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diff --git a/34215-8.txt b/34215-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5fa20c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/34215-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6523 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Shadowings, 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: Shadowings + +Author: Lafcadio Hearn + +Release Date: November 5, 2010 [EBook #34215] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHADOWINGS *** + + + + +Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Ernest Schaal, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + SHADOWINGS + + BY LAFCADIO HEARN + LECTURER ON ENGLISH LITERATURE IN + THE IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY, TÔKYÔ, JAPAN + + _AUTHOR OF_ "EXOTICS AND RETROSPECTIVES," + "IN GHOSTLY JAPAN," ETC., ETC. + + + [Decoration] + + + BOSTON + LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY + 1919 + + + + + _Copyright, 1900_, + BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY + + _All rights reserved_ + + + Printers + S. J. PARKHILL & CO. BOSTON, U. S. A. + + + + + Contents + + + STORIES FROM STRANGE BOOKS: + + I. THE RECONCILIATION 5 + + II. A LEGEND OF FUGEN-BOSATSU 15 + + III. THE SCREEN-MAIDEN 23 + + IV. THE CORPSE-RIDER 33 + + V. THE SYMPATHY OF BENTEN 41 + + VI. THE GRATITUDE OF THE SAMÉBITO 57 + + JAPANESE STUDIES: + + I. SÉMI 71 + + II. JAPANESE FEMALE NAMES 105 + + III. OLD JAPANESE SONGS 157 + + FANTASIES: + + I. NOCTILUCÆ 197 + + II. A MYSTERY OF CROWDS 203 + + III. GOTHIC HORROR 213 + + IV. LEVITATION 225 + + V. NIGHTMARE-TOUCH 235 + + VI. READINGS FROM A DREAM-BOOK 249 + + VII. IN A PAIR OF EYES 265 + + + + + Illustrations + + + _Facing page_ + + PLATE I 72 + 1-2, _Young Sémi._ + 3-4, _Haru-Zémi_, also called _Nawashiro-Zémi_. + + PLATE II 76 + "_Shinné-Shinné_" also called _Yama-Zémi_, and + _Kuma-Zémi_. + + PLATE III 80 + _Aburazémi._ + + PLATE IV 84 + 1-2, _Mugikari-Zémi_, also called _Goshiki-Zémi_. + 3, _Higurashi_. + 4, "_Min-Min-Zémi_." + + PLATE V 88 + 1, "_Tsuku-tsuku-Bôshi_," also called + "_Kutsu-kutsu-Bôshi_," etc. (_Cosmopsaltria + Opalifera?_) + 2, _Tsurigané-Zémi_. + 3, _The Phantom_. + + + + +STORIES FROM STRANGE BOOKS + + Il avait vu brûler d'étranges pierres, + Jadis, dans les brasiers de la pensée ... + + ÉMILE VERHAEREN + + + + + The Reconciliation[1] + + [Decoration] + + [1] The original story is to be found in the curious volume + entitled _Konséki-Monogatari_ + +THERE was a young Samurai of Kyôto who had been reduced to poverty by +the ruin of his lord, and found himself obliged to leave his home, and +to take service with the Governor of a distant province. Before quitting +the capital, this Samurai divorced his wife,--a good and beautiful +woman,--under the belief that he could better obtain promotion by +another alliance. He then married the daughter of a family of some +distinction, and took her with him to the district whither he had been +called. + + * * * * * + +But it was in the time of the thoughtlessness of youth, and the sharp +experience of want, that the Samurai could not understand the worth of +the affection so lightly cast away. His second marriage did not prove a +happy one; the character of his new wife was hard and selfish; and he +soon found every cause to think with regret of Kyôto days. Then he +discovered that he still loved his first wife--loved her more than he +could ever love the second; and he began to feel how unjust and how +thankless he had been. Gradually his repentance deepened into a remorse +that left him no peace of mind. Memories of the woman he had +wronged--her gentle speech, her smiles, her dainty, pretty ways, her +faultless patience--continually haunted him. Sometimes in dreams he saw +her at her loom, weaving as when she toiled night and day to help him +during the years of their distress: more often he saw her kneeling alone +in the desolate little room where he had left her, veiling her tears +with her poor worn sleeve. Even in the hours of official duty, his +thoughts would wander back to her: then he would ask himself how she was +living, what she was doing. Something in his heart assured him that she +could not accept another husband, and that she never would refuse to +pardon him. And he secretly resolved to seek her out as soon as he could +return to Kyôto,--then to beg her forgiveness, to take her back, to do +everything that a man could do to make atonement. But the years went +by. + +At last the Governor's official term expired, and the Samurai was free. +"Now I will go back to my dear one," he vowed to himself. "Ah, what a +cruelty,--what a folly to have divorced her!" He sent his second wife to +her own people (she had given him no children); and hurrying to Kyôto, +he went at once to seek his former companion,--not allowing himself even +the time to change his travelling-garb. + + * * * * * + +When he reached the street where she used to live, it was late in the +night,--the night of the tenth day of the ninth month;--and the city was +silent as a cemetery. But a bright moon made everything visible; and he +found the house without difficulty. It had a deserted look: tall weeds +were growing on the roof. He knocked at the sliding-doors, and no one +answered. Then, finding that the doors had not been fastened from +within, he pushed them open, and entered. The front room was matless and +empty: a chilly wind was blowing through crevices in the planking; and +the moon shone through a ragged break in the wall of the alcove. Other +rooms presented a like forlorn condition. The house, to all seeming, was +unoccupied. Nevertheless, the Samurai determined to visit one other +apartment at the further end of the dwelling,--a very small room that +had been his wife's favorite resting-place. Approaching the +sliding-screen that closed it, he was startled to perceive a glow +within. He pushed the screen aside, and uttered a cry of joy; for he saw +her there,--sewing by the light of a paper-lamp. Her eyes at the same +instant met his own; and with a happy smile she greeted him,--asking +only:--"When did you come back to Kyôto? How did you find your way here +to me, through all those black rooms?" The years had not changed her. +Still she seemed as fair and young as in his fondest memory of her;--but +sweeter than any memory there came to him the music of her voice, with +its trembling of pleased wonder. + +Then joyfully he took his place beside her, and told her all:--how +deeply he repented his selfishness,--how wretched he had been without +her,--how constantly he had regretted her,--how long he had hoped and +planned to make amends;--caressing her the while, and asking her +forgiveness over and over again. She answered him, with loving +gentleness, according to his heart's desire,--entreating him to cease +all self-reproach. It was wrong, she said, that he should have allowed +himself to suffer on her account: she had always felt that she was not +worthy to be his wife. She knew that he had separated from her, +notwithstanding, only because of poverty; and while he lived with her, +he had always been kind; and she had never ceased to pray for his +happiness. But even if there had been a reason for speaking of amends, +this honorable visit would be ample amends;--what greater happiness than +thus to see him again, though it were only for a moment? "Only for a +moment!" he answered, with a glad laugh,--"say, rather, for the time of +seven existences! My loved one, unless you forbid, I am coming back to +live with you always--always--always! Nothing shall ever separate us +again. Now I have means and friends: we need not fear poverty. To-morrow +my goods will be brought here; and my servants will come to wait upon +you; and we shall make this house beautiful.... To-night," he added, +apologetically, "I came thus late--without even changing my dress--only +because of the longing I had to see you, and to tell you this." She +seemed greatly pleased by these words; and in her turn she told him +about all that had happened in Kyôto since the time of his +departure,--excepting her own sorrows, of which she sweetly refused to +speak. They chatted far into the night: then she conducted him to a +warmer room, facing south,--a room that had been their bridal chamber in +former time. "Have you no one in the house to help you?" he asked, as +she began to prepare the couch for him. "No," she answered, laughing +cheerfully: "I could not afford a servant;--so I have been living all +alone." "You will have plenty of servants to-morrow," he said,--"good +servants,--and everything else that you need." They lay down to +rest,--not to sleep: they had too much to tell each other;--and they +talked of the past and the present and the future, until the dawn was +grey. Then, involuntarily, the Samurai closed his eyes, and slept. + + * * * * * + +When he awoke, the daylight was streaming through the chinks of the +sliding-shutters; and he found himself, to his utter amazement, lying +upon the naked boards of a mouldering floor.... Had he only dreamed a +dream? No: she was there;--she slept.... He bent above her,--and +looked,--and shrieked;--for the sleeper had no face!... Before him, +wrapped in its grave-sheet only, lay the corpse of a woman,--a corpse so +wasted that little remained save the bones, and the long black tangled +hair. + + * * * * * + +Slowly,--as he stood shuddering and sickening in the sun,--the icy +horror yielded to a despair so intolerable, a pain so atrocious, that he +clutched at the mocking shadow of a doubt. Feigning ignorance of the +neighborhood, he ventured to ask his way to the house in which his wife +had lived. + +"There is no one in that house," said the person questioned. "It used to +belong to the wife of a Samurai who left the city several years ago. He +divorced her in order to marry another woman before he went away; and +she fretted a great deal, and so became sick. She had no relatives in +Kyôto, and nobody to care for her; and she died in the autumn of the +same year,--on the tenth day of the ninth month...." + + + + + A Legend of Fugen-Bosatsu[2] + + [Decoration] + + [2] From the old story-book, _Jikkun-shô_ + + +THERE was once a very pious and learned priest, called Shôku Shônin, who +lived in the province of Harima. For many years he meditated daily upon +the chapter of Fugen-Bosatsu [the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra] in the +Sûtra of the Lotos of the Good Law; and he used to pray, every morning +and evening, that he might at some time be permitted to behold +Fugen-Bosatsu as a living presence, and in the form described in the +holy text.[3] + + [3] The priest's desire was probably inspired by the promises + recorded in the chapter entitled "The Encouragement of + Samantabhadra" (see Kern's translation of the Saddharma + Pundarîka in the _Sacred Books of the East_,--pp. + 433-434):--"Then the Bodhisattva Mahâsattva Samantabhadra + said to the Lord: ... 'When a preacher who applies himself + to this Dharmaparyâya shall take a walk, then, O Lord, will + I mount a white elephant with six tusks, and betake myself + to the place where that preacher is walking, in order to + protect this Dharmaparyâya. And when that preacher, applying + himself to this Dharmaparyâya, forgets, be it but a single + word or syllable, then will I mount the white elephant with + six tusks, and show my face to that preacher, and repeat + this entire Dharmaparyâya."--But these promises refer to + "the end of time." + +One evening, while he was reciting the Sûtra, drowsiness overcame him; +and he fell asleep leaning upon his _kyôsoku_.[4] Then he dreamed; and +in his dream a voice told him that, in order to see Fugen-Bosatsu, +he must go to the house of a certain courtesan, known as the +"Yujô-no-Chôja,"[5] who lived in the town of Kanzaki. Immediately upon +awakening he resolved to go to Kanzaki;--and, making all possible haste, +he reached the town by the evening of the next day. + + [4] The _Kyôsoku_ is a kind of padded arm-rest, or arm-stool, + upon which the priest leans one arm while reading. The use + of such an arm-rest is not confined, however, to the + Buddhist clergy. + + [5] A yujô, in old days, was a singing-girl as well as a + courtesan. The term "Yujô-no-Chôja," in this case, would + mean simply "the first (or best) of yujô." + +When he entered the house of the _yujô_, he found many persons already +there assembled--mostly young men of the capital, who had been attracted +to Kanzaki by the fame of the woman's beauty. They were feasting and +drinking; and the _yujô_ was playing a small hand-drum (_tsuzumi_), +which she used very skilfully, and singing a song. The song which she +sang was an old Japanese song about a famous shrine in the town of +Murozumi; and the words were these:-- + + _Within the sacred water-tank[6] of Murozumi in Suwô, + Even though no wind be blowing, + The surface of the water is always rippling._ + + [6] _Mitarai_. _Mitarai_ (or _mitarashi_) is the name + especially given to the water-tanks, or water-fonts--of + stone or bronze--placed before Shintô shrines in order + that the worshipper may purify his lips and hands before + making prayer. Buddhist tanks are not so named. + +The sweetness of the voice filled everybody with surprise and delight. +As the priest, who had taken a place apart, listened and wondered, the +girl suddenly fixed her eyes upon him; and in the same instant he saw +her form change into the form of Fugen-Bosatsu, emitting from her brow a +beam of light that seemed to pierce beyond the limits of the universe, +and riding a snow-white elephant with six tusks. And still she sang--but +the song also was now transformed; and the words came thus to the ears +of the priest:-- + + _On the Vast Sea of Cessation, + Though the Winds of the Six Desires and of the Five Corruptions + never blow, + Yet the surface of that deep is always covered + With the billowings of Attainment to the Reality-in-Itself._ + +Dazzled by the divine ray, the priest closed his eyes: but through their +lids he still distinctly saw the vision. When he opened them again, it +was gone: he saw only the girl with her hand-drum, and heard only the +song about the water of Murozumi. But he found that as often as he shut +his eyes he could see Fugen-Bosatsu on the six-tusked elephant, and +could hear the mystic Song of the Sea of Cessation. The other persons +present saw only the _yujô_: they had not beheld the manifestation. + +Then the singer suddenly disappeared from the banquet-room--none could +say when or how. From that moment the revelry ceased; and gloom took +the place of joy. After having waited and sought for the girl to no +purpose, the company dispersed in great sorrow. Last of all, the priest +departed, bewildered by the emotions of the evening. But scarcely had +he passed beyond the gate, when the _yujô_ appeared before him, and +said:--"Friend, do not speak yet to any one of what you have seen this +night." And with these words she vanished away,--leaving the air filled +with a delicious fragrance. + + * * * * * + +The monk by whom the foregoing legend was recorded, comments upon it +thus:--The condition of a _yujô_ is low and miserable, since she is +condemned to serve the lusts of men. Who therefore could imagine +that such a woman might be the _nirmanakaya_, or incarnation, of a +Bodhisattva. But we must remember that the Buddhas and the Bodhisattvas +may appear in this world in countless different forms; choosing, +for the purpose of their divine compassion, even the most humble or +contemptible shapes when such shapes can serve them to lead men into +the true path, and to save them from the perils of illusion. + + + + + The Screen-Maiden[7] + + [Decoration] + + [7] Related in the _Otogi-Hyaku-Monogatari_ + + +SAYS the old Japanese author, Hakubai-En Rosui:--[8] + +"In Chinese and in Japanese books there are related many stories,--both +of ancient and of modern times,--about pictures that were so beautiful +as to exercise a magical influence upon the beholder. And concerning +such beautiful pictures,--whether pictures of flowers or of birds or of +people, painted by famous artists,--it is further told that the shapes +of the creatures or the persons, therein depicted, would separate +themselves from the paper or the silk upon which they had been painted, +and would perform various acts;--so that they became, by their own will, +really alive. We shall not now repeat any of the stories of this +class which have been known to everybody from ancient times. But +even in modern times the fame of the pictures painted by Hishigawa +Kichibei--'Hishigawa's Portraits'--has become widespread in the land." + + [8] He died in the eighteenth year of Kyôhô (1733). The painter + to whom he refers--better known to collectors as Hishigawa + Kichibei Moronobu--flourished during the latter part of the + seventeenth century. Beginning his career as a dyer's + apprentice, he won his reputation as an artist about 1680, + when he may be said to have founded the _Ukiyo-yé_ school of + illustration. Hishigawa was especially a delineator of what + are called _fûryû_, ("elegant manners"),--the aspects of + life among the upper classes of society. + +He then proceeds to relate the following story about one of the +so-called portraits:-- + + There was a young scholar of Kyôto whose name was Tokkei. He + used to live in the street called Muromachi. One evening, + while on his way home after a visit, his attention was attracted + by an old single-leaf screen (_tsuitaté_), exposed for sale + before the shop of a dealer in second-hand goods. It was only + a paper-covered screen; but there was painted upon it the + full-length figure of a girl which caught the young man's + fancy. The price asked was very small: Tokkei bought the + screen, and took it home with him. + + When he looked again at the screen, in the solitude of his + own room, the picture seemed to him much more beautiful than + before. Apparently it was a real likeness,--the portrait of a + girl fifteen or sixteen years old; and every little detail + in the painting of the hair, eyes, eyelashes, mouth, had + been executed with a delicacy and a truth beyond praise. The + _manajiri_[9] seemed "like a lotos-blossom courting favor"; the + lips were "like the smile of a red flower"; the whole young face + was inexpressibly sweet. If the real girl so portrayed had been + equally lovely, no man could have looked upon her without losing + his heart. And Tokkei believed that she must have been thus + lovely;--for the figure seemed alive,--ready to reply to anybody + who might speak to it. + + [9] Also written _méjiri_,--the exterior canthus of the + eye. The Japanese (like the old Greek and the old + Arabian poets) have many curious dainty words and + similes to express particular beauties of the hair, + eyes, eyelids, lips, fingers, etc. + + Gradually, as he continued to gaze at the picture, he felt + himself bewitched by the charm of it. "Can there really have + been in this world," he murmured to himself, "so delicious a + creature? How gladly would I give my life--nay, a thousand + years of life!--to hold her in my arms even for a moment!" (The + Japanese author says "for a few seconds.") In short, he became + enamoured of the picture,--so much enamoured of it as to feel + that he never could love any woman except the person whom it + represented. Yet that person, if still alive, could no longer + resemble the painting: perhaps she had been buried long before + he was born! + + Day by day, nevertheless, this hopeless passion grew upon + him. He could not eat; he could not sleep: neither could he + occupy his mind with those studies which had formerly delighted + him. He would sit for hours before the picture, talking to + it,--neglecting or forgetting everything else. And at last he + fell sick--so sick that he believed himself going to die. + + Now among the friends of Tokkei there was one venerable scholar + who knew many strange things about old pictures and about young + hearts. This aged scholar, hearing of Tokkei's illness, came to + visit him, and saw the screen, and understood what had happened. + Then Tokkei, being questioned, confessed everything to his + friend, and declared:--"If I cannot find such a woman, I shall + die." + + The old man said:-- + + "That picture was painted by Hishigawa Kichibei,--painted from + life. The person whom it represented is not now in the world. + But it is said that Hishigawa Kichibei painted her mind as well + as her form, and that her spirit lives in the picture. So I + think that you can win her." + + Tokkei half rose from his bed, and stared eagerly at the + speaker. + + "You must give her a name," the old man continued;--"and you + must sit before her picture every day, and keep your thoughts + constantly fixed upon her, and call her gently by the name which + you have given her, _until she answers you_...." + + "Answers me!" exclaimed the lover, in breathless amazement. + + "Oh, yes," the adviser responded, "she will certainly answer + you. But you must be ready, when she answers you, to present her + with what I am going to tell you...." + + "I will give her my life!" cried Tokkei. + + "No," said the old man;--"you will present her with a cup of + wine that has been bought at one hundred different wine-shops. + Then she will come out of the screen to accept the wine. After + that, probably she herself will tell you what to do." + + With these words the old man went away. His advice aroused + Tokkei from despair. At once he seated himself before the + picture, and called it by the name of a girl--(what name the + Japanese narrator has forgotten to tell us)--over and over + again, very tenderly. That day it made no answer, nor the next + day, nor the next. But Tokkei did not lose faith or patience; + and after many days it suddenly one evening answered to its + name,-- + + "_Hai!_" (Yes.) + + Then quickly, quickly, some of the wine from a hundred different + wine-shops was poured out, and reverentially presented in a + little cup. And the girl stepped from the screen, and walked + upon the matting of the room, and knelt to take the cup from + Tokkei's hand,--asking, with a delicious smile:-- + + "How could you love me so much?" + + Says the Japanese narrator: "She was much more beautiful than the + picture,--beautiful to the tips of her finger-nails,--beautiful + also in heart and temper,--lovelier than anybody else in the + world." What answer Tokkei made to her question is not recorded: + it will have to be imagined. + + "But will you not soon get tired of me?" she asked. + + "Never while I live!" he protested. + + "And after--?" she persisted;--for the Japanese bride is not + satisfied with love for one life-time only. + + "Let us pledge ourselves to each other," he entreated, "for the + time of seven existences." + + "If you are ever unkind to me," she said, "I will go back to the + screen." + + * * * * * + + They pledged each other. I suppose that Tokkei was a good + boy,--for his bride never returned to the screen. The space that + she had occupied upon it remained a blank. + + * * * * * + + Exclaims the Japanese author,-- + + "How very seldom do such things happen in this world!" + + + + + The Corpse-Rider[10] + + [Decoration] + + [10] From the _Konséki-Monogatari_ + + +THE body was cold as ice; the heart had long ceased to beat: yet there +were no other signs of death. Nobody even spoke of burying the woman. +She had died of grief and anger at having been divorced. It would have +been useless to bury her,--because the last undying wish of a dying +person for vengeance can burst asunder any tomb and rift the heaviest +graveyard stone. People who lived near the house in which she was lying +fled from their homes. They knew that she was only _waiting for the +return of the man who had divorced her_. + +At the time of her death he was on a journey. When he came back and was +told what had happened, terror seized him. "If I can find no help before +dark," he thought to himself, "she will tear me to pieces." It was yet +only the Hour of the Dragon;[11] but he knew that he had no time to +lose. + + [11] _Tatsu no Koku_, or the Hour of the Dragon, by old Japanese + time, began at about eight o'clock in the morning. + +He went at once to an _inyôshi_[12] and begged for succor. The _inyôshi_ +knew the story of the dead woman; and he had seen the body. He said to +the supplicant:--"A very great danger threatens you. I will try to save +you. But you must promise to do whatever I shall tell you to do. There +is only one way by which you can be saved. It is a fearful way. But +unless you find the courage to attempt it, she will tear you limb from +limb. If you can be brave, come to me again in the evening before +sunset." The man shuddered; but he promised to do whatever should be +required of him. + + [12] _Inyôshi_, a professor or master of the science of + _in-yô_,--the old Chinese nature-philosophy, based upon the + theory of a male and a female principle pervading the + universe. + + * * * * * + +At sunset the _inyôshi_ went with him to the house where the body was +lying. The _inyôshi_ pushed open the sliding-doors, and told his client +to enter. It was rapidly growing dark. "I dare not!" gasped the man, +quaking from head to foot;--"I dare not even look at her!" "You will +have to do much more than look at her," declared the _inyôshi_;--"and +you promised to obey. Go in!" He forced the trembler into the house and +led him to the side of the corpse. + + * * * * * + +The dead woman was lying on her face. "Now you must get astride upon +her," said the _inyôshi_, "and sit firmly on her back, as if you were +riding a horse.... Come!--you must do it!" The man shivered so that the +_inyôshi_ had to support him--shivered horribly; but he obeyed. "Now +take her hair in your hands," commanded the _inyôshi_,--"half in the +right hand, half in the left.... So!... You must grip it like a bridle. +Twist your hands in it--both hands--tightly. That is the way!... Listen +to me! You must stay like that till morning. You will have reason to be +afraid in the night--plenty of reason. But whatever may happen, never +let go of her hair. If you let go,--even for one second,--she will tear +you into gobbets!" + +The _inyôshi_ then whispered some mysterious words into the ear of the +body, and said to its rider:--"Now, for my own sake, I must leave you +alone with her.... Remain as you are!... Above all things, remember that +you must not let go of her hair." And he went away,--closing the doors +behind him. + + * * * * * + +Hour after hour the man sat upon the corpse in black fear;--and the hush +of the night deepened and deepened about him till he screamed to break +it. Instantly the body sprang beneath him, as to cast him off; and the +dead woman cried out loudly, "Oh, how heavy it is! Yet I shall bring +that fellow here now!" + +Then tall she rose, and leaped to the doors, and flung them open, and +rushed into the night,--always bearing the weight of the man. But he, +shutting his eyes, kept his hands twisted in her long hair,--tightly, +tightly,--though fearing with such a fear that he could not even moan. +How far she went, he never knew. He saw nothing: he heard only the sound +of her naked feet in the dark,--_picha-picha_, _picha-picha_,--and the +hiss of her breathing as she ran. + +At last she turned, and ran back into the house, and lay down upon the +floor exactly as at first. Under the man she panted and moaned till the +cocks began to crow. Thereafter she lay still. + +But the man, with chattering teeth, sat upon her until the _inyôshi_ +came at sunrise. "So you did not let go of her hair!"--observed the +_inyôshi_, greatly pleased. "That is well ... Now you can stand up." He +whispered again into the ear of the corpse, and then said to the +man:--"You must have passed a fearful night; but nothing else could have +saved you. Hereafter you may feel secure from her vengeance." + + [Decoration] + +The conclusion of this story I do not think to be morally satisfying. +It is not recorded that the corpse-rider became insane, or that his +hair turned white: we are told only that "he worshipped the _inyôshi_ +with tears of gratitude." A note appended to the recital is equally +disappointing. "It is reported," the Japanese author says, "that a +grandchild of the man [_who rode the corpse_] still survives, and that a +grandson of the _inyôshi_ is at this very time living in a village +called Otokunoi-mura [_probably pronounced Otonoi-mura_]." + +This village-name does not appear in any Japanese directory of to-day. +But the names of many towns and villages have been changed since the +foregoing story was written. + + + + + The Sympathy of Benten[13] + + [Decoration] + + [13] The original story is in the _Otogi-Hyaku-Monogatari_ + + +IN Kyôto there is a famous temple called Amadera. Sadazumi Shinnô, the +fifth son of the Emperor Seiwa, passed the greater part of his life +there as a priest; and the graves of many celebrated persons are to be +seen in the temple-grounds. + +But the present edifice is not the ancient Amadera. The original temple, +after the lapse of ten centuries, fell into such decay that it had to be +entirely rebuilt in the fourteenth year of Genroku (1701 A. D.). + +A great festival was held to celebrate the rebuilding of the Amadera; +and among the thousands of persons who attended that festival there was +a young scholar and poet named Hanagaki Baishû. He wandered about the +newly-laid-out grounds and gardens, delighted by all that he saw, until +he reached the place of a spring at which he had often drunk in former +times. He was then surprised to find that the soil about the spring had +been dug away, so as to form a square pond, and that at one corner of +this pond there had been set up a wooden tablet bearing the words +_Tanjô-Sui_ ("Birth-Water").[14] He also saw that a small, but very +handsome temple of the Goddess Benten had been erected beside the pond. +While he was looking at this new temple, a sudden gust of wind blew to +his feet a _tanzaku_,[15] on which the following poem had been written:-- + + Shirushi aréto + Iwai zo somuru + Tama hôki, + Toruté bakari no + Chigiri narétomo. + + [14] The word _tanjô_ (birth) should here be understood in its + mystical Buddhist meaning of new life or rebirth, rather + than in the western signification of birth. + + [15] _Tanzaku_ is the name given to the long strips or ribbons + of paper, usually colored, upon which poems are written + perpendicularly. Poems written upon _tanzaku_ are suspended + to trees in flower, to wind-bells, to any beautiful object + in which the poet has found an inspiration. + +This poem--a poem on first love (_hatsu koi_), composed by the famous +Shunrei Kyô--was not unfamiliar to him; but it had been written upon +the _tanzaku_ by a female hand, and so exquisitely that he could +scarcely believe his eyes. Something in the form of the characters,--an +indefinite grace,--suggested that period of youth between childhood and +womanhood; and the pure rich color of the ink seemed to bespeak the +purity and goodness of the writer's heart.