ASIA ipiinii "'"Hiilri": YOSfflO MMIKINO MM^ m ■iliUliial-. : 5^3 ia;3;;;;:33 ■.•'■.-iiiini nmmU m \\\ Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023319316 . _ Cornell University Library NC 353.M34A3 Recollections and reflections of a Japan 3 1924 023 319 316 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS OF A JAPANESE ARTIST WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY YOSHIO MARKING Author of "A Japanese Artist IN London" PHILADELPHIA GEORGE W. JACOBS & CO. PUBLISHERS COPYKIGHT. 1913, HY GEORGE W. JACOBS & CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Printed in U. S. A. TO ITSUKUSHIKI MRS. FLORA ROSCOE PREFACE Perhaps there is nobody in this world who is passing his life without any disappoint-' ment. If there were, he must be a fool. On the other hand, if one has nothing but all disappointments, he is still greater a fool. Because this world is not made especially for any certain people. We all had or have some ambition, and the world does not always fulfil our ambitions. When our ambition is not fulfilled it irri- tates our sense, and that irritation becomes a solid crystallisation in our minds, which we call " disappointment." Therefore those who have no disappointment must have neither ambition nor sense to be irritated. They must be fools no doubt ! But if one meets with some disappointments, each time he ought to get the most valuable thing caUed "wisdom" in his head. This wisdom would guide him to his ambition, perhaps through patience and perseverance, or by realising vii MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS his way was wrong, and so taking a new, wiser plan. Only those who cannot get this wisdom will be always disappointed in this world. So you see they must be fools too. Whenever I had great -disappointments I always welcomed them heartily, for I knew they were the very source to get the greater wisdom. Our life is just like the anglers. In those olden times in Japan, the daimyos used to angle in the lakes where many fishes were fed purposely. So it was quite certain that they could catch some fishes. But that was not exciting sport at all. So with our life. If we could fulfil all our wishes exactly as we wanted without trouble, how very dull must be this world ! ! Fortunately we are angling in some unknown lakes — even the depth of the lakes we don't know. Anyhow, we have to throw the bait into one of these lakes. We must do so with our Faith first. Then gradually we are realising the fact whether there are some fishes or not. If there are some large fishes we must keep on our patience until we catch them. But if we ascertain that there is no fish, we must go to another lake at once without delay. In such a way I have begun to look upon viii PREFACE this world, and to-day I feel I have caught some fishes, though they are rather different sorts of fishes than what I was imagining when I started my life. The fishes which I have caught and which I am going to show you now are My Recollections and Reflections, and a few sketches. Especially the sketches are much more inferior than I have been imagining. This is my sincere confession ; but I do not pretend myself and try to conceal all my games. Those who have made the greater sport may laugh at my small games. I only kneel down before them and beg them to lead me on. And, on the other hand, there may be many youngsters who are just going to start their sports (or life-voyage). I feel it is my duty to show them all the fishes I angled (no matter how small they may be), in case these may be useful in a way as the references for their future life. In this book I have so often quoted the names of the ancient Chinese or Japanese. I must explain why. The human hfe is always almost same in the past, the present, and surely in the future, though there have been some changes materially. For instance, just ix MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS compare those who used to travel in the sedans and those on the aeroplanes. Is there any difference in their hearts ? Some of those ancient Chinese understood the humanity so well. We are only repeating the same. That is all. Of course I myself do not mind to take the examples from the living persons at the present time. But by doing so, some good people may easily be embarrassed when their own names are mentioned, and some bad people may bring the libel actions against me, which has been severely warned by my publishers. Therefore, readers, please try to apply those ancient Chinese or Japanese names directly to your own neighbours. I assure you that you can easily find out Confu- cius, Laotze, Mencius, " Blue Flies," or even Judas Iscariot among your surrounding people. Their names are different, their faces are dif- ferent, but their hearts are the same at any- where and any time. How many millions have been born and died since the human history began ? And how many millions are actually living in this world ? I am sure I don't know. But I can classify them into a few stripes less than the numbers of the rain- PREFACE bow colours. And how I have been recollect- ing about them, and how they are reflected upon me? That is what you will read from the next page. May I quote what my schoolmaster, Mr. linuma, said