{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_46863/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_46863","id":"gutenberg_46863","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46863","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Legends -- Japan","Mythology, Japanese"],"text":"Old-World Japan\n\n       Legends of the Land of the\n       Gods + + Re-told by Frank\n      Rinder + With Illustrations\n          by T. H. Robinson\n\n\n     \"The spirit of Japan is as the\n  fragrance of the wild cherry-blossom\n           in the dawn of the\n              rising sun\"\n\n\n          London: George Allen\n         156 Charing Cross Road\n                  1895\n\n\n\n\n  Old-World Japan\n\n  [Illustration: Publisher's device]\n\n\n\n\n  Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.\n  At the Ballantyne Press\n\n\n\n\nPreface\n\n\nHistory and mythology, fact and fable, are closely interwoven in the\ntexture of Japanese life and thought; indeed, it is within relatively\nrecent years only that exact comparative criticism has been able, with\nsome degree of accuracy, to divide the one from the other. The\naccounts of the God-period contained in the Kojiki and the\nNihongi--\"Records of Ancient Matters\" compiled in the eighth century\nof the Christian era--profess to outline the events of the vast cycles\nof years from the time of Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi-no-kami's birth in the\nPlain of High Heaven, \"when the earth, young and like unto floating\noil, drifted about medusa-like,\" to the death of the Empress Suiko,\nA.D. 628.\n\nThe first six tales in this little volume are founded on some of the\nmost significant and picturesque incidents of this God-period. The\nopening legend gives a brief relation of the birth of several of the\ngreat Shinto deities, of the creation of Japan and of the world, of\nthe Orpheus-like descent of Izanagi to Hades, and of his subsequent\nfight with the demons.\n\nThat Chinese civilisation has exercised a profound influence on that\nof Japan, cannot be doubted. A scholar of repute has indicated that\nevidence of this is to be found even in writings so early as the\nKojiki and the Nihongi. To give a single instance only: the curved\njewels, of which the remarkable necklace of Ama-terasu was made, have\nnever been found in Japan, whereas the stones are not uncommon in\nChina.\n\nThis is not the place critically to consider the wealth of myth,\nlegend, fable, and folk-tale to be found scattered throughout Japanese\nliterature, and represented in Japanese art: suffice it to say, that\nto the student and the lover of primitive romance, there are here\nvast fields practically unexplored.\n\nThe tales contained in this volume have been selected with a view\nrather to their beauty and charm of incident and colour, than with the\naim to represent adequately the many-sided subject of Japanese lore.\nMoreover, those only have been chosen which are not familiar to the\nEnglish-reading public. Several of the classic names of Japan have\nbeen interpolated in the text. It remains to say that, in order not to\nweary the reader, it has been found necessary to abbreviate the\nmany-syllabled Japanese names.\n\nThe sources from which I have drawn are too numerous to particularise.\nTo Professor Basil Hall Chamberlain, whose intimate and scholarly\nknowledge of all matters Japanese is well known, my thanks are\nespecially due, as also the expression of my indebtedness to other\nwriters in English, from Mr. A. B. Mitford to Mr. Lafcadio Hearn,\nwhose volumes on \"Unfamiliar Japan\" appeared last year. The careful\ntext of Dr. David Brauns, and the studies of F. A. Junker von\nLangegg, have also been of great service. The works of numerous French\nwriters on Japanese art have likewise been consulted with advantage.\n\n                                                   FRANK RINDER.\n\n\n\n\nContents\n\n\n                                              PAGE\n    THE BIRTH-TIME OF THE GODS                   1\n\n    THE SUN-GODDESS                             15\n\n    THE HEAVENLY MESSENGERS                     25\n\n    PRINCE RUDDY-PLENTY                         35\n\n    THE PALACE OF THE OCEAN-BED                 45\n\n    AUTUMN AND SPRING                           57\n\n    THE STAR-LOVERS                             67\n\n    THE ISLAND OF ETERNAL YOUTH                 77\n\n    RAI-TARO, THE SON OF THE THUNDER-GOD        87\n\n    THE SOULS OF THE CHILDREN                   97\n\n    THE MOON-MAIDEN                            103\n\n    THE GREAT FIR TREE OF TAKASAGO             113\n\n    THE WILLOW OF MUKOCHIMA                    121\n\n    THE CHILD OF THE FOREST                    129\n\n    THE VISION OF TSUNU                        141\n\n    PRINCESS FIRE-FLY                          151\n\n    THE SPARROW'S WEDDING                      161\n\n    THE LOVE OF THE SNOW-WHITE FOX             171\n\n    NEDZUMI                                    181\n\n    KOMA AND GON                               189\n\n\n\n\nList of Illustrations\n\n\n                                                                PAGE\n    Heading to \"The Birth-Time of the Gods\"                        3\n\n      _When he had so said, he plunged his jewelled spear\n          into the seething mass below_                            5\n\n    Heading to \"The Sun-Goddess\"                                  17\n\n      _Ama-terasu gazed into the mirror, and wondered greatly\n          when she saw therein a goddess of exceeding beauty_     21\n\n    Heading to \"The Heavenly Messengers\"                          27\n\n      _As the Young Prince alighted on the sea-shore, a\n          beautiful earth-spirit, Princess Under-Shining,\n          stood before him_                                       29\n\n    Heading to \"Prince Ruddy-Plenty\"                              37\n\n      _But the fair Uzume went fearlessly up to the giant,\n          and said: \"Who is it that thus impedes our descent\n          from heaven?\"_                                          39\n\n    Heading to \"The Palace of the Ocean-Bed\"                      47\n\n      _Suddenly she saw the reflection of Prince Fire-Fade\n          in the water_                                           51\n\n    Heading to \"Autumn and Spring\"                                59\n\n      _One after the other returned sorrowfully home, for\n          none found favour in her eyes_                          63\n\n    Heading to \"The Star Lovers\"                                  69\n\n      _The lovers were wont, standing on the banks of the\n          celestial stream, to waft across it sweet and\n          tender messages_                                        71\n\n    Heading to \"The Island of Eternal Youth\"                      79\n\n      _Soon he came to its shores, and landed as one in a\n          dream_                                                  83\n\n    Heading to \"Rai-Taro, the Son of the Thunder-God\"             89\n\n      _The birth of Rai-taro_                                     93\n\n    Heading to \"The Souls of the Children\"                        99\n\n    Heading to \"The Moon-Maiden\"                                 105\n\n      _At one moment she skimmed the surface of the sea, the\n          next her tiny feet touched the topmost branches of\n          the tall pine trees_                                   109\n\n    Heading to \"The Great Fir Tree of Takasago\"                  115\n\n    Heading to \"The Willow of Mukochima\"                         123\n\n    Heading to \"The Child of the Forest\"                         131\n\n      _Kintaro reigned as prince of the forest, beloved of\n          every living creature_                                 135\n\n    Heading to \"The Vision of Tsunu\"                             143\n\n      _On a plot of mossy grass beyond the thicket, sat two\n          maidens of surpassing beauty_                          147\n\n    Heading to \"Princess Fire-Fly\"                               153\n\n      _But the Princess whispered to herself, \"Only he who\n          loves me more than life shall call me bride\"_          155\n\n    Heading to \"The Sparrow's Wedding\"                           163\n\n    Heading to \"The Love of the Snow-White Fox\"                  173\n\n      _With two mighty strokes, he felled his adversaries to\n          the ground_                                            177\n\n    Heading to \"Nedzumi\"                                         183\n\n    Heading to \"Koma and Gon\"                                    191\n\n\n\n\nThe Birth-Time of the Gods\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Birth-Time of the Gods_]\n\n\nBefore time was, and while yet the world was uncreated, chaos reigned.\nThe earth and the waters, the light and the darkness, the stars and\nthe firmament, were intermingled in a vapoury liquid. All things were\nformless and confused. No creature existed; phantom shapes moved as\nclouds on the ruffled surface of a sea. It was the birth-time of the\ngods. The first deity sprang from an immense bulrush-bud, which rose,\nspear-like, in the midst of the boundless disorder. Other gods were\nborn, but three generations passed before the actual separation of the\natmosphere from the more solid earth. Finally, where the tip of the\nbulrush points upward, the Heavenly Spirits appeared.\n\nFrom this time their kingdom was divided from the lower world where\nchaos still prevailed. To the fourth pair of gods it was given to\ncreate the earth. These two beings were the powerful God of the Air,\nIzanagi, and the fair Goddess of the Clouds, Izanami. From them sprang\nall life.\n\nNow Izanagi and Izanami wandered on the Floating Bridge of Heaven.\nThis bridge spanned the gulf between heaven and the unformed world; it\nwas upheld in the air, and it stood secure. The God of the Air spoke\nto the Goddess of the Clouds: \"There must needs be a kingdom beneath\nus, let us visit it.\" When he had so said, he plunged his jewelled\nspear into the seething mass below. The drops that fell from the point\nof the spear congealed and became the island of Onogoro. Thereupon\nthe Earth-Makers descended, and called up a high mountain peak, on\nwhose summit could rest one end of the Heavenly Bridge, and around\nwhich the whole world should revolve.\n\n  [Illustration: When he had so said, he plunged his jewelled spear\n    into the seething mass below.]\n\nThe Wisdom of the Heavenly Spirit had decreed that Izanagi should be a\nman, and Izanami a woman, and these two deities decided to wed and\ndwell together on the earth. But, as befitted their august birth, the\nwooing must be solemn. Izanagi skirted the base of the mountain to the\nright, Izanami turned to the left. When the Goddess of the Clouds saw\nthe God of the Air approaching afar off, she cried, enraptured: \"Ah,\nwhat a fair and lovely youth!\" Then Izanagi exclaimed, \"Ah, what a\nfair and lovely maiden!\" As they met, they clasped hands, and the\nmarriage was accomplished. But, for some unknown cause, the union did\nnot prove as happy as the god and goddess had hoped. They continued\ntheir work of creation, but Awaji, the island that rose from the deep,\nwas little more than a barren waste, and their first-born son, Hiruko,\nwas a weakling. The Earth-Makers placed him in a little boat woven of\nreeds, and left him to the mercy of wind and tide.\n\nIn deep grief, Izanagi and Izanami recrossed the Floating Bridge, and\ncame to the place where the Heavenly Spirits hold eternal audience.\nFrom them they learned that Izanagi should have been the first to\nspeak, when the gods met round the base of the Pillar of Earth. They\nmust woo and wed anew. On their return to earth, Izanagi, as before,\nwent to the right, and Izanami to the left of the mountain, but now,\nwhen they met, Izanagi exclaimed: \"Ah, what a fair and lovely maiden!\"\nand Izanami joyfully responded, \"Ah, what a fair and lovely youth!\"\nThey clasped hands once more, and their happiness began. They created\nthe eight large islands of the Kingdom of Japan; first the luxuriant\nIsland of the Dragon-fly, the great Yamato; then Tsukushi, the\nWhite-Sun Youth; Iyo, the Lovely Princess, and many more. The rocky\nislets of the archipelago were formed by the foam of the rolling\nbreakers as they dashed on the coast-lines of the islands already\ncreated. Thus China and the remaining lands and continents of the\nworld came into existence.\n\nNow were born to Izanagi and Izanami, the Ruler of the Rivers, the\nDeity of the Mountains, and, later, the God of the Trees, and a\ngoddess to whom was entrusted the care of tender plants and herbs.\n\nThen Izanagi and Izanami said: \"We have created the mighty Kingdom of\nthe Eight Islands, with mountains, rivers, and trees; yet another\ndivinity there must be, who shall guard and rule this fair world.\"\n\nAs they spoke, a daughter was born to them. Her beauty was dazzling,\nand her regal bearing betokened that her throne should be set high\nabove the clouds. She was none other than Ama-terasu, The\nHeaven-Illuminating Spirit. Izanagi and Izanami rejoiced greatly when\nthey beheld her face, and exclaimed, \"Our daughter shall dwell in the\nBlue Plain of High Heaven, and from there she shall direct the\nuniverse.\" So they led her to the summit of the mountain, and over the\nwondrous bridge. The Heavenly Spirits were joyful when they saw\nAma-terasu, and said: \"You shall mount into the soft blue of the sky,\nyour brilliancy shall illumine, and your sweet smile shall gladden,\nthe Eternal Land, and all the world. Fleecy clouds shall be your\nhandmaidens, and sparkling dewdrops your messengers of peace.\"\n\nThe next child of Izanagi and Izanami was a son, and as he also was\nbeautiful, with the dream-like beauty of the evening, they placed him\nin the heavens, as co-ruler with his sister Ama-terasu. His name was\nTsuku-yomi, the Moon-God. The god Susa-no-o is another son of the two\ndeities who wooed and wed around the base of the Pillar of Earth.