring; her lips were like flowers of the peach + besprinkled with morning dew. Itō was bewildered by the + vision. He asked himself whether he was not looking upon the + person of Amano-kawara-no-Ori-Himé herself,—the + Weaving-Maiden who dwells by the shining River of + Heaven.</p> + + <p>Smiling, the aged woman turned to the fair one, who remained + speechless, with downcast eyes and flushing cheeks, and said to + her:—</p> + + <p>"See, my child!—at the moment when we could least have + hoped for such a thing, the very person whom you wished to meet + has come of his own accord. So fortunate a happening could have + been brought about only by the will of the high gods. To think + of it makes me weep for joy." And she sobbed aloud. "But now," + she continued, wiping away her tears with her sleeve, "it only + remains for you both—unless either prove unwilling, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page153" + id="page153"></a>[pg 153]</span> which I doubt—to + pledge yourselves to each other, and to partake of your + wedding feast."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Itō answered by no word: the incomparable vision before + him had numbed his will and tied his tongue. Maid-servants + entered, bearing dishes and wine: the wedding feast was spread + before the pair; and the pledges were given. Itō + nevertheless remained as in a trance: the marvel of the + adventure, and the wonder of the beauty of the bride, still + bewildered him. A gladness, beyond aught that he had ever known + before, filled his heart—like a great silence. But + gradually he recovered his wonted calm; and thereafter he found + himself able to converse without embarrassment. Of the wine he + partook freely; and he ventured to speak, in a + self-depreciating but merry way, about the doubts and fears + that had oppressed him. Meanwhile the bride remained still as + moonlight, never lifting her eyes, and replying only by a blush + or a smile when he addressed her.</p> + + <p>Itō said to the aged attendant:—</p> + + <p>"Many times, in my solitary walks, I + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page154" + id="page154"></a>[pg 154]</span> have passed through this + village without knowing of the existence of this honorable + dwelling. And ever since entering here, I have been + wondering why this noble household should have chosen so + lonesome a place of sojourn.... Now that your Himégimi-Sama + and I have become pledged to each other, it seems to me a + strange thing that I do not yet know the name of her august + family."</p> + + <p>At this utterance, a shadow passed over the kindly face of + the old woman; and the bride, who had yet hardly spoken, turned + pale, and appeared to become painfully anxious. After some + moments of silence, the aged woman responded:—</p> + + <p>"To keep our secret from you much longer would be difficult; + and I think that, under any circumstances, you should be made + aware of the facts, now that you are one of us. Know then, Sir + Itō, that your bride is the daughter of + Shigéhira-Kyō, the great and unfortunate San-mi + Chüjō."</p> + + <p>At those words—"Shigéhira-Kyō, San-mi + Chüjō"—the young samurai felt a + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page155" + id="page155"></a>[pg 155]</span> chill, as of ice, strike + through all his veins. Shigéhira-Kyō, the great Héďké + general and statesman, had been dust for centuries. And + Itō suddenly understood that everything around + him—the chamber and the lights and the + banquet—was a dream of the past; that the forms before + him were not people, but shadows of people dead.</p> + + <p>But in another instant the icy chill had passed; and the + charm returned, and seemed to deepen about him; and he felt no + fear. Though his bride had come to him out of Yomi,—out + of the place of the Yellow Springs of death,—his heart + had been wholly won. Who weds a ghost must become a + ghost;—yet he knew himself ready to die, not once, but + many times, rather than betray by word or look one thought that + might bring a shadow of pain to the brow of the beautiful + illusion before him. Of the affection proffered he had no + misgiving: the truth had been told him when any unloving + purpose might better have been served by deception. But these + thoughts and emotions passed in a flash, leaving him resolved + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page156" + id="page156"></a>[pg 156]</span> to accept the strange + situation as it had presented itself, and to act just as he + would have done if chosen, in the years of Jü-ei, by + Shigéhira's daughter.</p> + + <p>"Ah, the pity of it!" he exclaimed; "I have heard of the + cruel fate of the august Lord Shigéhira."</p> + + <p>"Ay," responded the aged woman, sobbing as she + spoke;—"it was indeed a cruel fate. His horse, you know, + was killed by an arrow, and fell upon him; and when he called + for help, those who had lived upon his bounty deserted him in + his need. Then he was taken prisoner, and sent to Kamakura, + where they treated him shamefully, and at last put him to + death.<a id="footnotetag74" + name="footnotetag74"></a><a href="#footnote74"><sup>74</sup></a> + His wife and child—this dear maid + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page157" + id="page157"></a>[pg 157]</span> here—were then in + hiding; for everywhere the Héďké were being sought out and + killed. When the news of the Lord Shigéhira's death reached + us, the pain proved too great for the mother to bear, so the + child was left with no one to care for her but + me,—since her kindred had all perished or disappeared. + She was only five years old. I had been her milk-nurse, and + I did what I could for her. Year after year we wandered from + place to place, traveling in pilgrim-garb.... But these + tales of grief are ill-timed," exclaimed the nurse, wiping + away her tears;—"pardon the foolish heart of an old + woman who cannot forget the past. See! the little maid whom + I fostered has now become a Himégimi-Sama indeed!—were + we living in the good days of the Emperor Takakura, what a + destiny might be reserved for her! However, she has obtained + the husband <span class="pagenum"><a name="page158" + id="page158"></a>[pg 158]</span> whom she desired; that is + the greatest happiness.... But the hour is late. The + bridal-chamber has been prepared; and I must now leave you + to care for each other until morning."</p> + + <p>She rose, and sliding back the screens parting the + guest-room from the adjoining chamber, ushered them to their + sleeping apartment. Then, with many words of joy and + congratulation, she withdrew; and Itō was left alone with + his bride.</p> + + <p>As they reposed together, Itō said:—</p> + + <p>"Tell me, my loved one, when was it that you first wished to + have me for your husband."</p> + + <p>(For everything appeared so real that he had almost ceased + to think of the illusion woven around him.)</p> + + <p>She answered, in a voice like a dove's voice:—</p> + + <p>"My august lord and husband, it was at the temple of + Ishiyama, where I went with my foster-mother, that I saw you + for the first time. And because of seeing you, the world became + changed to me from that hour and + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page159" + id="page159"></a>[pg 159]</span> moment. But you do not + remember, because our meeting was not in this, your present + life: it was very, very long ago. Since that time you have + passed through many deaths and births, and have had many + comely bodies. But I have remained always that which you see + me now: I could not obtain another body, nor enter into + another state of existence, because of my great wish for + you. My dear lord and husband, I have waited for you through + many ages of men."</p> + + <p>And the bridegroom felt nowise afraid at hearing these + strange words, but desired nothing more in life, or in all his + lives to come, than to feel her arms about him, and to hear the + caress of her voice.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>But the pealing of a temple-bell proclaimed the coming of + dawn. Birds began to twitter; a morning breeze set all the + trees a-whispering. Suddenly the old nurse pushed apart the + sliding screens of the bridal-chamber, and + exclaimed:—</p> + + <p>"My children, it is time to separate! By daylight you must + not be together, even for + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page160" + id="page160"></a>[pg 160]</span> an instant: that were + fatal! You must bid each other good-by."</p> + + <p>Without a word, Itō made ready to depart. He vaguely + understood the warning uttered, and resigned himself wholly to + destiny. His will belonged to him no more; he desired only to + please his shadowy bride.</p> + + <p>She placed in his hands a little <i>suzuri</i>, or + ink-stone, curiously carved, and said:—</p> + + <p>"My young lord and husband is a scholar; therefore this + small gift will probably not be despised by him. It is of + strange fashion because it is old, having been augustly + bestowed upon my father by the favor of the Emperor Takakura. + For that reason only, I thought it to be a precious thing."</p> + + <p>Itō, in return, besought her to accept for a + remembrance the <i>kōgai</i><a id="footnotetag75" + name="footnotetag75"></a><a href="#footnote75"><sup>75</sup></a> + of his sword, which were decorated with inlaid work of + silver and gold, representing plum-flowers and + nightingales.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page161" + id="page161"></a>[pg 161]</span> + + <p>Then the little <i>miya-dzukai</i> came to guide him through + the garden, and his bride with her foster-mother accompanied + him to the threshold.</p> + + <p>As he turned at the foot of the steps to make his parting + salute, the old woman said:—</p> + + <p>"We shall meet again the next Year of the Boar, at the same + hour of the same day of the same month that you came here. This + being the Year of the Tiger, you will have to wait ten years. + But, for reasons which I must not say, we shall not be able to + meet again in this place; we are going to the neighborhood of + Kyōto, where the good Emperor Takakura and our fathers and + many of our people are dwelling. All the Héďké will be rejoiced + by your coming. We shall send a + <i>kago</i><a id="footnotetag76" + name="footnotetag76"></a><a href="#footnote76"><sup>76</sup></a> + for you on the appointed day."</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Above the village the stars were burning as Itō passed + the gate; but on reaching the open road he saw the dawn + brightening beyond <span class="pagenum"><a name="page162" + id="page162"></a>[pg 162]</span> leagues of silent fields. + In his bosom he carried the gift of his bride. The charm of + her voice lingered in his ears,—and nevertheless, had + it not been for the memento which he touched with + questioning fingers, he could have persuaded himself that + the memories of the night were memories of sleep, and that + his life still belonged to him.</p> + + <p>But the certainty that he had doomed himself evoked no least + regret: he was troubled only by the pain of separation, and the + thought of the seasons that would have to pass before the + illusion could be renewed for him. Ten years!—and every + day of those years would seem how long! The mystery of the + delay he could not hope to solve; the secret ways of the dead + are known to the gods alone.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Often and often, in his solitary walks, Itō revisited + the village at Kotobikiyama, vaguely hoping to obtain another + glimpse of the past. But never again, by night or by day, was + he able to find the rustic gate in the shadowed lane; never + again could he perceive the figure + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page163" + id="page163"></a>[pg 163]</span> of the little + <i>miya-dzukai</i>, walking alone in the sunset-glow.</p> + + <p>The village people, whom he questioned carefully, thought + him bewitched. No person of rank, they said, had ever dwelt in + the settlement; and there had never been, in the neighborhood, + any such garden as he described. But there had once been a + great Buddhist temple near the place of which he spoke; and + some gravestones of the temple-cemetery were still to be seen. + Itō discovered the monuments in the middle of a dense + thicket. They were of an ancient Chinese form, and were covered + with moss and lichens. The characters that had been cut upon + them could no longer be deciphered.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Of his adventure Itō spoke to no one. But friends and + kindred soon perceived a great change in his appearance and + manner. Day by day he seemed to become more pale and thin, + though physicians declared that he had no bodily ailment; he + looked like a ghost, and moved like a shadow. Thoughtful and + solitary he had always been, but now he appeared indifferent + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page164" + id="page164"></a>[pg 164]</span> to everything which had + formerly given him pleasure,—even to those literary + studies by means of which he might have hoped to win + distinction. To his mother—who thought that marriage + might quicken his former ambition, and revive his interest + in life—he said that he had made a vow to marry no + living woman. And the months dragged by.</p> + + <p>At last came the Year of the Boar, and the season of autumn; + but I to could no longer take the solitary walks that he loved. + He could not even rise from his bed. His life was ebbing, + though none could divine the cause; and he slept so deeply and + so long that his sleep was often mistaken for death.</p> + + <p>Out of such a sleep he was startled, one bright evening, by + the voice of a child; and he saw at his bedside the little + <i>miya-dsukai</i> who had guided him, ten years before, to the + gate of the vanished garden. She saluted him, and smiled, and + said: "I am bidden to tell you that you will be received + to-night at Öhara, near Kyōto, where the new home is, and + that a <i>kago</i> has been sent for you." Then she + disappeared.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page165" + id="page165"></a>[pg 165]</span> + + <p>Itō knew that he was being summoned away from the light + of the sun; but the message so rejoiced him that he found + strength to sit up and call his mother. To her he then for the + first time related the story of his bridal, and he showed her + the ink-stone which had been given him. He asked that it should + be placed in his coffin,—and then he died.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The ink-stone was buried with him. But before the funeral + ceremonies it was examined by experts, who said that it had + been made in the period of <i>Jō-an</i>(1169 A.D.), and + that it bore the seal-mark of an artist who had lived in the + time of the Emperor + Takakura.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page167" + id="page167"></a>[pg 167]</span> + + <h2>STRANGER THAN + FICTION</h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="page169" + id="page169"></a>[pg 169]</span> + + <p>It was a perfect West Indian day. My friend the notary and I + were crossing the island by a wonderful road which wound up + through tropic forest to the clouds, and thence looped down + again, through gold-green slopes of cane, and scenery amazing + of violet and blue and ghost-gray peaks, to the roaring coast + of the trade winds. All the morning we had been + ascending,—walking after our carriage, most of the time, + for the sake of the brave little mule;—and the sea had + been climbing behind us till it looked like a monstrous wall of + blue, pansy-blue, under the ever heightening horizon. The heat + was like the heat of a vapor-bath, but the air was good to + breathe with its tropical odor,—an odor made up of smells + of strange <span class="pagenum"><a name="page170" + id="page170"></a>[pg 170]</span> saps, queer spicy scents of + mould, exhalations of aromatic decay. Moreover, the views + were glimpses of Paradise; and it was a joy to watch the + torrents roaring down their gorges under shadows of + tree-fern and bamboo.</p> + + <p>My friend stopped the carriage before a gateway set into a + hedge full of flowers that looked like pink-and-white + butterflies. "I have to make a call here," he said;—"come + in with me." We dismounted, and he knocked on the gate with the + butt of his whip. Within, at the end of a shady garden, I could + see the porch of a planter's house; beyond were rows of cocoa + palms, and glimpses of yellowing cane. Presently a negro, + wearing only a pair of canvas trousers and a great straw hat, + came hobbling to open the gate,—followed by a multitude, + an astonishing multitude, of chippering chickens. Under the + shadow of that huge straw hat I could not see the negro's face; + but I noticed that his limbs and body were strangely + shrunken,—looked as if withered to the bone. A weirder + creature I had never beheld; and I wondered at his following of + chickens.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page171" + id="page171"></a>[pg 171]</span> + + <p>"Eh!" exclaimed the notary, "your chickens are as lively as + ever!... I want to see Madame Floran."</p> + + <p>"<i>Moin ké di</i>," the goblin responded huskily, in his + patois; and he limped on before us, all the chickens hopping + and cheeping at his withered heels.</p> + + <p>"That fellow," my friend observed, "was bitten by a + <i>fer-de-lance</i> about eight or nine years ago. He got + cured, or at least half-cured, in some extraordinary way; but + ever since then he has been a skeleton. See how he limps!"</p> + + <p>The skeleton passed out of sight behind the house, and we + waited a while at the front porch. Then a + métisse—turbaned in wasp colors, and robed in iris + colors, and wonderful to behold—came to tell us that + Madame hoped we would rest ourselves in the garden, as the + house was very warm. Chairs and a little table were then set + for us in a shady place, and the métisse brought out lemons, + sugar-syrup, a bottle of the clear plantation rum that smells + like apple juice, and ice-cold water in a <i>dobanne</i> of + thick red clay. My friend prepared the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page172" + id="page172"></a>[pg 172]</span> refreshments; and then our + hostess came to greet us, and to sit with us,—a nice + old lady with hair like newly minted silver. I had never + seen a smile sweeter than that with which she bade us + welcome; and I wondered whether she could ever have been + more charming in her Creole girlhood than she now + appeared,—with her kindly wrinkles, and argent hair, + and frank, black, sparkling eyes....</p> + <hr /> + + <p>In the conversation that followed I was not able to take + part, as it related only to some question of title. The notary + soon arranged whatever there was to arrange; and, after some + charmingly spoken words of farewell from the gentle lady, we + took our departure. Again the mummified negro hobbled before + us, to open the gate,—followed by all his callow rabble + of chickens. As we resumed our places in the carriage we could + still hear the chippering of the creatures, pursuing after that + ancient scarecrow.</p> + + <p>"Is it African sorcery?" I queried.... "How does he bewitch + those chickens?"</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page173" + id="page173"></a>[pg 173]</span> + + <p>"Queer—is it not?" the notary responded as we drove + away. "That negro must now be at least eighty years old; and he + may live for twenty years more,—the wretch!"</p> + + <p>The tone in which my friend uttered this epithet—<i>le + miserable!</i>—somewhat surprised me, as I knew him to be + one of the kindliest men in the world, and singularly free from + prejudice. I suspected that a story was coming, and I waited + for it in silence.</p> + + <p>"Listen," said the notary, after a pause, during which we + left the plantation well behind us; "that old sorcerer, as you + call him, was born upon the estate, a slave. The estate + belonged to M. Floran,—the husband of the lady whom we + visited; and she was a cousin, and the marriage was a + love-match. They had been married about two years when the + revolt occurred (fortunately there were no children),—the + black revolt of eighteen hundred and forty-eight. Several + planters were murdered; and M. Floran was one of the first to + be killed. And the old negro whom we saw to-day—the old + sorcerer, as you call him—left the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page174" + id="page174"></a>[pg 174]</span> plantation, and joined the + rising: do you understand?"</p> + + <p>"Yes," I said; "but he might have done that through fear of + the mob."</p> + + <p>"Certainly: the other hands did the same. But it was he that + killed M. Floran,—for no reason whatever,—cut him + up with a cutlass. M. Floran was riding home when the attack + was made,—about a mile below the plantation.... Sober, + that negro would not have dared to face M. Floran: the + scoundrel was drunk, of course,—raving drunk. Most of the + blacks had been drinking tafia, with dead wasps in it, to give + themselves courage."</p> + + <p>"But," I interrupted, "how does it happen that the fellow is + still on the Floran plantation?"</p> + + <p>"Wait a moment!... When the military got control of the mob, + search was made everywhere for the murderer of M. Floran; but + he could not be found. He was lying out in the cane,—in + M. Floran's cane!—like a field-rat, like a snake. One + morning, while the gendarmes were still looking for him, he + rushed <span class="pagenum"><a name="page175" + id="page175"></a>[pg 175]</span> into the house, and threw + himself down in front of Madame, weeping and screaming, + '<i>Aďe-yaďe-yaďe-yaďe!—moin té tchoué y! moin té + tchoué y!—aďe-yaďe-yaďe!</i>' Those were his very + words:—'I killed him! I killed him!' And he begged for + mercy. When he was asked why he killed M. Floran, he cried + out that it was the devil—<i>diabe-ŕ</i>—that + had made him do it!... Well, Madame forgave him!"</p> + + <p>"But how could she?" I queried.</p> + + <p>"Oh, she had always been very religious," my friend + responded,—"sincerely religious. She only said, 'May God + pardon me as I now pardon you!' She made her servants hide the + creature and feed him; and they kept him hidden until the + excitement was over. Then she sent him back to work; and he has + been working for her ever since. Of course he is now too old to + be of any use in the field;—he only takes care of the + chickens."</p> + + <p>"But how," I persisted, "could the relatives allow Madame to + forgive him?"</p> + + <p>"Well, Madame insisted that he was not mentally + responsible,—that he was only a + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page176" + id="page176"></a>[pg 176]</span> poor fool who had killed + without knowing what he was doing; and she argued that if + <i>she</i> could forgive him, others could more easily do + the same. There was a consultation; and the relatives + decided so to arrange matters that Madame could have her own + way."</p> + + <p>"But why?"</p> + + <p>"Because they knew that she found a sort of religious + consolation—a kind of religious comfort—in + forgiving the wretch. She imagined that it was her duty as a + Christian, not only to forgive him, but to take care of him. We + thought that she was mistaken,—but we could + understand.... Well, there is an example of what religion can + do."...</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The surprise of a new fact, or the sudden perception of + something never before imagined, may cause an involuntary + smile. Unconsciously I smiled, while my friend was yet + speaking; and the good notary's brow darkened.</p> + + <p>"Ah, you laugh!" he exclaimed,—"you laugh! That is + wrong!—that is a <span class="pagenum"><a name="page177" + id="page177"></a>[pg 177]</span> mistake!... But you do not + believe: you do not know what it is,—the true + religion,—the real Christianity!"</p> + + <p>Earnestly I made answer:—</p> + + <p>"Pardon me! I do believe every word of what you have told + me. If I laughed unthinkingly, it was only because I could not + help wondering" ...</p> + + <p>"At what?" he questioned gravely.</p> + + <p>"At the marvelous instinct of that negro."</p> + + <p>"Ah, yes!" he returned approvingly. "Yes, the cunning of the + animal it was,—the instinct of the brute!... She was the + only person in the world who could have saved him."</p> + + <p>"And he knew it," I ventured to add.</p> + + <p>"No—no—no!" my friend emphatically + dissented,—"he never could have known it! He only + <i>felt</i> it!... Find me an instinct like that, and I will + show you a brain incapable of any knowledge, any thinking, any + understanding: not the mind of a man, but the brain of a + beast!"</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page179" + id="page179"></a>[pg 179]</span> + + <h2>A LETTER FROM + JAPAN</h2><span class="pagenum"><a name="page181" + id="page181"></a>[pg 181]</span> + + <p>Tokyo, August 1, 1904.</p> + + <p>Here, in this quiet suburb, where the green peace is broken + only by the voices of children at play and the shrilling of + cicadć, it is difficult to imagine that, a few hundred miles + away, there is being carried on one of the most tremendous wars + of modern times, between armies aggregating more than half a + million of men, or that, on the intervening sea, a hundred + ships of war have been battling. This contest, between the + mightiest of Western powers and a people that began to study + Western science only within the recollection of many persons + still in vigorous life, is, on one side at least, a struggle + for national existence. It was inevitable, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page182" + id="page182"></a>[pg 182]</span> this struggle,—might + perhaps have been delayed, but certainly not averted. Japan + has boldly challenged an empire capable of threatening + simultaneously the civilizations of the East and the + West,—a medićval power that, unless vigorously + checked, seems destined to absorb Scandinavia and to + dominate China. For all industrial civilization the contest + is one of vast moment;—for Japan it is probably the + supreme crisis in her national life. As to what her fleets + and her armies have been doing, the world is fully informed; + but as to what her people are doing at home, little has been + written.</p> + + <p>To inexperienced observation they would appear to be doing + nothing unusual; and this strange calm is worthy of record. At + the beginning of hostilities an Imperial mandate was issued, + bidding all non-combatants to pursue their avocations as usual, + and to trouble themselves as little as possible about exterior + events;—and this command has been obeyed to the letter. + It would be natural to suppose that all the sacrifices, + tragedies, and uncertainties of the contest had thrown their + gloom over the life of <span class="pagenum"><a name="page183" + id="page183"></a>[pg 183]</span> the capital in especial; + but there is really nothing whatever to indicate a condition + of anxiety or depression. On the contrary, one is astonished + by the joyous tone of public confidence, and the admirably + restrained pride of the nation in its victories. Western + tides have strewn the coast with Japanese corpses; regiments + have been blown out of existence in the storming of + positions defended by wire-entanglements; battleships have + been lost: yet at no moment has there been the least public + excitement. The people are following their daily occupations + just as they did before the war; the cheery aspect of things + is just the same; the theatres and flower displays are not + less well patronized. The life of Tōkyō has been, + to outward seeming, hardly more affected by the events of + the war than the life of nature beyond it, where the flowers + are blooming and the butterflies hovering as in other + summers. Except after the news of some great + victory,—celebrated with fireworks and lantern + processions,—there are no signs of public emotion; and + but for the frequent distribution of newspaper extras, by + runners ringing bells, you + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page184" + id="page184"></a>[pg 184]</span> could almost persuade + yourself that the whole story of the war is an evil + dream.</p> + + <p>Yet there has been, of necessity, a vast amount of + suffering—viewless and voiceless + suffering—repressed by that sense of social and patriotic + duty which is Japanese religion. As a seventeen-syllable poem + of the hour tells us, the news of every victory must bring pain + as well as joy:—</p> + + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <p class="i2">Gōgwai no</p> + + <p>Tabi teki mikata</p> + + <p class="i2">Goké ga fuč.</p> + </div> + </div> + + <blockquote> + <p>[<i>Each time that an extra is circulated the widows of + foes and friends have increased in multitude.</i>]</p> + </blockquote> + + <p>The great quiet and the smiling tearlessness testify to the + more than Spartan discipline of the race. Anciently the people + were trained, not only to conceal their emotions, but to speak + in a cheerful voice and to show a pleasant face under any + stress of moral suffering; and they are obedient to that + teaching to-day. It would still be thought a shame to betray + personal <span class="pagenum"><a name="page185" + id="page185"></a>[pg 185]</span> sorrow for the loss of + those who die for Emperor and fatherland. The public seem to + view the events of the war as they would watch the scenes of + a popular play. They are interested without being excited; + and their extraordinary self-control is particularly shown + in various manifestations of the "Play-impulse." Everywhere + the theatres are producing war dramas (based upon actual + fact); the newspapers and magazines are publishing war + stories and novels; the cinematograph exhibits the monstrous + methods of modern warfare; and numberless industries are + turning out objects of art or utility designed to + commemorate the Japanese triumphs.</p> + + <p>But the present psychological condition, the cheerful and + even playful tone of public feeling, can be indicated less by + any general statement than by the mention of ordinary + facts,—every-day matters recorded in the writer's + diary.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Never before were the photographers so busy; it is said that + they have not been able <span class="pagenum"><a name="page186" + id="page186"></a>[pg 186]</span> to fulfill half of the + demands made upon them. The hundreds of thousands of men + sent to the war wished to leave photographs with their + families, and also to take with them portraits of parents, + children, and other beloved persons. The nation was being + photographed during the past six months.</p> + + <p>A fact of sociological interest is that photography has + added something new to the poetry of the domestic faith. From + the time of its first introduction, photography became popular + in Japan; and none of those superstitions, which inspire fear + of the camera among less civilized races, offered any obstacle + to the rapid development of a new industry. It is true that + there exists some queer-folk beliefs about + photographs,—ideas of mysterious relation between the + sun-picture and the person imaged. For example: if, in the + photograph of a group, one figure appear indistinct or blurred, + that is thought to be an omen of sickness or death. But this + superstition has its industrial value: it has compelled + photographers to be careful about their work,—especially + in these days of war, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page187" + id="page187"></a>[pg 187]</span> when everybody wants to + have a good clear portrait, because the portrait might be + needed for another purpose than preservation in an + album.</p> + + <p>During the last twenty years there has gradually come into + existence the custom of placing the photograph of a dead + parent, brother, husband, or child, beside the mortuary tablet + kept in the Buddhist household shrine. For this reason, also, + the departing soldier wishes to leave at home a good likeness + of himself.</p> + + <p>The rites of domestic affection, in old samurai families, + are not confined to the cult of the dead. On certain occasions, + the picture of the absent parent, husband, brother, or + betrothed, is placed in the alcove of the guest-room, and a + feast laid out before it. The photograph, in such cases, is + fixed upon a little stand (<i>dai</i>); and the feast is served + as if the person were present. This pretty custom of preparing + a meal for the absent is probably more ancient than any art of + portraiture; but the modern photograph adds to the human poetry + of the rite. In feudal time it was the + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page188" + id="page188"></a>[pg 188]</span> rule to set the repast + facing the direction in which the absent person had + gone—north, south, east, or west. After a brief + interval the covers of the vessels containing the cooked + food were lifted and examined. If the lacquered inner + surface was thickly beaded with vapor, all was well; but if + the surface was dry, that was an omen of death, a sign that + the disembodied spirit had returned to absorb the essence of + the offerings.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>As might have been expected, in a country where the + "play-impulse" is stronger, perhaps, than in any other part of + the world, the Zeitgeist found manifestation in the flower + displays of the year. I visited those in my neighborhood, which + is the Quarter of the Gardeners. This quarter is famous for its + azaleas (<i>tsutsuji</i>); and every spring the azalea gardens + attract thousands of visitors,—not only by the wonderful + exhibition then made of shrubs which look like solid masses of + blossom (ranging up from snowy white, through all shades of + pink, to a flamboyant purple) but also by displays + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page189" + id="page189"></a>[pg 189]</span> of effigies: groups of + figures ingeniously formed with living leaves and flowers. + These figures, life-size, usually represent famous incidents + of history or drama. In many cases—though not in + all—the bodies and the costumes are composed of + foliage and flowers trained to grow about a framework; while + the faces, feet, and hands are represented by some kind of + flesh-colored composition.</p> + + <p>This year, however, a majority of the displays represented + scenes of the war,—such as an engagement between Japanese + infantry and mounted Cossacks, a night attack by torpedo boats, + the sinking of a battleship. In the last-mentioned display, + Russian bluejackets appeared, swimming for their lives in a + rough sea;—the pasteboard waves and the swimming figures + being made to rise and fall by the pulling of a string; while + the crackling of quick-firing guns was imitated by a mechanism + contrived with sheets of zinc.</p> + + <p>It is said that Admiral Tōgō sent to + Tōkyō for some flowering-trees in pots—inasmuch + as his responsibilities allowed him no + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page190" + id="page190"></a>[pg 190]</span> chance of seeing the + cherry-flowers and the plum-blossoms in their + season,—and that the gardeners responded even too + generously.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Almost immediately after the beginning of hostilities, + thousands of "war pictures"—mostly cheap + lithographs—were published. The drawing and coloring were + better than those of the prints issued at the time of the war + with China; but the details were to a great extent + imaginary,—altogether imaginary as to the appearance of + Russian troops. Pictures of the engagements with the Russian + fleet were effective, despite some lurid exaggeration. The most + startling things were pictures of Russian defeats in Korea, + published before a single military engagement had taken + place;—the artist had "flushed to anticipate the scene." + In these prints the Russians were depicted as fleeing in utter + rout, leaving their officers—very fine-looking + officers—dead upon the field; while the Japanese + infantry, with dreadfully determined faces, were coming up at a + double. The propriety and the wisdom of thus pictorially + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page191" + id="page191"></a>[pg 191]</span> predicting victory, and + easy victory to boot, may be questioned. But I am told that + the custom of so doing is an old one; and it is thought that + to realize the common hope thus imaginatively is lucky. At + all events, there is no attempt at deception in these + pictorial undertakings;—they help to keep up the + public courage, and they ought to be pleasing to the + gods.