[16] + + [16] It is difficult for the inexperienced European eye to + distinguish in Chinese or Japanese writing those + characteristics implied by our term "hand"--in the sense of + individual style. But the Japanese scholar never forgets + the peculiarities of a handwriting once seen; and he can + even guess at the approximate age of the writer. Chinese + and Japanese authors claim that the color (quality) of the + ink used tells something of the character of the writer. As + every person grounds or prepares his or her own ink, the + deeper and clearer black would at least indicate something + of personal carefulness and of the sense of beauty. + +Baishû carefully folded up the _tanzaku_, and took it home with him. +When he looked at it again the writing appeared to him even more +wonderful than at first. His knowledge in caligraphy assured him only +that the poem had been written by some girl who was very young, very +intelligent, and probably very gentle-hearted. But this assurance +sufficed to shape within his mind the image of a very charming person; +and he soon found himself in love with the unknown. Then his first +resolve was to seek out the writer of the verses, and, if possible, make +her his wife.... Yet how was he to find her? Who was she? Where did she +live? Certainly he could hope to find her only through the favor of the +Gods. + +But presently it occurred to him that the Gods might be very willing +to lend their aid. The _tanzaku_ had come to him while he was +standing in front of the temple of Benten-Sama; and it was to this +divinity in particular that lovers were wont to pray for happy union. +This reflection impelled him to beseech the Goddess for assistance. +He went at once to the temple of Benten-of-the-Birth-Water +(_Tanjô-sui-no-Benten_) in the grounds of the Amadera; and there, with +all the fervor of his heart, he made his petition:--"O Goddess, pity +me!--help me to find where the young person lives who wrote the +_tanzaku_!--vouchsafe me but one chance to meet her,--even if only for +a moment!" And after having made this prayer, he began to perform a +seven days' religious service (_nanuka-mairi_)[17] in honor of the +Goddess; vowing at the same time to pass the seventh night in ceaseless +worship before her shrine. + + [17] There are many kinds of religious exercises called _mairi_. + The performer of a _nanuka-mairi_ pledges himself to pray + at a certain temple every day for seven days in succession. + + * * * * * + +Now on the seventh night,--the night of his vigil,--during the hour when +the silence is most deep, he heard at the main gateway of the +temple-grounds a voice calling for admittance. Another voice from within +answered; the gate was opened; and Baishû saw an old man of majestic +appearance approaching with slow steps. This venerable person was clad +in robes of ceremony; and he wore upon his snow-white head a black cap +(_eboshi_) of the form indicating high rank. Reaching the little temple +of Benten, he knelt down in front of it, as if respectfully awaiting +some order. Then the outer door of the temple was opened; the hanging +curtain of bamboo behind it, concealing the inner sanctuary, was rolled +half-way up; and a _chigo_[18] came forward,--a beautiful boy, with long +hair tied back in the ancient manner. He stood at the threshold, and +said to the old man in a clear loud voice:-- + + [18] The term _chigo_ usually means the page of a noble + household, especially an Imperial page. The _chigo_ who + appears in this story is of course a supernatural + being,--the court-messenger of the Goddess, and her + mouthpiece. + +"There is a person here who has been praying for a love-union not +suitable to his present condition, and otherwise difficult to bring +about. But as the young man is worthy of Our pity, you have been called +to see whether something can be done for him. If there should prove to +be any relation between the parties from the period of a former birth, +you will introduce them to each other." + +On receiving this command, the old man bowed respectfully to the +_chigo_: then, rising, he drew from the pocket of his long left sleeve a +crimson cord. One end of this cord he passed round Baishû's body, as if +to bind him with it. The other end he put into the flame of one of the +temple-lamps; and while the cord was there burning, he waved his hand +three times, as if to summon somebody out of the dark. + +Immediately, in the direction of the Amadera, a sound of coming steps +was heard; and in another moment a girl appeared,--a charming girl, +fifteen or sixteen years old. She approached gracefully, but very +shyly,--hiding the lower part of her face with a fan; and she knelt down +beside Baishû. The _chigo_ then said to Baishû:-- + +"Recently you have been suffering much heart-pain; and this desperate +love of yours has even impaired your health. We could not allow you to +remain in so unhappy a condition; and We therefore summoned the +Old-Man-under-the-Moon[19] to make you acquainted with the writer of +that _tanzaku_. She is now beside you." + + [19] _Gekkawô_. This is a poetical appellation for the God + of Marriage, more usually known as _Musubi-no-kami_. + Throughout this story there is an interesting mingling of + Shintô and Buddhist ideas. + +With these words, the _chigo_ retired behind the bamboo curtain. Then +the old man went away as he had come; and the young girl followed him. +Simultaneously Baishû heard the great bell of the Amadera sounding the +hour of dawn. He prostrated himself in thanksgiving before the shrine of +Benten-of-the-Birth-Water, and proceeded homeward,--feeling as if +awakened from some delightful dream,--happy at having seen the charming +person whom he had so fervently prayed to meet,--unhappy also because of +the fear that he might never meet her again. + +But scarcely had he passed from the gateway into the street, when he saw +a young girl walking alone in the same direction that he was going; and, +even in the dusk of the dawn, he recognized her at once as the person to +whom he had been introduced before the temple of Benten. As he quickened +his pace to overtake her, she turned and saluted him with a graceful +bow. Then for the first time he ventured to speak to her; and she +answered him in a voice of which the sweetness filled his heart with +joy. Through the yet silent streets they walked on, chatting happily, +till they found themselves before the house where Baishû lived. There he +paused--spoke to the girl of his hopes and fears. Smiling, she +asked:--"Do you not know that I was sent for to become your wife?" And +she entered with him. + + * * * * * + +Becoming his wife, she delighted him beyond expectation by the charm of +her mind and heart. Moreover, he found her to be much more accomplished +than he had supposed. Besides being able to write so wonderfully, she +could paint beautiful pictures; she knew the art of arranging flowers, +the art of embroidery, the art of music; she could weave and sew; and +she knew everything in regard to the management of a house. + + * * * * * + +It was in the early autumn that the young people had met; and they lived +together in perfect accord until the winter season began. Nothing, +during those months, occurred to disturb their peace. Baishû's love for +his gentle wife only strengthened with the passing of time. Yet, +strangely enough, he remained ignorant of her history,--knew nothing +about her family. Of such matters she had never spoken; and, as the Gods +had given her to him, he imagined that it would not be proper to +question her. But neither the Old-Man-under-the-Moon nor any one else +came--as he had feared--to take her away. Nobody even made any inquiries +about her. And the neighbors, for some undiscoverable reason, acted as +if totally unaware of her presence. + +Baishû wondered at all this. But stranger experiences were awaiting +him. + +One winter morning he happened to be passing through a somewhat remote +quarter of the city, when he heard himself loudly called by name, and +saw a man-servant making signs to him from the gateway of a private +residence. As Baishû did not know the man's face, and did not have a +single acquaintance in that part of Kyôto, he was more than startled by +so abrupt a summons. But the servant, coming forward, saluted him with +the utmost respect, and said, "My master greatly desires the honor of +speaking with you: deign to enter for a moment." After an instant of +hesitation, Baishû allowed himself to be conducted to the house. A +dignified and richly dressed person, who seemed to be the master, +welcomed him at the entrance, and led him to the guest-room. When the +courtesies due upon a first meeting had been fully exchanged, the host +apologized for the informal manner of his invitation, and said:-- + +"It must have seemed to you very rude of us to call you in such a way. +But perhaps you will pardon our impoliteness when I tell you that we +acted thus upon what I firmly believe to have been an inspiration from +the Goddess Benten. Now permit me to explain. + +"I have a daughter, about sixteen years old, who can write rather +well,[20] and do other things in the common way: she has the ordinary +nature of woman. As we were anxious to make her happy by finding a good +husband for her, we prayed the Goddess Benten to help us; and we sent to +every temple of Benten in the city a _tanzaku_ written by the girl. Some +nights later, the Goddess appeared to me in a dream, and said: 'We have +heard your prayer, and have already introduced your daughter to the +person who is to become her husband. During the coming winter he will +visit you.' As I did not understand this assurance that a presentation +had been made, I felt some doubt; I thought that the dream might have +been only a common dream, signifying nothing. But last night again I saw +Benten-Sama in a dream; and she said to me: 'To-morrow the young man, of +whom I once spoke to you, will come to this street: then you can call +him into your house, and ask him to become the husband of your daughter. +He is a good young man; and later in life he will obtain a much higher +rank than he now holds.' Then Benten-Sama told me your name, your age, +your birthplace, and described your features and dress so exactly that +my servant found no difficulty in recognizing you by the indications +which I was able to give him." + + [20] As it is the old Japanese rule that parents should speak + depreciatingly of their children's accomplishments the + phrase "rather well" in this connection would mean, for the + visitor, "wonderfully well." For the same reason the + expressions "common way" and "ordinary nature," as + subsequently used, would imply almost the reverse of the + literal meaning. + + * * * * * + +This explanation bewildered Baishû instead of reassuring him; and his +only reply was a formal return of thanks for the honor which the master +of the house had spoken of doing him. But when the host invited him to +another room, for the purpose of presenting him to the young lady, his +embarrassment became extreme. Yet he could not reasonably decline the +introduction. He could not bring himself, under such extraordinary +circumstances, to announce that he already had a wife,--a wife given to +him by the Goddess Benten herself; a wife from whom he could not even +think of separating. So, in silence and trepidation, he followed his +host to the apartment indicated. + +Then what was his amazement to discover, when presented to the daughter +of the house, that she was the very same person whom he had already +taken to wife! + +_The same,--yet not the same._ + +She to whom he had been introduced by the Old-Man-under-the-Moon, was +only the soul of the beloved. + +She to whom he was now to be wedded, in her father's house, was the +body. + +Benten had wrought this miracle for the sake of her worshippers. + + [Decoration] + +The original story breaks off suddenly at this point, leaving several +matters unexplained. The ending is rather unsatisfactory. One would like +to know something about the mental experiences of the real maiden during +the married life of her phantom. One would also like to know what became +of the phantom,--whether it continued to lead an independent existence; +whether it waited patiently for the return of its husband; whether it +paid a visit to the real bride. And the book says nothing about these +things. But a Japanese friend explains the miracle thus:-- + +"The spirit-bride was really formed out of the _tanzaku_. So it is +possible that the real girl did not know anything about the meeting at +the temple of Benten. When she wrote those beautiful characters upon the +_tanzaku_, something of her spirit passed into them. Therefore it was +possible to evoke from the writing the double of the writer." + + + + + The Gratitude of the Samébito[21] + + [Decoration] + + [21] The original of this story may be found in the book called + _Kibun-Anbaiyoshi_ + + +THERE was a man named Tawaraya Tôtarô, who lived in the Province of Ômi. +His house was situated on the shore of Lake Biwa, not far from the +famous temple called Ishiyamadera. He had some property, and lived in +comfort; but at the age of twenty-nine he was still unmarried. His +greatest ambition was to marry a very beautiful woman; and he had not +been able to find a girl to his liking. + +One day, as he was passing over the Long Bridge of Séta,[22] he saw a +strange being crouching close to the parapet. The body of this being +resembled the body of a man, but was black as ink; its face was like the +face of a demon; its eyes were green as emeralds; and its beard was like +the beard of a dragon. Tôtarô was at first very much startled. But the +green eyes looked at him so gently that after a moment's hesitation he +ventured to question the creature. Then it answered him, saying: "I am a +_Samébito_,[23]--a Shark-Man of the sea; and until a short time ago I +was in the service of the Eight Great Dragon-Kings [_Hachi-Dai-Ryû-Ô_] +as a subordinate officer in the Dragon-Palace [_Ryûgû_].[24] But +because of a small fault which I committed, I was dismissed from the +Dragon-Palace, and also banished from the Sea. Since then I have been +wandering about here,--unable to get any food, or even a place to lie +down. If you can feel any pity for me, do, I beseech you, help me to +find a shelter, and let me have something to eat!" + + [22] The Long Bridge of Séta (_Séta-no-Naga-Hashi_), famous in + Japanese legend, is nearly eight hundred feet in length, + and commands a beautiful view. This bridge crosses the + waters of the Sétagawa near the junction of the stream with + Lake Biwa. Ishiyamadera, one of the most picturesque + Buddhist temples in Japan, is situated within a short + distance from the bridge. + + [23] Literally, "a Shark-Person," but in this story the + _Samébito_ is a male. The characters for _Samébito_ can + also be read _Kôjin_,--which is the usual reading. In + dictionaries the word is loosely rendered by "merman" or + "mermaid;" but as the above description shows, the + _Samébito_ or _Kôjin_ of the Far East is a conception + having little in common with the Western idea of a merman + or mermaid. + + [24] _Ryûgû_ is also the name given to the whole of that + fairy-realm beneath the sea which figures in so many + Japanese legends. + +This petition was uttered in so plaintive a tone, and in so humble a +manner, that Tôtarô's heart was touched. "Come with me," he said. "There +is in my garden a large and deep pond where you may live as long as you +wish; and I will give you plenty to eat." + +The _Samébito_ followed Tôtarô home, and appeared to be much pleased +with the pond. + +Thereafter, for nearly half a year, this strange guest dwelt in the +pond, and was every day supplied by Tôtarô with such food as +sea-creatures like. + + [_From this point of the original narrative the Shark-Man is + referred to, not as a monster, but as a sympathetic Person of + the male sex._] + +Now, in the seventh month of the same year, there was a female +pilgrimage (_nyonin-môdé_) to the great Buddhist temple called Miidera, +in the neighboring town of Ôtsu; and Tôtarô went to Ôtsu to attend the +festival. Among the multitude of women and young girls there assembled, +he observed a person of extraordinary beauty. She seemed about sixteen +years old; her face was fair and pure as snow; and the loveliness of +her lips assured the beholder that their every utterance would sound "as +sweet as the voice of a nightingale singing upon a plum-tree." Tôtarô +fell in love with her at sight. When she left the temple he followed her +at a respectful distance, and discovered that she and her mother were +staying for a few days at a certain house in the neighboring village of +Séta. By questioning some of the village folk, he was able also to learn +that her name was Tamana; that she was unmarried; and that her family +appeared to be unwilling that she should marry a man of ordinary +rank,--for they demanded as a betrothal-gift a casket containing ten +thousand jewels.[25] + + [25] _Tama_ in the original. This word _tama_ has a multitude of + meanings; and as here used it is quite as indefinite as our + own terms "jewel," "gem," or "precious stone." Indeed, it + is more indefinite, for it signifies also a bead of coral, + a ball of crystal, a polished stone attached to a hairpin, + etc., etc. Later on, however, I venture to render it by + "ruby,"--for reasons which need no explanation. + + * * * * * + +Tôtarô returned home very much dismayed by this information. The more +that he thought about the strange betrothal-gift demanded by the girl's +parents, the more he felt that he could never expect to obtain her for +his wife. Even supposing that there were as many as ten thousand jewels +in the whole country, only a great prince could hope to procure them. + +But not even for a single hour could Tôtarô banish from his mind the +memory of that beautiful being. It haunted him so that he could neither +eat nor sleep; and it seemed to become more and more vivid as the days +went by. And at last he became ill,--so ill that he could not lift his +head from the pillow. Then he sent for a doctor. + +The doctor, after having made a careful examination, uttered an +exclamation of surprise. "Almost any kind of sickness," he said, "can be +cured by proper medical treatment, except the sickness of love. Your +ailment is evidently love-sickness. There is no cure for it. In ancient +times Rôya-Ô Hakuyo died of that sickness; and you must prepare yourself +to die as he died." So saying, the doctor went away, without even giving +any medicine to Tôtarô. + + * * * * * + +About this time the Shark-Man that was living in the garden-pond heard +of his master's sickness, and came into the house to wait upon Tôtarô. +And he tended him with the utmost affection both by day and by night. +But he did not know either the cause or the serious nature of the +sickness until nearly a week later, when Tôtarô, thinking himself about +to die, uttered these words of farewell:-- + +"I suppose that I have had the pleasure of caring for you thus long, +because of some relation that grew up between us in a former state of +existence. But now I am very sick indeed, and every day my sickness +becomes worse; and my life is like the morning dew which passes away +before the setting of the sun. For your sake, therefore, I am troubled +in mind. Your existence has depended upon my care; and I fear that there +will be no one to care for you and to feed you when I am dead.... My +poor friend!... Alas! our hopes and our wishes are always disappointed +in this unhappy world!" + +No sooner had Tôtarô spoken these words than the Samébito uttered a +strange wild cry of pain, and began to weep bitterly. And as he wept, +great tears of blood streamed from his green eyes and rolled down his +black cheeks and dripped upon the floor. And, falling, they were blood; +but, having fallen, they became hard and bright and beautiful,--became +jewels of inestimable price, rubies splendid as crimson fire. For when +men of the sea weep, their tears become precious stones. + +Then Tôtarô, beholding this marvel, was so amazed and overjoyed that his +strength returned to him. He sprang from his bed, and began to pick up +and to count the tears of the Shark-Man, crying out the while: "My +sickness is cured! I shall live! I shall live!" + +Therewith, the Shark-Man, greatly astonished, ceased to weep, and asked +Tôtarô to explain this wonderful cure; and Tôtarô told him about the +young person seen at Miidera, and about the extraordinary marriage-gift +demanded by her family. "As I felt sure," added Tôtarô, "that I should +never be able to get ten thousand jewels, I supposed that my suit would +be hopeless. Then I became very unhappy, and at last fell sick. But now, +because of your generous weeping, I have many precious stones; and I +think that I shall be able to marry that girl. Only--there are not yet +quite enough stones; and I beg that you will be good enough to weep a +little more, so as to make up the full number required." + +But at this request the Samébito shook his head, and answered in a tone +of surprise and of reproach:-- + +"Do you think that I am like a harlot,--able to weep whenever I wish? +Oh, no! Harlots shed tears in order to deceive men; but creatures of the +sea cannot weep without feeling real sorrow. I wept for you because of +the true grief that I felt in my heart at the thought that you were +going to die. But now I cannot weep for you, because you have told me +that your sickness is cured." + +"Then what am I to do?" plaintively asked Tôtarô. "Unless I can get ten +thousand jewels, I cannot marry the girl!" + +The Samébito remained for a little while silent, as if thinking. Then he +said:-- + +"Listen! To-day I cannot possibly weep any more. But to-morrow let us go +together to the Long Bridge of Séta, taking with us some wine and some +fish. We can rest for a time on the bridge; and while we are drinking +the wine and eating the fish, I shall gaze in the direction of the +Dragon-Palace, and try, by thinking of the happy days that I spent +there, to make myself feel homesick--so that I can weep." + +Tôtarô joyfully assented. + +Next morning the two, taking plenty of wine and fish with them, went to +the Séta bridge, and rested there, and feasted. After having drunk a +great deal of wine, the Samébito began to gaze in the direction of the +Dragon-Kingdom, and to think about the past. And gradually, under the +softening influence of the wine, the memory of happier days filled his +heart with sorrow, and the pain of homesickness came upon him, so that +he could weep profusely. And the great red tears that he shed fell upon +the bridge in a shower of rubies; and Tôtarô gathered them as they fell, +and put them into a casket, and counted them until he had counted the +full number of ten thousand. Then he uttered a shout of joy. + +Almost in the same moment, from far away over the lake, a delightful +sound of music was heard; and there appeared in the offing, slowly +rising from the waters, like some fabric of cloud, a palace of the color +of the setting sun. + +At once the Samébito sprang upon the parapet of the bridge, and looked, +and laughed for joy. Then, turning to Tôtarô, he said:-- + +"There must have been a general amnesty proclaimed in the Dragon-Realm; +the Kings are calling me. So now I must bid you farewell. I am happy to +have had one chance of befriending you in return for your goodness to +me." + +With these words he leaped from the bridge; and no man ever saw him +again. But Tôtarô presented the casket of red jewels to the parents of +Tamana, and so obtained her in marriage. + + + + + JAPANESE STUDIES + + [Decoration] + + ... Life ere long + Came on me in the public ways, and bent + Eyes deeper than of old: Death met I too, + And saw the dawn glow through. + --GEORGE MEREDITH + + + + + [Illustration: PLATE I. + 1-2, _Young Sémi_. + 3-4, _Haru-Zémi_, also called _Nawashiro-Zémi_.] + + + + + Sémi + (CICADÆ) + + [Decoration] + + Koë ni mina + Naki-shimôté ya-- + Sémi no kara! + --_Japanese Love-Song_ + + The voice having been all consumed by crying, there remains only + the shell of the _sémi!_ + + I + + +A CELEBRATED Chinese scholar, known in Japanese literature as Riku-Un, +wrote the following quaint account of the Five Virtues of the Cicada:-- + + "I.--The Cicada has upon its head certain figures or signs.[26] + These represent its [written] characters, style, literature. + + [26] The curious markings on the head of one variety of + Japanese _sémi_ are believed to be characters which + are names of souls. + + "II.--It eats nothing belonging to earth, and drinks only dew. + This proves its cleanliness, purity, propriety. + + "III.--It always appears at a certain fixed time. This proves + its fidelity, sincerity, truthfulness. + + "IV.--It will not accept wheat or rice. This proves its probity, + uprightness, honesty. + + "V.--It does not make for itself any nest to live in. This + proves its frugality, thrift, economy." + + * * * * * + +We might compare this with the beautiful address of Anacreon to the +cicada, written twenty-four hundred years ago: on more than one point +the Greek poet and the Chinese sage are in perfect accord:-- + + "_We deem thee happy, O Cicada, because, having drunk, like a + king, only a little dew, thou dost chirrup on the tops of trees. + For all things whatsoever that thou seest in the fields are + thine, and whatsoever the seasons bring forth. Yet art thou + the friend of the tillers of the land,--from no one harmfully + taking aught. By mortals thou art held in honor as the pleasant + harbinger of summer; and the Muses love thee. Phoebus himself + loves thee, and has given thee a shrill song. And old age does + not consume thee. O thou gifted one,--earth-born, song-loving, + free from pain, having flesh without blood,--thou art nearly + equal to the Gods!_"[27] + + [27] In this and other citations from the Greek + anthology, I have depended upon Burges' + translation. + +And we must certainly go back to the old Greek literature in order to +find a poetry comparable to that of the Japanese on the subject of +musical insects. Perhaps of Greek verses on the cricket, the most +beautiful are the lines of Meleager: "_O cricket, the soother of slumber +... weaving the thread of a voice that causes love to wander away!_" ... +There are Japanese poems scarcely less delicate in sentiment on the +chirruping of night-crickets; and Meleager's promise to reward the +little singer with gifts of fresh leek, and with "drops of dew cut up +small," sounds strangely Japanese. Then the poem attributed to Anyté, +about the little girl Myro making a tomb for her pet cicada and +cricket, and weeping because Hades, "hard to be persuaded," had taken +her playthings away, represents an experience familiar to Japanese +child-life. I suppose that little Myro--(how freshly her tears still +glisten, after seven and twenty centuries!)--prepared that "common tomb" +for her pets much as the little maid of Nippon would do to-day, putting +a small stone on top to serve for a monument. But the wiser Japanese +Myro would repeat over the grave a certain Buddhist prayer. + +It is especially in their poems upon the cicada that we find the old +Greeks confessing their love of insect-melody: witness the lines in the +Anthology about the tettix caught in a spider's snare, and "making +lament in the thin fetters" until freed by the poet;--and the verses by +Leonidas of Tarentum picturing the "unpaid minstrel to wayfaring men" +as "sitting upon lofty trees, warmed with the great heat of summer, +sipping the dew that is like woman's milk;"--and the dainty fragment of +Meleager, beginning: "_Thou vocal tettix, drunk with drops of dew, +sitting with thy serrated limbs upon the tops of petals, thou givest +out the melody of the lyre from thy dusky skin_." ... Or take the +charming address of Evenus to a nightingale:-- + + "_Thou Attic maiden, honey-fed, hast chirping seized a chirping + cicada, and bearest it to thy unfledged young,--thou, a twitterer, + the twitterer,--thou, the winged, the well-winged,--thou, a + stranger, the stranger,--thou, a summer-child, the summer-child! + Wilt thou not quickly cast it from thee? For it is not right, it + is not just, that those engaged in song should perish by the + mouths of those engaged in song._" + +On the other hand, we find Japanese poets much more inclined to praise +the voices of night-crickets than those of sémi. There are countless +poems about sémi, but very few which commend their singing. Of course +the sémi are very different from the cicadæ known to the Greeks. Some +varieties are truly musical; but the majority are astonishingly +noisy,--so noisy that their stridulation is considered one of the great +afflictions of summer. Therefore it were vain to seek among the myriads +of Japanese verses on sémi for anything comparable to the lines of +Evenus above quoted; indeed, the only Japanese poem that I could find on +the subject of a cicada caught by a bird, was the following:-- + + Ana kanashi! + Tobi ni toraruru + Sémi no koë. + --RANSETSU. + + Ah! how piteous the cry of the sémi seized by the kite! + +Or "caught by a boy" the poet might equally well have observed,--this +being a much more frequent cause of the pitiful cry. The lament of +Nicias for the tettix would serve as the elegy of many a sémi:-- + + "_No more shall I delight myself by sending out a sound from my + quick-moving wings, because I have fallen into the savage hand + of a boy, who seized me unexpectedly, as I was sitting under the + green leaves._" + +Here I may remark that Japanese children usually capture sémi by means +of a long slender bamboo tipped with bird-lime (_mochi_). The sound made +by some kinds of sémi when caught is really pitiful,--quite as pitiful +as the twitter of a terrified bird. One finds it difficult to persuade +oneself that the noise is not a _voice_ of anguish, in the human sense +of the word "voice," but the production of a specialized exterior +membrane. Recently, on hearing a captured sémi thus scream, I became +convinced in quite a new way that the stridulatory apparatus of certain +insects must not be thought of as a kind of musical instrument, but +as an organ of speech, and that its utterances are as intimately +associated with simple forms of emotion, as are the notes of a +bird,--the extraordinary difference being that the insect has its vocal +chords _outside_. But the insect-world is altogether a world of goblins +and fairies: creatures with organs of which we cannot discover the use, +and senses of which we cannot imagine the nature;--creatures with +myriads of eyes, or with eyes in their backs, or with eyes moving about +at the ends of trunks and horns;--creatures with ears in their legs and +bellies, or with brains in their waists! If some of them happen to have +voices outside of their bodies instead of inside, the fact ought not to +surprise anybody. + + * * * * * + +I have not yet succeeded in finding any Japanese verses alluding to the +stridulatory apparatus of sémi,--though I think it probable that such +verses exist. Certainly the Japanese have been for centuries familiar +with the peculiarities of their own singing insects. But I should not +now presume to say that their poets are incorrect in speaking of the +"voices" of crickets and of cicadæ. The old Greek poets who actually +describe insects as producing music with their wings and feet, +nevertheless speak of the "voices," the "songs," and the "chirruping" of +such creatures,--just as the Japanese poets do. For example, Meleager +thus addresses the cricket: + + "_O thou that art with shrill wings the self-formed imitation of + the lyre, chirrup me something pleasant while beating your vocal + wings with your feet!