ASIA c r -^ CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE WASON COLLECTION THIS BOOK IS THE GIFT OF Nixon (Jriffis Cornell University Library PS 1661.B65 Blossoms from a Japanese garden :a book 3 1924 023 417 839 Cornell University Library The original of this bool< is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023417839 BLOSSOMS FROM A JAPANESE GARDEN The cAme-Ya. BLOSSOMS FROM A JAPANESE GARDEN Two tiny maidens of Japan Played make-believe at tea. The cups were only bits of shell, The tea-pot Just a stone, The cakes all mud and sanded clay, And servant there was none. But ah I the charming courtesy, The deep, deep breaths they drew At each pretended sip to show How exquisite the brew, "Augustly deign this cake to taste. My cook will be so proud 1" With heads that touched the earthy floor The guest and hostess bowed. 22 A traveller, pausing in the shade To watch the pretty scene, Now from his sleeve a parcel took Of cake and sugared bean, Designed for little ones at home — But, in the Buddha's name. Unnoticed now, he set it down And hurried whence he came. Erect once more, — with gasping breath And wonder-sparkling eyes The two examined, piece by piece, The new, mysterious prize. At length, the hostess, whispering, said, ''It's Buddha, I believe. He saw we just pretended tea And dropped it from his sleeve I ** 23 A TYPHOON WE knew the storm was coming Long, long before it came; For the whole air woke to humming And the wind smelled hot, like flame. The clouds sank low and lower; The crows wheeled close, for fear, And the flat earth seemed to cower With sense of danger near. Then like a nest of dragon^ It fell upon the town; It overturned the wagons And knocked the drivers down. It kicked the dust to billows That climbed the frightened air; And backward jerked the willows As by a woman's hair. cA. Typhoon K ' I , s!M^: ■3,. »^* . *=•/ ' -* ,*2^\ iK* l^l^r-i^fsr*- ■ 'r ^1 \H % « The pond, so placid lying Was tilted like a dish; It sent the roof-tiles flying As though it scaled a fish. Our pretty wooden bucket That hangs beside the door Rose as the monster struck it And came to earth no more. In midst of fiercest motion And shrieks, it left the sky To rush upon the ocean. Old Typhoon San, Good-bye I 25 GOOD-LUCK DREAMS LAST night I dreamed of Fuji-San, I saw its snowy crest. Of all the dreams in all Japan This dream is quite the best. Some splendid luck it always brings. I wonder what I'll choose 1 There are so very many things A boy like me can use. My little brother wants a kite. Fm far too old for that. I heard my sister pray last night To find a lonesome cat. Poor babies I Well, it isn't right To keep my luck alone. Perhaps Til dream again to-night And see a bigger cone. rU dream of egg-plants in a row; Of falcons flying free. Of all the dreams a boy may know These are the lucky three. 26 THE GOOD BROTHER NOT only does this little boy his baby sister tend^ And bear her on his youthful back, her very closest friend; But also to his sister Ko, whose age is barely three, And to his brother Kejiro, he's kind as kind can be. When K5 San breaks her sandal-strap, he mends it tight and well; When Kejiro does naughty things, this brother does not tell; But, kind and grave and generous, will argue with the child, And sometimes quote Confucius, in accents firm and mild. If, on his back, the infant small with colic whines and groans. This noble brother lifts his voice in song that drowns her moans. And all the mothers, far and near, on seeing him will cry, "There goes a model son, O dear I that such a one had 1 1 " 27 THE SEED (GOOD-NIGHT) HERE'S a sleepy little seed Wants to go to bed. Tightly shut the little eye ,In his sleepy head. Dig a couch in earth for him, Soft and warm and deep; Tuck the cover gently ih— Now he's fast asleep. (GOOD-MORNING) What a yawn of little leaves! What a stretch of root! Baby seed is up at last; Now he wants to shoot! Bring him bath of rosy dew, Give him yards of twine, Hear him laugh his tendrils out! Soon he'll be a vine. 28 The Seed (GROWTH) Leaves are crowding thick and fast. Stems are brittle things 1 Grave responsibility