</p> + + <p>Some of the earlier pictures have now been realized in grim + fact. The victories in China had been similarly foreshadowed: + they amply justified the faith of the artist.... To-day the war + pictures continue to multiply; but they have changed character. + The inexorable truth of the photograph, and the sketches of the + war correspondent, now bring all the vividness and violence of + fact to help the artist's imagination. There was something + naďve and theatrical in the drawings of anticipation; but the + pictures of the hour represent the most tragic + reality,—always becoming more terrible. At this writing, + Japan has yet lost no single battle; but not a few of her + victories have been dearly + won.</p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page192" + id="page192"></a>[pg 192]</span> + + <p>To enumerate even a tenth of the various articles ornamented + with designs inspired by the war—articles such as combs, + clasps, fans, brooches, card-cases, purses—would require + a volume. Even cakes and confectionery are stamped with naval + or military designs; and the glass or paper windows of + shops—not to mention the signboards—have pictures + of Japanese victories painted upon them. At night the shop + lanterns proclaim the pride of the nation in its fleets and + armies; and a whole chapter might easily be written about the + new designs in transparencies and toy lanterns. A new revolving + lantern—turned by the air-current which its own flame + creates—has become very popular. It represents a charge + of Japanese infantry upon Russian defenses; and holes pierced + in the colored paper, so as to produce a continuous vivid + flashing while the transparency revolves, suggest the exploding + of shells and the volleying of machine guns.</p> + + <p>Some displays of the art-impulse, as inspired by the war, + have been made in directions entirely unfamiliar to Western + experience,—in <span class="pagenum"><a name="page193" + id="page193"></a>[pg 193]</span> the manufacture, for + example, of women's hair ornaments and dress materials. + Dress goods decorated with war pictures have actually become + a fashion,—especially crępe silks for underwear, and + figured silk linings for cloaks and sleeves. More remarkable + than these are the new hairpins;—by hairpins I mean + those long double-pronged ornaments of flexible metal which + are called <i>kanzashi</i>, and are more or less ornamented + according to the age of the wearer. (The <i>kanzashi</i> + made for young girls are highly decorative; those worn by + older folk are plain, or adorned only with a ball of coral + or polished stone.) The new hairpins might be called + commemorative: one, of which the decoration represents a + British and a Japanese flag intercrossed, celebrates the + Anglo-Japanese alliance; another represents an officer's cap + and sword; and the best of all is surmounted by a tiny metal + model of a battleship. The battleship-pin is not merely + fantastic: it is actually pretty!</p> + + <p>As might have been expected, military and naval subjects + occupy a large place among the year's designs for toweling. The + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page194" + id="page194"></a>[pg 194]</span> towel designs celebrating + naval victories have been particularly successful: they are + mostly in white, on a blue ground; or in black, on a white + ground. One of the best—blue and + white—represented only a flock of gulls wheeling about + the masthead of a sunken iron-clad, and, far away, the + silhouettes of Japanese battleships passing to the + horizon.... What especially struck me in this, and in + several other designs, was the original manner in which the + Japanese artist had seized upon the traits of the modern + battleship,—the powerful and sinister lines of its + shape,—just as he would have caught for us the typical + character of a beetle or a lobster. The lines have been just + enough exaggerated to convey, at one glance, the real + impression made by the aspect of these iron + monsters,—vague impression of bulk and force and + menace, very difficult to express by ordinary methods of + drawing.</p> + + <p>Besides towels decorated with artistic sketches of this + sort, there have been placed upon the market many kinds of + towels bearing comic war pictures,—caricatures or + cartoons <span class="pagenum"><a name="page195" + id="page195"></a>[pg 195]</span> which are amusing without + being malignant. It will be remembered that at the time of + the first attack made upon the Port Arthur squadron, several + of the Russian officers were in the Dalny + theatre,—never dreaming that the Japanese would dare + to strike the first blow. This incident has been made the + subject of a towel design. At one end of the towel is a + comic study of the faces of the Russians, delightedly + watching the gyrations of a ballet dancer. At the other end + is a study of the faces of the same commanders when they + find, on returning to the port, only the masts of their + battleships above water. Another towel shows a procession of + fish in front of a surgeon's office—waiting their + turns to be relieved of sundry bayonets, swords, revolvers, + and rifles, which have stuck in their throats. A third towel + picture represents a Russian diver examining, with a + prodigious magnifying-glass, the holes made by torpedoes in + the hull of a sunken cruiser. Comic verses or legends, in + cursive text, are printed beside these pictures.</p> + + <p>The great house of Mitsui, which + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page196" + id="page196"></a>[pg 196]</span> placed the best of these + designs on the market, also produced some beautiful + souvenirs of the war, in the shape of <i>fukusa</i>. (A + <i>fukusa</i> is an ornamental silk covering, or wrapper, + put over presents sent to friends on certain occasions, and + returned after the present has been received.) These are + made of the heaviest and costliest silk, and inclosed within + appropriately decorated covers. Upon one <i>fukusa</i> is a + colored picture of the cruisers Nisshin and Kasuga, under + full steam; and upon another has been printed, in beautiful + Chinese characters, the full text of the Imperial + Declaration of war.</p> + + <p>But the strangest things that I have seen in this line of + production were silk dresses for baby girls,—figured + stuffs which, when looked at from a little distance, appeared + incomparably pretty, owing to the masterly juxtaposition of + tints and colors. On closer inspection the charming design + proved to be composed entirely of war pictures,—or, + rather, fragments of pictures, blended into one astonishing + combination: naval battles; burning warships; submarine mines + exploding; torpedo boats attacking; + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page197" + id="page197"></a>[pg 197]</span> charges of Cossacks + repulsed by Japanese infantry; artillery rushing into + position; storming of forts; long lines of soldiery + advancing through mist. Here were colors of blood and fire, + tints of morning haze and evening glow, noon-blue and + starred night-purple, sea-gray and field-green,—most + wonderful thing!... I suppose that the child of a military + or naval officer might, without impropriety, be clad in such + a robe. But then—the unspeakable pity of things!</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The war toys are innumerable: I can attempt to mention only + a few of the more remarkable kinds.</p> + + <p>Japanese children play many sorts of card games, some of + which are old, others quite new. There are poetical card games, + for example, played with a pack of which each card bears the + text of a poem, or part of a poem; and the player should be + able to remember the name of the author of any quotation in the + set. Then there are geographical card games, in which each of + the cards used bears the name, and perhaps a little picture, of + some famous site, town, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page198" + id="page198"></a>[pg 198]</span> or temple; and the player + should be able to remember the district and province in + which the mentioned place is situated. The latest novelty in + this line is a pack of cards with pictures upon them of the + Russian war vessels; and the player should be able to state + what has become of every vessel named,—whether sunk, + disabled, or confined in Port Arthur.</p> + + <p>There is another card game in which the battleships, + cruisers, and torpedo craft of both Japan and Russia are + represented. The winner in this game destroys his "captures" by + tearing the cards taken. But the shops keep packages of each + class of warship cards in stock; and when all the destroyers or + cruisers of one country have been put <i>hors de combat</i>, + the defeated party can purchase new vessels abroad. One torpedo + boat costs about one farthing; but five torpedo boats can be + bought for a penny.</p> + + <p>The toy-shops are crammed with models of + battleships,—in wood, clay, porcelain, lead, and + tin,—of many sizes and prices. Some of the larger ones, + moved by clockwork, are named after Japanese battleships: + Shikishima, <span class="pagenum"><a name="page199" + id="page199"></a>[pg 199]</span> Fuji, Mikasa. One + mechanical toy represents the sinking of a Russian vessel by + a Japanese torpedo boat. Among cheaper things of this class + is a box of colored sand, for the representation of naval + engagements. Children arrange the sand so as to resemble + waves; and with each box of sand are sold two fleets of tiny + leaden vessels. The Japanese ships are white, and the + Russian black; and explosions of torpedoes are to be figured + by small cuttings of vermilion paper, planted in the + sand.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The children of the poorest classes make their own war toys; + and I have been wondering whether those ancient feudal laws + (translated by Professor Wigmore), which fixed the cost and + quality of toys to be given to children, did not help to + develop that ingenuity which the little folk display. Recently + I saw a group of children in our neighborhood playing at the + siege of Port Arthur, with fleets improvised out of scraps of + wood and some rusty nails. A tub of water represented Port + Arthur. Battleships were figured by bits of plank, into + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page200" + id="page200"></a>[pg 200]</span> which chop-sticks had been + fixed to represent masts, and rolls of paper to represent + funnels. Little flags, appropriately colored, were fastened + to the masts with rice paste. Torpedo boats were imaged by + splinters, into each of which a short thick nail had been + planted to indicate a smokestack. Stationary submarine mines + were represented by small squares of wood, each having one + long nail driven into it; and these little things, when + dropped into water with the nail-head downwards, would keep + up a curious bobbing motion for a long time. Other squares + of wood, having clusters of short nails driven into them, + represented floating mines: and the mimic battleships were + made to drag for these, with lines of thread. The pictures + in the Japanese papers had doubtless helped the children to + imagine the events of the war with tolerable accuracy.</p> + + <p>Naval caps for children have become, of course, more in + vogue than ever before. Some of the caps bear, in Chinese + characters of burnished metal, the name of a battleship, or the + words <i>Nippon Teikoku</i> (Empire of Japan),—disposed + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page201" + id="page201"></a>[pg 201]</span> like the characters upon + the cap of a blue-jacket. On some caps, however, the ship's + name appears in English letters,—Yashima, Fuji, + etc.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The play-impulse, I had almost forgotten to say, is shared + by the soldiers themselves,—though most of those called + to the front do not expect to return in the body. They ask only + to be remembered at the Spirit-Invoking Shrine + (<i>Shōkonsha</i>), where the shades of all who die for + Emperor and country are believed to gather. The men of the + regiments temporarily quartered in our suburb, on their way to + the war, found time to play at mimic war with the small folk of + the neighborhood. (At all times Japanese soldiers are very kind + to children; and the children here march with them, join in + their military songs, and correctly salute their officers, + feeling sure that the gravest officer will return the salute of + a little child.) When the last regiment went away, the men + distributed toys among the children assembled at the station to + give them a parting <span class="pagenum"><a name="page202" + id="page202"></a>[pg 202]</span> cheer,—hairpins, with + military symbols for ornament, to the girls; wooden infantry + and tin cavalry to the boys. The oddest present was a small + clay model of a Russian soldier's head, presented with the + jocose promise: "If we come back, we shall bring you some + real ones." In the top of the head there is a small wire + loop, to which a rubber string can be attached. At the time + of the war with China, little clay models of Chinese heads, + with very long queues, were favorite toys.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>The war has also suggested a variety of new designs for that + charming object, the <i>toko-niwa</i>. Few of my readers know + what a <i>toko-niwa</i>, or "alcove-garden," is. It is a + miniature garden—perhaps less than two feet + square—contrived within an ornamental shallow basin of + porcelain or other material, and placed in the alcove of a + guest-room by way of decoration. You may see there a tiny pond; + a streamlet crossed by humped bridges of Chinese pattern; dwarf + trees forming a grove, and shading the model of a Shinto + temple; imitations <span class="pagenum"><a name="page203" + id="page203"></a>[pg 203]</span> in baked clay of stone + lanterns,—perhaps even the appearance of a hamlet of + thatched cottages. If the <i>toko-niwa</i> be not too small, + you may see real fish swimming in the pond, or a pet + tortoise crawling among the rockwork. Sometimes the + miniature garden represents Hōrai, and the palace of + the Dragon-King.</p> + + <p>Two new varieties have come into fashion. One is a model of + Port Arthur, showing the harbor and the forts; and with the + materials for the display there is sold a little map, showing + how to place certain tiny battle-ships, representing the + imprisoned and the investing fleets. The other <i>toko-niwa</i> + represents a Korean or Chinese landscape, with hill ranges and + rivers and woods; and the appearance of a battle is created by + masses of toy soldiers—cavalry, infantry, and + artillery—in all positions of attack and defense. Minute + forts of baked clay, bristling with cannon about the size of + small pins, occupy elevated positions. When properly arranged + the effect is panoramic. The soldiers in the foreground are + about an inch long; those a little farther away about + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page204" + id="page204"></a>[pg 204]</span> half as long; and those + upon the hills are no larger than flies.</p> + + <p>But the most remarkable novelty of this sort yet produced is + a kind of <i>toko-niwa</i> recently on display at a famous shop + in Ginza. A label bearing the inscription, <i>Kaď-téď no + Ikken</i> (View of the Ocean-Bed) sufficiently explained the + design. The <i>suďbon</i>, or "water-tray," containing the + display was half filled with rocks and sand so as to resemble a + sea-bottom; and little fishes appeared swarming in the + fore-ground. A little farther back, upon an elevation, stood + Otohimé, the Dragon-King's daughter, surrounded by her maiden + attendants, and gazing, with just the shadow of a smile, at two + men in naval uniform who were shaking hands,—dead heroes + of the war: Admiral Makaroff and Commander Hirosé!... These had + esteemed each other in life; and it was a happy thought thus to + represent their friendly meeting in the world of Spirits.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Though his name is perhaps unfamiliar to English readers, + Commander Takeo Hirosé <span class="pagenum"><a name="page205" + id="page205"></a>[pg 205]</span> has become, deservedly, one + of Japan's national heroes. On the 27th of March, during the + second attempt made to block the entrance to Port Arthur, he + was killed while endeavoring to help a comrade,—a + comrade who had formerly saved him from death. For five + years Hirosé had been a naval attaché at St. Petersburg, and + had made many friends in Russian naval and military circles. + From boyhood his life had been devoted to study and duty; + and it was commonly said of him that he had no particle of + selfishness in his nature. Unlike most of his brother + officers, he remained unmarried,—holding that no man + who might be called on at any moment to lay down his life + for his country had a moral right to marry. The only + amusements in which he was ever known to indulge were + physical exercises; and he was acknowledged one of the best + <i>jūjutsu</i> (wrestlers) in the empire. The heroism + of his death, at the age of thirty-six, had much less to do + with the honors paid to his memory than the self-denying + heroism of his life.</p> + + <p>Now his picture is in thousands of + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page206" + id="page206"></a>[pg 206]</span> homes, and his name is + celebrated in every village. It is celebrated also by the + manufacture of various souvenirs, which are sold by myriads. + For example, there is a new fashion in sleeve-buttons, + called <i>Kinen-botan</i>, or "Commemoration-buttons." Each + button bears a miniature portrait of the commander, with the + inscription, <i>Shichi-shō hōkoku</i>, "Even in + seven successive lives—for love of country." It is + recorded that Hirosé often cited, to friends who criticised + his ascetic devotion to duty, the famous utterance of + Kusunoki Masashigé, who declared, ere laying down his life + for the Emperor Go-Daigo, that he desired to die for his + sovereign in seven successive existences.</p> + + <p>But the highest honor paid to the memory of Hirosé is of a + sort now possible only in the East, though once possible also + in the West, when the Greek or Roman patriot-hero might be + raised, by the common love of his people, to the place of the + Immortals.... Wine-cups of porcelain have been made, decorated + with his portrait; and beneath the portrait appears, in + ideographs of gold, the inscription, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page207" + id="page207"></a>[pg 207]</span> <i>Gunshin Hirosé + Chūsa</i>. The character "gun" signifies war; the + character "<i>shin</i>" a god,—either in the sense of + <i>divus</i> or <i>deus</i>, according to circumstances; and + the Chinese text, read in the Japanese way, is <i>Ikusa no + Kami</i>. Whether that stern and valiant spirit is really + invoked by the millions who believe that no brave soul is + doomed to extinction, no well-spent life laid down in vain, + no heroism cast away, I do not know. But, in any event, + human affection and gratitude can go no farther than this; + and it must be confessed that Old Japan is still able to + confer honors worth dying for.</p> + <hr /> + + <p>Boys and girls in all the children's schools are now singing + the Song of Hirosé Chūsa, which is a marching song. The + words and the music are published in a little booklet, with a + portrait of the late commander upon the cover. Everywhere, and + at all hours of the day, one hears this song being + sung:—</p> + + <blockquote> + <p><i>He whose every word and deed gave to men an example + of what the war-folk of the</i> + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page208" + id="page208"></a>[pg 208]</span> <i>Empire of Nippon + should be,—Commander Hirosé: is he really + dead?</i></p> + + <p><i>Though the body die, the spirit dies not. He who + wished to be reborn seven times into this world, for the + sake of serving his country, for the sake of requiting the + Imperial favor,—Commander Hirosé: has he really + died?</i></p> + + <p><i>"Since I am a son of the Country of the Gods, the + fire of the evil-hearted Russians cannot touch + me!"—The sturdy Takeo who spoke thus: can he really + be dead?...</i></p> + + <p><i>Nay! that glorious war-death meant undying + fame;—beyond a thousand years the valiant heart shall + live;—as to a god of war shall reverence be paid to + him....</i></p> + </blockquote> + <hr /> + + <p>Observing the playful confidence of this wonderful people in + their struggle for existence against the mightiest power of the + West,—their perfect trust in the wisdom of their leaders + and the valor of their armies,—the good humor of their + irony when mocking the enemy's blunders,—their strange + capacity to find, in the world-stirring events of the hour, + <span class="pagenum"><a name="page209" + id="page209"></a>[pg 209]</span> the same amusement that + they would find in watching a melodrama,—one is + tempted to ask: "What would be the moral consequence of a + national defeat?"... It would depend, I think, upon + circumstances. Were Kuropatkin able to fulfill his rash + threat of invading Japan, the nation would probably rise as + one man. But otherwise the knowledge of any great disaster + would be bravely borne. From time unknown Japan has been a + land of cataclysms,—earth-quakes that ruin cities in + the space of a moment; tidal waves, two hundred miles long, + sweeping whole coast populations out of existence; floods + submerging hundreds of leagues of well-tilled fields; + eruptions burying provinces. Calamities like this have + disciplined the race in resignation and in patience; and it + has been well trained also to bear with courage all the + misfortunes of war. Even by the foreign peoples that have + been most closely in contact with her, the capacities of + Japan remained unguessed. Perhaps her power to resist + aggression is far surpassed by her power to endure.</p> + <hr /> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote1" + name="footnote1"></a><b>Footnote 1:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag1">(return)</a> + + <p>Asagao (lit., "morning-face") is the Japanese name for + the beautiful climbing plant which we call "morning + glory."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote2" + name="footnote2"></a><b>Footnote 2:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag2">(return)</a> + + <p>This is the Japanese reading of the Chinese name.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote3" + name="footnote3"></a><b>Footnote 3:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag3">(return)</a> + + <p>"Ho! Tanabata! if you hurry too much, you will tumble + down!"</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote4" + name="footnote4"></a><b>Footnote 4:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag4">(return)</a> + + <p>There is no mention, however, of any such village in any + modern directory.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote5" + name="footnote5"></a><b>Footnote 5:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag5">(return)</a> + + <p>For a translation and explanation of this song, see + <i>infra</i>, page 30.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote6" + name="footnote6"></a><b>Footnote 6:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag6">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Pueraria Thunbergiana.</i></p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote7" + name="footnote7"></a><b>Footnote 7:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag7">(return)</a> + + <p>The last line alludes to a charming custom of which + mention is made in the most ancient Japanese literature. + Lovers, ere parting, were wont to tie each other's inner + girdle (<i>himo</i>) and pledge themselves to leave the + knot untouched until the time of their next meeting. This + poem is said to have been composed in the seventh year of + Yōrō,—A.D. 723,—eleven hundred and + eighty-two years ago.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote8" + name="footnote8"></a><b>Footnote 8:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag8">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Hisakata-no</i> is a "pillow-word" used by the old + poets in relation to celestial objects; and it is often + difficult to translate. Mr. Aston thinks that the literal + meaning of <i>hisakata</i> is simply "long-hard," in the + sense of long-enduring,—<i>hisa</i> (long), + <i>katai</i> (hard, or firm),—so that + <i>hisakata-no</i> would have the meaning of "firmamental." + Japanese commentators, however, say that the term is + composed with the three words, <i>hi</i> (sun), <i>sasu</i> + (shine), and <i>kata</i> (side);—and this etymology + would justify the rendering of <i>hisakata-no</i> by some + such expression as "light-shedding," "radiance-giving." On + the subject of pillow-words, see Aston's <i>Grammar of the + Japanese Written Language</i>.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote9" + name="footnote9"></a><b>Footnote 9:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag9">(return)</a> + + <p>The old text has <i>tabuté</i>.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote10" + name="footnote10"></a><b>Footnote 10:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag10">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Kagéroď</i> is an obsolete form of + <i>kagérō</i>, meaning an ephemera.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote11" + name="footnote11"></a><b>Footnote 11:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag11">(return)</a> + + <p>Lit., "not to cry out (will be) good"—but a + literal translation of the poem is scarcely possible.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote12" + name="footnote12"></a><b>Footnote 12:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag12">(return)</a> + + <p>That is to say, "wife." In archaic Japanese the word + <i>imo</i> signified both "wife" and "younger sister." The + term might also be rendered "darling" or "beloved."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote13" + name="footnote13"></a><b>Footnote 13:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag13">(return)</a> + + <p>Yachihoko-no-Kami, who has many other names, is the + Great God of Izumo, and is commonly known by his + appellation Oho-kuni-nushi-no-Kami, or the + "Deity-Master-of-the Great-Land." He is locally worshiped + also as the god of marriage,—for which reason, + perhaps, the poet thus refers to him.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote14" + name="footnote14"></a><b>Footnote 14:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag14">(return)</a> + + <p>Or, "my seldom-visited spouse." The word <i>tsuma</i> + (<i>zuma</i>), in ancient Japanese, signified either wife + or husband; and this poem might be rendered so as to + express either the wife's or the husband's thoughts.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote15" + name="footnote15"></a><b>Footnote 15:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag15">(return)</a> + + <p>By the ancient calendar, the seventh day of the seventh + month would fall in the autumn season.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote16" + name="footnote16"></a><b>Footnote 16:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag16">(return)</a> + + <p>The literal meaning is "<i>béni</i>-tinted + face,"—that is to say, a face of which the cheeks and + lips have been tinted with <i>béni</i>, a kind of + rouge.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote17" + name="footnote17"></a><b>Footnote 17:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag17">(return)</a> + + <p>In ancient Japanese the word <i>séko</i> signified + either husband or elder brother. The beginning of the poem + might also be rendered thus:—"When I feel a secret + longing for my husband," etc.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote18" + name="footnote18"></a><b>Footnote 18:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag18">(return)</a> + + <p>"To exchange jewel-pillows" signifies to use each + other's arms for pillows. This poetical phrase is often + used in the earliest Japanese literature. The word for + jewel, <i>tama</i>, often appears in compounds as an + equivalent of "precious," "dear," etc.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote19" + name="footnote19"></a><b>Footnote 19:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag19">(return)</a> + + <p>For <i>kofuru</i>.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote20" + name="footnote20"></a><b>Footnote 20:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag20">(return)</a> + + <p>Or "satisfy itself." A literal rendering is + difficult.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote21" + name="footnote21"></a><b>Footnote 21:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag21">(return)</a> + + <p>At different times, in the history of Japanese female + costume, different articles of dress were called by this + name. In the present instance, the <i>hiré</i> referred to + was probably a white scarf, worn about the neck and carried + over the shoulders to the breast, where its ends were + either allowed to hang loose, or were tied into an + ornamental knot. The <i>hiré</i> was often used to make + signals with, much as handkerchiefs are waved to-day for + the same purpose;—and the question uttered in the + poem seems to signify: "Can that be Tanabata waving her + scarf—to call me?" In very early times, the ordinary + costumes worn were white.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote22" + name="footnote22"></a><b>Footnote 22:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag22">(return)</a> + + <p>Or, "the creaking of the oar." (The word <i>kaji</i> + to-day means "helm";—the single oar, or scull, + working upon a pivot, and serving at once for rudder and + oar, being now called <i>ro</i>.) The mist passing across + the Amanogawa is, according to commentators, the spray from + the Star-god's oar.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote23" + name="footnote23"></a><b>Footnote 23:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag23">(return)</a> + + <p>Lit. "pull-boat" (<i>hiki-funé</i>),—a barge or + boat pulled by a rope.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote24" + name="footnote24"></a><b>Footnote 24:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag24">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Nubatama no yo</i> might better be rendered by some + such phrase as "the berry-black night,"—but the + intended effect would be thus lost in translation. + <i>Nubatama-no</i> (a "pillow-word") is written with + characters signifying "like the black fruits of + <i>Karasu-Ōgi</i>;" and the ancient phrase + "<i>nubatama no yo</i>" therefore may be said to have the + same meaning as our expressions "jet-black night," or + "pitch-dark night."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote25" + name="footnote25"></a><b>Footnote 25:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag25">(return)</a> + + <p>Composed by the famous poet Ōtomo no Sukuné + Yakamochi, while gazing at the Milky Way, on the seventh + night of the seventh month of the tenth year of Tampyō + (A.D. 738). The pillow-word in the third line + (<i>maso-kagami</i>) is untranslatable.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote26" + name="footnote26"></a><b>Footnote 26:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag26">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Asobimé</i>, a courtesan: lit., "sporting-woman." The + Éta and other pariah classes furnished a large proportion + of these women. The whole meaning of the poem is as + follows: "See that young wanton with her lantern! It is a + pretty sight—but so is the sight of a fox, when the + creature kindles his goblin-fire and assumes the shape of a + girl. And just as your fox-woman will prove to be no more + than an old horse-bone, so that young courtesan, whose + beauty deludes men to folly, may be nothing better than an + Éta."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote27" + name="footnote27"></a><b>Footnote 27:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag27">(return)</a> + + <p>The supposed utterance of a belated traveler frightened + by a will-o'-the-wisp. The last line allows of two + readings. <i>Kokoro-hosoi</i> means "timid;" and <i>hosoi + michi</i> (<i>hoso-michi</i>) means a "narrow path," and, + by implication, a "lonesome path."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote28" + name="footnote28"></a><b>Footnote 28:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag28">(return)</a> + + <p>The Japanese say of a person greatly emaciated by + sickness, <i>miru-kagé mo naki</i>: "Even a visible shadow + of him is not!"—Another rendering is made possible by + the fact that the same expression is used in the sense of + "unfit to be seen,"—"though the face of the person + afflicted with this ghostly sickness is unfit to be seen, + yet by reason of her secret longing [for another man] there + are now two of her faces to be seen." The phrase <i>omoi no + hoka</i>, in the fourth line, means "contrary to + expectation;" but it is ingeniously made to suggest also + the idea of secret longing.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote29" + name="footnote29"></a><b>Footnote 29:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag29">(return)</a> + + <p>There is a curious play on words in the fourth line. The + word <i>omoté</i>, meaning "the front," might, in reading, + be sounded as <i>omotté</i>, "thinking." The verses + therefore might also be thus translated:—"She keeps + her real thoughts hidden in the back part of the house, and + never allows them to be seen in the front part of the + house,—because she is suffering from the + 'Shadow-Sickness' [of love]."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote30" + name="footnote30"></a><b>Footnote 30:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag30">(return)</a> + + <p>There is a double meaning, suggested rather than + expressed, in the fourth line. The word <i>shiraga</i>, + "white-hair," suggests <i>shirazu</i>, "not knowing."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote31" + name="footnote31"></a><b>Footnote 31:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag31">(return)</a> + + <p>There is in this poem a multiplicity of suggestion + impossible to render in translation. While making her + toilet, the Japanese woman uses two mirrors + (<i>awasé-kagami</i>)—one of which, a hand-mirror, + serves to show her the appearance of the back part of her + coiffure, by reflecting it into the larger stationary + mirror. But in this case of Rikombyō, the woman sees + more than her face and the back of her head in the larger + mirror: she sees her own double. The verses indicate that + one of the mirrors may have caught the Shadow-Sickness, and + doubled itself. And there is a further suggestion of the + ghostly sympathy said to exist between a mirror and the + soul of its possessor.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote32" + name="footnote32"></a><b>Footnote 32:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag32">(return)</a> + + <p>There are two Japanese words, <i>keshō</i>, which + in <i>kana</i> are written alike and pronounced alike, + though represented by very different Chinese characters. As + written in <i>kana</i>, the term <i>keshō-no-mono</i> + may signify either "toilet articles" or "a monstrous + being," "a goblin."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote33" + name="footnote33"></a><b>Footnote 33:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag33">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Hinagata</i> means especially "a model," "a miniature + copy," "a drawn plan," etc.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote34" + name="footnote34"></a><b>Footnote 34:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag34">(return)</a> + + <p>It is not possible to render all the double meanings in + this composition. <i>Tsuka-no-ma</i> signifies "in a + moment" or "quickly"; but it may also mean "in the space + [<i>ma</i>] between the roof-props" [<i>tsuka</i>]. + "<i>Kéta</i>" means a cross-beam, but <i>kéta-kéta + warau</i> means to chuckle or laugh in a mocking way. + Ghosts are said to laugh with the sound of kéta-kéta.