\nUnlike his brother and his sister, he was fond of the shadow and the\ngloom. When he wept, the grass on the mountainside withered, the\nflowers were blighted, and men died. Izanagi had little joy in this\nson, nevertheless he made him ruler of the ocean.\n\nNow that the world was created, the happy life of the God of the Air\nand the Goddess of the Clouds was over. The consumer, the God of\nFire, was born, and Izanami died. She vanished into the deep solitudes\nof the Kingdom of the Trees, in the country of Kii, and disappeared\nthence into the lower regions.\n\nIzanagi was sorely troubled because Izanami had been taken from him,\nand he descended in pursuit of her to the portals of the shadowy\nkingdom where sunshine is unknown. Izanami would fain have left that\nplace to rejoin Izanagi on the beautiful earth. Her spirit came to\nmeet him, and in urgent and tender words besought him not to seek her\nin those cavernous regions. But the bold god would not be warned. He\npressed forward, and, by the light struck from his comb, he sought for\nhis loved one long and earnestly. Grim forms rose to confront him, but\nhe passed them by with kingly disdain. Sounds as of the wailing of\nlost souls struck his ear, but still he persisted. After endless\nsearch, he found his Izanami lying in an attitude of untold despair,\nbut so changed was she, that he gazed intently into her eyes ere he\ncould recognise her. Izanami was angry that Izanagi had not listened\nto her commands, for she knew how fruitless would be his efforts.\nWithout the sanction of the ruler of the under-world, she could not\nreturn to earth, and this consent she had tried in vain to obtain.\n\nIzanagi, hard pressed by the eight monsters who guard the Land of\nGloom, had to flee for his life. He defended himself valiantly with\nhis sword; then he threw down his head-dress, and it was transformed\ninto bunches of purple grapes; he also cast behind him the comb, by\nmeans of which he had obtained light, and from it sprang tender shoots\nof bamboo. While the monsters eagerly devoured the luscious grapes and\ntender shoots, Izanagi gained the broad flight of steps which led back\nto earth. At the top he paused and cried to Izanami: \"All hope of our\nreunion is now at an end. Our separation must be eternal.\"\n\nStretching far beyond Izanagi lay the ocean, and on its surface was\nreflected the face of his well-beloved daughter, Ama-terasu. She\nseemed to speak, and beseech him to purify himself in the great waters\nof the sea. As he bathed, his wounds were healed, and a sense of\ninfinite peace stole over him.\n\nThe life-work of the Earth-Maker was done. He bestowed the world upon\nhis children, and afterwards crossed, for the last time, the\nmany-coloured Bridge of Heaven. The God of the Air now spends his days\nwith the Heaven-Illuminating Spirit in her sun-glorious palace.\n\n\n\n\nThe Sun-Goddess\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Sun-Goddess_]\n\n\nAma-terasu, the Sun-Goddess, was seated in the Blue Plain of Heaven.\nHer light came as a message of joy to the celestial deities. The\norchid and the iris, the cherry and the plum blossom, the rice and the\nhemp fields answered to her smile. The Inland Sea was veiled in soft\nrich colour.\n\nSusa-no-o, the brother of Ama-terasu, who had resigned his ocean\nsceptre and now reigned as the Moon-God, was jealous of his sister's\nglory and world-wide sway. The Heaven-Illuminating Spirit had but to\nwhisper and she was heard throughout her kingdom, even in the depths\nof the clear pool and in the heart of the crystal. Her rice-fields,\nwhether situated on hill-side, in sheltered valley, or by running\nstream, yielded abundant harvests, and her groves were laden with\nfruit. But the voice of Susa-no-o was not so clear, his smile was not\nso radiant. The undulating fields which lay around his palace were now\nflooded, now parched, and his rice crops were often destroyed. The\nwrath and jealousy of the Moon-God knew no bounds, yet Ama-terasu was\ninfinitely patient and forgave him many things.\n\nOnce, as was her wont, the Sun-Goddess sat in the central court of her\nglorious home. She plied her shuttle. Celestial weaving maidens\nsurrounded a fountain whose waters were fragrant with the heavenly\nlotus-bloom: they sang softly of the clouds and the wind and the lift\nof the sky. Suddenly, the body of a piebald horse fell through the\nvast dome at their feet: the \"Beloved of the Gods\" had been \"flayed\nwith a backward flaying\" by the envious Susa-no-o. Ama-terasu,\ntrembling at the horrible sight, pricked her finger with the weaving\nshuttle, and, profoundly indignant at the cruelty of her brother,\nwithdrew into a cave and closed behind her the door of the Heavenly\nRock Dwelling.\n\nThe universe was plunged in darkness. Joy and goodwill, serenity and\npeace, hope and love, waned with the waning light. Evil spirits, who\nheretofore had crouched in dim corners, came forth and roamed abroad.\nTheir grim laughter and discordant tones struck terror into all\nhearts.\n\nThen it was that the gods, fearful for their safety and for the life of\nevery beautiful thing, assembled in the bed of the tranquil River of\nHeaven, whose waters had been dried up. One and all knew that Ama-terasu\nalone could help them. But how allure the Heaven-Illuminating Spirit to\nset foot in this world of darkness and strife? Each god was eager to\naid, and a plan was finally devised to entice her from her hiding-place.\n\nAme-no-ko uprooted the holy _sakaki_ trees which grow on the Mountain\nof Heaven, and planted them around the entrance of the cave. High on\nthe upper branches were hung the precious string of curved jewels\nwhich Izanagi had bestowed upon the Sun-Goddess. From the middle\nbranches drooped a mirror wrought of the rare metals of the celestial\nmine. Its polished surface was as the dazzling brilliancy of the sun.\nOther gods wove, from threads of hemp and paper mulberry, an imperial\nrobe of white and blue, which was placed, as an offering for the\ngoddess, on the lower branches of the _sakaki_. A palace was also\nbuilt, surrounded by a garden in which the Blossom-God called forth\nmany delicate plants and flowers.\n\n  [Illustration: Ama-terasu gazed into the mirror, and wondered\n    greatly when she saw therein a goddess of exceeding beauty.]\n\nNow all was ready. Ame-no-ko stepped forward, and, in a loud voice,\nentreated Ama-terasu to show herself. His appeal was in vain. The\ngreat festival began. Uzume, the goddess of mirth, led the dance and\nsong. Leaves of the spindle tree crowned her head; club-moss, from the\nheavenly mount Kagu, formed her sash; her flowing sleeves were bound\nwith the creeper-vine; and in her hand she carried leaves of the\nwild bamboo and waved a wand of sun-grass hung with tiny melodious\nbells. Uzume blew on a bamboo flute, while the eight hundred myriad\ndeities accompanied her on wooden clappers and instruments formed of\nbow-strings, across which were rapidly drawn stalks of reed and grass.\nGreat fires were lighted around the cave, and, as these were reflected\nin the face of the mirror, \"the long-singing birds of eternal night\"\nbegan to crow as if the day dawned. The merriment increased. The dance\ngrew wilder and wilder, and the gods laughed until the heavens shook\nas if with thunder.\n\nAma-terasu, in her quiet retreat, heard, unmoved, the crowing of the\ncocks and the sounds of music and dancing, but when the heavens shook\nwith the laughter of the gods, she peeped from her cave and said:\n\"What means this? I thought heaven and earth were dark, but now there\nis light. Uzume dances and all the gods laugh.\" Uzume answered: \"It is\ntrue that I dance and that the gods laugh, because in our midst is a\ngoddess whose splendour equals your own. Behold!\" Ama-terasu gazed\ninto the mirror, and wondered greatly when she saw therein a goddess\nof exceeding beauty. She stepped from her cave and forthwith a cord of\nrice-straw was drawn across the entrance. Darkness fled from the\nCentral Land of Reed-Plains, and there was light. Then the eight\nhundred myriad deities cried: \"O, may the Sun-Goddess never leave us\nagain.\"\n\n\n\n\nThe Heavenly Messengers\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Heavenly Messengers_]\n\n\nThe gods looked down from the Plain of High Heaven and saw that\nwicked earth-spirits peopled the lower world. Neither by day nor by\nnight was there peace. Oshi-homi, whose name is His Augustness\nHeavenly-Great-Great-Ears, was commanded to go down and govern the\nearth. As he set foot on the Floating Bridge, he heard the sounds of\nstrife and confusion, so he returned, and said, \"I would have you\nchoose another deity to do this work.\" Then the Great Heavenly Spirit\nand Ama-terasu called together the eight hundred myriad deities in\nthe bed of the Tranquil River of Heaven. The Sun-Goddess spoke: \"In\nthe Central Land of Reed-Plains there is trouble and disorder. A\ndeity must descend to prepare the earth for our grandson Prince\nRuddy-Plenty, who is to rule over it. Whom shall we send?\" The eight\nhundred myriad deities replied, \"Let Ame-no-ho go to the earth.\"\n\nNow Ame-no-ho descended to the lower world. There he was so happy that\nthe charge of the heavenly deities passed out of his mind. He lived\nwith the earth-spirits, and confusion still reigned.\n\n  [Illustration: As the Young Prince alighted on the sea-shore, a\n    beautiful earth-spirit, Princess Under-Shining, stood before him.]\n\nFor three years the Great Heavenly Spirit and Ama-terasu waited for\ntidings, but none came. Then they said: \"We will send Ame-waka, the\nHeavenly Young Prince. He will surely do our bidding.\" Into his hands\nthey gave the great heavenly deer-bow and the heavenly feathered\narrows which fly straight to the mark. \"With these you shall war\nagainst the wicked earth-spirits, and bring order into the land.\" But\nas the Young Prince alighted on the sea-shore, a beautiful\nearth-spirit, Princess Under-Shining, stood before him. Her loveliness\nbewitched him. He looked upon her, and could not withdraw his eyes.\nSoon they were wedded. Eight years passed. The Young Prince spent the\ntime in revelry and feasting. Not once did he attempt to establish\npeace and order; moreover, he desired to place himself at the head of\nthe earth-spirits, to defy the heavenly deities, and to rule over the\nLand of Reed-Plains.\n\nAgain the eight hundred myriad deities assembled in the bed of the\nTranquil River of Heaven. The Sun-Goddess spoke: \"Our messenger has\ntarried in the lower world. Whom shall we send to inquire the cause of\nthis?\" Then the gods commanded a faithful pheasant hen: \"Go to\nAme-waka, and say, 'The Heavenly Deities sent you to the Central Land\nof Reed-Plains to subdue and pacify the deities of that land. For\neight years you have been silent. What is the cause?'\" The pheasant\nflew swiftly to earth, and perched on the branches of a wide-spreading\ncassia tree which stood at the gate of the Prince's palace. She spoke\nevery word of her message, but no reply came. Again she repeated the\nwords of the gods, again there was no answer. Now Ama-no-sagu, the\nHeavenly Spying-Woman, heard the call of the pheasant; she went to the\nYoung Prince, and said, \"The cry of this bird bodes ill. Take thy bow\nand arrows and kill it.\" Then Ame-waka, in wrath, shot the bird\nthrough the heart.\n\nThe heavenly arrow fled upward and onward. Swift as the wind it sped\nthrough the air, it pierced the clouds and fell at the feet of the\nSun-Goddess as she sat on her throne.\n\nAma-terasu saw that it was one of the arrows that had been entrusted\nto the Young Prince, and that the feathers were stained with blood.\nThen she took the arrow in her hands and sent it forth: \"If this be an\narrow shot by our messenger at the evil spirits, let it not hit the\nHeavenly Prince. If he has a foul heart, let him perish.\"\n\nAt this moment Ame-waka was resting after the harvest feast. The arrow\nflew straight to its mark, and pierced him to the heart as he slept.\nPrincess Under-Shining cried aloud when she saw the dead body of the\nYoung Prince. Her cries rose to the heavens. Then the father of\nAme-waka raised a mighty storm, and the wind carried the body of the\nYoung Prince to the Blue Plain. A great mourning-house was built, and\nfor eight days and eight nights there was wailing and lamentation. The\nwild goose of the river, the heron, the kingfisher, the sparrow and\nthe pheasant mourned with a great mourning.\n\nWhen Aji-shi-ki came to weep for his brother, his face was so like\nthat of the Young Prince that his parents fell upon him, and said: \"My\nchild is not dead, no! My lord is not dead, no!\" But Aji-shi-ki was\nwroth because they had taken him for his dead brother. He drew his\nten-grasp sabre and cut down the mourning-house, and scattered the\nfragments to the winds.\n\nThen the heavenly deities said: \"Take-Mika shall go down and subdue\nthis unruly land.\" In company with Tori-bune he set forth and came to\nthe shore of Inasa, in the country of Idzumo. They drew their swords\nand placed them on a crest of the waves. On the points of the swords\nTake-Mika and Tori-bune sat, cross-legged: thus they made war against\nthe earth-spirits, and thus subdued them. The land once pacified,\ntheir mission was accomplished, and they returned to the Plain of High\nHeaven.\n\n\n\n\nPrince Ruddy-Plenty\n\n\n  [Illustration: _Prince Ruddy-Plenty_]\n\n\nAma-terasu, from her sun-glorious palace, spoke to her grandson, Ninigi,\nPrince Rice-Ear-Ruddy-Plenty: \"You must descend from your Heavenly Rock\nSeat and go to rule the luxuriant Land-of-Fresh-Rice-Ears.\" She gave him\nmany presents; precious stones from the mountain steps of heaven,\ncrystal balls of purest whiteness, and the cloud-sword which her\nbrother, Susa-no-o, had drawn from the tail of the terrible dragon. She\nalso entrusted to Ninigi the mirror whose splendour had enticed her from\nthe cave, and said: \"Guard this mirror faithfully; when you look into it\nyou shall see my face.