{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_13015/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_13015","id":"gutenberg_13015","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/13015","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - Other","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Folklore","Folklore -- Japan","Japan -- Social life and customs"],"text":"Note: The author, Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford (1837-1916), Lord\n      Redesdale, was in the British Foreign Service as a young man.\n      He was assigned to the legation in Japan for several years and\n      acquired a life-long fascination with Japanese culture. This\n      book has been a standard source of information about Japanese\n      folklore and customs since its original publication in 1871 and\n      has been in print ever since.\n\n      Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this\n      file which includes the original illustrations.\n      See 13015-h.htm or 13015-h.zip:\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/1/13015/13015-h/13015-h.htm)\n      or\n      (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/1/13015/13015-h.zip)\n\n\n\n\n\nTALES OF OLD JAPAN\n\nby\n\nLORD REDESDALE, G.C.V.O., K.C.B.\nFormerly Second Secretary to the British Legation in Japan\n\nWith Illustrations Drawn and Cut on Wood by Japanese Artists\n\n1910\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: THE R\u00d4NINS INVITE K\u00d4TSUK\u00c9 NO SUK\u00c9 TO PERFORM\nHARA-KIRI.]\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\nIn the Introduction to the story of the Forty-seven R\u00f4nins, I have\nsaid almost as much as is needful by way of preface to my stories.\n\nThose of my readers who are most capable of pointing out the many\nshortcomings and faults of my work, will also be the most indulgent\ntowards me; for any one who has been in Japan, and studied Japanese,\nknows the great difficulties by which the learner is beset.\n\nFor the illustrations, at least, I feel that I need make no apology.\nDrawn, in the first instance, by one \u00d4dak\u00e9, an artist in my employ,\nthey were cut on wood by a famous wood-engraver at Yedo, and are\ntherefore genuine specimens of Japanese art. Messrs. Dalziel, on\nexamining the wood blocks, pointed out to me, as an interesting fact,\nthat the lines are cut with the grain of the wood, after the manner of\nAlbert D\u00fcrer and some of the old German masters,--a process which has\nbeen abandoned by modern European wood-engravers.\n\nIt will be noticed that very little allusion is made in these Tales to\nthe Emperor and his Court. Although I searched diligently, I was able\nto find no story in which they played a conspicuous part.\n\nAnother class to which no allusion is made is that of the G\u00f4shi. The\nG\u00f4shi are a kind of yeomen, or bonnet-lairds, as they would be called\nover the border, living on their own land, and owning no allegiance to\nany feudal lord. Their rank is inferior to that of the Samurai, or men\nof the military class, between whom and the peasantry they hold a\nmiddle place. Like the Samurai, they wear two swords, and are in many\ncases prosperous and wealthy men claiming a descent more ancient than\nthat of many of the feudal Princes. A large number of them are\nenrolled among the Emperor's body-guard; and these have played a\nconspicuous part in the recent political changes in Japan, as the most\nconservative and anti-foreign element in the nation.\n\nWith these exceptions, I think that all classes are fairly\nrepresented in my stories.\n\nThe feudal system has passed away like a dissolving view before the\neyes of those who have lived in Japan during the last few years. But\nwhen they arrived there it was in full force, and there is not an\nincident narrated in the following pages, however strange it may\nappear to Europeans, for the possibility and probability of which\nthose most competent to judge will not vouch. Nor, as many a recent\nevent can prove, have heroism, chivalry, and devotion gone out of the\nland altogether. We may deplore and inveigh against the Yamato\nDamashi, or Spirit of Old Japan, which still breathes in the soul of\nthe Samurai, but we cannot withhold our admiration from the\nself-sacrifices which men will still make for the love of their\ncountry.\n\nThe first two of the Tales have already appeared in the _Fortnightly\nReview,_ and two of the Sermons, with a portion of the Appendix on the\nsubject of the Hara-Kiri, in the pages of the _Cornhill Magazine_. I\nhave to thank the editors of those periodicals for permission to\nreprint them here.\n\nLONDON, January 7, 1871\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nTHE FORTY-SEVEN R\u00d4NINS\n\nTHE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI\n\nKAZUMA'S REVENGE\n\nA STORY OF THE OTOKODAT\u00c9 OF YEDO\n\nTHE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUY\u00c9MON\n\nTHE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO\n\nFAIRY TALES\n\n  THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW\n  THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE\n  THE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN\n  THE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO BLOSSOM\n  THE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB\n  THE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE PEACHLING\n  THE FOXES' WEDDING\n  THE HISTORY OF SAKATA KINTOKI\n  THE ELVES AND THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR\n\nTHE GHOST OF SAKURA\n\nHOW TAJIMA SHUM\u00c9 WAS TORMENTED BY A DEVIL OF HIS OWN CREATION\n\nCONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS\n\n  THE VAMPIRE CAT OF NAB\u00c9SHIMA\n  THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT\n  HOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS HEAD SHAVED BY THE FOXES\n  THE GRATEFUL FOXES\n  THE BADGER'S MONEY\n  THE PRINCE AND THE BADGER\n\nJAPANESE SERMONS\n\n  THE SERMONS OF KIU-\u00d4, VOL. I. SERMON I.\n          \"          \"          SERMON II.\n          \"          \"          SERMON III.\n\nAPPENDICES:--\n\n  AN ACCOUNT OF THE HARA-KIRI\n  THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY\n  ON THE BIRTH AND REARING OF CHILDREN\n  FUNERAL RITES\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n  THE R\u00d4NINS INVITE R\u00d4TSUK\u00c9 NO SUK\u00c9 TO PERFORM HARA-KIRI\n  THE WELL IN WHICH THE HEAD WAS WASHED\n  THE SATSUMA MAN INSULTS OISHI KURANOSUK\u00c9\n  THE TOMBS OF THE R\u00d4NINS\n  THE TOMB OF THE SHIYOKU\n  GOMPACHI AWAKENED BY THE MAIDEN IN THE ROBBERS' DEN\n  FORGING THE SWORD\n  MATAGOR\u00d4 KILLS YUKIY\u00c9\n  THE DEATH OF DANY\u00c9MON\n  TRICKS OF SWORDSMANSHIP AT ASAKUSA\n  THE DEATH OF CH\u00d4BEI OF BANDZUIN\n  FUNAKOSHI JIUY\u00c9MON ON BOARD THE PIRATE SHIP\n  JIUY\u00c9MON PUNISHES HIS WIFE AND THE WRESTLER\n  FUNAKOSHI JIUY\u00c9MON AND THE GOBLINS\n  \"GOKUMON\"\n  CHAMPION WRESTLER\n  A WRESTLING MATCH\n  GENZABUR\u00d4'S MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN\n  THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW\n  THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW (2)\n  THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE\n  THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE (2)\n  THE HARE AND THE BADGER\n  THE HARE AND THE BADGER (2)\n  THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER\n  THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER (2)\n  THE APE AND THE CRAB\n  THE APE AND THE CRAB (2)\n  LITTLE PEACHLING\n  LITTLE PEACHLING (2)\n  THE FOXES' WEDDING\n  THE FOXES' WEDDING (2)\n  THE DEPUTATION OF PEASANTS AT THEIR LORD'S GATE\n  THE GHOST OF SAKURA\n  S\u00d4GOR\u00d4 THRUSTING THE PETITION INTO THE SHOGUN'S LITTER\n  THE CAT OF NAB\u00c9SHIMA\n  THE FEAST OF INARI SAMA\n  A JAPANESE SERMON\n\n\n\n\nTHE FORTY-SEVEN R\u00d4NINS\n\n\nThe books which have been written of late years about Japan have\neither been compiled from official records, or have contained the\nsketchy impressions of passing travellers. Of the inner life of the\nJapanese the world at large knows but little: their religion, their\nsuperstitions, their ways of thought, the hidden springs by which they\nmove--all these are as yet mysteries. Nor is this to be wondered at.\nThe first Western men who came in contact with Japan--I am speaking\nnot of the old Dutch and Portuguese traders and priests, but of the\ndiplomatists and merchants of eleven years ago--met with a cold\nreception. Above all things, the native Government threw obstacles in\nthe way of any inquiry into their language, literature, and history.\nThe fact was that the Tycoon's Government--with whom alone, so long as\nthe Mikado remained in seclusion in his sacred capital at Ki\u00f4to, any\nrelations were maintained--knew that the Imperial purple with which\nthey sought to invest their chief must quickly fade before the strong\nsunlight which would be brought upon it so soon as there should be\nEuropean linguists capable of examining their books and records. No\nopportunity was lost of throwing dust in the eyes of the new-comers,\nwhom, even in the most trifling details, it was the official policy to\nlead astray. Now, however, there is no cause for concealment; the _Roi\nFain\u00e9ant_ has shaken off his sloth, and his _Maire du Palais_,\ntogether, and an intelligible Government, which need not fear scrutiny\nfrom abroad, is the result: the records of the country being but so\nmany proofs of the Mikado's title to power, there is no reason for\nkeeping up any show of mystery. The path of inquiry is open to all;\nand although there is yet much to be learnt, some knowledge has been\nattained, in which it may interest those who stay at home to share.\n\nThe recent revolution in Japan has wrought changes social as well as\npolitical; and it may be that when, in addition to the advance which\nhas already been made, railways and telegraphs shall have connected\nthe principal points of the Land of Sunrise, the old Japanese, such\nas he was and had been for centuries when we found him eleven short\nyears ago, will have become extinct. It has appeared to me that no\nbetter means could be chosen of preserving a record of a curious and\nfast disappearing civilization than the translation of some of the\nmost interesting national legends and histories, together with other\nspecimens of literature bearing upon the same subject. Thus the\nJapanese may tell their own tale, their translator only adding here\nand there a few words of heading or tag to a chapter, where an\nexplanation or amplification may seem necessary. I fear that the long\nand hard names will often make my tales tedious reading, but I believe\nthat those who will bear with the difficulty will learn more of the\ncharacter of the Japanese people than by skimming over descriptions of\ntravel and adventure, however brilliant. The lord and his retainer,\nthe warrior and the priest, the humble artisan and the despised Eta or\npariah, each in his turn will become a leading character in my budget\nof stories; and it is out of the mouths of these personages that I\nhope to show forth a tolerably complete picture of Japanese society.\n\nHaving said so much by way of preface, I beg my readers to fancy\nthemselves wafted away to the shores of the Bay of Yedo--a fair,\nsmiling landscape: gentle slopes, crested by a dark fringe of pines\nand firs, lead down to the sea; the quaint eaves of many a temple and\nholy shrine peep out here and there from the groves; the bay itself is\nstudded with picturesque fisher-craft, the torches of which shine by\nnight like glow-worms among the outlying forts; far away to the west\nloom the goblin-haunted heights of Oyama, and beyond the twin hills of\nthe Hakon\u00e9 Pass--Fuji-Yama, the Peerless Mountain, solitary and grand,\nstands in the centre of the plain, from which it sprang vomiting\nflames twenty-one centuries ago.[1] For a hundred and sixty years the\nhuge mountain has been at peace, but the frequent earthquakes still\ntell of hidden fires, and none can say when the red-hot stones and\nashes may once more fall like rain over five provinces.\n\nIn the midst of a nest of venerable trees in Takanawa, a suburb of\nYedo, is hidden Sengakuji, or the Spring-hill Temple, renowned\nthroughout the length and breadth of the land for its cemetery, which\ncontains the graves of the Forty-seven. R\u00f4nins,[2] famous in Japanese\nhistory, heroes of Japanese drama, the tale of whose deeds I am about\nto transcribe.\n\nOn the left-hand side of the main court of the temple is a chapel, in\nwhich, surmounted by a gilt figure of Kwanyin, the goddess of mercy,\nare enshrined the images of the forty-seven men, and of the master\nwhom they loved so well. The statues are carved in wood, the faces\ncoloured, and the dresses richly lacquered; as works of art they have\ngreat merit--the action of the heroes, each armed with his favourite\nweapon, being wonderfully life-like and spirited. Some are venerable\nmen, with thin, grey hair (one is seventy-seven years old); others are\nmere boys of sixteen. Close by the chapel, at the side of a path\nleading up the hill, is a little well of pure water, fenced in and\nadorned with a tiny fernery, over which is an inscription, setting\nforth that \"This is the well in which the head was washed; you must\nnot wash your hands or your feet here.\" A little further on is a\nstall, at which a poor old man earns a pittance by selling books,\npictures, and medals, commemorating the loyalty of the Forty-seven;\nand higher up yet, shaded by a grove of stately trees, is a neat\ninclosure, kept up, as a signboard announces, by voluntary\ncontributions, round which are ranged forty-eight little tombstones,\neach decked with evergreens, each with its tribute of water and\nincense for the comfort of the departed spirit. There were forty-seven\nR\u00f4nins; there are forty-eight tombstones, and the story of the\nforty-eighth is truly characteristic of Japanese ideas of honour.\nAlmost touching the rail of the graveyard is a more imposing monument\nunder which lies buried the lord, whose death his followers piously\navenged.\n\n[Footnote 1: According to Japanese tradition, in the fifth year of the\nEmperor K\u00f4rei (286 B.C.), the earth opened in the province of Omi,\nnear Ki\u00f4to, and Lake Biwa, sixty miles long by about eighteen broad,\nwas formed in the shape of a _Biwa_, or four-stringed lute, from which\nit takes its name. At the same time, to compensate for the depression\nof the earth, but at a distance of over three hundred miles from the\nlake, rose Fuji-Yama, the last eruption of which was in the year 1707.\nThe last great earthquake at Yedo took place about fifteen years ago.\nTwenty thousand souls are said to have perished in it, and the dead\nwere carried away and buried by cartloads; many persons, trying to\nescape from their falling and burning houses, were caught in great\nclefts, which yawned suddenly in the earth, and as suddenly closed\nupon the victims, crushing them to death. For several days heavy\nshocks continued to be felt, and the people camped out, not daring to\nreturn to such houses as had been spared, nor to build up those which\nlay in ruins.]\n\n[Footnote 2: The word _R\u00f4nin_ means, literally, a \"wave-man\"; one who\nis tossed about hither and thither, as a wave of the sea. It is used\nto designate persons of gentle blood, entitled to bear arms, who,\nhaving become separated from their feudal lords by their own act, or\nby dismissal, or by fate, wander about the country in the capacity of\nsomewhat disreputable knights-errant, without ostensible means of\nliving, in some cases offering themselves for hire to new masters, in\nothers supporting themselves by pillage; or who, falling a grade in\nthe social scale, go into trade, and become simple wardsmen. Sometimes\nit happens that for political reasons a man will become R\u00f4nin, in\norder that his lord may not be implicated in some deed of blood in\nwhich he is about to engage. Sometimes, also, men become R\u00f4nins, and\nleave their native place for a while, until some scrape in which they\nhave become entangled shall have blown over; after which they return\nto their former allegiance. Nowadays it is not unusual for men to\nbecome R\u00f4nins for a time, and engage themselves in the service of\nforeigners at the open ports, even in menial capacities, in the hope\nthat they may pick up something of the language and lore of Western\nfolks. I know instances of men of considerable position who have\nadopted this course in their zeal for education.]\n\nAnd now for the story.\n\nAt the beginning of the eighteenth century there lived a daimio,\ncalled Asano Takumi no Kami, the Lord of the castle of Ak\u00f4, in the\nprovince of Harima. Now it happened that an Imperial ambassador from\nthe Court of the Mikado having been sent to the Shogun[3] at Yedo,\nTakumi no Kami and another noble called Kamei Sama were appointed to\nreceive and feast the envoy; and a high official, named Kira K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9\nno Suk\u00e9, was named to teach them the proper ceremonies to be observed\nupon the occasion. The two nobles were accordingly forced to go daily\nto the castle to listen to the instructions of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9. But\nthis K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 was a man greedy of money; and as he deemed that\nthe presents which the two daimios, according to time-honoured custom,\nhad brought him in return for his instruction were mean and unworthy,\nhe conceived a great hatred against them, and took no pains in\nteaching them, but on the contrary rather sought to make\nlaughing-stocks of them. Takumi no Kami, restrained by a stern sense\nof duty, bore his insults with patience; but Kamei Sama, who had less\ncontrol over his temper, was violently incensed, and determined to\nkill K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9.\n\n[Footnote 3: The full title of the Tycoon was Sei-i-tai-Shogun,\n\"Barbarian-repressing Commander-in-chief.\" The style Tai Kun, Great\nPrince, was borrowed, in order to convey the idea of sovereignty to\nforeigners, at the time of the conclusion of the Treaties. The envoys\nsent by the Mikado from Ki\u00f4to to communicate to the Shogun the will of\nhis sovereign were received with Imperial honours, and the duty of\nentertaining them was confided to nobles of rank. The title\nSei-i-tai-Shogun was first borne by Minamoto no Yoritomo, in the\nseventh month of the year A.D. 1192.]\n\n[Illustration: THE WELL IN WHICH THE HEAD WAS WASHED.]\n\nOne night when his duties at the castle were ended, Kamei Sama\nreturned to his own palace, and having summoned his councillors[4] to\na secret conference, said to them: \"K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 has insulted\nTakumi no Kami and myself during our service in attendance on the\nImperial envoy. This is against all decency, and I was minded to kill\nhim on the spot; but I bethought me that if I did such a deed within\nthe precincts of the castle, not only would my own life be forfeit,\nbut my family and vassals would be ruined: so I stayed my hand. Still\nthe life of such a wretch is a sorrow to the people, and to-morrow\nwhen I go to Court I will slay him: my mind is made up, and I will\nlisten to no remonstrance.\" And as he spoke his face became livid with\nrage.\n\n[Footnote 4: Councillor, lit. \"elder.\" The councillors of daimios were\nof two classes: the _Kar\u00f4_, or \"elder,\" an hereditary office, held by\ncadets of the Prince's family, and the _Y\u00f4nin_, or \"man of business,\"\nwho was selected on account of his merits. These \"councillors\" play no\nmean part in Japanese history.]\n\nNow one of Kamei Sama's councillors was a man of great judgment, and\nwhen he saw from his lord's manner that remonstrance would be useless,\nhe said: \"Your lordship's words are law; your servant will make all\npreparations accordingly; and to-morrow, when your lordship goes to\nCourt, if this K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 should again be insolent, let him die\nthe death.\" And his lord was pleased at this speech, and waited with\nimpatience for the day to break, that he might return to Court and\nkill his enemy.\n\nBut the councillor went home, and was sorely troubled, and thought\nanxiously about what his prince had said. And as he reflected, it\noccurred to him that since K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 had the reputation of being\na miser he would certainly be open to a bribe, and that it was better\nto pay any sum, no matter how great, than that his lord and his house\nshould be ruined. So he collected all the money he could, and, giving\nit to his servants to carry, rode off in the night to K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\nSuk\u00e9's palace, and said to his retainers: \"My master, who is now in\nattendance upon the Imperial envoy, owes much thanks to my Lord\nK\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, who has been at so great pains to teach him the\nproper ceremonies to be observed during the reception of the Imperial\nenvoy. This is but a shabby present which he has sent by me, but he\nhopes that his lordship will condescend to accept it, and commends\nhimself to his lordship's favour.\" And, with these words, he produced\na thousand ounces of silver for K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, and a hundred ounces\nto be distributed among his retainers.\n\nWhen the latter saw the money their eyes sparkled with pleasure, and\nthey were profuse in their thanks; and begging the councillor to wait\na little, they went and told their master of the lordly present which\nhad arrived with a polite message from Kamei Sama. K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 in\neager delight sent for the councillor into an inner chamber, and,\nafter thanking him, promised on the morrow to instruct his master\ncarefully in all the different points of etiquette. So the councillor,\nseeing the miser's glee, rejoiced at the success of his plan; and\nhaving taken his leave returned home in high spirits. But Kamei Sama,\nlittle thinking how his vassal had propitiated his enemy, lay brooding\nover his vengeance, and on the following morning at daybreak went to\nCourt in solemn procession.\n\nWhen K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 met him his manner had completely changed, and\nnothing could exceed his courtesy. \"You have come early to Court this\nmorning, my Lord Kamei,\" said he. \"I cannot sufficiently admire your\nzeal. I shall have the honour to call your attention to several points\nof etiquette to-day. I must beg your lordship to excuse my previous\nconduct, which must have seemed very rude; but I am naturally of a\ncross-grained disposition, so I pray you to forgive me.\" And as he\nkept on humbling himself and making fair speeches, the heart of Kamei\nSama was gradually softened, and he renounced his intention of killing\nhim. Thus by the cleverness of his councillor was Kamei Sama, with all\nhis house, saved from ruin.\n\nShortly after this, Takumi no Kami, who had sent no present, arrived\nat the castle, and K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 turned him into ridicule even more\nthan before, provoking him with sneers and covert insults; but Takumi\nno Kami affected to ignore all this, and submitted himself patiently\nto K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's orders.\n\nThis conduct, so far from producing a good effect, only made K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9\nno Suk\u00e9 despise him the more, until at last he said haughtily: \"Here,\nmy Lord of Takumi, the ribbon of my sock has come untied; be so good\nas to tie it up for me.\"\n\nTakumi no Kami, although burning with rage at the affront, still\nthought that as he was on duty he was bound to obey, and tied up the\nribbon of the sock. Then K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, turning from him, petulantly\nexclaimed: \"Why, how clumsy you are! You cannot so much as tie up the\nribbon of a sock properly! Any one can see that you are a boor from\nthe country, and know nothing of the manners of Yedo.\" And with a\nscornful laugh he moved towards an inner room.\n\nBut the patience of Takumi no Kami was exhausted; this last insult was\nmore than he could bear.\n\n\"Stop a moment, my lord,\" cried he.\n\n\"Well, what is it?\" replied the other. And, as he turned round, Takumi\nno Kami drew his dirk, and aimed a blow at his head; but K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\nSuk\u00e9, being protected by the Court cap which he wore, the wound was\nbut a scratch, so he ran away; and Takumi no Kami, pursuing him, tried\na second time to cut him down, but, missing his aim, struck his dirk\ninto a pillar. At this moment an officer, named Kajikawa Yosobei,\nseeing the affray, rushed up, and holding back the infuriated noble,\ngave K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 time to make good his escape.\n\nThen there arose a great uproar and confusion, and Takumi no Kami was\narrested and disarmed, and confined in one of the apartments of the\npalace under the care of the censors. A council was held, and the\nprisoner was given over to the safeguard of a daimio, called Tamura\nUkiy\u00f4 no Daibu, who kept him in close custody in his own house, to\nthe great grief of his wife and of his retainers; and when the\ndeliberations of the council were completed, it was decided that, as\nhe had committed an outrage and attacked another man within the\nprecincts of the palace, he must perform _hara-kiri_,--that is, commit\nsuicide by disembowelling; his goods must be confiscated, and his\nfamily ruined. Such was the law. So Takumi no Kami performed\n_hara-kiri_, his castle of Ak\u00f4 was confiscated, and his retainers\nhaving become R\u00f4nins, some of them took service with other daimios,\nand others became merchants.\n\nNow amongst these retainers was his principal councillor, a man called\nOishi Kuranosuk\u00e9, who, with forty-six other faithful dependants,\nformed a league to avenge their master's death by killing K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\nSuk\u00e9. This Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9 was absent at the castle of Ak\u00f4 at the\ntime of the affray, which, had he been with his prince, would never\nhave occurred; for, being a wise man, he would not have failed to\npropitiate K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 by sending him suitable presents; while the\ncouncillor who was in attendance on the prince at Yedo was a dullard,\nwho neglected this precaution, and so caused the death of his master\nand the ruin of his house.\n\nSo Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9 and his forty-six companions began to lay their\nplans of vengeance against K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9; but the latter was so well\nguarded by a body of men lent to him by a daimio called Uy\u00e9sugi Sama,\nwhose daughter he had married, that they saw that the only way of\nattaining their end would be to throw their enemy off his guard. With\nthis object they separated and disguised themselves, some as\ncarpenters or craftsmen, others as merchants; and their chief,\nKuranosuk\u00e9, went to Ki\u00f4to, and built a house in the quarter called\nYamashina, where he took to frequenting houses of the worst repute,\nand gave himself up to drunkenness and debauchery, as if nothing were\nfurther from his mind than revenge. K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, in the meanwhile,\nsuspecting that Takumi no Kami's former retainers would be scheming\nagainst his life, secretly sent spies to Ki\u00f4to, and caused a faithful\naccount to be kept of all that Kuranosuk\u00e9 did. The latter, however,\ndetermined thoroughly to delude the enemy into a false security, went\non leading a dissolute life with harlots and winebibbers. One day, as\nhe was returning home drunk from some low haunt, he fell down in the\nstreet and went to sleep, and all the passers-by laughed him to scorn.\nIt happened that a Satsuma man saw this, and said: \"Is not this Oishi\nKuranosuk\u00e9, who was a councillor of Asano Takumi no Kami, and who, not\nhaving the heart to avenge his lord, gives himself up to women and\nwine? See how he lies drunk in the public street! Faithless beast!\nFool and craven! Unworthy the name of a Samurai!\"[5]\n\n[Footnote 5: _Samurai_, a man belonging to the _Buk\u00e9_ or military\nclass, entitled to bear arms.]\n\n[Illustration: THE SATSUMA MAN INSULTS OISHI KURANOSUK\u00c9.]\n\nAnd he trod on Kuranosuk\u00e9's face as he slept, and spat upon him; but\nwhen K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's spies reported all this at Yedo, he was greatly\nrelieved at the news, and felt secure from danger.\n\nOne day Kuranosuk\u00e9's wife, who was bitterly grieved to see her husband\nlead this abandoned life, went to him and said: \"My lord, you told me\nat first that your debauchery was but a trick to make your enemy relax\nin watchfulness. But indeed, indeed, this has gone too far. I pray and\nbeseech you to put some restraint upon yourself.\"\n\n\"Trouble me not,\" replied Kuranosuk\u00e9, \"for I will not listen to your\nwhining. Since my way of life is displeasing to you, I will divorce\nyou, and you may go about your business; and I will buy some pretty\nyoung girl from one of the public-houses, and marry her for my\npleasure. I am sick of the sight of an old woman like you about the\nhouse, so get you gone--the sooner the better.\"\n\nSo saying, he flew into a violent rage, and his wife, terror-stricken,\npleaded piteously for mercy.\n\n\"Oh, my lord! unsay those terrible words! I have been your faithful\nwife for twenty years, and have borne you three children; in sickness\nand in sorrow I have been with you; you cannot be so cruel as to turn\nme out of doors now. Have pity! have pity!\"\n\n\"Cease this useless wailing. My mind is made up, and you must go; and\nas the children are in my way also, you are welcome to take them with\nyou.\"\n\nWhen she heard her husband speak thus, in her grief she sought her\neldest son, Oishi Chikara, and begged him to plead for her, and pray\nthat she might be pardoned. But nothing would turn Kuranosuk\u00e9 from his\npurpose, so his wife was sent away, with the two younger children, and\nwent back to her native place. But Oishi Chikara remained with his\nfather.\n\nThe spies communicated all this without fail to K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, and\nhe, when he heard how Kuranosuk\u00e9, having turned his wife and children\nout of doors and bought a concubine, was grovelling in a life of\ndrunkenness and lust, began to think that he had no longer anything to\nfear from the retainers of Takumi no Kami, who must be cowards,\nwithout the courage to avenge their lord. So by degrees he began to\nkeep a less strict watch, and sent back half of the guard which had\nbeen lent to him by his father-in-law, Uy\u00e9sugi Sama. Little did he\nthink how he was falling into the trap laid for him by Kuranosuk\u00e9,\nwho, in his zeal to slay his lord's enemy, thought nothing of\ndivorcing his wife and sending away his children! Admirable and\nfaithful man!\n\nIn this way Kuranosuk\u00e9 continued to throw dust in the eyes of his foe,\nby persisting in his apparently shameless conduct; but his associates\nall went to Yedo, and, having in their several capacities as workmen\nand pedlars contrived to gain access to K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's house, made\nthemselves familiar with the plan of the building and the arrangement\nof the different rooms, and ascertained the character of the inmates,\nwho were brave and loyal men, and who were cowards; upon all of which\nmatters they sent regular reports to Kuranosuk\u00e9. And when at last it\nbecame evident from the letters which arrived from Yedo that K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9\nno Suk\u00e9 was thoroughly off his guard, Kuranosuk\u00e9 rejoiced that the day\nof vengeance was at hand; and, having appointed a trysting-place at\nYedo, he fled secretly from Ki\u00f4to, eluding the vigilance of his\nenemy's spies. Then the forty-seven men, having laid all their plans,\nbided their time patiently.\n\nIt was now midwinter, the twelfth month of the year, and the cold was\nbitter. One night, during a heavy fall of snow, when the whole world\nwas hushed, and peaceful men were stretched in sleep upon the mats,\nthe R\u00f4nins determined that no more favourable opportunity could occur\nfor carrying out their purpose. So they took counsel together, and,\nhaving divided their band into two parties, assigned to each man his\npost. One band, led by Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9, was to attack the front gate,\nand the other, under his son Oishi Chikara, was to attack the postern\nof K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's house; but as Chikara was only sixteen years of\nage, Yoshida Chiuzay\u00e9mon was appointed to act as his guardian. Further\nit was arranged that a drum, beaten at the order of Kuranosuk\u00e9, should\nbe the signal for the simultaneous attack; and that if any one slew\nK\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 and cut off his head he should blow a shrill whistle,\nas a signal to his comrades, who would hurry to the spot, and, having\nidentified the head, carry it off to the temple called Sengakuji, and\nlay it as an offering before the tomb of their dead lord. Then they\nmust report their deed to the Government, and await the sentence of\ndeath which would surely be passed upon them. To this the R\u00f4nins one\nand all pledged themselves. Midnight was fixed upon as the hour, and\nthe forty-seven comrades, having made all ready for the attack,\npartook of a last farewell feast together, for on the morrow they must\ndie. Then Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9 addressed the band, and said--\n\n\"To-night we shall attack our enemy in his palace; his retainers will\ncertainly resist us, and we shall be obliged to kill them. But to slay\nold men and women and children is a pitiful thing; therefore, I pray\nyou each one to take great heed lest you kill a single helpless\nperson.\" His comrades all applauded this speech, and so they remained,\nwaiting for the hour of midnight to arrive.\n\nWhen the appointed hour came, the R\u00f4nins set forth. The wind howled\nfuriously, and the driving snow beat in their faces; but little cared\nthey for wind or snow as they hurried on their road, eager for\nrevenge. At last they reached K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's house, and divided\nthemselves into two bands; and Chikara, with twenty-three men, went\nround to the back gate. Then four men, by means of a ladder of ropes\nwhich they hung on to the roof of the porch, effected an entry into\nthe courtyard; and, as they saw signs that all the inmates of the\nhouse were asleep, they went into the porter's lodge where the guard\nslept, and, before the latter had time to recover from their\nastonishment, bound them. The terrified guard prayed hard for mercy,\nthat their lives might be spared; and to this the R\u00f4nins agreed on\ncondition that the keys of the gate should be given up; but the others\ntremblingly said that the keys were kept in the house of one of their\nofficers, and that they had no means of obtaining them. Then the\nR\u00f4nins lost patience, and with a hammer dashed in pieces the big\nwooden bolt which secured the gate, and the doors flew open to the\nright and to the left. At the same time Chikara and his party broke in\nby the back gate.\n\nThen Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9 sent a messenger to the neighbouring houses,\nbearing the following message:--\"We, the R\u00f4nins who were formerly in\nthe service of Asano Takumi no Kami, are this night about to break\ninto the palace of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, to avenge our lord. As we are\nneither night robbers nor ruffians, no hurt will be done to the\nneighbouring houses. We pray you to set your minds at rest.\" And as\nK\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 was hated by his neighbours for his covetousness, they\ndid not unite their forces to assist him. Another precaution was yet\ntaken. Lest any of the people inside should run out to call the\nrelations of the family to the rescue, and these coming in force\nshould interfere with the plans of the R\u00f4nins, Kuranosuk\u00e9 stationed\nten of his men armed with bows on the roof of the four sides of the\ncourtyard, with orders to shoot any retainers who might attempt to\nleave the place. Having thus laid all his plans and posted his men,\nKuranosuk\u00e9 with his own hand beat the drum and gave the signal for\nattack.\n\nTen of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's retainers, hearing the noise, woke up; and,\ndrawing their swords, rushed into the front room to defend their\nmaster. At this moment the R\u00f4nins, who had burst open the door of the\nfront hall, entered the same room. Then arose a furious fight between\nthe two parties, in the midst of which Chikara, leading his men\nthrough the garden, broke into the back of the house; and K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\nSuk\u00e9, in terror of his life, took refuge, with his wife and female\nservants, in a closet in the verandah; while the rest of his\nretainers, who slept in the barrack outside the house, made ready to\ngo to the rescue. But the R\u00f4nins who had come in by the front door,\nand were fighting with the ten retainers, ended by overpowering and\nslaying the latter without losing one of their own number; after\nwhich, forcing their way bravely towards the back rooms, they were\njoined by Chikara and his men, and the two bands were united in one.\n\nBy this time the remainder of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's men had come in, and\nthe fight became general; and Kuranosuk\u00e9, sitting on a camp-stool,\ngave his orders and directed the R\u00f4nins. Soon the inmates of the house\nperceived that they were no match for their enemy, so they tried to\nsend out intelligence of their plight to Uy\u00e9sugi Sama, their lord's\nfather-in-law, begging him to come to the rescue with all the force\nat his command. But the messengers were shot down by the archers whom\nKuranosuk\u00e9 had posted on the roof. So no help coming, they fought on\nin despair. Then Kuranosuk\u00e9 cried out with a loud voice: \"K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\nSuk\u00e9 alone is our enemy; let some one go inside and bring him forth.\ndead or alive!\"\n\nNow in front of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's private room stood three brave\nretainers with drawn swords. The first was Kobayashi H\u00e9hachi, the\nsecond was Waku Handaiyu, and the third was Shimidzu Ikkaku, all good\nmen and true, and expert swordsmen. So stoutly did these men lay about\nthem that for a while they kept the whole of the R\u00f4nins at bay, and at\none moment even forced them back. When Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9 saw this, he\nground his teeth with rage, and shouted to his men: \"What! did not\nevery man of you swear to lay down his life in avenging his lord, and\nnow are you driven back by three men? Cowards, not fit to be spoken\nto! to die fighting in a master's cause should be the noblest ambition\nof a retainer!\" Then turning to his own son Chikara, he said, \"Here,\nboy! engage those men, and if they are too strong for you, die!\"\n\nSpurred by these words, Chikara seized a spear and gave battle to Waku\nHandaiyu, but could not hold his ground, and backing by degrees, was\ndriven out into the garden, where he missed his footing and slipped\ninto a pond, but as Handaiyu, thinking to kill him, looked down into\nthe pond, Chikara cut his enemy in the leg and caused him to fall, and\nthen, crawling out of the water dispatched him. In the meanwhile\nKobayashi H\u00e9hachi and Shimidzu Ikkaku had been killed by the other\nR\u00f4nins, and of all K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's retainers not one fighting man\nremained. Chikara, seeing this, went with his bloody sword in his hand\ninto a back room to search for K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, but he only found the\nson of the latter, a young lord named Kira Sahioy\u00e9, who, carrying a\nhalberd, attacked him, but was soon wounded and fled. Thus the whole\nof K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's men having been killed, there was an end of the\nfighting; but as yet there was no trace of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 to be\nfound.\n\nThen Kuranosuk\u00e9 divided his men into several parties and searched the\nwhole house, but all in vain; women and children weeping were alone to\nbe seen. At this the forty-seven men began to lose heart in regret,\nthat after all their toil they had allowed their enemy to escape them,\nand there was a moment when in their despair they agreed to commit\nsuicide together upon the spot; but they determined to make one more\neffort. So Kuranosuk\u00e9 went into K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's sleeping-room, and\ntouching the quilt with his hands, exclaimed, \"I have just felt the\nbed-clothes and they are yet warm, and so methinks that our enemy is\nnot far off. He must certainly be hidden somewhere in the house.\"\nGreatly excited by this, the R\u00f4nins renewed their search. Now in the\nraised part of the room, near the place of honour, there was a picture\nhanging; taking down this picture, they saw that there was a large\nhole in the plastered wall, and on thrusting a spear in they could\nfeel nothing beyond it. So one of the R\u00f4nins, called Yazama Jiutar\u00f4,\ngot into the hole, and found that on the other side there was a little\ncourtyard, in which there stood an outhouse for holding charcoal and\nfirewood. Looking into the outhouse, he spied something white at the\nfurther end, at which he struck with his spear, when two armed men\nsprang out upon him and tried to cut him down, but he kept them back\nuntil one of his comrades came up and killed one of the two men and\nengaged the other, while Jiutar\u00f4 entered the outhouse and felt about\nwith his spear. Again seeing something white, he struck it with his\nlance, when a cry of pain betrayed that it was a man; so he rushed up,\nand the man in white clothes, who had been wounded in the thigh, drew\na dirk and aimed a blow at him. But Jiutar\u00f4 wrested the dirk from him,\nand clutching him by the collar, dragged him out of the outhouse. Then\nthe other R\u00f4nin came up, and they examined the prisoner attentively,\nand saw that he was a noble-looking man, some sixty years of age,\ndressed in a white satin sleeping-robe, which was stained by the blood\nfrom the thigh-wound which, Jiutar\u00f4 had inflicted. The two men felt\nconvinced that this was no other than K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, and they asked\nhim his name, but he gave no answer, so they gave the signal whistle,\nand all their comrades collected together at the call; then Oishi\nKuranosuk\u00e9, bringing a lantern, scanned the old man's features, and it\nwas indeed K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9; and if further proof were wanting, he\nstill bore a scar on his forehead where their master, Asano Takumi no\nKami, had wounded him during the affray in the castle. There being no\npossibility of mistake, therefore, Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9 went down on his\nknees, and addressing the old man very respectfully, said--\n\n\"My lord, we are the retainers of Asano Takumi no Kami. Last year your\nlordship and our master quarrelled in the palace, and our master was\nsentenced to _hara-kiri,_ and his family was ruined. We have come\nto-night to avenge him, as is the duty of faithful and loyal men. I\npray your lordship to acknowledge the justice of our purpose. And now,\nmy lord, we beseech you to perform _hara-kiri_. I myself shall have\nthe honour to act as your second, and when, with all humility, I shall\nhave received your lordship's head, it is my intention to lay it as an\noffering upon the grave of Asano Takumi no Kami.\"\n\nThus, in consideration of the high rank of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, the R\u00f4nins\ntreated him with the greatest courtesy, and over and over again\nentreated him to perform _hara-kiri._ But he crouched speechless and\ntrembling. At last Kuranosuk\u00e9, seeing that it was vain to urge him to\ndie the death of a nobleman, forced him down, and cut off his head\nwith the same dirk with which Asano Takumi no Kami had killed himself.\nThen the forty-seven comrades, elated at having accomplished their\ndesign, placed the head in a bucket, and prepared to depart; but\nbefore leaving the house they carefully extinguished all the lights\nand fires in the place, lest by any accident a fire should break out\nand the neighbours suffer.\n\nAs they were on their way to Takanawa, the suburb in which the temple\ncalled Sengakuji stands, the day broke; and the people flocked out to\nsee the forty-seven men, who, with their clothes and arms all\nblood-stained, presented a terrible appearance; and every one praised\nthem, wondering at their valour and faithfulness. But they expected\nevery moment that K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's father-in-law would attack them\nand carry off the head, and made ready to die bravely sword in hand.\nHowever, they reached Takanawa in safety, for Matsudaira Aki no Kami,\none of the eighteen chief daimios of Japan, of whose house Asano\nTakumi no Kami had been a cadet, had been highly pleased when he heard\nof the last night's work, and he had made ready to assist the R\u00f4nins\nin case they were attacked. So K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's father-in-law dared\nnot pursue them.\n\nAt about seven in the morning they came opposite to the palace of\nMatsudaira Mutsu no Kami, the Prince of Sendai, and the Prince,\nhearing of it, sent for one of his councillors and said: \"The\nretainers of Takumi no Kami have slain their lord's enemy, and are\npassing this way; I cannot sufficiently admire their devotion, so, as\nthey must be tired and hungry after their night's work, do you go and\ninvite them to come in here, and set some gruel and a cup of wine\nbefore them.\"\n\nSo the councillor went out and said to Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9: \"Sir, I am a\ncouncillor of the Prince of Sendai, and my master bids me beg you, as\nyou must be worn out after all you have undergone, to come in and\npartake of such poor refreshment as we can offer you. This is my\nmessage to you from my lord.\"\n\n\"I thank you, sir,\" replied Kuranosuk\u00e9. \"It is very good of his\nlordship to trouble himself to think of us. We shall accept his\nkindness gratefully.\"\n\nSo the forty-seven R\u00f4nins went into the palace, and were feasted with\ngruel and wine, and all the retainers of the Prince of Sendai came and\npraised them.\n\nThen Kuranosuk\u00e9 turned to the councillor and said, \"Sir, we are truly\nindebted to you for this kind hospitality; but as we have still to\nhurry to Sengakuji, we must needs humbly take our leave.\" And, after\nreturning many thanks to their hosts, they left the palace of the\nPrince of Sendai and hastened to Sengakuji, where they were met by the\nabbot of the monastery, who went to the front gate to receive them,\nand led them to the tomb of Takumi no Kami.\n\nAnd when they came to their lord's grave, they took the head of\nK\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, and having washed it clean in a well hard by, laid it\nas an offering before the tomb. When they had done this, they engaged\nthe priests of the temple to come and read prayers while they burnt\nincense: first Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9 burnt incense, and then his son Oishi\nChikara, and after them the other forty-five men performed the same\nceremony. Then Kuranosuk\u00e9, having given all the money that he had by\nhim to the abbot, said--\n\n\"When we forty-seven men shall have performed _hara-kiri_, I beg you\nto bury us decently. I rely upon your kindness. This is but a trifle\nthat I have to offer; such as it is, let it be spent in masses for our\nsouls!\"\n\nAnd the abbot, marvelling at the faithful courage of the men, with\ntears in his eyes pledged himself to fulfil their wishes. So the\nforty-seven R\u00f4nins, with their minds at rest, waited patiently until\nthey should receive the orders of the Government.\n\nAt last they were summoned to the Supreme Court, where the governors\nof Yedo and the public censors had assembled; and the sentence passed\nupon them was as follows: \"Whereas, neither respecting the dignity of\nthe city nor fearing the Government, having leagued yourselves\ntogether to slay your enemy, you violently broke into the house of\nKira K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 by night and murdered him, the sentence of the\nCourt is, that, for this audacious conduct, you perform _hara-kiri_.\"\nWhen the sentence had been read, the forty-seven R\u00f4nins were divided\ninto four parties, and handed over to the safe keeping of four\ndifferent daimios; and sheriffs were sent to the palaces of those\ndaimios in whose presence the R\u00f4nins were made to perform _hara-kiri_.\nBut, as from the very beginning they had all made up their minds that\nto this end they must come, they met their death nobly; and their\ncorpses were carried to Sengakuji, and buried in front of the tomb of\ntheir master, Asano Takumi no Kami. And when the fame of this became\nnoised abroad, the people flocked to pray at the graves of these\nfaithful men.\n\n[Illustration: THE TOMBS OF THE R\u00d4NINS.]\n\nAmong those who came to pray was a Satsuma man, who, prostrating\nhimself before the grave of Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9, said: \"When I saw you\nlying drunk by the roadside at Yamashina, in Ki\u00f4to, I knew not that\nyou were plotting to avenge your lord; and, thinking you to be a\nfaithless man, I trampled on you and spat in your face as I passed.\nAnd now I have come to ask pardon and offer atonement for the insult\nof last year.\" With those words he prostrated himself again before the\ngrave, and, drawing a dirk from his girdle, stabbed himself in the\nbelly and died. And the chief priest of the temple, taking pity upon\nhim, buried him by the side of the R\u00f4nins; and his tomb still remains\nto be seen with those of the forty-seven comrades.\n\nThis is the end of the story of the forty-seven R\u00f4nins.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nA terrible picture of fierce heroism which it is impossible not to\nadmire. In the Japanese mind this feeling of admiration is unmixed,\nand hence it is that the forty-seven R\u00f4nins receive almost divine\nhonours. Pious hands still deck their graves with green boughs and\nburn incense upon them; the clothes and arms which they wore are\npreserved carefully in a fire-proof store-house attached to the\ntemple, and exhibited yearly to admiring crowds, who behold them\nprobably with little less veneration than is accorded to the relics of\nAix-la-Chapelle or Tr\u00e8ves; and once in sixty years the monks of\nSengakuji reap quite a harvest for the good of their temple by holding\na commemorative fair or festival, to which the people flock during\nnearly two months.\n\nA silver key once admitted me to a private inspection of the relics.\nWe were ushered, my friend and myself, into a back apartment of the\nspacious temple, overlooking one of those marvellous miniature\ngardens, cunningly adorned with rockeries and dwarf trees, in which\nthe Japanese delight. One by one, carefully labelled and indexed boxes\ncontaining the precious articles were brought out and opened by the\nchief priest. Such a curious medley of old rags and scraps of metal\nand wood! Home-made chain armour, composed of wads of leather secured\ntogether by pieces of iron, bear witness to the secrecy with which the\nR\u00f4nins made ready for the fight. To have bought armour would have\nattracted attention, so they made it with their own hands. Old\nmoth-eaten surcoats, bits of helmets, three flutes, a writing-box that\nmust have been any age at the time of the tragedy, and is now tumbling\nto pieces; tattered trousers of what once was rich silk brocade, now\nall unravelled and befringed; scraps of leather, part of an old\ngauntlet, crests and badges, bits of sword handles, spear-heads and\ndirks, the latter all red with rust, but with certain patches more\ndeeply stained as if the fatal clots of blood were never to be blotted\nout: all these were reverently shown to us. Among the confusion and\nlitter were a number of documents, Yellow with age and much worn at\nthe folds. One was a plan of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's house, which one of\nthe R\u00f4nins obtained by marrying the daughter of the builder who\ndesigned it. Three of the manuscripts appeared to me so curious that I\nobtained leave to have copies taken of them.\n\nThe first is the receipt given by the retainers of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's\nson in return for the head of their lord's father, which the priests\nrestored to the family, and runs as follows:--\n\n  \"MEMORANDUM:--\n  ITEM. ONE HEAD.\n  ITEM. ONE PAPER PARCEL.\n  The above articles are acknowledged to have been received.\n               Signed, { SAYADA MAGOBELI.  (_Loc. sigill._)\n                       { SAIT\u00d4 KUNAI.      (_Loc. sigill._)\n\n  \"To the priests deputed from the Temple Sengakuji,\n      His Reverence SEKISHI,\n      His Reverence ICHIDON.\"\n\nThe second paper is a document explanatory of their conduct, a copy of\nwhich was found on the person of each of the forty-seven men:--\n\n   \"Last year, in the third month, Asano Takumi no Kami, upon the\n   occasion of the entertainment of the Imperial ambassador, was\n   driven, by the force of circumstances, to attack and wound my\n   Lord K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 in the castle, in order to avenge an\n   insult offered to him. Having done this without considering the\n   dignity of the place, and having thus disregarded all rules of\n   propriety, he was condemned to _hara-kiri,_ and his property\n   and castle of Ak\u00f4 were forfeited to the State, and were\n   delivered up by his retainers to the officers deputed by the\n   Shogun to receive them. After this his followers were all\n   dispersed. At the time of the quarrel the high officials\n   present prevented Asano Takumi no Kami from carrying out his\n   intention of killing his enemy, my Lord K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9. So\n   Asano Takumi no Kami died without having avenged himself, and\n   this was more than his retainers could endure. It is impossible\n   to remain under the same heaven with the enemy of lord or\n   father; for this reason we have dared to declare enmity against\n   a personage of so exalted rank. This day we shall attack Kira\n   K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, in order to finish the deed of vengeance which\n   was begun by our dead lord. If any honourable person should\n   find our bodies after death, he is respectfully requested to\n   open and read this document.\n\n   \"15th year of Genroku. 12th month.\n\n   \"Signed, OISHI KURANOSUK\u00c9, Retainer of Asano\n   Takumi no Kami, and forty-six others.\"[6]\n\n[Footnote 6: It is usual for a Japanese, when bent upon some deed of\nviolence, the end of which, in his belief, justifies the means, to\ncarry about with him a document, such as that translated above, in\nwhich he sets forth his motives, that his character may be cleared\nafter death.]\n\nThe third manuscript is a paper which the Forty-seven R\u00f4nins laid upon\nthe tomb of their master, together with the head of Kira K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\nSuk\u00e9:--\n\n   \"The 15th year of Genroku, the 12th month, and 15th day. We\n   have come this day to do homage here, forty-seven men in all,\n   from Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9 down to the foot-soldier, Terasaka\n   Kichiy\u00e9mon, all cheerfully about to lay down our lives on your\n   behalf. We reverently announce this to the honoured spirit of\n   our dead master. On the 14th day of the third month of last\n   year our honoured master was pleased to attack Kira K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\n   Suk\u00e9, for what reason we know not. Our honoured master put an\n   end to his own life, but Kira K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 lived. Although\n   we fear that after the decree issued by the Government this\n   plot of ours will be displeasing to our honoured master, still\n   we, who have eaten of your food, could not without blushing\n   repeat the verse, 'Thou shalt not live under the same heaven\n   nor tread the same earth with the enemy of thy father or lord,'\n   nor could we have dared to leave hell and present ourselves\n   before you in paradise, unless we had carried out the vengeance\n   which you began. Every day that we waited seemed as three\n   autumns to us. Verily, we have trodden the snow for one day,\n   nay, for two days, and have tasted food but once. The old and\n   decrepit, the sick and ailing, have come forth gladly to lay\n   down their lives. Men might laugh at us, as at grasshoppers\n   trusting in the strength of their arms, and thus shame our\n   honoured lord; but we could not halt in our deed of vengeance.\n   Having taken counsel together last night, we have escorted my\n   Lord K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 hither to your tomb. This dirk,[7] by\n   which our honoured lord set great store last year, and\n   entrusted to our care, we now bring back. If your noble spirit\n   be now present before this tomb, we pray you, as a sign, to\n   take the dirk, and, striking the head of your enemy with it a\n   second time, to dispel your hatred for ever. This is the\n   respectful statement of forty-seven men.\"\n\n[Footnote 7: The dirk with which Asano Takumi no Kumi disembowelled\nhimself and with which Oishi Kuranosuk\u00e9 cut off K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's\nhead.]\n\nThe text, \"Thou shalt not live under the same heaven with the enemy of\nthy father,\" is based upon the Confucian books. Dr. Legge, in his\n\"Life and Teachings of Confucius,\" p. 113, has an interesting\nparagraph summing up the doctrine of the sage upon the subject of\nrevenge.\n\n   \"In the second book of the 'Le Ke' there is the following\n   passage:--'With the slayer of his father a man may not live\n   under the same heaven; against the slayer of his brother a man\n   must never have to go home to fetch a weapon; with the slayer\n   of his friend a man may not live in the same State.' The _lex\n   talionis_ is here laid down in its fullest extent. The 'Chow\n   Le' tells us of a provision made against the evil consequences\n   of the principle by the appointment of a minister called 'The\n   Reconciler.' The provision is very inferior to the cities of\n   refuge which were set apart by Moses for the manslayer to flee\n   to from the fury of the avenger. Such as it was, however, it\n   existed, and it is remarkable that Confucius, when consulted on\n   the subject, took no notice of it, but affirmed the duty of\n   blood-revenge in the strongest and most unrestricted terms. His\n   disciple, Tsze Hea, asked him, 'What course is to be pursued in\n   the murder of a father or mother?' He replied, 'The son must\n   sleep upon a matting of grass with his shield for his pillow;\n   he must decline to take office; he must not live under the same\n   heaven with the slayer. When he meets him in the market-place\n   or the court, he must have his weapon ready to strike him.'\n   'And what is the course in the murder of a brother?' 'The\n   surviving brother must not take office in the same State with\n   the slayer; yet, if he go on his prince's service to the State\n   where the slayer is, though he meet him, he must not fight with\n   him.' 'And what is the course in the murder of an uncle or\n   cousin?' 'In this case the nephew or cousin is not the\n   principal. If the principal, on whom the revenge devolves, can\n   take it, he has only to stand behind with his weapon in his\n   hand, and support him.'\"\n\nI will add one anecdote to show the sanctity which is attached to the\ngraves of the Forty-seven. In the month of September 1868, a certain\nman came to pray before the grave of Oishi Chikara. Having finished\nhis prayers, he deliberately performed _hara-kiri_,[8] and, the belly\nwound not being mortal, dispatched himself by cutting his throat. Upon\nhis person were found papers setting forth that, being a R\u00f4nin and\nwithout means of earning a living, he had petitioned to be allowed to\nenter the clan of the Prince of Ch\u00f4shiu, which he looked upon as the\nnoblest clan in the realm; his petition having been refused, nothing\nremained for him but to die, for to be a R\u00f4nin was hateful to him, and\nhe would serve no other master than the Prince of Ch\u00f4shiu: what more\nfitting place could he find in which to put an end to his life than\nthe graveyard of these Braves? This happened at about two hundred\nyards' distance from my house, and when I saw the spot an hour or two\nlater, the ground was all bespattered with blood, and disturbed by the\ndeath-struggles of the man.\n\n[Footnote 8: A purist in Japanese matters may object to the use of the\nwords _hara-kiri_ instead of the more elegant expression _Seppuku_. I\nretain the more vulgar form as being better known, and therefore more\nconvenient.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE LOVES OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI\n\n\nWithin two miles or so from Yedo, and yet well away from the toil and\ndin of the great city, stands the village of Meguro. Once past the\noutskirts of the town, the road leading thither is bounded on either\nside by woodlands rich in an endless variety of foliage, broken at\nintervals by the long, low line of villages and hamlets. As we draw\nnear to Meguro, the scenery, becoming more and more rustic, increases\nin beauty. Deep shady lanes, bordered by hedgerows as luxurious as any\nin England, lead down to a valley of rice fields bright with the\nemerald green of the young crops. To the right and to the left rise\nknolls of fantastic shape, crowned with a profusion of Cryptomerias,\nScotch firs and other cone-bearing trees, and fringed with thickets of\nfeathery bamboos, bending their stems gracefully to the light summer\nbreeze. Wherever there is a spot shadier and pleasanter to look upon\nthan the rest, there may be seen the red portal of a shrine which the\nsimple piety of the country folk has raised to Inari Sama, the patron\ngod of farming, or to some other tutelary deity of the place. At the\neastern outlet of the valley a strip of blue sea bounds the horizon;\nwestward are the distant mountains. In the foreground, in front of a\nfarmhouse, snug-looking, with its roof of velvety-brown thatch, a\ntroop of sturdy urchins, suntanned and stark naked, are frisking in\nthe wildest gambols, all heedless of the scolding voice of the\nwithered old grandam who sits spinning and minding the house, while\nher son and his wife are away toiling at some outdoor labour. Close at\nour feet runs a stream of pure water, in which a group of countrymen\nare washing the vegetables which they will presently shoulder and\ncarry off to sell by auction in the suburbs of Yedo. Not the least\nbeauty of the scene consists in the wondrous clearness of an\natmosphere so transparent that the most distant outlines are scarcely\ndimmed, while the details of the nearer ground stand out in sharp,\nbold relief, now lit by the rays of a vertical sun, now darkened under\nthe flying shadows thrown by the fleecy clouds which sail across the\nsky. Under such a heaven, what painter could limn the lights and\nshades which flit over the woods, the pride of Japan, whether in late\nautumn, when the russets and yellows of our own trees are mixed with\nthe deep crimson glow of the maples, or in spring-time, when plum and\ncherry trees and wild camellias--giants, fifty feet high--are in full\nblossom?\n\nAll that we see is enchanting, but there is a strange stillness in the\ngroves; rarely does the song of a bird break the silence; indeed, I\nknow but one warbler whose note has any music in it, the _uguisu_, by\nsome enthusiasts called the Japanese nightingale--at best, a king in\nthe kingdom of the blind. The scarcity of animal life of all\ndescriptions, man and mosquitoes alone excepted, is a standing wonder\nto the traveller; the sportsman must toil many a weary mile to get a\nshot at boar, or deer, or pheasant; and the plough of the farmer and\nthe trap of the poacher, who works in and out of season, threaten to\nexterminate all wild creatures; unless, indeed, the Government should,\nas they threatened in the spring of 1869, put in force some adaptation\nof European game-laws. But they are lukewarm in the matter; a little\nhawking on a duck-pond satisfies the cravings of the modern Japanese\nsportsman, who knows that, game-laws or no game-laws, the wild fowl\nwill never fail in winter; and the days are long past when my Lord the\nShogun used to ride forth with a mighty company to the wild places\nabout Mount Fuji, there camping out and hunting the boar, the deer,\nand the wolf, believing that in so doing he was fostering a manly and\nmilitary spirit in the land.\n\nThere is one serious drawback to the enjoyment of the beauties of the\nJapanese country, and that is the intolerable affront which is\ncontinually offered to one's sense of smell; the whole of what should\nform the sewerage of the city is carried out on the backs of men and\nhorses, to be thrown upon the fields; and, if you would avoid the\noverpowering nuisance, you must walk handkerchief in hand, ready to\nshut out the stench which assails you at every moment.\n\nIt would seem natural, while writing of the Japanese country, to say a\nfew words about the peasantry, their relation to the lord of the soil,\nand their government. But these I must reserve for another place. At\npresent our dealings are with the pretty village of Meguro.\n\nAt the bottom of a little lane, close to the entrance of the village,\nstands an old shrine of the Shint\u00f4 (the form of hero-worship which\nexisted in Japan before the introduction of Confucianism or of\nBuddhism), surrounded by lofty Cryptomerias. The trees around a Shint\u00f4\nshrine are specially under the protection of the god to whom the altar\nis dedicated; and, in connection with them, there is a kind of magic\nstill respected by the superstitious, which recalls the waxen dolls,\nthrough the medium of which sorcerers of the middle ages in Europe,\nand indeed those of ancient Greece, as Theocritus tells us, pretended\nto kill the enemies of their clients. This is called _Ushi no toki\nmairi,_ or \"going to worship at the hour of the ox,\"[9] and is\npractised by jealous women who wish to be revenged upon their\nfaithless lovers.\n\n[Footnote 9: The Chinese, and the Japanese following them, divide the\nday of twenty-four hours into twelve periods, each of which has a sign\nsomething like the signs of the Zodiac:--\n  Midnight until two in the morning is represented by the rat.\n    2 a.m.  \"     4 a.m.          \"            \"          ox.\n    4 a.m.  \"     6 a.m.          \"            \"          tiger.\n    6 a.m.  \"     8 a.m.          \"            \"          hare.\n    8 a.m.  \"    10 a.m.          \"            \"          dragon.\n   10 a.m.  \"    12 noon          \"            \"          snake.\n   12 noon  \"     2 p.m.          \"            \"          horse.\n    2 p.m.  \"     4 p.m.          \"            \"          ram.\n    4 p.m.  \"     6 p.m.          \"            \"          ape.\n    6 p.m.  \"     8 p.m.          \"            \"          cock.\n    8 p.m.  \"    10 p.m.          \"            \"          hog.\n   10 p.m.  \"    Midnight         \"            \"          fox.]\n\nWhen the world is at rest, at two in the morning, the hour of which\nthe ox is the symbol, the woman rises; she dons a white robe and high\nsandals or clogs; her coif is a metal tripod, in which are thrust\nthree lighted candles; around her neck she hangs a mirror, which falls\nupon her bosom; in her left hand she carries a small straw figure, the\neffigy of the lover who has abandoned her, and in her right she grasps\na hammer and nails, with which she fastens the figure to one of the\nsacred trees that surround the shrine. There she prays for the death\nof the traitor, vowing that, if her petition be heard, she will\nherself pull out the nails which now offend the god by wounding the\nmystic tree. Night after night she comes to the shrine, and each night\nshe strikes in two or more nails, believing that every nail will\nshorten her lover's life, for the god, to save his tree, will surely\nstrike him dead.\n\nMeguro is one of the many places round Yedo to which the good citizens\nflock for purposes convivial or religious, or both; hence it is that,\ncheek by jowl with the old shrines and temples, you will find many a\npretty tea-house, standing at the rival doors of which Mesdemoiselles\nSugar, Wave of the Sea, Flower, Seashore, and Chrysanthemum are\npressing in their invitations to you to enter and rest. Not beautiful\nthese damsels, if judged by our standard, but the charm of Japanese\nwomen lies in their manner and dainty little ways, and the tea-house\ngirl, being a professional decoy-duck, is an adept in the art of\nflirting,--_en tout bien tout honneur_, be it remembered; for she is\nnot to be confounded with the frail beauties of the Yoshiwara, nor\neven with her sisterhood near the ports open to foreigners, and to\ntheir corrupting influence. For, strange as it seems, our contact all\nover the East has an evil effect upon the natives.\n\nIn one of the tea-houses a thriving trade is carried on in the sale of\nwooden tablets, some six inches square, adorned with the picture of a\npink cuttlefish on a bright blue ground. These are ex-votos, destined\nto be offered up at the Temple of Yakushi Niurai, the Buddhist\n\u00c6sculapius, which stands opposite, and concerning the foundation of\nwhich the following legend is told.\n\nIn the days of old there was a priest called Jikaku, who at the age of\nforty years, it being the autumn of the tenth year of the period\ncalled Tench\u00f4 (A.D. 833), was suffering from disease of the eyes,\nwhich had attacked him three years before. In order to be healed from\nthis disease he carved a figure of Yakushi Niurai, to which he used\nto offer up his prayers. Five years later he went to China, taking\nwith him the figure as his guardian saint, and at a place called\nKairetsu it protected him from robbers and wild beasts and from other\ncalamities. There he passed his time in studying the sacred laws both\nhidden and revealed, and after nine years set sail to return to Japan.\nWhen he was on the high seas a storm arose, and a great fish attacked\nand tried to swamp the ship, so that the rudder and mast were broken,\nand the nearest shore being that of a land inhabited by devils, to\nretreat or to advance was equally dangerous. Then the holy man prayed\nto the patron saint whose image he carried, and as he prayed, behold\nthe true Yakushi Niurai appeared in the centre of the ship, and said\nto him--\n\n\"Verily, thou hast travelled far that the sacred laws might be\nrevealed for the salvation of many men; now, therefore, take my image,\nwhich thou carriest in thy bosom, and cast it into the sea, that the\nwind may abate, and that thou mayest be delivered from this land of\ndevils.\"\n\nThe commands of the saints must be obeyed, so with tears in his eyes,\nthe priest threw into the sea the sacred image which he loved. Then\ndid the wind abate, and the waves were stilled, and the ship went on\nher course as though she were being drawn by unseen hands until she\nreached a safe haven. In the tenth month of the same year the priest\nagain set sail, trusting to the power of his patron saint, and reached\nthe harbour of Tsukushi without mishap. For three years he prayed that\nthe image which he had cast away might be restored to him, until at\nlast one night he was warned in a dream that on the sea-shore at\nMatsura Yakushi Niurai would appear to him. In consequence of this\ndream he went to the province of Hizen, and landed on the sea-shore at\nHirato, where, in the midst of a blaze of light, the image which he\nhad carved appeared to him twice, riding on the back of a cuttlefish.\nThus was the image restored to the world by a miracle. In\ncommemoration of his recovery from the disease of the eyes and of his\npreservation from the dangers of the sea, that these things might be\nknown to all posterity, the priest established the worship of Tako\nYakushi Niurai (\"Yakushi Niurai of the Cuttlefish\") and came to\nMeguro, where he built the Temple of Fud\u00f4 Sama,[10] another Buddhist\ndivinity. At this time there was an epidemic of small-pox in the\nvillage, so that men fell down and died in the street, and the holy\nman prayed to Fud\u00f4 Sama that the plague might be stayed. Then the god\nappeared to him, and said--\n\n\"The saint Yakushi Niurai of the Cuttlefish, whose image thou\ncarriest, desires to have his place in this village, and he will heal\nthis plague. Thou shalt, therefore, raise a temple to him here that\nnot only this small-pox, but other diseases for future generations,\nmay be cured by his power.\"\n\n[Footnote 10: Fud\u00f4, literally \"the motionless\": Buddha in the state\ncalled Nirvana.]\n\nHearing this, the priest shed tears of gratitude, and having chosen a\npiece of fine wood, carved a large figure of his patron saint of the\ncuttlefish, and placed the smaller image inside of the larger, and\nlaid it up in this temple, to which people still flock that they may\nbe healed of their diseases.\n\nSuch is the story of the miracle, translated from a small ill-printed\npamphlet sold by the priests of the temple, all the decorations of\nwhich, even to a bronze lantern in the middle of the yard, are in the\nform of a cuttlefish, the sacred emblem of the place.\n\nWhat pleasanter lounge in which to while away a hot day could a man\nwish for than the shade of the trees borne by the hill on which stands\nthe Temple of Fud\u00f4 Sama? Two jets of pure water springing from the\nrock are voided by spouts carved in the shape of dragons into a stone\nbasin enclosed by rails, within which it is written that \"no woman may\nenter.\" If you are in luck, you may cool yourself by watching some\ndevotee, naked save his loin-cloth, performing the ceremony called\n_Suigiy\u00f4_; that is to say, praying under the waterfall that his soul\nmay be purified through his body. In winter it requires no small pluck\nto go through this penance, yet I have seen a penitent submit to it\nfor more than a quarter of an hour on a bitterly cold day in January.\nIn summer, on the other hand, the religious exercise called\n_Hiyakudo_, or \"the hundred times,\" which may also be seen here to\nadvantage, is no small trial of patience. It consists in walking\nbackwards and forwards a hundred times between two points within the\nsacred precincts, repeating a prayer each time. The count is kept\neither upon the fingers or by depositing a length of twisted straw\neach time that the goal is reached; at this temple the place allotted\nfor the ceremony is between a grotesque bronze figure of Tengu Sama\n(\"the Dog of Heaven\"), the terror of children, a most hideous monster\nwith a gigantic nose, which it is beneficial to rub with a finger\nafterwards to be applied to one's own nose, and a large brown box\ninscribed with the characters _Hiyaku Do_ in high relief, which may\ngenerally be seen full of straw tallies. It is no sinecure to be a\ngood Buddhist, for the gods are not lightly to be propitiated. Prayer\nand fasting, mortification of the flesh, abstinence from wine, from\nwomen, and from favourite dishes, are the only passports to rising in\noffice, prosperity in trade, recovery from sickness, or a happy\nmarriage with a beloved maiden. Nor will mere faith without works be\nefficient. A votive tablet of proportionate value to the favour prayed\nfor, or a sum of money for the repairs of the shrine or temple, is\nnecessary to win the favour of the gods. Poorer persons will cut off\nthe queue of their hair and offer that up; and at Horinouchi, a temple\nin great renown some eight or nine miles from Yedo, there is a rope\nabout two inches and a half in diameter and about six fathoms long,\nentirely made of human hair so given to the gods; it lies coiled up,\ndirty, moth-eaten, and uncared for, at one end of a long shed full of\ntablets and pictures, by the side of a rude native fire-engine. The\ntaking of life being displeasing to Buddha, outside many of the\ntemples old women and children earn a livelihood by selling sparrows,\nsmall eels, carp, and tortoises, which the worshipper sets free in\nhonour of the deity, within whose territory cocks and hens and doves,\ntame and unharmed, perch on every jutty, frieze, buttress, and coigne\nof vantage.\n\nBut of all the marvellous customs that I wot of in connection with\nJapanese religious exercises, none appears to me so strange as that of\nspitting at the images of the gods, more especially at the statues of\nthe Ni-\u00f4, the two huge red or red and green statues which, like Gog\nand Magog, emblems of strength, stand as guardians of the chief\nBuddhist temples. The figures are protected by a network of iron wire,\nthrough which the votaries, praying the while, spit pieces of paper,\nwhich they had chewed up into a pulp. If the pellet sticks to the\nstatue, the omen is favourable; if it falls, the prayer is not\naccepted. The inside of the great bell at the Tycoon's burial-ground,\nand almost every holy statue throughout the country, are all covered\nwith these outspittings from pious mouths.[11]\n\n[Footnote 11: It will be readily understood that the customs and\nceremonies to which I have alluded belong only to the gross\nsuperstitions with which ignorance has overlaid that pure Buddhism of\nwhich Professor Max M\u00fcller has pointed out the very real beauties.]\n\n[Illustration: THE TOMB OF THE SHIYOKU.]\n\nThrough all this discourse about temples and tea-houses, I am coming\nby degrees to the goal of our pilgrimage--two old stones, mouldering\naway in a rank, overgrown graveyard hard by, an old old\nburying-ground, forgotten by all save those who love to dig out the\ntales of the past. The key is kept by a ghoulish old dame, almost as\ntime-worn and mildewed as the tomb over which she watches. Obedient to\nour call, and looking forward to a fee ten times greater than any\nnative would give her, she hobbles out, and, opening the gate, points\nout the stone bearing the inscription, the \"Tomb of the Shiyoku\"\n(fabulous birds, which, living one within the other--a mysterious\nduality contained in one body--are the emblem of connubial love and\nfidelity). By this stone stands another, graven with a longer legend,\nwhich runs as follows:--\n\n\"In the old days of Genroku, she pined for the beauty of her lover,\nwho was as fair to look upon as the flowers; and now beneath the moss\nof this old tombstone all has perished of her save her name. Amid the\nchanges of a fitful world, this tomb is decaying under the dew and\nrain; gradually crumbling beneath its own dust, its outline alone\nremains. Stranger! bestow an alms to preserve this stone; and we,\nsparing neither pain nor labour, will second you with all our hearts.\nErecting it again, let us preserve it from decay for future\ngenerations, and let us write the following verse upon it:--'These two\nbirds, beautiful as the cherry-blossoms, perished before their time,\nlike flowers broken down by the wind before they have borne seed.'\"\n\nUnder the first stone is the dust of Gompachi, robber and murderer,\nmixed with that of his true love Komurasaki, who lies buried with him.\nHer sorrows and constancy have hallowed the place, and pious people\nstill come to burn incense and lay flowers before the grave. How she\nloved him even in death may be seen from the following old-world\nstory.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAbout two hundred and thirty years ago there lived in the service of a\ndaimio of the province of Inaba a young man, called Shirai Gompachi,\nwho, when he was but sixteen years of age, had already won a name for\nhis personal beauty and valour, and for his skill in the use of arms.\nNow it happened that one day a dog belonging to him fought with\nanother dog belonging to a fellow-clansman, and the two masters, being\nboth passionate youths, disputing as to whose dog had had the best of\nthe fight, quarrelled and came to blows, and Gompachi slew his\nadversary; and in consequence of this he was obliged to flee from his\ncountry, and make his escape to Yedo.\n\nAnd so Gompachi set out on his travels.\n\nOne night, weary and footsore, he entered what appeared to him to be a\nroadside inn, ordered some refreshment, and went to bed, little\nthinking of the danger that menaced him: for as luck would have it,\nthis inn turned out to be the trysting-place of a gang of robbers,\ninto whose clutches he had thus unwittingly fallen. To be sure,\nGompachi's purse was but scantily furnished, but his sword and dirk\nwere worth some three hundred ounces of silver, and upon these the\nrobbers (of whom there were ten) had cast envious eyes, and had\ndetermined to kill the owner for their sake; but he, all unsuspicious,\nslept on in fancied security.\n\nIn the middle of the night he was startled from his deep slumbers by\nsome one stealthily opening the sliding door which led into his room,\nand rousing himself with an effort, he beheld a beautiful young girl,\nfifteen years of age, who, making signs to him not to stir, came up to\nhis bedside, and said to him in a whisper--\n\n\"Sir, the master of this house is the chief of a gang of robbers, who\nhave been plotting to murder you this night for the sake of your\nclothes and your sword. As for me, I am the daughter of a rich\nmerchant in Mikawa: last year the robbers came to our house, and\ncarried off my father's treasure and myself. I pray you, sir, take me\nwith you, and let us fly from this dreadful place.\"\n\nShe wept as she spoke, and Gompachi was at first too much startled to\nanswer; but being a youth of high courage and a cunning fencer to\nboot, he soon recovered his presence of mind, and determined to kill\nthe robbers, and to deliver the girl out of their hands. So he\nreplied--\n\n\"Since you say so, I will kill these thieves, and rescue you this very\nnight; only do you, when I begin the fight, run outside the house,\nthat you may be out of harm's way, and remain in hiding until I join\nyou.\"\n\nUpon this understanding the maiden left him, and went her way. But he\nlay awake, holding his breath and watching; and when the thieves crept\nnoiselessly into the room, where they supposed him to be fast asleep,\nhe cut down the first man that entered, and stretched him dead at his\nfeet. The other nine, seeing this, laid about them with their drawn\nswords, but Gompachi, fighting with desperation, mastered them at\nlast, and slew them. After thus ridding himself of his enemies, he\nwent outside the house and called to the girl, who came running to his\nside, and joyfully travelled on with him to Mikawa, where her father\ndwelt; and when they reached Mikawa, he took the maiden to the old\nman's house, and told him how, when he had fallen among thieves, his\ndaughter had come to him in his hour of peril, and saved him out of\nher great pity; and how he, in return, rescuing her from her\nservitude, had brought her back to her home. When the old folks saw\ntheir daughter whom they had lost restored to them, they were beside\nthemselves with joy, and shed tears for very happiness; and, in their\ngratitude, they pressed Gompachi to remain with them, and they\nprepared feasts for him, and entertained him hospitably: but their\ndaughter, who had fallen in love with him for his beauty and knightly\nvalour, spent her days in thinking of him, and of him alone. The young\nman, however, in spite of the kindness of the old merchant, who\nwished to adopt him as his son, and tried hard to persuade him to\nconsent to this, was fretting to go to Yedo and take service as an\nofficer in the household of some noble lord; so he resisted the\nentreaties of the father and the soft speeches of the daughter, and\nmade ready to start on his journey; and the old merchant, seeing that\nhe would not be turned from his purpose, gave him a parting gift of\ntwo hundred ounces of silver, and sorrowfully bade him farewell.\n\n[Illustration: GOMPACHI AWAKENED BY THE MAIDEN IN THE ROBBERS' DEN.]\n\nBut alas for the grief of the maiden, who sat sobbing her heart out\nand mourning over her lover's departure! He, all the while thinking\nmore of ambition than of love, went to her and comforted her, and\nsaid: \"Dry your eyes, sweetheart, and weep no more, for I shall soon\ncome back to you. Do you, in the meanwhile, be faithful and true to\nme, and tend your parents with filial piety.\"\n\nSo she wiped away her tears and smiled again, when she heard him\npromise that he would soon return to her. And Gompachi went his way,\nand in due time came near to Yedo.\n\nBut his dangers were not yet over; for late one night, arriving at a\nplace called Suzugamori, in the neighbourhood of Yedo, he fell in with\nsix highwaymen, who attacked him, thinking to make short work of\nkilling and robbing him. Nothing daunted, he drew his sword, and\ndispatched two out of the six; but, being weary and worn out with his\nlong journey, he was sorely pressed, and the struggle was going hard\nwith him, when a wardsman,[12] who happened to pass that way riding in\na chair, seeing the affray, jumped down from his chair and drawing his\ndirk came to the rescue, and between them they put the robbers to\nflight.\n\n[Footnote 12: Japanese cities are divided into wards, and every\ntradesman and artisan is under the authority of the chief of the ward\nin which he resides. The word _ch\u00f4nin_, or wardsman, is generally used\nin contradistinction to the word _samurai_, which has already been\nexplained as denoting a man belonging to the military class.]\n\nNow it turned out that this kind tradesman, who had so happily come to\nthe assistance of Gompachi, was no other than Ch\u00f4bei of Bandzuin, the\nchief of the _Otokodat\u00e9_, or Friendly Society of the wardsmen of\nYedo--a man famous in the annals of the city, whose life, exploits,\nand adventures are recited to this day, and form the subject of\nanother tale.\n\nWhen the highwaymen had disappeared, Gompachi, turning to his\ndeliverer, said--\n\n\"I know not who you may be, sir, but I have to thank you for rescuing\nme from a great danger.\"\n\nAnd as he proceeded to express his gratitude, Ch\u00f4bei replied--\n\n\"I am but a poor wardsman, a humble man in my way, sir; and if the\nrobbers ran away, it was more by good luck than owing to any merit of\nmine. But I am filled with admiration at the way you fought; you\ndisplayed a courage and a skill that were beyond your years, sir.\"\n\n\"Indeed,\" said the young man, smiling with pleasure at hearing\nhimself praised; \"I am still young and inexperienced, and am quite\nashamed of my bungling style of fencing.\"\n\n\"And now may I ask you, sir, whither you are bound?\"\n\n\"That is almost more than I know myself, for I am a _r\u00f4nin,_ and have\nno fixed purpose in view.\"\n\n\"That is a bad job,\" said Ch\u00f4bei, who felt pity for the lad. \"However,\nif you will excuse my boldness in making such an offer, being but a\nwardsman, until you shall have taken service I would fain place my\npoor house at your disposal.\"\n\nGompachi accepted the offer of his new but trusty friend with thanks;\nso Ch\u00f4bei led him to his house, where he lodged him and hospitably\nentertained him for some months. And now Gompachi, being idle and\nhaving nothing to care for, fell into bad ways, and began to lead a\ndissolute life, thinking of nothing but gratifying his whims and\npassions; he took to frequenting the Yoshiwara, the quarter of the\ntown which is set aside for tea-houses and other haunts of wild young\nmen, where his handsome face and figure attracted attention, and soon\nmade him a great favourite with all the beauties of the neighbourhood.\n\nAbout this time men began to speak loud in praise of the charms of\nKomurasaki, or \"Little Purple,\" a young girl who had recently come to\nthe Yoshiwara, and who in beauty and accomplishments outshone all her\nrivals. Gompachi, like the rest of the world, heard so much of her\nfame that he determined to go to the house where she dwelt, at the\nsign of \"The Three Sea-coasts,\" and judge for himself whether she\ndeserved all that men said of her. Accordingly he set out one day, and\nhaving arrived at \"The Three Sea-coasts,\" asked to see Komurasaki; and\nbeing shown into the room where she was sitting, advanced towards her;\nbut when their eyes met, they both started back with a cry of\nastonishment, for this Komurasaki, the famous beauty of the Yoshiwara,\nproved to be the very girl whom several months before Gompachi had\nrescued from the robbers' den, and restored to her parents in Mikawa.\nHe had left her in prosperity and affluence, the darling child of a\nrich father, when they had exchanged vows of love and fidelity; and\nnow they met in a common stew in Yedo. What a change! what a contrast!\nHow had the riches turned to rust, the vows to lies!\n\n\"What is this?\" cried Gompachi, when he had recovered from his\nsurprise. \"How is it that I find you here pursuing this vile calling,\nin the Yoshiwara? Pray explain this to me, for there is some mystery\nbeneath all this which I do not understand.\"\n\nBut Komurasaki--who, having thus unexpectedly fallen in with her lover\nthat she had yearned for, was divided between joy and shame--answered,\nweeping--\n\n\"Alas! my tale is a sad one, and would be long to tell. After you left\nus last year, calamity and reverses fell upon our house; and when my\nparents became poverty-stricken, I was at my wits' end to know how to\nsupport them: so I sold this wretched body of mine to the master of\nthis house, and sent the money to my father and mother; but, in spite\nof this, troubles and misfortunes multiplied upon them, and now, at\nlast, they have died of misery and grief. And, oh! lives there in this\nwide world so unhappy a wretch as I! But now that I have met you\nagain--you who are so strong--help me who am weak. You saved me\nonce--do not, I implore you, desert me now!!\" and as she told her\npiteous tale the tears streamed from her eyes.\n\n\"This is, indeed, a sad story,\" replied Gompachi, much affected by the\nrecital. \"There must have been a wonderful run of bad luck to bring\nsuch misfortune upon your house, which but a little while ago I\nrecollect so prosperous. However, mourn no more, for I will not\nforsake you. It is true that I am too poor to redeem you from your\nservitude, but at any rate I will contrive so that you shall be\ntormented no more. Love me, therefore, and put your trust in me.\" When\nshe heard him speak so kindly she was comforted, and wept no more, but\npoured out her whole heart to him, and forgot her past sorrows in the\ngreat joy of meeting him again.\n\nWhen it became time for them to separate, he embraced her tenderly and\nreturned to Ch\u00f4bei's house; but he could not banish Komurasaki from\nhis mind, and all day long he thought of her alone; and so it came\nabout that he went daily to the Yoshiwara to see her, and if any\naccident detained him, she, missing the accustomed visit, would become\nanxious and write to him to inquire the cause of his absence. At last,\npursuing this course of life, his stock of money ran short, and as,\nbeing a _r\u00f4nin_ and without any fixed employment, he had no means of\nrenewing his supplies, he was ashamed of showing himself penniless at\n\"The Three Sea-coasts.\" Then it was that a wicked spirit arose within\nhim, and he went out and murdered a man, and having robbed him of his\nmoney carried it to the Yoshiwara.\n\nFrom bad to worse is an easy step, and the tiger that has once tasted\nblood is dangerous. Blinded and infatuated by his excessive love,\nGompachi kept on slaying and robbing, so that, while his outer man was\nfair to look upon, the heart within him was that of a hideous devil.\nAt last his friend Ch\u00f4bei could no longer endure the sight of him, and\nturned him out of his house; and as, sooner or later, virtue and vice\nmeet with their reward, it came to pass that Gompachi's crimes became\nnotorious, and the Government having set spies upon his track, he was\ncaught red-handed and arrested; and his evil deeds having been fully\nproved against him, he was carried off to the execution ground at\nSuzugamori, the \"Bell Grove,\" and beheaded as a common male-factor.\n\nNow when Gompachi was dead, Ch\u00f4bei's old affection for the young man\nreturned, and, being a kind and pious man, he went and claimed his\nbody and head, and buried him at Meguro, in the grounds of the Temple\ncalled Boronji.\n\nWhen Komurasaki heard the people at Yoshiwara gossiping about her\nlover's end, her grief knew no bounds, so she fled secretly from \"The\nThree Sea-coasts,\" and came to Meguro and threw herself upon the\nnewly-made grave. Long she prayed and bitterly she wept over the tomb\nof him whom, with all his faults, she had loved so well, and then,\ndrawing a dagger from her girdle, she plunged it in her breast and\ndied. The priests of the temple, when they saw what had happened,\nwondered greatly and were astonished at the loving faithfulness of\nthis beautiful girl, and taking compassion on her, they laid her side\nby side with Gompachi in one grave, and over the grave they placed a\nstone which remains to this day, bearing the inscription \"The Tomb of\nthe Shiyoku.\" And still the people of Yedo visit the place, and still\nthey praise the beauty of Gompachi and the filial piety and fidelity\nof Komurasaki.\n\nLet us linger for a moment longer in the old graveyard. The word which\nI have translated a few lines above as \"loving faithfulness\" means\nliterally \"chastity.\" When Komurasaki sold herself to supply the wants\nof her ruined parents, she was not, according to her lights,\nforfeiting her claim to virtue. On the contrary, she could perform no\ngreater act of filial piety, and, so far from incurring reproach among\nher people, her self-sacrifice would be worthy of all praise in their\neyes. This idea has led to grave misunderstanding abroad, and indeed\nno phase of Japanese life has been so misrepresented as this. I have\nheard it stated, and seen it printed, that it is no disgrace for a\nrespectable Japanese to sell his daughter, that men of position and\nfamily often choose their wives from such places as \"The Three\nSea-coasts,\" and that up to the time of her marriage the conduct of a\nyoung girl is a matter of no importance whatever. Nothing could be\nmore unjust or more untrue. It is only the neediest people that sell\ntheir children to be waitresses, singers, or prostitutes. It does\noccasionally happen that the daughter of a _Samurai_, or gentleman, is\nfound in a house of ill-fame, but such a case could only occur at the\ndeath or utter ruin of the parents, and an official investigation of\nthe matter has proved it to be so exceptional, that the presence of a\nyoung lady in such a place is an enormous attraction, her superior\neducation and accomplishments shedding a lustre over the house. As for\ngentlemen marrying women of bad character, are not such things known\nin Europe? Do ladies of the _demi-monde_ never make good marriages?\n_M\u00e9salliances_ are far rarer in Japan than with us. Certainly among\nthe lowest class of the population such, marriages may occasionally\noccur, for it often happens that a woman can lay by a tempting dowry\nout of her wretched earnings-, but amongst the gentry of the country\nthey are unknown.\n\nAnd yet a girl is not disgraced if for her parents' sake she sells\nherself to a life of misery so great, that, when a Japanese enters a\nhouse of ill-fame, he is forced to leave his sword and dirk at the\ndoor for two reasons--first, to prevent brawling; secondly, because it\nis known that some of the women inside so loathe their existence that\nthey would put an end to it, could they get hold of a weapon.