_ ..." + + + II + +BEFORE speaking further of the poetical literature of sémi, I must +attempt a few remarks about the sémi themselves. But the reader need +not expect anything entomological. Excepting, perhaps, the butterflies, +the insects of Japan are still little known to men of science; and all +that I can say about sémi has been learned from inquiry, from personal +observation, and from old Japanese books of an interesting but totally +unscientific kind. Not only do the authors contradict each other as to +the names and characteristics of the best-known sémi; they attach the +word sémi to names of insects which are not cicadæ. + +The following enumeration of sémi is certainly incomplete; but I believe +that it includes the better-known varieties and the best melodists. I +must ask the reader, however, to bear in mind that the time of the +appearance of certain sémi differs in different parts of Japan; that +the same kind of sémi may be called by different names in different +provinces; and that these notes have been written in Tôkyô. + + + I.--HARU-ZÉMI. + +VARIOUS small sémi appear in the spring. But the first of the big sémi +to make itself heard is the _haru-zémi_ ("spring-sémi"), also called +_uma-zémi_ ("horse-sémi"), _kuma-zémi_ ("bear-sémi"), and other names. +It makes a shrill wheezing sound,--_ji-i-i-i-i-iiiiiiii_,--beginning +low, and gradually rising to a pitch of painful intensity. No other +cicada is so noisy as the _haru-zémi;_ but the life of the creature +appears to end with the season. Probably this is the sémi referred to in +an old Japanese poem:-- + + Hatsu-sémi ya! + "Koré wa atsui" to + Iu hi yori. + --TAIMU. + + The day after the first day on which we exclaim, "Oh, how hot + it is!" the first sémi begins to cry. + + + [Illustration: PLATE II. + "_Shinné-Shinné_," + Also called _Yama-Zémi_, and _Kuma-Zémi_.] + + II.--"SHINNÉ-SHINNÉ." + +THE _shinné-shinné_--also called _yama-zémi_, or "mountain-sémi"; +_kuma-zémi_, or "bear-sémi"; and _ô-sémi_, or "great sémi"--begins to +sing as early as May. It is a very large insect. The upper part of the +body is almost black, and the belly a silvery-white; the head has +curious red markings. The name _shinné-shinné_ is derived from the note +of the creature, which resembles a quick continual repetition of the +syllables _shinné_. About Kyôto this sémi is common: it is rarely heard +in Tôkyô. + +[My first opportunity to examine an _ô-sémi_ was in Shidzuoka. Its +utterance is much more complex than the Japanese onomatope implies; I +should liken it to the noise of a sewing-machine in full operation. +There is a double sound: you hear not only the succession of sharp +metallic clickings, but also, below these, a slower series of dull +clanking tones. The stridulatory organs are light green, looking almost +like a pair of tiny green leaves attached to the thorax.] + + + [Illustration: PLATE III. + _Aburazémi._] + + III.--ABURAZÉMI. + +THE _aburazémi_, or "oil-sémi," makes its appearance early in the +summer. I am told that it owes its name to the fact that its +shrilling resembles the sound of oil or grease frying in a pan. Some +writers say that the shrilling resembles the sound of the syllables +_gacharin-gacharin_; but others compare it to the noise of water +boiling. The _aburazémi_ begins to chant about sunrise; then a great +soft hissing seems to ascend from all the trees. At such an hour, when +the foliage of woods and gardens still sparkles with dew, might have +been composed the following verse,--the only one in my collection +relating to the _aburazémi_:-- + + Ano koë dé + Tsuyu ga inochi ka?-- + Aburazémi! + + Speaking with that voice, has the dew taken life?--Only the + _aburazémi_! + + + [Illustration: PLATE IV. + 1-2, _Mugikari-Zémi_, also called _Goshiki-Zémi_. + 3, _Higurashi_. + 4, "_Min-Min-Zémi_."] + + IV.--MUGI-KARI-ZÉMI. + +THE _mugi-kari-zémi_, or "barley-harvest sémi," also called +_goshiki-zémi_, or "five-colored sémi," appears early in the summer. It +makes two distinct sounds in different keys, resembling the syllables +_shi-in, shin--chi-i, chi-i_. + + + V.--HIGURASHI, OR "KANA-KANA." + +THIS insect, whose name signifies "day-darkening," is the most +remarkable of all the Japanese cicadæ. It is not the finest singer +among them; but even as a melodist it ranks second only to the +_tsuku-tsuku-bôshi_. It is the special minstrel of twilight, +singing only at dawn and sunset; whereas most of the other sémi +make their music only in the full blaze of day, pausing even when +rain-clouds obscure the sun. In Tôkyô the _higurashi_ usually +appears about the end of June, or the beginning of July. Its wonderful +cry,--_kana-kana-kana-kana-kana_,--beginning always in a very high +clear key, and slowly descending, is almost exactly like the sound of +a good hand-bell, very quickly rung. It is not a clashing sound, as of +violent ringing; it is quick, steady, and of surprising sonority. I +believe that a single _higurashi_ can be plainly heard a quarter of a +mile away; yet, as the old Japanese poet Yayû observed, "no matter +how many _higurashi_ be singing together, we never find them noisy." +Though powerful and penetrating as a resonance of metal, the +_higurashi's_ call is musical even to the degree of sweetness; and +there is a peculiar melancholy in it that accords with the hour of +gloaming. But the most astonishing fact in regard to the cry of the +_higurashi_ is the individual quality characterizing the note of each +insect. No two _higurashi_ sing precisely in the same tone. If you +hear a dozen of them singing at once, you will find that the timbre of +each voice is recognizably different from every other. Certain notes +ring like silver, others vibrate like bronze; and, besides varieties +of timbre suggesting bells of various weight and composition, there +are even differences in tone, that suggest different _forms_ of bell. + +I have already said that the name _higurashi_ means "day-darkening,"--in +the sense of twilight, gloaming, dusk; and there are many Japanese +verses containing plays on the word,--the poets affecting to believe, as +in the following example, that the crying of the insect hastens the +coming of darkness:-- + + Higurashi ya! + Sutétéoitémo + Kururu hi wo. + + O Higurashi!--even if you let it alone, day darkens fast + enough! + +This, intended to express a melancholy mood, may seem to the Western +reader far-fetched. But another little poem--referring to the effect of +the sound upon the conscience of an idler--will be appreciated by any +one accustomed to hear the _higurashi_. I may observe, in this +connection, that the first clear evening cry of the insect is quite as +startling as the sudden ringing of a bell:-- + + Higurashi ya! + Kyô no kétai wo + Omou-toki. + --RIKEI. + + Already, O Higurashi, your call announces the evening! + Alas, for the passing day, with its duties left undone! + + + VI.--"MINMIN"-ZÉMI. + +THE _minmin-zémi_ begins to sing in the Period of Greatest Heat. It is +called "_min-min_" because its note is thought to resemble the syllable +"_min_" repeated over and over again,--slowly at first, and very loudly; +then more and more quickly and softly, till the utterance dies away in a +sort of buzz: "_min--min--min-min-min-minminmin-dzzzzzzz_." The sound is +plaintive, and not unpleasing. It is often compared to the sound of the +voice of a priest chanting the _sûtras_. + + + [Illustration: PLATE V. + + 1, _"Tsuku-tsuku-Bôshi_," also called "_Kutsu-kutsu-Bôshi_," etc. + (_Cosmopsaltria Opalifera?_) + + 2, _Tsurigané-Zémi_. + + 3, _The Phantom_.] + + VII.--TSUKU-TSUKU-BÔSHI. + +ON the day immediately following the Festival of the Dead, by the old +Japanese calendar[28] (which is incomparably more exact than our +Western calendar in regard to nature-changes and manifestations), +begins to sing the _tsuku-tsuku-bôshi_. This creature may be said +to sing like a bird. It is also called _kutsu-kutsu-bôshi_, +_chôko-chôko-uisu_, _tsuku-tsuku-hôshi_, _tsuku-tsuku-oîshi_,--all +onomatopoetic appellations. The sounds of its song have been imitated +in different ways by various writers. In Izumo the common version is,-- + + Tsuku-tsuku-uisu, + Tsuku-tsuku-uisu, + Tsuku-tsuku-uisu:-- + Ui-ôsu + Ui-ôsu + Ui-ôsu + Ui-ôs-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-su. + + [28] That is to say, upon the 16th day of the 7th month. + +Another version runs,-- + + Tsuku-tsuku-uisu, + Tsuku-tsuku-uisu, + Tsuku-tsuku-uisu:-- + Chi-i yara! + Chi-i yara! + Chi-i yara! + Chi-i, chi, chi, chi, chi, chiii. + +But some say that the sound is _Tsukushi-koïshi_. There is a legend +that in old times a man of Tsukushi (the ancient name of Kyûshû) +fell sick and died while far away from home, and that the +ghost of him became an autumn cicada, which cries unceasingly, +_Tsukushi-koïshi!--Tsukushi-koïshi!_ ("I long for Tsukushi!--I want +to see Tsukushi!") + + * * * * * + +It is a curious fact that the earlier sémi have the harshest and +simplest notes. The musical sémi do not appear until summer; and the +_tsuku-tsuku-bôshi_, having the most complex and melodious utterance of +all, is one of the latest to mature. + + + VIII.--TSURIGANÉ-SÉMI.[29] + +THE _tsurigané-sémi_ is an autumn cicada. The word _tsurigané_ means a +suspended bell,--especially the big bell of a Buddhist temple. I am +somewhat puzzled by the name; for the insect's music really suggests +the tones of a Japanese harp, or _koto_--as good authorities declare. +Perhaps the appellation refers not to the boom of the bell, but to those +deep, sweet hummings which follow after the peal, wave upon wave. + + [29] This sémi appears to be chiefly known in Shikoku. + + + III + +JAPANESE poems on sémi are usually very brief; and my collection chiefly +consists of _hokku_,--compositions of seventeen syllables. Most of these +_hokku_ relate to the sound made by the sémi,--or, rather, to the +sensation which the sound produced within the poet's mind. The names +attached to the following examples are nearly all names of old-time +poets,--not the real names, of course, but the _gô_, or literary names +by which artists and men of letters are usually known. + + * * * * * + +Yokoi Yayû, a Japanese poet of the eighteenth century, celebrated as a +composer of _hokku_, has left us this naïve record of the feelings with +which he heard the chirruping of cicadæ in summer and in autumn:-- + + "In the sultry period, feeling oppressed by the greatness of the + heat, I made this verse:-- + + "Sémi atsushi + Matsu kirabaya to + Omou-madé. + + [The chirruping of the sémi aggravates the heat until I wish + to cut down the pine-tree on which it sings.] + + "But the days passed quickly; and later, when I heard the crying + of the sémi grow fainter and fainter in the time of the autumn + winds, I began to feel compassion for them, and I made this + second verse:-- + + "Shini-nokoré + Hitotsu bakari wa + Aki no sémi." + + [Now there survives + But a single one + Of the sémi of autumn!] + +Lovers of Pierre Loti (the world's greatest prose-writer) may remember +in _Madame Chrysanthème_ a delightful passage about a Japanese +house,--describing the old dry woodwork as impregnated with sonority by +the shrilling crickets of a hundred summers.[30] There is a Japanese +poem containing a fancy not altogether dissimilar:-- + + Matsu no ki ni + Shimikomu gotoshi + Sémi no koë. + + Into the wood of the pine-tree + Seems to soak + The voice of the sémi. + + [30] Speaking of his own attempt to make a drawing of the + interior, he observes: "Il manque à ce logis dessiné son + air frêle et sa sonorité de violon sec. Dans les traits de + crayon qui représentent les boiseries, il n'y a pas la + précision minutieuse avec laquelle elles sont ouvragées, ni + leur antiquité extrême, ni leur propreté parfaite, _ni les + vibrations de cigales qu' elles semblent avoir emmagasinées + pendant des centaines d'étés dans leurs fibres + desséchées_." + +A very large number of Japanese poems about sémi describe the noise of +the creatures as an affliction. To fully sympathize with the complaints +of the poets, one must have heard certain varieties of Japanese cicadæ +in full midsummer chorus; but even by readers without experience of the +clamor, the following verses will probably be found suggestive:-- + + Waré hitori + Atsui yô nari,-- + Sémi no koë! + --BUNSÔ. + + Meseems that only I,--I alone among mortals,-- + Ever suffered such heat!--oh, the noise of the sémi! + + Ushiro kara + Tsukamu yô nari,-- + Sémi no koë. + --JOFÛ. + + Oh, the noise of the sémi!--a pain of invisible seizure,-- + Clutched in an enemy's grasp,--caught by the hair from behind! + + Yama no Kami no + Mimi no yamai ka?-- + Sémi no koë! + --TEIKOKU. + + What ails the divinity's ears?--how can the God of the Mountain + Suffer such noise to exist?--oh, the tumult of sémi! + + Soko no nai + Atsusa ya kumo ni + Sémi no koë! + --SAREN. + + Fathomless deepens the heat: the ceaseless shrilling of sémi + Mounts, like a hissing of fire, up to the motionless clouds. + + Mizu karété, + Sémi wo fudan-no + Taki no koë. + --GEN-U. + + Water never a drop: the chorus of sémi, incessant, + Mocks the tumultuous hiss,--the rush and foaming of rapids. + + Kagéroishi + Kumo mata satté, + Sémi no koë. + --KITÔ. + + Gone, the shadowing clouds!--again the shrilling of sémi + Rises and slowly swells,--ever increasing the heat! + + Daita ki wa, + Ha mo ugokasazu,-- + Sémi no koë! + --KAFÛ. + + Somewhere fast to the bark he clung; but I cannot see him: + He stirs not even a leaf--oh! the noise of that sémi! + + Tonari kara + Kono ki nikumu ya! + Sémi no koë. + --GYUKAKU. + + All because of the Sémi that sit and shrill on its branches-- + Oh! how this tree of mine is hated now by my neighbor! + +This reminds one of Yayû. We find another poet compassionating a tree +frequented by sémi:-- + + Kazé wa mina + Sémi ni suwarété, + Hito-ki kana! + --CHÔSUI. + + Alas! poor solitary tree!--pitiful now your lot,--every breath + of air having been sucked up by the sémi! + +Sometimes the noise of the sémi is described as a moving force:-- + + Sémi no koë + Ki-gi ni ugoité, + Kazé mo nashi! + --SÔYÔ. + + Every tree in the wood quivers with clamor of sémi: + Motion only of noise--never a breath of wind! + + Také ni kité, + Yuki yori omoshi + Sémi no koë. + --TÔGETSU. + + More heavy than winter-snow the voices of perching sémi: + See how the bamboos bend under the weight of their song![31] + + [31] Japanese artists have found many a charming + inspiration in the spectacle of bamboos bending + under the weight of snow clinging to their tops. + + Morogoë ni + Yama ya ugokasu, + Ki-gi no sémi. + + All shrilling together, the multitudinous sémi + Make, with their ceaseless clamor, even the mountain move. + + Kusunoki mo + Ugoku yô nari, + Sémi no koë. + --BAIJAKU. + + Even the camphor-tree seems to quake with the clamor of sémi! + +Sometimes the sound is compared to the noise of boiling water:-- + + Hizakari wa + Niétatsu sémi no + Hayashi kana! + + In the hour of heaviest heat, how simmers the forest with sémi! + + Niété iru + Mizu bakari nari-- + Sémi no koë. + --TAIMU. + + Simmers all the air with sibilation of sémi, + Ceaseless, wearying sense,--a sound of perpetual boiling. + +Other poets complain especially of the multitude of the noise-makers and +the ubiquity of the noise:-- + + Aritaké no + Ki ni hibiki-kéri + Sémi no koë. + + How many soever the trees, in each rings the voice of the sémi. + + Matsubara wo + Ichi ri wa kitari, + Sémi no koë. + --SENGA. + + Alone I walked for miles into the wood of pine-trees: + Always the one same sémi shrilled its call in my ears. + +Occasionally the subject is treated with comic exaggeration:-- + + Naité iru + Ki yori mo futoshi + Sémi no koë. + + The voice of the sémi is bigger [_thicker_] than the tree on + which it sings. + + Sugi takashi + Sarédomo sémi no + Amaru koë! + + High though the cedar be, the voice of the sémi is incomparably + higher! + + Koë nagaki + Sémi wa mijikaki + Inochi kana! + + How long, alas! the voice and how short the life of the sémi! + +Some poets celebrate the negative form of pleasure following upon the +cessation of the sound:-- + + Sémi ni dété, + Hotaru ni modoru,-- + Suzumi kana! + --YAYÛ. + + When the sémi cease their noise, and the fireflies come + out--oh! how refreshing the hour! + + Sémi no tatsu, + Ato suzushisa yo! + Matsu no koë. + --BAIJAKU. + + When the sémi cease their storm, oh, how refreshing the + stillness! + Gratefully then resounds the musical speech of the pines. + +[Here I may mention, by the way, that there is a little Japanese song +about the _matsu no koë_, in which the onomatope "zazanza" very well +represents the deep humming of the wind in the pine-needles:-- + + Zazanza! + Hama-matsu no oto wa,-- + Zazanza, + Zazanza! + Zazanza! + The sound of the pines of the shore,-- + Zazanza! + Zazanza!] + +There are poets, however, who declare that the feeling produced by the +noise of sémi depends altogether upon the nervous condition of the +listener:-- + + Mori no sémi + Suzushiki koë ya, + Atsuki koë. + --OTSUSHU. + + Sometimes sultry the sound; sometimes, again, refreshing: + The chant of the forest-sémi accords with the hearer's mood. + + Suzushisa mo + Atsusa mo sémi no + Tokoro kana! + --FUHAKU. + + Sometimes we think it cool,--the resting-place of the + sémi;--sometimes we think it hot (it is all a matter of fancy). + + Suzushii to + Omoéba, suzushi + Sémi no koë. + --GINKÔ. + + If we think it is cool, then the voice of the sémi is cool + (that is, the fancy changes the feeling). + +In view of the many complaints of Japanese poets about the noisiness of +sémi, the reader may be surprised to learn that out of sémi-skins there +used to be made in both China and Japan--perhaps upon homoeopathic +principles--a medicine for the cure of ear-ache! + + * * * * * + +One poem, nevertheless, proves that sémi-music has its admirers:-- + + Omoshiroi zo ya, + Waga-ko no koë wa + Takai mori-ki no + Sémi no koë![32] + + Sweet to the ear is the voice of one's own child as the voice + of a sémi perched on a tall forest tree. + + [32] There is another version of this poem:-- + + Omoshiroi zo ya, + Waga-ko no naku wa + Sembu-ségaki no + Kyô yori mo! + + "More sweetly sounds the crying of one's own child + than even the chanting of the sûtra in the service + for the dead." The Buddhist service alluded to is + held to be particularly beautiful. + +But such admiration is rare. More frequently the sémi is represented as +crying for its nightly repast of dew:-- + + Sémi wo kiké,-- + Ichi-nichi naité + Yoru no tsuyu. + --KIKAKU. + + Hear the sémi shrill! So, from earliest dawning, + All the summer day he cries for the dew of night. + + Yû-tsuyu no + Kuchi ni iru madé + Naku sémi ka? + --BAISHITSU. + + Will the sémi continue to cry till the night-dew fills its + mouth? + +Occasionally the sémi is mentioned in love-songs of which the following +is a fair specimen. It belongs to that class of ditties commonly sung by +geisha. Merely as a conceit, I think it pretty, in spite of the +factitious pathos; but to Japanese taste it is decidedly vulgar. The +allusion to beating implies jealousy:-- + + Nushi ni tatakaré, + Washa matsu no sémi + Sugaritsuki-tsuki + Naku bakari! + + Beaten by my jealous lover,-- + Like the sémi on the pine-tree + I can only cry and cling! + +And indeed the following tiny picture is a truer bit of work, according +to Japanese art-principles (I do not know the author's name):-- + + Sémi hitotsu + Matsu no yû-hi wo + Kakaé-kéri. + + Lo! on the topmost pine, a solitary cicada + Vainly attempts to clasp one last red beam of sun. + + + IV + +PHILOSOPHICAL verses do not form a numerous class of Japanese poems +upon sémi; but they possess an interest altogether exotic. As the +metamorphosis of the butterfly supplied to old Greek thought an emblem +of the soul's ascension, so the natural history of the cicada has +furnished Buddhism with similitudes and parables for the teaching of +doctrine. + +Man sheds his body only as the sémi sheds its skin. But each +reincarnation obscures the memory of the previous one: we remember our +former existence no more than the sémi remembers the shell from which it +has emerged. Often a sémi may be found in the act of singing beside its +cast-off skin; therefore a poet has written:-- + + Waré to waga + Kara ya tomurô-- + Sémi no koë. + --YAYÛ. + + Methinks that sémi sits and sings by his former body,-- + Chanting the funeral service over his own dead self. + +This cast-off skin, or simulacrum,--clinging to bole or branch as in +life, and seeming still to stare with great glazed eyes,--has suggested +many things both to profane and to religious poets. In love-songs it is +often likened to a body consumed by passionate longing. In Buddhist +poetry it becomes a symbol of earthly pomp,--the hollow show of human +greatness:-- + + Yo no naka yo + Kaëru no hadaka, + Sémi no kinu! + + Naked as frogs and weak we enter this life of trouble; + Shedding our pomps we pass: so sémi quit their skins. + +But sometimes the poet compares the winged and shrilling sémi to a human +ghost, and the broken shell to the body left behind:-- + + Tamashii wa + Ukiyo ni naité, + Sémi no kara. + + Here the forsaken shell: above me the voice of the creature + Shrills like the cry of a Soul quitting this world of pain. + +Then the great sun-quickened tumult of the cicadæ--landstorm of summer +life foredoomed so soon to pass away--is likened by preacher and poet to +the tumult of human desire. Even as the sémi rise from earth, and climb +to warmth and light, and clamor, and presently again return to dust and +silence,--so rise and clamor and pass the generations of men:-- + + Yagaté shinu + Keshiki wa miézu, + Sémi no koë. + --BASHÔ. + + Never an intimation in all those voices of sémi + How quickly the hush will come,--how speedily all must die. + +I wonder whether the thought in this little verse does not interpret +something of that summer melancholy which comes to us out of nature's +solitudes with the plaint of insect-voices. Unconsciously those millions +of millions of tiny beings are preaching the ancient wisdom of the +East,--the perpetual Sûtra of Impermanency. + +Yet how few of our modern poets have given heed to the voices of +insects! + +Perhaps it is only to minds inexorably haunted by the Riddle of Life +that Nature can speak to-day, in those thin sweet trillings, as she +spake of old to Solomon. + +The Wisdom of the East hears all things. And he that obtains it will +hear the speech of insects,--as Sigurd, tasting the Dragon's Heart, +heard suddenly the talking of birds. + + NOTE.--For the pictures of sémi accompanying this paper, I am + indebted to a curious manuscript work in several volumes, + preserved in the Imperial Library at Uyéno. The work is + entitled _Chûfu-Zusetsu_,--which might be freely rendered as + "Pictures and Descriptions of Insects,"--and is divided into + twelve books. The writer's name is unknown; but he must have + been an amiable and interesting person, to judge from the naïve + preface which he wrote, apologizing for the labors of a + lifetime. "When I was young," he says, "I was very fond of + catching worms and insects, and making pictures of their + shapes,--so that these pictures have now become several hundred + in number." He believes that he has found a good reason for + studying insects: "Among the multitude of living creatures in + this world," he says, "those having large bodies are familiar: + we know very well their names, shapes, and virtues, and the + poisons which they possess. But there remain very many small + creatures whose natures are still unknown, notwithstanding the + fact that such little beings as insects and worms are able to + injure men and to destroy what has value. So I think that it is + very important for us to learn what insects or worms have + special virtues or poisons." It appears that he had sent to him + "from other countries" some kinds of insects "that eat the + leaves and shoots of trees;" but he could not "get their exact + names." For the names of domestic insects, he consulted many + Chinese and Japanese books, and has been "able to write the + names with the proper Chinese characters;" but he tells us that + he did not fail "to pick up also the names given to worms and + insects by old farmers and little boys." The preface is dated + thus:--"_Ansei Kanoté, the third month--at a little cottage_" + [1856]. + + With the introduction of scientific studies the author of the + _Chûfu-Zusetsu_ could no longer hope to attract attention. Yet + his very modest and very beautiful work was forgotten only a + moment. It is now a precious curiosity; and the old man's ghost + might to-day find some happiness in a visit to the Imperial + Library. + + + + + Japanese Female Names + + [Decoration] + + I + + +BY the Japanese a certain kind of girl is called a +Rose-Girl,--_Bara-Musumé_. Perhaps my reader will think of Tennyson's +"queen-rose of the rosebud-garden of girls," and imagine some analogy +between the Japanese and the English idea of femininity symbolized by +the rose. But there is no analogy whatever. The _Bara-Musumé_ is not so +called because she is delicate and sweet, nor because she blushes, nor +because she is rosy; indeed, a rosy face is not admired in Japan. No; +she is compared to a rose chiefly for the reason that a rose has thorns. +The man who tries to pull a Japanese rose is likely to hurt his fingers. +The man who tries to win a _Bara-Musumé_ is apt to hurt himself much +more seriously,--even unto death. It were better, alone and unarmed, to +meet a tiger than to invite the caress of a Rose-Girl. + +Now the appellation of _Bara-Musumé_--much more rational as a simile +than many of our own floral comparisons--can seem strange only because +it is not in accord with our poetical usages and emotional habits. It is +one in a thousand possible examples of the fact that Japanese similes +and metaphors are not of the sort that he who runs may read. And this +fact is particularly well exemplified in the _yobina_, or personal names +of Japanese women. Because a _yobina_ happens to be identical with the +name of some tree, or bird, or flower, it does not follow that the +personal appellation conveys to Japanese imagination ideas resembling +those which the corresponding English word would convey, under like +circumstances, to English imagination. Of the _yobina_ that seem to us +especially beautiful in translation, only a small number are bestowed +for æsthetic reasons. Nor is it correct to suppose, as many persons +still do, that Japanese girls are usually named after flowers, or +graceful shrubs, or other beautiful objects. Æsthetic appellations are +in use; but the majority of _yobina_ are not æsthetic. Some years ago a +young Japanese scholar published an interesting essay upon this +subject. He had collected the personal names of about four hundred +students of the Higher Normal School for Females,--girls from every part +of the Empire; and he found on his list only between fifty and sixty +names possessing æsthetic quality. But concerning even these he was +careful to observe only that they "_caused_ an æsthetic sensation,"--not +that they had been given for æsthetic reasons. Among them were such +names as _Saki_ (Cape), _Miné_ (Peak), _Kishi_ (Beach), _Hama_ (Shore), +_Kuni_ (Capital),--originally place-names;--_Tsuru_ (Stork), _Tazu_ +(Ricefield Stork), and _Chizu_ (Thousand Storks);--also such +appellations as _Yoshino_ (Fertile Field), _Orino_ (Weavers' Field), +_Shirushi_ (Proof), and _Masago_ (Sand). Few of these could seem +æsthetic to a Western mind; and probably no one of them was originally +given for æsthetic reasons. Names containing the character for "Stork" +are names having reference to longevity, not to beauty; and a large +number of names with the termination "_no_" (field or plain) are names +referring to moral qualities. I doubt whether even fifteen per cent of +_yobina_ are really æsthetic. A very much larger proportion are names +expressing moral or mental qualities. Tenderness, kindness, deftness, +cleverness, are frequently represented by _yobina_; but appellations +implying physical charm, or suggesting æsthetic ideas only, are +comparatively uncommon. One reason for the fact may be that very +æsthetic names are given to _geisha_ and to _jôro_, and consequently +vulgarized. But the chief reason certainly is that the domestic virtues +still occupy in Japanese moral estimate a place not less important than +that accorded to religious faith in the life of our own Middle Ages. Not +in theory only, but in every-day practice, moral beauty is placed far +above physical beauty; and girls are usually selected as wives, not for +their good looks, but for their domestic qualities. Among the middle +classes a very æsthetic name would