\" A number of deities were commanded to accompany\nPrince Ruddy-Plenty, among them the beautiful Uzume, who had danced till\nthe heavens shook with the laughter of the gods.\n\nThe great company broke through the clouds. Before them, at the\neight-forked road of Heaven, stood a deity of gigantic stature, with\nhis large and fiery eyes. The courage of the gods failed at sight of\nhim, and they turned backward. But the fair Uzume went fearlessly up\nto the giant, and said: \"Who is it that thus impedes our descent from\nheaven?\" The deity, well pleased at the gracious mien of the goddess,\nmade answer: \"I am a friendly earth-spirit, the Deity of the\nField-Paths. I come to meet Ninigi that I may pay homage to him and be\nhis guide. Return and say to the august god that the Prince of Saruta\ngreets him. I am this Prince, O Uzume.\" The Goddess of Mirth rejoiced\ngreatly when she heard these words, and said: \"The company of gods\nshall proceed to earth; there will Ninigi be made known to you.\" Then\nthe Deity of the Field-Paths spoke: \"Let the army of gods alight on\nthe mountain of Takachihi, in the country of Tsukushi. On its peak I\nshall await them.\"\n\n  [Illustration: But the fair Uzume went fearlessly up to the giant,\n    and said: \"Who is it that thus impedes our descent from heaven?\"]\n\nUzume returned to the gods and delivered the message. When Prince\nRuddy-Plenty heard her words he again broke through the eightfold\nspreading cloud, and floated on the Bridge of Heaven to the summit of\nTakachihi.\n\nNow Ninigi, with the Prince of Saruta as his guide, travelled\nthroughout the kingdom over which he was to rule. He saw the mountain\nranges and the lakes, the great reed plains and the vast pine forests,\nthe rivers and the valleys. Then he said: \"It is a land whereon the\nmorning sun shines straight, a land which the evening sun illumines.\nSo this place is an exceeding good place.\" When he had thus spoken, he\nbuilt a palace. The pillars rested on the nethermost rock-bottom, and\nthe cross-beams rose to the Plain of High Heaven. In this palace he\ndwelt.\n\nAgain Ninigi spoke: \"The God of the Field-Paths shall return to his\nhome. He has been our guide, therefore he shall wed the beautiful\ngoddess, Uzume, and she shall be priestess in his own mountain.\" Uzume\nobeyed the commands of Ninigi, and is greatly honoured in Saruta for\nher courage, her mirth, and her beauty.\n\nIt happened that as the Son of the Gods walked along the sea-coast, he\nsaw a maiden of exceeding loveliness. He spoke to her, and said: \"By\nwhat name are you known?\" She replied: \"I am the daughter of the Deity\nGreat-Mountain-Possessor, and my name is Ko-no-hane, Princess\nTree-Blossom.\" Ninigi loved the fair Princess. He went to the Spirit\nof the Mountains, and asked for her hand. But Oho-yama had an elder\ndaughter, Iha-naga, Princess Long-as-the-Rocks, who was less fair than\nher sister. He desired that the offspring of Prince Ruddy-Plenty\nshould live eternally like unto the rocks, and flourish as the blossom\nof the trees. Therefore Oho-yama sent both his daughters to Ninigi in\nrich attire and with many rare presents. Ninigi loved the beautiful\nPrincess Ko-no-hane. He would not look upon Iha-naga. She cried out in\nwrath: \"Had you chosen me, you and your children would have lived long\non earth; but as you love my sister all your descendants will perish\nrapidly as the blossom of the trees.\" Thus it is that human life is so\nshort compared with that of the earlier peoples that were gods.\n\nFor some time, Ninigi dwelt happily with Princess Tree-Blossom: then a\ncloud came over their lives. Ko-no-hane had the delicate grace, the\nmorning freshness, the subtle charm of the cherry blossom. She loved\nthe sunshine and the soft west wind. She loved the cool rain, and the\nquiet summer night. But Ninigi grew jealous. In anger Princess\nTree-Blossom retired to her palace, closed up the entrance, and set it\non fire. The flames rose higher and higher. Ninigi watched anxiously.\nAs he looked, three little boys sprang merrily out of the flames and\ncalled for their father. Prince Ruddy-Plenty was glad once more, and\nwhen he saw Ko-no-hane, unharmed, move towards him, he asked her\nforgiveness. They named their sons Ho-deri, Fire-Flash; Ho-suseri,\nFire-Climax; and Ho-wori, Fire-Fade.\n\nAfter many years, Ninigi divided his kingdom between two of his sons.\nThen Prince Ruddy-Plenty returned to the Plain of High Heaven.\n\n\n\n\nThe Palace of the Ocean-Bed\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Palace of the Ocean-Bed_]\n\n\nHo-wori, Prince Fire-Fade, the son of Ninigi, was a great hunter. He\ncaught 'things rough of hair and things soft of hair.' His elder\nbrother Ho-deri, Prince Fire-Flash, was a fisher who caught 'things\nbroad of fin and things narrow of fin.' But, often, when the wind\nblew and the waves ran high, he would spend hours on the sea and catch\nno fish. When the Storm God was abroad, Ho-deri had to stay at home,\nwhile at nightfall Ho-wori returned laden with spoil from the\nmountains. Ho-deri spoke to his brother, and said: \"I would have your\nbow and arrows and become a hunter. You shall have my fish-hook.\" At\nfirst Ho-wori would not consent, but finally the exchange was made.\n\nNow Prince Fire-Flash was no hunter. He could not track the game, nor\nrun swiftly, nor take good aim. Day after day Prince Fire-Fade went\nout to sea. In vain he threw his line; he caught no fish. Moreover,\none day, he lost his brother's fish-hook. Then Ho-deri came to\nHo-wori, and said: \"There is the luck of the mountain and there is the\nluck of the sea. Let each restore to the other his luck.\" Ho-wori\nreplied: \"I did not catch a single fish with your hook, and now it is\nlost in the sea.\" The elder brother was very angry, and, with many\nhard words, demanded the return of his treasure. Prince Fire-Fade was\nunhappy. He broke in pieces his good sword and made five hundred\nfish-hooks which he offered to his brother. But this did not appease\nthe wrath of Prince Fire-Flash, who still raged and asked for his own\nhook.\n\nHo-wori could find neither comfort nor help. He sat one day by the\nshore and heaved a deep sigh. The old Man of the Sea heard the sigh,\nand asked the cause of his sorrow. Ho-wori told him of the loss of the\nfish-hook, and of his brother's displeasure. Thereupon the wise man\npromised to give his help. He plaited strips of bamboo so tightly\ntogether that the water could not pass through, and fashioned\ntherewith a stout little boat. Into this boat Ho-wori jumped, and was\ncarried far out to sea.\n\nAfter a time, as the old man had foretold, his boat began to sink.\nDeeper and deeper it sank, until at last he came to a glittering\npalace of fishes' scales. In front of it was a well, shaded by a great\ncassia tree. Prince Fire-Fade sat among the wide-spreading branches.\nHe looked down, and saw a maiden approach the well; in her hand she\ncarried a jewelled bowl. She was the lovely Toyo-tama, Peerless\nJewel, the daughter of Wata-tsu-mi, the Sea-King. Ho-wori was\nspellbound by her strange wave-like beauty, her long flowing hair, her\nsoft deep blue eyes. The maiden stooped to fill her bowl. Suddenly,\nshe saw the reflection of Prince Fire-Fade in the water; she dropped\nthe precious bowl, and it fell in a thousand pieces. Toyo-tama\nhastened to her father, and exclaimed, \"A man, with the grace and\nbeauty of a god, sits in the branches of the cassia tree. I have seen\nhis picture in the waters of the well.\" The Sea-King knew that it must\nbe the great hunter, Prince Fire-Fade.\n\nThen Wata-tsu-mi went forth and stood under the cassia tree. He looked\nup to Ho-wori, and said: \"Come down, O Son of the Gods, and enter my\nPalace of the Ocean-Bed.\" Ho-wori obeyed, and was led into the palace\nand seated on a throne of sea-asses' skins. A banquet was prepared in\nhis honour. The _hashi_ were delicate branches of coral, and the\nplates were of silvery mother-of-pearl. The clear-rock wine was sipped\nfrom cup-shaped ocean blooms with long slender stalks. Ho-wori\nthought that never before had there been such a banquet. When it was\nended he went with Toyo-tama to the roof of the palace. Dimly, through\nthe blue waters that moved above, he could discern the Sun-Goddess. He\nsaw the mountains and valleys of ocean, the waving forests of tall\nsea-plants, the homes of the _shak\u00e9_ and the _kani_.\n\n  [Illustration: Suddenly, she saw the reflection of Prince Fire-Fade\n    in the water.]\n\nHo-wori told Wata-tsu-mi of the loss of the fish-hook. Then the\nSea-King called all his subjects together and questioned them. No fish\nknew aught of the hook, but, said the lobster: \"As I sat one day in my\ncrevice among the rocks, the _tai_ passed near me. His mouth was\nswollen, and he went by without giving me greeting.\" Wata-tsu-mi then\nnoticed that the _tai_ had not answered his summons. A messenger,\nfleet of fin, was sent to fetch him. When the _tai_ appeared, the lost\nfish-hook was found in his poor wounded mouth. It was restored to\nHo-wori, and he was happy. Toyo-tama became his bride, and they lived\ntogether in the cool fish-scale palace.\n\nPrince Fire-Fade came to understand the secrets of the ocean, the\ncause of its anger, the cause of its joy. The Storm-Spirit of the\nupper sea did not rule in the ocean-bed, and night after night Ho-wori\nwas rocked to sleep by the gentle motion of the waters.\n\nMany tides had ebbed and flowed, when, in the quiet of the night,\nHo-wori heaved a deep sigh. Toyo-tama was troubled, and told her\nfather that, as Ho-wori dreamt of his home on the earth, a great\nlonging had come over him to visit it once more. Then Wata-tsu-mi gave\ninto Ho-wori's hands two great jewels, the one to rule the flow, the\nother to rule the ebb of the tide. He spoke thus: \"Return to earth on\nthe head of my trusted sea-dragon. Restore the lost fish-hook to\nHo-deri. If he is still wroth with you, bring forth the tide-flowing\njewel, and the waters shall cover him. If he asks your forgiveness,\nbring forth the tide-ebbing jewel, and it shall be well with him.\"\n\nHo-wori left the Palace of the Ocean-Bed, and was carried swiftly to\nhis own land. As he set foot on the shore, he ungirded his sword, and\ntied it round the neck of the sea-dragon. Then he said: \"Take this to\nthe Sea-King as a token of my love and gratitude.\"\n\n\n\n\nAutumn and Spring\n\n\n  [Illustration: _Autumn & Spring_]\n\n\nA fair maiden lay asleep in a rice-field. The sun was at its height,\nand she was weary. Now a god looked down upon the rice-field. He knew\nthat the beauty of the maiden came from within, that it mirrored the\nbeauty of heavenly dreams. He knew that even now, as she smiled, she\nheld converse with the spirit of the wind or the flowers.\n\nThe god descended and asked the dream-maiden to be his bride. She\nrejoiced, and they were wed. A wonderful red jewel came of their\nhappiness.\n\nLong, long afterwards, the stone was found by a farmer, who saw that\nit was a very rare jewel. He prized it highly, and always carried it\nabout with him. Sometimes, as he looked at it in the pale light of the\nmoon, it seemed to him that he could discern two sparkling eyes in its\ndepths. Again, in the stillness of the night, he would awaken and\nthink that a clear soft voice called him by name.\n\nOne day, the farmer had to carry the mid-day meal to his workers in\nthe field. The sun was very hot, so he loaded a cow with the bowls of\nrice, the millet dumplings, and the beans. Suddenly, Prince Ama-boko\nstood in the path. He was angry, for he thought that the farmer was\nabout to kill the cow. The Prince would hear no word of denial; his\nwrath increased. The farmer became more and more terrified, and,\nfinally, took the precious stone from his pocket and presented it as\na peace-offering to the powerful Prince. Ama-boko marvelled at the\nbrilliancy of the jewel, and allowed the man to continue his journey.\n\nThe Prince returned to his home. He drew forth the treasure, and it\nwas immediately transformed into a goddess of surpassing beauty. Even\nas she rose before him, he loved her, and ere the moon waned they were\nwed. The goddess ministered to his every want. She prepared delicate\ndishes, the secret of which is known only to the gods. She made wine\nfrom the juice of a myriad herbs, wine such as mortals never taste.\n\nBut, after a time, the Prince became proud and overbearing. He began\nto treat his faithful wife with cruel contempt. The goddess was sad,\nand said: \"You are not worthy of my love. I will leave you and go to\nmy father.\" Ama-boko paid no heed to these words, for he did not\nbelieve that the threat would be fulfilled. But the beautiful goddess\nwas in earnest. She escaped from the palace and fled to Naniwa, where\nshe is still honoured as Akaru-hime, the Goddess of Light.\n\nNow the Prince was wroth when he heard that the goddess had left him,\nand set out in pursuit of her. But when he neared Naniwa, the gods\nwould not allow his vessel to enter the haven. Then he knew that his\npriceless red jewel was lost to him for ever. He steered his ship\ntowards the north coast of Japan, and landed at Tajima. Here he was\nwell received, and highly esteemed on account of the treasures which\nhe brought with him. He had costly strings of pearls, girdles of\nprecious stones, and a mirror which the wind and the waves obeyed.\nPrince Ama-boko remained at Tajima, and was the father of a mighty\nrace.\n\nAmong his children's children was a princess so renowned for her\nbeauty that eighty suitors sought her hand. One after the other\nreturned sorrowfully home, for none found favour in her eyes. At last,\ntwo brothers came before her, the young God of the Autumn, and the\nyoung God of the Spring. The elder of the two, the God of Autumn,\nfirst urged his suit. But the princess refused him. He went to his\nyounger brother, and said: \"The princess does not love me, neither\nwill you be able to win her heart.