\n\nIt is a curious fact that in all the Daimio's castle-towns, with the\nexception of some which are also seaports, open prostitution is\nstrictly forbidden, although, if report speaks truly, public morality\nrather suffers than gains by the prohibition.\n\nThe misapprehension which exists upon the subject of prostitution in\nJapan may be accounted for by the fact that foreign writers, basing\ntheir judgment upon the vice of the open ports, have not hesitated to\npronounce the Japanese women unchaste. As fairly might a Japanese,\nwriting about England, argue from the street-walkers of Portsmouth or\nPlymouth to the wives, sisters, and daughters of these very authors.\nIn some respects the gulf fixed between virtue and vice in Japan is\neven greater than in England. The Eastern courtesan is confined to a\ncertain quarter of the town, and distinguished by a peculiarly gaudy\ncostume, and by a head-dress which consists of a forest of light\ntortoiseshell hair-pins, stuck round her head like a saint's glory--a\nglory of shame which a modest woman would sooner die than wear. Vice\njostling virtue in the public places; virtue imitating the fashions\nset by vice, and buying trinkets or furniture at the sale of vice's\neffects--these are social phenomena which the East knows not.\n\nThe custom prevalent among the lower orders of bathing in public\nbath-houses without distinction of the sexes, is another circumstance\nwhich has tended to spread abroad very false notions upon the subject\nof the chastity of the Japanese women. Every traveller is shocked by\nit, and every writer finds in it matter for a page of pungent\ndescription. Yet it is only those who are so poor (and they must be\npoor indeed) that they cannot afford a bath at home, who, at the end\nof their day's work, go to the public bath-house to refresh themselves\nbefore sitting down to their evening meal: having been used to the\nscene from their childhood, they see no indelicacy in it; it is a\nmatter of course, and _honi soit qui mal y pense_: certainly there is\nfar less indecency and immorality resulting from this public bathing,\nthan from the promiscuous herding together of all sexes and ages which\ndisgraces our own lodging-houses in the great cities, and the hideous\nhovels in which some of our labourers have to pass their lives; nor\ncan it be said that there is more confusion of sexes amongst the\nlowest orders in Japan than in Europe. Speaking upon the subject once\nwith a Japanese gentleman, I observed that we considered it an act of\nindecency for men and women to wash together. He shrugged his\nshoulders as he answered, \"But then Westerns have such prurient\nminds.\" Some time ago, at the open port of Yokohama, the Government,\nout of deference to the prejudices of foreigners, forbade the men and\nwomen to bathe together, and no doubt this was the first step towards\nputting down the practice altogether: as for women tubbing in the open\nstreets of Yedo, I have read of such things in books written by\nforeigners; but during a residence of three years and a half, in which\ntime I crossed and recrossed every part of the great city at all hours\nof the day, I never once saw such a sight. I believe myself that it\ncan only be seen at certain hot mineral springs in remote country\ndistricts.\n\nThe best answer to the general charge of immorality which has been\nbrought against the Japanese women during their period of unmarried\nlife, lies in the fact that every man who can afford to do so keeps\nthe maidens of his family closely guarded in the strictest seclusion.\nThe daughter of poverty, indeed, must work and go abroad, but not a\nman is allowed to approach the daughter of a gentleman; and she is\ntaught that if by accident any insult should be offered to her, the\nknife which she carries at her girdle is meant for use, and not\nmerely as a badge of her rank. Not long ago a tragedy took place in\nthe house of one of the chief nobles in Yedo. One of My Lady's\ntire-women, herself a damsel of gentle blood, and gifted with rare\nbeauty, had attracted the attention of a retainer in the palace, who\nfell desperately in love with her. For a long time the strict rules of\ndecorum by which she was hedged in prevented him from declaring his\npassion; but at last he contrived to gain access to her presence, and\nso far forgot himself, that she, drawing her poniard, stabbed him in\nthe eye, so that he was carried off fainting, and presently died. The\ngirl's declaration, that the dead man had attempted to insult her, was\nheld to be sufficient justification of her deed, and, instead of being\nblamed, she was praised and extolled for her valour and chastity. As\nthe affair had taken place within the four walls of a powerful noble,\nthere was no official investigation into the matter, with which the\nauthorities of the palace were competent to deal. The truth of this\nstory was vouched for by two or three persons whose word I have no\nreason to doubt, and who had themselves been mixed up in it; I can\nbear witness that it is in complete harmony with Japanese ideas; and\ncertainly it seems more just that Lucretia should kill Tarquin than\nherself.\n\nThe better the Japanese people come to be known and understood, the\nmore, I am certain, will it be felt that a great injustice has been\ndone them in the sweeping attacks which have been made upon their\nwomen. Writers are agreed, I believe, that their matrons are, as a\nrule, without reproach. If their maidens are chaste, as I contend that\nfrom very force of circumstances they cannot help being, what becomes\nof all these charges of vice and immodesty? Do they not rather recoil\nupon the accusers, who would appear to have studied the Japanese woman\nonly in the harlot of Yokohama?\n\nHaving said so much, I will now try to give some account of the famous\nYoshiwara[13] of Yedo, to which frequent allusion will have to be made\nin the course of these tales.\n\n[Footnote 13: The name Yoshiwara, which is becoming generic for\n\"Flower Districts,\"--_Anglic\u00e9_, quarters occupied by brothels,--is\nsometimes derived from the town Yoshiwara, in Sunshine, because it was\nsaid that the women of that place furnished a large proportion of the\nbeauties of the Yedo Yoshiwara. The correct derivation is probably\nthat given below.]\n\nAt the end of the sixteenth century the courtesans of Yedo lived in\nthree special places: these were the street called K\u00f4ji-machi, in\nwhich dwelt the women who came from Ki\u00f4to; the Kamakura Street, and a\nspot opposite the great bridge, in which last two places lived women\nbrought from Suruga. Besides these there afterwards came women from\nFushimi and from Nara, who lodged scattered here and there throughout\nthe town. This appears to have scandalized a certain reformer, named\nSh\u00f4ji Jiny\u00e9mon, who, in the year 1612, addressed a memorial to the\nGovernment, petitioning that the women who lived in different parts of\nthe town should be collected in one \"Flower Quarter.\" His petition was\ngranted in the year 1617, and he fixed upon a place called Fukiyacho,\nwhich, on account of the quantities of rushes which grew there, was\nnamed _Yoshi-Wara,_ or the rush-moor, a name which now-a-days, by a\nplay upon the word _yoshi,_ is written with two Chinese characters,\nsignifying the \"good,\" or \"lucky moor.\" The place was divided into\nfour streets, called the Yedo Street, the Second Yedo Street, the\nKi\u00f4to Street, and the Second Ki\u00f4to Street.\n\nIn the eighth month of the year 1655, when Yedo was beginning to\nincrease in size and importance, the Yoshiwara, preserving its name,\nwas transplanted bodily to the spot which it now occupies at the\nnorthern end of the town. And the streets in it were named after the\nplaces from which the greater number of their inhabitants originally\ncame, as the \"Sakai Street,\" the \"Fushimi Street,\" &c.\n\nThe official Guide to the Yoshiwara for 1869 gives a return of 153\nbrothels, containing 3,289 courtesans of all classes, from the\n_Oiran_, or proud beauty, who, dressed up in gorgeous brocade of gold\nand silver, with painted face and gilded lips, and with her teeth\nfashionably blacked, has all the young bloods of Yedo at her feet,\ndown to the humble _Shinzo_, or white-toothed woman, who rots away her\nlife in the common stews. These figures do not, however, represent the\nwhole of the prostitution of Yedo; the Yoshiwara is the chief, but not\nthe only, abiding-place of the public women. At Fukagawa there is\nanother Flower District, built upon the same principle as the\nYoshiwara; while at Shinagawa, Shinjiku, Itabashi, Senji, and\nKadzukappara, the hotels contain women who, nominally only waitresses,\nare in reality prostitutes. There are also women called _Jigoku-Omna,_\nor hell-women, who, without being borne on the books of any brothel,\nlive in their own houses, and ply their trade in secret. On the whole,\nI believe the amount of prostitution in Yedo to be wonderfully small,\nconsidering the vast size of the city.\n\nThere are 394 tea-houses in the Yoshiwara, which are largely used as\nplaces of assignation, and which on those occasions are paid, not by\nthe visitors frequenting them, but by the keepers of the brothels. It\nis also the fashion to give dinners and drinking-parties at these\nhouses, for which the services of _Taikomochi_, or jesters, among whom\nthere are thirty-nine chief celebrities, and of singing and dancing\ngirls, are retained. The Guide to the Yoshiwara gives a list of\nfifty-five famous singing-girls, besides a host of minor stars. These\nwomen are not to be confounded with the courtesans. Their conduct is\nvery closely watched by their masters, and they always go out to\nparties in couples or in bands, so that they may be a check upon one\nanother. Doubtless, however, in spite of all precautions, the shower\nof gold does from time to time find its way to Dana\u00eb's lap; and to be\nthe favoured lover of a fashionable singer or dancer is rather a\nfeather in the cap of a fast young Japanese gentleman. The fee paid to\nsinging-girls for performing during a space of two hours is one\nshilling and fourpence each; for six hours the fee is quadrupled, and\nit is customary to give the girls a _hana_, or present, for\nthemselves, besides their regular pay, which goes to the master of the\ntroupe to which they belong.\n\nCourtesans, singing women, and dancers are bought by contractors,\neither as children, when they are educated for their calling, or at a\nmore advanced age, when their accomplishments and charms render them\ndesirable investments. The engagement is never made life-long, for\nonce past the flower of their youth the poor creatures would be mere\nburthens upon their masters; a courtesan is usually bought until she\nshall have reached the age of twenty-seven, after which she becomes\nher own property. Singers remain longer in harness, but even they\nrarely work after the age of thirty, for Japanese women, like\nItalians, age quickly, and have none of that intermediate stage\nbetween youth and old age, which seems to be confined to countries\nwhere there is a twilight.\n\nChildren destined to be trained as singers are usually bought when\nthey are five or six years old, a likely child fetching from about\nthirty-five to fifty shillings; the purchaser undertakes the education\nof his charge, and brings the little thing up as his own child. The\nparents sign a paper absolving him from all responsibility in case of\nsickness or accident; but they know that their child will be well\ntreated and cared for, the interests of the buyer being their material\nguarantee. Girls of fifteen or upwards who are sufficiently\naccomplished to join a company of singers fetch ten times the price\npaid for children; for in their case there is no risk and no expense\nof education.\n\nLittle children who are bought for purposes of prostitution at the age\nof five or six years fetch about the same price as those that are\nbought to be singers. During their novitiate they are employed to wait\nupon the _Oiran_, or fashionable courtesans, in the capacity of little\nfemale pages (_Kamuro_). They are mostly the children of distressed\npersons, or orphans, whom their relatives cruelly sell rather than be\nat the expense and trouble of bringing them up. Of the girls who enter\nthe profession later in life, some are orphans, who have no other\nmeans of earning a livelihood; others sell their bodies out of filial\npiety, that they may succour their sick or needy parents; others are\nmarried women, who enter the Yoshiwara to supply the wants of their\nhusbands; and a very small proportion is recruited from girls who have\nbeen seduced and abandoned, perhaps sold, by faithless lovers.\n\nThe time to see the Yoshiwara to the best advantage is just after\nnightfall, when the lamps are lighted. Then it is that the women--who\nfor the last two hours have been engaged in gilding their lips and\npainting their eyebrows black, and their throats and bosoms a snowy\nwhite, carefully leaving three brown Van-dyke-collar points where the\nback of the head joins the neck, in accordance with one of the\nstrictest rules of Japanese cosmetic science--leave the back rooms,\nand take their places, side by side, in a kind of long narrow cage,\nthe wooden bars of which open on to the public thoroughfare. Here they\nsit for hours, gorgeous in dresses of silk and gold and silver\nembroidery, speechless and motionless as wax figures, until they shall\nhave attracted the attention of some of the passers-by, who begin to\nthrong the place. At Yokohama indeed, and at the other open ports, the\nwomen of the Yoshiwara are loud in their invitations to visitors,\nfrequently relieving the monotony of their own language by some\nblasphemous term of endearment picked up from British and American\nseamen; but in the Flower District at Yedo, and wherever Japanese\ncustoms are untainted, the utmost decorum prevails. Although the shape\nwhich vice takes is ugly enough, still it has this merit, that it is\nunobtrusive. Never need the pure be contaminated by contact with the\nimpure; he who goes to the Yoshiwara, goes there knowing full well\nwhat he will find, but the virtuous man may live through his life\nwithout having this kind of vice forced upon his sight. Here again do\nthe open ports contrast unfavourably with other places: Yokohama at\nnight is as leprous a place as the London Haymarket.[14]\n\n[Footnote 14: Those who are interested in this branch of social\nscience, will find much curious information upon the subject of\nprostitution in Japan in a pamphlet published at Yokohama, by Dr.\nNewton, R.N., a philanthropist who has been engaged for the last two\nyears in establishing a Lock Hospital at that place. In spite of much\nopposition, from prejudice and ignorance, his labours have been\ncrowned by great success.]\n\nA public woman or singer on entering her profession assumes a _nom de\nguerre_, by which she is known until her engagement is at an end. Some\nof these names are so pretty and quaint that I will take a few\nspecimens from the _Yoshiwara Saiken_, the guidebook upon which this\nnotice is based. \"Little Pine,\" \"Little Butterfly,\" \"Brightness of the\nFlowers,\" \"The Jewel River,\" \"Gold Mountain,\" \"Pearl Harp,\" \"The Stork\nthat lives a Thousand Years,\" \"Village of Flowers,\" \"Sea Beach,\" \"The\nLittle Dragon,\" \"Little Purple,\" \"Silver,\" \"Chrysanthemum,\"\n\"Waterfall,\" \"White Brightness,\" \"Forest of Cherries,\"--these and a\nhost of other quaint conceits are the one prettiness of a very foul\nplace.\n\n\n\n\nKAZUMA'S REVENGE\n\n\nIt is a law that he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. In\nJapan, where there exists a large armed class over whom there is\npractically little or no control, party and clan broils, and single\nquarrels ending in bloodshed and death, are matters of daily\noccurrence; and it has been observed that Edinburgh in the olden time,\nwhen the clansmen, roistering through the streets at night, would pass\nfrom high words to deadly blows, is perhaps the best European parallel\nof modern Yedo or Ki\u00f4to.\n\nIt follows that of all his possessions the Samurai sets most store by\nhis sword, his constant companion, his ally, defensive and offensive.\nThe price of a sword by a famous maker reaches a high sum: a Japanese\nnoble will sometimes be found girding on a sword, the blade of which\nunmounted is worth from six hundred to a thousand riyos, say from \u00a3200\nto \u00a3300, and the mounting, rich in cunning metal work, will be of\nproportionate value. These swords are handed down as heirlooms from\nfather to son, and become almost a part of the wearer's own self.\nIy\u00e9yasu, the founder of the last dynasty of Shoguns, wrote in his\nLegacy,[15] a code of rules drawn up for the guidance of his\nsuccessors and their advisers in the government, \"The girded sword is\nthe living soul of the Samurai. In the case of a Samurai forgetting\nhis sword, act as is appointed: it may not be overlooked.\"\n\n[Footnote 15: _The Legacy of Iy\u00e9yasu_, translated by F. Lowder.\nYokohama, 1868. (Printed for private circulation.)]\n\nThe occupation of a swordsmith is an honourable profession, the\nmembers of which are men of gentle blood. In a country where trade is\nlooked down upon as degrading, it is strange to find this single\nexception to the general rule. The traditions of the craft are many\nand curious. During the most critical moment of the forging of the\nsword, when the steel edge is being welded into the body of the iron\nblade, it is a custom which still obtains among old-fashioned\narmourers to put on the cap and robes worn by the Kug\u00e9, or nobles of\nthe Mikado's court, and, closing the doors of the workshop, to labour\nin secrecy and freedom from interruption, the half gloom adding to the\nmystery of the operation. Sometimes the occasion is even invested with\na certain sanctity, a tasselled cord of straw, such as is hung before\nthe shrines of the Kami, or native gods of Japan, being suspended\nbetween two bamboo poles in the forge, which for the nonce is\nconverted into a holy altar.\n\nAt Osaka, I lived opposite to one Kusano Yoshiaki, a swordsmith, a\nmost intelligent and amiable gentleman, who was famous throughout his\nneighbourhood for his good and charitable deeds. His idea was that,\nhaving been bred up to a calling which trades in life and death, he\nwas bound, so far as in him lay, to atone for this by seeking to\nalleviate the suffering which is in the world; and he carried out his\nprinciple to the extent of impoverishing himself. No neighbour ever\nappealed to him in vain for help in tending the sick or burying the\ndead. No beggar or lazar was ever turned from his door without\nreceiving some mark of his bounty, whether in money or in kind. Nor\nwas his scrupulous honesty less remarkable than his charity. While\nother smiths are in the habit of earning large sums of money by\ncounterfeiting the marks of the famous makers of old, he was able to\nboast that he had never turned out a weapon which bore any other mark\nthan his own. From his father and his forefathers he inherited his\ntrade, which, in his turn, he will hand over to his son--a\nhard-working, honest, and sturdy man, the clank of whose hammer and\nanvil may be heard from daybreak to sundown.\n\n[Illustration: FORGING THE SWORD.]\n\nThe trenchant edge of the Japanese sword is notorious. It is said that\nthe best blades will in the hands of an expert swordsman cut through\nthe dead bodies of three men, laid one upon the other, at a blow. The\nswords of the Shogun used to be tried upon the corpses of executed\ncriminals; the public headsman was entrusted with the duty, and for a\n\"nose medicine,\" or bribe of two bus (about three shillings), would\nsubstitute the weapon of a private individual for that of his Lord.\nDogs and beggars, lying helpless by the roadside, not unfrequently\nserve to test a ruffian's sword; but the executioner earns many a fee\nfrom those who wish to see how their blades will cut off a head.\n\nThe statesman who shall enact a law forbidding the carrying of this\ndeadly weapon will indeed have deserved well of his country; but it\nwill be a difficult task to undertake, and a dangerous one. I would\nnot give much for that man's life. The hand of every swashbuckler in\nthe empire would be against him. One day as we were talking over this\nand other kindred subjects, a friend of mine, a man of advanced and\nliberal views, wrote down his opinion, _more Japonico_, in a verse of\npoetry which ran as follows:--\"I would that all the swords and dirks\nin the country might be collected in one place and molten down, and\nthat, from the metal so produced, one huge sword might be forged,\nwhich, being the only blade left, should be the girded sword of Great\nJapan.\"\n\nThe following history is in more senses than one a \"Tale of a Sword.\"\n\nAbout two hundred and fifty years ago Ik\u00e9da Kunaish\u00f4yu was Lord of the\nProvince of Inaba. Among his retainers were two gentlemen, named\nWatanab\u00e9 Yukiy\u00e9 and Kawai Matazay\u00e9mon, who were bound together by\nstrong ties of friendship, and were in the habit of frequently\nvisiting at one another's houses. One day Yukiy\u00e9 was sitting\nconversing with Matazay\u00e9mon in the house of the latter, when, on a\nsudden, a sword that was lying in the raised part of the room caught\nhis eye. As he saw it, he started and said--\n\n\"Pray tell me, how came you by that sword?\"\n\n\"Well, as you know, when my Lord Ik\u00e9da followed my Lord Tokugawa\nIy\u00e9yasu to fight at Nagakud\u00e9, my father went in his train; and it was\nat the battle of Nagakud\u00e9 that he picked up this sword.\"\n\n\"My father went too, and was killed in the fight, and this sword,\nwhich was an heirloom in our family for many generations, was lost at\nthat time. As it is of great value in my eyes, I do wish that, if you\nset no special store by it, you would have the great kindness to\nreturn it to me.\"\n\n\"That is a very easy matter, and no more than what one friend should\ndo by another. Pray take it.\"\n\nUpon this Yukiy\u00e9 gratefully took the sword, and having carried it home\nput it carefully away.\n\nAt the beginning of the ensuing year Matazay\u00e9mon fell sick and died,\nand Yukiy\u00e9, mourning bitterly for the loss of his good friend, and\nanxious to requite the favour which he had received in the matter of\nhis father's sword, did many acts of kindness to the dead man's\nson--a young man twenty-two years of age, named Matagor\u00f4.\n\nNow this Matagor\u00f4 was a base-hearted cur, who had begrudged the sword\nthat his father had given to Yukiy\u00e9, and complained publicly and often\nthat Yukiy\u00e9 had never made any present in return; and in this way\nYukiy\u00e9 got a bad name in my Lord's palace as a stingy and illiberal\nman.\n\nBut Yukiy\u00e9 had a son, called Kazuma, a youth sixteen years of age, who\nserved as one of the Prince's pages of honour. One evening, as he and\none of his brother pages were talking together, the latter said--\n\n\"Matagor\u00f4 is telling everybody that your father accepted a handsome\nsword from him and never made him any present in return, and people\nare beginning to gossip about it.\"\n\n\"Indeed,\" replied the other, \"my father received that sword from\nMatagor\u00f4's father as a mark of friendship and good-will, and,\nconsidering that it would be an insult to send a present of money in\nreturn, thought to return the favour by acts of kindness towards\nMatagor\u00f4. I suppose it is money he wants.\"\n\nWhen Kazuma's service was over, he returned home, and went to his\nfather's room to tell him the report that was being spread in the\npalace, and begged him to send an ample present of money to Matagor\u00f4.\nYukry\u00e9 reflected for a while, and said--\n\n\"You are too young to understand the right line of conduct in such\nmatters. Matagor\u00f4's father and myself were very close friends; so,\nseeing that he had ungrudgingly given me back the sword of my\nancestors, I, thinking to requite his kindness at his death, rendered\nimportant services to Matagor\u00f4. It would be easy to finish the matter\nby sending a present of money; but I had rather take the sword and\nreturn it than be under an obligation to this mean churl, who knows\nnot the laws which regulate the intercourse and dealings of men of\ngentle blood.\"\n\nSo Yukiy\u00e9, in his anger, took the sword to Matagor\u00f4's house, and said\nto him--\n\n\"I have come to your house this night for no other purpose than to\nrestore to you the sword which your father gave me;\" and with this he\nplaced the sword before Matagor\u00f4.\n\n\"Indeed,\" replied the other, \"I trust that you will not pain me by\nreturning a present which my father made you.\"\n\n\"Amongst men of gentle birth,\" said Yukiy\u00e9, laughing scornfully, \"it\nis the custom to requite presents, in the first place by kindness, and\nafterwards by a suitable gift offered with a free heart. But it is no\nuse talking to such as you, who are ignorant of the first principles\nof good breeding; so I have the honour to give you back the sword.\"\n\nAs Yukiy\u00e9 went on bitterly to reprove Matagor\u00f4, the latter waxed very\nwroth, and, being a ruffian, would have killed Yukiy\u00e9 on the spot; but\nhe, old man as he was, was a skilful swordsman, so Matagor\u00f4,\ncraven-like, determined to wait until he could attack him unawares.\nLittle suspecting any treachery, Yukiy\u00e9 started to return home, and\nMatagor\u00f4, under the pretence of attending him to the door, came behind\nhim with his sword drawn and cut him in the shoulder. The older man,\nturning round, drew and defended himself; but having received a severe\nwound in the first instance, he fainted away from loss of blood, and\nMatagor\u00f4 slew him.\n\nThe mother of Matagor\u00f4, startled by the noise, came out; and when she\nsaw what had been done, she was afraid, and said--\"Passionate man!\nwhat have you done? You are a murderer; and now your life will be\nforfeit. What terrible deed is this!\"\n\n\"I have killed him now, and there's nothing to be done. Come, mother,\nbefore the matter becomes known, let us fly together from this house.\"\n\n\"I will follow you; do you go and seek out my Lord Ab\u00e9 Shirogor\u00f4, a\nchief among the Hatamotos,[16] who was my foster-child. You had better\nfly to him for protection, and remain in hiding.\"\n\n[Footnote 16: _Hatamotos._ The Hatamotos were the feudatory nobles of\nthe Shogun or Tycoon. The office of Taikun having been abolished, the\nHatamotos no longer exist. For further information respecting them,\nsee the note at the end of the story.]\n\nSo the old woman persuaded her son to make his escape, and sent him to\nthe palace of Shirogor\u00f4.\n\nNow it happened that at this time the Hatamotos had formed themselves\ninto a league against the powerful Daimios; and Ab\u00e9 Shirogor\u00f4, with\ntwo other noblemen, named Kond\u00f4 Noborinosuk\u00e9 and Midzuno Jiurozay\u00e9mon,\nwas at the head of the league. It followed, as a matter of course,\nthat his forces were frequently recruited by vicious men, who had no\nmeans of gaining their living, and whom he received and entreated\nkindly without asking any questions as to their antecedents; how much\nthe more then, on being applied to for an asylum by the son of his own\nfoster-mother, did he willingly extend his patronage to him, and\nguarantee him against all danger. So he called a meeting of the\nprincipal Hatamotos, and introduced Matagor\u00f4 to them, saying--\"This\nman is a retainer of Ik\u00e9da Kunaish\u00f4yu, who, having cause of hatred\nagainst a man named Watanab\u00e9 Yukiy\u00e9, has slain him, and has fled to me\nfor protection; this man's mother suckled me when I was an infant,\nand, right or wrong, I will befriend him. If, therefore, Ik\u00e9da\nKunaish\u00f4yu should send to require me to deliver him up, I trust that\nyou will one and all put forth your strength and help me to defend\nhim.\"\n\n\"Ay! that will we, with pleasure!\" replied Kond\u00f4 Noborinosuk\u00e9. \"We\nhave for some time had cause to complain of the scorn with which the\nDaimios have treated us. Let Ik\u00e9da Kunaish\u00f4yu send to claim this man,\nand we will show him the power of the Hatamotos.\"\n\nAll the other Hatamotos, with one accord, applauded this\ndetermination, and made ready their force for an armed resistance,\nshould my Lord Kunaish\u00f4yu send to demand the surrender of Matugor\u00f4.\nBut the latter remained as a welcome guest in the house of Ab\u00e9\nShirogor\u00f4.\n\n[Illustration: MATAGOR\u00d4 KILLS YUKIY\u00c9.]\n\nNow when Watanab\u00e9 Kazuma saw that, as the night advanced, his father\nYukiy\u00e9 did not return home, he became anxious, and went to the house\nof Matagor\u00f4 to seek for him, and finding to his horror that he was\nmurdered, fell upon the corpse and, embraced it, weeping. On a sudden,\nit flashed across him that this must assuredly be the handiwork of\nMatagor\u00f4; so he rushed furiously into the house, determined to kill\nhis father's murderer upon the spot. But Matagor\u00f4 had already fled,\nand he found only the mother, who was making her preparations for\nfollowing her son to the house of Ab\u00e9 Shirogor\u00f4: so he bound the old\nwoman, and searched all over the house for her son; but, seeing that\nhis search was fruitless, he carried off the mother, and handed her\nover to one of the elders of the clan, at the same time laying\ninformation against Matagor\u00f4 as his father's murderer. When the affair\nwas reported to the Prince, he was very angry, and ordered that the\nold woman should remain bound and be cast into prison until the\nwhereabouts of her son should be discovered. Then Kazuma buried his\nfather's corpse with great pomp, and the widow and the orphan mourned\nover their loss.\n\nIt soon became known amongst the people of Ab\u00e9 Shirogor\u00f4 that the\nmother of Matagor\u00f4 had been imprisoned for her son's crime, and they\nimmediately set about planning her rescue; so they sent to the palace\nof my Lord Kunaish\u00f4yu a messenger, who, when he was introduced to the\ncouncillor of the Prince, said--\n\n\"We have heard that, in consequence of the murder of Yukiy\u00e9, my lord\nhas been pleased to imprison the mother of Matagor\u00f4. Our master\nShirogor\u00f4 has arrested the criminal, and will deliver him up to you.\nBut the mother has committed no crime, so we pray that she may be\nreleased from a cruel imprisonment: she was the foster-mother of our\nmaster, and he would fain intercede to save her life. Should you\nconsent to this, we, on our side, will give up the murderer, and hand\nhim over to you in front of our master's gate to-morrow.\"\n\nThe councillor repeated this message to the Prince, who, in his\npleasure at being able to give Kazuma his revenge on the morrow,\nimmediately agreed to the proposal, and the messenger returned\ntriumphant at the success of the scheme. On the following day, the\nPrince ordered the mother of Matagor\u00f4 to be placed in a litter and\ncarried to the Hatamoto's dwelling, in charge of a retainer named\nSasawo Dany\u00e9mon, who, when he arrived at the door of Ab\u00e9 Shirogor\u00f4's\nhouse, said--\n\n\"I am charged to hand over to you the mother of Matagor\u00f4, and, in\nexchange, I am authorized to receive her son at your hands.\"\n\n\"We will immediately give him up to you; but, as the mother and son\nare now about to bid an eternal farewell to one another, we beg you to\nbe so kind as to tarry a little.\"\n\nWith this the retainers of Shirogor\u00f4 led the old woman inside their\nmaster's house, and Sasawo Dany\u00e9mon remained waiting outside, until at\nlast he grew impatient, and ventured to hurry on the people within.\n\n\"We return you many thanks,\" replied they, \"for your kindness in\nbringing us the mother; but, as the son cannot go with you at present,\nyou had better return home as quickly as possible. We are afraid we\nhave put you to much trouble.\" And so they mocked him.\n\nWhen Dany\u00e9mon saw that he had not only been cheated into giving up the\nold woman, but was being made a laughing-stock of into the bargain, he\nflew into a great rage, and thought to break into the house and seize\nMatagor\u00f4 and his mother by force; but, peeping into the courtyard, he\nsaw that it was filled with Hatamotos, carrying guns and naked swords.\nNot caring then to die fighting a hopeless battle, and at the same\ntime feeling that, after having been so cheated, he would be put to\nshame before his lord, Sasawo Dany\u00e9mon went to the burial-place of his\nancestors, and disembowelled himself in front of their graves.\n\n[Illustration: THE DEATH OF DANY\u00c9MON.]\n\nWhen the Prince heard how his messenger had been treated, he was\nindignant, and summoning his councillors resolved, although he was\nsuffering from sickness, to collect his retainers and attack Ab\u00e9\nShirogor\u00f4; and the other chief Daimios, when the matter became\npublicly known, took up the cause, and determined that the Hatamotos\nmust be chastised for their insolence. On their side, the Hatamotos\nput forth all their efforts to resist the Daimios. So Yedo became\ndisturbed, and the riotous state of the city caused great anxiety to\nthe Government, who took counsel together how they might restore\npeace. As the Hatamotos were directly under the orders of the Shogun,\nit was no difficult matter to put them down: the hard question to\nsolve was how to put a restraint upon the great Daimios. However, one\nof the Gor\u00f4jin,[17] named Matsudaira Idzu no Kami, a man of great\nintelligence, hit upon a plan by which he might secure this end.\n\n[Footnote 17: The first Council of the Shogun's ministers; literally,\n\"assembly of imperial elders.\"]\n\nThere was at this time in the service of the Shogun a physician, named\nNakarai Tsusen, who was in the habit of frequenting the palace of my\nLord Kunaish\u00f4yu, and who for some time past had been treating him for\nthe disease from which he was suffering. Idzu no Kami sent secretly\nfor this physician, and, summoning him to his private room, engaged\nhim in conversation, in the midst of which he suddenly dropped his\nvoice and said to him in a whisper--\n\n\"Listen, Tsusen. You have received great favours at the hands of the\nShogun. The Government is now sorely straitened: are you willing to\ncarry your loyalty so far as to lay down your life on its behalf?\"\n\n\"Ay, my lord; for generations my forefathers have held their property\nby the grace of the Shogun. I am willing this night to lay down my\nlife for my Prince, as a faithful vassal should.\"\n\n\"Well, then, I will tell you. The great Daimios and the Hatamotos\nhave fallen out about this affair of Matagor\u00f4, and lately it has\nseemed as if they meant to come to blows. The country will be\nagitated, and the farmers and townsfolk suffer great misery, if we\ncannot quell the tumult. The Hatamotos will be easily kept under, but\nit will be no light task to pacify the great Daimios. If you are\nwilling to lay down your life in carrying out a stratagem of mine,\npeace will be restored to the country; but your loyalty will be your\ndeath.\"\n\n\"I am ready to sacrifice my life in this service.\"\n\n\"This is my plan. You have been attending my Lord Kunaish\u00f4yu in his\nsickness; to-morrow you must go to see him, and put poison in his\nphysic. If we can kill him, the agitation will cease. This is the\nservice which I ask of you.\"\n\nTsusen agreed to undertake the deed; and on the following day, when he\nwent to see Kunaish\u00f4yu, he carried with him poisoned drugs. Half the\ndraught he drank himself,[18] and thus put the Prince off his guard,\nso that he swallowed the remainder fearlessly. Tsusen, seeing this,\nhurried away, and as he was carried home in his litter the death-agony\nseized him, and he died, vomiting blood.\n\n[Footnote 18: A physician attending a personage of exalted rank has\nalways to drink half the potion he prescribes as a test of his good\nfaith.]\n\nMy Lord Kunaish\u00f4yu died in the same way in great torture, and in the\nconfusion attending upon his death and funeral ceremonies the struggle\nwhich was impending with the Hatamotos was delayed.\n\nIn the meanwhile the Gor\u00f4jiu Idzu no Kami summoned the three leaders\nof the Hatamotos and addressed them as follows--\n\n\"The secret plottings and treasonable, turbulent conduct of you three\nmen, so unbecoming your position as Hatamotos, have enraged my lord\nthe Shogun to such a degree, that he has been pleased to order that\nyou be imprisoned in a temple, and that your patrimony be given over\nto your next heirs.\"\n\nAccordingly the three Hatamotos, after having been severely\nadmonished, were confined in a temple called Kanyeiji; and the\nremaining Hatamotos, scared by this example, dispersed in peace. As\nfor the great Daimios, inasmuch as after the death of my Lord\nKunaish\u00f4yu the Hatamotos were all dispersed, there was no enemy left\nfor them to fight with; so the tumult was quelled, and peace was\nrestored.\n\nThus it happened that Matagor\u00f4 lost his patron; so, taking his mother\nwith him, he went and placed himself under the protection of an old\nman named Sakurai Jiuzay\u00e9mon. This old man was a famous teacher of\nlance exercise, and enjoyed both wealth and honour; so he took in\nMatagor\u00f4, and having engaged as a guard thirty R\u00f4nins, all resolute\nfellows and well skilled in the arts of war, they all fled together to\na distant place called Sagara.\n\nAll this time Watanab\u00e9 Kazuma had been brooding over his father's\ndeath, and thinking how he should be revenged upon the murderer; so\nwhen my Lord Kunaish\u00f4yu suddenly died, he went to the young Prince\nwho succeeded him and obtained leave of absence to go and seek out\nhis father's enemy. Now Kazuma's elder sister was married to a man\nnamed Araki Matay\u00e9mon, who at that time was famous as the first\nswordsman in Japan. As Kazuma was but sixteen years of age, this\nMatay\u00e9mon, taking into consideration his near relationship as\nson-in-law to the murdered man, determined to go forth with the lad,\nas his guardian, and help him to seek out Matagor\u00f4; and two of\nMatay\u00e9mon's retainers, named Ishidom\u00e9 Busuk\u00e9 and Ikezoy\u00e9 Magohachi,\nmade up their minds, at all hazards, to follow their master. The\nlatter, when he heard their intention, thanked them, but refused the\noffer, saying that as he was now about to engage in a vendetta in\nwhich his life would be continually in jeopardy, and as it would be a\nlasting grief to him should either of them receive a wound in such a\nservice, he must beg them to renounce their intention; but they\nanswered--\n\n\"Master, this is a cruel speech of yours. All these years have we\nreceived nought but kindness and favours at your hands; and now that\nyou are engaged in the pursuit of this murderer, we desire to follow\nyou, and, if needs must, to lay down our lives in your service.\nFurthermore, we have heard that the friends of this Matagor\u00f4 are no\nfewer than thirty-six men; so, however bravely you may fight, you will\nbe in peril from the superior numbers of your enemy. However, if you\nare pleased to persist in your refusal to take us, we have made up our\nminds that there is no resource for us but to disembowel ourselves on\nthe spot.\"\n\nWhen Matay\u00e9mon and Kazuma heard these words, they wondered at these\nfaithful and brave men, and were moved to tears. Then Matay\u00e9mon said--\n\n\"The kindness of you two brave fellows is without precedent. Well,\nthen, I will accept your services gratefully.\"\n\nThen the two men, having obtained their wish, cheerfully followed\ntheir master; and the four set out together upon their journey to seek\nout Matagor\u00f4, of whose whereabouts they were completely ignorant.\n\nMatagor\u00f4 in the meanwhile had made his way, with the old man Sakurai\nJiuzay\u00e9mon and his thirty R\u00f4nins, to Osaka. But, strong as they were\nin numbers, they travelled in great secrecy. The reason for this was\nthat the old man's younger brother, Sakurai Jinsuk\u00e9, a fencing-master\nby profession, had once had a fencing-match with Matay\u00e9mon, Kazuma's\nbrother-in-law, and had been shamefully beaten; so that the party were\ngreatly afraid of Matay\u00e9mon, and felt that, since he was taking up\nKazuma's cause and acting as his guardian, they might be worsted in\nspite of their numbers: so they went on their way with great caution,\nand, having reached Osaka, put up at an inn in a quarter called\nIkutama, and hid from Kazuma and Matay\u00e9mon.\n\nThe latter also in good time reached Osaka, and spared no pains to\nseek out Matagor\u00f4. One evening towards dusk, as Matay\u00e9mon was walking\nin the quarter where the enemy were staying, he saw a man, dressed as\na gentleman's servant, enter a cook-shop and order some buckwheat\nporridge for thirty-six men, and looking attentively at the man, he\nrecognized him as the servant of Sakurai Jiuzay\u00e9mon; so he hid himself\nin a dark place and watched, and heard the fellow say--\n\n\"My master, Sakurai Jiuzay\u00e9mon, is about to start for Sagara to-morrow\nmorning, to return thanks to the gods for his recovery from a sickness\nfrom which he has been suffering; so I am in a great hurry.\"\n\nWith these words the servant hastened away; and Matay\u00e9mon, entering\nthe shop, called for some porridge, and as he ate it, made some\ninquiries as to the man who had just given so large an order for\nbuckwheat porridge. The master of the shop answered that he was the\nattendant of a party of thirty-six gentlemen who were staying at such\nand such an inn. Then Matay\u00e9mon, having found out all that he wanted\nto know, went home and told Kazuma, who was delighted at the prospect\nof carrying his revenge into execution on the morrow. That same\nevening Matay\u00e9mon sent one of his two faithful retainers as a spy to\nthe inn, to find out at what hour Matagor\u00f4 was to set out on the\nfollowing morning; and he ascertained from the servants of the inn,\nthat the party was to start at daybreak for Sagara, stopping at Is\u00e9 to\nworship at the shrine of Tersh\u00f4 Daijin.[19]\n\n[Footnote 19: Goddess of the sun, and ancestress of the Mikados.]\n\nMatay\u00e9mon made his preparations accordingly, and, with Kazuma and his\ntwo retainers, started before dawn. Beyond Uy\u00e9no, in the province of\nIga, the castle-town of the Daimio T\u00f4d\u00f4 Idzumi no Kami, there is a\nwide and lonely moor; and this was the place upon which they fixed for\nthe attack upon the enemy. When they had arrived at the spot,\nMatay\u00e9mon went into a tea-house by the roadside, and wrote a petition\nto the governor of the Daimio's castle-town for permission to carry\nout the vendetta within its precincts;[20] then he addressed Kazuma,\nand said--\n\n\"When we fall in with Matagor\u00f4 and begin the fight, do you engage and\nslay your father's murderer; attack him and him only, and I will keep\noff his guard of R\u00f4nins;\" then turning to his two retainers, \"As for\nyou, keep close to Kazuma; and should the R\u00f4nins attempt to rescue\nMatagor\u00f4, it will be your duty to prevent them, and succour Kazuma.\"\nAnd having further laid down each man's duties with great minuteness,\nthey lay in wait for the arrival of the enemy. Whilst they were\nresting in the tea-house, the governor of the castle-town arrived,\nand, asking for Matay\u00e9mou, said--\n\n\"I have the honour to be the governor of the castle-town of T\u00f4d\u00f4\nIdzumi no Kami. My lord, having learnt your intention of slaying your\nenemy within the precincts of his citadel, gives his consent; and as a\nproof of his admiration of your fidelity and valour, he has further\nsent you a detachment of infantry, one hundred strong, to guard the\nplace; so that should any of the thirty-six men attempt to escape, you\nmay set your mind at ease, for flight will be impossible.\"\n\n[Footnote 20: \"In respect to revenging injury done to master or\nfather, it is granted by the wise and virtuous (Confucius) that you\nand the injurer cannot live together under the canopy of heaven.\n\n\"A person harbouring such vengeance shall notify the same in writing\nto the Criminal Court; and although no check or hindrance may be\noffered to his carrying out his desire within the period allowed for\nthat purpose, it is forbidden that the chastisement of an enemy be\nattended with riot.\n\n\"Fellows who neglect to give notice of their intended revenge are like\nwolves of pretext, and their punishment or pardon should depend upon\nthe circumstances of the case.\"--_Legacy of Iy\u00e9yasu_, ut supr\u00e0.]\n\nWhen Matay\u00e9mon and Kazurna had expressed their thanks for his\nlordship's gracious kindness, the governor took his leave and returned\nhome. At last the enemy's train was seen in the distance. First came\nSakurai Jiuzay\u00e9mon and his younger brother Jinsuk\u00e9; and next to them\nfollowed Kawai Matagor\u00f4 and Tak\u00e9nouchi Gentan. These four men, who\nwere the bravest and the foremost of the band of R\u00f4nins, were riding\non pack-horses, and the remainder were marching on foot, keeping close\ntogether.\n\nAs they drew near, Kazuma, who was impatient to avenge his father,\nstepped boldly forward and shouted in a loud voice--\n\n\"Here stand I, Kazuma, the son of Yukiy\u00e9, whom you, Matagor\u00f4,\ntreacherously slew, determined to avenge my father's death. Come\nforth, then, and do battle with me, and let us see which of us twain\nis the better man.\"\n\nAnd before the R\u00f4nins had recovered from their astonishment, Matay\u00e9mon\nsaid--\n\n\"I, Arak\u00e9 Matay\u00e9mon, the son-in-law of Yukiy\u00e9, have come to second\nKazuma in his deed of vengeance. Win or lose, you must give us\nbattle.\"\n\nWhen the thirty-six men heard the name of Matay\u00e9mon, they were greatly\nafraid; but Sakurai Jiuzay\u00e9mon urged them to be upon their guard, and\nleaped from his horse; and Matay\u00e9mon, springing forward with his drawn\nsword, cleft him from the shoulder to the nipple of his breast, so\nthat he fell dead. Sakurai Jinsuk\u00e9, seeing his brother killed before\nhis eyes, grew furious, and shot an arrow at Matay\u00e9mon, who deftly cut\nthe shaft in two with his dirk as it flew; and Jinsuk\u00e9, amazed at this\nfeat, threw away his bow and attacked Matay\u00e9mon, who, with his sword\nin his right hand and his dirk in his left, fought with desperation.\nThe other R\u00f4nins attempted to rescue Jinsuk\u00e9, and, in the struggle,\nKazuma, who had engaged Matagor\u00f4, became separated from Matay\u00e9mon,\nwhose two retainers, Busuk\u00e9 and Magohachi, bearing in mind their\nmaster's orders, killed five R\u00f4nins who had attacked Kazuma, but were\nthemselves badly wounded. In the meantime, Matay\u00e9mon, who had killed\nseven of the R\u00f4nins, and who the harder he was pressed the more\nbravely he fought, soon cut down three more, and the remainder dared\nnot approach him. At this moment there came up one Kan\u00f4 Tozay\u00e9mon, a\nretainer of the lord of the castle-town, and an old friend of\nMatay\u00e9mon, who, when he heard that Matay\u00e9mon was this day about to\navenge his father-in-law, had seized his spear and set out, for the\nsake of the good-will between them, to help him, and act as his\nsecond, and said--\n\n\"Sir Matay\u00e9mon, hearing of the perilous adventure in which you have\nengaged, I have come out to offer myself as your second.\"\n\nMatay\u00e9mon, hearing this, was rejoiced, and fought with renewed vigour.\nThen one of the R\u00f4nins, named Tak\u00e9nouchi Gentan, a very brave man,\nleaving his companions to do battle with Matay\u00e9mon, came to the rescue\nof Matagor\u00f4, who was being hotly pressed by Kazuma, and, in attempting\nto prevent this, Busuk\u00e9 fell covered with wounds. His companion\nMagohachi, seeing him fall, was in great anxiety; for should any harm\nhappen to Kazuma, what excuse could he make to Matay\u00e9mon? So, wounded\nas he was, he too engaged Tak\u00e9nouchi Gentan, and, being crippled by\nthe gashes he had received, was in deadly peril. Then the man who had\ncome up from the castle-town to act as Matay\u00e9mon's second cried out--\n\n\"See there, Sir Matay\u00e9mon, your follower who is fighting with Gentan\nis in great danger. Do you go to his rescue, and second Sir Kazuma: I\nwill give an account of the others!\"\n\n\"Great thanks to you, sir. I will go and second Kazuma.\"\n\nSo Matay\u00e9mon went to help Kazuma, whilst his second and the infantry\nsoldiers kept back the surviving R\u00f4nins, who, already wearied by their\nfight with Matay\u00e9mon, were unfit for any further exertion. Kazuma\nmeanwhile was still fighting with Matagor\u00f4, and the issue of the\nconflict was doubtful; and Tak\u00e9nouchi Gentan, in his attempt to rescue\nMatagor\u00f4, was being kept at bay by Magohachi, who, weakened by his\nwounds, and blinded by the blood which was streaming into his eyes\nfrom a cut in the forehead, had given himself up for lost when\nMatay\u00e9mon came and cried--\n\n\"Be of good cheer, Magohachi; it is I, Matay\u00e9mon, who have come to the\nrescue. You are badly hurt; get out of harm's way, and rest yourself.\"\n\nThen Magohachi, who until then had been kept up by his anxiety for\nKazuma's safety, gave in, and fell fainting from loss of blood; and\nMatay\u00e9mon worsted and slew Gentan; and even then, although be had\nreceived two wounds, he was not exhausted, but drew near to Kazuma and\nsaid--\n\n\"Courage, Kazuma! The R\u00f4nins are all killed, and there now remains\nonly Matagor\u00f4, your father's murderer. Fight and win!\"\n\nThe youth, thus encouraged, redoubled his efforts; but Matagor\u00f4,\nlosing heart, quailed and fell. So Kazuma's vengeance was fulfilled,\nand the desire of his heart was accomplished.\n\nThe two faithful retainers, who had died in their loyalty, were buried\nwith great ceremony, and Kazuma carried the head of Matagor\u00f4 and\npiously laid it upon his father's tomb.\n\nSo ends the tale of Kazuma's revenge.\n\nI fear that stories of which killing and bloodshed form the principal\nfeatures can hardly enlist much sympathy in these peaceful days.\nStill, when such tales are based upon history, they are interesting to\nstudents of social phenomena. The story of Kazuma's revenge is mixed\nup with events which at the present time are peculiarly significant: I\nmean the feud between the great Daimios and the Hatamotos. Those who\nhave followed the modern history of Japan will see that the recent\nstruggle, which has ended in the ruin of the Tycoon's power and the\nabolition of his office, was the outburst of a hidden fire which had\nbeen smouldering for centuries. But the repressive might had been\ngradually weakened, and contact with Western powers had rendered still\nmore odious a feudality which men felt to be out of date. The\nrevolution which has ended in the triumph of the Daimios over the\nTycoon, is also the triumph of the vassal over his feudal lord, and is\nthe harbinger of political life to the people at large. In the time of\nIy\u00e9yasu the burden might be hateful, but it had to be borne; and so it\nwould have been to this day, had not circumstances from without broken\nthe spell. The Japanese Daimio, in advocating the isolation of his\ncountry, was hugging the very yoke which he hated. Strange to say,\nhowever, there are still men who, while they embrace the new political\ncreed, yet praise the past, and look back with regret upon the day\nwhen Japan stood alone, without part or share in the great family of\nnations.\n\nNOTE.--_Hatamoto_. This word means \"_under the flag_.\" The Hatamotos\nwere men who, as their name implied, rallied round the standard of the\nShogun, or Tycoon, in war-time. They were eighty thousand in number.\nWhen Iy\u00e9yasu left the Province of Mikawa and became Shogun, the\nretainers whom he ennobled, and who received from him grants of land\nyielding revenue to the amount of ten thousand kokus of rice a year,\nand from that down to one hundred kokus, were called _Hatamoto_. In\nreturn for these grants of land, the Hatamotos had in war-time to\nfurnish a contingent of soldiers in proportion to their revenue. For\nevery thousand kokus of rice five men were required. Those Hatamotos\nwhose revenue fell short of a thousand kokus substituted a quota of\nmoney. In time of peace most of the minor offices of the Tycoon's\ngovernment were filled by Hatamotos, the more important places being\nheld by the Fudai, or vassal Daimios of the Shogun. Seven years ago,\nin imitation of the customs of foreign nations, a standing army was\nfounded; and then the Hatamotos had to contribute their quota of men\nor of money, whether the country were at peace or at war. When the\nShogun was reduced in 1868 to the rank of a simple Daimio, his revenue\nof eight million kokus reverted to the Government, with the exception\nof seven hundred thousand kokus. The title of Hatamoto exists no more,\nand those who until a few months ago held the rank are for the most\npart ruined or dispersed. From having been perhaps the proudest and\nmost overbearing class in Japan, they are driven to the utmost straits\nof poverty. Some have gone into trade, with the heirlooms of their\nfamilies as their stock; others are wandering through the country as\nR\u00f4nins; while a small minority have been allowed to follow the fallen\nfortunes of their master's family, the present chief of which is known\nas the Prince of Tokugawa. Thus are the eighty thousand dispersed.\n\nThe koku of rice, in which all revenue is calculated, is of varying\nvalue. At the cheapest it is worth rather more than a pound sterling,\nand sometimes almost three times as much. The salaries of officials\nbeing paid in rice, it follows that there is a large and influential\nclass throughout the country who are interested in keeping up the\nprice of the staple article of food. Hence the opposition with which a\nfree trade in rice has met, even in famine times. Hence also the\nfrequent so-called \"Rice Riots.\"\n\nThe amounts at which the lands formerly held by the chief Daimios, but\nnow patriotically given up by them to the Mikado, were assessed, sound\nfabulous. The Prince of Kaga alone had an income of more than one\nmillion two hundred thousand kokus. Yet these great proprietors were,\nlatterly at least, embarrassed men. They had many thousand mouths to\nfeed, and were mulcted of their dues right and left; while their mania\nfor buying foreign ships and munitions of war, often at exorbitant\nprices, had plunged them heavily in debt.\n\n\n\n\nA STORY OF THE OTOKODAT\u00c9 OF YEDO;\n\n\nBEING THE SUPPLEMENT OF\n\nTHE STORY OF GOMPACHI AND KOMURASAKI\n\n\nThe word Otokodat\u00e9 occurs several times in these Tales; and as I\ncannot convey its full meaning by a simple translation, I must\npreserve it in the text, explaining it by the following note, taken\nfrom the Japanese of a native scholar.\n\nThe Otokodat\u00e9 were friendly associations of brave men bound together\nby an obligation to stand by one another in weal or in woe, regardless\nof their own lives, and without inquiring into one another's\nantecedents. A bad man, however, having joined the Otokodat\u00e9 must\nforsake his evil ways; for their principle was to treat the oppressor\nas an enemy, and to help the feeble as a father does his child. If\nthey had money, they gave it to those that had none, and their\ncharitable deeds won for them the respect of all men. The head of the\nsociety was called its \"Father\"; if any of the others, who were his\napprentices, were homeless, they lived with the Father and served him,\npaying him at the same time a small fee, in consideration of which, if\nthey fell sick or into misfortune, he took charge of them and assisted\nthem.\n\nThe Father of the Otokodat\u00e9 pursued the calling of farming out coolies\nto the Daimios and great personages for their journeys to and from\nYedo, and in return for this received from them rations in rice. He\nhad more influence with the lower classes even than the officials; and\nif the coolies had struck work or refused to accompany a Daimio on his\njourney, a word from the Father would produce as many men as might be\nrequired. When Prince Tokugawa Iy\u00e9mochi, the last but one of the\nShoguns, left Yedo for Ki\u00f4to, one Shimmon Tatsugor\u00f4, chief of the\nOtokodat\u00e9, undertook the management of his journey, and some three or\nfour years ago was raised to the dignity of Hatamoto for many faithful\nservices. After the battle of Fushimi, and the abolition of the\nShogunate, he accompanied the last of the Shoguns in his retirement.\n\nIn old days there were also Otokodat\u00e9 among the Hatamotos; this was\nafter the civil wars of the time of Iy\u00e9yasu, when, though the country\nwas at peace, the minds of men were still in a state of high\nexcitement, and could not be reconciled to the dulness of a state of\nrest; it followed that broils and faction fights were continually\ntaking place among the young men of the Samurai class, and that those\nwho distinguished themselves by their personal strength and valour\nwere looked up to as captains. Leagues after the manner of those\nexisting among the German students were formed in different quarters\nof the city, under various names, and used to fight for the honour of\nvictory. When the country became more thoroughly tranquil, the custom\nof forming these leagues amongst gentlemen fell into disuse.\n\nThe past tense is used in speaking even of the Otokodat\u00e9 of the lower\nclasses; for although they nominally exist, they have no longer the\npower and importance which they enjoyed at the time to which these\nstories belong. They then, like the 'prentices of Old London, played a\nconsiderable part in the society of the great cities, and that man was\nlucky, were he gentle Samurai or simple wardsman, who could claim the\nFather of the Otokodat\u00e9 for his friend.\n\nThe word, taken by itself, means a manly or plucky fellow.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nCh\u00f4bei of Bandzuin was the chief of the Otokodat\u00e9 of Yedo. He was\noriginally called Itar\u00f4, and was the son of a certain R\u00f4nin who lived\nin the country. One day, when he was only ten years of age, he went\nout with a playfellow to bathe in the river; and as the two were\nplaying they quarrelled over their game, and Itar\u00f4, seizing the other\nboy, threw him into the river and drowned him.\n\nThen he went home, and said to his father--\n\n\"I went to play by the river to-day, with a friend; and as he was rude\nto me, I threw him into the water and killed him.\"\n\nWhen his father heard him speak thus, quite calmly, as if nothing had\nhappened, he was thunderstruck, and said--\n\n\"This is indeed a fearful thing. Child as you are, you will have to\npay the penalty of your deed; so to-night you must fly to Yedo in\nsecret, and take service with some noble Samurai, and perhaps in time\nyou may become a soldier yourself.\"\n\nWith these words he gave him twenty ounces of silver and a fine sword,\nmade by the famous swordsmith Rai Kunitoshi, and sent him out of the\nprovince with all dispatch. The following morning the parents of the\nmurdered child came to claim that Itar\u00f4 should be given up to their\nvengeance; but it was too late, and all they could do was to bury\ntheir child and mourn for his loss.\n\nItar\u00f4 made his way to Yedo in hot haste, and there found employment as\na shop-boy; but soon tiring of that sort of life, and burning to\nbecome a soldier, he found means at last to enter the service of a\ncertain Hatamoto called Sakurai Sh\u00f4zay\u00e9mon, and changed his name to\nTsun\u00e9hei. Now this Sakurai Sh\u00f4zay\u00e9mon had a son, called Sh\u00f4nosuk\u00e9, a\nyoung man in his seventeenth year, who grew so fond of Tsun\u00e9hei that\nhe took him with him wherever he went, and treated him in all ways as\nan equal.\n\nWhen Sh\u00f4nosuk\u00e9 went to the fencing-school Tsun\u00e9hei would accompany\nhim, and thus, as he was by nature strong and active, soon became a\ngood swordsman.\n\nOne day, when Sh\u00f4zay\u00e9mon had gone out, his son Sh\u00f4nosuk\u00e9 said to\nTsun\u00e9hei--\n\n\"You know how fond my father is of playing at football: it must be\ngreat sport. As he has gone out to-day, suppose you and I have a\ngame?\"\n\n\"That will be rare sport,\" answered Tsun\u00e9hei. \"Let us make haste and\nplay, before my lord comes home.\"\n\nSo the two boys went out into the garden, and began trying to kick the\nfootball; but, lacking skill, do what they would, they could not lift\nit from the ground. At last Sh\u00f4nosuk\u00e9, with a vigorous kick, raised\nthe football; but, having missed his aim, it went tumbling over the\nwall into the next garden, which belonged to one Hikosaka Zempachi, a\nteacher of lance exercise, who was known to be a surly, ill-tempered\nfellow.\n\n\"Oh, dear! what shall we do?\" said Sh\u00f4nosuk\u00e9. \"We have lost my\nfather's football in his absence; and if we go and ask for it back\nfrom that churlish neighbour of ours, we shall only be scolded and\nsworn at for our pains.\"\n\n\"Oh, never mind,\" answered Tsun\u00e9hei; \"I will go and apologize for our\ncarelessness, and get the football back.\"\n\n\"Well, but then you will be chidden, and I don't want that.\"\n\n\"Never mind me. Little care I for his cross words.\" So Tsun\u00e9hei went\nto the next-door house to reclaim the ball.\n\nNow it so happened that Zempachi, the surly neighbour, had been\nwalking in his garden whilst the two youths were playing; and as he\nwas admiring the beauty of his favourite chrysanthemums, the football\ncame flying over the wall and struck him full in the face. Zempachi,\nnot used to anything but flattery and coaxing, flew into a violent\nrage at this; and while he was thinking how he would revenge himself\nupon any one who might be sent to ask for the lost ball, Tsun\u00e9hei came\nin, and said to one of Zempachi's servants--\n\n\"I am sorry to say that in my lord's absence I took his football, and,\nin trying to play with it, clumsily kicked it over your wall. I beg\nyou to excuse my carelessness, and to be so good as to give me back\nthe ball.\"\n\nThe servant went in and repeated this to Zempachi, who worked himself\nup into a great rage, and ordered Tsun\u00e9hei to be brought before him,\nand said--\n\n\"Here, fellow, is your name Tsun\u00e9hei?\"\n\n\"Yes, sir, at your service. I am almost afraid to ask pardon for my\ncarelessness; but please forgive me, and let me have the ball.\"\n\n\"I thought your master, Sh\u00f4zay\u00e9mon, was to blame for this; but it\nseems that it was you who kicked the football.\"\n\n\"Yes, sir. I am sure I am very sorry for what I have done. Please, may\nI ask for the ball?\" said Tsun\u00e9hei, bowing humbly.\n\nFor a while Zempachi made no answer, but at length he said--\n\n\"Do you know, villain, that your dirty football struck me in the\nface? I ought, by rights, to kill you on the spot for this; but I will\nspare your life this time, so take your football and be off.\" And with\nthat he went up to Tsun\u00e9hei and beat him, and kicked him in the head,\nand spat in his face.\n\nThen Tsun\u00e9hei, who up to that time had demeaned himself very humbly,\nin his eagerness to get back the football, jumped up in a fury, and\nsaid--\n\n\"I made ample apologies to you for my carelessness, and now you have\ninsulted and struck me. Ill-mannered ruffian! take back the\nball,--I'll none of it;\" and he drew his dirk, and cutting the\nfootball in two, threw it at Zempachi, and returned home.\n\nBut Zempachi, growing more and more angry, called one of his servants,\nand said to him--\n\n\"That fellow, Tsun\u00e9hei, has been most insolent: go next door and find\nout Sh\u00f4zay\u00e9mon, and tell him that I have ordered you to bring back\nTsun\u00e9hei, that I may kill him.\"\n\nSo the servant went to deliver the message.\n\nIn the meantime Tsun\u00e9hei went back to his master's house; and when\nSh\u00f4nosuk\u00e9 saw him, he said--\n\n\"Well, of course you have been ill treated; but did you get back the\nfootball?\"\n\n\"When I went in, I made many apologies; but I was beaten, and kicked\nin the head, and treated with the greatest indignity. I would have\nkilled that wretch, Zempachi, at once, but that I knew that, if I did\nso while I was yet a member of your household, I should bring trouble\nupon your family. For your sake I bore this ill-treatment patiently;\nbut now I pray you let me take leave of you and become a R\u00f4nin, that I\nmay be revenged upon this man.\"\n\n\"Think well what you are doing,\" answered Sh\u00f4nosuk\u00e9. \"After all, we\nhave only lost a football; and my father will not care, nor upbraid\nus.\"\n\nBut Tsim\u00e9hei would not listen to him, and was bent upon wiping out the\naffront that he had received. As they were talking, the messenger\narrived from Zempachi, demanding the surrender of Tsun\u00e9hei, on the\nground that he had insulted him: to this Sh\u00f4nosuk\u00e9 replied that his\nfather was away from home, and that in his absence he could do\nnothing.\n\nAt last Sh\u00f4zay\u00e9mon came home; and when he heard what had happened he\nwas much grieved, and at a loss what to do, when a second messenger\narrived from Zempachi, demanding that Tsun\u00e9hei should be given up\nwithout delay. Then Sh\u00f4zay\u00e9mon, seeing that the matter was serious,\ncalled the youth to him, and said--\n\n\"This Zempachi is heartless and cruel, and if you go to his house will\nassuredly kill you; take, therefore, these fifty riyos, and fly to\nOsaka or Ki\u00f4to, where you may safely set up in business.\"\n\n\"Sir,\" answered Tsun\u00e9hei, with tears of gratitude for his lord's\nkindness, \"from my heart I thank you for your great goodness; but I\nhave been insulted and trampled upon, and, if I lay down my life in\nthe attempt, I will repay Zempachi for what he has this day done.\"\n\n\"Well, then, since you needs must be revenged, go and fight, and may\nsuccess attend you! Still, as much depends upon the blade you carry,\nand I fear yours is likely to be but a sorry weapon, I will give you a\nsword;\" and with this he offered Tsun\u00e9hei his own.\n\n\"Nay, my lord,\" replied Tsun\u00e9hei; \"I have a famous sword, by Rai\nKunitoshi, which my father gave me. I have never shown it to your\nlordship, but I have it safely stowed away in my room.\"\n\nWhen Sh\u00f4zay\u00e9mon saw and examined the sword, he admired it greatly, and\nsaid, \"This is indeed a beautiful blade, and one on which you may\nrely. Take it, then, and bear yourself nobly in the fight; only\nremember that Zempachi is a cunning spearsman, and be sure to be very\ncautious.\"\n\nSo Tsun\u00e9hei, after thanking his lord for his manifold kindnesses, took\nan affectionate leave, and went to Zempachi's house, and said to the\nservant--\n\n\"It seems that your master wants to speak to me. Be so good as to take\nme to see him.\"\n\nSo the servant led him into the garden, where Zempachi, spear in hand,\nwas waiting to kill him. When Zempachi saw him, he cried out--\n\n\"Ha! so you have come back; and now for your insolence, this day I\nmean to kill you with my own hand.\"\n\n\"Insolent yourself!\" replied Tsun\u00e9hei. \"Beast, and no Samurai! Come,\nlet us see which of us is the better man.\"\n\nFuriously incensed, Zempachi thrust with his spear at Tsun\u00e9hei; but\nhe, trusting to his good sword, attacked Zempachi, who, cunning\nwarrior as he was, could gain no advantage. At last Zempachi, losing\nhis temper, began fighting less carefully, so that Tsun\u00e9hei found an\nopportunity of cutting the shaft of his spear. Zempachi then drew his\nsword, and two of his retainers came up to assist him; but Tsun\u00e9hei\nkilled one of them, and wounded Zempachi in the forehead. The second\nretainer fled affrighted at the youth's valour, and Zempachi was\nblinded by the blood which flowed from the wound on his forehead. Then\nTsun\u00e9hei said--\n\n\"To kill one who is as a blind man were unworthy a soldier. Wipe the\nblood from your eyes, Sir Zempachi, and let us fight it out fairly.\"\n\nSo Zempachi, wiping away his blood, bound a kerchief round his head,\nand fought again desperately. But at last the pain of his wound and\nthe loss of blood overcame him, and Tsun\u00e9hei cut him down with a wound\nin the shoulder and easily dispatched him.\n\nThen Tsun\u00e9hei went and reported the whole matter to the Governor of\nYedo, and was put in prison until an inquiry could be made. But the\nChief Priest of Bandzuin, who had heard of the affair, went and told\nthe governor all the bad deeds of Zempachi, and having procured\nTsun\u00e9hei's pardon, took him home and employed him as porter in the\ntemple. So Tsun\u00e9hei changed his name to Ch\u00f4bei, and earned much\nrespect in the neighbourhood, both for his talents and for his many\ngood works. If any man were in distress, he would help him, heedless\nof his own advantage or danger, until men came to look up to him as to\na father, and many youths joined him and became his apprentices. So he\nbuilt a house at Hanakawado, in Asakusa, and lived there with his\napprentices, whom he farmed out as spearsmen and footmen to the\nDaimios and Hatamotos, taking for himself the tithe of their earnings.\nBut if any of them were sick or in trouble, Ch\u00f4bei would nurse and\nsupport them, and provide physicians and medicine. And the fame of his\ngoodness went abroad until his apprentices were more than two thousand\nmen, and were employed in every part of the city. But as for Ch\u00f4bei,\nthe more he prospered, the more he gave in charity, and all men\npraised his good and generous heart.\n\nThis was the time when the Hatamotos had formed themselves into bands\nof Otokodat\u00e9,[21] of which Midzuno Jiurozay\u00e9mon, Kond\u00f4 Noborinosuk\u00e9,\nand Ab\u00e9 Shirogor\u00f4 were the chiefs. And the leagues of the nobles\ndespised the leagues of the wardsmen, and treated them with scorn, and\ntried to put to shame Ch\u00f4bei and his brave men; but the nobles'\nweapons recoiled upon themselves, and, whenever they tried to bring\ncontempt upon Ch\u00f4bei, they themselves were brought to ridicule. So\nthere was great hatred on both sides.\n\n[Footnote 21: See the story of Kazuma's Revenge.]\n\nOne day, that Ch\u00f4bei went to divert himself in a tea-house in the\nYoshiwara, he saw a felt carpet spread in an upper room, which had\nbeen adorned as for some special occasion; and he asked the master of\nthe house what guest of distinction was expected. The landlord replied\nthat my Lord Jiurozay\u00e9mon, the chief of the Otokodat\u00e9 of the\nHatamotos, was due there that afternoon. On hearing this, Ch\u00f4bei\nreplied that as he much wished to meet my Lord Jiurozay\u00e9mon, he would\nlie down and await his coming. The landlord was put out at this, and\nknew not what to say; but yet he dare not thwart Ch\u00f4bei, the powerful\nchief of the Otokodat\u00e9. So Ch\u00f4bei took off his clothes and laid\nhimself down upon the carpet. After a while my Lord Jiurozay\u00e9mon\narrived, and going upstairs found a man of large stature lying naked\nupon the carpet which had been spread for him.\n\n\"What low ruffian is this?\" shouted he angrily to the landlord.\n\n\"My lord, it is Ch\u00f4bei, the chief of the Otokodat\u00e9,\" answered the man,\ntrembling.\n\nJiurozay\u00e9mon at once suspected that Ch\u00f4bei was doing this to insult\nhim; so he sat down by the side of the sleeping man, and lighting his\npipe began to smoke. When he had finished his pipe, he emptied the\nburning ashes into Ch\u00f4bei's navel; but Ch\u00f4bei, patiently bearing the\npain, still feigned sleep. Ten times did Jiurozay\u00e9mon fill his\npipe,[22] and ten times he shook out the burning ashes on to Ch\u00f4bei's\nnavel; but he neither stirred nor spoke. Then Jiurozay\u00e9mon, astonished\nat his fortitude, shook him, and roused him, saying--\n\n\"Ch\u00f4bei! Ch\u00f4bei! wake up, man.\"\n\n\"What is the matter?\" said Ch\u00f4bei, rubbing his eyes as though he were\nawaking from a deep sleep; then seeing Jiurozay\u00e9mon, he pretended to\nbe startled, and said, \"Oh, my lord, I know not who you are; but I\nhave been very rude to your lordship. I was overcome with wine, and\nfell asleep: I pray your lordship to forgive me.\"\n\n\"Is your name Ch\u00f4bei?\"\n\n\"Yes, my lord, at your service. A poor wardsman, and ignorant of good\nmanners, I have been very rude; but I pray your lordship to excuse my\nill-breeding.\"\n\n\"Nay, nay; we have all heard the fame of Ch\u00f4bei, of Bandzuin, and I\nhold myself lucky to have met you this day. Let us be friends.\"\n\n\"It is a great honour for a humble wardsman to meet a nobleman face to\nface.\"\n\n[Footnote 22: The tiny Japanese pipe contains but two or three whiffs;\nand as the tobacco is rolled up tightly in the fingers before it is\ninserted, the ash, when shaken out, is a little fire-ball from which a\nsecond pipe is lighted.]\n\nAs they were speaking, the waitresses brought in fish and wine, and\nJiurozay\u00e9mon pressed Ch\u00f4bei to feast with him; and thinking to annoy\nCh\u00f4bei, offered him a large wine-cup,[23] which, however, he drank\nwithout shrinking, and then returned to his entertainer, who was by no\nmeans so well able to bear the fumes of the wine. Then Jiurozay\u00e9mon\nhit upon another device for annoying Ch\u00f4bei, and, hoping to frighten\nhim, said--\n\n\"Here, Ch\u00f4bei, let me offer you some fish;\" and with those words he\ndrew his sword, and, picking up a cake of baked fish upon the point of\nit, thrust it towards the wardsman's mouth. Any ordinary man would\nhave been afraid to accept the morsel so roughly offered; but Ch\u00f4bei\nsimply opened his mouth, and taking the cake off the sword's point ate\nit without wincing. Whilst Jiurozay\u00e9mon was wondering in his heart\nwhat manner of man this was, that nothing could daunt, Ch\u00f4bei said to\nhim--\n\n\"This meeting with your lordship has been an auspicious occasion to\nme, and I would fain ask leave to offer some humble gift to your\nlordship in memory of it.[24] Is there anything which your lordship\nwould specially fancy?\"\n\n\"I am very fond of cold macaroni.\"\n\n[Footnote 23: It is an act of rudeness to offer a large wine-cup. As,\nhowever, the same cup is returned to the person who has offered it,\nthe ill carries with it its own remedy. At a Japanese feast the same\ncup is passed from hand to hand, each person rinsing it in a bowl of\nwater after using it, and before offering it to another.]\n\n\n[Footnote 24: The giving of presents from inferiors to superiors is a\ncommon custom.]\n\n\"Then I shall have the honour of ordering some for your lordship;\" and\nwith this Ch\u00f4bei went downstairs, and calling one of his apprentices,\nnamed T\u00f4ken Gombei,[25] who was waiting for him, gave him a hundred\nriyos (about \u00a328), and bade him collect all the cold macaroni to be\nfound in the neighbouring cook-shops and pile it up in front of the\ntea-house. So Gombei went home, and, collecting Ch\u00f4bei's apprentices,\nsent them out in all directions to buy the macaroni. Jiurozay\u00e9mon all\nthis while was thinking of the pleasure he would have in laughing at\nCh\u00f4bei for offering him a mean and paltry present; but when, by\ndegrees, the macaroni began to be piled mountain-high around the\ntea-house, he saw that he could not make a fool of Ch\u00f4bei, and went\nhome discomfited.\n\n[Footnote 25: _T\u00f4ken_, a nickname given to Gombei, after a savage dog\nthat he killed. As a Ch\u00f4nin, or wardsman, he had no surname.]\n\nIt has already been told how Shirai Gompachi was befriended and helped\nby Ch\u00f4bei.[26] His name will occur again in this story.\n\n[Footnote 26: See the story of Gompachi and Komurasaki.]\n\nAt this time there lived in the province of Yamato a certain Daimio,\ncalled Honda Dainaiki, who one day, when surrounded by several of his\nretainers, produced a sword, and bade them look at it and say from\nwhat smith's workshop the blade had come.\n\n\"I think this must be a Masamun\u00e9 blade,\" said one Fuwa Banzay\u00e9mon.\n\n\"No,\" said Nagoya Sanza, after examining the weapon attentively, \"this\ncertainly is a Muramasa.\"[27]\n\n[Footnote 27: The swords of Muramasa, although so finely tempered that\nthey are said to cut hard iron as though it were a melon, have the\nreputation of being unlucky: they are supposed by the superstitious to\nhunger after taking men's lives, and to be unable to repose in their\nscabbards. The principal duty of a sword is to preserve tranquillity\nin the world, by punishing the wicked and protecting the good. But the\nbloodthirsty swords of Muramasa rather have the effect of maddening\ntheir owners, so that they either kill others indiscriminately or\ncommit suicide. At the end of the sixteenth century Prince Tokugawa\nIy\u00e9yasu was in the habit of carrying a spear made by Muramasa, with\nwhich he often scratched or cut himself by mistake. Hence the Tokugawa\nfamily avoid girding on Muramasa blades, which are supposed to be\nspecially unlucky to their race. The murders of Gompachi, who wore a\nsword by this maker, also contributed to give his weapons a bad name.\n\nThe swords of one T\u00f4shir\u00f4 Yoshimitsu, on the other hand, are specially\nauspicious to the Tokugawa family, for the following reason. After\nIy\u00e9yasu had been defeated by Tak\u00e9ta Katsuyori, at the battle of the\nriver Tenrin, he took refuge in the house of a village doctor,\nintending to put an end to his existence by _hara-kiri,_ and drawing\nhis dirk, which was made by Yoshimitsu, tried to plunge it into his\nbelly, when, to his surprise, the blade turned. Thinking that the dirk\nmust be a bad one, he took up an iron mortar for grinding medicines\nand tried it upon that, and the point entered and transfixed the\nmortar. He was about to stab himself a second time, when his\nfollowers, who had missed him, and had been searching for him\neverywhere, came up, and seeing their master about to kill himself,\nstayed his hand, and took away the dirk by force. Then they set him\nupon his horse and compelled him to fly to his own province of Mikawa,\nwhilst they kept his pursuers at bay. After this, when, by the favour\nof Heaven, Iy\u00e9yasu became Shogun, it was considered that of a surety\nthere must have been a good spirit in the blade that refused to drink\nhis blood; and ever since that time the blades of Yoshimitsu have been\nconsidered lucky in his family.]\n\nA third Samurai, named Takagi Umanoj\u00f4, pronounced it to be the work\nof Shidzu Kanenji; and as they could not agree, but each maintained\nhis opinion, their lord sent for a famous connoisseur to decide the\npoint; and the sword proved, as Sanza had said, to be a genuine\nMuramasa. Sanza was delighted at the verdict; but the other two went\nhome rather crestfallen. Umanoj\u00f4, although he had been worsted in the\nargument, bore no malice nor ill-will in his heart; but Banzay\u00e9mon,\nwho was a vainglorious personage, puffed up with the idea of his own\nimportance, conceived a spite against Sanza, and watched for an\nopportunity to put him to shame. At last, one day Banzay\u00e9mon, eager to\nbe revenged upon Sanza, went to the Prince, and said, \"Your lordship\nought to see Sanza fence; his swordsmanship is beyond all praise. I\nknow that I am no match for him; still, if it will please your\nlordship, I will try a bout with him;\" and the Prince, who was a mere\nstripling, and thought it would be rare sport, immediately sent for\nSanza and desired he would fence with Banzay\u00e9mon. So the two went out\ninto the garden, and stood up facing each other, armed with wooden\nswords. Now Banzay\u00e9mon was proud of his skill, and thought he had no\nequal in fencing; so he expected to gain an easy victory over Sanza,\nand promised himself the luxury of giving his adversary a beating that\nshould fully make up for the mortification which he had felt in the\nmatter of the dispute about the sword. It happened, however, that he\nhad undervalued the skill of Sanza, who, when he saw that his\nadversary was attacking him savagely and in good earnest, by a rapid\nblow struck Banzay\u00e9mon so sharply on the wrist that he dropped the\nsword, and, before he could pick it up again, delivered a second cut\non the shoulder, which sent him rolling over in the dust. All the\nofficers present, seeing this, praised Sanza's skill, and Banzay\u00e9mon,\nutterly stricken with shame, ran away home and hid himself.\n\nAfter this affair Sanza rose high in the favour of his lord; and\nBanzay\u00e9mon, who was more than ever jealous of him, feigned sickness,\nand stayed at home devising schemes for Sanza's ruin.\n\nNow it happened that the Prince, wishing to have the Muramasa blade\nmounted, sent for Sanza and entrusted it to his care, ordering him to\nemploy the most cunning workmen in the manufacture of the\nscabbard-hilt and ornaments; and Sanza, having received the blade,\ntook it home, and put it carefully away. When Banzay\u00e9mon heard of\nthis, he was overjoyed; for he saw that his opportunity for revenge\nhad come. He determined, if possible, to kill Sanza, but at any rate\nto steal the sword which had been committed to his care by the Prince,\nknowing full well that if Sanza lost the sword he and his family would\nbe ruined. Being a single man, without wife or child, he sold his\nfurniture, and, turning all his available property into money, made\nready to fly the country. When his preparations were concluded, he\nwent in the middle of the night to Sanza's house and tried to get in\nby stealth; but the doors and shutters were all carefully bolted from\nthe inside, and there was no hole by which he could effect an\nentrance. All was still, however, and the people of the house were\nevidently fast asleep; so he climbed up to the second storey, and,\nhaving contrived to unfasten a window, made his way in. With soft,\ncat-like footsteps he crept downstairs, and, looking into one of the\nrooms, saw Sanza and his wife sleeping on the mats, with their little\nson Kosanza, a boy of thirteen, curled up in his quilt between them.\nThe light in the night-lamp was at its last flicker, but, peering\nthrough the gloom, he could just see the Prince's famous Muramasa\nsword lying on a sword-rack in the raised part of the room: so he\ncrawled stealthily along until he could reach it, and stuck it in his\ngirdle. Then, drawing near to Sanza, he bestrode his sleeping body,\nand, brandishing the sword made a thrust at his throat; but in his\nexcitement his hand shook, so that he missed his aim, and only\nscratched Sanza, who, waking with a start and trying to jump up, felt\nhimself held down by a man standing over him. Stretching out his\nhands, he would have wrestled with his enemy; when Banzay\u00e9mon, leaping\nback, kicked over the night-lamp, and throwing open the shutters,\ndashed into the garden. Snatching up his sword, Sanza rushed out after\nhim; and his wife, having lit a lantern and armed herself with a\nhalberd,[28] went out, with her son Kosanza, who carried a drawn dirk,\nto help her husband. Then Banzay\u00e9mon, who was hiding in the shadow of\na large pine-tree, seeing the lantern and dreading detection, seized a\nstone and hurled it at the light, and, chancing to strike it, put it\nout, and then scrambling over the fence unseen, fled into the\ndarkness. When Sanza had searched all over the garden in vain, he\nreturned to his room and examined his wound, which proving very\nslight, he began to look about to see whether the thief had carried\noff anything; but when his eye fell upon the place where the Muramasa\nsword had lain, he saw that it was gone. He hunted everywhere, but it\nwas not to be found. The precious blade with which his Prince had\nentrusted him had been stolen, and the blame would fall heavily upon\nhim. Filled with grief and shame at the loss, Sanza and his wife and\nchild remained in great anxiety until the morning broke, when he\nreported the matter to one of the Prince's councillors, and waited in\nseclusion until he should receive his lord's commands.\n\n[Footnote 28: The halberd is the special arm of the Japanese woman of\ngentle blood. That which was used by Kasa Gozen, one of the ladies of\nYoshitsun\u00e9, the hero of the twelfth century, is still preserved at\nAsakusa. In old-fashioned families young ladies are regularly\ninstructed in fencing with the halberds.]\n\nIt soon became known that Banzay\u00e9mon, who had fled the province, was\nthe thief; and the councillors made their report accordingly to the\nPrince, who, although he expressed his detestation of the mean action\nof Banzay\u00e9mon, could not absolve Sanza from blame, in that he had not\ntaken better precautions to insure the safety of the sword that had\nbeen committed to his trust. It was decided, therefore, that Sanza\nshould be dismissed from his service, and that his goods should be\nconfiscated; with the proviso that should he be able to find\nBanzay\u00e9mon, and recover the lost Muramasa blade, he should be restored\nto his former position. Sanza, who from the first had made up his mind\nthat his punishment would be severe, accepted the decree without a\nmurmur; and, having committed his wife and son to the care of his\nrelations, prepared to leave the country as a R\u00f4nin and search for\nBanzay\u00e9mon.\n\nBefore starting, however, he thought that he would go to his\nbrother-officer, Takagi Umanoj\u00f4, and consult with him as to what\ncourse he should pursue to gain his end. But this Umanoj\u00f4, who was by\nnature a churlish fellow, answered him unkindly, and said--\n\n\"It is true that Banzay\u00e9mon is a mean thief; but still it was through\nyour carelessness that the sword was lost. It is of no avail your\ncoming to me for help: you must get it back as best you may.\"\n\n\"Ah!\" replied Sanza, \"I see that you too bear me a grudge because I\ndefeated you in the matter of the judgment of the sword. You are no\nbetter than Banzay\u00e9mon yourself.\"\n\nAnd his heart was bitter against his fellow men, and he left the house\ndetermined to kill Umanoj\u00f4 first and afterwards to track out\nBanzay\u00e9mon; so, pretending to start on his journey, he hid in an inn,\nand waited for an opportunity to attack Umanoj\u00f4.\n\nOne day Umanoj\u00f4, who was very fond of fishing, had taken his son\nUmanosuk\u00e9, a lad of sixteen, down to the sea-shore with him; and as\nthe two were enjoying themselves, all of a sudden they perceived a\nSamurai running towards them, and when he drew near they saw that it\nwas Sanza. Umanoj\u00f4, thinking that Sanza had come back in order to talk\nover some important matter, left his angling and went to meet him.\nThen Sanza cried out--\n\n\"Now, Sir Umanoj\u00f4, draw and defend yourself. What! were you in league\nwith Banzay\u00e9mon to vent your spite upon me? Draw, sir, draw! You have\nspirited away your accomplice; but, at any rate, you are here\nyourself, and shall answer for your deed. It is no use playing the\ninnocent; your astonished face shall not save you. Defend yourself,\ncoward and traitor!\" and with these words Sanza flourished his naked\nsword.\n\n\"Nay, Sir Sanza,\" replied the other, anxious by a soft answer to turn\naway his wrath; \"I am innocent of this deed. Waste not your valour on\nso poor a cause.\"\n\n\"Lying knave!\" said Sanza; \"think not that you can impose upon me. I\nknow your treacherous heart;\" and, rushing upon Umanoj\u00f4, he cut him on\nthe forehead so that he fell in agony upon the sand.\n\nUmanosuk\u00e9 in the meanwhile, who had been fishing at some distance from\nhis father, rushed up when he saw him in this perilous situation and\nthrew a stone at Sanza, hoping to distract his attention; but, before\nhe could reach the spot, Sanza had delivered the death-blow, and\nUmanoj\u00f4 lay a corpse upon the beach.\n\n\"Stop, Sir Sanza--murderer of my father!\" cried Umanosuk\u00e9, drawing\nhis sword, \"stop and do battle with me, that I may avenge his death.\"\n\n\"That you should wish to slay your father's enemy,\" replied Sanza, \"is\nbut right and proper; and although I had just cause of quarrel with\nyour father, and killed him, as a Samurai should, yet would I gladly\nforfeit my life to you here; but my life is precious to me for one\npurpose--that I may punish Banzay\u00e9mon and get back the stolen sword.\nWhen I shall have restored that sword to my lord, then will I give you\nyour revenge, and you may kill me. A soldier's word is truth; but, as\na pledge that I will fulfil my promise, I will give to you, as\nhostages, my wife and boy. Stay your avenging hand, I pray you, until\nmy desire shall have been attained.\"\n\nUmanosuk\u00e9, who was a brave and honest youth, as famous in the clan for\nthe goodness of his heart as for his skill in the use of arms, when he\nheard Sanza's humble petition, relented, and said--\n\n\"I agree to wait, and will take your wife and boy as hostages for your\nreturn.\"\n\n\"I humbly thank you,\" said Sanza. \"When I shall have chastised\nBanzay\u00e9mon, I will return, and you shall claim your revenge.\"\n\nSo Sanza went his way to Yedo to seek for Banzay\u00e9mon, and Umanosuk\u00e9\nmourned over his father's grave.\n\nNow Banzay\u00e9mon, when he arrived in Yedo, found himself friendless and\nwithout the means of earning his living, when by accident he heard of\nthe fame of Ch\u00f4bei of Bandzuin, the chief of the Otokodat\u00e9, to whom he\napplied for assistance; and having entered the fraternity, supported\nhimself by giving fencing-lessons. He had been plying his trade for\nsome time, and had earned some little reputation, when Sanza reached\nthe city and began his search for him. But the days and months passed\naway, and, after a year's fruitless seeking, Sanza, who had spent all\nhis money without obtaining a clue to the whereabouts of his enemy,\nwas sorely perplexed, and was driven to live by his wits as a\nfortune-teller. Work as he would, it was a hard matter for him to gain\nthe price of his daily food, and, in spite of all his pains, his\nrevenge seemed as far off as ever, when he bethought him that the\nYoshiwara was one of the most bustling places in the city, and that if\nhe kept watch there, sooner or later he would be sure to fall in with\nBanzay\u00e9mon. So be bought a hat of plaited bamboo, that completely\ncovered his face, and lay in wait at the Yoshiwara.\n\nOne day Banzay\u00e9mon and two of Ch\u00f4bei's apprentices T\u00f4ken Gombei and\nShirobei, who, from his wild and indocile nature, was surnamed \"the\nColt,\" were amusing themselves and drinking in an upper storey of a\ntea-house in the Yoshiwara, when T\u00f4ken Gombei, happening to look down\nupon the street below, saw a Samurai pass by, poorly clad in worn-out\nold clothes, but whose poverty-stricken appearance contrasted with\nhis proud and haughty bearing.\n\n\"Look there!\" said Gombei, calling the attention of the others; \"look\nat that Samurai. Dirty and ragged as his coat is, how easy it is to\nsee that he is of noble birth! Let us wardsmen dress ourselves up in\nnever so fine clothes, we could not look as he does.\"\n\n\"Ay,\" said Shirobei, \"I wish we could make friends with him, and ask\nhim up here to drink a cup of wine with us. However, it would not be\nseemly for us wardsmen to go and invite a person of his condition.\"\n\n\"We can easily get over that difficulty,\" said Banzay\u00e9mon. \"As I am a\nSamurai myself, there will be no impropriety in my going and saying a\nfew civil words to him, and bringing him in.\"\n\nThe other two having joyfully accepted the offer, Banzay\u00e9mon ran\ndownstairs, and went up to the strange Samurai and saluted him,\nsaying--\n\n\"I pray you to wait a moment, Sir Samurai. My name is Fuwa Banzay\u00e9mon\nat your service. I am a R\u00f4nin, as I judge from your appearance that\nyou are yourself. I hope you will not think me rude if I venture to\nask you to honour me with your friendship, and to come into this\ntea-house to drink a cup of wine with me and two of my friends.\"\n\nThe strange Samurai, who was no other than Sanza, looking at the\nspeaker through the interstices of his deep bamboo hat, and\nrecognizing his enemy Banzay\u00e9mon, gave a start of surprise, and,\nuncovering his head, said sternly--\n\n\"Have you forgotten my face, Banzay\u00e9mon?\"\n\nFor a moment Banzay\u00e9mon was taken aback, but quickly recovering\nhimself, he replied, \"Ah! Sir Sanza, you may well be angry with me;\nbut since I stole the Muramasa sword and fled to Yedo I have known no\npeace: I have been haunted by remorse for my crime. I shall not resist\nyour vengeance: do with me as it shall seem best to you; or rather\ntake my life, and let there be an end of this quarrel.\"\n\n\"Nay,\" answered Sanza, \"to kill a man who repents him of his sins is a\nbase and ignoble action. When you stole from me the Muramasa blade\nwhich had been confided to my care by my lord, I became a disgraced\nand ruined man. Give me back that sword, that I may lay it before my\nlord, and I will spare your life. I seek to slay no man needlessly.\"\n\n\"Sir Sanza, I thank you for your mercy. At this moment I have not the\nsword by me, but if you will go into yonder tea-house and wait awhile,\nI will fetch it and deliver it into your hands.\"\n\nSanza having consented to this, the two men entered the tea-house,\nwhere Banzay\u00e9mon's two companions were waiting for them. But\nBanzay\u00e9mon, ashamed of his own evil deed, still pretended that Sanza\nwas a stranger, and introduced him as such, saying--\n\n\"Come Sir Samurai, since we have the honour of your company, let me\noffer you a wine-cup.\"\n\nBanzay\u00e9mon and the two men pressed the wine-cup upon Sanza so often\nthat the fumes gradually got into his head and he fell asleep; the two\nwardsmen, seeing this, went out for a walk, and Banzay\u00e9mon, left alone\nwith the sleeping man, began to revolve fresh plots against him in his\nmind. On a sudden, a thought struck him. Noiselessly seizing Sanza's\nsword, which he had laid aside on entering the room, he stole softly\ndownstairs with it, and, carrying it into the back yard, pounded and\nblunted its edge with a stone, and having made it useless as a weapon,\nhe replaced it in its scabbard, and running upstairs again laid it in\nits place without disturbing Sanza, who, little suspecting treachery,\nlay sleeping off the effects of the wine. At last, however, he awoke,\nand, ashamed at having been overcome by drink, he said to Banzay\u00e9mon--\n\n\"Come, Banzay\u00e9mon, we have dallied too long; give me the Muramasa\nsword, and let me go.\"\n\n\"Of course,\" replied the other, sneeringly, \"I am longing to give it\nback to you; but unfortunately, in my poverty, I have been obliged to\npawn it for fifty ounces of silver. If you have so much money about\nyou, give it to me and I will return the sword to you.\"\n\n\"Wretch!\" cried Sanza, seeing that Banzay\u00e9mon was trying to fool him,\n\"have I not had enough of your vile tricks? At any rate, if I cannot\nget back the sword, your head shall be laid before my lord in its\nplace. Come,\" added he, stamping his foot impatiently, \"defend\nyourself.\"\n\n\"With all my heart. But not here in this tea-house. Let us go to the\nMound, and fight it out.\"\n\n\"Agreed! There is no need for us to bring trouble on the landlord.\nCome to the Mound of the Yoshiwara.\"\n\nSo they went to the Mound, and drawing their swords, began to fight\nfuriously. As the news soon spread abroad through the Yoshiwara that a\nduel was being fought upon the Mound, the people flocked out to see\nthe sight; and among them came T\u00f4ken Gombei and Shirobei, Banzay\u00e9mon's\ncompanions, who, when they saw that the combatants were their own\nfriend and the strange Samurai, tried to interfere and stop the fight,\nbut, being hindered by the thickness of the crowd, remained as\nspectators. The two men fought desperately, each driven by fierce rage\nagainst the other; but Sanza, who was by far the better fencer of the\ntwo, once, twice, and again dealt blows which should have cut\nBanzay\u00e9mon down, and yet no blood came forth. Sanza, astonished at\nthis, put forth all his strength, and fought so skilfully, that all\nthe bystanders applauded him, and Banzay\u00e9mon, though he knew his\nadversary's sword to be blunted, was so terrified that he stumbled and\nfell. Sanza, brave soldier that he was, scorned to strike a fallen\nfoe, and bade him rise and fight again. So they engaged again, and\nSanza, who from the beginning had had the advantage, slipped and fell\nin his turn; Banzay\u00e9mon, forgetting the mercy which had been shown to\nhim, rushed up, with bloodthirsty joy glaring in his eyes, and stabbed\nSanza in the side as he lay on the ground. Faint as he was, he could\nnot lift his hand to save himself; and his craven foe was about to\nstrike him again, when the bystanders all cried shame upon his\nbaseness. Then Gombei and Shirobei lifted up their voices and said--\n\n\"Hold, coward! Have you forgotten how your own life was spared but a\nmoment since? Beast of a Samurai, we have been your friends hitherto,\nbut now behold in us the avengers of this brave man.