High position brings. Earth-worm dragons must be slain, Humming-birds defied. "Would I were a seed again I" Morning-glory cried. (BLOSSOMS) Ah, a budl all blue and white, Twisted like a shell. Something strange must happen soon Any one can tell I Something stirs against the dawn I — Is it bird or bee? Or a purple-hearted song Blown for you and me? 29 SNOW LAST night the earth was soft with grass j To-day it's hard and white. How strange a thing to come to pass Within a single night I The sparrows flutter to and fro, And have no place to dig; Across our yard a strutting crow Looks very black and big. At school, in recess time, I'll make A man of snow, whose features Shall reproduce without mistake Our ugly foreign teacher's. 30 Snoiv -^ #*;■ ^ PHVHI "' --.^' --?-^^^^K ^^ H. RICE RAINS 13 ICE rains, rice rains, I wish you'd go away I ^^ You make the sky so black with clouds we cannot see to play I The rivers run with yellow mud, — the bamboo gutters spill, And soon, I fear, you'll wash away the pine-tree on the hill. Rice rains, rice rains, I hope you'll soon be through; We children have to sulk indoors, and all because of you I My mother says you help to grow the rice that we must eat. But I am sure there's plenty in the rice-shop down the street I 31 A SEA-SIDE STROLL (From the Japanese) BESIDE the sea, from out Its hole, An earth-r^orm started for a stroll. He met a crab who, scoffing, said, ^* Which is your tail, and which your head?' "You well may ask," the earth-worm cried, "Your ugly face stuck on your sidel But, first of all, Vd like to know Which way you're walking, to or fro?' (» A devil-fish rushed up to see What all this quarrelling could be; And, standing near, with pompous pose Cried, "I'll be fudge, bring out your woesl The others turned with gibe and Jeer. " O wond'rous judge I we fain would hear If, spite of all your learned charms. You're walking on your legs or arms?" tf lA Sea-Side Sfroll And then they fought, and strewed the beach With heads, arms, legs and tails of each. But, worst of all, the questions, — they Remain unanswered to this day I 33 HOW WE LOOK TO THEM ft I -JIN Pa-pal Neko Pa-pal I-jin Pa-pal Neko Pa-pa T' Hear the naughty children cry Seeing Mrs. Smith go by. Mothers scold when they are told, Fathers tell them "Drop it"; On the street, policemen meet Planning how to stop it. Still the village boys, alas, Watch to see the I-jins pass; "I-iin Pa-pal" still they shout. This is how they feel, no doubt. 34 KASUGA PARK NEAR the old town of Nara, in Kasuga Park, Are thousands of fire-flies to light up the darfcj And thousands of pines, with wistaria vines, That march up the hillsides and shadow the shrines. Even better than these to the children who go To this Park, which all Japanese children must know, Are thousands of deer that crowd up so near, They eat from your hand, without thinking of fear. There are big papa-deer with their horns standing out, And sleek, spotted mama-deer grazing about; But nicest of all are the baby-deer small. Each ixiZZy and soft like a brown velvet ball. Forever and ever theyVe lived in the wood. And no one has hurt them, — as if Buddhists could I And the great shadow pines, with wistaria vines, Smile down on the deer-folk and guard the old shrines. 35 THE DOLL LITTLE Bright-Eyes, tell me true Is your dolly fond of you? Do you think she knows or cares Aught for all your mother-airs? She is but a senseless thing, Made of paper, wood, and string; But you pet her, nurse, and feed Just as though she lived indeed. Bright-Eyes flashed me half a smile, Clasping dolly all the while, — **l must love her hard, you know Or her soul will never grow. If I offer food and dress. Sing her songs of tenderness. Day by day her heart shall win Room to put her mother in." 36 The "Doll DRAGON-FLIES JIRO sees the dragon-flies Flitting o'er the garden sod. ** Should I pluck their wings/* he cries " Each would be a 'pepper-pod ! ** *' Cruel one I ** with frowns and nods Kindly Taro then replies; "Fasten wings to pepper-pods, And you make them dragon-flies I " 37 TAld KAKUZO TAKE Kakuzo one day played truant from his school ; O Take Kakurol