to me some twenty years ago ? " This world is false ; I am afraid you shall be disappointed with it. But in this false world there exists the Truth, almost like the miracles. You shall be lucky if you can find it out, for it will make your whole life per- fectly happy." I want to add : " The only key to find out that Truth is our own Faith." XI CONTENTS I. Friendship 1 II. Hara 18 III. My New Studio 90 IV. Emotion and Etymology 115 V. Memory and Imagination 137 VI. My Thoughts about the Drama in Japan AND IN England 170 VII. The Post-Impressionist and Others 207 VIII. The Human Insincerity 230 IX. Wedhampton 246 Xlll ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR Wedhampton under the Moon Frontispiece Darwin Tulips Facing page 14 Thistle Grove 18 South Kensington Museum 26 Richmond 136 Salisbury Plain 154 The Mustard Field 158 The Pit Entrance OF the New Theatre 204 "White Lady," \Vi edhampton 246 IN MONOCHROME Our Lodgings in Sydney Street 48 My New Studio 90 My Coffee Machine 108 Bowling 1 14 One of the Eight Views on the Lake Biwa 224 The Old Lion 262 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS CHAPTER I FRIENDSHIP Children love chocolate, honey, and syrups. Grown-up people love whisky and soda or champagne. I too love all of them. At the same time I can live without them. Nobody ever said that he loved water. But who could live without it for a single day ? Too many flattering words between friends are chocolate, honey, or syrup to me, and their delicate etiquette may be champagne or soda water. I am neither a god nor a machine, but a human, and I possess the very human flesh. Therefore I confess that I always jump at the first cup of flattering words or manner of people, and I am delighted with its sweet- ness and delicacy. But how long could I be buried in it ? I often slip myself off from a large society reception and come back quite alone and exclaim, " Oh, give me the pure water, or else I shall be sick soon ! " What is the pure A MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS water to me ? It is the real friendship, which I am going to talk about in this chapter. (By saying that, I do not mean to accuse any of those society people. Who knows, every one of them might have become my real friends. At least, each of them must have certain friends who are quite water to themselves. Only the systems and arrange- ment of such " Societies " prevents the real friend-making. I myself am always open- hearted, and try to make the real friends. But it is absolutely out of place — just like a little salt on the ice-cream I I feel myself more like a fool or a lunatic.) Yes, I always compare the genuine friend- ship with the water. Sometimes we forget the benefits which the water gives to us. Some- times we are very ungrateful to it. But how earnestly we long for it when we are away from it for only a few hours ! So with friends I In- deed friendship is the very thing I live for. It can or ought to exist between man and woman as well as among men or women themselves, and I myself have witnessed that happy union of man and woman. But a disaster often happens between the different sexes. For another element, called the sexual love, often comes in too soon before they get to know each other, and that makes them utterly blind. The other evening a lady author made a 2 FRIENDSHIP humorous speech after a dinner. She said, " There is a misunderstanding between men and women which we call ' love.' " She was, of course, joking. But it has more value than mere humour. The words "husband and wife" or "parent and children" do not always signify the word "friend." How happy and lucky must be those who have all their families " friends " ! To-day I am writing this chapter mostly about the devoted friendship among men. I see in the English Dictionary that the word " friend " is from " frdpnd," or " to be loving." In the ancient Chinese ideogram there were two words — ho and yu. The ideogram of ho is composed of a repetition of the ideogram " flesh " — put side by side. And yu is com- posed of a repetition of the ideogram " human " — intermingled. Now, we Japanese use the two words together, " hoyu, " for " friend." Human. The ancient Chinese The modern character " yii." character.^ Flesh. " Ho." ' Confucius has given a splendid parable about the difference between "ho" and " yu." " There was a very filial son. His family MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS In one word, it is the affinity between two humans. Each atom, every molecule of the same kind always has the " attraction," and so with the human heart. It is the law of Nature. Only when some impure elements are existing in our hearts that often prevents the power of attraction. Lucky are those who can easily throw away their mental impurities, such as selfishness, jealousy, Suspicions, &c. For they shall have the stronger affinity of friend- ship. Even when one has a short journey across the seas, he can make the deeper friendship with someone on board than when, he is on the land. For their destination is the same. Then while we are having that long journey of our life, it is quite natural for us to have the friendship with one who has the same destination as ourselves. Struggling together was very poor. When his father was ill in bed, he used to make nice dishes for the father. The father asked him if there were more dishes; he always answered, 'Yes, I have very much more.' Then the father would say, ' Give the rest to all our friends.' "There was another filial son, and when his father was ill, he, too, used to make nice dishes. But whenever his father asked him if anything was left, he always answered, ' Not much.' Because this son wanted to give the rest of the djsh to his own father next tirhe." The former son's devotion to his father was " yQ," or the affinity of the human heart. The latter's devotion was "ho," or the sympathy of the human flesh. 