\"\n\nWith these words the two men drew their dirks, and the spectators fell\nback as they rushed in upon Banzay\u00e9mon, who, terror-stricken by their\nfierce looks and words, fled without having dealt the death-blow to\nSanza. They tried to pursue him, but he made good his escape, so the\ntwo men returned to help the wounded man. When he came to himself by\ndint of their kind treatment, they spoke to him and comforted him, and\nasked him what province he came from, that they might write to his\nfriends and tell them what had befallen him. Sanza, in a voice faint\nfrom pain and loss of blood, told them his name and the story of the\nstolen sword, and of his enmity against Banzay\u00e9mon. \"But,\" said he,\n\"just now, when I was fighting, I struck Banzay\u00e9mon more than once,\nand without effect. How could that have been?\" Then they looked at his\nsword, which had fallen by his side, and saw that the edge was all\nbroken away. More than ever they felt indignant at the baseness of\nBanzay\u00e9mon's heart, and redoubled their kindness to Sanza; but, in.\nspite of all their efforts, he grew weaker and weaker, until at last\nhis breathing ceased altogether. So they buried the corpse honourably\nin an adjoining temple, and wrote to Sanza's wife and son, describing\nto them the manner of his death.\n\nNow when Sanza's wife, who had long been anxiously expecting her\nhusband's return, opened the letter and learned the cruel\ncircumstances of his death, she and her son Kosanza mourned bitterly\nover his loss. Then Kosanza, who was now fourteen years old, said to\nhis mother--\n\n\"Take comfort, mother; for I will go to Yedo and seek out this\nBanzay\u00e9mon, my father's murderer, and I will surely avenge his death.\nNow, therefore, make ready all that I need for this journey.\"\n\nAnd as they were consulting over the manner of their revenge,\nUmanosuk\u00e9, the son of Umanoj\u00f4, whom Sanza had slain, having heard of\nthe death of his father's enemy, came to the house. But he came with\nno hostile intent. True, Sanza had killed his father, but the widow\nand the orphan were guiltless, and he bore them no ill-will; on the\ncontrary, he felt that Banzay\u00e9mon was their common enemy. It was he\nwho by his evil deeds had been the cause of all the mischief that had\narisen, and now again, by murdering Sanza, he had robbed Umanosuk\u00e9 of\nhis revenge. In this spirit he said to Kosanza--\n\n\"Sir Kosanza, I hear that your father has been cruelly murdered by\nBanzay\u00e9mon at Yedo. I know that you will avenge the death of your\nfather, as the son of a soldier should: if, therefore, you will accept\nmy poor services, I will be your second, and will help you to the best\nof my ability. Banzay\u00e9mon shall be my enemy, as he is yours.\"\n\n\"Nay, Sir Umanosuk\u00e9, although I thank you from my heart, I cannot\naccept this favour at your hands. My father Sanza slew your noble\nfather: that you should requite this misfortune thus is more than\nkind, but I cannot think of suffering you to risk your life on my\nbehalf.\"\n\n\"Listen to me,\" replied Umanosuk\u00e9, smiling, \"and you will think it\nless strange that I should offer to help you. Last year, when my\nfather lay a bleeding corpse on the sea-shore, your father made a\ncovenant with me that he would return to give me my revenge, so soon\nas he should have regained the stolen sword. Banzay\u00e9mon, by murdering\nhim on the Mound of the Yoshiwara, has thwarted me in this; and now\nupon whom can I avenge my father's death but upon him whose baseness\nwas indeed its cause? Now, therefore, I am determined to go with you\nto Yedo, and not before the murders of our two fathers shall have been\nfully atoned for will we return to our own country.\"\n\nWhen Kosanza heard this generous speech, he could not conceal his\nadmiration; and the widow, prostrating herself at Umanosuk\u00e9's feet,\nshed tears of gratitude.\n\nThe two youths, having agreed to stand by one another, made all ready\nfor their journey, and obtained leave from their prince to go in\nsearch of the traitor Banzay\u00e9mon. They reached Yedo without meeting\nwith any adventures, and, taking up their abode at a cheap inn, began\nto make their inquiries; but, although they sought far and wide, they\ncould learn no tidings of their enemy. When three months had passed\nthus, Kosanza began to grow faint-hearted at their repeated failures;\nbut Umanosuk\u00e9 supported and comforted him, urging him to fresh\nefforts. But soon a great misfortune befell them: Kosanza fell sick\nwith ophthalmia, and neither the tender nursing of his friend, nor the\ndrugs and doctors upon whom Umanosuk\u00e9 spent all their money, had any\neffect on the suffering boy, who soon became stone blind. Friendless\nand penniless, the one deprived of his eyesight and only a clog upon\nthe other, the two youths were thrown upon their own resources. Then\nUmanosuk\u00e9, reduced to the last extremity of distress, was forced to\nlead out Kosanza to Asakusa to beg sitting by the roadside, whilst he\nhimself, wandering hither and thither, picked up what he could from\nthe charity of those who saw his wretched plight. But all this while\nhe never lost sight of his revenge, and almost thanked the chance\nwhich had made him a beggar, for the opportunity which it gave him of\nhunting out strange and hidden haunts of vagabond life into which in\nhis more prosperous condition he could not have penetrated. So he\nwalked to and fro through the city, leaning on a stout staff, in which\nhe had hidden his sword, waiting patiently for fortune to bring him\nface to face with Banzay\u00e9mon.\n\n[Illustration: TRICKS OF SWORDSMANSHIP AT ASAKUSA.]\n\nNow Banzay\u00e9mon, after he had killed Sanza on the Mound of the\nYoshiwara, did not dare to show his face again in the house of Ch\u00f4bei,\nthe Father of the Otokodat\u00e9; for he knew that the two men, T\u00f4ken\nGombei and Shirobei \"the loose Colt,\" would not only bear an evil\nreport of him, but would even kill him if he fell into their hands, so\ngreat had been their indignation at his cowardly Conduct; so he\nentered a company of mountebanks, and earned his living by showing\ntricks of swordsmanship, and selling tooth-powder at the Okuyama, at\nAsakusa.[29] One day, as he was going towards Asakusa to ply his\ntrade, he caught sight of a blind beggar, in whom, in spite of his\npoverty-stricken and altered appearance, he recognized the son of his\nenemy. Rightly he judged that, in spite of the boy's apparently\nhelpless condition, the discovery boded no weal for him; so mounting\nto the upper storey of a tea-house hard by, he watched to see who\nshould come to Kosanza's assistance. Nor had he to wait long, for\npresently he saw a second beggar come up and speak words of\nencouragement and kindness to the blind youth; and looking\nattentively, he saw that the new-comer was Umanosuk\u00e9. Having thus\ndiscovered who was on his track, he went home and sought means of\nkilling the two beggars; so he lay in wait and traced them to the poor\nhut where they dwelt, and one night, when he knew Umanosuk\u00e9 to be\nabsent, he crept in. Kosanza, being blind, thought that the footsteps\nwere those of Umanosuk\u00e9, and jumped up to welcome him; but he, in his\nheartless cruelty, which not even the boy's piteous state could move,\nslew Kosanza as he helplessly stretched out his hands to feel for his\nfriend. The deed was yet unfinished when Umanosuk\u00e9 returned, and,\nhearing a scuffle inside the hut, drew the sword which was hidden in\nhis staff and rushed in; but Banzay\u00e9mon, profiting by the darkness,\neluded him and fled from the hut. Umanosuk\u00e9 followed swiftly after\nhim; but just as he was on the point of catching him, Banzay\u00e9mon,\nmaking a sweep backwards with his drawn sword, wounded Umanosuk\u00e9 in\nthe thigh, so that he stumbled and fell, and the murderer, swift of\nfoot, made good his escape. The wounded youth tried to pursue him\nagain, but being compelled by the pain of his wound to desist,\nreturned home and found his blind companion lying dead, weltering in\nhis own blood. Cursing his unhappy fate, he called in the beggars of\nthe fraternity to which he belonged, and between them they buried\nKosanza, and he himself being too poor to procure a surgeon's aid, or\nto buy healing medicaments for his wound, became a cripple.\n\n[Footnote 29: See Note at end of story.]\n\nIt was at this time that Shirai Gompachi, who was living under the\nprotection of Ch\u00f4bei, the Father of the Otokodat\u00e9, was in love with\nKomurasaki, the beautiful courtesan who lived at the sign of the Three\nSea-shores, in the Yoshiwara. He had long exhausted the scanty\nsupplies which he possessed, and was now in the habit of feeding his\npurse by murder and robbery, that he might have means to pursue his\nwild and extravagant life. One night, when he was out on his cutthroat\nbusiness, his fellows, who had long suspected that he was after no\ngood, sent one of their number, named Seibei, to watch him. Gompachi,\nlittle dreaming that any one was following him, swaggered along the\nstreet until he fell in with a wardsman, whom he cut down and robbed;\nbut the booty proving small, he waited for a second chance, and,\nseeing a light moving in the distance, hid himself in the shadow of a\nlarge tub for catching rain-water till the bearer of the lantern\nshould come up. When the man drew near, Gompachi saw that he was\ndressed as a traveller, and wore a long dirk; so he sprung out from\nhis lurking-place and made to kill him; but the traveller nimbly\njumped on one side, and proved no mean adversary, for he drew his dirk\nand fought stoutly for his life. However, he was no match for so\nskilful a swordsman as Gompachi, who, after a sharp struggle,\ndispatched him, and carried off his purse, which contained two hundred\nriyos. Overjoyed at having found so rich a prize, Gompachi was making\noff for the Yoshiwara, when Seibei, who, horror-stricken, had seen\nboth murders, came up and began to upbraid him for his wickedness. But\nGompachi was so smooth-spoken and so well liked by his comrades, that\nhe easily persuaded Seibei to hush the matter up, and accompany him to\nthe Yoshiwara for a little diversion. As they were talking by the way,\nSeibei said to Gompachi--\n\n\"I bought a new dirk the other day, but I have not had an opportunity\nto try it yet. You have had so much experience in swords that you\nought to be a good judge. Pray look at this dirk, and tell me whether\nyou think it good for anything.\"\n\n\"We'll soon see what sort of metal it is made of,\" answered Gompachi.\n\"We'll just try it on the first beggar we come across.\"\n\nAt first Seibei was horrified by this cruel proposal, but by degrees\nhe yielded to his companion's persuasions; and so they went on their\nway until Seibei spied out a crippled beggar lying asleep on the bank\noutside the Yoshiwara. The sound of their footsteps aroused the\nbeggar, who seeing a Samurai and a wardsman pointing at him, and\nevidently speaking about him, thought that their consultation could\nbode him no good. So he pretended to be still asleep, watching them\ncarefully all the while; and when Seibei went up to him, brandishing\nhis dirk, the beggar, avoiding the blow, seized Seibei's arm, and\ntwisting it round, flung him into the ditch below. Gompachi, seeing\nhis companion's discomfiture, attacked the beggar, who, drawing a\nsword from his staff, made such lightning-swift passes that, crippled\nthough he was, and unable to move his legs freely, Gompachi could not\noverpower him; and although Seibei crawled out of the ditch and came\nto his assistance, the beggar, nothing daunted, dealt his blows about\nhim to such good purpose that he wounded Seibei in the temple and arm.\nThen Gompachi, reflecting that after all he had no quarrel with the\nbeggar, and that he had better attend to Seibei's wounds than go on\nfighting to no purpose, drew Seibei away, leaving the beggar, who was\ntoo lame to follow them, in peace. When he examined Seibei's wounds,\nhe found that they were so severe that they must give up their night's\nfrolic and go home. So they went back to the house of Ch\u00f4bei, the\nFather of the Otokodat\u00e9, and Seibei, afraid to show himself with his\nsword-cuts, feigned sickness, and went to bed. On the following\nmorning Ch\u00f4bei, happening to need his apprentice Seibei's services,\nsent for him, and was told that he was sick; so he went to the room,\nwhere he lay abed, and, to his astonishment, saw the cut upon his\ntemple. At first the wounded man refused to answer any questions as to\nhow he had been hurt; but at last, on being pressed by Ch\u00f4bei, he told\nthe whole story of what had taken place the night before. When Ch\u00f4bei\nheard the tale, be guessed that the valiant beggar must be some noble\nSamurai in disguise, who, having a wrong to avenge, was biding his\ntime to meet with his enemy; and wishing to help so brave a man, he\nwent in the evening, with his two faithful apprentices, T\u00f4ken Gombei\nand Shirobei \"the loose Colt,\" to the bank outside the Yoshiwara to\nseek out the beggar. The latter, not one whit frightened by the\nadventure of the previous night, had taken his place as usual, and was\nlying on the bank, when Ch\u00f4bei came up to him, and said--\n\n\"Sir, I am Ch\u00f4bei, the chief of the Otokodat\u00e9, at your service. I have\nlearnt with deep regret that two of my men insulted and attacked you\nlast night. However, happily, even Gompachi, famous swordsman though\nhe be, was no match for you, and had to beat a retreat before you. I\nknow, therefore, that you must be a noble Samurai, who by some ill\nchance have become a cripple and a beggar. Now, therefore, I pray you\ntell me all your story; for, humble wardsman as I am, I may be able to\nassist you, if you will condescend to allow me.\"\n\nThe cripple at first tried to shun Ch\u00f4bei's questions; but at last,\ntouched by the honesty and kindness of his speech, he replied--\n\n\"Sir, my name is Takagi Umanosuk\u00e9, and I am a native of Yamato;\" and\nthen he went on to narrate all the misfortunes which the wickedness of\nBanzay\u00e9mon had brought about.\n\n\"This is indeed a strange story,\" said Ch\u00f4bei who had listened with\nindignation. \"This Banzay\u00e9mon, before I knew the blackness of his\nheart, was once under my protection. But after he murdered Sanza, hard\nby here, he was pursued by these two apprentices of mine, and since\nthat day he has been no more to my house.\"\n\nWhen he had introduced the two apprentices to Umanosuk\u00e9, Ch\u00f4bei pulled\nforth a suit of silk clothes befitting a gentleman, and having made\nthe crippled youth lay aside his beggar's raiment, led him to a bath,\nand had his hair dressed. Then he bade T\u00f4ken Gombei lodge him and take\ncharge of him, and, having sent for a famous physician, caused\nUmanosuk\u00e9 to undergo careful treatment for the wound in his thigh. In\nthe course of two months the pain had almost disappeared, so that he\ncould stand easily; and when, after another month, he could walk about\na little, Ch\u00f4bei removed him to his own house, pretending to his wife\nand apprentices that he was one of his own relations who had come on a\nvisit to him.\n\nAfter a while, when Umanosuk\u00e9 had become quite cured, he went one day\nto worship at a famous temple, and on his way home after dark he was\novertaken by a shower of rain, and took shelter under the eaves of a\nhouse, in a part of the city called Yanagiwara, waiting for the sky to\nclear. Now it happened that this same night Gompachi had gone out on\none of his bloody expeditions, to which his poverty and his love for\nKomurasaki drove him in spite of himself, and, seeing a Samurai\nstanding in the gloom, he sprang upon him before he had recognized\nUmanosuk\u00e9, whom he knew as a friend of his patron Ch\u00f4bei. Umanosuk\u00e9\ndrew and defended himself, and soon contrived to slash Gompachi on the\nforehead; so that the latter, seeing himself overmatched, fled under\nthe cover of the night. Umanosuk\u00e9, fearing to hurt his recently healed\nwound, did not give chase, and went quietly back to Ch\u00f4bei's house.\nWhen Gompachi returned home, he hatched a story to deceive Ch\u00f4bei as\nto the cause of the wound on his forehead. Ch\u00f4bei, however, having\noverheard Umanosuk\u00e9 reproving Gompachi for his wickedness, soon became\naware of the truth; and not caring to keep a robber and murderer near\nhim, gave Gompachi a present of money, and bade him return to his\nhouse no more.\n\nAnd now Ch\u00f4bei, seeing that Umanosuk\u00e9 had recovered his strength,\ndivided his apprentices into bands, to hunt out Banzay\u00e9mon, in order\nthat the vendetta might be accomplished. It soon was reported to him\nthat Banzay\u00e9mon was earning his living among the mountebanks of\nAsakusa; so Ch\u00f4bei communicated this intelligence to Umanosuk\u00e9, who\nmade his preparations accordingly; and on the following morning the\ntwo went to Asakusa, where Banzay\u00e9mon was astonishing a crowd of\ncountry boors by exhibiting tricks with his sword.\n\nThen Umanosuk\u00e9, striding through the gaping rabble, shouted out--\n\n\"False, murderous coward, your day has come! I, Umanosuk\u00e9, the son of\nUmanoj\u00f4, have come to demand vengeance for the death of three innocent\nmen who have perished by your treachery. If you are a man, defend\nyourself. This day shall your soul see hell!\"\n\nWith these words he rushed furiously upon Banzay\u00e9mon, who, seeing\nescape to be impossible, stood upon his guard. But his coward's heart\nquailed before the avenger, and he soon lay bleeding at his enemy's\nfeet.\n\nBut who shall say how Umanosuk\u00e9 thanked Ch\u00f4bei for his assistance; or\nhow, when he had returned to his own country, he treasured up his\ngratitude in his heart, looking upon Ch\u00f4bei as more than a second\nfather?\n\nThus did Ch\u00f4bei use his power to punish the wicked, and to reward the\ngood--giving of his abundance to the poor, and succouring the\nunfortunate, so that his name was honoured far and near. It remains\nonly to record the tragical manner of his death.\n\nWe have already told how my lord Midzuno Jiurozay\u00e9mon, the chief of\nthe associated nobles, had been foiled in his attempts to bring shame\nupon Ch\u00f4bei, the Father of the Otokodat\u00e9; and how, on the contrary,\nthe latter, by his ready wit, never failed to make the proud noble's\nweapons recoil upon him. The failure of these attempts rankled in the\nbreast of Jiurozay\u00e9mon, who hated Ch\u00f4bei with an intense hatred, and\nsought to be revenged upon him. One day he sent a retainer to Ch\u00f4bei's\nhouse with a message to the effect that on the following day my lord\nJiurozay\u00e9mon would be glad to see Ch\u00f4bei at his house, and to offer\nhim a cup of wine, in return for the cold macaroni with which his\nlordship had been feasted some time since. Ch\u00f4bei immediately\nsuspected that in sending this friendly summons the cunning noble was\nhiding a dagger in a smile; however, he knew that if he stayed away\nout of fear he would be branded as a coward, and made a laughing-stock\nfor fools to jeer at. Not caring that Jiurozay\u00e9mon should succeed in\nhis desire to put him to shame, he sent for his favourite apprentice,\nT\u00f4ken Gombei, and said to him--\n\n\"I have been invited to a drinking-bout by Midzuno Jiurozay\u00e9mon. I\nknow full well that this is but a stratagem to requite me for having\nfooled him, and maybe his hatred will go the length of killing me.\nHowever, I shall go and take my chance; and if I detect any sign of\nfoul play, I'll try to serve the world by ridding it of a tyrant, who\npasses his life in oppressing the helpless farmers and wardsmen. Now\nas, even if I succeed in killing him in his own house, my life must\npay forfeit for the deed, do you come to-morrow night with a\nburying-tub,[30] and fetch my corpse from this Jiurozay\u00e9mon's house.\"\n\n[Footnote 30: The lowest classes in Japan are buried in a squatting\nposition, in a sort of barrel. One would have expected a person of\nCh\u00f4bei's condition and means to have ordered a square box. It is a\nmistake to suppose the burning of the dead to be universal in Japan:\nonly about thirty per cent of the lower classes, chiefly belonging to\nthe Mont\u00f4 sect of Buddhism, are burnt. The rich and noble are buried\nin several square coffins, one inside the other, in a sitting\nposition; and their bodies are partially preserved from decay by\nfilling the nose, ears, and mouth with vermilion. In the case of the\nvery wealthy, the coffin is completely filled in with vermilion. The\nfamily of the Princes of Mito, and some other nobles, bury their dead\nin a recumbent position.]\n\nT\u00f4ken Gombei, when he heard the \"Father\" speak thus, was horrified,\nand tried to dissuade him from obeying the invitation. But Ch\u00f4bei's\nmind was fixed, and, without heeding Gombei's remonstrances, he\nproceeded to give instructions as to the disposal of his property\nafter his death, and to settle all his earthly affairs.\n\nOn the following day, towards noon, he made ready to go to\nJiurozay\u00e9mon's house, bidding one of his apprentices precede him with\na complimentary present.[31] Jiurozay\u00e9mon, who was waiting with\nimpatience for Ch\u00f4bei to come, so soon as he heard of his arrival\nordered his retainers to usher him into his presence; and Ch\u00f4bei,\nhaving bade his apprentices without fail to come and fetch him that\nnight, went into the house.\n\n[Footnote 31: It is customary, on the occasion of a first visit to a\nhouse, to carry a present to the owner, who gives something of equal\nvalue on returning the visit.]\n\nNo sooner had he reached the room next to that in which Jiurozay\u00e9mon\nwas sitting than he saw that his suspicions of treachery were well\nfounded; for two men with drawn swords rushed upon him, and tried to\ncut him down. Deftly avoiding their blows, however, he tripped up the\none, and kicking the other in the ribs, sent him reeling and\nbreathless against the wall; then, as calmly as if nothing had\nhappened he presented himself before Jiurozay\u00e9mon, who, peeping\nthrough a chink in the sliding-doors, had watched his retainers'\nfailure.\n\n\"Welcome, welcome, Master Ch\u00f4bei,\" said he. \"I always had heard that\nyou were a man of mettle, and I wanted to see what stuff you were made\nof; so I bade my retainers put your courage to the test. That was a\nmasterly throw of yours. Well, you must excuse this churlish\nreception: come and sit down by me.\"\n\n\"Pray do not mention it, my lord,\" said Ch\u00f4bei, smiling rather\nscornfully. \"I know that my poor skill is not to be measured with\nthat of a noble Samurai; and if these two good gentlemen had the worst\nof it just now, it was mere luck--that's all.\"\n\nSo, after the usual compliments had been exchanged, Ch\u00f4bei sat down by\nJiurozay\u00e9mon, and the attendants brought in wine and condiments.\nBefore they began to drink, however, Jiurozay\u00e9mon said--\n\n\"You must be tired and exhausted with your walk this hot day, Master\nCh\u00f4bei. I thought that perhaps a bath might refresh you, so I ordered\nmy men to get it ready for you. Would you not like to bathe and make\nyourself comfortable?\"\n\nCh\u00f4bei suspected that this was a trick to strip him, and take him\nunawares when he should have laid aside his dirk. However, he answered\ncheerfully--\n\n\"Your lordship is very good. I shall be glad to avail myself of your\nkind offer. Pray excuse me for a few moments.\"\n\nSo he went to the bath-room, and, leaving his clothes outside, he got\ninto the bath, with the full conviction that it would be the place of\nhis death. Yet he never trembled nor quailed, determined that, if he\nneeds must die, no man should say he had been a coward. Then\nJiurozay\u00e9mon, calling to his attendants, said--\n\n\"Quick! lock the door of the bath-room! We hold him fast now. If he\ngets out, more than one life will pay the price of his. He's a match\nfor any six of you in fair fight. Lock the door, I say, and light up\nthe fire under the bath;[32] and we'll boil him to death, and be rid\nof him. Quick, men, quick!\"\n\n[Footnote 32: This sort of bath, in which the water is heated by the\nfire of a furnace which is lighted from outside, is called\n_Goy\u00e9mon-buro,_ or Goy\u00e9mon's bath, after a notorious robber named\nGoy\u00e9mon, who attempted the life of Taiko Sama, the famous general and\nruler of the sixteenth century, and suffered for his crimes by being\nboiled to death in oil--a form of execution which is now obsolete.]\n\nSo they locked the door, and fed the fire until the water hissed and\nbubbled within; and Ch\u00f4bei, in his agony, tried to burst open the\ndoor, but Jiurozay\u00e9mon ordered his men to thrust their spears through\nthe partition wall and dispatch him. Two of the spears Ch\u00f4bei clutched\nand broke short off; but at last he was struck by a mortal blow under\nthe ribs, and died a brave man by the hands of cowards.\n\n[Illustration: THE DEATH OF CH\u00d4BEI OF BANDZUIN.]\n\nThat evening T\u00f4ken Gombei, who, to the astonishment of Ch\u00f4bei's wife,\nhad bought a burying-tub, came, with seven other apprentices, to fetch\nthe Father of the Otokodat\u00e9 from Jiurozay\u00e9mon's house; and when the\nretainers saw them, they mocked at them, and said--\n\n\"What, have you come to fetch your drunken master home in a litter?\"\n\n\"Nay,\" answered Gombei, \"but we have brought a coffin for his dead\nbody, as he bade us.\"\n\nWhen the retainers heard this, they marvelled at the courage of\nCh\u00f4bei, who had thus wittingly come to meet his fate. So Ch\u00f4bei's\ncorpse was placed in the burying-tub, and handed over to his\napprentices, who swore to avenge his death. Far and wide, the poor and\nfriendless mourned for this good man. His son Ch\u00f4matsu inherited his\nproperty; and his wife remained a faithful widow until her dying day,\npraying that she might sit with him in paradise upon the cup of the\nsame lotus-flower.\n\nMany a time did the apprentices of Ch\u00f4bei meet together to avenge him;\nbut Jiurozay\u00e9mon eluded all their efforts, until, having been\nimprisoned by the Government in the temple called Kanyeiji, at Uy\u00e9no,\nas is related in the story of \"Kazuma's Revenge,\" he was placed beyond\nthe reach of their hatred.\n\nSo lived and so died Ch\u00f4bei of Bandzuin, the Father of the Otokodat\u00e9\nof Yedo.\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTE ON ASAKUSA\n\n_Translated from a native book called the \"Yedo Hanj\u00f4ki,\" or Guide to\nthe prosperous City of Yedo, and other sources._\n\nAsakusa is the most bustling place in all Yedo. It is famous for the\nTemple Sens\u00f4ji, on the hill of Kinriu, or the Golden Dragon, which\nfrom morning till night is thronged with visitors, rich and poor, old\nand young, flocking in sleeve to sleeve. The origin of the temple was\nas follows:--In the days of the Emperor Suiko, who reigned in the\nthirteenth century A.D., a certain noble, named Hashi no Nakatomo,\nfell into disgrace and left the Court; and having become a R\u00f4nin, or\nmasterless man, he took up his abode on the Golden Dragon Hill, with\ntwo retainers, being brothers, named Hinokuma Hamanari and Hinokuma\nTak\u00e9nari. These three men being reduced to great straits, and without\nmeans of earning their living, became fishermen. Now it happened that\non the 6th day of the 3rd month of the 36th year of the reign of the\nEmperor Suiko (A.D. 1241), they went down in the morning to the\nAsakusa River to ply their trade; and having cast their nets took no\nfish, but at every throw they pulled up a figure of the Buddhist god\nKwannon, which they threw into the river again. They sculled their\nboat away to another spot, but the same luck followed them, and\nnothing came to their nets save the figure of Kwannon. Struck by the\nmiracle, they carried home the image, and, after fervent prayer, built\na temple on the Golden Dragon Hill, in which they enshrined it. The\ntemple thus founded was enriched by the benefactions of wealthy and\npious persons, whose care raised its buildings to the dignity of the\nfirst temple in Yedo. Tradition says that the figure of Kwannon which\nwas fished up in the net was one inch and eight-tenths in height.\n\nThe main hall of the temple is sixty feet square, and is adorned with\nmuch curious workmanship of gilding and of silvering, so that no place\ncan be more excellently beautiful. There are two gates in front of it.\nThe first is called the Gate of the Spirits of the Wind and of the\nThunder, and is adorned with figures of those two gods. The Wind-god,\nwhose likeness is that of a devil, carries the wind-bag; and the\nThunder-god, who is also shaped like a devil, carries a drum and a\ndrumstick.[33] The second gate is called the Gate of the gods Ni\u00f4, or\nthe Two Princes, whose colossal statues, painted red, and hideous to\nlook upon, stand on either side of it. Between the gates is an\napproach four hundred yards in length, which is occupied by the stalls\nof hucksters, who sell toys and trifles for women and children, and by\nfoul and loathsome beggars. Passing through the gate of the gods Ni\u00f4,\nthe main hall of the temple strikes the eye. Countless niches and\nshrines of the gods stand outside it, and an old woman earns her\nlivelihood at a tank filled with water, to which the votaries of the\ngods come and wash themselves that they may pray with clean hands.\nInside are the images of the gods, lanterns, incense-burners,\ncandlesticks, a huge moneybox, into which the offerings of the pious\nare thrown, and votive tablets[34] representing the famous gods and\ngoddesses, heroes and heroines, of old. Behind the chief building is a\nbroad space called the _okuyama_, where young and pretty waitresses,\nwell dressed and painted, invite the weary pilgrims and holiday-makers\nto refresh themselves with tea and sweetmeats. Here, too, are all\nsorts of sights to be seen, such as wild beasts, performing monkeys,\nautomata, conjurers, wooden and paper figures, which take the place of\nthe waxworks of the West, acrobats, and jesters for the amusement of\nwomen and children. Altogether it is a lively and a joyous scene;\nthere is not its equal in the city.\n\n[Footnote 33: This gate was destroyed by fire a few years since.]\n\n[Footnote 34: Sir Rutherford Alcock, in his book upon Japan, states\nthat the portraits of the most famous courtesans of Yedo are yearly\nhung up in the temple at Asakusa. No such pictures are to be seen now,\nand no Japanese of whom I have made inquiries have heard of such a\ncustom. The priests of the temple deny that their fane was ever so\npolluted, and it is probable that the statement is but one of the many\nstrange mistakes into which an imperfect knowledge of the language led\nthe earlier travellers in Japan. In spite of all that has been said by\npersons who have had no opportunity of associating and exchanging\nideas with the educated men of Japan, I maintain that in no country is\nthe public harlot more abhorred and looked down upon.]\n\nAt Asakusa, as indeed all over Yedo, are to be found fortunetellers,\nwho prey upon the folly of the superstitious. With a treatise on\nphysiognomy laid on a desk before them, they call out to this man that\nhe has an ill-omened forehead, and to that man that the space between\nhis nose and his lips is unlucky. Their tongues wag like flowing water\nuntil the passers-by are attracted to their stalls. If the seer finds\na customer, he closes his eyes, and, lifting the divining-sticks\nreverently to his forehead, mutters incantations between his teeth.\nThen, suddenly parting the sticks in two bundles, he prophesies good\nor evil, according to the number in each. With a magnifying-glass he\nexamines his dupe's face and the palms of his hands. By the fashion of\nhis clothes and his general manner the prophet sees whether he is a\ncountryman or from the city. \"I am afraid, sir,\" says he, \"you have\nnot been altogether fortunate in life, but I foresee that great luck\nawaits you in two or three months;\" or, like a clumsy doctor who makes\nhis diagnosis according to his patient's fancies, if he sees his\ncustomer frowning and anxious, he adds, \"Alas! in seven or eight\nmonths you must beware of great misfortune. But I cannot tell you all\nabout it for a slight fee:\" with a long sigh he lays down the\ndivining-sticks on the desk, and the frightened boor pays a further\nfee to hear the sum of the misfortune which threatens him, until, with\nthree feet of bamboo slips and three inches of tongue, the clever\nrascal has made the poor fool turn his purse inside out.\n\nThe class of diviners called _Ichiko_ profess to give tidings of the\ndead, or of those who have gone to distant countries. The Ichiko\nexactly corresponds to the spirit medium of the West. The trade is\nfollowed by women, of from fifteen or sixteen to some fifty years of\nage, who walk about the streets, carrying on their backs a\ndivining-box about a foot square; they have no shop or stall, but\nwander about, and are invited into their customers' houses. The\nceremony of divination is very simple. A porcelain bowl filled with\nwater is placed upon a tray, and the customer, having written the name\nof the person with whom he wishes to hold communion on a long slip of\npaper, rolls it into a spill, which he dips into the water, and thrice\nsprinkles the Ichiko, or medium. She, resting her elbow upon her\ndivining-box, and leaning her head upon her hand, mutters prayers and\nincantations until she has summoned the soul of the dead or absent\nperson, which takes possession of her, and answers questions through\nher mouth. The prophecies which the Ichiko utters during her trance\nare held in high esteem by the superstitious and vulgar.\n\nHard by Asakusa is the theatre street. The theatres are called\n_Shiba-i_,[35] \"turf places,\" from the fact that the first theatrical\nperformances were held on a turf plot. The origin of the drama in\nJapan, as elsewhere, was religious. In the reign of the Emperor Heij\u00f4\n(A.D. 805), there was a sudden volcanic depression of the earth close\nby a pond called Sarusawa, or the Monkey's Marsh, at Nara, in the\nprovince of Yamato, and a poisonous smoke issuing from the cavity\nstruck down with sickness all those who came within its baneful\ninfluence; so the people brought quantities of firewood, which they\nburnt in order that the poisonous vapour might be dispelled. The fire,\nbeing the male influence, would assimilate with and act as an antidote\nupon the mephitic smoke, which was a female influence.[36] Besides\nthis, as a further charm to exorcise the portent, the dance called\nSambas\u00f4, which is still performed as a prelude to theatrical\nexhibitions by an actor dressed up as a venerable old man, emblematic\nof long life and felicity, was danced on a plot of turf in front of\nthe Temple Kofukuji. By these means the smoke was dispelled, and the\ndrama was originated. The story is to be found in the _Zoku Nihon Ki_,\nor supplementary history of Japan.\n\n[Footnote 35: In Dr. Hepburn's Dictionary of the Japanese language,\nthe Chinese characters given for the word _Shiba-i_ are _chi chang_\n(_keih chang_, Morrison's Dictionary), \"theatrical arena.\" The\ncharacters which are usually written, and which are etymologically\ncorrect, are _chih ch\u00fc_ (_che keu_, Morrison), \"the place of plants or\nturf plot.\"]\n\n[Footnote 36: This refers to the Chinese doctrine of the Yang and Yin,\nthe male and female influences pervading all creation.]\n\nThree centuries later, during the reign of the Emperor Toba (A.D.\n1108), there lived a woman called Iso no Zenji, who is looked upon as\nthe mother of the Japanese drama. Her performances, however, seem only\nto have consisted in dancing or posturing dressed up in the costume of\nthe nobles of the Court, from which fact her dance was called\nOtoko-mai, or the man's dance. Her name is only worth mentioning on\naccount of the respect in which her memory is held by actors.\n\nIt was not until the year A.D. 1624 that a man named Saruwaka\nKanzabur\u00f4, at the command of the Shogun, opened the first theatre in\nYedo in the Nakabashi, or Middle Bridge Street, where it remained\nuntil eight years later, when it was removed to the Ningiy\u00f4, or Doll\nStreet. The company of this theatre was formed by two families named\nMiako and Ichimura, who did not long enjoy their monopoly, for in the\nyear 1644 we find a third family, that of Yamamura, setting up a rival\ntheatre in the Kobiki, or Sawyer Street.\n\nIn the year 1651, the Asiatic prejudice in favour of keeping persons\nof one calling in one place exhibited itself by the removal of the\nplayhouses to their present site, and the street was called the\nSaruwaka Street, after Saruwaka Kanzabur\u00f4, the founder of the drama in\nYedo.\n\nTheatrical performances go on from six in the morning until six in the\nevening. Just as the day is about to dawn in the east, the sound of\nthe drum is heard, and the dance Sambas\u00f4 is danced as a prelude, and\nafter this follow the dances of the famous actors of old; these are\ncalled the extra performances (_waki kiy\u00f4gen_).\n\nThe dance of Nakamura represents the demon Shudend\u00f4ji, an ogre who was\ndestroyed by the hero Yorimitsu according to the following legend:--At\nthe beginning of the eleventh century, when Ichij\u00f4 the Second was\nEmperor, lived the hero Yorimitsu. Now it came to pass that in those\ndays the people of Ki\u00f4to were sorely troubled by an evil spirit, which\ntook up its abode near the Rash\u00f4 gate. One night, as Yorimitsu was\nmaking merry with his retainers, he said, \"Who dares go and defy the\ndemon of the Rash\u00f4 gate, and set up a token that he has been there?\"\n\"That dare I,\" answered Tsuna, who, having donned his coat of mail,\nmounted his horse, and rode out through the dark bleak night to the\nRash\u00f4 gate. Having written his name upon the gate, he was about to\nturn homewards when his horse began to shiver with fear, and a huge\nhand coming forth from the gate seized the back of the knight's\nhelmet. Tsuna, nothing daunted, struggled to get free, but in vain, so\ndrawing his sword he cut off the demon's arm, and the spirit with a\nhowl fled into the night. But Tsuna carried home the arm in triumph,\nand locked it up in a box. One night the demon, having taken the shape\nof Tsuna's aunt, came to him and said, \"I pray thee show me the arm of\nthe fiend.\" Tsuna answered, \"I have shown it to no man, and yet to\nthee I will show it.\" So he brought forth the box and opened it, when\nsuddenly a black cloud shrouded the figure of the supposed aunt, and\nthe demon, having regained its arm, disappeared. From that time forth\nthe people were more than ever troubled by the demon, who carried off\nto the hills all the fairest virgins of Ki\u00f4to, whom he ravished and\nate, so that there was scarce a beautiful damsel left in the city.\nThen was the Emperor very sorrowful, and he commanded Yorimitsu to\ndestroy the monster; and the hero, having made ready, went forth with\nfour trusty knights and another great captain to search among the\nhidden places of the mountains. One day as they were journeying far\nfrom the haunts of men, they fell in with an old man, who, having\nbidden them to enter his dwelling, treated them kindly, and set before\nthem wine to drink; and when they went away, and took their leave of\nhim, he gave them a present of more wine to take away with them. Now\nthis old man was a mountain god. As they went on their way they met a\nbeautiful lady, who was washing blood-stained clothes in the waters of\nthe valley, weeping bitterly the while. When they asked her why she\nshed tears, she answered, \"Sirs, I am a woman from Ki\u00f4to, whom the\ndemon has carried off; he makes me wash his clothes, and when he is\nweary of me, he will kill and eat me. I pray your lordships to save\nme.\" Then the six heroes bade the woman lead them to the ogre's cave,\nwhere a hundred devils were mounting guard and waiting upon him. The\nwoman, having gone in first, told the fiend of their coming; and he,\nthinking to slay and eat them, called them to him; so they entered the\ncave, which reeked with the smell of the flesh and blood of men, and\nthey saw Shudend\u00f4ji, a huge monster with the face of a little child.\nThe six men offered him the wine which they had received from the\nmountain god, and he, laughing in his heart, drank and made merry, so\nthat little by little the fumes of the wine got into his head, and he\nfell asleep. The heroes, themselves feigning sleep, watched for a\nmoment when the devils were all off their guard to put on their armour\nand steal one by one into the demon's chamber. Then Yorimitsu, seeing\nthat all was still, drew his sword, and cut off Shudend\u00f4ji's head,\nwhich sprung up and bit at his head; luckily, however, Yorimitsu had\nput on two helmets, the one over the other, so he was not hurt. When\nall the devils had been slain, the heroes and the woman returned to\nKi\u00f4to carrying with them the head of Shudend\u00f4ji, which was laid before\nthe Emperor; and the fame of their action was spread abroad under\nheaven.\n\nThis Shudend\u00f4ji is the ogre represented in the Nakamura dance. The\nIchimura dance represents the seven gods of wealth; and the Morita\ndance represents a large ape, and is emblematical of drinking wine.\n\nAs soon as the sun begins to rise in the heaven, sign-boards all\nglistening with paintings and gold are displayed, and the playgoers\nflock in crowds to the theatre. The farmers and country-folk hurry\nover their breakfast, and the women and children, who have got up in\nthe middle of the night to paint and adorn themselves, come from all\nthe points of the compass to throng the gallery, which is hung with\ncurtains as bright as the rainbow in the departing clouds. The place\nsoon becomes so crowded that the heads of the spectators are like the\nscales on a dragon's back. When the play begins, if the subject be\ntragic the spectators are so affected that they weep till they have to\nwring their sleeves dry. If the piece be comic they laugh till their\nchins are out of joint. The tricks and stratagems of the drama baffle\ndescription, and the actors are as graceful as the flight of the\nswallow. The triumph of persecuted virtue and the punishment of\nwickedness invariably crown the story. When a favourite actor makes\nhis appearance, his entry is hailed with cheers. Fun and diversion are\nthe order of the day, and rich and poor alike forget the cares which\nthey have left behind them at home; and yet it is not all idle\namusement, for there is a moral taught, and a practical sermon\npreached in every play.\n\nThe subjects of the pieces are chiefly historical, feigned names being\nsubstituted for those of the real heroes. Indeed, it is in the popular\ntragedies that we must seek for an account of many of the events of\nthe last two hundred and fifty years; for only one very bald\nhistory[37] of those times has been published, of which but a limited\nnumber of copies were struck off from copper plates, and its\ncirculation was strictly forbidden by the Shogun's Government. The\nstories are rendered with great minuteness and detail, so much so,\nthat it sometimes takes a series of representations to act out one\npiece in its entirety. The Japanese are far in advance of the Chinese\nin their scenery and properties, and their pieces are sometimes\ncapitally got up: a revolving stage enables them to shift from one\nscene to another with great rapidity. First-rate actors receive as\nmuch as a thousand riyos (about \u00a3300) as their yearly salary. This,\nhowever, is a high rate of pay, and many a man has to strut before the\npublic for little more than his daily rice; to a clever young actor it\nis almost enough reward to be allowed to enter a company in which\nthere is a famous star. The salary of the actor, however, may depend\nupon the success of the theatre; for dramatic exhibitions are often\nundertaken as speculations by wealthy persons, who pay their company\nin proportion to their own profit. Besides his regular pay, a popular\nJapanese actor has a small mine of wealth in his patrons, who open\ntheir purses freely for the privilege of frequenting the greenroom.,\nThe women's parts are all taken by men, as they used to be with us in\nancient days. Touching the popularity of plays, it is related that in\nthe year 1833, when two actors called Band\u00f4 Shuka and Segawa Rok\u00f4,\nboth famous players of women's parts, died at the same time, the\npeople of Yedo mourned to heaven and to earth; and if a million riyos\ncould have brought back their lives, the money would have been\nforthcoming. Thousands flocked to their funeral, and the richness of\ntheir coffins and of the clothes laid upon them was admired by all.\n\n[Footnote 37: I allude to the _Tai Hei Nem-piy\u00f4,_ or Annals of the\nGreat Peace, a very rare work, only two or three copies of which have\nfound their way into the libraries of foreigners.]\n\n\"When I heard this,\" says Terakado Seiken, the author of the _Yedo\nHanj\u00f4ki_, \"I lifted my eyes to heaven and heaved a great sigh. When my\nfriend Sait\u00f4 Shimei, a learned and good man, died, there was barely\nenough money to bury him; his needy pupils and friends subscribed to\ngive him a humble coffin. Alas! alas! here was a teacher who from his\nyouth up had honoured his parents, and whose heart know no guile: if\nhis friends were in need, he ministered to their wants; he grudged no\npains to teach his fellow-men; his good-will and charity were beyond\npraise; under the blue sky and bright day he never did a shameful\ndeed. His merits were as those of the sages of old; but because he\nlacked the cunning of a fox or badger he received no patronage from\nthe wealthy, and, remaining poor to the day of his death, never had an\nopportunity of making his worth known. Alas! alas!\"\n\nThe drama is exclusively the amusement of the middle and lower\nclasses. Etiquette, sternest of tyrants, forbids the Japanese of high\nrank to be seen at any public exhibition, wrestling-matches alone\nexcepted. Actors are, however, occasionally engaged to play in private\nfor the edification of my lord and his ladies; and there is a kind of\nclassical opera, called N\u00f4, which is performed on stages specially\nbuilt for the purpose in the palaces of the principal nobles. These\nN\u00f4 represent the entertainments by which the Sun Goddess was lured out\nof the cave in which she had hidden, a fable said to be based upon an\neclipse. In the reign of the Emperor Y\u00f4mei (A.D. 586-593), Hada\nKawakatsu, a man born in Japan, but of Chinese extraction, was\ncommanded by the Emperor to arrange an entertainment for the\npropitiation of the gods and the prosperity of the country. Kawakatsu\nwrote thirty-three plays, introducing fragments of Japanese poetry\nwith accompaniments of musical instruments. Two performers, named\nTak\u00e9ta and Hattori, having especially distinguished themselves in\nthese entertainments, were ordered to prepare other similar plays, and\ntheir productions remain to the present day. The pious intention of\nthe N\u00f4 being to pray for the prosperity of the country, they are held\nin the highest esteem by the nobles of the Court, the Daimios, and the\nmilitary class: in old days they alone performed in these plays, but\nnow ordinary actors take part in them.\n\nThe N\u00f4 are played in sets. The first of the set is specially dedicated\nto the propitiation of the gods; the second is performed in full\narmour, and is designed to terrify evil spirits, and to insure the\npunishment of malefactors; the third is of a gentler intention, and\nits special object is the representation of all that is beautiful and\nfragrant and delightful. The performers wear hideous wigs and masks,\nnot unlike those of ancient Greece, and gorgeous brocade dresses. The\nmasks, which belong to what was the private company of the Shogun, are\nmany centuries old, and have been carefully preserved as heirlooms\nfrom generation to generation; being made of very thin wood lacquered\nover, and kept each in a silken bag, they have been uninjured by the\nlapse of time.\n\nDuring the Duke of Edinburgh's stay in Yedo, this company was engaged\nto give a performance in the Yashiki of the Prince of Kishiu, which\nhas the reputation of being the handsomest palace in all Yedo. So far\nas I know, such an exhibition had never before been witnessed by\nforeigners, and it may be interesting to give an account of it.\nOpposite the principal reception-room, where his Royal Highness sat,\nand separated from it by a narrow courtyard, was a covered stage,\napproached from the greenroom by a long gallery at an angle of\nforty-five degrees. Half-a-dozen musicians, clothed in dresses of\nceremony, marched slowly down the gallery, and, having squatted down\non the stage, bowed gravely. The performances then began. There was no\nscenery, nor stage appliances; the descriptions of the chorus or of\nthe actors took their place. The dialogue and choruses are given in a\nnasal recitative, accompanied by the mouth-organ, flute, drum, and\nother classical instruments, and are utterly unintelligible. The\nancient poetry is full of puns and plays upon words, and it was with\nno little difficulty that, with the assistance of a man of letters, I\nprepared beforehand the arguments of the different pieces.\n\nThe first play was entitled _Hachiman of the Bow_. Hachiman is the\nname under which the Emperor Ojin (A.C. 270-312) was deified as the\nGod of War. He is specially worshipped on account of his miraculous\nbirth; his mother, the Empress Jingo, having, by the virtue of a magic\nstone which she wore at her girdle, borne him in her womb for three\nyears, during which she made war upon and conquered the Coreans. The\ntime of the plot is laid in the reign of the Emperor Uda the Second\n(A.D. 1275-1289). In the second month of the year pilgrims are\nflocking to the temple of Hachiman at Mount Otoko, between Osaka and\nKi\u00f4to. All this is explained by the chorus. A worshipper steps forth,\nsent by the Emperor, and delivers a congratulatory oration upon the\npeace and prosperity of the land. The chorus follows in the same\nstrain: they sing the praises of Hachiman and of the reigning Emperor.\nAn old man enters, bearing something which appears to be a bow in a\nbrocade bag. On being asked who he is, the old man answers that he is\nan aged servant of the shrine, and that he wishes to present his\nmulberry-wood bow to the Emperor; being too humble to draw near to his\nMajesty he has waited for this festival, hoping that an opportunity\nmight present itself. He explains that with this bow, and with certain\narrows made of the Artemisia, the heavenly gods pacified the world. On\nbeing asked to show his bow, he refuses; it is a mystic protector of\nthe country, which in old days was overshadowed by the mulberry-tree.\nThe peace which prevails in the land is likened to a calm at sea. The\nEmperor is the ship, and his subjects the water. The old man dwells\nupon the ancient worship of Hachiman, and relates how his mother, the\nEmpress Jingo, sacrificed to the gods before invading Corea, and how\nthe present prosperity of the country is to be attributed to the\nacceptance of those sacrifices. After having revealed himself as the\ngod Hachiman in disguise, the old man disappears. The worshipper,\nawe-struck, declares that he must return to Ki\u00f4to and tell the Emperor\nwhat he has seen. The chorus announces that sweet music and fragrant\nperfumes issue from the mountain, and the piece ends with\nfelicitations upon the visible favour of the gods, and especially of\nHachiman.\n\nThe second piece was _Tsun\u00e9masa_. Tsun\u00e9masa was a hero of the twelfth\ncentury, who died in the civil wars; he was famous for his skill in\nplaying on the _biwa_, a sort of four-stringed lute.\n\nA priest enters, and announces that his name is Giy\u00f4kei, and that\nbefore he retired from the world he held high rank at Court. He\nrelates how Tsun\u00e9masa, in his childhood the favourite of the Emperor,\ndied in the wars by the western seas. During his lifetime the Emperor\ngave him a lute, called Sei-zan, \"the Azure Mountain\"; this lute at\nhis death was placed in a shrine erected to his honour, and at his\nfuneral music and plays were performed during seven days within the\npalace, by the special grace of the Emperor. The scene is laid at the\nshrine. The lonely and awesome appearance of the spot is described.\nAlthough the sky is clear, the wind rustles through the trees like the\nsound of falling rain; and although it is now summer-time, the\nmoonlight on the sand looks like hoar-frost. All nature is sad and\ndowncast. The ghost appears, and sings that it is the spirit of\nTsun\u00e9masa, and has come to thank those who have piously celebrated his\nobsequies. No one answers him, and the spirit vanishes, its voice\nbecoming fainter and fainter, an unreal and illusory vision haunting\nthe scenes amid which its life was spent. The priest muses on the\nportent. Is it a dream or a reality? Marvellous! The ghost, returning,\nspeaks of former days, when it lived as a child in the palace, and\nreceived the Azure Mountain lute from the Emperor--that lute with the\nfour strings of which its hand was once so familiar, and the\nattraction of which now draws it from the grave. The chorus recites\nthe virtues of Tsun\u00e9masa--his benevolence, justice, humanity,\ntalents, and truth; his love of poetry and music; the trees, the\nflowers, the birds, the breezes, the moon--all had a charm for him.\nThe ghost begins to play upon the Azure Mountain lute, and the sounds\nproduced from the magical instrument are so delicate, that all think\nit is a shower falling from heaven. The priest declares that it is not\nrain, but the sound of the enchanted lute. The sound of the first and\nsecond strings is as the sound of gentle rain, or of the wind stirring\nthe pine-trees; and the sound of the third and fourth strings is as\nthe song of birds and pheasants calling to their young. A rhapsody in\npraise of music follows. Would that such strains could last for ever!\nThe ghost bewails its fate that it cannot remain to play on, but must\nreturn whence it came. The priest addresses the ghost, and asks\nwhether the vision is indeed the spirit of Tsun\u00e9masa. Upon this the\nghost calls out in an agony of sorrow and terror at having been seen\nby mortal eyes, and bids that the lamps be put out: on its return to\nthe abode of the dead it will suffer for having shown itself: it\ndescribes the fiery torments which will be its lot. Poor fool! it has\nbeen lured to its destruction, like the insect of summer that flies\ninto the flame. Summoning the winds to its aid, it puts out the\nlights, and disappears.\n\n_The Suit of Feathers_ is the title of a very pretty conceit which\nfollowed. A fisherman enters, and in a long recitative describes the\nscenery at the sea-shore of Miwo, in the province of Suruga, at the\nfoot of Fuji-Yama, the Peerless Mountain. The waves are still, and\nthere is a great calm; the fishermen are all out plying their trade.\nThe speaker's name is Hakuriy\u00f4, a fisherman living in the pine-grove\nof Miwo. The rains are now over, and the sky is serene; the sun rises\nbright and red over the pine-trees and rippling sea; while last\nnight's moon is yet seen faintly in the heaven. Even he, humble fisher\nthough he be, is softened by the beauty of the nature which surrounds\nhim. A breeze springs up, the weather will change; clouds and waves\nwill succeed sunshine and calm; the fishermen must get them home\nagain. No; it is but the gentle breath of spring, after all; it\nscarcely stirs the stout fir-trees, and the waves are hardly heard to\nbreak upon the shore. The men may go forth in safety. The fisherman\nthen relates how, while he was wondering at the view, flowers began to\nrain from the sky, and sweet music filled the air, which was perfumed\nby a mystic fragrance. Looking up, he saw hanging on a pine-tree a\nfairy's suit of feathers, which he took home, and showed to a friend,\nintending to keep it as a relic in his house. A heavenly fairy makes\nher appearance, and claims the suit of feathers; but the fisherman\nholds to his treasure trove. She urges the impiety of his act--a\nmortal has no right to take that which belongs to the fairies. He\ndeclares that he will hand down the feather suit to posterity as one\nof the treasures of the country. The fairy bewails her lot; without\nher wings how can she return to heaven? She recalls the familiar joys\nof heaven, now closed to her; she sees the wild geese and the gulls\nflying to the skies, and longs for their power of flight; the tide has\nits ebb and its flow, and the sea-breezes blow whither they list: for\nher alone there is no power of motion, she must remain on earth. At\nlast, touched by her plaint, the fisherman consents to return the\nfeather suit, on condition that the fairy shall dance and play\nheavenly music for him. She consents, but must first obtain the\nfeather suit, without which she cannot dance. The fisherman refuses\nto give it up, lest she should fly away to heaven without redeeming\nher pledge. The fairy reproaches him for his want of faith: how should\na heavenly being be capable of falsehood? He is ashamed, and gives her\nthe feather suit, which she dons, and begins to dance, singing of the\ndelights of heaven, where she is one of the fifteen attendants who\nminister to the moon. The fisherman is so transported with joy, that\nhe fancies himself in heaven, and wishes to detain the fairy to dwell\nwith him for ever. A song follows in praise of the scenery and of the\nPeerless Mountain capped with the snows of spring. When her dance is\nconcluded, the fairy, wafted away by the sea-breeze, floats past the\npine-grove to Ukishima and Mount Ashidaka, over Mount Fuji, till she\nis seen dimly like a cloud in the distant sky, and vanishes into thin\nair.\n\nThe last of the N\u00f4 was _The Little Smith_, the scene of which is laid\nin the reign of the Emperor Ichij\u00f4 (A.D. 987--1011). A noble of the\ncourt enters, and proclaims himself to be Tachibana Michinari. He has\nbeen commanded by the Emperor, who has seen a dream of good omen on\nthe previous night, to order a sword of the smith Mun\u00e9chika of Sanj\u00f4.\nHe calls Mun\u00e9chika, who comes out, and, after receiving the order,\nexpresses the difficulty he is in, having at that time no fitting mate\nto help him; he cannot forge a blade alone. The excuse is not\nadmitted; the smith pleads hard to be saved from the shame of a\nfailure. Driven to a compliance, there is nothing left for it but to\nappeal to the gods for aid. He prays to the patron god of his family,\nInari Sama.[38] A man suddenly appears, and calls the smith; this man\nis the god Inari Sama in disguise. The smith asks who is his visitor,\nand how does he know him by name. The stranger answers, \"Thou hast\nbeen ordered to make a blade for the Emperor.\" \"This is passing\nstrange,\" says the smith. \"I received the order but a moment since;\nhow comest thou to know of it?\" \"Heaven has a voice which is heard upon\nthe earth. Walls have ears, and stones tell tales.[39] There are no\nsecrets in the world. The flash of the blade ordered by him who is\nabove the clouds (the Emperor) is quickly seen. By the grace of the\nEmperor the sword shall be quickly made.\" Here follows the praise of\ncertain famous blades, and an account of the part they played in\nhistory, with special reference to the sword which forms one of the\nregalia. The sword which the Emperor has sent for shall be inferior to\nnone of these; the smith may set his heart at rest. The smith,\nawe-struck, expresses his wonder, and asks again who is addressing\nhim. He is bidden to go and deck out his anvil, and a supernatural\npower will help him. The visitor disappears in a cloud. The smith\nprepares his anvil, at the four corners of which he places images of\nthe gods, while above it he stretches the straw rope and paper\npendants hung up in temples to shut out foul or ill-omened influences.\nHe prays for strength to make the blade, not for his own glory, but\nfor the honour of the Emperor. A young man, a fox in disguise,\nappears, and helps Mun\u00e9chika to forge the steel. The noise of the\nanvil resounds to heaven and over the earth. The chorus announces that\nthe blade is finished; on one side is the mark of Mun\u00e9chika, on the\nother is graven \"The Little Fox\" in clear characters.\n\n[Footnote 38: The note at the end of the Story of the Grateful Foxes\ncontains an account of Inari Sama, and explains how the foxes minister\nto him.]\n\n[Footnote 39: This is a literal translation of a Japanese proverb.]\n\nThe subjects of the N\u00f4 are all taken from old legends of the country;\na shrine at Miwo, by the sea-shore, marks the spot where the suit of\nfeathers was found, and the miraculously forged sword is supposed to\nbe in the armoury of the Emperor to this day. The beauty of the\npoetry--and it is very beautiful--is marred by the want of scenery and\nby the grotesque dresses and make-up. In the _Suit of Feathers_, for\ninstance, the fairy wears a hideous mask and a wig of scarlet elf\nlocks: the suit of feathers itself is left entirely to the\nimagination; and the heavenly dance is a series of whirls, stamps, and\njumps, accompanied by unearthly yells and shrieks; while the vanishing\ninto thin air is represented by pirouettes something like the motion\nof a dancing dervish. The intoning of the recitative is unnatural and\nunintelligible, so much so that not even a highly educated Japanese\ncould understand what is going on unless he were previously acquainted\nwith the piece. This, however, is supposing that which is not, for the\nN\u00f4 are as familiarly known as the masterpieces of our own dramatists.\n\nThe classical severity of the N\u00f4 is relieved by the introduction\nbetween the pieces of light farces called Kiy\u00f4gen. The whole\nentertainment having a religious intention, the Kiy\u00f4gen stand to the\nN\u00f4 in the same relation as the small shrines to the main temple; they,\ntoo, are played for the propitiation of the gods, and for the\nsoftening of men's hearts. The farces are acted without wigs or masks;\nthe dialogue is in the common spoken language, and there being no\nmusical accompaniment it is quite easy to follow. The plots of the two\nfarces which were played before the Duke of Edinburgh are as\nfollows:--\n\nIn the _Ink Smearing_ the hero is a man from a distant part of the\ncountry, who, having a petition to prefer, comes to the capital, where\nhe is detained for a long while. His suit being at last successful, he\ncommunicates the joyful news to his servant, Tar\u00f4kaja (the\nconventional name of the Leporello of these farces). The two\ncongratulate one another. To while away his idle hours during his\nsojourn at the capital the master has entered into a flirtation with a\ncertain young lady: master and servant now hold a consultation as to\nwhether the former should not go and take leave of her. Tar\u00f4kaja is of\nopinion that as she is of a very jealous nature, his master ought to\ngo. Accordingly the two set out to visit her, the servant leading the\nway. Arrived at her house, the gentleman goes straight in without the\nknowledge of the lady, who, coming out and meeting Tar\u00f4kaja, asks\nafter his master. He replies that his master is inside the house. She\nrefuses to believe him, and complains that, for some time past, his\nvisits have been few and far between. Why should he come now? Surely\nTar\u00f4kaja is hoaxing her. The servant protests that he is telling the\ntruth, and that his master really has entered the house. She, only\nhalf persuaded, goes in, and finds that my lord is indeed there. She\nwelcomes him, and in the same breath upbraids him. Some other lady has\nsurely found favour in his eyes. What fair wind has wafted him back to\nher? He replies that business alone has kept him from her; he hopes\nthat all is well with her. With her, indeed, all is well, and there is\nno change; but she fears that his heart is changed. Surely, surely he\nhas found mountains upon mountains of joy elsewhere, even now,\nperhaps, he is only calling on his way homeward from some haunt of\npleasure. What pleasure can there be away from her? answers he.\nIndeed, his time has not been his own, else he would have come sooner.\nWhy, then, did he not send his servant to explain? Tar\u00f4kaja here puts\nin his oar, and protests that, between running on errands and dancing\nattendance upon his lord, he has not had a moment to himself. \"At any\nrate,\" says the master, \"I must ask for your congratulations; for my\nsuit, which was so important, has prospered.\" The lady expresses her\nhappiness, and the gentleman then bids his servant tell her the object\nof their visit. Tar\u00f4kaja objects to this; his lord had better tell his\nown story. While the two are disputing as to who shall speak, the\nlady's curiosity is aroused. \"What terrible tale is this that neither\nof you dare tell? Pray let one or other of you speak.\" At last the\nmaster explains that he has come to take leave of her, as he must\nforthwith return to his own province. The girl begins to weep, and the\ngentleman following suit, the two shed tears in concert. She uses all\nher art to cajole him, and secretly produces from her sleeve a cup of\nwater, with which she smears her eyes to imitate tears. He, deceived\nby the trick, tries to console her, and swears that as soon as he\nreaches his own country he will send a messenger to fetch her; but she\npretends to weep all the more, and goes on rubbing her face with\nwater. Tar\u00f4kaja, in the meanwhile, detects the trick, and, calling his\nmaster on one side, tells him what she is doing. The gentleman,\nhowever, refuses to believe him, and scolds him right roundly for\ntelling lies. The lady calls my lord to her, and weeping more bitterly\nthan ever, tries to coax him to remain. Tar\u00f4kaja slyly fills another\ncup, with ink and water, and substitutes it for the cup of clear\nwater. She, all unconcerned, goes on smearing her face. At last she\nlifts her face, and her lover, seeing it all black and sooty, gives a\nstart. What can be the matter with the girl's face? Tar\u00f4kaja, in an\naside, explains what he has done. They determine to put her to shame.\nThe lover, producing from his bosom a box containing a mirror, gives\nit to the girl, who, thinking that it is a parting gift, at first\ndeclines to receive it. It is pressed upon her; she opens the box and\nsees the reflection of her dirty face. Master and man burst out\nlaughing. Furious, she smears Tar\u00f4kaja's face with the ink; he\nprotests that he is not the author of the trick, and the girl flies at\nher lover and rubs his face too. Both master and servant run off,\npursued by the girl.\n\nThe second farce was shorter than the first, and was called _The Theft\nof the Sword_. A certain gentleman calls his servant Tar\u00f4kaja, and\ntells him that he is going out for a little diversion. Bidding\nTar\u00f4kaja follow him, he sets out. On their way they meet another\ngentleman, carrying a handsome sword in his hand, and going to worship\nat the Kitano shrine at Ki\u00f4to. Tar\u00f4kaja points out the beauty of the\nsword to his master, and says what a fine thing it would be if they\ncould manage to obtain possession of it. Tar\u00f4kaja borrows his master's\nsword, and goes up to the stranger, whose attention is taken up by\nlooking at the wares set out for sale in a shop. Tar\u00f4kaja lays his\nhand on the guard of the stranger's sword; and the latter, drawing it,\nturns round, and tries to cut the thief down. Tar\u00f4kaja takes to his\nheels, praying hard that his life may be spared. The stranger takes\naway the sword which Tar\u00f4kaja has borrowed from his master, and goes\non his way to the shrine, carrying the two swords. Tar\u00f4kaja draws a\nlong breath of relief when he sees that his life is not forfeited; but\nwhat account is he to give of his master's sword which he has lost.\nThere is no help for it, he must go back and make a clean breast of\nit. His master is very angry; and the two, after consulting together,\nawait the stranger's return from the shrine. The latter makes his\nappearance and announces that he is going home. Tar\u00f4kaja's master\nfalls upon the stranger from behind, and pinions him, ordering\nTar\u00f4kaja to fetch a rope and bind him. The knave brings the cord; but,\nwhile he is getting it ready, the stranger knocks him over with his\nsword. His master calls out to him to get up quickly and bind the\ngentleman from behind, and not from before. Tar\u00f4kaja runs behind the\nstruggling pair, but is so clumsy that he slips the noose over his\nmaster's head by mistake, and drags him down. The stranger, seeing\nthis, runs away laughing with the two swords. Tar\u00f4kaja, frightened at\nhis blunder, runs off too, his master pursuing him off the stage. A\ngeneral run off, be it observed, something like the \"spill-and-pelt\"\nscene in an English pantomime, is the legitimate and invariable\ntermination of the Kiy\u00f4gen.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE ON THE GAME OF FOOTBALL.\n\n\nThe game of football is in great favour at the Japanese Court. The\ndays on which it takes place are carefully noted in the \"Daij\u00f4kwan\nNishi,\" or Government Gazette. On the 25th of February, 1869, for\ninstance, we find two entries: \"The Emperor wrote characters of good\nomen,\" and \"The game of football was played at the palace.\" The game\nwas first introduced from China in the year of the Empress K\u00f4kiyoku,\nin the middle of the seventh century. The Emperor Mommu, who reigned\nat the end of the same century, was the first emperor who took part in\nthe sport. His Majesty Toba the Second became very expert at it, as\nalso did the noble Asukai Chiujo, and from that time a sort of\nfootball club was formed at the palace. During the days of the extreme\npoverty of the Mikado and his Court, the Asukai family,\nnotwithstanding their high rank, were wont to eke out their scanty\nincome by giving lessons in the art of playing football.\n\n\n\n\nTHE WONDERFUL ADVENTURES OF FUNAKOSHI JIUY\u00c9MON\n\n\nThe doughty deeds and marvellous experiences of Funakoshi Jiuy\u00e9mon are\nperhaps, like those of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, rather\ntraditional than historical; but even if all or part of the deeds\nwhich popular belief ascribes to him be false, his story conveys a\ntrue picture of manners and customs. Above all, the manner of the\nvengeance which he wreaked upon the wife who had dishonoured him, and\nupon her lover, shows the high importance which the Japanese attach to\nthe sanctity of the marriage tie.\n\nThe 50th and 51st chapters of the \"Legacy of Iy\u00e9yasu,\" already quoted,\nsay: \"If a married woman of the agricultural, artisan, or commercial\nclass shall secretly have intercourse with another man, it is not\nnecessary for the husband to enter a complaint against the persons\nthus confusing the great relation of mankind, but he may put them both\nto death. Nevertheless, should he slay one of them and spare the\nother, his guilt is the same as that of the unrighteous persons.\n\n\"In the event, however, of advice being sought, the parties not having\nbeen slain, accede to the wishes of the complainant with, regard to\nputting them to death or not.\n\n\"Mankind, in whose bodies the male and female elements induce a\nnatural desire towards the same object, do not look upon such\npractices with aversion; and the adjudication of such cases is a\nmatter of special deliberation and consultation.\n\n\"Men and women of the military class are expected to know better than\nto occasion disturbance by violating existing regulations; and such an\none breaking the regulations by lewd, trifling, or illicit intercourse\nshall at once be punished, without deliberation or consultation. It is\nnot the same in this case as in that of agriculturists, artisans, and\ntraders.\"\n\nAs a criminal offence, adultery was, according to the ancient laws of\nJapan, punished by crucifixion. In more modern times it has been\npunished by decapitation and the disgraceful exposure of the head\nafter death; but if the murder of the injured husband accompany the\ncrime of adultery, then the guilty parties are crucified to this day.\nAt the present time the husband is no longer allowed to take the law\ninto his own hands: he must report the matter to the Government, and\ntrust to the State to avenge his honour.\n\nSacred as the marriage tie is so long as it lasts, the law which cuts\nit is curiously facile, or rather there is no law: a man may turn his\nwife out of doors, as it may suit his fancy. An example of this\npractice was shown in the story of \"The Forty-seven R\u00f4nins.\" A husband\nhas but to report the matter to his lord, and the ceremony of divorce\nis completed. Thus, in the days of the Shoguns' power, a Hatamoto who\nhad divorced his wife reported the matter to the Shogun. A Daimio's\nretainer reports the matter to his Prince.\n\nThe facility of divorce, however, seems to be but rarely taken\nadvantage of: this is probably owing to the practice of keeping\nconcubines. It has often been asked, Are the Japanese polygamists? The\nanswer is, Yes and no. They marry but one wife; but a man may,\naccording to his station and means, have one or more concubines in\naddition. The Emperor has twelve concubines, called Kisaki; and\nIy\u00e9yasu, alluding forcibly to excess in this respect as _teterrima\nbelli causa_, laid down that the princes might have eight, high\nofficers five, and ordinary Samurai two handmaids. \"In the olden\ntimes,\" he writes, \"the downfall of castles and the overthrow of\nkingdoms all proceeded from this alone. Why is not the indulgence of\npassions guarded against?\"\n\nThe difference between the position of the wife and that of the\nconcubine is marked. The legitimate wife is to the handmaid as a lord\nis to his vassal. Concubinage being a legitimate institution, the son\nof a handmaid is no bastard, nor is he in any way the child of shame;\nand yet, as a general rule, the son of the bondwoman is not heir with\nthe son of the free, for the son of the wife inherits before the son\nof a concubine, even where the latter be the elder; and it frequently\nhappens that a noble, having children by his concubines but none by\nhis wife, selects a younger brother of his own, or even adopts the son\nof some relative, to succeed him in the family honours. The family\nline is considered to be thus more purely preserved. The law of\nsuccession is, however, extremely lax. Excellent personal merits will\nsometimes secure to the left-handed son the inheritance of his\nancestors; and it often occurs that the son of a concubine, who is\ndebarred from succeeding to his own father, is adopted as the heir of\na relation or friend of even higher rank. When the wife of a noble has\na daughter but no son, the practice is to adopt a youth of suitable\nfamily and age, who marries the girl and inherits as a son.\n\nThe principle of adoption is universal among all classes, from the\nEmperor down to his meanest subject; nor is the family line considered\nto have been broken because an adopted son has succeeded to the\nestates. Indeed, should a noble die without heir male, either begotten\nor adopted, his lands are forfeited to the State. It is a matter of\ncare that the person adopted should be himself sprung from a stock of\nrank suited to that of the family into which he is to be received.\n\nSixteen and upwards being considered the marriageable age for a man,\nit is not usual for persons below that age to adopt an heir; yet an\ninfant at the point of death may adopt a person older than himself,\nthat the family line may not become extinct.\n\nAn account of the marriage ceremony will be found in the Appendix upon\nthe subject.\n\nIn the olden time, in the island of Shikoku[40] there lived one\nFunakoshi Jiuy\u00e9mon, a brave Samurai and accomplished man, who was in\ngreat favour with the prince, his master. One day, at a drinking-bout,\na quarrel sprung up between him and a brother-officer, which resulted\nin a duel upon the spot, in which Jiuy\u00e9mon killed his adversary. When\nJiuy\u00e9mon awoke to a sense of what he had done, he was struck with\nremorse, and he thought to disembowel himself; but, receiving a\nprivate summons from his lord, he went to the castle, and the prince\nsaid to him--\n\n\"So it seems that you have been getting drunk and quarrelling, and\nthat you have killed one of your friends; and now I suppose you will\nhave determined to perform _hara-kiri_. It is a great pity, and in the\nface of the laws I can do nothing for you openly. Still, if you will\nescape and fly from this part of the country for a while, in two\nyears' time the affair will have blown over, and I will allow you to\nreturn.\"\n\n[Footnote 40: _Shikoku_, one of the southern islands separated from\nthe chief island of Japan by the beautiful \"Inland Sea;\" it is called\n_Shikoku_, or the \"Four Provinces,\" because it is divided into the\nfour provinces, _Awa, Sanuki, Iyo,_ and _Tosa_.]\n\nAnd with these words the prince presented him with a fine sword, made\nby Suk\u00e9sada,[41] and a hundred ounces of silver, and, having bade him\nfarewell, entered his private apartments; and Jiuy\u00e9mon, prostrating\nhimself, wept tears of gratitude; then, taking the sword and the\nmoney, he went home and prepared to fly from the province, and\nsecretly took leave of his relations, each of whom made him some\nparting present. These gifts, together with his own money, and what he\nhad received from the prince, made up a sum of two hundred and fifty\nounces of silver, with which and his Suk\u00e9sada sword he escaped under\ncover of darkness, and went to a sea-port called Marugam\u00e9, in the\nprovince of Sanuki, where he proposed to wait for an opportunity of\nsetting sail for Osaka. As ill luck would have it, the wind being\ncontrary, he had to remain three days idle; but at last the wind\nchanged; so he went down to the beach, thinking that he should\ncertainly find a junk about to sail; and as he was looking about him,\na sailor came up, and said--\n\n\"If your honour is minded to take a trip to Osaka, my ship is bound\nthither, and I should be glad to take you with me as passenger.\"\n\n\"That's exactly what I wanted. I will gladly take a passage,\" replied\nJiuy\u00e9mon, who was delighted at the chance.\n\n[Footnote 41: _Suk\u00e9sada_, a famous family of swordsmiths, belonging to\nthe Bizen clan. The Bizen men are notoriously good armourers, and\ntheir blades fetch high prices. The sword of Jiuy\u00e9mon is said to have\nbeen made by one of the Suk\u00e9sada who lived about 290 years ago.]\n\n\"Well, then, we must set sail at once, so please come on board\nwithout delay.\"\n\nSo Jiuy\u00e9mon went with him and embarked; and as they left the harbour\nand struck into the open sea, the moon was just rising above the\neastern hills, illumining the dark night like a noonday sun; and\nJiuy\u00e9mon, taking his place in the bows of the ship, stood wrapt in\ncontemplation of the beauty of the scene.\n\n[Illustration: JIUY\u00c9MON ON BOARD THE PIRATE SHIP.]\n\nNow it happened that the captain of the ship, whose name was Akag\u00f4shi\nKuroy\u00e9mon, was a fierce pirate who, attracted by Jiuy\u00e9mon's well-to-do\nappearance, had determined to decoy him on board, that he might murder\nand rob him; and while Jiuy\u00e9mon was looking at the moon, the pirate\nand his companions were collected in the stern of the ship, taking\ncounsel together in whispers as to how they might slay him. He, on the\nother hand, having for some time past fancied their conduct somewhat\nstrange, bethought him that it was not prudent to lay aside his sword,\nso he went towards the place where he had been sitting, and had left\nhis weapon lying, to fetch it, when he was stopped by three of the\npirates, who blocked up the gangway, saying--\n\n\"Stop, Sir Samurai! Unluckily for you, this ship in which you have\ntaken a passage belongs to the pirate Akag\u00f4shi Kuroy\u00e9mon. Come, sir!\nwhatever money you may chance to have about you is our prize.\"\n\nWhen Jiuy\u00e9mon heard this he was greatly startled at first, but soon\nrecovered himself, and being an expert wrestler, kicked over two of\nthe pirates, and made for his sword; but in the meanwhile Shichirohei,\nthe younger brother of the pirate captain, had drawn the sword, and\nbrought it towards him, saying--\n\n\"If you want your sword, here it is!\" and with that he cut at him; but\nJiuy\u00e9mon avoided the blow, and closing with the ruffian, got back his\nsword. Ten of the pirates then attacked him with spear and sword; but\nhe, putting his back against the bows of the ship, showed such good\nfight that he killed three of his assailants, and the others stood\noff, not daring to approach him. Then the pirate captain, Akag\u00f4shi\nKuroy\u00e9mon, who had been watching the fighting from the stern, seeing\nthat his men stood no chance against Jiuy\u00e9mon's dexterity, and that he\nwas only losing them to no purpose, thought to shoot him with a\nmatchlock. Even Jiuy\u00e9mon, brave as he was, lost heart when he saw the\ncaptain's gun pointed at him, and tried to jump into the sea; but one\nof the pirates made a dash at him with a boat-hook, and caught him by\nthe sleeve; then Jiuy\u00e9mon, in despair, took the fine Suk\u00e9sada sword\nwhich he had received from his prince, and throwing it at his captor,\npierced him through the breast so that he fell dead, and himself\nplunging into the sea swam for his life. The pirate captain shot at\nhim and missed him, and the rest of the crew made every endeavour to\nseize him with their boat-hooks, that they might avenge the death of\ntheir mates; but it was all in vain, and Jiuy\u00e9mon, having shaken off\nhis clothes that he might swim the better, made good his escape. So\nthe pirates threw the bodies of their dead comrades into the sea, and\nthe captain was partly consoled for their loss by the possession of\nthe Suk\u00e9sada sword with which one of them had been transfixed.\n\nAs soon as Jiuy\u00e9mon jumped over the ship's side, being a good swimmer,\nhe took a long dive, which carried him well out of danger, and struck\nout vigorously; and although he was tired and distressed by his\nexertions, he braced himself up to greater energy, and faced the waves\nboldly. At last, in the far distance, to his great joy, he spied a\nlight, for which he made, and found that it was a ship carrying\nlanterns marked with the badge of the governor of Osaka; so he hailed\nher, saying--\n\n\"I have fallen into great trouble among pirates: pray rescue me.\"\n\n\"Who and what are you?\" shouted an officer, some forty years of age.\n\n\"My name is Funakoshi Jiuy\u00e9mon, and I have unwittingly fallen in with\npirates this night. I have escaped so far: I pray you save me, lest I\ndie.\"\n\n\"Hold on to this, and come up,\" replied the other, holding out the\nbutt end of a spear to him, which he caught hold of and clambered up\nthe ship's side. When the officer saw before him a handsome gentleman,\nnaked all but his loincloth, and with his hair all in disorder, he\ncalled to his servants to bring some of his own clothes, and, having\ndressed him in them, said--\n\n\"What clan do you belong to, sir?\"\n\n\"Sir, I am a R\u00f4nin, and was on my way to Osaka; but the sailors of the\nship on which I had embarked were pirates;\" and so he told the whole\nstory of the fight and of his escape.\n\n\"Well done, sir!\" replied the other, astonished at his prowess. \"My\nname is Kajiki Tozay\u00e9mon, at your service. I am an officer attached to\nthe governor of Osaka. Pray, have you any friends in that city?\"\n\n\"No, sir, I have no friends there; but as in two years I shall be able\nto return to my own country, and re-enter my lord's service, I thought\nduring that time to engage in trade and live as a common wardsman.\"\n\n\"Indeed, that's a poor prospect! However, if you will allow me, I will\ndo all that is in my power to assist you. Pray excuse the liberty I am\ntaking in making such a proposal.\"\n\nJiuy\u00e9mon warmly thanked Kajiki Tozay\u00e9mon for his kindness; and so they\nreached Osaka without further adventures.\n\nJiuy\u00e9mon, who had secreted in his girdle the two hundred and fifty\nounces which he had brought with him from home, bought a small house,\nand started in trade as a vendor of perfumes, tooth-powder, combs, and\nother toilet articles; and Kajiki Tozay\u00e9mon, who treated him with\ngreat kindness, and rendered him many services, prompted him, as he\nwas a single man, to take to himself a wife. Acting upon this advice,\nhe married a singing-girl, called O Hiyaku.[42]\n\n[Footnote 42: The O before women's names signifies \"_Imperial_,\" and\nis simply an honorific.]\n\nNow this O Hiyaku, although at first she seemed very affectionately\ndisposed towards Jiuy\u00e9mon, had been, during the time that she was a\nsinger, a woman of bad and profligate character; and at this time\nthere was in Osaka a certain wrestler, named Takas\u00e9gawa Kurobei, a\nvery handsome man, with whom O Hiyaku fell desperately in love; so\nthat at last, being by nature a passionate woman, she became\nunfaithful to Jiuy\u00e9mon. The latter, little suspecting that anything\nwas amiss, was in the habit of spending his evenings at the house of\nhis patron Kajiki Tozay\u00e9mon, whose son, a youth of eighteen, named\nT\u00f4noshin, conceived a great friendship for Jiuy\u00e9mon, and used\nconstantly to invite him to play a game at checkers; and it was on\nthese occasions that O Hiyaku, profiting by her husband's absence,\nused to arrange her meetings with the wrestler Takas\u00e9gawa.\n\nOne evening, when Jiuy\u00e9mon, as was his wont, had gone out to play at\ncheckers with Kajiki T\u00f4noshin, O Hiyaku took advantage of the occasion\nto go and fetch the wrestler, and invite him to a little feast; and as\nthey were enjoying themselves over their wine, O Hiyaku said to him--\n\n\"Ah! Master Takas\u00e9gawa, how wonderfully chance favours us! and how\npleasant these stolen interviews are! How much nicer still it would\nbe if we could only be married. But, as long as Jiuy\u00e9mon is in the\nway, it is impossible; and that is my one cause of distress.\"\n\n\"It's no use being in such a hurry. If you only have patience, we\nshall be able to marry, sure enough. What you have got to look out for\nnow is, that Jiuy\u00e9mon does not find out what we are about. I suppose\nthere is no chance of his coming home to-night, is there?\"\n\n\"Oh dear, no! You need not be afraid. He is gone to Kajiki's house to\nplay checkers; so he is sure to spend the night there.\"\n\nAnd so the guilty couple went on gossiping, with their minds at ease,\nuntil at last they dropped off asleep.\n\nIn the meanwhile Jiuy\u00e9mon, in the middle of his game at checkers, was\nseized with a sudden pain in his stomach, and said to Kajiki T\u00f4noshin,\n\"Young sir, I feel an unaccountable pain in my stomach. I think I had\nbetter go home, before it gets worse.\"\n\n\"That is a bad job. Wait a little, and I will give you some physic;\nbut, at any rate, you had better spend the night here.\"\n\n\"Many thanks for your kindness,\" replied Jiuy\u00e9mon; \"but I had rather\ngo home.\"\n\nSo he took his leave, and went off to his own house, bearing the pain\nas best he might. When he arrived in front of his own door, he tried\nto open it; but the lock was fastened, and he could not get in, so he\nrapped violently at the shutters to try and awaken his wife. When O\nHiyaku heard the noise, she woke with a start, and roused the\nwrestler, saying to him in a whisper--\n\n\"Get up! get up! Jiuy\u00e9mon has come back. You must hide as fast as\npossible.\"\n\n\"Oh dear! oh dear!\" said the wrestler, in a great fright; \"here's a\npretty mess! Where on earth shall I hide myself?\" and he stumbled\nabout in every direction looking for a hiding-place, but found none.\n\nJiuy\u00e9mon, seeing that his wife did not come to open the door, got\nimpatient at last, and forced it open by unfixing the sliding shutter\nand, entering the house, found himself face to face with his wife and\nher lover, who were both in such confusion that they did not know what\nto do. Jiuy\u00e9mon, however, took no notice of them, but lit his pipe and\nsat smoking and watching them in silence. At last the wrestler,\nTakas\u00e9gawa, broke the silence by saying--\n\n\"I thought, sir, that I should be sure to have the pleasure of finding\nyou at home this evening, so I came out to call upon you. When I got\nhere, the Lady O Hiyaku was so kind as to offer me some wine; and I\ndrank a little more than was good for me, so that it got into my head,\nand I fell asleep. I must really apologize for having taken such a\nliberty in your absence; but, indeed, although appearances are against\nus, there has been nothing wrong.\"\n\n\"Certainly,\" said O Hiyaku, coming to her lover's support, \"Master\nTakas\u00e9gawa is not at all to blame. It was I who invited him to drink\nwine; so I hope you will excuse him.\"\n\nJiuy\u00e9mon sat pondering the matter over in his mind for a moment, and\nthen said to the wrestler, \"You say that you are innocent; but, of\ncourse, that is a lie. It's no use trying to conceal your fault.\nHowever, next year I shall, in all probability, return to my own\ncountry, and then you may take O Hiyaku and do what you will with her:\nfar be it from me to care what becomes of a woman with such a stinking\nheart.\"\n\nWhen the wrestler and O Hiyaku heard Jiuy\u00e9mon say this quite quietly,\nthey could not speak, but held their peace for very shame.\n\n\"Here, you Takas\u00e9gawa,\" pursued he; \"you may stop here to-night, if\nyou like it, and go home to-morrow.\"\n\n\"Thank you, sir,\" replied the wrestler, \"I am much obliged to you; but\nthe fact is, that I have some pressing business in another part of the\ntown, so, with your permission, I will take my leave;\" and so he went\nout, covered with confusion.\n\nAs for the faithless wife, O Hiyaku, she was in great agitation,\nexpecting to be severely reprimanded at least; but Jiuy\u00e9mon took no\nnotice of her, and showed no anger; only from that day forth, although\nshe remained in his house as his wife, he separated himself from her\nentirely.\n\nMatters went on in this way for some time, until at last, one fine\nday, O Hiyaku, looking out of doors, saw the wrestler Takas\u00e9gawa\npassing in the street, so she called out to him--\n\n\"Dear me, Master Takas\u00e9gawa, can that be you! What a long time it is\nsince we have met! Pray come in, and have a chat.\"\n\n\"Thank you, I am much obliged to you; but as I do not like the sort of\nscene we had the other day, I think I had rather not accept your\ninvitation.\"\n\n\"Pray do not talk in such a cowardly manner. Next year, when Jiuy\u00e9mon\ngoes back to his own country, he is sure to give me this house, and\nthen you and I can marry and live as happily as possible.\"\n\n\"I don't like being in too great a hurry to accept fair offers.\"[43]\n\n[Footnote 43: The original is a proverbial expression like \"Timeo\nDanaos et dona ferentes.\"]\n\n\"Nonsense! There's no need for showing such delicacy about accepting\nwhat is given you.\"\n\nAnd as she spoke, she caught the wrestler by the hand and led him into\nthe house. After they had talked together for some time, she said:--\n\n\"Listen to me, Master Takas\u00e9gawa. I have been thinking over all this\nfor some time, and I see no help for it but to kill Jiuy\u00e9mon and make\nan end of him.\"\n\n\"What do you want to do that for?\"\n\n\"As long as he is alive, we cannot be married. What I propose is that\nyou should buy some poison, and I will put it secretly into his food.\nWhen he is dead, we can be happy to our hearts' content.\"\n\nAt first Takas\u00e9gawa was startled and bewildered by the audacity of\ntheir scheme; but forgetting the gratitude which he owed to Jiuy\u00e9mon\nfor sparing his life on the previous occasion, he replied:--\n\n\"Well, I think it can be managed. I have a friend who is a physician,\nso I will get him to compound some poison for me, and will send it to\nyou. You must look out for a moment when your husband is not on his\nguard, and get him to take it.\"\n\nHaving agreed upon this, Takas\u00e9gawa went away, and, having employed a\nphysician to make up the poison, sent it to O Hiyaku in a letter,\nsuggesting that the poison should be mixed up with a sort of macaroni,\nof which Jiuy\u00e9mon was very fond. Having read the letter, she put it\ncarefully away in a drawer of her cupboard, and waited until Jiuy\u00e9mon\nshould express a wish to eat some macaroni.\n\nOne day, towards the time of the New Year, when O Hiyaku had gone out\nto a party with a few of her friends, it happened that Jiuy\u00e9mon, being\nalone in the house, was in want of some little thing, and, failing to\nfind it anywhere, at last bethought himself to look for it in O\nHiyaku's cupboard; and as he was searching amongst the odds and ends\nwhich it contained, he came upon the fatal letter. When he read the\nscheme for putting poison in his macaroni, he was taken aback, and\nsaid to himself, \"When I caught those two beasts in their wickedness I\nspared them, because their blood would have defiled my sword; and now\nthey are not even grateful for my mercy. Their crime is beyond all\npower of language to express, and I will kill them together.\"\n\nSo he put back the letter in its place, and waited for his wife to\ncome home. So soon as she made her appearance he said--\n\n\"You have come home early, O Hiyaku. I feel very dull and lonely this\nevening; let us have a little wine.\"\n\nAnd as he spoke without any semblance of anger, it never entered O\nHiyaku's mind that he had seen the letter; so she went about her\nhousehold duties with a quiet mind.\n\nThe following evening, as Jiuy\u00e9mon was sitting in his shop casting up\nhis accounts, with his counting-board[44] in his hand, Takas\u00e9gawa\npassed by, and Jiuy\u00e9mon called out to him, saying:--\n\n\"Well met, Takas\u00e9gawa! I was just thinking of drinking a cup of wine\nto-night; but I have no one to keep me company, and it is dull work\ndrinking alone. Pray come in, and drink a bout with me.\"\n\n[Footnote 44: The _abacus_, or counting-board, is the means of\ncalculation in use throughout the Continent from St. Petersburg to\nPeking, in Corea, Japan, and the Liukiu Islands.]\n\n\"Thank you, sir, I shall have much pleasure,\" replied the wrestler,\nwho little expected what the other was aiming at; and so he went in,\nand they began to drink and feast.\n\n\"It's very cold to-night,\" said Jiuy\u00e9mon, after a while; \"suppose we\nwarm up a little macaroni, and eat it nice and hot. Perhaps, however,\nyou do not like it?\"\n\n\"Indeed, I am very fond of it, on the contrary.\"\n\n\"That is well. O Hiyaku, please go and buy a little for us.\"\n\n\"Directly,\" replied his wife, who hurried off to buy the paste,\ndelighted at the opportunity for carrying out her murderous design\nupon her husband. As soon she had prepared it, she poured it into\nbowls and set it before the two men; but into her husband's bowl only\nshe put poison. Jiuy\u00e9mon, who well knew what she had done, did not eat\nthe mess at once, but remained talking about this, that, and the\nother; and the wrestler, out of politeness, was obliged to wait also.\nAll of a sudden, Jiuy\u00e9mon cried out--\n\n\"Dear me! whilst we have been gossiping, the macaroni has been getting\ncold. Let us put it all together and warm it up again. As no one has\nput his lips to his bowl yet, it will all be clean; so none need be\nwasted.\" And with these words he took the macaroni that was in the\nthree bowls, and, pouring it altogether into an iron pot, boiled it up\nagain. This time Jiuy\u00e9mon served out the food himself, and, setting it\nbefore his wife and the wrestler, said--\n\n\"There! make haste and eat it up before it gets cold.\"\n\nJiuy\u00e9mon, of course, did not eat any of the mess; and the would-be\nmurderers, knowing that sufficient poison had been originally put into\nJiuy\u00e9mon's bowl to kill them all three, and that now the macaroni,\nhaving been well mixed up, would all be poisoned, were quite taken\naback, and did not know what to do.\n\n\"Come! make haste, or it will be quite cold. You said you liked it, so\nI sent to buy it on purpose. O Hiyaku! come and make a hearty meal. I\nwill eat some presently.\"\n\nAt this the pair looked very foolish, and knew not what to answer; at\nlast the wrestler got up and said--\n\n\"I do not feel quite well. I must beg to take my leave; and, if you\nwill allow me, I will come and accept your hospitality to-morrow\ninstead.