\" But the Spring God was full of\nhope, and replied: \"I will give you a cask of rice wine if I do not\nwin her, but if she consents to be my bride, you shall give a cask of\n_sak\u00e9_ to me.\"\n\n  [Illustration: One after the other returned sorrowfully home, for\n    none found favour in her eyes.]\n\nNow the God of Spring went to his mother, and told her all. She\npromised to aid him. Thereupon she wove, in a single night, a robe and\nsandals from the unopened buds of the lilac and white wisteria. Out of\nthe same delicate flowers she fashioned a bow and arrows. Thus clad,\nthe God of Spring made his way to the beautiful princess.\n\nAs he stepped before the maiden, every bud unfolded, and from the\nheart of each blossom came a fragrance that filled the air. The\nprincess was overjoyed, and gave her hand to the God of the Spring.\n\nThe elder brother, the God of Autumn, was filled with rage when he\nheard how his brother had obtained the wondrous robe. He refused to\ngive the promised cask of _sak\u00e9_. When the mother learned that the god\nhad broken his word, she placed stones and salt in the hollow of a\nbamboo cane, wrapped it round with bamboo leaves, and hung it in the\nsmoke. Then she uttered a curse upon her first-born son: \"As the\nleaves wither and fade, so must you. As the salt sea ebbs, so must\nyou. As the stone sinks, so must you.\"\n\nThe terrible curse fell upon her son. While the God of Spring remains\never young, ever fragrant, ever full of mirth, the God of Autumn is\nold, and withered, and sad.\n\n\n\n\nThe Star-Lovers\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Star Lovers_]\n\n\nShokujo, daughter of the Sun, dwelt with her father on the banks of\nthe Silver River of Heaven, which we call the Milky Way. She was a\nlovely maiden, graceful and winsome, and her eyes were tender as the\neyes of a dove. Her loving father, the Sun, was much troubled because\nShokujo did not share in the youthful pleasures of the daughters of\nthe air. A soft melancholy seemed to brood over her, but she never\nwearied of working for the good of others, and especially did she\nbusy herself at her loom; indeed she came to be called the Weaving\nPrincess.\n\nThe Sun bethought him, that if he could give his daughter in marriage,\nall would be well; her dormant love would be kindled into a flame that\nwould illumine her whole being and drive out the pensive spirit which\noppressed her. Now there lived, hard by, one Kingen, a right honest\nherdsman, who tended his cows on the borders of the Heavenly Stream.\nThe Sun-King proposed to bestow his daughter on Kingen, thinking in\nthis way to provide for her happiness and at the same time to keep her\nnear him. Every star beamed approval, and there was joy in the\nheavens.\n\nThe love that bound Shokujo and Kingen to one another was a great\nlove. With its awakening, Shokujo forsook her former occupations, nor\ndid she any longer labour industriously at the loom, but laughed, and\ndanced, and sang, and made merry from morn till night. The Sun-King\nwas sorely grieved, for he had not foreseen so great a change. Anger\nwas in his eyes, and he said, \"Kingen is surely the cause of this,\ntherefore I will banish him to the other side of the River of Stars.\"\n\n  [Illustration: The lovers were wont, standing on the banks of the\n    celestial stream, to waft across it sweet and tender messages.]\n\nWhen Shokujo and Kingen heard that they were to be parted, and could\nthenceforth, in accordance with the King's decree, meet but once a\nyear, and that upon the seventh night of the seventh month, their\nhearts were heavy. The leave-taking between them was a sad one, and\ngreat tears stood in Shokujo's eyes as she bade farewell to her\nlover-husband. In answer to the behest of the Sun-King, myriads of\nmagpies flocked together, and, outspreading their wings, formed a\nbridge, on which Kingen crossed the River of Heaven. The moment that\nhis foot touched the opposite bank, the birds dispersed with noisy\nchatter, leaving poor Kingen a solitary exile. He looked wistfully\ntowards the weeping figure of Shokujo, who stood on the threshold of\nher now desolate home.\n\nLong and weary were the succeeding days, spent as they were by Kingen\nin guiding his oxen and by Shokujo in plying her shuttle. The\nSun-King was gladdened by his daughter's industry. When night fell and\nthe heavens were bright with countless lights, the lovers were wont,\nstanding on the banks of the celestial stream, to waft across it sweet\nand tender messages, while each uttered a prayer for the speedy coming\nof the wondrous night.\n\nThe long-hoped-for month and day drew nigh, and the hearts of the\nlovers were troubled lest rain should fall: for the Silver River, full\nat all times, is at that season often in flood, and the bird-bridge\nmight be swept away.\n\nThe day broke cloudlessly bright. It waxed and waned, and one by one\nthe lamps of heaven were lighted. At nightfall the magpies assembled,\nand Shokujo, quivering with delight, crossed the slender bridge and\nfell into the arms of her lover. Their transport of joy was as the joy\nof the parched flower, when the raindrop falls upon it; but the moment\nof parting soon came, and Shokujo sorrowfully retraced her steps.\n\nYear follows year, and the lovers still meet in that far-off starry\nland on the seventh night of the seventh month, save when rain has\nswelled the Silver River and rendered the crossing impossible. The\nhope of a permanent reunion still fills the hearts of the Star-Lovers,\nand is to them as a sweet fragrance and a beautiful vision.\n\n\n\n\nThe Island of Eternal Youth\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Island of Eternal Youth_]\n\n\nFar beyond the faint grey of the horizon, somewhere in the shadowy\nUnknown, lies the Island of Eternal Youth. The dwellers on the rocky\ncoast of the East Sea of Japan relate that, at times, a wondrous tree\ncan be discerned rising high above the waves. It is the tree which has\nstood for all ages on the loftiest peak of Fusan, the Mountain of\nImmortality. Men rejoice when they catch a glimpse of its branches,\nthough the glimpse be fleeting as a vision at dawn. On the island is\nendless spring: the air is ever sweet and the sky blue. Celestial\ndews fall softly upon every tree and flower, and carry with them the\nsecret of eternity. The delicate white bryony never loses its\nfirst-day freshness, the scarlet lily cannot fade. Ethereal pink\nblossoms enfold the branches of the _sakuranoki_; the pendulous fruit\nof the orange bears no trace of age. Irises, violet and yellow and\nblue, fringe the pool on whose surface float the heavenly-coloured\nlotus blooms. From day to day the birds sing of love and joy. Sorrow\nand pain are unknown, death comes not hither. The Spirit of this\nisland it is who whispers to the sleeping Spring in every land, and\nbids her arise.\n\nMany brave seafarers have sought Horaizan but have not reached its\nshores. Some have suffered shipwreck in the attempt, others have\nmistaken the heights of Fuji-yama for the blessed Fusan.\n\nNow there once lived a cruel Emperor of China. So tyrannical was he\nthat the life of his physician, Jofuku, was in constant danger. One\nday, Jofuku spoke to the Emperor, and said: \"Give me a ship, and I\nwill sail to the Island of Eternal Youth. There I will pluck the herb\nof immortality and bring it back to you, that you may rule over your\nkingdom for ever.\" The despot heard the words with pleasure. Jofuku,\nfully equipped, set sail and came to Japan; thence he steered his\ncourse towards the magic tree. Days, months, and years passed. Jofuku\nseemed to be drifting on the ocean of heaven, for no land was visible.\nAt last, far in the distance, rose the dim outline of a hill such as\nhe had never seen before; and when he perceived a tree on its summit,\nJofuku knew that he neared Horaizan. Soon he came to its shores, and\nlanded as one in a dream. Every thought of the Emperor, whose days\nwere to be prolonged by eating of the sacred herb, passed from his\nmind. Life upon the beautiful island was so glorious that he had no\nwish to return. His story is told by Wasobiowe, a wise man of Japan,\nwho, alone among mortals, can relate the wonders of that strange land.\n\nWasobiowe dwelt in the neighbourhood of Nagasaki. He loved nothing\nbetter than to spend his days far out at sea, fishing from a little\nboat. Once, when the eighth full moon rose--which in Japan is called\nthe \"bean moon\" and is the most beautiful of all--Wasobiowe started on\na long voyage in order to be absent from Nagasaki during the festivals\nof the season. Leisurely he skirted the coast, and rejoiced in the\nbold outlines of the rocks seen by the light of the moon. But, without\nwarning, black clouds gathered overhead. The storm burst, the rain\npoured down, and darkness fell. The waves were lashed into fury, and\nthe little boat was driven swift as an arrow before the wind. For\nthree days and nights the hurricane raged. As dawn broke on the fourth\nmorning, the wind was stilled, the sea grew calm. Wasobiowe, who knew\nthe course of the stars, saw that he was far from his home in Japan.\nHe was at the mercy of the god of the tides. For months Wasobiowe ate\nthe fish which he caught in his net, until his boat drifted into those\nblack waters where no fish can live. He rowed and rowed; his strength\nwas almost spent. Hope had left him, when, suddenly, a fragrant wind\nfrom the land played about his temples. He seized the oars, and\nsoon his boat reached the coast of Horaizan. Even as he landed, all\nremembrance of the dangers and privations of the voyage vanished.\n\n  [Illustration: Soon he came to its shores, and landed as one in a\n    dream.]\n\nEverything spoke of joy and sunlight. The hum of the cicala, the whirr\nof the darting dragon-fly, the call of the bright-green tree-frog\nsounded in his ear. Sweet scents came from the pine-covered hills;\neverywhere was a flood of glowing colour.\n\nPresently a man approached him. It was none other than Jofuku. He\nspoke to Wasobiowe, and told how the elect of the gods, who peopled\nthose remote shores, filled their days with music and laughter and\nsong.\n\nWasobiowe lived contentedly on the Island of Eternal Youth. He knew\nnothing of the flight of years, for where there is no birth, no death,\ntime passes unheeded.\n\nBut, after many hundred years, the wise man of Nagasaki wearied of\nthis blissful existence. He longed for death, but the dark river does\nnot flow through Horaizan. He would wistfully follow the outward\nflight of the birds, till they became mere specks in the sky. One day\nhe spoke to a pure white stork: \"I know that the birds alone can leave\nthis island. Carry me, I pray you, to my home in Japan. I would see it\nonce more and die.\" Then he mounted upon the outstretched wings of the\nstork, and was carried across the sea and through many strange lands,\npeopled by giants and dwarfs and men with white faces. When he had\nvisited all the countries of the earth, he came to his beloved Japan.\nIn his hand he bore a branch of the orange which he planted. The tree\nstill flourishes in the Mikado's Empire.\n\n\n\n\nRai-Taro, the Son of the Thunder-God\n\n\n  [Illustration: _Rai-Taro the Son of the Thunder God_]\n\n\nAt the foot of the snowy mountain of Haku-san, in the province of\nEchizen, lived a peasant and his wife. They were very poor, for their\nlittle strip of barren mountain-land yielded but one scanty crop a\nyear, while their neighbours in the valley gathered two rich harvests.\nWith unceasing patience, Bimbo worked from cock-crow until the barking\nof the foxes warned him that night had fallen. He laid out his plot of\nground in terraces, surrounded them with dams, and diverted the course\nof the mountain stream that it might flood his fields. But when no\nrain came to swell the brook, Bimbo's harvest failed. Often as he sat\nin his hut with his wife, after a long day of hard work, he would\nspeak of their troubles. The peasants were filled with grief that a\nchild had not been given to them. They longed to adopt a son, but, as\nthey had barely enough for their own simple wants, the dream could not\nbe realised.\n\nAn evil day came when the land of Echizen was parched. No rain fell.\nThe brook was dried up. The young rice-sprouts withered. Bimbo sighed\nheavily over his work. He looked up to the sky and entreated the gods\nto take pity on him.\n\nAfter many weeks of sunshine, the sky was overcast. Single clouds came\nup rapidly from the west, and gathered in angry masses. A strange\nsilence filled the air. Even the voice of the cicalas, who had chirped\nin the trees during the heat of the day, was stilled. Only the cry of\nthe mountain hawk was audible. A murmur passed over valley and hill, a\nfaint rustling of leaves, a whispering sigh in the needles of the fir.\nFu-ten, the Storm-Spirit, and Rai-den, the Thunder-God, were abroad.\nDeeper and deeper sank the clouds under the weight of the thunder\ndragon. The rain came at first in large cool drops, then in torrents.\n\nBimbo rejoiced, and worked steadily to strengthen the dams and open\nthe conduits of his farm.\n\nA vivid flash of lightning, a mighty roar of thunder! Terrified,\nalmost blinded, Bimbo fell on his knees. He thought that the claws of\nthe thunder dragon were about him. But he was unharmed, and he offered\nthanks to Kwan-non, the Goddess of Pity, who protects mortals from the\nwrath of the Thunder-God. On the spot where the lightning struck the\nground, lay a little rosy boy full of life, who held out his arms and\nlisped. Bimbo was greatly amazed, and his heart was glad, for he knew\nthat the gods had heard and answered his never-uttered prayer. The\nhappy peasant took the child up, and carried him under his rice-straw\ncoat to the hut. He called to his wife, \"Rejoice, our wish is\nfulfilled. The gods have sent us a child. We will call him Rai-taro,\nthe Son of the Thunder-God, and bring him up as our own.