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote35" + name="footnote35"></a><b>Footnote 35:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag35">(return)</a> + + <p>The ordinary height of a full screen is six Japanese + feet.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote36" + name="footnote36"></a><b>Footnote 36:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag36">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Kōgai</i> is the name now given to a + quadrangular bar of tortoise-shell passed under the + coiffure, which leaves only the ends of the bar exposed. + The true hair-pin is called <i>kanzashi</i>.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote37" + name="footnote37"></a><b>Footnote 37:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag37">(return)</a> + + <p>The term <i>shirayuki</i>, as here used, offers an + example of what Japanese poets call <i>Kenyōgen</i>, + or "double-purpose words." Joined to the words immediately + following, it makes the phrase "white-snow woman" + (<i>shirayuki no onna</i>);—united with the words + immediately preceding, it suggests the reading, + "whither-gone not-knowing" (<i>yuku é wa + shira[zu]</i>).</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote38" + name="footnote38"></a><b>Footnote 38:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag38">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Zotto</i> is a difficult word to render literally: + perhaps the nearest English equivalent is "thrilling." + <i>Zotto suru</i> signifies "to cause a thrill" or "to give + a shock," or "to make shiver;" and of a very beautiful + person it is said "<i>Zotto-suru hodo no + bijin</i>,"—meaning! "She is so pretty that it gives + one a shock merely to look at her." The term + <i>yanagi-goshi</i> ("willow-loins") in the last line is a + common expression designating a slender and graceful + figure; and the reader should observe that the first half + of the term is ingeniously made to do double duty + here,—suggesting, with the context, not only the + grace of willow branches weighed down by snow, but also the + grace of a human figure that one must stop to admire, in + spite of the cold.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote39" + name="footnote39"></a><b>Footnote 39:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag39">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Hishaku</i>, a wooden dipper with a long handle, used + to transfer water from a bucket to smaller vessels.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote40" + name="footnote40"></a><b>Footnote 40:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag40">(return)</a> + + <p>The common expression <i>Koshi ga nukéru</i> (to have + one's loins taken out) means to be unable to stand up by + reason of fear. The suggestion is that while the captain + was trying to knock out the bottom of a dipper, before + giving it to the ghost, he fell senseless from fright.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote41" + name="footnote41"></a><b>Footnote 41:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag41">(return)</a> + + <p>The Underworld of the Dead—<i>Yomi</i> or + Kōsen—is called "The Yellow Springs;" these + names being written with two Chinese characters + respectively signifying "yellow" and "fountain." A very + ancient term for the ocean, frequently used in the old + Shintō rituals, is "The Blue Sea-Plain."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote42" + name="footnote42"></a><b>Footnote 42:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag42">(return)</a> + + <p>There is an untranslatable play upon words in the last + two lines. The above rendering includes two possible + readings.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote43" + name="footnote43"></a><b>Footnote 43:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag43">(return)</a> + + <p>There is more weirdness in this poem than the above + rendering suggests. The word <i>ukaman</i> in the fourth + line can be rendered as "shall perhaps float," or as "shall + perhaps be saved" (in the Buddhist sense of + salvation),—as there are two verbs <i>ukami</i>. + According to an old superstition, the spirits of the + drowned must continue to dwell in the waters <i>until such + time as they can lure the living to destruction</i>. When + the ghost of any drowned person succeeds in drowning + somebody, it may be able to obtain rebirth, and to leave + the sea forever. The exclamation of the ghost in this poem + really means, "Now perhaps I shall be able to drown + somebody." (A very similar superstition is said to exist on + the Breton coast.) A common Japanese saying about a child + or any person who follows another too closely and + persistently is: <i>Kawa de shinda-yūréď no yona + tsuré-hoshigaru!</i>—"Wants to follow you everywhere + like the ghost of a drowned person."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote44" + name="footnote44"></a><b>Footnote 44:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag44">(return)</a> + + <p>Here I cannot attempt to render the various plays upon + words; but the term "<i>omoď</i>" needs explanation. It + means "thought" or "thoughts;" but in colloquial + phraseology it is often used as a euphemism for a dying + person's last desire of vengeance. In various dramas it has + been used in the signification of "avenging ghost." Thus + the exclamation, "His <i>thought</i> has come + back!"—in reference to a dead man—really means: + "His angry ghost appears!"</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote45" + name="footnote45"></a><b>Footnote 45:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag45">(return)</a> + + <p>There is a double meaning given by the use of the name + <i>Tomomori</i> in the last line. <i>Tomo</i> means "the + stern" of a ship; <i>mori</i> means "to leak." So the poem + suggests that the ghost of Tomomori not only interferes + with the ship's rudder, but causes her to leak.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote46" + name="footnote46"></a><b>Footnote 46:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag46">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Namakusaki-kaze</i> really means a wind having a "raw + stench;" but the smell of bait is suggested by the second + line of the poem. A literal rendering is not possible in + this case; the art of the composition being altogether + suggestive.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote47" + name="footnote47"></a><b>Footnote 47:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag47">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Hi</i>, the third syllable of the first line of the + poem, does duty for <i>hi</i>, signifying "ebb," and for + <i>hikata</i>, "dry beach." <i>Séďzoroë</i> is a noun + signifying "battle-array"—in the sense of the Roman + term <i>acies</i>;—and <i>séďzoroé shité</i> means + "drawn up in battle-array."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote48" + name="footnote48"></a><b>Footnote 48:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag48">(return)</a> + + <p>The ensign of the Héďké, or Taďra clan was red; while + that of their rivals, the Genji or Minamotō, was + white.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote49" + name="footnote49"></a><b>Footnote 49:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag49">(return)</a> + + <p>The use of the word <i>hasami</i> in the fifth line is a + very good example of <i>kenyōgen</i>. There is a noun + <i>hasami</i>, meaning the nippers of a crab, or a pair of + scissors; and there is a verb <i>hasami</i>, meaning to + harbor, to cherish, or to entertain. (<i>Ikon wo hasamu</i> + means "to harbor resentment against.") Reading the word + only in connection with those which follow it, we have the + phrase <i>hasami mochikéri</i>, "got claws;" but, reading + it with the words preceding, we have the expression <i>ikon + wo muné ni hasami</i>, "resentment in their breasts + nourishing."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote50" + name="footnote50"></a><b>Footnote 50:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag50">(return)</a> + + <p>The <i>tokonoma</i> in a Japanese room is a sort of + ornamental recess or alcove, in which a picture is usually + hung, and vases of flowers, or a dwarf tree, are + placed.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote51" + name="footnote51"></a><b>Footnote 51:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag51">(return)</a> + + <p>The word <i>takumi</i>, as written in <i>kana</i>, may + signify either "carpenter" or "intrigue," "evil plot," + "wicked device." Thus two readings are possible. According + to one reading, the post was fixed upside-down through + inadvertence; according to the other, it was so fixed with + malice prepense.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote52" + name="footnote52"></a><b>Footnote 52:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag52">(return)</a> + + <p>Lit., "upside-down-matter-sorrow." <i>Sakasama-goto</i>, + "up-side-down affair," is a common expression for calamity, + contrariety, adversity, vexation.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote53" + name="footnote53"></a><b>Footnote 53:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag53">(return)</a> + + <p>Alluding to the proverb, <i>Kabé ni mimi ari</i> ("There + are ears in the wall"), which signifies: "Be careful how + you talk about other people, even in private."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote54" + name="footnote54"></a><b>Footnote 54:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag54">(return)</a> + + <p>There is a pun in the fourth line which suggests more + than even a free translation can express. <i>Waré</i> means + "I," or "mine," or "one's own," etc., according to + circumstances; and <i>waré mé</i> (written separately) + might be rendered "its own eyes." But <i>warémé</i> (one + word) means a crack, rent, split, or fissure. The reader + should remember that the term <i>saka-bashira</i> means not + only "upside-down post," but also the goblin or spectre of + the upside-down post.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote55" + name="footnote55"></a><b>Footnote 55:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag55">(return)</a> + + <p>That is to say, "Even the poem on the tablet is + up-side-down,"—all wrong. <i>Hashira-kaké</i> + ("pillar-suspended thing") is the name given to a thin + tablet of fine wood, inscribed or painted, which is hung to + a post by way of ornament.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote56" + name="footnote56"></a><b>Footnote 56:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag56">(return)</a> + + <p>Perhaps the term might be rendered "Shape-changing + Jizō." The verb <i>bakéru</i> means to change shape, + to undergo metamorphosis, to haunt, and many other + supernatural things.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote57" + name="footnote57"></a><b>Footnote 57:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag57">(return)</a> + + <p>The Japanese word for granite is <i>mikagé</i>; and + there is also an honorific term <i>mikagé</i>, applied to + divinities and emperors, which signifies "august aspect," + "sacred presence," etc.... No literal rendering can suggest + the effect, in the fifth line, of the latter reading. + <i>Kagé</i> signifies "shadow," "aspect," and + "power"—especially occult power; the honorific prefix + <i>mi</i>, attached to names and attributes of divinities, + may be rendered "august."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote58" + name="footnote58"></a><b>Footnote 58:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag58">(return)</a> + + <p>The puns are too much for me.... <i>Ayashii</i> means + "suspicious," "marvelous," "supernatural," "weird," + "doubtful."—In the first two lines there is a + reference to the Buddhist proverb: <i>Funa-ita ichi-mai + shita wa Jigoku</i> ("under the thickness of a single + ship's-plank is Hell"). (See my <i>Gleanings in + Buddha-Fields</i>, p. 206, for another reference to this + saying.)</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote59" + name="footnote59"></a><b>Footnote 59:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag59">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Hégashi</i> is the causative form of the verb + <i>hégu</i>, "to pull off," "peel off," "strip off," "split + off." The term <i>Fuda-hégashi</i> signifies + "Make-peel-off-august-charm Ghost." In my <i>Ghostly + Japan</i> the reader can find a good Japanese story about a + <i>Fuda-hégashi</i>.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote60" + name="footnote60"></a><b>Footnote 60:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag60">(return)</a> + + <p>The fourth line gives these two readings:—</p> + + <p><i>Nam'mai da?</i>—"How many sheets are + there?"</p> + + <p><i>Nam[u] Aɯida!</i>—"Hail, O Amitâbha!"</p> + + <p>The invocation, <i>Namu Amida Butsu</i>, is chiefly used + by members of the great Shin sect; but it is also used by + other sects, and especially in praying for the dead. While + repeating it, the person praying numbers the utterances + upon his Buddhist rosary; and this custom is suggested by + the use of the word <i>kazoëté</i>, "counting."</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote61" + name="footnote61"></a><b>Footnote 61:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag61">(return)</a> + + <p>The word <i>furu</i> in the third line is made to do + double duty,—as the adjective, <i>furu[i]</i>, + "ancient"; and as the verb <i>furu</i>, "to shake." The old + term <i>nama-kuhi</i> (lit., "raw head") means a human + head, freshly-severed, from which the blood is still + oozing.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote62" + name="footnote62"></a><b>Footnote 62:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag62">(return)</a> + + <p>Two Japanese words are written, in <i>kana</i>, as + "mé"—one meaning "a bud;" the other "eye." The + syllables "hana" in like fashion, may signify either + "flower" or "nose." As a grotesque, this little poem is + decidedly successful.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote63" + name="footnote63"></a><b>Footnote 63:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag63">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Ayashigé</i> is a noun formed from the adjective + <i>ayashi</i>, "suspicious," "strange," "supernatural," + "doubtful." The word <i>kagé</i> signifies both "light" and + "shadow,"—and is here used with double + suggestiveness. The vegetable oil used in the old Japanese + lamps used to be obtained from the nuts of the + <i>tsubaki</i>. The reader should remember that the + expression "ancient tsubaki" is equivalent to the + expression "goblin-tsubaki,"—the tsubaki being + supposed to turn into a goblin-tree only when it becomes + old.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote64" + name="footnote64"></a><b>Footnote 64:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag64">(return)</a> + + <p>The tree-peony (<i>botan</i>) is here referred + to,—a flower much esteemed in Japan. It is said to + have been introduced from China during the eighth century; + and no less than five hundred varieties of it are now + cultivated by Japanese gardeners.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote65" + name="footnote65"></a><b>Footnote 65:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag65">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Autobiography</i>, vol. ii, p. 470.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote66" + name="footnote66"></a><b>Footnote 66:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag66">(return)</a> + + <p><i>Facts and Comments</i>, p. 201.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote67" + name="footnote67"></a><b>Footnote 67:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag67">(return)</a> + + <p>A kind of rouge, now used only to color the lips.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote68" + name="footnote68"></a><b>Footnote 68:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag68">(return)</a> + + <p>This name, though uncommon, is still in use.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote69" + name="footnote69"></a><b>Footnote 69:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag69">(return)</a> + + <p>The Emperor Saimei reigned from 655 to 662 (A.D.); the + Emperor Saga from 810 to 842.—Kudara was an ancient + kingdom in southwestern Korea, frequently mentioned in + early Japanese history.—A <i>Naishinnō</i> was + of Imperial blood. In the ancient court-hierarchy there + were twenty-five ranks or grades of noble + ladies;—that of <i>Naishinno</i> was seventh in order + of precedence.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote70" + name="footnote70"></a><b>Footnote 70:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag70">(return)</a> + + <p>For centuries the wives of the emperors and the ladies + of the Imperial Court were chosen from the Fujiwara + clan—The period called Hōgen lasted from 1156 to + 1159: the war referred to is the famous war between the + Taira and Minamoto clans.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote71" + name="footnote71"></a><b>Footnote 71:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag71">(return)</a> + + <p>In old-time belief every lake or spring had its + invisible guardian, supposed to sometimes take the form of + a serpent or dragon. The spirit of a lake or pond was + commonly spoken of as <i>Iké-no-Mushi</i>, the Master of + the Lake. Here we find the title "Master" given to a dragon + living in a well; but the guardian of wells is really the + god Suijin.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote72" + name="footnote72"></a><b>Footnote 72:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag72">(return)</a> + + <p>August-residence servant.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote73" + name="footnote73"></a><b>Footnote 73:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag73">(return)</a> + + <p>A scarcely translatable honorific title compounded of + the word <i>himé</i> (princess) and <i>kimi</i> (sovereign, + master or mistress, lord or lady, etc.).</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote74" + name="footnote74"></a><b>Footnote 74:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag74">(return)</a> + + <p>Shigéhira, after a brave fight in defense of the + capital,—then held by the Taďra (or Héďké) + party,—was surprised and routed by Yoshitsuné, leader + of the Minamoto forces. A soldier named Iyénaga, who was a + skilled archer, shot down Shigéhira's horse; and Shigéhira + fell under the struggling animal. He cried to an attendant + to bring another horse; but the man fled. Shigéhira was + then captured by Iyénaga, and eventually given up to + Yoritomo, head of the Minamoto clan, who caused him to be + sent in a cage to Kamakura. There, after sundry + humiliations, he was treated for a time with + consideration,—having been able, by a Chinese poem, + to touch even the cruel heart of Yoritomo. But in the + following year he was executed by request of the Buddhist + priests of Nanto, against whom he had formerly waged war by + order of Kiyomori.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote75" + name="footnote75"></a><b>Footnote 75:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag75">(return)</a> + + <p>This was the name given to a pair of metal rods attached + to a sword-sheath, and used like chop-sticks. They were + sometimes exquisitely ornamented.</p> + </blockquote> + + <blockquote class="footnote"> + <a id="footnote76" + name="footnote76"></a><b>Footnote 76:</b> + <a href="#footnotetag76">(return)</a> + + <p>A kind of palanquin.</p> + </blockquote> + <hr class="full" /> + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Romance of the Milky Way, by Lafcadio Hearn + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY *** + +***** This file should be named 15320-h.htm or 15320-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/3/2/15320/ + +Produced by Ted Garvin, William Flis, and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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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: The Romance of the Milky Way + And Other Studies & Stories + +Author: Lafcadio Hearn + +Release Date: March 10, 2005 [EBook #15320] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY *** + + + + +Produced by Ted Garvin, William Flis, and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + + + + + Transcriber's Note: Phonetic characters are represented by the + following symbols: + [=x] = any letter "x" with superior macron + [`x] = any letter "x" with grave accent + ['x] = any letter "x" with acute accent + [.x] = any letter "x" with superior dot (semi-dieresis) + [:x] = any letter "x" with superior double-dot (dieresis) + [^x] = any letter "x" with superior circumflex + [~x] = any letter "x" with superior tilde + [x,] = any letter "x" with cedilla + [Sect.] = Section sign + + + + +SHORT STORY + + + + +THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY + +AND OTHER STUDIES & STORIES + +BY LAFCADIO HEARN + + +HOUGHTON MIFFLIN AND COMPANY BOSTON AND NEW YORK 1905 + + + + +COPYRIGHT 1905 BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN & COMPANY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED + +PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1905 + + + + +CONTENTS + + + THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY 1 + + GOBLIN POETRY 51 + + "ULTIMATE QUESTIONS" 103 + + THE MIRROR MAIDEN 125 + + THE STORY OF IT[=O] NORISUK['E] 139 + + STRANGER THAN FICTION 167 + + A LETTER FROM JAPAN 179 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +Lafcadio Hearn, known to Nippon as Yakumo Koizumi, was born in +Leucadia in the Ionian Islands, June 27, 1850. His father was an Irish +surgeon in the British Army; his mother was a Greek. Both parents died +while Hearn was still a child, and he was adopted by a great-aunt, +and educated for the priesthood. To this training he owed his +Latin scholarship and, doubtless, something of the subtlety of +his intelligence. He soon found, however, that the prospect of an +ecclesiastical career was alien from his inquiring mind and vivid +temperament, and at the age of nineteen he came to America to seek +his fortune. After working for a time as a proof-reader, he obtained +employment as a newspaper reporter in Cincinnati. Soon he rose to +be an editorial writer, and went in the course of a few years to New +Orleans to join the editorial staff of the "Times-Democrat." Here he +lived until 1887, writing odd fantasies and arabesques for his paper, +contributing articles and sketches to the magazines, and publishing +several curious little books, among them his "Stray Leaves from +Strange Literature," and his translations from Gautier. In the winter +of 1887 he began his pilgrimages to exotic countries, being, as +he wrote to a friend, "a small literary bee in search of inspiring +honey." After a couple of years, spent chiefly in the French West +Indies, with periods of literary work in New York, he went in 1890 +to Japan to prepare a series of articles for a magazine. Here through +some deep affinity of mood with the marvelous people of that country +he seems suddenly to have felt himself at last at home. He married a +Japanese woman; he acquired Japanese citizenship in order to preserve +the succession of his property to his family there; he became a +lecturer in the Imperial University at T[=o]ky[=o]; and in a series +of remarkable books he made himself the interpreter to the Western +World of the very spirit of Japanese life and art. He died there of +paralysis of the heart on the 26th of September, 1904. + + * * * * * + +With the exception of a body of familiar letters now in process of +collection, the present volume contains all of Hearn's writing that +he left uncollected in the magazines or in manuscript of a sufficient +ripeness for publication. It is worth noting, however, that perfect as +is the writing of "Ultimate Questions," and complete as the essay is +in itself, the author regarded it as unfinished, and, had he lived, +would have revised and amplified some portions of it. + +But if this volume lacks the incomparably exquisite touch of its +author in its arrangement and revision, it does, nevertheless, present +him in all of his most characteristic veins, and it is in respect both +to style and to substance perhaps the most mature and significant of +his works. + +In his first days as a writer Hearn had conceived an ideal of his art +as specific as it was ambitious. Early in the eighties he wrote from +New Orleans in an unpublished letter to the Rev. Wayland D. Ball +of Washington: "The lovers of antique loveliness are proving to me +the future possibilities of a long cherished dream,--the English +realization of a Latin style, modeled upon foreign masters, and +rendered even more forcible by that element of _strength_ which +is the characteristic of Northern tongues. This no man can hope +to accomplish, but even a translator may carry his stones to the +master-masons of a new architecture of language." In the realization +of his ideal Hearn took unremitting pains. He gave a minute and +analytical study to the writings of such masters of style as Flaubert +and Gautier, and he chose his miscellaneous reading with a peculiar +care. He wrote again to the same friend: "I never read a book +which does not powerfully impress the imagination; but whatever +contains novel, curious, potent imagery I always read, no matter +what the subject. When the soil of fancy is really well enriched +with innumerable fallen leaves, the flowers of language grow +spontaneously." Finally, to the hard study of technique, to vast +but judicious reading, he added a long, creative brooding time. +To a Japanese friend, Nobushige Amenomori, he wrote in a passage +which contains by implication a deep theory not only of literary +composition, but of all art:-- + +"Now with regard to your own sketch or story. If you are quite +dissatisfied with it, I think this is probably due _not_ to what you +suppose,--imperfection of expression,--but rather to the fact that +some _latent_ thought or emotion has not yet defined itself in your +mind with sufficient sharpness. You feel something and have not been +able to express the feeling--only because you do not yet quite know +what it is. We feel without understanding feeling; and our most +powerful emotions are the most undefinable. This must be so, because +they are inherited accumulations of feeling, and the multiplicity of +them--superimposed one over another--blurs them, and makes them dim, +even though enormously increasing their strength.... _Unconscious_ +brain work is the best to develop such latent feeling or thought. By +quietly writing the thing over and over again, I find that the emotion +or idea often _develops itself_ in the process,--unconsciously. Again, +it is often worth while to _try_ to analyze the feeling that remains +dim. The effort of trying to understand exactly what it is that moves +us sometimes proves successful.... If you have any feeling--no matter +what--strongly latent in the mind (even only a haunting sadness or +a mysterious joy), you may be sure that it is expressible. Some +feelings are, of course, very difficult to develop. I shall show you +one of these days, when we see each other, a page that I worked at +for _months_ before the idea came clearly.... When the best result +comes, it ought to surprise you, for our best work is out of the +Unconscious." + +Through this study, reading, and brooding Lafcadio Hearn's prose +ripened and mellowed consistently to the end. In mere workmanship the +present volume is one of his most admirable, while in its heightened +passages, like the final paragraph of "The Romance of the Milky Way," +the rich, melancholy music, the profound suggestion, are not easily +matched from any but the very greatest English prose. + +In substance the volume is equally significant. In 1884 he wrote +to one of the closest of his friends that he had at last found his +feet intellectually through the reading of Herbert Spencer which +had dispelled all "isms" from his mind and left him "the vague +but omnipotent consolation of the Great Doubt." And in "Ultimate +Questions," which strikes, so to say, the dominant chord of this +volume, we have an almost lyrical expression of the meaning for him of +the Spencerian philosophy and psychology. In it is his characteristic +mingling of Buddhist and Shinto thought with English and French +psychology, strains which in his work "do not simply mix well," as +he says in one of his letters, but "absolutely unite, like chemical +elements--rush together with a shock;"--and in it he strikes his +deepest note. In his steady envisagement of the horror that envelops +the stupendous universe of science, in his power to evoke and revive +old myths and superstitions, and by their glamour to cast a ghostly +light of vanished suns over the darkness of the abyss, he was the most +Lucretian of modern writers. + + * * * * * + +In outward appearance Hearn, the man, was in no way prepossessing. In +the sharply lined picture of him drawn by one of his Japanese comrades +in the "Atlantic" for October, 1905, he appears, "slightly corpulent +in later years, short in stature, hardly five feet high, of somewhat +stooping gait. A little brownish in complexion, and of rather hairy +skin. A thin, sharp, aquiline nose, large protruding eyes, of which +the left was blind and the right very near-sighted." + +The same writer, Nobushige Amenomori, has set down a reminiscence, not +of Hearn the man, but of Hearn the genius, wherewith this introduction +to the last of his writings may fitly conclude: "I shall ever retain +the vivid remembrance of the sight I had when I stayed over night at +his house for the first time. Being used myself also to sit up late, I +read in bed that night. The clock struck one in the morning, but there +was a light in Hearn's study. I heard some low, hoarse coughing. I was +afraid my friend might be ill; so I stepped out of my room and went to +his study. Not wanting, however, to disturb him, if he was at work, +I cautiously opened the door just a little, and peeped in. I saw +my friend intent in writing at his high desk, with his nose almost +touching the paper. Leaf after leaf he wrote on. In a while he held +up his head, and what did I see! It was not the Hearn I was familiar +with; it was another Hearn. His face was mysteriously white; his +large eye gleamed. He appeared like one in touch with some unearthly +presence. + +"Within that homely looking man there burned something pure as the +vestal fire, and in that flame dwelt a mind that called forth life and +poetry out of dust, and grasped the highest themes of human thought." + +F.G. + +September, 1905. + + + + +THE ROMANCE, OF THE MILKY WAY + + + Of old it was said: 'The River of Heaven is the Ghost of + Waters.' We behold it shifting its bed in the course of the + year as an earthly river sometimes does. + + _Ancient Scholar_ + + +Among the many charming festivals celebrated by Old Japan, the most +romantic was the festival of Tanabata-Sama, the Weaving-Lady of the +Milky Way. In the chief cities her holiday is now little observed; and +in T[=o]ky[=o] it is almost forgotten. But in many country districts, +and even in villages, near the capital, it is still celebrated in a +small way. If you happen to visit an old-fashioned country town or +village, on the seventh day of the seventh month (by the ancient +calendar), you will probably notice many freshly-cut bamboos fixed +upon the roofs of the houses, or planted in the ground beside them, +every bamboo having attached to it a number of strips of colored +paper. In some very poor villages you might find that these papers are +white, or of one color only; but the general rule is that the papers +should be of five or seven different colors. Blue, green, red, yellow, +and white are the tints commonly displayed. All these papers are +inscribed with short poems written in praise of Tanabata and her +husband Hikoboshi. After the festival the bamboos are taken down and +thrown into the nearest stream, together with the poems attached to +them. + + * * * * * + +To understand the romance of this old festival, you must know the +legend of those astral divinities to whom offerings used to be made, +even by, the Imperial Household, on the seventh day of the seventh +month. The legend is Chinese. This is the Japanese popular version +of it:-- + +The great god of the firmament had a lovely daughter, +Tanabata-tsum['e], who passed her days in weaving garments for her +august parent. She rejoiced in her work, and thought that there was +no greater pleasure than the pleasure of weaving. But one day, as she +sat before her loom at the door of her heavenly dwelling, she saw a +handsome peasant lad pass by, leading an ox, and she fell in love with +him. Her august father, divining her secret wish, gave her the youth +for a husband. But the wedded lovers became too fond of each other, +and neglected their duty to the god of the firmament; the sound of +the shuttle was no longer heard, and the ox wandered, unheeded, over +the plains of heaven. Therefore the great god was displeased, and he +separated the pair. They were sentenced to live thereafter apart, with +the Celestial River between them; but it was permitted them to see +each other once a year, on the seventh night of the seventh moon. On +that night--providing the skies be clear--the birds of heaven make, +with their bodies and wings, a bridge over the stream; and by means +of that bridge the lovers can meet. But if there be rain, the River of +Heaven rises, and becomes so wide that the bridge cannot be formed. So +the husband and wife cannot always meet, even on the seventh night of +the seventh month; it may happen, by reason of bad weather, that they +cannot meet for three or four years at a time. But their love remains +immortally young and eternally patient; and they continue to fulfill +their respective duties each day without fault,--happy in their hope +of being able to meet on the seventh night of the next seventh month. + + * * * * * + +To ancient Chinese fancy, the Milky Way was a luminous river,--the +River of Heaven,--the Silver Stream. It has been stated by Western +writers that Tanabata, the Weaving-Lady, is a star in Lyra; and the +Herdsman, her beloved, a star in Aquila, on the opposite side of the +galaxy. But it were more correct to say that both are represented, to +Far-Eastern imagination, by groups of stars. An old Japanese book puts +the matter thus plainly: "Kengy[=u] (the Ox-Leader) is on the west +side of the Heavenly River, and is represented by three stars in a +row, and looks like a man leading an ox. Shokujo (the Weaving-Lady) +is on the east side of the Heavenly River: three stars so placed as +to appear like the figure of a woman seated at her loom.... The former +presides over all things relating to agriculture; the latter, over all +that relates to women's work." + + * * * * * + +In an old book called Zatsuwa-Shin, it is said that these deities +were of earthly origin. Once in this world they were man and wife, +and lived in China; and the husband was called Ishi, and the wife +Hakuy[=o]. They especially and most devoutly reverenced the Moon. +Every clear evening, after sundown, they waited with eagerness to see +her rise. And when she began to sink towards the horizon, they would +climb to the top of a hill near their house, so that they might be +able to gaze upon her face as long as possible. Then, when she at last +disappeared from view, they would mourn together. At the age of ninety +and nine, the wife died; and her spirit rode up to heaven on a magpie, +and there became a star. The husband, who was then one hundred and +three years old, sought consolation for his bereavement in looking at +the Moon and when he welcomed her rising and mourned her setting, it +seemed to him as if his wife were still beside him. + +One summer night, Hakuy[=o]--now immortally beautiful and +young--descended from heaven upon her magpie, to visit her husband; +and he was made very happy by that visit. But from that time he +could think of nothing but the bliss of becoming a star, and joining +Hakuy[=o] beyond the River of Heaven. At last he also ascended to the +sky, riding upon a crow; and there he became a star-god. But he could +not join Hakuy[=o] at once, as he had hoped;--for between his allotted +place and hers flowed the River of Heaven; and it was not permitted +for either star to cross the stream, because the Master of Heaven +(_Ten-Tei_) daily bathed in its waters. Moreover, there was no bridge. +But on one day every year--the seventh day of the seventh month--they +were allowed to see each other. The Master of Heaven goes always +on that day to the Zenh[=o]do, to hear the preaching of the law of +Buddha; and then the magpies and the crows make, with their hovering +bodies and outspread wings, a bridge over the Celestial Stream; and +Hakuy[=o] crosses that bridge to meet her husband. + +There can be little doubt that the Japanese festival called +Tanabata was originally identical with the festival of the Chinese +Weaving-Goddess, Tchi-Niu; the Japanese holiday seems to have +been especially a woman's holiday, from the earliest times; and +the characters with which the word Tanabata is written signify a +weaving-girl. But as both of the star-deities were worshiped on the +seventh of the seventh month, some Japanese scholars have not been +satisfied with the common explanation of the name, and have stated +that it was originally composed with the word _tan['e]_ (seed, or +grain), and the word _hata_ (loom). Those who accept this etymology +make the appellation, Tanabata-Sama, plural instead of singular, and +render it as "the deities of grain and of the loom,"--that is to say, +those presiding over agriculture and weaving. In old Japanese pictures +the star-gods are represented according to this conception of their +respective attributes;--Hikoboshi being figured as a peasant lad +leading an ox to drink of the Heavenly River, on the farther side of +which Orihim['e] (Tanabata) appears, weaving at her loom. The garb of +both is Chinese; and the first Japanese pictures of these divinities +were probably copied from some Chinese original. + +In the oldest collection of Japanese poetry extant,--the +Many[=o]sh[=u], dating from 760 A.D.,--the male divinity is usually +called Hikoboshi, and the female Tanabata-tsum['e]; but in later times +both have been called Tanabata. In Izumo the male deity is popularly +termed O-Tanabata Sama, and the female M['e]-Tanabata Sama. Both are +still known by many names. The male is called Kaiboshi as well as +Hikoboshi and Kengy[=u]; while the female is called Asagao-him['e] +("Morning Glory Princess")[1], Ito-ori-him['e] ("Thread-Weaving +Princess"), Momoko-him['e] ("Peach-Child Princess"), Takimono-him['e] +("Incense Princess"), and Sasagani-him['e] ("Spider Princess"). Some +of these names are difficult to explain,--especially the last, which +reminds us of the Greek legend of Arachne. Probably the Greek myth and +the Chinese story have nothing whatever in common; but in old Chinese +books there is recorded a curious fact which might well suggest a +relationship. In the time of the Chinese Emperor Ming Hwang (whom the +Japanese call Gens[=o]), it was customary for the ladies of the court, +on the seventh day of the seventh month, to catch spiders and put them +into an incense-box for purposes of divination. On the morning of the +eighth day the box was opened; and if the spiders had spun thick webs +during the night the omen was good. But if they had remained idle the +omen was bad. + +[Footnote 1: Asagao (lit., "morning-face") is the Japanese name for +the beautiful climbing plant which we call "morning glory."] + + * * * * * + +There is a story that, many ages ago, a beautiful woman visited the +dwelling of a farmer in the mountains of Izumo, and taught to the +only daughter of the household an art of weaving never before known. +One evening the beautiful stranger vanished away; and the people knew +that they had seen the Weaving-Lady of Heaven. The daughter of the +farmer became renowned for her skill in weaving. But she would never +marry,--because she had been the companion of Tanabata-Sama. + + * * * * * + +Then there is a Chinese story--delightfully vague--about a man who +once made a visit, unawares, to the Heavenly Land. He had observed +that every year, during the eighth month, a raft of precious wood came +floating to the shore on which he lived; and he wanted to know where +that wood grew. So he loaded a boat with provisions for a two years' +voyage, and sailed away in the direction from which the rafts used to +drift. For months and months he sailed on, over an always placid sea; +and at last he arrived at a pleasant shore, where wonderful trees +were growing. He moored his boat, and proceeded alone into the unknown +land, until he came to the bank of a river whose waters were bright as +silver. On the opposite shore he saw a pavilion; and in the pavilion +a beautiful woman sat weaving; she was white like moonshine, and made +a radiance all about her. Presently he saw a handsome young peasant +approaching, leading an ox to the water; and he asked the young +peasant to tell him the name of the place and the country. But the +youth seemed to be displeased by the question, and answered in a +severe tone: "If you want to know the name of this place, go back +to where you came from, and ask Gen-Kum-Pei."