\"\n\n\"Dear me! I am sorry to hear you are not well. However, O Hiyaku,\nthere will be all the more macaroni for you.\"\n\nAs for O Hiyaku, she put a bold face upon the matter, and replied that\nshe had supped already, and had no appetite for any more.\n\nThen Jiuy\u00e9mon, looking at them both with a scornful smile, said--\n\n\"It seems that you, neither of you, care to eat this macaroni;\nhowever, as you, Takas\u00e9gawa, are unwell, I will give you some\nexcellent medicine;\" and going to the cupboard, he drew out the\nletter, and laid it before the wrestler. When O Hiyaku and the\nwrestler saw that their wicked schemes had been brought to light, they\nwere struck dumb with shame.\n\nTakas\u00e9gawa, seeing that denial was useless, drew his dirk and cut at\nJiuy\u00e9mon; but he, being nimble and quick, dived under the wrestler's\narm, and seizing his right hand from behind, tightened his grasp upon\nit until it became numbed, and the dirk fell to the ground; for,\npowerful man as the wrestler was, he was no match for Jiuy\u00e9mon, who\nheld him in so fast a grip that he could not move. Then Jiuy\u00e9mon took\nthe dirk which had fallen to the ground, and said:--\n\n\"Oh! I thought that you, being a wrestler, would at least be a strong\nman, and that there would be some pleasure in fighting you; but I see\nthat you are but a poor feckless creature, after all. It would have\ndefiled my sword to have killed such an ungrateful hound with it; but\nluckily here is your own dirk, and I will slay you with that.\"\n\nTakas\u00e9gawa struggled to escape, but in vain; and O Hiyaku, seizing a\nlarge kitchen knife, attacked Jiuy\u00e9mon; but he, furious, kicked her in\nthe loins so violently that she fell powerless, then brandishing the\ndirk, he cleft the wrestler from the shoulder down to the nipple of\nhis breast, and the big man fell in his agony. O Hiyaku, seeing this,\ntried to fly; but Jiuy\u00e9mon, seizing her by the hair of the head,\nstabbed her in the bosom, and, placing her by her lover's side, gave\nher the death-blow.\n\n[Illustration: JIUY\u00c9MON PUNISHES HIS WIFE AND THE WRESTLER.]\n\nOn the following day, he sent in a report of what he had done to the\ngovernor of Osaka, and buried the corpses; and from that time forth he\nremained a single man, and pursued his trade as a seller of perfumery\nand such-like wares; and his leisure hours he continued to spend as\nbefore, at the house of his patron, Kajiki Tozay\u00e9mon.\n\nOne day, when Jiuy\u00e9mon went to call upon Kajiki Tozay\u00e9mon, he was told\nby the servant-maid, who met him at the door, that her master was out,\nbut that her young master, T\u00f4noshin, was at home; so, saying that he\nwould go in and pay his respects to the young gentleman, he entered\nthe house; and as he suddenly pushed open the sliding-door of the room\nin which T\u00f4noshin was sitting, the latter gave a great start, and his\nface turned pale and ghastly.\n\n\"How now, young sir!\" said Jiuy\u00e9mon, laughing at him, \"surely you are\nnot such a coward as to be afraid because the sliding-doors are\nopened? That is not the way in which a brave Samurai should behave.\"\n\n\"Really I am quite ashamed of myself,\" replied the other, blushing at\nthe reproof; \"but the fact is that I had some reason for being\nstartled. Listen to me, Sir Jiuy\u00e9mon, and I will tell you all about\nit. To-day, when I went to the academy to study, there were a great\nnumber of my fellow-students gathered together, and one of them said\nthat a ruinous old shrine, about two miles and a half to the east of\nthis place, was the nightly resort of all sorts of hobgoblins, who\nhave been playing pranks and bewitching the people for some time\npast; and he proposed that we should all draw lots, and that the one\nupon whom the lot fell should go to-night and exorcise those evil\nbeings; and further that, as a proof of his having gone, he should\nwrite his name upon a pillar in the shrine. All the rest agreed that\nthis would be very good sport; so I, not liking to appear a coward,\nconsented to take my chance with the rest; and, as ill luck would\nhave it, the lot fell upon me. I was thinking over this as you came\nin, and so it was that when you suddenly opened the door, I could not\nhelp giving a start.\"\n\n\"If you only think for a moment,\" said Jiuy\u00e9mon, \"you will see that\nthere is nothing to fear. How can beasts[45] and hobgoblins exercise\nany power over men? However, do not let the matter trouble you. I will\ngo in your place to-night, and see if I cannot get the better of these\ngoblins, if any there be, having done which, I will write your name\nupon the pillar, so that everybody may think that you have been\nthere.\"\n\n[Footnote 45: Foxes, badgers, and cats. See the stories respecting\ntheir tricks.]\n\n\n\"Oh! thank you: that will indeed be a service. You can dress yourself\nup in my clothes, and nobody will be the wiser. I shall be truly\ngrateful to you.\"\n\nSo Jiuy\u00e9mon having gladly undertaken the job, as soon as the night set\nin made his preparations, and went to the place indicated--an\nuncanny-looking, tumble-down, lonely old shrine, all overgrown with\nmoss and rank vegetation. However, Jiuy\u00e9mon, who was afraid of\nnothing, cared little for the appearance of the place, and having made\nhimself as comfortable as he could in so dreary a spot, sat down on\nthe floor, lit his pipe, and kept a sharp look-out for the goblins. He\nhad not been waiting long before he saw a movement among the bushes;\nand presently he was surrounded by a host of elfish-looking creatures,\nof all shapes and kinds, who came and made hideous faces at him.\nJiuy\u00e9mon quietly knocked the ashes out of his pipe, and then, jumping\nup, kicked over first one and then another of the elves, until several\nof them lay sprawling in the grass; and the rest made off, greatly\nastonished at this unexpected reception. When Jiuy\u00e9mon took his\nlantern and examined the fallen goblins attentively, he saw that they\nwere all T\u00f4noshin's fellow-students, who had painted their faces, and\nmade themselves hideous, to frighten their companion, whom they knew\nto be a coward: all they got for their pains, however, was a good\nkicking from Jiuy\u00e9mon, who left them groaning over their sore bones,\nand went home chuckling to himself at the result of the adventure.\n\n[Illustration: FUNAKOSHI JIUY\u00c9MON AND THE GOBLINS.]\n\nThe fame of this exploit soon became noised about Osaka, so that all\nmen praised Jiuy\u00e9mon's courage; and shortly after this he was elected\nchief of the Otokodat\u00e9,[46] or friendly society of the wardsmen, and\nbusied himself no longer with his trade, but lived on the\ncontributions of his numerous apprentices.\n\n[Footnote 46: See the Introduction to the Story of Ch\u00f4bei of\nBandzuin.]\n\nNow Kajiki T\u00f4noshin was in love with a singing girl named Kashiku,\nupon whom he was in the habit of spending a great deal of money. She,\nhowever, cared nothing for him, for she had a sweetheart named\nHichirobei, whom she used to contrive to meet secretly, although, in\norder to support her parents, she was forced to become the mistress of\nT\u00f4noshin. One evening, when the latter was on guard at the office of\nhis chief, the Governor of Osaka, Kashiku sent word privately to\nHichirobei, summoning him to go to her house, as the coast would be\nclear.\n\nWhile the two were making merry over a little feast, T\u00f4noshin, who had\npersuaded a friend to take his duty for him on the plea of urgent\nbusiness, knocked at the door, and Kashiku, in a great fright, hid her\nlover in a long clothes-box, and went to let in T\u00f4noshin, who, on\nentering the room and seeing the litter of the supper lying about,\nlooked more closely, and perceived a man's sandals, on which, by the\nlight of a candle, he saw the figure seven.[47] T\u00f4noshin had heard\nsome ugly reports of Kashiku's proceedings with this man Hichirobei,\nand when he saw this proof before his eyes he grew very angry; but he\nsuppressed his feelings, and, pointing to the wine-cups and bowls,\nsaid:--\n\n\"Whom have you been feasting with to-night?\"\n\n\"Oh!\" replied Kashiku, who, notwithstanding her distress, was obliged\nto invent an answer, \"I felt so dull all alone here, that I asked an\nold woman from next door to come in and drink a cup of wine with me,\nand have a chat.\"\n\n[Footnote 47: _Hichi_, the first half of _Hichirobei_, signifies\nseven.]\n\nAll this while T\u00f4noshin was looking for the hidden lover; but, as he\ncould not see him, he made up his mind that Kashiku must have let him\nout by the back door; so he secreted one of the sandals in his sleeve\nas evidence, and, without seeming to suspect anything, said:--\n\n\"Well, I shall be very busy this evening, so I must go home.\"\n\n\"Oh! won't you stay a little while? It is very dull here, when I am\nall alone without you. Pray stop and keep me company.\"\n\nBut T\u00f4noshin made no reply, and went home. Then Kashiku saw that one\nof the sandals was missing, and felt certain that he must have carried\nit off as proof; so she went in great trouble to open the lid of the\nbox, and let out Hichirobei. When the two lovers talked over the\nmatter, they agreed that, as they both were really in love, let\nT\u00f4noshin kill them if he would, they would gladly die together: they\nwould enjoy the present; let the future take care of itself.\n\nThe following morning Kashiku sent a messenger to T\u00f4noshin to implore\nhis pardon; and he, being infatuated by the girl's charms, forgave\nher, and sent a present of thirty ounces of silver to her lover,\nHichirobei, on the condition that he was never to see her again; but,\nin spite of this, Kashiku and Hichirobei still continued their secret\nmeetings.\n\nIt happened that Hichirobei, who was a gambler by profession, had an\nelder brother called Ch\u00f4bei, who kept a wine-shop in the Ajikawa\nStreet, at Osaka; so T\u00f4noshin thought that he could not do better than\ndepute Jiuy\u00e9mon to go and seek out this man Ch\u00f4bei, and urge him to\npersuade his younger brother to give up his relations with Kashiku;\nacting upon this resolution, he went to call upon Jiuy\u00e9mon, and said\nto him--\n\n\"Sir Jiuy\u00e9mon, I have a favour to ask of you in connection with that\ngirl Kashiku, whom you know all about. You are aware that I paid\nthirty ounces of silver to her lover Hichirobei to induce him to give\nup going to her house; but, in spite of this, I cannot help suspecting\nthat they still meet one another. It seems that this Hichirobei has an\nelder brother--one Ch\u00f4bei; now, if you would go to this man and tell\nhim to reprove his brother for his conduct, you would be doing me a\ngreat service. You have so often stood my friend, that I venture to\npray you to oblige me in this matter, although I feel that I am\nputting you to great inconvenience.\"\n\nJiuy\u00e9mon, out of gratitude for the kindness which he had received at\nthe hands of Kajiki Tozay\u00e9mon, was always willing to serve T\u00f4noshin;\nso he went at once to find out Ch\u00f4bei, and said to him--\n\n\"My name, sir, is Jiuy\u00e9mon, at your service; and I have come to beg\nyour assistance in a matter of some delicacy.\"\n\n\"What can I do to oblige you, sir?\" replied Ch\u00f4bei, who felt bound to\nbe more than usually civil, as his visitor was the chief of the\nOtokodat\u00e9.\n\n\"It is a small matter, sir,\" said Jiuy\u00e9mon. \"Your younger brother\nHichirobei is intimate with a woman named Kashiku, whom he meets in\nsecret. Now, this Kashiku is the mistress of the son of a gentleman to\nwhom I am under great obligation: he bought her of her parents for a\nlarge sum of money, and, besides this, he paid your brother thirty\nounces of silver some time since, on condition of his separating\nhimself from the girl; in spite of this, it appears that your brother\ncontinues to see her, and I have come to beg that you will remonstrate\nwith your brother on his conduct, and make him give her up.\"\n\n\"That I certainly will. Pray do not be uneasy; I will soon find means\nto put a stop to my brother's bad behaviour.\"\n\nAnd so they went on talking of one thing and another, until Jiuy\u00e9mon,\nwhose eyes had been wandering about the room, spied out a very long\ndirk lying on a cupboard, and all at once it occurred to him that this\nwas the very sword which had been a parting gift to him from his lord:\nthe hilt, the mountings, and the tip of the scabbard were all the\nsame, only the blade had been shortened and made into a long dirk.\nThen he looked more attentively at Ch\u00f4bei's features, and saw that he\nwas no other than Akag\u00f4shi Kuroy\u00e9mon, the pirate chief. Two years had\npassed by, but he could not forget that face.\n\nJiuy\u00e9mon would have liked to have arrested him at once; but thinking\nthat it would be a pity to give so vile a robber a chance of escape,\nhe constrained himself, and, taking his leave, went straightway and\nreported the matter to the Governor of Osaka. When the officers of\njustice heard of the prey that awaited them, they made their\npreparations forthwith. Three men of the secret police went to\nCh\u00f4bei's wine-shop, and, having called for wine, pretended to get up a\ndrunken brawl; and as Ch\u00f4bei went up to them and tried to pacify them,\none of the policemen seized hold of him, and another tried to pinion\nhim. It at once flashed across Ch\u00f4bei's mind that his old misdeeds had\ncome to light at last, so with a desperate effort he shook off the two\npolicemen and knocked them down, and, rushing into the inner room,\nseized the famous Suk\u00e9sada sword and sprang upstairs. The three\npolicemen, never thinking that he could escape, mounted the stairs\nclose after him; but Ch\u00f4bei with a terrible cut cleft the front man's\nhead in sunder, and the other two fell back appalled at their\ncomrade's fate. Then Ch\u00f4bei climbed on to the roof, and, looking out,\nperceived that the house was surrounded on all sides by armed men.\nSeeing this, he made up his mind that his last moment was come, but,\nat any rate, he determined to sell his life dearly, and to die\nfighting; so he stood up bravely, when one of the officers, coming up\nfrom the roof of a neighbouring house, attacked him with a spear; and\nat the same time several other soldiers clambered up. Ch\u00f4bei, seeing\nthat he was overmatched, jumped down, and before the soldiers below\nhad recovered from their surprise he had dashed through their ranks,\nlaying about him right and left, and cutting down three men. At top\nspeed he fled, with his pursuers close behind him; and, seeing the\nbroad river ahead of him, jumped into a small boat that lay moored\nthere, of which the boatmen, frightened at the sight of his bloody\nsword, left him in undisputed possession. Ch\u00f4bei pushed off, and\nsculled vigorously into the middle of the river; and the\nofficers--there being no other boat near--were for a moment baffled.\nOne of them, however, rushing down the river bank, hid himself on a\nbridge, armed with. a spear, and lay in wait for Ch\u00f4bei to pass in his\nboat; but when the little boat came up, he missed his aim, and only\nscratched Ch\u00f4bei's elbow; and he, seizing the spear, dragged down his\nadversary into the river, and killed him as he was struggling in the\nwater; then, sculling for his life, he gradually drew near to the sea.\nThe other officers in the mean time had secured ten boats, and, having\ncome up with Ch\u00f4bei, surrounded him; but he, having formerly been a\npirate, was far better skilled in the management of a boat than his\npursuers, and had no great difficulty in eluding them; so at last he\npushed out to sea, to the great annoyance of the officers, who\nfollowed him closely.\n\nThen Jiuy\u00e9mon, who had come up, said to one of the officers on the\nshore--\n\n\"Have you caught him yet?\"\n\n\"No; the fellow is so brave and so cunning that our men can do nothing\nwith him.\"\n\n\"He's a determined ruffian, certainly. However, as the fellow has got\nmy sword, I mean to get it back by fair means or foul: will you allow\nme to undertake the job of seizing him?\"\n\n\"Well, you may try; and you will have officers to assist you, if you\nare in peril.\"\n\nJiuy\u00e9mon, having received this permission, stripped off his clothes\nand jumped into the sea, carrying with him a policeman's mace, to the\ngreat astonishment of all the bystanders. When he got near Ch\u00f4bei's\nboat, he dived and came up alongside, without the pirate perceiving\nhim until he had clambered into the boat. Ch\u00f4bei had the good Suk\u00e9sada\nsword, and Jiuy\u00e9mon was armed with nothing but a mace; but Ch\u00f4bei, on\nthe other hand, was exhausted with his previous exertions, and was\ntaken by surprise at a moment when he was thinking of nothing but how\nhe should scull away from the pursuing boats; so it was not long\nbefore Jiuy\u00e9mon mastered and secured him.\n\nFor this feat, besides recovering his Suk\u00e9sada sword, Jiuy\u00e9mon\nreceived many rewards and great praise from the Governor of Osaka. But\nthe pirate Ch\u00f4bei was cast into prison.\n\nHichirobei, when he heard of his brother's capture, was away from\nhome; but seeing that he too would be sought for, he determined to\nescape to Yedo at once, and travelled along the T\u00f4kaid\u00f4, the great\nhighroad, as far as Kuana. But the secret police had got wind of his\nmovements, and one of them was at his heels disguised as a beggar, and\nwaiting for an opportunity to seize him.\n\nHichirobei in the meanwhile was congratulating himself on his escape;\nand, little suspecting that he would be in danger so far away from\nOsaka, he went to a house of pleasure, intending to divert himself at\nhis ease. The policeman, seeing this, went to the master of the house\nand said--\n\n\"The guest who has just come in is a notorious thief, and I am on his\ntrack, waiting to arrest him. Do you watch for the moment when he\nfalls asleep, and let me know. Should he escape, the blame will fall\nupon you.\"\n\nThe master of the house, who was greatly taken aback, consented of\ncourse; so he told the woman of the house to hide Hichirobei's dirk,\nand as soon as the latter, wearied with his journey, had fallen\nasleep, he reported it to the policeman, who went upstairs, and having\nbound Hichirobei as he lay wrapped up in his quilt, led him back to\nOsaka to be imprisoned with his brother.\n\nWhen Kashiku became aware of her lover's arrest, she felt certain that\nit was the handiwork of Jiuy\u00e9mon; so she determined to kill him, were\nit only that she might die with Hichirobei. So hiding a kitchen knife\nin the bosom of her dress, she went at midnight to Jiuy\u00e9mon's house,\nand looked all round to see if there were no hole or cranny by which\nshe might slip in unobserved; but every door was carefully closed, so\nshe was obliged to knock at the door and feign an excuse.\n\n\"Let me in! let me in! I am a servant-maid in the house of Kajiki\nTozay\u00e9mon, and am charged with a letter on most pressing business to\nSir Jiuy\u00e9mon.\"\n\nHearing this, one of Jiuy\u00e9mon's servants, thinking her tale was true,\nrose and opened the door; and Kashiku, stabbing him in the face, ran\npast him into the house. Inside she met another apprentice, who had\ngot up, aroused by the noise; him too she stabbed in the belly, but as\nhe fell he cried out to Jiuy\u00e9mon, saying:--\n\n\"Father, father![48] take care! Some murderous villain has broken into\nthe house.\"\n\n[Footnote 48: The apprentice addresses his patron as \"father.\"]\n\n[Illustration: \"GOKUMON.\"]\n\nAnd Kashiku, desperate, stopped his further utterance by cutting his\nthroat. Jiuy\u00e9mon, hearing his apprentice cry out, jumped up, and,\nlighting his night-lamp, looked about him in the half-gloom, and saw\nKashiku with the bloody knife, hunting for him that she might kill\nhim. Springing upon her before she saw him, he clutched her right\nhand, and, having secured her, bound her with cords so that she could\nnot move. As soon as he had recovered from his surprise, he looked\nabout him, and searched the house, when, to his horror, he found one\nof his apprentices dead, and the other lying bleeding from a frightful\ngash across the face. With the first dawn of day, he reported the\naffair to the proper authorities, and gave Kashiku in custody. So,\nafter due examination, the two pirate brothers and the girl Kashiku\nwere executed, and their heads were exposed together.[49]\n\n[Footnote 49: The exposure of the head, called _Gokumon_, is a\ndisgraceful addition to the punishment of beheading. A document,\nplaced on the execution-ground, sets forth the crime which has called\nforth the punishment.]\n\nNow the fame of all the valiant deeds of Jiuy\u00e9mon having reached his\nown country, his lord ordered that he should be pardoned for his\nformer offence, and return to his allegiance; so, after thanking\nKajiki Tozay\u00e9mon for the manifold favours which he had received at his\nhands, he went home, and became a Samurai as before.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe fat wrestlers of Japan, whose heavy paunches and unwieldy, puffy\nlimbs, however much they may be admired by their own country people,\nform a striking contrast to our Western notions of training, have\nattracted some attention from travellers; and those who are interested\nin athletic sports may care to learn something about them.\n\nThe first historical record of wrestling occurs in the sixth year of\nthe Emperor Suinin (24 B.C.), when one Taima no K\u00e9haya, a noble of\ngreat stature and strength, boasting that there was not his match\nunder heaven, begged the Emperor that his strength might be put to the\ntest. The Emperor accordingly caused the challenge to be proclaimed;\nand one Nomi no Shikun\u00e9 answered it, and having wrestled with K\u00e9haya,\nkicked him in the ribs and broke his bones, so that he died. After\nthis Shikun\u00e9 was promoted to high office, and became further famous in\nJapanese history as having substituted earthen images for the living\nmen who, before his time, used to be buried with the coffin of the\nMikado.\n\nIn the year A.D. 858 the throne of Japan was wrestled for. The Emperor\nBuntoku had two sons, called Kor\u00e9shito and Kor\u00e9taka, both of whom\naspired to the throne. Their claims were decided in a wrestling match,\nin which one Yoshir\u00f4 was the champion of Kor\u00e9shito, and Natora the\nchampion of Kor\u00e9taka. Natora having been defeated, Kor\u00e9shito ascended\nhis father's throne under the style of Seiwa.\n\nIn the eighth century, when Nara was the capital of Japan, the Emperor\nSh\u00f4mu instituted wrestling as part of the ceremonies of the autumn\nfestival of the Five Grains, or Harvest Home; and as the year proved a\nfruitful one, the custom was continued as auspicious. The strong men\nof the various provinces were collected, and one Kiyobayashi was\nproclaimed the champion of Japan. Many a brave and stout man tried a\nthrow with him, but none could master him. Rules of the ring were now\ndrawn up; and in order to prevent disputes, Kiyobayashi was appointed\nby the Emperor to be the judge of wrestling-matches, and was\npresented, as a badge of his office, with a fan, upon which were\ninscribed the words the \"Prince of Lions.\"\n\nThe wrestlers were divided into wrestlers of the eastern and of the\nwestern provinces, Omi being taken as the centre province. The eastern\nwrestlers wore in their hair the badge of the hollyhock; the western\nwrestlers took for their sign the gourd-flower. Hence the passage\nleading up to the wrestling-stage was called the \"Flower Path.\"\nForty-eight various falls were fixed upon as fair--twelve throws,\ntwelve lifts, twelve twists, and twelve throws over the back. All\nother throws not included in these were foul, and it was the duty of\nthe umpire to see that no unlawful tricks were resorted to. It was\ndecided that the covered stage should be composed of sixteen\nrice-bales, in the shape of one huge bale, supported by four pillars\nat the four points of the compass, each pillar being painted a\ndifferent colour, thus, together with certain paper pendants, making\nup five colours, to symbolize the Five Grains.\n\n[Illustration: CHAMPION WRESTLER.]\n\nThe civil wars by which the country was disturbed for a while put a\nstop to the practice of wrestling; but when peace was restored it was\nproposed to re-establish the athletic games, and the umpire\nKiyobayashi, the \"Prince of Lions,\" was sought for; but he had died or\ndisappeared, and could not be found, and there was no umpire\nforthcoming. The various provinces were searched for a man who might\nfill his place, and one Yoshida Iy\u00e9tsugu, a R\u00f4nin of the province of\nEchizen, being reported to be well versed in the noble science, was\nsent for to the capital, and proved to be a pupil of Kiyobayashi. The\nEmperor, having approved him, ordered that the fan of the \"Prince of\nLions\" should be made over to him, and gave him the title of Bungo no\nKami, and commanded that his name in the ring should be Oi-Kaz\u00e9, the\n\"Driving Wind.\" Further, as a sign that there should not be two\nstyles of wrestling, a second fan was given to him bearing the\ninscription, \"A single flavour is a beautiful custom.\" The right of\nacting as umpire in wrestling-matches was vested in his family, that\nthe \"Driving Wind\" might for future generations preside over athletic\nsports. In ancient days, the prizes for the three champion wrestlers\nwere a bow, a bowstring, and an arrow: these are still brought into\nthe ring, and, at the end of the bout, the successful competitors go\nthrough a variety of antics with them.\n\nTo the champion wrestlers--to two or three men only in a\ngeneration--the family of the \"Driving Wind\" awards the privilege of\nwearing a rope-girdle. In the time of the Shogunate these champions\nused to wrestle before the Shogun.\n\nAt the beginning of the 17th century (A.D. 1606) wrestling-matches, as\nforming a regular part of a religious ceremony, were discontinued.\nThey are still held, however, at the shrines of Kamo, at Ki\u00f4to, and of\nKasuga, in Yamato. They are also held at Kamakura every year, and at\nthe shrines of the patron saints of the various provinces, in\nimitation of the ancient customs.\n\nIn the year 1623 one Akashi Shiganosuk\u00e9 obtained leave from the\nGovernment to hold public wrestling-matches in the streets of Yedo.\nIn the year 1644 was held the first wrestling-match for the purpose\nof raising a collection for building a temple. This was done by\nthe priests of Kofukuji, in Yamashiro. In the year 1660 the same\nexpedient was resorted to in Yedo, and the custom of getting up\nwrestling-matches for the benefit of temple funds holds good to this\nday.\n\nThe following graphic description of a Japanese wrestling-match is\ntranslated from the \"Yedo Hanj\u00f4ki\":--\n\n\"From daybreak till eight in the morning a drum is beaten to announce\nthat there will be wrestling. The spectators rise early for the sight.\nThe adversaries having been settled, the wrestlers enter the ring from\nthe east and from the west. Tall stalwart men are they, with sinews\nand bones of iron. Like the Gods Ni\u00f4,[50] they stand with their arms\nakimbo, and, facing one another, they crouch in their strength. The\numpire watches until the two men draw their breath at the same time,\nand with his fan gives the signal. They jump up and close with one\nanother, like tigers springing on their prey, or dragons playing with\na ball. Each is bent on throwing the other by twisting or by lifting\nhim. It is no mere trial of brute strength; it is a tussle of skill\nagainst skill. Each of the forty-eight throws is tried in turn. From\nleft to right, and from right to left, the umpire hovers about,\nwatching for the victory to declare itself. Some of the spectators\nback the east, others back the west. The patrons of the ring are so\nexcited that they feel the strength tingling within them; they clench\ntheir fists, and watch their men, without so much as blinking their\neyes. At last one man, east or west, gains the advantage, and the\numpire lifts his fan in token of victory. The plaudits of the\nbystanders shake the neighbourhood, and they throw their clothes or\nvaluables into the ring, to be redeemed afterwards in money; nay, in\nhis excitement, a man will even tear off his neighbour's jacket and\nthrow it in.\"\n\n[Footnote 50: The Japanese Gog and Magog.]\n\n[Illustration: A WRESTLING MATCH.]\n\nBefore beginning their tussle, the wrestlers work up their strength by\nstamping their feet and slapping their huge thighs. This custom is\nderived from the following tale of the heroic or mythological age:--\n\nAfter the seven ages of the heavenly gods came the reign of Tensho\nDaijin, the Sun Goddess, and first Empress of Japan. Her younger\nbrother, Sosan\u00f6\u00f4 no Mikoto, was a mighty and a brave hero, but\nturbulent, and delighted in hunting the deer and the boar. After\nkilling these beasts, he would throw their dead bodies into the sacred\nhall of his sister, and otherwise defile her dwelling. When he had\ndone this several times, his sister was angry, and hid in the cave\ncalled the Rock Gate of Heaven; and when her face was not seen, there\nwas no difference between the night and the day. The heroes who served\nher, mourning over this, went to seek her; but she placed a huge stone\nin front of the cave, and would not come forth. The heroes, seeing\nthis, consulted together, and danced and played antics before the cave\nto lure her out. Tempted by curiosity to see the sight, she opened the\ngate a little and peeped out. Then the hero Tajikara\u00f4, or \"Great\nStrength,\" clapping his hands and stamping his feet, with a great\neffort grasped and threw down the stone door, and the heroes fetched\nback the Sun Goddess.[51] As Tajikara\u00f4 is the patron god of Strength,\nwrestlers, on entering the ring, still commemorate his deed by\nclapping their hands and stamping their feet as a preparation for\nputting forth their strength.\n\n[Footnote 51: The author of the history called \"Kokushi Riyaku\"\nexplains this fable as being an account of the first eclipse.]\n\nThe great Daimios are in the habit of attaching wrestlers to their\npersons, and assigning to them a yearly portion of rice. It is usual\nfor these athletes to take part in funeral or wedding processions, and\nto escort the princes on journeys. The rich wardsmen or merchants give\nmoney to their favourite wrestlers, and invite them to their houses to\ndrink wine and feast. Though low, vulgar fellows, they are allowed\nsomething of the same familiarity which is accorded to prize-fighters,\njockeys, and the like, by their patrons in our own country.\n\nThe Japanese wrestlers appear to have no regular system of training;\nthey harden their naturally powerful limbs by much beating, and by\nbutting at wooden posts with their shoulders. Their diet is stronger\nthan that of the ordinary Japanese, who rarely touch meat.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ETA MAIDEN AND THE HATAMOTO\n\n\nIt will be long before those who were present at the newly opened port\nof K\u00f4b\u00e9 on the 4th of February, 1868, will forget that day. The civil\nwar was raging, and the foreign Legations, warned by the flames of\nburning villages, no less than by the flight of the Shogun and his\nministers, had left Osaka, to take shelter at K\u00f4b\u00e9, where they were\nnot, as at the former place, separated from their ships by more than\ntwenty miles of road, occupied by armed troops in a high state of\nexcitement, with the alternative of crossing in tempestuous weather a\ndangerous bar, which had already taken much valuable life. It was a\nfine winter's day, and the place was full of bustle, and of the going\nand coming of men busy with the care of housing themselves and their\ngoods and chattels. All of a sudden, a procession of armed men,\nbelonging to the Bizen clan, was seen to leave the town, and to\nadvance along the high road leading to Osaka; and without apparent\nreason--it was said afterwards that two Frenchmen had crossed the line\nof march--there was a halt, a stir, and a word of command given. Then\nthe little clouds of white smoke puffed up, and the sharp \"ping\" of\nthe rifle bullets came whizzing over the open space, destined for a\nforeign settlement, as fast as the repeating breech-loaders could be\ndischarged. Happily, the practice was very bad; for had the men of\nBizen been good shots, almost all the principal foreign officials in\nthe country, besides many merchants and private gentlemen, must have\nbeen killed: as it was, only two or three men were wounded. If they\nwere bad marksmen, however, they were mighty runners; for they soon\nfound that they had attacked a hornets' nest. In an incredibly short\nspace of time, the guards of the different Legations and the sailors\nand marines from the ships of war were in hot chase after the enemy,\nwho were scampering away over the hills as fast as their legs could\ncarry them, leaving their baggage ingloriously scattered over the\nroad, as many a cheap lacquered hat and flimsy paper cartridge-box,\npreserved by our Blue Jackets as trophies, will testify. So good was\nthe stampede, that the enemy's loss amounted only to one aged coolie,\nwho, being too decrepit to run, was taken prisoner, after having had\nseventeen revolver shots fired at him without effect; and the only\ninjury that our men inflicted was upon a solitary old woman, who was\naccidently shot through the leg.\n\nIf it had not been for the serious nature of the offence given, which\nwas an attack upon the flags of all the treaty Powers, and for the\nterrible retribution which was of necessity exacted, the whole affair\nwould have been recollected chiefly for the ludicrous events which it\ngave rise to. The mounted escort of the British Legation executed a\nbrilliant charge of cavalry down an empty road; a very pretty line of\nskirmishers along the fields fired away a great deal of ammunition\nwith no result; earthworks were raised, and K\u00f4b\u00e9 was held in military\noccupation for three days, during which there were alarms, cutting-out\nexpeditions with armed boats, steamers seized, and all kinds of\nmartial effervescence. In fact, it was like fox-hunting: it had \"all\nthe excitement of war, with only ten per cent. of the danger.\"\n\nThe first thought of the kind-hearted doctor of the British Legation\nwas for the poor old woman who had been wounded, and was bemoaning\nherself piteously. When she was carried in, a great difficulty arose,\nwhich, I need hardly say, was overcome; for the poor old creature\nbelonged to the Etas, the Pariah race, whose presence pollutes the\nhouse even of the poorest and humblest Japanese; and the native\nservants strongly objected to her being treated as a human being,\nsaying that the Legation would be for ever defiled if she were\nadmitted within its sacred precincts. No account of Japanese society\nwould be complete without a notice of the Etas; and the following\nstory shows well, I think, the position which they hold.\n\nTheir occupation is to slay beasts, work leather, attend upon\ncriminals, and do other degrading work. Several accounts are given of\ntheir origin; the most probable of which is, that when Buddhism, the\ntenets of which forbid the taking of life, was introduced, those who\nlived by the infliction of death became accursed in the land, their\ntrade being made hereditary, as was the office of executioner in some\nEuropean countries. Another story is, that they are the descendants of\nthe Tartar invaders left behind by Kublai Khan. Some further facts\nconnected with the Etas are given in a note at the end of the tale.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nOnce upon a time, some two hundred years ago, there lived at a place\ncalled Honj\u00f4, in Yedo, a Hatamoto named Takoji Genzabur\u00f4; his age was\nabout twenty-four or twenty-five, and he was of extraordinary personal\nbeauty. His official duties made it incumbent on him to go to the\nCastle by way of the Adzuma Bridge, and here it was that a strange\nadventure befel him. There was a certain Eta, who used to earn his\nliving by going out every day to the Adzuma Bridge, and mending the\nsandals of the passers-by. Whenever Genzabur\u00f4 crossed the bridge, the\nEta used always to bow to him. This struck him as rather strange; but\none day when Genzabur\u00f4 was out alone, without any retainers following\nhim, and was passing the Adzuma Bridge, the thong of his sandal\nsuddenly broke: this annoyed him very much; however, he recollected\nthe Eta cobbler who always used to bow to him so regularly, so he went\nto the place where he usually sat, and ordered him to mend his sandal,\nsaying to him: \"Tell me why it is that every time that I pass by\nthis bridge, you salute me so respectfully.\"\n\n[Illustration: GENZABUR\u00d4'S MEETING WITH THE ETA MAIDEN.]\n\nWhen the Eta heard this, he was put out of countenance, and for a\nwhile he remained silent; but at last taking courage, he said to\nGenzabur\u00f4, \"Sir, having been honoured with your commands, I am quite\nput to shame. I was originally a gardener, and used to go to your\nhonour's house and lend a hand in trimming up the garden. In those\ndays your honour was very young, and I myself little better than a\nchild; and so I used to play with your honour, and received many\nkindnesses at your hands. My name, sir, is Chokichi. Since those days\nI have fallen by degrees info dissolute habits, and little by little\nhave sunk to be the vile thing that you now see me.\"\n\nWhen Genzabur\u00f4 heard this he was very much surprised, and,\nrecollecting his old friendship for his playmate, was filled with\npity, and said, \"Surely, surely, you have fallen very low. Now all you\nhave to do is to presevere and use your utmost endeavours to find a\nmeans of escape from the class into which you have fallen, and become\na wardsman again. Take this sum: small as it is, let it be a\nfoundation for more to you.\" And with these words he took ten riyos\nout of his pouch and handed them to Chokichi, who at first refused to\naccept the present, but, when it was pressed upon him, received it\nwith thanks. Genzabur\u00f4 was leaving him to go home, when two wandering\nsinging-girls came up and spoke to Chokichi; so Genzabur\u00f4 looked to\nsee what the two women were like. One was a woman of some twenty years\nof age, and the other was a peerlessly beautiful girl of sixteen; she\nwas neither too fat nor too thin, neither too tall nor too short; her\nface was oval, like a melon-seed, and her complexion fair and white;\nher eyes were narrow and bright, her teeth small and even; her nose\nwas aquiline, and her mouth delicately formed, with lovely red lips;\nher eyebrows were long and fine; she had a profusion of long black\nhair; she spoke modestly, with a soft sweet voice; and when she\nsmiled, two lovely dimples appeared in her cheeks; in all her\nmovements she was gentle and refined. Genzabur\u00f4 fell in love with her\nat first sight; and she, seeing what a handsome man he was, equally\nfell in love with him; so that the woman that was with her, perceiving\nthat they were struck with one another, led her away as fast as\npossible.\n\nGenzabur\u00f4 remained as one stupefied, and, turning to Chokichi, said,\n\"Are you acquainted with those two women who came up just now?\"\n\n\"Sir,\" replied Chokichi, \"those are two women of our people. The elder\nwoman is called O Kuma, and the girl, who is only sixteen years old,\nis named O Koyo. She is the daughter of one Kihachi, a chief of the\nEtas. She is a very gentle girl, besides being so exceedingly pretty;\nand all our people are loud in her praise.\"\n\nWhen he heard this, Genzabur\u00f4 remained lost in thought for a while,\nand then said to Chokichi, \"I want you to do something for me. Are\nyou prepared to serve me in whatever respect I may require you?\"\n\nChokichi answered that he was prepared to do anything in his power to\noblige his honour. Upon this Genzabur\u00f4 smiled and said, \"Well, then, I\nam willing to employ you in a certain matter; but as there are a great\nnumber of passers-by here, I will go and wait for you in a tea-house\nat Hanakawado; and when you have finished your business here, you can\njoin me, and I will speak to you.\" With these words Genzabur\u00f4 left\nhim, and went off to the tea-house.\n\nWhen Chokichi had finished his work, he changed his clothes, and,\nhurrying to the tea-house, inquired for Genzabur\u00f4, who was waiting for\nhim upstairs. Chokichi went up to him, and began to thank him for the\nmoney which he had bestowed upon him. Genzabur\u00f4 smiled, and handed him\na wine-cup, inviting him to drink, and said--\n\n\"I will tell you the service upon which I wish to employ you. I have\nset my heart upon that girl O Koyo, whom I met to-day upon the Adzuma\nBridge, and you must arrange a meeting between us.\"\n\nWhen Chokichi heard these words, he was amazed and frightened, and for\na while he made no answer. At last he said---\n\n\"Sir, there is nothing that I would not do for you after the favours\nthat I have received from you. If this girl were the daughter of any\nordinary man, I would move heaven and earth to comply with your\nwishes; but for your honour, a handsome and noble Hatamoto, to take\nfor his concubine the daughter of an Eta is a great mistake. By giving\na little money you can get the handsomest woman in the town. Pray,\nsir, abandon the idea.\"\n\nUpon this Genzabur\u00f4 was offended, and said--\n\n\"This is no matter for you to give advice in. I have told you to get\nme the girl, and you must obey.\"\n\nChokichi, seeing that all that he could say would be of no avail,\nthought over in his mind how to bring about a meeting between\nGenzabur\u00f4 and O Koyo, and replied--\n\n\"Sir, I am afraid when I think of the liberty that I have taken. I\nwill go to Kihachi's house, and will use my best endeavours with him\nthat I may bring the girl to you. But for to-day, it is getting late,\nand night is coming on; so I will go and speak to her father\nto-morrow.\"\n\nGenzabur\u00f4 was delighted to find Chokichi willing to serve him.\n\n\"Well,\" said he, \"the day after to-morrow I will await you at the\ntea-house at Oji, and you can bring O Koyo there. Take this present,\nsmall as it is, and do your best for me.\"\n\nWith this he pulled out three riyos from his pocket and handed them to\nChokichi. who declined the money with thanks, saying that he had\nalready received too much, and could accept no more; but Genzabur\u00f4\npressed him, adding, that if the wish of his heart were accomplished\nhe would do still more for him. So Chokichi, in great glee at the good\nluck which had befallen him, began to revolve all sorts of schemes in\nhis mind; and the two parted.\n\nBut O Koyo, who had fallen in love at first sight with Genzabur\u00f4 on\nthe Adzuma Bridge, went home and could think of nothing but him. Sad\nand melancholy she sat, and her friend O Kuma tried to comfort her in\nvarious ways; but O Koyo yearned, with all her heart, for Genzabur\u00f4;\nand the more she thought over the matter, the better she perceived\nthat she, as the daughter of an Eta, was no match for a noble\nHatamoto. And yet, in spite of this, she pined for him, and bewailed\nher own vile condition.\n\nNow it happened that her friend O Kuma was in love with Chokichi, and\nonly cared for thinking and speaking of him; one day, when Chokichi\nwent to pay a visit at the house of Kihachi the Eta chief, O Kuma,\nseeing him come, was highly delighted, and received him very politely;\nand Chokichi, interrupting her, said--\n\n\"O Kuma, I want you to answer me a question: where has O Koyo gone to\namuse herself to-day?\"\n\n\"Oh, you know the gentleman who was talking with you the other day, at\nthe Adzuma Bridge? Well, O Koyo has fallen desperately in love with\nhim, and she says that she is too low-spirited and out of sorts to get\nup yet.\"\n\nChokichi was greatly pleased to hear this, and said to O Kuma--\n\n\"How delightful! Why, O Koyo has fallen in love with the very\ngentleman who is burning with passion for her, and who has employed me\nto help him in the matter. However, as he is a noble Hatamoto, and his\nwhole family would be ruined if the affair became known to the world,\nwe must endeavour to keep it as secret as possible.\"\n\n\"Dear me!\" replied O Kuma; \"when O Koyo hears this, how happy she will\nbe, to be sure! I must go and tell her at once.\"\n\n\"Stop!\" said Chokichi, detaining her; \"if her father, Master Kihachi,\nis willing, we will tell O Koyo directly. You had better wait here a\nlittle until I have consulted him;\" and with this he went into an\ninner chamber to see Kihachi; and, after talking over the news of the\nday, told him how Genzabur\u00f4 had fallen passionately in love with O\nKoyo, and had employed him as a go-between. Then he described how he\nhad received kindness at the hands of Genzabur\u00f4 when he was in better\ncircumstances, dwelt on the wonderful personal beauty of his lordship,\nand upon the lucky chance by which he and O Koyo had come to meet each\nother.\n\nWhen Kihachi heard this story, he was greatly flattered, and said--\n\n\"I am sure I am very much obliged to you. For one of our daughters,\nwhom even the common people despise and shun as a pollution, to be\nchosen as the concubine of a noble Hatamoto--what could be a greater\nmatter for congratulation!\"\n\nSo he prepared a feast for Chokichi, and went off at once to tell O\nKoyo the news. As for the maiden, who had fallen over head and ears in\nlove, there was no difficulty in obtaining her consent to all that was\nasked of her.\n\nAccordingly Chokichi, having arranged to bring the lovers together on\nthe following day at Oji, was preparing to go and report the glad\ntidings to Genzabur\u00f4; but O Koyo, who knew that her friend O Kuma was\nin love with Chokichi, and thought that if she could throw them into\none another's arms, they, on their side, would tell no tales about\nherself and Genzabur\u00f4, worked to such good purpose that she gained her\npoint. At last Chokichi, tearing himself from the embraces of O Kuma,\nreturned to Genzabur\u00f4, and told him how he had laid his plans so as,\nwithout fail, to bring O Koyo to him, the following day, at Oji, and\nGenzabur\u00f4, beside himself with impatience, waited for the morrow.\n\nThe next day Genzabur\u00f4, having made his preparations, and taking\nChokichi with him, went to the tea-house at Oji, and sat drinking\nwine, waiting for his sweetheart to come.\n\nAs for O Koyo, who was half in ecstasies, and half shy at the idea of\nmeeting on this day the man of her heart's desire, she put on her\nholiday clothes, and went with O Kuma to Oji; and as they went out\ntogether, her natural beauty being enhanced by her smart dress, all\nthe people turned round to look at her, and praise her pretty face.\nAnd so after a while, they arrived at Oji, and went into the tea-house\nthat had been agreed upon; and Chokichi, going out to meet them,\nexclaimed--\n\n\"Dear me, Miss O Koyo, his lordship has been all impatience waiting\nfor you: pray make haste and come in.\"\n\nBut, in spite of what he said, O Koyo, on account of her virgin\nmodesty, would not go in. O Kuma, however, who was not quite so\nparticular, cried out--\n\n\"Why, what is the meaning of this? As you've come here, O Koyo, it's a\nlittle late for you to be making a fuss about being shy. Don't be a\nlittle fool, but come in with me at once.\" And with these words she\ncaught fast hold of O Koyo's hand, and, pulling her by force into the\nroom, made her sit down by Genzabur\u00f4.\n\nWhen Genzabur\u00f4 saw how modest she was, he reassured her, saying--\n\n\"Come, what is there to be so shy about? Come a little nearer to me,\npray.\"\n\n\"Thank you, sir. How could I, who am such a vile thing, pollute your\nnobility by sitting by your side?\" And, as she spoke, the blushes\nmantled over her face; and the more Genzabur\u00f4 looked at her, the more\nbeautiful she appeared in his eyes, and the more deeply he became\nenamoured of her charms. In the meanwhile he called for wine and fish,\nand all four together made a feast of it. When Chokichi and O Kuma\nsaw how the land lay, they retired discreetly into another chamber,\nand Genzabur\u00f4 and O Koyo were left alone together, looking at one\nanother.\n\n\"Come,\" said Genzabur\u00f4, smiling, \"hadn't you better sit a little\ncloser to me?\"\n\n\"Thank you, sir; really I'm afraid.\"\n\nBut Genzabur\u00f4, laughing at her for her idle fears, said--\n\n\"Don't behave as if you hated me.\"\n\n\"Oh, dear! I'm sure I don't hate you, sir. That would be very rude;\nand, indeed, it's not the case. I loved you when I first saw you at\nthe Adzuma Bridge, and longed for you with all my heart; but I knew\nwhat a despised race I belonged to, and that I was no fitting match\nfor you, and so I tried to be resigned. But I am very young and\ninexperienced, and so I could not help thinking of you, and you alone;\nand then Chokichi came, and when I heard what you had said about me, I\nthought, in the joy of my heart, that it must be a dream of\nhappiness.\"\n\nAnd as she spoke these words, blushing timidly, Genzabur\u00f4 was dazzled\nwith her beauty, and said---\n\n\"Well, you're a clever child. I'm sure, now, you must have some\nhandsome young lover of your own, and that is why you don't care to\ncome and drink wine and sit by me. Am I not right, eh?\"\n\n\"Ah, sir, a nobleman like you is sure to have a beautiful wife at\nhome; and then you are so handsome that, of course, all the pretty\nyoung ladies are in love with you.\"\n\n\"Nonsense! Why, how clever you are at flattering and paying\ncompliments! A pretty little creature like you was just made to turn\nall the men's heads--a little witch.\"\n\n\"Ah! those are hard things to say of a poor girl! Who could think of\nfalling in love with such a wretch as I am? Now, pray tell me all\nabout your own sweetheart: I do so long to hear about her.\"\n\n\"Silly child! I'm not the sort of man to put thoughts into the heads\nof fair ladies. However, it is quite true that there is some one whom\nI want to marry.\"\n\nAt this O Koyo began to feel jealous.\n\n\"Ah!\" said she, \"how happy that some one must be! Do, pray, tell me\nthe whole story.\" And a feeling of jealous spite came over her, and\nmade her quite unhappy.\n\nGenzabur\u00f4 laughed as he answered--\n\n\"Well, that some one is yourself, and nobody else. There!\" and as he\nspoke, he gently tapped the dimple on her cheek with his finger; and O\nKoyo's heart beat so, for very joy, that, for a little while, she\nremained speechless. At last she turned her face towards Genzabur\u00f4,\nand said--\n\n\"Alas! your lordship is only trifling with me, when you know that what\nyou have just been pleased to propose is the darling wish of my heart.\nWould that I could only go into your house as a maid-servant, in any\ncapacity, however mean, that I might daily feast my eyes on your\nhandsome face!\"\n\n\"Ah! I see that you think yourself very clever at hoaxing men, and so\nyou must needs tease me a little;\" and, as he spoke, he took her hand,\nand drew her close up to him, and she, blushing again, cried--\n\n\"Oh! pray wait a moment, while I shut the sliding-doors.\"\n\n\"Listen to me, O Koyo! I am not going to forget the promise which I\nmade you just now; nor need you be afraid of my harming you; but take\ncare that you do not deceive me.\"\n\n\"Indeed, sir, the fear is rather that you should set your heart on\nothers; but, although I am no fashionable lady, take pity on me, and\nlove me well and long.\"\n\n\"Of course! I shall never care for another woman but you.\"\n\n\"Pray, pray, never forget those words that you have just spoken.\"\n\n\"And now,\" replied Genzabur\u00f4, \"the night is advancing, and, for\nto-day, we must part; but we will arrange matters, so as to meet again\nin this tea-house. But, as people would make remarks if we left the\ntea-house together, I will go out first.\"\n\nAnd so, much against their will, they tore themselves from one\nanother, Genzabur\u00f4 returning to his house, and O Koyo going home, her\nheart filled with joy at having found the man for whom she had pined;\nand from that day forth they used constantly to meet in secret at the\ntea-house; and Genzabur\u00f4, in his infatuation, never thought that the\nmatter must surely become notorious after a while, and that he himself\nwould be banished, and his family ruined: he only took care for the\npleasure of the moment.\n\nNow Chokichi, who had brought about the meeting between Genzabur\u00f4 and\nhis love, used to go every day to the tea-house at Oji, taking with\nhim O Koyo; and Genzabur\u00f4 neglected all his duties for the pleasure of\nthese secret meetings. Chokichi saw this with great regret, and\nthought to himself that if Genzabur\u00f4 gave himself up entirely to\npleasure, and laid aside his duties, the secret would certainly be\nmade public, and Genzabur\u00f4 would bring ruin on himself and his family;\nso he began to devise some plan by which he might separate them, and\nplotted as eagerly to estrange them as he had formerly done to\nintroduce them to one another.\n\nAt last he hit upon a device which satisfied him. Accordingly one day\nhe went to O Koyo's house, and, meeting her father Kihachi, said to\nhim--\n\n\"I've got a sad piece of news to tell you. The family of my lord\nGenzabur\u00f4 have been complaining bitterly of his conduct in carrying on\nhis relationship with your daughter, and of the ruin which exposure\nwould bring upon the whole house; so they have been using their\ninfluence to persuade him to hear reason, and give up the connection.\nNow his lordship feels deeply for the damsel, and yet he cannot\nsacrifice his family for her sake. For the first time, he has become\nalive to the folly of which he has been guilty, and, full of remorse,\nhe has commissioned me to devise some stratagem to break off the\naffair. Of course, this has taken me by surprise; but as there is no\ngainsaying the right of the case, I have had no option but to promise\nobedience: this promise I have come to redeem; and now, pray, advise\nyour daughter to think no more of his lordship.\"\n\nWhen Kihachi heard this he was surprised and distressed, and told O\nKoyo immediately; and she, grieving over the sad news, took no thought\neither of eating or drinking, but remained gloomy and desolate.\n\nIn the meanwhile, Chokichi went off to Genzabur\u00f4's house, and told him\nthat O Koyo had been taken suddenly ill, and could not go to meet him,\nand begged him to wait patiently until she should send to tell him of\nher recovery. Genzabur\u00f4, never suspecting the story to be false,\nwaited for thirty days, and still Chokichi brought him no tidings of O\nKoyo. At last he met Chokichi, and besought him to arrange a meeting\nfor him with O Koyo.\n\n\"Sir,\" replied Chokichi, \"she is not yet recovered; so it would be\ndifficult to bring her to see your honour. But I have been thinking\nmuch about this affair, sir. If it becomes public, your honour's\nfamily will be plunged in ruin. I pray you, sir, to forget all about O\nKoyo.\"\n\n\"It's all very well for you to give me advice,\" answered Genzabur\u00f4,\nsurprised; \"but, having once bound myself to O Koyo, it would be a\npitiful thing to desert her; I therefore implore you once more to\narrange that I may meet her.\"\n\nHowever, he would not consent upon any account; so Genzabur\u00f4 returned\nhome, and, from that time forth, daily entreated Chokichi to bring O\nKoyo to him, and, receiving nothing but advice from him in return, was\nvery sad and lonely.\n\nOne day Genzabur\u00f4, intent on ridding himself of the grief he felt at\nhis separation from O Koyo, went to the Yoshiwara, and, going into a\nhouse of entertainment, ordered a feast to be prepared, but, in the\nmidst of gaiety, his heart yearned all the while for his lost love,\nand his merriment was but mourning in disguise. At last the night wore\non; and as he was retiring along the corridor, he saw a man of about\nforty years of age, with long hair, coming towards him, who, when he\nsaw Genzabur\u00f4, cried out, \"Dear me! why this must be my young lord\nGenzabur\u00f4 who has come out to enjoy himself.\"\n\nGenzabur\u00f4 thought this rather strange; but, looking at the man\nattentively, recognized him as a retainer whom he had had in his\nemploy the year before, and said--\n\n\"This is a curious meeting: pray, what have you been about since you\nleft my service? At any rate, I may congratulate you on being well and\nstrong. Where are you living now?\"\n\n\"Well, sir, since I parted from you I have been earning a living as a\nfortune-teller at Kanda, and have changed my name to Kaji Sazen. I am\nliving in a poor and humble house; but if your lordship, at your\nleisure, would honour me with a visit--\"\n\n\"Well, it's a lucky chance that has brought us together, and I\ncertainly will go and see you; besides, I want you to do something for\nme. Shall you be at home the day after to-morrow?\"\n\n\"Certainly, sir, I shall make a point of being at home.\"\n\n\"Very well, then, the day after to-morrow I will go to your house.\"\n\n\"I shall be at your service, sir. And now, as it is getting late, I\nwill take my leave for to-night.\"\n\n\"Good night, then. We shall meet the day after to-morrow.\" And so the\ntwo parted, and went their several ways to rest.\n\nOn the appointed day Genzabur\u00f4 made his preparations, and went in\ndisguise, without any retainers, to call upon Sazen, who met him at\nthe porch of his house, and said, \"This is a great honour! My lord\nGenzabur\u00f4 is indeed welcome. My house is very mean, but let me invite\nyour lordship to come into an inner chamber.\"\n\n\"Pray,\" replied Genzabur\u00f4, \"don't make any ceremony for me. Don't put\nyourself to any trouble on my account.\"\n\nAnd so he passed in, and Sazen called to his wife to prepare wine and\ncondiments; and they began to feast. At last Genzabur\u00f4, looking Sazen\nin the face, said, \"There is a service which I want you to render\nme--a very secret service; but as if you were to refuse me, I should\nbe put to shame, before I tell you what that service is, I must know\nwhether you are willing to assist me in anything that I may require of\nyou.\"\n\n\"Yes; if it is anything that is within my power, I am at your\ndisposal.\"\n\n\"Well, then,\" said Genzabur\u00f4, greatly pleased, and drawing ten riyos\nfrom his bosom, \"this is but a small present to make to you on my\nfirst visit, but pray accept it.\"\n\n\"No, indeed! I don't know what your lordship wishes of me; but, at any\nrate, I cannot receive this money. I really must beg your lordship to\ntake it back again.\"\n\nBut Genzabur\u00f4 pressed it upon him by force, and at last he was obliged\nto accept the money. Then Genzabur\u00f4 told him the whole story of his\nloves with O Koyo--how he had first met her and fallen in love with\nher at the Adzuma Bridge; how Chokichi had introduced her to him at\nthe tea-house at Oji, and then when she fell ill, and he wanted to see\nher again, instead of bringing her to him, had only given him good\nadvice; and so Genzabur\u00f4 drew a lamentable picture of his state of\ndespair.\n\nSazen listened patiently to his story, and, after reflecting for a\nwhile, replied, \"Well, sir, it's not a difficult matter to set right:\nand yet it will require some little management. However, if your\nlordship will do me the honour of coming to see me again the day after\nto-morrow, I will cast about me in the meanwhile, and will let you\nknow then the result of my deliberations.\"\n\nWhen Genzabur\u00f4 heard this he felt greatly relieved, and, recommending\nSazen to do his best in the matter, took his leave and returned home.\nThat very night Sazen, after thinking over all that Genzabur\u00f4 had told\nhim, laid his plans accordingly, and went off to the house of Kihachi,\nthe Eta chief, and told him the commission with which he had been\nentrusted.\n\nKihachi was of course greatly astonished, and said, \"Some time ago,\nsir, Chokichi came here and said that my lord Genzabur\u00f4, having been\nrebuked by his family for his profligate behaviour, had determined to\nbreak off his connection with my daughter. Of course I knew that the\ndaughter of an Eta was no fitting match for a nobleman; so when\nChokichi came and told me the errand upon which he had been sent, I\nhad no alternative but to announce to my daughter that she must give\nup all thought of his lordship. Since that time she has been fretting\nand pining and starving for love. But when I tell her what you have\njust said, how glad and happy she will be! Let me go and talk to her\nat once.\" And with these words, he went to O Koyo's room; and when he\nlooked upon her thin wasted face, and saw how sad she was, he felt\nmore and more pity for her, and said, \"Well, O Koyo, are you in better\nspirits to-day? Would you like something to eat?\"\n\n\"Thank you, I have no appetite.\"\n\n\"Well, at any rate, I have some news for you that will make you happy.\nA messenger has come from my lord Genzabur\u00f4, for whom your heart\nyearns.\"\n\nAt this O Koyo, who had been crouching down like a drooping flower,\ngave a great start, and cried out, \"Is that really true? Pray tell me\nall about it as quickly as possible.\"\n\n\"The story which Chokichi came and told us, that his lordship wished\nto break off the connection, was all an invention. He has all along\nbeen wishing to meet you, and constantly urged Chokichi to bring you a\nmessage from him. It is Chokichi who has been throwing obstacles in\nthe way. At last his lordship has secretly sent a man, called Kaji\nSazen, a fortune-teller, to arrange an interview between you. So now,\nmy child, you may cheer up, and go to meet your lover as soon as you\nplease.\"\n\nWhen O Koyo heard this, she was so happy that she thought it must all\nbe a dream, and doubted her own senses.\n\nKihachi in the meanwhile rejoined Sazen in the other room, and, after\ntelling him of the joy with which his daughter had heard the news, put\nbefore him wine and other delicacies. \"I think,\" said Sazen, \"that the\nbest way would be for O Koyo to live secretly in my lord Genzabur\u00f4's\nhouse; but as it will never do for all the world to know of it, it\nmust be managed very quietly; and further, when I get home, I must\nthink out some plan to lull the suspicions of that fellow Chokichi,\nand let you know my idea by letter. Meanwhile O Koyo had better come\nhome with me to-night: although she is so terribly out of spirits now,\nshe shall meet Genzabur\u00f4 the day after to-morrow.\"\n\nKihachi reported this to O Koyo; and as her pining for Genzabur\u00f4 was\nthe only cause of her sickness, she recovered her spirits at once,\nand, saying that she would go with Sazen immediately, joyfully made\nher preparations. Then Sazen, having once more warned Kihachi to keep\nthe matter secret from Chokichi, and to act upon the letter which he\nshould send him, returned home, taking with him O Koyo; and after O\nKoyo had bathed and dressed her hair, and painted herself and put on\nbeautiful clothes, she came out looking so lovely that no princess in\nthe land could vie with her; and Sazen, when he saw her, said to\nhimself that it was no wonder that Genzabur\u00f4 had fallen in love with\nher; then, as it was getting late, he advised her to go to rest, and,\nafter showing her to her apartments, went to his own room and wrote\nhis letter to Kihachi, containing the scheme which he had devised.\nWhen Kihachi received his instructions, he was filled with admiration\nat Sazen's ingenuity, and, putting on an appearance of great alarm and\nagitation, went off immediately to call on Chokichi, and said to him--\n\n\"Oh, Master Chokichi, such a terrible thing has happened! Pray, let me\ntell you all about it.\"\n\n\"Indeed! what can it be?\"\n\n\"Oh! sir,\" answered Kihachi, pretending to wipe away his tears, \"my\ndaughter O Koyo, mourning over her separation from my lord Genzabur\u00f4,\nat first refused all sustenance, and remained nursing her sorrows\nuntil, last night, her woman's heart failing to bear up against her\ngreat grief, she drowned herself in the river, leaving behind her a\npaper on which she had written her intention.\"\n\nWhen Chokichi heard this, he was thunderstruck, and exclaimed, \"Can\nthis really be true! And when I think that it was I who first\nintroduced her to my lord, I am ashamed to look you in the face.\"\n\n\"Oh, say not so: misfortunes are the punishment due for our misdeeds\nin a former state of existence. I bear you no ill-will. This money\nwhich I hold in my hand was my daughter's; and in her last\ninstructions she wrote to beg that it might be given, after her death,\nto you, through whose intervention she became allied with a nobleman:\nso please accept it as my daughter's legacy to you;\" and as he spoke,\nhe offered him three riyos.\n\n\"You amaze me!\" replied the other. \"How could I, above all men, who\nhave so much to reproach myself with in my conduct towards you, accept\nthis money?\"\n\n\"Nay; it was my dead daughter's wish. But since you reproach yourself\nin the matter when you think of her, I will beg you to put up a prayer\nand to cause masses to be said for her.\"\n\nAt last, Chokichi, after much persuasion, and greatly to his own\ndistress, was obliged to accept the money; and when Kihachi had\ncarried out all Sazen's instructions, he returned home, laughing in\nhis sleeve.\n\nChokichi was sorely grieved to hear of O Koyo's death, and remained\nthinking over the sad news; when all of a sudden looking about him,\nhe saw something like a letter lying on the spot where Kihachi had\nbeen sitting, so he picked it up and read it; and, as luck would have\nit, it was the very letter which contained Sazen's instructions to\nKihachi, and in which the whole story which had just affected him so\nmuch was made up. When he perceived the trick that had been played\nupon him, he was very angry, and exclaimed, \"To think that I should\nhave been so hoaxed by that hateful old dotard, and such a fellow as\nSazen! And Genzabur\u00f4, too!--out of gratitude for the favours which I\nhad received from him in old days, I faithfully gave him good advice,\nand all in vain. Well, they've gulled me once; but I'll be even with\nthem yet, and hinder their game before it is played out!\" And so he\nworked himself up into a fury, and went off secretly to prowl about\nSazen's house to watch for O Koyo, determined to pay off Genzabur\u00f4 and\nSazen for their conduct to him.\n\nIn the meanwhile Sazen, who did not for a moment suspect what had\nhappened, when the day which had been fixed upon by him and Genzabur\u00f4\narrived, made O Koyo put on her best clothes, smartened up his house,\nand got ready a feast against Genzabur\u00f4's arrival. The latter came\npunctually to his time, and, going in at once, said to the\nfortune-teller, \"Well, have you succeeded in the commission with which\nI entrusted you?\"\n\nAt first Sazen pretended to be vexed at the question, and said, \"Well,\nsir, I've done my best; but it's not a matter which can be settled in\na hurry. However, there's a young lady of high birth and wonderful\nbeauty upstairs, who has come here secretly to have her fortune told;\nand if your lordship would like to come with me and see her, you can\ndo so.\"\n\nBut Genzabur\u00f4, when he heard that he was not to meet O Koyo, lost\nheart entirely, and made up his mind to go home again. Sazen, however,\npressed him so eagerly, that at last he went upstairs to see this\nvaunted beauty; and Sazen, drawing aside a screen, showed him O Koyo,\nwho was sitting there. Genzabur\u00f4 gave a great start, and, turning to\nSazen, said, \"Well, you certainly are a first-rate hand at keeping up\na hoax. However, I cannot sufficiently praise the way in which you\nhave carried out my instructions.\"\n\n\"Pray, don't mention it, sir. But as it is a long time since you have\nmet the young lady, you must have a great deal to say to one another;\nso I will go downstairs, and, if you want anything, pray call me.\" And\nso he went downstairs and left them.\n\nThen Genzabur\u00f4, addressing O Koyo, said, \"Ah! it is indeed a long time\nsince we met. How happy it makes me to see you again! Why, your face\nhas grown quite thin. Poor thing! have you been unhappy?\" And O Koyo,\nwith the tears starting from her eyes for joy, hid her face; and her\nheart was so full that she could not speak. But Genzabur\u00f4, passing his\nhand gently over her head and back, and comforting her, said, \"Come,\nsweetheart, there is no need to sob so. Talk to me a little, and let\nme hear your voice.\"\n\nAt last O Koyo raised her head and said, \"Ah! when I was separated\nfrom you by the tricks of Chokichi, and thought that I should never\nmeet you again, how tenderly I thought of you! I thought I should have\ndied, and waited for my hour to come, pining all the while for you.\nAnd when at last, as I lay between life and death, Sazen came with a\nmessage from you, I thought it was all a dream.\" And as she spoke, she\nbent her head and sobbed again; and in Genzabur\u00f4's eyes she seemed\nmore beautiful than ever, with her pale, delicate face; and he loved\nher better than before. Then she said, \"If I were to tell you all I\nhave suffered until to-day, I should never stop.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied Genzabur\u00f4, \"I too have suffered much;\" and so they told\none another their mutual griefs, and from that day forth they\nconstantly met at Sazen's house.\n\nOne day, as they were feasting and enjoying themselves in an upper\nstorey in Sazen's house, Chokichi came to the house and said, \"I beg\npardon; but does one Master Sazen live here?\"\n\n\"Certainly, sir: I am Sazen, at your service. Pray where are you\nfrom?\"\n\n\"Well, sir, I have a little business to transact with you. May I make\nso bold as to go in?\" And with these words, he entered the house.\n\n\"But who and what are you?\" said Sazen.\n\n\"Sir, I am an Eta; and my name is Chokichi. I beg to bespeak your\ngoodwill for myself: I hope we may be friends.\"\n\nSazen was not a little taken aback at this; however, he put on an\ninnocent face, as though he had never heard of Chokichi before, and\nsaid, \"I never heard of such a thing! Why, I thought you were some\nrespectable person; and you have the impudence to tell me that your\nname is Chokichi, and that you're one of those accursed Etas. To think\nof such a shameless villain coming and asking to be friends with me,\nforsooth! Get you gone!--the quicker, the better: your presence\npollutes the house.\"\n\nChokichi smiled contemptuously, as he answered, \"So you deem the\npresence of an Eta in your house a pollution--eh? Why, I thought you\nmust be one of us.\"\n\n\"Insolent knave! Begone as fast as possible.\"\n\n\"Well, since you say that I defile your house, you had better get rid\nof O Koyo as well. I suppose she must equally be a pollution to it.\"\n\nThis put Sazen rather in a dilemma; however, he made up his mind not\nto show any hesitation, and said, \"What are you talking about? There\nis no O Koyo here; and I never saw such a person in my life.\"\n\nChokichi quietly drew out of the bosom of his dress the letter from\nSazen to Kihachi, which he had picked up a few days before, and,\nshowing it to Sazen, replied, \"If you wish to dispute the genuineness\nof this paper, I will report the whole matter to the Governor of Yedo;\nand Genzabur\u00f4's family will be ruined, and the rest of you who are\nparties in this affair will come in for your share of trouble. Just\nwait a little.\"\n\nAnd as he pretended to leave the house, Sazen, at his wits' end, cried\nout, \"Stop! stop! I want to speak to you. Pray, stop and listen\nquietly. It is quite true, as you said, that O Koyo is in my house;\nand really your indignation is perfectly just. Come! let us talk over\nmatters a little. Now you yourself were originally a respectable man;\nand although you have fallen in life, there is no reason why your\ndisgrace should last for ever. All that you want in order to enable\nyou to escape out of this fraternity of Etas is a little money. Why\nshould you not get this from Genzabur\u00f4, who is very anxious to keep\nhis intrigue with O Koyo secret?\"\n\nChokichi laughed disdainfully. \"I am ready to talk with you; but I\ndon't want any money. All I want is to report the affair to the\nauthorities, in order that I may be revenged for the fraud that was\nput upon me.\"\n\n\"Won't you accept twenty-five riyos?\"\n\n\"Twenty-five riyos! No, indeed! I will not take a fraction less than a\nhundred; and if I cannot get them I will report the whole matter at\nonce.\"\n\nSazen, after a moment's consideration, hit upon a scheme, and\nanswered, smiling, \"Well, Master Chokichi, you're a fine fellow, and I\nadmire your spirit. You shall have the hundred riyos you ask for; but,\nas I have not so much money by me at present, I will go to Genzabur\u00f4's\nhouse and fetch it. It's getting dark now, but it's not very late; so\nI'll trouble you to come with me, and then I can give you the money\nto-night.\"\n\nChokichi consenting to this, the pair left the house together.\n\nNow Sazen, who as a R\u00f4nin wore a long dirk in his girdle, kept looking\nout for a moment when Chokichi should be off his guard, in order to\nkill him; but Chokichi kept his eyes open, and did not give Sazen a\nchance. At last Chokichi, as ill-luck would have it, stumbled against\na stone and fell; and Sazen, profiting by the chance, drew his dirk\nand stabbed him in the side; and as Chokichi, taken by surprise, tried\nto get up, he cut him severely over the head, until at last he fell\ndead. Sazen then looking around him, and seeing, to his great delight,\nthat there was no one near, returned home. The following day,\nChokichi's body was found by the police; and when they examined it,\nthey found nothing upon it save a paper, which they read, and which\nproved to be the very letter which Sazen had sent to Kihachi, and\nwhich Chokichi had picked up. The matter was immediately reported to\nthe governor, and, Sazen having been summoned, an investigation was\nheld. Sazen, cunning and bold murderer as he was, lost his\nself-possession when he saw what a fool he had been not to get back\nfrom Chokichi the letter which he had written, and, when he was put to\na rigid examination under torture, confessed that he had hidden O\nKoyo at Genzabur\u00f4's instigation, and then killed Chokichi, who had\nfound out the secret. Upon this the governor, after consulting about\nGenzabur\u00f4's case, decided that, as he had disgraced his position as a\nHatamoto by contracting an alliance with the daughter of an Eta, his\nproperty should be confiscated, his family blotted out, and himself\nbanished. As for Kihachi, the Eta chief, and his daughter O Koyo, they\nwere handed over for punishment to the chief of the Etas, and by him\nthey too were banished; while Sazen, against whom the murder of\nChokichi had been fully proved, was executed according to law.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE\n\n\nAt Asakusa, in Yedo, there lives a man called Danzay\u00e9mon, the chief of\nthe Etas. This man traces his pedigree back to Minamoto no Yoritomo,\nwho founded the Shogunate in the year A.D. 1192. The whole of the Etas\nin Japan are under his jurisdiction; his subordinates are called\nKoyagashira, or \"chiefs of the huts\"; and he and they constitute the\ngovernment of the Etas. In the \"Legacy of Iy\u00e9yasu,\" already quoted,\nthe 36th Law provides as follows:--\"All wandering mendicants, such as\nmale sorcerers, female diviners, hermits, blind people, beggars, and\ntanners (Etas), have had from of old their respective rulers. Be not\ndisinclined, however, to punish any such who give rise to disputes, or\nwho overstep the boundaries of their own classes and are disobedient\nto existing laws.\"\n\nThe occupation of the Etas is to kill and flay horses, oxen, and other\nbeasts, to stretch drums and make shoes; and if they are very poor,\nthey wander from house to house, working as cobblers, mending old\nshoes and leather, and so earn a scanty livelihood. Besides this,\ntheir daughters and young married women gain a trifle as wandering\nminstrels, called Torioi, playing on the _shamisen_, a sort of banjo,\nand singing ballads. They never marry out of their own fraternity, but\nremain apart, a despised and shunned race.\n\nAt executions by crucifixion it is the duty of the Etas to transfix\nthe victims with spears; and, besides this, they have to perform all\nsorts of degrading offices about criminals, such as carrying sick\nprisoners from their cells to the hall of justice, and burying the\nbodies of those that have been executed. Thus their race is polluted\nand accursed, and they are hated accordingly.\n\nNow this is how the Etas came to be under the jurisdiction of\nDanzay\u00e9mon:--\n\nWhen Minamoto no Yoritomo was yet a child, his father, Minamoto no\nYoshitomo, fought with Taira no Kiyomori, and was killed by treachery:\nso his family was ruined; and Yoshitomo's concubine, whose name was\nTokiwa, took her children and fled from the house, to save her own and\ntheir lives. But Kiyomori, desiring to destroy the family of Yoshitomo\nroot and branch, ordered his retainers to divide themselves into\nbands, and seek out the children. At last they were found; but Tokiwa\nwas so exceedingly beautiful that Kiyomori was inflamed with love for\nher, and desired her to become his own concubine. Then Tokiwa told\nKiyomori that if he would spare her little ones she would share his\ncouch; but that if he killed her children she would destroy herself\nrather than yield to his desire. When he heard this, Kiyomori,\nbewildered by the beauty of Tokiwa, spared the lives of her children,\nbut banished them from the capital.\n\nSo Yoritomo was sent to Hirugakojima, in the province of Idzu; and\nwhen he grew up and became a man, he married the daughter of a\npeasant. After a while Yoritomo left the province, and went to the\nwars, leaving his wife pregnant; and in due time she was delivered of\na male child, to the delight of her parents, who rejoiced that their\ndaughter should bear seed to a nobleman; but she soon fell sick and\ndied, and the old people took charge of the babe. And when they also\ndied, the care of the child fell to his mother's kinsmen, and he grew\nup to be a peasant.\n\nNow Kiyomori, the enemy of Yoritomo, had been gathered to his fathers;\nand Yoritomo had avenged the death of his father by slaying Mun\u00e9mori,\nthe son of Kiyomori; and there was peace throughout the land. And\nYoritomo became the chief of all the noble houses in Japan, and first\nestablished the government of the country. When Yoritomo had thus\nraised himself to power, if the son that his peasant wife had born to\nhim had proclaimed himself the son of the mighty prince, he would have\nbeen made lord over a province; but he took no thought of this, and\nremained a tiller of the earth, forfeiting a glorious inheritance; and\nhis descendants after him lived as peasants in the same village,\nincreasing in prosperity and in good repute among their neighbours.\n\nBut the princely line of Yoritomo came to an end in three generations,\nand the house of H\u00f4j\u00f4 was all-powerful in the land.\n\nNow it happened that the head of the house of H\u00f4j\u00f4 heard that a\ndescendant of Yoritomo was living as a peasant in the land, so he\nsummoned him and said:--\n\n\"It is a hard thing to see the son of an illustrious house live and\ndie a peasant. I will promote you to the rank of Samurai.\"\n\nThen the peasant answered, \"My lord, if I become a Samurai, and the\nretainer of some noble, I shall not be so happy as when I was my own\nmaster. If I may not remain a husbandman, let me be a chief over men,\nhowever humble they may be.\"\n\nBut my lord H\u00f4j\u00f4 was angry at this, and, thinking to punish the\npeasant for his insolence, said:--\n\n\"Since you wish to become a chief over men, no matter how humble,\nthere is no means of gratifying your strange wish but by making you\nchief over the Etas of the whole country. So now see that you rule\nthem well.\"\n\nWhen he heard this, the peasant was afraid; but because he had said\nthat he wished to become a chief over men, however humble, he could\nnot choose but become chief of the Etas, he and his children after him\nfor ever; and Danzay\u00e9mon, who rules the Etas at the present time, and\nlives at Asakusa, is his lineal descendant.\n\n\n\n\nFAIRY TALES\n\n\n\n\nFAIRY TALES\n\n\nI think that their quaintness is a sufficient apology for the\nfollowing little children's stories. With the exception of that of the\n\"Elves and the Envious Neighbour,\" which comes out of a curious book\non etymology and proverbial lore, called the Kotowazagusa, these\nstories are found printed in little separate pamphlets, with\nillustrations, the stereotype blocks of which have become so worn that\nthe print is hardly legible. These are the first tales which are put\ninto a Japanese child's hands; and it is with these, and such as\nthese, that the Japanese mother hushes her little ones to sleep.\nKnowing the interest which many children of a larger growth take in\nsuch Baby Stories, I was anxious to have collected more of them. I was\ndisappointed, however, for those which I give here are the only ones\nwhich I could find in print; and if I asked the Japanese to tell me\nothers, they only thought I was laughing at them, and changed the\nsubject. The stories of the Tongue-cut Sparrow, and the Old Couple and\ntheir Dog, have been paraphrased in other works upon Japan; but I am\nnot aware of their having been literally translated before.\n\n\n\n\nTHE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman. The old man,\nwho had a kind heart, kept a young sparrow, which he tenderly\nnurtured. But the dame was a cross-grained old thing; and one day,\nwhen the sparrow had pecked at some paste with which she was going to\nstarch her linen, she flew into a great rage, and cut the sparrow's\ntongue and let it loose. When the old man came home from the hills and\nfound that the bird had flown, he asked what had become of it; so the\nold woman answered that she had cut its tongue and let it go, because\nit had stolen her starching-paste. Now the old man, hearing this cruel\ntale, was sorely grieved, and thought to himself, \"Alas! where can my\nbird be gone? Poor thing! Poor little tongue-cut sparrow! where is\nyour home now?\" and he wandered far and wide, seeking for his pet, and\ncrying, \"Mr. Sparrow! Mr. Sparrow! where are you living?\"\n\nOne day, at the foot of a certain mountain, the old man fell in with\nthe lost bird; and when they had congratulated one another on their\nmutual safety, the sparrow led the old man to his home, and, having\nintroduced him to his wife and chicks, set before him all sorts of\ndainties, and entertained him hospitably.\n\n\"Please partake of our humble fare,\" said the sparrow; \"poor as it is,\nyou are very welcome.\"\n\n\"What a polite sparrow!\" answered the old man, who remained for a long\ntime as the sparrow's guest, and was daily feasted right royally. At\nlast the old man said that he must take his leave and return home; and\nthe bird, offering him two wicker baskets, begged him to carry them\nwith him as a parting present. One of the baskets was heavy, and the\nother was light; so the old man, saying that as he was feeble and\nstricken in years he would only accept the light one, shouldered it,\nand trudged off home, leaving the sparrow-family disconsolate at\nparting from him.\n\nWhen the old man got home, the dame grew very angry, and began to\nscold him, saying, \"Well, and pray where have you been this many a\nday? A pretty thing, indeed, to be gadding about at your time of\nlife!\"\n\n\"Oh!\" replied he, \"I have been on a visit to the sparrows; and when I\ncame away, they gave me this wicker basket as a parting gift.\" Then\nthey opened the basket to see what was inside, and, lo and behold! it\nwas full of gold and silver and precious things. When the old woman,\nwho was as greedy as she was cross, saw all the riches displayed\nbefore her, she changed her scolding strain, and could not contain\nherself for joy.\n\n[Illustration: THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW.]\n\n\"I'll go and call upon the sparrows, too,\" said she, \"and get a pretty\npresent.\" So she asked the old man the way to the sparrows' house, and\nset forth on her journey. Following his directions, she at last met\nthe tongue-cut sparrow, and exclaimed--\n\n\n\"Well met! well met! Mr. Sparrow. I have been looking forward to the\npleasure of seeing you.\" So she tried to flatter and cajole the\nsparrow by soft speeches.\n\nThe bird could not but invite the dame to its home; but it took no\npains to feast her, and said nothing about a parting gift. She,\nhowever, was not to be put off; so she asked for something to carry\naway with her in remembrance of her visit. The sparrow accordingly\nproduced two baskets, as before, and the greedy old woman, choosing\nthe heavier of the two, carried it off with her. But when she opened\nthe basket to see what was inside, all sorts of hobgoblins and elves\nsprang out of it, and began to torment her.\n\n[Illustration: THE TONGUE-CUT SPARROW. (2)]\n\nBut the old man adopted a son, and his family grew rich and\nprosperous. What a happy old man!\n\n\n\n\nTHE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE\n\n\nA long time ago, at a temple called Morinji, in the province of\nJ\u00f4shiu, there was an old tea-kettle. One day, when the priest of the\ntemple was about to hang it over the hearth to boil the water for his\ntea, to his amazement, the kettle all of a sudden put forth the head\nand tail of a badger. What a wonderful kettle, to come out all over\nfur! The priest, thunderstruck, called in the novices of the temple to\nsee the sight; and whilst they were stupidly staring, one suggesting\none thing and another, the kettle, jumping up into the air, began\nflying about the room. More astonished than ever, the priest and his\npupils tried to pursue it; but no thief or cat was ever half so sharp\nas this wonderful badger-kettle. At last, however, they managed to\nknock it down and secure it; and, holding it in with their united\nefforts, they forced it into a box, intending to carry it off and\nthrow it away in some distant place, so that they might be no more\nplagued by the goblin. For this day their troubles were over; but, as\nluck would have it, the tinker who was in the habit of working for the\ntemple called in, and the priest suddenly bethought him that it was a\npity to throw the kettle away for nothing, and that he might as well\nget a trifle for it, no matter how small. So he brought out the\nkettle, which had resumed its former shape and had got rid of its head\nand tail, and showed it to the tinker. When the tinker saw the kettle,\nhe offered twenty copper coins for it, and the priest was only too\nglad to close the bargain and be rid of his troublesome piece of\nfurniture. But the tinker trudged off home with his pack and his new\npurchase. That night, as he lay asleep, he heard a strange noise near\nhis pillow; so he peeped out from under the bedclothes, and there he\nsaw the kettle that he had bought in the temple covered with fur, and\nwalking about on four legs. The tinker started up in a fright to see\nwhat it could all mean, when all of a sudden the kettle resumed its\nformer shape. This happened over and over again, until at last the\ntinker showed the tea-kettle to a friend of his, who said, \"This is\ncertainly an accomplished and lucky tea-kettle. You should take it\nabout as a show, with songs and accompaniments of musical instruments,\nand make it dance and walk on the tight rope.\"\n\n[Illustration: THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE.]\n\nThe tinker, thinking this good advice, made arrangements with a\nshowman, and set up an exhibition. The noise of the kettle's\nperformances soon spread abroad, until even the princes of the land\nsent to order the tinker to come to them; and he grew rich beyond\nall his expectations. Even the princesses, too, and the great ladies\nof the court, took great delight in the dancing kettle, so that no\nsooner had it shown its tricks in one place than it was time for them\nto keep some other engagement. At last the tinker grew so rich that he\ntook the kettle back to the temple, where it was laid up as a precious\ntreasure, and worshipped as a saint.\n\n[Illustration: THE ACCOMPLISHED AND LUCKY TEA-KETTLE. (2)]\n\n\n\n\nTHE CRACKLING MOUNTAIN\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman, who kept a\npet white hare, by which they set great store. One day, a badger, that\nlived hard by, came and ate up the food which had been put out for the\nhare; so the old man, flying into a great rage, seized the badger,\nand, tying the beast up to a tree, went off to the mountain to cut\nwood, while the old woman stopped at home and ground the wheat for the\nevening porridge. Then the badger, with tears in his eyes, said to the\nold woman--\n\n\"Please, dame, please untie this rope!\"\n\nThe dame, thinking that it was a cruel thing to see a poor beast in\npain, undid the rope; but the ungrateful brute was no sooner loose,\nthan he cried out--\n\n\"I'll be revenged for this,\" and was off in a trice.\n\nWhen the hare heard this, he went off to the mountain to warn the old\nman; and whilst the hare was away on this errand, the badger came\nback, and killed the dame. Then the beast, having assumed the old\nwoman's form, made her dead body into broth, and waited for the old\nman to come home from the mountain. When he returned, tired and\nhungry, the pretended old woman said--\n\n\"Come, come; I've made such a nice broth of the badger you hung up.\nSit down, and make a good supper of it.\"\n\nWith these words she set out the broth, and the old man made a hearty\nmeal, licking his lips over it, and praising the savoury mess. But as\nsoon as he had finished eating, the badger, reassuming its natural\nshape, cried out--\n\n\"Nasty old man! you've eaten your own wife. Look at her bones, lying\nin the kitchen sink!\" and, laughing contemptuously, the badger ran\naway, and disappeared.\n\nThen the old man, horrified at what he had done, set up a great\nlamentation; and whilst he was bewailing his fate, the hare came home,\nand, seeing how matters stood, determined to avenge the death of his\nmistress. So he went back to the mountain, and, falling in with the\nbadger, who was carrying a faggot of sticks on his back, he struck a\nlight and set fire to the sticks, without letting the badger see him.\nWhen the badger heard the crackling noise of the faggot burning on his\nback, he called out--\n\n\"Holloa! what is that noise?\"\n\n\"Oh!\" answered the hare, \"this is called the Crackling Mountain.\nThere's always this noise here.\"\n\nAnd as the fire gathered strength, and went pop! pop! pop! the badger\nsaid again--\n\n\"Oh dear! what can this noise be?\"\n\n\"This is called the 'Pop! Pop! Mountain,'\" answered the hare.\n\n[Illustration: THE HARE AND THE BADGER.]\n\nAll at once the fire began to singe the badger's back, so that he\nfled, howling with pain, and jumped into a river hard by. But,\nalthough the water put out the fire, his back was burnt as black as a\ncinder. The hare, seeing an opportunity for torturing the badger to\nhis heart's content, made a poultice of cayenne pepper, which he\ncarried to the badger's house, and, pretending to condole with him,\nand to have a sovereign remedy for burns, he applied his hot plaister\nto his enemy's sore back. Oh! how it smarted and pained! and how the\nbadger yelled and cried!\n\n[Illustration: THE HARE AND THE BADGER. (2)]\n\nWhen, at last, the badger got well again, he went to the hare's house,\nthinking to reproach him for having caused him so much pain. When he\ngot there, he found that the hare had built himself a boat.\n\n\"What have you built that boat for, Mr. Hare?\" said the badger.\n\n\"I'm going to the capital of the moon,\"[52] answered the hare; \"won't\nyou come with me?\"\n\n[Footnote 52: The mountains in the moon are supposed to resemble a\nhare in shape. Hence there is a fanciful connection between the hare\nand the moon.]\n\n\"I had enough of your company on the Crackling Mountain, where you\nplayed me such tricks. I'd rather make a boat for myself,\" replied the\nbadger, who immediately began building himself a boat of clay.\n\nThe hare, seeing this, laughed in his sleeve; and so the two launched\ntheir boats upon the river. The waves came plashing against the two\nboats; but the hare's boat was built of wood, while that of the badger\nwas made of clay, and, as they rowed down the river, the clay boat\nbegan to crumble away; then the hare, seizing his paddle, and\nbrandishing it in the air, struck savagely at the badger's boat, until\nhe had smashed it to pieces, and killed his enemy.\n\nWhen the old man heard that his wife's death had been avenged, he was\nglad in his heart, and more than ever petted and loved the hare, whose\nbrave deeds had caused him to welcome the returning spring.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE OLD MAN WHO MADE WITHERED TREES TO BLOSSOM\n\n\nIn the old, old days, there lived an honest man with his wife, who had\na favourite dog, which they used to feed with fish and titbits from\ntheir own kitchen. One day, as the old folks went out to work in their\ngarden, the dog went with them, and began playing about. All of a\nsudden, the dog stopped short, and began to bark, \"Bow, wow, wow!\"\nwagging his tail violently. The old people thought that there must be\nsomething nice to eat under the ground, so they brought a spade and\nbegan digging, when, lo and behold! the place was full of gold pieces\nand silver, and all sorts of precious things, which had been buried\nthere. So they gathered the treasure together, and, after giving alms\nto the poor, bought themselves rice-fields and corn-fields, and became\nwealthy people.\n\nNow, in the next house there dwelt a covetous and stingy old man and\nwoman, who, when they heard what had happened, came and borrowed the\ndog, and, having taken him home, prepared a great feast for him, and\nsaid--\n\n\"If you please, Mr. Dog, we should be much obliged to you if you would\nshow us a place with plenty of money in it.\"\n\nThe dog, however, who up to that time had received nothing but cuffs\nand kicks from his hosts, would not eat any of the dainties which they\nset before him; so the old people began to get cross, and, putting a\nrope round the dog's neck, led him out into the garden. But it was all\nin vain; let them lead him where they might, not a sound would the dog\nutter: he had no \"bow-wow\" for them. At last, however, the dog stopped\nat a certain spot, and began to sniff; so, thinking that this must\nsurely be the lucky place, they dug, and found nothing but a quantity\nof dirt and nasty offal, over which they had to hold their noses.\nFurious at being disappointed, the wicked old couple seized the dog,\nand killed him.\n\nWhen the good old man saw that the dog, whom he had lent, did not come\nhome, he went next door to ask what had become of him; and the wicked\nold man answered that he had killed the dog, and buried him at the\nroot of a pine-tree; so the good old fellow, with, a heavy heart, went\nto the spot, and, having set out a tray with delicate food, burnt\nincense, and adorned the grave with flowers, as he shed tears over his\nlost pet.\n\nBut there was more good luck in store yet for the old people--the\nreward of their honesty and virtue. How do you think that happened,\nmy children? It is very wrong to be cruel to dogs and cats.\n\n[Illustration: THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER.]\n\nThat night, when the good old man was fast asleep in bed, the dog\nappeared to him, and, after thanking him for all his kindness, said--\n\n\"Cause the pine-tree, under which, I am buried, to be cut down and\nmade into a mortar, and use it, thinking of it as if it were myself.\"\n\nThe old man did as the dog had told him to do, and made a mortar out\nof the wood of the pine-tree; but when he ground his rice in it, each\ngrain of rice was turned into some rich treasure. When the wicked old\ncouple saw this, they came to borrow the mortar; but no sooner did\nthey try to use it, than all their rice was turned into filth; so, in\na fit of rage, they broke up the mortar and burnt it. But the good old\nman, little suspecting that his precious mortar had been broken and\nburnt, wondered why his neighbours did not bring it back to him.