4 FRIENDSHIP against the tempests and high waves of our life, the affinity of friends is getting stronger and deeper every day. During that war period in China (between the times of Confucius and Mencius) there were two great friends, Hoshik and Kanehu. Kanchu said, " When I was poor, I had a business with Hoshik. I took more share of our profits than I ought _to have had. He never called me greedy, because he knew I was very poor. When I planned some business with him, T failed, but he never called me a fool. For he knew the luck does not always follow after the best brain-work. 1 went to the war, and I retreated three times, but he never called me a coward. For he knew I had a very old mother at that time. When I was a subject of the Prince Kyu, he was defeated and I was prisoned and much insulted. But Hoshik never called me ' shameful ' ! For he knew I never cared for such small insults, as I had a greater ambition in the future. It was my parents who brought me up, but it is Hoshik who knows me 1 " Hoshik advised the King of Sei to make Kanchu as a Grand Chancellor, and Hoshik himself served undfer the command of Kanchu. And Kanchu succeeded in making flourish the country of Sei. The nation admired the 5 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS friendly sympathy of Hoshik more than the wisdom of Kanchu. (From the Shiki, the ancient Chinese History by Shibasen.) A Httle later on, China was divided by the seven kings. The King of Jin was very strong, and the other six kings were afraid of him. At this time there were two great speakers called Sojin and Chogi. They both were the scholars of the same school. Sojin succeeded first, and became the Grand Chancellor of the six kings. He made the strength of the six countries by allying them against the King of Jin. Chogi was still a very poor scholar. Thinking that Sojin was his dear schoolmate, Chogi thought his friend would do something beneficial to him. One day Chogi called upon Sojin. But to his great disappointment Sojin was very cool to Chogi. The latter thought he would go to the King of Jin, the very enemy of Sojin, and persuade him to break the alliances among the six kings. Sojin said to his own secretary, " My friend Chogi is a great man. He is greater than myself. But he is still poor. I was afraid his poverty might make him satisfied with small things. Therefore I have offended him on purpose. Now I know he is going to Jin, 6 FRIENDSHIP my enemy. There he ought to get the highest position. That was my sincere wish for the sake of friendship. However, the King of Jin will not see Chogi if he is so poor. Now you must not tell him that you are my secretary, but go to him and supply him with everything necessary to him." The secretary took the carriages, horses, and plenty of money, and followed after Chogi. Chogi succeeded to see the King of Jin, who appointed him the Grand Chancellor. The secretary of Sojin wanted to bid a fare- well to Chogi. Chogi said, "Through your generosity I have succeeded my ambition. Pray stay with me. I must return your kindness." T^e secretary confessed the truth. " I, a humble secretary, have done nothing to you. It was all the kindness of my great master Sojin. I must go back and inform my master about your success. He will be delighted." Chogi sighed and said, " Oh, have I been in that kind and thoughtful trap of my friend again ? How could I persuade the King of Jin to attack the six kings for whom my dear friend is working ! Go back to your master and tell him, ' I, Chogi, shall never interfere your master's plans as long as he is living." 7 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS Chogi was very true to his words. It was after Sojin's death that he assisted the King of Jin to break the alliances of the six kings. In Japan, during the war between White and Red Flags in the twelfth century, there was a famous poet-warrior called Tadanori. He belonged to the Red Flag family, which was defeated by the White Flag. They all were retreating from Kioto, the capital, to the Western boundary. Tadanori joined to the rest of his family, and was running away about seven or eight miles. Suddenly he re- collected " something." He turned the head of his horse towards Kioto and returned to the house of his poet-friend Toshinari, who belonged to the White Flag. It was such a wet and dreary night, and so very late, too, Toshinari must be sleeping I The poet- warrior knocked and knocked at the gate of his friend. " Ah, no. wonder you do not open your gate ! So unfortunately I