[2] So the voyager, +feeling afraid, hastened to his boat, and returned to China. There he +sought out the sage Gen-Kum-Pei, to whom he related the adventure. +Gen-Kum-Pei clapped his hands for wonder, and exclaimed, "So it was +you!... On the seventh day of the seventh month I was gazing at +the heavens, and I saw that the Herdsman and the Weaver were about +to meet;--but between them was a new Star, which I took to be a +Guest-Star. Fortunate man! you have been to the River of Heaven, and +have looked upon the face of the Weaving-Lady!..." + +[Footnote 2: This is the Japanese reading of the Chinese name.] + + * * * * * + +--It is said that the meeting of the Herdsman and the Weaver can be +observed by any one with good eyes; for whenever it occurs those stars +burn with five different colors. That is why offerings of five colors +are made to the Tanabata divinities, and why the poems composed in +their praise are written upon paper of five different tints. + +But, as I have said before, the pair can meet only in fair weather. +If there be the least rain upon the seventh night, the River of Heaven +will rise, and the lovers must wait another whole year. Therefore +the rain that happens to fall on Tanabata night is called _Namida no +Am['e]_, "The Rain of Tears." + +When the sky is clear on the seventh night, the lovers are fortunate; +and their stars can be seen to sparkle with delight. If the star +Kengy[=u] then shines very brightly, there will be great rice crops +in the autumn. If the star Shokujo looks brighter than usual, there +will be a prosperous time for weavers, and for every kind of female +industry. + + * * * * * + +In old Japan it was generally supposed that the meeting of the pair +signified good fortune to mortals. Even to-day, in many parts of the +country, children sing a little song on the evening of the Tanabata +festival,--_Tenki ni nari!_ ("O weather, be clear!") In the province +of Iga the young folks also sing a jesting song at the supposed hour +of the lovers' meeting:-- + + Tanabata ya! + Amari isogaba, + Korobub['e]shi![3] + +But in the province of Izumo, which is a very rainy district, the +contrary belief prevails; and it is thought that if the sky be clear +on the seventh day of the seventh month, misfortune will follow. The +local explanation of this belief is that if the stars can meet, there +will be born from their union many evil deities who will afflict the +country with drought and other calamities. + +[Footnote 3: "Ho! Tanabata! if you hurry too much, you will tumble +down!"] + + * * * * * + +The festival of Tanabata was first celebrated in Japan on the seventh +day of the seventh month of Tomby[=o] Sh[=o]h[=o] (A.D. 755). Perhaps +the Chinese origin of the Tanabata divinities accounts for the fact +that their public worship was at no time represented by many temples. + +I have been able to find record of only one temple to them, called +Tanabata-jinja, which was situated at a village called Hoshiaimura, +in the province of Owari, and surrounded by a grove called +Tanabata-mori.[4] + +[Footnote 4: There is no mention, however, of any such village in any +modern directory.] + +Even before Temby[=o] Sh[=o]h[=o], however, the legend of the +Weaving-Maiden seems to have been well known in Japan; for it is +recorded that on the seventh night of the seventh year of Y[=o]r[=o] +(A.D. 723) the poet Yamagami no Okura composed the song:-- + + Amanogawa, + Ai-muki tachit['e], + Waga ko[:i]shi + Kimi kimasu nari-- + Himo-toki makina![5] + +It would seem that the Tanabata festival was first established +in Japan eleven hundred and fifty years ago, as an Imperial Court +festival only, in accordance with Chinese precedent. Subsequently +the nobility and the military classes everywhere followed imperial +example; and the custom of celebrating the Hoshi-mat-suri, or +Star-Festival,--as it was popularly called,--spread gradually +downwards, until at last the seventh day of the seventh month became, +in the full sense of the term, a national holiday. But the fashion of +its observance varied considerably at different eras and in different +provinces. + +[Footnote 5: For a translation and explanation of this song, see +_infra_, page 30.] + +The ceremonies at the Imperial Court were of the most elaborate +character: a full account of them is given in the _K[=o]ji +Kongen_,--with explanatory illustrations. On the evening of the +seventh day of the seventh month, mattings were laid down on the east +side of that portion of the Imperial Palace called the Seir-y[=o]den; +and upon these mattings were placed four tables of offerings to the +Star-deities. Besides the customary food-offerings, there were placed +upon these tables rice-wine, incense, vases of red lacquer containing +flowers, a harp and flute, and a needle with five eyes, threaded +with threads of five different colors. Black-lacquered oil-lamps were +placed beside the tables, to illuminate the feast. In another part of +the grounds a tub of water was so placed as to reflect the light of +the Tanabata-stars; and the ladies of the Imperial Household attempted +to thread a needle by the reflection. She who succeeded was to be +fortunate during the following year. The court-nobility (_Kug['e]_) +were obliged to make certain offerings to the Imperial House on the +day of the festival. The character of these offerings, and the manner +of their presentation, were fixed by decree. They were conveyed to +the palace upon a tray, by a veiled lady of rank, in ceremonial +dress. Above her, as she walked, a great red umbrella was borne by +an attendant. On the tray were placed seven _tanzaku_ (longilateral +slips of fine tinted paper for the writing of poems); seven +_kudzu_-leaves;[6] seven inkstones; seven strings of _s[=o]men_ +(a kind of vermicelli); fourteen writing-brushes; and a bunch of +yam-leaves gathered at night, and thickly sprinkled with dew. In the +palace grounds the ceremony began at the Hour of the Tiger,--4 A.M. +Then the inkstones were carefully washed,--prior to preparing the ink +for the writing of poems in praise of the Star-deities,--and each one +set upon a _kudzu_-leaf. One bunch of bedewed yam-leaves was then +laid upon every inkstone; and with this dew, instead of water, the +writing-ink was prepared. All the ceremonies appear to have been +copied from those in vogue at the Chinese court in the time of the +Emperor Ming-Hwang. + +[Footnote 6: _Pueraria Thunbergiana._] + + * * * * * + +It was not until the time of the Tokugawa Sh[=o]gunate that the +Tanabata festival became really a national holiday; and the popular +custom of attaching _tansaku_ of different colors to freshly-cut +bamboos, in celebration of the occasion, dates only from the era +of Bunser (1818). Previously the _tanzaku_ had been made of a very +costly quality of paper; and the old aristocratic ceremonies had been +not less expensive than elaborate. But in the time of the Tokugawa +Sh[=o]gunate a very cheap paper of various colors was manufactured; +and the holiday ceremonies were suffered to assume an inexpensive +form, in which even the poorest classes could indulge. + +The popular customs relating to the festival differed according to +locality. Those of Izumo--where all classes of society, _samurai_ or +common folk, celebrated the holiday in much the same way--used to be +particularly interesting; and a brief account of them will suggest +something of the happy aspects of life in feudal times. At the Hour +of the Tiger, on the seventh night of the seventh month, everybody +was up; and the work of washing the inkstones and writing-brushes +was performed. Then, in the household garden, dew was collected upon +yam-leaves. This dew was called _Amanogawa no suzuki_ ("drops from the +River of Heaven"); and it was used to make fresh ink for writing the +poems which were to be suspended to bamboos planted in the garden. It +was usual for friends to present each other with new inkstones at the +time of the Tanabata festival; and if there were any new inkstones +in the house, the fresh ink was prepared in these. Each member of +the family then wrote poems. The adults composed verses, according +to their ability, in praise of the Star-deities; and the children +either wrote dictation or tried to improvise. Little folk too young +to use the writing-brush without help had their small hands guided, +by parent or elder sister or elder brother, so as to shape on a +_tanzaku_ the character of some single word or phrase relating to +the festival,--such as "Amanogawa," or "Tanabata," or "Kasasagi +no Hashi" (the Bridge of Magpies). In the garden were planted two +freshly-cut bamboos, with branches and leaves entire,--a male bamboo +(_otoko-dak['e]_) and a female bamboo (_onna-dak['e]_). They were +set up about six feet apart, and to a cord extended between them were +suspended paper-cuttings of five colors, and skeins of dyed thread of +five colors. The paper-cuttings represented upper-robes,--_kimono_. +To the leaves and branches of the bamboos were tied the _tanzaku_ +on which poems had been written by the members of the family. +And upon a table, set between the bamboos, or immediately before +them, were placed vessels containing various offerings to the +Star-deities,--fruits, _s[=o]men_, rice-wine, and vegetables of +different kinds, such as cucumbers and watermelons. + +But the most curious Izumo custom relating to the festival was the +_N['e]mu-nagashi_, or "Sleep-wash-away" ceremony. Before day-break +the young folks used to go to some stream, carrying with them bunches +composed of _n['e]muri_-leaves and bean-leaves mixed together. On +reaching the stream, they would fling their bunches of leaves into the +current, and sing a little song:-- + + N['e]mu wa, nagar['e] yo! + Mam['e] no ha wa, tomar['e]! + +These verses might be rendered in two ways; because the word _n['e]mu_ +can be taken in the meaning either of _n['e]muri_ (sleep), or of +_nemuri-gi_ or _n['e]munoki_, the "sleep-plant" (mimosa),--while the +syllables _mam['e]_, as written in _kana_, can signify either "bean," +or "activity," or "strength," "vigor," "health," etc. But the ceremony +was symbolical, and the intended meaning of the song was:-- + + Drowsiness, drift away! + Leaves of vigor, remain! + +After this, all the young folk would jump into the water, to bathe or +swim, in token of their resolve to shed all laziness for the coming +year, and to maintain a vigorous spirit of endeavor. + + * * * * * + +Yet it was probably in Y['e]do (now T[=o]ky[=o]) that the Tanabata +festival assumed its most picturesque aspects. During the two days +that the celebration lasted,--the sixth and seventh of the seventh +month,--the city used to present the appearance of one vast bamboo +grove; fresh bamboos, with poems attached to them, being erected upon +the roofs of the houses. Peasants were in those days able to do a +great business in bamboos, which were brought into town by hundreds +of wagonloads for holiday use. Another feature of the Y['e]do festival +was the children's procession, in which bamboos, with poems attached +to them, were carried about the city. To each such bamboo there +was also fastened a red plaque on which were painted, in Chinese +characters, the names of the Tanabata stars. + +But almost everywhere, under the Tokugawa r['e]gime, the Tanabata +festival used to be a merry holiday for the young people of all +classes,--a holiday beginning with lantern displays before sunrise, +and lasting well into the following night. Boys and girls on that day +were dressed in their best, and paid visits of ceremony to friends and +neighbors. + + * * * * * + +--The moon of the seventh month used to be called _Tanabata-tsuki_, or +"The Moon of Tanabata." And it was also called _Fumi-tsuki_, or "The +Literary Moon," because during the seventh month poems were everywhere +composed in praise of the Celestial Lovers. + + * * * * * + +I think that my readers ought to be interested in the following +selection of ancient Japanese poems, treating of the Tanabata legend. +All are from the _Many[=o]sh[=u]_. The _Many[=o]sh[=u]_, or "Gathering +of a Myriad Leaves," is a vast collection of poems composed before the +middle of the eighth century. It was compiled by Imperial order, and +completed early in the ninth century. The number of the poems which +it contains is upwards of four thousand; some being "long poems" +(_naga-uta_), but the great majority _tanka_, or compositions limited +to thirty-one syllables; and the authors were courtiers or high +officials. The first eleven _tanka_ hereafter translated were composed +by Yamagami no Okura, Governor of the province of Chikuzen more than +eleven hundred years ago. His fame as a poet is well deserved; for +not a little of his work will bear comparison with some of the finer +epigrams of the Greek Anthology. The following verses, upon the death +of his little son Furubi, will serve as an example:-- + + Wakaker['e]ba + Nichi-yuki shiraji: + Mahi wa s['e]mu, + Shitab['e] no tsukahi + Ohit['e]-tohoras['e]. + + --[_As he is so young, he cannot know the way.... To the + messenger of the Underworld I will give a bribe, and entreat + him, saying: "Do thou kindly take the little one upon thy back + along the road."_] + +Eight hundred years earlier, the Greek poet Diodorus Zonas of Sardis +had written:-- + + "_Do thou, who rowest the boat of the dead in the water + of this reedy lake, for Hades, stretch out thy hand, dark + Charon, to the son of Kinyras, as he mounts the ladder by the + gang-way, and receive him. For his sandals will cause the lad + to slip, and he fears to set his feet naked on the sand of the + shore._" + +But the charming epigram of Diodorus was inspired only by a myth,--for +the "son of Kinyras" was no other than Adonis,--whereas the verses of +Okura express for us the yearning of a father's heart. + + * * * * * + +--Though the legend of Tanabata was indeed borrowed from China, the +reader will find nothing Chinese in the following compositions. +They represent the old classic poetry at its purest, free from alien +influence; and they offer us many suggestions as to the condition of +Japanese life and thought twelve hundred years ago. Remembering that +they were written before any modern European literature had yet taken +form, one is startled to find how little the Japanese written language +has changed in the course of so many centuries. Allowing for a few +obsolete words, and sundry slight changes of pronunciation, the +ordinary Japanese reader to-day can enjoy these early productions of +his native muse with about as little difficulty as the English reader +finds in studying the poets of the Elizabethan era. Moreover, the +refinement and the simple charm of the _Many[=o]sh[=u]_ compositions +have never been surpassed, and seldom equaled, by later Japanese +poets. + +As for the forty-odd _tanka_ which I have translated, their chief +attraction lies, I think, in what they reveal to us of the human +nature of their authors. Tanabata-tsum['e] still represents for us +the Japanese wife, worshipfully loving;--Hikoboshi appears to us with +none of the luminosity of the god, but as the young Japanese husband +of the sixth or seventh century, before Chinese ethical convention +had begun to exercise its restraint upon life and literature. Also +these poems interest us by their expression of the early feeling for +natural beauty. In them we find the scenery and the seasons of Japan +transported to the Blue Plain of High Heaven;--the Celestial Stream +with its rapids and shallows, its sudden risings and clamourings +within its stony bed, and its water-grasses bending in the autumn +wind, might well be the Kamogawa;--and the mists that haunt its shores +are the very mists of Arashiyama. The boat of Hikoboshi, impelled by +a single oar working upon a wooden peg, is not yet obsolete; and at +many a country ferry you may still see the _hiki-fun['e]_ in which +Tanabata-tsum['e] prayed her husband to cross in a night of storm,--a +flat broad barge pulled over the river by cables. And maids and wives +still sit at their doors in country villages, on pleasant autumn days, +to weave as Tanabata-tsum['e] wove for the sake of her lord and lover. + + * * * * * + +--It will be observed that, in most of these verses, it is not the +wife who dutifully crosses the Celestial River to meet her husband, +but the husband who rows over the stream to meet the wife; and there +is no reference to the Bridge of Birds.... As for my renderings, those +readers who know by experience the difficulty of translating Japanese +verse will be the most indulgent, I fancy. The Romaji system of +spelling has been followed (except in one or two cases where I thought +it better to indicate the ancient syllabication after the method +adopted by Aston); and words or phrases necessarily supplied have been +inclosed in parentheses. + + Amanogawa + Ai-muki tachit['e], + Waga ko[:i]shi + Kimi kimasu nari + Himo-toki mak['e]na! + + [_He is coming, my long-desired lord, whom I have been waiting + to meet here, on the banks of the River of Heaven.... The + moment of loosening my girdle is nigh!_[7]] + +[Footnote 7: The last line alludes to a charming custom of which +mention is made in the most ancient Japanese literature. Lovers, +ere parting, were wont to tie each other's inner girdle (_himo_) and +pledge themselves to leave the knot untouched until the time of their +next meeting. This poem is said to have been composed in the seventh +year of Y[=o]r[=o],--A.D. 723,--eleven hundred and eighty-two years +ago.] + + Hisakata no[8] + Ama no kawas['e] ni, + Fun['e] uk['e]t['e], + Koyo[:i] ka kimi ga + Agari kimasan? + +[Footnote 8: _Hisakata-no_ is a "pillow-word" used by the old poets in +relation to celestial objects; and it is often difficult to translate. +Mr. Aston thinks that the literal meaning of _hisakata_ is simply +"long-hard," in the sense of long-enduring,--_hisa_ (long), _katai_ +(hard, or firm),--so that _hisakata-no_ would have the meaning of +"firmamental." Japanese commentators, however, say that the term +is composed with the three words, _hi_ (sun), _sasu_ (shine), and +_kata_ (side);--and this etymology would justify the rendering +of _hisakata-no_ by some such expression as "light-shedding," +"radiance-giving." On the subject of pillow-words, see Aston's +_Grammar of the Japanese Written Language_.] + + [_Over the Rapids of the Everlasting Heaven, floating in his + boat, my lord will doubtless deign to come to me this very + night._] + + Kaz['e] kumo wa + Futatsu no kishi ni + Kayo[:e]domo, + Waga toho-tsuma no + Koto zo kayowanu! + + [_Though winds and clouds to either bank may freely come or + go, between myself and my faraway spouse no message whatever + may pass._] + + Tsubut['e][9] ni mo + Nag['e] koshitsu-b['e]ki, + Amanogawa + H['e]dat['e]r['e]ba ka mo, + Amata sub['e]-naki! + + [_To the opposite bank one might easily fling a pebble; yet, + being separated from him by the River of Heaven, alas! to hope + for a meeting (except in autumn) is utterly useless._] + +[Footnote 9: The old text has _tabut['e]_.] + + Aki-kaz['e] no + Fukinishi hi yori + "Itsushika" to--; + Waga machi ko[^i]shi + Kimi zo kimas['e]ru. + + [_From the day that the autumn wind began to blow (I kept + saying to myself), "Ah! when shall we meet?"--but now my + beloved, for whom I waited and longed, has come indeed!_] + + Amanogawa + Ito kawa-nami wa + Tatan['e]domo, + Samorai gatashi-- + Chikaki kono s['e] wo. + + [_Though the waters of the River of Heaven have not greatly + risen, (yet to cross) this near stream and to wait upon (my + lord and lover) remains impossible._] + + Sod['e] furaba + Mi mo kawashitsu-b['e]ku + Chika-ker['e]do, + Wataru sub['e] nashi, + Aki nishi aran['e]ba. + + [_Though she is so near that the waving of her (long) sleeves + can be distinctly seen, yet there is no way to cross the + stream before the season of autumn._] + + Kag['e]ro[:i] no + Honoka ni mi['e]t['e] + Wakar['e]naba;-- + Motonaya ko[:i]n + A[:u]-toki mad['e] wa! + + [_When we were separated, I had seen her for a moment + only,--and dimly as one sees a flying midge;[10] now I + must vainly long for her as before, until time of our next + meeting!_] + + Hikoboshi no + Tsuma muka[:e]-bun['e] + Kogizurashi,-- + Ama-no-Kawara ni + Kiri no tat['e]ru wa. + +[Footnote 10: _Kag['e]ro[:i]_ is an obsolete form of _kag['e]r[=o]_, +meaning an ephemera.] + + [_Methinks that Hikoboshi must be rowing his boat to meet his + wife,--for a mist (as of oar-spray) is rising over the course + of the Heavenly Stream._] + + Kasumi tatsu + Ama-no-Kawara ni, + Kimi matsu to,-- + Ikay[=o] hodo ni + Mono-suso nurenu. + + [_While awaiting my lord on the misty shore of the River of + Heaven, the skirts of my robe have somehow become wet._] + + Amanogawa, + Mi-tsu no nami oto + Sawagu-nari: + Waga matsu-kimi no + Funad['e]-surashi mo. + + [_On the River of Heaven, at the place of the august + ferry, the sound of the water has become loud: perhaps my + long-awaited lord will soon be coming in his boat._] + + Tanabata no + Sod['e] maku yo[:i] no + Akatoki wa, + Kawas['e] no tazu wa + Nakazu to mo yoshi. + + [_As Tanabata (slumbers) with her long sleeves rolled up, + until the reddening of the dawn, do not, O storks of the + river-shallows, awaken her by your cries._[11]] + +[Footnote 11: Lit., "not to cry out (will be) good"--but a literal +translation of the poem is scarcely possible.] + + Amanogawa + Kiri-tachi-wataru: + Ky[=o], ky[=o], to-- + Waga matsu-ko[:i]shi + Funad['e]-surashi! + + [_(She sees that) a mist is spreading across the River of + Heaven.... "To-day, to-day," she thinks, "my long-awaited lord + will probably come over in his boat."_] + + Amanogawa, + Yasu no watari ni, + Fun['e] uk['e]t['e];-- + Waga tachi-matsu to + Imo ni tsug['e] koso. + + [_By the ferry of Yasu, on the River of Heaven, the boat is + floating: I pray you tell my younger sister[12] that I stand + here and wait._] + +[Footnote 12: That is to say, "wife." In archaic Japanese the word +_imo_ signified both "wife" and "younger sister." The term might also +be rendered "darling" or "beloved."] + + [=O]-sora yo + Kay[=o] war['e] sura, + Na ga yu['e] ni, + Amanokawa-ji no + Nazumit['e] zo koshi. + + [_Though I (being a Star-god) can pass freely to and fro, + through the great sky,--yet to cross over the River of Heaven, + for your sake, was weary work indeed!_] + + Yachihoko no + Kami no mi-yo yori + Tomoshi-zuma;-- + Hito-shiri ni keri + Tsugit['e]shi omo[:e]ba. + + [_From the august Age of the + God-of-Eight-Thousand-Spears_,[13] _she had been my spouse in + secret_[14] _only; yet now, because of my constant longing for + her, our relation has become known to men._] + +[Footnote 13: Yachihoko-no-Kami, who has many other names, is +the Great God of Izumo, and is commonly known by his appellation +Oho-kuni-nushi-no-Kami, or the "Deity-Master-of-the Great-Land." He +is locally worshiped also as the god of marriage,--for which reason, +perhaps, the poet thus refers to him.] + +[Footnote 14: Or, "my seldom-visited spouse." The word _tsuma_ +(_zuma_), in ancient Japanese, signified either wife or husband; and +this poem might be rendered so as to express either the wife's or the +husband's thoughts.] + + Am['e] tsuchi to + Wakar['e]shi toki yo + Onoga tsuma; + Shika zo t['e] ni aru + Aki matsu ar['e] wa. + + [_From the time when heaven and earth were parted, she has + been my own wife;--yet, to be with her, I must always wait + till autumn._[15]] + +[Footnote 15: By the ancient calendar, the seventh day of the seventh +month would fall in the autumn season.] + + Waga k[=o]ru + Niho no omo wa + Koyo[:i] mo ka + Ama-no-kawara ni + Ishi-makura makan. + + [_With my beloved, of the ruddy-tinted cheeks_,[16] _this + night indeed will I descend into the bed of the River of + Heaven, to sleep on a pillow of stone._] + +[Footnote 16: The literal meaning is "_b['e]ni_-tinted face,"--that +is to say, a face of which the cheeks and lips have been tinted with +_b['e]ni_, a kind of rouge.] + + Amanogawa. + Mikomori-gusa no + Aki-kaz['e] ni + Nabikafu mir['e]ba, + Toki kitarurashi. + + [_When I see the water-grasses of the River of Heaven bend + in the autumn wind (I think to myself): "The time (for our + meeting) seems to have come."_] + + Waga s['e]ko ni + Ura-koi or['e]ba, + Amanogawa + Yo-fun['e] kogi-toyomu + Kaji no 'to kikoyu. + + [_When I feel in my heart a sudden longing for my + husband_,[17] _then on the River of Heaven the sound of the + rowing of the night-boat is heard, and the plash of the oar + resounds._] + +[Footnote 17: In ancient Japanese the word _s['e]ko_ signified either +husband or elder brother. The beginning of the poem might also be +rendered thus:--"When I feel a secret longing for my husband," etc.] + + T[=o]-zuma to + Tamakura kawashi + N['e]taru yo wa, + Tori-gan['e] na naki + Ak['e]ba aku to mo! + + [_In the night when I am reposing with my (now) far-away + spouse, having exchanged jewel-pillows_[18] _with her, let not + the cock crow, even though the day should dawn._] + +[Footnote 18: "To exchange jewel-pillows" signifies to use each +other's arms for pillows. This poetical phrase is often used in +the earliest Japanese literature. The word for jewel, _tama_, often +appears in compounds as an equivalent of "precious," "dear," etc.] + + Yorozu-yo ni + Tazusawari it['e] + Ai mi-domo, + Omoi-sugu-b['e]ki + Koi naranaku ni. + + [_Though for a myriad ages we should remain hand-in-hand and + face to face, our exceeding love could never come to an end. + (Why then should Heaven deem it necessary to part us?)_] + + Waga tam['e] to, + Tanabata-tsum['e] no, + Sono yado ni, + Oreru shirotai + Nu[:i]t ken kamo? + + [_The white cloth which Tanabata has woven for my sake, in + that dwelling of hers, is now, I think, being made into a robe + for me._] + + Shirakumo no + I-ho ['e] kakurit['e] + T[=o]-k['e]domo, + Yo[:i]-sarazu min + Imo ga atari wa. + + [_Though she be far-away, and hidden from me by five hundred + layers of white cloud, still shall I turn my gaze each night + toward the dwelling-place of my younger sister (wife)._] + + Aki sar['e]ba + Kawagiri tat['e]ru + Amanogawa, + Kawa ni muki-it['e] + Kru[19] yo zo [=o]ki! + +[Footnote 19: For _kofuru_.] + + [_When autumn comes, and the river-mists spread over the + Heavenly Stream, I turn toward the river, (and long); and the + nights of my longing are many!_] + + Hito-tos['e] ni + Nanuka no yo nomi + A[:u]-hito no-- + Ko[:i] mo tsuki-n['e]ba + Sayo zo ak['e] ni keru! + + [_But once in the whole year, and only upon the seventh night + (of the seventh month), to meet the beloved person--and + lo! The day has dawned before our mutual love could express + itself!_[20]] + +[Footnote 20: Or "satisfy itself." A literal rendering is difficult.] + + Toshi no ko[:i] + Koyo[:i] tsukush['i]t['e], + Asu yori wa, + Tsun['e] no gotoku ya + Waga ko[:i] oran. + + [_The love-longing of one whole year having ended to-night, + every day from to-morrow I must again pine for him as + before!_] + + Hikoboshi to + Tanabata-tsum['e] to + Koyo[:i] a[:u];-- + Ama-no-Kawa to ni + Nami tatsu-na yum['e]! + + [_Hikoboshi and Tanabata-tsum['e] are to meet each other + to-night;--ye waves of the River of Heaven, take heed that ye + do not rise!_] + + Aki-kaz['e] no + Fuki tadayowasu + Shirakumo wa, + Tanabata-tsum['e] no + Amatsu hir['e] kamo? + + [_Oh! that white cloud driven by the autumn-wind--can it be + the heavenly hir['e][21] of Tana-bata-tsum['e]?_] + +[Footnote 21: At different times, in the history of Japanese female +costume, different articles of dress were called by this name. In +the present instance, the _hir['e]_ referred to was probably a white +scarf, worn about the neck and carried over the shoulders to the +breast, where its ends were either allowed to hang loose, or were +tied into an ornamental knot. The _hir['e]_ was often used to make +signals with, much as handkerchiefs are waved to-day for the same +purpose;--and the question uttered in the poem seems to signify: "Can +that be Tanabata waving her scarf--to call me?" In very early times, +the ordinary costumes worn were white.] + + Shiba-shiba mo + Ai minu kimi wo, + Amanogawa + Funa-d['e] haya s['e]yo + Yo no fuk['e]nu ma ni. + + [_Because he is my not-often-to-be-met beloved, hasten to + row the boat across the River of Heaven ere the night be + advanced._] + + Amanogawa + Kiri tachi-watari + Hikoboshi no + Kaji no 'to kikoyu + Yo no fuk['e]-yuk['e]ba. + + [_Late in the night, a mist spreads over_] _the River of + Heaven; and the sound of the oar[22] of Hikoboshi is heard._] + +[Footnote 22: Or, "the creaking of the oar." (The word _kaji_ to-day +means "helm";--the single oar, or scull, working upon a pivot, and +serving at once for rudder and oar, being now called _ro_.) The mist +passing across the Amanogawa is, according to commentators, the spray +from the Star-god's oar.] + + Amanogawa + Kawa 'to sayak['e]shi: + Hikoboshi no + Haya kogu fun['e] no + Nami no sawagi ka? + + [_On the River of Heaven a sound of plashing can be distinctly + heard: is it the sound of the rippling made by Hikoboshi + quickly rowing his boat?_] + + Kono y[=u]b['e], + Furikuru am['e] wa, + Hikoboshi no + Haya kogu fun['e] no + Ka[:i] no chiri ka mo. + + [_Perhaps this evening shower is but the spray (flung down) + from the oar of Hikoboshi, rowing his boat in haste._] + + Waga tama-doko wo + Asu yori wa + Uchi hara[:i], + Kimi to in['e]zut['e] + Hitori ka mo nen! + + [_From to-morrow, alas! after having put my jewel-bed in + order, no longer reposing with my lord, I must sleep alone!_] + + Kaz['e] fukit['e], + Kawa-nami tachinu;-- + Hiki-fun['e] ni + Watari mo kimas['e] + Yo no fuk['e]nu ma ni. + + [_The wind having risen, the waves of the river have become + high;--this night cross over in a towboat,[23] I pray thee, + before the hour be late!_] + +[Footnote 23: Lit. "pull-boat" (_hiki-fun['e]_),--a barge or boat +pulled by a rope.] + + Amanogawa + Nami wa tatsutomo, + Waga fun['e] wa + Iza kogi iden + Yo no fuk['e]nu ma ni. + + [_Even though the waves of the River of_ _Heaven run high, I + must row over quickly, before it becomes late in the night._] + + Inishi['e] ni + Orit['e]shi hata wo; + Kono y[=u]b['e] + Koromo ni nu[:i]t['e]-- + Kimi matsu ar['e] wo! + + [_Long ago I finished weaving the material; and, this evening, + having finished sewing the garment for him--(why must) I still + wait for my lord?_] + + Amanogawa + S['e] wo hayami ka mo? + Nubatama no + Yo wa fuk['e] ni tsutsu, + Awanu Hikoboshi! + +[_Is it that the current of the River of_ _Heaven (has become too) +rapid? The jet-black night[24] advances--and Hikoboshi has not come!_] + +[Footnote 24: _Nubatama no yo_ might better be rendered by some such +phrase as "the berry-black night,"--but the intended effect would be +thus lost in translation. _Nubatama-no_ (a "pillow-word") is written +with characters signifying "like the black fruits of _Karasu-[=O]gi_;" +and the ancient phrase "_nubatama no yo_" therefore may be said +to have the same meaning as our expressions "jet-black night," or +"pitch-dark night."] + + Watashi-mori, + Fun['e] haya watas['e];-- + Hito-tos['e] ni + Futatabi kay[=o] + Kimi naranaku ni! + + [_Oh, ferryman, make speed across the stream!--my lord is not + one who can come and go twice in a year!_] + + Aki kaz['e] no + Fukinishi hi yori, + Amanogawa + Kawas['e] ni d['e]dachi;-- + Matsu to tsug['e] koso! + + [_On the very day that the autumn-wind began to blow, I set + out for the shallows of the River of Heaven;--I pray you, tell + my lord that I am waiting here still!