not be considered in the best taste; +among the poorer classes, it would scarcely be thought respectable. +Ladies of rank, on the other hand, are privileged to bear very poetical +names; yet the majority of the aristocratic yobina also are moral rather +than æsthetic. + + * * * * * + +But the first great difficulty in the way of a study of _yobina_ is the +difficulty of translating them. A knowledge of spoken Japanese can help +you very little indeed. A knowledge of Chinese also is indispensable. +The meaning of a name written in _kana_ only,--in the Japanese +characters,--cannot be, in most cases, even guessed at. The Chinese +characters of the name can alone explain it. The Japanese essayist, +already referred to, found himself obliged to throw out no less than +thirty-six names out of a list of two hundred and thirteen, simply +because these thirty-six, having been recorded only in _kana_, could not +be interpreted. _Kana_ give only the pronunciation; and the +pronunciation of a woman's name explains nothing in a majority of cases. +Transliterated into Romaji, a _yobina_ may signify two, three, or even +half-a-dozen different things. One of the names thrown out of the list +was _Banka_. _Banka_ might signify "Mint" (the plant), which would be a +pretty name; but it might also mean "Evening-haze." _Yuka_, another +rejected name, might be an abbreviation of _Yukabutsu_, "precious"; but +it might just as well mean "a floor." _Nochi_, a third example, might +signify "future"; yet it could also mean "a descendant," and various +other things. My reader will be able to find many other homonyms in the +lists of names given further on. _Ai_ in Romaji, for instance, may +signify either "love" or "indigo-blue";--_Chô_, "a butterfly," or +"superior," or "long";--_Ei_, either "sagacious" or "blooming";--_Kei_, +either "rapture" or "reverence";--_Sato_, either "native home" or +"sugar";--_Toshi_, either "year" or "arrow-head";--_Taka_, "tall," +"honorable," or "falcon." The chief, and, for the present, insuperable +obstacle to the use of Roman letters in writing Japanese, is the +prodigious number of homonyms in the language. You need only glance into +any good Japanese-English dictionary to understand the gravity of this +obstacle. Not to multiply examples, I shall merely observe that there +are nineteen words spelled _chô_; twenty-one spelled _ki_; twenty-five +spelled _to_ or _tô_; and no less than forty-nine spelled _ko_ or _kô_. + + * * * * * + +Yet, as I have already suggested, the real signification of a woman's +name cannot be ascertained even from a literal translation made with the +help of the Chinese characters. Such a name, for instance, as _Kagami_ +(Mirror) really signifies the Pure-Minded, and this not in the +Occidental, but in the Confucian sense of the term. _Umé_ +(Plum-blossom) is a name referring to wifely devotion and virtue. +_Matsu_ (Pine) does not refer, as an appellation, to the beauty of the +tree, but to the fact that its evergreen foliage is the emblem of +vigorous age. The name _Také_ (Bamboo) is given to a child only because +the bamboo has been for centuries a symbol of good-fortune. The name +_Sen_ (Wood-fairy) sounds charmingly to Western fancy; yet it expresses +nothing more than the parents' hope of long life for their daughter and +her offspring,--wood-fairies being supposed to live for thousands of +years.... Again, many names are of so strange a sort that it is +impossible to discover their meaning without questioning either the +bearer or the giver; and sometimes all inquiry proves vain, because the +original meaning has been long forgotten. + +Before attempting to go further into the subject, I shall here offer a +translation of the Tôkyô essayist's list of names,--rearranged in +alphabetical order, without honorific prefixes or suffixes. Although +some classes of common names are not represented, the list will serve to +show the character of many still popular _yobina_, and also to +illustrate several of the facts to which I have already called +attention. + + SELECTED NAMES OF STUDENTS AND GRADUATES + OF THE HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOL FOR + FEMALES (1880-1895):-- + + Number of + students + so named. + _Ai_ ("Indigo,"--the color) 1 + _Ai_ ("Love") 1 + _Akasuké_ ("The Bright Helper") 1 + _Asa_ ("Morning") 1 + _Asa_ ("Shallow")[33] 2 + + [33] Probably a place-name originally. + + _Au_ ("Meeting") 2 + _Bun_ ("Composition"--in the literary sense)[34] 1 + + [34] Might we not quaintly say, "A Fair Writing"? + + _Chika_ ("Near")[35] 5 + + [35] Probably in the sense of "near and dear"--but not + certainly so. + + _Chitosé_ ("A Thousand Years") 1 + _Chiyo_ ("A Thousand Generations") 1 + _Chizu_ ("Thousand Storks") 1 + _Chô_ ("Butterfly") 1 + _Chô_ ("Superior") 2 + _Ei_ ("Clever") 1 + _Ei_ ("Blooming") 2 + _Etsu_ ("Delight") 1 + _Fudé_ ("Writing-brush") 1 + _Fuji_ ("Fuji,"--the mountain) 1 + _Fuji_ ("Wistaria-flower") 2 + _Fuki_ ("Fuki,"--name of a plant, _Nardosmia + Japonica_) 1 + _Fuku_ ("Good-fortune") 2 + _Fumi_ ("Letter")[36] 5 + + [36] _Fumi_ signifies here a letter written by a woman + only--a letter written according to the rules of + feminine epistolary style. + + _Fumino_ ("Letter-field") 1 + _Fusa_ ("Tassel") 3 + _Gin_ ("Silver") 2 + _Hama_ ("Shore") 3 + _Hana_ ("Blossom") 3 + _Haruë_ ("Spring-time Bay") 1 + _Hatsu_ ("The First-born") 2 + _Hidé_ ("Excellent") 4 + _Hidé_ ("Fruitful") 2 + _Hisano_ ("Long Plain") 2 + _Ichi_ ("Market") 4 + _Iku_ ("Nourishing") 3 + _Iné_ ("Springing Rice") 3 + _Ishi_ ("Stone") 1 + _Ito_ ("Thread") 4 + _Iwa_ ("Rock") 1 + _Jun_ ("The Obedient")[37] 1 + + [37] _Jun suru_ means to be obedient unto death. The + word _jun_ has a much stronger signification than + that which attaches to our word "obedience" in + these modern times. + + _Kagami_ ("Mirror") 3 + _Kama_ ("Sickle") 1 + _Kamé_ ("Tortoise") 2 + _Kaméyo_ ("Generations-of-the-Tortoise")[38] 1 + + [38] The tortoise is supposed to live for a thousand + years. + + _Kan_ ("The Forbearing")[39] 11 + + [39] Abbreviation of _kannin_, "forbearance," + "self-control," etc. The name might equally well + be translated "Patience." + + _Kana_ ("Character"--in the sense of written + character)[40] 2 + + [40] _Kana_ signifies the Japanese syllabary,--the + characters with which the language is written. The + reader may imagine, if he wishes, that the name + signifies the Alpha and Omega of all feminine + charm; but I confess that I have not been able to + find any satisfactory explanation of it. + + _Kané_ ("Bronze") 3 + _Katsu_ ("Victorious") 2 + _Kazashi_ ("Hair-pin,"--or any ornament worn + in the hair) 1 + _Kazu_ ("Number,"--i.e., "great number") 1 + _Kei_ ("The Respectful") 3 + _Ken_ ("Humility") 1 + _Kiku_ ("Chrysanthemum") 6 + _Kikuë_ ("Chrysanthemum-branch") 1 + _Kikuno_ ("Chrysanthemum-field") 1 + _Kimi_ ("Sovereign") 1 + _Kin_ ("Gold") 4 + _Kinu_ ("Cloth-of-Silk") 1 + _Kishi_ ("Beach") 2 + _Kiyo_ ("Happy Generations") 1 + _Kiyo_ ("Pure") 5 + _Ko_ ("Chime,"--the sound of a bell) 1 + _Kô_ ("Filial Piety") 11 + _Kô_ ("The Fine") 1 + _Koma_ ("Filly") 1 + _Komé_ ("Cleaned Rice") 1 + _Koto_ ("Koto,"--the Japanese harp) 4 + _Kuma_ ("Bear") 1 + _Kumi_ ("Braid") 1 + _Kuni_ ("Capital,"--chief city) 1 + _Kuni_ ("Province") 3 + _Kura_ ("Treasure-house") 1 + _Kurano_ ("Storehouse-field") 1 + _Kuri_ ("Chestnut") 1 + _Kuwa_ ("Mulberry-tree") 1 + _Masa_ ("Straightforward,"--upright) 3 + _Masago_ ("Sand") 1 + _Masu_ ("Increase") 3 + _Masuë_ ("Branch-of-Increase") 1 + _Matsu_ ("Pine") 2 + _Matsuë_ ("Pine-branch") 1 + _Michi_ ("The Way,"--doctrine) 4 + _Mië_ ("Triple Branch") 1 + _Mikië_ ("Main-branch") 1 + _Miné_ ("Peak") 2 + _Mitsu_ ("Light") 5 + _Mitsuë_ ("Shining Branch") 1 + _Morië_ ("Service-Bay")[41] 1 + + [41] The word "service" here refers especially to + attendance at meal-time,--to the serving of rice, + etc. + + _Naka_ ("The Midmost") 4 + _Nami_ ("Wave") 1 + _Nobu_ ("Fidelity") 6 + _Nobu_ ("The Prolonger")[42] 1 + + [42] Perhaps in the hopeful meaning of extending the + family-line; but more probably in the signification + that a daughter's care prolongs the life of her + parents, or of her husband's parents. + + _Nobuë_ ("Lengthening-branch") 1 + _Nui_ ("Tapestry,"--or, Embroidery) 1 + _Orino_ ("Weaving-Field") 1 + _Raku_ ("Pleasure") 3 + _Ren_ ("The Arranger") 1 + _Riku_ ("Land,"--ground) 1 + _Roku_ ("Emolument") 1 + _Ryô_ ("Dragon") 1 + _Ryû_ ("Lofty") 3 + _Sada_ ("The Chaste") 8 + _Saki_ ("Cape,"--promontory) 1 + _Saku_ ("Composition")[43] 3 + + [43] Abbreviation of _sakubun_, a literary composition. + + _Sato_ ("Home,"--native place) 2 + _Sawa_ ("Marsh") 1 + _Sei_ ("Force") 1 + _Seki_ ("Barrier,"--city-gate, toll-gate, etc.). 3 + _Sen_ ("Fairy")[44] 3 + + [44] As a matter of fact, we have no English equivalent + for the word "sen," or "sennin,"--signifying a + being possessing magical powers of all kinds and + living for thousands of years. Some authorities + consider the belief in _sennin_ of Indian origin, + and probably derived from old traditions of the + Rishi. + + _Setsu_ ("True,"--tender and true) 2 + _Shidzu_ ("The Calmer") 1 + _Shidzu_ ("Peace") 2 + _Shigë_ ("Two-fold") 2 + _Shika_ ("Deer") 2 + _Shikaë_ ("Deer-Inlet") 1 + _Shimé_ ("The Clasp,"--fastening) 1 + _Shin_ ("Truth") 1 + _Shina_ ("Goods") 1 + _Shina_ ("Virtue") 1 + _Shino_ ("Slender Bamboo") 1 + _Shirushi_ ("The Proof,"--evidence) 1 + _Shun_ ("The Excellent") 1 + _Sué_ ("The Last") 2 + _Sugi_ ("Cedar,"--cryptomeria) 1 + _Suté_ ("Forsaken,"--foundling) 1 + _Suzu_ ("Little Bell") 8 + _Suzu_ ("Tin") 1 + _Suzuë_ ("Branch of Little Bells") 1 + _Taë_ ("Exquisite") 1 + _Taka_ ("Honor") 2 + _Taka_ ("Lofty") 9 + _Také_ ("Bamboo") 1 + _Tama_ ("Jewel") 1 + _Tamaki_ ("Ring") 1 + _Tamé_ ("For-the-Sake-of--") 3 + _Tani_ ("Valley") 4 + _Tazu_ ("Ricefield-Stork") 1 + _Tetsu_ ("Iron") 4 + _Toku_ ("Virtue") 2 + _Tomé_ ("Stop,"--cease)[45] 1 + + [45] Such a name may signify that the parents resolved, + after the birth of the girl, to have no more + children. + + _Tomi_ ("Riches") 3 + _Tomijû_ ("Wealth-and-Longevity") 1 + _Tomo_ ("The Friend") 4 + _Tora_ ("Tiger") 1 + _Toshi_ ("Arrowhead") 1 + _Toyo_ ("Abundance") 3 + _Tsugi_ ("Next,"--i. e., second in order of birth) 2 + _Tsuna_ ("Bond,"--rope, or fetter) 1 + _Tsuné_ ("The Constant,"--or, as we should say, + Constance) 10 + _Tsuru_ ("Stork") 4 + _Umé_ ("Plum-blossom") 1 + _Umégaë_ ("Plumtree-spray") 1 + _Uméno_ ("Plumtree-field") 2 + _Urano_ ("Shore-field") 1 + _Ushi_ ("Cow,"--or Ox)[46] 1 + + [46] This extraordinary name is probably to be explained + as a reference to date of birth. According to the + old Chinese astrology, years, months, days, and + hours were all named after the Signs of the Zodiac, + and were supposed to have some mystic relation to + those signs. I surmise that Miss Ushi was born at + the Hour of the Ox, on the Day of the Ox, in the + Month of the Ox and the Year of the Ox--"_Ushi no + Toshi no Ushi no Tsuki no Ushi no Hi no Ushi no + Koku._" + + _Uta_ ("Poem,"--or Song) 1 + _Wakana_ ("Young _Na_,"--probably the rape-plant + is referred to) 1 + _Yaë_ ("Eight-fold") 1 + _Yasu_ ("The Tranquil") 1 + _Yô_ ("The Positive,"--as opposed to Negative + or Feminine in the old Chinese + philosophy;--therefore, perhaps, + Masculine) 1 + _Yoné_ ("Rice,"--in the old sense of wealth) 4 + _Yoshi_ ("The Good") 1 + _Yoshino_ ("Good Field") 1 + _Yû_ ("The Valiant") 1 + _Yuri_ ("Lily") 1 + +It will be observed that in the above list the names referring to +Constancy, Forbearance, and Filial Piety have the highest numbers +attached to them. + + + II + +A FEW of the more important rules in regard to Japanese female names +must now be mentioned. + +The great majority of these _yobina_ are words of two syllables. +Personal names of respectable women, belonging to the middle and lower +classes, are nearly always dissyllables--except in cases where the name +is lengthened by certain curious suffixes which I shall speak of further +on. Formerly a name of three or more syllables indicated that the bearer +belonged to a superior class. But, even among the upper classes to-day, +female names of only two syllables are in fashion. + +Among the people it is customary that a female name of two syllables +should be preceded by the honorific "O," and followed by the title +"San,"--as _O-Matsu San_, "the Honorable Miss [or Mrs.] Pine"; _O-Umé +San_, "the Honorable Miss Plum-blossom."[47] But if the name happen to +have three syllables, the honorific "O" is not used. A woman named +_Kikuë_ ("Chrysanthemum-Branch") is not addressed as "O-Kikuë San," but +only as "Kikuë San." + + [47] Under certain conditions of intimacy, both prefix and title + are dropped. They are dropped also by the superior in + addressing an inferior;--for example, a lady would not + address her maid as "_O-Yoné San_," but merely as "_Yoné_." + +Before the names of ladies, the honorific "O" is no longer used as +formerly,--even when the name consists of one syllable only. Instead of +the prefix, an honorific suffix is appended to the _yobina_,--the suffix +_ko_. A peasant girl named _Tomi_ would be addressed by her equals as +_O-Tomi San_. But a lady of the same name would be addressed as +_Tomiko_. Mrs. Shimoda, head-teacher of the Peeresses' School, for +example, has the beautiful name _Uta_. She would be addressed by letter +as "Shimoda Utako," and would so sign herself in replying;--the +family-name, by Japanese custom, always preceding the personal name, +instead of being, as with us, placed after it. + +This suffix _ko_ is written with the Chinese character meaning "child," +and must not be confused with the word _ko_, written with a different +Chinese character, and meaning "little," which so often appears in the +names of dancing girls. I should venture to say that this genteel suffix +has the value of a caressing diminutive, and that the name _Aiko_ might +be fairly well rendered by the "Amoretta" of Spenser's _Faerie Queene_. +Be this as it may, a Japanese lady named _Setsu_ or _Sada_ would not be +addressed in these days as O-Setsu or O-Sada, but as Setsuko or Sadako. +On the other hand, if a woman of the people were to sign herself as +Setsuko or Sadako, she would certainly be laughed at,--since the suffix +would give to her appellation the meaning of "the Lady Setsu," or "the +Lady Sada." + +I have said that the honorific "O" is placed before the _yobina_ of +women of the middle and lower classes. Even the wife of a _kurumaya_ +would probably be referred to as the "Honorable Mrs. Such-a-one." But +there are very remarkable exceptions to this general rule regarding the +prefix "O." In some country-districts the common _yobina_ of two +syllables is made a trisyllable by the addition of a peculiar suffix; +and before such trisyllabic names the "O" is never placed. For example, +the girls of Wakayama, in the Province of Kii, usually have added to +their _yobina_ the suffix "_ë_,"[48] signifying "inlet," "bay," +"frith,"--sometimes "river." Thus we find such names as _Namië_ +("Wave-Bay"), _Tomië_ ("Riches-Bay"), _Sumië_ ("Dwelling-Bay"), _Shizuë_ +("Quiet-Bay"), _Tamaë_ ("Jewel-Bay"). Again there is a provincial suffix +"_no_" meaning "field" or "plain," which is attached to the majority of +female names in certain districts. _Yoshino_ ("Fertile Field"), _Uméno_ +("Plumflower Field"), _Shizuno_ ("Quiet Field"), _Urano_ ("Coast +Field"), _Utano_ ("Song Field"), are typical names of this class. A girl +called _Namië_ or _Kikuno_ is not addressed as "O-Namië San" or +"O-Kikuno San," but as "Namië San," "Kikuno San." + + [48] This suffix must not be confused with the suffix "_ë_," + signifying "branch," which is also attached to many popular + names. Without seeing the Chinese character, you cannot + decide whether the name _Tamaë_, for example, means + "Jewel-branch" or "Jewel Inlet." + +"San" (abbreviation of _Sama_, a word originally meaning "form," +"appearance"), when placed after a female name, corresponds to either +our "Miss" or "Mrs." Placed after a man's name it has at least the value +of our "Mr.",--perhaps even more. The unabbreviated form _Sama_ is +placed after the names of high personages of either sex, and after the +names of divinities: the Shintô Gods are styled the _Kami-Sama_, which +might be translated as "the Lords Supreme"; the Bodhisattva Jizô is +called _Jizô-Sama_, "the Lord Jizô." A lady may also be styled "Sama." A +lady called _Ayako_, for instance, might very properly be addressed as +Ayako Sama. But when a lady's name, independently of the suffix, +consists of more than three syllables, it is customary to drop either +the _ko_ or the title. Thus "the Lady Ayamé" would not be spoken of as +"Ayaméko Sama," but more euphoniously as "Ayamé Sama,"[49] or as +"Ayaméko." + + [49] "Ayamé Sama," however, is rather familiar; and this form + cannot be used by a stranger in verbal address, though a + letter may be directed with the name so written. As a + rule, the _ko_ is the more respectful form. + +So much having been said as regards the etiquette of prefixes +and suffixes, I shall now attempt a classification of female +names,--beginning with popular _yobina_. These will be found +particularly interesting, because they reflect something of race-feeling +in the matter of ethics and æsthetics, and because they serve to +illustrate curious facts relating to Japanese custom. The first place I +have given to names of purely moral meaning,--usually bestowed in the +hope that the children will grow up worthy of them. But the lists should +in no case be regarded as complete: they are only representative. +Furthermore, I must confess my inability to explain the reason of many +names, which proved as much of riddles to Japanese friends as to myself. + + + NAMES OF VIRTUES AND PROPRIETIES + + _O-Ai_ "Love." + _O-Chië_ "Intelligence." + _O-Chû_ "Loyalty." + _O-Jin_ "Tenderness,"--humanity. + _O-Jun_ "Faithful-to-death." + _O-Kaiyô_ "Forgiveness,"--pardon. + _O-Ken_ "Wise,"--in the sense of moral discernment. + _O-Kô_ "Filial Piety." + _O-Masa_ "Righteous,"--just. + _O-Michi_ "The Way,"--doctrine. + _Misao_ "Honor,"--wifely fidelity. + _O-Nao_ "The Upright,"--honest. + _O-Nobu_ "The Faithful." + _O-Rei_ "Propriety,"--in the old Chinese sense. + _O-Retsu_ "Chaste and True." + _O-Ryô_ "The Generous,"--magnanimous. + _O-Sada_ "The Chaste." + _O-Sei_ "Truth." + _O-Shin_ "Faith,"--in the sense of fidelity, trust. + _O-Shizu_ "The Tranquil,"--calm-souled. + _O-Setsu_ "Fidelity,"--wifely virtue. + _O-Tamé_ "For-the-sake-of,"--a name suggesting + unselfishness. + _O-Tei_ "The Docile,"--in the meaning of virtuous + obedience. + _O-Toku_ "Virtue." + _O-Tomo_ "The Friend,"--especially in the meaning of + mate, companion. + _O-Tsuné_ "Constancy." + _O-Yasu_ "The Amiable,"--gentle. + _O-Yoshi_ "The Good." + _O-Yoshi_ "The Respectful." + +The next list will appear at first sight more heterogeneous than it +really is. It contains a larger variety of appellations than the +previous list; but nearly all of the _yobina_ refer to some good quality +which the parents trust that the child will display, or to some future +happiness which they hope that she will deserve. To the latter category +belong such names of felicitation as _Miyo_ and _Masayo_. + + + MISCELLANEOUS NAMES EXPRESSING PERSONAL QUALITIES, OR PARENTAL HOPES + + _O-Atsu_ "The Generous,"--liberal. + _O-Chika_ "Closely Dear." + _O-Chika_ "Thousand Rejoicings." + _O-Chô_ "The Long,"--probably in reference to life. + _O-Dai_ "Great." + _O-Den_ "Transmission,"--bequest from ancestors, tradition. + _O-É_ "Fortunate." + _O-Ei_ "Prosperity." + _O-En_ "Charm." + _O-En_ "Prolongation,"--of life. + _O-Etsu_ "Surpassing." + _O-Etsu_ "The Playful,"--merry, joyous. + _O-Fuku_ "Good Luck." + _O-Gen_ "Source,"--spring, fountain. + _O-Haya_ "The Quick,"--light, nimble. + _O-Hidé_ "Superior." + _Hidéyo_ "Superior Generations." + _O-Hiro_ "The Broad." + _O-Hisa_ "The Long." (?) + _Isamu_ "The Vigorous,"--spirited, robust. + _O-Jin_ "Superexcellent." + _Kaméyo_ "Generations-of-the-Tortoise." + _O-Kané_[50] "The Doubly-Accomplished." + + [50] From the strange verb _kaneru_, signifying, to do two + things at the same time. + + _Kaoru_ "The Fragrant." + _O-Kata_ "Worthy Person." + _O-Katsu_ "The Victorious." + _O-Kei_ "Delight." + _O-Kei_ "The Respectful." + _O-Ken_ "The Humble." + _O-Kichi_ "The Fortunate." + _O-Kimi_ "The Sovereign,"--peerless. + _O-Kiwa_ "The Distinguished." + _O-Kiyo_ } {"The Clear,"--in the sense of + _Kiyoshi_ } { bright, beautiful. + _O-Kuru_ "She-who-Comes" (?).[51] + + [51] One is reminded of, "O whistle, and I'll come to you, + my lad"--but no Japanese female name could have the + implied signification. More probably the reference is + to household obedience. + + _O-Maru_ "The Round,"--plump. + _O-Masa_ "The Genteel." + _Masayo_ "Generations-of-the-Just." + _O-Masu_ "Increase." + _O-Mië_ "Triple Branch." + _O-Miki_ "Stem." + _O-Mio_ "Triple Cord." + _O-Mitsu_ "Abundance." + _O-Miwa_ "The Far-seeing." + _O-Miwa_ "Three Spokes" (?).[52] + + [52] Such is the meaning of the characters. I cannot + understand the name. A Buddhist explanation suggests + itself; but there are few, if any, Buddhist _yobina_. + + _O-Miyo_ "Beautiful Generations." + _Miyuki_[53] "Deep Snow." + + [53] This beautiful name refers to the silence and calm + following a heavy snowfall. But, even for the Japanese, + it is an æsthetic name also--suggesting both + tranquillity and beauty. + + _O-Moto_ "Origin." + _O-Naka_ "Friendship." + _O-Rai_ "Trust." + _O-Raku_[54] "Pleasure." + + [54] The name seems curious, in view of the common proverb, + _Raku wa ku no tané_,--"Pleasure is the seed of pain." + + _O-Sachi_ "Bliss." + _O-Sai_ "The Talented." + _Sakaë_ "Prosperity." + _O-Saku_ "The Blooming." + _O-Sei_ "The Refined,"--in the sense of "clear." + _O-Sei_ "Force." + _O-Sen_ "Sennin,"--wood-fairy. + _O-Shigé_ "Exuberant." + _O-Shimé_ "The Total,"--_summum bonum_. + _O-Shin_ "The Fresh." + _O-Shin_ "Truth." + _O-Shina_ "Goods,"--possessions. + _Shirushi_ "Proof,"--evidence. + _O-Shizu_ "The Humble." + _O-Shô_ "Truth." + _O-Shun_ "Excellence." + _O-Suki_ "The Beloved,"--_Aimée_. + _O-Suké_ "The Helper." + _O-Sumi_ "The Refined,"--in the sense of "sifted." + _O-Suté_ "The Forsaken,"--foundling.[55] + + [55] Not necessarily a real foundling. Sometimes the name + may be explained by a curious old custom. In a certain + family several children in succession die shortly after + birth. It is decided, according to traditional usage, + that the next child born must be exposed. A girl is the + next child born;--she is carried by a servant to some + lonely place in the fields, or elsewhere, and left + there. Then a peasant, or other person, hired for the + occasion (it is necessary that he should be of no kin + to the family), promptly appears, pretends to find the + babe, and carries it back to the parental home. "See + this pretty foundling," he says to the father of the + girl,--"will you not take care of it?" The child is + received, and named "Suté," the foundling. By this + innocent artifice, it was formerly (and perhaps in some + places is still) supposed that those unseen influences, + which had caused the death of the other children, might + be thwarted. + + _O-Taë_ "The Exquisite." + _O-Taka_ "The Honorable." + _O-Taka_ "The Tall." + _Takara_ "Treasure,"--precious object. + _O-Tama_ "Jewel." + _Tamaë_ "Jewel-branch." + _Tokiwa_[56] "Eternally Constant." + + [56] Lit., "Everlasting-Rock,"--but the ethical meaning is + "Constancy-everlasting-as-the-Rocks." "Tokiwa" is a + name famous both in history and tradition; for it was + the name of the mother of Yoshitsuné. Her touching + story,--and especially the episode of her flight + through the deep snow with her boys,--has been a source + of inspiration to generations of artists. + + _O-Tomi_ "Riches." + _O-Toshi_ "The Deft,"--skilful. + _O-Tsuma_ "The Wife." + _O-Yori_ "The Trustworthy." + _O-Waka_ "The Young." + +Place-names, or geographical names, are common; but they are +particularly difficult to explain. A child may be called after a place +because born there, or because the parental home was there, or because +of beliefs belonging to the old Chinese philosophy regarding direction +and position, or because of traditional custom, or because of ideas +connected with the religion of Shintô. + + + PLACE-NAMES + + _O-Fuji_ [Mount] "Fuji." + _O-Hama_ "Coast." + _O-Ichi_ "Market,"--fair. + _O-Iyo_ "Iyo,"--province of Iyo, in Shikoku. + _O-Kawa_ (rare) "River." + _O-Kishi_ "Beach,"--shore. + _O-Kita_ "North." + _O-Kiwa_ "Border." + _O-Kuni_ "Province." + _O-Kyô_ "Capital,"--metropolis,--Kyôto. + _O-Machi_ "Town." + _Matsuë_ "Matsuë,"--chief city of Izumo. + _O-Mina_[57] "South." + + [57] Abbreviation of _Minami_. + + _O-Miné_ "Peak." + _O-Miya_ "Temple" [_Shintô_].[58] + + [58] I must confess that in classing this name as a + place-name, I am only making a guess. It seems to me + that the name probably refers to the _ichi no miya_, or + chief Shintô temple of some province. + + _O-Mon_[59] "Gate." + + [59] I fancy that this name, like that of O-Séki, must + have originated in the custom of naming children after + the place, or neighborhood, where the family lived. But + here again, I am guessing. + + _O-Mura_ "Village." + _O-Nami_[60] "Wave." + + [60] This classification also is a guess. I could learn + nothing about the name, except the curious fact that it + is said to be unlucky. + + _Naniwa_ "Naniwa,"--ancient name of Ôsaka. + _O-Nishi_ "West." + _O-Rin_ "Park." + _O-Saki_ "Cape." + _O-Sato_ "Native Place,"--village,--also, home. + _O-Sawa_ "Marsh." + _O-Seki_ "Toll-Gate,"--barrier. + _Shigéki_ "Thickwood,"--forest. + _O-Shima_ "Island." + _O-Sono_ "Flower-garden." + _O-Taki_ "Cataract,"--or Waterfall. + _O-Tani_ "Valley." + _O-Tsuka_ "Milestone." + _O-Yama_ "Mountain." + +The next list is a curious medley, so far as regards the quality of the +_yobina_ comprised in it. Some are really æsthetic and pleasing; others +industrial only; while a few might be taken for nicknames of the most +disagreeable kind. + + + NAMES OF OBJECTS AND OF OCCUPATIONS ESPECIALLY PERTAINING TO WOMEN + + _Ayako_ or } "Damask-pattern." + _O-Aya_[61] } + + [61] _Aya-Nishiki_,--the famous figured damask brocade of + Kyôto,--is probably referred to. + + _O-Fumi_ "Woman's Letter." + _O-Fusa_ "Tassel." + _O-Ito_ "Thread." + _O-Kama_[62] "Rice-Sickle." + + [62] _O-Kama_ (Sickle) is a familiar peasant-name. _O-Kama_ + (caldron, or iron cooking-pot), and several other + ugly names in this list are servants' names. Servants + in old time not only trained their children to become + servants, but gave them particular names referring + to their future labors. + + _O-Kama_ "Caldron." + _Kazashi_ "Hair-pin." + _O-Kinu_ "Cloth-of-Silk." + _O-Koto_ "Harp." + _O-Nabé_ "Pot,"--or cooking-vessel. + _O-Nui_ "Embroidery." + _O-Shimé_ "Clasp,"--ornamental fastening. + _O-Somé_ "The Dyer." + _O-Taru_ "Cask,"--barrel. + +The following list consists entirely of material nouns used as names. +There are several _yobina_ among them of which I cannot find the +emblematical meaning. Generally speaking, the _yobina_ which signify +precious substances, such as silver and gold, are æsthetic names; and +those which signify common hard substances, such as stone, rock, iron, +are intended to suggest firmness or strength of character. But the name +"Rock" is also sometimes used as a symbol of the wish for long life, or +long continuance of the family line. The curious name _Suna_ has +nothing, however, to do with individual "grit": it is half-moral and +half-æsthetic. Fine sand--especially colored sand--is much prized in +this fairy-land of landscape-gardening, where it is used to cover spaces +that must always be kept spotless and beautiful, and never +trodden,--except by the gardener. + + + MATERIAL NOUNS USED AS NAMES + + _O-Gin_ "Silver." + _O-Ishi_ "Stone." + _O-Iwa_ "Rock." + _O-Kané_ "Bronze." + _O-Kazé_[63] "Air,"--perhaps Wind. + + [63] I cannot find any explanation of this curious name. + + _O-Kin_ "Gold." + _O-Ruri_[64]} "Emerald,"--emeraldine? + _Ruriko_ } + + [64] The Japanese name does not give the same quality + of æsthetic sensation as the name Esmeralda. The _ruri_ + is not usually green, but blue; and the term "ruri-iro" + (emerald color) commonly signifies a dark violet. + + _O-Ryû_ "Fine Metal." + _O-Sato_ "Sugar." + _O-Seki_ "Stone." + _O-Shiwo_ "Salt." + _O-Suna_ "Sand." + _O-Suzu_ "Tin." + _O-Tané_ "Seed." + _O-Tetsu_ "Iron." + +The following five _yobina_ are æsthetic names,--although literally +signifying things belonging to intellectual work. Four of them, at +least, refer to calligraphy,--the matchless calligraphy of the Far +East,--rather than to anything that we should call "_literary_ beauty." + + + LITERARY NAMES + + _O-Bun_ "Composition." + _O-Fudé_ "Writing-Brush." + _O-Fumi_ "Letter." + _O-Kaku_ "Writing." + _O-Uta_ "Poem." + +Names relating to number are very common, but also very interesting. +They may be loosely divided into two sub-classes,--names indicating the +order or the time of birth, and names of felicitation. Such _yobina_ as +_Ichi_, _San_, _Roku_, _Hachi_ usually refer to the order of birth; but +sometimes they record the date of birth. For example, I know a person +called O-Roku, who received this name, not because she was the sixth +child born in the family, but because she entered this world upon the +sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth Meiji. It will be observed +that the numbers Two, Five, and Nine are not represented in the list: +the mere idea of such names as _O-Ni_, _O-Go_, or _O-Ku_ seems to a +Japanese absurd. I do not know exactly why,--unless it be that they +suggest unpleasant puns. The place of _O-Ni_ is well supplied, however, +by the name _O-Tsugi_ ("Next"), which will be found in a subsequent +list. Names signifying numbers ranging from eighty to a thousand, and +upward, are names of felicitation. They express the wish that the bearer +may live to a prodigious age, or that her posterity may flourish through +the centuries. + + + NUMERALS AND WORDS RELATING TO NUMBER + + _O-Ichi_ "One." + _O-San_ "Three." + _O-Mitsu_ "Three." + _O-Yotsu_ "Four." + _O-Roku_ "Six." + _O-Shichi_ "Seven." + _O-Hachi_ "Eight." + _O-Jû_ "Ten." + _O-Iso_ "Fifty."[65] + + [65] Such a name may record the fact that the girl was a + first-born child, and the father fifty years old at + the time of her birth. + + _O-Yaso_ "Eighty." + _O-Hyaku_ "Hundred."[66] + + [66] The "O" before this trisyllable seems contrary to rule; + but _Hyaku_ is pronounced almost like a dissyllable. + + _O-Yao_ "Eight Hundred." + _O-Sen_ "Thousand." + _O-Michi_ "Three Thousand." + _O-Man_ "Ten Thousand." + _O-Chiyo_ "Thousand Generations." + _Yachiyo_ "Eight Thousand Generations." + _O-Shigé_ "Two-fold." + _O-Yaë_ "Eight-fold." + _O-Kazu_ "Great Number." + _O-Mina_ "All." + _O-Han_ "Half."