\"\n\nThe good woman fondly tended the boy. Rai-taro loved his\nfoster-parents, and grew up dutiful and obedient. He did not care to\nplay with other children, but was always happy to work in the fields\nwith Bimbo, where he would watch the flight of the birds, and listen\nto the sound of the wind. Long-before Bimbo could discern any sign of\nan approaching storm, Rai-taro knew that it was at hand. When it drew\nnear, he fixed his eyes intently on the gathering clouds, he listened\neagerly to the roll of the thunder, the rush of the rain, and he\ngreeted each flash of lightning with a shout of joy.\n\n  [Illustration: The birth of Rai-taro.]\n\nRai-taro had come as a ray of sunshine into the lives of the poor\npeasants. Good fortune followed the farmer from the day that he\ncarried the little boy home in his raincoat. The mountain stream was\nnever dry. The land was fertile, and he gathered rich harvests of rice\nand abundant crops of millet. Year by year, his prosperity increased,\nuntil from Bimbo, 'the poor,' he became Kane-mochi, 'the prosperous.'\n\nAbout eighteen summers passed, and Rai-taro still lived with his\nfoster-parents. Suddenly, they knew not why, he became thoughtful and\nsad. Nothing would rouse him. The peasants determined to hold a feast\nin honour of his birthday. They called together the neighbours, and\nthere was much rejoicing. Bimbo told many tales of other days, and,\nfinally, of how Rai-taro came to him out of the storm. As he ceased, a\nstrange far-off look was in the eyes of the Son of the Thunder-God. He\nstood before his foster-parents, and said: \"You have loved me well.\nYou have been faithful and kind. But the time has come for me to leave\nyou. Farewell.\"\n\nIn a moment Rai-taro was gone. A white cloud floated upward towards\nthe heights of Haku-san. As it neared the summit of the mountain, it\ntook the form of a white dragon. Higher still the dragon soared,\nuntil, at last, it vanished into a castle of clouds.\n\nThe peasants looked wistfully up to the sky. They hoped that Rai-taro\nmight return, but he had joined his father, Rai-den, the Thunder-God,\nand was seen no more.\n\n\n\n\nThe Souls of the Children\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Souls of the Children_]\n\n\nSai-no-Kawara, the Dry Bed of the River of Souls. Far below the roots\nof the mountains, far below the bottom of the sea is the course of\nthis river. Ages ago its current bore the souls of the blessed dead to\nthe Land of Eternal Peace. The wicked _oni_ were angry when they saw\nthe good spirits pass out of their reach on the breast of the river.\nThey muttered curses in their throats as the stream flowed on day by\nday, year by year. The snow-white soul of a tender child came to the\nbank. A cup-shaped lotus bloom waited to carry the little one swiftly,\nthrough the dark cavernous region, to the kingdom of joy. The _oni_\ngnashed their teeth. The spirit of a kindly old man, whose heart was\nyoung, would thread his way unharmed, through the horde of demons, and\nfloat on the Heavenly-Bird-Boat to the unknown world. The _oni_ looked\non in wrath.\n\nBut the _oni_ stemmed the River of Souls at its source, and now the\nspirits of the dead must wend their way, unaided, to the country that\nlies far beyond.\n\nJizo, The Never-Slumbering, is the god who guards the souls of little\nchildren. He is full of pity, his voice is gentle as the voice of the\ndoves on Mount Hasa, his love is infinite as the waters of the sea. To\nhim every child in the Land of the Gods calls for succour and\nprotection.\n\nIn Sai-no-Kawara, The Dry Bed of the River of Souls, are the spirits\nof countless children. Babes of two and three years old, babes of four\nand five, children of eight and ten. Their wailing is pitiful to hear.\nThey cry for the mother who bore them. They cry for the father who\ncherished them. They cry for the brother and sister whom they love.\nTheir cry is heard throughout Sai-no-Kawara, a cry that rises and\nfalls, and falls and rises, rhythmic, unceasing. These are the words\nthat they cry--\n\n\"Chichi koishi! haha koishi!----\"\n\nTheir voices grow hoarse as they cry, and still they cry on--\n\n\"Chichi koishi! haha koishi!----\"\n\nWhile day lasts, they cry and they gather stones from the bed of the\nriver, and heap them together as prayers.\n\nA Tower of Prayer for the sweet mother, as they cry:\n\nA Tower of Prayer for the father, as they cry:\n\nA Tower of Prayer for brother and sister, as they cry:\n\nFrom morning till evening they cry--\n\n\"Chichi koishi! haha koishi!----\" and heap up the stones of prayer.\n\nAt nightfall come the _oni_, the demons, and say: \"Why do you cry, why\ndo you pray? Your parents in the Shaba-World cannot hear you. Your\nprayers are lost in the strife of tongues. The lamentation of your\nparents on earth is the cause of all your sorrow.\" So saying, the\nwicked _oni_ cast down the Towers of Prayer, every one, and dash the\nstones into great caverns of the rocks.\n\nBut Jizo, with a great love in his eyes, comes and enfolds the little\nones in his robe. To the babes who cannot walk, he stretches forth his\n_shakujo_. The children in Sai-no-Kawara gather round him, and he\nspeaks sweet words of comfort. He lifts them in his arms and caresses\nthem, for Jizo is father and mother to the little ones who dwell in\nthe Dry Bed of the River of Souls.\n\nThen they cease from their crying: they cease to build the Towers of\nPrayer. Night has come, and the souls of the children sleep\npeacefully, while The Never-Slumbering Jizo watches over them.\n\n\n\n\nThe Moon-Maiden\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Moon Maiden_]\n\n\nIt was early spring on the coast of Suruga. Tender green flushed the\nbamboo thickets. A rose-tinged cloud from heaven had fallen softly on\nthe branches of the cherry tree. The pine forests were fragrant of the\nspring. Save for the lap of the sea, there was silence on that remote\nshore.\n\nA far-off sound became audible: it might be the song of falling\nwaters, it might be the voice of the awakening wind, it might be the\nmelody of the clouds. The strange sweet music rose and fell: the\ncadence was as the cadence of the sea. Slowly, imperceptibly, the\nmusic came nearer.\n\nAbove the lofty heights of Fuji-yama a snow-white cloud floated\nearthwards. Nearer and nearer came the music. A low clear voice could\nbe heard chanting a lay that breathed of the peace and tranquillity of\nthe moonlight. The fleecy cloud was borne towards the shore. For one\nmoment it seemed to rest upon the sand, and then it melted away.\n\nBy the sea stood a glistening maiden. In her hand she carried a\nheart-shaped instrument, and, as her fingers touched the strings, she\nsang a heavenly song. She wore a robe of feathers, white and spotless\nas the breast of the wild swan. The maiden looked at the sea. Then she\nmoved towards the belt of pine trees that fringed the shore. Birds\nflocked around her; they perched on her shoulder, and rubbed their\nsoft heads against her cheek. She stroked them gently and they flew\naway full of joy. The maiden hung her robe of feathers on a pine\nbranch, and went to bathe in the sea.\n\nIt was mid-day. A fisher sat down among the pines to eat his dumpling.\nSuddenly, his eye fell on the dazzling white robe. \"Perhaps it is a\ngift from the gods,\" said Hairukoo as he went up to it. The robe was\nso fragile that he almost feared to touch it, but at last he took it\ndown. The feathers were wondrously woven together, and slender curved\nwings sprang from above the shoulder. \"I will take it home, and we\nshall be happy,\" he thought.\n\nNow the maiden came from the sea. Hairukoo heard no sound until she\nstood before him. Then a soft voice spoke: \"The robe is mine, good\nfisher, pray give it to me.\" The man stood awestruck, for never had he\nseen so lovely a being. She seemed to come from another world. He\nsaid, \"What is your name, beautiful maiden, and whence do you come?\"\nShe answered, \"I am one of the virgins who attend the moon. I come\nwith a message of peace to the ocean. I have whispered it into his\near, and now I must fly heavenward.\" But Hairukoo replied, \"I would\nsee you dance before you leave me.\" The moon-maiden answered: \"Give me\nmy feather robe, and I will dance a celestial dance.\" The peasant\nrefused. \"Dance and I will give you your robe.\" Then the glittering\nvirgin was angry: \"The wicked _oni_ will take you for their own, if\nyou doubt the word of a goddess. I cannot dance without my robe. Each\nfeather has been given to me by the Heavenly Birds. Their love and\ntrust support me.\" As she thus spoke the fisher was ashamed, and said,\n\"I have done wrong, and I ask your forgiveness.\" Then he gave the robe\ninto her hands. The moon-maiden put it around her.\n\nAnd now she rose from the ground. She touched the stringed instrument\nand sang. Clear and infinitely sweet came the notes. It was her\nfarewell to the earth and the sea. It ceased. She broke into a merry\ntrilling song, and began to dance. At one moment she skimmed the\nsurface of the sea, the next her tiny feet touched the topmost\nbranches of the tall pine trees. Then she sped past the fisher and\nsmiled as the long grass rustled beneath her. She swept through the\nair, in and out among the trees, over the bamboo thicket, and under\nthe branches of the blossoming cherry. Still the music went on. Still\nthe maiden danced. Hairukoo looked on in wonder: he thought it must\nall be a beautiful dream.\n\n  [Illustration: At one moment she skimmed the surface of the sea, the\n    next her tiny feet touched the topmost branches of the tall pine\n    trees.]\n\nBut now the music changed. It was no longer merry. The dance ended.\nThe maiden sang of the moonlight, and of the quiet of evening.\n\nShe began to circle in the air. Slowly at first, then more swiftly,\nshe floated over the woods towards the distant mountain. The music and\nthe song rang in the ears of the fisher. The maiden was wafted farther\nand farther away. Hairukoo watched until he could no longer discern\nher snow-white form in the sky. But still the music reached him on the\nbreeze. At last it too died away. The fisher was left alone: alone\nwith the sound of the sea, and the fragrance of the pines.\n\n\n\n\nThe Great Fir Tree of Takasago\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Great Fir Tree of Takasago_]\n\n\nThe cherry tree has blossomed many times since O-Matsue lived with her\nfather and mother on the sandy coast of the Inland Sea. The home at\nTakasago was sheltered by a tall fir tree of great age; a god had\nplanted it as he passed that way. O-Matsue was beautiful, for her\nmother had taught her to love the sea, and the birds, the trees, and\nevery living thing. Her eyes were like a clear deep ocean-pool on a\nsummer day. Her smile was as the sunshine on the surface of Lake Biwa.\n\nThe fallen needles of the fir made a soft couch on which O-Matsue sat\nfor hours at a time, plying her shuttle, weaving robes for the\npeasants around. Sometimes, she would go to sea with the fishers, and\npeer into the depths to try and catch a glimpse of the Palace of the\nOcean Bed; the fishers would tell her the story of the poor jelly-fish\nwho lost his shell, or of the Blessed Island of Eternal Youth, whose\ntree could at times be discerned from the coast.\n\nThe steep shore of Sumi-no-ye is many leagues distant from Takasago,\nbut a youth who dwelt there took a long journey. Teoyo said, \"I will\nsee what lies beyond the mountains. I will see the country to which\nthe heron wings his way across the plain.\" He travelled through many\nprovinces, and at last came to the land of Harima. One day he passed\nby Takasago. O-Matsue sat in the shade of the fir tree. She was\nweaving, and sang as she worked. These are the words of her song:--\n\n    \"No man so callous but he heaves a sigh\n      When o'er his head the withered Cherry flowers\n      Come fluttering down. Who knows? the Spring's soft showers\n    May be but tears shed by the sorrowing sky.\"\n\nTeoyo heard the sweet song, and said, \"It is like the song of a\nspirit,--and how beautiful the maiden is!\" For some time he watched\nher as she wove. Then her song ceased, he moved towards her, and\nspoke: \"I have travelled far. I have seen many fair maidens, but not\none so fair as you. Take me to your father and mother that I may speak\nwith them.\" Teoyo asked the peasants for the hand of their daughter,\nand they gave their consent.\n\nThere was great rejoicing. O-Matsue received many presents, and, as\nthe wedding-day approached, a great feast was prepared. Bride and\nbridegroom drank thrice of three cups of _sak\u00e9_ which made them man\nand wife, and the feast went on.\n\nNow Teoyo said, \"This country of Harima is a good land. Let us stay\nhere with your father and mother.\" O-Matsue was glad. So they dwelt\nwith the old people under the great fir tree. At last, the father and\nmother died. O-Matsue and Teoyo still lived beneath the shelter of the\ntree. They were very happy. Summer, autumn and winter passed over the\nland of Harima many times. Their love was always in its spring. The\n\"waves of age\" furrowed their brows, but their hearts remained young\nand tender, green as the needles of the pine. Even when their eyes had\ngrown dim, they went to the shore to listen to the waters of the\nInland Sea, or together they gathered, with rakes of bamboo, the\nfallen needles of the fir.\n\nA crane came and built in the topmost branches of the tree, and for\nmany years they watched the birds rear their young. A tortoise also\ndwelt beside them. O-Matsue said, \"We are blessed with a fir tree, a\ncrane, and a tortoise. The God of Long Life has taken us under his\ncare.\"\n\nWhen, at last, at the same moment, Teoyo and O-Matsue died, their\nspirits withdrew into the tree which had for so long been the witness\nof their happiness. To this day the pine tree is called \"The Pine of\nthe Lovers.\"\n\nOn moonbright nights, when the coast wind whispers in the branches of\nthe tree, O-Matsue and Teoyo may sometimes be seen, with bamboo rakes\nin their hands, gathering together the needles of the fir.