_] + + Tanabata no + Funanori surashi,-- + Maso-kagami, + Kiyoki tsuki-yo ni + Kumo tachi-wataru. + + [_Methinks Tanabata must be coming in her boat; for a cloud is + even now passing across the clear face of the moon._[25]] + +[Footnote 25: Composed by the famous poet [=O]tomo no Sukun['e] +Yakamochi, while gazing at the Milky Way, on the seventh night of +the seventh month of the tenth year of Tampy[=o] (A.D. 738). The +pillow-word in the third line (_maso-kagami_) is untranslatable.] + +--And yet it has been gravely asserted that the old Japanese poets +could find no beauty in starry skies!... + +Perhaps the legend of Tanabata, as it was understood by those old +poets, can make but a faint appeal to Western minds. Nevertheless, +in the silence of transparent nights, before the rising of the moon, +the charm of the ancient tale sometimes descends upon me, out of the +scintillant sky,--to make me forget the monstrous facts of science, +and the stupendous horror of Space. Then I no longer behold the Milky +Way as that awful Ring of the Cosmos, whose hundred million suns are +powerless to lighten the Abyss, but as the very Amanogawa itself,--the +River Celestial. I see the thrill of its shining stream, and the mists +that hover along its verge, and the water-grasses that bend in the +winds of autumn. White Orihim['e] I see at her starry loom, and the Ox +that grazes on the farther shore;--and I know that the falling dew is +the spray from the Herdsman's oar. And the heaven seems very near and +warm and human; and the silence about me is filled with the dream of +a love unchanging, immortal,--forever yearning and forever young, and +forever left unsatisfied by the paternal wisdom of the gods. + + + + +GOBLIN POETRY + + +Recently, while groping about an old book shop, I found a collection +of Goblin Poetry in three volumes, containing many pictures of +goblins. The title of the collection is _Ky[=o]ka Hyaku-Monogatari_, +or "The Mad Poetry of the _Hyaku-Monogatari_." The _Hyaku-Monogatari_, +or "Hundred Tales," is a famous book of ghost stories. On the subject +of each of the stories, poems were composed at different times +by various persons,--poems of the sort called _Ky[=o]ka_, or Mad +Poetry,--and these were collected and edited to form the three volumes +of which I became the fortunate possessor. The collecting was done by +a certain Takumi Jingor[=o], who wrote under the literary pseudonym +"Temm['e]r R['e][=o]jin" (Ancient of the Temm['e]r Era). Takumi died +in the first year of Bunky[=u] (1861), at the good age of eighty; +and his collection seems to have been published in the sixth year +of Ka['e][:i] (1853). The pictures were made by an artist called +Masazumi, who worked under the pseudonym "Ry[=o]sai Kanjin." + +From a prefatory note it appears that Takumi Jingor[=o] published +his collection with the hope of reviving interest in a once popular +kind of poetry which had fallen into neglect before the middle of +the century. The word _ky[=o]ka_ is written with a Chinese character +signifying "insane" or "crazy;" and it means a particular and +extraordinary variety of comic poetry. The form is that of the classic +_tanka_ of thirty-one syllables (arranged 57577);--but the subjects +are always the extreme reverse of classical; and the artistic effects +depend upon methods of verbal jugglery which cannot be explained +without the help of numerous examples. The collection published by +Takumi includes a good deal of matter in which a Western reader can +discover no merit; but the best of it has a distinctly grotesque +quality that reminds one of Hood's weird cleverness in playing with +grim subjects. This quality, and the peculiar Japanese method of +mingling the playful with the terrific, can be suggested and explained +only by reproducing in Romaji the texts of various _ky[=o]ka_, with +translations and notes. + +The selection which I have made should prove interesting, not merely +because it will introduce the reader to a class of Japanese poetry +about which little or nothing has yet been written in English, but +much more because it will afford some glimpses of a supernatural world +which still remains for the most part unexplored. Without knowledge +of Far Eastern superstitions and folk-tales, no real understanding of +Japanese fiction or drama or poetry will ever become possible. + + * * * * * + +There are many hundreds of poems in the three volumes of the _Ky[=o]ka +Hyaku-Monogatari_; but the number of the ghosts and goblins falls +short of the one hundred suggested by the title. There are just +ninety-five. I could not expect to interest my readers in the whole +of this goblinry, and my selection includes less than one seventh +of the subjects. The Faceless Babe, The Long-Tongued Maiden, +The Three-Eyed Monk, The Pillow-Mover, The Thousand Heads, The +Acolyte-with-the-Lantern, The Stone-that-Cries-in-the-Night, +The Goblin-Heron, The Goblin-Wind, The Dragon-Lights, and The +Mountain-Nurse, did not much impress me. I omitted _ky[=o]ka_ dealing +with fancies too gruesome for Western nerves,--such as that of the +_Obum['e]dori_,--also those treating of merely local tradition. +The subjects chosen represent national rather than provincial +folklore,--old beliefs (mostly of Chinese origin) once prevalent +throughout the country, and often referred to in its popular +literature. + + +I. KITSUN['E]-BI + +The Will-o'-the-wisp is called _kitsun['e]-bi_ ("fox-fire"), because +the goblin-fox was formerly supposed to create it. In old Japanese +pictures it is represented as a tongue of pale red flame, hovering +in darkness, and shedding no radiance upon the surfaces over which it +glides. + +To understand some of the following _ky[=o]ka_ on the subject, the +reader should know that certain superstitions about the magical power +of the fox have given rise to several queer folk-sayings,--one of +which relates to marrying a stranger. Formerly a good citizen was +expected to marry within his own community, not outside of it; and the +man who dared to ignore traditional custom in this regard would have +found it difficult to appease the communal indignation. Even to-day +the villager who, after a long absence from his birthplace, returns +with a strange bride, is likely to hear unpleasant things said,--such +as: "_Wakaranai-mono we hippat['e]-kita!... Doko no uma no hon['e] da +ka?_" ("Goodness knows what kind of a thing he has dragged here after +him! Where did he pick up that old horse-bone?") The expression _uma +no hon['e]_, "old horse-bone," requires explanation. + +A goblin-fox has the power to assume many shapes; but, for the purpose +of deceiving _men_, he usually takes the form of a pretty woman. When +he wants to create a charming phantom of this kind, he picks up an old +horse-bone or cow-bone, and holds it in his mouth. Presently the bone +becomes luminous; and the figure of a woman defines about it,--the +figure of a courtesan or singing-girl.... So the village query about +the man who marries a strange wife, "What old horse-bone has he picked +up?" signifies really, "What wanton has bewitched him?" It further +implies the suspicion that the stranger may be of outcast blood: a +certain class of women of pleasure having been chiefly recruited, from +ancient time, among the daughters of ['E]ta and other pariah-people. + + Hi tomoshit['e] + Kitsun['e] no kwas['e]shi, + Asobim['e][26] wa-- + Izuka no uma no + Hon['e] ni ya aruran! + +[Footnote 26: _Asobim['e]_, a courtesan: lit., "sporting-woman." The +['E]ta and other pariah classes furnished a large proportion of these +women. The whole meaning of the poem is as follows: "See that young +wanton with her lantern! It is a pretty sight--but so is the sight of +a fox, when the creature kindles his goblin-fire and assumes the shape +of a girl. And just as your fox-woman will prove to be no more than an +old horse-bone, so that young courtesan, whose beauty deludes men to +folly, may be nothing better than an ['E]ta."] + + [_--Ah the wanton (lighting her lantern)!--so a fox-fire is + kindled in the time of fox-transformation!... Perhaps she is + really nothing more than an old horse-bone from somewhere or + other...._] + + Kitsun['e]-bi no + Moyuru ni tsuk['e]t['e], + Waga tama no + Kiyuru y[=o] nari + Kokoro-hoso-michi! + + [_Because of that Fox-fire burning there, the very soul of me + is like to be extinguished in this narrow path (or, in this + heart-depressing solitude)._[27]] + +[Footnote 27: The supposed utterance of a belated traveler frightened +by a will-o'-the-wisp. The last line allows of two readings. +_Kokoro-hosoi_ means "timid;" and _hosoi michi_ (_hoso-michi_) means a +"narrow path," and, by implication, a "lonesome path."] + + +II. RIKOMBY[=O] + +The term _Rikomby[=o]_ is composed with the word _rikon_, signifying +a "shade," "ghost," or "spectre," and the word _by[=o]_, signifying +"sickness," "disease." An almost literal rendering would be +"ghost-sickness." In Japanese-English dictionaries you will find the +meaning of _Rikomby[=o]_ given as "hypochondria;" and doctors really +use the term in this modern sense. But the ancient meaning was _a +disorder of the mind which produced a Double_; and there is a whole +strange literature about this weird disease. It used to be supposed, +both in China and Japan, that under the influence of intense grief +or longing, caused by love, the spirit of the suffering person would +create a Double. Thus the victim of _Rikomby[=o]_ would appear to have +two bodies, exactly alike; and one of these bodies would go to join +the absent beloved, while the other remained at home. (In my "Exotics +and Retrospectives," under the title "A Question in the Zen Texts," +the reader will find a typical Chinese story on the subject,--the +story of the girl Ts'ing.) Some form of the primitive belief in +doubles and wraiths probably exists in every part of the world; but +this Far Eastern variety is of peculiar interest because the double +is supposed to be caused by love, and the subjects of the affliction +to belong to the gentler sex.... The term _Rikomby[=o]_ seems to be +applied to the apparition as well as to the mental disorder supposed +to produce the apparition: it signifies "doppelg[:a]nger" as well as +"ghost-disease." + + * * * * * + +--With these necessary explanations, the quality of the following +_ky[=o]ka_ can be understood. A picture which appears in the _Ky[=o]ka +Hyaku-Monogatari_ shows a maid-servant anxious to offer a cup of tea +to her mistress,--a victim of the "ghost-sickness." The servant cannot +distinguish between the original and the apparitional shapes before +her; and the difficulties of the situation are suggested in the first +of the _ky[=o]ka_ which I have translated:-- + + Ko-ya, sor['e] to? + Ayam['e] mo wakanu + Rikomby[=o]: + Izur['e] we tsuma to + Hiku zo wazura[:u]! + + [_Which one is this?--which one is that? Between the two + shapes of the Rikomby[=o] it is not possible to distinguish. + To find out which is the real wife--that will be an affliction + of spirit indeed!_] + + Futatsu naki + Inochi nagara mo + Kak['e]ga[:e] no + Karada no miyuru-- + Kage no wazurai! + + [_Two lives there certainly are not;--nevertheless an extra + body is visible, by reason of the Shadow-Sickness._] + + Naga-tabi no + Oto we shita[:i]t['e] + Mi futatsu ni + Naru wa onna no + S[=a]ru rikomby[=o]. + + [_Yearning after her far-journeying husband, the woman has + thus become two bodies, by reason of her ghostly sickness._] + + Miru kag['e] mo + Naki wazurai no + Rikomby[=o],-- + Omoi no hoka ni + Futatsu miru kag['e]! + + [_Though (it was said that), because of her ghostly sickness, + there was not even a shadow of her left to be seen,--yet, + contrary to expectation, there are two shadows of her to be + seen!_[28]] + +[Footnote 28: The Japanese say of a person greatly emaciated by +sickness, _miru-kag['e] mo naki_: "Even a visible shadow of him is +not!"--Another rendering is made possible by the fact that the same +expression is used in the sense of "unfit to be seen,"--"though the +face of the person afflicted with this ghostly sickness is unfit to be +seen, yet by reason of her secret longing [for another man] there are +now two of her faces to be seen." The phrase _omoi no hoka_, in the +fourth line, means "contrary to expectation;" but it is ingeniously +made to suggest also the idea of secret longing.] + + Rikomby[=o] + Hito ni kakushit['e] + Oku-zashiki, + Omot['e] y d[:e]asanu + Kag['e] no wazurai. + + [_Afflicted with the Rikomby[=o], she hides away from people + in the back room, and never approaches the front of the + house,--because of her Shadow-disease._[29]] + +[Footnote 29: There is a curious play on words in the fourth line. The +word _omot['e]_, meaning "the front," might, in reading, be sounded +as _omott['e]_, "thinking." The verses therefore might also be thus +translated:--"She keeps her real thoughts hidden in the back part +of the house, and never allows them to be seen in the front part of +the house,--because she is suffering from the 'Shadow-Sickness' [of +love]."] + + Mi wa koko ni; + Tama wa otoko ni + So[:i]n['e] suru;-- + Kokoro mo shiraga + Haha ga kaih[=o]. + + [_Here her body lies; but her soul is far away, asleep in the + arms of a man;--and the white-haired mother, little knowing + her daughter's heart, is nursing (only the body)._[30]] + +[Footnote 30: There is a double meaning, suggested rather than +expressed, in the fourth line. The word _shiraga_, "white-hair," +suggests _shirazu_, "not knowing."] + + Tamakushig['e] + Futatsu no sugata + Mis['e]nuru wa, + Awas['e]-kagami no + Kag['e] no wazurai. + + [_If, when seated before her toilet-stand, she sees two faces + reflected in her mirror,--that might be caused by the + mirror doubling itself under the influence of the + Shadow-Sickness._[31]] + +[Footnote 31: There is in this poem a multiplicity of suggestion +impossible to render in translation. While making her toilet, the +Japanese woman uses two mirrors (_awas['e]-kagami_)--one of which, a +hand-mirror, serves to show her the appearance of the back part of +her coiffure, by reflecting it into the larger stationary mirror. But +in this case of Rikomby[=o], the woman sees more than her face and +the back of her head in the larger mirror: she sees her own double. +The verses indicate that one of the mirrors may have caught the +Shadow-Sickness, and doubled itself. And there is a further suggestion +of the ghostly sympathy said to exist between a mirror and the soul of +its possessor.] + + +III. [=O]-GAMA + +In the old Chinese and Japanese literature the toad is credited with +supernatural capacities,--such as the power to call down clouds, the +power to make rain, the power to exhale from its mouth a magical +mist which creates the most beautiful illusions. Some toads are good +spirits,--friends of holy men; and in Japanese art a famous Rishi +called "Gama-Sennin" (Toad Rishi) is usually represented with a white +toad resting upon his shoulder, or squatting beside him. Some toads +are evil goblins, and create phantasms for the purpose of luring men +to destruction. A typical story about a creature of this class will be +found in my "Kott[=o]," entitled "The Story of Chug[=o]r[=o]." + + M['e] wa kagami, + Kuchi wa tarai no + Hodo ni aku: + Gama mo k['e]sh[=o] no + Mono to kos[=o] shir['e]. + + [_The eye of it, widely open, like a (round) mirror; the mouth + of it opening like a wash-basin--by these things you may know + that the Toad is a goblin-thing (or, that the Toad is a toilet + article)._[32]] + +[Footnote 32: There are two Japanese words, _kesh[=o]_, which in +_kana_ are written alike and pronounced alike, though represented +by very different Chinese characters. As written in _kana_, the +term _kesh[=o]-no-mono_ may signify either "toilet articles" or "a +monstrous being," "a goblin."] + + +IV. SHINKIR[=O] + +The term _Shinkir[=o]_ is used in the meaning of "mirage," and also as +another name for H[=o]rai, the Elf-land of Far Eastern fable. Various +beings in Japanese myth are credited with power to delude mortals +by creating a mirage of H[=o]rai. In old pictures one may see a toad +represented in the act of exhaling from its mouth a vapor that shapes +the apparition of H[=o]rai. + +But the creature especially wont to produce this illusion is the +_Hamaguri_,--a Japanese mollusk much resembling a clam. Opening its +shell, it sends into the air a purplish misty breath; and that mist +takes form and defines, in tints of mother-of-pearl, the luminous +vision of H[=o]rai and the palace of the Dragon-King. + + Hamaguri no + Kuchi aku toki ya, + Shinkir[=o]! + Yo ni shirar['e] ken + Tatsu-no-miya-him['e]! + + [_When the hamaguri opens its mouth--lo! Shinkir[=o] + appears!... Then all can clearly see the Maiden-Princess of + the Dragon-Palace._] + + Shinkir[=o]-- + Tatsu no miyako no + Hinagata[33] wo + Shio-hi no oki ni + Misuru hamaguri! + + [_Lo! in the offing at ebb-tide, the hamaguri makes visible + the miniature image of Shinkir[=o]--the Dragon-Capital!_] + +[Footnote 33: _Hinagata_ means especially "a model," "a miniature +copy," "a drawn plan," etc.] + + +V. ROKURO-KUBI + +The etymological meaning of _Rokuro-Kubi_ can scarcely be indicated +by any English rendering. The term _rokuro_ is indifferently used to +designate many revolving objects--objects as dissimilar as a pulley, +a capstan, a windlass, a turning lathe, and a potter's wheel. Such +renderings of Rokuro-Kubi as "Whirling-Neck" and "Rotating-Neck" are +unsatisfactory;--for the idea which the term suggests to Japanese +fancy is that of a neck which revolves, _and lengthens or retracts +according to the direction of the revolution_.... As for the ghostly +meaning of the expression, a Rokuro-Kubi is either (1) a person whose +neck lengthens prodigiously during sleep, so that the head can wander +about in all directions, seeking what it may devour, or (2) a person +able to detach his or her head completely from the body, and to rejoin +it to the neck afterwards. (About this last mentioned variety of +_Rokuro-Kubi_ there is a curious story in my "Kwaidan," translated +from the Japanese.) In Chinese mythology the being whose neck is so +constructed as to allow of the head being completely detached belongs +to a special class; but in Japanese folk-tale this distinction is not +always maintained. One of the bad habits attributed to the Rokuro-Kubi +is that of drinking the oil in night-lamps. In Japanese pictures the +Rokuro-Kubi is usually depicted as a woman; and old books tell us +that a woman might become a Rokuro-Kubi without knowing it,--much as +a somnambulist walks about while asleep, without being aware of the +fact.... The following verses about the Rokuro-Kubi have been selected +from a group of twenty in the _Ky[=o]ka Hyaku-Monogatari_:-- + + Nemidar['e] no + Nagaki kami woba + Furi-wak['e]t['e], + Chi hiro ni nobasu + Rokuro-Kubi kana! + + [_Oh!... Shaking loose her long hair disheveled by sleep, the + Rokuro-Kubi stretches her neck to the length of a thousand + fathoms!_] + + "Atama naki + Bak['e]mono nari"--to + Rokuro-Kubi, + Mit['e] odorokan + Onoga karada we. + + [_Will not the Rokuro-Kubi, viewing with_ _astonishment her + own body (left behind) cry out, "Oh, what a headless goblin + have you become!_"] + + Tsuka-no-ma ni + Hari we tsutawaru, + Rokuro-Kubi + K['e]ta-k['e]ta warau-- + Kao no kowasa yo! + + [_Swiftly gliding along the roof-beam (and among the props + of the roof), the Rokuro-Kubi laughs with the sound of + "k['e]ta-k['e]ta"--oh! the fearfulness of her face!_[34]] + +[Footnote 34: It is not possible to render all the double meanings in +this composition. _Tsuka-no-ma_ signifies "in a moment" or "quickly"; +but it may also mean "in the space [_ma_] between the roof-props" +[_tsuka_]. "_K['e]ta_" means a cross-beam, but _k['e]ta-k['e]ta warau_ +means to chuckle or laugh in a mocking way. Ghosts are said to laugh +with the sound of k['e]ta-k['e]ta.] + + Roku shaku no + By[=o]bu ni nobiru + Rokuro-Kubi + Mit['e] wa, go shaku no + Mi wo chijimi-k['e]ri! + + [_Beholding the Rokuro-Kubi rise up above the six-foot screen, + any five-foot person would have become shortened by fear (or, + "the stature of any person five feet high would have been + diminished")._[35]] + +[Footnote 35: The ordinary height of a full screen is six Japanese +feet.] + + +VI. YUKI-ONNA + +The Snow-Woman, or Snow-Spectre, assumes various forms; but in most +of the old folk-tales she appears as a beautiful phantom, whose +embrace is death. (A very curious story about her can be found in my +"Kwaidan.") + + Yuki-Onna-- + Yos[=o] kushi mo + Atsu k[=o]ri; + Sasu-k[=o]gai ya + K[=o]ri naruran. + + [_As for the Snow-Woman,--even her best comb, if I mistake + not, is made of thick ice; and her hair-pin[36], too, is + probably made of ice._] + + +[Footnote 36: _K[=o]gai_ is the name now given to a quadrangular bar +of tortoise-shell passed under the coiffure, which leaves only the +ends of the bar exposed. The true hair-pin is called _kanzashi_.] + + Honrai wa + K[=u] naru mono ka, + Yuki-Onna? + Yoku-yoku mireba + Ichi-butsu mo nashi! + + [_Was she, then, a delusion from the very first, that + Snow-Woman,--a thing that vanishes into empty space? When I + look carefully all about me, not one trace of her is to be + seen!_] + + Yo-ak['e]r['e]ba + Ki['e]t['e] yuku ['e] wa + Shirayuki[37] no + Onna to mishi mo + Yanagi nari-keri! + + [_Having vanished at daybreak (that Snow-Woman), none + could say whither she had gone. But what had seemed to be a + snow-white woman became indeed a willow-tree!_] + +[Footnote 37: The term _shirayuki_, as here used, offers an example +of what Japanese poets call _Keny[=o]gen_, or "double-purpose words." +Joined to the words immediately following, it makes the phrase +"white-snow woman" (_shirayuki no onna_);--united with the words +immediately preceding, it suggests the reading, "whither-gone +not-knowing" (_yuku ['e] wa shira[zu]_).] + + Yuki-Onna + Mit['e] wa yasathiku, + Matsu wo ori + Nama-dak['e] hishigu + Chikara ari-keri! + + [_Though the Snow-Woman appears to sight slender and gentle, + yet, to snap the pine-trees asunder and to crush the live + bamboos, she must have had strength._] + + Samuk['e]sa ni + Zotto[38] wa sur['e]do + Yuki-Onna,-- + Yuki or['e] no naki + Yanagi-goshi ka mo! + +[_Though the Snow-Woman makes one shiver by her coldness,--ah, the +willowy grace of her form cannot be broken by the snow (i.e. charms us +in spite of the cold)._] + +[Footnote 38: _Zotto_ is a difficult word to render literally: perhaps +the nearest English equivalent is "thrilling." _Zotto suru_ signifies +"to cause a thrill" or "to give a shock," or "to make shiver;" +and of a very beautiful person it is said "_Zotto-suru hodo no +bijin_,"--meaning! "She is so pretty that it gives one a shock merely +to look at her." The term _yanagi-goshi_ ("willow-loins") in the +last line is a common expression designating a slender and graceful +figure; and the reader should observe that the first half of the term +is ingeniously made to do double duty here,--suggesting, with the +context, not only the grace of willow branches weighed down by snow, +but also the grace of a human figure that one must stop to admire, in +spite of the cold.] + + +VII. FUNA-Y[=U]R['E][:I] + +The spirits of the drowned are said to follow after ships, calling for +a bucket or a water-dipper (_hishaku_). To refuse the bucket or the +dipper is dangerous; but the bottom of the utensil should be knocked +out before the request is complied with, and the spectres must not +be allowed to see this operation performed. If an undamaged bucket or +dipper be thrown to the ghosts, it will be used to fill and to sink +the ship. These phantoms are commonly called _Funa-Y[=u]r['e][:i]_ +("Ship-Ghosts"). + +The spirits of those warriors of the H['e][:i]k['e] clan who perished +in the great sea-fight at Dan-no-ura, in the year 1185, are famous +among Funa-Y[=u]r['e][:i]. Ta[:i]ra no Tomomori, one of the chiefs of +the clan, is celebrated in this weird r[^o]le: old pictures represent +him, followed by the ghosts of his warriors, running over the waves to +attack passing ships. Once he menaced a vessel in which Benk['e][:i], +the celebrated retainer of Yoshitsun['e], was voyaging; and +Benk['e][:i] was able to save the ship only by means of his Buddhist +rosary, which frightened the spectres away.... + +Tomomori is frequently pictured as walking upon the sea, carrying a +ship's anchor on his back. He and his fellow-ghosts are said to have +been in the habit of uprooting and making off with the anchors +of vessels imprudently moored in their particular domain,--the +neighborhood of Shimonos['e]ki. + + Erimoto y['e] + Mizu kak['e]raruru + Kokochi seri, + "Hishaku kas['e]" ch[=o] + Fun['e] no kowan['e] ni. + + [_As if the nape of our necks had been sprinkled with cold + water,--so we felt while listening_ _to the voice of the + ship-ghost, saying:--"Lend me a dipper!"_[39]] + +[Footnote 39: _Hishaku_, a wooden dipper with a long handle, used to +transfer water from a bucket to smaller vessels.] + + Y[=u]rei ni + Kasu-hishaku yori + Ichi-hayaku + Onor['e] ga koshi mo + Nuk['e]ru sench[=o]. + + [_The loins of the captain himself were knocked out very much + more quickly than the bottom of the dipper that was to be + given to the ghost._[40]] + +[Footnote 40: The common expression _Koshi ga nuk['e]ru_ (to have +one's loins taken out) means to be unable to stand up by reason of +fear. The suggestion is that while the captain was trying to knock +out the bottom of a dipper, before giving it to the ghost, he fell +senseless from fright.] + + Benk['e][:i] no + Zuzu no kuriki ni + Tomomori no + Sugata mo ukamu-- + Fun['e] no y[=u]r['e][:i]. + + [_By the virtue of Benk['e][:i]'s rosary, even_ _the + ship-following ghost--even the apparition of Tomomori--is + saved._] + + Y[=u]r['e][:i] wa + Ki naru Izumi no + Hito nagara, + A[:o]-umibara ni + Nadot['e] itsuran? + + [_Since any ghost must be an inhabitant of the Yellow Springs, + how should a ghost appear on the Blue Sea-Plain?_[41]] + +[Footnote 41: The Underworld of the Dead--_Yomi_ or K[=o]sen--is +called "The Yellow Springs;" these names being written with two +Chinese characters respectively signifying "yellow" and "fountain." A +very ancient term for the ocean, frequently used in the old Shint[=o] +rituals, is "The Blue Sea-Plain."] + + Sono sugata, + Ikari wo [=o]t['e], + Tsuki-mato[:u] + Fun['e] no h['e]saki ya + Tomomori no r['e][:i]! + + [_That Shape, carrying the anchor on its back, and following + after the ship--now at the bow and now at the stern--ah, the + ghost of Tomomori._[42]] + +[Footnote 42: There is an untranslatable play upon words in the last +two lines. The above rendering includes two possible readings.] + + Tsumi fukaki + Umi ni shidzumishi, + Y[=u]r['e][:i] no + "Ukaman" tot['e] ya! + Fun['e] ni sugar['e]ru. + + [_Crying, "Now perchance I shall be saved!" The ghost + that sank into the deep Sea of Sin clings to the passing + ship!_[43]] + +[Footnote 43: There is more weirdness in this poem than the above +rendering suggests. The word _ukaman_ in the fourth line can be +rendered as "shall perhaps float," or as "shall perhaps be saved" (in +the Buddhist sense of salvation),--as there are two verbs _ukami_. +According to an old superstition, the spirits of the drowned must +continue to dwell in the waters _until such time as they can lure the +living to destruction_. When the ghost of any drowned person succeeds +in drowning somebody, it may be able to obtain rebirth, and to leave +the sea forever. The exclamation of the ghost in this poem really +means, "Now perhaps I shall be able to drown somebody." (A very +similar superstition is said to exist on the Breton coast.) A common +Japanese saying about a child or any person who follows another too +closely and persistently is: _Kawa de shinda-y[=u]r['e][:i] no yona +tsur['e]-hoshigaru!_--"Wants to follow you everywhere like the ghost +of a drowned person."] + + Ukaman to + Fun['e] we shita[:e]ru + Yur['e][:i] wa, + Shidzumishi h['i]to no + Omo[:i] naruran. + + [_The ghosts following after our ship in their efforts to rise + again (or, "to be saved") might perhaps be the (last vengeful) + thoughts of drowned men.[44]] + +[Footnote 44: Here I cannot attempt to render the various plays upon +words; but the term "_omo[:i]_" needs explanation. It means "thought" +or "thoughts;" but in colloquial phraseology it is often used as a +euphemism for a dying person's last desire of vengeance. In various +dramas it has been used in the signification of "avenging ghost." Thus +the exclamation, "His _thought_ has come back!"--in reference to a +dead man--really means: "His angry ghost appears!"] + + Uram['e]shiki + Sugata wa sugoki + Yur['e][:i] no, + Kaji we jama suru + Fun['e] no Tomomori. + + [_With vengeful aspect, the grisly ghost of Tomomori + (rises) at the stern of the ship to hinder the play of her + rudder._[45]] + +[Footnote 45: There is a double meaning given by the use of the name +_Tomomori_ in the last line. _Tomo_ means "the stern" of a ship; +_mori_ means "to leak." So the poem suggests that the ghost of +Tomomori not only interferes with the ship's rudder, but causes her to +leak.] + + Ochi-irit['e], + Uwo no ['e]jiki to + Nari ni ken;-- + Funa-y[=u]r['e][:i] mo + Nama-kusaki kaz['e]. + + [_Having perished in the sea, (those H['e][:i]k['e]) would + probably have become food for fishes. (Anyhow, whenever) the + ship-following ghosts (appear), the wind has a smell of raw + fish!_[46]] + +[Footnote 46: _Namakusaki-kaze_ really means a wind having a "raw +stench;" but the smell of bait is suggested by the second line of the +poem. A literal rendering is not possible in this case; the art of the +composition being altogether suggestive.] + + +VIII. H['E][:I]K['E]GAN[`I] + +Readers can find in my "Kott[=o]" a paper about the +H['e][:i]k['e]-Crabs, which have on their upper shells various +wrinklings that resemble the outlines of an angry face. At +Shimono-s['e]ki dried specimens of these curious creatures are offered +for sale.... The H['e][:i]k['e]-Crabs are said to be the transformed +angry spirits of the H['e][:i]k['e] warriors who perished at +Dan-no-ura. + + Shiwo-hi ni wa + S['e][:i]zoro[:e] shit['e], + H['e][:i]k['e]gani + Ukiyo no sama we + Yoko ni niramitsu. + + [_Marshaled (on the beach) at the ebb of the tide, the + H['e][:i]k['e]-crabs obliquely glare at the apparition of this + miserable world._[47]] + +[Footnote 47: _Hi_, the third syllable of the first line of the poem, +does duty for _hi_, signifying "ebb," and for _hikata_, "dry beach." +_S['e][:i]zoro[:e]_ is a noun signifying "battle-array"--in the sense +of the Roman term _acies_;--and _s['e][:i]zoro['e] shit['e]_ means +"drawn up in battle-array."] + + Saikai ni + Shizumi-nur['e]domo, + H['e][:i]k['e]gani + K[=o]ra no iro mo + Yahari aka-hata. + + [_Though (the H['e][:i]k['e]) long ago sank and perished in + the Western Sea, the H['e][:i]k['e]-crabs still display_ _upon + their upper shells the color of the Red Standard._[48]] + +[Footnote 48: The ensign of the H['e][:i]k['e], or Ta[:i]ra clan was +red; while that of their rivals, the Genji or Minamot[=o], was white.] + + Mak['e]-ikusa + Munen to mun['e] ni + Hasami ken;-- + Kao mo makka ni + Naru H['e][:i]k['e]gani. + + [_Because of the pain of defeat, claws have grown on their + breasts, I think;--even the faces of the H['e][:i]k['e]-crabs + have become crimson (with anger and shame)._] + + Mikata mina + Oshi-tsubusar['e]shi + H['e][:i]k['e]gani + Ikon we mun['e] ni + Hasami mochik['e]ri. + + [_All the (H['e][:i]k['e]) party having been utterly crushed, + claws have grown upon the breasts of the H['e][:i]k['e]-crabs + because of the resentment in their hearts._[49]] + +[Footnote 49: The use of the word _hasami_ in the fifth line is a +very good example of _keny[=o]gen_. There is a noun _hasami_, meaning +the nippers of a crab, or a pair of scissors; and there is a verb +_hasami_, meaning to harbor, to cherish, or to entertain. (_Ikon wo +hasamu_ means "to harbor resentment against.") Reading the word only +in connection with those which follow it, we have the phrase _hasami +mochik['e]ri_, "got claws;" but, reading it with the words preceding, +we have the expression _ikon wo mun['e] ni hasami_, "resentment in +their breasts nourishing."] + + +IX. YANARI + +Modern dictionaries ignore the uncanny significations of the word +_Yanari_,--only telling us that it means the sound of the shaking of +a house during an earthquake. But the word used to mean the noise of +the shaking of a house moved by a goblin; and the invisible shaker was +also called _Yanari_. When, without apparent cause, some house would +shudder and creak and groan in the night, folk used to suppose that it +was being shaken from without by supernatural malevolence. + + Tokonoma ni + Ik['e]shi tachiki mo + Taor['e]-keri; + Yanari ni yama no + Ugoku kak['e]mono! + + [_Even the live tree set in the alcove has fallen down; and + the mountains in the hanging picture tremble to the quaking + made by the Yanari!_[50]] + +[Footnote 50: The _tokonoma_ in a Japanese room is a sort of +ornamental recess or alcove, in which a picture is usually hung, and +vases of flowers, or a dwarf tree, are placed.] + + +X. SAKASA-BASHIRA + +The term _Sakasa-bashira_ (in these _ky[=o]ka_ often shortened into +_saka-bashira_) literally means "upside-down post." A wooden post or +pillar, especially a house-post, should be set up according to the +original position of the tree from which it was hewn,--that is to say, +with the part nearest to the roots downward. To erect a house-post in +the contrary way is thought to be unlucky;--formerly such a blunder +was believed to involve unpleasant consequences of a ghostly kind, +because an "upside-down" pillar would do malignant things. It would +moan and groan in the night, and move all its cracks like mouths, and +open all its knots like eyes. Moreover, the spirit of it (for every +house-post has a spirit) would detach its long body from the timber, +and wander about the rooms, head-downwards, making faces at people. +Nor was this all. A _Sakasa-bashira_ knew how to make all the affairs +of a household go wrong,--how to foment domestic quarrels,--how to +contrive misfortune for each of the family and the servants,--how +to render existence almost insupportable until such time as the +carpenter's blunder should be discovered and remedied. + + Saka-bashira + Tat['e]shi wa tazo ya? + Kokoro ni mo + Fushi aru hito no + Shiwaza naruran. + + [_Who set the house-pillar upside-down? Surely that must have + been the work of a man with a knot in his heart._] + + Hidayama we + Kiri-kit['e] tat['e]shi + Saka-bashira-- + Nanno takumi[51] no + Shiwaza naruran? + + [_That house-pillar hewn in the mountains of Hida, and thence + brought here and erected upside-down--what carpenter's work + can it be? (or, "for what evil design can this deed have been + done?")_] + +[Footnote 51: The word _takumi_, as written in _kana_, may signify +either "carpenter" or "intrigue," "evil plot," "wicked device." Thus +two readings are possible. According to one reading, the post was +fixed upside-down through inadvertence; according to the other, it was +so fixed with malice prepense.] + + U[:e] shita wo + Chiga[:e]t['e] tat['e]shi + Hashira ni wa + Sakasama-goto no + Ur['e][:i] aranan. + + [_As for that house-pillar mistakenly planted upside-down, it + will certainly cause adversity and sorrow._[52]] + +[Footnote 52: Lit., "upside-down-matter-sorrow." _Sakasama-goto_, +"up-side-down affair," is a common expression for calamity, +contrariety, adversity, vexation.] + + Kab['e] ni mimi + Arit['e], kik['e] to ka? + Sakashima ni + Tateshi hashira ni + Yanari suru oto! + + [_O Ears that be in the wall![53] listen, will ye? to the + groaning and the creaking of the house-post that was planted + upside-down!_] + +[Footnote 53: Alluding to the proverb, _Kab['e] ni mimi ari_ ("There +are ears in the wall"), which signifies: "Be careful how you talk +about other people, even in private."] + + Uri-iy['e] no + Aruji we to[:e]ba, + Oto arit['e]: + War['e] m['e] ga kuchi wo + Aku saka-bashira. + + [_When I inquired for the master of the house that was + for sale, there came to me only a strange sound by way of + reply,--the sound of the upside-down house-post opening its + eyes and mouth![54] (i.e. its cracks)._] + +[Footnote 54: There is a pun in the fourth line which suggests more +than even a free translation can express. _War['e]_ means "I," or +"mine," or "one's own," etc., according to circumstances; and _war['e] +m['e]_ (written separately) might be rendered "its own eyes." But +_war['e]m['e]_ (one word) means a crack, rent, split, or fissure. The +reader should remember that the term _saka-bashira_ means not only +"upside-down post," but also the goblin or spectre of the upside-down +post.] + + Omo[:i]kiya! + Sakasa-bashira no + Hashira-kak['e] + Kakinishit uta mo + Yamai ari to wa! + + [_Who could have thought it!