belong to the Red Flag families, who are the enemy to you. However, listen to me : after we all, the Red Flags, shall be annihilated in the Western Sea, and when the nation will enjoy the peace again, surely you will gather the poetries into a book one day. I have been composing all these poetries lately. I am not afraid of my death, which is imminent every day, but I am 8 FRIENDSHIP grieving to think that all my poetries might be drowned in the sea together with my body. Therefore I have come back to hand all those poetries to you. Pray select some of them in your book." Toshinari, hearing this pathetic appeal of his friend, came out to the gate. First he wanted to welcome his poet-friend. But he was afraid it might give some trouble to both of them. So he op(ened the tiny bamboo, gate half-way and stretched out his hand. Tada- nori put his papers on it. The kind and sym- pathetic hand grasped it, and it was withdrawn inside the gate, and the gate was shut again. " Oh, how happy am I," said Tadanori, " to think my poetries will be immortalised 1 " He rode away as quickly as possible. The poor poet-warrior was killed in the war of the Western Sea a few months later. But his friend was very faithful. When the peace was proclaimed, he published a famous poetry book, in which he put the works of Tadanori, with the note, "The poet's name unknown." In those days they were not allowed to mention the political oflfenders' names. But to-day, even the school-children know this poet-warrior's name. Thus his name was im- mortalised by his real friend. Those ancient philosophers like Confucius, 9 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS Mencius, Laotze, and others had always been seeking the genuine friends not only in their own date, but in the past as well as in the future. The history says Confucius loved the great philosopher Shuko, who was born 500 years before him. And he read "Yeki," by Shuko, so often that the leather bindings were worn out three times. (In those days the manuscripts were engraved on the pieces of bamboo, which were bound up by the leathers.) He always quoted the words of the ancient philosophers and good kings who passed away a long time ago, and very often he quoted the words of the very ordinary peasants in his own day. Certainly most of these peasants were quite ignorant and not much worth for the world. Then why did Confucius mention them? Because he was seeking the real friends so earnestly. And if even such ignorant folks just casually departing from the worldly im- purity, said somethings which touched his friend-seeking heart, Confucius was always so very pleased. He must have thought, " Oh, I am not alone in this world ! " every time he said, " How very good and how very true is this saying ! " Thus Confucius encouraged every- body to have their natural affinity, called Friendship. But, above all, why have all 10 FRIENDSHIP those philosophers left their books behind? Evidently every one of them was seeking his friends in the further future. And they were absolutely right. They have been meeting with the real friends from time to time in these several thousand long years. Who can help but feel the real genuine friendship by reading those books? Let me now quote a few passages more from those books, which will surely have the affinity with your hearts, if you are away from all the worldly impurity and if you are really seeking the friends. Laotze said, "My Tao (doctrine) is the simplest and easiest one, but why don't the people follow after it ? " This is just it I His heart was quite pure. He was spreading out his arm to embrace everybody as his friend. Alas, people had impurity in their hearts, and they lost their affinity and cast away this real human from the dirty and disgusting social circle ! Confucius said, "If worldly ambition can be attained by work, I don't mind to be 'a man with the whip' (he meant the driver). If not, I shall rather do what I like best." Evidently Confucius was much luckier than myself to be able to say, " I shall rather do what I like best." I myself had scrubbed the 11 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS floor and washed the windows and all sorts of works which were far worse than to be " a man with the whip." I did it not to attain all what I wanted, but to save my life from the starva- tion. However, the words of Confucius were a great encouragement all through my life. The social condition seems to be improving slowly and slowly every day. But there are still many unfair things practised on our daily life. Let us work and try to practise the French national motto, " Egalit^, Fraternity, et Liberte." Confucius, so friendly with us, was crying out for it some two thousand years ago. The great orator Sojin (I have already mentioned his name in this chapter) spent all his allowance for studying under Professor Kikok. He went home very poor. His brothers and sisters laughed at him. His; brother's wife said, " We all have been in- vesting our own fortunes in the farming or in commerce, and we are earning 20 per cent. Therefore we are well off. You, young fool, have sent all your share to that nonsensical study. No wonder why you are starving I " They had no sympathy towards the poor