\n\nDespite the storms of time, the old tree stands to this hour eternally\ngreen on the high shore of Takasago.\n\n\n\n\nThe Willow of Mukochima\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Willow of Mukochima_]\n\n\nNot far from Matsue, the great city of the Province of the Gods, there\nonce dwelt a widow and her son. Their wooden hut looked upon the\nShinji Lake set in a framework of mountain peaks. Ayame was true to\nthe old religion, the worship of the descendants of Izanagi and\nIzanami. Long ere the sun rose above the chain of hills, she was up,\nand, with Umewaki's hand clasped closely in her own, went down to the\nverge of the lake. First they laved their faces in the cool water,\nthen, turning towards the east, they clapped their hands four times\nand saluted the sun. \"Konnichi Sama! All hail to thee, Day-Maker.\nShine and bring joy to the Place of the Issuing of Clouds.\" Then,\nhaving turned towards the west, mother and son blessed the holy,\nimmemorial shrine of Kitzuki; towards the north and the south they\nturned and prayed to the gods, unto each one, who dwell in the blue\nPlain of High Heaven.\n\nUmewaki's father had been dead many years, and the love of the mother\nwas centred upon her son. He was in the open air from sunrise to\nnightfall; sometimes by Ayame's side, sometimes alone, watching the\nheron or the crane, or listening to the sweet call of the _yamabato_.\nThe hut was in a remote spot, but Ayame felt that her son was safe in\nthe keeping of the good gods.\n\nIt was a beautiful summer morning. Ayame and Umewaki awakened soon\nafter dawn. Hand in hand they went to the shore of Lake Shinji. It\nstill slept beneath the faintly-tinged haze. The Lady of Fire had not\nwhispered of her approach to the soft mists that veiled the hills.\nMother and son waited patiently. As the Day-Maker appeared, they\ncried, \"Konnichi Sama! Great Goddess, shine upon thy land. Give it\nbeauty and peace and joy.\" Then mother and son returned to the hut.\nAyame plied her shuttle, and Umewaki left her to wander in the woods.\n\nNoon came. \"My boy has met some woodcutter; he talks with him in the\nshade of the pine trees,\" she thought. As the evening drew on, she\nsaid, \"He is with little Kime, his playmate, but I shall soon hear his\nsoft footstep.\" Night fell. \"Once only has he been so late; when he\nwent to Matsue with the good Shijo.\" She looked through the paper\nwindow, and then stepped out. The hills cast a mysterious shadow on\nthe surface of the lake. Still there was no sign of Umewaki. The\nmother called his name. No response came save the echo of her own\nvoice. Now she searched far and near. To every peasant she put the\nquestion, \"Have you seen my Umewaki?\" But she always received the same\nanswer. At last she returned home weary: \"He may be there waiting for\nme,\" she thought. It was midnight: the hut was empty. Ayame was heavy\nat heart, and as she lay upon her mat she wept bitterly, and cried to\nthe gods to give her back her son. So the night passed. In the morning\nshe learned that a band of robbers had been seen among the mountains.\n\nPoor Umewaki had, in truth, been stolen by the robbers. He was watched\nnight and day, and had no chance of escape. From town to town they\ntravelled. Through strange villages where the name of Buddha was upon\nthe lips of the people, across great plains unsheltered by mountains.\nThe summer passed, and autumn came. Still the men would not let\nUmewaki go. They treated him cruelly, and he began to pine away. Then\nthe robbers knew that he was of no use to them. As they neared Yedo,\nthey left him, faint and weary, on the roadside. A kind man of\nMukochima found the poor little fellow and carried him to his home.\nBut Umewaki had not long to live. On the fifteenth day of the third\nmonth, the day sacred to the awakening of the Spring, he opened his\neyes, and called to the good woman who tended him, \"Tell my dear\nmother that I love her, and would stay with her, but the Lady of the\nGreat Light calls me, and I must obey.\"\n\nAyame had left her quiet hut by the lake of Shinji to follow the men\nwho had stolen her son. The autumn and the winter had gone by, and\nstill she persevered. As she passed through Mukochima, she heard that\na poor boy was dead, and soon found that it was her son. She went to\nthe house where he had been cared for, and the woman gave her\nUmewaki's message.\n\nIn the evening, when all was quiet, Ayame crept to the graveside of\nher child. Near it a sacred willow was planted. The slender tree moved\nin the wind. There was a whispered sound: the voice of Umewaki\nspeaking softly to the mother from his place of rest. She was happy.\n\nEvery evening she came to listen to the sighing of the willow. Every\nevening she lay down happy to have spoken to her son.\n\nOn the fifteenth day of the third month, the day of the awakening of\nthe Spring, many pilgrims visit the resting-place of Umewaki. If it\nrains on that day, the people say, \"Umewaki weeps.\"\n\nThe willow is under the protection of the gods. Storm and rain can do\nit no hurt.\n\n\n\n\nThe Child of the Forest\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Child of the Forest_]\n\n\nSakato-no-toki-yuki was a brave warrior at the court of Ky\u014dto. He\nfought for the Minamoto against the Taira, but the Minamoto were\ndefeated, and Sakato's last days were spent as a wandering exile. He\ndied of a broken heart. His widow, the daughter of a noble house,\nescaped from Ky\u014dto, and fled eastward to the rugged Ashigara\nmountains. No one knew of her hiding-place, and she had no enemies to\nfear save the wild beasts who lived in the forest. At night she found\nshelter in a rocky cave.\n\nA son was born to her whom she named Kintaro, the Golden Boy. He was a\nsturdy little fellow, with ruddy cheeks and merry laughing eyes. Even\nas he lay crowing in his bed among the fern, the birds that alighted\non his shoulder peeped trustfully into his eyes, and he smiled. Thus\nearly the child and the birds were comrades. The butterfly and the\ndowny moth would settle upon his breast, and tread softly over his\nlittle brown body.\n\nKintaro was not as other children--there was something strange about\nhim. When he fell, he would laugh cheerily; if he wandered far into\nthe wood, he could always find his way home; and, when little more\nthan a chubby babe, he could swing a heavy axe in circles round his\nhead. In the remote hills he had no human companions, but the animals\nwere his constant playfellows. He was gentle and kind-hearted, and\nwould not willingly hurt any living creature; therefore it was that\nthe birds and all the forest people looked upon Kintaro as one of\nthemselves.\n\nAmong Kintaro's truest friends were the bears who dwelt in the woods.\nA mother bear often carried him on her back to her home. The cubs ran\nout and greeted him joyfully, and they romped and played together for\nhours. They wrestled and strove in friendly rivalry. Sometimes Kintaro\nwould clamber up the smooth-barked monkey tree, sit on the topmost\nbranch, and laugh at the vain attempts of the shaggy little fellows to\nfollow him. Then came supper-time and the feast of liquid honey.\n\nBut the Golden Boy loved best of all to fly through the air with his\narms round the neck of a gentle-eyed stag. Soon after dawn, the deer\ncame to awaken the sleeper, and, with a farewell kiss to his mother\nand a morning caress to the stag, Kintaro sprang on his back and was\ncarried, with swift bounds, up mountain side, through valley and\nthicket, until the sun was high in the heavens. When they came to a\nleafy spot in the woods and heard the sound of falling water, the stag\ngrazed among the high fern while Kintaro bathed in the foaming\ntorrent.\n\nThus mother and son lived securely in their home among the mountains.\nThey saw no human being save the few woodcutters who penetrated thus\nfar into the forest, and these simple peasants did not guess their\nnoble birth. The mother was known as Yama-uba-San, \"The Wild Nurse of\nthe Mountain,\" and her son as \"Little Wonder.\"\n\nKintaro reigned as prince of the forest, beloved of every living\ncreature. When he held his court, the bear and the wolf, the fox and\nthe badger, the marten and the squirrel, and many other courtiers were\nseated around him. The birds, too, flocked at his call. The eagle and\nthe hawk flew down from the distant heights; the crane and the heron\nswept over the plain, and feathered friends without number thronged\nthe branches of the cedars. He listened as they told of their joys and\ntheir sorrows, and spoke graciously to all, for Kintaro had learned\nthe language and lore of the beasts, and the birds, and the flowers,\nfrom the Tengus, the wood-elves.\n\n  [Illustration: Kintaro reigned as prince of the forest, beloved of\n    every living creature.]\n\nThe Tengus, who live in the rocky heights of the mountains and in the\ntopmost branches of lofty trees, befriended Kintaro and became his\nteachers. As he was truthful and good, he had nothing to fear from\nthem; but the Tengus are dreaded by deceitful boys, whose tongues they\npull out by their roots and carry away.\n\nThese elves are strange beings: with the body of a man, the head of a\nhawk, long, long noses, and two powerful claws on their hairy hands\nand feet. They are hatched from eggs, and, in their youth, have\nfeathers and wings: later, they moult and wear the garb of men. On\ntheir feet are stilt-like clogs about twelve inches high. They stalk\nproudly along with crossed arms, head thrown back, and long nose held\nhigh in the air; hence the proverb, \"He has become a Tengu.\"\n\nThe headquarters of the tribe are in the \u014cyama mountain, where lives\nthe Dai-Tengu, their leader, whom all obey. He is even more proud and\noverbearing than his followers, and his nose is so long that one of\nhis ministers always precedes him that it may not be injured. A long\ngrey beard reaches to his girdle, and moustaches hang from his mouth\nto his chin. His sceptre is a fan of seven feathers, which he carries\nin his left hand. He rarely speaks, and is thus accounted wondrous\nwise. The Raven-Tengu is his chief minister; instead of a nose and\nmouth, he has a long beak. Over the left shoulder is slung an\nexecutioners axe, and in his hand he bears the book of Tengu wisdom.\n\nThe Tengus are fond of games, and their long noses are useful in many\nways. They serve as swords for fencing, and as poles on the point of\nwhich to balance bowls of water with gold-fish. Two noses joined\ntogether form a tight-rope on which a young Tengu, sheltered by a\npaper umbrella and leading a little dog, dances and jumps through\nhoops; the while an old Tengu sings a dance-tune and another beats\ntime with a fan. Some among the older Tengus are very wise. The most\nfamous of all is he who dwells on the Kurama mountain, but hardly less\nwise is the Tengu who undertook the education of Kintaro. At\nnightfall he carried the boy to the nest in the high rocks. Here he\nwas taught the wisdom of the elves, and the speech of all the forest\ntribes.\n\nOne day, Little Wonder was at play with some young Tengus, but they\ngrew tired and flew up to their nest, leaving Kintaro alone. He was\nangry with them, and shook the tree with all his strength, so that the\nnest fell to the ground. The mother soon returned, and was in great\ndistress at the loss of her children. Kintaro's kind heart was\ntouched, and, with the little ones in his arms, he swarmed up the tree\nand asked pardon. Happily they were unhurt, and soon recovered from\ntheir fright. Kintaro helped to rebuild the nest, and brought presents\nto his playfellows.\n\nNow it happened that, as the hero Raiko, who had fought so bravely\nagainst the _oni_, passed through the forest, he came upon Little\nWonder wrestling with a powerful bear. An admiring circle of friends\nstood around. Raiko, as he looked, was amazed at the strength and\ncourage of the boy. The combat over, he asked Kintaro his name and his\nstory, but the child could only lead him to his mother. When she\nlearned that the man before her was indeed Raiko, the mighty warrior,\nshe told him of her flight from Ky\u014dto, of the birth of Kintaro, and of\ntheir secluded life among the mountains. Raiko wished to take the boy\naway and train him in arms, but Kintaro loved the forest. When,\nhowever, his mother spoke, he was ready to obey. He called together\nhis friends, the beasts and the birds, and, in words that are\nremembered to this day, bade them all farewell.\n\nThe mother would not follow her son to the land of men, but Kintaro,\nwhen he became a great hero, often came to see her in the home of his\nchildhood.\n\nThe peasants of the Ashigara still tell of The Wild Nurse of the\nMountains and Little Wonder.\n\n\n\n\nThe Vision of Tsunu\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Vision of Tsunu_]\n\n\nWhen the five tall pine trees on the windy heights of Mionoseki were\nbut tiny shoots, there lived in the Kingdom of the Islands a pious\nman. His home was in a remote hamlet surrounded by mountains and great\nforests of pine. Tsunu had a wife and sons and daughters. He was a\nwoodman, and his days were spent in the forest and on the hillsides.\nIn summer he was up at cock-crow, and worked patiently, in the soft\nlight under the pines, until nightfall. Then, with his burden of logs\nand branches, he went slowly homeward. After the evening meal, he\nwould tell some old story or legend. Tsunu was never weary of relating\nthe wondrous tales of the Land of the Gods. Best of all he loved to\nspeak of Fuji-yama, the mountain that stood so near his home.