--even the poem inscribed upon + the pillar-tablet, attached to the pillar which was planted + upside-down, has taken the same (ghostly) sickness._[55]] + +[Footnote 55: That is to say, "Even the poem on the tablet is +up-side-down,"--all wrong. _Hashira-kak['e]_ ("pillar-suspended +thing") is the name given to a thin tablet of fine wood, inscribed or +painted, which is hung to a post by way of ornament.] + + +XI. BAK['E]-JIZ[:O] + +The figure of the Bodhi-sattva Jiz[:o], the savior of children's +ghosts, is one of the most beautiful and humane in Japanese Buddhism. +Statues of this divinity may be seen in almost every village and by +every roadside. But some statues of Jiz[:o] are said to do uncanny +things--such as to walk about at night in various disguises. A statue +of this kind is called a _Bak['e]-Jiz[=o]_[56],--meaning a Jiz[=o]; +that undergoes transformation. A conventional picture shows a little +boy about to place the customary child's-offering of rice-cakes before +the stone image of Jiz[=o],--not suspecting that the statue moves, and +is slowly bending down towards him. + +[Footnote 56: Perhaps the term might be rendered "Shape-changing +Jiz[=o]." The verb _bak['e]ru_ means to change shape, to undergo +metamorphosis, to haunt, and many other supernatural things.] + + Nanig['e] naki + Ishi no Jiz[=o] no + Sugata sa[:e], + Yo wa osoroshiki + Mikag['e] to zo naki. + + [_Though the stone Jiz[=o] looks as if nothing were the matter + with it, they say that at night it assumes an awful aspect + (or, "Though this image appears to be a common stone Jiz[=o], + they say that at night it becomes an awful Jiz[=o]; of + granite."_[57])] + +[Footnote 57: The Japanese word for granite is _mikag['e]_; and there +is also an honorific term _mikag['e]_, applied to divinities and +emperors, which signifies "august aspect," "sacred presence," etc.... +No literal rendering can suggest the effect, in the fifth line, of +the latter reading. _Kag['e]_ signifies "shadow," "aspect," and +"power"--especially occult power; the honorific prefix _mi_, attached +to names and attributes of divinities, may be rendered "august."] + + +XII. UMI-B[=O]ZU + +Place a large cuttlefish on a table, body upwards and tentacles +downwards--and you will have before you the grotesque reality that +first suggested the fancy of the _Umi-B[=o]zu_, or Priest of the Sea. +For the great bald body in this position, with the staring eyes below, +bears a distorted resemblance to the shaven head of a priest; while +the crawling tentacles underneath (which are in some species united +by a dark web) suggests the wavering motion of the priest's upper +robe.... The Umi-B[=o]zu figures a good deal in the literature of +Japanese goblinry, and in the old-fashioned picture-books. He rises +from the deep in foul weather to seize his prey. + + Ita hito[:e] + Shita wa Jigoku ni, + Sumizom['e] no + B[=o]zu no umi ni + D['e]ru mo ayashina! + + [_Since there is but the thickness of a single plank (between + the voyager and the sea), and underneath is Hell, 'tis indeed + a weird thing that a black-robed priest should rise from + the sea (or, "'tis surely a marvelous happening that," + etc.!_[58])] + +[Footnote 58: The puns are too much for me.... _Ayashii_ means +"suspicious," "marvelous," "supernatural," "weird," "doubtful."--In +the first two lines there is a reference to the Buddhist proverb: +_Funa-ita ichi-mai shita wa Jigoku_ ("under the thickness of a single +ship's-plank is Hell"). (See my _Gleanings in Buddha-Fields_, p. 206, +for another reference to this saying.)] + + +XIII. FUDA-H['E]GASHI[59] + +Homes are protected from evil spirits by holy texts and charms. In any +Japanese village, or any city by-street, you can see these texts when +the sliding-doors are closed at night: they are not visible by day, +when the sliding-doors have been pushed back into the _tobukuro_. +Such texts are called _o-fuda_ (august scripts): they are written in +Chinese characters upon strips of white paper, which are attached +to the door with rice-paste; and there are many kinds of them. Some +are texts selected from sutras--such as the S[^u]tra of Transcendent +Wisdom (Prag[~n]a-P[^a]ramit[^a]-Hridaya-S[^u]tra), or the S[^u]tra +of the Lotos of the Good Law (Saddharma-Pundarik[^a]-S[^u]tra). Some +are texts from the dh[^a]ran[^i]s,--which are magical. Some are +invocations only, indicating the Buddhist sect of the household.... +Besides these you may see various smaller texts, or little prints, +pasted above or beside windows or apertures,--some being names of +Shinto gods; others, symbolical pictures only, or pictures of Buddhas +and Bodhi-sattvas. All are holy charms,--_o-fuda_: they protect the +houses; and no goblin or ghost can enter by night into a dwelling so +protected, unless the _o-fuda_ be removed. + +[Footnote 59: _H['e]gashi_ is the causative form of the verb +_h['e]gu_, "to pull off," "peel off," "strip off," "split off." The +term _Fuda-h['e]gashi_ signifies "Make-peel-off-august-charm Ghost." +In my _Ghostly Japan_ the reader can find a good Japanese story about +a _Fuda-h['e]gashi_.] + +Vengeful ghosts cannot themselves remove an _o-fuda_; but they will +endeavor by threats or promises or bribes to make some person remove +it for them. A ghost that wants to have the _o-fuda_ pulled off a door +is called a _Fuda-h['e]gashi_. + + H['e]gasan to + Rokuji-no-fuda wo, + Yur['e][:i] mo + Nam'mai d[=a] to + Kazo[:e]t['e] zo mini. + + [_Even the ghost that would remove the charms written with six + characters actually tries to count them, repeating: "How many + sheets are there?" (or, repeating, "Hail to thee, O Buddha + Amit['a]bha!"[60])_] + +[Footnote 60: The fourth line gives these two readings:-- + +_Nam'mai da?_--"How many sheets are there?" + +_Nam[u] A[m]ida!_--"Hail, O Amit[^a]bha!" + +The invocation, _Namu Amida Butsu_, is chiefly used by members of the +great Shin sect; but it is also used by other sects, and especially in +praying for the dead. While repeating it, the person praying numbers +the utterances upon his Buddhist rosary; and this custom is suggested +by the use of the word _kazo[:e]t['e]_, "counting."] + + Tada ichi no + Kami no o-fuda wa + Sasuga ni mo + Norik['e] naku to mo + H['e]gashi kan['e]k['e]ri. + + [_Of the august written-charms of the god (which were pasted + upon the walls of the house), not even one could by any effort + be pulled off, though the rice-paste with which they had been + fastened was all gone._] + + +XIV. FURU-TSUBAKI + +The old Japanese, like the old Greeks, had their flower-spirits and +their hamadryads, concerning whom some charming stories are told. They +also believed in trees inhabited by malevolent beings,--goblin trees. +Among other weird trees, the beautiful _tsubaki_ (_Camellia Japonica_) +was said to be an unlucky tree;--this was said, at least, of the +red-flowering variety, the white-flowering kind having a better +reputation and being prized as a rarity. The large fleshy crimson +flowers have this curious habit: they detach themselves bodily from +the stem, when they begin to fade; and they fall with an audible thud. +To old Japanese fancy the falling of these heavy red flowers was like +the falling of human heads under the sword; and the dull sound of +their dropping was said to be like the thud made by a severed head +striking the ground. Nevertheless the tsubaki seems to have been +a favorite in Japanese gardens because of the beauty of its glossy +foliage; and its flowers were used for the decoration of alcoves. But +in samurai homes it was a rule never to place tsubaki-flowers in an +alcove _during war-time_. + +The reader will notice that in the following _ky[=o]ka_--which, as +grotesques, seem to me the best in the collection--the goblin-tsubaki +is called _furu-tsubaki_, "old tsubaki." The young tree was not +supposed to have goblin-propensities,--these being developed only +after many years. Other uncanny trees--such as the willow and the +_['e]noki_--were likewise said to become dangerous only as they became +old; and a similar belief prevailed on the subject of uncanny animals, +such as the cat--innocent in kittenhood, but devilish in age. + + Yo-arashi ni + Chishiho itadaku + Furu tsubaki, + Hota-hota ochiru + Hana no nama-kubi. + + [_When by the night-storm is shaken the blood-crowned and + ancient tsubaki-tree, then one by one fall the gory heads of + the flowers, (with the sound of) hota-hota!_[61]] + +[Footnote 61: The word _furu_ in the third line is made to do double +duty,--as the adjective, _furu[i]_, "ancient"; and as the verb _furu_, +"to shake." The old term _nama-kuhi_ (lit., "raw head") means a human +head, freshly-severed, from which the blood is still oozing.] + + Kusa mo ki mo + N['e]mur['e]ru koro no + Sayo kaz['e] ni, + M['e]hana no ugoku + Furu-tsubaki kana! + + [_When even the grass and the trees are sleeping under the + faint wind of the night,--then do the eyes and the noses of + the old tsubaki-tree (or "the buds and the flowers of the old + tsubaki-tree") move!_[62]] + +[Footnote 62: Two Japanese words are written, in _kana_, as +"m['e]"--one meaning "a bud;" the other "eye." The syllables "hana" in +like fashion, may signify either "flower" or "nose." As a grotesque, +this little poem is decidedly successful.] + + Tomoshibi no + Kag['e] ayashig['e] ni + Miy['e]nuru wa + Abura shiborishi + Furu-tsubaki ka-mo? + + [_As for (the reason why) the light of that lamp appears to be + a Weirdness,[63]--perhaps the oil was expressed from (the nuts + of) the ancient tsu-baki?_] + +[Footnote 63: _Ayashig['e]_ is a noun formed from the adjective +_ayashi_, "suspicious," "strange," "supernatural," "doubtful." The +word _kag['e]_ signifies both "light" and "shadow,"--and is here used +with double suggestiveness. The vegetable oil used in the old Japanese +lamps used to be obtained from the nuts of the _tsubaki_. The reader +should remember that the expression "ancient tsubaki" is equivalent to +the expression "goblin-tsubaki,"--the tsubaki being supposed to turn +into a goblin-tree only when it becomes old.] + + * * * * * + +--Nearly all the stories and folk-beliefs about which these _ky[=o]ka_ +were written seem to have come from China; and most of the Japanese +tales of tree-spirits appear to have had a Chinese origin. As the +flower-spirits and hamadryads of the Far East are as yet little +known to Western readers, the following Chinese story may be found +interesting. + + * * * * * + +There was a Chinese scholar--called, in Japanese books, T[=o] no +Busanshi--who was famous for his love of flowers. He was particularly +fond of peonies, and cultivated them with great skill and +patience.[64] + +[Footnote 64: The tree-peony (_botan_) is here referred to,--a flower +much esteemed in Japan. It is said to have been introduced from China +during the eighth century; and no less than five hundred varieties of +it are now cultivated by Japanese gardeners.] + +One day a very comely girl came to the house of Busanshi, and begged +to be taken into his service. She said that circumstances obliged +her to seek humble employment, but that she had received a literary +education, and therefore wished to enter, if possible, into the +service of a scholar. Busanshi was charmed by her beauty, and took her +into his household without further questioning. She proved to be much +more than a good domestic: indeed, the nature of her accomplishments +made Busanshi suspect that she had been brought up in the court of +some prince, or in the palace of some great lord. She displayed +a perfect knowledge of the etiquette and the polite arts which +are taught only to ladies of the highest rank; and she possessed +astonishing skill in calligraphy, in painting, and in every kind of +poetical composition. Busanshi presently fell in love with her, and +thought only of how to please her. When scholar-friends or other +visitors of importance came to the house, he would send for the new +maid that she might entertain and wait upon his guests; and all who +saw her were amazed by her grace and charm. + +One day Busanshi received a visit from the great Teki-Shin-Ketsu, a +famous teacher of moral doctrine; and the maid did not respond to her +master's call. Busanshi went himself to seek her, being desirous that +Teki-Shin-Ketsu should see her and admire her; but she was nowhere to +be found. After having searched the whole house in vain, Busanshi was +returning to the guest-room when he suddenly caught sight of the maid, +gliding soundlessly before him along a corridor. He called to her, and +hurried after her. Then she turned half-round, and flattened herself +against the wall like a spider; and as he reached her she sank +backwards into the wall, so that there remained of her nothing visible +but a colored shadow,--level like a picture painted on the plaster. +But the shadow moved its lips and eyes, and spoke to him in a whisper, +saying:-- + +"Pardon me that I did not obey your august call!... I am not a +mankind-person;--I am only the Soul of a Peony. Because you loved +peonies so much, I was able to take human shape, and to serve you. +But now this Teki-Shin-Ketsu has come,--and he is a person of dreadful +propriety,--and I dare not keep this form any longer.... I must return +to the place from which I came." + +Then she sank back into the wall, and vanished altogether: there was +nothing where she had been except the naked plaster. And Busanshi +never saw her again. + +This story is written in a Chinese book which the Japanese call +"Kai-ten-i-ji." + + + + +"ULTIMATE QUESTIONS" + + +A memory of long ago.... I am walking upon a granite pavement that +rings like iron, between buildings of granite bathed in the light of +a cloudless noon. Shadows are short and sharp: there is no stir in +the hot bright air; and the sound of my footsteps, strangely loud, is +the only sound in the street.... Suddenly an odd feeling comes to me, +with a sort of tingling shock,--a feeling, or suspicion, of universal +illusion. The pavement, the bulks of hewn stone, the iron rails, +and all things visible, are dreams! Light, color, form, weight, +solidity--all sensed existences--are but phantoms of being, +manifestations only of one infinite ghostliness for which the language +of man has not any word.... + +This experience had been produced by study of the first volume of +the Synthetic Philosophy, which an American friend had taught me +how to read. I did not find it easy reading; partly because I am a +slow thinker, but chiefly because my mind had never been trained to +sustained effort in such directions. To learn the "First Principles" +occupied me many months: no other volume of the series gave me equal +trouble. I would read one section at a time,--rarely two,--never +venturing upon a fresh section until I thought that I had made sure +of the preceding. Very cautious and slow my progress was, like that +of a man mounting, for the first time, a long series of ladders in +darkness. Reaching the light at last, I caught a sudden new vision of +things,--a momentary perception of the illusion of surfaces,--and from +that time the world never again appeared to me quite the same as it +had appeared before. + + * * * * * + +--This memory of more than twenty years ago, and the extraordinary +thrill of the moment, were recently revived for me by the reading of +the essay "Ultimate Questions," in the last and not least precious +volume bequeathed us by the world's greatest thinker. The essay +contains his final utterance about the riddle of life and death, +as that riddle presented itself to his vast mind in the dusk of a +lifetime of intellectual toil. Certainly the substance of what he had +to tell us might have been inferred from the Synthetic Philosophy; +but the particular interest of this last essay is made by the writer's +expression of personal sentiment regarding the problem that troubles +all deep thinkers. Perhaps few of us could have remained satisfied +with his purely scientific position. Even while fully accepting his +declaration of the identity of the power that "wells up in us under +the form of consciousness" with that Power Unknowable which shapes +all things, most disciples of the master must have longed for some +chance to ask him directly, "But how do _you_ feel in regard to +the prospect of personal dissolution?" And this merely emotional +question he has answered as frankly and as fully as any of us could +have desired,--perhaps even more frankly. "Old people," he remarks +apologetically, "must have many reflections in common. Doubtless +one which I have now in mind is very familiar. For years past, when +watching the unfolding buds in the spring, there has arisen the +thought, 'Shall I ever again see the buds unfold? Shall I ever again +be awakened at dawn by the song of the thrush?' Now that the end is +not likely to be long postponed, there results an increasing tendency +to meditate upon ultimate questions."... Then he tells us that these +ultimate questions--"of the How and the Why, of the Whence and the +Whither"--occupy much more space in the minds of those who cannot +accept the creed of Christendom, than the current conception fills +in the minds of the majority of men. The enormity of the problem of +existence becomes manifest only to those who have permitted themselves +to think freely and widely and deeply, with all such aids to thought +as exact science can furnish; and the larger the knowledge of the +thinker, the more pressing and tremendous the problem appears, and the +more hopelessly unanswerable. To Herbert Spencer himself it must have +assumed a vastness beyond the apprehension of the average mind; and +it weighed upon him more and more inexorably the nearer he approached +to death. He could not avoid the conviction--plainly suggested in his +magnificent Psychology and in other volumes of his great work--that +there exists no rational evidence for any belief in the continuance of +conscious personality after death:-- + + "After studying primitive beliefs, and finding that there is + no origin for the idea of an after-life, save the conclusion + which the savage draws, from the notion suggested by dreams, + of a wandering double which comes back on awaking, and + which goes away for an indefinite time at death;--and after + contemplating the inscrutable relation between brain and + consciousness, and finding that we can get no evidence of the + existence of the last without the activity of the first,--we + seem obliged to relinquish the thought that consciousness + continues after physical organization has become inactive." + +In this measured utterance there is no word of hope; but there is +at least a carefully stated doubt, which those who will may try +to develop into the germ of a hope. The guarded phrase, "we _seem_ +obliged to relinquish," certainly suggests that, although in the +present state of human knowledge we have no reason to believe in the +perpetuity of consciousness, some larger future knowledge might help +us to a less forlorn prospect. From the prospect as it now appears +even this mightiest of thinkers recoiled:-- + + ... "But it seems a strange and repugnant conclusion that with + the cessation of consciousness at death there ceases to be any + knowledge of having existed. With his last breath it becomes + to each the same thing as though he had never lived. + + "And then the consciousness itself--what is it during the time + that it continues? And what becomes of it when it ends? We can + only infer that it is a specialized and individualized form + of that Infinite and Eternal Energy which transcends both our + knowledge and our imagination; and that at death its elements + lapse into that Infinite and Eternal Energy whence they were + derived." + + * * * * * + +--_With his last breath it becomes to each the same thing as though +he had never lived?_ To the individual, perhaps--surely not to the +humanity made wiser and better by his labors.... But the world must +pass away: will it thereafter be the same for the universe as if +humanity had never existed? That might depend upon the possibilities +of future inter-planetary communication.... But the whole universe +of suns and planets must also perish: thereafter will it be the +same as if no intelligent life had ever toiled and suffered upon +those countless worlds? We have at least the certainty that the +energies of life cannot be destroyed, and the strong probability +that they will help to form another life and thought in universes +yet to be evolved.... Nevertheless, allowing for all imagined +possibilities,--granting even the likelihood of some inapprehensible +relation between all past and all future conditioned-being,--the +tremendous question remains: What signifies the whole of apparitional +existence to the Unconditioned? As flickers of sheet-lightning leave +no record in the night, so in that Darkness a million billion trillion +universes might come and go, and leave no trace of their having been. + + * * * * * + +To every aspect of the problem Herbert Spencer must have given +thought; but he has plainly declared that the human intellect, as at +present constituted, can offer no solution. The greatest mind that +this world has yet produced--the mind that systematized all human +knowledge, that revolutionized modern science, that dissipated +materialism forever, that revealed to us the ghostly unity of all +existence, that reestablished all ethics upon an immutable and eternal +foundation,--the mind that could expound with equal lucidity, and by +the same universal formula, the history of a gnat or the history of a +sun--confessed itself, before the Riddle of Existence, scarcely less +helpless than the mind of a child. + +But for me the supreme value of this last essay is made by the fact +that in its pathetic statement of uncertainties and probabilities one +can discern something very much resembling a declaration of faith. +Though assured that we have yet no foundation for any belief in the +persistence of consciousness after the death of the brain, we are +bidden to remember that the ultimate nature of consciousness remains +inscrutable. Though we cannot surmise the relation of consciousness +to the unseen, we are reminded that it must be considered as a +manifestation of the Infinite Energy, and that its elements, if +dissociated by death, will return to the timeless and measureless +Source of Life.... Science to-day also assures us that whatever +existence has been--all individual life that ever moved in animal +or plant,--all feeling and thought that ever stirred in human +consciousness--must have flashed self-record beyond the sphere of +sentiency; and though we cannot know, we cannot help imagining that +the best of such registration may be destined to perpetuity. On this +latter subject, for obvious reasons, Herbert Spencer has remained +silent; but the reader may ponder a remarkable paragraph in the final +sixth edition of the "First Principles,"--a paragraph dealing with +the hypothesis that consciousness may belong to the cosmic ether. +This hypothesis has not been lightly dismissed by him; and even while +proving its inadequacy, he seems to intimate that it may represent +imperfectly some truth yet inapprehensible by the human mind:-- + + "The only supposition having consistency is that that in which + consciousness inheres is the all-pervading ether. This we + know can be affected by molecules of matter in motion, and + conversely can affect the motions of molecules;--as witness + the action of light on the retina. In pursuance of this + supposition we may assume that the ether, which pervades not + only all space but all matter, is, under special conditions + in certain parts of the nervous system, capable of being + affected by the nervous changes in such way as to result in + feeling, and is reciprocally capable under these conditions + of affecting the nervous changes. But if we accept this + explanation, we must assume that the potentiality of feeling + is universal, and that the evolution of feeling in the ether + takes place only under the extremely complex conditions + occurring in certain nervous centres. This, however, is but a + semblance of an explanation, since we know not what the ether + is, and since, by confession of those most capable of judging, + no hypothesis that has been framed accounts for all its + powers. Such an explanation may be said to do no more + than symbolize the phenomena by symbols of unknown + natures."--["First Principles," [Section] 71 _c_, definitive + edition of 1900.] + + --"Inscrutable is this complex consciousness which has + slowly evolved out of infantine vacuity--consciousness + which, in other shapes, is manifested by animate beings at + large--consciousness which, during the development of every + creature, makes its appearance out of what seems unconscious + matter; _suggesting the thought that consciousness, in some + rudimentary form, is omnipresent._"[65] + +[Footnote 65: _Autobiography_, vol. ii, p. 470.] + +--Of all modern thinkers, Spencer was perhaps the most careful to +avoid giving encouragement to any hypothesis unsupported by powerful +evidence. Even the simple sum of his own creed is uttered only, +with due reservation, as a statement of three probabilities: that +consciousness represents a specialized and individualized form of the +infinite Energy; that it is dissolved by death; and that its elements +then return to the source of all being. As for our mental attitude +toward the infinite Mystery, his advice is plain. We must resign +ourselves to the eternal law, and endeavor to vanquish our ancient +inheritance of superstitious terrors, remembering that, "merciless as +is the Cosmic process worked out by an Unknown Power, yet vengeance is +nowhere to be found in it."[66] + +[Footnote 66: _Facts and Comments_, p. 201.] + + * * * * * + +In the same brief essay there is another confession of singular +interest,--an acknowledgment of the terror of Space. To even the +ordinary mind, the notion of infinite Space, as forced upon us by +those monstrous facts of astronomy which require no serious study +to apprehend, is terrifying;--I mean the mere vague idea of that +everlasting Night into which the blazing of millions of suns can bring +neither light nor warmth. But to the intellect of Herbert Spencer the +idea of Space must have presented itself after a manner incomparably +more mysterious and stupendous. The mathematician alone will +comprehend the full significance of the paragraph dealing with the +Geometry of Position and the mystery of space-relations,--or the +startling declaration that "even could we penetrate the mysteries of +existence, there would remain still more transcendent mysteries." +But Herbert Spencer tells us that, apart from the conception of these +geometrical mysteries, the problem of naked Space itself became for +him, in the twilight of his age, an obsession and a dismay:-- + + ... "And then comes the thought of this universal matrix + itself, anteceding alike creation or evolution, whichever be + assumed, and infinitely transcending both, alike in extent and + duration; since both, if conceived at all, must be conceived + as having had beginnings, while Space had no beginning. The + thought of this blank form of existence which, explored in + all directions as far as imagination can reach, has, beyond + that, an unexplored region compared with which the part which + imagination has traversed is but infinitesimal,--the thought + of a Space compared with which our immeasurable sidereal + system dwindles to a point is a thought too overwhelming to + be dwelt upon. Of late years the consciousness that without + origin or cause infinite Space has ever existed and must ever + exist, produces in me a feeling from which I shrink." + + * * * * * + +How the idea of infinite Space may affect a mind incomparably more +powerful than my own, I cannot know;--neither can I divine the nature +of certain problems which the laws of space-relation present to the +geometrician. But when I try to determine the cause of the horror +which that idea evokes within my own feeble imagination, I am able +to distinguish different elements of the emotion,--particular forms +of terror responding to particular ideas (rational and irrational) +suggested by the revelations of science. One feeling--perhaps the +main element of the horror--is made by the thought of being _prisoned_ +forever and ever within that unutterable Viewlessness which occupies +infinite Space. + +Behind this feeling there is more than the thought of eternal +circumscription;--there is also the idea of being perpetually +penetrated, traversed, thrilled by the Nameless;--there is likewise +the certainty that no least particle of innermost secret Self could +shun the eternal touch of It;--there is furthermore the tremendous +conviction that could the Self of me rush with the swiftness of +light,--with more than the swiftness of light,--beyond all galaxies, +beyond durations of time so vast that Science knows no sign by which +their magnitudes might be indicated,--and still flee onward, onward, +downward, upward,--always, always,--never could that Self of me reach +nearer to any verge, never speed farther from any centre. For, in that +Silence, all vastitude and height and depth and time and direction are +swallowed up: relation therein could have no meaning but for the speck +of my fleeting consciousness,--atom of terror pulsating alone through +atomless, soundless, nameless, illimitable potentiality. + +And the idea of that potentiality awakens another quality of +horror,--the horror of infinite Possibility. For this Inscrutable that +pulses through substance as if substance were not at all,--so subtly +that none can feel the flowing of its tides, yet so swiftly that no +life-time would suffice to count the number of the oscillations which +it makes within the fraction of one second,--thrills to us out of +endlessness;--and the force of infinity dwells in its lightest tremor; +the weight of eternity presses behind its faintest shudder. To that +phantom-Touch, the tinting of a blossom or the dissipation of a +universe were equally facile: here it caresses the eye with the charm +and illusion of color; there it bestirs into being a cluster of +giant suns. All that human mind is capable of conceiving as possible +(and how much also that human mind must forever remain incapable of +conceiving?) may be wrought anywhere, everywhere, by a single tremor +of that Abyss.... + + * * * * * + +Is it true, as some would have us believe, that the fear of the +extinction of self is the terror supreme?... For the thought of +personal perpetuity in the infinite vortex is enough to evoke sudden +trepidations that no tongue can utter,--fugitive instants of a horror +too vast to enter wholly into consciousness: a horror that can be +endured in swift black glimpsings only. And the trust that we are one +with the Absolute--dim points of thrilling in the abyss of It--can +prove a consoling faith only to those who find themselves obliged to +think that consciousness dissolves with the crumbling of the brain.... +It seems to me that few (or none) dare to utter frankly those +stupendous doubts and fears which force mortal intelligence to +recoil upon itself at every fresh attempt to pass the barrier of the +Knowable. Were that barrier unexpectedly pushed back,--were knowledge +to be suddenly and vastly expanded beyond its present limits,--perhaps +we should find ourselves unable to endure the revelation.... + + * * * * * + +Mr. Percival Lowell's astonishing book, "Mars," sets one to thinking +about the results of being able to hold communication with the +habitants of an older and a wiser world,--some race of beings more +highly evolved than we, both intellectually and morally, and able to +interpret a thousand mysteries that still baffle our science. Perhaps, +in such event, we should not find ourselves able to comprehend the +methods, even could we borrow the results, of wisdom older than all +our civilization by myriads or hundreds of myriads of years. But would +not the sudden advent of larger knowledge from some elder planet prove +for us, by reason, of the present moral condition of mankind, nothing +less than a catastrophe?--might it not even result in the extinction +of the human species?... + +The rule seems to be that the dissemination of dangerous higher +knowledge, before the masses of a people are ethically prepared to +receive it, will always be prevented by the conservative instinct; and +we have reason to suppose (allowing for individual exceptions) that +the power to gain higher knowledge is developed only as the moral +ability to profit by such knowledge is evolved. I fancy that if the +power of holding intellectual converse with other worlds could now +serve us, we should presently obtain it. But if, by some astonishing +chance,--as by the discovery, let us suppose, of some method of +ether-telegraphy,--this power were prematurely acquired, its exercise +would in all probability be prohibited.... Imagine, for example, what +would have happened during the Middle Ages to the person guilty of +discovering means to communicate with the people of a neighboring +planet! Assuredly that inventor and his apparatus and his records +would have been burned; every trace and memory of his labors would +have been extirpated. Even to-day the sudden discovery of truths +unsupported by human experience, the sudden revelation of facts +totally opposed to existing convictions, might evoke some frantic +revival of superstitious terrors,--some religious panic-fury that +would strangle science, and replunge the world in mental darkness for +a thousand years. + + + + +THE MIRROR MAIDEN + + +In the period of the Ashikaga Sh[=o]gunate the shrine of +Ogawachi-My[=o]jin, at Minami-Is['e], fell into decay; and the +daimy[=o] of the district, the Lord Kitahatak['e], found himself +unable, by reason of war and other circumstances, to provide for +the reparation of the building. Then the Shint[=o] priest in charge, +Matsumura Hy[=o]go, sought help at Ky[=o]to from the great daimy[=o] +Hosokawa, who was known to have influence with the Sh[=o]gun. The +Lord Hosokawa received the priest kindly, and promised to speak to +the Sh[=o]gun about the condition of Ogawachi-My[=o]jin. But he said +that, in any event, a grant for the restoration of the temple could +not be made without due investigation and considerable delay; and he +advised Matsumura to remain in the capital while the matter was being +arranged. Matsumura therefore brought his family to Ky[=o]to, and +rented a house in the old Ky[=o]goku quarter. + +This house, although handsome and spacious, had been long unoccupied. +It was said to be an unlucky house. On the northeast side of it there +was a well; and several former tenants had drowned themselves in +that well, without any known cause. But Matsumura, being a Shint[=o] +priest, had no fear of evil spirits; and he soon made himself very +comfortable in his new home. + + * * * * * + +In the summer of that year there was a great drought. For months no +rain had fallen in the Five Home-Provinces; the river-beds dried +up, the wells failed; and even in the capital there was a dearth +of water. But the well in Matsumura's garden remained nearly full; +and the water--which was very cold and clear, with a faint bluish +tinge--seemed to be supplied by a spring. During the hot season many +people came from all parts of the city to beg for water; and Matsumura +allowed them to draw as much as they pleased. Nevertheless the supply +did not appear to be diminished. + +But one morning the dead body of a young servant, who had been sent +from a neighboring residence to fetch water, was found floating in +the well. No cause for a suicide could be imagined; and Matsumura, +remembering many unpleasant stories about the well, began to suspect +some invisible malevolence. He went to examine the well, with the +intention of having a fence built around it; and while standing +there alone he was startled by a sudden motion in the water, as of +something alive. The motion soon ceased; and then he perceived, +clearly reflected in the still surface, the figure of a young woman, +apparently about nineteen or twenty years of age. She seemed to be +occupied with her toilet: he distinctly saw her touching her lips +with _b['e]ni_[67] At first her face was visible in profile only; but +presently she turned towards him and smiled. Immediately he felt a +strange shock at his heart, and a dizziness came upon him like the +dizziness of wine, and everything became dark, except that smiling +face,--white and beautiful as moonlight, and always seeming to grow +more beautiful, and to be drawing him down--down--down into the +darkness. But with a desperate effort he recovered his will and closed +his eyes. When he opened them again, the face was gone, and the light +had returned; and he found himself leaning down over the curb of the +well. A moment more of that dizziness,--a moment more of that dazzling +lure,--and he would never again have looked upon the sun... + +[Footnote 67: A kind of rouge, now used only to color the lips.] + +Returning to the house, he gave orders to his people not to approach +the well under any circumstances, or allow any person to draw water +from it. And the next day he had a strong fence built round the well. + + * * * * * + +About a week after the fence had been built, the long drought was +broken by a great rain-storm, accompanied by wind and lightning and +thunder,--thunder so tremendous that the whole city shook to the +rolling of it, as if shaken by an earthquake. For three days and three +nights the downpour and the lightnings and the thunder continued; and +the Kamogawa rose as it had never risen before, carrying away many +bridges. During the third night of the storm, at the Hour of the Ox, +there was heard a knocking at the door of the priest's dwelling, and +the voice of a woman pleading for admittance. But Matsumura, warned by +his experience at the well, forbade his servants to answer the appeal. +He went himself to the entrance, and asked,-- + +"Who calls?" + +A feminine voice responded:-- + +"Pardon! it is I,--Yayoi![68]... I have something to say to Matsumura +Sama,--something of great moment. Please open!"