Yes, truant from his school. He walked beyond the city streets until he found a pool, And there he fished for eels and things within a slimy pool, And never thought of school. O Take Kakuzo I The sun was hot, the wind was still, as Take fished away ; O Take Kakuzo I Fished placidly away. And never did a ripple come upon the waters gray. And never felt he any Jerk beneath the waters gray. But fished and fished away. O Take Kakuzo I At last the angler's naughty head was drooping low with sleep; O Take Kakuzo I Yes, calm untroubled sleep; When, — came a sudden mighty jerk from out the slimy deep. 3S Take Kakuzo And Take caught — a jumping slate 1 from out the slimy deep, Which put an end to sleep. O Take Kakuzol And now a strange yet lively crew began to feed his hook, O Take Kakuzol His bent pin of a hook. For pens and pencils, rods and chalk, the frightened fisher took, All flopping round; — and then an imp the shrieking fisher took From off a red-hot hook I O Take Kakuzol Without a backward glance he ran, still shrieking, from the pool; O Take Kakuzol Yes, from that awful pool. And woke I — to hear the pupils laugh beside his desk at school ; To see his friends, his teacher kind, the map-hung walls of school. It was a night-mare pooll O Tak6 Kakuzol 39 TAKE KAKUZO AS A PHILOSOPHER NOW, Take Kakuzo is small, His brothers both are big: And if, beneath the water-fall, They fish, and let him go at all, *Tis but for worms to dig. He snares them bait from many a nook. The basket he must bear; But never may he use a hook Or from the silver-throated brook Snatch wonders into air. Perhaps this seems a cruel fate For Take Kakuzo; But wise is he, though only eight. He knows he only has to wait, And Time will help him grow. Take Kakuzo as a 'Philosopher « '•>*■»* ■^t^HtJ^ "tM*- TAKE KAKUZO AND THE IMP IN fair Japan, — (so tourists say) The children seldom cry; But, singing, laughing all the day At night will put their toys away And down to slumber lie. The truth of this I gladly state, With one exception small. Alas I That I must now relate The tale of Kakuzo, whose fate A warning proves to all. A healthy child, as one might see. Was Take Kakuzo. Within his small O naka-ni No worm was hid. More plump was he Than pigeons at a show. 4( And yet he howled, in ways till then Unknown in mild Japan. His strength was as the strength of ten, And all the neighbors shuddered when His bellowings began. Before the dawn was red he wept, Ere barked the drowsy crow. His voice was raised while others slept, And bitter were the curses kept For Take Kakuzo, Then forth, in haste, his parents fared To where a priest did dwell. "He hath an Imp," the sage declared, "And measures stern must not be spared. We'll put him in the well." A net was found, — a rope, — and deep. Deep through the awful gloom He sank, — too terrified to weep. And clutching at the slimy, steep Black edges of his doom. 42 Three times they dipped that wretched child The while the priest did pray. The mother's eyes were dark and wild, The father scarcely reconciled To use the cruel way. They drew him up, all limp and white As clam without a shell. But never since, by day or night, Has Take wept. The priest was right. His Imp stayed in the well. And still, at dawn, before the crow At midnight, ere the bell. An echo comes, a wail of woe. The cast-off Imp of Kakuzo Imprisoned in the well. 43 EXPERIENCE MY brother he is eight years old, While I am four to-day. My mother binds me on his back, And there I sleep and play. He lets me hold his top and ball, Or pull the kite's sharp string; He gives me half of all he gets. Of cakes or anything. Sometimes I Jerk his short, black hair And kick him with my heels; And stick my fingers in his ears To hear his funny squeals. One day I asked him what the use Of legs and feet to me, When his were plenty for us both : He answered, " Wait and see I " Experience ^_,^f «"V/"v , > '. m ^:^FM 'fffeir*'* 1 . '<• '•J -r-v^^s?