[67] + + [67] "Better half?"--the reader may query. But I believe + that this name originated in the old custom of taking + a single character of the father's name--sometimes + also a character of the mother's name--to compose + the child's name with. Perhaps in this case the name + of the girl's father was HANyémon, or HANbei. + + _O-Iku_ "How Many?" (?) + + + OTHER NAMES RELATING TO ORDER OF BIRTH + + _O-Hatsu_ "Beginning,"--first-born. + _O-Tsugi_ "Next,"--the second. + _O-Naka_ "Midmost." + _O-Tomé_ "Stop,"--cease. + _O-Sué_ "Last." + +Some few of the next group of names are probably æsthetic. But such +names are sometimes given only in reference to the time or season of +birth; and the reason for any particular _yobina_ of this class is +difficult to decide without personal inquiry. + + + NAMES RELATING TO TIME AND SEASON + + _O-Haru_ "Spring." + _O-Natsu_ "Summer." + _O-Aki_ "Autumn." + _O-Fuyu_ "Winter." + + _O-Asa_ "Morning." + _O-Chô_ "Dawn." + _O-Yoi_ "Evening." + _O-Sayo_ "Night." + + _O-Ima_ "Now." + _O-Toki_ "Time,"--opportunity. + _O-Toshi_ "Year [of Plenty]." + +Names of animals--real or mythical--form another class of _yobina_. A +name of this kind generally represents the hope that the child will +develop some quality or capacity symbolized by the creature after which +it has been called. Names such as "Dragon," "Tiger," "Bear," etc., are +intended in most cases to represent moral rather than other qualities. +The moral symbolism of the _Koi_ (Carp) is too well-known to require +explanation here. The names _Kamé_ and _Tsuru_ refer to longevity. +_Koma_, curious as the fact may seem, is a name of endearment. + + + NAMES OF BIRDS, FISHES, ANIMALS, ETC. + + _Chidori_ "Sanderling." + _O-Kamé_ "Tortoise." + _O-Koi_ "Carp."[68] + + [68] _Cyprinus carpio._ + + _O-Koma_ "Filly,"--or pony. + _O-Kuma_ "Bear." + _O-Ryô_ "Dragon." + _O-Shika_ "Deer." + _O-Tai_ "Bream."[69] + + [69] _Chrysophris cardinalis._ + + _O-Taka_ "Hawk." + _O-Tako_ "Cuttlefish." (?) + _O-Tatsu_ "Dragon." + _O-Tora_ "Tiger." + _O-Tori_ "Bird." + _O-Tsuru_ "Stork."[70] + + [70] Sometimes this name is shortened into _O-Tsu_. In + Tôkyô at the present time it is the custom to drop + the honorific "O" before such abbreviations, and to + add to the name the suffix "chan,"--as in the case + of children's names. Thus a young woman may be + caressingly addressed as "Tsu-chan" (for O-Tsuru), + "Ya-chan" (for O-Yasu), etc. + + _O-Washi_ "Eagle." + +Even _yobina_ which are the names of flowers or fruits, plants or +trees, are in most cases names of moral or felicitous, rather than of +æsthetic meaning. The plumflower is an emblem of feminine virtue; the +chrysanthemum, of longevity; the pine, both of longevity and constancy; +the bamboo, of fidelity; the cedar, of moral rectitude; the willow, of +docility and gentleness, as well as of physical grace. The symbolism of +the lotos and of the cherryflower are probably familiar. But such names +as _Hana_ ("Blossom ") and _Ben_ ("Petal") are æsthetic in the true +sense; and the Lily remains in Japan, as elsewhere, an emblem of +feminine grace. + + + FLOWER-NAMES + + _Ayamé_ "Iris."[71] + + [71] _Iris setosa, or Iris sibrisia._ + + _Azami_ "Thistle-Flower." + _O-Ben_ "Petal." + _O-Fuji_ "Wistaria."[72] + + [72] _Wistaria chinensis._ + + _O-Hana_ "Blossom." + _O-Kiku_ "Chrysanthemum." + _O-Ran_ "Orchid." + _O-Ren_ "Lotos." + _Sakurako_ "Cherryblossom." + _O-Umé_ "Plumflower." + _O-Yuri_ "Lily." + + + NAMES OF PLANTS, FRUITS, AND TREES + + _O-Iné_ "Rice-in-the-blade." + _Kaëdé_ "Maple-leaf." + _O-Kaya_ "Rush."[73] + + [73] _Imperata arundinacea._ + + _O-Kaya_ "Yew."[74] + + [74] _Torreya nucifera._ + + _O-Kuri_ "Chestnut." + _O-Kuwa_ "Mulberry." + _O-Maki_ "Fir."[75] + + [75] _Podocarpus chinensis._ + + _O-Mamé_ "Bean." + _O-Momo_ "Peach,"--the fruit.[76] + + [76] Yet this name may possibly have been written with + the wrong character. There is another _yobina_, + "Momo" signifying "hundred,"--as in the phrase + _momo yo_, "for a hundred ages." + + _O-Nara_ "Oak." + _O-Ryû_ "Willow." + _Sanaë_ "Sprouting-Rice." + _O-Sané_ "Fruit-seed." + _O-Shino_ "Slender Bamboo." + _O-Sugé_ "Reed."[77] + + [77] _Scirpus maritimus._ + + _O-Sugi_ "Cedar."[78] + + [78] _Cryptomeria Japonica._ + + _O-Také_ "Bamboo." + _O-Tsuta_ "Ivy."[79] + + [79] _Cissus Thunbergii._ + + _O-Yaë_ "Double-Blossom."[80] + + [80] A flower-name certainly; but the _yaë_ here is probably + an abbreviation of _yaë-zakura_, the double-flower of a + particular species of cherry-tree. + + _O-Yoné_ "Rice-in-grain." + _Wakana_ "Young _Na_."[81] + + [81] _Brassica chinensis._ + +Names signifying light or color seem to us the most æsthetic of all +_yobina_; and they probably seem so to the Japanese. Nevertheless the +relative purport even of these names cannot be divined at sight. Colors +have moral and other values in the old nature-philosophy; and an +appellation that to the Western mind suggests only luminosity or beauty +may actually refer to moral or social distinction,--to the hope that +the girl so named will become "illustrious." + + + NAMES SIGNIFYING BRIGHTNESS + + _O-Mika_ "New Moon."[82] + + [82] _Mika_ is an abbreviation of Mikazuki, "the moon of the + third night" [of the old lunar month]. + + _O-Mitsu_ "Light." + _O-Shimo_ "Frost." + _O-Teru_ "The Shining." + _O-Tsuki_ "Moon." + _O-Tsuya_ "The Glossy,"--lustrous. + _O-Tsuyu_ "Dew." + _O-Yuki_ "Snow." + + + COLOR-NAMES + + _O-Ai_ "Indigo." + _O-Aka_ "Red." + _O-Iro_ "Color." + _O-Kon_ "Deep Blue." + _O-Kuro_ "Dark,"--lit., "Black." + _Midori_[83] "Green." + _Murasaki_[83] "Purple." + + [83] _Midori_ and _Murasaki_, especially the latter, + should properly be classed with aristocratic _yobina_; + and both are very rare. I could find neither in the + collection of aristocratic names which was made for me + from the records of the Peeresses' School; but I + discovered a "Midori" in a list of middle-class names. + Color-names being remarkably few among _yobina_, I + thought it better in this instance to group the whole of + them together, independently of class-distinctions. + + _O-Shiro_ "White." + +The following and final group of female names contains several queer +puzzles. Japanese girls are sometimes named after the family crest; and +heraldry might explain one or two of these _yobina_. But why a girl +should be called a ship, I am not sure of being able to guess. Perhaps +some reader may be reminded of Nietzsche's "Little Brig called +Angeline":-- + + "Angeline--they call me so-- + Now a ship, one time a maid, + (Ah, and evermore a maid!) + Love the steersman, to and fro, + Turns the wheel so finely made." + +But such a fancy would not enter into a Japanese mind. I find, however, +in a list of family crests, two varieties of design representing a ship, +twenty representing an arrow, and two representing a bow. + + + NAMES DIFFICULT TO CLASSIFY OR EXPLAIN + + _O-Fuku_[84] "Raiment,"--clothing. + + [84] Possibly this name belongs to the same class as _O-Nui_ + ("Embroidery"), _O-Somé_ ("The Dyer"); but I am not + sure. + + _O-Funé_ "Ship,"--or Boat. + _O-Hina_[85] "Doll,"--a paper doll? + + [85] Probably a name of caress. The word _hina_ is applied + especially to the little paper dolls made by hand for + amusement,--representing young ladies with elaborate + coiffure; and it is also given to the old-fashioned + dolls representing courtly personages in full + ceremonial costume. The true doll--doll-baby--is + called _ningyô_. + + _O-Kono_ "This." + _O-Nao_ "Still More." + _O-Nari_ "Thunder-peal." + _O-Nibo_ "Palanquin" (?). + _O-Rai_ "Thunder." + _O-Rui_ "Sort,"--kind, species. + _O-Suzu_[86] "Little Bell." + + [86] Perhaps this name is given because of the sweet sound + of the _suzu_,--a tiny metal ball, with a little stone or + other hard object inside, to make the ringing.--It is a + pretty Japanese custom to put one of these little _suzu_ + in the silk charm-bag (_mamori-bukero_) which is attached + to a child's girdle. The _suzu_ rings with every motion + that the child makes,--somewhat like one of those tiny + bells which we attach to the neck of a pet kitten. + + _Suzuë_ "Branch-of-Little-Bells." + _O-Tada_ "The Only." + _Tamaki_ "Armlet,"--bracelet. + _O-Tami_ "Folk,"--common people. + _O-Toshi_ "Arrowhead,"--or barb. + _O-Tsui_ "Pair,"--match. + _O-Tsuna_ "Rope,"--bond. + _O-Yumi_ "Bow,"--weapon. + +Before passing on to the subject of aristocratic names, I must mention +an old rule for Japanese names,--a curious rule that might help to +account for sundry puzzles in the preceding lists. This rule formerly +applied to all personal names,--masculine or feminine. It cannot be +fully explained in the present paper; for a satisfactory explanation +would occupy at least fifty pages. But, stated in the briefest possible +way, the rule is that the first or "head-character" of a personal name +should be made to "accord" (in the Chinese philosophic sense) with the +supposed _Sei_, or astrologically-determined nature, of the person to +whom the name is given;--the required accordance being decided, not by +the meaning, but by the sound of the Chinese written character. Some +vague idea of the difficulties of the subject may be obtained from the +accompanying table. (Page 143.) + + + [Illustration: + + PHONETIC RELATION OF THE FIVE ELEMENTAL-NATURES TO THE JAPANESE + SYLLABARY + + a, i, u, é, o. + ----------------------- + I.--WOOD-NATURE { ka, ki, ku, ké, ko. } + { ga, gi, gu, gé, go. } + ----------------------- + { sa, shi, su, sé, so. } + { za, ji, zu, zé, zo. } + ----------------------- + II.--FIRE-NATURE { ta, chi, tsu, té, to. } + { da, ji, dzu, dé, do. } + ----------------------- + na, ni, nu, né, no. + III.--EARTH-NATURE ----------------------- + { ha, hi, fu, hé, ho. } + { ba, bi, bu, bé, bo. } + { pa, pi, pu, pé, po. } + ----------------------- + IV.--METAL-NATURE ma, mi, mu, mé, mo. + ----------------------- + ya, i, yu, yé, yo. + ----------------------- + ra, ri, ru, ré, ro. + V.--WATER-NATURE ----------------------- + wa, i, u, yé, wo.] + + + ************************************************************ + * * + * Transcriber Note: Explanation of Table * + * * + * In the table above, there were lines connecting the * + * five elements of nature with the lines of Japanese * + * syllabary: * + * * + * The Wood element was associated with the * + * ka/ga lines, * + * * + * the Fire element was associated with the * + * ta/da, na, and ra lines, * + * * + * the Earth element was associated with the * + * a, ka/ga, ya, and wa lines, * + * * + * the Metal element was associated with the * + * sa/za lines, and * + * * + * the Water element was associated with the * + * ha/ba/pa, and ma lines. * + * * + ************************************************************ + + + III + +FOR examples of contemporary aristocratic names I consulted the reports +of the _Kwazoku-Jogakkô_ (Peeresses' School), published between the +nineteenth and twenty-seventh years of Meiji (1886-1895). The +Kwazoku-Jogakkô admits other students besides daughters of the nobility; +but for present purposes the names of the latter only--to the number of +one hundred and forty-seven--have been selected. + +It will be observed that names of three or more syllables are rare among +these, and also that the modern aristocratic _yobina_ of two syllables, +as pronounced and explained, differ little from ordinary _yobina_. But +as written in Chinese they differ greatly from other female names, being +in most cases represented by characters of a complex and unfamiliar +kind. The use of these more elaborate characters chiefly accounts for +the relatively large number of homonyms to be found in the following +list:-- + + + PERSONAL NAMES OF LADY STUDENTS OF THE KWAZOKU JOGAKKÔ + + _Aki-ko_ "Autumn." + _Aki-ko_ "The Clear-Minded." + _Aki-ko_ "Dawn." + _Asa-ko_ "Fair Morning." + _Aya-ko_ "Silk Damask." + _Chiharu-ko_ "A Thousand Springs." + _Chika-ko_ "Near,"--close. + _Chitsuru-ko_ "A Thousand Storks." + _Chiyo-ko_ "A Thousand Generations." + _Ei-ko_ "Bell-Chime." + _Etsu-ko_ "Delight." + _Fuji-ko_ "Wistaria." + _Fuku-ko_ "Good-Fortune." + _Fumi-ko_ "A Woman's Letter." + _Fuyô-ko_ "Lotos-flower." + _Fuyu-ko_ "Winter." + _Hana-ko_ "Flower." + _Hana-ko_ "Fair-Blooming." + _Haru-ko_ "The Tranquil." + _Haru-ko_ "Spring,"--the season of flowers. + _Haru-ko_ "The Far-Removed,"--in the sense, perhaps, of + superlative. + _Hatsu-ko_ "The First-born." + _Hidé-ko_ "Excelling." + _Hidé-ko_ "Surpassing." + _Hiro-ko_ "Magnanimous,"--literally, "broad," + "large,"--in the sense of beneficence. + _Hiro-ko_ "Wide-Spreading,"--with reference to family + prosperity. + _Hisa-ko_ "Long-lasting." + _Hisa-ko_ "Continuing." + _Hoshi-ko_ "Star." + _Iku-ko_ "The Quick,"--in the sense of living. + _Ima-ko_ "Now." + _Iho-ko_ "Five Hundred,"--probably a name of + felicitation. + _Ito-ko_ "Sewing-Thread." + _Kamé-ko_ "Tortoise." + _Kané-ko_ "Going around" (?).[87] + + [87] It is possible that this name was made simply by + taking one character of the father's name. The + girl's name otherwise conveys no intelligible + meaning. + + _Kané-ko_ "Bell,"--the character indicates a large + suspended bell. + _Kata-ko_ "Condition"? + _Kazu-ko_ "First." + _Kazu-ko_ "Number,"--a great number. + _Kazu-ko_ "The Obedient." + _Kiyo-ko_ "The Pure." + _Kô_[88] "Filial Piety." + + [88] The suffix "_ko_" is sometimes dropped for reasons + of euphony, and sometimes for reasons of good + taste--difficult to explain to readers unfamiliar + with the Japanese language--even when the name + consists of only one syllable or of two syllables. + + _Kô-ko_ "Stork." + _Koto_ "Harp." + _Kuni-ko_ "Province." + _Kuni_ "Country,"--in the largest sense. + _Kyô-ko_ "Capital,"--metropolis. + _Machi_ "Ten-Thousand Thousand." + _Makoto_ "True-Heart." + _Masa-ko_ "The Trustworthy,"--sure. + _Masa-ko_ "The Upright." + _Masu-ko_ "Increase." + _Mata-ko_ "Completely,"--wholly. + _Matsu-ko_ "Pine-tree." + _Michi-ko_ "Three Thousand." + _Miné_ "Peak." + _Miné-ko_ "Mountain-Range." + _Mitsu-ko_ "Light,"--radiance. + _Miyo-ko_ "Beautiful Generations." + _Moto-ko_ "Origin,"--source. + _Naga-ko_ "Long,"--probably in reference to time. + _Naga-ko_ "Long Life." + _Nami-ko_ "Wave." + _Nao-ko_ "Correct,"--upright. + _Nyo-ko_[89] "Gem-Treasure." + + [89] This name is borrowed from the name of the sacred + gem _Nyoihôju_, which figures both in Shintô and in + Buddhist legend. The divinity Jizô is usually + represented holding in one hand this gem, which is + said to have the power of gratifying any desire + that its owner can entertain. Perhaps the _Nyoihôju_ + may be identified with the Gem-Treasure _Veluriya_, + mentioned in the Sûtra of The Great King of Glory, + chapter i. (See _Sacred Books of the East_, vol. + xi.) + + _Nobu-ko_ "Faithful." + _Nobu-ko_ "Abundance,"--plenty. + _Nobu-ko_ "The Prolonger." + _Nori-ko_ "Precept,"--doctrine. + _Nui_ "Embroidery,"--sewing. + _Oki_ "Offing,"--perhaps originally a place-name.[90] + + [90] A naval officer named Oki told me that his family + had originally been settled in the Oki Islands + ("Islands of the Offing"). This interesting + coincidence suggested to me that the above _yobina_ + might have had the same origin. + + _Sada-ko_ "The Chaste." + _Sada-ko_ "The Sure,"--trustworthy. + _Sakura-ko_ "Cherry-Blossom." + _Sakaë_ "The Prosperous." + _Sato-ko_ "Home." + _Sato-ko_ "The Discriminating." + _Seki-ko_ "Great." + _Setsu-ko_ "The Chaste." + _Shigé-ko_ "Flourishing." + _Shigé-ko_ "Exuberant,"--in the sense of rich growth. + _Shigé-ko_ "Upgrowing." + _Shigé-ko_ "Fragrance." + _Shiki-ko_ "Prudence." + _Shima-ko_ "Island." + _Shin-ko_ "The Fresh,"--new. + _Shizu-ko_ "The Quiet,"--calm. + _Shizuë_ "Quiet River." + _Sono-ko_ "Garden." + _Suë-ko_ "Last,"--in the sense of youngest. + _Suké-ko_ "The Helper." + _Sumi-ko_ "The Clear,"--spotless, refined. + _Sumi-ko_ "The Veritable,"--real. + _Sumië-ko_ "Clear River." + _Suzu-ko_ "Tin." + _Suzu-ko_ "Little Bell." + _Suzunë_ "Sound of Little Bell." + _Taka-ko_ "High,"--lofty, superior. + _Taka-ko_ "Filial Piety." + _Taka-ko_ "Precious." + _Také-ko_ "Bamboo." + _Taki-ko_ "Waterfall." + _Tama-ko_ "Gem,"--jewel. + _Tama-ko_ "Gem,"--written with a different character. + _Tamé-ko_ "For the Sake of--" + _Tami-ko_ "People,"--folks. + _Tané-ko_ "Successful." + _Tatsu-ko_ "Attaining." + _Tatsuru-ko_[91] "Many Storks." + + [91] So written, but probably pronounced as two syllables + only. + + _Tatsuru-ko_ "Ricefield Stork." + _Teru-ko_ "Beaming,"--luminous. + _Tetsu-ko_ "Iron." + _Toki-ko_ "Time." + _Tomé-ko_ "Cessation." + _Tomi-ko_ "Riches." + _Tomo_ "Intelligence." + _Tomo_ "Knowledge." + _Tomo-ko_ "Friendship." + _Toshi-ko_ "The Quickly-Perceiving." + _Toyo-ko_ "Fruitful." + _Tsuné_ "Constancy." + _Tsuné-ko_ "Ordinary,"--usual, common. + _Tsuné-ko_ "Ordinary,"--written with a different + character. + _Tsuné-ko_ "Faithful,"--in the sense of wifely fidelity. + _Tsuru-ko_ "Stork." + _Tsuya-ko_ "The Lustrous,"--shining, glossy. + _Umé_ "Female Hare." + _Umé-ko_ "Plum-Blossom." + _Yachi-ko_ "Eight Thousand." + _Yaso-ko_ "Eighty." + _Yasoshi-ko_ "Eighty-four." + _Yasu-ko_ "The Maintainer,"--supporter. + _Yasu-ko_ "The Respectful." + _Yasu-ko_ "The Tranquil-Minded." + _Yoné-ko_ "Rice." + _Yori-ko_ "The Trustful." + _Yoshi_ "Eminent,"--celebrated. + _Yoshi-ko_ "Fragrance." + _Yoshi-ko_ "The Good,"--or Gentle. + _Yoshi-ko_ "The Lovable." + _Yoshi-ko_ "The Lady-like,"--gentle in the sense of + refined. + _Yoshi-ko_ "The Joyful." + _Yoshi-ko_ "Congratulation." + _Yoshi-ko_ "The Happy." + _Yoshi-ko_ "Bright and Clear." + _Yuki-ko_ "The Lucky." + _Yuki-ko_ "Snow." + _Yuku-ko_ "Going." + _Yutaka_ "Plenty,"--affluence, superabundance. + + + IV + +IN the first part of this paper I suggested that the custom of giving +very poetical names to _geisha_ and to _jorô_ might partly account for +the unpopularity of purely æsthetic _yobina_. And in the hope of +correcting certain foreign misapprehensions, I shall now venture a few +remarks about the names of _geisha_. + +_Geisha_-names,--like other classes of names,--although full of curious +interest, and often in themselves really beautiful, have become +hopelessly vulgarized by association with a calling the reverse of +respectable. Strictly speaking, they have nothing to do with the subject +of the present study,--inasmuch as they are not real personal names, but +professional appellations only,--not _yobina_, but _geimyô_. + +A large proportion of such names can be distinguished by certain +prefixes or suffixes attached to them. They can be known, for example,-- + +(1) By the prefix _Waka_, signifying "Young";--as in the names + _Wakagusa_, "Young Grass"; _Wakazuru_, "Young Stork"; + _Wakamurasaki_, "Young Purple"; _Wakakoma_, "Young Filly". + +(2) By the prefix _Ko_, signifying "Little";--as in the names, _Ko-en_, + "Little Charm"; _Ko-hana_, "Little Flower"; _Kozakura_, "Little + Cherry-Tree". + +(3) By the suffix _Ryô_, signifying "Dragon" (the Ascending Dragon being + especially a symbol of success);--as _Tama-Ryô_, "Jewel-Dragon"; + _Hana-Ryô_, "Flower-Dragon"; _Kin-Ryô_, "Golden-Dragon". + +(4) By the suffix _ji_, signifying "to serve", "to administer";--as in + the names _Uta-ji_, _Shinné-ji_, _Katsu-ji_. + +(5) By the suffix _suké_, signifying "help";--as in the names + _Tama-suké_, _Koma-suké_. + +(6) By the suffix _kichi_, signifying "luck", "fortune";--as + _Uta-kichi_, "Song-Luck"; _Tama-kichi_, "Jewel-Fortune". + +(7) By the suffix _giku_ (i. e., _kiku_) signifying "chrysanthemum";--as + _Mitsu-giku_, "Three Chrysanthemums"; _Hina-giku_, + "Doll-Chrysanthemum"; _Ko-giku_, "Little Chrysanthemum". + +(8) By the suffix tsuru, signifying "stork" (emblem of longevity);--as + _Koma-tsuru_, "Filly-Stork"; _Ko-tsuru_, "Little Stork"; _Ito-zuru_, + "Thread-Stork". + +These forms will serve for illustration; but there are others. _Geimyô_ +are written, as a general rule, with only two Chinese characters, and +are pronounced as three or as four syllables. _Geimyô_ of five syllables +are occasionally to be met with; _geimyô_ of only two syllables are +rare--at least among names of dancing girls. And these professional +appellations have seldom any moral meaning: they signify things relating +to longevity, wealth, pleasure, youth, or luck,--perhaps especially to +luck. + + * * * * * + +Of late years it became a fashion among certain classes of _geisha_ in +the capital to assume real names with the genteel suffix _Ko_, and even +aristocratic _yobina_. In 1889 some of the Tôkyô newspapers demanded +legislative measures to check the practice. This incident would seem to +afford proof of public feeling upon the subject. + + + + + Old Japanese Songs + + [Decoration] + + +THIS New Year's morning I find upon my table two most welcome gifts from +a young poet of my literary class. One is a roll of cloth for a new +kimono,--cloth such as my Western reader never saw. The brown warp is +cotton thread; but the woof is soft white paper string, irregularly +speckled with black. When closely examined, the black specklings prove +to be Chinese and Japanese characters;--for the paper woof is made out +of manuscript,--manuscript of poems,--which has been deftly twisted into +fine cord, with the written surface outwards. The general effect of the +white, black, and brown in the texture is a warm mouse-grey. In many +Izumo homes a similar kind of cloth is manufactured for family use; but +this piece was woven especially for me by the mother of my pupil. It +will make a most comfortable winter-robe; and when wearing it, I shall +be literally clothed with poetry,--even as a divinity might be clothed +with the sun. + +The other gift is poetry also, but poetry in the original state: a +wonderful manuscript collection of Japanese songs gathered from +unfamiliar sources, and particularly interesting from the fact that +nearly all of them are furnished with refrains. There are hundreds of +compositions, old and new,--including several extraordinary ballads, +many dancing-songs, and a surprising variety of love-songs. Neither in +sentiment nor in construction do any of these resemble the Japanese +poetry of which I have already, in previous books, offered specimens in +translation. The forms are, in most cases, curiously irregular; but +their irregularity is not without a strange charm of its own. + + * * * * * + +I am going to offer examples of these compositions,--partly because of +their unfamiliar emotional quality, and partly because I think that +something can be learned from their strange art of construction, The +older songs--selected from the antique drama--seem to me particularly +worthy of notice. The thought or feeling and its utterance are +supremely simple; yet by primitive devices of reiteration and of pause, +very remarkable results have been obtained. What strikes me especially +noteworthy in the following specimen is the way that the phrase, begun +with the third line of the first stanza, and interrupted by a kind of +burthen, is repeated and finished in the next stanza. Perhaps the +suspension will recall to Western readers the effect of some English +ballads with double refrains, or of such quaint forms of French song as +the famous-- + + Au jardin de mon père-- + _Vole, mon coeur, vole!_ + Il y a un pommier doux, + _Tout doux!_ + +But in the Japanese song the reiteration of the broken phrase produces a +slow dreamy effect as unlike the effect of the French composition as the +movements of a Japanese dance are unlike those of any Western round:-- + + + KANO YUKU WA + + (_Probably from the eleventh century_) + + Kano yuku wa, + Kari ka?--kugui ka? + Kari naraba,-- + + (Ref.) _Haréya tôtô!_ + _Haréya tôtô!_ + + Kari nara + Nanori zo sémashi;-- + Nao kugui nari-ya!-- + + (Ref.) _Tôtô!_ + + That which yonder flies,-- + Wild goose is it?--swan is it? + Wild goose if it be,-- + + _Haréya tôtô!_ + _Haréya tôtô!_ + + Wild goose if it be, + Its name I soon shall say: + Wild swan if it be,--better still! + + _Tôtô!_ + +There are many old lyrics in the above form. Here is another song, of +different construction, also from the old drama: there is no refrain, +but there is the same peculiar suspension of phrase; and the effect of +the quadruple repetition is emotionally impressive:-- + + Isora ga saki ni + Tai tsuru ama mo, + Tai tsuru ama mo,-- + + Wagimoko ga tamé to, + Tai tsuru ama mo, + Tai tsuru ama mo! + + Off the Cape of Isora, + Even the fisherman catching _tai_,[92] + Even the fisherman catching _tai_,-- + + [Works] for the sake of the woman beloved,-- + Even the fisherman catching _tai_, + Even the fisherman catching _tai_! + + [92] _Chrysopbris cardinalis_, a kind of + sea-bream,--generally esteemed the best of + Japanese fishes. + +But a still more remarkable effect is obtained in the following ancient +song by the extraordinary reiteration of an uncompleted phrase, and by a +double suspension. I can imagine nothing more purely natural: indeed the +realism of these simple utterances has almost the quality of pathos:-- + + + AGÉMAKI + + (_Old lyrical drama--date uncertain_) + + Agémaki[93] wo + Waséda ni yarité ya! + So omou to, + So omou to, + So omou to, + So omou to, + So omou to,-- + + So omou to, + Nani-mo sezushité,-- + Harubi sura, + Harubi sura, + Harubi sura, + Harubi sura, + Harubi sura! + + My darling boy!-- + Oh! they have sent him to the ricefields! + When I think about him,-- + When I think, + When I think, + When I think, + When I think,-- + + When I think about him! + I--doing nothing at all,-- + Even on this spring-day, + Even this spring-day, + Even this spring-day, + Even this spring-day, + Even on this spring-day!-- + + [93] It was formerly the custom to shave the heads of + boys, leaving only a tuft or lock of hair on either + temple. Such a lock was called _agémaki_, a word + also meaning "tassel"; and eventually the term came + to signify a boy or lad. In these songs it is used + as a term of endearment,--much as an English girl + might speak of her sweetheart as "my dear lad," or + "my darling boy." + +Other forms of repetition and of refrain are furnished in the two +following lyrics:-- + + + BINDATARA + + (_Supposed to have been composed as early as the twelfth century_) + + Bindatara wo + Ayugaséba koso, + Ayugaséba koso, + Aikyô zuitaré! + + _Yaréko tôtô, + Yaréko tôtô!_ + + With loosened hair,-- + Only because of having tossed it, + Only because of having shaken it,-- + Oh, sweet she is! + + _Yaréko tôtô! + Yaréko tôtô!_ + + + SAMA WA TENNIN + + (_Probably from the sixteenth century_) + + Sama wa tennin! + _Soré-soré_, + _Tontorori!_ + + Otomé no sugata + Kumo no kayoiji + Chirato mita! + _Tontorori!_ + + Otomé no sugata + Kumo no kayoiji + Chirato mita! + _Tontorori!_ + + My beloved an angel is![94] + _Soré-soré!_ + _Tontorori!_ + + The maiden's form, + In the passing of clouds, + In a glimpse I saw! + _Tontorori!_ + + The maiden's form, + In the passage of clouds, + In a glimpse I saw! + _Tontorori!_ + + [94] Lit., "a Tennin";--that is to say, an inhabitant + of the Buddhist heaven. The Tennin are usually + represented as beautiful maidens. + +My next selection is from a love-song of uncertain date, belonging to +the Kamakura period (1186-1332). This fragment is chiefly remarkable for +its Buddhist allusions, and for its very regular form of stanza:-- + + Makoto yara, + Kashima no minato ni + Miroku no mifuné ga + Tsuité gozarimôsu. + + _Yono!_ + _Sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ + _Sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ + + Hobashira wa, + Kogané no hobashira; + Ho niwa Hokkékyô no + Go no man-makimono. + + _Sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ + _Sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ + + * * * * * + + I know not if 't is true + That to the port of Kashima + The august ship of Miroku[95] has come! + + _Yono!_ + _Sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ + _Sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ + + [95] Miroku Bosatsu (Maitrêya Bodhisattva) is the next + great Buddha to come. + + As for the mast, + It is a mast of gold;-- + The sail is the fifth august roll + Of the Hokkékyô![96] + + _Sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ + _Sâ iyoë, iyoë_ + + [96] Japanese popular name for the Chinese version of + the Saddhârma Pundarîka Sûtra.--Many of the old + Buddhist scriptures were written upon long scrolls, + called _makimono_,--a name also given to pictures + printed upon long rolls of silk or paper. + + * * * * * + +Otherwise interesting, with its queer refrain, is another song called +"Agémaki,"--belonging to one of the curious class of lyrical dramas +known as _Saibara_. This may be found fault with as somewhat "free"; but +I cannot think it more open to objection than some of our much-admired +Elizabethan songs which were probably produced at about the same time:-- + + + AGÉMAKI + + (_Probably from the sixteenth century_) + + Agémaki ya! + _Tonton!_ + Hiro bakari ya-- + _Tonton!_ + Sakarité netarédomo, + Marobi-ainikéri,-- + _Tonton!_ + Kayori-ainikéri, + _Tonton!_ + + Oh! my darling boy! + _Tonton!_ + Though a fathom[97] apart, + _Tonton!_ + Sleeping separated, + By rolling we came together! + _Tonton!_ + By slow approaches we came together, + _Tonton!_ + + [97] Lit., "_hiro_." The _hiro_ is a measure of about + five feet English, and is used to measure breadth + as well as depth. + +My next group of selections consists of "local songs"--by which term the +collector means songs peculiar to particular districts or provinces. +They are old--though less old than the compositions previously +cited;--and their interest is chiefly emotional. But several, it will be +observed, have curious refrains. Songs of this sort are sung especially +at the village-dances--_Bon-odori_ and _Hônen-odori_:-- + + + LOVE-SONG + + (_Province of Echigo_) + + Hana ka?--chôchô ka? + Chôchô ka?--hana ka? + + _Don-don!_ + + Kité wa chira-chira mayowaséru, + Kité wa chira-chira mayowaséru! + + _Taichokané!_ + _Sôkané don-don!_ + + Flower is it?--butterfly is it? + Butterfly or flower? + + _Don-don!_ + + When you come thus flickering, I am deluded!-- + When you come thus twinkling, I am bewitched! + + _Taichokané!_ + _Sôkané don-don!