young scholar. Sojin was very ashamed of him- self. He went away to study more. Nobody bid "good-bye" to him. He worked and 12 FRIENDSHIP worked very hard. In a few years' time, he has become the Grand Chancellor for the six kings. He came back home again in a gorgeous carriage, and hundreds of his servants followed after him in a procession. AH his brothers and sisters could hardly lift up their heads. Sojin said, " Why are you so different to me now?" His sister-in-law answered him in a trembling voice, " Why, thou art so noble and so rich ! " Sojin sighed and lamented. " This is only my same self. But, lo ! even my own family and relatives are treating me differently, according to my outward condition. Now I can well imagine how the strangers must be treating the strangers. If I only had two acres of the rice-field last time when I came home, I am sure I would never have become the Grand Chancellor to-day ! " He spread out all his money among the poor. Sojin was such a dear indeed ! .Tust when I started writing this chapter a friend of mine has sent me dozens of beauti- ful Darwin tulips. The poor flowers ! The gentle petals seemed in such suffering from the lack of water for some while. I threw my pen on the desk and hurried to put them in a flower vase. At first, those tender stalks seemed as if they were too weary to lift up such large blossoms. They all were drooping 13 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS by their own weight. But before I finished a few hundred words I looked at them. They had begun to stand up straighter, and every one of them looked so happy. Thank heavens the water saved their lives. I smiled at them, and I loved them. The friendship to our human heart is just like the water to the flowers. A few years ago one of my John BuUess friends used to live in a flat, and she had a roof garden. It was my pleasure to help her watering that little roof garden. One day I noticed many paper knots tied up on a young Virginian creeper. I asked her what that meant. She told me all the trouble which she was meeting with her family and neigh- bours. She was much depressed with her lonely, friendless life. " But," she said, " look at this innocent creeper. It is growing every day. You see, I mark its height with the knots every evening, and how nice it is to see it growing ! And I feel perfectly happy when I see those vines are twisting them- selves to the bamboo railings. This vine is the only real friend of mine in this world ! " I thoroughly understood her meaning. She was much suppressed by her surrounding people, and she so badly wanted to grow up freely, and now, seeing the nature was 14 -'^e^*— ' DARWEN TULIPS. FRIENDSHIP so natural, she and that vine had such deep affinity. Even the flowers, birds, and animals have some strong affinity to our friend-seek- ing hearts. And almost all genuine human beings have always made friendship with those natural beings, because their own natures are so simple and sincere and their hearts are touched with the natural beings. But if the human heart can understand the other human heart and touch each other, nothing could be sweeter in this world. Even if we were born in the different period and could not meet each other, we can well enjoy our friend- ship through the books. But how lucky must be one who has met with his real friend in this world ! And I was really the very luckiest one when I met with my compatriot artist, Bushio Hara, in London. Our friendship was that of water, and not like chocolate or syrup. While we were together, we used to talk just as we liked. Very often we were ungrateful to each other. But how indispen- sable he was I I have found it more so than ever since he went back to Japan. When- ever I met with happiness as well as sorrows, or whenever I saw nice views or any subject suitable to paint or any interesting people, something always prompted into my heart, " Oh, write to Hara." And every word of 15 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS mine was responded-to deeply in his heart. I heard more than once that he too said to his friends, "When I write to Markino, I always scribble any words handy to me. It is quite all right. He will grasp my mean- ings 1 " It was just like the champion players of the tennis. Whenever I threw the ball, he was ready to send it back with his racket, and I did the same. No single word of ours was ever thrown on the ground and wasted. I am well proud to compare our friendship with those of the ancient Chinese philoso- phers, which I have written in the beginning of this chapter. His death on October 28th 1912 was a great shock to me. If I see or think something in my daily life, I often ask to myself, "Whom shall I tell this now?" Hara promised me to come back to London, and so I have been always and always waiting him. I have been keeping many things for him to do. First of all, I was always wishing that one day he would write a book, about his life, his opinions and impressions on art and life of the East as well as West. Now, hearing of his death, I feel this responsibility has fallen upon me. This is why I am going to write all that I am recollecting about him. But I know it is so poorly done. Only if he did it 16 