\n\nIn times gone by, there was no mountain where now the sacred peak\nreaches up to the sky; only a far-stretching plain bathed in sunlight\nall day. The peasants in the district were astonished, one morning, to\nbehold a mighty hill where before had been the open plain. It had\nsprung up in a single night, while they slept. Flames and huge stones\nwere hurled from its summit; the peasants feared that the demons from\nthe under-world had come to wreak vengeance upon them. But for many\ngenerations there have been peace and silence on the heights. The good\nSun-Goddess loves Fuji-yama. Every evening she lingers on his summit,\nand when at last she leaves him, his lofty crest is bathed in soft\npurple light. In the evening the Matchless Mountain seems to rise\nhigher and higher into the skies, until no mortal can tell the place\nof his rest. Golden clouds enfold Fuji-yama in the early morning.\nPilgrims come from far and near, to gain blessing and health for\nthemselves and their families from the sacred mountain.\n\nOn the self-same night that Fuji-yama rose out of the earth, a strange\nthing happened in the mountainous district near Ky\u014dto. The inhabitants\nwere awakened by a terrible roar, which continued throughout the\nnight. In the morning every mountain had disappeared; not one of the\nhills that they loved was to be seen. A blue lake lay before them. It\nwas none other than the lute-shaped Lake Biwa. The mountains had, in\ntruth, travelled under the earth for more than a hundred miles, and\nnow form the sacred Fuji-yama.\n\nAs Tsunu stepped out of his hut in the morning, his eyes sought the\nMountain of the Gods. He saw the golden clouds, and the beautiful\nstory was in his mind as he went to his work.\n\nOne day the woodman wandered farther than usual into the forest. At\nnoon he was in a very lonely spot. The air was soft and sweet, the sky\nso blue that he looked long at it, and then took a deep breath. Tsunu\nwas happy.\n\n  [Illustration: On a plot of mossy grass beyond the thicket, sat two\n    maidens of surpassing beauty.]\n\nNow his eye fell on a little fox who watched him curiously from the\nbushes; The creature ran away when it saw that the man's attention had\nbeen attracted. Tsunu thought, \"I will follow the little fox and see\nwhere she goes.\" Off he started in pursuit. He soon came to a bamboo\nthicket. The smooth slender stems waved dreamily, the pale green\nleaves still sparkled with the morning dew. But it was not this which\ncaused the woodman to stand spellbound. On a plot of mossy grass\nbeyond the thicket, sat two maidens of surpassing beauty. They were\npartly shaded by the waving bamboos, but their faces were lit up by\nthe sunlight. Not a word came from their lips, yet Tsunu knew that the\nvoices of both must be sweet as the cooing of the wild dove. The\nmaidens were graceful as the slender willow, they were fair as the\nblossom of the cherry tree. Slowly they moved the chess-men which lay\nbefore them on the grass. Tsunu hardly dared to breathe, lest he\nshould disturb them. The breeze caught their long hair, the sunlight\nplayed upon it.... The sun still shone.... The chess-men were still\nslowly moved to and fro.... The woodman gazed enraptured.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\"But now,\" thought Tsunu, \"I must return, and tell those at home of\nthe beautiful maidens.\" Alas, his knees were stiff and weak. \"Surely I\nhave stood here for many hours,\" he said. He leaned for support upon\nhis axe; it crumbled into dust. Looking down, he saw that a flowing\nwhite beard hung from his chin.\n\nFor many hours the poor woodman tried in vain to reach his home.\nFatigued and wearied, he came at last to a hut. But all was changed.\nStrange faces peered curiously at him. The speech of the people was\nunfamiliar. \"Where are my wife and my children?\" he cried. But no one\nknew his name.\n\nFinally, the poor woodman came to understand that seven generations\nhad passed since he bade farewell to his dear ones in the early\nmorning. While he had gazed at the beautiful maidens, his wife, his\nchildren, and his children's children, had lived and died.\n\nThe few remaining years of Tsunu's life were spent as a pious pilgrim\nto Fuji-yama, his well-loved mountain.\n\nSince his death he has been honoured as a saint who brings prosperity\nto the people of his native country.\n\n\n\n\nPrincess Fire-Fly\n\n\n  [Illustration: _Princess Fire-Fly_]\n\n\nDeep in the pinky petals of a lotus bloom that grew in the castle\nmoats of Fukui, in Echizen, lived Hi-O, the King of the Fire-Flies. In\nthis beautiful flower his daughter, the Princess Hotaru, passed her\nchildhood exploring every shady nook and fragrant corner of the\nbell-like palace, listening to the buzz of life around, and peeping\nover the edge of the petals at the wonderful world which lay\nmysteriously beyond. Hotaru-Him\u00e9 had few youthful companions, but, as\nshe daily bade her father farewell, she dreamed of the time when she,\ntoo, would fly abroad, and her brilliant light would attract universal\nadmiration.\n\nGradually, a beautiful sheen o'erspread her body; night by night it\nbecame brighter, until at last her home, in the hours of darkness, was\nas a globe of coral wherein shone a lamp of gold. So glorious was her\nlight that the stars paled before it, and the bright sickle moon\nwithdrew behind a cloud from jealousy.\n\nHim\u00e9 was now allowed to fly from her home, to loiter among the\npleasant rice fields, and to explore the indigo meadows which lay far\noff on the horizon. She had no lack of friends and would-be lovers;\nthousands of insects, attracted by her magic light, came and offered\ntheir homage, but Him\u00e9 never forgot that she was of royal blood, and,\nwhile she haughtily thanked her many suitors, none found a way into\nher heart.\n\n  [Illustration: But the Princess whispered to herself, \"Only he who\n    loves me more than life shall call me bride.\"]\n\nOne evening the Princess, seated on a throne formed by the heart of\nthe lotus, held her court. Soon the faint roseate petals of the flower\nwere thronged with a host of ardent lovers. But the Princess whispered\nto herself, \"Only he who loves me more than life shall call me bride.\"\n\nThe golden beetle laid his fortunes at her feet, the cockchafer wooed\nher in passionate words, the dragon-fly proudly proffered his hand,\nand the hawk-moth humbly, yet persistently, addressed her. Countless\nother insects gained audience, but her answer was ever the same, \"Go,\nand bring me fire, and I will be your bride.\"\n\nOne by one they took wing, enraptured by the hope of success, and\nunconscious that they were all bent on the self-same errand. The\nhawk-moth entered the Buddhist Temple and circled round and round the\ntall wax lights, until, in an ecstasy of love, he flew into the flame,\nexclaiming, \"Now to win the Princess or meet my death!\" His poor\nsinged body fell heavily to the ground. The beetle watched intently,\nfor a moment or two, the log fire crackling on the hearth, and then,\nregardless of his fate, boldly caught at a tongue of flame he hoped to\ncarry to Him\u00e9--but his end was that of the hawk-moth. The dragon-fly,\nnotwithstanding his sunlit splendours, could not fulfil the bidding of\nthe Lady of the Lotus Bloom; he also fell a prey to her imperious\ncommand. Other lovers there were who tried to steal from the diamond\nhis heart of fire, who winged their way to the summit of Fukui, or\nsped to the depths of the valleys in search of the talisman that was\nto make Him\u00e9 their bride. The sun rose in morning splendour over\nuntold numbers of dead bodies, which alone remained to tell of the\ngreat devotion that had inspired the lovers of Princess Hotaru.\n\nNow tidings came to Hi-Maro, a Prince of the Fire-Flies living hard\nby, that the Princess Hotaru was exceedingly beautiful; whereupon he\nflew swiftly to her home among the lotus flowers. Even as, with a\nflood of golden light, he entered, the charms of Him\u00e9 were not dimmed.\nOne look passed between the youth and the maiden, and then each felt\nthat a great love filled their hearts. Hi-Maro wooed and wed, and for\nmany years lived happily with Hotaru-Him\u00e9 in the castle moats of\nFukui.\n\nCenturies have passed since Hi-Maro won his bride, and still the\ndazzling fire-fly Princesses send their insect lovers in search of\nfire.\n\n\n\n\nThe Sparrow's Wedding\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Sparrow's Wedding_]\n\n\nIn the heart of a forest of pine-trees that lay in a remote corner of\nthe Land of the Dragon-Fly, dwelt Chiyotaro, a prosperous sparrow, who\nwas honoured and beloved alike by his family and friends. He had many\nbeautiful children, but not one with manners more distinguished, or\nheart more true, than Tschiotaro. He was the life of the little\nhousehold; merry as the summer-day is long, and talkative as only a\nsparrow can be.\n\nTschiotaro would fly afar through the woods, and across the\nsurrounding plains; indeed, at times, he would even come within sight\nof the towering peaks of the Matchless Mountain. With the first\nwhisper of the approach of sundown, he would wing his way homeward, to\ndelight the loved ones in the pine forest with the story of his day's\nadventures. Laughter and sounds of glee echoed through the twilight,\nas the sparrow family listened to Tschiotaro's chatter. Then came the\nhush of night, and there was silence in the depths of the wood.\n\nOne sunny morning Tschiotaro chirped his farewell, and flew off he\nknew not whither. At last, he alighted in the shadowy bamboo grove\nwhere Kosuzumi, the tongue-cut sparrow, dwelt. Truly the gods had\nfavoured him in guiding his flight to this spot. Kosuzumi was\nbeautiful, but her daughter Osuzu was even more lovely. She was\nblithe, warm-hearted, and winsome; simple, too, was the maiden whose\ndays had been spent in the cool shade of the bamboo thicket.\nTschiotaro had only to see her to love her. At first, it is true, he\nwas a little shy, and hopped around the beautiful one with mute appeal\nin his tiny sparkling eyes; but when he saw that Osuzu smiled and\npeeped coyly at him, he grew bolder, and even ventured to address her.\nLittle by little the talk became more animated: reserve vanished, and\nmutual confidences passed. Tschiotaro and Osuzu had, in truth, entered\nthe Garden of Bliss, which is known in the feathered world of Japan as\n_Okugi_. Time sped apace, and the hour of parting came all too\nquickly. Tschiotaro assured Osuzu that he would soon return. As he\ntravelled through the summer air, laden with the fragrance of myriad\nflowers, a deep joy filled his heart and added zest to his flight.\nOsuzu, happy in her new-found love, was rocked peacefully to sleep by\nthe swaying of the bamboo branches in the soft breeze.\n\nTschiotaro lost no time in making known to his father his love for\nthe beautiful daughter of Kosuzumi, and declared that she, and none\nother, should be his bride. The old one heard the news with surprise.\nRich and respected as he was, he could not permit his son to marry the\nfirst maiden with whom he fell in love; but as Chiyotaro sat\ncontentedly in a quiet nook of his rustling home, his love for his\nson, and the desire to see him happy, outweighed all other\nconsiderations. He said, \"If Osuzu be good and true, I will not refuse\nto give my consent.\" Even before he heard that Osuzu belonged to a\nfamily honoured far and wide, that her home was dainty, and that her\nmother was the famous tongue-cut sparrow, Chiyotaro had determined\nthat nothing should cloud his son's happiness.\n\nAfter the lapse of a day or two, Tschiotaro's glowing story was\nconfirmed by the wise ones among the sparrows. Father and mother were\ncontent, and, according to old custom, an envoy was despatched to the\nparents of Osuzu with a formal offer of marriage. The family in the\nbamboo thicket, after due deliberation, consented to meet Chiyotaro.\nAll went well. The wedding day was speedily fixed, and all manner of\npreparations were made for the auspicious event.\n\nThe home that was to shelter Tschiotaro and Osuzu was built with the\ngreatest care in the upper branches of a beautiful cherry tree, whose\npure white petals in blossom-time would lend fragrance and peace to\nthe happy retreat. Many were the gifts which arrived to adorn, and add\ncomfort to, the new abode. Sparrows from far and near vied with one\nanother in the delicacy and variety of their offerings, until the\ndwelling was wondrously enticing.\n\nJust before the wedding day, Osuzu rejoiced at the arrival of rare\ngifts from her beloved Tschiotaro. An _obi_ of dewdrops, which held in\nthem the secrets of the sun; a head-dress, fashioned of the slender\npetals of a mountain flower; and tiny moss sandals, so soft and\nexquisite that she donned them at once for very love and pride; these\nand many other gifts did Tschiotaro bestow. Nor were Osuzu's parents\nunmindful of their duties. A grand robe of ceremony, woven of the\npinky blossom of the peach, as well as _sak\u00e9_ and luscious fruit, were\nsent to Tschiotaro.\n\nThe morning of the marriage dawned. By the time the sun touched with\nglory the peak of Fusi-yama, the sparrow families were busy preparing\nfor the day's festivities. Long ere the purple shadows had lifted from\nthe valleys, the wedding procession had assembled from copse, and\nhedgerow, and woodland. Never before had such a concourse of sparrows\nbeen seen. Tschiotaro was widely beloved, and the beauty of Osuzu had\nbecome noised abroad.\n\nOn arrival at their new home, the bride and bridegroom sipped thrice\nof the three cups of rice wine which consecrated their union, and\nafterwards the whole company drank freely to the health and well-being\nof the newly wedded pair. Sounds of revelry and rejoicing lasted until\nthe late evening; and long after the sun had bade his daily farewell\nto the cherry grove the sparrows still chattered and twittered.\n\nAs the moon, with her attendant maidens, rose slowly in the heavens,\nthe festal sounds died away and silence reigned.\n\nTschiotaro and Osuzu spent many happy years of wedded sparrowhood.\nThey had children fair and graceful as themselves, and never had cause\nto regret their loving union.