\n\n[Illustration: THE OLD MAN WHO CAUSED WITHERED TREES TO FLOWER. (2)]\n\nOne night the dog appeared to him again in a dream, and told him what\nhad happened, adding that if he would take the ashes of the burnt\nmortar and sprinkle them on withered trees, the trees would revive,\nand suddenly put out flowers. After saying this the dream vanished,\nand the old man, who heard for the first time of the loss of his\nmortar, ran off weeping to the neighbours' house, and begged them, at\nany rate, to give him back the ashes of his treasure. Having obtained\nthese, he returned home, and made a trial of their virtues upon a\nwithered cherry-tree, which, upon being touched by the ashes,\nimmediately began to sprout and blossom. When he saw this wonderful\neffect, he put the ashes into a basket, and went about the country,\nannouncing himself as an old man who had the power of bringing dead\ntrees to life again.\n\nA certain prince, hearing of this, and thinking it a mighty strange\nthing, sent for the old fellow, who showed his power by causing all\nthe withered plum and cherry-trees to shoot out and put forth flowers.\nSo the prince gave him a rich reward of pieces of silk and cloth and\nother presents, and sent him home rejoicing.\n\nSo soon as the neighbours heard of this they collected all the ashes\nthat remained, and, having put them in a basket, the wicked old man\nwent out into the castle town, and gave out that he was the old man\nwho had the power of reviving dead trees, and causing them to flower.\nHe had not to wait long before he was called into the prince's palace,\nand ordered to exhibit his power. But when he climbed up into a\nwithered tree, and began to scatter the ashes, not a bud nor a flower\nappeared; but the ashes all flew into the prince's eyes and mouth,\nblinding and choking him. When the prince's retainers saw this, they\nseized the old man, and beat him almost to death, so that he crawled\noff home in a very sorry plight. When he and his wife found out what a\ntrap they had fallen into, they stormed and scolded and put\nthemselves into a passion; but that did no good at all.\n\nThe good old man and woman, so soon as they heard of their neighbours'\ndistress, sent for them, and, after reproving them for their greed and\ncruelty, gave them a share of their own riches, which, by repeated\nstrokes of luck, had now increased to a goodly sum. So the wicked old\npeople mended their ways, and led good and virtuous lives ever after.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BATTLE OF THE APE AND THE CRAB\n\n\nIf a man thinks only of his own profit, and tries to benefit himself\nat the expense of others, he will incur the hatred of Heaven. Men\nshould lay up in their hearts the story of the Battle of the Ape and\nCrab, and teach it, as a profitable lesson, to their children.\n\nOnce upon a time there was a crab who lived in a marsh in a certain\npart of the country. It fell out one day that, the crab having picked\nup a rice cake, an ape, who had got a nasty hard persimmon-seed, came\nup, and begged the crab to make an exchange with him. The crab, who\nwas a simple-minded creature, agreed to this proposal; and they each\nwent their way, the ape chuckling to himself at the good bargain which\nhe had made.\n\nWhen the crab got home, he planted the persimmon-seed in his garden,\nand, as time slipped by, it sprouted, and by degrees grew to be a big\ntree. The crab watched the growth of his tree with great delight; but\nwhen the fruit ripened, and he was going to pluck it, the ape came in,\nand offered to gather it for him. The crab consenting, the ape climbed\nup into the tree, and began eating all the ripe fruit himself, while\nhe only threw down the sour persimmons to the crab, inviting him, at\nthe same time, to eat heartily. The crab, however, was not pleased at\nthis arrangement, and thought that it was his turn to play a trick\nupon the ape; so he called out to him to come down head foremost. The\nape did as he was bid; and as he crawled down, head foremost, the ripe\nfruit all came tumbling out of his pockets, and the crab, having\npicked up the persimmons, ran off and hid himself in a hole. The ape,\nseeing this, lay in ambush, and as soon as the crab crept out of his\nhiding-place gave him a sound drubbing, and went home. Just at this\ntime a friendly egg and a bee, who were the apprentices of a certain\nrice-mortar, happened to pass that way, and, seeing the crab's piteous\ncondition, tied up his wounds, and, having escorted him home, began to\nlay plans to be revenged upon the cruel ape.\n\n[Illustration: THE APE AND THE CRAB.]\n\nHaving agreed upon a scheme, they all went to the ape's house, in his\nabsence; and each one having undertaken to play a certain part, they\nwaited in secret for their enemy to come home. The ape, little\ndreaming of the mischief that was brewing, returned home, and, having\na fancy to drink a cup of tea, began lighting the fire in the hearth,\nwhen, all of a sudden, the egg, which was hidden in the ashes, burst\nwith. the heat, and bespattered the frightened ape's face, so that he\nfled, howling with pain, and crying, \"Oh! what an unlucky beast I am!\"\nMaddened with the heat of the burst egg, he tried to go to the back of\nthe house, when the bee darted out of a cupboard, and a piece of\nseaweed, who had joined the party, coming up at the same time, the ape\nwas surrounded by enemies. In despair, he seized the clothes-rack, and\nfought valiantly for awhile; but he was no match for so many, and was\nobliged to run away, with the others in hot pursuit after him. Just as\nhe was making his escape by a back door, however, the piece of seaweed\ntripped him up, and the rice-mortar, closing with him from behind,\nmade an end of him.\n\n[Illustration: THE APE AND THE CRAB. (2)]\n\nSo the crab, having punished his enemy, went home in triumph, and\nlived ever after on terms of brotherly love with the seaweed and the\nmortar. Was there ever such a fine piece of fun!\n\n\n\n\nTHE ADVENTURES OF LITTLE PEACHLING\n\n\nMany hundred years ago there lived an honest old wood-cutter and his\nwife. One fine morning the old man went off to the hills with his\nbillhook, to gather a faggot of sticks, while his wife went down to\nthe river to wash the dirty clothes. When she came to the river, she\nsaw a peach floating down the stream; so she picked it up, and carried\nit home with her, thinking to give it to her husband to eat when he\nshould come in. The old man soon came down from the hills, and the\ngood wife set the peach before him, when, just as she was inviting him\nto eat it, the fruit split in two, and a little puling baby was born\ninto the world. So the old couple took the babe, and brought it up as\ntheir own; and, because it had been born in a peach, they called it\n_Momotar\u00f4_,[53] or Little Peachling.\n\n[Footnote 53: _Momo_ means a peach, and _Tar\u00f4_ is the termination of\nthe names of eldest sons, as _Hikotar\u00f4_, _Tokutar\u00f4_, &c. In modern\ntimes, however, the termination has been applied indifferently to any\nmale child.]\n\nBy degrees Little Peachling grew up to be strong and brave, and at\nlast one day he said to his old foster-parents--\n\n\"I am going to the ogres' island to carry off the riches that they\nhave stored up there. Pray, then, make me some millet dumplings for my\njourney.\"\n\nSo the old folks ground the millet, and made the dumplings for him;\nand Little Peachling, after taking an affectionate leave of them,\ncheerfully set out on his travels.\n\nAs he was journeying on, he fell in with an ape, who gibbered at him,\nand said, \"Kia! kia! kia! where are you off to, Little Peachling?\"\n\n\"I'm going to the ogres' island, to carry off their treasure,\"\nanswered Little Peachling.\n\n\"What are you carrying at your girdle?\"\n\n\"I'm carrying the very best millet dumplings in all Japan.\"\n\n\"If you'll give me one, I will go with you,\" said the ape.\n\nSo Little Peachling gave one of his dumplings to the ape, who received\nit and followed him. When he had gone a little further, he heard a\npheasant calling--\n\n\"Ken! ken! ken![54] where are you off to, Master Peachling?\"\n\n[Footnote 54: The country folk in Japan pretend that the pheasant's\ncall is a sign of an approaching earthquake.]\n\nLittle Peachling answered as before; and the pheasant, having begged\nand obtained a millet dumpling, entered his service, and followed him.\nA little while after this, they met a dog, who cried--\n\n\"Bow! wow! wow! whither away, Master Peachling?\"\n\n\"I'm going off to the ogres' island, to carry off their treasure.\"\n\n\"If you will give me one of those nice millet dumplings of yours, I\nwill go with you,\" said the dog.\n\n[Illustration: LITTLE PEACHLING.]\n\n\"With all my heart,\" said Little Peachling. So he went on his way,\nwith the ape, the pheasant, and the dog following after him.\n\nWhen they got to the ogres' island, the pheasant flew over the castle\ngate, and the ape clambered over the castle wall, while Little\nPeachling, leading the dog, forced in the gate, and got into the\ncastle. Then they did battle with the ogres, and put them to flight,\nand took their king prisoner. So all the ogres did homage to Little\nPeachling, and brought out the treasures which they had laid up. There\nwere caps and coats that made their wearers invisible, jewels which\ngoverned the ebb and flow of the tide, coral, musk, emeralds, amber,\nand tortoiseshell, besides gold and silver. All these were laid before\nLittle Peachling by the conquered ogres.\n\n[Illustration: LITTLE PEACHLING. (2)]\n\nSo Little Peachling went home laden with riches, and maintained his\nfoster-parents in peace and plenty for the remainder of their lives.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FOXES' WEDDING\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a young white fox, whose name was\nFukuy\u00e9mon. When he had reached the fitting age, he shaved off his\nforelock[55] and began to think of taking to himself a beautiful\nbride. The old fox, his father, resolved to give up his inheritance to\nhis son,[56] and retired into private life; so the young fox, in\ngratitude for this, laboured hard and earnestly to increase his\npatrimony. Now it happened that in a famous old family of foxes there\nwas a beautiful young lady-fox, with such lovely fur that the fame of\nher jewel-like charms was spread far and wide. The young white fox,\nwho had heard of this, was bent on making her his wife, and a meeting\nwas arranged between them. There was not a fault to be found on either\nside; so the preliminaries were settled, and the wedding presents sent\nfrom the bridegroom to the bride's house, with congratulatory speeches\nfrom the messenger, which were duly acknowledged by the person deputed\nto receive the gifts; the bearers, of course, received the customary\nfee in copper cash.\n\n[Footnote 55: See the Appendix on \"Ceremonies.\"]\n\n[Footnote 56: See the note on the word Inkiy\u00f4, in the story of the\n\"Prince and the Badger.\"]\n\nWhen the ceremonies had been concluded, an auspicious day was chosen\nfor the bride to go to her husband's house, and she was carried off in\nsolemn procession during a shower of rain, the sun shining all the\nwhile.[57] After the ceremonies of drinking wine had been gone\nthrough, the bride changed her dress, and the wedding was concluded,\nwithout let or hindrance, amid singing and dancing and merry-making.\n\n[Footnote 57: A shower during sunshine, which we call \"the devil\nbeating his wife,\" is called in Japan \"the fox's bride going to her\nhusband's house.\"]\n\nThe bride and bridegroom lived lovingly together, and a litter of\nlittle foxes were born to them, to the great joy of the old grandsire,\nwho treated the little cubs as tenderly as if they had been\nbutterflies or flowers. \"They're the very image of their old\ngrandfather,\" said he, as proud as possible. \"As for medicine, bless\nthem, they're so healthy that they'll never need a copper coin's\nworth!\"\n\nAs soon as they were old enough, they were carried off to the temple\nof Inari Sama, the patron saint of foxes, and the old grand-parents\nprayed that they might be delivered from dogs and all the other ills\nto which fox flesh is heir.\n\n[Illustration: THE FOXES' WEDDING.]\n\nIn this way the white fox by degrees waxed old and prosperous, and\nhis children, year by year, became more and more numerous around him;\nso that, happy in his family and his business, every recurring spring\nbrought him fresh cause for joy. [Illustration: THE FOXES' WEDDING.\n(2)]\n\n\n\n\nTHE HISTORY OF SAKATA KINTOKI\n\n\nA long time ago there was an officer of the Emperor's body-guard,\ncalled Sakata Kurando, a young man who, although he excelled in valour\nand in the arts of war, was of a gentle and loving disposition. This\nyoung officer was deeply enamoured of a fair young lady, called\nYa\u00e9giri, who lived at Goj\u00f4zaka, at Kiy\u00f4to. Now it came to pass that,\nhaving incurred the jealousy of certain other persons, Kurando fell\ninto disgrace with the Court, and became a R\u00f4nin, so he was no longer\nable to keep up any communication with his love Ya\u00e9giri; indeed, he\nbecame so poor that it was a hard matter for him to live. So he left\nthe place and fled, no one knew whither. As for Ya\u00e9giri, lovesick and\nlorn, and pining for her lost darling, she escaped from the house\nwhere she lived, and wandered hither and thither through the country,\nseeking everywhere for Kurando.\n\nNow Kurando, when he left the palace, turned tobacco merchant, and, as\nhe was travelling about hawking his goods, it chanced that he fell in\nwith Ya\u00e9giri; so, having communicated to her his last wishes, he took\nleave of her and put an end to his life.\n\nPoor Ya\u00e9giri, having buried her lover, went to the Ashigara Mountain,\na distant and lonely spot, where she gave birth to a little boy, who,\nas soon as he was born, was of such wonderful strength that he walked\nabout and ran playing all over the mountain. A woodcutter, who chanced\nto see the marvel, was greatly frightened at first, and thought the\nthing altogether uncanny; but after a while he got used to the child,\nand became quite fond of him, and called him \"Little Wonder,\" and gave\nhis mother the name of the \"Old Woman of the Mountain.\"\n\nOne day, as \"Little Wonder\" was playing about, he saw that on the top\nof a high cedar-tree there was a tengu's nest;[58] so he began shaking\nthe tree with all his might, until at last the tengu's nest came\ntumbling down.\n\n[Footnote 58: _Tengu_, or the Heavenly Dog, a hobgoblin who infests\ndesert places, and is invoked to frighten naughty little children.]\n\nAs luck would have it, the famous hero, Minamoto no Yorimitsu, with\nhis retainers, Watanab\u00e9 Isuna, Usui Sadamitsu, and several others, had\ncome to the mountain to hunt, and seeing the feat which \"Little\nWonder\" had performed, came to the conclusion that he could be no\nordinary child. Minamoto no Yorimitsu ordered Watanab\u00e9 Isuna to find\nout the child's name and parentage. The Old Woman of the Mountain, on\nbeing asked about him, answered that she was the wife of Kurando, and\nthat \"Little Wonder\" was the child of their marriage. And she\nproceeded to relate all the adventures which had befallen her.\n\nWhen Yorimitsu heard her story, he said, \"Certainly this child does\nnot belie his lineage. Give the brat to me, and I will make him my\nretainer.\" The Old Woman of the Mountain gladly consented, and gave\n\"Little Wonder\" to Yorimitsu; but she herself remained in her mountain\nhome. So \"Little Wonder\" went off with the hero Yorimitsu, who named\nhim Sakata Kintoki; and in aftertimes he became famous and illustrious\nas a warrior, and his deeds are recited to this day. He is the\nfavourite hero of little children, who carry his portrait in their\nbosom, and wish that they could emulate his bravery and strength.\n\n\n\n\nTHE ELVES AND THE ENVIOUS NEIGHBOUR\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a certain man, who, being overtaken by\ndarkness among the mountains, was driven to seek shelter in the trunk\nof a hollow tree. In the middle of the night, a large company of elves\nassembled at the place; and the man, peeping out from his\nhiding-place, was frightened out of his wits. After a while, however,\nthe elves began to feast and drink wine, and to amuse themselves by\nsinging and dancing, until at last the man, caught by the infection of\nthe fun, forgot all about his fright, and crept out of his hollow tree\nto join in the revels. When the day was about to dawn, the elves said\nto the man, \"You're a very jolly companion, and must come out and have\na dance with us again. You must make us a promise, and keep it.\" So\nthe elves, thinking to bind the man over to return, took a large wen\nthat grew on his forehead and kept it in pawn; upon this they all left\nthe place, and went home. The man walked off to his own house in high\nglee at having passed a jovial night, and got rid of his wen into the\nbargain. So he told the story to all his friends, who congratulated\nhim warmly on being cured of his wen. But there was a neighbour of his\nwho was also troubled with a wen of long standing, and, when he heard\nof his friend's luck, he was smitten with envy, and went off to hunt\nfor the hollow tree, in which, when he had found it, he passed the\nnight.\n\nTowards midnight the elves came, as he had expected, and began\nfeasting and drinking, with songs and dances as before. As soon as he\nsaw this, he came out of his hollow tree, and began dancing and\nsinging as his neighbour had done. The elves, mistaking him for their\nformer boon-companion, were delighted to see him, and said--\n\n\"You're a good fellow to recollect your promise, and we'll give you\nback your pledge;\" so one of the elves, pulling the pawned wen out of\nhis pocket, stuck it on to the man's forehead, on the top of the other\nwen which he already bad. So the envious neighbour went home weeping,\nwith two wens instead of one. This is a good lesson to people who\ncannot see the good luck of others, without coveting it for\nthemselves.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GHOST OF SAKURA\n\n\nThe misfortunes and death of the farmer S\u00f4gor\u00f4, which, although the\npreternatural appearances by which they are said to have been followed\nmay raise a smile, are matters of historic notoriety with which every\nJapanese is familiar, furnish a forcible illustration of the relations\nwhich exist between the tenant and the lord of the soil, and of the\nboundless power for good or for evil exercised by the latter. It is\nrather remarkable that in a country where the peasant--placed as he is\nnext to the soldier, and before the artisan and merchant, in the four\nclasses into which the people are divided--enjoys no small\nconsideration, and where agriculture is protected by law from the\ninroads of wild vegetation, even to the lopping of overshadowing\nbranches and the cutting down of hedgerow timber, the lord of the\nmanor should be left practically without control in his dealings with\nhis people.\n\nThe land-tax, or rather the yearly rent paid by the tenant, is usually\nassessed at forty per cent. of the produce; but there is no principle\nclearly defining it, and frequently the landowner and the cultivator\ndivide the proceeds of the harvest in equal shapes. Rice land is\ndivided into three classes; and, according to these classes, it is\ncomputed that one _tan_ (1,800 square feet) of the best land should\nyield to the owner a revenue of five bags of rice per annum; each of\nthese bags holds four t\u00f4 (a t\u00f4 is rather less than half an imperial\nbushel), and is worth at present (1868) three riyos, or about sixteen\nshillings; land of the middle class should yield a revenue of three or\nfour bags. The rent is paid either in rice or in money, according to\nthe actual price of the grain, which varies considerably. It is due in\nthe eleventh month of the year, when the crops have all been gathered,\nand their market value fixed.\n\nThe rent of land bearing crops other than rice, such as cotton, beans,\nroots, and so forth, is payable in money during the twelfth month. The\nchoice of the nature of the crops to be grown appears to be left to\nthe tenant.\n\nThe Japanese landlord, when pressed by poverty, does not confine\nhimself to the raising of his legitimate rents: he can always enforce\nfrom his needy tenantry the advancement of a year's rent, or the loan\nof so much money as may be required to meet his immediate necessities.\nShould the lord be just, the peasant is repaid by instalments, with\ninterest, extending over ten or twenty years. But it too often happens\nthat unjust and merciless lords do not repay such loans, but, on the\ncontrary, press for further advances. Then it is that the farmers,\ndressed in their grass rain-coats, and carrying sickles and bamboo\npoles in their hands, assemble before the gate of their lord's palace\nat the capital, and represent their grievances, imploring the\nintercession of the retainers, and even of the womankind who may\nchance to go forth. Sometimes they pay for their temerity by their\nlives; but, at any rate, they have the satisfaction of bringing shame\nupon their persecutor, in the eyes of his neighbours and of the\npopulace.\n\n[Illustration: THE DEPUTATION OF PEASANTS AT THEIR LORD'S GATE.]\n\nThe official reports of recent travels in the interior of Japan have\nfully proved the hard lot with which the peasantry had to put up\nduring the government of the Tycoons, and especially under the\nHatamotos, the created nobility of the dynasty. In one province, where\nthe village mayors appear to have seconded the extortions of their\nlord, they have had to flee before an exasperated population, who,\ntaking advantage of the revolution, laid waste and pillaged their\nhouses, loudly praying for a new and just assessment of the land;\nwhile, throughout the country, the farmers have hailed with\nacclamations the resumption of the sovereign power by the Mikado, and\nthe abolition of the petty nobility who exalted themselves upon the\nmisery of their dependants. Warming themselves in the sunshine of the\ncourt at Yedo, the Hatamotos waxed fat and held high revel, and\nlittle cared they who groaned or who starved. Money must be found, and\nit was found.\n\nIt is necessary here to add a word respecting the position of the\nvillage mayors, who play so important a part in the tale.\n\nThe peasants of Japan are ruled by three classes of officials: the\nNanushi, or mayor; the Kumigashira, or chiefs of companies; and the\nHiyakush\u00f4dai, or farmers' representatives. The village, which is\ngoverned by the Nanushi, or mayor, is divided into companies, which,\nconsisting of five families each, are directed by a Kumigashira; these\ncompanies, again, are subdivided into groups of five men each, who\nchoose one of their number to represent them in case of their having\nany petition to present, or any affairs to settle with their\nsuperiors. This functionary is the Hiyakush\u00f4dai. The mayor, the chief\nof the company, and the representative keep registers of the families\nand people under their control, and are responsible for their good and\norderly behaviour. They pay taxes like the other farmers, but receive\na salary, the amount of which depends upon the size and wealth of the\nvillage. Five per cent. of the yearly land tax forms the salary of the\nmayor, and the other officials each receive five per cent. of the tax\npaid by the little bodies over which they respectively rule.\n\nThe average amount of land for one family to cultivate is about one\nch\u00f4, or 9,000 square yards; but there are farmers who have inherited\nas much as five or even six ch\u00f4 from their ancestors. There is also a\nclass of farmers called, from their poverty, \"water-drinking farmers,\"\nwho have no land of their own, but hire that of those who have more\nthan they can keep in their own hands. The rent so paid varies; but\ngood rice land will bring in as high a rent as from \u00a31 18s. to \u00a32 6s.\nper tan (1,800 square feet).\n\nFarm labourers are paid from six or seven riyos a year to as much as\nthirty riyos (the riyo being worth about 5s. 4d.); besides this, they\nare clothed and fed, not daintily indeed, but amply. The rice which\nthey cultivate is to them an almost unknown luxury: millet is their\nstaple food, and on high days and holidays they receive messes of\nbarley or buckwheat. Where the mulberry-tree is grown, and the\nsilkworm is \"educated,\" there the labourer receives the highest wage.\n\nThe rice crop on good land should yield twelve and a half fold, and on\nordinary land from six to seven fold only. Ordinary arable land is\nonly half as valuable as rice land, which cannot be purchased for less\nthan forty riyos per tan of 1,800 square feet. Common hill or wood\nland is cheaper, again, than arable land; but orchards and groves of\nthe Pawlonia are worth from fifty to sixty riyos per tan.\n\nWith regard to the punishment of crucifixion, by which S\u00f4gor\u00f4 was put\nto death, it is inflicted for the following offences:--parricide\n(including the murder or striking of parents, uncles, aunts, elder\nbrothers, masters, or teachers) coining counterfeit money, and passing\nthe barriers of the Tycoon's territory without a permit.[59] The\ncriminal is attached to an upright post with two cross bars, to which\nhis arms and feet are fastened by ropes. He is then transfixed with\nspears by men belonging to the Eta or Pariah class. I once passed the\nexecution-ground near Yedo, when a body was attached to the cross. The\ndead man had murdered his employer, and, having been condemned to\ndeath by crucifixion, had died in prison before the sentence could be\ncarried out. He was accordingly packed, in a squatting position, in a\nhuge red earthenware jar, which, having been tightly filled up with.\nsalt, was hermetically sealed. On the anniversary of the commission of\nthe crime, the jar was carried down to the execution-ground and\nbroken, and the body was taken out and tied to the cross, the joints\nof the knees and arms having been cut, to allow of the extension of\nthe stiffened and shrunken limbs; it was then transfixed with spears,\nand allowed to remain exposed for three days. An open grave, the\nupturned soil of which seemed almost entirely composed of dead men's\nremains, waited to receive the dishonoured corpse, over which three or\nfour Etas, squalid and degraded beings, were mounting guard, smoking\ntheir pipes by a scanty charcoal fire, and bandying obscene jests. It\nwas a hideous and ghastly warning, had any cared to read the lesson;\nbut the passers-by on the high road took little or no notice of the\nsight, and a group of chubby and happy children were playing not ten\nyards from the dead body, as if no strange or uncanny thing were near\nthem.\n\n[Footnote 59: This last crime is, of course, now obsolete.]\n\nTHE GHOST OF SAKURA.[60]\n\n[Footnote 60: The story, which also forms the subject of a play, is\npublished, but with altered names, in order that offence may not be\ngiven to the Hotta family. The real names are preserved here. The\nevents related took place during the rule of the Shogun Iy\u00e9mitsu, in\nthe first half of the seventeenth century.]\n\nHow true is the principle laid down by Confucius, that the benevolence\nof princes is reflected in their country, while their wickedness\ncauses sedition and confusion!\n\n[Illustration: THE GHOST OF SAKURA.]\n\nIn the province of Shim\u00f4sa, and the district of S\u00f4ma, Hotta Kaga no\nKami was lord of the castle of Sakura, and chief of a family which had\nfor generations produced famous warriors. When Kaga no Kami, who had\nserved in the Gor\u00f4jiu, the cabinet of the Shogun, died at the castle\nof Sakura, his eldest son K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 Masanobu inherited his\nestates and honours, and was appointed to a seat in the Gor\u00f4jiu; but\nhe was a different man from the lords who had preceded him. He treated\nthe farmers and peasants unjustly, imposing additional and grievous\ntaxes, so that the tenants on his estates were driven to the last\nextremity of poverty; and although year after year, and month after\nmonth, they prayed for mercy, and remonstrated against this injustice,\nno heed was paid to them, and the people throughout the villages were\nreduced to the utmost distress. Accordingly, the chiefs of the one\nhundred and thirty-six villages, producing a total revenue of 40,000\nkokus of rice, assembled together in council and determined\nunanimously to present a petition to the Government, sealed with their\nseals, stating that their repeated remonstrances had been taken no\nnotice of by their local authorities. Then they assembled in numbers\nbefore the house of one of the councillors of their lord, named Ik\u00e9ura\nKazuy\u00e9, in order to show the petition to him first, but even then no\nnotice was taken of them; so they returned home, and resolved, after\nconsulting together, to proceed to their lord's yashiki, or palace, at\nYedo, on the seventh day of the tenth month. It was determined, with\none accord, that one hundred and forty-three village chiefs should go\nto Yedo; and the chief of the village of Iwahashi, one S\u00f4gor\u00f4, a man\nforty-eight years of age, distinguished for his ability and judgment,\nruling a district which produced a thousand kokus, stepped forward,\nand said--\n\n\"This is by no means an easy matter, my masters. It certainly is of\ngreat importance that we should forward our complaint to our lord's\npalace at Yedo; but what are your plans? Have you any fixed\nintentions?\"\n\n\"It is, indeed, a most important matter,\" rejoined the others; but\nthey had nothing further to say. Then S\u00f4gor\u00f4 went on to say--\n\n\"We have appealed to the public office of our province, but without\navail; we have petitioned the Prince's councillors, also in vain. I\nknow that all that remains for us is to lay our case before our lord's\npalace at Yedo; and if we go there, it is equally certain that we\nshall not be listened to--on the contrary, we shall be cast into\nprison. If we are not attended to here, in our own province, how much\nless will the officials at Yedo care for us. We might hand our\npetition into the litter of one of the Gor\u00f4jiu, in the public streets;\nbut, even in that case, as our lord is a member of the Gor\u00f4jiu, none\nof his peers would care to examine into the rights and wrongs of our\ncomplaint, for fear of offending him, and the man who presented the\npetition in so desperate a manner would lose his life on a bootless\nerrand. If you have made up your minds to this, and are determined, at\nall hazards, to start, then go to Yedo by all means, and bid a long\nfarewell to parents, children, wives, and relations. This is my\nopinion.\"\n\nThe others all agreeing with what S\u00f4gor\u00f4 said, they determined that,\ncome what might, they would go to Yedo; and they settled to assemble\nat the village of Funabashi on the thirteenth day of the eleventh\nmonth.\n\nOn the appointed day all the village officers met at the place agreed\nupon,--S\u00f4gor\u00f4, the chief of the village of Iwahashi, alone being\nmissing; and as on the following day S\u00f4gor\u00f4 had not yet arrived, they\ndeputed one of their number, named Rokurobei, to inquire the reason.\nRokurobei arrived at S\u00f4gor\u00f4's house towards four in the afternoon, and\nfound him warming himself quietly over his charcoal brazier, as if\nnothing were the matter. The messenger, seeing this, said rather\ntestily--\n\n\"The chiefs of the villages are all assembled at Funabashi according\nto covenant, and as you, Master S\u00f4gor\u00f4, have not arrived, I have come\nto inquire whether it is sickness or some other cause that prevents\nyou.\"\n\n\"Indeed,\" replied S\u00f4gor\u00f4, \"I am sorry that you should have had so much\ntrouble. My intention was to have set out yesterday; but I was taken\nwith a cholic, with which I am often troubled, and, as you may see, I\nam taking care of myself; so for a day or two I shall not be able to\nstart. Pray be so good as to let the others know this.\"\n\nRokurobei, seeing that there was no help for it, went back to the\nvillage of Funabashi and communicated to the others what had occurred.\nThey were all indignant at what they looked upon as the cowardly\ndefection of a man who had spoken so fairly, but resolved that the\nconduct of one man should not influence the rest, and talked\nthemselves into the belief that the affair which they had in hand\nwould be easily put through; so they agreed with one accord to start\nand present the petition, and, having arrived at Yedo, put up in the\nstreet called Bakuroch\u00f4. But although they tried to forward their\ncomplaint to the various officers of their lord, no one would listen\nto them; the doors were all shut in their faces, and they had to go\nback to their inn, crestfallen and without success.\n\nOn the following day, being the 18th of the month, they all met\ntogether at a tea-house in an avenue, in front of a shrine of Kwannon\nSama;[61] and having held a consultation, they determined that, as\nthey could hit upon no good expedient, they would again send for\nS\u00f4gor\u00f4 to see whether he could devise no plan. Accordingly, on the\n19th, Rokurobei and one Jiuy\u00e9mon started for the village of Iwahashi\nat noon, and arrived the same evening.\n\n[Footnote 61: A Buddhist deity.]\n\nNow the village chief S\u00f4gor\u00f4, who had made up his mind that the\npresentation of this memorial was not a matter to be lightly treated,\nsummoned his wife and children and his relations, and said to them--\n\n\"I am about to undertake a journey to Yedo, for the following\nreasons:--Our present lord of the soil has increased the land-tax, in\nrice and the other imposts, more than tenfold, so that pen and paper\nwould fail to convey an idea of the poverty to which the people are\nreduced, and the peasants are undergoing the tortures of hell upon\nearth. Seeing this, the chiefs of the various villages have presented\npetitions, but with what result is doubtful. My earnest desire,\ntherefore, is to devise some means of escape from this cruel\npersecution. If my ambitious scheme does not succeed, then shall I\nreturn home no more; and even should I gain my end, it is hard to say\nhow I may be treated by those in power. Let us drink a cup of wine\ntogether, for it may be that you shall see my face no more. I give my\nlife to allay the misery of the people of this estate. If I die, mourn\nnot over my fate; weep not for me.\"\n\nHaving spoken thus, he addressed his wife and his four children,\ninstructing them carefully as to what he desired to be done after his\ndeath, and minutely stating every wish of his heart. Then, having\ndrunk a parting cup with them, he cheerfully took leave of all\npresent, and went to a tea-house in the neighbouring village of\nFunabashi, where the two messengers, Rokurobei and Jiuy\u00e9mon, were\nanxiously awaiting his arrival, in order that they might recount to\nhim all that had taken place at Yedo.\n\n\"In short,\" said they, \"it appears to us that we have failed\ncompletely; and we have come to meet you in order to hear what you\npropose. If you have any plan to suggest, we would fain be made\nacquainted with it.\"\n\n\"We have tried the officers of the district,\" replied S\u00f4gor\u00f4, \"and we\nhave tried my lord's palace at Yedo. However often we might assemble\nbefore my lord's gate, no heed would be given to us. There is nothing\nleft for us but to appeal to the Shogun.\"\n\nSo they sat talking over their plans until the night was far advanced,\nand then they went to rest. The winter night was long; but when the\ncawing of the crows was about to announce the morning, the three\nfriends started on their journey for the tea-house at Asakusa, at\nwhich, upon their arrival, they found the other village elders already\nassembled.\n\n\"Welcome, Master S\u00f4gor\u00f4,\" said they. \"How is it that you have come so\nlate? We have petitioned all the officers to no purpose, and we have\nbroken our bones in vain. We are at our wits' end, and can think of no\nother scheme. If there is any plan which seems good to you, we pray\nyou to act upon it.\"\n\n\"Sirs,\" replied S\u00f4gor\u00f4, speaking very quietly, \"although we have met\nwith no better success here than in our own place, there is no use in\ngrieving. In a day or two the Gor\u00f4jiu will be going to the castle; we\nmust wait for this opportunity, and following one of the litters,\nthrust in our memorial. This is my opinion: what think you of it, my\nmasters?\"\n\nOne and all, the assembled elders were agreed as to the excellence of\nthis advice; and having decided to act upon it, they returned to their\ninn.\n\nThen S\u00f4gor\u00f4 held a secret consultation with Jiuy\u00e9mon, Hanz\u00f4,\nRokurobei, Chinz\u00f4, and Kinshir\u00f4, five of the elders, and, with their\nassistance, drew up the memorial; and having heard that on the 26th of\nthe month, when the Gor\u00f4jiu should go to the castle, Kuz\u00e9 Yamato no\nKami would proceed to a palace under the western enclosure of the\ncastle, they kept watch in a place hard by. As soon as they saw the\nlitter of the Gor\u00f4jiu approach, they drew near to it, and, having\nhumbly stated their grievances, handed in the petition; and as it was\naccepted, the six elders were greatly elated, and doubted not that\ntheir hearts' desire would be attained; so they went off to a\ntea-house at Riy\u00f4goku, and Jiuy\u00e9mon said--\n\n\"We may congratulate ourselves on our success. We have handed in our\npetition to the Gor\u00f4jiu, and now we may set our minds at rest; before\nmany days have passed, we shall hear good news from the rulers. To\nMaster S\u00f4gor\u00f4 is due great praise for his exertions.\"\n\nS\u00f4gor\u00f4, stepping forward, answered, \"Although we have presented our\nmemorial to the Gor\u00f4jiu, the matter will not be so quickly decided; it\nis therefore useless that so many of us should remain here: let eleven\nmen stay with me, and let the rest return home to their several\nvillages. If we who remain are accused of conspiracy and beheaded, let\nthe others agree to reclaim and bury our corpses. As for the expenses\nwhich we shall incur until our suit is concluded, let that be\naccording to our original covenant. For the sake of the hundred and\nthirty-six villages we will lay down our lives, if needs must, and\nsubmit to the disgrace of having our heads exposed as those of common\nmalefactors.\"\n\nThen they had a parting feast together, and, after a sad leave-taking,\nthe main body of the elders went home to their own country; while the\nothers, wending their way to their quarters waited patiently to be\nsummoned to the Supreme Court. On the 2d day of the 12th month,\nS\u00f4gor\u00f4, having received a summons from the residence of the Gor\u00f4jiu\nKuz\u00e9 Yamato no Kami, proceeded to obey it, and was ushered to the\nporch of the house, where two councillors, named Aijima Gidaiyu and\nYamaji Y\u00f4ri, met him, and said--\n\n\"Some days since you had the audacity to thrust a memorial into the\nlitter of our lord Yamato no Kami. By an extraordinary exercise of\nclemency, he is willing to pardon this heinous offence; but should you\never again endeavour to force your petitions; upon him, you will be\nheld guilty of riotous conduct;\" and with this they gave back the\nmemorial.\n\n\"I humbly admit the justice of his lordship's censure. But oh! my\nlords, this is no hasty nor ill-considered action. Year after year,\naffliction upon affliction has been heaped upon us, until at last the\npeople are without even the necessaries of life; and we, seeing no end\nto the evil, have humbly presented this petition. I pray your\nlordships of your great mercy to consider our case\" and deign to\nreceive our memorial. Vouchsafe to take some measures that the people\nmay live, and our gratitude for your great kindness will know no\nbounds.\"\n\n\"Your request is a just one,\" replied the two councillors after\nhearing what he said; \"but your memorial cannot be received: so you\nmust even take it back.\"\n\nWith this they gave back the document, and wrote down the names of\nS\u00f4gor\u00f4 and six of the elders who had accompanied him. There was no\nhelp for it: they must take back their petition, and return to their\ninn. The seven men, dispirited and sorrowful, sat with folded arms\nconsidering what was best to be done, what plan should be devised,\nuntil at last, when they were at their wits' end, S\u00f4gor\u00f4 said, in a\nwhisper--\n\n\"So our petition, which we gave in after so much pains, has been\nreturned after all! With what f ace can we return to our villages\nafter such a disgrace? I, for one, do not propose to waste my labour\nfor nothing; accordingly, I shall bide my time until some day, when\nthe Shogun shall go forth from the castle, and, lying in wait by the\nroadside, I shall make known our grievances to him, who is lord over\nour lord. This is our last chance.\"\n\n[Illustration: S\u00d4GOR\u00d4 THRUSTING THE PETITION INTO THE SHOGUN'S\nLITTER.]\n\nThe others all applauded this speech, and, having with one accord\nhardened their hearts, waited for their opportunity.\n\nNow it so happened that, on the 20th day of the 12th month, the then\nShogun, Prince Iy\u00e9mitsu, was pleased to worship at the tombs of his\nancestors at Uy\u00e9no;[62] and S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and the other elders, hearing this,\nlooked upon it as a special favour from the gods, and felt certain\nthat this time they would not fail. So they drew up a fresh memorial,\nand at the appointed time S\u00f4gor\u00f4 hid himself under the Sammay\u00e9 Bridge,\nin front of the black gate at Uy\u00e9no. When Prince Iy\u00e9mitsu passed in\nhis litter, S\u00f4gor\u00f4 clambered up from under the bridge, to the great\nsurprise of the Shogun's attendants, who called out, \"Push the fellow\non one side;\" but, profiting by the confusion, S\u00f4gor\u00f4, raising his\nvoice and crying, \"I wish to humbly present a petition to his Highness\nin person,\" thrust forward his memorial, which he had tied on to the\nend of a bamboo stick six feet long, and tried to put it into the\nlitter; and although there were cries to arrest him, and he was\nbuffeted by the escort, he crawled up to the side of the litter, and\nthe Shogun accepted the document. But S\u00f4gor\u00f4 was arrested by the\nescort, and thrown into prison. As for the memorial, his Highness\nordered that it should be handed in to the Gor\u00f4jiu Hotta K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\nSuk\u00e9, the lord of the petitioners.\n\n[Footnote 62: Destroyed during the revolution, in the summer of 1868,\nby the troops of the Mikado. See note on the tombs of the Shoguns, at\nthe end of the story.]\n\nWhen Hotta K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 had returned home and read the memorial, he\nsummoned his councillor, Kojima Shikibu, and said--\n\n\"The officials of my estate are mere bunglers. When the peasants\nassembled and presented a petition, they refused to receive it, and\nhave thus brought this trouble upon me. Their folly has been beyond\nbelief; however, it cannot be helped. We must remit all the new taxes,\nand you must inquire how much was paid to the former lord of the\ncastle. As for this S\u00f4gor\u00f4, he is not the only one who is at the\nbottom of the conspiracy; however, as this heinous offence of his in\ngoing out to lie in wait for the Shogun's procession is unpardonable,\nwe must manage to get him given up to us by the Government, and, as an\nexample for the rest of my people, he shall be crucified--he and his\nwife and his children; and, after his death, all that he possesses\nshall be confiscated. The other six men shall be banished; and that\nwill suffice.\"\n\n\"My lord,\" replied Shikibu, prostrating himself, \"your lordship's\nintentions are just. S\u00f4gor\u00f4, indeed, deserves any punishment for his\noutrageous crime. But I humbly venture to submit that his wife and\nchildren cannot be said to be guilty in the same degree: I implore\nyour lordship mercifully to be pleased to absolve them from so severe\na punishment.\"\n\n\"Where the sin of the father is great, the wife and children cannot be\nspared,\" replied K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9; and his councillor, seeing that his\nheart was hardened, was forced to obey his orders without further\nremonstrance.\n\nSo K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, having obtained that S\u00f4gor\u00f4 should be given up to\nhim by the Government, caused him to be brought to his estate of\nSakura as a criminal, in a litter covered with nets, and confined him\nin prison. When his case had been inquired into, a decree was issued\nby the Lord K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 that he should be punished for a heinous\ncrime; and on the 9th day of the 2d month of the second year of the\nperiod styled Sh\u00f4h\u00f4 (A.D. 1644) he was condemned to be crucified.\nAccordingly S\u00f4gor\u00f4, his wife and children, and the elders of the\nhundred and thirty-six villages were brought before the Court-house of\nSakura, in which were assembled forty-five chief officers. The elders\nwere then told that, yielding to their petition, their lord was\ngraciously pleased to order that the oppressive taxes should be\nremitted, and that the dues levied should not exceed those of the\nolden time. As for S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and his wife, the following sentence was\npassed upon them:--\n\n\"Whereas you have set yourself up as the head of the villagers;\nwhereas, secondly, you have dared to make light of the Government by\npetitioning his Highness the Shogun directly, thereby offering an\ninsult to your lord; and whereas, thirdly, you have presented a\nmemorial to the Gor\u00f4jiu; and, whereas, fourthly, you were privy to a\nconspiracy: for these four heinous crimes you are sentenced to death\nby crucifixion. Your wife is sentenced to die in like manner; and your\nchildren will be decapitated.\n\n\"This sentence is passed upon the following persons:--\n\n\"S\u00f4gor\u00f4, chief of the village of Iwahashi, aged 48.\n\n\"His wife, Man, aged 38.\n\n\"His son, Gennosuk\u00e9, aged 13.\n\n\"His son, S\u00f4hei, aged 10.\n\n\"His son, Kihachi, aged 7.\"\n\nThe eldest daughter of S\u00f4gor\u00f4, named Hatsu, nineteen years of age, was\nmarried to a man named Jiuy\u00e9mon, in the village of Hakamura, in\nShitachi, beyond the river, in the territory of Matsudaira Matsu no\nKami (the Prince of Sendai). His second daughter, whose name was Saki,\nsixteen years of age, was married to one T\u00f4jiur\u00f4, chief of a village\non the property of my lord Nait\u00f4 Geki. No punishment was decreed\nagainst these two women.\n\nThe six elders who had accompanied S\u00f4gor\u00f4 were told that although by\ngood rights they had merited death, yet by the special clemency of\ntheir lord their lives would be spared, but that they were condemned\nto banishment. Their wives and children would not be attainted, and\ntheir property would be spared. The six men were banished to Oshima,\nin the province of Idzu.\n\nS\u00f4gor\u00f4 heard his sentence with pure courage.\n\nThe six men were banished; but three of them lived to be pardoned on\nthe occasion of the death of the Shogun, Prince Genyuin,[63] and\nreturned to their country.\n\n[Footnote 63: The name assigned after death to Iy\u00e9tsuna, the fourth of\nthe dynasty of Tokugawa, who died on the 8th day of the 5th month of\nthe year A.D. 1680.]\n\nAccording to the above decision, the taxes were remitted; and men and\nwomen, young and old, rejoiced over the advantage that had been gained\nfor them by S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and by the six elders, and there was not one that\ndid not mourn for their fate.\n\nWhen the officers of the several villages left the Court-house, one\nZembei, the chief of the village of Sakato, told the others that he\nhad some important subjects to speak to them upon, and begged them to\nmeet him in the temple called Fukush\u00f4in. Every man having consented,\nand the hundred and thirty-six men having assembled at the temple,\nZembei addressed them as follows:--\n\n\"The success of our petition, in obtaining the reduction of our taxes\nto the same amount as was levied by our former lord, is owing to\nMaster S\u00f4gor\u00f4, who has thus thrown away his life for us. He and his\nwife and children are now to suffer as criminals for the sake of the\none hundred and thirty-six villages. That such a thing should take\nplace before our very eyes seems to me not to be borne. What say you,\nmy masters?\"\n\n\"Ay! ay! what you say is just from top to bottom,\" replied the others.\nThen Hanzay\u00e9mon, the elder of the village of Katsuta, stepped forward\nand said--\n\n\"As Master Zembei has just said, S\u00f4gor\u00f4 is condemned to die for a\nmatter in which all the village elders are concerned to a man. We\ncannot look on unconcerned. Full well I know that it is useless our\npleading for S\u00f4gor\u00f4; but we may, at least, petition that the lives of\nhis wife and children may be spared.\"\n\nThe assembled elders having all applauded this speech, they determined\nto draw up a memorial; and they resolved, should their petition not be\naccepted by the local authorities, to present it at their lord's\npalace in Yedo, and, should that fail, to appeal to the Government.\nAccordingly, before noon on the following day, they all affixed their\nseals to the memorial, which four of them, including Zembei and\nHanzay\u00e9mon, composed, as follows:--\n\n\"With deep fear we humbly venture to present the following petition,\nwhich the elders of the one hundred and thirty-six villages of this\nestate have sealed with their seals. In consequence of the humble\npetition which we lately offered up, the taxes have graciously been\nreduced to the rates levied by the former lord of the estate, and new\nlaws have been vouchsafed to us. With reverence and joy the peasants,\ngreat and small, have gratefully acknowledged these favours. With\nregard to S\u00f4gor\u00f4, the elder of the village of Iwahashi, who ventured\nto petition his highness the Shogun in person, thus being guilty of a\nheinous crime, he has been sentenced to death in the castle-town. With\nfear and trembling we recognize the justice of his sentence. But in\nthe matter of his wife and children, she is but a woman, and they are\nso young and innocent that they cannot distinguish the east from the\nwest: we pray that in your great clemency you will remit their sin,\nand give them up to the representatives of the one hundred and\nthirty-six villages, for which we shall be ever grateful. We, the\nelders of the villages, know not to what extent we may be\ntransgressing in presenting this memorial. We were all guilty of\naffixing our seals to the former petition; but S\u00f4gor\u00f4, who was chief\nof a large district, producing a thousand kokus of revenue, and was\ntherefore a man of experience, acted for the others; and we grieve\nthat he alone should suffer for all. Yet in his case we reverently\nadmit that there can be no reprieve. For his wife and children,\nhowever, we humbly implore your gracious mercy and consideration.\n\n\"Signed by the elders of the villages of the estate, the 2d year of\nSh\u00f4h\u00f4, and the 2d month.\"\n\nHaving drawn up this memorial, the hundred and thirty-six elders, with\nZembei at their head, proceeded to the Court-house to present the\npetition, and found the various officers seated in solemn conclave.\nThen the clerk took the petition, and, having opened it, read it\naloud; and the councillor, Ik\u00e9ura Kazuy\u00e9, said--\n\n\"The petition which you have addressed to us is worthy of all praise.\nBut you must know that this is a matter which is no longer within our\ncontrol. The affair has been reported to the Government; and although\nthe priests of my lord's ancestral temple have interceded for S\u00f4gor\u00f4,\nmy lord is so angry that he will not listen even to them, saying that,\nhad he not been one of the Gor\u00f4jiu, he would have been in danger of\nbeing ruined by this man: his high station alone saved him. My lord\nspoke so severely that the priests themselves dare not recur to the\nsubject. You see, therefore, that it will be no use your attempting to\ntake any steps in the matter, for most certainly your petition will\nnot be received. You had better, then, think no more about it.\" And\nwith these words he gave back the memorial.\n\nZembei and the elders, seeing, to their infinite sorrow, that their\nmission was fruitless, left the Court-house, and most sorrowfully took\ncounsel together, grinding their teeth in their disappointment when\nthey thought over what the councillor had said as to the futility of\ntheir attempt. Out of grief for this, Zembei, with Hanzay\u00e9mon and\nHeijiur\u00f4, on the 11th day of the 2d month (the day on which S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and\nhis wife and children suffered), left Ewaradai, the place of\nexecution, and went to the temple Zenk\u00f4ji, in the province of\nShinshiu, and from thence they ascended Mount K\u00f4ya in Kishiu, and, on\nthe 1st day of the 8th month, shaved their heads and became priests;\nZembei changed his name to Kakushin, and Hanzay\u00e9mon changed his to\nZensh\u00f4: as for Heijiur\u00f4, he fell sick at the end of the 7th month, and\non the 11th day of the 8th month died, being forty-seven years old\nthat year. These three men, who had loved S\u00f4gor\u00f4 as the fishes love\nwater, were true to him to the last. Heijiur\u00f4 was buried on Mount\nK\u00f4ya. Kakushin wandered through the country as a priest, praying for\nthe entry of S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and his children into the perfection of paradise;\nand, after visiting all the shrines and temples, came back at last to\nhis own province of Shim\u00f4sa, and took up his abode at the temple\nRiukakuji, in the village of Kano, and in the district of Imban,\npraying and making offerings on behalf of the souls of S\u00f4gor\u00f4, his\nwife and children. Hanzay\u00e9mon, now known as the priest Zensh\u00f4,\nremained at Shinagawa, a suburb of Yedo, and, by the charity of good\npeople, collected enough money to erect six bronze Buddhas, which\nremain standing to this day. He fell sick and died, at the age of\nseventy, on the 10th day of the 2d month of the 13th year of the\nperiod styled Kambun. Zembei, who, as a priest, had changed his name\nto Kakushin, died, at the age of seventy-six, on the 17th day of the\n10th month of the 2d year of the period styled Emp\u00f4. Thus did those\nmen, for the sake of S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and his family, give themselves up to\nworks of devotion; and the other villagers also brought food to soothe\nthe spirits of the dead, and prayed for their entry into paradise; and\nas litanies were repeated without intermission, there can be no doubt\nthat S\u00f4gor\u00f4 attained salvation.\n\n\"In paradise, where the blessings of God are distributed without\nfavour, the soul learns its faults by the measure of the rewards\ngiven. The lusts of the flesh are abandoned; and the soul, purified,\nattains to the glory of Buddha.\"[64]\n\n[Footnote 64: Buddhist text.]\n\nOn the 11th day of the 2d month of the 2d year of Sh\u00f4h\u00f4, S\u00f4gor\u00f4 having\nbeen convicted of a heinous crime, a scaffold was erected at Ewaradai,\nand the councillor who resided at Yedo and the councillor who resided\non the estate, with the other officers, proceeded to the place in all\nsolemnity. Then the priests of T\u00f4k\u00f4ji, in the village of Sak\u00e9naga,\nfollowed by coffin-bearers, took their places in front of the\ncouncillors, and said--\n\n\"We humbly beg leave to present a petition.\"\n\n\"What have your reverences to say?\"\n\n\"We are men who have forsaken the world and entered the priesthood,\"\nanswered the monks, respectfully; \"and we would fain, if it be\npossible, receive the bodies of those who are to die, that we may bury\nthem decently. It will be a great joy to us if our humble petition be\ngraciously heard and granted.\"\n\n\"Your request shall be granted; but as the crime of S\u00f4gor\u00f4 was great,\nhis body must be exposed for three days and three nights, after which\nthe corpse shall be given to you.\"\n\nAt the hour of the snake (10 A.M.), the hour appointed for the\nexecution, the people from the neighbouring villages and the\ncastle-town, old and young, men and women, flocked to see the sight:\nnumbers there were, too, who came to bid a last farewell to S\u00f4gor\u00f4,\nhis wife and children, and to put up a prayer for them. When the hour\nhad arrived, the condemned were dragged forth bound, and made to sit\nupon coarse mats. S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and his wife closed their eyes, for the sight\nwas more than they could bear; and the spectators, with heaving\nbreasts and streaming eyes, cried \"Cruel!\" and \"Pitiless!\" and taking\nsweetmeats and cakes from the bosoms of their dresses threw them to\nthe children. At noon precisely S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and his wife were bound to the\ncrosses, which were then set upright and fixed in the ground. When\nthis had been done, their eldest son Gennosuk\u00e9 was led forward to the\nscaffold, in front of the two parents. Then S\u00f4gor\u00f4 cried out--\n\n\"Oh! cruel, cruel! what crime has this poor child committed that he\nis treated thus? As for me, it matters not what becomes of me.\" And\nthe tears trickled down his face.\n\nThe spectators prayed aloud, and shut their eyes; and the executioner\nhimself, standing behind the boy, and saying that it was a pitiless\nthing that the child should suffer for the father's fault, prayed\nsilently. Then Gennosuk\u00e9, who had remained with his eyes closed, said\nto his parents--\n\n\"Oh! my father and mother, I am going before you to paradise, that\nhappy country, to wait for you. My little brothers and I will be on\nthe banks of the river Sandzu,[65] and stretch out our hands and help\nyou across. Farewell, all you who have come to see us die; and now\nplease cut off my head at once.\"\n\n[Footnote 65: The Buddhist Styx, which separates paradise from hell,\nacross which the dead are ferried by an old woman, for whom a small\npiece of money is buried with them.]\n\nWith this he stretched out his neck, murmuring a last prayer; and not\nonly S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and his wife, but even the executioner and the spectators\ncould not repress their tears; but the headsman, unnerved as he was,\nand touched to the very heart, was forced, on account of his office,\nto cut off the child's head, and a piteous wail arose from the parents\nand the spectators.\n\nThen the younger child S\u00f4hei said to the headsman, \"Sir, I have a sore\non my right shoulder: please, cut my head off from the left shoulder,\nlest you should hurt me. Alas! I know not how to die, nor what I\nshould do.\"\n\nWhen the headsman and the officers present heard the child's artless\nspeech, they wept again for very pity; but there was no help for it,\nand the head fell off more swiftly than water is drunk up by sand.\nThen little Kihachi, the third son, who, on account of his tender\nyears, should have been spared, was butchered as he was in his\nsimplicity eating the sweetmeats which had been thrown to him by the\nspectators.\n\nWhen the execution of the children was over, the priests of T\u00f4k\u00f4ji\ntook their corpses, and, having placed them in their coffins, carried\nthem away, amidst the lamentations of the bystanders, and buried them\nwith great solemnity.\n\nThen Shigay\u00e9mon, one of the servants of Danzay\u00e9mon, the chief of the\nEtas, who had been engaged for the purpose, was just about to thrust\nhis spear, when O Man, S\u00f4gor\u00f4's wife, raising her voice, said--\n\n\"Remember, my husband, that from the first you had made up your mind\nto this fate. What though our bodies be disgracefully exposed on these\ncrosses?--we have the promises of the gods before us; therefore, mourn\nnot. Let us fix our minds upon death: we are drawing near to paradise,\nand shall soon be with the saints. Be calm, my husband. Let us\ncheerfully lay down our single lives for the good of many. Man lives\nbut for one generation; his name, for many. A good name is more to be\nprized than life.\"\n\nSo she spoke; and S\u00f4gor\u00f4 on the cross, laughing gaily, answered--\n\n\"Well said, wife! What though we are punished for the many? Our\npetition was successful, and there is nothing left to wish for. Now I\nam happy, for I have attained my heart's desire. The changes and\nchances of life are manifold. But if I had five hundred lives, and\ncould five hundred times assume this shape of mine, I would die five\nhundred times to avenge this iniquity. For myself I care not; but that\nmy wife and children should be punished also is too much. Pitiless and\ncruel! Let my lord fence himself in with iron walls, yet shall my\nspirit burst through them and crush his bones, as a return for this\ndeed.\"\n\nAnd as he spoke, his eyes became vermilion red, and flashed like the\nsun or the moon, and he looked like the demon Razetsu.[66]\n\n[Footnote 66: A Buddhist fiend.]\n\n\"Come,\" shouted he, \"make haste and pierce me with the spear.\"\n\n\"Your wishes shall be obeyed,\" said the Eta, Shigay\u00e9mon, and thrust in\na spear at his right side until it came out at his left shoulder, and\nthe blood streamed out like a fountain. Then he pierced the wife from\nthe left side; and she, opening her eyes, said in a dying voice--\n\n\"Farewell, all you who are present. May harm keep far from you.\nFarewell! farewell!\" and as her voice waxed faint, the second spear\nwas thrust in from her right side, and she breathed out her spirit.\nS\u00f4gor\u00f4, the colour of his face not even changing, showed no sign of\nfear, but opening his eyes wide, said--\n\n\"Listen, my masters! all you who have come to see this sight.\nRecollect that I shall pay my thanks to my lord K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 for\nthis day's work. You shall see it for yourselves, so that it shall be\ntalked of for generations to come. As a sign, when I am dead, my head\nshall turn and face towards the castle. When you see this, doubt not\nthat my words shall come true.\"\n\nWhen he had spoken thus, the officer directing the execution gave a\nsign to the Eta, Shigay\u00e9mon, and ordered him to finish the execution,\nso that S\u00f4gor\u00f4 should speak no more. So Shigay\u00e9mon pierced him twelve\nor thirteen times, until he died. And when he was dead, his head\nturned and faced the castle. When the two councillors beheld this\nmiracle, they came down from their raised platform, and knelt down\nbefore S\u00f4gor\u00f4's dead body and said--\n\n\"Although you were but a peasant on this estate, you conceived a noble\nplan to succour the other farmers in their distress. You bruised your\nbones, and crushed your heart, for their sakes. Still, in that you\nappealed to the Shogun in person, you committed a grievous crime, and\nmade light of your superiors; and for this it was impossible not to\npunish you. Still we admit that to include your wife and children in\nyour crime, and kill them before your eyes, was a cruel deed. What is\ndone, is done, and regret is of no avail. However, honours shall be\npaid to your spirit: you shall be canonized as the Saint Daimiy\u00f4, and\nyou shall be placed among the tutelar deities of my lord's family.\"\n\nWith these words the two councillors made repeated reverences before\nthe corpse; and in this they showed their faithfulness to their lord.\nBut he, when the matter was reported to him, only laughed scornfully\nat the idea that the hatred of a peasant could affect his feudal lord;\nand said that a vassal who had dared to hatch a plot which, had it not\nbeen for his high office, would have been sufficient to ruin him, had\nonly met with his deserts. As for causing him to be canonized, let him\nbe as he was. Seeing their lord's anger, his councillors could only\nobey. But it was not long before he had cause to know that, though\nS\u00f4gor\u00f4 was dead, his vengeance was yet alive.\n\nThe relations of S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and the elders of the villages having been\nsummoned to the Court-house, the following document was issued:--\n\n\"Although the property of S\u00f4gor\u00f4, the elder of the village of\nIwahashi, is confiscated, his household furniture shall be made over\nto his two married daughters; and the village officials will look to\nit that these few poor things be not stolen by lawless and\nunprincipled men.\n\n\"His rice-fields and corn-fields, his mountain land and forest land,\nwill be sold by auction. His house and grounds will be given over to\nthe elder of the village. The price fetched by his property will be\npaid over to the lord of the estate.\n\n\"The above decree will be published, in full, to the peasants of the\nvillage; and it is strictly forbidden to find fault with this\ndecision.\n\n\"The 12th day of the 2d month, of the 2d year of the period Sh\u00f4h\u00f4.\"\n\nThe peasants, having heard this degree with all humility, left the\nCourt-house. Then the following punishments were awarded to the\nofficers of the castle, who, by rejecting the petition of the peasants\nin the first instance, had brought trouble upon their lord:--\n\n\"Dismissed from their office, the resident councillors at Yedo and at\nthe castle-town.\n\n\"Banished from the province, four district governors, and three\nbailiffs, and nineteen petty officers.\n\n\"Dismissed from office, three metsuk\u00e9s, or censors, and seven\nmagistrates.\n\n\"Condemned to _hara-kiri_, one district governor and one Yedo bailiff.\n\n\"The severity of this sentence is owing to the injustice of the\nofficials in raising new and unprecedented taxes, and bringing\naffliction upon the people, and in refusing to receive the petitions\nof the peasants, without consulting their lord, thus driving them to\nappeal to the Shogun in person. In their avarice they looked not to\nthe future, but laid too heavy a burden on the peasants, so that they\nmade an appeal to a higher power, endangering the honour of their\nlord's house. For this bad government the various officials are to be\npunished as above.\"\n\nIn this wise was justice carried out at the palace at Yedo and at the\nCourt-house at home. But in the history of the world, from the dark\nages down to the present time, there are few instances of one man\nlaying down his life for the many, as S\u00f4gor\u00f4 did: noble and peasant\npraise him alike.\n\nAs month after month passed away, towards the fourth year of the\nperiod Sh\u00f4h\u00f4, the wife of my lord K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, being with child,\nwas seized with violent pains; and retainers were sent to all the\ndifferent temples and shrines to pray by proxy, but all to no purpose:\nshe continued to suffer as before. Towards the end of the seventh\nmonth of the year, there appeared, every night, a preternatural light\nabove the lady's chamber; this was accompanied by hideous sounds as of\nmany people laughing fiendishly, and sometimes by piteous wailings, as\nthough myriads of persons were lamenting. The profound distress caused\nby this added to her sufferings; so her own privy councillor, an old\nman, took his place in the adjoining chamber, and kept watch. All of a\nsudden, he heard a noise as if a number of people were walking on the\nboards of the roof of my lady's room; then there was a sound of men\nand women weeping; and when, thunderstruck, the councillor was\nwondering what it could all be, there came a wild burst of laughter,\nand all was silent. Early the following morning, the old women who had\ncharge of my lady's household presented themselves before my lord\nK\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, and said--\n\n\"Since the middle of last month, the waiting-women have been\ncomplaining to us of the ghostly noises by which my lady is nightly\ndisturbed, and they say that they cannot continue to serve her. We\nhave tried to soothe them, by saying that the devils should be\nexorcised at once, and that there was nothing to be afraid of. Still\nwe feel that their fears are not without reason, and that they really\ncannot do their work; so we beg that your lordship will take the\nmatter into your consideration.\"\n\n\"This is a passing strange story of yours; however, I will go myself\nto-night to my lady's apartments and keep watch. You can come with\nme.\"\n\nAccordingly, that night my lord K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 sat up in person. At\nthe hour of the rat (midnight) a fearful noise of voices was heard,\nand S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and his wife, bound to the fatal crosses, suddenly\nappeared; and the ghosts, seizing the lady by the hand, said--\n\n\"We have come to meet you. The pains you are suffering are terrible,\nbut they are nothing in comparison with those of the hell to which we\nare about to lead you.\"\n\nAt these words, K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, seizing his sword, tried to sweep the\nghosts away with a terrific cut; but a loud peal of laughter was\nheard, and the visions faded away. K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, terrified, sent\nhis retainers to the temples and shrines to pray that the demons\nmight be cast out; but the noises were heard nightly, as before. When\nthe eleventh month of the year came round, the apparitions of human\nforms in my lady's apartments became more and more frequent and\nterrible, all the spirits railing at her, and howling out that they\nhad come to fetch her. The women would all scream and faint; and then\nthe ghosts would disappear amid yells of laughter. Night after night\nthis happened, and even in the daytime the visions would manifest\nthemselves; and my lady's sickness grew worse daily, until in the last\nmonth of the year she died, of grief and terror. Then the ghost of\nS\u00f4gor\u00f4 and his wife crucified would appear day and night in the\nchamber of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, floating round the room, and glaring at\nhim with red and flaming eyes. The hair of the attendants would stand\non end with terror; and if they tried to cut at the spirits, their\nlimbs would be cramped, and their feet and hands would not obey their\nbidding. K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 would draw the sword that lay by his bedside;\nbut, as often as he did so, the ghosts faded away, only to appear\nagain in a more hideous shape than before, until at last, having\nexhausted his strength and spirits, even he became terror-stricken.\nThe whole household was thrown into confusion, and day after day\nmystic rites and incantations were performed by the priests over\nbraziers of charcoal, while prayers were recited without ceasing; but\nthe visions only became more frequent, and there was no sign of their\nceasing. After the 5th year of Sh\u00f4h\u00f4, the style of the years was\nchanged to Keian; and during the 1st year of Keian the spirits\ncontinued to haunt the palace; and now they appeared in the chamber of\nK\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's eldest son, surrounding themselves with even more\nterrors than before; and when K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 was about to go to the\nShogun's castle, they were seen howling out their cries of vengeance\nin the porch of the house. At last the relations of the family and the\nmembers of the household took counsel together, and told K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\nSuk\u00e9 that without doubt no ordinary means would suffice to lay the\nghosts; a shrine must be erected to S\u00f4gor\u00f4, and divine honours paid to\nhim, after which the apparitions would assuredly cease. K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\nSuk\u00e9 having carefully considered the matter and given his consent,\nS\u00f4gor\u00f4 was canonized under the name of S\u00f4go Daimiy\u00f4, and a shrine was\nerected in his honour. After divine honours had been paid to him, the\nawful visions were no more seen, and the ghost of S\u00f4gor\u00f4 was laid for\never.\n\nIn the 2d year of the period Keian, on the 11th day of the 10th month,\non the occasion of the festival of first lighting the fire on the\nhearth, the various Daimios and Hatamotos of distinction went to the\ncastle of the Shogun, at Yedo, to offer their congratulations on this\noccasion. During the ceremonies, my lord Hotta K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 and\nSakai Iwami no Kami, lord of the castle of Matsumoto, in the province\nof Shinshiu, had a quarrel, the origin of which was not made public;\nand Sakai Iwami no Kami, although he came of a brave and noble\nfamily, received so severe a wound that he died on the following day,\nat the age of forty-three; and in consequence of this, his family was\nruined and disgraced.[67] My lord K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, by great good\nfortune, contrived to escape from the castle, and took refuge in his\nown house, whence, mounting a famous horse called Hira-Abumi,[68] he\nfled to his castle of Sakura, in Shim\u00f4sa, accomplishing the distance,\nwhich is about sixty miles, in six hours. When he arrived in front of\nthe castle, he called out in a loud voice to the guard within to open\nthe gate, answering, in reply to their challenge, that he was K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9\nno Suk\u00e9, the lord of the castle. The guard, not believing their ears,\nsent word to the councillor in charge of the castle, who rushed out to\nsee if the person demanding admittance were really their lord. When he\nsaw K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, he caused the gates to be opened, and, thinking\nit more than strange, said--\n\n\"Is this indeed you, my lord? What strange chance brings your lordship\nhither thus late at night, on horseback and alone, without a single\nfollower?\"\n\n[Footnote 67: In the old days, if a noble was murdered, and died\noutside his own house, he was disgraced, and his estates were\nforfeited. When the Regent of the Shogun was murdered, some years\nsince, outside the castle of Yedo, by a legal fiction it was given out\nthat he had died in his own palace, in order that his son might\nsucceed to his estates.]\n\n[Footnote 68: Level stirrups.]\n\nWith these words he ushered in K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, who, in reply to the\nanxious inquiries of his people as to the cause of his sudden\nappearance, said--\n\n\"You may well be astonished. I had a quarrel to-day in the castle at\nYedo, with Sakai Iwami no Kami, the lord of the castle of Matsumoto,\nand I cut him down. I shall soon be pursued; so we must strengthen the\nfortress, and prepare for an attack.\"\n\nThe household, hearing this, were greatly alarmed, and the whole\ncastle was thrown into confusion. In the meanwhile the people of\nK\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's palace at Yedo, not knowing whether their lord had\nfled, were in the greatest anxiety, until a messenger came from\nSakura, and reported his arrival there.\n\nWhen the quarrel inside the castle of Yedo and K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's\nflight had been taken cognizance of, he was attainted of treason, and\nsoldiers were sent to seize him, dead or alive. Midzuno Setsu no Kami\nand Got\u00f4 Yamato no Kami were charged with the execution of the order,\nand sallied forth, on the 13th day of the 10th month, to carry it out.\nWhen they arrived at the town of Sasai, they sent a herald with the\nfollowing message--\n\n\"Whereas K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 killed Sakai Iwami no Kami inside the castle\nof Yedo, and has fled to his own castle without leave, he is attainted\nof treason; and we, being connected with him by ties of blood and of\nfriendship, have been charged to seize him.\"\n\nThe herald delivered this message to the councillor of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\nSuk\u00e9, who, pleading as an excuse that his lord was mad, begged the two\nnobles to intercede for him. Got\u00f4 Yamato no Kami upon this called the\ncouncillor to him, and spoke privately to him, after which the latter\ntook his leave and returned to the castle of Sakura.\n\nIn the meanwhile, after consultation at Yedo, it was decided that, as\nGot\u00f4 Yamato no Kami and Midzuno Setsu no Kami were related to K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9\nno Suk\u00e9, and might meet with difficulties for that very reason, two\nother nobles, Ogasawara Iki no Kami and Nagai Hida no Kami, should be\nsent to assist them, with orders that should any trouble arise they\nshould send a report immediately to Yedo. In consequence of this\norder, the two nobles, with five thousand men, were about to march for\nSakura, on the 15th of the month, when a messenger arrived from that\nplace bearing the following despatch for the Gor\u00f4jiu, from the two\nnobles who had preceded them--\n\n   \"In obedience to the orders of His Highness the Shogun, we\n   proceeded, on the 13th day of this month, to the castle of\n   Sakura, and conducted a thorough investigation of the affair.\n   It is true that K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 has been guilty of treason, but\n   he is out of his mind; his retainers have called in physicians,\n   and he is undergoing treatment by which his senses are being\n   gradually restored, and his mind is being awakened from its\n   sleep. At the time when he slew Sakai Iwami no Kami he was not\n   accountable for his actions, and will be sincerely penitent\n   when he is aware of his crime. We have taken him prisoner, and\n   have the honour to await your instructions; in the meanwhile,\n   we beg by these present to let you know what we have done.\n\n                            \"(Signed)    GOT\u00d4 YAMATO NO KAMI.\n                                         MIDZUNO SETSU NO KAMI.\n   _To the Gor\u00f4jiu, 2d year of Keian, 2d month, 14th day_.\"\n\nThis despatch reached Yedo on the 16th of the month, and was read by\nthe Gor\u00f4jiu after they had left the castle; and in consequence of the\nreport of K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9's madness, the second expedition was put a\nstop to, and the following instructions were sent to Got\u00f4 Yamato no\nKami and Midzuno Setsu no Kami--\n\n   \"With reference to the affair of Hotta K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, lord of\n   the castle of Sakura, in Shim\u00f4sa, whose quarrel with Sakai\n   Iwami no Kami within the castle of Yedo ended in bloodshed. For\n   this heinous crime and disregard of the sanctity of the castle,\n   it is ordered that K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 be brought as a prisoner to\n   Yedo, in a litter covered with nets, that his case may be\n   judged.\n\n   \"2d year of Keian, 2d month.\n               (_Signed by the Gor\u00f4jiu_)    INABA MINO NO KAMI.\n                                            INOUYE KAWACHI NOKAMI.\n                                            KAT\u00d4 ECCHIU NO KAMI.\"\n\nUpon the receipt of this despatch, Hotta K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 n\u00f4 Suk\u00e9 was\nimmediately placed in a litter covered with a net of green silk, and\nconveyed to Yedo, strictly guarded by the retainers of the two\nnobles; and, having arrived at the capital, was handed over to the\ncharge of Akimoto Tajima no Kami. All his retainers were quietly\ndispersed; and his empty castle was ordered to be thrown open, and\ngiven in charge to Midzuno Iki no Kami.\n\nAt last K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 began to feel that the death of his wife and\nhis own present misfortunes were a just retribution for the death of\nS\u00f4gor\u00f4 and his wife and children, and he was as one awakened from a\ndream. Then night and morning, in his repentance, he offered up\nprayers to the sainted spirit of the dead farmer, and acknowledged and\nbewailed his crime, vowing that, if his family were spared from ruin\nand re-established, intercession should be made at the court of the\nMikado,[69] at Kiy\u00f4to, on behalf of the spirit of S\u00f4gor\u00f4, so that,\nbeing worshipped with even greater honours than before, his name\nshould be handed down to all generations.\n\n[Footnote 69: In the days of Shogun's power, the Mikado remained the\nFountain of Honour, and, as chief of the national religion and the\ndirect descendant of the gods, dispensed divine honours.]\n\nIn consequence of this it happened that the spirit of S\u00f4gor\u00f4 having\nrelaxed in its vindictiveness, and having ceased to persecute the\nhouse of Hotta, in the 1st month of the 4th year of Keian, K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no\nSuk\u00e9 received a summons from the Shogun, and, having been forgiven,\nwas made lord of the castle of Matsuyama, in the province of D\u00e9wa,\nwith a revenue of twenty thousand kokus. In the same year, on the 20th\nday of the 4th month, the Shogun, Prince Iy\u00e9mitsu, was pleased to\ndepart this life, at the age of forty-eight; and whether by the\nforgiving spirit of the prince, or by the divine interposition of the\nsainted S\u00f4gor\u00f4, K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 was promoted to the castle of Utsu no\nMiya, in the province of Shimotsuk\u00e9, with a revenue of eighty thousand\nkokus; and his name was changed to Hotta Hida no Kami. He also\nreceived again his original castle of Sakura, with a revenue of twenty\nthousand kokus: so that there can be no doubt that the saint was\nbefriending him. In return for these favours, the shrine of S\u00f4gor\u00f4 was\nmade as beautiful as a gem. It is needless to say how many of the\npeasants of the estate flocked to the shrine: any good luck that might\nbefall the people was ascribed to it, and night and day the devout\nworshipped at it.\n\nHere follows a copy of the petition which S\u00f4gor\u00f4 presented to the\nShogun--\n\n\"We, the elders of the hundred and thirty-six villages of the district\nof Chiba, in the province of Shim\u00f4sa, and of the district of Buji, in\nthe province of Kadzusa, most reverently offer up this our humble\npetition.\n\n\"When our former lord, Doi Shosho, was transferred to another castle,\nin the 9th year of the period Kany\u00e9, Hotta Kaga no Kami became lord of\nthe castle of Sakura; and in the 17th year of the same period, my lord\nK\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9 succeeded him. Since that time the taxes laid upon us\nhave been raised in the proportion of one t\u00f4 and two sho to each\nkoku.[70]\n\n[Footnote 70: 10 Sho = 1 T\u00f4. 10 T\u00f4 = 1 Koku.]\n\n\"_Item_.--At the present time, taxes are raised on nineteen of our\narticles of produce; whereas our former lord only required that we\nshould furnish him with pulse and sesamum, for which he paid in rice.\n\n\"_Item_.--Not only are we not paid now for our produce, but, if it is\nnot given in to the day, we are driven and goaded by the officials;\nand if there be any further delay, we are manacled and severely\nreprimanded; so that if our own crops fail, we have to buy produce\nfrom other districts, and are pushed to the utmost extremity of\naffliction.\n\n\"_Item_.--We have over and over again prayed to be relieved from these\nburthens, but our petitions are not received. The people are reduced\nto poverty, so that it is hard for them to live under such grievous\ntaxation. Often they have tried to sell the land which they till, but\nnone can be found to buy; so they have sometimes given over their land\nto the village authorities, and fled with their wives to other\nprovinces, and seven hundred and thirty men or more have been reduced\nto begging, one hundred and eighty-five houses have fallen into ruins;\nland producing seven thousand kokus has been given up, and remains\nuntilled, and eleven temples have fallen into decay in consequence of\nthe ruin of those upon whom they depended.\n\n\"Besides this, the poverty-stricken farmers and women, having been\nobliged to take refuge in other provinces, and having no\nabiding-place, have been driven to evil courses and bring men to speak\nill of their lord; and the village officials, being unable to keep\norder, are blamed and reproved. No attention has been paid to our\nrepeated representations upon this point; so we were driven to\npetition the Gor\u00f4jiu Kuz\u00e9 Yamato no Kami as he was on his way to the\ncastle, but our petition was returned to us. And now, as a last\nresource, we tremblingly venture to approach his Highness the Shogun\nin person.\n\n\"The 1st year of the period Sh\u00f4h\u00f4, 12th month, 20th day.\n\n[Illustration: Seal] \"The seals of the elders of the 136 villages.\"\n\nThe Shogun at that time was Prince Iy\u00e9mitsu, the grandson of Iy\u00e9yasu.\nHe received the name of Dai-yu-In after his death.\n\nThe Gor\u00f4jiu at that time were Hotta K\u00f4tsuk\u00e9 no Suk\u00e9, Sakai Iwami no\nKami, Inaba Mino no Kami, Kat\u00f4 Ecchiu no Kami, Inouy\u00e9 Kawachi no Kami.\n\nThe Wakadoshiy\u00f4ri (or 2d council) were Torii Wakasa no Kami, Tsuchiya\nDewa no Kami, and Itakura Naizen no Sho.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe belief in ghosts appears to be as universal as that in the\nimmortality of the soul, upon which it depends. Both in China and\nJapan the departed spirit is invested with the power of revisiting the\nearth, and, in a visible form, tormenting its enemies and haunting\nthose places where the perishable part of it mourned and suffered.\nHaunted houses are slow to find tenants, for ghosts almost always come\nwith revengeful intent; indeed, the owners of such houses will almost\npay men to live in them, such is the dread which they inspire, and the\nanxiety to blot out the stigma.\n\nOne cold winter's night at Yedo, as I was sitting, with a few Japanese\nfriends, huddled round the imperfect heat of a brazier of charcoal,\nthe conversation turned upon the story of S\u00f4gor\u00f4 and upon ghostly\napparitions in general. Many a weird tale was told that evening, and I\nnoted down the three or four which follow, for the truth of which the\nnarrators vouched with the utmost confidence.\n\nAbout ten years ago there lived a fishmonger, named Zenroku, in the\nMikawa-street, at Kanda, in Yedo. He was a poor man, living with his\nwife and one little boy. His wife fell sick and died, so he engaged an\nold woman to look after his boy while he himself went out to sell his\nfish. It happened, one day, that he and the other hucksters of his\nguild were gambling; and this coming to the ears of the authorities,\nthey were all thrown into prison. Although their offence was in itself\na light one, still they were kept for some time in durance while the\nmatter was being investigated; and Zenroku, owing to the damp and foul\nair of the prison, fell sick with fever. His little child, in the\nmeantime, had been handed over by the authorities to the charge of the\npetty officers of the ward to which his father belonged, and was being\nwell cared for; for Zenroku was known to be an honest fellow, and his\nfate excited much compassion. One night Zenroku, pale and emaciated,\nentered the house in which his boy was living; and all the people\njoyfully congratulated him on his escape from jail. \"Why, we heard\nthat you were sick in prison. This is, indeed, a joyful return.\" Then\nZenroku thanked those who had taken care of the child, saying that he\nhad returned secretly by the favour of his jailers that night; but\nthat on the following day his offence would be remitted, and he should\nbe able to take possession of his house again publicly. For that\nnight, he must return to the prison. With this he begged those present\nto continue their good offices to his babe; and, with a sad and\nreluctant expression of countenance, he left the house. On the\nfollowing day, the officers of that ward were sent for by the prison\nauthorities. They thought that they were summoned that Zenroku might\nbe handed back to them a free man, as he himself had said to them; but\nto their surprise, they were told that he had died the night before in\nprison, and were ordered to carry away his dead body for burial. Then\nthey knew that they had seen Zenroku's ghost; and that when he said\nthat he should be returned to them on the morrow, he had alluded to\nhis corpse. So they buried him decently, and brought up his son, who\nis alive to this day.\n\nThe next story was told by a professor in the college at Yedo, and,\nalthough it is not of so modern a date as the last, he stated it to be\nwell authenticated, and one of general notoriety.\n\nAbout two hundred years ago there was a chief of the police, named\nAoyama Shuzen, who lived in the street called Bancho, at Yedo. His\nduty was to detect thieves and incendiaries. He was a cruel and\nviolent man, without heart or compassion, and thought nothing of\nkilling or torturing a man to gratify spite or revenge. This man\nShuzen had in his house a servant-maid, called O Kiku (the\nChrysanthemum), who had lived in the family since her childhood, and\nwas well acquainted with her master's temper. One day O Kiku\naccidentally broke one of a set of ten porcelain plates, upon which he\nset a high value. She knew that she would suffer for her carelessness;\nbut she thought that if she concealed the matter her punishment would\nbe still more severe; so she went at once to her master's wife, and,\nin fear and trembling, confessed what she had done. When Shuzen came\nhome, and heard that one of his favourite plates was broken, he flew\ninto a violent rage, and took the girl to a cupboard, where he left\nher bound with cords, and every day cut off one of her fingers. O\nKiku, tightly bound and in agony, could not move; but at last she\ncontrived to bite or cut the ropes asunder, and, escaping into the\ngarden, threw herself into a well, and was drowned. From that time\nforth, every night a voice was heard coming from the well, counting\none, two, three, and so on up to nine--the number of the plates that\nremained unbroken--and then, when the tenth plate should have been\ncounted, would come a burst of lamentation. The servants of the house,\nterrified at this, all left their master's service, until Shuzen, not\nhaving a single retainer left, was unable to perform his public\nduties; and when the officers of the government heard of this, he was\ndismissed from his office. At this time there was a famous priest,\ncalled Mikadzuki Sh\u00f4nin, of the temple Denzuin, who, having been told\nof the affair, came one night to the house, and, when the ghost began\nto count the plates, reproved the spirit, and by his prayers and\nadmonitions caused it to cease from troubling the living.\n\nThe laying of disturbed spirits appears to form one of the regular\nfunctions of the Buddhist priests; at least, we find them playing a\nconspicuous part in almost every ghost-story.\n\nAbout thirty years ago there stood a house at Mitsum\u00e9, in the Honj\u00f4 of\nYedo, which was said to be nightly visited by ghosts, so that no man\ndared to live in it, and it remained untenanted on that account.\nHowever, a man called Miura Tak\u00e9shi, a native of the province of\nOshiu, who came to Yedo to set up in business as a fencing-master, but\nwas too poor to hire a house, hearing that there was a haunted house,\nfor which no tenant could be found, and that the owner would let any\nman live in it rent free, said that he feared neither man nor devil,\nand obtained leave to occupy the house. So he hired a fencing-room, in\nwhich he gave his lessons by day, and after midnight returned to the\nhaunted house. One night, his wife, who took charge of the house in\nhis absence, was frightened by a fearful noise proceeding from a pond\nin the garden, and, thinking that this certainly must be the ghost\nthat she had heard so much about, she covered her head with the\nbed-clothes and remained breathless with terror. When her husband came\nhome, she told him what had happened; and on the following night he\nreturned earlier than usual, and waited for the ghostly noise. At the\nsame time as before, a little after midnight, the same sound was\nheard--as though a gun had been fired inside the pond. Opening the\nshutters, he looked out, and saw something like a black cloud floating\non the water, and in the cloud was the form of a bald man. Thinking\nthat there must be some cause for this, he instituted careful\ninquiries, and learned that the former tenant, some ten years\npreviously, had borrowed money from a blind shampooer,[71] and, being\nunable to pay the debt, had murdered his creditor, who began to press\nhim for his money, and had thrown his head into the pond. The\nfencing-master accordingly collected his pupils and emptied the pond,\nand found a skull at the bottom of it; so he called in a priest, and\nburied the skull in a temple, causing prayers to be offered up for the\nrepose of the murdered man's soul. Thus the ghost was laid, and\nappeared no more.\n\n[Footnote 71: The apparently poor shaven-pated and blind shampooers of\nJapan drive a thriving trade as money-lenders. They give out small\nsums at an interest of 20 per cent. per month--210 per cent. per\nannum--and woe betide the luckless wight who falls into their\nclutches.]\n\nThe belief in curses hanging over families for generations is as\ncommon as that in ghosts and supernatural apparitions. There is a\nstrange story of this nature in the house of Asai, belonging to the\nHatamoto class. The ancestor of the present representative, six\ngenerations ago, had a certain concubine, who was in love with a man\nwho frequented the house, and wished in her heart to marry him; but,\nbeing a virtuous woman, she never thought of doing any evil deed. But\nthe wife of my lord Asai was jealous of the girl, and persuaded her\nhusband that her rival in his affections had gone astray; when he\nheard this he was very angry, and beat her with a candlestick so that\nhe put out her left eye. The girl, who had indignantly protested her\ninnocence, finding herself so cruelly handled, pronounced a curse\nagainst the house; upon which, her master, seizing the candlestick\nagain, dashed out her brains and killed her. Shortly afterwards my\nlord Asai lost his left eye, and fell sick and died; and from that\ntime forth to this day, it is said that the representatives of the\nhouse have all lost their left eyes after the age of forty, and\nshortly afterwards they have fallen sick and died at the same age as\nthe cruel lord who killed his concubine.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\n\nOf the many fair scenes of Yedo, none is better worth visiting than\nthe temple of Z\u00f4j\u00f4ji, one of the two great burial-places of the\nShoguns; indeed, if you wish to see the most beautiful spots of any\nOriental city, ask for the cemeteries: the homes of the dead are ever\nthe loveliest places. Standing in a park of glorious firs and pines\nbeautifully kept, which contains quite a little town of neat,\nclean-looking houses, together with thirty-four temples for the use of\nthe priests and attendants of the shrines, the main temple, with its\nhuge red pillars supporting a heavy Chinese roof of grey tiles, is\napproached through a colossal open hall which leads into a stone\ncourtyard. At one end of this courtyard is a broad flight of\nsteps--the three or four lower ones of stone, and the upper ones of\nred wood. At these the visitor is warned by a notice to take off his\nboots, a request which Englishmen, with characteristic disregard of\nthe feelings of others, usually neglect to comply with. The main hall\nof the temple is of large proportions, and the high altar is decorated\nwith fine bronze candelabra, incense-burners, and other ornaments, and\non two days of the year a very curious collection of pictures\nrepresenting the five hundred gods, whose images are known to all\npersons who have visited Canton, is hung along the walls. The big bell\noutside the main hall is rather remarkable on account of the great\nbeauty of the deep bass waves of sound which it rolls through the city\nthan on account of its size, which is as nothing when compared with\nthat of the big bells of Moscow and Peking; still it is not to be\ndespised even in that respect, for it is ten feet high and five feet\neight inches in diameter, while its metal is a foot thick: it was hung\nup in the year 1673. But the chief objects of interest in these\nbeautiful grounds are the chapels attached to the tombs of the\nShoguns.