FRIENDSHIP while he was alive, it would surely interest the public ever so much more. One evening Hara and I were going back from the Bolton Studios to our lodgings in Sydney Street, We came out to the Thistle Grove. It was really our ideal. We both shouted out at the same moment, "Oh, let me sketch ! " Then Hara said to me, " Can't you give me this subject?" I said, "I liup- pose Art is just like Love. Two men can- not have one girl. I will give her to you, though I am not in less love with this view than you, by any means!" He was de- lighted. He did a rough pencil sketch, but he could not finish it. Ever since he went to Japan, I often wrote to him, " Come back to London. Thistle Grove is still awaiting you ! " Once he answered me, •' Have you not sketched it yourself yet ? Oh, you most sentimental fellow ! You know I have only joked at that time ! " However, 1 could not dare to sketch it. Now, after his death, I have made a sketch as the souvenir of our friendship. This is why I am inserting this sketch here. CHAPTER II HARA It was early autumn of 1905 when I met with Hara at my lodgings in Sydney Street. T have already written (in A Japanese Artist in London) roughly about our first meeting, and also how kind he has been to me. When he arrived in London he lived in Hampstead. He used to visit me every day, and stayed in my room until midnight. In fact I was struggling against my sheer poverty at the time, so I began to be alarmed. If I spent every day for the conversations with him, what would become of my life ? One night, after he was gone, I wrote him quite gently, " You know the time is very precious for both of us. Is it not better, for our own sake, to devote all our time for the study, for we could not make out much with our daily dull conversations ? " Nevertheless, he came to see me on the very next day, with my letter in his hand. "Ah, Markino, I am afraid I am annoying you 18 1 ^ f a^H I^B because the moon is so large the people hundreds of miles away wOuld be seeing the same moon on their own gate directly facing towards everyone of them. So with us, the humans. When one has a big personality, the whole world would idolize him. Suppose you put your tiny playing- ball on our gate, could you see it from iiie gate of our neighbours ? When you are grown up it will be your own choice whether to be a moon or a tiny ball." Indeed the great personality is just like the moon. A little person may think she is facing only to him, but the fact is she is facing to everyone. A little person may think she has many faces, but the fact is she 251 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS has only one face. A little person may think if she gives all her rays to the others, she may not be able to shine on him, but the fact is she is shining equally to everybody. Oh, this wonderful moonbeam ! It can be worshipped by everybody, but it cannot be possessed by anyone, for the moon is not a small play-ball. It was one of the evenings while I was staying at Wedhampton, just before the dinner-bell rung, I saw the large round, round, perfectly round, pale moon shyly ap- pearing on the half-dusk sky above the lilac trees in the eastern corner of the gardens. My heart was filled with the joy and amaze- ment. I said to the moon, " Au revoir until I finish my dinner," and I went in. Oh, the moon, the full moon to-night ! I did not know what I was eating or drinking. I could not hear what the people were talking at the table. There seemed a gay party Was going on, but I myself rushed out of the- door. By this time, the very last ray of the setting sun had entirely died out to give the whole world to the moon. She was no longer shy. Her glittering face was pour- ing out the silvery beam to the trees, grasses, buildings, roads, and everywhere. Now then, I got frightfully busy. Where and how shall I see the moon ? And how 25a WEDHAMPTON to sketch her? Shall I sketch her just between those two trees? Shall I put the moon on my back and sketch that white- walled cottage ? I went back to my room and fetched my sketch-block at once. L walked round the house twice or three times. Then I walked to the tennis ground several times. I made one rough note at one place and went to another place. I went back to the same place again to study the effect of the colour once more, nay twice more ! I lamented the time was too short, or else I might have made hundreds of sketches ! Oh, how much I have struggled ! It was the artist's mania. The artists alone know what I mean. It is agony rather than joy. Have you ever seen the swallows chasing after the gnats and mosquitoes ? They so busily fly around the same place again and again, then they swiftly fly away. To forget myself, I like a swallow opened the gate and ran swiftly to the open field. I tried to see that vast and wavy Salisbury Plain in front of me and I could hardly see. I began to doubt whether I was opening my eyes or not. The pale blue veil was de- scending from the azure to tone down every small detail. It looked to me as if it did no longer belong to this world. Just nearer 253 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS to my own feet, all the green grasses were bearing abundant dews and each of them reflected the