^:': Yi; vt'-v^su^-^ ' iSu^iS^SEa^Siii^Jli:'" To-day Fm four years old I To-day My cruel mother tied The baby sister on my back Ahhough I kicked and cried : And in the garden, there I saw — (I wish that I were dead I) My brother turning somersaults And standing on his head! 45 SUMMER TLTOW flat the clouds in summer lie I ■■■■*■ As lily-Ieaves upon the moat, So round and bright against the sky, I see them drift and float. The trees are purple in the sun, Like puffs of shadow, dark and still. And from the heart of every one The locusts sing and shrill. So hot it is we cannot play. We roll about the matted floor. Or try to sleep the time away Beside the open door. But soon the sun will set, and then Along the dry and dusty street Will come the busy water-men To make the city sweet. And we, with all our hardships past, In tabi, dress and sashes bright. Shall find our little friends at last, And play till late at night. BUGLES TA-RAT-TA-TA-TAI Ta-rat-ta-ta-ta I From under the pines on the castle wall The soldiers are blowing their bugle call The crows laugh out; And the small boys shout, While the trees stand sulky and tall. Ta-rat-ta-ta-tal When Fm grown to a man I'll go the army, and fight for Japan I Ta-rat-ta-ta-ta I Ta-rat-ta-ta-ta 1 Down under the castle the soldiers drill, With tramping of horses and bugles shrill; With long white lines Where the bayonet shines. And the echoes roll down from the hill. Ta-rat-ta-ta-ta I When Fm grown to a man FU go to the army, and fight for Japan I 47 IRIS FLOWERS MY mother let me go with her, (I had been good all day), To see the iris flowers that bloom In gardens far away. We walked and walked through hedges green, Through rice-fields empty still. To where we saw a garden gate Beneath the farthest hill. She pointed out the rows of "flowers"; — I saw no planted things, But white and purple butterflies Tied down with silken strings. They strained and fluttered in the breeze. So eager to be free; I begged the man to let them go. But mother laughed at me. 48 Iris Flowers She said that they could never rise, Like birds, to heaven so blue. But even mothers do not know Some things that children do. That night, the flowers untied themselves And softly stole away, To fly in sunshine round my dreams Until the break of day. 49 THE PROUD VEGETABLES TN a funny llittle garden not much bigger than a mat, ■■■ There lived a thriving family, its members all were fat ; But some were short, and some were tall, and some were almost round. And some ran high on bamboo poles, and some lay on the ground. Of these old Father Pumpkin was, perhaps, the proudest one. He claimed to trace his family vine directly from the sun. **We both are round and yellow, we both are bright," said he, **A stronger family likeness one could scarcely wish to see." Old Mrs. Squash hung on the fence; she had a crooked neck. Perhaps ^twas hanging made it so, — her nerves were quite a wreck. Near by, upon a planted row of faggots, dry and lean. The young cucumbers climbed to swing their Indian clubs of green. 50 A big white daikon hid in earth beneath his leafy crest; And mole-like sweet potatoes crept around his quiet nest. Above were growing pearly pease, and beans of many kinds With pods like tiny castanets to mock the summer winds. There, in a spot that feels the sun, the swarthy egg- plant weaves Great webs of frosted tapestry and hangs them out for leaves. Its funny azure blossoms give a merry, shrivelled wink, And lifting up the leaves display great drops of purple ink. Now, life went on in harmony and pleasing indolence Till Mrs, Squash had vertigo and tumbled off the fence ; But not to earth she fell I Alas, — but down, with all her force. Upon old Father Pumpkin's head, and cracked his skull, of course. At this a fearful din arose. The pods began to split. Cucumbers turned a sickly hue, the daikon had a fit, The sweet potatoes rent the ground, — the egg-plant dropped his loom. While every polished berry seemed to gain an added gloom. 