\n\nIt is said that as Prince Iy\u00e9yasu was riding into Yedo to take\npossession of his new castle, the Abbot of Z\u00f4j\u00f4ji, an ancient temple\nwhich then stood at Hibiya, near the castle, went forth and waited\nbefore the gate to do homage to the Prince. Iy\u00e9yasu, seeing that the\nAbbot was no ordinary man, stopped and asked his name, and entered the\ntemple to rest himself. The smooth-spoken monk soon found such favour\nwith Iy\u00e9yasu, that he chose Z\u00f4j\u00f4ji to be his family temple; and seeing\nthat its grounds were narrow and inconveniently near the castle, he\ncaused it to be removed to its present site. In the year 1610 the\ntemple was raised, by the intercession of Iy\u00e9yasu, to the dignity of\nthe Imperial Temples, which, until the last revolution, were presided\nover by princes of the blood; and to the Abbot was granted the right,\non going to the castle, of sitting in his litter as far as the\nentrance-hall, instead of dismounting at the usual place and\nproceeding on foot through several gates and courtyards. Nor were the\nprivileges of the temple confined to barren honours, for it was\nendowed with lands of the value of five thousand kokus of rice yearly.\n\nWhen Iy\u00e9yasu died, the shrine called Antoku In was erected in his\nhonour to the south of the main temple. Here, on the seventeenth day\nof the fourth month, the anniversary of his death, ceremonies are held\nin honour of his spirit, deified as Gongen Sama, and the place is\nthrown open to all who may wish to come and pray. But Iy\u00e9yasu is not\nburied here; his remains lie in a gorgeous shrine among the mountains\nsome eighty miles north of Yedo, at Nikk\u00f4, a place so beautiful that\nthe Japanese have a rhyming proverb which says, that he who has not\nseen Nikk\u00f4 should never pronounce the word Kekk\u00f4 (charming, delicious,\ngrand, beautiful).\n\nHid\u00e9tada, the son and successor of Iy\u00e9yasu, together with Iy\u00e9nobu,\nIy\u00e9tsugu, Iy\u00e9shig\u00e9, Iy\u00e9yoshi, and Iy\u00e9mochi, the sixth, seventh, ninth,\ntwelfth, and fourteenth Shoguns of the Tokugawa dynasty, are buried in\nthree shrines attached to the temple; the remainder, with the\nexception of Iy\u00e9mitsu, the third Shogun, who lies with his grandfather\nat Nikk\u00f4, are buried at Uy\u00e9no.\n\nThe shrines are of exceeding beauty, lying on one side of a splendid\navenue of Scotch firs, which border a broad, well-kept gravel walk.\nPassing through a small gateway of rare design, we come into a large\nstone courtyard, lined with a long array of colossal stone lanterns,\nthe gift of the vassals of the departed Prince. A second gateway,\nsupported by gilt pillars carved all round with figures of dragons,\nleads into another court, in which are a bell tower, a great cistern\ncut out of a single block of stone like a sarcophagus, and a smaller\nnumber of lanterns of bronze; these are given by the Go San K\u00e9, the\nthree princely families in which the succession to the office of\nShogun was vested. Inside this is a third court, partly covered like a\ncloister, the approach to which is a doorway of even greater beauty\nand richness than the last; the ceiling is gilt, and painted with\narabesques and with heavenly angels playing on musical instruments,\nand the panels of the walls are sculptured in high relief with\nadmirable representations of birds and flowers, life-size, life-like,\nall being coloured to imitate nature. Inside this enclosure stands a\nshrine, before the closed door of which a priest on one side, and a\nretainer of the house of Tokugawa on the other, sit mounting guard,\nmute and immovable as though they themselves were part of the carved\nornaments. Passing on one side of the shrine, we come to another\ncourt, plainer than the last, and at the back of the little temple\ninside it is a flight of stone steps, at the top of which, protected\nby a bronze door, stands a simple monumental urn of bronze on a stone\npedestal. Under this is the grave itself; and it has always struck me\nthat there is no small amount of poetical feeling in this simple\nending to so much magnificence; the sermon may have been preached by\ndesign, or it may have been by accident, but the lesson is there.\n\nThere is little difference between the three shrines, all of which are\ndecorated in the same manner. It is very difficult to do justice to\ntheir beauty in words. Writing many thousand miles away from them, I\nhave the memory before me of a place green in winter, pleasant and\ncool in the hottest summer; of peaceful cloisters, of the fragrance of\nincense, of the subdued chant of richly robed priests, and the music\nof bells; of exquisite designs, harmonious colouring, rich gilding.\nThe hum of the vast city outside is unheard here: Iy\u00e9yasu himself, in\nthe mountains of Nikk\u00f4, has no quieter resting-place than his\ndescendants in the heart of the city over which they ruled.\n\nBesides the graves of the Shoguns, Z\u00f4j\u00f4ji contains other lesser\nshrines, in which are buried the wives of the second, sixth, and\neleventh Shoguns, and the father of Iy\u00e9nobu, the sixth Shogun, who\nsucceeded to the office by adoption. There is also a holy place\ncalled the Satsuma Temple, which has a special interest; in it is a\ntablet in honour of Tadayoshi, the fifth son of Iy\u00e9yasu, whose title\nwas Matsudaira Satsuma no Kami, and who died young. At his death, five\nof his retainers, with one Ogasasawara Kemmotsu at their head,\ndisembowelled themselves, that they might follow their young master\ninto the next world. They were buried in this place; and I believe\nthat this is the last instance on record of the ancient Japanese\ncustom of _Junshi_, that is to say, \"dying with the master.\"\n\nThere are, during the year, several great festivals which are\nspecially celebrated at Z\u00f4joji; the chief of these are the Kaisanki,\nor founder's day, which is on the eighteenth day of the seventh month;\nthe twenty-fifth day of the first month, the anniversary of the death\nof the monk H\u00f4nen, the founder of the J\u00f4do sect of Buddhism (that to\nwhich the temple belongs); the anniversary of the death of Buddha, on\nthe fifteenth of the second month; the birthday of Buddha, on the\neighth day of the fourth month; and from the sixth to the fifteenth of\nthe tenth month.\n\nAt Uy\u00e9no is the second of the burial-grounds of the Shoguns. The\nTemple T\u00f4-yei-zan, which stood in the grounds of Uy\u00e9no, was built by\nIy\u00e9mitsu, the third of the Shoguns of the house of Tokugawa, in the\nyear 1625, in honour of Yakushi Ni\u00f4rai, the Buddhist \u00c6sculapius. It\nfaces the Ki-mon, or Devil's Gate, of the castle, and was erected upon\nthe model of the temple of Hi-yei-zan, one of the most famous of the\nholy places of Kiy\u00f4to. Having founded the temple, the next care of\nIy\u00e9mitsu was to pray that Morizumi, the second son of the retired\nemperor, should come and reside there; and from that time until 1868,\nthe temple was always presided over by a Miya, or member of the\nMikado's family, who was specially charged with the care of the tomb\nof Iy\u00e9yasu at Nikk\u00f4, and whose position was that of an ecclesiastical\nchief or primate over the east of Japan.\n\nThe temples in Yedo are not to be compared in point of beauty with\nthose in and about Peking; what is marble there is wood here. Still\nthey are very handsome, and in the days of its magnificence the Temple\nof Uy\u00e9no was one of the finest. Alas! the main temple, the hall in\nhonour of the sect to which it belongs, the hall of services, the\nbell-tower, the entrance-hall, and the residence of the prince of the\nblood, were all burnt down in the battle of Uy\u00e9no, in the summer of\n1868, when the Shogun's men made their last stand in Yedo against the\ntroops of the Mikado. The fate of the day was decided by two\nfield-pieces, which the latter contrived to mount on the roof of a\nneighbouring tea-house; and the Shogun's men, driven out of the place,\ncarried off the Miya in the vain hope of raising his standard in the\nnorth as that of a rival Mikado. A few of the lesser temples and\ntombs, and the beautiful park-like grounds, are but the remnants of\nthe former glory of Uy\u00e9no. Among these is a temple in the form of a\nroofless stage, in honour of the thousand-handed Kwannon. In the\nmiddle ages, during the civil wars between the houses of Gen and Hei,\none Morihisa, a captain of the house of Hei, after the destruction of\nhis clan, went and prayed for a thousand days at the temple of the\nthousand-handed Kwannon at Kiyomidzu, in Kiy\u00f4to. His retreat having\nbeen discovered, he was seized and brought bound to Kamakura, the\nchief town of the house of Gen. Here he was condemned to die at a\nplace called Yui, by the sea-shore; but every time that the\nexecutioner lifted his sword to strike, the blade was broken by the\ngod Kwannon, and at the same time the wife of Yoritomo, the chief of\nthe house of Gen, was warned in a dream to spare Morihisa's life. So\nMorihisa was reprieved, and rose to power in the state; and all this\nwas by the miraculous intervention of the god Kwannon, who takes such\ngood care of his faithful votaries. To him this temple is dedicated. A\ncolossal bronze Buddha, twenty-two feet high, set up some two hundred\nyears ago, and a stone lantern, twenty feet high, and twelve feet\nround at the top, are greatly admired by the Japanese. There are only\nthree such lanterns in the empire; the other two being at Nanzenji--a\ntemple in Kiy\u00f4to, and Atsura, a shrine in the province of Owari. All\nthree were erected by the piety of one man, Sakuma Daizen no Suk\u00e9, in\nthe year A.D. 1631.\n\nIy\u00e9mitsu, the founder of the temple, was buried with his grandfather,\nIy\u00e9yasu, at Nikk\u00f4; but both of these princes are honoured with shrines\nhere. The Shoguns who are interred at Uy\u00e9no are Iy\u00e9tsuna, Tsunayoshi,\nYoshimun\u00e9, Iy\u00e9haru, Iy\u00e9nori, and Iy\u00e9sada, the fourth, fifth, eighth,\ntenth, eleventh, and thirteenth Princes of the Line. Besides them, are\nburied five wives of the Shoguns, and the father of the eleventh\nShogun.\n\n\n\n\nHOW TAJIMA SHUM\u00c9 WAS TORMENTED BY A DEVIL OF HIS OWN CREATION\n\n\nOnce upon a time, a certain R\u00f4nin, Tajima Shum\u00e9 by name, an able and\nwell-read man, being on his travels to see the world, went up to\nKiy\u00f4to by the T\u00f4kaid\u00f4.[72] One day, in the neighbourhood of Nagoya, in\nthe province of Owari, he fell in with a wandering priest, with whom\nhe entered into conversation. Finding that they were bound for the\nsame place, they agreed to travel together, beguiling their weary way\nby pleasant talk on divers matters; and so by degrees, as they became\nmore intimate, they began to speak without restraint about their\nprivate affairs; and the priest, trusting thoroughly in the honour of\nhis companion, told him the object of his journey.\n\n[Footnote 72: The road of the Eastern Sea, the famous high-road\nleading from Kiy\u00f4to to Yedo. The name is also used to indicate the\nprovinces through which it runs.]\n\n\"For some time past,\" said he, \"I have nourished a wish that has\nengrossed all my thoughts; for I am bent on setting up a molten image\nin honour of Buddha; with this object I have wandered through various\nprovinces collecting alms and (who knows by what weary toil?) we have\nsucceeded in amassing two hundred ounces of silver--enough, I trust,\nto erect a handsome bronze figure.\"\n\nWhat says the proverb? \"He who bears a jewel in his bosom bears\npoison.\" Hardly had the R\u00f4nin heard these words of the priest than an\nevil heart arose within him, and he thought to himself, \"Man's life,\nfrom the womb to the grave, is made up of good and of ill luck. Here\nam I, nearly forty years old, a wanderer, without a calling, or even a\nhope of advancement in the world. To be sure, it seems a shame; yet if\nI could steal the money this priest is boasting about, I could live at\nease for the rest of my days;\" and so he began casting about how best\nhe might compass his purpose. But the priest, far from guessing the\ndrift of his comrade's thoughts, journeyed cheerfully on, till they\nreached the town of Kuana. Here there is an arm of the sea, which is\ncrossed in ferry-boats, that start as soon as some twenty or thirty\npassengers are gathered together; and in one of these boats the two\ntravellers embarked. About half-way across, the priest was taken with\na sudden necessity to go to the side of the boat; and the R\u00f4nin,\nfollowing him, tripped him up whilst no one was looking, and flung him\ninto the sea. When the boatmen and passengers heard the splash, and\nsaw the priest struggling in the water, they were afraid, and made\nevery effort to save him; but the wind was fair, and the boat running\nswiftly under the bellying sails, so they were soon a few hundred\nyards off from the drowning man, who sank before the boat could be\nturned to rescue him.\n\nWhen he saw this, the R\u00f4nin feigned the utmost grief and dismay, and\nsaid to his fellow-passengers, \"This priest, whom we have just lost,\nwas my cousin: he was going to Kiy\u00f4to, to visit the shrine of his\npatron; and as I happened to have business there as well, we settled\nto travel together. Now, alas! by this misfortune, my cousin is dead,\nand I am left alone.\"\n\nHe spoke so feelingly, and wept so freely, that the passengers\nbelieved his story, and pitied and tried to comfort him. Then the\nR\u00f4nin said to the boatmen--\n\n\"We ought, by rights, to report this matter to the authorities; but as\nI am pressed for time, and the business might bring trouble on\nyourselves as well, perhaps we had better hush it up for the present;\nand I will at once go on to Kiy\u00f4to and tell my cousin's patron,\nbesides writing home about it. What think you, gentlemen?\" added he,\nturning to the other travellers.\n\nThey, of course, were only too glad to avoid any hindrance to their\nonward journey, and all with one voice agreed to what the R\u00f4nin had\nproposed; and so the matter was settled. When, at length, they reached\nthe shore, they left the boat, and every man went his way; but the\nR\u00f4nin, overjoyed in his heart, took the wandering priest's luggage,\nand, putting it with his own, pursued his journey to Kiy\u00f4to.\n\nOn reaching the capital, the R\u00f4nin changed his name from Shum\u00e9 to\nTokubei, and, giving up his position as a Samurai, turned merchant,\nand traded with the dead man's money. Fortune favouring his\nspeculations, he began to amass great wealth, and lived at his ease,\ndenying himself nothing; and in course of time he married a wife, who\nbore him a child.\n\nThus the days and months wore on, till one fine summer's night, some\nthree years after the priest's death, Tokubei stepped out on to the\nverandah of his house to enjoy the cool air and the beauty of the\nmoonlight. Feeling dull and lonely, he began musing over all kinds of\nthings, when on a sudden the deed of murder and theft, done so long\nago, vividly recurred to his memory, and he thought to himself, \"Here\nam I, grown rich and fat on the money I wantonly stole. Since then,\nall has gone well with me; yet, had I not been poor, I had never\nturned assassin nor thief. Woe betide me! what a pity it was!\" and as\nhe was revolving the matter in his mind, a feeling of remorse came\nover him, in spite of all he could do. While his conscience thus smote\nhim, he suddenly, to his utter amazement, beheld the faint outline of\na man standing near a fir-tree in the garden: on looking more\nattentively, he perceived that the man's whole body was thin and worn\nand the eyes sunken and dim; and in the poor ghost that was before him\nhe recognized the very priest whom he had thrown into the sea at\nKuana. Chilled with horror, he looked again, and saw that the priest\nwas smiling in scorn. He would have fled into the house, but the ghost\nstretched forth its withered arm, and, clutching the back of his neck,\nscowled at him with a vindictive glare, and a hideous ghastliness of\nmien, so unspeakably awful that any ordinary man would have swooned\nwith fear. But Tokubei, tradesman though he was, had once been a\nsoldier, and was not easily matched for daring; so he shook off the\nghost, and, leaping into the room for his dirk, laid about him boldly\nenough; but, strike as he would, the spirit, fading into the air,\neluded his blows, and suddenly reappeared only to vanish again: and\nfrom that time forth Tokubei knew no rest, and was haunted night and\nday.\n\nAt length, undone by such ceaseless vexation, Tokubei fell ill, and\nkept muttering, \"Oh, misery! misery!--the wandering priest is coming\nto torture me!\" Hearing his moans and the disturbance he made, the\npeople in the house fancied he was mad, and called in a physician, who\nprescribed for him. But neither pill nor potion could cure Tokubei,\nwhose strange frenzy soon became the talk of the whole neighbourhood.\n\nNow it chanced that the story reached the ears of a certain wandering\npriest who lodged in the next street. When he heard the particulars,\nthis priest gravely shook his head, as though he knew all about it,\nand sent a friend to Tokubei's house to say that a wandering priest,\ndwelling hard by, had heard of his illness, and, were it never so\ngrievous, would undertake to heal it by means of his prayers; and\nTokubei's wife, driven half wild by her husband's sickness, lost not a\nmoment in sending for the priest, and taking him into the sick man's\nroom.\n\nBut no sooner did Tokubei see the priest than he yelled out, \"Help!\nhelp! Here is the wandering priest come to torment me again. Forgive!\nforgive!\" and hiding his head under the coverlet, he lay quivering all\nover. Then the priest turned all present out of the room, put his\nmouth to the affrighted man's ear, and whispered--\n\n\"Three years ago, at the Kuana ferry, you flung me into the water; and\nwell you remember it.\"\n\nBut Tokubei was speechless, and could only quake with fear.\n\n\"Happily,\" continued the priest, \"I had learned to swim and to dive as\na boy; so I reached the shore, and, after wandering through many\nprovinces, succeeded in setting up a bronze figure to Buddha, thus\nfulfilling the wish of my heart. On my journey homewards, I took a\nlodging in the next street, and there heard of your marvellous\nailment. Thinking I could divine its cause, I came to see you, and am\nglad to find I was not mistaken. You have done a hateful deed; but am\nI not a priest, and have I not forsaken the things of this world? and\nwould it not ill become me to bear malice? Repent, therefore, and\nabandon your evil ways. To see you do so I should esteem the height of\nhappiness. Be of good cheer, now, and look me in the face, and you\nwill see that I am really a living man, and no vengeful goblin come\nto torment you.\"\n\nSeeing he had no ghost to deal with, and overwhelmed by the priest's\nkindness, Tokubei burst into tears, and answered, \"Indeed, indeed, I\ndon't know what to say. In a fit of madness I was tempted to kill and\nrob you. Fortune befriended me ever after; but the richer I grew, the\nmore keenly I felt how wicked I had been, and the more I foresaw that\nmy victim's vengeance would some day overtake me. Haunted by this\nthought, I lost my nerve, till one night I beheld your spirit, and\nfrom that time forth fell ill. But how you managed to escape, and are\nstill alive, is more than I can understand.\"\n\n\"A guilty man,\" said the priest, with a smile, \"shudders at the\nrustling of the wind or the chattering of a stork's beak: a murderer's\nconscience preys upon his mind till he sees what is not. Poverty\ndrives a man to crimes which he repents of in his wealth. How true is\nthe doctrine of M\u00f4shi,[73] that the heart of man, pure by nature, is\ncorrupted by circumstances.\"\n\n[Footnote 73: Mencius.]\n\nThus he held forth; and Tokubei, who had long since repented of his\ncrime, implored forgiveness, and gave him a large sum of money,\nsaying, \"Half of this is the amount I stole from you three years\nsince; the other half I entreat you to accept as interest, or as a\ngift.\"\n\nThe priest at first refused the money; but Tokubei insisted on his\naccepting it, and did all he could to detain him, but in vain; for the\npriest went his way, and bestowed the money on the poor and needy. As\nfor Tokubei himself, he soon shook off his disorder, and thenceforward\nlived at peace with all men, revered both at home and abroad, and ever\nintent on good and charitable deeds.\n\n\n\n\nCONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS\n\n\n\n\nCONCERNING CERTAIN SUPERSTITIONS\n\n\nCats, foxes, and badgers are regarded with superstitious awe by the\nJapanese, who attribute to them the power of assuming the human shape\nin order to bewitch mankind. Like the fairies of our Western tales,\nhowever, they work for good as well as for evil ends. To do them a\ngood turn is to secure powerful allies; but woe betide him who injures\nthem!--he and his will assuredly suffer for it. Cats and foxes seem to\nhave been looked upon as uncanny beasts all the world over; but it is\nnew to me that badgers should have a place in fairy-land. The island\nof Shikoku, the southernmost of the great Japanese islands, appears to\nbe the part of the country in which the badger is regarded with the\ngreatest veneration. Among the many tricks which he plays upon the\nhuman race is one, of which I have a clever representation carved in\nivory. Lying in wait in lonely places after dusk, the badger watches\nfor benighted wayfarers: should one appear, the beast, drawing a long\nbreath, distends his belly and drums delicately upon it with his\nclenched fist, producing such entrancing tones, that the traveller\ncannot resist turning aside to follow the sound, which,\nWill-o'-the-wisp-like, recedes as he advances, until it lures him on\nto his destruction. Love is, however, the most powerful engine which\nthe cat, the fox, and the badger alike put forth for the ruin of man.\nNo German poet ever imagined a more captivating water-nymph than the\nfair virgins by whom the knight of Japanese romance is assailed: the\ntrue hero recognizes and slays the beast; the weaker mortal yields and\nperishes.\n\nThe Japanese story-books abound with tales about the pranks of these\ncreatures, which, like ghosts, even play a part in the histories of\nancient and noble families. I have collected a few of these, and now\nbeg a hearing for a distinguished and two-tailed[74] connection of\nPuss in Boots and the Chatte Blanche.\n\n[Footnote 74: Cats are found in Japan, as in the Isle of Man, with\nstumps, where they should have tails. Sometimes this is the result of\nart, sometimes of a natural shortcoming. The cats of Yedo are of bad\nrepute as mousers, their energies being relaxed by much petting at the\nhands of ladies. The Cat of Nab\u00e9shima, so says tradition, was a\nmonster with two tails.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE VAMPIRE CAT OF NAB\u00c9SHIMA\n\n\nThere is a tradition in the Nab\u00e9shima[75] family that, many years ago,\nthe Prince of Hizen was bewitched and cursed by a cat that had been\nkept by one of his retainers. This prince had in his house a lady of\nrare beauty, called O Toyo: amongst all his ladies she was the\nfavourite, and there was none who could rival her charms and\naccomplishments. One day the Prince went out into the garden with O\nToyo, and remained enjoying the fragrance of the flowers until sunset,\nwhen they returned to the palace, never noticing that they were being\nfollowed by a large cat. Having parted with her lord, O Toyo retired\nto her own room and went to bed. At midnight she awoke with a start,\nand became aware of a huge cat that crouched watching her; and when\nshe cried out, the beast sprang on her, and, fixing its cruel teeth in\nher delicate throat, throttled her to death. What a piteous end for so\nfair a dame, the darling of her prince's heart, to die suddenly,\nbitten to death by a cat! Then the cat, having scratched out a grave\nunder the verandah, buried the corpse of O Toyo, and assuming her\nform, began to bewitch the Prince.\n\n[Footnote 75: The family of the Prince of Hizen, one of the eighteen\nchief Daimios of Japan.]\n\nBut my lord the Prince knew nothing of all this, and little thought\nthat the beautiful creature who caressed and fondled him was an impish\nand foul beast that had slain his mistress and assumed her shape in\norder to drain out his life's blood. Day by day, as time went on, the\nPrince's strength dwindled away; the colour of his face was changed,\nand became pale and livid; and he was as a man suffering from a deadly\nsickness. Seeing this, his councillors and his wife became greatly\nalarmed; so they summoned the physicians, who prescribed various\nremedies for him; but the more medicine he took, the more serious did\nhis illness appear, and no treatment was of any avail. But most of all\ndid he suffer in the night-time, when his sleep would be troubled and\ndisturbed by hideous dreams. In consequence of this, his councillors\nnightly appointed a hundred of his retainers to sit up and watch over\nhim; but, strange to say, towards ten o'clock on the very first night\nthat the watch was set, the guard were seized with a sudden and\nunaccountable drowsiness, which they could not resist, until one by\none every man had fallen asleep. Then the false O Toyo came in and\nharassed the Prince until morning. The following night the same thing\noccurred, and the Prince was subjected to the imp's tyranny, while\nhis guards slept helplessly around him. Night after night this was\nrepeated, until at last three of the Prince's councillors determined\nthemselves to sit up on guard, and see whether they could overcome\nthis mysterious drowsiness; but they fared no better than the others,\nand by ten o'clock were fast asleep. The next day the three\ncouncillors held a solemn conclave, and their chief, one Isahaya\nBuzen, said--\n\n\"This is a marvellous thing, that a guard of a hundred men should thus\nbe overcome by sleep. Of a surety, the spell that is upon my lord and\nupon his guard must be the work of witchcraft. Now, as all our efforts\nare of no avail, let us seek out Ruiten, the chief priest of the\ntemple called Miy\u00f4 In, and beseech him to put up prayers for the\nrecovery of my lord.\"\n\n[Illustration: THE CAT OF NAB\u00c9SHIMA.]\n\nAnd the other councillors approving what Isahaya Buzen had said, they\nwent to the priest Ruiten and engaged him to recite litanies that the\nPrince might be restored to health.\n\nSo it came to pass that Ruiten, the chief priest of Miy\u00f4 In, offered\nup prayers nightly for the Prince. One night, at the ninth hour\n(midnight), when he had finished his religious exercises and was\npreparing to lie down to sleep, he fancied that he heard a noise\noutside in the garden, as if some one were washing himself at the\nwell. Deeming this passing strange, he looked down from the window;\nand there in the moonlight he saw a handsome young soldier, some\ntwenty-four years of age, washing himself, who, when he had finished\ncleaning himself and had put on his clothes, stood before the figure\nof Buddha and prayed fervently for the recovery of my lord the Prince.\nRuiten looked on with admiration; and the young man, when he had made\nan end of his prayer, was going away; but the priest stopped him,\ncalling out to him--\n\n\"Sir, I pray you to tarry a little: I have something to say to you.\"\n\n\"At your reverence's service. What may you please to want?\"\n\n\"Pray be so good as to step up here, and have a little talk.\"\n\n\"By your reverence's leave;\" and with this he went upstairs.\n\nThen Ruiten said--\n\n\"Sir, I cannot conceal my admiration that you, being so young a man,\nshould have so loyal a spirit. I am Ruiten, the chief priest of this\ntemple, who am engaged in praying for the recovery of my lord. Pray\nwhat is your name?\"\n\n\"My name, sir, is It\u00f4 S\u00f4da, and I am serving in the infantry of\nNab\u00e9shima. Since my lord has been sick, my one desire has been to\nassist in nursing him; but, being only a simple soldier, I am not of\nsufficient rank to come into his presence, so I have no resource but\nto pray to the gods of the country and to Buddha that my lord may\nregain his health.\"\n\nWhen Ruiten heard this, he shed tears in admiration of the fidelity of\nIt\u00f4 S\u00f4da, and said--\n\n\"Your purpose is, indeed, a good one; but what a strange sickness\nthis is that my lord is afflicted with! Every night he suffers from\nhorrible dreams; and the retainers who sit up with him are all seized\nwith a mysterious sleep, so that not one can keep awake. It is very\nwonderful.\"\n\n\"Yes,\" replied S\u00f4da, after a moment's reflection, \"this certainly must\nbe witchcraft. If I could but obtain leave to sit up one night with\nthe Prince, I would fain see whether I could not resist this\ndrowsiness and detect the goblin.\"\n\nAt last the priest said, \"I am in relations of friendship with Isahaya\nBuzen, the chief councillor of the Prince. I will speak to him of you\nand of your loyalty, and will intercede with him that you may attain\nyour wish.\"\n\n\"Indeed, sir, I am most thankful. I am not prompted by any vain\nthought of self-advancement, should I succeed: all I wish for is the\nrecovery of my lord. I commend myself to your kind favour.\"\n\n\"Well, then, to-morrow night I will take you with me to the\ncouncillor's house.\"\n\n\"Thank you, sir, and farewell.\" And so they parted.\n\nOn the following evening It\u00f4 S\u00f4da returned to the temple Miy\u00f4 In, and\nhaving found Ruiten, accompanied him to the house of Isahaya Buzen:\nthen the priest, leaving S\u00f4da outside, went in to converse with the\ncouncillor, and inquire after the Prince's health.\n\n\"And pray, sir, how is my lord? Is he in any better condition since I\nhave been offering up prayers for him?\"\n\n\"Indeed, no; his illness is very severe. We are certain that he must\nbe the victim of some foul sorcery; but as there are no means of\nkeeping a guard awake after ten o'clock, we cannot catch a sight of\nthe goblin, so we are in the greatest trouble.\"\n\n\"I feel deeply for you: it must be most distressing. However, I have\nsomething to tell you. I think that I have found a man who will detect\nthe goblin; and I have brought him with me.\"\n\n\"Indeed! who is the man?\"\n\n\"Well, he is one of my lord's foot-soldiers, named It\u00f4 S\u00f4da, a\nfaithful fellow, and I trust that you will grant his request to be\npermitted to sit up with my lord.\"\n\n\"Certainly, it is wonderful to find so much loyalty and zeal in a\ncommon soldier,\" replied Isahaya Buzen, after a moment's reflection;\n\"still it is impossible to allow a man of such low rank to perform the\noffice of watching over my lord.\"\n\n\"It is true that he is but a common soldier,\" urged the priest; \"but\nwhy not raise his rank in consideration of his fidelity, and then let\nhim mount guard?\"\n\n\"It would be time enough to promote him after my lord's recovery. But\ncome, let me see this It\u00f4 S\u00f4da, that I may know what manner of man he\nis: if he pleases me, I will consult with the other councillors, and\nperhaps we may grant his request.\"\n\n\"I will bring him in forthwith,\" replied Ruiten, who thereupon went\nout to fetch the young man.\n\nWhen he returned, the priest presented It\u00f4 S\u00f4da to the councillor, who\nlooked at him attentively, and, being pleased with his comely and\ngentle appearance, said--\n\n\"So I hear that you are anxious to be permitted to mount guard in my\nlord's room at night. Well, I must consult with the other councillors,\nand we will see what can be done for you.\"\n\nWhen the young soldier heard this he was greatly elated, and took his\nleave, after warmly thanking Buiten, who had helped him to gain his\nobject. The next day the councillors held a meeting, and sent for It\u00f4\nS\u00f4da, and told him that he might keep watch with the other retainers\nthat very night. So he went his way in high spirits, and at nightfall,\nhaving made all his preparations, took his place among the hundred\ngentlemen who were on duty in the prince's bed-room.\n\nNow the Prince slept in the centre of the room, and the hundred guards\naround him sat keeping themselves awake with entertaining conversation\nand pleasant conceits. But, as ten o'clock approached, they began to\ndoze off as they sat; and in spite of all their endeavours to keep one\nanother awake, by degrees they all fell asleep. It\u00f4 S\u00f4da all this\nwhile felt an irresistible desire to sleep creeping over him, and,\nthough he tried by all sorts of ways to rouse himself, he saw that\nthere was no help for it, but by resorting to an extreme measure, for\nwhich he had already made his preparations. Drawing out a piece of oil\npaper which he had brought with him, and spreading it over the mats,\nhe sat down upon it; then he took the small knife which he carried in\nthe sheath of his dirk, and stuck it into his own thigh. For awhile\nthe pain of the wound kept him awake; but as the slumber by which he\nwas assailed was the work of sorcery, little by little he became\ndrowsy again. Then he twisted the knife round and round in his thigh,\nso that the pain becoming very violent, he was proof against the\nfeeling of sleepiness, and kept a faithful watch. Now the oil paper\nwhich he had spread under his legs was in order to prevent the blood,\nwhich might spurt from his wound, from defiling the mats.\n\nSo It\u00f4 S\u00f4da remained awake, but the rest of the guard slept; and as he\nwatched, suddenly the sliding-doors of the Prince's room were drawn\nopen, and he saw a figure coming in stealthily, and, as it drew\nnearer, the form was that of a marvellously beautiful woman some\ntwenty-three years of age. Cautiously she looked around her; and when\nshe saw that all the guard were asleep, she smiled an ominous smile,\nand was going up to the Prince's bedside, when she perceived that in\none corner of the room there was a man yet awake. This seemed to\nstartle her, but she went up to S\u00f4da and said--\n\n\"I am not used to seeing you here. Who are you?\"\n\n\"My name is It\u00f4 S\u00f4da, and this is the first night that I have been on\nguard.\"\n\n\"A troublesome office, truly! Why, here are all the rest of the guard\nasleep. How is it that you alone are awake? You are a trusty\nwatchman.\"\n\n\"There is nothing to boast about. I'm asleep myself, fast and sound.\"\n\n\"What is that wound on your knee? It is all red with blood.\"\n\n\"Oh! I felt very sleepy; so I stuck my knife into my thigh, and the\npain of it has kept me awake.\"\n\n\"What wondrous loyalty!\" said the lady.\n\n\"Is it not the duty of a retainer to lay down his life for his master?\nIs such a scratch as this worth thinking about?\"\n\nThen the lady went up to the sleeping prince and said, \"How fares it\nwith my lord to-night?\" But the Prince, worn out with sickness, made\nno reply. But S\u00f4da was watching her eagerly, and guessed that it was O\nToyo, and made up his mind that if she attempted to harass the Prince\nhe would kill her on the spot. The goblin, however, which in the form\nof O Toyo had been tormenting the Prince every night, and had come\nagain that night for no other purpose, was defeated by the\nwatchfulness of It\u00f4 S\u00f4da; for whenever she drew near to the sick man,\nthinking to put her spells upon him, she would turn and look behind\nher, and there she saw It\u00f4 S\u00f4da glaring at her; so she had no help for\nit but to go away again, and leave the Prince undisturbed.\n\nAt last the day broke, and the other officers, when they awoke and\nopened their eyes, saw that It\u00f4 S\u00f4da had kept awake by stabbing\nhimself in the thigh; and they were greatly ashamed, and went home\ncrestfallen.\n\nThat morning It\u00f4 S\u00f4da went to the house of Isahaya Buzen, and told him\nall that had occurred the previous night. The councillors were all\nloud in their praises of It\u00f4 S\u00f4da's behaviour, and ordered him to keep\nwatch again that night. At the same hour, the false O Toyo came and\nlooked all round the room, and all the guard were asleep, excepting\nIt\u00f4 S\u00f4da, who was wide awake; and so, being again frustrated, she\nreturned to her own apartments.\n\nNow as since S\u00f4da had been on guard the Prince had passed quiet\nnights, his sickness began to get better, and there was great joy in\nthe palace, and S\u00f4da was promoted and rewarded with an estate. In the\nmeanwhile O Toyo, seeing that her nightly visits bore no fruits, kept\naway; and from that time forth the night-guard were no longer subject\nto fits of drowsiness. This coincidence struck S\u00f4da as very strange,\nso he went to Isahaya Buzen and told him that of a certainty this O\nToyo was no other than a goblin. Isahaya Buzen reflected for a while,\nand said--\n\n\"Well, then, how shall we kill the foul thing?\"\n\n\"I will go to the creature's room, as if nothing were the matter, and\ntry to kill her; but in case she should try to escape, I will beg you\nto order eight men to stop outside and lie in wait for her.\"\n\nHaving agreed upon this plan, S\u00f4da went at nightfall to O Toyo's\napartment, pretending to have been sent with a message from the\nPrince. When she saw him arrive, she said--\n\n\"What message have you brought me from my lord?\"\n\n\"Oh! nothing in particular. Be so look as to look at this letter;\" and\nas he spoke, he drew near to her, and suddenly drawing his dirk cut at\nher; but the goblin, springing back, seized a halberd, and glaring\nfiercely at S\u00f4da, said--\n\n\"How dare you behave like this to one of your lord's ladies? I will\nhave you dismissed;\" and she tried to strike S\u00f4da with the halberd.\nBut S\u00f4da fought desperately with his dirk; and the goblin, seeing that\nshe was no match for him, threw away the halberd, and from a beautiful\nwoman became suddenly transformed into a cat, which, springing up the\nsides of the room, jumped on to the roof. Isahaya Buzen and his eight\nmen who were watching outside shot at the cat, but missed it, and the\nbeast made good its escape.\n\nSo the cat fled to the mountains, and did much mischief among the\nsurrounding people, until at last the Prince of Hizen ordered a great\nhunt, and the beast was killed.\n\nBut the Prince recovered from his sickness; and It\u00f4 S\u00f4da was richly\nrewarded.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL CAT\n\n\nAbout sixty years ago, in the summertime, a man went to pay a visit at\na certain house at Osaka, and, in the course of conversation, said--\n\n\"I have eaten some very extraordinary cakes to-day,\" and on being\nasked what he meant, he told the following story:--\n\n\"I received the cakes from the relatives of a family who were\ncelebrating the hundredth anniversary of the death of a cat that had\nbelonged to their ancestors. When I asked the history of the affair, I\nwas told that, in former days, a young girl of the family, when she\nwas about sixteen years old, used always to be followed about by a\ntom-cat, who was reared in the house, so much so that the two were\nnever separated for an instant. When her father perceived this, he was\nvery angry, thinking that the tom-cat, forgetting the kindness with\nwhich he had been treated for years in the house, had fallen in love\nwith his daughter, and intended to cast a spell upon her; so he\ndetermined that he must kill the beast. As he was planning this in\nsecret, the cat overheard him, and that night went to his pillow, and,\nassuming a human voice, said to him--\n\n\"'You suspect me of being in love with your daughter; and although you\nmight well be justified in so thinking, your suspicions are\ngroundless. The fact is this:--There is a very large old rat who has\nbeen living for many years in your granary. Now it is this old rat who\nis in love with my young mistress, and this is why I dare not leave\nher side for a moment, for fear the old rat should carry her off.\nTherefore I pray you to dispel your suspicions. But as I, by myself,\nam no match for the rat, there is a famous cat, named Buchi, at the\nhouse of Mr. So-and-so, at Ajikawa: if you will borrow that cat, we\nwill soon make an end of the old rat.'\n\n\"When the father awoke from his dream, he thought it so wonderful,\nthat he told the household of it; and the following day he got up very\nearly and went off to Ajikawa, to inquire for the house which the cat\nhad indicated, and had no difficulty in finding it; so he called upon\nthe master of the house, and told him what his own cat had said, and\nhow he wished to borrow the cat Buchi for a little while.\n\n\"'That's a very easy matter to settle,' said the other: 'pray take him\nwith you at once;' and accordingly the father went home with the cat\nBuchi in charge. That night he put the two cats into the granary; and\nafter a little while, a frightful clatter was heard, and then all was\nstill again; so the people of the house opened the door, and crowded\nout to see what had happened; and there they beheld the two cats and\nthe rat all locked together, and panting for breath; so they cut the\nthroat of the rat, which was as big as either of the cats: then they\nattended to the two cats; but, although they gave them ginseng[76] and\nother restoratives, they both got weaker and weaker, until at last\nthey died. So the rat was thrown into the river; but the two cats were\nburied with all honours in a neighbouring temple.\"\n\n[Footnote 76: A restorative in high repute. The best sorts are brought\nfrom Corea.]\n\n\n\n\nHOW A MAN WAS BEWITCHED AND HAD HIS HEAD SHAVED BY THE FOXES\n\n\nIn the village of Iwahara, in the province of Shinshiu, there dwelt a\nfamily which had acquired considerable wealth in the wine trade. On\nsome auspicious occasion it happened that a number of guests were\ngathered together at their house, feasting on wine and fish; and as\nthe wine-cup went round, the conversation turned upon foxes. Among the\nguests was a certain carpenter, Tokutar\u00f4 by name, a man about thirty\nyears of age, of a stubborn and obstinate turn, who said--\n\n\"Well, sirs, you've been talking for some time of men being bewitched\nby foxes; surely you must be under their influence yourselves, to say\nsuch things. How on earth can foxes have such power over men? At any\nrate, men must be great fools to be so deluded. Let's have no more of\nthis nonsense.\"\n\nUpon this a man who was sitting by him answered--\n\n\"Tokutar\u00f4 little knows what goes on in the world, or he would not\nspeak so. How many myriads of men are there who have been bewitched by\nfoxes? Why, there have been at least twenty or thirty men tricked by\nthe brutes on the Maki Moor alone. It's hard to disprove facts that\nhave happened before our eyes.\"\n\n\"You're no better than a pack of born idiots,\" said Tokutar\u00f4. \"I will\nengage to go out to the Maki Moor this very night and prove it. There\nis not a fox in all Japan that can make a fool of Tokutar\u00f4.\"\n\n\"Thus he spoke in his pride; but the others were all angry with him\nfor boasting, and said--\n\n\"If you return without anything having happened, we will pay for five\nmeasures of wine and a thousand copper cash worth of fish; and if you\nare bewitched, you shall do as much for us.\"\n\nTokutar\u00f4 took the bet, and at nightfall set forth for the Maki Moor by\nhimself. As he neared the moor, he saw before him a small bamboo\ngrove, into which a fox ran; and it instantly occurred to him that the\nfoxes of the moor would try to bewitch him. As he was yet looking, he\nsuddenly saw the daughter of the headman of the village of Upper\nHorikan\u00e9, who was married to the headman of the village of Maki.\n\n\"Pray, where are you going to, Master Tokutar\u00f4?\" said she.\n\n\"I am going to the village hard by.\"\n\n\"Then, as you will have to pass my native place, if you will allow me,\nI will accompany you so far.\"\n\nTokutar\u00f4 thought this very odd, and made up his mind that it was a fox\ntrying to make a fool of him; he accordingly determined to turn the\ntables on the fox, and answered--\"It is a long time since I have had\nthe pleasure of seeing you; and as it seems that your house is on my\nroad, I shall be glad to escort you so far.\"\n\nWith this he walked behind her, thinking he should certainly see the\nend of a fox's tail peeping out; but, look as he might, there was\nnothing to be seen. At last they came to the village of Upper\nHorikan\u00e9; and when they reached the cottage of the girl's father, the\nfamily all came out, surprised to see her.\n\n\"Oh dear! oh dear! here is our daughter come: I hope there is nothing\nthe matter.\"\n\nAnd so they went on, for some time, asking a string of questions.\n\nIn the meanwhile, Tokutar\u00f4 went round to the kitchen door, at the back\nof the house, and, beckoning out the master of the house, said--\n\n\"The girl who has come with me is not really your daughter. As I was\ngoing to the Maki Moor, when I arrived at the bamboo grove, a fox\njumped up in front of me, and when it had dashed into the grove it\nimmediately took the shape of your daughter, and offered to accompany\nme to the village; so I pretended to be taken in by the brute, and\ncame with it so far.\"\n\nOn hearing this, the master of the house put his head on one side, and\nmused a while; then, calling his wife, he repeated the story to her,\nin a whisper.\n\nBut she flew into a great rage with Tokutar\u00f4, and said--\n\n\"This is a pretty way of insulting people's daughters. The girl is our\ndaughter, and there's no mistake about it. How dare you invent such\nlies?\"\n\n\"Well,\" said Tokutar\u00f4, \"you are quite right to say so; but still there\nis no doubt that this is a case of witchcraft.\"\n\nSeeing how obstinately he held to his opinion, the old folks were\nsorely perplexed, and said--\n\n\"What do you think of doing?\"\n\n\"Pray leave the matter to me: I'll soon strip the false skin off, and\nshow the beast to you in its true colours. Do you two go into the\nstore-closet, and wait there.\"\n\nWith this he went into the kitchen, and, seizing the girl by the back\nof the neck, forced her down by the hearth.\n\n\"Oh! Master Tokutar\u00f4, what means this brutal violence? Mother! father!\nhelp!\"\n\nSo the girl cried and screamed; but Tokutar\u00f4 only laughed, and said--\n\n\"So you thought to bewitch me, did you? From the moment you jumped\ninto the wood, I was on the look-out for you to play me some trick.\nI'll soon make you show what you really are;\" and as he said this, he\ntwisted her two hands behind her back, and trod upon her, and tortured\nher; but she only wept, and cried--\n\n\"Oh! it hurts, it hurts!\"\n\n\"If this is not enough to make you show your true form, I'll roast you\nto death;\" and he piled firewood on the hearth, and, tucking up her\ndress, scorched her severely.\n\n\"Oh! oh! this is more than I can bear;\" and with this she expired.\n\nThe two old people then came running in from the rear of the house,\nand, pushing aside Tokutar\u00f4, folded their daughter in their arms, and\nput their hands to her mouth to feel whether she still breathed; but\nlife was extinct, and not the sign of a fox's tail was to be seen\nabout her. Then they seized Tokutar\u00f4 by the collar, and cried--\n\n\"On pretence that our true daughter was a fox, you have roasted her to\ndeath. Murderer! Here, you there, bring ropes and cords, and secure\nthis Tokutar\u00f4!\"\n\nSo the servants obeyed, and several of them seized Tokutar\u00f4 and bound\nhim to a pillar. Then the master of the house, turning to Tokutar\u00f4,\nsaid--\n\n\"You have murdered our daughter before our very eyes. I shall report\nthe matter to the lord of the manor, and you will assuredly pay for\nthis with your head. Be prepared for the worst.\"\n\nAnd as he said this, glaring fiercely at Tokutar\u00f4, they carried the\ncorpse of his daughter into the store-closet. As they were sending to\nmake the matter known in the village of Maki, and taking other\nmeasures, who should come up but the priest of the temple called\nAnrakuji, in the village of Iwahara, with an acolyte and a servant,\nwho called out in a loud voice from the front door--\n\n\"Is all well with the honourable master of this house? I have been to\nsay prayers to-day in a neighbouring village, and on my way back I\ncould not pass the door without at least inquiring after your welfare.\nIf you are at home, I would fain pay my respects to you.\"\n\nAs he spoke thus in a loud voice, he was heard from the back of the\nhouse; and the master got up and went out, and, after the usual\ncompliments on meeting had been exchanged, said--\n\n\"I ought to have the honour of inviting you to step inside this\nevening; but really we are all in the greatest trouble, and I must beg\nyou to excuse my impoliteness.\"\n\n\"Indeed! Pray, what may be the matter?\" replied the priest. And when\nthe master of the house had told the whole story, from beginning to\nend, he was thunderstruck, and said--\n\n\"Truly, this must be a terrible distress to you.\" Then the priest\nlooked on one side, and saw Tokutar\u00f4 bound, and exclaimed, \"Is not\nthat Tokutar\u00f4 that I see there?\"\n\n\"Oh, your reverence,\" replied Tokutar\u00f4, piteously, \"it was this, that,\nand the other: and I took it into my head that the young lady was a\nfox, and so I killed her. But I pray your reverence to intercede for\nme, and save my life;\" and as he spoke, the tears started from his\neyes.\n\n\"To be sure,\" said the priest, \"you may well bewail yourself; however,\nif I save your life, will you consent to become my disciple, and enter\nthe priesthood?\"\n\n\"Only save my life, and I'll become your disciple with all my heart.\"\n\nWhen the priest heard this, he called out the parents, and said to\nthem--\n\n\"It would seem that, though I am but a foolish old priest, my coming\nhere to-day has been unusually well timed. I have a request to make of\nyou. Your putting Tokutar\u00f4 to death won't bring your daughter to life\nagain. I have heard his story, and there certainly was no malice\nprepense on his part to kill your daughter. What he did, he did\nthinking to do a service to your family; and it would surely be better\nto hush the matter up. He wishes, moreover, to give himself over to\nme, and to become my disciple.\"\n\n\"It is as you say,\" replied the father and mother, speaking together.\n\"Revenge will not recall our daughter. Please dispel our grief, by\nshaving his head and making a priest of him on the spot.\"\n\n\"I'll shave him at once, before your eyes,\" answered the priest, who\nimmediately caused the cords which bound Tokutar\u00f4 to be untied, and,\nputting on his priest's scarf, made him join his hands together in a\nposture of prayer. Then the reverend man stood up behind him, razor in\nhand, and, intoning a hymn, gave two or three strokes of the razor,\nwhich he then handed to his acolyte, who made a clean shave of\nTokutar\u00f4's hair. When the latter had finished his obeisance to the\npriest, and the ceremony was over, there was a loud burst of laughter;\nand at the same moment the day broke, and Tokutar\u00f4 found himself\nalone, in the middle of a large moor. At first, in his surprise, he\nthought that it was all a dream, and was much annoyed at having been\ntricked by the foxes. He then passed his hand over his head, and found\nthat he was shaved quite bald. There was nothing for it but to get up,\nwrap a handkerchief round his head, and go back to the place where his\nfriends were assembled.\n\n\"Hallo, Tokutar\u00f4! so you've come back. Well, how about the foxes?\"\n\n\"Really, gentlemen,\" replied he, bowing, \"I am quite ashamed to appear\nbefore you.\"\n\nThen he told them the whole story, and, when he had finished, pulled\noff the kerchief, and showed his bald pate.\n\n\"What a capital joke!\" shouted his listeners, and amid roars of\nlaughter, claimed the bet of fish, and wine. It was duly paid; but\nTokutar\u00f4 never allowed his hair to grow again, and renounced the\nworld, and became a priest under the name of Sainen.\n\n\nThere are a great many stories told of men being shaved by the foxes;\nbut this story came under the personal observation of Mr. Sh\u00f4minsai, a\nteacher of the city of Yedo, during a holiday trip which he took to\nthe country where the event occurred; and I[77] have recorded it in\nthe very selfsame words in which he told it to me.\n\n[Footnote 77: The author of the \"Kanzen-Yawa,\" the book from which the\nstory is taken.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE GRATEFUL FOXES\n\n\nOne fine spring day, two friends went out to a moor to gather fern,\nattended by a boy with a bottle of wine and a box of provisions. As\nthey were straying about, they saw at the foot of a hill a fox that\nhad brought out its cub to play; and whilst they looked on, struck by\nthe strangeness of the sight, three children came up from a\nneighbouring village with baskets in their hands, on the same errand\nas themselves. As soon as the children saw the foxes, they picked up a\nbamboo stick and took the creatures stealthily in the rear; and when\nthe old foxes took to flight, they surrounded them and beat them with\nthe stick, so that they ran away as fast as their legs could carry\nthem; but two of the boys held down the cub, and, seizing it by the\nscruff of the neck, went off in high glee.\n\nThe two friends were looking on all the while, and one of them,\nraising his voice, shouted out, \"Hallo! you boys! what are you doing\nwith that fox?\"\n\nThe eldest of the boys replied, \"We're going to take him home and sell\nhim to a young man in our village. He'll buy him, and then he'll boil\nhim in a pot and eat him.\"\n\n\"Well,\" replied the other, after considering the matter attentively,\n\"I suppose it's all the same to you whom you sell him to. You'd better\nlet me have him.\"\n\n\"Oh, but the young man from our village promised us a good round sum\nif we could find a fox, and got us to come out to the hills and catch\none; and so we can't sell him to you at any price.\"\n\n\"Well, I suppose it cannot be helped, then; but how much would the\nyoung man give you for the cub?\"\n\n\"Oh, he'll give us three hundred cash at least.\"\n\n\"Then I'll give you half a bu;[78] and so you'll gain five hundred\ncash by the transaction.\"\n\n[Footnote 78: _Bu_. This coin is generally called by foreigners\n\"ichibu,\" which means \"one bu.\" To talk of \"_a hundred ichibus_\" is as\nthough a Japanese were to say \"_a hundred one shillings.\"_ Four bus\nmake a _riyo>,_ or ounce; and any sum above three bus is spoken of as\nso many riyos and bus--as 101 riyos and three bus equal 407 bus. The\nbu is worth about 1s. 4d.]\n\n\"Oh, we'll sell him for that, sir. How shall we hand him over to you?\"\n\n\"Just tie him up here,\" said the other; and so he made fast the cub\nround the neck with the string of the napkin in which the luncheon-box\nwas wrapped, and gave half a bu to the three boys, who ran away\ndelighted.\n\nThe man's friend, upon this, said to him, \"Well, certainly you have\ngot queer tastes. What on earth are you going to keep the fox for?\"\n\n\"How very unkind of you to speak of my tastes like that. If we had not\ninterfered just now, the fox's cub would have lost its life. If we had\nnot seen the affair, there would have been no help for it. How could I\nstand by and see life taken? It was but a little I spent--only half a\nbu--to save the cub, but had it cost a fortune I should not have\ngrudged it. I thought you were intimate enough with me to know my\nheart; but to-day you have accused me of being eccentric, and I see\nhow mistaken I have been in you. However, our friendship shall cease\nfrom this day forth.\"\n\nAnd when he had said this with a great deal of firmness, the other,\nretiring backwards and bowing with his hands on his knees, replied--\n\n\"Indeed, indeed, I am filled with admiration at the goodness of your\nheart. When I hear you speak thus, I feel more than ever how great is\nthe love I bear you. I thought that you might wish to use the cub as a\nsort of decoy to lead the old ones to you, that you might pray them to\nbring prosperity and virtue to your house. When I called you eccentric\njust now, I was but trying your heart, because I had some suspicions\nof you; and now I am truly ashamed of myself.\"\n\nAnd as he spoke, still bowing, the other replied, \"Really! was that\nindeed your thought? Then I pray you to forgive me for my violent\nlanguage.\"\n\nWhen the two friends had thus become reconciled, they examined the\ncub, and saw that it had a slight wound in its foot, and could not\nwalk; and while they were thinking what they should do, they spied out\nthe herb called \"Doctor's Nakas\u00e9,\" which was just sprouting; so they\nrolled up a little of it in their fingers and applied it to the part.\nThen they pulled out some boiled rice from their luncheon-box and\noffered it to the cub, but it showed no sign of wanting to eat; so\nthey stroked it gently on the back, and petted it; and as the pain of\nthe wound seemed to have subsided, they were admiring the properties\nof the herb, when, opposite to them, they saw the old foxes sitting\nwatching them by the side of some stacks of rice straw.\n\n\"Look there! the old foxes have come back, out of fear for their cub's\nsafety. Come, we will set it free!\" And with these words they untied\nthe string round the cub's neck, and turned its head towards the spot\nwhere the old foxes sat; and as the wounded foot was no longer\npainful, with one bound it dashed to its parents' side and licked them\nall over for joy, while they seemed to bow their thanks, looking\ntowards the two friends. So, with peace in their hearts, the latter\nwent off to another place, and, choosing a pretty spot, produced the\nwine bottle and ate their noon-day meal; and after a pleasant day,\nthey returned to their homes, and became firmer friends than ever.\n\nNow the man who had rescued the fox's cub was a tradesman in good\ncircumstances: he had three or four agents and two maid-servants,\nbesides men-servants; and altogether he lived in a liberal manner. He\nwas married, and this union had brought him one son, who had reached\nhis tenth year, but had been attacked by a strange disease which\ndefied all the physician's skill and drugs. At last a famous physician\nprescribed the liver taken from a live fox, which, as he said, would\ncertainly effect a cure. If that were not forthcoming, the most\nexpensive medicine in the world would not restore the boy to health.\nWhen the parents heard this, they were at their wits' end. However,\nthey told the state of the case to a man who lived on the mountains.\n\"Even though our child should die for it,\" they said, \"we will not\nourselves deprive other creatures of their lives; but you, who live\namong the hills, are sure to hear when your neighbours go out\nfox-hunting. We don't care what price we might have to pay for a fox's\nliver; pray, buy one for us at any expense.\" So they pressed him to\nexert himself on their behalf; and he, having promised faithfully to\nexecute the commission, went his way.\n\nIn the night of the following day there came a messenger, who\nannounced himself as coming from the person who had undertaken to\nprocure the fox's liver; so the master of the house went out to see\nhim.\n\n\"I have come from Mr. So-and-so. Last night the fox's liver that you\nrequired fell into his hands; so he sent me to bring it to you.\" With\nthese words the messenger produced a small jar, adding, \"In a few days\nhe will let you know the price.\"\n\nWhen he had delivered his message, the master of the house was greatly\npleased, and said, \"Indeed, I am deeply grateful for this kindness,\nwhich will save my son's life.\"\n\nThen the goodwife came out, and received the jar with every mark of\npoliteness.\n\n\"We must make a present to the messenger.\"\n\n\"Indeed, sir, I've already been paid for my trouble.\"\n\n\"Well, at any rate, you must stop the night here.\"\n\n\"Thank you, sir: I've a relation in the next village whom I have not\nseen for a long while, and I will pass the night with him;\" and so he\ntook his leave, and went away.\n\nThe parents lost no time in sending to let the physician know that\nthey had procured the fox's liver. The next day the doctor came and\ncompounded a medicine for the patient, which at once produced a good\neffect, and there was no little joy in the household. As luck would\nhave it, three days after this the man whom they had commissioned to\nbuy the fox's liver came to the house; so the goodwife hurried out to\nmeet him and welcome him.\n\n\"How quickly you fulfilled our wishes, and how kind of you to send at\nonce! The doctor prepared the medicine, and now our boy can get up and\nwalk about the room; and it's all owing to your goodness.\"\n\n\"Wait a bit!\" cried the guest, who did not know what to make of the\njoy of the two parents. \"The commission with which you entrusted me\nabout the fox's liver turned out to be a matter of impossibility, so I\ncame to-day to make my excuses; and now I really can't understand what\nyou are so grateful to me for.\"\n\n\"We are thanking you, sir,\" replied the master of the house, bowing\nwith his hands on the ground, \"for the fox's liver which we asked you\nto procure for us.\"\n\n\"I really am perfectly unaware of having sent you a fox's liver: there\nmust be some mistake here. Pray inquire carefully into the matter.\"\n\n\"Well, this is very strange. Four nights ago, a man of some five or\nsix and thirty years of age came with a verbal message from you, to\nthe effect that you had sent him with a fox's liver, which you had\njust procured, and said that he would come and tell us the price\nanother day. When we asked him to spend the night here, he answered\nthat he would lodge with a relation in the next village, and went\naway.\"\n\nThe visitor was more and more lost in amazement, and; leaning his head\non one side in deep thought, confessed that he could make nothing of\nit. As for the husband and wife, they felt quite out of countenance at\nhaving thanked a man so warmly for favours of which he denied all\nknowledge; and so the visitor took his leave, and went home.\n\nThat night there appeared at the pillow of the master of the house a\nwoman of about one or two and thirty years of age, who said, \"I am the\nfox that lives at such-and-such a mountain. Last spring, when I was\ntaking out my cub to play, it was carried off by some boys, and only\nsaved by your goodness. The desire to requite this kindness pierced me\nto the quick. At last, when calamity attacked your house, I thought\nthat I might be of use to you. Your son's illness could not be cured\nwithout a liver taken from a live fox, so to repay your kindness I\nkilled my cub and took out its liver; then its sire, disguising\nhimself as a messenger, brought it to your house.\"\n\nAnd as she spoke, the fox shed tears; and the master of the house,\nwishing to thank her, moved in bed, upon which his wife awoke and\nasked him what was the matter; but he too, to her great astonishment,\nwas biting the pillow and weeping bitterly.\n\n\"Why are you weeping thus?\" asked she.\n\nAt last he sat up in bed, and said, \"Last spring, when I was out on a\npleasure excursion, I was the means of saving the life of a fox's cub,\nas I told you at the time. The other day I told Mr. So-and-so that,\nalthough my son were to die before my eyes, I would not be the means\nof killing a fox on purpose; but asked him, in case he heard of any\nhunter killing a fox, to buy it for me. How the foxes came to hear of\nthis I don't know; but the foxes to whom I had shown kindness killed\ntheir own cub and took out the liver; and the old dog-fox, disguising\nhimself as a messenger from the person to whom we had confided the\ncommission, came here with it. His mate has just been at my\npillow-side and told me all about it; hence it was that, in spite of\nmyself, I was moved to tears.\"\n\n[Illustration: THE FEAST OF INARI SAMA.]\n\nWhen she heard this, the goodwife likewise was blinded by her tears,\nand for a while they lay lost in thought; but at last, coming to\nthemselves, they lighted the lamp on the shelf on which the family\nidol stood, and spent the night in reciting prayers and praises, and\nthe next day they published the matter to the household and to their\nrelations and friends. Now, although there are instances of men\nkilling their own children to requite a favour, there is no other\nexample of foxes having done such a thing; so the story became the\ntalk of the whole country.\n\nNow, the boy who had recovered through the efficacy of this medicine\nselected the prettiest spot on the premises to erect a shrine to Inari\nSama,[79] the Fox God, and offered sacrifice to the two old foxes, for\nwhom he purchased the highest rank at the court of the Mikado.\n\n\n[Footnote 79: Inari Sama is the title under which was deified a\ncertain mythical personage, called Uga, to whom tradition attributes\nthe honour of having first discovered and cultivated the rice-plant.\nHe is represented carrying a few ears of rice, and is symbolized by a\nsnake guarding a bale of rice grain. The foxes wait upon him, and do\nhis bidding. Inasmuch as rice is the most important and necessary\nproduct of Japan, the honours which Inari Sama receives are\nextraordinary. Almost every house in the country contains somewhere\nabout the grounds a pretty little shrine in his honour; and on a\ncertain day of the second month of the year his feast is celebrated\nwith much beating of drums and other noises, in which the children\ntake a special delight. \"On this day,\" says the \u00d4-Satsuy\u00f4, a Japanese\ncyclop\u00e6dia, \"at Yedo, where there are myriads upon myriads of shrines\nto Inari Sama, there are all sorts of ceremonies. Long banners with\ninscriptions are erected, lamps and lanterns are hung up, and the\nhouses are decked with various dolls and figures; the sound of flutes\nand drums is heard, the people dance and make holiday according to\ntheir fancy. In short, it is the most bustling festival of the Yedo\nyear.\"]\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe passage in the tale which speaks of rank being purchased for the\nfoxes at the court of the Mikado is, of course, a piece of nonsense.\n\"The saints who are worshipped in Japan,\" writes a native authority,\n\"are men who, in the remote ages, when the country was developing\nitself, were sages, and by their great and virtuous deeds having\nearned the gratitude of future generations, received divine honours\nafter their death. How can the Son of Heaven, who is the father and\nmother of his people, turn dealer in ranks and honours? If rank were a\nmatter of barter, it would cease to be a reward to the virtuous.\"\n\nAll matters connected with the shrines of the Shint\u00f4, or indigenous\nreligion, are confided to the superintendence of the families of\nYoshida and Fushimi, Kug\u00e9s or nobles of the Mikado's court at Kiy\u00f4to.\nThe affairs of the Buddhist or imported religion are under the care of\nthe family of Kanjuji. As it is necessary that those who as priests\nperform the honourable office of serving the gods should be persons of\nsome standing, a certain small rank is procured for them through the\nintervention of the representatives of the above noble families, who,\non the issuing of the required patent, receive as their perquisite a\nfee, which, although insignificant in itself, is yet of importance to\nthe poor Kug\u00e9s, whose penniless condition forms a great contrast to\nthe wealth of their inferiors in rank, the Daimios. I believe that\nthis is the only case in which rank can be bought or sold in Japan. In\nChina, on the contrary, in spite of what has been written by Meadows\nand other admirers of the examination system, a man can be what he\npleases by paying for it; and the coveted button, which is nominally\nthe reward of learning and ability, is more often the prize of wealthy\nignorance.\n\nThe saints who are alluded to above are the saints of the whole\ncountry, as distinct from those who for special deeds are locally\nworshipped. To this innumerable class frequent allusion is made in\nthese Tales.\n\nTouching the remedy of the fox's liver, prescribed in the tale, I may\nadd that there would be nothing strange in this to a person acquainted\nwith the Chinese pharmacopoeia, which the Japanese long exclusively\nfollowed, although they are now successfully studying the art of\nhealing as practised in the West. When I was at Peking, I saw a\nChinese physician prescribe a decoction of three scorpions for a child\nstruck down with fever; and on another occasion a groom of mine,\nsuffering from dysentery, was treated with acupuncture of the tongue.\nThe art of medicine would appear to be at the present time in China\nmuch in the state in which it existed in Europe in the sixteenth\ncentury, when the excretions and secretions of all manner of animals,\nsaurians, and venomous snakes and insects, and even live bugs, were\nadministered to patients. \"Some physicians,\" says Matthiolus, \"use the\nashes of scorpions, burnt alive, for retention caused by either renal\nor vesical calculi. But I have myself thoroughly experienced the\nutility of an oil I make myself, whereof scorpions form a very large\nportion of the ingredients. If only the region of the heart and all\nthe pulses of the body be anointed with it, it will free the patients\nfrom the effects of all kinds of poisons taken by the mouth, corrosive\nones excepted.\" Decoctions of Egyptian mummies were much commended,\nand often prescribed with due academical solemnity; and the bones of\nthe human skull, pulverized and administered with oil, were used as a\nspecific in cases of renal calculus. (See Petri Andre\u00e6 Matthioli\nOpera, 1574.)\n\nThese remarks were made to me by a medical gentleman to whom I\nmentioned the Chinese doctor's prescription of scorpion tea, and they\nseem to me so curious that I insert them for comparison's sake.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BADGER'S MONEY\n\n\nIt is a common saying among men, that to forget favours received is\nthe part of a bird or a beast: an ungrateful man will be ill spoken of\nby all the world. And yet even birds and beasts will show gratitude;\nso that a man who does not requite a favour is worse even than dumb\nbrutes. Is not this a disgrace?\n\nOnce upon a time, in a hut at a place called Nam\u00e9kata, in Hitachi,\nthere lived an old priest famous neither for learning nor wisdom, but\nbent only on passing his days in prayer and meditation. He had not\neven a child to wait upon him, but prepared his food with his own\nhands. Night and morning he recited the prayer \"Namu Amida Butsu,\"[80]\nintent upon that alone. Although the fame of his virtue did not reach\nfar, yet his neighbours respected and revered him, and often brought\nhim food and raiment; and when his roof or his walls fell out of\nrepair, they would mend them for him; so for the things of this world\nhe took no thought.\n\n[Footnote 80: A Buddhist prayer, in which something approaching to the\nsounds of the original Sanscrit has been preserved. The meaning of the\nprayer is explained as, \"Save us, eternal Buddha!\" Many even of the\npriests who repeat it know it only as a formula, without understanding\nit.]\n\nOne very cold night, when he little thought any one was outside, he\nheard a voice calling \"Your reverence! your reverence!\" So he rose and\nwent out to see who it was, and there he beheld an old badger\nstanding. Any ordinary man would have been greatly alarmed at the\napparition; but the priest, being such as he has been described above,\nshowed no sign of fear, but asked the creature its business. Upon this\nthe badger respectfully bent its knees, and said--\n\n\"Hitherto, sir, my lair has been in the mountains, and of snow or\nfrost I have taken no heed; but now I am growing old, and this severe\ncold is more than I can bear. I pray you to let me enter and warm\nmyself at the fire of your cottage, that I may live through this\nbitter night.\"\n\nWhen the priest heard what a helpless state the beast was reduced to,\nhe was filled with pity, and said--\n\n\"That's a very slight matter: make haste and come in and warm\nyourself.\"\n\nThe badger, delighted with so good a reception, went into the hut, and\nsquatting down by the fire began to warm itself; and the priest, with\nrenewed fervour, recited his prayers and struck his bell before the\nimage of Buddha, looking straight before him. After two hours the\nbadger took its leave, with profuse expressions of thanks, and went\nout; and from that time forth it came every night to the hut. As the\nbadger would collect and bring with it dried branches and dead leaves\nfrom the hills for firewood, the priest at last became very friendly\nwith it, and got used to its company; so that if ever, as the night\nwore on, the badger did not arrive, he used to miss it, and wonder why\nit did not come. When the winter was over, and the spring-time came at\nthe end of the second month, the Badger gave up its visits, and was no\nmore seen; but, on the return of the winter, the beast resumed its old\nhabit of coming to the hut. When this practice had gone on for ten\nyears, one day the badger said to the priest, \"Through your\nreverence's kindness for all these years, I have been able to pass the\nwinter nights in comfort. Your favours are such, that during all my\nlife, and even after my death, I must remember them. What can I do to\nrequite them? If there is anything that you wish for, pray tell me.\"\n\nThe priest, smiling at this speech, answered, \"Being such as I am, I\nhave no desire and no wishes. Glad as I am to hear your kind\nintentions, there is nothing that I can ask you to do for me. You need\nfeel no anxiety on my account. As long as I live, when the winter\ncomes, you shall be welcome here.\" The badger, on hearing this, could\nnot conceal its admiration of the depth of the old man's benevolence;\nbut having so much to be grateful for, it felt hurt at not being able\nto requite it. As this subject was often renewed between them, the\npriest at last, touched by the goodness of the badger's heart, said,\n\"Since I have shaven my head, renounced the world, and forsaken the\npleasures of this life, I have no desire to gratify, yet I own I\nshould like to possess three riyos in gold. Food and raiment I receive\nby the favour of the villagers, so I take no heed for those things.\nWere I to die to-morrow, and attain my wish of being born again into\nthe next world, the same kind folk have promised to meet and bury my\nbody. Thus, although I have no other reason to wish for money, still\nif I had three riyos I would offer them up at some holy shrine, that\nmasses and prayers might be said for me, whereby I might enter into\nsalvation. Yet I would not get this money by violent or unlawful\nmeans; I only think of what might be if I had it. So you see, since\nyou have expressed such kind feelings towards me, I have told you what\nis on my mind.\" When the priest had done speaking, the badger leant\nits head on one side with a puzzled and anxious look, so much so that\nthe old man was sorry he had expressed a wish which seemed to give the\nbeast trouble, and tried to retract what he had said. \"Posthumous\nhonours, after all, are the wish of ordinary men. I, who am a priest,\nought not to entertain such thoughts, or to want money; so pray pay no\nattention to what I have said;\" and the badger, feigning assent to\nwhat the priest had impressed upon it, returned to the hills as usual.\n\nFrom that time forth the badger came no more to the hut. The priest\nthought this very strange, but imagined either that the badger stayed\naway because it did not like to come without the money, or that it had\nbeen killed in an attempt to steal it; and he blamed himself for\nhaving added to his sins for no purpose, repenting when it was too\nlate: persuaded, however, that the badger must have been killed, he\npassed his time in putting up prayers upon prayers for it.\n\nAfter three years had gone by, one night the old man heard a voice\nnear his door calling out, \"Your reverence! your reverence!\"\n\nAs the voice was like that of the badger, he jumped up as soon as he\nheard it, and ran out to open the door; and there, sure enough, was\nthe badger. The priest, in great delight, cried out, \"And so you are\nsafe and sound, after all! Why have you been so long without coming\nhere? I have been expecting you anxiously this long while.\"\n\nSo the badger came into the hut, and said, \"If the money which you\nrequired had been for unlawful purposes, I could easily have procured\nas much as ever you might have wanted; but when I heard that it was to\nbe offered to a temple for masses for your soul, I thought that, if I\nwere to steal the hidden treasure of some other man, you could not\napply to a sacred purpose money which had been obtained at the expense\nof his sorrow. So I went to the island of Sado,[81] and gathering the\nsand and earth which had been cast away as worthless by the miners,\nfused it afresh in the fire; and at this work I spent months and\ndays.\" As the badger finished speaking, the priest looked at the money\nwhich it had produced, and sure enough he saw that it was bright and\nnew and clean; so he took the money, and received it respectfully,\nraising it to his head.\n\n\n[Footnote 81: An island on the west coast of Japan, famous for its\ngold mines.]\n\n\"And so you have had all this toil and labour on account of a foolish\nspeech of mine? I have obtained my heart's desire, and am truly\nthankful.\"\n\nAs he was thanking the badger with great politeness and ceremony, the\nbeast said, \"In doing this I have but fulfilled my own wish; still I\nhope that you will tell this thing to no man.\"\n\n\"Indeed,\" replied the priest, \"I cannot choose but tell this story.\nFor if I keep this money in my poor hut, it will be stolen by thieves:\nI must either give it to some one to keep for me, or else at once\noffer it up at the temple. And when I do this, when people see a poor\nold priest with a sum of money quite unsuited to his station, they\nwill think it very suspicious, and I shall have to tell the tale as it\noccurred; but as I shall say that the badger that gave me the money\nhas ceased coming to my hut, you need not fear being waylaid, but can\ncome, as of old, and shelter yourself from the cold.\" To this the\nbadger nodded assent; and as long as the old priest lived, it came and\nspent the winter nights with him.\n\nFrom this story, it is plain that even beasts have a sense of\ngratitude: in this quality dogs excel all other beasts. Is not the\nstory of the dog of Totorib\u00e9 Yorodzu written in the Annals of Japan?\nI[82] have heard that many anecdotes of this nature have been\ncollected and printed in a book, which I have not yet seen; but as the\nfacts which I have recorded relate to a badger, they appear to me to\nbe passing strange.\n\n[Footnote 82: The author of the tale.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE PRINCE AND THE BADGER\n\n\nIn days of yore there lived a forefather of the Prince of Tosa who\nwent by the name of Yamanouchi Kadzutoyo. At the age of fourteen this\nprince was amazingly fond of fishing, and would often go down to the\nriver for sport. And it came to pass one day that he had gone thither\nwith but one retainer, and had made a great haul, that a violent\nshower suddenly came on. Now, the prince had no rain-coat with him,\nand was in so sorry a plight that he took shelter under a willow-tree\nand waited for the weather to clear; but the storm showed no sign of\nabating, and there was no help for it, so he turned to the retainer\nand said--\n\n\"This rain is not likely to stop for some time, so we had better hurry\nhome.\"\n\nAs they trudged homeward, night fell, and it grew very dark; and their\nroad lay over a long bank, by the side of which they found a girl,\nabout sixteen years old, weeping bitterly. Struck with wonder, they\nlooked steadfastly at her, and perceived that she was exceedingly\ncomely. While Kadzutoyo stood doubting what so strange a sight could\nportend, his retainer, smitten with the girl's charms, stepped up to\nher and said--\n\n\"Little sister, tell us whose daughter you are, and how it comes that\nyou are out by yourself at night in such a storm of rain. Surely it is\npassing strange.\"\n\n\"Sir,\" replied she, looking up through her tears, \"I am the daughter\nof a poor man in the castle town. My mother died when I was seven\nyears old, and my father has now wedded a shrew, who loathes and\nill-uses me; and in the midst of my grief he is gone far away on his\nbusiness, so I was left alone with my stepmother; and this very night\nshe spited and beat me till I could bear it no longer, and was on my\nway to my aunt's, who dwells in yonder village, when the shower came\non; but as I lay waiting for the rain to stop, I was seized with a\nspasm, to which I am subject, and was in great pain, when I had the\ngood luck to fall in with your worships.\"\n\nAs she spoke, the retainer fell deeply in love with her matchless\nbeauty, whilst his lord Kadzutoyo, who from the outset had not uttered\na word, but stood brooding over the matter, straightway drew his sword\nand cut off her head. But the retainer stood aghast, and cried out--\n\n\"Oh! my young lord, what wicked deed is this that you've done? The\nmurder of a man's daughter will bring trouble upon us, for you may\nrely on the business not ending here.\"\n\n\"You don't know what you're talking about,\" answered Kadzutoyo: \"only\ndon't tell any one about it, that is all I ask;\" and so they went home\nin silence.\n\nAs Kadzutoyo was very tired, he went to bed, and slept undisturbed by\nany sense of guilt; for he was brave and fearless. But the retainer\ngrew very uneasy, and went to his young lord's parents and said--\n\n\"I had the honour of attending my young lord out fishing to-day, and\nwe were driven home by the rain. And as we came back by the bank, we\ndescried a girl with a spasm in her stomach, and her my young lord\nstraightway slew; and although he has bidden me tell it to no one, I\ncannot conceal it from my lord and my lady.\"\n\nKadzutoyo's parents were sore amazed, bewailing their son's\nwickedness, and went at once to his room and woke him; his father shed\ntears and said--\n\n\"Oh! dastardly cut-throat that you are! how dare you kill another\nman's daughter without provocation? Such unspeakable villany is\nunworthy a Samurai's son. Know, that the duty of every Samurai is to\nkeep watch over the country, and to protect the people; and such is\nhis daily task. For sword and dirk are given to men that they may slay\nrebels, and faithfully serve their prince, and not that they may go\nabout committing sin and killing the daughters of innocent men.\nWhoever is fool enough not to understand this will repeat his misdeed,\nand will assuredly bring shame on his kindred. Grieved as I am that I\nshould take away the life which I gave you, I cannot suffer you to\nbring dishonour on our house; so prepare to meet your fate!\"\n\nWith these words he drew his sword; but Kadzutoyo, without a sign of\nfear, said to his father--\n\n\"Your anger, sir, is most just; but remember that I have studied the\nclassics and understand the laws of right and wrong, and be sure I\nwould never kill another man without good cause. The girl whom I slew\nwas certainly no human being, but some foul goblin: feeling certain of\nthis, I cut her down. To-morrow I beg you will send your retainers to\nlook for the corpse; and if it really be that of a human being, I\nshall give you no further trouble, but shall disembowel myself.\"\n\nUpon this the father sheathed his sword, and awaited daybreak. When\nthe morning came, the old prince, in sad distress, bade his retainers\nlead him to the bank; and there he saw a huge badger, with his head\ncut off, lying dead by the roadside; and the prince was lost in wonder\nat his son's shrewdness. But the retainer did not know what to make of\nit, and still had his doubts. The prince, however, returned home, and\nsending for his son, said to him--\n\n\"It's very strange that the creature which appeared to your retainer\nto be a girl, should have seemed to you to be a badger.\"\n\n\"My lord's wonder is just,\" replied Kadzutoyo, smiling: \"she appeared\nas a girl to me as well. But here was a young girl, at night, far from\nany inhabited place. Stranger still was her wondrous beauty; and\nstrangest of all that, though it was pouring with rain, there was not\na sign of wet on her clothes; and when my retainer asked how long she\nhad been there, she said she had been on the bank in pain for some\ntime; so I had no further doubt but that she was a goblin, and I\nkilled her.\"\n\n\"But what made you think she must be a goblin because her clothes were\ndry?\"\n\n\"The beast evidently thought that, if she could bewitch us with her\nbeauty, she might get at the fish my retainer was carrying; but she\nforgot that, as it was raining, it would not do for her clothes not to\nbe wet; so I detected and killed her.\"\n\nWhen the old prince heard his son speak thus, he was filled with\nadmiration for the youth's sagacity; so, conceiving that Kadzutoyo had\ngiven reliable proof of wisdom and prudence, he resolved to\nabdicate;[83] and Kadzutoyo was proclaimed Prince of Tosa in his\nstead.\n\n[Footnote 83: _Inkiy\u00f4_, abdication. The custom of abdication is common\namong all classes, from the Emperor down to his meanest subject. The\nEmperor abdicates after consultation with his ministers: the Shogun\nhas to obtain the permission of the Emperor; the Daimios, that of the\nShogun. The abdication of the Emperor was called _Sent\u00f4_; that of the\nShogun, _Oyosh\u00f4_; in all other ranks it is called _Inkiy\u00f4_. It must be\nremembered that the princes of Japan, in becoming Inkiy\u00f4, resign the\nsemblance and the name, but not the reality of power. Both in their\nown provinces and in the country at large they play a most important\npart. The ex-Princes of Tosa, Uwajima and Owari, are far more notable\nmen in Japan than the actual holders of the titles.]\n\n\n\n\nJAPANESE SERMONS\n\n[Illustration: A JAPANESE SERMON.]\n\n\n\n\nJAPANESE SERMONS\n\n\n\"Sermons preached here on 8th, 18th, and 28th days of every month.\"\nSuch was the purport of a placard, which used to tempt me daily, as I\npassed the temple Ch\u00f4-\u00f4-ji. Having ascertained that neither the\npreacher nor his congregation would have any objection to my hearing\none of these sermons, I made arrangements to attend the service,\naccompanied by two friends, my artist, and a scribe to take notes.\n\nWe were shown into an apartment adjoining a small chapel--a room\nopening on to a tastily arranged garden, wealthy in stone lanterns and\ndwarfed trees. In the portion of the room reserved for the priest\nstood a high table, covered with a cloth of white and scarlet silk,\nrichly embroidered with flowers and arabesques; upon this stood a\nbell, a tray containing the rolls of the sacred books, and a small\nincense-burner of ancient Chinese porcelain. Before the table was a\nhanging drum, and behind it was one of those high, back-breaking\narm-chairs which adorn every Buddhist temple. In one corner of the\nspace destined for the accommodation of the faithful was a low\nwriting-desk, at which sat, or rather squatted, a lay clerk, armed\nwith a huge pair of horn spectacles, through which he glared,\ngoblin-like, at the people, as they came to have their names and the\namount of their offerings to the temple registered. These latter must\nhave been small things, for the congregation seemed poor enough. It\nwas principally composed of old women, nuns with bald shiny pates and\ngrotesque faces, a few petty tradesmen, and half-a-dozen chubby\nchildren, perfect little models of decorum and devoutness. One lady\nthere was, indeed, who seemed a little better to do in the world than\nthe rest; she was nicely dressed, and attended by a female servant;\nshe came in with a certain little consequential rustle, and displayed\nsome coquetry, and a very pretty bare foot, as she took her place,\nand, pulling out a dandy little pipe and tobacco-pouch, began to\nsmoke. Fire-boxes and spittoons, I should mention, were freely handed\nabout; so that half-an-hour which passed before the sermon began was\nagreeably spent. In the meanwhile, mass was being celebrated in the\nmain hall of the temple, and the monotonous nasal drone of the plain\nchant was faintly heard in the distance. So soon as this was over, the\nlay clerk sat himself down by the hanging drum, and, to its\naccompaniment, began intoning the prayer, \"Na Mu Miy\u00f4 H\u00f4 Ren Go Kiy\u00f4,\"\nthe congregation fervently joining in unison with him. These words,\nrepeated over and over again, are the distinctive prayer of the\nBuddhist sect of Nichiren, to which the temple Ch\u00f4-\u00f4-ji is dedicated.\nThey are approximations to Sanscrit sounds, and have no meaning in\nJapanese, nor do the worshippers in using them know their precise\nvalue.\n\nSoon the preacher, gorgeous in red and white robes, made his\nappearance, following an acolyte, who carried the sacred book called\n_Hokk\u00e9_ (upon which the sect of Nichiren is founded) on a tray covered\nwith scarlet and gold brocade. Having bowed to the sacred picture\nwhich hung over the _tokonoma_--that portion of the Japanese room\nwhich is raised a few inches above the rest of the floor, and which is\nregarded as the place of honour--his reverence took his seat at the\ntable, and adjusted his robes; then, tying up the muscles of his face\ninto a knot, expressive of utter abstraction, he struck the bell upon\nthe table thrice, burnt a little incense, and read a passage from the\nsacred book, which he reverently lifted to his head. The congregation\njoined in chorus, devout but unintelligent; for the Word, written in\nancient Chinese, is as obscure to the ordinary Japanese worshipper as\nare the Latin liturgies to a high-capped Norman peasant-woman. While\nhis flock wrapped up copper cash in paper, and threw them before the\ntable as offerings, the priest next recited a passage alone, and the\nlay clerk irreverently entered into a loud dispute with one of the\ncongregation, touching some payment or other. The preliminary\nceremonies ended, a small shaven-pated boy brought in a cup of tea,\nthrice afterwards to be replenished, for his reverence's refreshment;\nand he, having untied his face, gave a broad grin, cleared his throat,\nswallowed his tea, and beamed down upon us, as jolly, rosy a priest as\never donned stole or scarf. His discourse, which was delivered in the\nmost familiar and easy manner, was an _extempore_ dissertation on\ncertain passages from the sacred books. Whenever he paused or made a\npoint, the congregation broke in with a cry of \"Nammiy\u00f4!\" a corruption\nof the first three words of the prayer cited above, to which they\nalways contrived to give an expression or intonation in harmony with\nthe preacher's meaning.\n\n\"It is a matter of profound satisfaction to me,\" began his reverence\nNichirin, smiling blandly at his audience, \"to see so many gentlemen\nand ladies gathered together here this day, in the fidelity of their\nhearts, to do honour to the feast of Kishimojin.\"[84]\n\n[Footnote 84: Kishimojin, a female deity of the Buddhists.]\n\n\"Nammiy\u00f4! nammiy\u00f4!\" self-depreciatory, from the congregation.\n\n\"I feel certain that your piety cannot fail to find favour with\nKishimojin. Kishimojin ever mourns over the tortures of mankind, who\nare dwelling in a house of fire, and she ever earnestly strives to\nfind some means of delivering them.\n\n\"Nammiy\u00f4! nammiy\u00f4!\" grateful and reverential.\n\n\"Notwithstanding this, it is useless your worshipping Kishimojin, and\nprofessing to believe in her, unless you have truth in your hearts;\nfor she will not receive your offerings. Man, from his very birth, is\na creature of requirements; he is for ever seeking and praying. Both\nyou who listen, and I who preach, have all of us our wants and wishes.\nIf there be any person here who flatters himself that he has no wishes\nand no wants, let him reflect. Does not every one wish and pray that\nheaven and earth may stand for ever, that his country and family may\nprosper, that there may be plenty in the land, and that the people may\nbe healthy and happy? The wishes of men, however, are various and\nmany; and these wishes, numberless as they are, are all known to the\ngods from the beginning. It is no use praying, unless you have truth\nin your heart. For instance, the prayer _Na Mu_ is a prayer committing\nyour bodies to the care of the gods; if, when you utter it, your\nhearts are true and single, of a surety your request will be granted.\nNow, this is not a mere statement made by Nichiren, the holy founder\nof this sect; it is the sacred teaching of Buddha himself, and may not\nbe doubted.\"\n\n\"Nammiy\u00f4! nammiy\u00f4!\" with profound conviction.\n\n\"The heart of man is, by nature, upright and true; but there are seven\npassions[85] by which it is corrupted. Buddha is alarmed when he sees\nthe fires by which the world is being consumed. These fires are the\nfive lusts of this sinful world; and the five lusts are, the desire\nfor fair sights, sweet sounds, fragrant smells, dainty meats, and rich\ntrappings. Man is no sooner endowed with a body than he is possessed\nby these lusts, which become his very heart; and, it being a law that\nevery man follows the dictates of his heart, in this way the body, the\nlusts of the flesh, the heart, and the dictates of the heart, blaze up\nin the consuming fire. 'Alas! for this miserable world!' said the\ndivine Buddha.\"\n\n[Footnote 85: The seven passions are joy, anger, sadness, fear, love,\nhatred, and desire.]\n\n\"Nammiy\u00f4! nammiy\u00f4!\" mournful, and with much head-shaking.\n\n\"There is not so foul thing under heaven as the human body. The body\nexudes grease, the eyes distil gums, the nose is full of mucus, the\nmouth of slobbering spittle; nor are these the most impure secretions\nof the body. What a mistake it is to look upon this impure body as\nclean and perfect! Unless we listen to the teachings of Buddha, how\nshall we be washed and purified?\"\n\n\"Nammiy\u00f4, nammiy\u00f4!\" from an impure and very miserable sinner, under\nten years of age.\n\n\"The lot of man is uncertain, and for ever running out of the beaten\ntrack. Why go to look at the flowers, and take delight in their\nbeauty? When you return home, you will see the vanity of your\npleasure. Why purchase fleeting joys of loose women? How long do you\nretain the delicious taste of the dainties you feast upon? For ever\n_wishing_ to do this, _wishing_ to see that, _wishing_ to eat rare\ndishes, _wishing_ to wear fine clothes, you pass a lifetime in fanning\nthe flames which consume you. What terrible matter for thought is\nthis! In the poems of the priest Saigiyo it is written, 'Verily I have\nbeen familiar with the flowers; yet are they withered and scattered,\nand we are parted. How sad!' The beauty of the convolvulus, how bright\nit is!--and yet in one short morning it closes its petals and fades.\nIn the book called _Rin Jo Bo Satsu_[86] we are told how a certain\nking once went to take his pleasure in his garden, and gladden his\neyes with the beauty of his flowers. After a while he fell asleep; and\nas he slumbered, the women of his train began pulling the flowers to\npieces. When the king awoke, of all the glory of his flowers there\nremained but a few torn and faded petals. Seeing this, the king said,\n'The flowers pass away and die; so is it with mankind: we are born, we\ngrow old, we sicken and die; we are as fleeting as the lightning's\nflash, as evanescent as the morning dew.' I know not whether any of\nyou here present ever fix your thoughts upon death; yet it is a rare\nthing for a man to live for a hundred years. How piteous a thing it is\nthat in this short and transient life men should consume themselves in\na fire of lust! and if we think to escape from this fire, how shall we\nsucceed save only by the teaching of the divine Buddha?\"\n\n[Footnote 86: One of the Buddhist classics.]\n\n\"Nammiy\u00f4! nammiy\u00f4!\" meekly and entreatingly.\n\n\"Since Buddha himself escaped from the burning flames of the lusts of\nthe flesh, his only thought has been for the salvation of mankind.\nOnce upon a time there was a certain heretic, called Rokutsuponji, a\nreader of auguries, cunning in astrology and in the healing art. It\nhappened, one day, that this heretic, being in company with Buddha,\nentered a forest, which was full of dead men's skulls. Buddha, taking\nup one of the skulls and tapping it thus\" (here the preacher tapped\nthe reading-desk with his fan), \"said, 'What manner of man was this\nbone when alive?--and, now that he is dead, in what part of the world\nhas he been born again?' The heretic, auguring from the sound which\nthe skull, when struck, gave forth, began to tell its past history,\nand to prophesy the future. Then Buddha, tapping another skull, again\nasked the same question. The heretic answered--\n\n\"'Verily, as to this skull, whether it belonged to a man or a woman,\nwhence its owner came or whither he has gone, I know not. What think\nyou of it?