_ + + + LOVE-SONG + + (_Province of Kii,--village of Ogawa_) + + Koë wa surédomo + Sugata wa miénu-- + Fuka-no no kirigirisu! + + Though I hear the voice [_of the beloved_], the form I cannot + see--a _kirigirisu_[98] in the high grass. + + [98] _The kirigirisu_ is a kind of grasshopper with a + very musical note. It is very difficult to see it, + even when it is singing close by, for its color is + exactly the color of the grass. The song alludes to + the happy peasant custom of singing while at work + in the fields. + + + LOVE-SONG + + (_Province of Mutsu,--district of Sugaru_) + + Washi no kokoro to + Oki kuru funé wa, + Raku ni misétémo, + Ku ga taënu. + + My heart and a ship in the offing--either seems to move with + ease; yet in both there is trouble enough. + + + LOVE-SONG + + (_Province of Suwô,--village of Iséki_) + + Namida koboshité + Shinku wo kataru, + Kawairashi-sa ga + Mashimasuru! + + As she tells me all the pain of her toil, shedding tears,--ever + her sweetness seems to increase. + + + LOVE-SONG + + (_Province of Suruga, village of Gotemba_) + + Hana ya, yoku kiké! + Shô aru naraba, + Hito ga fusagu ni + Nazé hiraku? + + O flower, hear me well if thou hast a soul! When any one sorrows + as I am sorrowing, why dost thou bloom? + + + OLD TÔKYÔ SONG + + Iya-na o-kata no + Shinsetsu yori ka + Suita o-kata no + Muri ga yoi. + + Better than the kindness of the disliked is the violence of the + beloved. + + + LOVE-SONG + + (_Province of Iwami_) + + Kawairashi-sa ya! + Hotaru no mushi wa + Shinobu nawaté ni + Hi wo tomosu. + + Ah, the darling!... Ever as I steal along the ricefield-path + [_to meet my lover_], the firefly kindles a light to show me + the way. + + + COMIC SONG + + (_Province of Shinano_) + + Ano yama kagé dé + Hikaru wa nanja?-- + Tsuki ka, hoshi ka, hotaru no mushi ka? + Tsuki démo naiga; + Hoshi démo naiga;-- + Shûto no o-uba no mé ga hikaru,-- + (Chorus) _Mé ga hikaru!_ + + In the shadow of the mountain + What is it that shines so? + Moon is it, or star?--or is it the firefly-insect? + Neither is it moon, + Nor yet star;-- + It is the old woman's Eye;--it is the Eye of my + mother-in-law that shines,-- + (Chorus) _It is her Eye that shines!_ + + + KAËRI-ODORI[99] + + (_Province of Sanuki_) + + [99] I am not sure of the real meaning of the name + _Kaëri-Odori_ (lit. "turn-dance" or "return-dance"). + + Oh! the cruelty, the cruelty of my mother-in-law!-- + + (Chorus) _Oh! the cruelty!_ + + Even tells me to paint a picture on running water! + If ever I paint a picture on running water, + You will count the stars in the night-sky! + + _Count the stars in the night-sky!_ + + --_Come! let us dance the Dance of the Honorable + Garden!_-- + + _Chan-chan! + Cha-cha! + Yoitomosé, + Yoitomosé!_ + + Who cuts the bamboo at the back of the house?-- + + (Chorus) _Who cuts the bamboo?_-- + + My sweet lord's own bamboo, the first he planted,-- + + _The first be planted?_ + + --_Come! let us dance the Dance of the Honorable Garden!_-- + + _Chan-chan! + Cha-cha! + Yoitomosé, + Yoitomosé!_ + + Oh! the cruelty, the cruelty of my mother-in-law!-- + + _Oh! the cruelty!_ + + Tells me to cut and make a hakama[100] out of rock! + If ever I cut and sew a hakama of rock, + Then you will learn to twist the fine sand into thread,-- + + _Twist it into thread._ + + --_Come! let us dance the Dance of the Honorable + Garden!_-- + + _Chan-chan! + Cha-cha! + Yoitomosé, + Yoitomosé! + Chan-chan-chan!_ + + [100] A divided skirt of a peculiar form, worn formerly + by men chiefly, to-day worn by female students + also. + + + OTERA-ODORI (TEMPLE-DANCE) + + (_Province of Iga, village called Uenomachi_) + + Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the august gate, + The august gate I find to be of silver, the panels of gold. + Noble indeed is the gate of the honorable temple,-- + _The honorable temple!_ + + Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the garden, + I see young pinetrees flourishing in the four directions: + On the first little branch of one the _shijûgara_[101] has + made her nest,-- + _Has made her nest_. + + Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the water-tank, + I see little flowers of many colors set all about it, + Each one having a different color of its own,-- + _A different color._ + + Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the parlor-room, + I find many kinds of little birds gathered all together, + Each one singing a different song of its own,-- + _A different song._ + + Visiting the honorable temple, when I see the guest-room, + There I see the priest, with a lamp beside him, + Reading behind a folding-screen--oh, how admirable it is!-- + _How admirable it is!_ + + [101] The Manchurian great tit. It is said to bring good + fortune to the owners of the garden in which it + builds a nest,--providing that the nest be not + disturbed and that the brood be protected. + +Many kinds of popular songs--and especially the class of songs sung at +country-dances--are composed after a mnemonic plan. The stanzas are +usually ten in number; and the first syllable of each should correspond +in sound to the first syllable of the numeral placed before the verse. +Sometimes Chinese numerals are used; sometimes Japanese. But the rule is +not always perfectly observed. In the following example it will be +observed that the correspondence of the first two syllables in the first +verse with the first two syllables of the Japanese word for one +(_hitotsu_) is a correspondence of meaning only;--_ichi_ being the +Chinese numeral:-- + + + SONG OF FISHERMEN + + (_Province of Shimosa,--town of Chôshi_)[102] + + [102] Chôshi, a town of some importance, is situated at + the mouth of the Tonégawa. It is celebrated for + its _iwashi_-fishery. The _iwashi_ is a fish about + the size of the sardine, and is sought chiefly for + the sake of its oil. Immense quantities of + _iwashi_ are taken off the coast. They are boiled + to extract the oil; and the dried residue is sent + inland to serve as manure. + + _Hitotsutosé_,-- + Ichiban buné é tsumi-kondé, + Kawaguchi oshikomu ô-yagoë. + + _Kono tai-ryô-buné!_ + + _Futatsutosé_,-- + Futaba no oki kara Togawa madé + Tsuzuité oshikomu ô-yagoë. + + _Kono tai-ryô-buné!_ + + _Mitsutosé_,-- + Mina ichidô-ni manéki wo agé, + Kayowasé-buné no nigiyakasa + + _Kono tai-ryô-buné!_ + + _Yotsutosé_,-- + Yoru-hiru taitémo taki-amaru, + San-bai itchô no ô-iwashi! + + _Kono tai-ryô-buné!_ + + _Itsutsutosé_,-- + Itsu kité mitémo hoshika-ba ni + Akima sukima wa sarani nai. + + _Kono tai-ryô-buné!_ + + _Mutsutoyé_,-- + Mutsu kara mutsu madé kasu-wari ga + Ô-wari ko-wari dé té ni owaré. + + _Kono tai-ryô-buné!_ + + _Nanatsutosé_,-- + Natakaki Tonégawa ichi-men ni + Kasu-ya abura wo tsumi-okuru + + _Kono tai-ryô-buné!_ + + _Yatsutosé_,-- + Yatébuné no okiai wakashu ga, + Ban-shuku soroété miya-mairi. + + _Kono tai-ryô-buné!_ + + _Kokonotsutosé_,-- + Kono ura mamoru kawa-guchi no + Myôjin riyaku wo arawasuru. + + _Kono tai-ryô-buné!_ + + _Firstly_ (or "Number One"),-- + + The first ship, filled up with fish, squeezes her way through + the river-mouth, with a great shouting.[103] + + [103] _Ô-yagoë._ The chorus-cry or chant of sailors, + pulling all together, is called yagoë. + + _O this ship of great fishing!_[104] + + [104] _Tai-ryô buné_, lit.:--"great-fishing," or + "great-catching-ship." The adjective refers to the + fishing, not to the ship. The real meaning of the + refrain is, "this-most-successful-in-fishing of + ships." + + _Secondly_,-- + + From the offing of Futaba even to the Togawa,[105] the ships, fast + following, press in, with a great shouting. + + _O this ship of great fishing!_ + + [105] Perhaps the reference is to a village at the mouth + of the river Togawa,--not far from Chôshi on the + Tonégawa. The two rivers are united by a canal. + But the text leaves it uncertain whether river or + village is meant. + + _Thirdly_,-- + + When, all together, we hoist our signal-flags, see how fast the + cargo-boats come hurrying! + + _O this ship of great fishing!_ + + _Fourthly_,-- + + Night and day though the boiling be, there is still too much to + boil--oh, the heaps of _iwashi_ from the three ships together! + + _O this ship of great fishing!_ + + _Fifthly_,-- + + Whenever you go to look at the place where the dried fish are + kept,[106] never do you find any room,--not even a crevice. + + _O this ship of great fishing!_ + + [106] _Hoshika-ba_: lit., "the hoshika-place" or + "hoshika-room." "Hoshika" is the name given to + dried fish prepared for use as fertilizer. + + _Sixthly_,-- + + From six to six o'clock is cleaning and washing: the great + cutting and the small cutting are more than can be done. + + _O this ship of great fishing!_ + + _Seventhly_,-- + + All up and down the famous river Tonégawa we send our loads of + oil and fertilizer. + + _O this ship of great fishing!_ + + _Eighthly_,-- + + All the young folk, drawing the _Yatai-buné_,[107] with ten + thousand rejoicings, visit the shrine of the God. + + _O this ship of great fishing!_ + + [107] _Yatai_ is the name given to the ornamental cars + drawn with ropes in a religious procession. + _Yatai-buné_ here seems to mean either the model + of a boat mounted upon such a car, or a real boat + so displayed in a religious procession. I have + seen real boats mounted upon festival-cars in a + religious procession at Mionoséki. + + _Ninthly_,-- + + Augustly protecting all this coast, the Deity of the river-mouth + shows to us his divine favor. + + _O this ship of great fishing!_ + +A stranger example of this mnemonic arrangement is furnished by a +children's song, composed at least a hundred years ago. Little girls of +Yedo used to sing it while playing ball. You can see the same ball-game +being played by girls to-day, in almost any quiet street of Tôkyô. The +ball is kept bounding in a nearly perpendicular line by skilful taps of +the hand delivered in time to the measure of a song; and a good player +should be able to sing the song through without missing a stroke. If she +misses, she must yield the ball to another player.[108] There are many +pretty "ball-play songs;" but this old-fashioned and long-forgotten one +is a moral curiosity:-- + + [108] This is the more common form of the game; but there are + many other forms. Sometimes two girls play at once with + the same ball--striking it alternately as it bounds. + + _Hitotsu to ya:_-- + + Hito wa kô na hito to iu; + On wo shiranéba kô naraji. + + _Futatsu to ya:_-- + + Fuji yori takaki chichi no on; + Tsuné-ni omouté wasuré-naji. + + _Mitsu to ya:_-- + + Mizu-umi kaetté asashi to wa, + Haha no on zo ya omou-beshi. + + _Yotsu to ya:_-- + + Yoshiya mazushiku kurasu tomo, + Sugu-naru michi wo maguru-moji. + + _Itsutsu to ya:_-- + + Itsumo kokoro no kawaranu wo, + Makoto no hito to omou-beshi. + + _Mutsu to ya:_-- + + Munashiku tsukihi wo kurashi-naba, + Nochi no nagéki to shirinu-beshi. + + _Nanatsu to ya:_-- + + Nasaki wa hito no tamé narodé, + Waga mi no tamé to omou-beshi. + + _Yatsu to ya:_-- + + Yaku-nan muryô no wazawai mo + Kokoro zen nara nogaru-beshi. + + _Kokonotsu to ya:_-- + + Kokoro kotoba no sugu-naraba, + Kami ya Hotoké mo mamoru-beshi. + + _Tô to ya_:-- + + Tôtoi hito to naru naraba, + Kôkô mono to iwaru-beshi. + + _This is the first_:-- + + [Only] a person having filial piety is [worthy to be] called + a person:[109] + If one does not know the goodness of parents, one has not + filial piety. + + [109] Lit., "A person having filial piety is called a + person." The word _hito_ (person), usually + indicating either a man or a woman, is often used + in the signification of "people" or "Mankind." The + full meaning of the sentence is that no unfilial + person deserves to be called a human being. + + _The second_:-- + + Higher than the [mountain] Fuji is the favor of a father: + Think of it always;--never forget it. + + _The third_:-- + + [Compared with a mother's love] the great lake is shallow + indeed! + [By this saying] the goodness of a mother should be + estimated. + + _The fourth_:-- + + Even though in poverty we have to pass our days, + Let us never turn aside from the one straight path. + + _The fifth:_-- + + The person whose heart never changes with time, + A true man or woman that person must be deemed. + + _The sixth_:-- + + If the time [of the present] be spent in vain, + In the time of the future must sorrow be borne. + + _The seventh_:-- + + That a kindness done is not for the sake of others only, + But also for one's own sake, should well be kept in mind. + + _The eighth_:-- + + Even the sorrow of numberless misfortunes + We shall easily escape if the heart be pure. + + _The ninth_:-- + + If the heart and the speech be kept straight and true, + The Gods and the Buddhas will surely guard us well. + + _The tenth_:-- + + In order to become a person held in honor, + As a filial person one must [first] be known. + +The reader may think to himself, "How terribly exigent the training that +could require the repetition of moral lessons even in a 'ball-play +song'!" True,--but it produced perhaps the very sweetest type of woman +that this world has ever known. + + * * * * * + +In some dance-songs the burthen is made by the mere repetition of the +last line, or of part of the last line, of each stanza. The following +queer ballad exemplifies the practice, and is furthermore remarkable by +reason of the curious onomatopoetic choruses introduced at certain +passages of the recitative:-- + + KANÉ-MAKI-ODORI UTA + + ("_Bell-wrapping-dance song_."--_Province of Iga--Naga district_) + + A Yamabushi of Kyôto went to Kumano. There resting in the inn + Chôjaya, by the beach of Shirotaka, he saw a little girl three + years old; and he petted and hugged her, playfully promising to + make her his wife,-- + + (Chorus) _Playfully promising._ + + Thereafter that Yamabushi travelled in various provinces; + returning only when that girl was thirteen years old. "O my + princess, my princess!" he cried to her,--"my little princess, + pledged to me by promise!"--"O Sir Yamabushi," made she + answer,--"good Sir Yamabushi, take me with you now!-- + + "_Take me with you now!_" + + "O soon," he said, "I shall come again; soon I shall come again: + then, when I come again, I shall take you with me,-- + + "_Take you with me._" + + Therewith the Yamabushi, escaping from her, quickly, quickly + fled away;--with all haste he fled away. Having passed through + Tanabé and passed through Minabé, he fled on over the Komatsu + moor,-- + + _Over the Komatsu moor._ + + KAKKARA, KAKKARA, KAKKARA, KAKKA![110] + + [110] These syllables, forming a sort of special chorus, + are simply onomatopes; intended to represent the + sound of sandalled feet running at utmost speed. + + Therewith the damsel, pursuing, quickly, quickly followed after + him;--with all speed she followed after him. Having passed + through Tanabé and passed through Minabé, she pursued him over + the Komatsu moor,-- + + _Over the Komatsu moor._ + + Then the Yamabushi, fleeing, came as he fled to the river of + Amoda, and cried to the boatman of the river of Amoda,--"O good + boatman, good sir boatman, behind me comes a maid + pursuing!--pray do not take her across, good boatman,-- + + "_Good sir boatman!_" + + _DEBOKU, DEBOKU, DEBOKU, DENDEN!_[111] + + [111] These onomatopes, chanted by all the dancers + together in chorus, with appropriate gesture, + represent the sound of the ferryman's single oar, + or scull, working upon its wooden peg. The + syllables have no meaning in themselves. + + Then the damsel, pursuing, came to the river of Amoda and + called to the boatman, "Bring hither the boat!--take me over in + the boat!"--"No, I will not bring the boat; I will not take you + over: my boat is forbidden to carry women!-- + + "_Forbidden to carry women!_" + + "If you do not take me over, I will cross!--if you do not take + me over, I will cross!--there is a way to cross the river of + Amoda!" Taking off her sandals and holding them aloft, she + entered the water, and at once turned into a dragon with twelve + horns fully grown,-- + + _With twelve horns fully grown._ + + Then the Yamabushi, fleeing, reached the temple Dôjôji, and + cried to the priests of the temple Dôjôji:--"O good priests, + behind me a damsel comes pursuing!--hide me, I beseech you, + good sir priests!-- + + "_Good sir priests!_" + + Then the priests, after holding consultation, took down from its + place the big bell of the temple; and under it they hid him,-- + + _Under it they hid him_. + + Then the dragon-maid, pursuing, followed him to the temple + Dôjôji. For a moment she stood in the gate of the temple: she + saw that bell, and viewed it with suspicion. She thought:--"I + must wrap myself about it once." She thought:--"I must wrap + myself about it twice!" At the third wrapping, the bell was + melted, and began to flow like boiling water,-- + + _Like boiling water_. + + So is told the story of the Wrapping of the Bell. Many damsels + dwell by the seashore of Japan;--but who among them, like the + daughter of the Chôja, will become a dragon?-- + + _Become a dragon?_ + + This is all the Song of the Wrapping of the Bell!--this is all + the Song,-- + + _All the song!_[112] + + [112] This legend forms the subject of several Japanese + dramas, both ancient and modern. The original + story is that a Buddhist priest, called Anchin, + having rashly excited the affection of a maiden + named Kiyohimé, and being, by reason of his vows, + unable to wed her, sought safety from her advances + in flight. Kiyohimé, by the violence of her + frustrated passion, therewith became transformed + into a fiery dragon; and in that shape she + pursued the priest to the temple called Dôjôji, + in Kumano (modern Kishû), where he tried to hide + himself under the great temple-bell. But the + dragon coiled herself round the bell, which at + once became red-hot, so that the body of the + priest was totally consumed. + + In this rude ballad Kiyohimé figures only as the + daughter of an inn-keeper,--the _Chôja_, or rich + man of his village; while the priest Anchin is + changed into a Yamabushi. The Yamabushi are, or at + least were, wandering priests of the strange sect + called Shugendo,--itinerant exorcists and + diviners, professing both Shinto and Buddhism. Of + late years their practices have been prohibited by + law; and a real Yamabushi is now seldom to be met + with. + + The temple Dôjôji is still a famous place of + pilgrimage. It is situated not far from Gobô, on + the western coast of Kishû. The incident of Anchin + and the dragon is said to have occurred in the + early part of the tenth century. + +I shall give only one specimen of the true street-ballad,--the kind of +ballad commonly sung by wandering samisen-players. It is written in an +irregular measure, varying from twelve to sixteen syllables in length; +the greater number of lines having thirteen syllables. I do not know the +date of its composition; but I am told by aged persons who remember +hearing it sung when they were children, that it was popular in the +period of Tenpô (1830-1843). It is not divided into stanzas; but there +are pauses at irregular intervals,--marked by the refrain, _Yanrei!_ + + O-KICHI-SEIZA KUDOKI + + ("_The Ditty of O-Kichi and Seiza_") + + Now hear the pitiful story of two that died for love.--In Kyôto + was the thread-shop of Yoëmon, a merchant known far and near,--a + man of much wealth. His business prospered; his life was + fortunate. One daughter he had, an only child, by name O-Kichi: + at sixteen years she was lovely as a flower. Also he had a clerk + in his house, by name Seiza, just in the prime of youth, aged + twenty-and-two. + + _Yanrei!_ + + Now the young man Seiza was handsome; and O-Kichi fell in love + with him at sight. And the two were so often together that their + secret affection became known; and the matter came to the ears + of the parents of O-Kichi; and the parents, hearing of it, felt + that such a thing could not be suffered to continue. + + _Yanrei!_ + + So at last, the mother, having called O-Kichi into a private + room, thus spoke to her:--"O my daughter, I hear that you have + formed a secret relation with the young man Seiza, of our shop. + Are you willing to end that relation at once, and not to think + any more about that man, O-Kichi?--answer me, O my daughter." + + _Yanrei!_ + + "O my dear mother," answered O-Kichi, "what is this that you ask + me to do? The closeness of the relation between Seiza and me is + the closeness of the relation of the ink to the paper that it + penetrates.[113] Therefore, whatever may happen, O mother of + mine, to separate from Seiza is more than I can bear." + + _Yanrei!_ + + [113] Lit.:--"that affinity as-for, ink-and-paper-soaked-like + affinity." + + Then, the father, having called Seiza to the innermost private + room, thus spoke to him:--"I called you here only to tell you + this: You have turned the mind of our daughter away from what is + right; and even to hear of such a matter is not to be borne. + Pack up your things at once, and go!--to-day is the utmost limit + of the time that you remain in this house." + + _Yanrei!_ + + Now Seiza was a native of Ôsaka. Without saying more than + "Yes--yes," he obeyed and went away, returning to his home. + There he remained four or five days, thinking only of O-Kichi. + And because of his longing for her, he fell sick; and as there + was no cure and no hope for him, he died. + + _Yanrei!_ + + Then one night O-Kichi, in a moment of sleep, saw the face of + Seiza close to her pillow,--so plainly that she could not tell + whether it was real, or only a dream. And rising up, she looked + about; but the form of Seiza had vanished. + + _Yanrei!_ + + Because of this she made up her mind to go at once to the house + of Seiza. And, without being seen by any one, she fled from the + home of her parents. + + _Yanrei!_ + + When she came to the ferry at the next village, she did not take + the boat, but went round by another road; and making all haste + she found her way to the city of Ôsaka. There she asked for the + house of Seiza; and she learned that it was in a certain street, + the third house from a certain bridge. + + _Yanrei!_ + + Arriving at last before the home of Seiza, she took off her + travelling hat of straw; and seating herself on the threshold + of the entrance, she cried out:--"Pardon me kindly!--is not this + the house of Master Seiza?" + + _Yanrei!_ + + Then--O the pity of it!--she saw the mother of Seiza, weeping + bitterly, and holding in her hand a Buddhist rosary. "O my good + young lady," the mother of Seiza asked, "whence have you come; + and whom do you want to see?" + + _Yanrei!_ + + And O-Kichi said:--"I am the daughter of the thread-merchant + of Kyôto. And I have come all the way here only because of the + relation that has long existed between Master Seiza and myself. + Therefore, I pray you, kindly permit me to see him." + + _Yanrei!_ + + "Alas!" made answer the mother, weeping, "Seiza, whom you have + come so far to see, is dead. To-day is the seventh day from the + day on which he died." ... Hearing these words, O-Kichi herself + could only shed tears. + + _Yanrei!_ + + But after a little while she took her way to the cemetery. And + there she found the sotoba[114] erected above the grave of + Seiza; and leaning upon it, she wept aloud. + + _Yanrei!_ + + [114] A wooden lath, bearing Buddhist texts, planted + above graves. For a full account of the sotoba see + _my Exotics and Retrospectives_: "The Literature + of the Dead." + + Then--how fearful a thing is the longing of a person[115]--the + grave of Seiza split asunder; and the form of Seiza rose up + therefrom and spoke. + + _Yanrei!_ + + [115] In the original:--_Hito no omoi wa osoroshi mono + yo!_--("how fearful a thing is the thinking of a + person!"). The word _omoi_, used here in the sense + of "longing," refers to the weird power of Seiza's + dying wish to see his sweetheart. Even after his + burial, this longing has the strength to burst + open the tomb. + + --In the old English ballad of "William and + Marjorie" (see Child: vol. ii. p. 151) there is + also a remarkable fancy about the opening and + closing of a grave:-- + + She followed him high, she followed him low, + Till she came to yon churchyard green; + _And there the deep grave opened up_, + And young William he lay down. + + "Ah! is not this O-Kichi that has come? Kind indeed it was to + have come to me from so far away! My O-Kichi, do not weep thus. + Never again--even though you weep--can we be united in this + world. But as you love me truly, I pray you to set some fragrant + flowers before my tomb, and to have a Buddhist service said for + me upon the anniversary of my death." + + _Yanrei!_ + + And with these words the form of Seiza vanished. "O wait, wait + for me!" cried O-Kichi,--"wait one little moment![116] I cannot + let you return alone!--I shall go with you in a little time!" + + _Yanrei!_ + + [116] With this episode compare the close of the English + ballad "Sweet William's Ghost" (Child: vol. ii., + page 148):-- + + "O stay, my only true love, stay!" + The constant Margaret cried: + Wan grew her cheeks; she closed her een, + Stretched her soft limbs, and died. + + Then quickly she went beyond the temple-gate to a moat some four + or five _chô_[117] distant; and having filled her sleeves with + small stones, into the deep water she cast her forlorn body. + + _Yanrei!_ + + [117] A _chô_ is about one fifteenth of a mile. + +And now I shall terminate this brief excursion into unfamiliar +song-fields by the citation of two Buddhist pieces. The first is from +the famous work _Gempei Seisuiki_ ("Account of the Prosperity and +Decline of the Houses of Gen and Hei"), probably composed during the +latter part of the twelfth, or at the beginning of the thirteenth +century. It is written in the measure called _Imayô_,--that is to say, +in short lines alternately of seven and of five syllables (7, 5; 7, 5; +7, 5, _ad libitum_). The other philosophical composition is from a +collection of songs called _Ryûtachi-bushi_ ("Ryûtachi Airs"), belonging +to the sixteenth century:-- + + I + + (_Measure, Imayô_) + + Sama mo kokoro mo + Kawaru kana! + Otsuru namida wa + Taki no mizu: + Myô-hô-rengé no + Iké to nari; + Guzé no funé ni + Sao sashité; + Shizumu waga mi wo + Nosé-tamaë! + + Both form and mind-- + Lo! how these change! + The falling of tears + Is like the water of a cataract. + Let them become the Pool + Of the Lotos of the Good Law! + Poling thereupon + The Boat of Salvation, + Vouchsafe that my sinking + Body may ride! + + II + + (_Period of Bunrokû--1592-1596_) + + Who twice shall live his youth? + What flower faded blooms again? + Fugitive as dew + Is the form regretted, + Seen only + In a moment of dream. + + + + + FANTASIES + + [Decoration] + + ... Vainly does each, as he glides, + Fable and dream + Of the lands which the River of Time + Had left ere he woke on its breast, + Or shall reach when his eyes have + been closed. + MATTHEW ARNOLD + + + + + Noctilucæ + + [Decoration] + + +THE moon had not yet risen; but the vast of the night was all seething +with stars, and bridged by a Milky Way of extraordinary brightness. +There was no wind; but the sea, far as sight could reach, was running in +ripples of fire,--a vision of infernal beauty. Only the ripplings were +radiant (between them was blackness absolute);--and the luminosity was +amazing. Most of the undulations were yellow like candle-flame; but +there were crimson lampings also,--and azure, and orange, and emerald. +And the sinuous flickering of all seemed, not a pulsing of many waters, +but a laboring of many wills,--a fleeting conscious and monstrous,--a +writhing and a swarming incalculable, as of dragon-life in some depth of +Erebus. + +And life indeed was making the sinister splendor of that spectacle--but +life infinitesimal, and of ghostliest delicacy,--life illimitable, yet +ephemeral, flaming and fading in ceaseless alternation over the whole +round of waters even to the sky-line, above which, in the vaster abyss, +other countless lights were throbbing with other spectral colors. + + * * * * * + +Watching, I wondered and I dreamed. I thought of the Ultimate Ghost +revealed in that scintillation tremendous of Night and Sea;--quickening +above me, in systems aglow with awful fusion of the past dissolved, with +vapor of the life again to be;--quickening also beneath me, in +meteor-gushings and constellations and nebulosities of colder +fire,--till I found myself doubting whether the million ages of the +sun-star could really signify, in the flux of perpetual dissolution, +anything more than the momentary sparkle of one expiring noctiluca. + +Even with the doubt, the vision changed. I saw no longer the sea of the +ancient East, with its shudderings of fire, but that Flood whose width +and depth and altitude are one with the Night of Eternity,--the +shoreless and timeless Sea of Death and Birth. And the luminous haze of +a hundred millions of suns,--the Arch of the Milky Way,--was a single +smouldering surge in the flow of the Infinite Tides. + + * * * * * + +Yet again there came a change. I saw no more that vapory surge of suns; +but the living darkness streamed and thrilled about me with infinite +sparkling; and every sparkle was beating like a heart,--beating out +colors like the tints of the sea-fires. And the lampings of all +continually flowed away, as shivering threads of radiance, into +illimitable Mystery.... + +Then I knew myself also a phosphor-point,--one fugitive floating sparkle +of the measureless current;--and I saw that the light which was mine +shifted tint with each changing of thought. Ruby it sometimes shone, and +sometimes sapphire: now it was flame of topaz; again, it was fire of +emerald. And the meaning of the changes I could not fully know. But +thoughts of the earthly life seemed to make the light burn red; while +thoughts of supernal being,--of ghostly beauty and of ghostly +bliss,--seemed to kindle ineffable rhythms of azure and of violet. + + * * * * * + +But of white lights there were none in all the Visible. And I +marvelled. + +Then a Voice said to me:-- + +"The White are of the Altitudes. By the blending of the billions they +are made. Thy part is to help to their kindling. Even as the color of +thy burning, so is the worth of thee. For a moment only is thy +quickening; yet the light of thy pulsing lives on: by thy thought, in +that shining moment, thou becomest a Maker of Gods." + + + + + A Mystery of Crowds + + [Decoration] + + +WHO has not at some time leaned over the parapet of a bridge to watch +the wrinklings and dimplings of the current below,--to wonder at the +trembling permanency of surface-shapes that never change, though the +substance of them is never for two successive moments the same? The +mystery of the spectacle fascinates; and it is worth thinking about. +Symbols of the riddle of our own being are those shuddering forms. In +ourselves likewise the substance perpetually changes with the flow of +the Infinite Stream; but the shapes, though ever agitated by various +inter-opposing forces, remain throughout the years. + +And who has not been fascinated also by the sight of the human stream +that pours and pulses through the streets of some great metropolis? +This, too, has its currents and counter-currents and eddyings,--all +strengthening or weakening according to the tide-rise or tide-ebb of the +city's sea of toil. But the attraction of the greater spectacle for us +is not really the mystery of motion: it is rather the mystery of man. As +outside observers we are interested chiefly by the passing forms and +faces,--by their intimations of personality, their suggestions of +sympathy or repulsion. We soon cease to think about the general flow. +For the atoms of the human current are visible to our gaze: we see them +walk, and deem their movements sufficiently explained by our own +experience of walking. And, nevertheless, the motions of the visible +individual are more mysterious than those of the always invisible +molecule of water.