... + +[Footnote 68: This name, though uncommon, is still in use.] + +Matsumura half opened the door, very cautiously; and he saw the same +beautiful face that had smiled upon him from the well. But it was not +smiling now: it had a very sad look. + +"Into my house you shall not come," the priest exclaimed. "You are not +a human being, but a Well-Person.... Why do you thus wickedly try to +delude and destroy people?" + +The Well-Person made answer in a voice musical as a tinkling of jewels +(_tama-wo-korogasu-ko[:e]_.):-- + +"It is of that very matter that I want to speak.... I have never +wished to injure human beings. But from ancient time a Poison-Dragon +dwelt in that well. He was the Master of the Well; and because of him +the well was always full. Long ago I fell into the water there, and +so became subject to him; and he had power to make me lure people to +death, in order that he might drink their blood. But now the Heavenly +Ruler has commanded the Dragon to dwell hereafter in the lake called +Torii-no-Ik['e], in the Province of Shinsh[=u]; and the gods have +decided that he shall never be allowed to return to this city. So +to-night, after he had gone away, I was able to come out, to beg for +your kindly help. There is now very little water in the well, because +of the Dragon's departure; and if you will order search to be made, +my body will be found there. I pray you to save my body from the well +without delay; and I shall certainly return your benevolence."... + +So saying, she vanished into the night. + + * * * * * + +Before dawn the tempest had passed; and when the sun arose there was +no trace of cloud in the pure blue sky. Matsumura sent at an early +hour for well-cleaners to search the well. Then, to everybody's +surprise, the well proved to be almost dry. It was easily cleaned; and +at the bottom of it were found some hair-ornaments of a very ancient +fashion, and a metal mirror of curious form--but no trace of any body, +animal or human. + +Matusmura imagined, however, that the mirror might yield some +explanation of the mystery; for every such mirror is a weird thing, +having a soul of its own,--and the soul of a mirror is feminine. This +mirror, which seemed to be very old, was deeply crusted with scurf. +But when it had been carefully cleaned, by the priest's order, it +proved to be of rare and costly workmanship; and there were wonderful +designs upon the back of it,--also several characters. Some of the +characters had become indistinguishable; but there could still be +discerned part of a date, and ideographs signifying, "_third month, +the third day_." Now the third month used to be termed _Yayoi_ +(meaning, the Month of Increase); and the third day of the third +month, which is a festival day, is still called _Yayoi-no-sekku_. +Remembering that the Well-Person called herself "Yayoi," Matsumura +felt almost sure that his ghostly visitant had been none other than +the Soul of the Mirror. + +He therefore resolved to treat the mirror with all the consideration +due to a Spirit. After having caused it to be carefully repolished +and resilvered, he had a case of precious wood made for it, and a +particular room in the house prepared to receive it. On the evening +of the same day that it had been respectfully deposited in that room, +Yayoi herself unexpectedly appeared before the priest as he sat alone +in his study. She looked even more lovely than before; but the light +of her beauty was now soft as the light of a summer moon shining +through pure white clouds. After having humbly saluted Matsumura, she +said in her sweetly tinkling voice:-- + +"Now that you have saved me from solitude and sorrow, I have come to +thank you.... I am indeed, as you supposed, the Spirit of the Mirror. +It was in the time of the Emperor Saimei that I was first brought here +from Kudara; and I dwelt in the august residence until the time of +the Emperor Saga, when I was augustly bestowed upon the Lady Kamo, +Naishinn[=o] of the Imperial Court.[69] Thereafter I became an +heirloom in the House of Fuji-wara, and so remained until the period +of H[=o]gen, when I was dropped into the well. There I was left and +forgotten during the years of the great war.[70] The Master of the +Well[71] was a venomous Dragon, who used to live in a lake that once +covered a great part of this district. After the lake had been filled +in, by government order, in order that houses might be built upon +the place of it, the Dragon took possession of the well; and when I +fell into the well I became subject to him; and he compelled me to +lure many people to their deaths. But the gods have banished him +forever.... Now I have one more favor to beseech: I entreat that you +will cause me to be offered up to the Sh[=o]gun, the Lord Yoshimasa, +who by descent is related to my former possessors. Do me but this last +great kindness, and it will bring you good-fortune.... But I have also +to warn you of a danger. In this house, after to-morrow, you must +not stay, because it will be destroyed."... And with these words of +warning Yayoi disappeared. + +[Footnote 69: The Emperor Saimei reigned from 655 to 662 (A.D.); +the Emperor Saga from 810 to 842.--Kudara was an ancient kingdom in +southwestern Korea, frequently mentioned in early Japanese history.--A +_Naishinn[=o]_ was of Imperial blood. In the ancient court-hierarchy +there were twenty-five ranks or grades of noble ladies;--that of +_Naishinno_ was seventh in order of precedence.] + +[Footnote 70: For centuries the wives of the emperors and the ladies +of the Imperial Court were chosen from the Fujiwara clan--The period +called H[=o]gen lasted from 1156 to 1159: the war referred to is the +famous war between the Taira and Minamoto clans.] + +[Footnote 71: In old-time belief every lake or spring had its +invisible guardian, supposed to sometimes take the form of a serpent +or dragon. The spirit of a lake or pond was commonly spoken of as +_Ik['e]-no-Mushi_, the Master of the Lake. Here we find the title +"Master" given to a dragon living in a well; but the guardian of wells +is really the god Suijin.] + + * * * * * + +Matsumura was able to profit by this premonition. He removed his +people and his belongings to another district the next day; and almost +immediately afterwards another storm arose, even more violent than the +first, causing a flood which swept away the house in which he had been +residing. + +Some time later, by favor of the Lord Hosokawa, Matsumura was enabled +to obtain an audience of the Sh[=o]gun Yoshimasa, to whom he presented +the mirror, together with a written account of its wonderful history. +Then the prediction of the Spirit of the Mirror was fulfilled; for the +Sh[=o]gun, greatly pleased with this strange gift, not only bestowed +costly presents upon Matsumura, but also made an ample grant of money +for the rebuilding of the Temple of Ogawachi-My[=o]jin. + + + + +THE STORY OF IT[=O] NORISUK['E] + + +In the town of Uji, in the province of Yamashiro, there lived, about +six hundred years ago, a young samurai named It[=o] Tat['e]waki +Norisuk['e], whose ancestors were of the H['e][:i]k['e] clan. It[=o] +was of handsome person and amiable character, a good scholar and apt +at arms. But his family were poor; and he had no patron among the +military nobility,--so that his prospects were small. He lived in +a very quiet way, devoting himself to the study of literature, and +having (says the Japanese story-teller) "only the Moon and the Wind +for friends." + +One autumn evening, as he was taking a solitary walk in the +neighborhood of the hill called Kotobikiyama, he happened to overtake +a young girl who was following the same path. She was richly dressed, +and seemed to be about eleven or twelve years old. It[=o] greeted her, +and said, "The sun will soon be setting, damsel, and this is rather a +lonesome place. May I ask if you have lost your way?" She looked up +at him with a bright smile, and answered deprecatingly: "Nay! I am +a _miya-dzukai_,[72] serving in this neighborhood; and I have only a +little way to go." + +[Footnote 72: August-residence servant.] + +By her use of the term _miya-dzukai_, It[=o] knew that the girl must +be in the service of persons of rank; and her statement surprised him, +because he had never heard of any family of distinction residing in +that vicinity. But he only said: "I am returning to Uji, where my home +is. Perhaps you will allow me to accompany you on the way, as this is +a very lonesome place." She thanked him gracefully, seeming pleased +by his offer; and they walked on together, chatting as they went. She +talked about the weather, the flowers, the butterflies, and the birds; +about a visit that she had once made to Uji, about the famous sights +of the capital, where she had been born;--and the moments passed +pleasantly for It[=o], as he listened to her fresh prattle. Presently, +at a turn in the road, they entered a hamlet, densely shadowed by a +grove of young trees. + + * * * * * + +[Here I must interrupt the story to tell you that, without having +actually seen them, you cannot imagine how dark some Japanese country +villages remain even in the brightest and hottest weather. In the +neighborhood of T[=o]ky[=o] itself there are many villages of this +kind. At a short distance from such a settlement you see no houses: +nothing is visible but a dense grove of evergreen trees. The grove, +which is usually composed of young cedars and bamboos, serves to +shelter the village from storms, and also to supply timber for various +purposes. So closely are the trees planted that there is no room to +pass between the trunks of them: they stand straight as masts, and +mingle their crests so as to form a roof that excludes the sun. +Each thatched cottage occupies a clear space in the plantation, the +trees forming a fence about it, double the height of the building. +Under the trees it is always twilight, even at high noon; and the +houses, morning or evening, are half in shadow. What makes the +first impression of such a village almost disquieting is, not the +transparent gloom, which has a certain weird charm of its own, but +the stillness. There may be fifty or a hundred dwellings; but you see +nobody; and you hear no sound but the twitter of invisible birds, the +occasional crowing of cocks, and the shrilling of cicad[ae]. Even +the cicad[ae], however, find these groves too dim, and sing faintly; +being sun-lovers, they prefer the trees outside the village. I forgot +to say that you may sometimes hear a viewless shuttle--_chaka-ton, +chaka-ton_;--but that familiar sound, in the great green silence, +seems an elfish happening. The reason of the hush is simply that the +people are not at home. All the adults, excepting some feeble elders, +have gone to the neighboring fields, the women carrying their babies +on their backs; and most of the children have gone to the nearest +school, perhaps not less than a mile away. Verily, in these dim +hushed villages, one seems to behold the mysterious perpetuation of +conditions recorded in the texts of Kwang-Tze:-- + + "_The ancients who had the nourishment of the world wished for + nothing, and the world had enough:--they did nothing, and all + things were transformed:--their stillness was abysmal, and the + people were all composed._"] + + * * * * * + +... The village was very dark when It[=o] reached it; for the sun +had set, and the after-glow made no twilight in the shadowing of the +trees. "Now, kind sir," the child said, pointing to a narrow lane +opening upon the main road, "I have to go this way." "Permit me, then, +to see you home," It[=o] responded; and he turned into the lane with +her, feeling rather than seeing his way. But the girl soon stopped +before a small gate, dimly visible in the gloom,--a gate of +trelliswork, beyond which the lights of a dwelling could be seen. +"Here," she said, "is the honorable residence in which I serve. As you +have come thus far out of your way, kind sir, will you not deign to +enter and to rest a while?" It[=o] assented. He was pleased by the +informal invitation; and he wished to learn what persons of superior +condition had chosen to reside in so lonesome a village. He knew that +sometimes a family of rank would retire in this manner from public +life, by reason of government displeasure or political trouble; and +he imagined that such might be the history of the occupants of the +dwelling before him. Passing the gate, which his young guide opened +for him, he found himself in a large quaint garden. A miniature +landscape, traversed by a winding stream, was faintly distinguishable. +"Deign for one little moment to wait," the child said; "I go to +announce the honorable coming;" and hurried toward the house. It +was a spacious house, but seemed very old, and built in the fashion +of another time. The sliding doors were not closed; but the lighted +interior was concealed by a beautiful bamboo curtain extending +along the gallery front. Behind it shadows were moving--shadows of +women;--and suddenly the music of a _koto_ rippled into the night. So +light and sweet was the playing that It[=o] could scarcely believe the +evidence of his senses. A slumbrous feeling of delight stole over him +as he listened,--a delight strangely mingled with sadness. He wondered +how any woman could have learned to play thus,--wondered whether the +player could be a woman,--wondered even whether he was hearing earthly +music; for enchantment seemed to have entered into his blood with the +sound of it. + + * * * * * + +The soft music ceased; and almost at the same moment It[=o] found the +little _miya-dzukai_ beside him. "Sir," she said, "it is requested +that you will honorably enter." She conducted him to the entrance, +where he removed his sandals; and an aged woman, whom he thought to be +the _R[=o]jo_, or matron of the household, came to welcome him at the +threshold. The old woman then led him through many apartments to a +large and well-lighted room in the rear of the house, and with many +respectful salutations requested him to take the place of honor +accorded to guests of distinction. He was surprised by the stateliness +of the chamber, and the curious beauty of its decorations. Presently +some maid-servants brought refreshments; and he noticed that the cups +and other vessels set before him were of rare and costly workmanship, +and ornamented with a design indicating the high rank of the +possessor. More and more he wondered what noble person had chosen this +lonely retreat, and what happening could have inspired the wish +for such solitude. But the aged attendant suddenly interrupted his +reflections with the question: + +"Am I wrong in supposing that you are It[=o] Sama, of Uji,--It[=o] +Tat['e]waki Norisuk['e]?" + +It[=o] bowed in assent. He had not told his name to the little +_miya-dzukai_, and the manner of the inquiry startled him. + +"Please do not think my question rude," continued the attendant. "An +old woman like myself may ask questions without improper curiosity. +When you came to the house, I thought that I knew your face; and +I asked your name only to clear away all doubt, before speaking of +other matters. I have some thing of moment to tell you. You often +pass through this village, and our young Him['e]gimi-Sama[73] happened +one morning to see you going by; and ever since that moment she has +been thinking about you, day and night. Indeed, she thought so much +that she became ill; and we have been very uneasy about her. For that +reason I took means to find out your name and residence; and I was on +the point of sending you a letter when--so unexpectedly!--you came to +our gate with the little attendant. Now, to say how happy I am to see +you is not possible; it seems almost too fortunate a happening to be +true! Really I think that this meeting must have been brought about by +the favor of Enmusubi-no-Kami,--that great God of Izumo who ties the +knots of fortunate union. And now that so lucky a destiny has led you +hither, perhaps you will not refuse--if there be no obstacle in the +way of such a union--to make happy the heart of our Him['e]gimi-Sama?" + +[Footnote 73: A scarcely translatable honorific title compounded +of the word _him['e]_ (princess) and _kimi_ (sovereign, master or +mistress, lord or lady, etc.).] + +For the moment It[=o] did not know how to reply. If the old woman had +spoken the truth, an extraordinary chance was being offered to him. +Only a great passion could impel the daughter of a noble house to +seek, of her own will, the affection of an obscure and masterless +samurai, possessing neither wealth nor any sort of prospects. On the +other hand, it was not in the honorable nature of the man to further +his own interests by taking advantage of a feminine weakness. +Moreover, the circumstances were disquietingly mysterious. Yet how to +decline the proposal, so unexpectedly made, troubled him not a little. +After a short silence, he replied:-- + +"There would be no obstacle, as I have no wife, and no betrothed, and +no relation with any woman. Until now I have lived with my parents; +and the matter of my marriage was never discussed by them. You must +know that I am a poor samurai, without any patron among persons of +rank; and I did not wish to marry until I could find some chance +to improve my condition. As to the proposal which you have done me +the very great honor to make, I can only say that I know myself yet +unworthy of the notice of any noble maiden." + +The old woman smiled as if pleased by these words, and responded:-- + +"Until you have seen our Him['e]gimi-Sama, it were better that you +make no decision. Perhaps you will feel no hesitation after you have +seen her. Deign now to come with me, that I may present you to her." + +She conducted him to another larger guest-room, where preparations +for a feast had been made, and having shown him the place of honor, +left him for a moment alone. She returned accompanied by the +Him['e]gimi-Sama; and, at the first sight of the young mistress, +It[=o] felt again the strange thrill of wonder and delight that had +come to him in the garden, as he listened to the music of the _koto_. +Never had he dreamed of so beautiful a being. Light seemed to radiate +from her presence, and to shine through her garments, as the light of +the moon through flossy clouds; her loosely flowing hair swayed about +her as she moved, like the boughs of the drooping willow bestirred +by the breezes of spring; her lips were like flowers of the peach +besprinkled with morning dew. It[=o] was bewildered by the vision. +He asked himself whether he was not looking upon the person of +Amano-kawara-no-Ori-Him['e] herself,--the Weaving-Maiden who dwells by +the shining River of Heaven. + +Smiling, the aged woman turned to the fair one, who remained +speechless, with downcast eyes and flushing cheeks, and said to her:-- + +"See, my child!--at the moment when we could least have hoped for such +a thing, the very person whom you wished to meet has come of his own +accord. So fortunate a happening could have been brought about only +by the will of the high gods. To think of it makes me weep for joy." +And she sobbed aloud. "But now," she continued, wiping away her tears +with her sleeve, "it only remains for you both--unless either prove +unwilling, which I doubt--to pledge yourselves to each other, and to +partake of your wedding feast." + + * * * * * + +It[=o] answered by no word: the incomparable vision before him had +numbed his will and tied his tongue. Maid-servants entered, bearing +dishes and wine: the wedding feast was spread before the pair; and the +pledges were given. It[=o] nevertheless remained as in a trance: the +marvel of the adventure, and the wonder of the beauty of the bride, +still bewildered him. A gladness, beyond aught that he had ever known +before, filled his heart--like a great silence. But gradually he +recovered his wonted calm; and thereafter he found himself able to +converse without embarrassment. Of the wine he partook freely; and +he ventured to speak, in a self-depreciating but merry way, about the +doubts and fears that had oppressed him. Meanwhile the bride remained +still as moonlight, never lifting her eyes, and replying only by a +blush or a smile when he addressed her. + +It[=o] said to the aged attendant:-- + +"Many times, in my solitary walks, I have passed through this village +without knowing of the existence of this honorable dwelling. And ever +since entering here, I have been wondering why this noble household +should have chosen so lonesome a place of sojourn.... Now that your +Him['e]gimi-Sama and I have become pledged to each other, it seems +to me a strange thing that I do not yet know the name of her august +family." + +At this utterance, a shadow passed over the kindly face of the old +woman; and the bride, who had yet hardly spoken, turned pale, and +appeared to become painfully anxious. After some moments of silence, +the aged woman responded:-- + +"To keep our secret from you much longer would be difficult; and I +think that, under any circumstances, you should be made aware of +the facts, now that you are one of us. Know then, Sir It[=o], that +your bride is the daughter of Shig['e]hira-Ky[=o], the great and +unfortunate San-mi Ch[:u]j[=o]." + +At those words--"Shig['e]hira-Ky[=o], San-mi Ch[:u]j[=o]"--the +young samurai felt a chill, as of ice, strike through all his veins. +Shig['e]hira-Ky[=o], the great H['e][:i]k['e] general and statesman, +had been dust for centuries. And It[=o] suddenly understood that +everything around him--the chamber and the lights and the banquet--was +a dream of the past; that the forms before him were not people, but +shadows of people dead. + +But in another instant the icy chill had passed; and the charm +returned, and seemed to deepen about him; and he felt no fear. Though +his bride had come to him out of Yomi,--out of the place of the Yellow +Springs of death,--his heart had been wholly won. Who weds a ghost +must become a ghost;--yet he knew himself ready to die, not once, but +many times, rather than betray by word or look one thought that might +bring a shadow of pain to the brow of the beautiful illusion before +him. Of the affection proffered he had no misgiving: the truth had +been told him when any unloving purpose might better have been served +by deception. But these thoughts and emotions passed in a flash, +leaving him resolved to accept the strange situation as it had +presented itself, and to act just as he would have done if chosen, in +the years of J[:u]-ei, by Shig['e]hira's daughter. + +"Ah, the pity of it!" he exclaimed; "I have heard of the cruel fate of +the august Lord Shig['e]hira." + +"Ay," responded the aged woman, sobbing as she spoke;--"it was indeed +a cruel fate. His horse, you know, was killed by an arrow, and fell +upon him; and when he called for help, those who had lived upon his +bounty deserted him in his need. Then he was taken prisoner, and sent +to Kamakura, where they treated him shamefully, and at last put him +to death.[74] His wife and child--this dear maid here--were then in +hiding; for everywhere the H['e][:i]k['e] were being sought out and +killed. When the news of the Lord Shig['e]hira's death reached us, +the pain proved too great for the mother to bear, so the child was +left with no one to care for her but me,--since her kindred had all +perished or disappeared. She was only five years old. I had been +her milk-nurse, and I did what I could for her. Year after year we +wandered from place to place, traveling in pilgrim-garb.... But these +tales of grief are ill-timed," exclaimed the nurse, wiping away her +tears;--"pardon the foolish heart of an old woman who cannot forget +the past. See! the little maid whom I fostered has now become a +Him['e]gimi-Sama indeed!--were we living in the good days of the +Emperor Takakura, what a destiny might be reserved for her! However, +she has obtained the husband whom she desired; that is the greatest +happiness.... But the hour is late. The bridal-chamber has been +prepared; and I must now leave you to care for each other until +morning." + +[Footnote 74: Shig['e]hira, after a brave fight in defense of the +capital,--then held by the Ta[:i]ra (or H['e][:i]k['e]) party,--was +surprised and routed by Yoshitsun['e], leader of the Minamoto forces. +A soldier named Iy['e]naga, who was a skilled archer, shot down +Shig['e]hira's horse; and Shig['e]hira fell under the struggling +animal. He cried to an attendant to bring another horse; but the man +fled. Shig['e]hira was then captured by Iy['e]naga, and eventually +given up to Yoritomo, head of the Minamoto clan, who caused him to be +sent in a cage to Kamakura. There, after sundry humiliations, he was +treated for a time with consideration,--having been able, by a Chinese +poem, to touch even the cruel heart of Yoritomo. But in the following +year he was executed by request of the Buddhist priests of Nanto, +against whom he had formerly waged war by order of Kiyomori.] + +She rose, and sliding back the screens parting the guest-room from +the adjoining chamber, ushered them to their sleeping apartment. Then, +with many words of joy and congratulation, she withdrew; and It[=o] +was left alone with his bride. + +As they reposed together, It[=o] said:-- + +"Tell me, my loved one, when was it that you first wished to have me +for your husband." + +(For everything appeared so real that he had almost ceased to think of +the illusion woven around him.) + +She answered, in a voice like a dove's voice:-- + +"My august lord and husband, it was at the temple of Ishiyama, where +I went with my foster-mother, that I saw you for the first time. And +because of seeing you, the world became changed to me from that hour +and moment. But you do not remember, because our meeting was not in +this, your present life: it was very, very long ago. Since that time +you have passed through many deaths and births, and have had many +comely bodies. But I have remained always that which you see me now: +I could not obtain another body, nor enter into another state of +existence, because of my great wish for you. My dear lord and husband, +I have waited for you through many ages of men." + +And the bridegroom felt nowise afraid at hearing these strange words, +but desired nothing more in life, or in all his lives to come, than to +feel her arms about him, and to hear the caress of her voice. + + * * * * * + +But the pealing of a temple-bell proclaimed the coming of dawn. Birds +began to twitter; a morning breeze set all the trees a-whispering. +Suddenly the old nurse pushed apart the sliding screens of the +bridal-chamber, and exclaimed:-- + +"My children, it is time to separate! By daylight you must not be +together, even for an instant: that were fatal! You must bid each +other good-by." + +Without a word, It[=o] made ready to depart. He vaguely understood +the warning uttered, and resigned himself wholly to destiny. His will +belonged to him no more; he desired only to please his shadowy bride. + +She placed in his hands a little _suzuri_, or ink-stone, curiously +carved, and said:-- + +"My young lord and husband is a scholar; therefore this small gift +will probably not be despised by him. It is of strange fashion because +it is old, having been augustly bestowed upon my father by the favor +of the Emperor Takakura. For that reason only, I thought it to be a +precious thing." + +It[=o], in return, besought her to accept for a remembrance the +_k[=o]gai_[75] of his sword, which were decorated with inlaid work of +silver and gold, representing plum-flowers and nightingales. + +[Footnote 75: This was the name given to a pair of metal rods attached +to a sword-sheath, and used like chop-sticks. They were sometimes +exquisitely ornamented.] + +Then the little _miya-dzukai_ came to guide him through the garden, +and his bride with her foster-mother accompanied him to the threshold. + +As he turned at the foot of the steps to make his parting salute, the +old woman said:-- + +"We shall meet again the next Year of the Boar, at the same hour of +the same day of the same month that you came here. This being the Year +of the Tiger, you will have to wait ten years. But, for reasons which +I must not say, we shall not be able to meet again in this place; +we are going to the neighborhood of Ky[=o]to, where the good Emperor +Takakura and our fathers and many of our people are dwelling. All +the H['e][:i]k['e] will be rejoiced by your coming. We shall send a +_kago_[76] for you on the appointed day." + +[Footnote 76: A kind of palanquin.] + + * * * * * + +Above the village the stars were burning as It[=o] passed the gate; +but on reaching the open road he saw the dawn brightening beyond +leagues of silent fields. In his bosom he carried the gift of his +bride. The charm of her voice lingered in his ears,--and nevertheless, +had it not been for the memento which he touched with questioning +fingers, he could have persuaded himself that the memories of the +night were memories of sleep, and that his life still belonged to him. + +But the certainty that he had doomed himself evoked no least regret: +he was troubled only by the pain of separation, and the thought of the +seasons that would have to pass before the illusion could be renewed +for him. Ten years!--and every day of those years would seem how long! +The mystery of the delay he could not hope to solve; the secret ways +of the dead are known to the gods alone. + + * * * * * + +Often and often, in his solitary walks, It[=o] revisited the village +at Kotobikiyama, vaguely hoping to obtain another glimpse of the past. +But never again, by night or by day, was he able to find the rustic +gate in the shadowed lane; never again could he perceive the figure of +the little _miya-dzukai_, walking alone in the sunset-glow. + +The village people, whom he questioned carefully, thought him +bewitched. No person of rank, they said, had ever dwelt in the +settlement; and there had never been, in the neighborhood, any such +garden as he described. But there had once been a great Buddhist +temple near the place of which he spoke; and some gravestones of the +temple-cemetery were still to be seen. It[=o] discovered the monuments +in the middle of a dense thicket. They were of an ancient Chinese +form, and were covered with moss and lichens. The characters that had +been cut upon them could no longer be deciphered. + + * * * * * + +Of his adventure It[=o] spoke to no one. But friends and kindred soon +perceived a great change in his appearance and manner. Day by day he +seemed to become more pale and thin, though physicians declared that +he had no bodily ailment; he looked like a ghost, and moved like +a shadow. Thoughtful and solitary he had always been, but now he +appeared indifferent to everything which had formerly given him +pleasure,--even to those literary studies by means of which he +might have hoped to win distinction. To his mother--who thought that +marriage might quicken his former ambition, and revive his interest in +life--he said that he had made a vow to marry no living woman. And the +months dragged by. + +At last came the Year of the Boar, and the season of autumn; but I to +could no longer take the solitary walks that he loved. He could not +even rise from his bed. His life was ebbing, though none could divine +the cause; and he slept so deeply and so long that his sleep was often +mistaken for death. + +Out of such a sleep he was startled, one bright evening, by the voice +of a child; and he saw at his bedside the little _miya-dsukai_ who +had guided him, ten years before, to the gate of the vanished garden. +She saluted him, and smiled, and said: "I am bidden to tell you that +you will be received to-night at [:O]hara, near Ky[=o]to, where the +new home is, and that a _kago_ has been sent for you." Then she +disappeared. + +It[=o] knew that he was being summoned away from the light of the sun; +but the message so rejoiced him that he found strength to sit up and +call his mother. To her he then for the first time related the story +of his bridal, and he showed her the ink-stone which had been given +him. He asked that it should be placed in his coffin,--and then he +died. + + * * * * * + +The ink-stone was buried with him. But before the funeral ceremonies +it was examined by experts, who said that it had been made in the +period of _J[=o]-an_(1169 A.D.), and that it bore the seal-mark of an +artist who had lived in the time of the Emperor Takakura. + + + + +STRANGER THAN FICTION + + +It was a perfect West Indian day. My friend the notary and I were +crossing the island by a wonderful road which wound up through tropic +forest to the clouds, and thence looped down again, through gold-green +slopes of cane, and scenery amazing of violet and blue and ghost-gray +peaks, to the roaring coast of the trade winds. All the morning we had +been ascending,--walking after our carriage, most of the time, for the +sake of the brave little mule;--and the sea had been climbing behind +us till it looked like a monstrous wall of blue, pansy-blue, under the +ever heightening horizon. The heat was like the heat of a vapor-bath, +but the air was good to breathe with its tropical odor,--an odor made +up of smells of strange saps, queer spicy scents of mould, exhalations +of aromatic decay. Moreover, the views were glimpses of Paradise; and +it was a joy to watch the torrents roaring down their gorges under +shadows of tree-fern and bamboo. + +My friend stopped the carriage before a gateway set into a hedge full +of flowers that looked like pink-and-white butterflies. "I have to +make a call here," he said;--"come in with me." We dismounted, and he +knocked on the gate with the butt of his whip. Within, at the end of +a shady garden, I could see the porch of a planter's house; beyond +were rows of cocoa palms, and glimpses of yellowing cane. Presently +a negro, wearing only a pair of canvas trousers and a great straw +hat, came hobbling to open the gate,--followed by a multitude, an +astonishing multitude, of chippering chickens. Under the shadow of +that huge straw hat I could not see the negro's face; but I noticed +that his limbs and body were strangely shrunken,--looked as if +withered to the bone. A weirder creature I had never beheld; and I +wondered at his following of chickens. + +"Eh!" exclaimed the notary, "your chickens are as lively as ever!... I +want to see Madame Floran." + +"_Moin k['e] di_," the goblin responded huskily, in his patois; and +he limped on before us, all the chickens hopping and cheeping at his +withered heels. + +"That fellow," my friend observed, "was bitten by a _fer-de-lance_ +about eight or nine years ago. He got cured, or at least half-cured, +in some extraordinary way; but ever since then he has been a skeleton. +See how he limps!" + +The skeleton passed out of sight behind the house, and we waited a +while at the front porch. Then a m['e]tisse--turbaned in wasp colors, +and robed in iris colors, and wonderful to behold--came to tell us +that Madame hoped we would rest ourselves in the garden, as the house +was very warm. Chairs and a little table were then set for us in a +shady place, and the m['e]tisse brought out lemons, sugar-syrup, a +bottle of the clear plantation rum that smells like apple juice, and +ice-cold water in a _dobanne_ of thick red clay. My friend prepared +the refreshments; and then our hostess came to greet us, and to sit +with us,--a nice old lady with hair like newly minted silver. I had +never seen a smile sweeter than that with which she bade us welcome; +and I wondered whether she could ever have been more charming in her +Creole girlhood than she now appeared,--with her kindly wrinkles, and +argent hair, and frank, black, sparkling eyes.... + + * * * * * + +In the conversation that followed I was not able to take part, as +it related only to some question of title. The notary soon arranged +whatever there was to arrange; and, after some charmingly spoken words +of farewell from the gentle lady, we took our departure. Again the +mummified negro hobbled before us, to open the gate,--followed by +all his callow rabble of chickens. As we resumed our places in the +carriage we could still hear the chippering of the creatures, pursuing +after that ancient scarecrow. + +"Is it African sorcery?" I queried.... "How does he bewitch those +chickens?" + +"Queer--is it not?" the notary responded as we drove away. "That negro +must now be at least eighty years old; and he may live for twenty +years more,--the wretch!" + +The tone in which my friend uttered this epithet--_le +miserable!