\"\n\n\"'Ask me not,' answered Buddha. But the heretic pressed him, and\nentreated him to answer; then Buddha said, 'Verily this is the skull\nof one of my disciples, who forsook the lusts of the flesh.'\n\n\"Then the heretic wondered, and said--\n\n\"'Of a truth, this is a thing the like of which no man has yet seen.\nHere am I, who know the manner of the life and of the death even of\nthe ants that creep. Verily, I thought that no thing could escape my\nken; yet here lies one of your disciples, than whom there lives no\nnobler thing, and I am at fault. From this day forth I will enter your\nsect, praying only that I may receive your teaching.'\n\n\"Thus did this learned heretic become a disciple of Buddha. If such\nan one as he was converted, how much the more should after-ages of\nordinary men feel that it is through. Buddha alone that they can hope\nto overcome the sinful lusts of the flesh! These lusts are the desires\nwhich agitate our hearts: if we are free from these desires, our\nhearts will be bright and pure, and there is nothing, save the\nteaching of Buddha, which can ensure us this freedom. Following the\ncommands of Buddha, and delivered by him from our desires, we may pass\nour lives in peace and happiness.\"\n\n\"Nammiy\u00f4! nammiy\u00f4!\" with triumphant exultation.\n\n\"In the sacred books we read of conversion from a state of sin to a\nstate of salvation. Now this salvation is not a million miles removed\nfrom us; nor need we die and be born again into another world in order\nto reach it. He who lays aside his carnal lusts and affections, at\nonce and of a certainty becomes equal to Buddha. When we recite the\nprayer _Na Mu Miy\u00f4 H\u00f4 Ren Go Kiy\u00f4_, we are praying to enter this state\nof peace and happiness. By what instruction, other than that of\nNichiren, the holy founder of this sect, can we expect to attain this\nend? If we do attain it, there will be no difference between our state\nand that of Buddha and of Nichiren. With this view we have learnt from\nthe pious founder of our sect that we must continually and thankfully\nrepeat the prayer _Na Mu Miy\u00f4 H\u00f4 Ren Go Kiy\u00f4_, turning our hearts away\nfrom lies, and embracing the truth.\"\n\nSuch were the heads of the sermon as they were taken down by my\nscribe. At its conclusion, the priest, looking about him smiling, as\nif the solemn truths he had been inculcating were nothing but a very\ngood joke, was greeted by long and loud cries of \"Nammiy\u00f4! nammiy\u00f4!\"\nby all the congregation. Then the lay clerk sat himself down again by\nthe hanging drum; and the service ended as it had begun, by prayer in\nchorus, during which the priest retired, the sacred book being carried\nout before him by his acolyte.\n\nAlthough occasionally, as in the above instance, sermons are delivered\nas part of a service on special days of the month, they are more\nfrequently preached in courses, the delivery occupying about a\nfortnight, during which two sermons are given each day. Frequently the\npreachers are itinerant priests, who go about the towns and villages\nlecturing in the main hall of some temple or in the guest-room of the\nresident priest.\n\nThere are many books of sermons published in Japan, all of which have\nsome merit and much quaintness: none that I have seen are, however, to\nmy taste, to be compared to the \"Kiu-\u00f4 D\u00f4-wa,\" of which the following\nthree sermons compose the first volume. They are written by a priest\nbelonging to the Shingaku sect--a sect professing to combine all that\nis excellent in the Buddhist, Confucian, and Shin T\u00f4 teaching. It\nmaintains the original goodness of the human heart; and teaches that\nwe have only to follow the dictates of the conscience implanted in us\nat our birth, in order to steer in the right path. The texts are\ntaken from the Chinese classical books, in the same way as our\npreachers take theirs from the Bible. Jokes, stories which are\nsometimes untranslatable into our more fastidious tongue, and pointed\napplications to members of the congregation, enliven the discourses;\nit being a principle with the Japanese preacher that it is not\nnecessary to bore his audience into virtue.\n\n\n\n\nSERMON I\n\n(THE SERMONS OF KIU-\u00d4, VOL. I)\n\n\nM\u00f4shi[87] says, \"Benevolence is the heart of man; righteousness is the\npath of man. How lamentable a thing is it to leave the path and go\nastray, to cast away the heart and not know where to seek for it!\"\n\n[Footnote 87: M\u00f4shi, the Japanese pronunciation of the name of the\nChinese philosopher M\u00eang Tse, whom Europeans call Mencius.]\n\nThe text is taken from the first chapter of K\u00f4shi (the commentator),\non M\u00f4shi.\n\nNow this quality, which we call benevolence, has been the subject of\ncommentaries by many teachers; but as these commentaries have been\ndifficult of comprehension, they are too hard to enter the ears of\nwomen and children. It is of this benevolence that, using examples and\nillustrations, I propose to treat.\n\nA long time ago, there lived at Ki\u00f4to a great physician, called\nIma\u00f4ji--I forget his other name: he was a very famous man. Once upon a\ntime, a man from a place called Kuramaguchi advertised for sale a\nmedicine which he had compounded against the cholera, and got Ima\u00f4ji\nto write a puff for him. Ima\u00f4ji, instead of calling the medicine in\nthe puff a specific against the cholera, misspelt the word cholera so\nas to make it simpler. When the man who had employed him went and\ntaxed him with this, and asked him why he had done so, he answered,\nwith a smile--\n\n\"As Kuramaguchi is an approach to the capital from the country, the\npassers-by are but poor peasants and woodmen from the hills: if I had\nwritten 'cholera' at length, they would have been puzzled by it; so I\nwrote it in a simple way, that should pass current with every one.\nTruth itself loses its value if people don't understand it. What does\nit signify how I spelt the word cholera, so long as the efficacy of\nthe medicine is unimpaired?\"\n\nNow, was not that delightful? In the same way the doctrines of the\nsages are mere gibberish to women and children who cannot understand\nthem. Now, my sermons are not written for the learned: I address\nmyself to farmers and tradesmen, who, hard pressed by their daily\nbusiness, have no time for study, with the wish to make known to them\nthe teachings of the sages; and, carrying out the ideas of my teacher,\nI will make my meaning pretty plain, by bringing forward examples and\nquaint stories. Thus, by blending together the doctrines of the\nShint\u00f4, Buddhist, and other schools, we shall arrive at something\nnear the true principle of things. Now, positively, you must not laugh\nif I introduce a light story now and then. Levity is not my object: I\nonly want to put things in a plain and easy manner.\n\nWell, then, the quality which we call benevolence is, in fact, a\nperfection; and it is this perfection which M\u00f4shi spoke of as the\nheart of man. With this perfect heart, men, by serving their parents,\nattain to filial piety; by serving their masters they attain to\nfidelity; and if they treat their wives, their brethren, and their\nfriends in the same spirit, then the principles of the five relations\nof life will harmonize without difficulty. As for putting perfection\ninto practice, parents have the special duties of parents; children\nhave the special duties of children; husbands have the special duties\nof husbands; wives have the special duties of wives. It is when all\nthese special duties are performed without a fault that true\nbenevolence is reached; and that again is the true heart of man.\n\nFor example, take this fan: any one who sees it knows it to be a fan;\nand, knowing it to be a fan, no one would think of using it to blow\nhis nose in. The special use of a fan is for visits of ceremony; or\nelse it is opened in order to raise a cooling breeze: it serves no\nother purpose. In the same way, this reading-desk will not do as a\nsubstitute for a shelf; again, it will not do instead of a pillow: so\nyou see that a reading-desk also has its special functions, for which\nyou must use it. So, if you look at your parents in the light of your\nparents, and treat them with filial piety, that is the special duty of\nchildren; that is true benevolence; that is the heart of man. Now\nalthough you may think that, when I speak in this way, I am speaking\nof others, and not of yourselves, believe me that the heart of every\none of you is by nature pure benevolence. I am just taking down your\nhearts as a shopman does goods from his shelves, and pointing out the\ngood and bad qualities of each; but if you will not lay what I say to\nyour own accounts, but persist in thinking that it is all anybody's\nbusiness but yours, all my labour will be lost.\n\nListen! You who answer your parents rudely, and cause them to weep;\nyou who bring grief and trouble on your masters; you who cause your\nhusbands to fly into passions; you who cause your wives to mourn; you\nwho hate your younger brothers, and treat your elder brothers with\ncontempt; you who sow sorrow broadcast over the world;--what are you\ndoing but blowing your noses in fans, and using reading-desks as\npillows? I don't mean to say that there are any such persons here;\nstill there are plenty of them to be found--say in the back streets in\nIndia, for instance. Be so good as to mind what I have said.\n\nConsider, carefully, if a man is born with a naturally bad\ndisposition, what a dreadful thing that is! Happily, you and I were\nborn with perfect hearts, which we would not change for a\nthousand--no, not for ten thousand pieces of gold: is not this\nsomething to be thankful for?\n\nThis perfect heart is called in my discourses, \"the original heart of\nman.\" It is true that benevolence is also called the original heart of\nman; still there is a slight difference between the two. However, as\nthe inquiry into this difference would be tedious, it is sufficient\nfor you to look upon this original heart of man as a perfect thing,\nand you will fall into no error. It is true that I have not the honour\nof the personal acquaintance of every one of you who are present:\nstill I know that your hearts are perfect. The proof of this, that if\nyou say that which you ought not to say, or do that which you ought\nnot to do, your hearts within you are, in some mysterious way,\nimmediately conscious of wrong. When the man that has a perfect heart\ndoes that which is imperfect, it is because his heart has become\nwarped and turned to evil. This law holds good for all mankind. What\nsays the old song?--\"When the roaring waterfall is shivered by the\nnight-storm, the moonlight is reflected in each scattered drop.\"[88]\nAlthough there is but one moon, she suffices to illuminate each little\nscattered drop. Wonderful are the laws of Heaven! So the principle of\nbenevolence, which is but one, illumines all the particles that make\nup mankind. Well, then, the perfection of the human heart can be\ncalculated to a nicety, So, if we follow the impulses of our perfect\nheart in whatever we undertake, we shall perform our special duties,\nand filial piety and fidelity will come to us spontaneously. You see\nthe doctrines of this school of philosophy are quickly learnt. If you\nonce thoroughly understand this, there will be no difference between\nyour conduct and that of a man who has studied a hundred years.\nTherefore I pray you to follow the impulses of your natural heart;\nplace it before you as a teacher, and study its precepts. Your heart\nis a convenient teacher to employ too: for there is no question of\npaying fees; and no need to go out in the heat of summer, or the cold\nof winter, to pay visits of ceremony to your master to inquire after\nhis health. What admirable teaching this is, by means of which you\ncan learn filial piety and fidelity so easily! Still, suspicions are\napt to arise in men's minds about things that are seen to be acquired\ntoo cheaply; but here you can buy a good thing cheap, and spare\nyourselves the vexation of having paid an extravagant price for it. I\nrepeat, follow the impulses of your hearts with all your might. In the\n_Chin-yo_, the second of the books of Confucius, it is certified\nbeyond a doubt that the impulses of nature are the true path to\nfollow; therefore you may set to work in this direction with your\nminds at ease.\n\n[Footnote 88:\n  \"The moon looks on many brooks;\n    The brooks see but one moon.\"--T. MOORE.]\n\nRighteousness, then, is the true path, and righteousness is the\navoidance of all that is imperfect. If a man avoids that which is\nimperfect, there is no need to point out how dearly he will be beloved\nby all his fellows. Hence it is that the ancients have defined\nrighteousness as that which ought to be--that which is fitting. If a\nman be a retainer, it is good that he should perform his service to\nhis lord with all his might. If a woman be married, it is good that\nshe should treat her parents-in-law with filial piety, and her husband\nwith reverence. For the rest, whatever is good, that is righteousness\nand the true path of man.\n\nThe duty of man has been compared by the wise men of old to a high\nroad. If you want to go to Yedo or to Nagasaki, if you want to go out\nto the front of the house or to the back of the house, if you wish to\ngo into the next room or into some closet or other, there is a right\nroad to each of these places: if you do not follow the right road,\nscrambling over the roofs of houses and through ditches, crossing\nmountains and desert places, you will be utterly lost and bewildered.\nIn the same way, if a man does that which is not good, he is going\nastray from the high road. Filial piety in children, virtue in wives,\ntruth among friends--but why enumerate all these things, which are\npatent?--all these are the right road, and good; but to grieve\nparents, to anger husbands, to hate and to breed hatred in others,\nthese are all bad things, these are all the wrong road. To follow\nthese is to plunge into rivers, to run on to thorns, to jump into\nditches, and brings thousands upon ten thousands of disasters. It is\ntrue that, if we do not pay great attention, we shall not be able to\nfollow the right road. Fortunately, we have heard by tradition the\nwords of the learned Nakazawa D\u00f4ni: I will tell you about that, all in\ngood time.\n\nIt happened that, once, the learned Nakazawa went to preach at Ik\u00e9da,\nin the province of Sesshiu, and lodged with a rich family of the lower\nclass. The master of the house, who was particularly fond of sermons,\nentertained the preacher hospitably, and summoned his daughter, a girl\nsome fourteen or fifteen years old, to wait upon him at dinner. This\nyoung lady was not only extremely pretty, but also had charming\nmanners; so she arranged bouquets of flowers, and made tea, and played\nupon the harp, and laid herself out to please the learned man by\nsinging songs. The preacher thanked her parents for all this, and\nsaid--\n\n\"Really, it must be a very difficult thing to educate a young lady up\nto such a pitch as this.\"\n\nThe parents, carried away by their feelings, replied--\n\n\"Yes; when she is married, she will hardly bring shame upon her\nhusband's family. Besides what she did just now, she can weave\ngarlands of flowers round torches, and we had her taught to paint a\nlittle;\" and as they began to show a little conceit, the preacher\nsaid--\n\n\"I am sure this is something quite out of the common run. Of course\nshe knows how to rub the shoulders and loins, and has learnt the art\nof shampooing?\"\n\nThe master of the house bristled up at this and answered--\n\n\"I may be very poor, but I've not fallen so low as to let my daughter\nlearn shampooing.\"\n\nThe learned man, smiling, replied, \"I think you are making a mistake\nwhen you put yourself in a rage. No matter whether her family be rich\nor poor, when a woman is performing her duties in her husband's house,\nshe must look upon her husband's parents as her own. If her honoured\nfather-in-law or mother-in-law fall ill, her being able to plait\nflowers and paint pictures and make tea will be of no use in the\nsick-room. To shampoo her parents-in-law, and nurse them\naffectionately, without employing either shampooer or servant-maid, is\nthe right path of a daughter-in-law. Do you mean to say that your\ndaughter has not yet learnt shampooing, an art which is essential to\nher following the right path of a wife? That is what I meant to ask\njust now. So useful a study is very important.\"\n\nAt this the master of the house was ashamed, and blushing made many\napologies, as I have heard. Certainly, the harp and guitar are very\ngood things in their way; but to attend to nursing their parents is\nthe right road of children. Lay this story to heart, and consider\nattentively where the right road lies. People who live near haunts of\npleasure become at last so fond of pleasure, that they teach their\ndaughters nothing but how to play on the harp and guitar, and train\nthem up in the manners and ways of singing-girls, but teach them next\nto nothing of their duties as daughters; and then very often they\nescape from their parents' watchfulness, and elope. Nor is this the\nfault of the girls themselves, but the fault of the education which\nthey have received from their parents. I do not mean to say that the\nharp and guitar, and songs and dramas, are useless things. If you\nconsider them attentively, all our songs incite to virtue and condemn\nvice. In the song called \"The Four Sleeves,\" for instance, there is\nthe passage, \"If people knew beforehand all the misery that it brings,\nthere would be less going out with young ladies, to look at the\nflowers at night.\" Please give your attention to this piece of poetry.\nThis is the meaning of it:--When a young man and a young lady set up a\nflirtation without the consent of their parents, they think that it\nwill all be very delightful, and find themselves very much deceived.\nIf they knew what a sad and cruel world this is, they would not act as\nthey do. The quotation is from a song of remorse. This sort of thing\nbut too often happens in the world.\n\nWhen a man marries a wife, he thinks how happy he will be, and how\npleasant it will be keeping house on his own account; but, before the\nbottom of the family kettle has been scorched black, he will be like a\nman learning to swim in a field, with his ideas all turned\ntopsy-turvy, and, contrary to all his expectations, he will find the\npleasures of housekeeping to be all a delusion. Look at that woman\nthere. Haunted by her cares, she takes no heed of her hair, nor of her\npersonal appearance. With her head all untidy, her apron tied round\nher as a girdle, with a baby twisted into the bosom of her dress, she\ncarries some wretched bean sauce which she has been out to buy. What\nsort of creature is this? This all comes of not listening to the\nwarnings of parents, and of not waiting for the proper time, but\nrushing suddenly into housekeeping. And who is to blame in the matter?\nPassion, which does not pause to reflect. A child of five or six years\nwill never think of learning to play the guitar for its own pleasure.\nWhat a ten-million times miserable thing it is, when parents, making\ntheir little girls hug a great guitar, listen with pleasure to the\npoor little things playing on instruments big enough for them to climb\nupon, and squeaking out songs in their shrill treble voices! Now I\nmust beg you to listen to me carefully. If you get confused and don't\nkeep a sharp look-out, your children, brought up upon harp and guitar\nplaying, will be abandoning their parents, and running away secretly.\nDepend upon it, from all that is licentious and meretricious something\nmonstrous will come forth. The poet who wrote the \"Four Sleeves\"\nregarded it as the right path of instruction to convey a warning\nagainst vice. But the theatre and dramas and fashionable songs, if the\nmoral that they convey is missed, are a very great mistake. Although\nyou may think it very right and proper that a young lady should\npractise nothing but the harp and guitar until her marriage, I tell\nyou that it is not so; for if she misses the moral of her songs and\nmusic, there is the danger of her falling in love with some man and\neloping. While on this subject, I have an amusing story to tell you.\n\nOnce upon a time, a frog, who lived at Ki\u00f4to, had long been desirous\nof going to see Osaka. One spring, having made up his mind, he started\noff to see Osaka and all its famous places. By a series of hops on\nall-fours he reached a temple opposite Nishi-no-oka, and thence by the\nwestern road he arrived at Yamazaki, and began to ascend the mountain\ncalled Ten\u00f4zan. Now it so happened that a frog from Osaka had\ndetermined to visit Ki\u00f4to, and had also ascended Ten\u00f4zan; and on the\nsummit the two frogs met, made acquaintance, and told one another\ntheir intentions. So they began to complain about all the trouble they\nhad gone through, and had only arrived half-way after all: if they\nwent on to Osaka and Ki\u00f4to, their legs and loins would certainly not\nhold out. Here was the famous mountain of Ten\u00f4zan, from the top of\nwhich the whole of Ki\u00f4to and Osaka could be seen: if they stood on\ntiptoe and stretched their backs, and looked at the view, they would\nsave themselves from stiff legs. Having come to this conclusion, they\nboth stood up on tiptoe, and looked about them; when the Ki\u00f4to frog\nsaid--\n\n\"Really, looking at the famous places of Osaka, which I have heard so\nmuch about, they don't seem to me to differ a bit from Ki\u00f4to. Instead\nof giving myself any further trouble to go on, I shall just return\nhome.\"\n\nThe Osaka frog, blinking with his eyes, said, with a contemptuous\nsmile, \"Well, I have heard a great deal of talk about this Ki\u00f4to being\nas beautiful as the flowers, but it is just Osaka over again. We had\nbetter go home.\"\n\nAnd so the two frogs, politely bowing to one another, hopped off home\nwith an important swagger.\n\nNow, although this is a very funny little story, you will not\nunderstand the drift of it at once. The frogs thought that they were\nlooking in front of them; but as, when they stood up, their eyes were\nin the back of their heads, each was looking at his native place, all\nthe while that he believed himself to be looking at the place he\nwished to go to. The frogs stared to any amount, it is true; but then\nthey did not take care that the object looked at was the right object,\nand so it was that they fell into error. Please, listen attentively. A\ncertain poet says--\n\n\"Wonderful are the frogs! Though they go on all-fours in an attitude\nof humility, their eyes are always turned ambitiously upwards.\"\n\nA delightful poem! Men, although they say with their mouths, \"Yes,\nyes, your wishes shall be obeyed,--certainly, certainly, you are\nperfectly right,\" are like frogs, with their eyes turned upwards. Vain\nfools! meddlers ready to undertake any job, however much above their\npowers! This is what is called in the text, \"casting away your heart,\nand not knowing where to seek for it.\" Although these men profess to\nundertake any earthly thing, when it comes to the point, leave them to\nthemselves, and they are unequal to the task; and if you tell them\nthis, they answer--\n\n\"By the labour of our own bodies we earn our money; and the food of\nour mouths is of our own getting. We are under obligation to no man.\nIf we did not depend upon ourselves, how could we live in the world?\"\n\nThere are plenty of people who use these words, _myself_ and _my own_,\nthoughtlessly and at random. How false is this belief that they\nprofess! If there were no system of government by superiors, but an\nanarchy, these people, who vaunt themselves and their own powers,\nwould not stand for a day. In the old days, at the time of the war at\nIchi-no-tani, Minamoto no Yoshitsun\u00e9[89] left Mikusa, in the province\nof Tamba, and attacked Settsu. Overtaken by the night among the\nmountains, he knew not what road to follow; so he sent for his\nretainer, Benkei, of the Temple called Musashi, and told him to light\nthe big torches which they had agreed upon. Benkei received his orders\nand transmitted them to the troops, who immediately dispersed through\nall the valleys, and set fire to the houses of the inhabitants, so\nthat one and all blazed up, and, thanks to the light of this fire,\nthey reached Ichi-no-tani, as the story goes. If you think\nattentively, you will see the allusion. Those who boast about _my_\nwarehouse, _my_ house, _my_ farm, _my_ daughter, _my_ wife, hawking\nabout this \"_my_\" of theirs like pedlers, let there once come trouble\nand war in the world, and, for all their vain-gloriousness, they will\nbe as helpless as turtles. Let them be thankful that peace is\nestablished throughout the world. The humane Government reaches to\nevery frontier: the officials of every department keep watch night\nand day. When a man sleeps under his roof at night, how can he say\nthat it is thanks to himself that he stretches his limbs in slumber?\nYou go your rounds to see whether the shutters are closed and the\nfront door fast, and, having taken every precaution, you lay yourself\ndown to rest in peace: and what a precaution after all! A board,\nfour-tenths of an inch thick, planed down front and rear until it is\nonly two-tenths of an inch thick. A fine precaution, in very truth!--a\nprecaution which may be blown down with a breath. Do you suppose such\na thing as that would frighten a thief from breaking in? This is the\nstate of the case. Here are men who, by the benevolence and virtue of\ntheir rulers, live in a delightful world, and yet, forgetting the\nmysterious providence that watches over them, keep on singing their\nown praises. Selfish egotists!\n\n[Footnote 89: The younger brother of Minamoto no Yoritomo, who first\nestablished the government of the Shoguns. The battle of Ichi-no-tani\ntook place in the year A.D. 1184.]\n\n\"My property amounts to five thousand ounces of silver. I may sleep\nwith my eyes turned up, and eat and take my pleasure, if I live for\nfive hundred or for seven hundred years. I have five warehouses and\ntwenty-five houses. I hold other people's bills for fifteen hundred\nounces of silver.\" So he dances a fling[90] for joy, and has no fear\nlest poverty should come upon him for fifty or a hundred years. Minds\nlike frogs, with eyes in the middle of their backs! Foolhardy\nthoughts! A trusty castle of defence indeed! How little can it be\ndepended upon! And when such men are sleeping quietly, how can they\ntell that they may not be turned into those big torches we were\ntalking about just now, or that a great earthquake will not be\nupheaved? These are the chances of this fitful world. With regard to\nthe danger of too great reliance, I have a little tale to tell you. Be\nso good as to wake up from your drowsiness, and listen attentively.\n\n[Footnote 90: Literally, \"a dance of the Province of Tosa.\"]\n\nThere is a certain powerful shell-fish, called the Sazay\u00e9, with a very\nstrong operculum. Now this creature, if it hears that there is any\ndanger astir, shuts up its shell from within, with a loud noise, and\nthinks itself perfectly safe. One day a Tai and another fish, lost in\nenvy at this, said--\n\n\"What a strong castle this is of yours, Mr. Sazay\u00e9! When you shut up\nyour lid from within, nobody can so much as point a finger at you. A\ncapital figure you make, sir.\"\n\nWhen he heard this, the Sazay\u00e9, stroking his beard, replied--\n\n\"Well, gentlemen, although you are so good as to say so, it's nothing\nto boast of in the way of safety; yet I must admit that, when I shut\nmyself up thus, I do not feel much anxiety.\"\n\nAnd as he was speaking thus, with the pride that apes humility, there\ncame the noise of a great splash; and the shell-fish, shutting up his\nlid as quickly as possible, kept quite still, and thought to himself,\nwhat in the world the noise could be. Could it be a net? Could it be a\nfish-hook? What a bore it was, always having to keep such a sharp\nlook-out! Were the Tai and the other fish caught, he wondered; and he\nfelt quite anxious about them: however, at any rate, he was safe. And\nso the time passed; and when he thought all was safe, he stealthily\nopened his shell, and slipped out his head and looked all round him,\nand there seemed to be something wrong--something with which he was\nnot familiar. As he looked a little more carefully, lo and behold\nthere he was in a fishmonger's shop, and with a card marked \"sixteen\ncash\" on his back.\n\nIsn't that a funny story? And so, at one fell swoop, all your boasted\nwealth of houses and warehouses, and cleverness and talent, and rank\nand power, are taken away. Poor shell-fish! I think there are some\npeople not unlike them to be found in China and India. How little self\nis to be depended upon! There is a moral poem which says, \"It is\neasier to ascend to the cloudy heaven without a ladder than to depend\nentirely on oneself.\" This is what is meant by the text, \"If a man\ncasts his heart from him, he knows not where to seek for it.\" Think\ntwice upon everything that you do. To take no care for the examination\nof that which relates to yourself, but to look only at that which\nconcerns others, is to cast your heart from you. Casting your heart\nfrom you does not mean that your heart actually leaves you: what is\nmeant is, that you do not examine your own conscience. Nor must you\nthink that what I have said upon this point of self-confidences\napplies only to wealth and riches. To rely on your talents, to rely on\nthe services you have rendered, to rely on your cleverness, to rely on\nyour judgment, to rely on your strength, to rely on your rank, and to\nthink yourself secure in the possession of these, is to place\nyourselves in the same category with the shell-fish in the story. In\nall things examine your own consciences: the examination of your own\nhearts is above all things essential.\n\n(The preacher leaves his place.)\n\n\n\n\nSERMON II\n\n(THE SERMONS OF KIU-\u00d4, VOL. I)\n\n\n\"If a man loses a fowl or a dog, he knows how to reclaim it. If he\nloses his soul, he knows not how to reclaim it. The true path of\nlearning has no other function than to teach us how to reclaim lost\nsouls.\" This parable has been declared to us by M\u00f4shi. If a dog, or a\nchicken, or a pet cat does not come home at the proper time, its\nmaster makes a great fuss about hunting for it, and wonders can it\nhave been killed by a dog or by a snake, or can some man have stolen\nit; and ransacking the three houses opposite, and his two next-door\nneighbours' houses, as if he were seeking for a lost child, cries,\n\"Pray, sir, has my tortoiseshell cat been with you? Has my pet chicken\nbeen here?\" That is the way in which men run about under such\ncircumstances. It's a matter of the utmost importance.\n\nAnd yet to lose a dog or a tame chicken is no such terrible loss after\nall. But the soul, which is called the lord of the body, is the master\nof our whole selves. If men part with this soul for the sake of other\nthings, then they become deaf to the admonitions of their parents, and\nthe instructions of their superiors are to them as the winds of\nheaven. Teaching is to them like pouring water over a frog's face;\nthey blink their eyes, and that is all; they say, \"Yes, yes!\" with\ntheir mouths, but their hearts are gone, and, seeing, they are blind,\nhearing, they are deaf. Born whole and sound, by their own doing they\nenter the fraternity of cripples. Such are all those who lose their\nsouls. Nor do they think of inquiring or looking for their lost soul.\n\"It is my parents' fault; it is my master's fault; it is my husband's\nfault; it is my elder brother's fault; it is Hachibei who is a rogue;\nit is Matsu who is a bad woman.\" They content themselves with looking\nat the faults of others, and do not examine their own consciences, nor\nsearch their own hearts. Is not this a cruel state of things? They set\nup a hue and cry for a lost dog or a pet chicken, but for this\nall-important soul of theirs they make no search. What mistaken\npeople! For this reason the sages, mourning over such a state of\nthings, have taught us what is the right path of man; and it is the\nreceiving of this teaching that is called learning. The main object of\nlearning is the examination and searching of our own hearts; therefore\nthe text says, \"The true path of learning has no other function than\nto teach us how to reclaim lost souls.\" This is an exhaustive\nexposition of the functions of learning. That learning has no other\nobject, we have this gracious pledge and guarantee from the sage. As\nfor the mere study of the antiquities and annals of China and Japan,\nand investigation into literature, these cannot be called learning,\nwhich is above all things an affair of the soul. All the commentaries\nand all the books of all the teachers in the world are but so many\ndirectories by which to find out the whereabouts of our own souls.\nThis search after our own souls is that which I alluded to just now as\nthe examination of our consciences. To disregard the examination of\nour consciences is a terrible thing, of which it is impossible to\nforesee the end; on the other hand, to practise it is most admirable,\nfor by this means we can on the spot attain filial piety and fidelity\nto our masters. Virtue and vice are the goals to which the examination\nand non-examination of our consciences lead. As it has been rightly\nsaid, benevolence and malice are the two roads which man follows. Upon\nthis subject I have a terrible and yet a very admirable story to tell\nyou. Although I dare say you are very drowsy, I must beg you to listen\nto me.\n\nIn a certain part of the country there was a well-to-do farmer, whose\nmarriage had brought him one son, whom he petted beyond all measure,\nas a cow licks her calf. So by degrees the child became very sly: he\nused to pull the horses' tails, and blow smoke into the bulls'\nnostrils, and bully the neighbours' children in petty ways and make\nthem cry. From a peevish child he grew to be a man, and unbearably\nundutiful to his parents. Priding himself on a little superior\nstrength, he became a drunkard and a gambler, and learned to wrestle\nat fairs. He would fight and quarrel for a trifle, and spent his time\nin debauchery and riotous living. If his parents remonstrated with\nhim, he would raise his voice and abuse them, using scurrilous\nlanguage. \"It's all very well your abusing me for being dissolute and\ndisobedient. But, pray, who asked you to bring me into the world? You\nbrought me into the world, and I have to thank you for its miseries;\nso now, if you hate dissolute people, you had better put me back where\nI came from, and I shall be all right again.\" This was the sort of\ninsolent answer he would give his parents, who, at their wits' end,\nbegan to grow old in years. And as he by degrees grew more and more of\na bully, unhappy as he made them, still he was their darling, and they\ncould not find it in their hearts to turn him out of the house and\ndisinherit him. So they let him pursue his selfish course; and he went\non from worse to worse, knocking people down, breaking their arms, and\ngetting up great disturbances. It is unnecessary to speak of his\nparents' feelings. Even his relations and friends felt as if nails\nwere being hammered into their breasts. He was a thoroughly wicked\nman.\n\nNow no one is from his mother's womb so wicked as this; but those who\npersist in selfishness lose their senses, and gradually reach this\npitch of wickedness. What a terrible thing is this throwing away of\nour hearts!\n\nWell, this man's relations and friends very properly urged his\nparents to disown him; but he was an only child, and so his parents,\nalthough they said, \"To-day we really will disinherit him,\" or\n\"To-morrow we really will break off all relations with him,\" still it\nwas all empty talk; and the years and months passed by, until the\nscapegrace reached his twenty-sixth year, having heaped wickedness\nupon wickedness; and who can tell how much trouble he brought upon his\nfamily, who were always afraid of hearing of some new enormity? At\nlast they held a family council, and told the parents that matters had\ncome to such a pass that if they did not disown their son the rest of\nthe family must needs break off all communication with them: if he\nwere allowed to go on in his evil courses, the whole village, not to\nspeak of his relations, would be disgraced; so either the parents,\nagainst whom, however, there was no ill-will felt, must be cut by the\nfamily, or they must disinherit their son: to this appeal they begged\nto have a distinct answer. The parents, reflecting that to separate\nthemselves from their relations, even for the sake of their own son,\nwould be an act of disrespect to their ancestors, determined to invite\ntheir relations to assemble and draw up a petition to the Government\nfor leave to disinherit their son, to which petition the family would\nall affix their seals according to form; so they begged them to come\nin the evening, and bring their seals with them. This was their\nanswer.\n\nThere is an old saw which says, \"The old cow licks her calf, and the\ntigress carries her cub in her mouth.\" If the instinct of beasts and\nbirds prompt them to love their young, how much the more must it be a\nbitter thing for a man to have to disown his own son! All this trouble\nwas the consequence of this youth casting his heart from him. Had he\nexamined his own conscience, the storm of waves and of wind would not\nhave arisen, and all would have been calm. But as he refused to listen\nto his conscience, his parents, much against their will, were forced\nto visit him with the punishment of disinheritance, which he had\nbrought upon himself. A sad thing indeed! In the poems of his\nReverence Tokuhon, a modern poet, there is the following passage:\n\"Since Buddha thus winds himself round our hearts, let the man who\ndares to disregard him fear for his life.\" The allusion is to the\ngreat mercy and love of the gods. The gods wish to make men examine\ntheir consciences, and, day and night, help men to discern that which\nis evil; but, although they point out our desires and pleasures, our\nlusts and passions, as things to be avoided, men turn their backs upon\ntheir own consciences. The love of the gods is like the love of\nparents for their children, and men treat the gods as undutiful\nchildren treat their parents. \"Men who dare to disregard the gods, let\nthem fear for their lives.\" I pray you who hear me, one and all, to\nexamine your own consciences and be saved.\n\nTo return to the story of the vagabond son. As it happened, that day\nhe was gambling in a neighbouring village, when a friend from his own\nplace came up and told him that his relations had met together to\ndisinherit him; and that, fine fellow as he was, he would find it a\nterrible thing to be disowned. Before he had heard him half out, the\nother replied in a loud voice--\n\n\"What, do you mean to say that they are holding a family council\nto-night to disinherit me? What a good joke! I'm sure I don't want to\nbe always seeing my father's and mother's blubbering faces; it makes\nme quite sick to think of them: it's quite unbearable. I'm able to\ntake care of myself; and, if I choose to go over to China, or to live\nin India, I should like to know who is to prevent me? This is the very\nthing above all others for me. I'll go off to the room where they are\nall assembled, and ask them why they want to disinherit me. I'll just\nswagger like Danjur\u00f4 [91] the actor, and frighten them into giving me\nfifty or seventy ounces of silver to get rid of me, and put the money\nin my purse, and be off to Ki\u00f4to or Osaka, where I'll set up a\ntea-house on my own account; and enjoy myself to my heart's content! I\nhope this will be a great night for me, so I'll just drink a cup of\nwine for luck beforehand.\"\n\n[Footnote 91: A famous actor of Yedo, who lived 195 years ago. He was\nborn at Sakura, in Shim\u00f4sa.]\n\nAnd so, with a lot of young devils of his own sort, be fell to\ndrinking wine in teacups,[92] so that before nightfall they were all\nas drunk as mud. Well, then, on the strength of this wine, as he was\nsetting out for his father's house, he said, \"Now, then, to try my\nluck,\" and stuck a long dirk in his girdle. He reached his own village\njust before nightfall, thinking to burst into the place where he\nimagined his relations to be gathered together, turning their\nwisdom-pockets inside out, to shake out their small provision of\nintelligence in consultation; and he fancied that, if he blustered and\nbullied, he would certainly get a hundred ounces of silver out of\nthem. Just as he was about to enter the house, he reflected--\n\n[Footnote 92: The ordinary wine-cup holding only a thimbleful, to\ndrink wine out of teacups is a great piece of debauchery--like\ndrinking brandy in tumblers.]\n\n\"If I show my face in the room where my relations are gathered\ntogether, they will all look down on the ground and remain silent; so\nif I go in shouting and raging, it will be quite out of harmony; but\nif they abuse me, then I shall be in the right if I jump in on them\nand frighten them well. The best plan will be for me to step out of\nthe bamboo grove which is behind the house, and to creep round the\nverandah, and I can listen to these fellows holding their\nconsultation: they will certainly be raking up all sorts of scandal\nabout me. It will be all in harmony, then, if I kick down the shutters\nand sliding-doors with a noise like thunder. And what fun it will be!\"\n\nAs he thought thus to himself, he pulled off his iron-heeled sandals,\nand stuck them in his girdle, and, girding up his dress round his\nwaist, left the bamboo grove at the back of the house, and, jumping\nover the garden wicket, went round the verandah and looked in. Peeping\nthrough a chink in the shutters, he could see his relations gathered\ntogether in council, speaking in whispers. The family were sitting in\na circle, and one and all were affixing their seals to the petition of\ndisinheritance. At last, having passed from hand to hand, the document\ncame round to where the two parents were sitting. Their son, seeing\nthis, said--\n\n\"Come, now, it's win or lose! My parents' signing the paper shall be\nthe sign for me to kick open the door and jump into the middle of\nthem.\"\n\nSo, getting ready for a good kick, he held his breath and looked on.\n\nWhat terrible perversion man can allow his heart to come to! M\u00f4shi has\nsaid that man by nature is good; but although not a particle of fault\ncan be found with what he has said, when the evil we have learned\nbecomes a second nature, men reach this fearful degree of wickedness.\nWhen men come to this pass, K\u00f4shi[93] and M\u00f4shi themselves might\npreach to them for a thousand days, and they would not have strength\nto reform. Such hardened sinners deserve to be roasted in iron pots in\nthe nethermost hell. Now, I am going to tell you how it came about\nthat the vagabond son turned over a new leaf and became dutiful, and\nfinally entered paradise. The poet says, \"Although the hearts of\nparents are not surrounded by dark night, how often they stray from\nthe right road in their affection for their children!\"\n\n[Footnote 93: K\u00f4shi is the Japanese pronunciation of the name of the\nChinese philosopher Kung Ts[=u], or Kung Fu Ts[=u], whom we call\nConfucius.]\n\nWhen the petition of disinheritance came round to the place where the\ntwo parents were sitting, the mother lifted up her voice and wept\naloud; and the father, clenching his toothless gums to conceal his\nemotion, remained with his head bent down: presently, in a husky\nvoice, he said, \"Wife, give me the seal!\"\n\nBut she returned no answer, and with tears in her eyes took a leather\npurse, containing the seal, out of a drawer of the cupboard and placed\nit before her husband. All this time the vagabond son, holding his\nbreath, was peeping in from outside the shutters. In the meanwhile,\nthe old man slowly untied the strings of the purse, and took out the\nseal, and smeared on the colouring matter. Just as he was about to\nseal the document, his wife clutched at his hand and said, \"Oh, pray\nwait a little.\"\n\nThe father replied, \"Now that all our relations are looking on, you\nmust not speak in this weak manner.\"\n\nBut she would not listen to what he said, but went on--\n\n\"Pray listen to what I have to say. It is true that if we were to give\nover our house to our undutiful son, in less than three years the\ngrass would be growing in its place, for he would be ruined. Still, if\nwe disinherit our child--the only child that we have, either in heaven\nor upon earth--we shall have to adopt another in his place. Although,\nif the adopted son turned out honest and dutiful, and inherited our\nproperty, all would be well; still, what certainty is there of his\ndoing so? If, on the other hand, the adopted son turned out to be a\nprodigal, and laid waste our house, what unlucky parents we should\nbe! And who can say that this would not be the case? If we are to be\nruined for the sake of an equally wicked adopted son, I had rather\nlose our home for the sake of our own son, and, leaving out old\nfamiliar village as beggars, seek for our lost boy on foot. This is my\nfervent wish. During fifty years that we have lived together, this has\nbeen the only favour that I have ever asked of you. Pray listen to my\nprayer, and put a stop to this act of disinheritance. Even though I\nshould become a beggar for my son's sake, I could feel no resentment\nagainst him.\"\n\nSo she spoke, sobbing aloud. The relations, who heard this, looked\nround at one another, and watched the father to see what he would do;\nand he (who knows with what thoughts in his head?) put back the seal\ninto the leather purse, and quickly drew the strings together, and\npushed back the petition to the relations.\n\n\"Certainly,\" said he, \"I have lost countenance, and am disgraced\nbefore all my family; however, I think that what the good wife has\njust said is right and proper, and from henceforth I renounce all\nthoughts of disinheriting my son. Of course you will all see a\nweakness of purpose in what I say, and laugh at me as the cause of my\nson's undutiful conduct. But laugh away: it won't hurt me. Certainly,\nif I don't disinherit this son of mine, my house will be ruined before\nthree years are over our heads. To lay waste the house of generations\nupon generations of my ancestors is a sin against those ancestors; of\nthis I am well aware. Further, if I don't disinherit my son, you\ngentlemen will all shun me. I know that I am cutting myself off from\nmy relations. Of course you think that when I leave this place I shall\nbe dunning you to bestow your charity upon me; and that is why you\nwant to break off relations with me. Pray don't make yourselves\nuneasy. I care no more for my duties to the world, for my impiety to\nmy ancestors, or for my separation from my family. Our son is our only\ndarling, and we mean to go after him, following him as beggars on\nfoot. This is our desire. We shall trouble you for no alms and for no\ncharity. However we may die, we have but one life to lose. For our\ndarling son's sake, we will lay ourselves down and die by the\nroadside. There our bodies shall be manure for the trees of the\navenue. And all this we will endure cheerfully, and not utter a\ncomplaint. Make haste and return home, therefore, all of you. From\nto-morrow we are no longer on speaking terms. As for what you may say\nto me on my son's account, I do not care.\"\n\nAnd as his wife had done, he lifted up his voice and wept, shedding\nmanly tears. As for her, when she heard that the act of disinheritance\nwas not to be drawn up, her tears were changed to tears of joy. The\nrest of the family remained in mute astonishment at so unheard-of a\nthing, and could only stare at the faces of the two old people.\n\nYou see how bewildered parents must be by their love for their\nchildren, to be so merciful towards them. As a cat carrying her young\nin her mouth screens it from the sun at one time and brings it under\nthe light at another, so parents act by their children, screening\ntheir bad points and bringing out in relief their good qualities. They\ncare neither for the abuse of others, nor for their duties to their\nancestors, nor for the wretched future in store for themselves.\nCarried away by their infatuation for their children, and intoxicated\nupon intoxication, the hearts of parents are to be pitied for their\npitifulness. It is not only the two parents in my story who are in\nthis plight; the hearts of all parents of children all over the world\nare the same. In the poems of the late learned Ishida it is written,\n\"When I look round me and see the hearts of parents bewildered by\ntheir love for their children, I reflect that my own father and mother\nmust be like them.\" This is certainly a true saying.\n\nTo return to the story: the halo of his parents' great kindness and\npity penetrated the very bowels of the prodigal son. What an admirable\nthing! When he heard it, terrible and sly devil as he had been, he\nfelt as if his whole body had been squeezed in a press; and somehow or\nother, although the tears rose in his breast, he could not for shame\nlift up his voice and weep. Biting the sleeve of his dress, he lay\ndown on the ground and shed tears in silence. What says the verse of\nthe reverend priest Eni? \"To shed tears of gratitude one knows not\nwhy.\" A very pretty poem indeed! So then the vagabond son, in his\ngratitude to his parents, could neither stand nor sit. You see the\noriginal heart of man is by nature bright virtue, but by our selfish\npursuit of our own inclinations the brilliancy of our original virtue\nis hidden.\n\nTo continue: the prodigal was pierced to the core by the great mercy\nshown by his parents, and the brilliancy of his own original good\nheart was enticed back to him. The sunlight came forth, and what\nbecame of all the clouds of self-will and selfishness? The clouds were\nall dispelled, and from the bottom of his soul there sprang the desire\nto thank his parents for their goodness. We all know the story of the\nrush-cutter who saw the moon rising between the trees on a moorland\nhill so brightly, that he fancied it must have been scoured with the\nscouring-rush which grew near the spot. When a man, who has been\nespecially wicked, repents and returns to his original heart, he\nbecomes all the more excellent, and his brightness is as that of the\nrising moon scoured. What an admirable thing this is! So the son\nthought to enter the room at once and beg his parents' forgiveness;\nbut he thought to himself, \"Wait a bit. If I burst suddenly into the\nroom like this, the relations will all be frightened and not know what\nto make of it, and this will be a trouble to my parents. I will put on\nan innocent face, as if I did not know what has been going on, and\nI'll go in by the front door, and beg the relations to intercede for\nme with my parents.\" With stealthy step he left the back of the house,\nand went round to the front. When he arrived there, he purposely made\na great noise with his iron-heeled sandals, and gave a loud cough to\nclear his throat, and entered the room. The relations were all\ngreatly alarmed; and his parents, when they saw the face of their\nwicked son, both shed tears. As for the son, he said not a word, but\nremained weeping, with his head bent down. After a while, he addressed\nthe relations and said, \"Although I have frequently been threatened\nwith disinheritance, and although in those days I made light of it,\nto-night, when I heard that this family council had assembled, I\nsomehow or other felt my heart beset by anxiety and grief. However I\nmay have heaped wickedness upon wickedness up to the present moment,\nas I shall certainly now mend my ways, I pray you to delay for a while\nto-night's act of disinheritance. I do not venture to ask for a long\ndelay,--I ask but for thirty days; and if within that time I shall not\nhave given proofs of repentance, disinherit me: I shall not have a\nword to say. I pray you, gentlemen, to intercede with my parents that\nthey may grant this delay of thirty days, and to present them my\nhumble apologies.\" With this he rubbed his head on the mat, as a\nhumble suppliant, in a manner most foreign to his nature.\n\nThe relations, after hearing the firm and resolute answer of the\nparents, had shifted about in their places; but, although they were on\nthe point of leaving the house, had remained behind, sadly out of\nharmony; when the son came in, and happily with a word set all in tune\nagain. So the relations addressed the parents, and said, \"Pray defer\nto-night's affair;\" and laid the son's apologies at their feet. As for\nthe parents, who would not have disinherited their son even had he not\nrepented, how much the more when they heard what he said did they weep\nfor joy; and the relations, delighted at the happy event, exhorted the\nson to become really dutiful; and so that night's council broke up. So\nthis son in the turn of a hand became a pious son, and the way in\nwhich he served his parents was that of a tender and loving child. His\nformer evil ways he extinguished utterly.\n\nThe fame of this story rose high in the world; and, before half a year\nhad passed, it reached the ears of the lord of the manor, who, when he\nhad put on his noble spectacles and investigated the case, appointed\nthe son to be the head man of his village. You may judge by this what\nthis son's filial piety effected. Three years after these events, his\nmother, who was on her death-bed, very sick, called for him and said,\n\"When some time since the consultation was being held about\ndisinheriting you, by some means or other your heart was turned, and\nsince then you have been a dutiful son above all others. If at that\ntime you had not repented, and I had died in the meanwhile, my soul\nwould have gone to hell without fail, because of my foolish conduct\ntowards you. But, now that you have repented, there is nothing that\nweighs upon me, and there can be no mistake about my going to\nparadise. So the fact of my becoming one of the saints will all be the\nwork of your filial piety.\" And the story goes, that with these words\nthe mother, lifting up her hands in prayer, died.\n\nTo be sure, by the deeds of the present life we may obtain a glimpse\ninto the future. If a man's heart is troubled by his misdeeds in this\nlife, it will again be tortured in the next. The troubled heart is\nhell. The heart at rest is paradise. The trouble or peace of parents\ndepends upon their children. If their children are virtuous, parents\nare as the saints: if their children are wicked, parents suffer the\ntortures of the damned. If once your youthful spirits, in a fit of\nheedlessness, have led you to bring trouble upon your parents and\ncause them to weep, just consider the line of argument which I have\nbeen following. From this time forth repent and examine your own\nhearts. If you will become dutiful, your parents from this day will\nlive happy as the saints. But if you will not repent, but persist in\nyour evil ways, your parents will suffer the pains of hell. Heaven and\nhell are matters of repentance or non-repentance. Repentance is the\nfinding of the lost heart, and is also the object of learning. I shall\nspeak to you further upon this point to-morrow evening.\n\n\n\n\nSERMON III\n\n(THE SERMONS OF KIU-\u00d4, VOL. 1)\n\n\nM\u00f4shi has said, \"There is the third finger. If a man's third or\nnameless finger be bent, so that he cannot straighten it, although his\nbent finger may cause him no pain, still if he hears of some one who\ncan cure it, he will think nothing of undertaking a long journey from\n_Shin_ to _So_[94] to consult him upon this deformed finger; for he\nknows it is to be hateful to have a finger unlike those of other men.\nBut he cares not a jot if his heart be different to that of other men;\nand this is how men disregard the true order of things.\"\n\n[Footnote 94: Ancient divisions of China.]\n\nNow this is the next chapter to the one about benevolence being the\ntrue heart of man, which I expounded to you the other night. True\nlearning has no other aim than that of reclaiming lost souls; and, in\nconnection with this, M\u00f4shi has thus again declared in a parable the\nall-importance of the human heart.\n\nThe nameless finger is that which is next to the little finger. The\nthumb is called the parent-finger; the first finger is called the\nindex; the long is called the middle finger; but the third finger has\nno name. It is true that it is sometimes called the finger for\napplying rouge; but that is only a name given it by ladies, and is not\nin general use. So, having no name, it is called the nameless finger.\nAnd how comes it to have no name? Why, because it is of all the\nfingers the least useful. When we clutch at or grasp things, we do so\nby the strength of the thumb and little finger. If a man scratches his\nhead, he does it with the forefinger; if he wishes to test the heat of\nthe wine[95] in the kettle, he uses the little finger. Thus, although\neach finger has its uses and duties, the nameless finger alone is of\nno use: it is not in our way if we have it, and we do not miss it if\nwe lose it. Of the whole body it is the meanest member: if it be\ncrooked so that we cannot straighten it, it neither hurts nor itches;\nas M\u00f4shi says in the text, it causes no pain; even if we were without\nit, we should be none the worse off. Hence, what though it should be\nbent, it would be better, since it causes no pain, to leave it as it\nis. Yet if a person, having such a crooked finger, hears of a clever\ndoctor who can set it straight, no matter at how great a distance he\nmay be, he will be off to consult this doctor. And pray why? Because\nhe feels ashamed of having a finger a little different from the rest\nof the world, and so he wants to be cured, and will think nothing of\ntravelling from Shin to So--a distance of a thousand miles--for the\npurpose. To be sure, men are very susceptible and keenly alive to a\nsense of shame; and in this they are quite right. The feeling of shame\nat what is wrong is the commencement of virtue. The perception of\nshame is inborn in men; but there are two ways of perceiving shame.\nThere are some men who are sensible of shame for what regards their\nbodies, but who are ignorant of shame for what concerns their hearts;\nand a terrible mistake they make. There is nothing which can be\ncompared in importance to the heart. The heart is said to be the lord\nof the body, which it rules as a master rules his house. Shall the\nlord, who is the heart, be ailing and his sickness be neglected, while\nhis servants, who are the members only, are cared for? If the knee be\nlacerated, apply tinder to stop the bleeding; if the moxa should\nsuppurate, spread a plaster; if a cold be caught, prepare medicine and\ngarlic and gruel, and ginger wine! For a trifle, you will doctor and\ncare for your bodies, and yet for your hearts you will take no care.\nAlthough you are born of mankind, if your hearts resemble those of\ndevils, of foxes, of snakes, or of crows, rather than the hearts of\nmen, you take no heed, caring for your bodies alone. Whence can you\nhave fallen into such a mistake? It is a folly of old standing too,\nfor it was to that that M\u00f4shi pointed when he said that to be\ncognizant of a deformed finger and ignore the deformities of the soul\nwas to disregard the true order of things. This is what it is, not to\ndistinguish between that which is important and that which is\nunimportant--to pick up a trifle and pass by something of value. The\ninstinct of man prompts him to prefer the great to the small, the\nimportant to the unimportant.\n\n[Footnote 95: Wine is almost always drunk hot.]\n\nIf a man is invited out to a feast by his relations or acquaintances,\nwhen the guests are assembled and the principal part of the feast has\ndisappeared, he looks all round him, with the eyeballs starting out of\nhis head, and glares at his neighbours, and, comparing the little\ntitbits of roast fowl or fish put before them, sees that they are\nabout half an inch bigger than those set before him; then, blowing out\nhis belly with rage, he thinks, \"What on earth can the host be about?\nMaster Tarubei is a guest, but so am I: what does the fellow mean by\nhelping me so meanly? There must be some malice or ill-will here.\" And\nso his mind is prejudiced against the host. Just be so good as to\nreflect upon this. Does a man show his spite by grudging a bit of\nroast fowl or meat? And yet even in such trifles as these do men show\nhow they try to obtain what is great, and show their dislike of what\nis small. How can men be conscious of shame for a deformed finger, and\ncount it as no misfortune that their hearts are crooked? That is how\nthey abandon the substance for the shadow.\n\nM\u00f4shi severely censures the disregard of the true order of things.\nWhat mistaken and bewildered creatures men are! What says the old\nsong? \"Hidden far among the mountains, the tree which seems to be\nrotten, if its core be yet alive, may be made to bear flowers.\" What\nsignifies it if the hand or the foot be deformed? The heart is the\nimportant thing. If the heart be awry, what though your skin be fair,\nyour nose aquiline, your hair beautiful? All these strike the eye\nalone, and are utterly useless. It is as if you were to put horse-dung\ninto a gold-lacquer luncheon-box. This is what is called a fair\noutside, deceptive in appearance.\n\nThere's the scullery-maid been washing out the pots at the kitchen\nsink, and the scullion Chokichi comes up and says to her, \"You've got\na lot of charcoal smut sticking to your nose,\" and points out to her\nthe ugly spot. The scullery-maid is delighted to be told of this, and\nanswers, \"Really! whereabouts is it?\" Then she twists a towel round\nher finger, and, bending her head till mouth and forehead are almost\non a level, she squints at her nose, and twiddles away with her\nfingers as if she were the famous Got\u00f4[96] at work, carving the\nornaments of a sword-handle. \"I say, Master Chokichi, is it off yet?\"\n\"Not a bit of it. You've smeared it all over your cheeks now.\" \"Oh\ndear! oh dear! where can it be?\" And so she uses the water-basin as a\nlooking-glass, and washes her face clean; then she says to herself,\n\"What a dear boy Chokichi is!\" and thinks it necessary, out of\ngratitude, to give him relishes with his supper by the ladleful, and\nthanks him over and over again. But if this same Chokichi were to come\nup to her and say, \"Now, really, how lazy you are! I wish you could\nmanage to be rather less of a shrew,\" what do you think the\nscullery-maid would answer then? Reflect for a moment. \"Drat the boy's\nimpudence! If I were of a bad heart or an angular disposition, should\nI be here helping him? You go and be hung! You see if I take the\ntrouble to wash your dirty bedclothes for you any more.\" And she gets\nto be a perfect devil, less only the horns.\n\n[Footnote 96: A famous gold- and silver-smith of the olden time. A\nBenvenuto Cellini among the Japanese. His mark on a piece of metal\nwork enhances its value tenfold.]\n\nThere are other people besides the poor scullery-maid who are in the\nsame way. \"Excuse me, Mr. Gundabei, but the embroidered crest on your\ndress of ceremony seems to be a little on one side.\" Mr. Gundabei\nproceeds to adjust his dress with great precision. \"Thank you, sir. I\nam ten million times obliged to you for your care. If ever there\nshould be any matter in which I can be of service to you, I beg that\nyou will do me the favour of letting me know;\" and, with a beaming\nface, he expresses his gratitude. Now for the other side of the\npicture. \"Really, Mr. Gundabei, you are very foolish; you don't seem\nto understand at all. I beg you to be of a frank and honest heart: it\nreally makes me quite sad to see a man's heart warped in this way.\"\nWhat is his answer? He turns his sword in his girdle ready to draw,\nand plays the devil's tattoo upon the hilt: it looks as if it must end\nin a fight soon.\n\nIn fact, if you help a man in anything which has to do with a fault\nof the body, he takes it very kindly, and sets about mending matters.\nIf any one helps another to rectify a fault of the heart, he has to\ndeal with a man in the dark, who flies in a rage, and does not care to\namend. How out of tune all this is! And yet there are men who are\nbewildered up to this point. Nor is this a special and extraordinary\nfailing. This mistaken perception of the great and the small, of\ncolour and of substance, is common to us all--to you and to me.\n\nPlease give me your attention. The form strikes the eye; but the heart\nstrikes not the eye. Therefore, that the heart should be distorted and\nturned awry causes no pain. This all results from the want of sound\njudgment; and that is why we cannot afford to be careless.\n\nThe master of a certain house calls his servant Chokichi, who sits\ndozing in the kitchen. \"Here, Chokichi! The guests are all gone; come\nand clear away the wine and fish in the back room.\"\n\nChokichi rubs his eyes, and with a sulky answer goes into the back\nroom, and, looking about him, sees all the nice things paraded on the\ntrays and in the bowls. It's wonderful how his drowsiness passes away:\nno need for any one to hurry him now. His eyes glare with greed, as he\nsays, \"Hullo! here's a lot of tempting things! There's only just one\nhelp of that omelette left in the tray. What a hungry lot of guests!\nWhat's this? It looks like fish rissoles;\" and with this he picks out\none, and crams his mouth full; when, on one side, a mess of young\ncuttlefish, in a Chinese[97] porcelain bowl, catches his eyes. There\nthe little beauties sit in a circle, like Buddhist priests in\nreligious meditation! \"Oh, goodness! how nice!\" and just as he is\ndipping his finger and thumb in, he hears his master's footstep; and\nknowing that he is doing wrong, he crams his prize into the pocket of\nhis sleeve, and stoops down to take away the wine-kettle and cups; and\nas he does this, out tumble the cuttlefish from his sleeve. The master\nsees it.\n\n[Footnote 97: Curiosities, such as porcelain or enamel or carved jade\nfrom China, are highly esteemed by the Japanese. A great quantity of\nthe porcelain of Japan is stamped with counterfeit Chinese marks of\nthe Ming dynasty.]\n\n\"What's that?\"\n\nChokichi, pretending not to know what has happened, beats the mats,\nand keeps on saying, \"Come again the day before yesterday; come again\nthe day before yesterday.\"[98]\n\n[Footnote 98: An incantation used to invite spiders, which are\nconsidered unlucky by the superstitious, to come again at the Greek\nKalends.]\n\nBut it's no use his trying to persuade his master that the little\ncuttlefish are spiders, for they are not the least like them. It's no\nuse hiding things,--they are sure to come to light; and so it is with\nthe heart,--its purposes will out. If the heart is enraged, the dark\nveins stand out on the forehead; if the heart is grieved, tears rise\nto the eyes; if the heart is joyous, dimples appear in the cheeks; if\nthe heart is merry, the face smiles: thus it is that the face reflects\nthe emotions of the heart. It is not because the eyes are filled with\ntears that the heart is sad; nor because the veins stand out on the\nforehead that the heart is enraged. It is the heart which leads the\nway in everything. All the important sensations of the heart are\napparent in the outward appearance. In the \"Great Learning\" of K\u00f4shi\nit is written, \"The truth of what is within appears upon the surface.\"\nHow then is the heart a thing which can be hidden? To answer when\nreproved, to hum tunes when scolded, show a diseased heart; and if\nthis disease is not quickly taken in hand, it will become chronic, and\nthe remedy become difficult: perhaps the disease may be so virulent\nthat even Giba and Henjaku[99] in consultation could not effect a\ncure. So, before the disease has gained strength, I invite you to the\nstudy of the moral essays entitled _Shin-gaku_ (the Learning of the\nHeart). If you once arrive at the possession of your heart as it was\noriginally by nature, what an admirable thing that will be! In that\ncase your conscience will point out to you even the slightest wrong\nbias or selfishness.\n\n[Footnote 99: Two famous Indian and Chinese physicians.]\n\nWhile upon this subject, I may tell you a story which was related to\nme by a friend of mine. It is a story which the master of a certain\nmoney-changer's shop used to be very fond of telling. An important\npart of a money-changer's business is to distinguish between good and\nbad gold and silver. In the different establishments, the ways of\nteaching the apprentices this art vary; however, the plan adopted by\nthe money-changer was as follows:--At first he would show them no bad\nsilver, but would daily put before them good money only; when they had\nbecome thoroughly familiar with the sight of good money, if he\nstealthily put a little base coin among the good, he found that they\nwould detect it immediately,--they saw it as plainly as you see things\nwhen you throw light on a mirror. This faculty of detecting base money\nat a glance was the result of having learned thoroughly to understand\ngood money. Having once been taught in this way, the apprentices would\nnot make a mistake about a piece of base coin during their whole\nlives, as I have heard. I can't vouch for the truth of this; but it is\nvery certain that the principle, applied to moral instruction, is an\nexcellent one,--it is a most safe mode of study. However, I was\nfurther told that if, after having thus learned to distinguish good\nmoney, a man followed some other trade for six months or a year, and\ngave up handling money, he would become just like any other\ninexperienced person, unable to distinguish the good from the base.\n\nPlease reflect upon this attentively. If you once render yourself\nfamiliar with the nature of the uncorrupted heart, from that time\nforth you will be immediately conscious of the slightest inclination\ntowards bias or selfishness. And why? Because the natural heart is\nillumined. When a man has once learned that which is perfect, he will\nnever consent to accept that which is imperfect; but if, after having\nacquired this knowledge, he again keeps his natural heart at a\ndistance, and gradually forgets to recognize that which is perfect, he\nfinds himself in the dark again, and that he can no longer distinguish\nbase money from good. I beg you to take care. If a man falls into bad\nhabits, he is no longer able to perceive the difference between the\ngood impulses of his natural heart and the evil impulses of his\ncorrupt heart. With this benighted heart as a starting-point, he can\ncarry out none of his intentions, and he has to lift his shoulders\nsighing and sighing again. A creature much to be pitied indeed! Then\nhe loses all self-reliance, so that, although it would be better for\nhim to hold his tongue and say nothing about it, if he is in the\nslightest trouble or distress, he goes and confesses the crookedness\nof his heart to every man he meets. What a wretched state for a man to\nbe in! For this reason, I beg you to learn thoroughly the true silver\nof the heart, in order that you may make no mistake about the base\ncoin. I pray that you and I, during our whole lives, may never leave\nthe path of true principles.\n\nI have an amusing story to tell you in connection with this, if you\nwill be so good as to listen.\n\nOnce upon a time, when the autumn nights were beginning to grow\nchilly, five or six tradesmen in easy circumstances had assembled\ntogether to have a chat; and, having got ready their picnic box and\nwine-flask, went off to a temple on the hills, where a friendly priest\nlived, that they might listen to the stags roaring. With this\nintention they went to call upon the priest, and borrowed the guests'\napartments[100] of the monastery; and as they were waiting to hear the\ndeer roar, some of the party began to compose poetry. One would write\na verse of Chinese poetry, and another would write a verse of\nseventeen syllables; and as they were passing the wine-cup the hour of\nsunset came, but not a deer had uttered a call; eight o'clock came,\nand ten o'clock came; still not a sound from the deer.\n\n[Footnote 100: All the temples in China and Japan have guests'\napartments, which may be secured for a trifle, either for a long or\nshort period. It is false to suppose that there is any desecration of\na sacred shrine in the act of using it as a hostelry; it is the custom\nof the country.]\n\n\"What can this mean?\" said one. \"The deer surely ought to be roaring.\"\n\nBut, in spite of their waiting, the deer would not roar. At last the\nfriends got sleepy, and, bored with writing songs and verses, began to\nyawn, and gave up twaddling about the woes and troubles of life; and\nas they were all silent, one of them, a man fifty years of age,\nstopping the circulation of the wine-cup, said--\n\n\"Well, certainly, gentlemen, thanks to you, we have spent the evening\nin very pleasant conversation. However, although I am enjoying myself\nmightily in this way, my people at home must be getting anxious, and\nso I begin to think that we ought to leave off drinking.\"\n\n\"Why so?\" said the others.\n\n\"Well, I'll tell you. You know that my only son is twenty-two years of\nage this year, and a troublesome fellow be is, too. When I'm at home,\nhe lends a hand sulkily enough in the shop: but as soon as he no\nlonger sees the shadow of me, he hoists sail and is off to some bad\nhaunt. Although our relations and connections are always preaching to\nhim, not a word has any more effect that wind blowing into a horse's\near. When I think that I shall have to leave my property to such a\nfellow as that, it makes my heart grow small indeed. Although, thanks\nto those to whom I have succeeded, I want for nothing, still, when I\nthink of my son, I shed tears of blood night and day.\"\n\nAnd as he said this with a sigh, a man of some forty-five or forty-six\nyears said--\n\n\"No, no; although you make so much of your misfortunes, your son is\nbut a little extravagant after all. There's no such great cause for\ngrief there. I've got a very different story to tell. Of late years my\nshopmen, for one reason or another, have been running me into debt,\nthinking nothing of a debt of fifty or seventy ounces; and so the\nledgers get all wrong. Just think of that. Here have I been keeping\nthese fellows ever since they were little children unable to blow\ntheir own noses, and now, as soon as they come to be a little useful\nin the shop, they begin running up debts, and are no good whatever to\ntheir master. You see, you only have to spend your money upon your own\nson.\"\n\nThen another gentleman said--\n\n\"Well, I think that to spend money upon your shop-people is no such\ngreat hardship after all. Now I've been in something like trouble\nlately. I can't get a penny out of my customers. One man owes me\nfifteen ounces; another owes me twenty-five ounces. Really that is\nenough to make a man feel as if his heart was worn away.\"\n\nWhen he had finished speaking, an old gentleman, who was sitting\nopposite, playing with his fan, said--\n\n\"Certainly, gentlemen, your grievances are not without cause; still,\nto be perpetually asked for a little money, or to back a bill, by\none's relations or friends, and to have a lot of hangers-on dependent\non one, as I have, is a worse case still.\"\n\nBut before the old gentleman had half finished speaking, his neighbour\ncalled out--\n\n\"No, no; all you gentlemen are in luxury compared to me. Please listen\nto what I have to suffer. My wife and my mother can't hit it off\nanyhow. All day long they're like a couple of cows butting at one\nanother with their horns. The house is as unendurable as if it were\nfull of smoke. I often think it would be better to send my wife back\nto her village; but then I've got two little children. If I interfere\nand take my wife's part, my mother gets low-spirited. If I scold my\nwife, she says that I treat her so brutally because she's not of the\nsame flesh and blood; and then she hates me. The trouble and anxiety\nare beyond description: I'm like a post stuck up between them.\"\n\nAnd so they all twaddled away in chorus, each about his own troubles.\nAt last one of the gentlemen, recollecting himself, said--\n\n\"Well, gentlemen, certainly the deer ought to be roaring; but we've\nbeen so engrossed with our conversation, that we don't know whether we\nhave missed hearing them or not.\"\n\nWith this he pulled aside the sliding-door of the verandah and looked\nout, and, lo and behold! a great big stag was standing perfectly\nsilent in front of the garden.\n\n\"Hullo!\" said the man to the deer, \"what's this? Since you've been\nthere all the time, why did you not roar?\"\n\nThen the stag answered, with an innocent face--\n\n\"Oh, I came here to listen to the lamentations of you gentlemen.\"\n\nIsn't that a funny story?\n\nOld and young, men and women, rich and poor, never cease grumbling\nfrom morning till night. All this is the result of a diseased heart.\nIn short, for the sake of a very trifling inclination or selfish\npursuit, they will do any wrong in order to effect that which is\nimpossible. This is want of judgment, and this brings all sorts of\ntrouble upon the world. If once you gain possession of a perfect\nheart, knowing that which is impossible to be impossible, and\nrecognizing that that which is difficult is difficult, you will not\nattempt to spare yourself trouble unduly. What says the Chin-Yo?[101]\nThe wise man, whether his lot be cast amongst rich or poor, amongst\nbarbarians or in sorrow, understands his position by his own instinct.\nIf men do not understand this, they think that the causes of pain and\npleasure are in the body. Putting the heart on one side, they\nearnestly strive after the comforts of the body, and launch into\nextravagance, the end of which is miserly parsimony. Instead of\npleasure they meet with grief of the heart, and pass their lives in\nweeping and wailing. In one way or another, everything in this world\ndepends upon the heart. I implore every one of you to take heed that\ntears fall not to your lot.\n\n[Footnote 101: The second book of Confucius.]\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDICES\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX A\n\n\n\n\nAN ACCOUNT OF THE HARA-KIRI\n\n(FROM A RARE JAPANESE MS.)\n\n\nSeppuku _(hara-kiri)_ is the mode of suicide adopted amongst Samurai\nwhen they have no alternative but to die. Some there are who thus\ncommit suicide of their own free will; others there are who, having\ncommitted some crime which does not put them outside the pale of the\nprivileges of the Samurai class, are ordered by their superiors to put\nan end to their own lives. It is needless to say that it is absolutely\nnecessary that the principal, the witnesses, and the seconds who take\npart in the affair should be acquainted with all the ceremonies to be\nobserved. A long time ago, a certain Daimio invited a number of\npersons, versed in the various ceremonies, to call upon him to explain\nthe different forms to be observed by the official witnesses who\ninspect and verify the head, &c., and then to instruct him in the\nceremonies to be observed in the act of suicide; then he showed all\nthese rites to his son and to all his retainers. Another person has\nsaid that, as the ceremonies to be gone through by principal,\nwitnesses, and seconds are all very important matters, men should\nfamiliarize themselves with a thing which is so terrible, in order\nthat, should the time come for them to take part in it, they may not\nbe taken by surprise.\n\nThe witnesses go to see and certify the suicide. For seconds, men are\nwanted who have distinguished themselves in the military arts. In old\ndays, men used to bear these things in mind; but now-a-days the\nfashion is to be ignorant of such ceremonies, and if upon rare\noccasions a criminal is handed over to a Daimio's charge, that he may\nperform _hara-kiri,_ it often happens, at the time of execution, that\nthere is no one among all the prince's retainers who is competent to\nact as second, in which case a man has to be engaged in a hurry from\nsome other quarter to cut off the head of the criminal, and for that\nday he changes his name and becomes a retainer of the prince, either\nof the middle or lowest class, and the affair is entrusted to him, and\nso the difficulty is got over: nor is this considered to be a\ndisgrace. It is a great breach of decorum if the second, who is a most\nimportant officer, commits any mistake (such as not striking off the\nhead at a blow) in the presence of the witnesses sent by the\nGovernment. On this account a skilful person must be employed; and, to\nhide the unmanliness of his own people, a prince must perform the\nceremony in this imperfect manner. Every Samurai should be able to cut\noff a man's head: therefore, to have to employ a stranger to act as\nsecond is to incur the charge of ignorance of the arts of war, and is\na bitter mortification. However, young men, trusting to their youthful\nardour, are apt to be careless, and are certain to make a mistake.\nSome people there are who, not lacking in skill on ordinary occasions,\nlose their presence of mind in public, and cannot do themselves\njustice. It is all the more important, therefore, as the act occurs\nbut rarely, that men who are liable to be called upon to be either\nprincipals or seconds or witnesses in the _hara-kiri_ should\nconstantly be examined in their skill as swordsmen, and should be\nfamiliar with all the rites, in order that when the time comes they\nmay not lose their presence of mind.\n\nAccording to one authority, capital punishment may be divided into two\nkinds--beheading and strangulation. The ceremony of _hara-kiri_ was\nadded afterwards in the case of persons belonging to the military\nclass being condemned to death. This was first instituted in the days\nof the Ashikaga[102] dynasty. At that time the country was in a state\nof utter confusion; and there were men who, although fighting, were\nneither guilty of high treason nor of infidelity to their feudal\nlords, but who by the chances of war were taken prisoners. To drag out\nsuch men as these, bound as criminals, and cut their heads off, was\nintolerably cruel; accordingly, men hit upon a ceremonious mode of\nsuicide by disembowelling, in order to comfort the departed spirit.\nEven at present, where it becomes necessary to put to death a man who\nhas been guilty of some act not unworthy of a Samurai, at the time of\nthe execution witnesses are sent to the house; and the criminal,\nhaving bathed and put on new clothes, in obedience to the commands of\nhis superiors, puts an end to himself, but does not on that account\nforfeit his rank as a Samurai. This is a law for which, in all truth,\nmen should be grateful.\n\n[Footnote 102: Ashikaga, third dynasty of Shoguns, flourished from\nA.D. 1336 to 1568. The practice of suicide by disembowelling is of\ngreat antiquity. This is the time when the ceremonies attending it\nwere invented.]\n\n\nON THE PREPARATION OF THE PLACE OF EXECUTION\n\nIn old days the ceremony of _hara-kiri_ used to be performed in a\ntemple. In the third year of the period called Kan-yei (A.D. 1626), a\ncertain person, having been guilty of treason, was ordered to\ndisembowel himself, on the fourteenth day of the first month, in the\ntemple of Kichij\u00f4ji, at Komagom\u00e9, in Yedo. Eighteen years later, the\nretainer of a certain Daimio, having had a dispute with a sailor\nbelonging to an Osaka coasting-ship, killed the sailor; and, an\ninvestigation having been made into the matter by the Governor of\nOsaka, the retainer was ordered to perform _hara-kiri_, on the\ntwentieth day of the sixth month, in the temple called Sokusanji, in\nOsaka. During the period Sh\u00f4h\u00f4 (middle of seventeenth century), a\ncertain man, having been guilty of heinous misconduct, performed\n_hara-kiri_ in the temple called Shimpukuji, in the K\u00f4ji-street of\nYedo. On the fourth day of the fifth month of the second year of the\nperiod Meir\u00e9ki (A.D. 1656), a certain man, for having avenged the\ndeath of his cousin's husband at a place called Shimidzudani, in the\nK\u00f4ji-street, disembowelled himself in the temple called Honseiji. On\nthe twenty-sixth day of the sixth month of the eighth year of the\nperiod Yemp\u00f4 (A.D. 1680), at the funeral ceremonies in honour of the\nanniversary of the death of Genyuin Sama, a former Shogun, Nait\u00f4\nIdzumi no Kami, having a cause of hatred against Nagai Shinano no\nKami, killed him at one blow with a short sword, in the main hall of\nthe temple called Z\u00f4j\u00f4ji (the burial-place of the Shoguns in Yedo).\nIdzumi no Kami was arrested by the officers present, and on the\nfollowing day performed _hara-kiri_ at Kirid\u00f4shi, in the temple called\nSeiriuji.\n\nIn modern times the ceremony has taken place at night, either in the\npalace or in the garden of a Daimio, to whom the condemned man has\nbeen given in charge. Whether it takes place in the palace or in the\ngarden depends upon the rank of the individual. Daimios and Hatamotos,\nas a matter of course, and the higher retainers of the Shogun,\ndisembowel themselves in the palace: retainers of lower rank should do\nso in the garden. In the case of vassals of feudatories, according to\nthe rank of their families, those who, being above the grade of\ncaptains, carry the b\u00e2ton,[103] should perform _hara-kiri_ in the\npalace; all others in the garden. If, when the time comes, the persons\nengaged in the ceremony are in any doubt as to the proper rules to be\nfollowed, they should inquire of competent persons, and settle the\nquestion. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, during the\nperiod Genroku, when Asano Takumi no Kami[104] disembowelled himself\nin the palace of a Daimio called Tamura, as the whole thing was sudden\nand unexpected, the garden was covered with matting, and on the top of\nthis thick mats were laid and a carpet, and the affair was concluded\nso; but there are people who say that it was wrong to treat a Daimio\nthus, as if he had been an ordinary Samurai. But it is said that in\nold times it was the custom that the ceremony should take place upon a\nleather carpet spread in the garden; and further, that the proper\nplace is inside a picket fence tied together in the garden: so it is\nwrong for persons who are only acquainted with one form of the\nceremony to accuse Tamura of having acted improperly. If, however, the\nobject was to save the house from the pollution of blood, then the\naccusation of ill-will may well be brought; for the preparation of the\nplace is of great importance.\n\n[Footnote 103: A b\u00e2ton with a tassel of paper strips, used for giving\ndirections in war-time.]\n\n[Footnote 104: See the story of the Forty-seven R\u00f4nins.]\n\nFormerly it was the custom that, for personages of importance, the\nenclosure within the picket fence should be of thirty-six feet square.\nAn entrance was made to the south, and another to the north: the door\nto the south was called _Shugiy\u00f4mon_ (\"the door of the practice of\nvirtue\"); that to the north was called _Umbanmon_ (\"the door of the\nwarm basin\"[105]). Two mats, with white binding, were arranged in the\nshape of a hammer, the one at right angles to the other; six feet of\nwhite silk, four feet broad, were stretched on the mat, which was\nplaced lengthwise; at the four corners were erected four posts for\ncurtains. In front of the two mats was erected a portal, eight feet\nhigh by six feet broad, in the shape of the portals in front of\ntemples, made of a fine sort of bamboo wrapped in white[106] silk.\nWhite curtains, four feet broad, were hung at the four corners, and\nfour flags, six feet long, on which should be inscribed four\nquotations from the sacred books. These flags, it is said, were\nimmediately after the ceremony carried away to the grave. At night two\nlights were placed, one upon either side of the two mats. The candles\nwere placed in saucers upon stands of bamboo, four feet high, wrapped\nin white silk. The person who was to disembowel himself, entering the\npicket fence by the north entrance, took his place upon the white silk\nupon the mat facing the north. Some there were, however, who said that\nhe should sit facing the west: in that case the whole place must be\nprepared accordingly. The seconds enter the enclosure by the south\nentrance, at the same time as the principal enters by the north, and\ntake their places on the mat that is placed crosswise.\n\n[Footnote 105: No Japanese authority that I have been able to consult\ngives any explanation of this singular name.]\n\n[Footnote 106: White, in China and Japan, is the colour of mourning.]\n\nNowadays, when the _hara-kiri_ is performed inside the palace, a\ntemporary place is made on purpose, either in the garden or in some\nunoccupied spot; but if the criminal is to die on the day on which he\nis given in charge, or on the next day, the ceremony, having to take\nplace so quickly, is performed in the reception-room. Still, even if\nthere is a lapse of time between the period of giving the prisoner in\ncharge and the execution, it is better that the ceremony should take\nplace in a decent room in the house than in a place made on purpose.\nIf it is heard that, for fear of dirtying his house, a man has made a\nplace expressly, he will be blamed for it. It surely can be no\ndisgrace to the house of a soldier that he was ordered to perform the\nlast offices towards a Samurai who died by _hara-kiri_. To slay his\nenemy against whom he has cause of hatred, and then to kill himself,\nis the part of a noble Samurai; and it is sheer nonsense to look upon\nthe place where he has disembowelled himself as polluted. In the\nbeginning of the eighteenth century, seventeen of the retainers of\nAsano Takumi no Kami performed _hara-kiri_ in the garden of a palace\nat Shirokan\u00e9, in Yedo. When it was over, the people of the palace\ncalled upon the priests of a sect named Shugenja to come and purify\nthe place; but when the lord of the palace heard this, he ordered the\nplace to be left as it was; for what need was there to purify a place\nwhere faithful Samurai had died by their own hand? But in other\npalaces to which the remainder of the retainers of Takumi no Kami were\nentrusted, it is said that the places of execution were purified. But\nthe people of that day praised Kumamoto Ko (the Prince of Higo), to\nwhom the palace at Shirokan\u00e9 belonged. It is a currish thing to look\nupon death in battle or by _hara-kiri_ as a pollution: this is a thing\nto bear in mind. In modern times the place of _hara-kiri_ is eighteen\nfeet square in all cases; in the centre is a place to sit upon, and\nthe condemned man is made to sit facing the witnesses; at other times\nhe is placed with his side to the witnesses: this is according to the\nnature of the spot. In some cases the seconds turn their backs to the\nwitnesses. It is open to question, however, whether this is not a\nbreach of etiquette. The witnesses should be consulted upon these\narrangements. If the witnesses have no objection, the condemned man\nshould be placed directly opposite to them. The place where the\nwitnesses are seated should be removed more than twelve or eighteen\nfeet from the condemned man. The place from which the sentence is read\nshould also be close by. The writer has been furnished with a plan of\nthe _hara-kiri_ as it is performed at present. Although the ceremony\nis gone through in other ways also, still it is more convenient to\nfollow the manner indicated.\n\nIf the execution takes place in a room, a kerchief of five breadths of\nwhite cotton cloth or a quilt should be laid down, and it is also said\nthat two mats should be prepared; however, as there are already mats\nin the room, there is no need for special mats: two red rugs should be\nspread over all, sewed together, one on the top of the other; for if\nthe white cotton cloth be used alone, the blood will soak through on\nto the mats; therefore it is right the rugs should be spread. On the\ntwenty-third day of the eighth month of the fourth year of the period\nYenkiy\u00f4 (A.D. 1740), at the _hara-kiri_ of a certain person there were\nlaid down a white cloth, eight feet square, and on that a quilt of\nlight green cotton, six feet square, and on that a cloth of white\nhemp, six feet square, and on that two rugs. On the third day of the\nninth month of the ninth year of the period Temp\u00f4 (A.D. 1838), at the\n_hara-kiri_ of a certain person it is said that there were spread a\nlarge double cloth of white cotton, and on that two rugs. But, of\nthese two occasions, the first must be commended for its careful\npreparation. If the execution be at night, candlesticks of white wood\nshould be placed at each of the four corners, lest the seconds be\nhindered in their work. In the place where the witnesses are to sit,\nordinary candlesticks should be placed, according to etiquette; but an\nexcessive illumination is not decorous. Two screens covered with white\npaper should be set up, behind the shadow of which are concealed the\ndirk upon a tray, a bucket to hold the head after it has been cut off,\nan incense-burner, a pail of water, and a basin. The above rules\napply equally to the ceremonies observed when the _hara-kiri_ takes\nplace in a garden. In the latter case the place is hung round with a\nwhite curtain, which need not be new for the occasion. Two mats, a\nwhite cloth, and a rug are spread. If the execution is at night,\nlanterns of white paper are placed on bamboo poles at the four\ncorners. The sentence having been read inside the house, the persons\nengaged in the ceremony proceed to the place of execution; but,\naccording to circumstances, the sentence may be read at the place\nitself. In the case of Asano Takumi no Kami, the sentence was read out\nin the house, and he afterwards performed _hara-kiri_ in the garden.\nOn the third day of the fourth month of the fourth year of the period\nTenmei (A.D. 1784), a Hatamoto named Sano, having received his\nsentence in the supreme court-house, disembowelled himself in the\ngarden in front of the prison. When the ceremony takes place in the\ngarden, matting must be spread all the way to the place, so that\nsandals need not be worn. The reason for this is that some men in that\nposition suffer from a rush of blood to the head, from nervousness, so\ntheir sandals might slip off their feet without their being aware of\ntheir loss; and as this would have a very bad appearance, it is better\nto spread matting. Care must be taken lest, in spreading the matting,\na place be left where two mats join, against which the foot might\ntrip. The white screens and other things are prepared as has been\ndirected above. If any curtailment is made, it must be done as well as\ncircumstances will permit. According to the crime of which a man who\nis handed over to any Daimio's charge is guilty, it is known whether\nhe will have to perform _hara-kiri_; and the preparations should be\nmade accordingly. Asano Takumi no Kami was taken to the palace of\nTamura Sama at the hour of the monkey (between three and five in the\nafternoon), took off his dress of ceremony, partook of a bowl of soup\nand five dishes, and drank two cups of warm water, and at the hour of\nthe cock (between five and seven in the evening) disembowelled\nhimself. A case of this kind requires much attention; for great care\nshould be taken that the preparations be carried on without the\nknowledge of the principal. If a temporary room has been built\nexpressly for the occasion, to avoid pollution to the house, it should\nbe kept a secret. It once happened that a criminal was received in\ncharge at the palace of a certain nobleman, and when his people were\nabout to erect a temporary building for the ceremony, they wrote to\nconsult some of the parties concerned; the letter ran as follows--\n\n\"The house in which we live is very small and inconvenient in all\nrespects. We have ordered the guard to treat our prisoner with all\nrespect; but our retainers who are placed on guard are much\ninconvenienced for want of space; besides, in the event of fire\nbreaking out or any extraordinary event taking place, the place is so\nsmall that it would be difficult to get out. We are thinking,\ntherefore, of adding an apartment to the original building, so that\nthe guard may be able at all times to go in and out freely, and that\nif, in case of fire or otherwise, we should have to leave the house,\nwe may do so easily. We beg to consult you upon this point.