--I am not forgetting the truth that all forms of +motion are ultimately incomprehensible: I am referring only to the fact +that our common relative knowledge of motions, which are supposed to +depend upon will, is even less than our possible relative knowledge of +the behavior of the atoms of a water-current. + + * * * * * + +Every one who has lived in a great city is aware of certain laws of +movement which regulate the flow of population through the more crowded +thoroughfares. (We need not for present purposes concern ourselves about +the complex middle-currents of the living river, with their thunder of +hoofs and wheels: I shall speak of the side-currents only.) On either +footpath the crowd naturally divides itself into an upward and a +downward stream. All persons going in one direction take the right-hand +side; all going in the other direction take the left-hand side. By +moving with either one of these two streams you can proceed even +quickly; but you cannot walk against it: only a drunken or insane person +is likely to attempt such a thing. Between the two currents there is +going on, by reason of the pressure, a continual self-displacement of +individuals to left and right, alternately,--such a yielding and +swerving as might be represented, in a drawing of the double-current, by +zigzag medial lines ascending and descending. This constant yielding +alone makes progress possible: without it the contrary streams would +quickly bring each other to a standstill by lateral pressure. But it is +especially where two crowd-streams intersect each other, as at +street-angles, that this systematic self-displacement is worthy of +study. Everybody observes the phenomenon; but few persons think about +it. Whoever really thinks about it will discover that there is a mystery +in it,--a mystery which no individual experience can fully explain. + + * * * * * + +In any thronged street of a great metropolis thousands of people are +constantly turning aside to left or right in order to pass each other. +Whenever two persons walking in contrary directions come face to face in +such a press, one of three things is likely to happen:--Either there is +a mutual yielding,--or one makes room for the other,--or else both, in +their endeavor to be accommodating, step at once in the same direction, +and as quickly repeat the blunder by trying to correct it, and so keep +dancing to and fro in each other's way,--until the first to perceive the +absurdity of the situation stands still, or until the more irritable +actually pushes his _vis-à-vis_ to one side. But these blunders are +relatively infrequent: all necessary yielding, as a rule, is done +quickly and correctly. + +Of course there must be some general law regulating all this +self-displacement,--some law in accord with the universal law of motion +in the direction of least resistance. You have only to watch any +crowded street for half an hour to be convinced of this. But the law is +not easily found or formulated: there are puzzles in the phenomenon. + + * * * * * + +If you study the crowd-movement closely, you will perceive that those +encounters in which one person yields to make way for the other are much +less common than those in which both parties give way. But a little +reflection will convince you that, even in cases of mutual yielding, one +person must of necessity yield sooner than the other,--though the +difference in time of the impulse-manifestation should be--as it often +is--altogether inappreciable. For the sum of character, physical and +psychical, cannot be precisely the same in two human beings. No two +persons can have exactly equal faculties of perception and will, nor +exactly similar qualities of that experience which expresses itself in +mental and physical activities. And therefore in every case of apparent +mutual yielding, the yielding must really be successive, not +simultaneous. Now although what we might here call the "personal +equation" proves that in every case of mutual yielding one individual +necessarily yields sooner than the other, it does not at all explain the +mystery of the individual impulse in cases where the yielding is not +mutual;--it does not explain why you feel at one time that you are about +to make your _vis-à-vis_ give place, and feel at another time that you +must yourself give place. What originates the feeling? + +A friend once attempted to answer this question by the ingenious theory +of a sort of eye-duel between every two persons coming face to face in a +street-throng; but I feel sure that his theory could account for the +psychological facts in scarcely half-a-dozen of a thousand such +encounters. The greater number of people hurrying by each other in a +dense press rarely observe faces: only the disinterested idler has time +for that. Hundreds actually pass along the street with their eyes fixed +upon the pavement. Certainly it is not the man in a hurry who can guide +himself by ocular snap-shot views of physiognomy;--he is usually +absorbed in his own thoughts.... I have studied my own case repeatedly. +While in a crowd I seldom look at faces; but without any conscious +observation I am always able to tell when I should give way, or when my +_vis-à-vis_ is going to save me that trouble. My knowledge is certainly +intuitive--a mere knowledge of feeling; and I know not with what to +compare it except that blind faculty by which, in absolute darkness, one +becomes aware of the proximity of bulky objects without touching them. +And my intuition is almost infallible. If I hesitate to obey it, a +collision is the invariable consequence. + +Furthermore, I find that whenever automatic, or at least semi-conscious, +action is replaced by reasoned action--in plainer words, whenever I +begin to think about my movements--I always blunder. It is only while I +am thinking of other matters,--only while I am acting almost +automatically,--that I can thread a dense crowd with ease. Indeed, my +personal experience has convinced me that what pilots one quickly and +safely through a thick press is not conscious observation at all, but +unreasoning, intuitive perception. Now intuitive action of any kind +represents inherited knowledge, the experience of past lives,--in this +case the experience of past lives incalculable. + +Utterly incalculable.... Why do I think so? Well, simply because this +faculty of intuitive self-direction in a crowd is shared by man with +very inferior forms of animal being,--evolutional proof that it must be +a faculty immensely older than man. Does not a herd of cattle, a herd of +deer, a flock of sheep, offer us the same phenomenon of mutual yielding? +Or a flock of birds--gregarious birds especially: crows, sparrows, wild +pigeons? Or a shoal of fish? Even among insects--bees, ants, +termites--we can study the same law of intuitive self-displacement. The +yielding, in all these cases, must still represent an inherited +experience unimaginably old. Could we endeavor to retrace the whole +course of such inheritance, the attempt would probably lead us back, not +only to the very beginnings of sentient life upon this planet, but +further,--back into the history of non-sentient substance,--back even to +the primal evolution of those mysterious tendencies which are stored up +in the atoms of elements. Such atoms we know of only as points of +multiple resistance,--incomprehensible knittings of incomprehensible +forces. Even the tendencies of atoms doubtless represent accumulations +of inheritance----but here thought checks with a shock at the eternal +barrier of the Infinite Riddle. + + + + + Gothic Horror + + [Decoration] + + I + + +LONG before I had arrived at what catechisms call the age of reason, I +was frequently taken, much against my will, to church. The church was +very old; and I can see the interior of it at this moment just as +plainly as I saw it forty years ago, when it appeared to me like an evil +dream. There I first learned to know the peculiar horror that certain +forms of Gothic architecture can inspire.... I am using the word +"horror" in a classic sense,--in its antique meaning of ghostly fear. + +On the very first day of this experience, my child-fancy could place the +source of the horror. The wizened and pointed shapes of the windows +immediately terrified me. In their outline I found the form of +apparitions that tormented me in sleep;--and at once I began to imagine +some dreadful affinity between goblins and Gothic churches. Presently, +in the tall doorways, in the archings of the aisles, in the ribbings and +groinings of the roof, I discovered other and wilder suggestions of +fear. Even the façade of the organ,--peaking high into the shadow above +its gallery,--seemed to me a frightful thing.... Had I been then +suddenly obliged to answer the question, "What are you afraid of?" I +should have whispered, "_Those points!_" I could not have otherwise +explained the matter: I only knew that I was afraid of the "points." + +Of course the real enigma of what I felt in that church could not +present itself to my mind while I continued to believe in goblins. But +long after the age of superstitious terrors, other Gothic experiences +severally revived the childish emotion in so startling a way as to +convince me that childish fancy could not account for the feeling. Then +my curiosity was aroused; and I tried to discover some rational cause +for the horror. I read many books, and asked many questions; but the +mystery seemed only to deepen. + +Books about architecture were very disappointing. I was much less +impressed by what I could find in them than by references in pure +fiction to the awfulness of Gothic art,--particularly by one writer's +confession that the interior of a Gothic church, seen at night, gave him +the idea of being inside the skeleton of some monstrous animal; and by a +far-famed comparison of the windows of a cathedral to eyes, and of its +door to a great mouth, "devouring the people." These imaginations +explained little; they could not be developed beyond the phase of vague +intimation: yet they stirred such emotional response that I felt sure +they had touched some truth. Certainly the architecture of a Gothic +cathedral offers strange resemblances to the architecture of bone; and +the general impression that it makes upon the mind is an impression +of life. But this impression or sense of life I found to be +indefinable,--not a sense of any life organic, but of a life latent and +dæmonic. And the manifestation of that life I felt to be in the +_pointing_ of the structure. + +Attempts to interpret the emotion by effects of altitude and gloom and +vastness appeared to me of no worth; for buildings loftier and larger +and darker than any Gothic cathedral, but of a different order of +architecture,--Egyptian, for instance,--could not produce a like +impression. I felt certain that the horror was made by something +altogether peculiar to Gothic construction, and that this something +haunted the tops of the arches. + +"Yes, Gothic architecture is awful," said a religious friend, "because +it is the visible expression of Christian faith. No other religious +architecture symbolizes spiritual longing; but the Gothic embodies it. +Every part climbs or leaps; every supreme detail soars and points +like fire...." "There may be considerable truth in what you say," I +replied;--"but it does not relate to the riddle that baffles me. Why +should shapes that symbolize spiritual longing create horror? Why should +any expression of Christian ecstasy inspire alarm?..." + + * * * * * + +Other hypotheses in multitude I tested without avail; and I returned to +the simple and savage conviction that the secret of the horror somehow +belonged to the points of the archings. But for years I could not find +it. At last, at last, in the early hours of a certain tropical morning, +it revealed itself quite unexpectedly, while I was looking at a glorious +group of palms. + +Then I wondered at my stupidity in not having guessed the riddle before. + + + II + +The characteristics of many kinds of palm have been made familiar by +pictures and photographs. But the giant palms of the American tropics +cannot be adequately represented by the modern methods of pictorial +illustration: they must be seen. You cannot draw or photograph a palm +two hundred feet high. + +The first sight of a group of such forms, in their natural environment +of tropical forest, is a magnificent surprise,--a surprise that strikes +you dumb. Nothing seen in temperate zones,--not even the huger growths +of the Californian slope,--could have prepared your imagination for the +weird solemnity of that mighty colonnade. Each stone-grey trunk is a +perfect pillar,--but a pillar of which the stupendous grace has no +counterpart in the works of man. You must strain your head well back to +follow the soaring of the prodigious column, up, up, up through abysses +of green twilight, till at last--far beyond a break in that infinite +interweaving of limbs and lianas which is the roof of the forest--you +catch one dizzy glimpse of the capital: a parasol of emerald feathers +outspread in a sky so blinding as to suggest the notion of azure +electricity. + + * * * * * + +Now what is the emotion that such a vision excites,--an emotion too +powerful to be called wonder, too weird to be called delight? Only +when the first shock of it has passed,--when the several elements +that were combined in it have begun to set in motion widely different +groups of ideas,--can you comprehend how very complex it must have +been. Many impressions belonging to personal experience were +doubtless revived in it, but also with them a multitude of sensations +more shadowy,--accumulations of organic memory; possibly even vague +feelings older than man,--for the tropical shapes that aroused the +emotion have a history more ancient than our race. + +One of the first elements of the emotion to become clearly +distinguishable is the æsthetic; and this, in its general mass, might be +termed the sense of terrible beauty. Certainly the spectacle of that +unfamiliar life,--silent, tremendous, springing to the sun in colossal +aspiration, striving for light against Titans, and heedless of man in +the gloom beneath as of a groping beetle,--thrills like the rhythm of +some single marvellous verse that is learned in a glance and remembered +forever. Yet the delight, even at its vividest, is shadowed by a queer +disquiet. The aspect of that monstrous, pale, naked, smooth-stretching +column suggests a life as conscious as the serpent's. You stare at the +towering lines of the shape,--vaguely fearing to discern some sign of +stealthy movement, some beginning of undulation. Then sight and reason +combine to correct the suspicion. Yes, motion is there, and life +enormous--but a life seeking only sun,--life, rushing like the jet of a +geyser, straight to the giant day. + + + III + +During my own experience I could perceive that certain feelings +commingled in the wave of delight,--feelings related to ideas of power +and splendor and triumph,--were accompanied by a faint sense of +religious awe. Perhaps our modern æsthetic sentiments are so interwoven +with various inherited elements of religious emotionalism that the +recognition of beauty cannot arise independently of reverential +feeling. Be this as it may, such a feeling defined itself while I +gazed;--and at once the great grey trunks were changed to the pillars of +a mighty aisle; and from altitudes of dream there suddenly descended +upon me the old dark thrill of Gothic horror. + +Even before it died away, I recognized that it must have been due to +some old cathedral-memory revived by the vision of those giant trunks +uprising into gloom. But neither the height nor the gloom could account +for anything beyond the memory. Columns tall as those palms, but +supporting a classic entablature, could evoke no sense of disquiet +resembling the Gothic horror. I felt sure of this,--because I was able, +without any difficulty, to shape immediately the imagination of such a +façade. But presently the mental picture distorted. I saw the architrave +elbow upward in each of the spaces between the pillars, and curve and +point itself into a range of prodigious arches;--and again the sombre +thrill descended upon me. Simultaneously there flashed to me the +solution of the mystery. I understood that the Gothic horror was a +_horror of monstrous motion_,--and that it had seemed to belong to the +points of the arches because the idea of such motion was chiefly +suggested by the extraordinary angle at which the curves of the arching +touched. + + * * * * * + +To any experienced eye, the curves of Gothic arching offer a striking +resemblance to certain curves of vegetal growth;--the curves of the +palm-branch being, perhaps, especially suggested. But observe that the +architectural form suggests more than any vegetal comparison could +illustrate! The meeting of two palm-crests would indeed form a kind of +Gothic arch; yet the effect of so short an arch would be insignificant. +For nature to repeat the strange impression of the real Gothic arch, it +were necessary that the branches of the touching crests should vastly +exceed, both in length of curve and strength of spring, anything of +their kind existing in the vegetable world. The effect of the Gothic +arch depends altogether upon the intimation of energy. An arch formed by +the intersection of two short sprouting lines could suggest only a +feeble power of growth; but the lines of the tall mediæval arch seem to +express a crescent force immensely surpassing that of nature. And the +horror of Gothic architecture is not in the mere suggestion of a +growing life, but in the suggestion of an energy supernatural and +tremendous. + + * * * * * + +Of course the child, oppressed by the strangeness of Gothic forms, is +yet incapable of analyzing the impression received: he is frightened +without comprehending. He cannot divine that the points and the curves +are terrible to him because they represent the prodigious exaggeration +of a real law of vegetal growth. He dreads the shapes because they +seem alive; yet he does not know how to express this dread. Without +suspecting why, he feels that this silent manifestation of power, +everywhere pointing and piercing upward, is not natural. To his startled +imagination, the building stretches itself like a phantasm of +sleep,--makes itself tall and taller with intent to frighten. Even +though built by hands of men, it has ceased to be a mass of dead stone: +it is infused with Something that thinks and threatens;--it has become +a shadowing malevolence, a multiple goblinry, a monstrous fetish! + + + + + Levitation + + [Decoration] + + +OUT of some upper-story window I was looking into a street of +yellow-tinted houses,--a colonial street, old-fashioned, narrow, with +palm-heads showing above its roofs of tile. There were no shadows; there +was no sun,--only a grey soft light, as of early gloaming. + +Suddenly I found myself falling from the window; and my heart gave one +sickening leap of terror. But the distance from window to pavement +proved to be much greater than I supposed,--so great that, in spite of +my fear, I began to wonder. Still I kept falling, falling,--and still +the dreaded shock did not come. Then the fear ceased, and a queer +pleasure took its place;--for I discovered that I was not falling +quickly, but only _floating_ down. Moreover, I was floating feet +foremost--must have turned in descending. At last I touched the +stones--but very, very lightly, with only one foot; and instantly at +that touch I went up again,--rose to the level of the eaves. People +stopped to stare at me. I felt the exultation of power superhuman;--I +felt for the moment as a god. + +Then softly I began to sink; and the sight of faces, gathering below me, +prompted a sudden resolve to fly down the street, over the heads of the +gazers. Again like a bubble I rose, and, with the same impulse, I sailed +in one grand curve to a distance that astounded me. I felt no wind;--I +felt nothing but the joy of motion triumphant. Once more touching +pavement, I soared at a bound for a thousand yards. Then, reaching the +end of the street, I wheeled and came back by great swoops,--by long +slow aerial leaps of surprising altitude. In the street there was dead +silence: many people were looking; but nobody spoke. I wondered what +they thought of my feat, and what they would say if they knew how easily +the thing was done. By the merest chance I had found out how to do it; +and the only reason why it seemed a feat was that no one else had ever +attempted it. Instinctively I felt that to say anything about the +accident, which had led to the discovery, would be imprudent. Then the +real meaning of the strange hush in the street began to dawn upon me. I +said to myself:-- + +"This silence is the Silence of Dreams;--I am quite well aware that this +is a dream. I remember having dreamed the same dream before. But the +discovery of this power is not a dream: _it is a revelation!_ ... Now +that I have learned how to fly, I can no more forget it than a swimmer +can forget how to swim. To-morrow morning I shall astonish the people, +by sailing over the roofs of the town." + +Morning came; and I woke with the fixed resolve to fly out of the +window. But no sooner had I risen from bed than the knowledge of +physical relations returned, like a sensation forgotten, and compelled +me to recognize the unwelcome truth that I had not made any discovery at +all. + + * * * * * + +This was neither the first nor the last of such dreams; but it was +particularly vivid, and I therefore selected it for narration as a good +example of its class. I still fly occasionally,--sometimes over fields +and streams,--sometimes through familiar streets; and the dream is +invariably accompanied by remembrance of like dreams in the past, as +well as by the conviction that I have really found out a secret, really +acquired a new faculty. "This time, at all events," I say to myself, "it +is impossible that I can be mistaken;--I _know_ that I shall be able to +fly after I awake. Many times before, in other dreams, I learned the +secret only to forget it on awakening; but this time I am absolutely +sure that I shall not forget." And the conviction actually stays with me +until I rise from bed, when the physical effort at once reminds me of +the formidable reality of gravitation. + + * * * * * + +The oddest part of this experience is the feeling of buoyancy. It is +much like the feeling of floating,--of rising or sinking through tepid +water, for example;--and there is no sense of real effort. It is a +delight; yet it usually leaves something to be desired. I am a low +flyer; I can proceed only like a pteromys or a flying-fish--and far less +quickly: moreover, I must tread earth occasionally in order to obtain a +fresh impulsion. I seldom rise to a height of more than twenty-five or +thirty feet;--the greater part of the time I am merely skimming +surfaces. Touching the ground only at intervals of several hundred +yards is pleasant skimming; but I always feel, in a faint and watery +way, the dead pull of the world beneath me. + + * * * * * + +Now the experience of most dream-flyers I find to be essentially like my +own. I have met but one who claims superior powers: he says that he +flies over mountains--goes sailing from peak to peak like a kite. All +others whom I have questioned acknowledge that they fly low,--in long +parabolic curves,--and this only by touching ground from time to time. +Most of them also tell me that their flights usually begin with an +imagined fall, or desperate leap; and no less than four say that the +start is commonly taken from the top of a stairway. + + [Decoration] + +For myriads of years humanity has thus been flying by night. How did the +fancied motion, having so little in common with any experience of active +life, become a universal experience of the life of sleep? + +It may be that memory-impressions of certain kinds of aerial +motion,--exultant experiences of leaping or swinging, for example,--are +in dream-revival so magnified and prolonged as to create the illusion +of flight. We know that in actual time the duration of most dreams is +very brief. But in the half-life of sleep--(nightmare offering some +startling exceptions)--there is scarcely more than a faint smouldering +of consciousness by comparison with the quick flash and vivid thrill of +active cerebration;--and time, to the dreaming brain, would seem to be +magnified, somewhat as it must be relatively magnified to the feeble +consciousness of an insect. Supposing that any memory of the sensation +of falling, together with the memory of the concomitant fear, should be +accidentally revived in sleep, the dream-prolongation of the sensation +and the emotion--unchecked by the natural sequence of shock--might +suffice to revive other and even pleasurable memories of airy motion. +And these, again, might quicken other combinations of interrelated +memories able to furnish all the incident and scenery of the long +phantasmagoria. + +But this hypothesis will not fully explain certain feelings and ideas of +a character different from any experience of waking-hours,--the +exultation of voluntary motion without exertion,--the pleasure of the +utterly impossible,--the ghostly delight of imponderability. Neither +can it serve to explain other dream-experiences of levitation which do +not begin with the sensation of leaping or falling, and are seldom of a +pleasurable kind. For example, it sometimes happens during nightmare +that the dreamer, deprived of all power to move or speak, actually feels +his body lifted into the air and floated away by the force of the horror +within him. Again, there are dreams in which the dreamer has no physical +being. I have thus found myself without any body,--a viewless and +voiceless phantom, hovering upon a mountain-road in twilight time, and +trying to frighten lonely folk by making small moaning noises. The +sensation was of moving through the air by mere act of will: there was +no touching of surfaces; and I seemed to glide always about a foot above +the road. + + * * * * * + +Could the feeling of dream-flight be partly interpreted by organic +memory of conditions of life more ancient than man,--life weighty, and +winged, and flying heavily, _a little above the ground?_ + +Or might we suppose that some all-permeating Over-Soul, dormant in other +time, wakens within the brain at rare moments of our sleep-life? The +limited human consciousness has been beautifully compared to the visible +solar spectrum, above and below which whole zones of colors invisible +await the evolution of superior senses; and mystics aver that something +of the ultra-violet or infra-red rays of the vaster Mind may be +momentarily glimpsed in dreams. Certainly the Cosmic Life in each of us +has been all things in all forms of space and time. Perhaps you would +like to believe that it may bestir, in slumber, some vague sense-memory +of things more ancient than the sun,--memory of vanished planets with +fainter powers of gravitation, where the normal modes of voluntary +motion would have been like the realization of our flying dreams?... + + + + + Nightmare-Touch + + [Decoration] + + I + + +WHAT _is_ the fear of ghosts among those who believe in ghosts? + +All fear is the result of experience,--experience of the individual or +of the race,--experience either of the present life or of lives +forgotten. Even the fear of the unknown can have no other origin. And +the fear of ghosts must be a product of past pain. + +Probably the fear of ghosts, as well as the belief in them, had its +beginning in dreams. It is a peculiar fear. No other fear is so +intense; yet none is so vague. Feelings thus voluminous and dim are +super-individual mostly,--feelings inherited,--feelings made within us +by the experience of the dead. + +What experience? + +Nowhere do I remember reading a plain statement of the reason why ghosts +are feared. Ask any ten intelligent persons of your acquaintance, who +remember having once been afraid of ghosts, to tell you exactly why they +were afraid,--to define the fancy behind the fear;--and I doubt whether +even one will be able to answer the question. The literature of +folk-lore--oral and written--throws no clear light upon the subject. We +find, indeed, various legends of men torn asunder by phantoms; but such +gross imaginings could not explain the peculiar quality of ghostly fear. +It is not a fear of bodily violence. It is not even a reasoning +fear,--not a fear that can readily explain itself,--which would not be +the case if it were founded upon definite ideas of physical danger. +Furthermore, although primitive ghosts may have been imagined as capable +of tearing and devouring, the common idea of a ghost is certainly that +of a being intangible and imponderable.[118] + + [118] I may remark here that in many old Japanese legends and + ballads, ghosts are represented as having power to _pull + off_ people's heads. But so far as the origin of the fear + of ghosts is concerned, such stories explain nothing,--since + the experiences that evolved the fear must have been real, + not imaginary, experiences. + +Now I venture to state boldly that the common fear of ghosts is _the +fear of being touched by ghosts_,--or, in other words, that the imagined +Supernatural is dreaded mainly because of its imagined power to touch. +Only to _touch_, remember!