5J And, worst of all, there came a man, who once had planted them. He dug that little family up by root and leaf and stem. He piled them high in baskets, in a most unfeeling way — All this was told me by the cook, — we ate the last to-day. SUMMER SHOWERS WHEN showers come on summer days, (Days all hot and dry and still,) The glad air turns to silver haze And hides the castle on thg hill. The hen with one important chick, Comes roosting on the kitchen sill; And Tsune sets the buckets quick That they with dripping rain may fill. The drooping gourd-leaves drink again; The willow weeps an emerald tide; And, when I go to catch the rain. My mother smiles, and does not chide. But should the thunder-bolts begin, (A devil falls with every blast,) We'd hang the net, and crawl within Till storm and danger both, are past. 53 JIRO AND TARO TWO sturdy little boys of eight, Close-knit in joy and sorrow, Are these whose tale I now relate — Small Jiro-san and Taro. Their parents were the same; their food Might well have pleased the haughty; But Taro-san was always good. While Jiro-san was naughty. When asked the slightest thing to do This Jiro shrank with horror; Till all the chores and errands, too, Became the part of Taro. He never gave a sullen frown. Or hid behind the hedges; Or came from play with tattered gown And mud about the edges. 54 Jiro and Taro But always cheerful, gay and bright As any busy sparrow, He filled his parents* heart with light, This model son called Taro. But Jirol As an angry sea He scowled, and sulked and lowered Not one redeeming trait had he, — A bully and a coward. What contrast do we thus employ! What types diverse we borrow I Yet stay I the moods of one small boy Are Jiro-san and Taro I THE MYSTERIOUS PUP A FLUFFY dog had Kafcuzo Which was so very white That when he walked across the snow He vanished out of sight. s« The SMysterioas Tup '■'•,'.)*<« «?, THE JISHIN (THE EARTHQUAKE) A JISHIN Will begin With a tiny start and shiver. The shoji gently chatter, The mice and children scatter. For they know well what's the matter When the ground begins to quiver. O jishin, Good jishin, Please don't be, this time, a big one, be a small one, Good jishin! Bad jishin Tumbles in With the howl and growl of thunder! The plaster walls are crashing, The kitchen dishes smashing, The broken roof-tiles gnashing, Till the house is half asunder 1 O jishin, Bad jishin, YouVe the worst we've felt for ages. O you horrid Bad jishin 1 MY NEIGHBOR'S BAMBOO A GROVE of bamboo, thick and tall *^ Grows beside our neighbor's wall. For he is rich, and we are poor; — Yet his bamboo loves us morel Toward our little roof it bends, Cool and shade in summer lends; In autumn proves a green defense From much windy violence. When winter comes, and clinging snow Drags the stately plumage low. Against our eaves one pinion rests, Melting last year's swallow nests. I scarcely think that those who own All the bamboo grove, have known In all their lives such love and pride As this I feel, who live outside. S8 <5Ky cNfighbor's ^Bamboo u^'^ <"*'**«S»*'^' >. (■'■-J' ' • Srt*sv« ^-W^i**?; *.H, I 4:ik 1 « V I y ijiffi THE OBA-SAN (THE GRANDMOTHER) THE spring is fair with mist and flowers The summer still and green; And autumn brings the loveliest hours That earth has ever seen. But ah, the Joy of many a night When, housed from wintry gales, We'd gather round the charcoal bright And beg for fairy-tales 1 '*More stories?" cried the Oba-san; Then smiling, wrinkled, slow. With spectacles on nose began: — "Once, long, long years ago " " Yes, Oba-san I '' — with eager nods We listened. "Ages when The giants, dragons, elves and Gods Were not afraid of men, "There was a fisher-boy who gained A sea-maid for his wife. And, through her love, the gift obtained Of everlasting life. **But back to earth he slyly peeped Into his box — the dunce! — And full three thousand birthdays leaped Upon his back at once/* ** Morel Tell us morel" we pleading cried; And, smiling deeper still, She told us tales of pomp and pride; Of river, vale and hill; Of Mr. Fox, that cunning sprite Who shaves the farmer's head; Of bloody ghosts that come by night To haunt the sinner's bed;: Of knights so brave, and loyal too; Of Benkei San, the strong; Yoshitsune, whose heart was true Yet suffered grievous wrong. — *'The past is far, too far I" we cried, **Must it be always so?" But Grandma only smiled, — then sighed, "Yes, long, long years ago I" 60 jiiiiSiiiiliiii^