_--somewhat surprised me, as I knew him to be one of the +kindliest men in the world, and singularly free from prejudice. I +suspected that a story was coming, and I waited for it in silence. + +"Listen," said the notary, after a pause, during which we left the +plantation well behind us; "that old sorcerer, as you call him, was +born upon the estate, a slave. The estate belonged to M. Floran,--the +husband of the lady whom we visited; and she was a cousin, and the +marriage was a love-match. They had been married about two years when +the revolt occurred (fortunately there were no children),--the black +revolt of eighteen hundred and forty-eight. Several planters were +murdered; and M. Floran was one of the first to be killed. And the old +negro whom we saw to-day--the old sorcerer, as you call him--left the +plantation, and joined the rising: do you understand?" + +"Yes," I said; "but he might have done that through fear of the mob." + +"Certainly: the other hands did the same. But it was he that killed M. +Floran,--for no reason whatever,--cut him up with a cutlass. M. Floran +was riding home when the attack was made,--about a mile below the +plantation.... Sober, that negro would not have dared to face M. +Floran: the scoundrel was drunk, of course,--raving drunk. Most of +the blacks had been drinking tafia, with dead wasps in it, to give +themselves courage." + +"But," I interrupted, "how does it happen that the fellow is still on +the Floran plantation?" + +"Wait a moment!... When the military got control of the mob, search +was made everywhere for the murderer of M. Floran; but he could not +be found. He was lying out in the cane,--in M. Floran's cane!--like +a field-rat, like a snake. One morning, while the gendarmes +were still looking for him, he rushed into the house, and +threw himself down in front of Madame, weeping and screaming, +'_A[:i]e-ya[:i]e-ya[:i]e-ya[:i]e!--moin t['e] tchou['e] y! moin +t['e] tchou['e] y!--a[:i]e-ya[:i]e-ya[:i]e!_' Those were his very +words:--'I killed him! I killed him!' And he begged for mercy. When he +was asked why he killed M. Floran, he cried out that it was the +devil--_diabe-[`a]_--that had made him do it!... Well, Madame forgave +him!" + +"But how could she?" I queried. + +"Oh, she had always been very religious," my friend +responded,--"sincerely religious. She only said, 'May God pardon me +as I now pardon you!' She made her servants hide the creature and feed +him; and they kept him hidden until the excitement was over. Then she +sent him back to work; and he has been working for her ever since. Of +course he is now too old to be of any use in the field;--he only takes +care of the chickens." + +"But how," I persisted, "could the relatives allow Madame to forgive +him?" + +"Well, Madame insisted that he was not mentally responsible,--that he +was only a poor fool who had killed without knowing what he was doing; +and she argued that if _she_ could forgive him, others could more +easily do the same. There was a consultation; and the relatives +decided so to arrange matters that Madame could have her own way." + +"But why?" + +"Because they knew that she found a sort of religious consolation--a +kind of religious comfort--in forgiving the wretch. She imagined that +it was her duty as a Christian, not only to forgive him, but to +take care of him. We thought that she was mistaken,--but we could +understand.... Well, there is an example of what religion can do."... + + * * * * * + +The surprise of a new fact, or the sudden perception of something +never before imagined, may cause an involuntary smile. Unconsciously +I smiled, while my friend was yet speaking; and the good notary's brow +darkened. + +"Ah, you laugh!" he exclaimed,--"you laugh! That is wrong!--that is a +mistake!... But you do not believe: you do not know what it is,--the +true religion,--the real Christianity!" + +Earnestly I made answer:-- + +"Pardon me! I do believe every word of what you have told me. If I +laughed unthinkingly, it was only because I could not help wondering" +... + +"At what?" he questioned gravely. + +"At the marvelous instinct of that negro." + +"Ah, yes!" he returned approvingly. "Yes, the cunning of the animal +it was,--the instinct of the brute!... She was the only person in the +world who could have saved him." + +"And he knew it," I ventured to add. + +"No--no--no!" my friend emphatically dissented,--"he never could have +known it! He only _felt_ it!... Find me an instinct like that, and I +will show you a brain incapable of any knowledge, any thinking, any +understanding: not the mind of a man, but the brain of a beast!" + + + + +A LETTER FROM JAPAN + + +Tokyo, August 1, 1904. + +Here, in this quiet suburb, where the green peace is broken only by +the voices of children at play and the shrilling of cicad[ae], it is +difficult to imagine that, a few hundred miles away, there is being +carried on one of the most tremendous wars of modern times, between +armies aggregating more than half a million of men, or that, on the +intervening sea, a hundred ships of war have been battling. This +contest, between the mightiest of Western powers and a people that +began to study Western science only within the recollection of many +persons still in vigorous life, is, on one side at least, a struggle +for national existence. It was inevitable, this struggle,--might +perhaps have been delayed, but certainly not averted. Japan has +boldly challenged an empire capable of threatening simultaneously the +civilizations of the East and the West,--a medi[ae]val power that, +unless vigorously checked, seems destined to absorb Scandinavia and +to dominate China. For all industrial civilization the contest is one +of vast moment;--for Japan it is probably the supreme crisis in her +national life. As to what her fleets and her armies have been doing, +the world is fully informed; but as to what her people are doing at +home, little has been written. + +To inexperienced observation they would appear to be doing nothing +unusual; and this strange calm is worthy of record. At the +beginning of hostilities an Imperial mandate was issued, bidding all +non-combatants to pursue their avocations as usual, and to trouble +themselves as little as possible about exterior events;--and this +command has been obeyed to the letter. It would be natural to suppose +that all the sacrifices, tragedies, and uncertainties of the contest +had thrown their gloom over the life of the capital in especial; but +there is really nothing whatever to indicate a condition of anxiety or +depression. On the contrary, one is astonished by the joyous tone of +public confidence, and the admirably restrained pride of the nation +in its victories. Western tides have strewn the coast with Japanese +corpses; regiments have been blown out of existence in the storming of +positions defended by wire-entanglements; battleships have been lost: +yet at no moment has there been the least public excitement. The +people are following their daily occupations just as they did before +the war; the cheery aspect of things is just the same; the theatres +and flower displays are not less well patronized. The life of +T[=o]ky[=o] has been, to outward seeming, hardly more affected by the +events of the war than the life of nature beyond it, where the flowers +are blooming and the butterflies hovering as in other summers. Except +after the news of some great victory,--celebrated with fireworks and +lantern processions,--there are no signs of public emotion; and but +for the frequent distribution of newspaper extras, by runners ringing +bells, you could almost persuade yourself that the whole story of the +war is an evil dream. + +Yet there has been, of necessity, a vast amount of suffering--viewless +and voiceless suffering--repressed by that sense of social and +patriotic duty which is Japanese religion. As a seventeen-syllable +poem of the hour tells us, the news of every victory must bring pain +as well as joy:-- + + G[=o]gwai no + Tabi teki mikata + Gok['e] ga fu[`e]. + + [_Each time that an extra is circulated the widows of foes and + friends have increased in multitude._] + +The great quiet and the smiling tearlessness testify to the more than +Spartan discipline of the race. Anciently the people were trained, not +only to conceal their emotions, but to speak in a cheerful voice and +to show a pleasant face under any stress of moral suffering; and they +are obedient to that teaching to-day. It would still be thought a +shame to betray personal sorrow for the loss of those who die for +Emperor and fatherland. The public seem to view the events of the war +as they would watch the scenes of a popular play. They are interested +without being excited; and their extraordinary self-control is +particularly shown in various manifestations of the "Play-impulse." +Everywhere the theatres are producing war dramas (based upon actual +fact); the newspapers and magazines are publishing war stories and +novels; the cinematograph exhibits the monstrous methods of modern +warfare; and numberless industries are turning out objects of art or +utility designed to commemorate the Japanese triumphs. + +But the present psychological condition, the cheerful and even playful +tone of public feeling, can be indicated less by any general statement +than by the mention of ordinary facts,--every-day matters recorded in +the writer's diary. + + * * * * * + +Never before were the photographers so busy; it is said that they +have not been able to fulfill half of the demands made upon them. +The hundreds of thousands of men sent to the war wished to leave +photographs with their families, and also to take with them portraits +of parents, children, and other beloved persons. The nation was being +photographed during the past six months. + +A fact of sociological interest is that photography has added +something new to the poetry of the domestic faith. From the time of +its first introduction, photography became popular in Japan; and none +of those superstitions, which inspire fear of the camera among less +civilized races, offered any obstacle to the rapid development of a +new industry. It is true that there exists some queer-folk beliefs +about photographs,--ideas of mysterious relation between the +sun-picture and the person imaged. For example: if, in the photograph +of a group, one figure appear indistinct or blurred, that is thought +to be an omen of sickness or death. But this superstition has its +industrial value: it has compelled photographers to be careful about +their work,--especially in these days of war, when everybody wants to +have a good clear portrait, because the portrait might be needed for +another purpose than preservation in an album. + +During the last twenty years there has gradually come into existence +the custom of placing the photograph of a dead parent, brother, +husband, or child, beside the mortuary tablet kept in the Buddhist +household shrine. For this reason, also, the departing soldier wishes +to leave at home a good likeness of himself. + +The rites of domestic affection, in old samurai families, are not +confined to the cult of the dead. On certain occasions, the picture +of the absent parent, husband, brother, or betrothed, is placed in +the alcove of the guest-room, and a feast laid out before it. The +photograph, in such cases, is fixed upon a little stand (_dai_); and +the feast is served as if the person were present. This pretty custom +of preparing a meal for the absent is probably more ancient than any +art of portraiture; but the modern photograph adds to the human poetry +of the rite. In feudal time it was the rule to set the repast facing +the direction in which the absent person had gone--north, south, east, +or west. After a brief interval the covers of the vessels containing +the cooked food were lifted and examined. If the lacquered inner +surface was thickly beaded with vapor, all was well; but if +the surface was dry, that was an omen of death, a sign that the +disembodied spirit had returned to absorb the essence of the +offerings. + + * * * * * + +As might have been expected, in a country where the "play-impulse" is +stronger, perhaps, than in any other part of the world, the Zeitgeist +found manifestation in the flower displays of the year. I visited +those in my neighborhood, which is the Quarter of the Gardeners. This +quarter is famous for its azaleas (_tsutsuji_); and every spring +the azalea gardens attract thousands of visitors,--not only by the +wonderful exhibition then made of shrubs which look like solid masses +of blossom (ranging up from snowy white, through all shades of pink, +to a flamboyant purple) but also by displays of effigies: groups +of figures ingeniously formed with living leaves and flowers. These +figures, life-size, usually represent famous incidents of history or +drama. In many cases--though not in all--the bodies and the costumes +are composed of foliage and flowers trained to grow about a framework; +while the faces, feet, and hands are represented by some kind of +flesh-colored composition. + +This year, however, a majority of the displays represented scenes +of the war,--such as an engagement between Japanese infantry and +mounted Cossacks, a night attack by torpedo boats, the sinking of +a battleship. In the last-mentioned display, Russian bluejackets +appeared, swimming for their lives in a rough sea;--the pasteboard +waves and the swimming figures being made to rise and fall by the +pulling of a string; while the crackling of quick-firing guns was +imitated by a mechanism contrived with sheets of zinc. + +It is said that Admiral T[=o]g[=o] sent to T[=o]ky[=o] for some +flowering-trees in pots--inasmuch as his responsibilities allowed him +no chance of seeing the cherry-flowers and the plum-blossoms in their +season,--and that the gardeners responded even too generously. + + * * * * * + +Almost immediately after the beginning of hostilities, thousands of +"war pictures"--mostly cheap lithographs--were published. The drawing +and coloring were better than those of the prints issued at the +time of the war with China; but the details were to a great extent +imaginary,--altogether imaginary as to the appearance of Russian +troops. Pictures of the engagements with the Russian fleet were +effective, despite some lurid exaggeration. The most startling things +were pictures of Russian defeats in Korea, published before a single +military engagement had taken place;--the artist had "flushed to +anticipate the scene." In these prints the Russians were depicted +as fleeing in utter rout, leaving their officers--very fine-looking +officers--dead upon the field; while the Japanese infantry, with +dreadfully determined faces, were coming up at a double. The propriety +and the wisdom of thus pictorially predicting victory, and easy +victory to boot, may be questioned. But I am told that the custom of +so doing is an old one; and it is thought that to realize the common +hope thus imaginatively is lucky. At all events, there is no attempt +at deception in these pictorial undertakings;--they help to keep up +the public courage, and they ought to be pleasing to the gods. + +Some of the earlier pictures have now been realized in grim fact. +The victories in China had been similarly foreshadowed: they amply +justified the faith of the artist.... To-day the war pictures continue +to multiply; but they have changed character. The inexorable truth +of the photograph, and the sketches of the war correspondent, now +bring all the vividness and violence of fact to help the artist's +imagination. There was something na[:i]ve and theatrical in the +drawings of anticipation; but the pictures of the hour represent the +most tragic reality,--always becoming more terrible. At this writing, +Japan has yet lost no single battle; but not a few of her victories +have been dearly won. + +To enumerate even a tenth of the various articles ornamented with +designs inspired by the war--articles such as combs, clasps, fans, +brooches, card-cases, purses--would require a volume. Even cakes and +confectionery are stamped with naval or military designs; and the +glass or paper windows of shops--not to mention the signboards--have +pictures of Japanese victories painted upon them. At night the shop +lanterns proclaim the pride of the nation in its fleets and armies; +and a whole chapter might easily be written about the new designs in +transparencies and toy lanterns. A new revolving lantern--turned by +the air-current which its own flame creates--has become very popular. +It represents a charge of Japanese infantry upon Russian defenses; +and holes pierced in the colored paper, so as to produce a continuous +vivid flashing while the transparency revolves, suggest the exploding +of shells and the volleying of machine guns. + +Some displays of the art-impulse, as inspired by the war, have been +made in directions entirely unfamiliar to Western experience,--in +the manufacture, for example, of women's hair ornaments and dress +materials. Dress goods decorated with war pictures have actually +become a fashion,--especially cr[^e]pe silks for underwear, and +figured silk linings for cloaks and sleeves. More remarkable +than these are the new hairpins;--by hairpins I mean those long +double-pronged ornaments of flexible metal which are called +_kanzashi_, and are more or less ornamented according to the age +of the wearer. (The _kanzashi_ made for young girls are highly +decorative; those worn by older folk are plain, or adorned only with +a ball of coral or polished stone.) The new hairpins might be called +commemorative: one, of which the decoration represents a British and +a Japanese flag intercrossed, celebrates the Anglo-Japanese alliance; +another represents an officer's cap and sword; and the best of all is +surmounted by a tiny metal model of a battleship. The battleship-pin +is not merely fantastic: it is actually pretty! + +As might have been expected, military and naval subjects occupy a +large place among the year's designs for toweling. The towel designs +celebrating naval victories have been particularly successful: they +are mostly in white, on a blue ground; or in black, on a white ground. +One of the best--blue and white--represented only a flock of gulls +wheeling about the masthead of a sunken iron-clad, and, far away, the +silhouettes of Japanese battleships passing to the horizon.... What +especially struck me in this, and in several other designs, was the +original manner in which the Japanese artist had seized upon the +traits of the modern battleship,--the powerful and sinister lines of +its shape,--just as he would have caught for us the typical character +of a beetle or a lobster. The lines have been just enough exaggerated +to convey, at one glance, the real impression made by the aspect of +these iron monsters,--vague impression of bulk and force and menace, +very difficult to express by ordinary methods of drawing. + +Besides towels decorated with artistic sketches of this sort, there +have been placed upon the market many kinds of towels bearing comic +war pictures,--caricatures or cartoons which are amusing without being +malignant. It will be remembered that at the time of the first attack +made upon the Port Arthur squadron, several of the Russian officers +were in the Dalny theatre,--never dreaming that the Japanese would +dare to strike the first blow. This incident has been made the subject +of a towel design. At one end of the towel is a comic study of the +faces of the Russians, delightedly watching the gyrations of a +ballet dancer. At the other end is a study of the faces of the same +commanders when they find, on returning to the port, only the masts +of their battleships above water. Another towel shows a procession +of fish in front of a surgeon's office--waiting their turns to be +relieved of sundry bayonets, swords, revolvers, and rifles, which have +stuck in their throats. A third towel picture represents a Russian +diver examining, with a prodigious magnifying-glass, the holes made by +torpedoes in the hull of a sunken cruiser. Comic verses or legends, in +cursive text, are printed beside these pictures. + +The great house of Mitsui, which placed the best of these designs on +the market, also produced some beautiful souvenirs of the war, in +the shape of _fukusa_. (A _fukusa_ is an ornamental silk covering, +or wrapper, put over presents sent to friends on certain occasions, +and returned after the present has been received.) These are made of +the heaviest and costliest silk, and inclosed within appropriately +decorated covers. Upon one _fukusa_ is a colored picture of the +cruisers Nisshin and Kasuga, under full steam; and upon another has +been printed, in beautiful Chinese characters, the full text of the +Imperial Declaration of war. + +But the strangest things that I have seen in this line of production +were silk dresses for baby girls,--figured stuffs which, when looked +at from a little distance, appeared incomparably pretty, owing to the +masterly juxtaposition of tints and colors. On closer inspection the +charming design proved to be composed entirely of war pictures,--or, +rather, fragments of pictures, blended into one astonishing +combination: naval battles; burning warships; submarine mines +exploding; torpedo boats attacking; charges of Cossacks repulsed by +Japanese infantry; artillery rushing into position; storming of forts; +long lines of soldiery advancing through mist. Here were colors of +blood and fire, tints of morning haze and evening glow, noon-blue +and starred night-purple, sea-gray and field-green,--most wonderful +thing!... I suppose that the child of a military or naval officer +might, without impropriety, be clad in such a robe. But then--the +unspeakable pity of things! + + * * * * * + +The war toys are innumerable: I can attempt to mention only a few of +the more remarkable kinds. + +Japanese children play many sorts of card games, some of which are +old, others quite new. There are poetical card games, for example, +played with a pack of which each card bears the text of a poem, or +part of a poem; and the player should be able to remember the name of +the author of any quotation in the set. Then there are geographical +card games, in which each of the cards used bears the name, and +perhaps a little picture, of some famous site, town, or temple; and +the player should be able to remember the district and province in +which the mentioned place is situated. The latest novelty in this line +is a pack of cards with pictures upon them of the Russian war vessels; +and the player should be able to state what has become of every vessel +named,--whether sunk, disabled, or confined in Port Arthur. + +There is another card game in which the battleships, cruisers, and +torpedo craft of both Japan and Russia are represented. The winner in +this game destroys his "captures" by tearing the cards taken. But the +shops keep packages of each class of warship cards in stock; and when +all the destroyers or cruisers of one country have been put _hors +de combat_, the defeated party can purchase new vessels abroad. One +torpedo boat costs about one farthing; but five torpedo boats can be +bought for a penny. + +The toy-shops are crammed with models of battleships,--in wood, clay, +porcelain, lead, and tin,--of many sizes and prices. Some of the +larger ones, moved by clockwork, are named after Japanese battleships: +Shikishima, Fuji, Mikasa. One mechanical toy represents the sinking of +a Russian vessel by a Japanese torpedo boat. Among cheaper things of +this class is a box of colored sand, for the representation of naval +engagements. Children arrange the sand so as to resemble waves; and +with each box of sand are sold two fleets of tiny leaden vessels. The +Japanese ships are white, and the Russian black; and explosions of +torpedoes are to be figured by small cuttings of vermilion paper, +planted in the sand. + + * * * * * + +The children of the poorest classes make their own war toys; and I +have been wondering whether those ancient feudal laws (translated +by Professor Wigmore), which fixed the cost and quality of toys to +be given to children, did not help to develop that ingenuity which +the little folk display. Recently I saw a group of children in +our neighborhood playing at the siege of Port Arthur, with fleets +improvised out of scraps of wood and some rusty nails. A tub of water +represented Port Arthur. Battleships were figured by bits of plank, +into which chop-sticks had been fixed to represent masts, and rolls of +paper to represent funnels. Little flags, appropriately colored, were +fastened to the masts with rice paste. Torpedo boats were imaged by +splinters, into each of which a short thick nail had been planted to +indicate a smokestack. Stationary submarine mines were represented +by small squares of wood, each having one long nail driven into it; +and these little things, when dropped into water with the nail-head +downwards, would keep up a curious bobbing motion for a long time. +Other squares of wood, having clusters of short nails driven into +them, represented floating mines: and the mimic battleships were made +to drag for these, with lines of thread. The pictures in the Japanese +papers had doubtless helped the children to imagine the events of the +war with tolerable accuracy. + +Naval caps for children have become, of course, more in vogue than +ever before. Some of the caps bear, in Chinese characters of burnished +metal, the name of a battleship, or the words _Nippon Teikoku_ +(Empire of Japan),--disposed like the characters upon the cap of a +blue-jacket. On some caps, however, the ship's name appears in English +letters,--Yashima, Fuji, etc. + + * * * * * + +The play-impulse, I had almost forgotten to say, is shared by the +soldiers themselves,--though most of those called to the front do not +expect to return in the body. They ask only to be remembered at the +Spirit-Invoking Shrine (_Sh[=o]konsha_), where the shades of all +who die for Emperor and country are believed to gather. The men of +the regiments temporarily quartered in our suburb, on their way to +the war, found time to play at mimic war with the small folk of +the neighborhood. (At all times Japanese soldiers are very kind +to children; and the children here march with them, join in their +military songs, and correctly salute their officers, feeling sure +that the gravest officer will return the salute of a little child.) +When the last regiment went away, the men distributed toys among +the children assembled at the station to give them a parting +cheer,--hairpins, with military symbols for ornament, to the girls; +wooden infantry and tin cavalry to the boys. The oddest present was +a small clay model of a Russian soldier's head, presented with the +jocose promise: "If we come back, we shall bring you some real ones." +In the top of the head there is a small wire loop, to which a rubber +string can be attached. At the time of the war with China, little clay +models of Chinese heads, with very long queues, were favorite toys. + + * * * * * + +The war has also suggested a variety of new designs for that charming +object, the _toko-niwa_. Few of my readers know what a _toko-niwa_, or +"alcove-garden," is. It is a miniature garden--perhaps less than two +feet square--contrived within an ornamental shallow basin of porcelain +or other material, and placed in the alcove of a guest-room by way +of decoration. You may see there a tiny pond; a streamlet crossed by +humped bridges of Chinese pattern; dwarf trees forming a grove, and +shading the model of a Shinto temple; imitations in baked clay of +stone lanterns,--perhaps even the appearance of a hamlet of thatched +cottages. If the _toko-niwa_ be not too small, you may see real fish +swimming in the pond, or a pet tortoise crawling among the rockwork. +Sometimes the miniature garden represents H[=o]rai, and the palace of +the Dragon-King. + +Two new varieties have come into fashion. One is a model of Port +Arthur, showing the harbor and the forts; and with the materials for +the display there is sold a little map, showing how to place certain +tiny battle-ships, representing the imprisoned and the investing +fleets. The other _toko-niwa_ represents a Korean or Chinese +landscape, with hill ranges and rivers and woods; and the appearance +of a battle is created by masses of toy soldiers--cavalry, infantry, +and artillery--in all positions of attack and defense. Minute forts of +baked clay, bristling with cannon about the size of small pins, occupy +elevated positions. When properly arranged the effect is panoramic. +The soldiers in the foreground are about an inch long; those a little +farther away about half as long; and those upon the hills are no +larger than flies. + +But the most remarkable novelty of this sort yet produced is a kind +of _toko-niwa_ recently on display at a famous shop in Ginza. A label +bearing the inscription, _Ka[:i]-t['e][:i] no Ikken_ (View of the +Ocean-Bed) sufficiently explained the design. The _su[:i]bon_, or +"water-tray," containing the display was half filled with rocks +and sand so as to resemble a sea-bottom; and little fishes appeared +swarming in the fore-ground. A little farther back, upon an elevation, +stood Otohim['e], the Dragon-King's daughter, surrounded by her maiden +attendants, and gazing, with just the shadow of a smile, at two men in +naval uniform who were shaking hands,--dead heroes of the war: Admiral +Makaroff and Commander Hiros['e]!... These had esteemed each other +in life; and it was a happy thought thus to represent their friendly +meeting in the world of Spirits. + + * * * * * + +Though his name is perhaps unfamiliar to English readers, Commander +Takeo Hiros['e] has become, deservedly, one of Japan's national +heroes. On the 27th of March, during the second attempt made to block +the entrance to Port Arthur, he was killed while endeavoring to help +a comrade,--a comrade who had formerly saved him from death. For five +years Hiros['e] had been a naval attach['e] at St. Petersburg, and had +made many friends in Russian naval and military circles. From boyhood +his life had been devoted to study and duty; and it was commonly said +of him that he had no particle of selfishness in his nature. Unlike +most of his brother officers, he remained unmarried,--holding that +no man who might be called on at any moment to lay down his life for +his country had a moral right to marry. The only amusements in which +he was ever known to indulge were physical exercises; and he was +acknowledged one of the best _j[=u]jutsu_ (wrestlers) in the empire. +The heroism of his death, at the age of thirty-six, had much less to +do with the honors paid to his memory than the self-denying heroism of +his life. + +Now his picture is in thousands of homes, and his name is celebrated +in every village. It is celebrated also by the manufacture of +various souvenirs, which are sold by myriads. For example, there +is a new fashion in sleeve-buttons, called _Kinen-botan_, or +"Commemoration-buttons." Each button bears a miniature portrait of +the commander, with the inscription, _Shichi-sh[=o] h[=o]koku_, "Even +in seven successive lives--for love of country." It is recorded that +Hiros['e] often cited, to friends who criticised his ascetic devotion +to duty, the famous utterance of Kusunoki Masashig['e], who declared, +ere laying down his life for the Emperor Go-Daigo, that he desired to +die for his sovereign in seven successive existences. + +But the highest honor paid to the memory of Hiros['e] is of a sort now +possible only in the East, though once possible also in the West, when +the Greek or Roman patriot-hero might be raised, by the common love of +his people, to the place of the Immortals.... Wine-cups of porcelain +have been made, decorated with his portrait; and beneath the portrait +appears, in ideographs of gold, the inscription, _Gunshin Hiros['e] +Ch[=u]sa_. The character "gun" signifies war; the character "_shin_" +a god,--either in the sense of _divus_ or _deus_, according to +circumstances; and the Chinese text, read in the Japanese way, is +_Ikusa no Kami_. Whether that stern and valiant spirit is really +invoked by the millions who believe that no brave soul is doomed to +extinction, no well-spent life laid down in vain, no heroism cast +away, I do not know. But, in any event, human affection and gratitude +can go no farther than this; and it must be confessed that Old Japan +is still able to confer honors worth dying for. + + * * * * * + +Boys and girls in all the children's schools are now singing the Song +of Hiros['e] Ch[=u]sa, which is a marching song. The words and the +music are published in a little booklet, with a portrait of the late +commander upon the cover. Everywhere, and at all hours of the day, one +hears this song being sung:-- + + _He whose every word and deed gave to men an example of what + the war-folk of the_ _Empire of Nippon should be,--Commander + Hiros['e]: is he really dead?_ + + _Though the body die, the spirit dies not. He who wished + to be reborn seven times into this world, for the sake of + serving his country, for the sake of requiting the Imperial + favor,--Commander Hiros['e]: has he really died?_ + + _"Since I am a son of the Country of the Gods, the fire of the + evil-hearted Russians cannot touch me!"--The sturdy Takeo who + spoke thus: can he really be dead?..._ + + _Nay! that glorious war-death meant undying fame;--beyond a + thousand years the valiant heart shall live;--as to a god of + war shall reverence be paid to him...._ + + * * * * * + +Observing the playful confidence of this wonderful people in their +struggle for existence against the mightiest power of the West,--their +perfect trust in the wisdom of their leaders and the valor of their +armies,--the good humor of their irony when mocking the enemy's +blunders,--their strange capacity to find, in the world-stirring +events of the hour, the same amusement that they would find in +watching a melodrama,--one is tempted to ask: "What would be the +moral consequence of a national defeat?"... It would depend, I think, +upon circumstances. Were Kuropatkin able to fulfill his rash threat +of invading Japan, the nation would probably rise as one man. But +otherwise the knowledge of any great disaster would be bravely borne. +From time unknown Japan has been a land of cataclysms,--earth-quakes +that ruin cities in the space of a moment; tidal waves, two hundred +miles long, sweeping whole coast populations out of existence; floods +submerging hundreds of leagues of well-tilled fields; eruptions +burying provinces. Calamities like this have disciplined the race in +resignation and in patience; and it has been well trained also to bear +with courage all the misfortunes of war. Even by the foreign peoples +that have been most closely in contact with her, the capacities of +Japan remained unguessed. Perhaps her power to resist aggression is +far surpassed by her power to endure. + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Romance of the Milky Way, by Lafcadio Hearn + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANCE OF THE MILKY WAY *** + +***** This file should be named 15320.txt or 15320.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/5/3/2/15320/ + +Produced by Ted Garvin, William Flis, and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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