beam of the moon as if millions of stars have come down upon the earth. The moon alone was getting clearer and clearer on the spotless blue sky. She was just like a large crystal ball. I was no longer a poor mania-stricken artist. I forgot about paintings, I forgot where I had my sketch- block, and I forgot my newly bought shoes were wet through with the dews. That little Jap called Yoshio Markino was no longer there as far as I remember. I wondered if I was the incarnation of Li Tah Po. Which direction was our house ? I did not care. Only I walked and walked, facing towards the beautiful moon. In such a moment, it is the human nature to recite something. Japan and China are very rich with the poetries of the moon. 1 began to recite those which were floating up from the recollection in my brain. I repeated many of Li Tah Po's. I finished that famous long poetry, " The night of flower and moon on the Spring streamlet," by Cho Jak Kio, and I was just going to finish " Seki Heki " by So-To-Ba with these wordsr — " Everything in this world has its own 'pos- sessor,' and as long as it is not my own 254 WEDHAMPTON belonging, I dare not touch even a piece of hair. (The writer meant that all the greedy humans have divided this vv^hole world among themselves and left so little to him.) Ah ! but only this cool breeze over the river and that beautiful moon between the mountains ! Our ears take them to make the tunes, and our eyes take them to make the colours. We take them all and yet we are not forbidden. We use them all and yet they are never consumed. This is really the everlasting maga- zine of the Creator. And you and I are most contented with it." A night-jar flew across the moon leaving a few notes behind. Two or three owls hooted on the tree behind. Again I heard their voices faintly, again I heard their voices clearer, as if they were reminding me there was the distance in this mysterious picture, which showed no details to indicate the per- spective. Oh, you night-jars, and you owls, how well you know the right keys to har- monize with this wonderful nature ! No human musicians could ever reach to you ! « G-oo-d Ni-ght ! " Hallo ! a human voice ! How strange I felt to hear the human voice! It was a cyclist who passed before me ! His greeting has brought me back to my own sense. 255 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS Indeed, it might be very late. Surely it must be the time for " good-night." I hurried to the house. The hostess was already gone to her bed. The host and a few men guests were just having their last pipe. 1 went up to that cobweb room and laid down myself on the bed. But my soul slipped out of doors and went to that open field, just to bathe in the sacred moonbeam once more and just to listen to the night-jar and owls once more. Was it a dream ? Or a rdveille ? Or the reality ? I heard my door knocked. It was the house-maid who came to prepare my morning bath ! I opened my eyes. The sun was high up, throwing some shadows on the window, and hundreds of birds were twittering on the tree. Where was the moon gone ? She must be flirting with some modern Li Tah Pos in the other quarters of the world. This is indeed the place where the nature is unspoilt with the impurity of the human world. I have frequented my visits there for several times already to breathe the pure atmosphere, to approach nearer to the pure nature as well as to seek the sincere friendship. One wet evening I had to sleep in another little cottage near the main house. A passage led along the laurel lane for a few yards and 256 WEDHAMPTON then through the foliage tunnel, which had a few bricks and stone steps here and there, very irregularly. One of the guests put on his mackintosh, and with a lantern in his hand guided me to the cottage. The lamp threw 6ut its long rays in eight directions through between its eight bones. Two or three rays caught the wet green foliages which were glittering like emeralds or sapphires against the velvet background. Where the earth' was hollowed, there the rain-water was filled, to reflect the light as the splash of the phos- phorous. My friend, stretching the lamp in his hand b9,ckwards, was jumping over the small temporary ponds — and 1 followed after him. Now and then huge drops of the rain from the trees bombarded our mackintoshes. I lamented that the passage was not long enough. I would like to have such a romantic journey for many miles. Lately I bought a pair of the field-glasses and I took them to Wedhampton. It was a great success. From the little thatched-roof summer-house, I used my field-glasses to see Salisbury Plain about a mile away. 1 take the glasses to my eyes. At first everything looks very faint and vague. I roll the screw up and up and all the objects are getting larger aiid larger. Suddenly 257 R MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS everything turns up as clearly as possible. It is the focus. If I pass this focus, they begin to look more and more faintly. Ah, the focus is most wonderful thing ! A little black dot turns up to be a human. I could see even his expression. Or a little green mass turned up to be a tree and I could see each of its leaves. How very wonderful I It is not only the field-glasses