\n\n\n\n\nThe Love of the Snow-White Fox\n\n\n  [Illustration: _The Love of the Snow-White Fox_]\n\n\nIn Idzumo, the Province of the Gods, are many foxes. There the wicked\nNinko, in league with the _oni_, prowls about at nightfall and carries\naway the souls of little children, he robs the poor man of his rice\nand millet, and bewitches the maidens who cross his path. There, too,\nis his enemy the Inari fox, who is kind of heart. The Inari loves the\nchildren, and warns the anxious mothers when Ninko is near; he guards\nthe store of the peasant, and comes to the aid of maidens in distress.\n\nMany centuries ago, there lived a young Inari fox. She was snow-white,\nand her eyes were keen and intelligent. She was beloved by all the\ngood people for miles around. They were glad if, in the evening, she\nknocked softly with her tail against the window of their hut; when she\nentered she would play with the children, eat of their humble fare,\nand then trot away. The god Inari protected those who were kind to\nher. The Ninko foxes hated her.\n\nThere were hunters in the country of Idzumo who thirsted for the blood\nof the beautiful white fox. Once or twice she nearly lost her life at\nthe hands of these cruel men.\n\nOne summer afternoon, she was frisking about in the woods with some\nyoung fox friends, when two men caught sight of her. They were fleet\nof foot and had dogs by their side. Off ran the white fox. The men\nuttered an excited cry and gave chase. Instead of going towards the\nopen plain, she made for the Temple of Inari Daim-yojin. \"There surely\nI will find a safe refuge from my pursuers,\" she thought.\n\nNow Yaschima, a young prince of the noble house of Abe, was in the\ntemple, deep in meditation. The white fox, whose strength was almost\nspent, ran fearlessly up to him and took refuge beneath the thick\nfolds of his robe. Yaschima was moved with pity, and did all in his\npower to soothe the poor frightened creature. He said, \"I will protect\nyou, little one; you have nothing to fear.\" The fox looked up at him,\nand seemed to understand. She ceased to tremble. Then the Prince went\nto the door of the great temple. Two men hastened up to him and asked\nif he had seen a pure white fox. \"It must have run into the Temple of\nInari. We would have its blood to cure the sickness of one of our\nfamily.\" But Yaschima, faithful to his promise, answered: \"I have been\nin the temple praying to the good god, but I can tell you nothing of\nthe fox.\" The men were about to leave him, when, behind his robe,\nthey spied a white bushy tail. Fiercely they demanded that he should\nstand aside. The Prince firmly refused. But, intent on their prey, the\nmen attacked him, and he was obliged to draw his sword in\nself-defence. At this moment Yaschima's father, a brave old man, came\nup; he rushed upon the enemies of his son, but a deadly blow, which\nYaschima could not avert, struck him down. Then the young Prince was\nvery wroth, and, with two mighty strokes, he felled his adversaries to\nthe ground.\n\nThe loss of his beloved father filled Yaschima with grief. He did not\nbreak out into loud lamentation, for the sorrow lay too near his\nheart.\n\n  [Illustration: With two mighty strokes, he felled his adversaries to\n    the ground.]\n\nThen a sweet song fell on his ear. It came from the temple. As he\nre-entered the sacred building, a beautiful maiden stood before him.\nShe turned, and saw that he was in deep trouble. The Prince told her\nof the snow-white fox, and the cruel hunters, and the death of his\nfather whom he loved. The maiden spoke tender words of sympathy; her\nvoice was so soft and sweet that the sound brought comfort to him.\nWhen Yaschima learned that the maiden was true, that her heart was as\npure and beautiful as her face, he loved her, and asked her to be his\nbride. She replied, very gently, \"I already love you. I know that you\nare good and brave, and I would solace you for the loss of your\nfather.\"\n\nThey were wed. Yaschima did not forget the death of his father, but he\nremembered that his beautiful wife had then been given to him. For\nsome time they lived happily together. The days passed swiftly.\nYaschima ruled his people wisely, and his fair Princess was ever by\nhis side. Each morning they went to the temple, and thanked the good\ngod Inari for the joy that had come to them.\n\nNow a son was born to the Prince and Princess. They gave him the name\nof Seimei. Thereafter the Princess became sorely troubled. She sat\nalone for hours, and tears sprang to her eyes when Yaschima asked her\nthe cause of her sorrow. One day she took his hand and said, \"Our life\nhere has been very beautiful. I have given you a son to be with you\nalways. The god Inari now tells me that I must leave you. He will\nguard you as you guarded me from the hunters at the door of the great\ntemple. I am none other than the snow-white fox whose life you saved.\"\nOnce more she looked into his eyes, and then, without a word, she was\ngone.\n\nYaschima and Seimei lived long in the Province of the Gods. They were\ngreatly beloved, but the snow-white fox was seen no more.\n\n\n\n\nNedzumi\n\n\n  [Illustration: _Nedzumi_]\n\n\nIn the Central Land of Reed-Plains dwelt two rats. Their home was in a\nlonely farmstead surrounded by rice fields. Here they lived happily\nfor so many years that the other rats in the district, who had\nconstantly to change their quarters, believed that their neighbours\nwere under the special protection of Fukoruku Jin, one of the Seven\nGods of Happiness, and the Patron of Long Life.\n\nThese rats had a large family of children. Every summer day they led\nthe little ones into the rice fields, where, under shelter of the\nwaving stalks, the young rats learned the history and cunning of their\npeople. When work was done, they would scamper away and play with\ntheir friends until it was time to return home.\n\nThe most beautiful of these children was Nedzumi, the pride of her\nparents' heart. She was truly a lovely little creature, with sleek\nsilvery skin, bright intelligent eyes, tiny upstanding ears, and\npearly white teeth. It seemed to the fond father and mother that no\none was great enough to marry their daughter, but, after much\npondering, they decided that the most powerful being in the whole\nuniverse should be their son-in-law.\n\nThe parents discussed the weighty question with a trusted neighbour,\nwho said, \"If you would wed your daughter to the most powerful being\nin the universe, you must ask the sun to marry her, for his empire\nknows no bounds.\"\n\nHow they mounted through the skies, no rat can tell. The sun gave\nthem audience and listened graciously as they said, \"We would give you\nour daughter to wife.\" He smiled and rejoined, \"Your daughter is\nindeed beautiful, and I thank you for coming so far to offer her to\nme. But, tell me, why have you chosen me out of all the world?\" The\nrats made answer, \"We would marry our Nedzumi to the mightiest being,\nand you alone wield world-wide sway.\" Then the sun replied, \"Truly my\nkingdom is vast, but oftentimes, when I would illumine the world, a\ncloud floats by and covers me. I cannot pierce the cloud; therefore\nyou must go to him if your wish is to be attained.\"\n\nIn no way discouraged, the rats left the sun and came to a cloud as he\nrested after a flight through the air. The cloud received them less\ncordially than the sun, and replied to their offer, with a look of\nmischief in his dusky eyes, \"You are mistaken if you think that I am\nthe most powerful being. It is true that I sometimes hide the sun, but\nI cannot withstand the force of the wind. When he begins to blow I am\ndriven away, and torn in pieces. My strength is not equal to the power\nof the wind.\"\n\nA little saddened, the rats, intent on their daughter's future\nprosperity, waylaid the wind as he swept through a pine forest. He was\nabout to awaken the plain beyond, to stir the grass and the flowers\ninto motion. The two anxious parents made known their mission. This\nwas the whispered reply of the wind: \"It is true that I have strength\nto drive away the clouds, but I am powerless against the wall which\nmen build to keep me back. You must go to him if you would have the\nmightiest being in the world for your son-in-law. Indeed I am not so\nmighty as the wall.\"\n\nThe rats, still persistent in their quest, came to the wall and told\ntheir story. The wall answered, \"True, I can withstand the wind, but\nthe rat undermines me and makes holes through my very heart. To him\nyou must go if you would wed your daughter to the most powerful being\nin the world. I cannot overcome the rat.\"\n\nAnd now the parent rats returned to their home in the farmstead.\nNedzumi, their beautiful daughter with the silken coat and sparkling\neyes, rejoiced when she heard that she was to marry one of her own\npeople, for her heart had already been given to a playfellow of the\nrice fields. They were married, and lived for many years as king and\nqueen of the rat world.\n\n\n\n\nKoma and Gon\n\n\n  [Illustration: _Koma and Gon_]\n\n\nMany moons ago, a teacher of music lived not far from Ky\u014dto. A\nfaithful serving-woman and a beautiful cat were his sole companions.\nGon was a handsome fellow, with sleek coat, bushy tail, and\ngrass-green eyes that glowed in the darkness. His master loved him,\nand would say as the cat purred by his side in the evening, \"Nothing\nshall part us, old friend.\"\n\nO-Ume was a happy maiden whose home lay in the midst of the plum\ngroves. Her chief pet was a little cat. Koma had very winning ways;\nher mistress delighted to watch her. She blinked so prettily, she ate\nso daintily, she licked her rose-red nose so carefully with her tiny\ntongue, that O-Ume would catch her up, and say fondly, \"Koma, Koma,\nyou are a good cat. I am sure your ancestors shed tears when our Lord\nBuddha died. You shall never leave me.\"\n\nIt happened that Gon and Koma met, and fell deeply in love with one\nanother. Gon was so handsome that any of the cats in the district\nwould gladly have been his mate, but he did not deign to notice one of\nthem. When he saw the little maid Koma, his heart beat quickly.\n\nThe cats were in great distress, for neither the music-master nor\nO-Ume would hear of parting with their pet. Gon's master would\nwillingly have taken Koma to live with him, but O-Ume would not hear\nof this; nor were Koma's entreaties more successful.\n\nIt was the seventh night of the seventh moon, the night sacred to\nlovers in the Land of Great Peace, when Kingen crosses the Silver\nRiver of Heaven and Shakujo joyfully embraces him. Gon and Koma left\ntheir homes and fled together. It was a moonbright night, and the cats\nwere light of heart as they scampered through the fields of rice and\nacross the great open plains. When day broke, they were near a palace\nwhich stood in a large park, full of stately old trees and ponds\ncovered with sweet lotus-blooms. Koma said, \"If only we could live in\nthat palace, how glorious it would be!\" As she spoke, a fierce dog\ncaught sight of the cats, and bounded towards them angrily. Koma gave\na cry of terror, and sprang up a cherry tree. Gon did not stir. \"Dear\nKoma shall see that I am a hero, and would rather lose my life than\nrun away.\" But the dog was powerful, and would have killed Gon. He was\nalmost upon the brave cat, when a serving-man drove him off, and\ncarried Gon into the palace. Poor little Koma was left alone to lament\nher loss.\n\nThe Princess who lived in the palace was overjoyed when Gon was\nbrought to her. Many days passed before he was allowed out of her\nsight. Then he hunted far and near for his fair lover, but all in\nvain. \"My Koma is lost to me for ever,\" he sighed.\n\nNow the Princess lived in splendour and happiness. She had but one\ntrouble; a great snake loved her. At all hours of the day and night\nthe animal would creep up and try to come near her. A constant guard\nwas kept, but still the serpent, at times, succeeded in gaining the\ndoor of her chamber. One afternoon, the Princess was playing softly to\nherself on the _koto_, when the snake crept unobserved past the guards\nand entered her room. In a moment, Gon sprang upon its neck and bit it\nso furiously that the hideous creature soon lay dead. The Princess\nheard the noise and looked round. When she saw that Gon had risked his\nlife for her, she was deeply moved; she stroked him and whispered kind\nwords into his ear. He was praised by the whole household, and fed\nupon the daintiest morsels in the palace. But there was a cloud upon\nhis happiness: the loss of Koma.\n\nOn a summer day he lay sunning himself before the door of the palace.\nHalf asleep, he looked out upon the world and dreamed of the moonlight\nnight when he and Koma escaped from their former homes. In the park a\nbig cat was ill-treating a little one, too fragile to take care of\nherself. Gon jumped up and flew to her aid. He soon drove the cruel\ncat away; then he turned towards the little one to ask if she were\nhurt. Koma, his long-lost love, stood before him! Not the sleek,\nbeautiful Koma of other days, for she was thin and sad, but her eyes\nsparkled when she saw that Gon was her deliverer.\n\nThe two cats went to the Princess. They told her the story of their\nlove, their flight, their separation, and their reunion. She entered\nwhole-heartedly into their new-found joy.\n\nOn the seventh night of the seventh moon Gon and Koma were married.\nThe Princess watched over them, and they were happy. Many years\npassed. One day she found them curled up together. The two faithful\nhearts had ceased to beat.\n\n\n_Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co._\n\n_Edinburgh and London_\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Note\n\nVariant spelling is preserved as printed.\n\nMinor punctuation errors have been corrected.\n\nHyphenation and accent usage have been made consistent.\n\nIllustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in\nthe middle of a paragraph.","title":"Old-World Japan: Legends of the Land of the Gods","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":19255}