\"\n\nWhen a Samurai has to perform _hara-kiri_ by the command of his own\nfeudal lord, the ceremony should take place in one of the lesser\npalaces of the clan. Once upon a time, a certain prince of the Inouy\u00e9\nclan, having a just cause of offence against his steward, who was\ncalled Ishikawa T\u00f4zay\u00e9mon, and wishing to punish him, caused him to be\nkilled in his principal palace at Kandabashi, in Yedo. When this\nmatter was reported to the Shogun, having been convicted of disrespect\nof the privileges of the city, he was ordered to remove to his lesser\npalace at Asakusa. Now, although the _hara-kiri_ cannot be called\nproperly an execution, still, as it only differs from an ordinary\nexecution in that by it the honour of the Samurai is not affected, it\nis only a question of degree; it is a matter of ceremonial. If the\nprincipal palace[107] is a long distance from the Shogun's castle,\nthen the _hara-kiri_ may take place there; but there can be no\nobjection whatever to its taking place in a minor palace. Nowadays,\nwhen a man is condemned to _hara-kiri_ by a Daimio, the ceremony\nusually takes place in one of the lesser palaces; the place commonly\nselected is an open space near the horse-exercising ground, and the\npreparations which I have described above are often shortened\naccording to circumstances.\n\n[Footnote 107: The principal yashikis (palaces) of the nobles are for\nthe most part immediately round the Shogun's castle, in the enclosure\nknown as the official quarter. Their proximity to the palace forbids\ntheir being made the scenes of executions.]\n\nWhen a retainer is suddenly ordered to perform _hara-kiri_ during a\njourney, a temple or shrine should be hired for the occasion. On these\nhurried occasions, coarse mats, faced with finer matting or common\nmats, may be used. If the criminal is of rank to have an\narmour-bearer, a carpet of skin should be spread, should one be easily\nprocurable. The straps of the skin (which are at the head) should,\naccording to old custom, be to the front, so that the fur may point\nbackwards. In old days, when the ceremony took place in a garden, a\ncarpet of skin was spread. To hire a temple for the purpose of causing\na man to perform _hara-kiri_ was of frequent occurrence: it is\ndoubtful whether it may be done at the present time. This sort of\nquestion should be referred beforehand to some competent person, that\nthe course to be adopted may be clearly understood.\n\nIn the period Kambun (A.D. 1661-1673) a Prince Sakai, travelling\nthrough the Bishiu territory, hired a temple or shrine for one of his\nretainers to disembowel himself in; and so the affair was concluded.\n\n\n\n\nON THE CEREMONIES OBSERVED AT THE HARA-KIRI OF A PERSON GIVEN IN\nCHARGE TO A DAIMIO.\n\nWhen a man has been ordered by the Government to disembowel himself,\nthe public censors, who have been appointed to act as witnesses, write\nto the prince who has the criminal in charge, to inform them that they\nwill go to his palace on public business. This message is written\ndirectly to the chief, and is sent by an assistant censor; and a\nsuitable answer is returned to it. Before the ceremony, the witnesses\nsend an assistant censor to see the place, and look at a plan of the\nhouse, and to take a list of the names of the persons who are to be\npresent; he also has an interview with the _kaishaku_, or seconds, and\nexamines them upon the way of performing the ceremonies. When all the\npreparations have been made, he goes to fetch the censors; and they\nall proceed together to the place of execution, dressed in their\nhempen-cloth dress of ceremony. The retainers of the palace are\ncollected to do obeisance in the entrance-yard; and the lord, to whom\nthe criminal has been entrusted, goes as far as the front porch to\nmeet the censors, and conducts them to the front reception-room. The\nchief censor then announces to the lord of the palace that he has come\nto read out the sentence of such an one who has been condemned to\nperform _hara-kiri_, and that the second censor has come to witness\nthe execution of the sentence. The lord of the palace then inquires\nwhether he is expected to attend the execution in person, and, if any\nof the relations or family of the criminal should beg to receive his\nremains, whether their request should be complied with; after this he\nannounces that he will order everything to be made ready, and leaves\nthe room. Tea, a fire-box for smoking, and sweetmeats are set before\nthe censors; but they decline to accept any hospitality until their\nbusiness shall have been concluded. The minor officials follow the\nsame rule. If the censors express a wish to see the place of\nexecution, the retainers of the palace show the way, and their lord\naccompanies them; in this, however, he may be replaced by one of his\n_kar\u00f4_ or councillors. They then return, and take their seats in the\nreception-room. After this, when all the preparations have been made,\nthe master of the house leads the censors to the place where the\nsentence is to be read; and it is etiquette that they should wear both\nsword and dirk.[108] The lord of the palace takes his place on one\nside; the inferior censors sit on either side in a lower place. The\ncouncillors and other officers of the palace also take their places.\nOne of the councillors present, addressing the censors without moving\nfrom his place, asks whether he shall bring forth the prisoner.\n\n[Footnote 108: A Japanese removes his sword on entering a house,\nretaining only his dirk.]\n\nPreviously to this, the retainers of the palace, going to the room\nwhere the prisoner is confined, inform him that, as the censors have\narrived, he should change his dress, and the attendants bring out a\nchange of clothes upon a large tray: it is when he has finished his\ntoilet that the witnesses go forth and take their places in the\nappointed order, and the principal is then introduced. He is preceded\nby one man, who should be of the rank of _Mono-gashira_ (retainer of\nthe fourth rank), who wears a dirk, but no sword. Six men act as\nattendants; they should be of the fifth or sixth rank; they walk on\neither side of the principal. They are followed by one man who should\nbe of the rank of _Y\u00f4nin_ (councillor of the second class). When they\nreach the place, the leading man draws on one side and sits down, and\nthe six attendants sit down on either side of the principal. The\nofficer who follows him sits down behind him, and the chief censor\nreads the sentence.\n\nWhen the reading of the sentence is finished, the principal leaves the\nroom and again changes his clothes, and the chief censor immediately\nleaves the palace; but the lord of the palace does not conduct him to\nthe door. The second censor returns to the reception-room until the\nprincipal has changed his clothes. When the principal has taken his\nseat at the place of execution, the councillors of the palace announce\nto the second censor that all is ready; he then proceeds to the place,\nwearing his sword and dirk. The lord of the palace, also wearing his\nsword and dirk, takes his seat on one side. The inferior censors and\ncouncillors sit in front of the censor: they wear the dirk only. The\nassistant second brings a dirk upon a tray, and, having placed it in\nfront of the principal, withdraws on one side: when the principal\nleans his head forward, his chief second strikes off his head, which\nis immediately shown to the censor, who identifies it, and tells the\nmaster of the palace that he is satisfied, and thanks him for all his\ntrouble. The corpse, as it lies, is hidden by a white screen which is\nset up around it, and incense is brought out. The witnesses leave the\nplace. The lord of the palace accompanies them as far as the porch,\nand the retainers prostrate themselves in the yard as before. The\nretainers who should be present at the place of execution are one or\ntwo councillors (_Kar\u00f4_), two or three second councillors (_Y\u00f4nin_),\ntwo or three _Mono-gashira_, one chief of the palace (_Rusui_), six\nattendants, one chief second, two assistant seconds, one man to carry\nincense, who need not be a person of rank--any Samurai will do. They\nattend to the setting up of the white screen.\n\nThe duty of burying the corpse and of setting the place in order again\ndevolves upon four men; these are selected from Samurai of the middle\nor lower class; during the performance of their duties, they hitch up\ntheir trousers and wear neither sword nor dirk. Their names are\npreviously sent in to the censor, who acts as witness; and to the\njunior censors, should they desire it. Before the arrival of the chief\ncensor, the requisite utensils for extinguishing a fire are prepared,\nfiremen are engaged,[109] and officers constantly go the rounds to\nwatch against fire. From the time when the chief censor comes into the\nhouse until he leaves it, no one is allowed to enter the premises. The\nservants on guard at the entrance porch should wear their hempen\ndresses of ceremony. Everything in the palace should be conducted with\ndecorum, and the strictest attention paid in all things.\n\n[Footnote 109: In Japan, where fires are of daily occurrence, the\nfire-buckets and other utensils form part of the gala dress of the\nhouse of a person of rank.]\n\nWhen any one is condemned to _hara-kiri_, it would be well that people\nshould go to the palace of the Prince of Higo, and learn what\ntranspired at the execution of the R\u00f4nins of Asano Takumi no Kami. A\ncurtain was hung round the garden in front of the reception-room;\nthree mats were laid down, and upon these was placed a white cloth.\nThe condemned men were kept in the reception-room, and summoned, one\nby one; two men, one on each side, accompanied them; the second,\nfollowed behind; and they proceeded together to the place of\nexecution. When the execution was concluded in each case, the corpse\nwas hidden from the sight of the chief witness by a white screen,\nfolded up in white cloth, placed on a mat, and carried off to the rear\nby two foot-soldiers; it was then placed in a coffin. The\nblood-stained ground was sprinkled with sand, and swept clean; fresh\nmats were laid down, and the place prepared anew; after which the next\nman was summoned to come forth.\n\n\nON CERTAIN THINGS TO BE BORNE IN MIND BY THE WITNESSES.\n\nWhen a clansman is ordered by his feudal lord to perform _hara-kiri_,\nthe sentence must be read out by the censor of the clan, who also acts\nas witness. He should take his place in front of the criminal, at a\ndistance of twelve feet; according to some books, the distance should\nbe eighteen feet, and he should sit obliquely, not facing the\ncriminal; he should lay his sword down by his side, but, if he\npleases, he may wear it in his girdle; he must read out the sentence\ndistinctly. If the sentence be a long document, to begin reading in a\nvery loud voice and afterwards drop into a whisper has an appearance\nof faint-heartedness; but to read it throughout in a low voice is\nworse still: it should be delivered clearly from beginning to end. It\nis the duty of the chief witness to set an example of fortitude to the\nother persons who are to take part in the execution. When the second\nhas finished his work, he carries the head to the chief witness, who,\nafter inspecting it, must declare that he has identified it; he then\nshould take his sword, and leave his place. It is sufficient, however,\nthat the head should be struck off without being carried to the chief\nwitness; in that case, the second receives his instructions\nbeforehand. On rising, the chief witness should step out with his left\nfoot and turn to the left. If the ceremony takes place out of doors,\nthe chief witness, wearing his sword and dirk, should sit upon a box;\nhe must wear his hempen dress of ceremony; he may hitch his trousers\nup slightly; according to his rank, he may wear his full dress--that\nis, wings over his full dress. It is the part of the chief witness to\ninstruct the seconds and others in the duties which they have to\nperform, and also to preconcert measures in the event of any mishap\noccurring.\n\nIf whilst the various persons to be engaged in the ceremony are\nrubbing up their military lore, and preparing themselves for the\nevent, any other person should come in, they should immediately turn\nthe conversation. Persons of the rank of Samurai should be familiar\nwith all the details of the _hara-kiri_; and to be seen discussing\nwhat should be done in case anything went wrong, and so forth, would\nhave an appearance of ignorance. If, however, an intimate friend\nshould go to the place, rather than have any painful concealment, he\nmay be consulted upon the whole affair.\n\nWhen the sentence has been read, it is probable that the condemned man\nwill have some last words to say to the chief witness. It must depend\non the nature of what he has to say whether it will be received or\nnot. If he speaks in a confused or bewildered manner, no attention is\npaid to it: his second should lead him away, of his own accord or at a\nsign from the chief witness.\n\nIf the condemned man be a person who has been given in charge to a\nprince by the Government, the prince after the reading of the sentence\nshould send his retainers to the prisoner with a message to say that\nthe decrees of the Government are not to be eluded, but that if he has\nany last wishes to express, they are ordered by their lord to receive\nthem. If the prisoner is a man of high rank, the lord of the palace\nshould go in person to hear his last wishes.\n\nThe condemned man should answer in the following way--\n\n\"Sir, I thank you for your careful consideration, but I have nothing\nthat I wish to say. I am greatly indebted to you for the great\nkindness which I have received since I have been under your charge. I\nbeg you to take my respects to your lord and to the gentlemen of your\nclan who have treated me so well.\" Or he may say, \"Sirs, I have\nnothing to say; yet, since you are so kind as to think of me, I should\nbe obliged if you would deliver such and such a message to such an\none.\" This is the proper and becoming sort of speech for the occasion.\nIf the prisoner entrusts them with any message, the retainers should\nreceive it in such a manner as to set his mind at rest. Should he ask\nfor writing materials in order to write a letter, as this is forbidden\nby the law, they should tell him so, and not grant his request. Still\nthey must feel that it is painful to refuse the request of a dying\nman, and must do their best to assist him. They must exhaust every\navailable kindness and civility, as was done in the period Genroku, in\nthe case of the R\u00f4nins of Asano Takumi no Kami. The Prince of Higo,\nafter the sentence had been read, caused paper and writing materials\nto be taken to their room. If the prisoner is light-headed from\nexcitement, it is no use furnishing him with writing materials. It\nmust depend upon circumstances; but when a man has murdered another,\nhaving made up his mind to abide by the consequences, then that man's\nexecution should be carried through with all honour. When a man kills\nanother on the spot, in a fit of ungovernable passion, and then is\nbewildered and dazed by his own act, the same pains need not be taken\nto conduct matters punctiliously. If the prisoner be a careful man, he\nwill take an early opportunity after he has been given in charge to\nexpress his wishes. To carry kindness so far as to supply writing\nmaterials and the like is not obligatory. If any doubt exists upon the\npoint, the chief witness may be consulted.\n\nAfter the R\u00f4nins of Asano Takumi no Kami had heard their sentence in\nthe palace of Matsudaira Oki no Kami, that Daimio in person went and\ntook leave of them, and calling Oishi Chikara,[110] the son of their\nchief, to him, said, \"I have heard that your mother is at home in your\nown country; how she will grieve when she hears of your death and that\nof your father, I can well imagine. If you have any message that you\nwish to leave for her, tell me, without standing upon ceremony, and I\nwill transmit it without delay.\" For a while Chikara kept his head\nbent down towards the ground; at last he drew back a little, and,\nlifting his head, said, \"I humbly thank your lordship for what you\nhave been pleased to say. My father warned me from the first that our\ncrime was so great that, even were we to be pardoned by a gracious\njudgment upon one count, I must not forget that there would be a\nhundred million counts against us for which we must commit suicide:\nand that if I disregarded his words his hatred would pursue me after\ndeath. My father impressed this upon me at the temple called\nSengakuji, and again when I was separated from him to be taken to the\npalace of Prince Sengoku. Now my father and myself have been condemned\nto perform _hara-kiri_, according to the wish of our hearts. Still I\ncannot forget to think of my mother. When we parted at Kiy\u00f4to, she\ntold me that our separation would be for long, and she bade me not to\nplay the coward when I thought of her. As I took a long leave of her\nthen, I have no message to send to her now.\" When he spoke thus, Oki\nno Kami and all his retainers, who were drawn up around him, were\nmoved to tears in admiration of his heroism.\n\n[Footnote 110: Oishi Chikara was separated from his father, who was\none of the seventeen delivered over to the charge of the Prince of\nHigo.]\n\nAlthough it is right that the condemned man should bathe and partake\nof wine and food, these details should be curtailed. Even should he\ndesire these favours, it must depend upon his conduct whether they be\ngranted or refused. He should be caused to die as quickly as possible.\nShould he wish for some water to drink, it should be given to him. If\nin his talk he should express himself like a noble Samurai, all pains\nshould be exhausted in carrying out his execution. Yet however careful\na man he may be, as he nears his death his usual demeanour will\nundergo a change. If the execution is delayed, in all probability it\nwill cause the prisoner's courage to fail him; therefore, as soon as\nthe sentence shall have been passed, the execution should be brought\nto a conclusion. This, again, is a point for the chief witness to\nremember.\n\n\nCONCERNING SECONDS (KAISHAKU).\n\nWhen the condemned man is one who has been given in charge for\nexecution, six attendants are employed; when the execution is within\nthe clan, then two or three attendants will suffice; the number,\nhowever, must depend upon the rank of the principal. Men of great\nnerve and strength must be selected for the office; they must wear\ntheir hempen dress of ceremony, and tuck up their trousers; they must\non no account wear either sword or dirk, but have a small poniard\nhidden in their bosom: these are the officers who attend upon the\ncondemned man when he changes his dress, and who sit by him on the\nright hand and on the left hand to guard him whilst the sentence is\nbeing read. In the event of any mistake occurring (such as the\nprisoner attempting to escape), they knock him down; and should he be\nunable to stand or to walk, they help to support him. The attendants\naccompanying the principal to the place of execution, if they are six\nin number, four of them take their seats some way off and mount guard,\nwhile the other two should sit close behind the principal. They must\nunderstand that should there be any mistake they must throw the\ncondemned man, and, holding him down, cut off his head with their\nponiard, or stab him to death. If the second bungles in cutting off\nthe head and the principal attempts to rise, it is the duty of the\nattendants to kill him. They must help him to take off his upper\ngarments and bare his body. In recent times, however, there have been\ncases where the upper garments have not been removed: this depends\nupon circumstances. The setting up of the white screen, and the laying\nthe corpse in the coffin, are duties which, although they may be\nperformed by other officers, originally devolved upon the six\nattendants. When a common man is executed, he is bound with cords, and\nso made to take his place; but a Samurai wears his dress of ceremony,\nis presented with a dagger, and dies thus. There ought to be no\nanxiety lest such a man should attempt to escape; still, as there is\nno knowing what these six attendants may be called upon to do, men\nshould be selected who thoroughly understand their business.\n\nThe seconds are three in number--the chief second, the assistant\nsecond, and the inferior second. When the execution is carried out\nwith proper solemnity, three men are employed; still a second and\nassistant second are sufficient. If three men serve as seconds, their\nseveral duties are as follows:--The chief second strikes off the head;\nthat is his duty: he is the most important officer in the execution by\n_hara-kiri._ The assistant second brings forward the tray, on which is\nplaced the dirk; that is his duty: he must perform his part in such a\nmanner that the principal second is not hindered in his work. The\nassistant second is the officer of second importance in the execution.\nThe third or inferior second carries the head to the chief witness for\nidentification; and in the event of something suddenly occurring to\nhinder either of the other two seconds, he should bear in mind that he\nmust be ready to act as his substitute: his is an office of great\nimportance, and a proper person must be selected to fill it.\n\nAlthough there can be no such thing as a _kaishaku_ (second) in any\ncase except in one of _hara-kiri,_ still in old times guardians and\npersons who assisted others were also called _kaishaku_: the reason\nfor this is because the _kaishaku_, or second, comes to the assistance\nof the principal. If the principal were to make any mistake at the\nfatal moment, it would be a disgrace to his dead body: it is in order\nto prevent such mistakes that the _kaishaku,_ or second, is employed.\nIt is the duty of the _kaishaku_ to consider this as his first duty.\n\nWhen a man is appointed to act as second to another, what shall be\nsaid of him if he accepts the office with a smiling face? Yet must he\nnot put on a face of distress. It is as well to attempt to excuse\noneself from performing the duty. There is no heroism in cutting a\nman's head off well, and it is a disgrace to do it in a bungling\nmanner; yet must not a man allege lack of skill as a pretext for\nevading the office, for it is an unworthy thing that a Samurai should\nwant the skill required to behead a man. If there are any that\nadvocate employing young men as seconds, it should rather be said that\ntheir hands are inexpert. To play the coward and yield up the office\nto another man is out of the question. When a man is called upon to\nperform the office, he should express his readiness to use his sword\n(the dirk may be employed, but the sword is the proper weapon). As\nregards the sword, the second should borrow that of the principal: if\nthere is any objection to this, he should receive a sword from his\nlord; he should not use his own sword. When the assistant seconds have\nbeen appointed, the three should take counsel together about the\ndetails of the place of execution, when they have been carefully\ninstructed by their superiors in all the ceremonies; and having made\ncareful inquiry, should there be anything wrong, they should appeal to\ntheir superiors for instruction. The seconds wear their dresses of\nceremony when the criminal is a man given in charge by the Government:\nwhen he is one of their own clan, they need only wear the trousers of\nthe Samurai. In old days it is said that they were dressed in the\nsame way as the principal; and some authorities assert that at the\n_hara-kiri_ of a nobleman of high rank the seconds should wear white\nclothes, and that the handle of the sword should be wrapped in white\nsilk. If the execution takes place in the house, they should partially\ntuck up their trousers; if in the garden, they should tuck them up\nentirely.\n\nThe seconds should address the principal, and say, \"Sir, we have been\nappointed to act as your seconds; we pray you to set your mind at\nrest,\" and so forth; but this must depend upon the rank of the\ncriminal. At this time, too, if the principal has any last wish to\nexpress, the second should receive it, and should treat him with every\nconsideration in order to relieve his anxiety. If the second has been\nselected by the principal on account of old friendship between them,\nor if the latter, during the time that he has been in charge, has\nbegged some special retainer of the palace to act as his second in the\nevent of his being condemned to death, the person so selected should\nthank the principal for choosing so unworthy a person, and promise to\nbeg his lord to allow him to act as second: so he should answer, and\ncomfort him, and having reported the matter to his lord, should act as\nsecond. He should take that opportunity to borrow his principal's\nsword in some such terms as the following: \"As I am to have the honour\nof being your second, I would fain borrow your sword for the occasion.\nIt may be a consolation to you to perish by your own sword, with which\nyou are familiar.\" If, however, the principal declines, and prefers to\nbe executed with the second's sword, his wish must be complied with.\nIf the second should make an awkward cut with his own sword, it is a\ndisgrace to him; therefore he should borrow some one else's sword, so\nthat the blame may rest with the sword, and not with the swordsman.\nAlthough this is the rule, and although every Samurai should wear a\nsword fit to cut off a man's head, still if the principal has begged\nto be executed with the second's own sword, it must be done as he\ndesires.\n\nIt is probable that the condemned man will inquire of his second about\nthe arrangements which have been made: he must attend therefore to\nrendering himself capable of answering all such questions. Once upon a\ntime, when the condemned man inquired of his second whether his head\nwould be cut off at the moment when he received the tray with the dirk\nupon it, \"No,\" replied the second; \"at the moment when you stab\nyourself with the dirk your head will be cut off.\" At the execution of\none San\u00f4, he told his second that, when he had stabbed himself in the\nbelly, he would utter a cry; and begged him to be cool when he cut off\nhis head. The second replied that he would do as he wished, but begged\nhim in the meantime to take the tray with the dirk, according to\nproper form. When San\u00f4 reached out his hand to take the tray, the\nsecond cut off his head immediately. Now, although this was not\nexactly right, still as the second acted so in order to save a Samurai\nfrom the disgrace of performing the _hara-kiri_ improperly (by crying\nout), it can never be wrong for a second to act kindly, If the\nprincipal urgently requests to be allowed really to disembowel\nhimself, his wish may, according to circumstances, be granted; but in\nthis case care must be taken that no time be lost in striking off the\nhead. The custom of striking off the head, the prisoner only going\nthrough the semblance of disembowelling himself, dates from the period\nYemp\u00f4 (about 190 years ago).\n\nWhen the principal has taken his place, the second strips his right\nshoulder of the dress of ceremony, which he allows to fall behind his\nsleeve, and, drawing his sword, lays down the scabbard, taking care\nthat his weapon is not seen by the principal; then he takes his place\non the left of the principal and close behind him. The principal\nshould sit facing the west, and the second facing the north, and in\nthat position should he strike the blow. When the second perceives the\nassistant second bring out the tray on which is laid the dirk, he must\nbrace up his nerves and settle his heart beneath his navel: when the\ntray is laid down, he must put himself in position to strike the blow.\nHe should step out first with the left foot, and then change so as to\nbring his right foot forward: this is the position which he should\nassume to strike; he may, however, reverse the position of his feet.\nWhen the principal removes his upper garments, the second must poise\nhis sword: when the principal reaches out his hand to draw the tray\ntowards him, as he leans his head forward a little, is the exact\nmoment for the second to strike. There are all sorts of traditions\nabout this. Some say that the principal should take the tray and raise\nit respectfully to his head, and set it down; and that this is the\nmoment to strike. There are three rules for the time of cutting off\nthe head: the first is when the dirk is laid on the tray; the second\nis when the principal looks at the left side of his belly before\ninserting the dirk; the third is when he inserts the dirk. If these\nthree moments are allowed to pass, it becomes a difficult matter to\ncut off the head: so says tradition. However, four moments for cutting\nare also recorded: first, when the assistant second retires after\nhaving laid down the stand on which is the dirk; second, when the\nprincipal draws the stand towards him; third, when he takes the dirk\nin his hand; fourth, when he makes the incision into the belly.\nAlthough all four ways are approved, still the first is too soon; the\nlast three are right and proper. In short, the blow should be struck\nwithout delay. If he has struck off the head at a blow without\nfailure, the second, taking care not to raise his sword, but holding\nit point downwards, should retire backward a little and wipe his\nweapon kneeling; he should have plenty of white paper ready in his\ngirdle or in his bosom to wipe away the blood and rub up his sword;\nhaving replaced his sword in its scabbard, he should readjust his\nupper garments and take his seat to the rear. When the head has\nfallen, the junior second should enter, and, taking up the head,\npresent it to the witness for inspection. When he has identified it,\nthe ceremony is concluded. If there is no assistant or junior second,\nthe second, as soon as he has cut off the head, carrying his sword\nreversed in his left hand, should take the head in his right hand,\nholding it by the top-knot of hair, should advance towards the\nwitness, passing on the right side of the corpse, and show the right\nprofile of the head to the witness, resting the chin of the head upon\nthe hilt of his sword, and kneeling on his left knee; then returning\nagain round by the left of the corpse, kneeling on his left knee, and\ncarrying the head in his left hand and resting it on the edge of his\nsword, he should again show the left profile to the witness. It is\nalso laid down as another rule, that the second, laying down his\nsword, should take out paper from the bosom of his dress, and placing\nthe head in the palm of his left hand, and taking the top-knot of hair\nin his right hand, should lay the head upon the paper, and so submit\nit for inspection. Either way may be said to be right.\n\nNOTE.--To lay down thick paper, and place the head on it, shows a\ndisposition to pay respect to the head; to place it on the edge of the\nsword is insulting: the course pursued must depend upon the rank of\nthe person. If the ceremony is to be curtailed, it may end with the\ncutting off of the head: that must be settled beforehand, in\nconsultation with the witness. In the event of the second making a\nfalse cut, so as not to strike off the head at a blow, the second must\ntake the head by the top-knot, and, pressing it down, cut it off.\nShould he take bad aim and cut the shoulder by mistake, and should the\nprincipal rise and cry out, before he has time to writhe, he should\nhold him down and stab him to death, and then cut off his head, or the\nassistant seconds, who are sitting behind, should come forward and\nhold him down, while the chief second cuts off his head. It may be\nnecessary for the second, after he has cut off the head, to push down\nthe body, and then take up the head for inspection. If the body does\nnot fall at once, which is said to be sometimes the case, the second\nshould pull the feet to make it fall.\n\nThere are some who say that the perfect way for the second to cut off\nthe head is not to cut right through the neck at a blow, but to leave\na little uncut, and, as the head hangs by the skin, to seize the\ntop-knot and slice it off, and then submit it for inspection. The\nreason of this is, lest, the head being struck off at a blow, the\nceremony should be confounded with an ordinary execution. According to\nthe old authorities, this is the proper and respectful manner. After\nthe head is cut off, the eyes are apt to blink, and the mouth to move,\nand to bite the pebbles and sand. This being hateful to see, at what\namongst Samurai is so important an occasion, and being a shameful\nthing, it is held to be best not to let the head fall, but to hold\nback a little in delivering the blow. Perhaps this may be right; yet\nit is a very difficult matter to cut so as to leave the head hanging\nby a little flesh, and there is the danger of missing the cut; and as\nany mistake in the cut is most horrible to see, it is better to strike\na fair blow at once. Others say that, even when the head is struck off\nat a blow, the semblance of slicing it off should be gone through\nafterwards; yet be it borne in mind that; this is unnecessary.\n\nThree methods of carrying the sword are recognized amongst those\nskilled in swordsmanship. If the rank of the principal be high, the\nsword is raised aloft; if the principal and second are of equal rank,\nthe sword is carried at the centre of the body; if the principal be of\ninferior rank, the sword is allowed to hang downwards. The proper\nposition for the second to strike from is kneeling on one knee, but\nthere is no harm in his standing up: others say that, if the execution\ntakes place inside the house, the second should kneel; if in the\ngarden, he should stand. These are not points upon which to insist\nobstinately: a man should strike in whatever position is most\nconvenient to him.\n\nThe chief duty for the assistant second to bear in mind is the\nbringing in of the tray with the dirk, which should be produced very\nquietly when the principal takes his place: it should be placed so\nthat the condemned man may have to stretch his hand well out in order\nto reach it.[111] The assistant second then returns to his own place;\nbut if the condemned man shows any signs of agitation, the assistant\nsecond must lend his assistance, so that the head may be properly cut\noff. It once happened that the condemned man, having received the tray\nfrom the assistant second, held it up for a long time without putting\nit down, until those near him had over and over again urged him to set\nit down. It also happens that after the tray has been set down, and\nthe assistant second has retired, the condemned man does not put out\nhis hand to take it; then must the assistant second press him to take\nit. Also the principal may ask that the tray be placed a little nearer\nto him, in which case his wish must be granted. The tray may also be\nplaced in such a way that the assistant second, holding it in his left\nhand, may reach the dirk to the condemned man, who leans forward to\ntake it. Which is the best of all these ways is uncertain. The object\nto aim at is, that the condemned man should lean forward to receive\nthe blow. Whether the assistant second retires, or not, must depend\nupon the attitude assumed by the condemned man.\n\n[Footnote 111: It should be placed about three feet away from him.]\n\nIf the prisoner be an unruly, violent man, a fan, instead of a dirk,\nshould be placed upon the tray; and should he object to this, he\nshould be told, in answer, that the substitution of the fan is an\nancient custom. This may occur sometimes. It is said that once upon a\ntime, in one of the palaces of the Daimios, a certain brave matron\nmurdered a man, and having been allowed to die with all the honours of\nthe _hara-kiri,_ a fan was placed upon the tray, and her head was cut\noff. This may be considered right and proper. If the condemned man\nappears inclined to be turbulent, the seconds, without showing any\nsign of alarm, should hurry to his side, and, urging him to get ready,\nquickly cause him to make all his preparations with speed, and to sit\ndown in his place; the chief second, then drawing his sword, should\nget ready to strike, and, ordering him to proceed as fast as possible\nwith the ceremony of receiving the tray, should perform his duty\nwithout appearing to be afraid.\n\nA certain Prince Kat\u00f4, having condemned one of his councillors to\ndeath, assisted at the ceremony behind a curtain of slips of bamboo.\nThe councillor, whose name was Katayama, was bound, and during that\ntime glared fiercely at the curtain, and showed no signs of fear. The\nchief second was a man named Jihei, who had always been used to treat\nKatayama with great respect. So Jihei, sword in hand, said to\nKatayama, \"Sir, your last moment has arrived: be so good as to turn\nyour cheek so that your head may be straight.\" When Katayama heard\nthis, he replied, \"Fellow, you are insolent;\" and as he was looking\nround, Jihei struck the fatal blow. The lord Kat\u00f4 afterwards inquired\nof Jihei what was the reason of this; and he replied that, as he saw\nthat the prisoner was meditating treason, he determined to kill him at\nonce, and put a stop to this rebellious spirit. This is a pattern for\nother seconds to bear in mind.\n\nWhen the head has been struck off, it becomes the duty of the junior\nsecond to take it up by the top-knot, and, placing it upon some thick\npaper laid over the palm of his hand, to carry it for inspection by\nthe witness. This ceremony has been explained above. If the head be\nbald, he should pierce the left ear with the stiletto carried in the\nscabbard of his dirk, and so carry it to be identified. He must carry\nthick paper in the bosom of his dress. Inside the paper he shall place\na bag with rice bran and ashes, in order that he may carry the head\nwithout being sullied by the blood. When the identification of the\nhead is concluded, the junior second's duty is to place it in a\nbucket.\n\nIf anything should occur to hinder the chief second, the assistant\nsecond must take his place. It happened on one occasion that before\nthe execution took place the chief second lost his nerve, yet he cut\noff the head without any difficulty; but when it came to taking up the\nhead for inspection, his nervousness so far got the better of him as\nto be extremely inconvenient. This is a thing against which persons\nacting as seconds have to guard.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAs a corollary to the above elaborate statement of the ceremonies\nproper to be observed at the _hara-kiri_, I may here describe an\ninstance of such an execution which I was sent officially to witness.\nThe condemned man was Taki Zenzabur\u00f4, an officer of the Prince of\nBizen, who gave the order to fire upon the foreign settlement at Hiogo\nin the month of February 1868,--an attack to which I have alluded in\nthe preamble to the story of the Eta Maiden and the Hatamoto. Up to\nthat time no foreigner had witnessed such an execution, which was\nrather looked upon as a traveller's fable.\n\nThe ceremony, which was ordered by the Mikado himself, took place at\n10.30 at night in the temple of Seifukuji, the headquarters of the\nSatsuma troops at Hiogo. A witness was sent from each of the foreign\nlegations. We were seven foreigners in all.\n\nWe were conducted to the temple by officers of the Princes of Satsuma\nand Choshiu. Although the ceremony was to be conducted in the most\nprivate manner, the casual remarks which we overheard in the streets,\nand a crowd lining the principal entrance to the temple, showed that\nit was a matter of no little interest to the public. The courtyard of\nthe temple presented a most picturesque sight; it was crowded with\nsoldiers standing about in knots round large fires, which threw a dim\nflickering light over the heavy eaves and quaint gable-ends of the\nsacred buildings. We were shown into an inner room, where we were to\nwait until the preparation for the ceremony was completed: in the next\nroom to us were the high Japanese officers. After a long interval,\nwhich seemed doubly long from the silence which prevailed, It\u00f4\nShunsk\u00e9, the provisional Governor of Hiogo, came and took down our\nnames, and informed us that seven _kenshi_, sheriffs or witnesses,\nwould attend on the part of the Japanese. He and another officer\nrepresented the Mikado; two captains of Satsuma's infantry, and two of\nChoshiu's, with a representative of the Prince of Bizen, the clan of\nthe condemned man, completed the number, which was probably arranged\nin order to tally with that of the foreigners. It\u00f4 Shunsk\u00e9 further\ninquired whether we wished to put any questions to the prisoner. We\nreplied in the negative.\n\nA further delay then ensued, after which we were invited to follow the\nJapanese witnesses into the _hondo_ or main hall of the temple, where\nthe ceremony was to be performed. It was an imposing scene. A large\nhall with a high roof supported by dark pillars of wood. From the\nceiling hung a profusion of those huge gilt lamps and ornaments\npeculiar to Buddhist temples. In front of the high altar, where the\nfloor, covered with beautiful white mats, is raised some three or four\ninches from the ground, was laid a rug of scarlet felt. Tall candles\nplaced at regular intervals gave out a dim mysterious light, just\nsufficient to let all the proceedings be seen. The seven Japanese took\ntheir places on the left of the raised floor, the seven foreigners on\nthe right. No other person was present.\n\nAfter an interval of a few minutes of anxious suspense, Taki\nZenzabur\u00f4, a stalwart man, thirty-two years of age, with a noble air,\nwalked into the hall attired in his dress of ceremony, with the\npeculiar hempen-cloth wings which are worn on great occasions. He was\naccompanied by a _kaishaku_ and three officers, who wore the\n_jimbaori_ or war surcoat with gold-tissue facings. The word\n_kaishaku_, it should be observed, is one to which our word\n_executioner_ is no equivalent term. The office is that of a\ngentleman: in many cases it is performed by a kinsman or friend of the\ncondemned, and the relation between them is rather that of principal\nand second than that of victim and executioner. In this instance the\n_kaishaku_ was a pupil of Taki Zenzabur\u00f4, and was selected by the\nfriends of the latter from among their own number for his skill in\nswordsmanship.\n\nWith the _kaishaku_ on his left hand, Taki Zenzabur\u00f4 advanced slowly\ntowards the Japanese witnesses, and the two bowed before them, then\ndrawing near to the foreigners they saluted us in the same way,\nperhaps even with more deference: in each case the salutation was\nceremoniously returned. Slowly, and with great dignity, the condemned\nman mounted on to the raised floor, prostrated himself before the high\naltar twice, and seated[112] himself on the felt carpet with his back\nto the high altar, the _kaishaku_ crouching on his left-hand side. One\nof the three attendant officers then came forward, bearing a stand of\nthe kind used in temples for offerings, on which, wrapped in paper,\nlay the _wakizashi_, the short sword or dirk of the Japanese, nine\ninches and a half in length, with a point and an edge as sharp as a\nrazor's. This he handed, prostrating himself, to the condemned man,\nwho received it reverently, raising it to his head with both hands,\nand placed it in front of himself.\n\n[Footnote 112: Seated himself--that is, in the Japanese fashion, his\nknees and toes touching the ground, and his body resting on his heels.\nIn this position, which is one of respect, he remained until his\ndeath.]\n\nAfter another profound obeisance, Taki Zenzabur\u00f4, in a voice which\nbetrayed just so much emotion and hesitation as might be expected from\na man who is making a painful confession, but with no sign of either\nin his face or manner, spoke as follows:--\n\n\"I, and I alone, unwarrantably gave the order to fire on the\nforeigners at K\u00f4b\u00e9, and again as they tried to escape. For this crime\nI disembowel myself, and I beg you who are present to do me the honour\nof witnessing the act.\"\n\nBowing once more, the speaker allowed his upper garments to slip down\nto his girdle, and remained naked to the waist. Carefully, according\nto custom, he tucked his sleeves under his knees to prevent himself\nfrom falling backwards; for a noble Japanese gentleman should die\nfalling forwards. Deliberately, with a steady hand, he took the dirk\nthat lay before him; he looked at it wistfully, almost affectionately;\nfor a moment he seemed to collect his thoughts for the last time, and\nthen stabbing himself deeply below the waist on the left-hand side, he\ndrew the dirk slowly across to the right side, and, turning it in the\nwound, gave a slight cut upwards. During this sickeningly painful\noperation he never moved a muscle of his face. When he drew out the\ndirk, he leaned forward and stretched out his neck; an expression of\npain for the first time crossed his face, but he uttered no sound. At\nthat moment the _kaishaku_, who, still crouching by his side, had been\nkeenly watching his every movement, sprang to his feet, poised his\nsword for a second in the air; there was a flash, a heavy, ugly thud,\na crashing fall; with one blow the head had been severed from the\nbody.\n\nA dead silence followed, broken only by the hideous noise of the blood\nthrobbing out of the inert heap before us, which but a moment before\nhad been a brave and chivalrous man. It was horrible.\n\nThe _kaishaku_ made a low bow, wiped his sword with a piece of paper\nwhich he had ready for the purpose, and retired from the raised\nfloor; and the stained dirk was solemnly borne away, a bloody proof of\nthe execution.\n\nThe two representatives of the Mikado then left their places, and,\ncrossing over to where the foreign witnesses sat, called us to witness\nthat the sentence of death upon Taki Zenzabur\u00f4 had been faithfully\ncarried out. The ceremony being at an end, we left the temple.\n\nThe ceremony, to which the place and the hour gave an additional\nsolemnity, was characterized throughout by that extreme dignity and\npunctiliousness which are the distinctive marks of the proceedings of\nJapanese gentlemen of rank; and it is important to note this fact,\nbecause it carries with it the conviction that the dead man was indeed\nthe officer who had committed the crime, and no substitute. While\nprofoundly impressed by the terrible scene it was impossible at the\nsame time not to be filled with admiration of the firm and manly\nbearing of the sufferer, and of the nerve with which the _kaishaku_\nperformed his last duty to his master. Nothing could more strongly\nshow the force of education. The Samurai, or gentleman of the military\nclass, from his earliest years learns to look upon the _hara-kiri_ as\na ceremony in which some day he may be called upon to play a part as\nprincipal or second. In old-fashioned families, which hold to the\ntraditions of ancient chivalry, the child is instructed in the rite\nand familiarized with the idea as an honourable expiation of crime or\nblotting out of disgrace. If the hour comes, he is prepared for it,\nand gravely faces an ordeal which early training has robbed of half\nits horrors. In what other country in the world does a man learn that\nthe last tribute of affection which he may have to pay to his best\nfriend may be to act as his executioner?\n\nSince I wrote the above, we have heard that, before his entry into the\nfatal hall, Taki Zenzabur\u00f4 called round him all those of his own clan\nwho were present, many of whom had carried out his order to fire, and,\naddressing them in a short speech, acknowledged the heinousness of his\ncrime and the justice of his sentence, and warned them solemnly to\navoid any repetition of attacks upon foreigners. They were also\naddressed by the officers of the Mikado, who urged them to bear no\nill-will against us on account of the fate of their fellow-clansman.\nThey declared that they entertained no such feeling.\n\nThe opinion has been expressed that it would have been politic for the\nforeign representatives at the last moment to have interceded for the\nlife of Taki Zenzabur\u00f4. The question is believed to have been debated\namong the representatives themselves. My own belief is that mercy,\nalthough it might have produced the desired effect among the more\ncivilized clans, would have been mistaken for weakness and fear by\nthose wilder people who have not yet a personal knowledge of\nforeigners. The offence--an attack upon the flags and subjects of all\nthe Treaty Powers, which lack of skill, not of will, alone prevented\nfrom ending in a universal massacre--was the gravest that has been\ncommitted upon foreigners since their residence in Japan. Death was\nundoubtedly deserved, and the form chosen was in Japanese eyes\nmerciful and yet judicial. The crime might have involved a war and\ncost hundreds of lives; it was wiped out by one death. I believe that,\nin the interest of Japan as well as in our own, the course pursued was\nwise, and it was very satisfactory to me to find that one of the\nablest Japanese ministers, with whom I had a discussion upon the\nsubject, was quite of my opinion.\n\nThe ceremonies observed at the _hara-kiri_ appear to vary slightly in\ndetail in different parts of Japan; but the following memorandum upon\nthe subject of the rite, as it used to be practised at Yedo during the\nrule of the Tycoon, clearly establishes its judicial character. I\ntranslated it from a paper drawn up for me by a Japanese who was able\nto speak of what he had seen himself. Three different ceremonies are\ndescribed:--\n\n1st. _Ceremonies observed at the \"hara-kiri\" of a Hatamoto (petty\nnoble of the Tycoon's court) in prison._--This is conducted with great\nsecrecy. Six mats are spread in a large courtyard of the prison; an\n_ometsuk\u00e9_ (officer whose duties appear to consist in the surveillance\nof other officers), assisted by two other _ometsuk\u00e9s_ of the second\nand third class, acts as _kenshi_ (sheriff or witness), and sits in\nfront of the mats. The condemned man, attired in his dress of\nceremony, and wearing his wings of hempen cloth, sits in the centre of\nthe mats. At each of the four corners of the mats sits a prison\nofficial. Two officers of the Governor of the city act as _kaishaku_\n(executioners or seconds), and take their place, one on the right hand\nand the other on the left hand of the condemned. The _kaishaku_ on the\nleft side, announcing his name and surname, says, bowing, \"I have the\nhonour to act as _kaishaku_ to you; have you any last wishes to\nconfide to me?\" The condemned man thanks him and accepts the offer or\nnot, as the case may be. He then bows to the sheriff, and a wooden\ndirk nine and a half inches long is placed before him at a distance of\nthree feet, wrapped in paper, and lying on a stand such as is used for\nofferings in temples. As he reaches forward to take the wooden sword,\nand stretches out his neck, the _kaifihaku_ on his left-hand side\ndraws his sword and strikes off his head. The _kaishaku_ on the\nright-hand side takes up the head and shows it to the sheriff. The\nbody is given to the relations of the deceased for burial. His\nproperty is confiscated.\n\n2nd. _The ceremonies observed at the \"hara-kiri\" of a Daimio's\nretainer._--When the retainer of a Daimio is condemned to perform the\n_hara-kiri,_ four mats are placed in the yard of the _yashiki_ or\npalace. The condemned man, dressed in his robes of ceremony and\nwearing his wings of hempen cloth, sits in the centre. An officer acts\nas chief witness, with a second witness under him. Two officers, who\nact as _kaishaku_, are on the right and left of the condemned man;\nfour officers are placed at the corners of the mats. The _kaishaku_,\nas in the former case, offers to execute the last wishes of the\ncondemned. A dirk nine and a half inches long is placed before him on\na stand. In this case the dirk is a real dirk, which the man takes and\nstabs himself with on the left side, below the navel, drawing it\nacross to the right side. At this moment, when he leans forward in\npain, the _kaishaku_ on the left-hand side cuts off the head. The\n_kaishaku_ on the right-hand side takes up the head, and shows it to\nthe sheriff. The body is given to the relations for burial. In most\ncases the property of the deceased is confiscated.\n\n3rd. _Self-immolation of a Daimio on account of disgrace_.--When a\nDaimio had been guilty of treason or offended against the Tycoon,\ninasmuch as the family was disgraced, and an apology could neither be\noffered nor accepted, the offending Daimio was condemned to\n_hara-kiri_. Calling his councillors around him, he confided to them\nhis last will and testament for transmission to the Tycoon. Then,\nclothing himself in his court dress, he disembowelled himself, and cut\nhis own throat. His councillors then reported the matter to the\nGovernment, and a coroner was sent to investigate it. To him the\nretainers handed the last will and testament of their lord, and be\ntook it to the Gor\u00f4jiu (first council), who transmitted it to the\nTycoon. If the offence was heinous, such as would involve the ruin of\nthe whole family, by the clemency of the Tycoon, half the property\nmight be confiscated, and half returned to the heir; if the offence\nwas trivial, the property was inherited intact by the heir, and the\nfamily did not suffer.\n\nIn all cases where the criminal disembowels himself of his own accord\nwithout condemnation and without investigation, inasmuch as he is no\nlonger able to defend himself, the offence is considered as\nnon-proven, and the property is not confiscated. In the year 1869 a\nmotion was brought forward in the Japanese parliament by one Ono\nSeigor\u00f4, clerk of the house, advocating the abolition of the practice\nof _hara-kiri_. Two hundred members out of a house of 209 voted\nagainst the motion, which was supported by only three speakers, six\nmembers not voting on either side. In this debate the _seppuku, or\nhara-kiri_, was called \"the very shrine of the Japanese national\nspirit, and the embodiment in practice of devotion to principle,\" \"a\ngreat ornament to the empire,\" \"a pillar of the constitution,\" \"a\nvaluable institution, tending to the honour of the nobles, and based\non a compassionate feeling towards the official caste,\" \"a pillar of\nreligion and a spur to virtue.\" The whole debate (which is well worth\nreading, and an able translation of which by Mr. Aston has appeared in\na recent Blue Book) shows the affection with which the Japanese cling\nto the traditions of a chivalrous past. It is worthy of notice that\nthe proposer, Ono Seigor\u00f4, who on more than one occasion rendered\nhimself conspicuous by introducing motions based upon an admiration of\nour Western civilization, was murdered not long after this debate took\nplace.\n\nThere are many stories on record of extraordinary heroism being\ndisplayed in the _hara-kiri._ The case of a young fellow, only twenty\nyears old, of the Choshiu clan, which was told me the other day by an\neye-witness, deserves mention as a marvellous instance of\ndetermination. Not content with giving himself the one necessary cut,\nhe slashed himself thrice horizontally and twice vertically. Then he\nstabbed himself in the throat until the dirk protruded on the other\nside, with its sharp edge to the front; setting his teeth in one\nsupreme effort, he drove the knife forward with both hands through his\nthroat, and fell dead.\n\nOne more story and I have done. During the revolution, when the\nTycoon, beaten on every side, fled ignominiously to Yedo, he is said\nto have determined to fight no more, but to yield everything. A member\nof his second council went to him and said, \"Sir, the only way for you\nnow to retrieve the honour of the family of Tokugawa is to disembowel\nyourself; and to prove to you that I am sincere and disinterested in\nwhat I say, I am here ready to disembowel myself with you.\" The Tycoon\nflew into a great rage, saying that he would listen to no such\nnonsense, and left the room. His faithful retainer, to prove his\nhonesty, retired to another part of the castle, and solemnly performed\nthe _hara-kiri._\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX B\n\n\n\n\nTHE MARRIAGE CEREMONY\n\n(FROM THE \"SHO-REI HIKKI\"--RECORD OF CEREMONIES.)\n\n\nThe ceremonies observed at marriages are various, and it is not right\nfor a man, exceeding the bounds of his condition in life, to\ntransgress against the rules which are laid down. When the middle-man\nhas arranged the preliminaries of the marriage between the two\nparties, he carries the complimentary present, which is made at the\ntime of betrothal, from the future bridegroom to his destined bride;\nand if this present is accepted, the lady's family can no longer\nretract their promise. This is the beginning of the contract. The\nusual betrothal presents are as follows. Persons of the higher classes\nsend a robe of white silk; a piece of gold embroidery for a girdle; a\npiece of silk stuff; a piece of white silk, with a lozenge pattern,\nand other silk stuffs (these are made up into a pile of three layers);\nfourteen barrels of wine, and seven sorts of condiments. Persons of\nthe middle class send a piece of white silk stuff; a piece of gold\nembroidery for a girdle; a piece of white silk, with a lozenge\npattern, and other silk stuffs (these are made up into a pile of two\nlayers); ten barrels of wine, and five sorts of condiments. The lower\nclasses send a robe of white silk, a robe of coloured silk, in a pile\nof one layer, together with six barrels of wine and three sorts of\ncondiments. To the future father-in-law is sent a sword, with a\nscabbard for slinging, such as is worn in war-time, together with a\nlist of the presents; to the mother-in-law, a silk robe, with wine and\ncondiments. Although all these presents are right and proper for the\noccasion, still they must be regulated according to the means of the\npersons concerned. The future father-in-law sends a present of equal\nvalue in return to his son-in-law, but the bride elect sends no return\npresent to her future husband; the present from the father-in-law must\nby no means be omitted, but according to his position, if he be poor,\nhe need only send wine and condiments.\n\nIn sending the presents care must be taken not to fold the silk robe.\nThe two silk robes that are sent on the marriage night must be placed\nwith the collars stitched together in a peculiar fashion.\n\nThe ceremonies of sending the litter to fetch the bride on the wedding\nnight are as follows. In families of good position, one of the\nprincipal retainers on either side is deputed to accompany the bride\nand to receive her. Matting is spread before the entrance-door, upon\nwhich the bride's litter is placed, while the two principal retainers\ncongratulate one another, and the officers of the bridegroom receive\nthe litter. If a bucket containing clams, to make the wedding broth,\nhas been sent with the bride, it is carried and received by a person\nof distinction. Close by the entrance-door a fire is lighted on the\nright hand and on the left. These fires are called garden-torches. In\nfront of the corridor along which the litter passes, on the right hand\nand on the left, two men and two women, in pairs, place two mortars,\nright and left, in which they pound rice; as the litter passes, the\npounded rice from the left-hand side is moved across to the right, and\nthe two are mixed together into one. This is called the blending of\nthe rice-meal.[113] Two candles are lighted, the one on the right hand\nand the other on the left of the corridor; and after the litter has\npassed, the candle on the left is passed over to the right, and, the\ntwo wicks being brought together, the candles are extinguished. These\nlast three ceremonies are only performed at the weddings of persons of\nhigh rank; they are not observed at the weddings of ordinary persons.\nThe bride takes with her to her husband's house, as presents, two\nsilken robes sewed together in a peculiar manner, a dress of ceremony\nwith wings of hempen cloth, an upper girdle and an under girdle, a\nfan, either five or seven pocket-books, and a sword: these seven\npresents are placed on a long tray, and their value must depend upon\nthe means of the family.\n\n[Footnote 113: Cf. Gibbon on Roman Marriages, _Decline and Fall of the\nRoman Empire_, vol. iv. p. 345: \"The contracting parties were seated\non the same sheepskin; they tasted a salt cake of _far_, or rice; and\nthis _confarreation_, which denoted the ancient food of Italy, served\nas an emblem of their mystic union of mind and body.\"]\n\nThe dress of the bride is a white silk robe with a lozenge pattern,\nover an under-robe, also of white silk. Over her head she wears a veil\nof white silk, which, when she sits down, she allows to fall about her\nas a mantle.\n\nThe bride's furniture and effects are all arranged for her by female\nattendants from her own house on a day previous to the wedding; and\nthe bridegroom's effects are in like manner arranged by the women of\nhis own house.\n\nWhen the bride meets her husband in the room where the relations are\nassembled, she takes her seat for this once in the place of honour,\nher husband sitting in a lower place, not directly opposite to her,\nbut diagonally, and discreetly avoiding her glance.\n\nOn the raised part of the floor are laid out beforehand two trays, the\npreparations for a feast, a table on which are two wagtails,[114] a\nsecond table with a representation of Elysium, fowls, fish, two\nwine-bottles, three wine-cups, and two sorts of kettles for warming\nwine. The ladies go out to meet the bride, and invite her into a\ndressing-room, and, when she has smoothed her dress, bring her into\nthe room, and she and the bridegroom take their seats in the places\nappointed for them. The two trays are then brought out, and the\nladies-in-waiting, with complimentary speeches, hand dried fish and\nseaweed, such as accompany presents, and dried chestnuts to the\ncouple. Two married ladies then each take one of the wine-bottles\nwhich have been prepared, and place them in the lower part of the\nroom. Then two handmaids, who act as wine-pourers, bring the kettles\nand place them in the lower part of the room. The two wine-bottles\nhave respectively a male and female butterfly, made of paper, attached\nto them. The female butterfly is laid on its back, and the wine is\npoured from the bottle into the kettle. The male butterfly is then\ntaken and laid on the female butterfly, and the wine from the bottle\nis poured into the same kettle, and the whole is transferred with due\nceremony to another kettle of different shape, which the wine-pourers\nplace in front of themselves. Little low dining-tables are laid, one\nfor each person, before the bride and bridegroom, and before the\nbride's ladies-in-waiting; the woman deputed to pour the wine takes\nthe three wine-cups and places them one on the top of the other before\nthe bridegroom, who drinks two cups[115] from the upper cup, and pours\na little wine from the full kettle into the empty kettle. The pouring\ntogether of the wine on the wedding night is symbolical of the union\nthat is being contracted. The bridegroom next pours out a third cup of\nwine and drinks it, and the cup is carried by the ladies to the bride,\nwho drinks three cups, and pours a little wine from one kettle into\nthe other, as the bridegroom did. A cup is then set down and put on\nthe other two, and they are carried back to the raised floor and\narranged as before. After this, condiments are set out on the\nright-hand side of a little table, and the wine-pourers place the\nthree cups before the bride, who drinks three cups from the second\ncup, which is passed to the bridegroom; he also drinks three cups as\nbefore, and the cups are piled up and arranged in their original\nplace, by the wine-pourers. A different sort of condiment is next\nserved on the left-hand side; and the three cups are again placed\nbefore the bridegroom, who drinks three cups from the third cup, and\nthe bride does the same. When the cups and tables have been put back\nin their places, the bridegroom, rising from his seat, rests himself\nfor a while. During this time soup of fishes' fins and wine are served\nto the bride's ladies-in-waiting and to the serving-women. They are\nserved with a single wine-cup of earthenware, placed upon a small\nsquare tray, and this again is set upon a long tray, and a wine-kettle\nwith all sorts of condiments is brought from the kitchen. When this\npart of the feast is over, the room is put in order, and the bride and\nbridegroom take their seats again. Soups and a preparation of rice are\nnow served, and two earthenware cups, gilt and silvered, are placed on\na tray, on which there is a representation of the island of\nTakasago.[116] This time butterflies of gold and silver paper are\nattached to the wine-kettles. The bridegroom drinks a cup or two, and\nthe ladies-in-waiting offer more condiments to the couple. Rice, with\nhot water poured over it, according to custom, and carp soup are\nbrought in, and, the wine having been heated, cups of lacquer ware are\nproduced; and it is at this time that the feast commences. (Up to now\nthe eating and drinking has been merely a form.) Twelve plates of\nsweetmeats and tea are served; and the dinner consists of three\ncourses, one course of seven dishes, one of five dishes, and one of\nthree dishes, or else two courses of five dishes and one of three\ndishes, according to the means of the family. The above ceremonies are\nthose which are proper only in families of the highest rank, and are\nby no means fitting for the lower classes, who must not step out of\nthe proper bounds of their position.\n\n[Footnote 114: The god who created Japan is called Kunitokodachi no\nMikoto. Seven generations of gods after his time existed Izanagi no\nMikoto and Izanami no Mikoto--the first a god, the second a goddess.\nAs these two divine beings were standing upon the floating bridge of\nheaven, two wagtails came; and the gods, watching the amorous\ndalliance of the two birds, invented the art of love. From their union\nthus inaugurated sprang the mountains, the rivers, the grass, the\ntrees, the remainder of the gods, and mankind. Another fable is, that\nas the two gods were standing on the floating bridge of heaven,\nIzanagi no Mikoto, taking the heavenly jewelled spear, stirred up the\nsea, and the drops which fell from the point of it congealed and\nbecame an island, which was called _Onokoro-jima_, on which the two\ngods, descending from heaven, took up their abode.]\n\n[Footnote 115: Each cup contains but a sip.]\n\n[Footnote 116: In the island of Takasago, in the province of Harima,\nstands a pine-tree, called the \"pine of mutual old age.\" At the root\nthe tree is single, but towards the centre it springs into two\nstems--an old, old pine, models of which are used at weddings as a\nsymbol that the happy pair shall reach old age together. Its evergreen\nleaves are an emblem of the unchanging constancy of the heart. Figures\nof an old man and woman under the tree are the spirits of the old\npine.]\n\nThere is a popular tradition that, in the ceremony of drinking wine on\nthe wedding night, the bride should drink first, and then hand the cup\nto the bridegroom; but although there are some authorities upon\nceremonies who are in favour of this course, it is undoubtedly a very\ngreat mistake. In the \"Record of Rites,\" by Confucius, it is written,\n\"The man stands in importance before the woman: it is the right of the\nstrong over the weak. Heaven ranks before earth; the prince ranks\nbefore his minister. This law of honour is one.\" Again, in the \"Book\nof History,\" by Confucius, it is written, \"The hen that crows in the\nmorning brings misfortune.\" In our own literature in the Jusho (Book\nof the Gods), \"When the goddesses saw the gods for the first time,\nthey were the first to cry cut, 'Oh! what beautiful males!' But the\ngods were greatly displeased, and said, 'We, who are so strong and\npowerful, should by rights have been the first to speak; how is it\nthat, on the contrary, these females speak first? This is indeed\nvulgar.'\" Again it is written, \"When the gods brought forth the\ncripple Hiruko, the Lord of Heaven, answering, said that his\nmisfortune was a punishment upon the goddesses who had presumed to\nspeak first.\" The same rule therefore exists in China and in Japan,\nand it is held to be unlucky that the wife should take precedence:\nwith this warning people should be careful how they commit a breach of\netiquette, although it may be sanctioned by the vulgar.\n\nAt the wedding of the lower classes, the bride and her ladies and\nfriends have a feast, but the bridegroom has no feast; and when the\nbride's feast is over, the bridegroom is called in and is presented\nwith the bride's wine-cup; but as the forms observed are very vulgar,\nit is not worth while to point out the rules which guide them. As this\nnight is essentially of importance to the married couple only, there\nare some writers on ceremonies who have laid down that no feast need\nbe prepared for the bride's ladies, and in my opinion they are right:\nfor the husband and wife at the beginning of their intercourse to be\nseparated, and for the bride alone to be feasted like an ordinary\nguest, appears to be an inauspicious opening. I have thus pointed out\ntwo ill-omened customs which are to be avoided.\n\nThe ceremonies observed at the weddings of persons of ordinary rank\nare as follows:--The feast which is prepared is in proportion to the\nmeans of the individuals. There must be three wine-cups set out upon a\ntray. The ceremony of drinking wine three times is gone through, as\ndescribed above, after which the bride changes her dress, and a feast\nof three courses is produced--two courses of five dishes and one of\nthree dishes, or one course of five dishes, one of three, and one of\ntwo, according to the means of the family. A tray, with a\nrepresentation of the island of Takasago, is brought out, and the wine\nis heated; sweetmeats of five or seven sorts are also served in boxes\nor trays; and when the tea comes in, the bridegroom gets up, and goes\nto rest himself. If the wine kettles are of tin, they must not be set\nout in the room: they must be brought in from the kitchen; and in that\ncase the paper butterflies are not attached to them.\n\nIn old times the bride and bridegroom used to change their dress three\nor five times during the ceremony; but at the present time, after the\nnine cups of wine have been drunk, in the manner recorded above, the\nchange of dress takes place once. The bride puts on the silk robe\nwhich she has received from the bridegroom, while he dons the dress of\nceremony which has been brought by the bride.\n\nWhen these ceremonies have been observed, the bride's ladies conduct\nher to the apartments of her parents-in-law. The bride carries with\nher silk robes, as presents for her parents and brothers and\nsister-in-law. A tray is brought out, with three wine-cups, which are\nset before the parents-in-law and the bride. The father-in-law drinks\nthree cups and hands the cup to the bride, who, after she has drunk\ntwo cups, receives a present from her father-in-law; she then drinks a\nthird cup, and returns the cup to her father-in-law, who again drinks\nthree cups. Fish is then brought in, and, in the houses of ordinary\npersons, a preparation of rice. Upon this the mother-in-law, taking\nthe second cup, drinks three cups and passes the cup to the bride, who\ndrinks two cups and receives a present from her mother-in-law: she\nthen drinks a third cup and gives back the cup to the mother-in-law,\nwho drinks three cups again. Condiments are served, and, in ordinary\nhouses, soup; after which the bride drinks once from the third cup and\nhands it to her father-in-law, who drinks thrice from it; the bride\nagain drinks twice from it, and after her the mother-in-law drinks\nthrice. The parents-in-law and the bride thus have drunk in all nine\ntimes. If there are any brothers or sisters-in-law, soup and\ncondiments are served, and a single porcelain wine-cup is placed\nbefore them on a tray, and they drink at the word of command of the\nfather-in-law. It is not indispensable that soup should be served upon\nthis occasion. If the parents of the bridegroom are dead, instead of\nthe above ceremony, he leads his bride to make her obeisances before\nthe tablets on which their names are inscribed.\n\nIn old days, after the ceremonies recorded above had been gone\nthrough, the bridegroom used to pay a visit of ceremony to the bride's\nparents; but at the present time the visit is paid before the wedding,\nand although the forms observed on the occasion resemble those of the\nancient times, still they are different, and it would be well that we\nshould resume the old fashion. The two trays which had been used at\nthe wedding feast, loaded with fowl and fish and condiments neatly\narranged, used to be put into a long box and sent to the\nfather-in-law's house. Five hundred and eighty cakes of rice in\nlacquer boxes were also sent. The modern practice of sending the rice\ncakes in a bucket is quite contrary to etiquette: no matter how many\nlacquer boxes may be required for the purpose, they are the proper\nutensils for sending the cakes in. Three, five, seven, or ten men's\nloads of presents, according to the means of the family, are also\noffered. The son-in-law gives a sword and a silk robe to his\nfather-in-law, and a silk robe to his mother-in-law, and also gives\npresents to his brothers and sisters-in-law. (The ceremony of drinking\nwine is the same as that which takes place between the bride and her\nparents-in-law, with a very slight deviation: the bridegroom receives\nno presents from his mother-in-law, and when the third cup is drunk\nthe son-in-law drinks before the father-in-law). A return visit is\npaid by the bride's parents to the bridegroom, at which similar forms\nare observed.\n\nAt the weddings of the great, the bridal chamber is composed of three\nrooms thrown into one,[117] and newly decorated. If there are only two\nrooms available, a third room is built for the occasion. The presents,\nwhich have been mentioned above, are set out on two trays. Besides\nthese, the bridegroom's clothes are hung up upon clothes-racks. The\nmattress and bedclothes are placed in a closet. The bride's effects\nmust all be arranged by the women who are sent on a previous day for\nthe purpose, or it may be done whilst the bride is changing her\nclothes. The shrine for the image of the family god is placed on a\nshelf adjoining the sleeping-place. There is a proper place for the\nvarious articles of furniture. The _kaiok\u00e9_[118] is placed on the\nraised floor; but if there be no raised floor, it is placed in a\ncloset with the door open, so that it may be conspicuously seen. The\nbooks are arranged on a book-shelf or on a cabinet; if there be\nneither shelf nor cabinet, they are placed on the raised floor. The\nbride's clothes are set out on a clothes-rack; in families of high\nrank, seven robes are hung up on the rack; five of these are taken\naway and replaced by others, and again three are taken away and\nreplaced by others; and there are either two or three clothes-racks:\nthe towel-rack is set up in a place of more honour than the\nclothes-racks. If there is no dressing-room, the bride's bedclothes\nand dressing furniture are placed in the sleeping-room. No screens are\nput up on the bridal night, but a fitting place is chosen for them on\nthe following day. All these ceremonies must be in proportion to the\nmeans of the family.\n\n[Footnote 117: The partitions of a Japanese suite of apartments being\nmerely composed of paper sliding-screens, any number of rooms,\naccording to the size of the house, can be thrown into one at a\nmoment's notice.]\n\n[Footnote 118: A _kaiok\u00e9_ is a kind of lacquer basin for washing the\nhands and face.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nThe author of the \"Sho-rei Hikki\" makes no allusion to the custom of\nshaving the eyebrows and blackening the teeth of married women, in\ntoken of fidelity to their lords. In the upper classes, young ladies\nusually blacken their teeth before leaving their father's house to\nenter that of their husbands, and complete the ceremony by shaving\ntheir eyebrows immediately after the wedding, or, at any rate, not\nlater than upon the occasion of their first pregnancy.\n\nThe origin of the fashion is lost in antiquity. As a proof that it\nexisted before the eleventh century, A.D., a curious book called\n\"Teij\u00f4 Zakki,\" or the Miscellaneous Writings of Teij\u00f4, cites the diary\nof Murasaki Shikibu, the daughter of one Tam\u00e9soki, a retainer of the\nhouse of Echizen, a lady of the court and famous poetess, the\nauthoress of a book called \"Genji-mono-gatari,\" and other works. In\nher diary it is written that on the last night of the fifth year of\nthe period Kank\u00f4 (A.D. 1008), in order that she might appear to\nadvantage on New Year's Day, she retired to the privacy of her own\napartment, and repaired the deficiencies of her personal appearance by\nre-blackening her teeth, and otherwise adorning herself. Allusion is\nalso made to the custom in the \"Yeiga-mono-gatari,\" an ancient book by\nthe same authoress.\n\nThe Emperor and nobles of his court are also in the habit of\nblackening their teeth; but the custom is gradually dying out in their\ncase. It is said to have originated with one Hanazono Arishito, who\nheld the high rank of _Sa-Daijin,_ or \"minister of the left,\" at the\ncommencement of the twelfth century, in the reign of the Emperor\nToba. Being a, man of refined and sensual tastes, this minister\nplucked out his eyebrows, shaved his beard, blackened his teeth,\npowdered his face white, and rouged his lips in order to render\nhimself as like a woman as possible. In the middle of the twelfth\ncentury, the nobles of the court, who went to the wars, all blackened\ntheir teeth; and from this time forth the practice became a fashion of\nthe court. The followers of the chiefs of the H\u00f4j\u00f4 dynasty also\nblackened their teeth, as an emblem of their fidelity; and this was\ncalled the Odawara fashion, after the castle town of the family. Thus\na custom, which had its origin in a love of sensuality and pleasure,\nbecame mistaken for the sign of a good and faithful spirit.\n\nThe fashion of blackening the teeth entails no little trouble upon its\nfollowers, for the colour must be renewed every day, or at least every\nother day. Strange and repelling as the custom appears at first, the\neye soon learns to look without aversion upon a well-blacked and\npolished set of teeth; but when the colour begins to wear away, and\nturns to a dullish grey, streaked with black, the mouth certainly\nbecomes most hideous. Although no one who reads this is likely to put\na recipe for blackening the teeth to a practical test, I append one\nfurnished to me by a fashionable chemist and druggist in Yedo:--\n\n\"Take three pints of water, and, having warmed it, add half a\nteacupful of wine. Put into this mixture a quantity of red-hot iron;\nallow it to stand for five or six days, when there will be a scum on\nthe top of the mixture, which should then be poured into a small\nteacup and placed near a fire. When it is warm, powdered gallnuts and\niron filings should be added to it, and the whole should be warmed\nagain. The liquid is then painted on to the teeth by means of a soft\nfeather brush, with more powdered gallnuts and iron, and, after\nseveral applications, the desired colour will be obtained.\"\n\nThe process is said to be a preservative of the teeth, and I have\nknown men who were habitual sufferers from toothache to prefer the\nmartyrdom of ugliness to that of pain, and apply the black colouring\nwhen the paroxysms were severe. One man told me that he experienced\nimmediate relief by the application, and that so long as he blackened\nhis teeth he was quite free from pain.\n\n\n\n\nON THE BIRTH AND BEARING OF CHILDREN\n\n(FROM THE \"SHO-REI HIKKI.\")\n\n\nIn the fifth month of a woman's pregnancy, a very lucky day is\nselected for the ceremony of putting on a girdle, which is of white\nand red silk, folded, and eight feet in length. The husband produces\nit from the left sleeve of his dress; and the wife receives it in the\nright sleeve of her dress, and girds it on for the first time. This\nceremony is only performed once. When the child is born, the white\npart of the girdle is dyed sky-blue, with a peculiar mark on it, and\nis made into clothes for the child. These, however, are not the first\nclothes which it wears. The dyer is presented with wine and condiments\nwhen the girdle is entrusted to him. It is also customary to beg some\nmatron, who has herself had an easy confinement, for the girdle which\nshe wore during her pregnancy; and this lady is called the\ngirdle-mother. The borrowed girdle is tied on with that given by the\nhusband, and the girdle-mother at this time gives and receives a\npresent.\n\nThe furniture of the lying-in chamber is as follows:--Two tubs for\nplacing under-petticoats in; two tubs to hold the placenta; a piece of\nfurniture like an arm-chair, without legs, for the mother to lean\nagainst;[119] a stool, which is used by the lady who embraces the\nloins of the woman in labour to support her, and which is afterwards\nused by the midwife in washing the child; several pillows of various\nsizes, that the woman in child-bed may ease her head at her pleasure;\nnew buckets, basins, and ladles of various sizes. Twenty-four\nbaby-robes, twelve of silk and twelve of cotton, must be prepared; the\nhems must be dyed saffron-colour. There must be an apron for the\nmidwife, if the infant is of high rank, in order that, when she washes\nit, she may not place it immediately on her own knees: this apron\nshould be made of a kerchief of cotton. When the child is taken out of\nthe warm water, its body must be dried with a kerchief of fine cotton,\nunhemmed.\n\n[Footnote 119: Women in Japan are delivered in a kneeling position,\nand after the birth of the child they remain night and day in a\nsquatting position, leaning back against a support, for twenty-one\ndays, after which they are allowed to recline. Up to that time the\nrecumbent position is supposed to produce a dangerous rush of blood to\nthe head.]\n\nOn the seventy-fifth or hundred and twentieth day after its birth, the\nbaby leaves off its baby-linen; and this day is kept as a holiday.\nAlthough it is the practice generally to dress up children in various\nkinds of silk, this is very wrong, as the two principles of life being\nthereby injured, the child contracts disease; and on this account the\nancients strictly forbade the practice. In modern times the child is\ndressed up in beautiful clothes; but to put a cap on its head,\nthinking to make much of it, when, on the contrary, it is hurtful to\nthe child, should be avoided. It would be an excellent thing if rich\npeople, out of care for the health of their children, would put a stop\nto a practice to which fashion clings.\n\nOn the hundred and twentieth day after their birth children, whether\nmale or female, are weaned.[120] This day is fixed, and there is no\nneed to choose a lucky day. If the child be a boy, it is fed by a\ngentleman of the family; if a girl, by a lady. The ceremony is as\nfollows:--The child is brought out and given to the weaning father or\nsponsor. He takes it on his left knee. A small table is prepared. The\nsponsor who is to feed the child, taking some rice which has been\noffered to the gods, places it on the corner of the little table which\nis by him; He dips his chop-sticks thrice in this rice, and very\nquietly places them in the mouth of the child, pretending to give it\nsome of the juice of the rice. Five cakes of rice meal are also placed\non the left side of the little table, and with these he again pretends\nto feed the child three times. When this ceremony is over, the child\nis handed back to its guardian, and three wine-cups are produced on a\ntray. The sponsor drinks three cups, and presents the cup to the\nchild. When the child has been made to pretend to drink two cups, it\nreceives a present from its sponsor, after which the child is supposed\nto drink a third time. Dried fish is then brought in, and the baby,\nhaving drunk thrice, passes the cup to its sponsor, who drinks thrice.\nMore fish of a different kind is brought in. The drinking is repeated,\nand the weaning father receives a present from the child. The\nguardian, according to rules of propriety, should be near the child. A\nfeast should be prepared, according to the means of the family. If the\nchild be a girl, a weaning mother performs this ceremony, and suitable\npresents must be offered on either side. The wine-drinking is gone\nthrough as above.\n\n[Footnote 120: This is only a nominal weaning. Japanese children are\nnot really weaned until far later than is ordinary in Europe; and it\nis by no means uncommon to see a mother in the poorer classes suckling\na hulking child of from five to seven years old. One reason given for\nthis practice is, that by this means the danger of having to provide\nfor large families is lessened.]\n\nOn the fifteenth day of the eleventh month of the child's third year,\nbe the child boy or girl, its hair is allowed to grow. (Up to this\ntime the whole head has been shaven: now three patches are allowed to\ngrow, one on each side and one at the back of the head.) On this\noccasion also a sponsor is selected. A large tray, on which are a\ncomb, scissors, paper string, a piece of string for tying the hair in\na knot, cotton wool, and the bit of dried fish or seaweed which\naccompanies presents, one of each, and seven rice straws--these seven\narticles must be prepared.[121]\n\n[Footnote 121: For a few days previous to the ceremony the child's\nhead is not shaved.]\n\nThe child is placed facing the point of the compass which is\nauspicious for that year, and the sponsor, if the child be a boy,\ntakes the scissors and gives three snips at the hair on the left\ntemple, three on the right, and three in the centre. He then takes the\npiece of cotton wool and spreads it over the child's head, from the\nforehead, so as to make it hang down behind his neck, and he places\nthe bit of dried fish or seaweed and the seven straws at the bottom of\nthe piece of cotton wool, attaching them to the wool, and ties them in\ntwo loops, like a man's hair, with a piece of paper string; he then\nmakes a woman's knot with two pieces of string. The ceremony of\ndrinking wine is the same as that gone through at the weaning. If the\nchild is a girl, a lady acts as sponsor; the hair-cutting is begun\nfrom the right temple instead of from the left. There is no difference\nin the rest of the ceremony.\n\nOn the fifth day of the eleventh month of the child's fourth year he\nis invested with the _hakama_, or loose trousers worn by the Samurai.\nOn this occasion again a sponsor is called in. The child receives from\nthe sponsor a dress of ceremony, on which are embroidered storks and\ntortoises (emblems of longevity--the stork is said to live a thousand\nyears, the tortoise ten thousand), fir-trees (which, being evergreen,\nand not changing their colour, are emblematic of an unchangingly\nvirtuous heart), and bamboos (emblematic of an upright and straight\nmind). The child is placed upright on a chequer-board, facing the\nauspicious point of the compass, and invested with the dress of\nceremony. It also receives a sham sword and dirk. The usual ceremony\nof drinking wine is observed.\n\nNOTE.--In order to understand the following ceremony, it is necessary\nto recollect that the child at three years of age is allowed to grow\nits hair in three patches. By degrees the hair is allowed to grow, the\ncrown alone being shaved, and a forelock left. At ten or eleven years\nof age the boy's head is dressed like a man's, with the exception of\nthis forelock.\n\nThe ceremony of cutting off the forelock used in old days to include\nthe ceremony of putting on the noble's cap; but as this has gone out\nof fashion, there is no need to treat of it.\n\nAny time after the youth has reached the age of fifteen, according to\nthe cleverness and ability which he shows, a lucky day is chosen for\nthis most important ceremony, after which the boy takes his place\namongst full-grown men. A person of virtuous character is chosen as\nsponsor or \"cap-father.\" Although the man's real name (that name which\nis only known to his intimate relations and friends, not the one by\nwhich he usually goes in society) is usually determined before this\ndate, if it be not so, he receives his real name from his sponsor on\nthis day. In old days there used to be a previous ceremony of cutting\nthe hair off the forehead in a straight line, so as to make two\nangles: up to this time the youth wore long sleeves like a woman, and\nfrom that day he wore short sleeves. This was called the \"half\ncutting.\" The poorer classes have a habit of shortening the sleeves\nbefore this period; but that is contrary to all rule, and is an evil\ncustom.\n\nA common tray is produced, on which is placed an earthenware wine-cup.\nThe sponsor drinks thrice, and hands the cup to the young man, who,\nhaving also drunk thrice, gives back the cup to the sponsor, who again\ndrinks thrice, and then proceeds to tie up the young man's hair.\n\nThere are three ways of tying the hair, and there is also a particular\nfashion of letting the forelock grow long; and when this is the case,\nthe forelock is only clipped. (This is especially the fashion among\nthe nobles of the Mikado's court.) This applies only to persons who\nwear the court cap, and not to gentlemen of lower grade. Still, these\nlatter persons, if they wish to go through the ceremony in its\nentirety, may do so without impropriety. Gentlemen of the Samurai or\nmilitary class cut off the whole of the forelock. The sponsor either\nties up the hair of the young man, or else, placing the forelock on a\nwillow board, cuts it off with a knife, or else, amongst persons of\nvery high rank, he only pretends to do so, and goes into another room\nwhilst the real cutting is going on, and then returns to the same\nroom. The sponsor then, without letting the young man see what he is\ndoing, places the lock which has been cut into the pocket of his left\nsleeve, and, leaving the room, gives it to the young man's guardians,\nwho wrap it in paper and offer it up at the shrine of the family gods.\nBut this is wrong. The locks should be well wrapped up in paper and\nkept in the house until the man's death, to serve as a reminder of the\nfavours which a man receives from his father and mother in his\nchildhood; when he dies, it should be placed in his coffin and buried\nwith him. The wine-drinking and presents are as before.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nIn the \"Sho-rei Hikki,\" the book from which the above is translated,\nthere is no notice of the ceremony of naming the child: the following\nis a translation from a Japanese MS.:--\n\n\"On the seventh day after its birth, the child receives its name; the\nceremony is called the congratulations of the seventh night. On this\nday some one of the relations of the family, who holds an exalted\nposition, either from his rank or virtues, selects a name for the\nchild, which name he keeps until the time of the cutting of the\nforelock, when he takes the name which he is to bear as a man. This\nsecond name is called _Yeboshina_,[122] the cap-name, which is\ncompounded of syllables taken from an old name of the family and from\nthe name of the sponsor. If the sponsor afterwards change his name,\nhis name-child must also change his name. For instance, Minamoto no\nYoshitsun\u00e9, the famous warrior, as a child was called Ushiwakamaru;\nwhen he grew up to be a man, he was called Kur\u00f4; and his real name was\nYoshitsun\u00e9.\"\n\n\n[Footnote 122: From _Yeboshi_, a court cap, and _Na_, a name.]\n\n\n\n\nFUNERAL RITES\n\n(FROM THE \"SHO-REI HIKKI.\")\n\n\nOn the death of a parent, the mourning clothes worn are made of coarse\nhempen cloth, and during the whole period of mourning these must be\nworn night and day. As the burial of his parents is the most important\nceremony which a man has to go through during his whole life, when the\noccasion comes, in order that there be no confusion, he must employ\nsome person to teach him the usual and proper rites. Above all things\nto be reprehended is the burning of the dead: they should be interred\nwithout burning.[123] The ceremonies to be observed at a funeral\nshould by rights have been learned before there is occasion to put\nthem in practice. If a man have no father or mother, he is sure to\nhave to bury other relations; and so he should not disregard this\nstudy. There are some authorities who select lucky days and hours and\nlucky places for burying the dead, but this is wrong; and when they\ntalk about curses being brought upon posterity by not observing these\nauspicious seasons and places, they make a great mistake. It is a\nmatter of course that an auspicious day must be chosen so far as\navoiding wind and rain is concerned, that men may bury their dead\nwithout their minds being distracted; and it is important to choose a\nfitting cemetery, lest in after days the tomb should be damaged by\nrain, or by men walking over it, or by the place being turned into a\nfield, or built upon. When invited to a friend's or neighbour's\nfuneral, a man should avoid putting on smart clothes and dresses of\nceremony; and when he follows the coffin, he should not speak in a\nloud voice to the person next him, for that is very rude; and even\nshould he have occasion to do so, he should avoid entering wine-shops\nor tea-houses on his return from the funeral.\n\n[Footnote 123: On the subject of burning the dead, see a note to the\nstory of Ch\u00f4bei of Bandzuin.]\n\nThe list of persons present at a funeral should be written on slips of\npaper, and firmly bound together. It may be written as any other list,\nonly it must not be written beginning at the right hand, as is usually\nthe case, but from the left hand (as is the case in European books).\n\nOn the day of burial, during the funeral service, incense is burned in\nthe temple before the tablet on which is inscribed the name under\nwhich the dead person enters salvation.[124] The incense-burners,\nhaving washed their hands, one by one, enter the room where the tablet\nis exposed, and advance half-way up to the tablet, facing it;\nproducing incense wrapped in paper from their bosoms, they hold it in\ntheir left hands, and, taking a pinch with the right hand, they place\nthe packet in their left sleeve. If the table on which the tablet is\nplaced be high, the person offering incense half raises himself from\nhis crouching position; if the table be low, he remains crouching to\nburn the incense, after which he takes three steps backwards, with\nbows and reverences, and retires six feet, when he again crouches down\nto watch the incense-burning, and bows to the priests who are sitting\nin a row with their chief at their head, after which he rises and\nleaves the room. Up to the time of burning the incense no notice is\ntaken of the priest. At the ceremony of burning incense before the\ngrave, the priests are not saluted. The packet of incense is made of\nfine paper folded in three, both ways.\n\n[Footnote 124: After death a person receives a new name. For instance,\nthe famous Prince Tokugawa Iy\u00e9yasu entered salvation as Gongen Sama.\nThis name is called _okurina_, or the accompanying name.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\nThe reason why the author of the \"Sho-rei Hikki\" has treated so\nbriefly of the funeral ceremonies is probably that these rites, being\ninvariably entrusted to the Buddhist priesthood, vary according to the\nsect of the latter; and, as there are no less than fifteen sects of\nBuddhism in Japan, it would be a long matter to enter into the\nceremonies practised by each. Should Buddhism be swept out of Japan,\nas seems likely to be the case, men will probably return to the old\nrites which obtained before its introduction in the sixth century of\nour era. What those rites were I have been unable to learn.","title":"Tales of Old Japan","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":136276}