--not to wound or to kill. + +But this dread of the touch would itself be the result of +experience,--chiefly, I think, of prenatal experience stored up in the +individual by inheritance, like the child's fear of darkness. And who +can ever have had the sensation of being touched by ghosts? The answer +is simple:--_Everybody who has been seized by phantoms in a dream._ + +Elements of primeval fears--fears older than humanity--doubtless enter +into the child-terror of darkness. But the more definite fear of +ghosts may very possibly be composed with inherited results of +dream-pain,--ancestral experience of nightmare. And the intuitive terror +of supernatural touch can thus be evolutionally explained. + +Let me now try to illustrate my theory by relating some typical +experiences. + + + II + +When about five years old I was condemned to sleep by myself in a +certain isolated room, thereafter always called the Child's Room. (At +that time I was scarcely ever mentioned by name, but only referred to as +"the Child.") The room was narrow, but very high, and, in spite of one +tall window, very gloomy. It contained a fire-place wherein no fire was +ever kindled; and the Child suspected that the chimney was haunted. + +A law was made that no light should be left in the Child's Room at +night,--simply because the Child was afraid of the dark. His fear of the +dark was judged to be a mental disorder requiring severe treatment. But +the treatment aggravated the disorder. Previously I had been accustomed +to sleep in a well-lighted room, with a nurse to take care of me. I +thought that I should die of fright when sentenced to lie alone in the +dark, and--what seemed to me then abominably cruel--actually _locked_ +into my room, the most dismal room of the house. Night after night when +I had been warmly tucked into bed, the lamp was removed; the key clicked +in the lock; the protecting light and the footsteps of my guardian +receded together. Then an agony of fear would come upon me. Something in +the black air would seem to gather and grow--(I thought that I could +even _hear_ it grow)--till I had to scream. Screaming regularly brought +punishment; but it also brought back the light, which more than consoled +for the punishment. This fact being at last found out, orders were given +to pay no further heed to the screams of the Child. + + * * * * * + +Why was I thus insanely afraid? Partly because the dark had always +been peopled for me with shapes of terror. So far back as memory +extended, I had suffered from ugly dreams; and when aroused from them +I could always _see_ the forms dreamed of, lurking in the shadows of +the room. They would soon fade out; but for several moments they would +appear like tangible realities. And they were always the same +figures.... Sometimes, without any preface of dreams, I used to see +them at twilight-time,--following me about from room to room, or +reaching long dim hands after me, from story to story, up through the +interspaces of the deep stairways. + +I had complained of these haunters only to be told that I must never +speak of them, and that they did not exist. I had complained to +everybody in the house; and everybody in the house had told me the very +same thing. But there was the evidence of my eyes! The denial of that +evidence I could explain only in two ways:--Either the shapes were +afraid of big people, and showed themselves to me alone, because I was +little and weak; or else the entire household had agreed, for some +ghastly reason, to say what was not true. This latter theory seemed to +me the more probable one, because I had several times perceived the +shapes when I was not unattended;--and the consequent appearance of +secrecy frightened me scarcely less than the visions did. Why was I +forbidden to talk about what I saw, and even heard,--on creaking +stairways,--behind wavering curtains? + +"Nothing will hurt you,"--this was the merciless answer to all my +pleadings not to be left alone at night. But the haunters _did_ hurt me. +Only--they would wait until after I had fallen asleep, and so into their +power,--for they possessed occult means of preventing me from rising or +moving or crying out. + +Needless to comment upon the policy of locking me up alone with these +fears in a black room. Unutterably was I tormented in that room--for +years! Therefore I felt relatively happy when sent away at last to a +children's boarding-school, where the haunters very seldom ventured to +show themselves. + + * * * * * + +They were not like any people that I had ever known. They were shadowy +dark-robed figures, capable of atrocious self-distortion,--capable, for +instance, of growing up to the ceiling, and then across it, and then +lengthening themselves, head-downwards, along the opposite wall. Only +their faces were distinct; and I tried not to look at their faces. I +tried also in my dreams--or thought that I tried--to awaken myself from +the sight of them by pulling at my eyelids with my fingers; but the +eyelids would remain closed, as if sealed.... Many years afterwards, the +frightful plates in Orfila's _Traité des Exhumés_, beheld for the first +time, recalled to me with a sickening start the dream-terrors of +childhood. But to understand the Child's experience, you must imagine +Orfila's drawings intensely alive, and continually elongating or +distorting, as in some monstrous anamorphosis. + +Nevertheless the mere sight of those nightmare-faces was not the worst +of the experiences in the Child's Room. The dreams always began with a +suspicion, or sensation of something heavy in the air,--slowly quenching +will,--slowly numbing my power to move. At such times I usually found +myself alone in a large unlighted apartment; and, almost simultaneously +with the first sensation of fear, the atmosphere of the room would +become suffused, half-way to the ceiling, with a sombre-yellowish glow, +making objects dimly visible,--though the ceiling itself remained +pitch-black. This was not a true appearance of light: rather it seemed +as if the black air were changing color from beneath.... Certain +terrible aspects of sunset, on the eve of storm, offer like effects of +sinister color.... Forthwith I would try to escape,--(feeling at every +step a sensation _as of wading_),--and would sometimes succeed in +struggling half-way across the room;--but there I would always find +myself brought to a standstill,--paralyzed by some innominable +opposition. Happy voices I could hear in the next room;--I could see +light through the transom over the door that I had vainly endeavored to +reach;--I knew that one loud cry would save me. But not even by the +most frantic effort could I raise my voice above a whisper.... And all +this signified only that the Nameless was coming,--was nearing,--was +mounting the stairs. I could hear the step,--booming like the sound of a +muffled drum,--and I wondered why nobody else heard it. A long, long +time the haunter would take to come,--malevolently pausing after each +ghastly footfall. Then, without a creak, the bolted door would +open,--slowly, slowly,--and the thing would enter, gibbering +soundlessly,--and put out hands,--and clutch me,--and toss me to the +black ceiling,--and catch me descending to toss me up again, and again, +and again.... In those moments the feeling was not fear: fear itself had +been torpified by the first seizure. It was a sensation that has no name +in the language of the living. For every touch brought a shock of +something infinitely worse than pain,--something that thrilled into the +innermost secret being of me,--a sort of abominable electricity, +discovering unimagined capacities of suffering in totally unfamiliar +regions of sentiency.... This was commonly the work of a single +tormentor; but I can also remember having been caught by a group, and +tossed from one to another,--seemingly for a time of many minutes. + + + III + +Whence the fancy of those shapes? I do not know. Possibly from some +impression of fear in earliest infancy; possibly from some experience of +fear in other lives than mine. That mystery is forever insoluble. But +the mystery of the shock of the touch admits of a definite hypothesis. + +First, allow me to observe that the experience of the sensation itself +cannot be dismissed as "mere imagination." Imagination means cerebral +activity: its pains and its pleasures are alike inseparable from nervous +operation, and their physical importance is sufficiently proved by their +physiological effects. Dream-fear may kill as well as other fear; and no +emotion thus powerful can be reasonably deemed undeserving of study. + +One remarkable fact in the problem to be considered is that the +sensation of seizure in dreams differs totally from all sensations +familiar to ordinary waking life. Why this differentiation? How +interpret the extraordinary massiveness and depth of the thrill? + +I have already suggested that the dreamer's fear is most probably not a +reflection of relative experience, but represents the incalculable total +of ancestral experience of dream-fear. If the sum of the experience of +active life be transmitted by inheritance, so must likewise be +transmitted the summed experience of the life of sleep. And in normal +heredity either class of transmissions would probably remain distinct. + +Now, granting this hypothesis, the sensation of dream-seizure would have +had its beginnings in the earliest phases of dream-consciousness,--long +prior to the apparition of man. The first creatures capable of thought +and fear must often have dreamed of being caught by their natural +enemies. There could not have been much imagining of pain in these +primal dreams. But higher nervous development in later forms of +being would have been accompanied with larger susceptibility to +dream-pain. Still later, with the growth of reasoning-power, ideas +of the supernatural would have changed and intensified the character of +dream-fear. Furthermore, through all the course of evolution, heredity +would have been accumulating the experience of such feeling. Under those +forms of imaginative pain evolved through reaction of religious beliefs, +there would persist some dim survival of savage primitive fears, and +again, under this, a dimmer but incomparably deeper substratum of +ancient animal-terrors. In the dreams of the modern child all these +latencies might quicken,--one below another,--unfathomably,--with the +coming and the growing of nightmare. + +It may be doubted whether the phantasms of any particular nightmare have +a history older than the brain in which they move. But the shock of the +touch would seem to indicate _some point of dream-contact with the total +race-experience of shadowy seizure_. It may be that profundities of +Self,--abysses never reached by any ray from the life of sun,--are +strangely stirred in slumber, and that out of their blackness +immediately responds a shuddering of memory, measureless even by +millions of years. + + + + + Readings from a Dream-book + + [Decoration] + + +OFTEN, in the blind dead of the night, I find myself reading a book,--a +big broad book,--a dream-book. By "dream-book," I do not mean a book +about dreams, but a book made of the stuff that dreams are made of. + +I do not know the name of the book, nor the name of its author: I have +not been able to see the title-page; and there is no running title. As +for the back of the volume, it remains,--like the back of the +Moon,--invisible forever. + +At no time have I touched the book in any way,--not even to turn a leaf. +Somebody, always viewless, holds it up and open before me in the dark; +and I can read it only because it is lighted by a light that comes from +nowhere. Above and beneath and on either side of the book there is +darkness absolute; but the pages seem to retain the yellow glow of +lamps that once illuminated them. + +A queer fact is that I never see the entire text of a page at once, +though I see the whole page itself plainly. The text rises, or seems to +rise, to the surface of the paper as I gaze, and fades out almost +immediately after having been read. By a simple effort of will, I can +recall the vanished sentences to the page; but they do not come back in +the same form as before: they seem to have been oddly revised during the +interval. Never can I coax even one fugitive line to reproduce itself +exactly as it read at first. But I can always force something to return; +and this something remains sharply distinct during perusal. Then it +turns faint grey, and appears to sink--as through thick milk--backward +out of sight. + + * * * * * + +By regularly taking care to write down, immediately upon awakening, +whatever I could remember reading in the dream-book, I found myself able +last year to reproduce portions of the text. But the order in which I +now present these fragments is not at all the order in which I recovered +them. If they seem to have any interconnection, this is only because I +tried to arrange them in what I imagined to be the rational sequence. Of +their original place and relation, I know scarcely anything. And, even +regarding the character of the book itself, I have been able to discover +only that a great part of it consists of dialogues about the +Unthinkable. + + + Fr. I + +... Then the Wave prayed to remain a wave forever. + +The Sea made answer:-- + +"Nay, thou must break: there is no rest in me. Billions of billions of +times thou wilt rise again to break, and break to rise again." + +The Wave complained:-- + +"I fear. Thou sayest that I shall rise again. But when did ever a wave +return from the place of breaking?" + +The Sea responded:-- + +"Times countless beyond utterance thou hast broken; and yet thou art! +Behold the myriads of the waves that run before thee, and the myriads +that pursue behind thee!--all have been to the place of breaking times +unspeakable; and thither they hasten now to break again. Into me they +melt, only to swell anew. But pass they must; for there is not any rest +in me." + +Murmuring, the Wave replied:-- + +"Shall I not be scattered presently to mix with the mingling of all +these myriads? How should I rise again? Never, never again can I become +the same." + +"The same thou never art," returned the Sea, "at any two moments in thy +running: perpetual change is the law of thy being. What is thine 'I'? +Always thou art shaped with the substance of waves forgotten,--waves +numberless beyond the sands of the shores of me. In thy multiplicity +what art thou?--a phantom, an impermanency!" + +"Real is pain," sobbed the Wave,--"and fear and hope, and the joy of the +light. Whence and what are these, if I be not real?" + +"Thou hast no pain," the Sea responded,--"nor fear nor hope nor joy. +Thou art nothing--save in me. I am thy Self, thine 'I': thy form is my +dream; thy motion is my will; thy breaking is my pain. Break thou must, +because there is no rest in me; but thou wilt break only to rise +again,--for death is the Rhythm of Life. Lo! I, too, die that I may +live: these my waters have passed, and will pass again, with wrecks of +innumerable worlds to the burning of innumerable suns. I, too, am +multiple unspeakably: dead tides of millions of oceans revive in mine +ebb and flow. Suffice thee to learn that only because thou wast thou +art, and that because thou art thou wilt become again." + +Muttered the Wave,-- + +"I cannot understand." + +Answered the Sea,-- + +"Thy part is to pulse and pass,--never to understand. I also,--even I, +the great Sea,--do not understand...." + + + Fr. II + +... "The stones and the rocks have felt; the winds have been breath and +speech; the rivers and oceans of earth have been locked into chambers of +hearts. And the palingenesis cannot cease till every cosmic particle +shall have passed through the uttermost possible experience of the +highest possible life." + +"But what of the planetary core?--has that, too, felt and thought?" + +"Even so surely as that all flesh has been sun-fire! In the ceaseless +succession of integrations and dissolutions, all things have shifted +relation and place numberless billions of times. Hearts of old moons +will make the surface of future worlds...." + + + Fr. III + +... "No regret is vain. It is sorrow that spins the thread,--softer +than moonshine, thinner than fragrance, stronger than death,--the +Gleipnir-chain of the Greater Memory.... + +"In millions of years you will meet again;--and the time will not seem +long; for a million years and a moment are the same to the dead. Then +you will not be all of your present self, nor she be all that she has +been: both of you will at once be less, and yet incomparably more. Then, +to the longing that must come upon you, body itself will seem but a +barrier through which you would leap to her--or, it may be, to him; for +sex will have shifted numberless times ere then. Neither will remember; +but each will be filled with a feeling immeasurable of having met +before...." + + + Fr. IV + +... "So wronging the being who loves,--the being blindly imagined but of +yesterday,--this mocker mocks the divine in the past of the Soul of the +World. Then in that heart is revived the countless million sorrows +buried in forgotten graves,--all the old pain of Love, in its patient +contest with Hate, since the beginning of Time. + +"And the Gods know,--the dim ones who dwell beyond Space,--spinning the +mysteries of Shape and Name. For they sit at the roots of Life; and the +pain runs back to them; and they feel that wrong,--as the Spider feels +in the trembling of her web that a thread is broken...." + + + Fr. V + +"Love at sight is the choice of the dead. But the most of them are older +than ethical systems; and the decision of their majorities is rarely +moral. They choose by beauty,--according to their memory of physical +excellence; and as bodily fitness makes the foundation of mental and of +moral power, they are not apt to choose ill. Nevertheless they are +sometimes strangely cheated. They have been known to want beings that +could never help ghost to a body,--hollow goblins...." + + + Fr. VI + +... "The Animulæ making the Self do not fear death as dissolution. They +fear death only as reintegration,--recombination with the strange and +the hateful of other lives: they fear the imprisonment, within another +body, of that which loves together with that which loathes...." + + + Fr. VII + +... "In other time the El-Woman sat only in waste places, and by +solitary ways. But now in the shadows of cities she offers her breasts +to youth; and he whom she entices, presently goes mad, and becomes, like +herself, a hollowness. For the higher ghosts that entered into the +making of him perish at that goblin-touch,--die as the pupa dies in the +cocoon, leaving only a shell and dust behind...." + + + Fr. VIII + +... The Man said to the multitude remaining of his Souls:-- + +"I am weary of life." + +And the remnant replied to him:-- + +"We also are weary of the shame and pain of dwelling in so vile a +habitation. Continually we strive that the beams may break, and the +pillars crack, and the roof fall in upon us." + +"Surely there is a curse upon me," groaned the Man. "There is no justice +in the Gods!" + +Then the Souls tumultuously laughed in scorn,--even as the leaves of a +wood in the wind do chuckle all together. And they made answer to him:-- + +"As a fool thou liest! Did any save thyself make thy vile body? Was it +shapen--or misshapen--by any deeds or thoughts except thine own?" + +"No deed or thought can I remember," returned the Man, "deserving that +which has come upon me." + +"Remember!" laughed the Souls. "No--the folly was in other lives. But we +remember; and remembering, we hate." + +"Ye are all one with me!" cried the Man,--"how can ye hate?" + +"One with thee," mocked the Souls,--"as the wearer is one with his +garment!... How can we hate? As the fire that devours the wood from +which it is drawn by the fire-maker--even so we can hate." + +"It is a cursed world!" cried the Man--"why did ye not guide me?" + +The Souls replied to him:-- + +"Thou wouldst not heed the guiding of ghosts that were wiser than we.... +Cowards and weaklings curse the world. The strong do not blame the +world: it gives them all that they desire. By power they break and take +and keep. Life for them is a joy, a triumph, an exultation. But +creatures without power merit nothing; and nothingness becomes their +portion. Thou and we shall presently enter into nothingness." + +"Do ye fear?"--asked the Man. + +"There is reason for fear," the Souls answered. "Yet no one of us would +wish to delay the time of what we fear by continuing to make part of +such an existence as thine." + +"But ye have died innumerable times?"--wonderingly said the Man. + +"No, we have not," said the Souls,--"not even once that we can remember; +and our memory reaches back to the beginnings of this world. We die only +with the race." + +The Man said nothing,--being afraid. The Souls resumed:-- + +"Thy race ceases. Its continuance depended upon thy power to serve our +purposes. Thou hast lost all power. What art thou but a charnel-house, +a mortuary-pit? Freedom we needed, and space: here we have been +compacted together, a billion to a pin-point! Doorless our chambers and +blind;--and the passages are blocked and broken;--and the stairways lead +to nothing. Also there are Haunters here, not of our kind,--Things never +to be named." + +For a little time the Man thought gratefully of death and dust. But +suddenly there came into his memory a vision of his enemy's face, with a +wicked smile upon it. And then he wished for longer life,--a hundred +years of life and pain,--only to see the grass grow tall above the +grave of that enemy. And the Souls mocked his desire:-- + +"Thine enemy will not waste much thought upon thee. He is no +half-man,--thine enemy! The ghosts in that body have room and great +light. High are the ceilings of their habitation; wide and clear the +passageways; luminous the courts and pure. Like a fortress excellently +garrisoned is the brain of thine enemy;--and to any point thereof the +defending hosts can be gathered for battle in a moment together. _His_ +generation will not cease--nay! that face of his will multiply +throughout the centuries! Because thine enemy in every time provided for +the needs of his higher ghosts: he gave heed to their warnings; he +pleasured them in all just ways; he did not fail in reverence to them. +Wherefore they now have power to help him at his need.... How hast thou +reverenced or pleasured us?" + + * * * * * + +The Man remained silent for a space. Then, as in horror of doubting, he +questioned:-- + +"Wherefore should ye fear--if nothingness be the end?" + +"What is nothingness?" the Souls responded. "Only in the language of +delusion is there an end. That which thou callest the end is in truth +but the very beginning. The essence of us cannot cease. In the burning +of worlds it cannot be consumed. It will shudder in the cores of great +stars;--it will quiver in the light of other suns. And once more, in +some future cosmos, it will reconquer knowledge--but only after +evolutions unthinkable for multitude. Even out of the nameless +beginnings of form, and thence through every cycle of vanished +being,--through all successions of exhausted pain,--through all the +Abyss of the Past,--it must climb again." + +The Man uttered no word: the Souls spoke on:-- + +"For millions of millions of ages must we shiver in tempests of fire: +then shall we enter anew into some slime primordial,--there to quicken, +and again writhe upward through all foul dumb blind shapes. Innumerable +the metamorphoses!--immeasurable the agonies!... And the fault is not of +any Gods: it is thine!" + +"Good or evil," muttered the Man,--"what signifies either? The best must +become as the worst in the grind of the endless change." + +"Nay!" cried out the Souls; "for the strong there is a goal,--the goal +that thou couldst not strive to gain. They will help to the fashioning +of fairer worlds;--they will win to larger light;--they will tower and +soar as flame to enter the Zones of the Divine. But thou and we go +back to slime! Think of the billion summers that might have been for +us!--think of the joys, the loves, the triumphs cast away!--the dawns +of the knowledge undreamed,--the glories of sense unimagined,--the +exultations of illimitable power!... think, think, O fool, of all that +thou hast lost!" + +Then the Souls of the Man turned themselves into worms, and devoured +him. + + + + + In a Pair of Eyes + + [Decoration] + + +THERE is one adolescent moment never to be forgotten,--the moment when +the boy learns that this world contains nothing more wonderful than a +certain pair of eyes. At first the surprise of the discovery leaves +him breathless: instinctively he turns away his gaze. That vision +seemed too delicious to be true. But presently he ventures to look +again,--fearing with a new fear,--afraid of the reality, afraid also +of being observed;--and lo! his doubt dissolves in a new shock of +ecstasy. Those eyes are even more wonderful than he had imagined--nay! +they become more and yet more entrancing every successive time that he +looks at them! Surely in all the universe there cannot be another such +pair of eyes! What can lend them such enchantment? Why do they appear +divine?... He feels that he must ask somebody to explain,--must +propound to older and wiser heads the riddle of his new emotions. Then +he makes his confession, with a faint intuitive fear of being laughed +at, but with a strange, fresh sense of rapture in the telling. Laughed +at he is--tenderly; but this does not embarrass him nearly so much as +the fact that he can get no answer to his question,--to the simple +"Why?" made so interesting by his frank surprise and his timid +blushes. No one is able to enlighten him; but all can sympathize with +the bewilderment of his sudden awakening from the long soul-sleep of +childhood. + + * * * * * + +Perhaps that "Why?" never can be fully answered. But the mystery that +prompted it constantly tempts one to theorize; and theories may have a +worth independent of immediate results. Had it not been for old theories +concerning the Unknowable, what should we have been able to learn about +the Knowable? Was it not while in pursuit of the Impossible that we +stumbled upon the undreamed-of and infinitely marvellous Possible? + + * * * * * + +Why indeed should a pair of human eyes appear for a time to us so +beautiful that, when likening their radiance to splendor of diamond or +amethyst or emerald, we feel the comparison a blasphemy? Why should we +find them deeper than the sea, deeper than the day,--deep even as the +night of Space, with its scintillant mist of suns? Certainly not because +of mere wild fancy. These thoughts, these feelings, must spring from +some actual perception of the marvellous,--some veritable revelation of +the unspeakable. There is, in very truth, one brief hour of life during +which the world holds for us nothing so wonderful as a pair of eyes. And +then, while looking into them, we discover a thrill of awe vibrating +through our delight,--awe made by a something _felt_ rather than seen: a +latency,--a power,--a shadowing of depth unfathomable as the cosmic +Ether. It is as though, through some intense and sudden stimulation of +vital being, we had obtained--for one supercelestial moment--the glimpse +of a reality, never before imagined, and never again to be revealed. + +There is, indeed, an illusion. We seem to view the divine; but this +divine itself, whereby we are dazzled and duped, is a ghost. Not to +actuality belongs the spell,--not to anything that is,--but to some +infinite composite phantom of what has been. Wondrous the vision--but +wondrous only because our mortal sight then pierces beyond the surface +of the present into profundities of myriads of years,--pierces beyond +the mask of life into the enormous night of death. For a moment we are +made aware of a beauty and a mystery and a depth unutterable: then the +Veil falls again forever. + +The splendor of the eyes that we worship belongs to them only as +brightness to the morning-star. It is a reflex from beyond the shadow of +the Now,--a ghost-light of vanished suns. Unknowingly within that +maiden-gaze we meet the gaze of eyes more countless than the hosts of +heaven,--eyes otherwhere passed into darkness and dust. + +Thus, and only thus, the depth of that gaze is the depth of the Sea of +Death and Birth,--and its mystery is the World-Soul's vision, watching +us out of the silent vast of the Abyss of Being. + +Thus, and only thus, do truth and illusion mingle in the magic of +eyes,--the spectral past suffusing with charm ineffable the apparition +of the present;--and the sudden splendor in the soul of the Seer is but +a flash,--one soundless sheet-lightning of the Infinite Memory. + + + + + TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: + +Some of the illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up +paragraphs and so they correspond to the text, thus the page number of +the illustration no longer matches the page number in the List of +Illustrations. + +Repeated chapter titles have been deleted. + +Throughout the document, vowels having macrons in Japanese words are +indicated by vowels having circumflexes. For example, English word for +the Japanese capital (currently written in Japanese romanji as toukyou) +used to be written as Tokyo, but with macrons associated with each +letter "o". In this text the Japanese capital would be written as Tôkyô. + +Throughout the document, there are instances where punctuation seems to +be missing, but it is unclear whether the missing punctuation is +deliberate or what the missing punctuation should be. In those cases the +punctuation was not "corrected". + +Also, throughout the document, the [oe] ligature was replaced with "oe". + +Passages in italics were indicated by _underscores_. + +Small caps have been replaced with ALL CAPS. + +Sometimes in the text the word "Samébito" was italicized and sometimes +it was not italicized. That inconsistency was persevered. + +In the third footnote, which began on page 15, there was a missing close +quotation mark. That "error in punctuation" was not changed, as it +appeared in a quotation from another work. + +On page 55, a period was added after "Kibun-Anbaiyoshi". + +On page 57, "Setagawa" was replaced with "Sétagawa". + +On page 140, two footnote markers point to footnote 83. 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