which have their focus. Our human life too has the focus — and only one focus. Confucius said : " To be in excess is just as bad as to be in deficiency." If the sympathy in our hearts and the wisdom in our heads were precisely fixed to their accurate focuses, we could see this world much clearer ; and if we could see the world most clearly, we could enjoy our own lives as well as do our duties most satis- factorily. Everyone of the critical questions in this world would come to this one question : Is the accurate focus fixed ? Just for one example. Are the militant suffragettes really fixing their focus when they commit the public annoyances ? Or are they doing them without seeing the matter clearly enough ? Some of them said to me, " There is no other way." Is there really no other way for them? Or could they not see the way because they are out of the focus ? 258 WEDHAMPTON I must put the same question to the anti- sufFragettes too : " Is your focus precisely fixed?" By the way, it is strange to me to notify some queer phenomenon in the English life. It is quite a private matter to my own life. While I was mixed among those very poor people in London they used to understand me better. Because they were so simple and sincere. They trusted me, therefore they understood me thoroughly. I was perfectly happy. Nowadays some of the upper class people have a little suspicion to entangle me with. Especially so with some who had been in Japan and had some bad experiences with some bad Japanese there. If I do something for them from the bottom of my heart, they often say, "Ah, Markino is a Jap, we don't know what he rtieant by that." I always give a deep sigh ! At first, I was thinking to discuss it under the chapter " Human Insincerity." But con- sidering the matter very carefully, I have cume to the conclusion that this is not so bad and so serious as that. They often suspect - me simply because their focus is out, or perhaps their mental field-glasses are dusty. Oh, pray let me wipe off the dust or fix the focus for them. Then they can see me clearer 259 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS and then I can enjoy myself with them as much as I did with those delightful poor people. I feel even that Anti-Jap question in Cali- fornia owes a great deal to the out-of-focus on both sides — Americans as well as Japanese. I wish I could supply the mental field- glasses to everybody in this world, so that they would see this world most clearly. It would avoid many unnecessary tragedies. Now, returning to my own field-glasses. I have received another amusement (very un- expected one too) from them. Just in front of the summer-house there is a beautiful and well-laid tennis ground. I learnt it was the hostess's special desire to keep the grasses around the tennis ground quite wild, for that gave more country-like feelings. The thrushes, blackbirds, robins, and many other birds (whose English names I don't know) come out from the wildly grown-up grasses to the tennis ground to pick up the worms or to chase each other. They are some sixty or seventy feet away. Tlirough my field-glasses, 1 could see their eyes, bills, and every feather so plainly. It is really a very good study of the natural history. One morning, I saw on the tree near the tennis ground some round thing. My glasses 260 WEDHAMPTON identified it as a baby owl. I was so excited. The gardeners came and caught it and they found out another baby owl. They were such a nice pair. To my great delight, the hostess decided to keep them. First we put them in a cage, but a few days later some guest suggested they should be kept in a wood hut. They are getting tamer and tamer every day. They twist their heads to look at us wherever we go and seem as if they are saying, " What are you doing there ? " No doubt they are another great addition to the fascinations of ^edhampton. There is an old stone lion standing just on the middle way between the station and Wed- hampton. He looks like the Comacine Lions which you see everywhere in Italy. He is always beckoning us with his two paws. I always take my hat off whenever I pass before him. He has some wonderful magic power to attract my heart. Once my friend and I climbed up to the Salisbury Plain. I fixed my eyes on the direction of this lion. I saw only the slope of the hill so faintly in the pinkish- grey haze. But when I saw there through my field-glasses, I found out the lion so distinctly. My heart jumped with joy as if the two lovers were in sight to each other. All my friends ask me : " Why are you always 261 MY RECOLLECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS so excited with that Hon?" I could not answer them, because if I tried to put my feeling into the words, that would convey my meaning so very little or perhaps it might give my feeling absolutely in wrong way. One or two friends of mine nodded their heads in silence. The real understanding in silence is much greater than the eloquence in the vulgar and cheap human languages. That wonderful sympathy is universal and im- mortal. THE END i A ■<; .'aj, I ' THE OLD LIUN. PMIl-AOEI-PHIA ZABEL BROTHERS OFFSET PRINTERS j liyiiiiOiiifiifiii. iilllllillh i Ifmliiiflilffifliimfi Iglflfifiiiirplmii